hc_bingo fic: amnesia
Title: Unforgettable
Fandom: DBSK
Pairing: YunJae
Prompt: Amnesia
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2111
Summary: After a car accident, is Yunho’s loss really a loss or someone else’s gain?
AN: Written, as the subject and tag say, for hc_bingo. Masterpost with game card is here.
He was late for his 100-day anniversary dinner. He’d tried to call her, but his phone had died because he’d forgotten to charge it yesterday. He’d been almost there when he realized he’d forgotten his wallet in his car. He turned around to go back for it. Somehow, he had the vague feeling that they weren’t going to make it much farther than 100 days.
He also forgot to make sure the light was green for him to cross the street. He never saw the car that hit him.
~~
He woke up in a bed. That was good. He didn’t recognize the bed, though. That was... less good. He sat up slowly, head pounding. He didn’t recognize the walls, floor, windows, or any of the decor, either, so at least he was consistent? That was good, right?
He also didn’t recognize the person who’d frozen in shock as seeing him sitting up. He was on a roll.
“Oh. Oh, you’re awake. Thank God!” The man, at least he was pretty sure it was a man, rushed toward him. “I was so worried. They told me I shouldn’t stay, but I couldn’t help it. How are you feeling? They said they didn’t think much was wrong, just some bruises and a bit of head trauma, but then you didn’t wake up, and-”
His head did hurt now, but he didn’t think it was just head trauma. “Sorry. I’m sorry. Who are you?”
Obviously that wasn’t an entirely unexpected question because the man didn’t break stride. “Right. Sorry. Should probably introduce yourself when you run someone over. I’m Jaejoong. Kim Jaejoong.”
He started to nod. Started to introduce himself. But then he remembered he couldn’t. “I... And who am I?”
Obviously, that was a good deal more unexpected. The man looked stricken, like he wasn’t sure if he should say something or run away. “You... don’t know?”
Was he supposed to? Well, yes, he guessed he was supposed to. Most people did. “Not off hand.”
The man, Jaejoong, dragged a chair closer. “You don’t? Really? They never said you might have amnesia. You... you didn’t have any ID on you, and your phone...” Jaejoong frowned, shyly, and somehow he thought it was absurdly cute, given the circumstances. He also thought he should be freaking out a good deal more than he was. He decided that must come later. Now, he must be in denial, or shock, or something like that. Maybe he was a doctor, to know all those fancy terms. “Your phone, I... um... sort of ran it over. They’re seeing if they can get any information off the memory, but it doesn’t look very good. We were hoping... but you can’t...”
That did complicate things, didn’t it? In fact, he thought he might have a bit of a panic attack coming on.
The nurse rushed in, ordering Jaejoong out the door, before everything went black.
~
When he came to, the nurse was still there, so he couldn’t have been out too long. She checked his vital signs, then very calmly informed him of his injuries in more detail than Jaejoong had, adding that really he was very lucky to be as uninjured as he was.
He wasn’t sure how amnesia was lucky, but he supposed he wasn’t dead, so that was a plus.
He thanked the nurse sincerely, asking when he would be released. She looked at him for a moment before gently telling him that he could go as soon as he had someone whose custody he could be released into. They couldn’t very well just let someone with no past go wandering the streets, could they?
Which was how, two days later, he ended up in Jaejoong’s penthouse. He wouldn’t have guessed Jaejoong had a penthouse from the way he acted, and in fact, Jaejoong himself said he only had the penthouse because his parents insisted he have a penthouse. He’d always wanted an artsy loft of some sort, but those didn’t cost nearly enough money.
Jaejoong was a songwriter. He’d lied to his parents and said he was going to business school when he was really studying as a music major. He was lucky enough to get picked up by a major label who loved his songs. His parents weren’t happy, but he could afford a penthouse, so they let it go.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about knowing more about Jaejoong than he did about himself.
They’d stopped at some generic department store on their way from the hospital, just to give him something to change into that wasn’t the clothes he’d been wearing the day of the accident. They also picked him up some basic toiletries and things people who had lives never thought about doing without. Although he supposed he did have a life, somewhere. He wondered if it was waiting for him. Did he have parents? Maybe siblings, or a wife and children? Was he alone? Maybe this accident was the best thing that ever happened to him. He didn’t know.
