Remember: Step by Step (Chapter 1)
Kim Junsu rung the door-bell and waited for the response. The door opened.
“Hi, can I help you?” the taller man inquired politely.
“I’m looking for Jaejoong. You must be Yunho,” Junsu smiled.
Yunho smiled in return. “Yes, I am. You must be Junsu. Jaejoong told me you would be arriving today. He’s out picking up some grocery right now. Come in.”
Junsu nodded and walked in. Immediately he knew that his cousin had designed this warm, yet elegant house.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Yunho invited.
“Water is fine, thank you.”
Yunho retrieved the water and the two settled in the living room. “You are here on vacation?”
“Yes, I needed some time to relax and think.”
Yunho nodded, “You’re welcome to stay with us.”
“I’ve already rented a place. I didn’t want to bother you and Jaejoong.”
“It’s no bother. Do come over for a meal whenever you want. Jaejoong loves to invite people over to try out his new dishes,” Yunho explained. Junsu could see the pride in Yunho’s eyes as he spoke about Jaejoong.
Junsu was disgusted by the pride. Jaejoong could have been the star of Asia and yet he was stuck in this small town cooking? What was there to be proud of?
Just then, a melody graced their ears. Junsu listened tentatively. Following the beautiful melody was a soft, deep voice.
“Itsuka wa kitto, ashita wa motto, ima wa step by step. Nantonaku kimi wo miteruto, mainichi ga tanoshikute…” the voice sang.
Junsu unconsciously stood up from the chair and walked towards the window on the right side of the house. The town was small and homes were built with little space in between. The construction was never a problem because everyone who lived here were peaceful, quiet people and easily made friends with their neighbors.
Junsu stood at the window and looked over to the house next to Yunho and Jaejoong’s home. The window on the other house was covered halfway by curtains, but the other half, uncovered, revealed a man sitting behind a piano and singing his heart out.
Junsu stood there listening and admiring as the man continued to sing, oblivious to his surroundings. Yunho walked over to stand next to Junsu.
Junsu noticed the presence and had to ask, “Who is he?”
“That’s Yoochun. He’s my best friend,” Yunho explained.
“His voice is amazing and his talent with the piano…”
Junsu was too mesmerized to notice the sad smile on Yunho’s lips. “Yes, he is very talented. He has a passion for writing songs and has probably written over a thousand songs. His worse one, if there is one, is probably the one he wrote when he was ten.”
“He began writing at ten?” Junsu finally turned his eyes towards Yunho.
“Yes,” Yunho nodded.
“What is his name again?”
“Yoochun.”
“His whole name?”
“Park Yoochun.”
“‘Park Yoochun’? How is it possible that I’ve never heard of his name before when my family owns one of the biggest companies in the entertainment industry?”
“It isn’t too much of a shock. Yoochun has written many songs, but he has never entered any competitions. He’s written many songs, but he’d probably only revealed twenty of them to the towns’ people when he sang at gatherings. I’m probably the only one who has heard more than twenty, but not quite fifty of his many songs.”
“Why? Why bury such talent?” Junsu had to know.
Yunho looked down sadly. “Yoochun…was in an accident many years ago. The accident killed his parents and he survived…but it severely damaged his brain.”
“What happened?”
“No one knows. Doctors can’t even diagnose it as selective memory problems. He remembers everything that happened before the accident, where he lives, his name, his school, his friends and neighbors…” Yunho bit on his lower lips, as if every single time he talked about this, a part of him would die.
“But?” Junsu realized it was hard for Yunho, but he pleaded for more words.
“Ever since the accident, he would wake up every morning, only able to remember small percentages of the previous day or he’d remember nothing at all. For months after the accident, he would jump out of bed, expecting to walk into the living room to find his Umma cooking breakfast and his Appa reading the newspaper. But he entered the living room to find me, and not his parents. I had to move in with him to take care of him. It pained me every time I had to explain the accident to him.”
“You continued with that routine for months?”
“Two months,” Yunho replied. “It took him two months to be table to retain the part of his day when he would walk into the living room to see me standing there. So after those two months, he no longer jumped out of bed and expected to find his parents in the house. He knew that he would see me in the living room. Unfortunately, his mind could not retain the part about WHY I was in that living room.”
“To tell him about the accident and his parents…” Junsu murmured in understanding. “But…you’re living here and he’s living on his own?”
“A year later, he’d been able to retain some more information and he felt that he was a burden to me. He pushed me to move out and we finally settled on him allowing me to move next door.”
