6/18/18
Yoongi had listened to the notes he had previously left on his door. He had remained inside despite wanting to see his plants which were staring at him sadly from his greenhouse of sorts. Yoongi huffed, he knew it was for the best. His immune system was weak for some unknown reason and he tended to get sick rather easily. As far as Yoongi knew, there was no medicine in the house unless he’d somehow overlooked it. He’d assumed his father didn’t trust him with medication in his hands. He wouldn’t trust himself either, to be frank.
Yoongi moved his hands around his mug of hot cocoa as his thoughts returned to the grey clouds rumbling outside. They’d gotten thicker as the day passed turning from the usual light grey to a dark and ominous color. The thunder hadn’t started up until an hour or two ago if he could remember correctly. That was also about the time he had wound up in the arm chair in his living room.
Yoongi looked down at his lap. He didn’t know why he’d bothered getting dressed, after all, it wasn’t like he would be going outside at any point. Jeans were always uncomfortable to Yoongi and he only wore them if he knew he was going out. Maybe he wore them just in case Ji-
Yoongi’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud slam on his roof as heavy rain began coming down. Yoongi regretted ever agreeing to let his father put that tin roof over his head. It amplified the sound of rain by ten billion and he disliked the noise. Yoongi shook his head as he brought his hot cocoa to his lips.
Boy, was it coming down out there. He felt bad for any poor thing that remained out there. He could barely see beyond his window. It was all a white, streaky blur that was pounding away at the soil and his roof. Yoongi took a sip from his mug. He was glad he was inside, warm and dry. Warm and dry. Warm and dry.
Yoongi’s eyes widened and he bolted out of his seat, slamming his mug down on his coffee table. Yoongi slid ungracefully into his kitchen and stared at the ring of dirt on the tiles near the corner of the room. That ring of dirt was meant to have his Vinca minor in the center. Yoongi looked at his backdoor. He had to save it.
Sure, it was going to be overwatered a bit, maybe a whole lot, but according to the weather people, the temperatures were supposed to drop. Overwatering he was sure he could help the plant come back from, but frostbite? It was sure to die. He wasn’t going to let Jimin’s gift die.
Yoongi grabbed his raincoat and slid it on, quickly. He was positive he had brought the Vinca minor inside. He had taken all his other plants into his greenhouse, so why hadn’t he taken the Vinca minor? Yoongi glared at his warning which was still stuck to his back door. He tore it off and threw the door open, dashing out into the rain. He stopped as he came a few steps away from the last step, his head whirling around as he tried to figure out exactly where he had left the Vinca minor.
He took a few steps to the left then to the right. Left again. No, no, right, he had put it to the right. Or was it left? What was he out here for again? Yoongi spun around, unsure of where the plant was sitting or if he was even looking for a plant. The rain had only gotten worse since Yoongi had come outside. He could barely see more than six inches in front of him and it felt like he was being hit with a sharp stick every time the rain hit him.
Yoongi took a deep breath only to smell horrid, overly wet Earth and water going up his nose. His black hair was now stuck to his forehead, large tendrils of rain ran across the rest of his face and, more or less, into his eyes, doubling his sight limitation. Where was that darn plant? He could've sworn it was up against the house. By the greenhouse maybe? Was he even looking for a plant? He was, yes, yes, he was. Left? Right? Front? Back? Plant? Not a plant?
His thoughts were tearing him apart. Sobs wracked his body and his tears melded with the harsh rain. He couldn't remember crap and he was soaked and couldn't see, he felt lost and unsure. Even if he wanted to go back inside, there was no way he could, he just couldn't see the door and his memory was of no help.
“Yoongi?” A voice called out to him from somewhere to his left. “Yoongi, are you out here?”
A small figure in a brightly colored raincoat and rain boots with a baby blue umbrella hobbled towards Yoongi. His figure was blurred by the rain slightly and Yoongi could barely tell who it was.
The figure finally became visible and Yoongi sighed in relief, his help had arrived, “Yoongi, you shouldn't be out here. You're going to get sick.” Jimin said worriedly, bringing Yoongi under his umbrella. “Let's get inside, alright?” Jimin wrapped a red scarf around Yoongi's neck and gripped his arm and began pulling him in the direction of the back door.
“No, no, no, it'll freeze, Jimin, it'll freeze.” Yoongi said, pulling away from Jimin and back towards the rain, looking around confusedly.
“What?” Jimin said, trying to keep Yoongi under his umbrella.
Yoongi's head spun around, his eyes squinched, hoping to just catch a glimpse of the Vinca minor. “It'll freeze. It'll freeze. We have to save it.”
