Ppalgansaek - chapter 1
Title: Ppalgansaek
author: kimheechulmiki
length: chaptered
pairing: YooSu
Disclaimer: This is my fiction.
Summary: JunSu was in an accident and lost his memory.
a/n: This was originally Farmer Max, a MinChun fic by pawshingo. I got her permission to ‘YooSu’ it ^ ^. I made some changes, I hope you enjoy it as well.
This fic is also a very late birthday, Christmas and New Year present for missvue09. Have a joyous New Year dear!
Chapter 1
Kim Jae Joong rested the side of his head on the clear sliding door causing several strands of his dark auburn hair to stick to the glass. He signed inwardly and with a heavy heart studied the pavement outside his shop that was slick and wet with rain. The recent wet weather, was bad for business, had everyone wanting to get home quickly and out of the cold killing off any romantic intentions or the need for flowers hence his very empty shop void of any customers. He couldn’t blame them as himself wished he could go home and curled up in his warm bed.
Jae Joong suppressed another sign when he turned away from the door to face his business partner, Park YooChun, who was whenever time permitted was hunched over his notebook hidden behind the counter and various pails of floral blooms. No one could really see him even should a customer suddenly miraculously appear. Jae Joong didn’t need to look at the screen to know what YooChun was up to because today just like any other day he would be checking out the web pages of missing persons.
Feeling suddenly irritated and short tempered Jae Joong strode over to where the other man sat. He tapped the table top impatiently. “What are you doing?”
Park YooChun answered with a scowl.
Not willing to give up and edgy for a quarrel Jae Joong persisted. He had kept quiet for so long but everything and everyone has limits and his very thin patience with his long time friend has finally worn out. “How long are you going to do this to yourself? How long huh? It has been two years, Chun, he’s not coming back,” Jae Joong said with an exasperated sigh, “If he was, don’t you think he would already have or at least called you?”
YooChun slowly put down his notebook and stood up. He reached for JunSu’s ring which he now wore on a chain around his neck it had always given him strength when he felt weak. “JunSu will come back, he has never left me before. He’s just upset and needed time to cool down.”
“Cool down? Two long years? Hah! Stop making excuses for that man of yours- if he is even a man!” Jae Joong remarked bitterly before adding, “You need to get on with your life. Get a grip Chun-ah, just look at you, you’re a mess! I bet JunSu wouldn’t even recognize you right now,” Jae Joong didn’t mean to be unkind but sometimes one had to be. He had been handling the entire situation with kid gloves and his friend had turned from a cheerful, outgoing and friendly person to a sullen quiet and bad tempered man. ?
ldquo;I am just fine and JunSu is my fiancé, and he will come back!” YooChun loudly shouted defending his love. “I’m never giving up on him. He walked out without so much as a goodbye or even telling me where he’s going. He… he needs to get back here and…and tell me where the hell he’s been,” YooChun’s voice shook, revealing his true feelings.
gnoring the tears streaming down his face YooChun tugged away the apron that he wore, picked up his bag and ran out of the shop. YooChun didn’t know how long he ran or in which direction but when he finally stopped he realized that he was at the very fountain where he first met the young architect who he eventually fell in love with and wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
Sitting on one of the benches that surrounded the large water fountain in the middle of the square YooChun sobbed quietly wishing with all his heart that he had run after JunSu that night instead of just sulking and waiting for him to return. “Oh JunSu, where are you? Please… please come home, I miss you.”
He just couldn’t understand why JunSu hadn’t gotten in touch with him. Jae Joong was right, no matter how angry JunSu was he should have at least called or texted. Splashing some of the icy cold water onto his face YooChun’s mind wandered back to that unfortunate evening two years ago.
Days before that he and JunSu had been arguing about something trifle that had somehow escalated to that big confrontation. JunSu had accused YooChun of cheating on him and YooChun had denied over and over again, insisting that JunSu was the only one for him. Unconvinced and blinded by jealously JunSu had taken off his engagement ring and slammed it on the coffee table before storming out of their apartment and that was the last YooChun saw of him.
It wasn’t unusual for JunSu to go off on his own every now and then especially after a tiff so it wasn’t until two days later that YooChun was aware that JunSu had gone missing when his boss called wondering why the latter hadn’t shown up for work. YooChun had immediately filed a police report and did all that was possible to look for JunSu but it was all in vain. Unfortunately like most missing person cases after a few months after lack any leads and due to the limited man power of the police force and resources it remains unsolved with no news. JunSu’s only living relative was an elder half brother who at the beginning hired the services of a private investigator but he too gave up after a fruitless and lengthy search and had migrated to a South East Asia country to run a bed and breakfast business.