“Do you still need to explain to him about his parents?”
“No, but it took him two years to retain the information about the accident and his parents’ death.”
“How would he know without you telling him?”
“He saw how hard and painful it was for me to tell him so…so he demanded for the newspaper articles about the accident and he taped them right next to his bed so he would wake up to it every morning,” Yunho paused. “He didn’t want to be a bother to me…so he read the articles every morning for two long years as if it was something NEW to him and cried silently in his own bed. Eventually, it took shorter times for him to accept the truth because he would see how far apart the dates on the articles were from the current date on the electronic calendar I got him.”
“How old was he when the accident happened?”
“Too young,” Yunho murmured with a sad sigh.
Junsu opened his mouth, wanting to ask more. But Jaejoong walked into the house.
“Jaejoong,” Yunho greeted his spouse immediately with a grin. It was as if Jaejoong’s presence could balance out the pain he felt towards his best friend.
Junsu watched the short, intimate gesture between the two. He looked over at the other house and saw that the man was no longer singing. He was scribbling on a paper on top of the piano. Reluctantly, Junsu pulled his eyes away and walked over to Jaejoong.
“Hey, you look good!” Junsu smiled as he exchanged a hug with Jaejoong.
“You look tired,” Jaejoong said bluntly.
“You two talk. I’ll take these into the kitchen and wash the vegetables,” Yunho grinned.
“Thank you,” Jaejoong reacted and gave him a loving smile before settling with Junsu on the couch. “So what have you been up to?”
“Wishing you’d come back,” Junsu said in a frank manner. He meant his words, but Jaejoong took it as a joke.
“You never give up, do you?” Jaejoong chuckled.
“Guess not, and I assume Yunho doesn’t know that.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you had ever told him that my Appa was the one who agreed to let you leave the company while I protested immensely then Yunho probably wouldn’t have been so kind to me…or even let me enter this house.”
“I prefer to call this a ‘home’ rather than a ‘house’,” Jaejoong replied.
“Is there a difference?”
“This place is a ‘home’ because it’s where Yunho is. A house can be found anywhere, but a ‘home’ is rare.”
“What are you trying to say?” Junsu sighed.
“That I don’t regret my decision to end my life as ‘Hero’.”
“But I do.”
“Your father already made the decision to let me go.”
“If only I’d taken over the company at that time…” Junsu frowned.
“The results would have been the same. I would have left no matter what.”
“You were under contract. Did you think we wouldn’t sue you because you’re family?”
“No, I did not expect that. But even if you were to sue me, I would have accepted it. For Yunho, it’s worth it.”
“He’s worth billions of dollars, a place in history, the title ‘Star of Asia’?”
“Yes,” Jaejoong smiled. Junsu frowned, unable to understand. “Junsu, you’ll understand one day when you find the person that you are able to love unconditionally.”
Junsu scoffed. “Then I hope I never find that person.”
========
Junsu walked through the streets and every single person greeted him with a smile. He did not smile in return and immediately the people knew that he was not a native of the town. Still, they remained polite and friendly.
Junsu ignored them. It was too early in the morning to be friendly. He made his way to Park Yoochun’s house.
Junsu took note that Yunho and Jaejoong were not home-he had asked them about their work schedule over dinner last night-before visiting their talented neighbor.
If he couldn’t get ‘Hero’ back for his company, then he’d find someone else to promote, to become a legacy.
He got a few suspicious glances from the elderly people in the neighborhood who were just sitting and conversing on their porch. Junsu ignored those as well and rung the door-bell.
The door opened to reveal a man who was slightly taller than Junsu. Now that he got a better look at Park Yoochun, Junsu concluded that he would be the perfect idol, even if in appearance only.
“Can I help you?”
“Hi, my name is Junsu. I am Jaejoong’s cousin,” Junsu pointed to the empty Jung house. “Unfortunately, they are not home right now. Yunho told me that you are his good friend. Do you mind if I wait for them at your house?”
Junsu pretended to not notice Yoochun’s troubled expression.
“Jaejoong is…Yunho’s spouse?” Yoochun finally spoke. It was more of a question than statement.
“Yes, I am Yunho’s spouse’s cousin,” Junsu replied.
“Oh, okay, sure, you can wait for them in here,” Yoochun opened the door wide for Junsu to walk in. Junsu made a note of how gullible the guy was to allow a stranger into his home without much verification.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Yoochun inquired.
