Tidal Wave ✔️

09

Mark didn't know how to respond. Mrs. Choi just chuckled lightly, and guided him to the dining room. A medium-sized rectangular table was put on the middle of the room. On top of its glass surface, multiple plates were placed. Mark looked at the food.

Japchae with beef slices, bell peppers, and carrots. Spicy chicken thighs covered in gochujang sauce. Kimchi fried rice. A pot of soft tofu stew.

They all smelled wonderful. Mark's stomach growled, out of nowhere, surprising both Mark and Mrs. Choi.

"Unfortunately, we will have to wait for Donghyuck." Mrs. Choi pushed Mark gently to sit on one of the chairs. "What would you like to drink? We have water, iced tea, chocolate milk, and mango juice."

"Uh... Water is fine." Mark smiled. Mrs. Choi nodded before she went to the kitchen to bring the glasses.

The familiar feeling was still lingering inside Mark. He felt like he knew this dining room, like he had been here. He just couldn't remember for sure.

Haechan bounced from the room he got in with a complete, new set of clothes. A white buttoned up shirt and some blue jeans. His hair was starting to dry. The guy took a seat across from Mark while humming an unknown tune.

"Donghyuck-ah, what would you like to drink?" Mrs. Choi asked, once she was back on the dining room.

"Ooh! Is that mango juice?" Haechan asked, pointing at a bottle that Mrs. Choi brought. "Mango juice!"

Mark chuckled. When Haechan got excited over stuff, it was a pleasant sight to watch. He was all beaming and Mark thought he resembled a puppy.

But what did Mrs. Choi called him? Donghyuck? Wasn't his name Haechan?

Mark remembered the girl on the orphanage, Eunji, almost called Haechan with another name.

Before Mark could ask anything, Mrs. Choi sat next to Haechan and started to distribute the plates. Mark grabbed one, and took a small amount of each of the food on the table. Meanwhile Haechan...

...he just piled up everything.

"Minhyung, add some more food. You've become very skinny." Mrs. Choi clicked her tongue.

"More food for me, Mrs. Choi. I don't complain." Haechan said with his mouth full of japchae.

Mrs. Choi laughed and ruffled Haechan's curly hair. "You know you are always welcomed to eat with us, right, Donghyuck?"

Haechan swallowed his food and nodded. "Mrs. Choi, Mark calls me Haechan now, instead of Donghyuck."

"Ah, right. Sorry." Mrs. Choi turned to Mark, "Haechan told me, you forgot about everything before you were seven. Is it true?"

Mark nodded. He didn't know what to say. The whole situation was getting more familiar. He was sure he had been there.

"Aish. What have your parents done, eh?" Mrs. Choi stabbed her tofu, surprising Haechan and Mark. "You really don't know about anything, huh?"

"No, Ma'am." Mark lowered his head. "Haechan is helping me to remember, though. He also wants to forget, it's a win-win situation."

Mrs. Choi turned back to Haechan. "He wouldn't like it if you... He didn't think it was a mistake, Hyuck."

"I still have nightmares, sometimes." Haechan murmured, "I know him, Mrs. Choi. I know what he's like, as a person."

Mark was completely lost. They were talking about someone Mark didn't know. More precisely, someone Mark used to know but didn't remember.

"By the way, guys. I got a B for my recent essay!" Haechan changed the topic.

Mark didn't talk much during the dinner, he mainly just observed how Haechan was a different person around Mrs. Choi, and how Mrs. Choi was a very welcoming, warm person. The apartment where she lived in was very neat, although it wasn't very big. Her husband was away on a business trip to Shanghai, while her son, Siwon, was an active member of a nonprofit organization. He was helping out on Southeast Asian countries, fixing schools' sanitation. Mark could already tell that the Chois were great people.

"Min—I mean, Mark. You lived here once, do you remember that?" Mrs. Choi asked when they were finished.

They were still in the dining room. Mark wiped his mouth with a napkin while looked around the room.

Mark shook his head. "I don't remember, Mrs. Choi. I feel like I've been here before, but I don't remember."

Mrs. Choi sighed, Haechan just stared at his own fingers. Mark was confused, why did they react that way?

"Alright. Let's see if you remember your old bedroom." Mrs. Choi stood up. The guys followed her motion, but when they reached the door where Haechan changed his clothes earlier, Mrs. Choi stopped.

"I would like to talk to Min—I mean, Mark, alone. If that's okay, with you, Donghyuck."

Donghyuck just nodded and smiled. "I'll be washing the dishes, then." He left Mark with the lady.

Mrs. Choi opned the door, and revealed a pretty large room. The walls were painted in broken white paint, and most of the floor inside the room was covered in dark, grey carpet. There was a window, facing the other tower of the apartment complex. The queen sized bed was neatly made, with fluffy pillows and red sheet. The desk on the corner had a lamp on it, and a few thick books were piled up there.

"I should have introduced myself when the first time you entered this apartment. But I wanted you to feel comfortable first with the surroundings." Mrs. Choi sat on the bed and patted the space next to her, inviting Mark to sit down. Mark obeyed and he sat there, not feeling awkward at all.

"I'm Choi Mina. I was a friend of your mother, back when we were in high school. I was also close with your grandparents. Your grandfather worked together with the church to build an orphanage. Based on his love towards children, your grandfather gave everything he had for the orphanage.

"Time passed. We grew older. You were born, far away there on Canada. A year later, your parents moved back here to Seoul, but didn't have anywhere to live. Your grandfather lent this place to them. Until you were six, you lived here. When you were seven, your grandfather died because of diabetes. The... The thing happened. You and your family moved to a house in Gangnam. Your grandfather gave this apartment to me. My family was a bit short on money back then, so we took it."

Mark stayed quiet the whole time. His grandfather did die because of diabetes and he was born in Canada. Mrs. Choi wasn't lying, Mark assumed.

"What happened?" Mark asked, his voice barely audible.

"I think it is best for Donghyuck to explain. After all, I wasn't there when it happened." Mrs. Choi caressed Mark's head.

"Hae—I mean, Donghyuck and I... Were we friends?" Mark asked.

"Best friends. He was crushed when he knew you didn't remember anything, after you moved away." Mrs. Choi smiled sadly. "I know there's a lot to catch up with... But I guess, judging from your decision following Donghyuck here when you barely even know him, you really want to know. Am I wrong?"

Mark shook. "I don't want to feel incomplete for a lifetime, Mrs. Choi."

I posted a trailer for Tidal Wave on YouTube, by the way...