📣: Wonwoo // enemies to lovers-ish i guess // angst?????? but not rly no // somewhat fluffy too // 6000~ words hahahahhahahahhahah this isnt a drabble
A/N: thank you for the request, anon! just to be clear, this fic doesnt give an accurate representation of memory loss bc i tried researching but it doesnt... really tell abt what i was looking for so, yeah. also, the way med school works here is like uni, which is why wonwoo's break is a bit long so if the med school in ur country doesnt work that way pls ignore lol but tbh the med school background isnt rly important here. im gonna write a long ass AN at a different post abt this fic so if you feel like seeing me rant, you're welcome to do so <3 enjoy :D
find the rest of requested drabble here
For someone who claims to hate you, Wonwoo knows quite a few things about you more than he’d like to admit.
One, he knows you live alone because the reason you’re here is to pursue your medical degree (and get a job too, obviously). Two, he knows you’re the closest to Park Chaeyoung, a Korean by blood who’s lived outside the country more than inside; Wonwoo figures the both of you find comfort in each other for being foreigners. Three, he also knows the only reason you’re hostile towards each other is because you simply started off at the wrong foot and refuses to be civil with each other quite immediately after that.
Lastly, he knows there’s just no way he’s called in the middle of the night by the hospital for you because you ask for him.
Wonwoo stares at the doctor in front of him with eyes wide open, glancing at you who’s fast asleep on the bed. You’ve fallen back asleep after asking for him, the nurse in charge quickly going through your phone to look for a ‘Jeon Wonwoo’ and has someone notify him about it.
“What do you mean she’s lost her memories?” he asks once again, not believing what he just hears even though the way your head is wrapped with bandage says enough.
The doctor explains how you hit your head to the side of the road because of some irresponsible cyclist going too fast, eventually bumping into you and then fell down on you after losing his balance. Your body doesn’t sustain any major injury, but your head has taken the fall for colliding into the stone brick firsthand.
“Is it…bad?” he asks, his mind busy recalling the few stuffs he’s read about amnesia even though he has never actually learned it himself.
“Apparently, she forgets the events of the last few months to almost a year before,” the doctor patiently answers. “It’s all a blur, she tells me. But she doesn’t completely forget everything, just that she forgets a lot of details.”
After another half an hour of telling Wonwoo stuffs that he thinks the guy should know, the doctor finally leaves, telling him to take care and ‘have strength’ because you can still have your memory back even though it might take a few months at least.
He sits down on the chair next to your bed, looking at you as he wonders why did you not ask to call for Chaeyoung. Though it wouldn’t make any difference, Wonwoo thinks. He knows the girl is back in Australia for the semester break and he could only imagine what she’d do if she finds out.
He sighs, figuring he’d have to notify her too one way or another.
[01:03 AM] Jeon Wonwoo: SOS. Text me when you’re available to talk.
[05:54 AM] Park Chaeyoung: ??? r u drunk
[05:54 AM] Park Chaeyoung: is2g if you’re making up shit
This is going to be one long semester break.
“What the fuck do you mean she lost her memories?” Chaeyoung curses from the other end.
“I mean just that,” Wonwoo sighs in annoyance, though he does feel bad for her. “Apparently, she asks for me and that’s why I’m here.”
“Why on earth would she ask for you?”
“How am I supposed to know?” he huffs, slightly lifting up the curtain to see the sun barely up. It’s somewhere around 6 in the morning, Wonwoo has just woken up from his uncomfortable sleep with his neck and waist screaming in pain from sleeping on a chair. When he comes to, he checks his phone only to see Chaeyoung replying to his text and figures he should deliver the news and be done with it. “She probably doesn’t remember she hates me.”
On the other line, Chaeyoung goes silent and Wonwoo lets her be. He knows this kind of news isn’t easy to take, even more when she’s literally in another continent and can’t just come back to help the person she considers her own sister.
