Once Again

58

Jungkook stood on the balcony, one hand on the railing and the other holding a crystal goblet of scotch, his eyes trained on the river in front of him. He hated the river and would have gladly traded the view for a view of the city because the river had taken his Jinnie's memories three years ago. But this was Jin's old apartment so he had stayed.

He took a sip of his drink and hissed at the bitter taste as he swallowed before sighing at the slow burn of the scotch that warmed his belly. He thought back to the events of the day and wondered how much he should ask Jin tomorrow when he wakes up. He was desperate to know how much he remembers but at the same time he was reminded of the promise he made to Taehyung. He doesn't want to break his promise.

The last time he had seen Jin, the other was reluctant to let him go and it had made him just as reluctant to leave him. During the time he was away from Jin, he had missed the man greatly. In fact, he couldn't bring himself to return to the house he shared with Jimin because he wanted to surround himself with everything that Jin had touched. So he had moved to Jin's apartment permanently.

Jimin had tried to convince Jungkook to come home even after he signed their divorce agreement but Jungkook would not budge. Jimin had even gone to Jungkook's office several times and caused many scenes. The final straw was when Jimin had told Jungkook that Jin deserved to die because he made a married man pine for him. Jungkook had taken a restraining order against him the next day.

Jungkook turned away from the river and went back into the apartment, closing the balcony door behind him. He turned on the floor lamp that looked over the sofa where Jin had laid earlier today after he lost consciousness.

When Jin passed out, Jungkook had panicked and immediately called Taehyung to ask him what he should do. Taehyung had told him that this typically happened after one of Jin's visions. Taehyung then told him to make sure that Jin was lying comfortably on his back and to loosen his clothing. He also said to move his husband to a cooler place.

Without much thought, Jungkook had carried Jin in his arms into his bedroom and placed him on his bed. He had then swapped Jin's clothing with his t-shirt and boxers before getting into bed beside him and pulling him into his arms, his nose in the other man's hair. His body relaxed as he inhaled Jin's sweet scent, and his chest was filled with warmth and happiness. Jinnie was home, in his arms again.

Jungkook had looked through the gauzy curtains of his bedroom window as he listened to Jin's soft and steady breathing. Being here like this reminded him of lazy weekends when they would cuddle in bed after sex, their bodies flush against each other, content and satisfied. He wanted those days back, he wanted Jin to remember those days so they could have those moments again.

He thought back to earlier, after they left the eatery. He had wanted to take Jin to the hospital after he admitted that he wasn't feeling well but Jin was adamant about not going so he had given in. When they got to the apartment and he parked, he had watched as Jin got out of the car and walked away.

He was about to call out for Jin to wait for him so he could lead him to the lift lobby but Jin was already walking determinedly in the right direction. He had let him go as he lifted Jin's luggage from the back because he figured he would be waiting for him at the entrance to the lift lobby because you needed a code to gain entry. But when he caught up to Jin, he had watched with open-mouthed wonder as the other punched in the six-digit code and pulled the door open.

He's remembering, Jungkook thought to himself. My Jinnie is remembering.

Jungkook then stood back silently when they entered the lift car to see if Jin would know which number to press for his floor, and sure enough, the man knew. The action caused hope to bloom in his chest.

When they got to his floor, he let Jin go ahead of him, curious to see if he would know which apartment to go to. There were three units on this floor so Jin had a one in three chance of getting it right. Once again, he headed straight for the right door and entered the correct code on the keypad. It had awed Jungkook.

Jungkook had seen that Jin was operating on autopilot the moment he got out of the car in the residents garage. However, he did not expect for him to subconsciously remember everything about his old apartment. He even knew which wall panel hid the shelves for guests to store their shoes in the entryway.

As Jin made his way through the dimly lit hallway, Jungkook watched to see which path he would take when he came to the fork at the end. Left led to the sitting area, study and kitchen, while right led to the bedrooms. Jin turned left and made a beeline for the long couch by the glass doors that led to the balcony. He then collapsed onto it, groaning as he closed his eyes. Though Jungkook knew better, his heart couldn't resist. He had to know.

"Jin? How did you know all of the entry codes? And how did you know which apartment to go to?"

But Jin did not respond as he'd slipped into unconsciousness.

Jungkook fell into slumber as he held Jin in his arms, and when he woke up, it was late in the afternoon. He slipped out of bed, covered Jin with the blanket and kissed his forehead before exiting the room. He made a simple meal for two in the kitchen before going into the study to do some work.

The study was Jungkook's favourite room in the entire apartment. It was here that everything near and dear to Jin was kept, from his original snow globe collection to the framed pictures of himself with Jungkook.

The picture that took pride of place on the desk was of Jungkook backhugging Jin as they smiled at the camera, the fingers of their left hands intertwined and a two-toned filigree band shining on their ring fingers.

The picture was taken the day Jungkook gave Jin the promise ring. On their one-year anniversary. Jungkook had known then that Jin was the one for him, and he wanted no one else. He never took his ring off since the day Jin put it on his finger until he was forced to at his rehearsal dinner because Jimin had insisted he wanted no reminder of Jungkook's past. But he wore the ring again in the courthouse the moment the judge announced his divorce was final.

Jin's ring was in Jungkook's possession, in his vault for safekeeping until he can put it back where it belonged, on the rightful owner's finger. Jungkook was looking forward to that day, and he refused to think about the day Jin had taken his ring off and thrown it at him as tears ran down his beautiful face. The last time he had seen his Jinnie. That fateful night.

Jungkook walked into the kitchen and was about to flip the light switch on when he noticed the shadow of a man backlit by the light of the open fridge door. He jumped out of his skin and was embarrassed by the high-pitched unmanly shriek that came from his throat. The shadow turned and said, "Jungkook-san?"

Jungkook slumped with relief against the kitchen island in the centre of the open area. His free hand rubbed his chest in an attempt to slow his racing heart before flipping the light switch on and bathing the kitchen with bright light.

"Oh my god, Jin, you scared me."

"Don't lie, Kookie. Brave man like you would never be scared of little old me," Jin teased.

Jungkook froze and stared at the other man. Jin had just called him Kookie again, and he even teased him with the same phrase that he always used whenever he successfully scared Jungkook by jumping out at him. It had delighted Jin every time.

"Yoojin?" Jungkook asked uncertainly.

"No. I'm Kim Seokjin."

The empty crystal goblet fell from Jungkook's hand as he stared at Jin with wide open shocked eyes.