Semester break.
Maybe Kim Mingyu was the only person who hated the break his campus gave him every semester. Actually he didn't hate the meaning of the break itself, he hated the fact that he had to be unemployed in his house for three whole months more. Stayed up until 3am and woke up in the middle of the day when he should have been looking for his lunch - not breakfast. He doesn't like his biological clock being messed up when he isn't doing something meaningful - so he isn't tired and can't sleep quickly either. He also didn't like it when his annoying younger sister gave him a 'Gosh my brother looks useless' look every time she passed Mingyu who was watching old movies in the living room every afternoon. He really hated the feeling of doing nothing but time was ticking.
Therefore, today he went to the labor market in the center of town to find a job. Work that allows him to do it in just three months. But it's a pity, the jobs offered by Choi - people who work at the labor market and patiently accompany him to find suitable jobs - don't make him satisfied.
First, Choi offers him to work in a coffee shop that has quite a name as a barista. Mingyu was quite intrigued by the idea of the job because he basically loves coffee, until he saw the location of the coffee shop that needed apprentices. The location is right next to the office where his father works. That made it very possible for his father to often be found buying something at the coffee shop because just like him, his father also likes coffee. And because his father would often come to the place where he would work, he flatly refused the offer. Because he knew more than anything, his father would come and watch over him more and more as if Mingyu was his 7 year old son and liked to do stupid things in the society he was in.
Second, to work as a laborer in a contractor company. Ok, basically this vacancy asks applicants to become laborers on their projects. And Mingyu feels that this job will hurt his ego if he accepts it, because after all he is an aspiring doctor. Next year, if there are no obstacles, he will start an internship at a big hospital in the city and working as a porter has absolutely nothing to do with his dream job as a doctor. He was forced to refuse this job offer.
Then the last thing Choi can offer is a job as a baby sitter . What? Mingyu was silent for a long time. Choi had just offered him - a man at the age of almost 22 years - to become a baby sitter? And why did the parents of the child ask male workers to take care of their child? Mingyu immediately said no when he heard that the one he would take care of if he accepted this job would not be a baby but babies . Three twin boys. Nice . He's out of his mind if he takes this job.
Choi smiled bitterly at him and said that maybe he could try again next week, because he was sure that next week there would be a lot of new jobs that might fit Mingyu's criteria. Mingyu promised to come back next week and as he walked out of the building he considered what he should do in another week. It was then that his eyes caught a familiar figure.
"Uncle!"
The person with the familiar face stopped walking when he heard someone calling him. Mingyu smiled and walked closer. "Hello uncle? Do you remember me? I'm Kim Mingyu."
Mingyu stretched out his hand just as they stood facing each other and little by little the confused look of the person Mingyu called uncle broke down - a sign that he recognized the figure in front of him. "Oh my! I didn't expect to meet you here, how are you, kid?"
Mingyu was silent long enough to watch Jeon Seongwoo's face. Mingyu recognized this person as the father of his childhood best friend - who disappeared five years ago and Mingyu has not been able to find any trace of him until now. He met his father miraculously. Compared to the image in Mingyu's memories, Jeon Seongwoo looked older and tired. The dark bags under his eyes indicated he had trouble sleeping for long periods of time. He wondered what had happened to him. And maybe.. on his little friend.
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.
His mother will invite all her relatives, and Mingyu is welcome to invite all of his friends. But since three years ago, there was only one friend he invited to this cursed birthday party. Jeon Wonwoo.
"Ah, I forgot. You don't want to start your birthday party if the most important person to you hasn't arrived yet." Wonwoo laughed in his face and Mingyu got annoyed. Slowly he hit the right arm of his friend who was older than him. And Wonwoo laughed even louder.
It's not that Wonwoo was wrong, Mingyu just didn't like that skinny guy constantly reminding him that Wonwoo's existence was very important to Mingyu. Even though that's true. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but ever since he started being friends with Jeon Wonwoo seven years ago, he always knew that he considered Wonwoo as his brother. The brother he never had.
"You have to quickly find a lover, Kim. What if one day I disappear? There must be someone who replaces my position as the most important person for you."