Before neither of them can say anything more, you groan in your sleep, making Wonwoo turn to you. He quickly tells Chaeyoung that you’re waking up, and he can hear her sniffles a little before softly asking him to take care of you, the softest she has ever spoken to him. So Wonwoo says yes and hangs up.
Wonwoo keeps quiet for a moment, just in case you’re going to go back to sleep right after. But you sluggishly open your eyes, eventually looking up at him as you try to sit on your bed. Wonwoo comes closer to help you, avoiding your eyes because he’s never been this close to you before and it’s flustering him for no reason at all.
“How are you feeling?” he decides to say and sits down on the chair near you. “Head okay?”
You nod a little, thanking him when he hands you water to drink. “You’re… Wonwoo, right?”
There’s an unexpected sting in him at your question and your unsure gaze. It must’ve been frustrating, knowing you should know this and that but you don’t. “Yeah. They called me but you’re already sleep when I arrived.”
“I’m… I’m sorry if we’re not close or anything,” you fidget, and Wonwoo actually feels bad seeing you so… small. This isn’t you; you’re supposed to roll your eyes at him, glare at him when you can’t come up with a good come back, or give him that annoying triumphant grin when you get the last words. “But you’re the first name that rings in my head so I ask the nurse for you.”
There’s an awkward smile in his face, but Wonwoo tries his best to hold it back so you won’t be even more uncomfortable because, even though he never experiences it himself for obvious reasons, he knows it must’ve been scary to you. You don’t even know who he is, but now you’re looking at him like he’s the only one that can help.
“It’s okay,” he reassures you. “Are you really okay? Should I call for the nurse?”
“Just a little lightheaded,” you tell him honestly. So Wonwoo does exactly that, all the while listening carefully to what the nurse says when she’s examining you.
Not long after that, your doctor comes in to check up on you. He says something about not being too worried, because it might be short-term and you might get your memories back sooner rather than later. You look scared, Wonwoo notices, but he can see you visibly relax when you catch his eyes and he sends you an encouraging smile.
“I… need to go back and wash up,” he tells you after the doctor leaves. You look at him with uncertainty, as if afraid to be left alone without him by your side. It’s not a look that Wonwoo would ever imagine coming from you to him, but his heart warms a little at it. “I’ll be quick, I promise. And then I’ll come back and we can talk about stuffs that might help you jog your memory back, okay?”
You nod, because you also feel bad for keeping Wonwoo here when, by the looks of it, he’s not even your closest friend or anything. You’re sure he’d freak out more if he was your close friend or, dare you assume, boyfriend. But Wonwoo is calm and has just looked more confused and a little uncomfortable.
At least he looks like he wants to help, you think to yourself.
Wonwoo stays true to his words, already appearing back in your room not an hour later, and takes the seat near your bed.
“Okay, um…” he begins hesitantly. “What do you want to know first?”
“We aren’t close, are we?” you shoot straight to it, the most certain you’ve ever been since you come to.
“Well, no, I wouldn’t say,” he answers truthfully. “We go to the same med school, share some classes, umm… We… talk from time to time, but not to the point where we’re close.”
For now, he decides that’s the best he can tell you. You already look scared and lost as it is, there’s no use in telling you the nature of your relationship. He’s been thinking about it during the short while he’s not in the hospital; how much shittier would you feel if you find out the first person that you seek isn’t even your…friend?
“How did we meet?” you ask curiously. You wonder if you used to have a crush on Wonwoo before and are just too shy to do anything about it. Surely, if someone like him is in your class he would at least serve as your eye candy, right? Plus, he’s kind enough to accompany you like this when you’re just…acquaintance, apparently.
Wonwoo chuckles awkwardly, remembering how that’s exactly why you both went down the wrong road, still going at each other’s throat until this very moment.
“I, uhh, I wasn’t looking and you were in a hurry so we kinda bumped into each other and I might’ve spilled my coffee all over you,” he scratches his head, unsure how this version of you would take it.
Surprisingly, you let out a small laugh that sends a handful of butterflies in his stomach. “What a meeting. Your impression must’ve been strong to me.”