Wiping his damp hands on the back of his jeans YooChun took one last glance around him secretly hoping that JunSu would be about before leaving the place that once held sweet memories and hurried towards the nearest subway exit to go home.
~..~..~..~..~
It was already dark and almost dinner time but Kim JunSu wanted to finish pruning the last few bushes before retiring for the day, he hummed a nameless tune and began pruning his beloved roses. He was feeling very happy as this year’s harvest had been good as the village where he was staying at was fortunately spared the devastating effect of typhoon Bolaven. Seconds later a sharp jarring pain to his temples caused him to fall to his knees dropping his scissors; he cradled his head in his hands. He gritted his teeth to bear the pain and remained very still for the pain to subside.
Dabbing the cold sweat that dribbled down the sides of his face JunSu quickly picked up the scissors and resumed his work once more. But after a few minutes he stopped and decided to take a break as he couldn’t concentrate on his roses anymore.
The young farmer sat on his hunches and uncapped the bottle of water that he kept nearby and took small sips of water. It has already been over a year since he started to farm and lived in this village. He was told that about two years ago he had been involved in a hit and run accident, badly injured and unconscious he was unceremoniously dumped at the entrance of the hospital. No one knew what really happened but the wreckage of what was once a motorbike was found later stashed in a thick growth in the woods about a few kilometers away. All his personal belongings were either missing or stolen and no form of identification was found except for a tattered and bloody dry cleaning receipt made out to a Kim JunSu was found in one of his pockets.
It was almost a month later when he fully regained conscious but he couldn’t even remember anything about himself or what had happened. The only word the he kept mumbling over and over again when he was unconscious was the word red and it was the same word that continuously haunted his mind. The nurses even jokingly asked him once if red was his favorite color, he simply remarked with a smile that even if it was he couldn’t remember. It was thanks to the dedicated staff of the country hospital that nursed JunSu back to health, especially a young doctor named Shim ChangMin.
Although the hospital had reported JunSu’s accident hoping that a family member or friend might come for JunSu but time passed and when no one came, he had declared that it was possible that he was a loner or an orphan and had requested that the missing person report be retracted. Once discharged and still unable to recollect anything about his life and with no place to go, a kind hearted ChangMin had offered JunSu a place to recuperate and stay, in his hometown a sleepy little village in Bonghwa-gun called Jeokdeok-ri, about 100 km away. JunSu with no other place to go readily agreed and at first had stayed with ChangMin’s parents but soon he began to feel uncomfortable just living off the elderly couple and offered to work the small abandoned field located near the village headman’s home.
ChangMin had assured JunSu that his memory will return it was just a matter of time and before he knew it a year had gone by and he was still suffering from amnesia. He couldn’t understand or figure out his obsession with the bright fiery color or why he planted red roses and strawberries. But things had gone well and after that first bountiful harvest he went on planting the same thing the following year.
But just two weeks ago things started to change, when he fell off his bicycle on his way back from the market and suffered a mild concussion. He kept having flashbacks of what he presumed his life before the motorbike accident. It was often accompanied by painful headaches that just happened seconds ago and as always he saw himself as a salary man and more than once in the company of a pale dark haired handsome man with laughing eyes and a warm smile. He had been eager to find out more about himself but now he was confused. Who was this man? Were they close or were they related or someone important in his life, if so why didn’t he look for him?
JunSu sighed and slowly got to his feet. He gently massaged his throbbing temples and decided to call it a day, his roses would just have to wait. After carefully making sure that the heater was on in the green house made his way to the small house that had been his home for the past year.
Seoul
Early the next morning saw YooChun already busy at the flower shop. After a long sleepless night he had come to the conclusion Jae Joong was right and about a lot of things, and he should stop moping about. He still loves JunSu and would still wait for him but in the mean time life goes on as usual. One of the first things on his list of things to do was to get a haircut it certainly wouldn’t do should JunSu return to see him in such a mess it might even make him go away again.
After which he started tidying up the shop and was in the middle of arranging a bouquet of flowers, giving Jae Joong who came late as he had overslept a pleasant surprise. Jae Joong inwardly wondered what had caused the overnight change in YooChun. He regretted his outburst last night and for the sake of tranquility whatever questions he had he kept it to himself.
“No roses?” Jae Joong commented on the array of flowers YooChun was occupied with.
“No, I guess not everyone love that favorite flower of mine,” YooChun replied with a small laugh. He had always loved roses, especially the velvety deep red ones ever since he was a child.
“Listen…I’m off to get something to eat at the Frog’s Pond,” Jae Joong said as he slipped on his coat again. Frog’s Pond was one of their favorite places to eat as it was cheap and close by. Having missed breakfast he was feeling rather hungry. “Could I get you something?”
