forget-me-not || lee dohwa

𝐈'𝐦 𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 '𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞' 𝐌𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐬. 𝐎𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐭.

I'm Going to 'Your Name' My Way Through This Memory Loss. Or Not.

Lee Dohwa was having a confusing week.

His friend Haru had disappeared and his other friend Danoh was inconsolable. Juda and Namju had started to date (or something like that) and it upset him further because he never got his fair chance. I give up, Dohwa had said, I can't keep trying to change something that had already been written and decided.

Then Haru came back and he was glad for a few moments, up until the boy twisted his arm for acting friendly with him. That upset him pretty badly again.

And then...then there was this person.

Dohwa couldn't remember how they looked, when and where he had met them, just that...

"I don't know," he raked his fingers through his hair, leaning his elbows on the window sill, "I know I'm missing something but that can't be...I'm self-aware. I'm not supposed to have gaps in my memory anymore."

You are beautiful.

Lee Dohwa had been called a lot of nice things but beautiful? He had grinned to himself, flustered and pleased for the whole week, as the words echoed in his ears. He couldn't remember who had said it or when he had heard it. But he really, really wanted to know.

Something told him that whoever this person was, they were important to him. Or rather, he was important to them. Or maybe it went both ways because how else could he explain the longingness in his heart?

"I'm probably thinking too much," he mumbled, peering out at the school grounds, "My mind's playing tricks on me."

Dohwa convinced himself that the compliment he had heard was one thrown by a random bystander. Everyone loved to yell out cheers and praises at Oh Namju, him, and Baek Kyung whenever they passed them by. This must have been one such—

He leaned out of the window, bending in a way that he nearly fell out, to get a good look at the girl who was walking on the footpath leading to the library building.

Dohwa couldn't catch what she looked like from the distance but she seemed to shy away from the students who walked past her. She had dark, shoulder-length hair that seemed to be tied back. The loose jacket she wore was pulled up to her elbows, and the shoes...

That's her, something inside of him urged him to go after her, the one with the red shoes. That's her. You were looking for her.

"Hey!" Dohwa yelled, cupping his palm around his mouth, "Excuse me! No, wait—don't go!" He took a step back and began to run towards the staircase. "Black jacket, red shoes. Black jacket, red shoes. Black jacket, red shoes," he repeated to himself, leaping down the stairs two at a time.

Unfortunately, by the time he had reached the lockers, Dohwa had forgotten why he had been in a rush. "Black jacket and red shoes?" He scratched the back of his head, "What was I...? I was looking for someone..."

I'll remember you for as long as I live.

He gasped loudly, startling the students around. Where was I going? Who did I see? What was it again—blue shirt? No...a coat? Red. I think there was something red. What the hell...

"What is going on," he whispered to himself, perplexed, because according to Jinmichae, self-aware characters weren't supposed to have gaps in their memories, "I'm going insane. I'm definitely going insane because there's no way my mind created someone who flatters me all the time."