“Yoongi, what's “it”?” Yoongi didn't respond and just kept looking around frantically. “Yoongi, please. You aren't making any sense. Let's go inside and we can worry about it after the storm.” Jimin grabbed Yoongi's arm but Yoongi pulled away yet again.
“Jimin, please, help me save it. It'll freeze and die if I leave it for too long. I can't let your gift die.”
Jimin's eyes widened and he grabbed Yoongi, managing to keep a hold of him this time around. He pulled Yoongi over to the right side of the house and only stopped when he was sure the older could see the plant in front of him. Yoongi hugged Jimin's arm, which he had been holding on to, and got down on his knees. He wrapped his arms around the plant pots base and hugged it close to his chest as he lifted it and himself up and back into the cover of Jimin's umbrella. “It's going to be okay, you aren't going to freeze under my watch. We're going inside, see?” Yoongi whispered soothingly to the plant.
Jimin pushed Yoongi gently inside before sticking his umbrella back out and closing it. He set the now closed umbrella down in the corner by the door to dry and did the same with his raincoat and boots. Jimin looked Yoongi up and down once he had returned from where he had put the plant in the kitchen. Yoongi's white shirt had dirt stains coating it, not to mention the rest of him, was completely soaked. He had a small sniffle and was shivering ever so slightly, his cries had lessened, leaving only a few tears in its place.
“The plant’s doing okay. It's a bit over watered but that can be taken care of. It's showing no sign of having been frostbitten whatsoever. I think some nice heat will do it just fine.”
Jimin smiled before turning to the more pressing matter, “Yoongi?” The older hummed as he pulled off his wet socks, “Do you think, maybe, you should go upstairs and change?”
Yoongi looked down at his clothes, an “oh” escaping his lips, “I should, shouldn't I?” Yoongi moved a bit slowly towards the steps. “Do you want a change of clothes? You look a bit wet yourself.” He said from the second step up.
“No, thank you.” Jimin said, his eyes scanning the walls.
“Suit yourself.” Yoongi said as he finished his trek up the steps.
Jimin had never seen the inside of Yoongi's house. It had always appeared that Yoongi was uncomfortable and maybe even embarrassed with having someone see his house's interior. Jimin could understand why. It's not everyday someone walks inside a house and sees five billion clocks, shelves of mementos, and notepad paper stuck to wall after wall. It almost looked like a museum in there. Maybe that's what it was to Yoongi. He did seem to care a lot about what had happened previously.
Jimin walked closer to the shelves, his eyes ogling Yoongi’s items. He did seem to keep a lot of things most people wouldn’t. Especially for a twenty-five year old man. All kinds of dusty sports trophies, t-shirts, pot plants. Jimin tilted his head at a framed photo that was by the door into the living room. The frame was a dark color and the photo inside seemed to have been taken in dim lighting. The image appeared to contain a younger version of the pale boy upstairs, except in the photo he had sun kissed skin and bleach blond hair. He was sitting next to a woman who looked a lot like him with long black hair, her arm wrapped his shoulder, dried tear trails evident on her face. Yoongi’s facial expression just looked confused, as if he didn’t understand why the woman was crying. In front of the two, on a table sat a vase which contained a bouquet of daylily flowers. Yoongi’s hands were wrapped tightly around the neck of the vase.
Jimin wiped the remaining dust that sat on the top of the frame off before moving through the door, not wanting to look at the sad photo anymore. Jimin smiled upon seeing his very own pasta dish sitting by the window, in a corner, the sticky note he had left with it was still inside. He looked confusedly at a sentence written in black on the side of the dish. He knew for a fact he hadn’t written something on the pasta dish itself. Jimin rubbed his thumb against the words, taking each one in. “Thank you for telling me about the vines.” That was what he had written inside his note. Why would Yoongi write it on the outside of the pasta dish as well? The note was sitting right in the center of it.
A small creak alerted Jimin that Yoongi was coming towards him. Jimin moved his vision up towards the older. Yoongi had changed into a black long sleeved shirt and tight jeans. His eyes looked embarrassedly at the floor, his left arm gripping the other, slightly rubbing it. Jimin could tell that Yoongi was utterly embarrassed about the blond haired male even standing an inch near the shelves. Jimin even looking at the items made Yoongi visibly flinch as if he was terrified that something was going to happen if Jimin looked any further.
Jimin cleared his throat and moved towards the sofa near the center of the room, “Are you feeling okay? You were out there for a while.”
Jimin didn't know how, but Yoongi's already pale complection looked even paler as he walked into the living room light. “Yeah, just a slight sniffle.”
“I'm glad.” Jimin scooted over a tad as Yoongi sat down next to him. “Why'd you risk going out there? Especially for that plant?”
