Originally written in June of 2011. Kpop OTP ❤

They had been on their way to dinner. Having just finished a photo shoot, the two young men drove along the deserted street. The older sat behind the wheel, running a hand through his brunette bangs. He laughed at his partner's comments, pausing every moment to cast a glance his way. The way his heart fluttered every time he laid eyes on the younger, diva-like other never got old. Jonghyun's smile widened when Key finally looked over, noticing his glued stare.

"Jjong," Key scolded, though there was a hint of a tease in his tone. "Keep your eyes on the road, babo."

"My bad," Jonghyun chaffed and returned his gaze focused before him. He slipped a hand to Key's leg, massaging his thigh. Key batted his hand away, but not before looking pleased.

"Wonder where we're eating." Key had thrown the statement into the air off-handedly, causing Jonghyun to wonder if Key even remembered what day it was. Casting a sideways glance, he saw his companion gazing out the window with a glaze over his eyes. The corners of his mouth were involuntarily upturned and he fingered the unique necklace that usually dangled under his shirt – the sister necklace to Jonghyun's own. Jonghyun grinned again, and he knew Key knew too.

It was their anniversary. Well, in a way, it had been more than that. They had been dating before – before that incident. Jonghyun frowned as he thought back to the past, noticing small droplets of rain beginning to patter onto the car.

Sekyung. Before he had been dating Sekyung, Key and he had hit it off almost immediately. It was at the beginning of their Ring Ding Dong era when Jonghyun had asked - asked Key to go out with him, to be his. He had been contemplating for months, but it was the first time he had truly been scared. To find out he was bisexual was one thing – to see if Key was was another. But that simple question had changed nothing – it had only made it official. A month later, they exchanged necklaces: a key for Jonghyun, a jeweled (or "blinged") one for Key.

It was only some time after that when she popped into his life. Key and he had been going through their quarrels, each one gradually getting worse. In one particularly nasty spat, they had ended their relationship and in the end, he and Sekyung were then a couple. During that time, Jonghyun tucked away his necklace at the bottom of a drawer, hidden in sight and collecting dust. He thought Key would only do the same, but Jonghyun practically broke inside when Key had finally confessed to have worn it every day while they were apart…

Jonghyun cleared his throat as he flicked the windshield wipers on. But now he and Key were back together – and it was going to stay that way. He had been reckless and temporarily blinded, but that would happen no more. He would keep his promises. It had now been a year since he had re-asked Key, and it was going to become many years after that.

Subconsciously, Jonghyun's hand slid to his pants pocket where a small bulge was hardly noticeable. Inside laid a small box – a special box. Swallowing, the vocalist checked to see if Key was still looking away.

He was going to propose – make it even more official than it was already. He wanted to prove to Key that he was as faithful as he boasted, as serious as he claimed to be. Jonghyun honestly wanted to live with this man for the rest of his life, to be his one and only, to be more than a –

"JONGHYUN!"

At Key's shriek, Jonghyun gripped the steering wheel with both hands as his mind cleared. Ahead of him, all he could see were the blinding headlights of an oncoming truck, much larger in size than they were. With no time to think, Jonghyun made a hard turn. Due to the rain, their car slid, skidding on the wet road. The last thing Jonghyun could recall were the desperate screams of Key before everything went black.

1 WEEK LATER

Jonghyun burst through the hospital doors, his eyes immediately focused upon the bed by the window.

"Is he awake yet?" These four words could've easily become his most commonly-used ones during the last seven days, and he would continue to repeat them until he got the answer he wanted. He stepped forward, holding his breath as Onew, Minho, and Taemin soon followed in.

The doctor stood from his stool by the bedside, his face sympathetic. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Kim," he answered sadly. "He still remains in his coma, and like I've said, we are unsure when he may recover… if at all."

Jonghyun ground his teeth as he looked away. He remained silent as the doctor kindly excused himself, allowing them to be alone. Taemin walked up to Jonghyun, wordlessly slipping his arms around his hyung's waist from behind.

