Chapter Text
Beeping sounded somewhere in the distance, but he couldn't place how far it was. It was dark and his body felt heavy, even his fingers ached when he attempted to move them.
A faint murmur mixed with the beeping, and he strained to understand the noise. Was that a voice? Was someone talking?
Turning his head towards the sound, he tried to find the source.
"... waking… call…"
It was a voice, but he wasn't able to understand a word being said.
"The Doctor… give.. space…outside."
It was another voice, different from the first. This voice was a higher pitch, a female.
Groaning as his efforts to find the voice ended fruitless, he clenched his eyes as a headache began to form.
"Mark? Can you… open.. eyes…"
It was the first voice again. The words were fading in and out, but he was finally able to understand them. The person wanted him to open his eyes. When had he closed them?
Slowly, he did as asked. The dim room greeted him, and he took in a deep breath as he was met with an unfamiliar place.
He was lying in bed, a white blanket covering him, and a wire sticking out of his arm.
Panic formed as he wanted to reach over and yank the wire, but his body felt numb. He felt like he had just woken up from a long nap.
"Mark? I'm doctor Choi. Are you okay?"
Looking over to the man who spoke, he took in his doctor's coat and his look of concern. Why was this man looking at him, and who was Mark?
Feeling the numbness start to fade and pushing past the sluggishness, he reached over to yank the needle sticking into his skin and looked up as a small hand wrapped around his, stopping him from reaching it.
Looking up, he looked into the eyes of the woman who had stopped him. She wore scrubs and was probably a nurse.
He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. His throat was sore, his head was pounding, his body ached, and he was tired. What was happening to him?
"Nurse Shin, will you help Mark sit up?"
Turning to look at the doctor, he jolted as the bed he was laying on started to move. His head lifted and the movement only stopped when he was in an upright position. He looked over to the nurse before looking to the doctor who held out a cup of water.
His name must be Mark.
Reaching out slowly, he grabbed the cup and took a sip. He knew his mouth was dry, but he hadn't realized how dry until the glass was returned to the doctor empty.
"How are you feeling?"
"In pain." Mark choked out. Gulping as the words irritated his throat. "Where am I?"
The doctor smiled. "You're in the hospital."
A hospital? He looked to the nurse again before returning his gaze back to the doctor. Okay. He could believe that, but why was he at the hospital?
"Why?"
"Do you not remember?" The Doctor frowned. He shared a look with the nurse and straightened his back. "How much do you remember?"
"Nothing. I don't remember anything." He didn't even remember his name. Was he supposed to tell the doctor that? "I-"
He trailed off. He tried to think about the reason he was in the hospital, but nothing came up. It was like everything in his mind was wiped clean. He didn't even know who he really was.
"You were in a car accident." The nurse started, her voice soothing as she grabbed hold of his hands. Whatever she was planning on telling him was going to upset him. His chest pounded. "Your father was driving you and your family when the car was hit by an 18-wheeler."
Mark looked away from the nurse. His heart ached but it didn't ache because of the accident, it ached because he didn't remember his family.
"You were the only survivor."
Looking up to the nurse, he knew she was waiting for his tears to fall. A moment passed and she tilted her head in confusion as her expectations weren't met. How could he cry for people he didn't know? He supposed it was sad to lose people who could tell him who he really was.
"Mark? Are you okay?" The Doctor sounded concerned, and his gaze matched the voice.
"I'm fine." Mark looked between the two. He felt bad that he didn't feel the desire to mourn. "I don't remember them. I don't remember anything."
He repeated the words, hoping the doctor finally understood what he really meant. A flash of realization flashed through the doctor's gaze.
"You don't remember anything, meaning absolutely nothing about your life?"
"I didn't even remember my name. I assume it's Mark."
The Doctor and the nurse shared another look and Mark felt the drowsiness begin to take over. He knew he needed to be awake to ask his questions, but his body was telling him to sleep. He ached in places he didn't even know existed.
"Who am I?"
"Your name is Mark Tuan, you are 13 years old, and your body is telling you that you need some rest."
Marks eyes closed as he thought of his name. Mark Tuan. He felt nothing as the name repeated in his mind.
"Why can't I remember anything?" His voice was low. He was fighting his sleep, but it was a losing body.
"The trauma from the accident must have caused it. When you wake again, we will perform some tests."
