for the first time in days, silence was the only thing audible in the entire jeon's house. yet even with all the space available now, wonwoo sat in his own bedroom, dialing a specific phone number with trembling fingers. somehow it made wonwoo nervous, knowing he'd accidentally lost all memories about this person which he now had to speak with again.
but the moment he looked down at his wrist, where a bracelet decorated with shells hugged his arm, he found enough courage to press the green button and send out the call to none other than lee seokmin. who most likely had been dying to receive the slightest sign of life from the boy with amnesia.
repetitive beeps were heard on the other side as wonwoo pressed the small device against his ear. he tried to convince himself that everything would be alright as long as he was able to explain himself properly to seokmin.
"wonwoo?" the sudden voice scared him and made him realize he had zoned out again, nearly dropping the phone in the process. "o my god, wonwoo! are you okay? i heard from the accident and how you ended up in the hospital! please don't tell me you forgot about me too? it was amnesia i heard? do you feel any pain? are you o.."
wonwoo giggled as he let seokmin continue his endless blabbering, allowing the younger to worry about him for just a brief minute. until he was finally done speaking, or better said, completely ran out of breath.
"hi seokmin. if i have to be fully honest with you.. i might have.. sort of.. forgotten.. about you.." wonwoo spoke, scratching the back of his neck as he was embarrassed to say so. "but! don't worry, my memories have fully returned today and i remember all the things we've done at vacation!"
"oh you better! i won't let you forget our friendship buddy!" the warmth of seokmin's laughter was almost sensible on the other side of the line, making even wonwoo's lips curl up into a genuine smile. "junhui and chan have been contacting me since the moment you were in the hospital. they also advised me to contact you as much as possible to try and help you remember anything."
those junhui and chan are really something.. wonwoo thought to himself as he walked over to the opened window, feeling the cool summer breeze on his exposed skin. sun was slowly setting and made place for a cloudless starry night sky. so wonwoo leaned against the windowsill and stared at how the colors of the horizon were slowly changing.
"you know, seokmin. even though i suffered from amnesia, i've never taken off the bracelet you gave me. i once tried it, but something made me feel so guilty back then. now i understand what that feeling was." wonwoo spoke in all honesty, finding calmness in the friendly manner they spoke in, as if the incident never even happened in the first place.
"see, you remembered me! only you didn't realize what it was back then!" seokmin warmheartedly spoke on the other side of the phone. "i knew you wouldn't forget me. not after the beautiful friendship we've built up. oh by the way, you're visiting me in winter right?"
though it was only still summer, wonwoo didn't hesitate to say yes to his question. "we can celebrate the holidays with you and your dad if you'd like that?" wonwoo made further plans, hearing how seokmin let out a sparkling sound of enthusiasm.
"yes! and then we can all light fireworks at the beach! this is going to be so awesome!" seokmin continued making more plans while wonwoo silently listened, staring up at the sky.
somehow, the sound of seokmin's voice made him feel a mixture of emotions. homesickness, since he missed the cozy lodge seokmin and his father owned, which his voice reminded him off. he felt delighted, because of seokmin's usual sunlike warmth he radiated. even over the phone. but he somehow also felt sad, since he was not able to include seokmin in his daily life the way he would like to.
wonwoo had never been one to want many friends, or to hang out with them a lot. but the bond he had with seokmin was just.. different. they had built up something special in the short span of a few days, which he could now only treasure from a distance.
and though wonwoo was well aware that mingyu was his soulmate on the field of love and relationships, he was certain of it that he and seokmin were a different type of soulmates. a platonic type of soulmate, an undying friendship based on loyalty and trust. wonwoo had once read that a person can have seven soulmates walking around on the planet earth, perhaps they were too.
it amazed the curly head how two persons came in his life in the same week and had changed him so drastically.
"hey buddy." seokmin spoke when he was done going through all the things they would do in their winter break. "you should look up to the sky, it looks beautiful tonight."
wonwoo giggled, remaining in the exact same spot next to his window. "what a coincidence, i was actually just doing that exact thing."
"damn.." seokmin whispered as he revel in wonwoo's virtual company. "it actually kind of feels like you're really here now. just two buddies, staring up at the sky on a beautiful summer night."
"oh stop, you're going to make me emotional!" wonwoo protested, not wanting to break down in tears for the nth time that day. which was pretty hard when seokmin had to say such wholesome things that dearly touched his heart.
but he was right. even though they were not actually spending time together, a simple phone call was enough to give them at least some company. and though it sounded silly,
they really were just two buddies, staring up at the sky on a beautiful summer night.