“It was going to freeze out there. I wasn't about to let it die. You gave it to me, it's my responsibility to take care of it.” Yoongi said confidently.
“It's not your responsibility to throw yourself head first into danger for it.” Jimin looked at Yoongi concernedly. “You could've gotten sick or passed out. Then what would've happened to you?”
“I'm sorry.” Yoongi said in a quiet tone.
Jimin shifted in his seat, “Why didn't you just get the plant and come back inside? You've been going to that thing multiple times a day, everyday.”
Yoongi looked down at the floor again. “I should be able to remember that. Where it was, I mean. But, you see, I.. I don't. I don't remember almost everything that's happened since I was seventeen. I can barely remember being out there and just not knowing what direction I should be going in or what I was even out there for. I'm really sorry you had to come get me.”
Jimin just looked at Yoongi confusedly, “It's alright, I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't get sick.” Jimin bit his lip. He wanted to ask his question, the obvious one, but he knew Yoongi was uncomfortable with it.
Yoongi, as if reading the younger's thoughts, said, “Go ahead, ask it. It's not like I wasn't going to tell you anyways.”
“What do you mean by you didn't remember? You've lived here for years haven't you?”
Yoongi nodded, “I have, still can't remember the ins and outs of this place.” Yoongi shrunk into the couch, his figure becoming tiny compared to what it usually was, his mouth opening and closing as if he was still deciding what words fit the occasion. Jimin could tell Yoongi really didn't want to talk about what he was going to say. He in no way wanted Yoongi to feel forced into opening up about something that makes him uncomfortable.
“You don't have to tell me if you don't-”
“I have a memory disorder.”
“What?”
“I-I have a memory disorder. It prevents me from making new memories, basically. It's why I've kept all these things. To help me remember, though it just keeps getting harder and harder. Um, my memory disorder affects my short term memory. I can remember everything from before I was seventeen perfectly. Everything beyond that is a blur.” Yoongi looked down at his clasped hands and then back up at Jimin.
He had anticipated that Jimin might ask questions or maybe even leave, but the younger just sat there, his mouth open with no words coming out. Yoongi understood Jimin's reaction, it was a lot to take in. It was for his mother. She had cried for days. Then she blocked him out. She blocked him out in less time than his father did. His father had hoped that the memory disorder meant he could reshape his son and when he discovered it didn't, it was the countryside house for Yoongi.
After a couple of seconds of Jimin not saying a word, Yoongi stood up, “I'm sorry, I understand if I freak you out now, I get it a lot. I understand if you don't want to see me, I-I'll just go to a different room until the storm lets out.” Yoongi started walking, “I'll be in the kitch-”
Jimin grabbed Yoongi's wrist and pulled him back onto the sofa. “I'm not freaked out, Yoongi. I would never judge you like that. It's just.. A lot to take in. I never would have suspected it. Especially since you can name plants by scientific name off the top of your head.”
“That was my specialty before all this.” Yoongi's smile showed relief, relief that Jimin was still here in front of him.
“Man, it must be crazy living with that. Like, I can hardly imagine the struggles. What's it like? Living with it, I mean.” Jimin noticed Yoongi's uncomfortableness building back up and immediately said, “I'm sorry. I'm being pushy and a bit nosy. I understand that what you said is all you want to say.”
Yoongi's smile perked back up, “You know what? How about this, tomorrow, you come by for my tea time at four, and we can talk about my memory all you want.”
“Are you sure? Would you be comfortable with it?”
“Absolutely. I want you to know.”
“Thank you, Yoongi, for trusting me with this.”
Yoongi just smiled before a yawn slipped out of his lips. “I'm sorry, I think the rain's made me tired.”
Jimin hummed before trying to get up, “I should be on my way then.”
“N-No! No, no, you should stay. It's crazy out there, we've both witnessed it. You should stay here, at least until the rain stops.” Yoongi suggested.
Jimin crossed his arms and sat back down, “Alright, on one condition, you get some sleep.”
“But I don't want to leave you alone.”
“Then don't.” Jimin pushed Yoongi's head down on to his shoulder. “See? Now you're not leaving me alone.”
“If I'm going to sleep, then so should you.” Yoongi said, pulling his arm around Jimin's head and putting it on top of his own.
Jimin laughed, “Alright, Mr. Hoarder hyung. Sweet dreams.”
“Sweet dreams. Still not a hoarder though.” Yoongi yawned out before his eyes closed and went to sleep. Jimin smiled and admired the boy beneath him, blush creeping on to his cheeks as he realized what he was doing. No, he couldn't be. He couldn't be and he wouldn't. Not after S. Jimin closed his eyes and went into restless sleep.
Word Count: 2880