Amphitheater [Book 2]

04: Unanticipated Restored Memories

"There was a walk-in client who wanted to book for an appointment," he began, "everything was fine until he removed the scarf covering his face..."

"What's wrong with his face, babe?" Changbin asked this time, the others getting goosebumps at what Hyunjin was explaining.

"He looked exactly like Felix." Hyunjin finally said, taking everyone aback, all shivered at what he said, "I know that it sound crazy, but the freckles, the eyes- it's Felix, guys! He's Felix."

"Did he introduce himself to you before revealing his face?" Jisung asked, hoping to find anything that made sense.

"Daleun..." Hyunjin softly muttered, then he mustered up all the courage he could collect and repeated, "His name is Lee Daleun."

"The new admin?" Minho questioned in disbelief.

"Hyunjin, you too?!" Changbin wailed in despair, holding his head in his hands.

"What do you mean 'me too'?" Hyunjin yelled in offense, "I know what I saw! His voice is deep as I remembered, he has the same face but he has lost a bit of weight, his hair is bleached, and his face - freckles! Each and every one intact!"

Jisung rolled his eyes and groaned in frustration, "I'll go and check for myself," he said as he turned his heels to head for the stairs, "if Hyunjin thinks he saw Felix down there, I might as well see him for myself too."

Minho quickly grabbed Jisung by the wrist in order to stop him. Changbin and Hyunjin were still bickering in the background.

"Are you crazy?" Minho protested to Jisung's actions, the younger male trying to pry his way out of Minho's grasp, "You can't just suddenly go downstairs and try to inspect what the Lee Daleun looks like!"

"Let go of me!" Jisung escaped Minho's grasp and ran for the stairs, Minho tailing him. "I need to know if Daleun is just a lookalike or the real Felix with a different name."

As Jisung set his feet at the bottom of the stairs, he walked swiftly to the tinted glass door that led to the shop, and lo and behold, there he was. Lee Daleun, still browsing for a tattoo.

"Impossible," Minho softly gasped under his breath, thinking that his own eyes were deceiving him.

"I don't believe it either," Jisung whispered in reply, "go entertain him, he probably found a tattoo that he likes, make sure he's real."

"Hyunjin is in charge with the entertaining and the talking," Minho argued, he wasn't just going out to talk to Daleun out of nowhere. "I can't just walk up to him instead of Hyunjin doing it- Besides- I'm not good at talking to people!"

"Just figure something out already!" Jisung demanded as he ushered Minho out the door.

As soon as the door closed with a small creak and click, Daleun looked up at Minho curiously.

"Found what you want?" Minho asked, controlling his voice to not shake in the process, a forced smile nailed to his face.

Daleun nodded with a narrow smile, "Yes," he said, voice deep and as identical with Felix's, "I'd like this one, please," he requested as he pointed at Chan's minimalist compass tattoo sample, "I'd also like to schedule for next Friday, is that alright?"

Minho hummed and picked up Chan's portfolio in order to take out the sample of his tattoo to be scanned.

"I'm sorry if Hyunjin couldn't be here now," Minho said while the image was being scanned, "he went to take a call from his sister," he explained, inserting a white lie, then he proceeded to type down the schedule, Daleun's assigned tattoo artist and Daleun's name.