Mingyu was silent and walked into his house with big steps. He was annoyed that Wonwoo said that so easily, especially in a cheerful tone. And what was his point of disappearing anyway? Mingyu hated that person, he really hated him who really liked to talk nonsense. Really.
But Mingyu hated the fact that exactly a year later, the man's words had turned into reality. Mingyu remembered that it was early winter and he was panicking because it had been a week since Jeon Wonwoo had not replied to his messages or answered his phone. He decided to take the bus for the first time and went to Wonwoo's house which was quite far from him. When he got there, he could only find that the house was empty and according to neighbors, the owner had left the house three days ago.
And after that day, Jeon Wonwoo was nowhere to be found.
Mingyu had put all his efforts into looking for the boy, but how could he possibly find Wonwoo when the boy didn't want to be found?
For the first time in his seventeen years of life, Mingyu had his heart broken pretty badly. He remembered exactly after losing Wonwoo, he was in a lot of pain. He was rushed to the hospital because of a fever that did not get better for a week. Mingyu hates the fact that the person who gave him the experience of heartbreak was Jeon Wonwoo, his best friend.
Jeon Wonwoo, who was a year older than him, was thin even though he was taller than Mingyu at that time, wore contact lenses and couldn't eat seafood. He hated that person, really .
Time passed and without the slightest information about where the Jeon family had gone. Mingyu moved on with his life.
Mingyu always imagines his reunion with Jeon Wonwoo -Mingyu has the belief that one day they will definitely meet again. Mingyu imagines meeting a version of Wonwoo where he is already a lawyer -Wonwoo said he will major in law when he goes to college. Or Mingyu imagined he might meet Wonwoo again when that person already has a family of his own -two daughters and a beautiful wife. Wonwoo said himself he didn't want to have sons because it would give him a headache.
Mingyu imagines a lot of things.
But not with this one.
He didn't expect that he would meet Wonwoo again in a room in a hospital which coincidentally is the same hospital where he will start his internship next year. And unfortunately, the room was named as the patient's room. Wonwoo was sitting in the middle of the bed with the patient's clothes and also the IV tube stuck in his right hand. The boy looked older than the boy from his memories - obviously, they had been separated for five long years. Wonwoo looked more handsome with a much firmer facial line -Mingyu didn't want to admit it verbally, only in his mind, but the boy had lost much of his radiance as Mingyu remembered in his memories. From the look in his eyes, there was neither a playful look nor a positive light for tomorrow. His thin lips no longer carved a smile, instead he looked gloomy. Mingyu always remembers that his best friend was a quiet person but he knew Wonwoo's silence brought a lot of peace in itself - it's a part of him. But Wonwoo now, he's silent because he really couldn't do anything else.
But regardless, even Wonwoo had changed physically, to Mingyu, he was still the same person he had shared a great childhood with. It's still the same Wonwoo as Wonwoo in his mind. But what will Wonwoo think after seeing him again? Is Mingyu's name still in his mind? The fact that Wonwoo didn't recognize him made his heart ache a little and he didn't know who to blame for it.
Maybe for that man, Mingyu was just a stranger who was brought into his ward. Foreign man who tried to smile stupidly at him and foreign man who couldn't take his eyes off anything other than Jeon Wonwoo.
With his sharp eyes, Wonwoo watched Mingyu. He seemed to be looking for something, Mingyu couldn't help but hoping. Maybe he was wrong, maybe Wonwoo recognized him. But his hopes were completely thrown out of the window when Wonwoo closed his eyes and looked out the window of his room.
Mingyu turned to the side to find Jeon Seongwoo looking at his son with a sad look that was so obvious. Mingyu wondered how tormented this person is. Which parent whose heart is not broken when their own child gradually forgets his existence as a father?
"Uncle, I want this job."
Jeon Seongwoo nodded and smiled a little.
"Thank you, Kim Mingyu."
Mingyu was surprised when Wonwoo once again turned to look at him - quickly, right when his father called Kim Mingyu's name, his eyes widened and looked at him again with the same gaze. Searching gaze.
And Mingyu really wanted to know what that man was looking for.
***
"Did Wonwoo ever tell you about his mother when you two were together?" Mingyu had many questions that he wanted to express to Wonwoo's father, he didn't expect his best friend's father to ask him something first.
