Awaken My Love

The New Normal

"Is it really fall?"

I nodded. "Sure is. I think it's peak time."

She smiled, a true, genuine Aster smile that I felt all the way in my own heart. "I feel like I've been on a long journey," she sighed.

"Anytime I traveled, I always wanted to be home before the Fall set in. Looking at those colors, I must have made it," she whispered, her smile reaching all the way to her eyes.

It was a far-away smile though. I wondered if she was remembering something about her past.

"Reds...oranges...yellows...the coolness in the air...my favorite time," she said sleepily. Before her eyes closed she patted the bed next to her. "C'mon, Joon, rest."

My heart thumped wildly at the sound of my name coming from her lips. Did she remember? Was it just coincidence? Was I hearing things?

I decided to just enjoy the moment and I carefully slid onto the bed beside her, being careful of my damaged shoulder. I pressed my forehead against hers as she drifted off to sleep. I thought back to the time when I first met her and she smelled so human it was repulsive.

Now, she smelled like home.

* * *

Namjoon

I thought back to that moment a thousand times. It was a moment that I had burned into my memory by reliving it over and over. But reliving it didn't make it give hope again.

Hope...

I almost laugh at the word now. That moment, over six months ago made me hope that Aster would actually remember me.

Sad thing was...

She hadn't.

Despite that flicker of hope, calling my name, talking about her love for autumn, I have never again heard her say my name again in such a familiar and warm way.

Instead, she eyes me with doubt and a small amount of fear.

Aster's memories of her time with Li were all she had been left with. Over time, even the fragmented memories disappeared. Nothing that happened before she was stolen from us and brought to H-Corp was able to be retrieved. My firm belief was that despite my sadness, it was a good thing. There was a lot of painful things in Aster's more recent past and I for one was glad she didn't have to relive them.

The scientists that created the tea that made Aster lose her memories had worked tirelessly alongside our own Dr. Park Jimin and yet could not find a way to reverse the effects.

So, as much as I hated it, I had to start over with Aster. But that also meant I had to erase all of the bad things she felt for me and replace them with good things.

That wasn't going to be an easy task.

Especially when I was the one guilty of killing her favorite pet.

Boy, trying to get away from that memory was that a bad day.

* * *

Narrative

"I want to go see Coal."

"Aster, you can't."

"Don't use my name with such familiarity."

Taehyung ran his hands down his face and growled. "Look, there's nothing to see of him."

Silence fell heavy between Taehyung and Aster as his words sunk into her mind.