Chapter 9

Enrique wasn't lying when he said he was here to talk to Jin Rak. Sure, he had hoped that Dok Mi would show up, but his intent was to inform him of things after he'd cleaned her door. He waited a few moments just to make sure she wouldn't come back out. Please, just go home, she said. He sighed. He was truly going to have to start over with her.

He moved over a door and knocked on apartment 401. Jin Rak answered the door immediately. He had probably been expecting Dok Mi.

"Enrique," he said, "I figured you'd-"

"Be with her," Enrique finished, "We need to talk"

Jin Rak let him inside and they sat together on the couch. This information would surely come as a shock to him too.

"Amnesia?" Jin Rak said when Enrique finished. His eyes were wide and there were a million thoughts going through his mind, "Will she ever remember?"

"The Doctor's said these things clear up on their own most of the time," Enrique said, "But I don't know."

Jin Rak was trying his best to look sympathetic, but he couldn't help but think of this as a restart. Another chance to impress Dok Mi. another chance to love her. But Enrique had become his friend. A betrayal like that would be unforgivable. Not to mention that it would be dishonorable for him if Dok Mi only fell for him because she couldn't remember the real love of her life. No, he couldn't go after Dok Mi.

"So… what do we do"

"I think I need to stay away for a while," he said. The words burned his throat as he spit them out.

"That might be best" Jin Rak replied, "If she's really 22, she might not be ready for you yet"

Enrique nodded, "I'd figured that much out," he said, "But I need you to help her if I can't"

"How?" Jin Rak asked, "We weren't friends until you showed up. We'd only talked a handful of times"

"I know," Enrique said, "But you need to become her friend. You need to help her remember the past five years"

"So you're asking me," Jin Rak began, "To help the woman I love remember that she loves another man?" the idea was so absurd Jin Rak laughed. But it was even more absurd that he was going to do it.

"Do you think this is funny, Oh Jin Rak?" Enrique snapped, "Because she'll never fall for you trapped in that apartment. I don't just want you to make her remember me. I want her to remember loving the life she had built.

"I want her to remember that she had let her barriers down and allowed herself to love again. I want her to remember that she decided the risk of heartbreak was worth it. I want her to be whole again"

"I'll do it" Jin Rak said.

"What?" Enrique replied. He had been so unprepared for him to agree so easily.

"I'll become her friend" Jin Rak repeated, "And I promise you, I will not try to win her."

"Really?"

"You're my friend, Enrique. And Dok Mi loved you with all her heart, even if she doesn't remember it."

Enrique was touched. The two had absolutely hated each other in the beginning, and now Jin Rak was agreeing to give her up.

"But…" Jin Rak said quietly, "What if she doesn't remember?"

That had been the one thing Enrique hoped he wouldn't say. It was easy to put that one terrible possibility out of his own mind as long as no one else vocalized it. Enrique could deal with the pain and the torture as long as he believed that he was getting somewhere with her. But to believe everything he could do was all in vain… that was one thing he could not endure.

"I don't know, Jin Rak," Enrique admitted, "Leave for good, I suppose. There's nothing for me here but her."

"Don't ever let her hear you say that," Jin Rak said suddenly and seriously, "Amnesia or not, that'll stick with her once she remembers everything"

Enrique looked down at the ground. He didn't need reminding that Dok Mi always felt like she was tying him down. Like she was topping him from living his dreams. She was so stupid. She was his only dream. As long as he had her, everything else could wait. But he didn't have her right now and he had to deal with that.

Enrique gave Jin Rak a pat on the back, "I should go, Jin Rak," he said, "the sooner I'm away from her, the happier she'll be"

"You live across the street, Enrique. She's bound to notice you're still here"

"I'm not planning to stay across the street," he replied, "I'm not even planning on staying in the country."

"You can't seriously be going to Spain" Jin Rak said, "Not at a time like this."

"She won't even care that I'm gone"

"Maybe now she won't," he insisted, "But when she remembers, you'll be the first person she wants to see. And what'll I tell her then? That you lost hope and abandoned her? Because you did that before and you almost lost her"

"I didn't abandon-"

"Yes you did, Enrique," Jin Rak continued, "You got scared by your feelings and you ran away. And you're about to do it again"

Enrique wasn't use to getting scolded by Jin Rak. He decided that it wasn't pleasant, but Enrique couldn't deny that Jin Rak was right: he was scared. Scared that he was handling this wrong, scared that Dok Mi would never remember him, scared that she'd be angry with him even if she did remember. He was scared to lose her, as he'd nearly done before. He wanted to run away and let her try and find him when it should be the other way around. He needed to find Dok Mi again, no matter how much it scared him