They were now sitting in the corridor of the hospital which was quite empty that afternoon. Jeon Seongwoo stared straight at the white wall in front of him while Kim Mingyu just dropped his gaze on the gray floor beneath his feet. His feelings were chaotic and he felt great sadness just because he saw the figure of his best friend, looking helpless on a hospital bed.
"I only know his mother died when he was little, Wonwoo didn't want to talk about his mother to me." Mingyu said that in honesty while closing his eyes, the memory of teenage Wonwoo made his heart ache even more.
"You know why he didn't want to talk about his mother?" Jeon Seongwoo paused and Mingyu didn't really understand why their conversation right now did not directly talk about Wonwoo -when that was the only thing he really wanted to talk about. "At that time, Wonwoo was only a seven years old boy. He witnessed how his mother took her own life."
Mingyu gasped, he turned to the side to find Jeon Seongwoo closed his eyes and his jaw tightening under the dim of corridor lights. He didn't know, he never knew that his little friend had such a dark past. For one or two reasons Mingyu felt guilty not knowing about this first.
"At that time I was busy working, I only came home once a month due to out of town assignments. At that time I did not really realize that there was something strange about my wife -other than the fact that every day she looked pale and sicker. I took him to the hospital but she always refused. Until one day I realized that my wife was not only physically sick, it was her psychology that should be given more attention than anything else." Mingyu could see the deep regret radiating from Jeon Seongwoo's hard face. He tried to wait where this conversation would end.
"I was in the middle of an out of town meeting when a neighbor called me and said that my wife had not been home since yesterday and my child was crying hungry at home. At that time I was angry - why did my wife abandon my child like that, but then the anger receded when I learned that my wife was not coming home on purpose. He couldn't go home." The typical deep voice of someone who has smoked for years is choked. "He couldn't find his way home."
Mingyu patted the man's frail shoulder, trying to comfort him even though he knew it couldn't work at all. Jeon Seongwoo glanced over and forced a smile.
"It was too late for me to find out that my wife had an incurable senile disease."
Mingyu tried to remember what he studied at his academy and ended up freezing because he thought he knew where this conversation was going to end.
"There are various types of causes of dementia -as a medical student you must know, and one of them is alzheimer. My wife's doctor said that Alzheimer's itself is caused by damage or death of brain cells and unfortunately until now there is no medicine that can cure it. In general, the symptoms of this disease last for a long time, but what my wife had was a special type where the symptoms progress quickly. In just a matter of years - doctors said mental health problems were also contributing to the acceleration of the symptoms of this disease. My wife was 38 years old when she attempted suicide because she saw Wonwoo enter her room and she couldn't remember who the child was. Poor Wonwoo tried to scream out the word 'mom' over and over again and it made my wife panic and fear even more. Her mind was shaken, and she couldn't think anymore. She threw herself from the 3rd floor balcony and died instantly."
What should Mingyu say now? He knew the man beside him felt sad but he couldn't say anything to just cheer him up. Because he knew, whatever he said would not mean anything at all. In the end, Mingyu decided to sit quietly and listen.
"After that incident, I decided to move house with my only child. I also transferred Wonwoo to a new school, and that's when he met you and somehow you were the first person that could make Wonwoo smile again."
Mingyu smiled, remembering his first meeting with Wonwoo in the school's backyard. It was indeed an interesting experience and one that Mingyu will surely remember for the rest of his life.
"Wonwoo is kind." Mingyu commented while reminiscing.
Jeon Seongwoo only smiled a little, a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"I thought everything would be fine for us after that, until 10 years later I found something strange about Wonwoo. He kept feeling confused and forgetting little things like where he kept his things. At that time I panicked, I did not witness how the symptoms of the disease attacked my wife at first but after my wife's death I learned a lot about the disease. And one thing I was most afraid of after that incident was the fact that this disease is a genetic disease. And Wonwoo was too quiet for me to ask him how he felt after witnessing his mother's death right before his eyes. But in his deepest dreams, he used to sleep-talk about how much he wanted to forget the day his mother died."
Mingyu was silent, just like Jeon Seongwoo said before. This disease also has links with mental and psychiatric problems. Wonwoo was only 23 years old and from what he saw in the room, he may already be at the stage his mother was in when she was 38.
