Afire Love [MinWon] - eng

Chapter 1 : Long Lost Memory

Jeon Wonwoo.

"Ehmm.. I'm fine. How about you, uncle? Erm.." Mingyu hesitated to continue his sentence, but he really wanted to ask how Wonwoo was. "And Wonwoo? Is he in this town too?"

Mingyu saw the figure in front of him swallow hard and his gaze was a little vacant than before. Something in that expression made him worried, was Wonwoo all right?

"What are you doing here, boy? Are you looking for a job?" Mingyu didn't understand why the person in front of him didn't answer his question and instead changed the subject. But for politeness reasons, he better answer the question.

"Ah, yes. I'm looking for a job to fill my semester break."

Jeon Seongwoo seemed to think and for some reason Mingyu felt worried.

"How long is your semester off, son?"

"Three months."

Then there was a long silence, Mingyu felt he couldn't ask or open the conversation again when the other person seemed busy with his own thoughts. He just kept silent and waited for Jeon Seongwoo to say something. And when the middle-aged man in front of him said something, he was very confused.

"You want to work for me? I think you're the right person. For salary and benefits, you can say whatever number you want - that's not a problem for me. You just need to work a minimum of 8 hours a day from 9am to 5pm. And I guess..." He seemed to hesitate for a moment and again Mingyu waited even though the questions had already been printed in his mind. "Three months is enough time."

What does the word 'enough' mean?

"You want to work for me?" Once again Jeon Seongwoo asked this and Mingyu blinked a few times before answering.

"What kind of work is that, uncle?"

"You just need to accompany a dementia patient . Become his friend and talk to him, but the risk of this job... he won't remember you at the end of the day. So you always have to introduce yourself again and again, maybe almost every day?"

Mingyu knew there was a bitter undertone that Jeon Seongwoo couldn't cover up in his tone and for some reason it bothered Mingyu. He has to know everything before he accepts the job right?

"Who is this dementia patient? Is it your close relative, uncle?"

Jeon Seongwoo looked at Mingyu with a gaze that filled with various emotions - but there was one thing that was more obvious than the others, frustration.

"Did you miss your little friend?" There was a moment of silence, Mingyu felt something slap him hard and make him sway a little. He hoped the figure in front of him would not continue any further sentences. "Do you miss Jeon Wonwoo?"

And for a few seconds, Mingyu felt the oxygen around him thinning so that it was very difficult to even breathe.

***

Things were all good yesterday
And then the devil took your memory away

" Hyung! God, I thought you weren't coming."

For some reason, Mingyu hated his own birthday. All because of his mother, she always throws a fun birthday party for him - even when he's grown up enough. If you're still a kid, then a birthday party will be great. But suppose you're 16 and your birthday is still overly celebrated - with cakes, hats and clowns, for the last one mom stopped calling them when Mingyu turned 12. Mingyu thought it was natural for him not to be happy anymore.