Junsu automatically walked over to the piano with a mesmerized expression. “I don’t mean to be rude, but this piano is very beautiful. May I?”
Yoochun smiled, “It’s an old piano. If you don’t mind…then be my guest.”
Junsu grinned. “Thank you.”
He seated himself behind the piano and laid his fingers on the keys. They elegantly played the soft tune of ‘A Whole New World.’
Yoochun stood next to the piano, listening patiently with his eyes closed and a smile on his lips. When the song ended, he opened his eyes to see Junsu looking up at him.
“How did I do?” Junsu smiled.
“Amazing…although I may not be the best to judge,” Yoochun replied.
“I’m sure you’re more worthy if you own such a piano. It’s solid wood with a pass on particleboard and is able to sustain a nice tone.”
“Yes, it is an amazing instrument.”
“Do you play often?” Junsu asked.
Yoochun looked like he needed to think about the answer. “Yes, I believe so.”
“Do you compose?”
Yoochun glanced over to the stack of paper on the corner of the piano chair next to Junsu. “A little bit.”
Junsu followed Yoochun’s glance. “May I?”
“Sure,” Yoochun spoke, but his voice was uncertain.
Junsu gave him a warm, friendly smile as he picked up the stack of music. He looked through a few and picked one out. He placed the music sheet in front of him and laid his fingers on the piano keys.
He began to play.
His took a quick glance at Yoochun to see the man closing his eyes, to absorb the best of the tune. Then his lips began to move as if he were singing without sound.
“Sing,” Junsu whispered.
Yoochun opened his eyes to look confusingly at Junsu. Junsu stopped playing for a moment to give him an assuring smile. “Your lips are moving. If you want to sing, then sing.”
The smile seemed to have been more encouraging than Junsu expected. He returned his eyes to the music sheet and began to play, more swiftly this time.
Yoochun closed his eyes and allowed the melody to wash over him. His lips moved and he began to sing, “Itsuka wa kitto, ashita wa motto, ima wa step by step. Nantonaku kimi wo miteruto, mainichi ga tanoshikute, boku made mo onaji negaiwo…”
[Lyrics: Someday definitely, tomorrow is more, now take it Step by Step. For some reason when I look at you, every day is enjoyable…]
Yoochun stopped singing. Junsu stopped playing to look at him. “Why did you stop?”
“That’s all the lyrics I can remember,” Yoochun replied truthfully with a sheepish expression.
Junsu felt like he was a child who needed to be comforted. “That’s okay. You sang beautifully.”
Yoochun grinned happily. “Really?”
Junsu was shocked by the big reaction to a compliment that he probably received all the time. But then…maybe he didn’t remember those compliments.
“Yes and your songs are very well written.”
“I have a lot of time on my hands,” Yoochun said.
“Yes, this community seems to be proud of the leisure time everyone has.”
“Where are you from?” Yoochun asked.
“I’m from the big city. I’m just here to visit Jaejoong and take a break from work.”
“Are you enjoying your visit?”
“Very much, especially after meeting you.”
Junsu thought he saw a light blush on Yoochun’s cheeks. “Thank you, it’s very nice to meet you as well,” the standing man replied.
Junsu tilted his head slightly and smiled suavely, “May I ask for a favor?”
Yoochun had to think about that request. He slowly answered, “If I can, then I would help you, but I’m not the best person to ask.”
“No, you are the best person to ask,” Junsu assured. “I will be getting married soon and I would like to write a song for my bride. Do you think you can help me?”
Junsu saw an expression that he could not read in Yoochun’s eyes. “But…you are so talented yourself. You do not need my help.”
“No, I can play the piano, but I lack much talent in the area of composing and writing lyrics. Please? This would mean a lot to me,” Junsu pleaded with his eyes. It was not possible to resist those eyes.
“I…could help, but can you promise to not give me any credit for it?”
“Why not?” Junsu questioned.
Yoochun looked down at his hands uncomfortably. “It’s for a personal reason. I won’t be able to help you unless you promise me this.”
Junsu knew better than to push forward. This wouldn’t be the best time to suggest that Yoochun sing the song for Junsu to record as well.
“Very well, if that’s what you wish.”
Yoochun smiled, “Thank you! How about we get started now?”
“Right now?”
“I’d like to get it finished by tonight…if you don’t mind,” Yoochun said. He did not say anymore, but Junsu concluded that it was because he wanted to finish the song before he would forget about it the next day.