He shifts in his seat uncomfortably, then changes the topic just so you won’t start asking about how it goes from there. He talks about the little things he knows of Chaeyoung, someone that you also only remember by name, and then promises to video call her when you’re ready, and he talks about school stuffs, some you recall, though mostly not.
“Have you checked your phone?” he asks, only know realizing your phone is intact on the table.
“No,” you look down to your lap. “I’m… afraid.”
“Because you might not remember everything?” he asks pitifully. All this time, the only side of you that Wonwoo’s familiar with is your snarky side; one that’s skeptical and confident, not unsure and afraid like this. Seeing you like this is weird, not because he’s not used to it, but because he can feel something stirring inside him at the sight of your hunched figure.
At your nod, Wonwoo offers to accompany you look through it if you want, that he would try to help if he can even though he might not be much of help if it’s not about friends from school. So you agree, and Wonwoo is able to help more than he thinks he could; he’s able to tell you about the class you enjoy most and ones that you don’t really care for, able to tell you about your habit of drinking iced (‘it has to be iced, I’ve never seen you with anything hot,’ he says) coffee for your first class no matter what time it starts, able to tell you about some friends that you’d sometimes hang out with.
“You do know quite a lot about me, huh?” you ask jokingly, not knowing the way Wonwoo’s heart jolts at this particular tone you usually use at him everytime you beat him on Professor Jung’s exam. He can vividly picture it in his head, the way you’d walk past his table to say something along the line of ‘looks like someone’s barely passing, huh?’.
Wonwoo knows what makes his heart jumps isn’t only that, though, it’s the fact that he doesn’t even realize he knows this much about you. Has he actually been paying attention to you?
He shakes the thought away, and the nurse comes in with your lunch just in time to stop your conversation. There’s watermelon on your fruit plate, and you hand it to him because you don’t like it. Wonwoo scoots closer to your bed, eating your fruit as you talk some more over your lunch.
It is only when you’ve finished eating that Wonwoo realizes he actually likes this—talking to you over meals with no hostility in between.
He wonders if it’d be like this if he’d just said sorry that time and helped you clean up instead of fighting you back.
A week later, you’re already discharged from the hospital with Wonwoo in tow.
“You ready to go home?” he asks, and the sentence feels more intimate for no reason at all that Wonwoo averts his gaze from you to his phone almost immediately.
“Can’t stay here forever, can I?” you ask back, which makes him chuckle at the spark of familiarity. Being with you almost 24/7 for a week, Wonwoo has learned that your sarcastic way of speaking is just the way you normally speak.
When you both arrive in your apartment (Wonwoo gets the passcode from Chaeyoung who shares the apartment with you), the space suddenly feels too big for you and it’s overwhelming. It’s also sad, because this place used to be your home, it should be familiar—and even though it doesn’t feel foreign, it doesn’t feel like home right now.
You roam around to your room, and then peek through Chaeyoung’s from the door, hoping something will hit you, but nothing really stands out and it’s more than frustrating.
“Hey, don’t force it too much,” Wonwoo finally says after a while, noticing the way your fingers are digging into your palms. “How about we video call Chaeyoung now? Didn’t you say you want to go home first before finally calling her?”
You turn to Wonwoo who’s standing near the sofa, and you nod before sitting down there with him. “She… she won’t be mad that I don’t remember her, right?”
“Oh, [Y/N],” he calls your name gently. “She’s literally your closest friend here, okay? And she’s been so worried that she texts me everyday to make sure you’re okay. She’s been wanting to call you too, but she’s refrained from doing so because I told her you’re not ready yet.”
For the next two hours, Wonwoo simply watches you talk to Chaeyoung from the side. At first, the both of you are crying—Chaeyoung, because she’s too worried, and you, because Chaeyoung is crying—and Wonwoo’s pretty sure he would’ve mocked you for it if this was the old you, but right now he just feels bad and he comes to the conclusion that he doesn’t like seeing you cry.
Not the tiniest bit.