"Do you want to know why five years ago our family just disappeared?"
Mingyu nodded slightly, this had always been his question since then. And he felt he was not ready to hear the answer however much he wanted to know.
"Wonwoo hurt himself because he was frustrated. He forgot the name of the cat you bought him for his birthday."
Minwoo.
Yes, Mingyu remembers that white Persian cat. Wonwoo likes cats and Mingyu did buy one for the boy on his 15th birthday. But it wasn't Mingyu who named the cat, Wonwoo named it himself. Until now Mingyu did not know the origin of that cat's name. But it seemed, Minwoo was a name that meant something to him.
"Another symptom of this disease is a change in behavior and I'm not surprised to see Wonwoo did that to himself. How will you feel when you can't remember important things? You will feel frustrated. And that kid's frustration was probably building up to the limit." Jeon Seongwoo explained in a tired tone that he didn't need to cover up.
Mingyu felt guilty because he never realized Wonwoo's problem and also his frustration. As Wonwoo's best friend, he felt that he didn't really do anything meaningful for him. Mingyu lowered his head and unconsciously tears welled up in his eyes.
Regret gradually assailed him. He remembered how he had always been the center of their friendship. He was always the one talking and Wonwoo would always listen. It's always Mingyu who seeked Wonwoo's attention. Always Mingyu ranting and grumbling unimportantly to him-like the story of his mother who always overly celebrated his birthday, he always complained about that to Wonwoo. He felt guilty because he never once made Wonwoo the center of their friendship, he felt guilty because no matter how often he said Wonwoo was his best friend - maybe he didn't really know anything about that guy.
With that realization, Mingyu actually cried.
"Hey, why are you crying? You don't need to feel guilty. You know how that kid is. It's Wonwoo who didn't want to show his weakness in front of you, he didn't want you to worry. That's why I decided to take him away, at the same time I started his intensive treatment. I didn't want what his mother went through to happen again to him, that's why I need someone to always be with him, to talk to him, to be his friend. I don't want him to be alone."
Now it was Jeon Seongwoo's turn to place his hand on Mingyu's shoulder and patted him lightly, trying to encourage him. Compared to Mingyu, it's the old man who needed to be encouraged more.
"I have to go back to the office this afternoon, I hope it's fine for you to start your work right away today." Closed Jeon Seongwoo in a joking tone that sounded forced. And in return, Mingyu could only force a laugh.
This is no longer a matter of filling in the empty time during semester breaks.
It's about reuniting with an old friend who needs help. This is about Jeon Wonwoo, his best friend that Mingyu always misses who might not know him. But Mingyu promised he would not give up on his best friend.
He promised that this time it would be all about that man. Maybe it's too late, but now it's Mingyu's turn to really get to know his little friend, to be his listener, to be someone he can trust.
He wanted Wonwoo to be the center this time.
And he knew that being late was always better than never.
***
There's one thing Mingyu always wanted to do since he started being friends with Jeon Wonwoo. When calling that man, he really wanted to call him by his name only - without the 'Hyung' label in front of him. But as if he didn't like the idea, Wonwoo always refused and looked at him with a sharp gaze. As if that idea was as bad as the idea of starting a fourth world war.
"Wonwoo- ya !"
But now, everything is different. No one will scold him anymore.
"Jeon Wonwoo~"
Wonwoo still ignored Mingyu and Mingyu knew he wouldn't give up. After talking with Jeon Seongwoo in the hospital corridor, Mingyu immediately entered Wonwoo's ward only to find his best friend reading a book. Mingyu smiled, at least this image is still the same as Wonwoo's image that he has. The geek.
"How long are you going to ignore me?" Mingyu snorted a little. But apparently the grunts were heard all the way to the end of the room where Wonwoo was. The man closed the book and folded his glasses. He stared at Mingyu who was sitting on the couch. And strangely Mingyu smiles - finally this man thinks he exists.
"Wouldn't it be more polite if you first introduce who you are before you call my name as if I can't hear it at all?"
Mingyu swallowed the bitter lump that was clogging his throat when he heard that voice again after a long time. Still the same deep voice, the difference now is that the voice sounded colder and sharper.
Standing from his position, Mingyu walked over to the bed where Wonwoo was. Reaching out his left hand, he tried to introduce himself.
