ninety-six

"Would you please leave?" Jisung snapped, losing his cool quickly. He didn't trust the people in the room. Honestly, they made him feel very uncomfortable.

Minho looked at his friends for help, and thankfully Chan reacted immediately. "Why don't we tell the nurse that Jisung is already awake? A doctor should speak to him soon," he suggested.

Felix nodded and led Minho out of the room, the other two demons followed them. Jisung heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, the creeps were out of his sight.

As soon as they closed the door, Minho lost his nerves. He ran his hand through his hair, cursing under his breath. "Fuck, this can't happen."

"This has to be a cruel joke! Why doesn't he remember me?" His emotions were a wild vortex, a mix between anger and desperation. However, he tried his best to keep them under control.

A doctor along with a nurse then entered Jisung's room, and the demons sat on the chairs outside patiently to wait for an update.

"Perhaps he injured his head when you fought the blood mage," Seungmin sighed. "Wait for what the doctor will tell us."

Many minutes passed. To the four of them, it felt like the wait was endless. The longer it held on, the more restless they became.

Minho leaned against the wall, sighing deeply, while Felix and Chan tried to distract themselves with their phones.

Seungmin was the most composed amongst all of them, but even he grew increasingly impatient. After thirty boring minutes, the door finally opened and the doctor returned.

Her expression was serious. It was apparent that something was up. "Are you Jisung's friends?" She asked right away, and they answered yes, eager to hear an update on the situation.

"I spoke to him just now, and the issue is clear to me. He is suffering from dissociative amnesia. This type of memory loss is typically caused by overwhelming stress or trauma," she said, taking a look at her notes.

"While he remembers his name and who he is, all recent memories are gone. Fortunately, this condition is only temporary. In other cases of dissociative amnesia, patients have recovered some of their memories either on their own or through specific triggers and therapy."

"So he will be fine?" Minho asked.

"Yes. It's hard to say for how long it will last, whether it will be a few hours, a week, or longer, but I'm confident that he will remember soon," the doctor said. "Does he live alone?"

"No, he lives with me," Minho replied. "I'm his boyfriend."

"O-Oh... I see, then we should talk about the treatment he should receive from now on. How about we talk in my office?"

Minho agreed, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible. While he followed the doctor, the three other demons chose to stay with Jisung instead.

They re-entered the hospital room and found him sitting on the bed, staring down at his hands with a frown on his face.

"Jisung," Felix said to get his attention. He and the other demons came to stand next to the bed, smiling at him. "How are you feeling? The doctor told us—"

"Didn't I tell you guys to leave me alone?!" He shouted. "Why are you guys in here again? What do you want?"

"Calm down. We won't hurt you or anything," Seungmin said to try and reassure him. "We're your friends. You can trust us," he added.

"Are you sure?" He asked as he was unconvinced by what the stranger had just told him. Their conversation came to  a halt when the door opened and Minho returned, holding a few documents in his hands.

"You're back," Chan said. Judging by his behavior towards the other man, Jisung concluded that they knew each other well, perhaps they were even boyfriends or something.

"What are your names?" He asked. The simple question was followed by an awkward silence. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to ask that...

"I'm Felix," the blond-haired demon started and went on to introduce the others. "The guy right beside me wearing a pickle costume is Seungmin, and the guy next to him is Chan."

He paused for a moment and turned to face Minho. "Uh, and that guy over there, um, well, he's your—"

"I'm Minho," he said in a hollow tone. He sounded tired and sad, and Jisung got the sudden urge to comfort him.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't seem to remember you. Please don't be upset. I'm sure it's only temporary." At least, that was what he hoped.

"Don't worry about it," he sighed. "It's not your fault." The pained expression on his face made Jisung's heart ache for some reason.

To be continued...