He has to hold himself back from wiping your tears, settling for handing you tissues and a glass of water instead.
“I’m okay, I promise,” you tell her when the call is about to end, relieved that you don’t completely forget about some memories Chaeyoung has been sharing with you. “Just a little dizzy now, maybe because you help me recall a little. The doctor says it’s normal.”
“We’ll talk some more later or tomorrow, okay?” Wonwoo hears her say. “I have to go in a bit and I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Don’t forget to take care!”
You chuckle a little, something at the back of your mind tells you Chaeyoung has always been this kind of friend and you’re relieved at the recollection. “Yes. Wonwoo’s here with me too, so I’ll be okay,” you shyly say, missing the way Wonwoo widens his eyes while Chaeyoung coughs to hide her reaction before eventually hanging up.
“Should we order pizza?” Wonwoo asks before things get awkward. “You know, to celebrate your homecoming?”
You laugh at his choice of words, but nod anyway. Pizza with Wonwoo doesn’t sound so—
“Why are you here?” you frown at Wonwoo, the guy simple shrugs as he annoyingly bites into his pizza. “You don’t even like pizzas!”
“Who says?” he rises his eyebrows. “I loooove pizza. And who am I to say no to Seungkwan’s free food?”
Beside him, someone sends you an apologetic look, mouthing an apology and a promise to make it up for you.
“You invited him, didn’t you?” you turn to someone else.
“Does it matter who invites me?” Wonwoo chirps in. “Just sit down and eat.”
“Oh my God, are you okay?” Wonwoo quickly holds your shoulders as you wince at the sudden wave of memory. “Did you remember something again?”
You weakly nod, the pounding in your head won’t stop and you can barely see Wonwoo’s worried eyes.
“Do you… do you know a Seungkwan?” you ask once the headache dies down.
“I—yeah, he’s, uh, kind of close with everyone,” he answers. “Did you… get to remember him?”
You shake your head, taking the water from his hand. “Not really, no. But, have we… eaten pizzas? With Seungkwan?”
Wonwoo hesitates for a second, but he eventually nods and tells you yes.
He still remembers that day because it’s hasn’t been that long ago; Seungkwan has called some people over for pizza night as a celebration of the semester ending. Wonwoo has told him no at first, telling him he wants to sleep for a week straight and his social battery is practically nonexistent. But when he hears from Mingyu you’re coming, he has quickly made his way over just to bother you even though he doesn’t even feel like eating pizza then.
“It hasn’t been that long ago,” he honestly tells you. “Only 2 weeks ago at most.”
He’s met with silence, there’s a frown on your face as you try to put the puzzles together in your mind. Your words and Wonwoo’s from the memory ring endlessly; are you… not in a good relationship with Wonwoo? But he’s been so kind to you the past week?
He barely even leaves your room if not because of the visiting hour and because he needs to come home and wash up.
That doesn’t make sense at all.
“Do you want to lay down and take a nap maybe?” he asks, still worried. What else could you possibly remember now?
At your nod, Wonwoo helps you to your room, asking you if you still feel like eating pizzas or if he should order something else. But you shake your head and tells him pizza should be fine, that you just need to lay down for a while because your head feels heavy.
When you wake up again, Wonwoo isn’t in your room. You walk out to find him asleep on the sofa, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his head uncomfortably leans back on the head rest. You slowly make your way to sit next to him in hope your weight wouldn’t wake him up; it doesn’t, but Wonwoo grunts before turning a little to you.
There’s a part of you that wants to ask Chaeyoung what’s the nature of your and Wonwoo’s relationship, but would it be too much? Just because of one memory?
But didn’t Wonwoo say it has just been roughly two weeks ago? Then why were you questioning his presence to the point where your friend—Seungkwan? was it? —has to apologize for Wonwoo being there? Didn’t Wonwoo say you were just…acquaintances?
You look up right when Wonwoo’s starting to wake up, he groggily opens his eyes and you don’t even realize you’ve been sitting so close to him that his face is right in front of yours. He blinks a few times, as if trying to figure out why your face is so close to his, but you quickly stand up and walk to the kitchen.