“Hey-” Jaejoong stopped dead in the doorway of the spare bedroom, blinking, suddenly sheepish. “We need to figure out a name for you. I can’t just keep saying ‘hey, you.’ I feel like I’m calling a dog.”
A name. He’d never ever thought of that. He obviously couldn’t remember his own. “I... don’t know. What’s a good name?”
Jaejoong didn’t know, either. Eventually, they pulled Jaejoong’s computer out and started going through lists of baby names online. For some reason, the name ‘Yunho’ jumped out at him. Whether that was his name or a friend’s name or just a name he really liked, he didn’t know, but they decided to go with it.
~
The next weeks passed in a blur. The newly christened ‘Yunho’ spent much of his time remembering things he didn’t know he needed to remember, like speaking just enough Japanese to embarrass himself in front of Jaejoong, who was apparently fluent. He said it was because there was such a huge market for Japanese pop songs that he’d learned just to be competitive in more than one market.
The rest of his time, though, he spent just sitting around Jaejoong’s apartment, listening. Jaejoong had his studio, having converted one of the extra extra bedrooms (there were four or five of them and even Jaejoong didn’t know what you were supposed to do with all that space) into a recording booth and another into a studio for composing. It was intimidating, all those keyboards and mixers and recording devices and computers. Yunho tended to just stay out in the living room with a cup of tea. He could still hear Jaejoong just fine.
He asked, once, how it was that Jaejoong only wrote the songs and never sang them himself. He certainly had the talent and looks for it. Jaejoong had just gotten very quiet, and for a long while Yunho didn’t think he would answer at all. He didn’t have the heart for it, Jaejoong had finally said, and left it at that.
~
“If you don’t hurry up, we’ll be late for our reservation and Changmin will kill me!”
Yunho was as healthy as anyone with brain trauma could possibly be, and Jaejoong had declared the day before that it was time for him to start living ‘a’ life again, if not specifically ‘his’ life. To that end, they had dinner reservations at Jaejoong’s favorite restaurant and were meeting Jaejoong’s best friend and former lover there to celebrate Yunho’s entry into a new, sort of, life.
When he’d asked if Yunho minded that he had boyfriends instead of girlfriends, Yunho had shrugged. Was he supposed to mind? He must have forgotten that, too.
The phone rang, cutting off Jaejoong’s tirade against Yunho’s inability to dress himself, a fact which Yunho could not have been more grateful for. At least, until Jaejoong’s face fell. “You... you what?” He shook his head blankly. “Wait, wait, that.. but... Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker. He’s right here.”
Jaejoong pressed a button and held the phone out between them, asking the caller to repeat what they’d just told him.
“We’ve found Jung-sshi’s family. They were overjoyed to learn he was okay, if not completely healthy.”
Yunho glanced down at the phone, brow furrowing. “What?”
Jaejoong’s hand trembled slightly under the phone. “Jung Yunho. That’s you, I guess.”
Yunho, and he really was ‘Yunho’ now he supposed, noticed but wasn’t sure it was his place to comment. “That’s good. Right? I can get out of your hair.”
Jaejoong hesitated, then nodded, turning the phone back off of speaker and turning away to continue the conversation. When should he drop Yunho off and where, goodbye and thank you. It was over practically as quickly as it started. Then he smiled at Yunho again. “Guess you’re luckier than you look.”
Yunho nodded, but he wondered why it felt like that wasn’t true.
~
Two months later, and Yunho could remember about one out of every ten things his mother thought was absolutely vital. He’d remembered his dog right away, down to which toy was Taepoong’s favorite and how much he liked to chase pigeons at the park. He remembered his family’s names if nothing else, and it was easy enough to relearn birthdays and favorite colors.
He still remembered everything about Jaejoong.
He hadn’t told anyone, not even the person who said he was Yunho’s best friend. Changmin was Jaejoong’s best friend. Yunho remembered that, and he’d never even gotten to meet him. He remembered Jaejoong’s favorite color and that Jaejoong had a cat, even though it lived with his friends because they actually remembered to feed it once in a while. He even remembered the color of Jaejoong’s eyes when he was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe.
He had so many other things to remember, so why couldn’t he stop remembering that?
~
The grocery store was easy enough. He even remembered the way home, if he didn’t spend too much time thinking about it. He did most of the shopping these days, if only for an excuse to escape the house. His mother refused to let him go back to his own apartment until he remembered everything. She was worried, but it frustrated him.