"Don't listen to him, Jonghyun-hyung," the maknae murmured. "Doctors are trained to say that… he doesn't know Key like we do."

At the mention of the name, Jonghyun's teary eyes slid from the floor to the bed once more. There lay Key, peacefully still, looking as if he were merely napping. Taemin gently grabbed Jonghyun's hand, leading him quietly to Key's side. Onew and Minho followed at a respectful distance, knowing crowding would only be a hindrance.

"Why won't he wake?" Jonghyun croaked, knowing it was a childish question. Because you were careless, you fool. He could clearly picture Key, with his twinkling eyes, playfully pushing his shoulder and laughing, "Babo!" A tear spilled onto the vocalist's cheek, and Taemin stared at him sadly.

"Maybe it's not his time yet." Jonghyun glanced at Taemin, who gave him a hopeful smile. "U-Umma knows best."

3 DAYS LATER

Jonghyun sat alone in a small coffee shop by the hospital, blankly stirring his drink. He refused to be far from Key, faithfully hoping at any moment he could return and Key'd be there, awake – smiling, laughing, teasing, or anything. He'd give anything to have Key back. To have him alive and whole but unresponsive was so… it was as if Key wasn't there at all.

Every day, he would look at those pictures – those pictures of the photo shoot from ten days ago, remnants from the times he now craved. It seemed the only two things he ever did nowadays were to sit by Key's bedside and flip through the photos, trying not to let any of his tears drop onto them. Some might call him hopeless, but it was all he could do to stay sane. Of course, they didn't help erase the blame he constantly brought upon himself…

Jonghyun took a sip of his beverage, hardly tasting anything. He looked out the window at the cloudy sky, letting out a long exhale. It was only when he heard someone clear their throat nearby that he tore his gaze from outside.

"L-Leeteuk?"

The leader of Super Junior sat across from him at the two-person table, holding his own hot drink and smiling widely.

"Hey there, yourself," Leeteuk cordially answered. "You looked a tad lonely, and for once I came here myself, so I figured why not save a table and sit together?" The older man chuckled, adding, "But of course, if you'd prefer–"

"Oh no," Jonghyun quickly interrupted, "it's… it's fine." He smiled, glad to see another friendly familiar face. "Sorry for… for not noticing you earlier."

Leeteuk waved a hand, shaking his hand. "Nah, don't worry about it. I get noticed all the time by fans, it's nice to be ignored now and then." Noticing Jonghyun's inquiring expression, he laughed again. "Nevermind, enough about me." Folding his legs, Leeteuk leaned forward. "How about you? What's up? Anything you want to talk about?"

Jonghyun shrugged, attempting a smile. "Nothing much. The usual stress, trying to write a new song, got another photoshoot coming up–"

"Is it this easy for everyone to tell that you're lying?"

"I – what?" Jonghyun paused, catching Leeteuk's eye. "What're you saying?" He wasn't lying… he was stressed, he actually was working on a song, there was yet another photo shoot on their schedule…

"I mean," Leeteuk rephrased, choosing his words carefully, "you're avoiding something." There was a deliberate break while the older man finally asked, "It's Key, isn't it?"

Jonghyun's expression hardened, and he was about to deny it… but looking deeper into Leeteuk's eyes, he knew the leader had already caught on. Did he know what had happened? They had tried to keep it a secret from basically everyone, saying that Key merely had a serious case of the flu and was unable to attend all programs and other meetings…

Leeteuk cleared this throat, solemn now. "You see… Ryeowook was administered into the hospital today because he broke his arm during practice. We were all there to see him safely to his room, but I stayed behind because I felt, as the leader, I had to give him some extra words of encouragement. As I was leaving the ward – the one they reserve only for idols and such – I heard some doctors nearby talking about a certain Kim Kibum from SM Entertainment in a few rooms down. Knowing it wasn't our Kibum because he had just left an hour before, unharmed, I asked them about it. I proved that I was a part of SM as well and they let me in on what happened." Leeteuk sighed, laying a hand over Jonghyun's. "They let me see him… so I went to find you."