“When did you wake up?” he asks instead with a yawn. “Is your head better?”
“Not too long ago,” You nod at him as you return with the pizza box. “Definitely better. Did I sleep for long?”
Wonwoo looks at his phone before answering you. “Maybe an hour or so. You’re really feeling better?” he asks again, noticing the conflicted expression on your face.
You nod again to reassure him, and when Wonwoo softly mumbles to himself he’s glad you’re feeling better, you decide you’re not going to pry about your relationship with him. However it was between the two of you, it shouldn’t be bad enough if he’s right here with you, right?
If it’s that bad, he wouldn’t continuously try his best to take care of you since day 1, right?
Maybe it was just those friendly fights, you try to convince yourself. Maybe you just enjoyed arguing with him and he, you.
Yeah.
That must be it.
The week after that, Wonwoo says going to school might be a good idea because you spend a lot of time there, and you need to go to administration to officially take a semester break, anyway.
You take a deep breath once you get off the bus with Wonwoo, both hoping you’ll remember and afraid just in case nothing happens.
“You’ll be fine,” Wonwoo squeezes your shoulder. “Don’t force it, okay?”
It’s something that he often says to you, because he knows you often try to force the memory out by staring at something that seemingly important to you. This does nothing but frustrates you and, more often than not, you just end up with a useless headache.
“You’re already remembering a lot too, aren’t you?” he says, reminding you it’s okay to take it slow.
“Yeah, but there are still a lot of missing pieces and sometimes I’d either dream or suddenly think of people with blurry faces,” you pout. “It’s scary.”
“You still have those dreams?” he frowns, you’ve told him about it a couple times before and he remembers how disturbed you are even though it should be a good thing that your memories are coming back little by little.
You nod, absentmindedly linking your arm with his as you walk to the building. Wonwoo blinks at the touch, but doesn’t have the heart to move away nor even comment about it so he lets you be.
He likes it, anyway.
“Oh?” someone exclaims from afar, calling you both loudly as he makes his way to where you’re at. “Well, aren’t you two cozy,” Mingyu grins when he notices the way you’re holding on to Wonwoo.
The sight of Mingyu alone seems to trigger something within you, though, and you stagger back at the sudden wave of pain. Wonwoo quickly puts his arm around your waist to hold your weight, and Mingyu looks at him in panic, not having any idea about your condition.
“Well, don’t you look cozy in your hoodie,” Mingyu says from beside you.
“Don’t you shut up ever?” you glare at Mingyu.
“No. It’s a part of my charm,” he grins shamelessly. “Why? You like the quiet type more?”
You roll your eyes at his words, trying to step away from him. “I like people who’s not associated with Jeon fucking Wonwoo. So, obviously, I don’t like you. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
You walk away from Mingyu, but he quickly catches up, easily falling back into steps with you. “Do you know that you two actually match each other really well? Wouldn’t be surprised if you end up dating once you decided to end this dumb feud.”
“And I wouldn’t be surprised either if my shoe ends up in your mouth,” you glare at him once again.
Mingyu puts his hands up in surrender, though the teasing grin in his face doesn’t falter. “You owe me Chaeyoung’s number if you end up with him!”
“I’m okay,” you say once you’re able to get back to your feet. So many thoughts are swirling in your mind and you’re pretty sure your head doesn’t only hurt because of the memory rush but due to the revelation that you’re still denying.
Are you really in bad terms with Wonwoo…? Wonwoo, who has been with you for almost a month now, taking care of you days and nights? Wonwoo, who makes dumb jokes out of nowhere and never forgets to tell you to slow down and rest?
You look up at his worried face, a frown in his face with his arm protectively around your figure. There’s nothing but worry and concern in his eyes, so why…?
“Should we just go home?” he asks instead, and you can feel the arm around you tightening a little. You glance at Mingyu behind him, too speechless to say anything.