“Shut up, Minnie. I should kick your ass for that.”
He jumped, so lost in his thoughts that the sound of a voice, that voice, nearly stopped his heart. He turned slowly, expecting his ears to have lied to him.
Two men walked from behind the nearest row of shelves, the taller laughing as the shorter punched him in the arm for some offense or another. He caught sight of Jaejoong before Jaejoong saw him, but only just. They both froze, staring at each other from across the produce aisle.
“...Do you two know each other or are you just being disgusting for the fun of it?”
Jaejoong’s fist shot out in a punch without looking away from Yunho. Changmin, Yunho thought. This must be Changmin. “Shut up.”
And then Jaejoong was dodging carts and tables of fruit and stopping himself just short of running full-tilt into Yunho. “I...” He managed to look embarrassed for the split second before Yunho pulled him into a tight hug.
Yunho took a deep breath, knowing they were being stared at, but for once it didn’t especially matter. “So... we missed that dinner date. Can we... Do you mind if we try again?”
Jaejoong jerked back like he’d been burned. “What?”
Now it was Yunho’s turn to look embarrassed, especially once Changmin arrived at a more reserved pace. “Just... you know. I thought we could maybe... start over? Or something. If you don’t want to-”
“No!” Jaejoong punched Changmin without looking again when he started making gagging noises. “I mean, yes, I do, I just... didn’t think you wanted... I mean, it’s been...” He looked a little lost. “It’s kind of been months.”
Oh, so embarrassed. “I... lost your phone number.”
Jaejoong stared at him long enough that Yunho was sure he was going to say to just forget it. Long enough that Yunho was almost ready to say just forget it for him. And then he laughed, and Yunho remembered that laugh, right down to the way Jaejoong’s eyes crinkled and he covered his mouth with his hand. Yunho remembered that, remembered Jaejoong, more vividly than he thought he’d probably remembered anything before in his life, even before the accident. He suddenly wanted to learn everything he could, just to have more memories like that.
Jaejoong smiled at him, and Yunho felt himself melt a little. “Guess it’s a date.”
Fandom: DBSK
Pairing: YunJae
Prompt: Amnesia
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2111
Summary: After a car accident, is Yunho’s loss really a loss or someone else’s gain?
AN: Written, as the subject and tag say, for hc_bingo. Masterpost with game card is here.
He was late for his 100-day anniversary dinner. He’d tried to call her, but his phone had died because he’d forgotten to charge it yesterday. He’d been almost there when he realized he’d forgotten his wallet in his car. He turned around to go back for it. Somehow, he had the vague feeling that they weren’t going to make it much farther than 100 days.
He also forgot to make sure the light was green for him to cross the street. He never saw the car that hit him.
~~
He woke up in a bed. That was good. He didn’t recognize the bed, though. That was... less good. He sat up slowly, head pounding. He didn’t recognize the walls, floor, windows, or any of the decor, either, so at least he was consistent? That was good, right?
He also didn’t recognize the person who’d frozen in shock as seeing him sitting up. He was on a roll.
“Oh. Oh, you’re awake. Thank God!” The man, at least he was pretty sure it was a man, rushed toward him. “I was so worried. They told me I shouldn’t stay, but I couldn’t help it. How are you feeling? They said they didn’t think much was wrong, just some bruises and a bit of head trauma, but then you didn’t wake up, and-”
His head did hurt now, but he didn’t think it was just head trauma. “Sorry. I’m sorry. Who are you?”
Obviously that wasn’t an entirely unexpected question because the man didn’t break stride. “Right. Sorry. Should probably introduce yourself when you run someone over. I’m Jaejoong. Kim Jaejoong.”
He started to nod. Started to introduce himself. But then he remembered he couldn’t. “I... And who am I?”
Obviously, that was a good deal more unexpected. The man looked stricken, like he wasn’t sure if he should say something or run away. “You... don’t know?”
Was he supposed to? Well, yes, he guessed he was supposed to. Most people did. “Not off hand.”