“That would be really nice,” Junsu grinned, sliding to the other end of the chair to make room for Yoochun. Yoochun slowly sat down next to Junsu.
“You seem to really like this one; do you want to use this?”
“Really? You don’t mind?” Junsu grinned.
“No, I only have two verses anyway so you could help me finish.”
“What did you intend for this song to be about?”
“Somewhere along the lines of two people-they could be friends or lovers-walking through the unsteady road of life and supporting each other throughout the whole journey; taking it step by step, day after day, and simply enjoying the present.”
“That’s beautiful,” Junsu complimented.
He noticed the light tinge of pink on Yoochun’s cheeks again as he murmured, “Thank you.”
========
“Good-night! Sleep well!”
Yoochun watched Junsu walk away from his home, turning back to wave and smile, and then disappearing into the night.
Early this morning, Yoochun had gotten out of bed and went through his morning routine. He’d seen the newspaper articles taped next to his bed, but he had only taken a quick glance at it.
In the past years, he had been able to retain the information of the accident, his parents’ death, as well as his disability…after the thousands of daily reminders. There was no longer a reason to cry.
He’d walked into the kitchen for breakfast and saw two plates set out on his table. He picked up the note next to the plates and saw the note: ‘I just came up with a new recipe! Yunho loved it! Hope you do too! From: Jaejoong.’
Yoochun stood there for a moment, trying to remember who this ‘Jaejoong’ was. Yunho was his childhood best friend, he knew that. But who was ‘Jaejoong’?
Well, this ‘Jaejoong’ had brought Yoochun breakfast and mentioned Yunho. That must mean this person was a friend.
With a grin, Yoochun finished both plates of breakfast. Following breakfast, he continued with the routine of settling behind the piano for a couple of hours.
He’d picked up the first sheet on the stack of paper on top of the piano. He did not remember writing this song, but on the first time reading through it, he found it quite easy to memorize.
Yoochun had just laid his fingers on the shiny white keys to begin to play when the door-bell interrupted the first note.
Yoochun opened the door to see Junsu.
Yoochun had always been a gullible trusting person. He trusted everyone in town because it was a small community where everyone knew everyone. Everyone in the community knew his parents and they knew about Yoochun’s disability. They’d always been kind to him and were always willing to help.
Yoochun never met a person who he could not trust. If he did…he did not remember.
So when Junsu had claimed to be ‘Jaejoong’s’ cousin and pointed to Yunho’s house, Yoochun concluded that Yunho and this ‘Jaejoong’ lived together. So they must be pretty close. He put two and two together and decided that he could trust Junsu.
Besides, something about Junsu made Yoochun WANT to trust him.
Even more, when Junsu had automatically greeted the piano with bright eyes and played the tune of ‘A Whole New World’ with such grace, Yoochun liked the guy even more. He felt like this was someone he could connect with, even if only through their love for music.
Then Junsu had requested his help…to write a song for his future bride. For some reason, the idea of Junsu and his bride bothered Yoochun. He didn’t know why, but he knew it bothered him.
Still, Yoochun agreed to help. He even offered his latest piece. He had requested for Junsu to stay so they could finish the song today. Yes, because Yoochun feared that he would not remember this favor tomorrow.
It was midnight now; the song completed and had left the house with Junsu.
Yoochun did not care much for the song. He was too used to forgetting to care if he would remember.
But this time, he cared. He closed the door, turned off the lights in the living room and ran to his room. He pulled out his sketch pad and a notebook from inside a drawer.
Should he write about today’s event first or draw the picture of Junsu first?
Yoochun suppressed a yawn and glanced at the clock. He was not used to staying up so late.
He decided on the sketch first, then he would write in the notebook that he had neglected for such a long time already. He told himself that he would not sleep until he was finished jotting down information about this person that he wanted so badly to remember.
Yoochun began to sketch a face on the paper. Half an hour later, he was finishing up drawing the earring when he yawned for the tenth time. He was getting too tired.
His eyes began to close and the pencil slipped out of his hand. The side of his head rested on the desk next to the drawing and he immediately drifted into sleep, forgetting about the notebook.
========
Yoochun felt the ache in his neck and pushed his head off of the desk. He blinked a couple of times before realizing that he had fallen asleep on the desk.
Why? What was he doing?
Yoochun glanced down and saw the sketch pad in front of him and the notebook that was to the side. His eyes returned to the sketch of a man…a beautiful man.