“No, we should at least take care of my break,” you tell him as you try to step away from him a little.
Wonwoo’s face subtly falls at your movement, but he quickly nods and figures you’re just disoriented. He points at where you’re supposed to go, telling you to go first because he needs to talk to Mingyu about something.
Any other day, you would’ve waited for him because he seems to be the only certainty in your blurry life and it’s a little scary to be doing things without him. But today’s not any other day and you actually do need time alone to collect your thoughts no matter how short.
All the time you’ve spent with Wonwoo seems to make you forget Wonwoo wasn’t even your friend when he first came through the hospital door. He was just a classmate, you have assumed—a colleague. He himself said you weren’t close.
You remember wondering about the nature of your relationship with Wonwoo before, and you’ve closed the possibility of him being someone you don’t like because he was, still is, taking care of you earnestly.
Some memories regarding him have been coming back too, if you’re being honest. But you didn’t tell him because you were always arguing with each other in those memories, they didn’t last long enough for you to get the context of it; but almost every fight was childish by nature which is why you have just assumed that’s how your friendship with him was.
But now that you think about it, Wonwoo wouldn’t have been as uncomfortable at first if you’re actually a close enough friends that can argue with each other without getting hurt.
Maybe you’d have to call Chaeyoung tonight.
“Hey, careful!” Wonwoo pulls you to his side, concern written all over his face and it’s only now that you realize you almost bump into the pillar in front of you if not for him. “Are you really okay?”
The worry in his voice is clear, and yet you suddenly doubt everything about him after the episode earlier. You try to rationalize with yourself; even if you were in bad terms with him before, that doesn’t erase the fact that he’s been restlessly taking care of you when no one else could, does it?
Furthermore, doesn’t it just say about how good of a person he actually is if he’s taking care of someone he doesn’t like?
You flinch at the thought. What does he think of you, really?
Should you just ask him instead of calling Chaeyoung?
You don’t realize when Wonwoo moves to face you. But when you do realize, his palms are gently cupping your cheeks to search your eyes thoroughly, and you look back at him, trying to see if there’s any deceit in his eyes. He can’t be faking it to this extend, can he?
What do you know about Wonwoo, anyway?
You frown at the sudden thought. Yes, Wonwoo has been taking care of you greatly all these times, but do you actually know him?
“I’m—I’m fine,” you answer him at last, your hand goes to hold his for a second before letting go. “Let’s just finish this and… I want to go home.”
Wonwoo lets go of you and nods, biting his lips at the way you’re suddenly avoiding his gaze.
Did you remember? But it’s been only roughly a month? Doesn’t it usually take months to recover loss memories?
Most importantly, why does it scare him?
📷
It’s two weeks after that day and you’re still too afraid to confront him. But it is a fact that sometimes you become too conscious around him, and Wonwoo probably notices this even though he doesn’t say anything about it.
Even so, his genuine concern and the way he earnestly takes care of you still brings butterflies to your stomach, often prompting your heart to run a little faster than normal when he’s too close and his fingers slightly brush yours.
It is only when Wonwoo texts you he can’t come today because he’s promised Mingyu a long time ago to go somewhere with him on semester break, that you realize you’re almost always with Wonwoo ever since you woke up from that concussion.
You try to count back to the day of the small accident; it’s been roughly a month since then and the few times you spent your day without him can be counted with your fingers. Almost everyday he’s by your side even when he doesn’t need to—like when you met up with Seungkwan in hope he’ll be able to jog something within you, or when you went to the places Chaeyoung has mentioned to be your favorites, even when it’s midnight and you couldn’t sleep because the blurry faces are haunting you.
You still remember that night vividly even when you fell asleep without you knowing. You woke up because of another blurry memories, head pounding and heart beating fast out of fear. It was hard to fall back asleep after that, so you had texted him just to see if he’s awake—and he was.