“Hmm…” YooChun chewed his lower lip thoughtfully as he added a stalk of Calla Lily to his arrangement. “A chicken salad and some juice please, oh hang on a second, he left this for you,” YooChun said with a smile as he reached for something in one of the drawers behind him.
“He?” Jae Joong eyebrows shot up as he took the thick glossy magazine from YooChun.
“Yes, he,” YooChun chuckled softly. He was no other then, L the owner of a boutique on the next street who was not only a loyal customer but he also had a crush on Jae Joong. He often stop by to buy flowers and sometimes just to chat with Jae Joong who treated the latter like he did all his customers, politely, with respect and the right amount of friendliness much to the dismay of L. This magazine was probably one of his many ploys to get Jae Joong to return his feelings.
Jae Joong said nothing as he leafed through the travel magazine before tossing the magazine back to YooChun. “I’ll be back.”
YooChun nodded and waved at Jae Joong’s back. Putting the magazine aside he quickly finished the bouquet and forgot all about the magazine until later that day. He was alone as Jae Joong gone out to meet some suppliers and due to the rain business was rather slow and he had some time on his hands. He sipped some hot tea and flipped through the travel magazine, noting that there was a special feature on the marvels and wonders of G-do province
“Does L intend on taking hyeong for a romantic hiking trip?” YooChun wondered aloud and almost choked on his tea a minute later when he saw a feature on farmers and the flowers that they grow in the region.
There was a picture of a small group of farmers standing next to a small red house. YooChun frowned as one man, who looked very familiar and stood out from the rest. He looked younger than the others and wasn’t smiling. He didn’t wear a hat either but had a head scarf on. Since the caption merely mentioned that they were farmers from a village called Bonghwa-gun YooChun read the article to find out more.
“Kim JunSu?” YooChun felt his knees go weak and the magazine fell from his hands with a thud to the floor. The article mentioned several farmers and the youngest of them was a Kim JunSu who planted roses and strawberries
“How… how is it possible that JunSu is living in that village? But what is he doing there?” YooChun asked the four walls as tears rolled down his face. Just when he decided to pick up the pieces of his miserable life this had to happen. YooChun bent to retrieve the magazine from the floor and reread the short article several times until he memorized every word.
“Is that really you, JunSu? Are you there?” YooChun softly asked the picture as he outlined the picture with his index finger. A hundred thoughts and possibilities raced through his mind as he paced the flower shop. It didn’t take YooChun long to make up his mind. He was going to this Bonghwa-gun to find out if this Kim JunSu was indeed his JunSu and to get to the bottom of this mystery. He quickly locked up the shop but not before leaving a hastily scribbled note to Jae Joong briefly telling him that he had to go somewhere and would see him next week.
~..~..~..~
Bonghwa-gun.
JunSu was rather glad to see ChangMin the next morning for one thing he came bearing a large basket of food courtesy of his mother.
“This is a lot of food, please convey my thanks to her. I’ll send her my best strawberries later,” JunSu promised as he hungrily eyed the delicious dishes.
“You look tired JunSu, is your head bothering you?” The handsome young doctor quietly asked. He had been worried about JunSu’s concussion and even more so when his former patient hadn’t bother to come for any check-ups after that.
JunSu ignored the question. He had a rather restless night and when he did eventually fall asleep, only to have it filled with a disturbing dream of the unknown man that kept appearing in his head. He had woken up screaming the name, Park YooChun. JunSu had decided that it must be that man’s name.
He glanced at ChangMin who was looking at him with concern eyes and asked a question he already knew the answer to.“Are you here for the weekend then?”
“Yes I am.” ChangMin kept his gaze on JunSu who was now staring out of the cottage window that over looked the two polytunnel where he grew his precious roses and strawberries.
“I’m fine, it doesn’t hurt so much now,” JunSu lied easily. He didn’t want his friend to worry but he was also afraid that if the headaches go away so will the flashbacks. He needed to find out about himself.
“Yeah?” ChangMin sounded doubtful. The journey to the nearest hospital which was in the next town was a 40 minute journey by bus. ChangMin knew that JunSu wouldn’t waste half a day when he had his hands full. ChangMin sighed inwardly and wished that he could be nearer to JunSu but the hospital where he worked was miles away.
“Let me ask you something, when will I remember everything about myself?” JunSu finally said after a few seconds of silence. He cocked his head to one side as he waited for ChangMin to reply.
ChangMin took his time to answer and when he did he said, “In some cases patients recover their memories when they are in familiar surroundings or when they see someone know or rather know them.”
“Is that so?” JunSu grimly said. That wouldn’t be a problem if he could just find this man called Park YooChun.
end of Chapter 1
chapter 2