forget-me-not || lee dohwa

𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐖𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐝 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Take Me Back to the Time We Had Our Very First Fight

Dohwa had watched the way Gyeoul had lost her temper at his friends. He didn't know it was possible for her to look so angry. Her anger wasn't frightening like Baek Kyung's. It made you feel terrible about yourself. That you could piss off someone who seemed to have the patience of a monk.

Dohwa had watched her pull Baek Kyung out of the school foyer by the wrist, leaving behind a distraught Haru and Danoh. They had gaped after her—horrified, shocked, bewildered, Dohwa couldn't tell from behind the hallway pillar. The crowd that had gathered to whisper and gossip around the lockers fell into confused murmurs. Their eyes and minds had turned into fog for a few seconds, much like Haru and Danoh's. Perhaps it was a kindness for both of them to forget what Gyeoul had said to them. Dohwa himself had begun to feel Gyeoul's face fading from his mind.

Danoh had gasped and flinched, clutching her heart. Realizing he wasn't needed, Dohwa took a step back and let Haru take care of her.

He tried to be empathetic. He tried to look at it from both sides.

Danoh was right to feel hurt and to reject his apology. Baek Kyung had spent far too long damaging their relationship. But she often looked over the fact that the Writer fed him the words he said on Stage. Maybe he was conflicted too. Gyeoul was right in her own way as well. She was defending her brother (Dohwa still had no idea how the whole 'brother' thing worked). Half the stuff she had said hadn't made sense to Dohwa but she had had a hand in drawing a few of them so maybe she knew better. But still...she didn't have to talk to Danoh like that, especially since the girl was ill.

Taking the exit he had seen Baek Kyung leave from, Dohwa wandered in search of Gyeoul. He found them in the gardens, under the trellis. Gyeoul, at least he guessed her to be Gyeoul because who else could it have been, had pulled Kyung in a hug, patting him comfortingly on the back as they talked.

"Ah, that's good," Dohwa smiled to himself, "They must've made up."

The smile, though, slowly disappeared. Did this mean that he would see her less than he already did now?

He didn't mean to think in such a self-centered manner nor did he want to seem possessive of her. But he just...liked the thought of being with Gyeoul. He didn't remember what she looked like, of course. He never remembered once he looked away. But her presence made him feel...at peace. Being with her was the only thing he looked forward to these days. He didn't care about how Namju gave him the cold shoulder when it came to Yeo Juda, how people talked about him being second in everything, how he was destined for a sad ending.

Dohwa cared about Gyeoul. He cared about sitting in the library with her and pouring over comic books, discussing their style of artwork and the storyline, the way they had the day before. He cared about the way she nitpicked at the little details on the paintings scattered around the school. He looked forward to the short walks they took around the campus as he answered her questions about him—she had disapproved of him skipping class so he rushed to her during every break. Most of all, he loved the very first glance he got of her every time he found her because he got to admire her all over again.

He didn't want to give away his time with her to anybody, even if it was Baek Kyung. But Dohwa had listened to the way she had talked about her brother.

"I feel he raised me more than our mom did," she had said, staring longingly at a student passing by, carrying a large sketchbook under his arm. Their usual spot in the gardens seemed to be overrun with forget-me-nots but was noticed by nobody but Gyeoul and Dohwa. "I was always a weak child. I cried easily, got hurt easily, was pushed around a lot. And mom was already going through a difficult time because dad had left all of a sudden. So Kyung...he took care of me. Even though I'm older, he protected me."