But who was this beautiful man?
After twenty minutes of trying to remember the man in the sketch, Yoochun gave up. He’d even looked in the notebook to see if he’d written anything about the man. The notebook was blank.
Sighing, he left the seat to go through his morning routine. Along the way, he caught a glance of the newspaper articles and for some reason, today, he reread every word of the paragraphs about the consequences of the accident. It described his condition, how he was not able to retain much, if any, of his memory.
Yoochun read it a third time, as if looking for a loophole. But on each of the three times he read, the sentence about the many doctors’ inability to diagnose his problem would crush his hope.
He looked at the date on the article, then the electronic calendar on his wall. It’s already been so long…why should he be upset about it now?
Brushing the thought away, he walked out of the room, only taking a second to glance at the sketch lying on the desk.
Yoochun walked out of the house. He saw his neighbors sitting on their own porches or on each other’s porches on this Saturday morning.
“Good morning, Yoochun!” his neighbor from across the street waved.
Yoochun smiled and walked over to his neighbor’s porch. Three other people were sitting with him in the conversation.
“Good morning,” Yoochun greeted with a polite bow. The four people smiled in return and waited patiently for Yoochun to recognize their faces. “Uncle Choi, Uncle Bae, Auntie Choi, Auntie Bae.”
They all smiled wider, proud of him. Yoochun didn’t feel that it was something to be proud of.
The article had said that he was not able to remember anything before the accident. He was seventeen at the time. These people, sitting in front of him, were people that he had known BEFORE the accident so it was not hard for him to remember.
It just saddened him that these people looked older than how he remembered them from ten years ago.
“I’m boiling some water for tea and I made some rice cakes. Would you like to join us?” Auntie Bae invited.
“Oh, no, thank you. My refrigerator is a bit lacking so I need to go pick up some grocery,” Yoochun said.
“Did you and that friend of yours clear out your refrigerator last night?” Auntie Choi questioned curiously.
“My friend?” Yoochun tilted his head slightly.
“That young man that you invited into your house yesterday morning. I was up until ten last night and I still did not see him or you leave the house all day,” Auntie Choi explained.
Yoochun wondered if she was talking about the man in the sketch. “I suppose so…”
“You don’t remember anything from yesterday?” Uncle Bae spoke in a concerned tone, like a father to a son.
Yoochun smiled to ease their concern. These were people who treated him like their own son and he was thankful for that.
“I’m afraid not, but that’s okay. I should get going. Enjoy your tea and rice cakes,” Yoochun bowed to each of them before leaving. They four elderly neighbors waved ‘Good-bye’.
Yoochun decided against driving and walked his way to the grocery shop. Along the way, many people waved and smiled at him. Most of them he knew because they were people he had grown up with.
Of course, every so often he would encounter someone who he could not recognize…simply because ten years ago-before the accident-the person was only a child or maybe an infant.
Yoochun wondered if his own appearances had changed that much in the ten years that he could not remember.
“Yoochun!”
He turned his head towards the voice. Was it the ‘friend’ that Auntie Choi was talking about?
Yoochun saw another young man walking towards him. He was tall, tan, and looked very familiar. He wasn’t the man in the sketch.
“Changmin?” Yoochun gasped.
Changmin was used to the shocked reaction from Yoochun. It’d been the same expression for the past several years.
“It’s been ten years,” Changmin reminded.
“I know, but the last time I saw you, you were shorter than me,” Yoochun said.
“That’s me from ten years ago. But now I’m taller than you so you better be careful.”
Yoochun laughed. “I’ll try to remember that.”
Changmin smiled. Yoochun was such a laid back person. He may not remember much, but as days flew by, change could be seen in his personality. He’d even been able to joke about his memory!
“So where are you going?”
“Picking up some food.”
“That’s my favorite pass time! I’ll come with you!”
“It’s been ten years, but you’re still the big eater that I remember, right?” Yoochun chuckled.
“Some things never change,” Changmin grinned as they walked towards the grocery. “So what do you remember from yesterday?”
“I don’t recall anything from yesterday. I’ve stopped expecting to see Yunho in my kitchen so I guess my memory has advanced to about a year after the accident.”
“That’s good.”
“It took ten years to retain one year’s memory…and only a little bit of it too,” Yoochun pointed out. He sighed lightly before dropping the topic. “So remind me about what you’ve been up to in these ten years.”
“I’m your doctor and still single. Do you think I’ll ever find a girl?”