"Kim Mingyu. And I? Ehmmm... your father hired me to look after you."
Mingyu wasn't wrong with his choice of words. He didn't want to introduce himself as Wonwoo's little friend because that meant he was indirectly asking the boy to remember him. And as a medical student, he knew what happens when someone with dementia is forced to remember.
But Wonwoo's reaction made him confused. The man stared at Mingyu's left hand for a long time without even greeting him.
"Are you left-handed or are you just a rude person asking someone else's hand with your left hand?"
Mingyu doesn't like English class. The reason? He didn't like it. And for a 9 year old he didn't feel the need to really look for the real reasons why he didn't like the class. And Mingyu is the typical kid who didn't want to do things he didn't want to do -the selfish one his fat friends said. Tch, Mingyu didn't care and he quickened his pace even more. Before changing classes, he asked permission to go to the toilet and would not return before the end of the English class.
Mingyu stopped in his tracks when he got to his destination - the place where he had run away from English class. There was a quite large garden with a fish pond behind the school which kids like him couldn't and should not enter. The school was attached to the church and the priest's house. The garden itself was the priests' backyard which he could enter by climbing out the window of the shed behind his school. So far he thought he was the only one who knew the existence of this place. Until one day he found someone who was also there. Someone with the same uniform as him but not likely from the same year.
Usually Mingyu only watched the boy from a distance. Sometimes Mingyu wondered if he was aware of Mingyu's presence and ignored him or if he really didn't notice because that guy always seems preoccupied with his own thoughts.
But today, Mingyu really wanted to introduce himself to the boy. Socializing was a good thing - so said his mother. So with that conviction, he approached the man with a stupid smile inadvertently plastered on his face.
"Hey?"
The man looked shocked and looked at him confused. Ah, so all this time he didn't notice Mingyu's existence. Mingyu regretted it in his heart even though he didn't know the reason why he looked disappointed.
"I often see you here. Ehmm.. I was the first resident of this garden before you." Mingyu held out his left hand and still smiled broadly.
"My name is Kim Mingyu. Your name?"
The man seemed to think for a moment before opening his mouth, Mingyu thought he would say his name.
"You are left-handed? Or are you just an impolite brat?"
Mingyu was silent for a long time, his outstretched hand slowly fell on the left side of his body. And seeing Mingyu just silent, Wonwoo went back to busying himself with his book. Mingyu remembered exactly how Jeon Wonwoo was at the beginning of their first meeting. He also asked the same thing. Is he left-handed or is he just being rude?
The fact that there might be memories of him subconsciously remaining in Wonwoo makes Mingyu smile so brightly. Somehow, he felt that there was still hope left that would appear again in this small room.
***
The days rolled around and Jeon Wonwoo still didn't give Mingyu much attention. And Mingyu became the most diligent worker who always came and left not according to his working hours -arriving too early and leaving too late. Jeon Seongwoo looked livelier after his arrival, because in the end the man was able to take care of his job properly. Mingyu never minded staying late at the hospital if the man needed to be in his office taking care of things late into the night.
Mingyu almost always invited Wonwoo to talk even though he mostly ignored it.
Mingyu also bought new books and without saying anything he just kept them beside Wonwoo's bed until they piled up. Wonwoo always read books, but sometimes he read the same book over and over again. Mingyu noticed that Wonwoo always read whatever was at the top of the pile, so Mingyu helped Wonwoo by keeping the books he had finished reading at the bottom of the pile. So that new books that have not been read will always be at the top of the pile.
Mingyu also brought Wonwoo's favorite food because he knew the boy didn't want to eat hospital food. Mingyu can cook and he knows Wonwoo always likes to eat the food he makes. Even Wonwoo, who has now forgotten about it, still does the same thing. He always ate greedily every time he ate the food that Mingyu brought.
When the good days come it's a little easier for Mingyu because Wonwoo wanted to talk to him. Even if it's just necessary. The happiest so far for Mingyu was the day when Wonwoo asked what food he brought today, as if he was waiting for the food Mingyu brought. Then he said that the broccoli that Mingyu made yesterday tasted good and he wanted to eat that again. Wonwoo always liked vegetables and the next day Mingyu brought food that was all green. He found Wonwoo's smile that day.
