Savage || Lee Haechan

Chapter 33 | "stop thinking"

"I don't get it." Taeil mumbled to Shotaro. "She was able to remember Chenle so why not anyone else?"

"I don't know..." the younger boy replied with a shake of his head. "We just have to keep trying."

It had been 2 weeks since her breakthrough with Chenle, but things had been slow since then. They'd tried similar methods with the other members, but nothing worked. She never got any sort of memory or even any feeling like she did on that day.

Despite the hopeful moment, the members were starting to get worried, most of all Haechan. He had gone to see her a few times, but hadn't stayed long, the pain of her confusion being too much for him to bear. The members had told her about him and their relationship, but not the true depth of it all as they wanted him to do that.

Shotaro and Taeil stood up with a sigh, reassuring her that it wasn't her fault and everything would be better before leaving the room.

She let out a frustrated huff as her door shut, throwing one of her pillows harshly across the room. She felt so horrible everytime she had to tell them she didn't remember. Seeing the sadness and disappointment in their eyes, she felt like she was letting them down.

She grabbed a pillow and laid it on her lap, leaning down and pushing her face into it, letting out a frustrated scream.

"Everything alright in here?"

She sat bolt upright, seeing Haechan slowly walking in and closing the door behind him.

"Just trying to vent some anger." She sighed as he sat beside her. "Things aren't going well."

"It'll be fine, I promise." He said reassuringly.

He grabbed hold of her hand, rubbing the back with his thumb. The sudden action shocked her, Minji still not fully aware of their relationship. He froze when he saw the momentary confusion in her eyes, letting out a sigh of disappointment as he released her hand.

"Please, Minji, you can't forget me. You can't forget us." He whispered out, his voice breaking. "I push you and annoy you and pick on you but you give it right back to me. We bicker and fight and laugh and smile. You're absolutely insufferable and I love you for it. Please don't forget me."

Her heart broke for the boy as she met his eyes, tears slowly falling down his cheeks with a gaze full of so much sadness that she had to look away.

"I want to remember you so badly. Really, I do, but I just... don't." She said softly, turning back to look at him.

"I know you're trying." He said slowly, wiping his tears and rising from his seat. "You'll come back to me someday, and I'm prepared to wait."

"Thank you, Haechan."

He didn't respond, just dipping his head to her and walking out, leaving Minji alone to her tortured thoughts.

- - -

"We have to do something." Kun said, walking into the main room after consoling a crying Haechan. "That boy is going to lose his mind if we don't."

"We're trying, Kun." Shotaro sighed. "We just need to figure out how Chenle was able to trigger her memories. It's obvious she hasn't totally lost them, they're just blocked some how."

"Well, what were you talking about when she remembered, Chenle?" Taeyong asked as the rest of the gang settled into seats in the main room together.

"I told her about how we first met, and then the way she stuck up for me when I was getting beat up, and then her head started to hurt and then she remembered." Chenle replied.

"Hey, uh, what was the first thing she remembered?" Sungchan asked, a plan clearly forming in his head.

"She remembered that my lip was bloody. Then the cuts and bruises on my face and stuff. Then she remembered what she said and did to him."

"Guys I have an idea." Sungchan said excitedly, all the members quickly leaning in to listen. "Jeno, Jaemin, and I have been training with Minji since we were kids. What does she always tell us whenever we are out in stressful situations?"

Jaemin and Jeno stared at him for a moment before realization hit them.

"When you're in a fight, don't think because your mind isn't reliable." Jaemin began, his eyes wide.

"Trust your body because when your head isn't clear, your instincts will always remember the right moves." Jeno finished with a smile.

"Exactly."

"That doesn't have anything to do with this." Johnny sighed.

"No, no, Sungchan is right." Jaemin said quickly, sharing a look with Jeno.

"Chenle said that the last thing he was telling her about was the fight at school, and the first thing remembered was his wounds."

Sungchan nodded as Jeno recounted the events, the three boys obviously on the same page. The rest of the members, however, were just staring at them. Totally dumbfounded. Sungchan just rolled his eyes.

"Violence. Fighting. Blood. It triggered her to remember because it made her stop thinking and cleared her head."

A chorus of 'ohs' echoed around the room as the rest of the gang caught up to their thinking.

"Could that be true?" Taeyong breathed, turning to look at Shotaro.

"Actually maybe." The Japanese boy answered with a nod. "It makes a lot of sense, directing her focus into something physical, triggering muscle memory in her body to open up the neurological pathways that were blocked by a traumatic event."

"Well, go get Minji! Someone try to stab her!" Yangyang yelled, the whole gang excitedly on their feet.

"Wait. We need to do this safely, the last thing I want is her getting hurt." The leader warned, sending everyone a serious look.

"Taeyong is right, we'll need to make sure she remembers all her fighting instincts so that she can defend herself incase things get serious. We don't know how much danger she needs to be to trigger her memories." Taeil said with a nod.

"Well then let's hurry up and do that. I can't deal with Haechan's moping anymore."

The gang laughed at Renjun's remark, nodding in agreement as Sungchan went to go and get Minji.