He called you almost immediately, talked to you on the phone about this game he’s been obsessing over and how you should try it, about how Soonyoung, his roommate, had been nagging him because he’s always at your place and that meant Soonyoung had no one to accompany him eat during dinner. He had just laughed it off, though, and you can still remember how your heart fluttered when Wonwoo jokingly said he’d rather eat with you than his roommate, anyway.
That went on until somewhere around 2 in the morning, with you falling asleep somewhere along the way. You wake up to Wonwoo’s text telling you to call him if the nightmare comes back.
You sigh to yourself. Why is the whole thing with Wonwoo so complicated? Why can’t you just pretend this is how it’s meant to be and accept your feeling towards him regardless of how it was before when you couldn’t even remember?
But you know it’s not that easy—know that Wonwoo knows how it was before and you’re not sure what to make of him being aware of your supposedly ‘bad’ relationship while still doing…this.
Is he just being kind? Maybe he feels bad about your situation and wants to make up for whatever he did before even when you don’t remember?
The only thing that you know is you don’t dare to assume he’s developing feelings for you like you are for him and you hate yourself for it.
You mess your head out of frustration, walking to the kitchen to see if the fridge has anything that might cheer you up a little. There are three cans of beers, you notice, you haven’t touched alcohol at all since the accident. You hesitate a little before eventually bringing them all out with you to the living room. You don’t even know how much you can drink, but surely you won’t get drunk over canned beers, right?
“What the fuck!” you gasp in shock at the cold beverage against your skin, seeping in through your shirt. “Do you not have eyes or something?”
The guy in front of you looks just as shocked, but quickly frowns when he registers your words. “Isn’t it you who was dashing through the corridor without looking?”
You scoff at his words, eyes throwing daggers at this guy who you don’t even know. “Wow, not even a sorry. What a gentleman.”
“Why should I be sorry when it’s you who bumped into me?” he scoffs back, which irritates you even more because isn’t it you who’s the victim here? Having been drenched in coffee first thing in the morning?
“Jeon Wonwoo!” someone calls from behind you, the guy glances at the name, but quickly turns to lock your gaze again just to annoy you further. Of course, guys with decent looks are always assholes.
“I will fucking remember you, Jeon Wonwoo,” you whisper under your breath before turning to leave. You will get back at him.
“[Y/N]!” Wonwoo calls to you once again, trying to shake you awake on his lap.
That’s how he found you when he comes in, passed out on the floor with empty canned bears on the table. Chaeyoung has worriedly called him earlier, telling him you’re not taking her calls nor checking her messages. It’s 8 in the morning on a Saturday, but Wonwoo quickly goes to your place when you’re not answering his calls either.
“That dumbass,” Chaeyoung has said over the phone when he calls to say you’re passed out most likely from beers. “Her body can’t take alcohol.”
After that, she has told him to prepare your usual hungover remedy and that he should try to wake you up; you’ll probably throw up and he would need to help that, too.
When you wake up, your head’s pounding and your throat is itching. You can hear someone calling you, but not conscious enough to register who. The next thing you know, you’re running to the bathroom to throw your guts up.
Wonwoo worriedly follows you, holding your hair to the side as his other hand rubs your back. His warmth comforts you, but you’re still not done throwing up to properly collect your thoughts.
Once you’re done, Wonwoo leaves to get you aspirin and water while you wash up a little. You warily make your way to the living room after that, taking a deep breath before stepping out of the bathroom.
“Here, take this,” he says when you’re close enough, handing you the medicine. “I ordered the hungover stew earlier and it should arrive soon, Chaeyoung says you usually have it after drinking too much.”
You don’t say anything, simply bite the inside of your cheek as you take the aspirin from him. Wonwoo doesn’t seem to notice you silence, too worried out of his mind.
“Why did you even drink?” he frowns at you. “Do you know how worried I was seeing you passed out on the floor?”
You still don’t answer, your mind bursting with thoughts. It is then that Wonwoo realizes you’ve been keeping your words and softly calls your name in confusion.
“Why?” you say for the first time. Wonwoo simply looks at you with a silent question, not getting it. Your head still hurts and you’re probably not in a good enough condition to talk about this, but the sudden surge of bravery is something that you can’t ignore. “Why… have you been helping me?”