When Wonwoo was sleeping, Mingyu used to play games on his phone while waiting for the boy. When Wonwoo was in a good mood, he would wake up and ask Mingyu if he could teach Wonwoo to play the game he was playing. Mingyu installed the game on Wonwoo's phone but the boy always looked for his phone when he wanted to play.
A few weeks ago Jeon Seongwoo came after his work was done, for today he came on time, which was 5 o'clock - the time Mingyu finished work. And he said that Wonwoo's condition had improved since Mingyu was by his side. Maybe it's true, his son really needed a friend so he's not alone when he's in pain. The old man often sent money to Mingyu's account as his salary but Mingyu never checked because for him what he was doing now was not a matter of work and salary. He wanted to do it because he cared about a man named Jeon Wonwoo.
Unfortunately, not every day is a good day.
On tough days Mingyu could only watch Wonwoo sleep all day and groaned in his sleep. Mingyu didn't know how many times he found Wonwoo in the bathroom and vomiting alone. His personal doctor said it was a symptom where his emotions were unstable and he was feeling frustrated about something. Wonwoo was too quiet, he didn't say what was frustrating him.
But one day, Mingyu came into the room and found Wonwoo looking at him warily -as if he didn't recognize him and then his eyes softened when he heard Mingyu called his name. But a moment later Mingyu could see the frustration rising in Wonwoo's eyes when he looked at him. And this happened so many times that Mingyu couldn't help but ask again. He didn't know if Wonwoo would answer or not.
"Hey, are you going to continue to keep that feeling of frustration alone?"
Wonwoo glanced at him and today he didn't look away.
"If you feel upset or angry about something, you better just tell me. You know I was hired by your father and paid every week? It's okay to tell me everything you feel, that's part of my job because I really exist to take care of you. You can also reduce your frustration by telling me. Win-win solution ."
Mingyu always said as if what he was doing was about his job obligation to take care of Wonwoo. He did it on purpose because it would be easier for the man. It will be harder for Wonwoo to open up to someone who is constantly worried about him and watching his every move because he cares. Wonwoo didn't like himself to be a burden and a worry for other people, he's always been like that since a long time ago.
So it's okay if Wonwoo thought of him as just someone who worked to take care of him and didn't really care about him. Although the reality was clearly the opposite of it all.
"You really want to hear what's in my head? I think you should ask my father for a raise because my head is too messed up for me to even decipher on my own."
Mingyu forced a smile and gave a small nod. "Of course I'd be happy if I got some extra money, after all I'm a medical student. I need more pocket money."
Wonwoo smiled condescendingly and it was okay for Mingyu, as long as the boy wanted to open up.
"I've forgotten a lot of things, and it feels like every day I don't care about anything anymore. Because in the end I will forget about it too. But you ." Wonwoo pointed at Mingyu and Mingyu could see a bit of annoyance behind his actions.
"Every day you show up here. Invited me to speak. Brought books and food." Wonwoo paused to catch his breath and Mingyu couldn't understand why his heart was pounding now, as if he was waiting for a declaration of love from someone-gosh he's out of his mind now!
"You made me... you.. you forced me to remember who you are. It frustrated me more than the things I forgot every day."
Wonwoo looked away and Mingyu felt he should say something but the words caught in his own throat. All he knew now, he wanted to cry but then when he felt it was ridiculous, he swallowed the feeling whole.
How could he want to cry because he felt Wonwoo's words were the most beautiful words he had ever heard? He's out of his mind.
"Wonwoo.." In the end, Mingyu could only call out that name and Wonwoo gave a small snort at the sound.
"You're even younger than me but you keep calling my name as if we were the same age."
Mingyu's eyes widened, feeling even more shocked than Wonwoo's previous words.
There's nothing wrong with Kim Mingyu's memory. And he remembered for sure, he never mentioned his age in front of Jeon Wonwoo. Wonwoo whom he met again after five years. And even if Wonwoo really forgot about it, he wouldn't know that Mingyu was younger than him.
"You... how do you know I'm younger than you?"
Wonwoo looked at him one more time and Mingyu gasped when he saw the boy crying.
My father told me, son
It's not his fault he doesn't know your face You're not the only one