Jonghyun bit his lip, staring down into his coffee. "They don't know if he'll… if he'll ever wake up…" His voice was hardly above a whisper, strained and weak. He felt Leeteuk hand give him a reassuring squeeze.

"They don't know, but we do." Jonghyun raised his wet eyes to Leeteuk's warm smile. "You and the rest of SHINee know him better than anyone else ever could, and I know you especially have the greatest confidence in Key – so why believe a stranger when you could rely on this?" Leeteuk's fingertips rested on Jonghyun's chest, on his beating heart. Jonghyun sniffed, nodding.

"Yeah… you're right. I–"

He felt his cell phone buzz as it began to elicit a beautiful melody, a melody Key often would turn on to soothe his nerves. Pulling it out of his pocket, he politely excused himself – Leeteuk nodded knowingly, retreating his hand. Flipping the phone open, Jonghyun opened the latest text message, sent by Taemin.

He could've sworn his heart stopped for a moment.

"Uh, hey, Leeteuk," he began to mumble quickly, gathering his things and wrenching on his jacket. "I, um, gotta go, and uh…" His mind was in a flurry, and he nearly tripped over his chair as he tried to stand. He wished he could be more coherent, but at this moment, he could hardly remember his name. "Sorry to leave so soon, but I, uh, I'm going to–"

Leeteuk only grinned, grabbing Jonghyun's shoulders to brace him. "Alright, just calm down." He took the younger man's cell phone off the table and placed it into his hand. "Good luck, and don't hurt yourself." The Super Junior leader clapped him on the shoulder one more time before embracing him in a hug. "Hurry."

Jonghyun nodded, thankful, before spinning around and sprinting out of the shop. His legs were flying almost as fast as his heart was racing. Though his breath came in gasps, he didn't feel tired – at this rate, he felt he could run for miles without stopping. There was only one thing on his mind right now, and it was the text. In his mind, he reread it over and over, for it was the fuel he needed to keep running to his destination, the words he had been praying, dreaming, and longing for for over a week.

Come quick – he's awake!

10 MINUTES LATER

It was like Jonghyun had imagined. There he was, sitting upright, looking like a queen being doted upon, surrounded by the three other members. He was conversing with them, nodding, smiling, listening. His hands lay in his lap, his legs covered by a thin, white sheet. Jonghyun slowly stepped closer, almost afraid to breathe, to find out this was merely a dream. Was Key really awake?

"Jonghyun-hyung!" Taemin stood up, smiling widely. He jumped from his seat, beckoning Jonghyun closer. "We just arrived and look who we found waiting for us… come on!" The maknae ran to his hyung, grabbing his hand and pulling him to Key's bedside. "He doesn't remember the crash at all, we tried to inform him on what you had told us. Go on, talk to him!"

Jonghyun sat in the empty seat closest to Key's head, at a loss for words. He gazed into Key's beautiful eyes, finally at home. For the past ten days, he had been rehearsing what he would say once Key had awoken, but now… now, it was all forgotten. Jonghyun kept opening and closing his mouth, feeling the tears well up. Eventually, he just shook his head. Cupping Key's jaw with one hand, he ran his other through the diva's hair as he pressed their lips together, savoring the moment. It was the pure bliss he had missed so much, the soaring sensation he so often longed for, it was all right and perfect…

Until he felt two firm hands push on his chest, separating them.

Key glared at Jonghyun, highly offended and disgusted. Everyone else stared, dumbfounded. Onew's jaw dropped, Minho's eyes widened, Taemin gasped, and Jonghyun… Jonghyun was even more at a loss than before.

"Just who do you think you are?" The diva's demanding tone was sharp with no hint of a tease.

"I'm… Key, i-it's me… Jonghyun. You're… we're… we're together… remember?"