“If you’re still like the person you were ten years ago then I don’t think so,” Yoochun replied. “How in the world did you end up being my doctor?”
“Years of schooling,” Changmin retorted.
“Answer the question,” Yoochun ordered.
“After Yunho brought you back from America, my Dad became your doctor. I went out of state to study, got my PhD and came back to help him. A couple years later, he retired and passed all of his patients on to me.”
“Have you purposely fed me any bad drugs in the past?” Yoochun joked.
“You shouldn’t be surprised if I did. You bullied me all the time in high school!”
“Yunho was the leader.”
“And I’m glad he has Jaejoong to bully him now.”
“Jaejoong?” Yoochun inquired.
“The love of Yunho’s life, the guy living with him right now,” Changmin explained.
“Oh, okay, thanks,” Yoochun said. “Are they happy together?”
“Too happy. It gives me Goosebumps to see them together and makes me jealous at the same time,” Changmin replied.
Yoochun laughed. “Maybe if you prioritized people before food, you may find someone.”
“I don’t ask for much! I only ask for a girl who can cook and will never ask me to go on a diet!” Changmin exclaimed. “What about you, what do you ask for?”
Yoochun’s smile slightly faded and Changmin knew he had said something wrong. He mentally smacked himself.
“If I ever find someone that I truly love…the only thing I’d ask for is that the person will not love me in return.”
========
Around lunch time, Yunho and Jaejoong came over with a basket of food. The three ate and talked.
Jaejoong knew Yoochun did not recognize him, but acted naturally as a friend. They got along very well and Yoochun concluded that he really liked Jaejoong. Even more, he liked how happy Yunho was when Jaejoong was around. Yunho was no longer the teenage boy who acted manly for his pride, but a pouting child who performed cute gestures to gain attention from the love of his life.
The couple left after lunch. They invited Yoochun to the movies with them, but Yoochun declined, not wanting to be a ‘light-bulb’ between them.
Yoochun had been sitting behind the piano for hours, but he could not write anything. He played some tunes, but was unable to concentrate. His mind kept drifting back to the sketch that was still sitting in his room.
If the man was a ‘friend’ like Auntie Choi had said…then why hadn’t he returned to visit Yoochun today?
Just then, the door-bell rang.
Yoochun opened the door to see the man in the sketch smiling at him. “Good evening!” his voice rung in Yoochun’s ear.
Yoochun did not know him, but for some reason, he felt happy. As a matter of fact, his hand unconsciously went to touch his hair, wondering if it was messy.
He felt like a shy school boy with a crush on a fellow classmate!
“Hi,” Yoochun smiled uncomfortably, unsure of what else to do.
“Do you…remember me?” the man asked.
For some reason, Yoochun did not want him to know about the disability. After ten years, he should have accepted it and he shouldn’t be caring how others view him.
But at this moment, he felt the need to care. He didn’t want this man to see him as someone with a disability.
“Yes, of course,” Yoochun lied. He was too fidgety to notice the amused look on the other man’s face. “Uh…come in.”
As the man walked in and Yoochun slowly closed the door behind him, he pressured himself to remember a name to go with the beautiful face. Nothing came to mind.
“Today has been a horrible day. I decided to take a drive and a cop caught me for speeding. He wrote me a ticket, but I guess he was blind or something because he spelt my name wrong even when he had my ID right in front of him,” the man began to say.
An idea came to Yoochun’s mind. “How did he spell it?”
“The correct way to spell it is X-i-a-h. He spelt it S-h-i-a-h!”
“‘Xiah’?” Yoochun inquired.
“Yes, I know, they’re both pronounced the same way, but it’s still quite stupid of him. I wonder if the ticket would still be in effect,” the man continued to speak. Yoochun repeated the name over and over again in his mind so that he would remember it.
“Can I get you something to drink, Xiah?”
“Water would be fine,” he replied.
Junsu sat on the couch and watched as Yoochun walked into the kitchen. A small smile touched his lips.
Good, Yoochun did not remember him; otherwise he would remember that Junsu had told him ‘Junsu’ instead of ‘Xiah’ yesterday.
Junsu did wonder why Yoochun was obviously PRETENDING to recognize him, but that was not the matter at hand right now. He had a more important task to accomplish today.
“Here you go,” Yoochun returned with the water.
“Thank you,” Junsu smiled. “So are you ready?”
Yoochun sat down and blinked in confusion. “Ready for what?”
Chapter 2