The man, Jaejoong, dragged a chair closer. “You don’t? Really? They never said you might have amnesia. You... you didn’t have any ID on you, and your phone...” Jaejoong frowned, shyly, and somehow he thought it was absurdly cute, given the circumstances. He also thought he should be freaking out a good deal more than he was. He decided that must come later. Now, he must be in denial, or shock, or something like that. Maybe he was a doctor, to know all those fancy terms. “Your phone, I... um... sort of ran it over. They’re seeing if they can get any information off the memory, but it doesn’t look very good. We were hoping... but you can’t...”
That did complicate things, didn’t it? In fact, he thought he might have a bit of a panic attack coming on.
The nurse rushed in, ordering Jaejoong out the door, before everything went black.
~
When he came to, the nurse was still there, so he couldn’t have been out too long. She checked his vital signs, then very calmly informed him of his injuries in more detail than Jaejoong had, adding that really he was very lucky to be as uninjured as he was.
He wasn’t sure how amnesia was lucky, but he supposed he wasn’t dead, so that was a plus.
He thanked the nurse sincerely, asking when he would be released. She looked at him for a moment before gently telling him that he could go as soon as he had someone whose custody he could be released into. They couldn’t very well just let someone with no past go wandering the streets, could they?
Which was how, two days later, he ended up in Jaejoong’s penthouse. He wouldn’t have guessed Jaejoong had a penthouse from the way he acted, and in fact, Jaejoong himself said he only had the penthouse because his parents insisted he have a penthouse. He’d always wanted an artsy loft of some sort, but those didn’t cost nearly enough money.
Jaejoong was a songwriter. He’d lied to his parents and said he was going to business school when he was really studying as a music major. He was lucky enough to get picked up by a major label who loved his songs. His parents weren’t happy, but he could afford a penthouse, so they let it go.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about knowing more about Jaejoong than he did about himself.
They’d stopped at some generic department store on their way from the hospital, just to give him something to change into that wasn’t the clothes he’d been wearing the day of the accident. They also picked him up some basic toiletries and things people who had lives never thought about doing without. Although he supposed he did have a life, somewhere. He wondered if it was waiting for him. Did he have parents? Maybe siblings, or a wife and children? Was he alone? Maybe this accident was the best thing that ever happened to him. He didn’t know.
“Hey-” Jaejoong stopped dead in the doorway of the spare bedroom, blinking, suddenly sheepish. “We need to figure out a name for you. I can’t just keep saying ‘hey, you.’ I feel like I’m calling a dog.”
A name. He’d never ever thought of that. He obviously couldn’t remember his own. “I... don’t know. What’s a good name?”
Jaejoong didn’t know, either. Eventually, they pulled Jaejoong’s computer out and started going through lists of baby names online. For some reason, the name ‘Yunho’ jumped out at him. Whether that was his name or a friend’s name or just a name he really liked, he didn’t know, but they decided to go with it.
~
The next weeks passed in a blur. The newly christened ‘Yunho’ spent much of his time remembering things he didn’t know he needed to remember, like speaking just enough Japanese to embarrass himself in front of Jaejoong, who was apparently fluent. He said it was because there was such a huge market for Japanese pop songs that he’d learned just to be competitive in more than one market.
The rest of his time, though, he spent just sitting around Jaejoong’s apartment, listening. Jaejoong had his studio, having converted one of the extra extra bedrooms (there were four or five of them and even Jaejoong didn’t know what you were supposed to do with all that space) into a recording booth and another into a studio for composing. It was intimidating, all those keyboards and mixers and recording devices and computers. Yunho tended to just stay out in the living room with a cup of tea. He could still hear Jaejoong just fine.
He asked, once, how it was that Jaejoong only wrote the songs and never sang them himself. He certainly had the talent and looks for it. Jaejoong had just gotten very quiet, and for a long while Yunho didn’t think he would answer at all. He didn’t have the heart for it, Jaejoong had finally said, and left it at that.
~
“If you don’t hurry up, we’ll be late for our reservation and Changmin will kill me!”
Yunho was as healthy as anyone with brain trauma could possibly be, and Jaejoong had declared the day before that it was time for him to start living ‘a’ life again, if not specifically ‘his’ life. To that end, they had dinner reservations at Jaejoong’s favorite restaurant and were meeting Jaejoong’s best friend and former lover there to celebrate Yunho’s entry into a new, sort of, life.
When he’d asked if Yunho minded that he had boyfriends instead of girlfriends, Yunho had shrugged. Was he supposed to mind? He must have forgotten that, too.