Key's eyebrows furrowed as he leaned back into his pillows, wiping his mouth and smoothing his hair. "Do you do this to everybody who just wakes up from a coma? Is this some sick habit of yours?"

Jonghyun glanced around at the other members, hoping they had planned some cruel joke beforehand. "I… no, Key… what're you talking about? It's me, Jonghyun! We've been together for a year now; no, more than that – we're in SHINee, it's been almost–"

"I know other Jonghyuns, but definitely not you." Key sniffed, his mouth set. "I also know I'm a part of SHINee, but I know you aren't, and I know we're not dating."

Jonghyun swallowed, trying to steady his nerves. "Key, listen to what you're saying. You–"

"I know perfectly well what I'm speaking about, thanks."

Taemin whimpered, shrinking into his seat. Jonghyun stopped to look at him, and Taemin, sensing his gaze, met his eyes. "I think he has a mild case of retrograde amnesia…"

Jonghyun blinked. "What?"

Taemin hesitated, but with an encouraging nod from Minho, he continued. "We learned about it recently in school, in health class. In the case of retrograde amnesia, patients who experience some trauma often forget what's happened to them prior to the accident. In Key's case, he remembers most things… except, well… you, Jonghyun. It seems he's forgotten everything that's passed between you two… recovery is possible, but events occurring closest to the accident are the easiest lost and may possibly be lost forever…" Taemin's voice trailed away, ending in a choked sob.

Jonghyun stared at his hands before glancing up at Key, who now refused to even look his way.

"I don't care what you say," Key muttered; "I was never in love with this stranger."

It broke Jonghyun's heart to hear those words, but for some reason, he wasn't entirely surprised to hear this response. It must've been some scenario that had played in his mind before, but he had refused to bring it to light…

But just like before, he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

He wouldn't lose Key to this.

He'd do whatever it took, whether it took a day, a year, a decade, or until he died.

Jonghyun leaned forward for another kiss, ignoring the slap to the cheek he received for it. "Then I'm just gonna make you fall in love with this stranger all over again."

1 DAY LATER

"Let me out of this car, you rapist!"

With the help from the others, Jonghyun had successfully managed to kidnap Key and bring him home from the hospital. The doctors had okayed him as healthy and had confirmed the strange case of amnesia – but this still didn't help convince Key he wasn't being taken home by an obsessed stalker.

"As you wish, honey." Jonghyun grinned, noting how it set Key off the edge. He didn't enjoy irritating Key in this deliberate way, but he hoped as time progressed, Key would slowly grow accustomed to such informal language as they had used before the accident.

Stepping out of the car and coming around to Key's side – for he had used the child-safety lock so that the door couldn't be opened from the inside – he opened the door and quickly scooped the younger man into his arms before he could escape. Key yelped in surprise, squirming roughly.

"Put me down!" he screamed, hating the fact he was being carried bridal style.

"Sure thing." Once they were inside the door, he set Key on his feet before locking the door and leaning his full weight against it. Key tried to pry him off, but to no avail. Jonghyun watched with slight amusement as Key continued to search for ways to get him off the door in a frustrated but determined manner. In the end, Key resorted to tickling, trying to find where the older man was most vulnerable.

"Mmm, nice try," Jonghyun chuckled, feeling satisfied. Only the Key he truly knew would know where he was most ticklish. "I bet you'll never–"

Dammit, he found it.

Key's fingers found their way to the point just between his shoulder blades, causing Jonghyun to collapse in a heap of laughter. Triumphant, Key reached for the doorknob only to be knocked off his feet. Too bad Jonghyun knew where Key was most ticklish, too.

"That's not fair," growled Key, trying to wriggle away from Jonghyun – but the other man had already pinned him to the ground, trapping his arms so that he could kiss him without a slap.

"How'd you know where I was ticklish?" Jonghyun questioned; when Key turned his face away so that he wouldn't be kissed on the mouth, he softly caressed the younger man's neck with his lips. "No one has ever guessed that spot correctly."

He felt Key hesitate before he began writhing again.