His breath turns heavy at your question, already able to put things together by the way you’re talking to him. “Did you… remember?” he asks instead, blunt nails digging into his palms.
You shake your head; your eyes are stinging as you suddenly feel like crying. “I—yes? No, I—I don’t know, maybe? But… but I, I remember our first meeting and a few other arguments and—”
Wonwoo quickly stands up to embrace you as you gasp for air and tears flood your eyes. He can feel the way your fingers are gripping his shirt as you cry, probably too overwhelmed with everything.
You’re not sure what comforts you the most: is it his arms around you? Or is it the way he’s whispering comfort to your ear? Or is it the way his hand is endlessly caressing your hair?
Once your tears die down, Wonwoo leans back a little to see your face. Something inside him twists at your puffed eyes and the way you’re hiccupping after crying far too long for his liking. He gently sits you down on the sofa, handing you water.
“Do you want to talk about it now?” he asks, there’s no use in hiding it anymore if you remember everything—at least the part about him—now.
You nod shakily, a little disappointed at the way Wonwoo’s sitting further than he usually does, though you get that he might be doing that for you.
He explains everything as best as he can, how he knows it must’ve been scary for you and how it would do you no good if the first person you seem to recall enough turns to be your enemy. He talks about how, at first, he takes care of you because he feels bad, but it wasn’t out of pity—he can tell you were scared and frustrated, and he doesn’t wish for you to go through this alone no matter how it was between the two of you before.
You listen to every single one of his words, heart stinging a little when he says he’s doing it because he feels bad. Who are you kidding? Of course, that’s why, the only reason there’s even an opening for you to feel something for him was because you have lost a chunk of your memories. Else, now you know it would be the same between the two of you.
The thought doesn’t comfort you, though. You think once you remember for sure what’s the nature of your relationship with him, everything would be clear to you.
And you definitely don’t think that, once you remember how bad it was between the two of you, the feeling that you’ve developed over the month would stay. You’ve never imagined you’d crave for his proximity, wish for him to continue talk to you like he usually would during the time he was taking care of you.
Would he back away from you now that you remember about him?
“Please don’t think I’m treating you like a charity case,” his words cut through your train of thoughts. “I’m—yes, at first I just felt bad, but now I’m just taking care of you because I want to, okay?”
“What—what do you mean by that?” you shakily ask, heart beating so hard that you can hear it loud and clear.
Wonwoo hesitates for a moment before eventually dives for it. “I… I don’t want to go back to how it was between us before just because you remember.”
“I… don’t want to either,” you whisper softly, making his breath caught in his throat. “I—I like being with you, Wonwoo.”
There’s a teasing smile in his face, but you can tell that his eyes are genuine without a hint of jokes. “Confessing already, are we?”
You chuckle a little at his attempt to lighten the mood, hitting his arm slightly which makes Wonwoo finally smiles at you, too.
“Just kidding. I like being with you too,” he genuinely says as he meets your eyes. “We really just started off the wrong way and refused to give each other a chance, huh?”
“How stupid, right?” you say with a laugh. “Takes me a concussion to give you a chance.”
For a moment, silence envelopes the both of you as you stare into each other’s eyes. There’s a quiet understanding between the two of you; how he’ll still be there to help you recover more of your memories, how you agree to let go of that first meeting, and how you both would slowly go through the path in front of you together after this.
It’s quiet and it’s comfortable, so you bask in his gaze and he, yours. What finally breaks the silence between the two of you is Wonwoo’s phone ringing to notify an incoming text. He looks at it, and then tells you your stew has arrived downstairs.
“I’ll just… go get it,” he says as he stands up. “Don’t go anywhere, okay?”
You laugh at his remarks, his mind probably stopped working after the emotional outburst earlier because he doesn’t even realize what he’s just said. You hold back the urge to be sarcastic, instead nodding at him with a smile that sends butterfly flying in his stomach.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
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