The phone rang, cutting off Jaejoong’s tirade against Yunho’s inability to dress himself, a fact which Yunho could not have been more grateful for. At least, until Jaejoong’s face fell. “You... you what?” He shook his head blankly. “Wait, wait, that.. but... Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker. He’s right here.”
Jaejoong pressed a button and held the phone out between them, asking the caller to repeat what they’d just told him.
“We’ve found Jung-sshi’s family. They were overjoyed to learn he was okay, if not completely healthy.”
Yunho glanced down at the phone, brow furrowing. “What?”
Jaejoong’s hand trembled slightly under the phone. “Jung Yunho. That’s you, I guess.”
Yunho, and he really was ‘Yunho’ now he supposed, noticed but wasn’t sure it was his place to comment. “That’s good. Right? I can get out of your hair.”
Jaejoong hesitated, then nodded, turning the phone back off of speaker and turning away to continue the conversation. When should he drop Yunho off and where, goodbye and thank you. It was over practically as quickly as it started. Then he smiled at Yunho again. “Guess you’re luckier than you look.”
Yunho nodded, but he wondered why it felt like that wasn’t true.
~
Two months later, and Yunho could remember about one out of every ten things his mother thought was absolutely vital. He’d remembered his dog right away, down to which toy was Taepoong’s favorite and how much he liked to chase pigeons at the park. He remembered his family’s names if nothing else, and it was easy enough to relearn birthdays and favorite colors.
He still remembered everything about Jaejoong.
He hadn’t told anyone, not even the person who said he was Yunho’s best friend. Changmin was Jaejoong’s best friend. Yunho remembered that, and he’d never even gotten to meet him. He remembered Jaejoong’s favorite color and that Jaejoong had a cat, even though it lived with his friends because they actually remembered to feed it once in a while. He even remembered the color of Jaejoong’s eyes when he was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe.
He had so many other things to remember, so why couldn’t he stop remembering that?
~
The grocery store was easy enough. He even remembered the way home, if he didn’t spend too much time thinking about it. He did most of the shopping these days, if only for an excuse to escape the house. His mother refused to let him go back to his own apartment until he remembered everything. She was worried, but it frustrated him.
“Shut up, Minnie. I should kick your ass for that.”
He jumped, so lost in his thoughts that the sound of a voice, that voice, nearly stopped his heart. He turned slowly, expecting his ears to have lied to him.
Two men walked from behind the nearest row of shelves, the taller laughing as the shorter punched him in the arm for some offense or another. He caught sight of Jaejoong before Jaejoong saw him, but only just. They both froze, staring at each other from across the produce aisle.
“...Do you two know each other or are you just being disgusting for the fun of it?”
Jaejoong’s fist shot out in a punch without looking away from Yunho. Changmin, Yunho thought. This must be Changmin. “Shut up.”
And then Jaejoong was dodging carts and tables of fruit and stopping himself just short of running full-tilt into Yunho. “I...” He managed to look embarrassed for the split second before Yunho pulled him into a tight hug.
Yunho took a deep breath, knowing they were being stared at, but for once it didn’t especially matter. “So... we missed that dinner date. Can we... Do you mind if we try again?”
Jaejoong jerked back like he’d been burned. “What?”
Now it was Yunho’s turn to look embarrassed, especially once Changmin arrived at a more reserved pace. “Just... you know. I thought we could maybe... start over? Or something. If you don’t want to-”
“No!” Jaejoong punched Changmin without looking again when he started making gagging noises. “I mean, yes, I do, I just... didn’t think you wanted... I mean, it’s been...” He looked a little lost. “It’s kind of been months.”
Oh, so embarrassed. “I... lost your phone number.”
Jaejoong stared at him long enough that Yunho was sure he was going to say to just forget it. Long enough that Yunho was almost ready to say just forget it for him. And then he laughed, and Yunho remembered that laugh, right down to the way Jaejoong’s eyes crinkled and he covered his mouth with his hand. Yunho remembered that, remembered Jaejoong, more vividly than he thought he’d probably remembered anything before in his life, even before the accident. He suddenly wanted to learn everything he could, just to have more memories like that.
Jaejoong smiled at him, and Yunho felt himself melt a little. “Guess it’s a date.”