"You remembered a little, didn't you?"

"No!" Key's fierce eyes locked with his, but a trace of uncertainty was present in his glare. "Let me go, or I call the police!"

Jonghyun couldn't help laugh a bit. "I thought you were going to do that anyway?"

"Shut up," Key hissed aggressively, trying to knee the older man. "If you weren't so damn handsome, I'd…"

"Oh, so you remembered that as well? Or is that just a given?"

Jonghyun allowed himself to be shoved off, watching as Key fled down the hallway. Taking his time, the vocalist wandered after Key to hear some scuffling in the bedroom. Peeking into the room, he found Key frozen, staring at the pictures situated on the nightstand.

The pictures were of them, smiling, hugging, laughing, kissing, singing, eating, sleeping, doing practically everything together. On the other side of the bed was another nightstand, hosting another array of pictures, though of fewer in number. These were larger and obviously held in higher importance. The newest addition to these was from the most recent photo shoot, taking place only ten days ago. Jonghyun walked over to the other side of the bed, carefully picking up this photo and caressing the frame with his thumb.

"Ten days ago, Key. Only ten. The date's on here, in the corner." His voice was soft now, just above a whisper. "Go ask the photographer, go ask our manager, go ask the other members you saw just this morning." Jonghyun looked up at Key, reaching over the bed and thrusting the picture into his hands. "Look."

Key faltered before obeying. It indeed was him, held tightly in the embrace of Jonghyun. Jonghyun's arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, his eyes closed as he kissed Key's cheek. Key's expression was of surprise and elation, laughing as he tried to push his partner playfully away.

"'Babo,'" you would say, Jonghyun said quietly. "'Babo, this is a photo shoot. Be professional, we can't do this now!' The photographer let me keep that because it wasn't included in the official set. Now tell me you believe that's truly us!"

Key shook his head, refusing to listen. "I… no, it's not. It can't be. I don't remember you! It's not us! You must've Photoshopped his, or the photographer did, or someone!" He was tempted to throw the photograph onto the floor, but for some reason, he only laid it on the bed. "It's not us!"

"Look around you!" Jonghyun raised his voice and Key jumped, surprised the other man was behaving like this for the first time around him yet. "Look around this whole house! Your things are here and so are mine – we live together, Key! I don't care what kind of amnesia you have, you must remember somehow!" He stepped towards Key, who stepped back until he found himself plastered against the wall. With nowhere to run, he held his breath as Jonghyun pushed his forehead against his.

"Look at this." He reached down Key's shirt to pull out the necklace he wore. With his other hand, Jonghyun revealed his own.

"They match," Key found himself whispering before catching himself. "No; no no no! You could've slipped that around my neck while I was in my coma!" He pushed Jonghyun away, shaking his head. "Stop this, alright? I – I don't know what's going on, okay? Step in my shoes for a moment – I mean, I wake up yesterday only to find that I'm part of a band, SHINee. That came back to me fairly quickly, and for some reason I instantly remember the others once they introduce themselves. But then… then there's you! How come I don't remember you? For all I know, you're just some crazed stalker who's been allowed to kidnap me. You've stolen all my stuff and placed it around your house, making it look like I've lived here for months. You've had pictures of me Photoshopped into yours, you've bought me matching necklaces, you've had others lie to me about some supposed relationship we've had – how can I believe you?!"

By this point, Key's voice was shrill and shaking. He began to wobble, unsteady on his feet, until he collapsed onto the floor. He began to sob quietly, leaning against the wall. Jonghyun yearned to comfort Key but used all his will power to hold himself back – Key wouldn't accept it at this point.

A few minutes passed. Jonghyun sat on the bed, waiting patiently. Key's sobs eventually died down before he sat in silence, thinking.

"I want to believe you… but I think I just need some time."

Jonghyun nodded silently, rising to his feet. He replaced the photo back onto the nightstand before walking to the door. "I'll be sleeping on the couch… you can have the bed. Call me if you need anything, then." And he left.