Mark continued to lay still as he felt the nurses' hands probe him. She was checking his vitals, making sure everything was okay before he fell back asleep.
"How long was I asleep?"
"A week and two days."
The doctors voice sounded far away. The numbness from earlier had returned.
"What is going to happen to me if I don't have a family anymore?"
The darkness took over before he heard that answer.
###
4 years later
Mark yawned, listening to Jacksons rambles as he complained about last night's homework. It was the same thing every day. They would meet in their Math class, Jackson would complain about how hard the homework was, and he would copy Jihyo’s homework because Mark always refused to have his work copied.
"You know," Mark started, leaning back in his chair. "You wouldn't have much to complain about if you let me show you how to do it after the game."
"It was your fault I couldn't." Jackson grumbled, his pencil moving a mile a minute as he finished copying. "How am I supposed to ask for help when you're surrounded by your fans?"
Rolling his eyes, Mark wondered why Jackson was blaming everyone but himself. Sure, there were fans that surrounded him after the game, and the newspaper committee wanted a statement for today's school paper, but there were other opportunities for Jackson to ask him.
"You could have asked after the dinner." Mark held a hand up to stop Jackson from speaking as he opened his mouth. "And don't try to feed me some shit about the dinner running late. You could have left when I did and spent the night."
Mark lived with his aunt, and she was never home. He had felt bad at first, living with his aunt and not really knowing who she was, but after the first few months that feeling faded. He felt like he was living alone. He only saw her once every few weeks.
She had a look of regret every time she looked at him, and her eyes always watered. Mark had asked her why after the first 3 days of him moving in and she had told him that he looked just like his mother.
The first time he saw a picture of his family, his parents, younger brother, and sisters, he understood what she meant. He was a spitting image of his mother.
He still felt nothing as he looked at old photos, and he still had no memories of who he was before the accident.
"Jackson couldn't leave with you because he was too busy trying to get laid." Jihyo said, sliding into the seat next to Jackson and leaning over him to see har far he had gotten. "He disappeared with some girl right after you left."
Jihyo was captain of the cheer squad, much like he was captain of the basketball team. Every time they had a team function the cheerleaders always tagged along. It was because the basketball coach, and the cheer coach were married. They wanted to celebrate together.
Raising a brow, he tilted his head in interest. "JooHeon won't like that."
"We broke up before the game." Jackson hissed. His grip on the pencil tightened and it snapped in his hand. Groaning in irritation, he grabbed the pencil sitting on Mark's notebook and started writing again. "He was upset that I couldn't make it to his band's performance because of the game."
Jackson and JooHeon were the definition of a toxic relationship. They broke up for the smallest things, and in between their breakups they slept around with anyone willing before getting back together. It was insanity every time.
Jihyo and Mark shared a look but said nothing. They had asked Jackson many times why he got back together with the other and his answer was the same every time. He loved him and no one else would put up with him.
Mark begged to differ, but Jackson was already hooked. It was sickening to see his friend go through this.
"Besides, I didn't hook up with anyone last night. Hani needed a ride home, so I took her."
"So, the reason you played like shit yesterday is because of the breakup?" Mark taunted, trying to change the subject from Jacksons horrible love life to his horrible skills last night. He had missed every shot and missed nearly every pass. The coach benched him after 1 quarter, and he was lectured by the assistant coach in game.
"Fuck you." Jackson tossed the pencil back to Mark's notebook and closed Jihyo's workbook and passed it back to her. "Besides, I heard you and Kevin broke up yesterday too."
Mark shrugged, dropping the chair onto the floor, and leaning his chin in his hand. He dated around but the relationship never lasted. Despite constant breakups everyone wanted a piece of him, and he never rejected a confession.
"Yeah. He said that my mind was fucked up and that no sane person would be able to handle that."
It was a common reason for a breakup. He had never hidden his past, and when he had transferred into the school everyone had already known since one of his classmates heard their parents talking about it since they were friends with his aunt and told the whole school about it. Most of the kids he met in middle school were his classmates in high school.
For a month he had been treated as a pariah of bad luck, but Jackson seemed to be unbothered by him. He latched onto him, pulling Jihyo along, and they had been friends ever since.
It wasn't until he played a basketball game with Jackson and the team that he found out he was good enough to join the team, and joining the team brought on a new level to his social life. When he reached high school, he was the only freshman JV captain, and when he became a junior, he became Varsity captain. Now he was a senior and it was his last year to captain a team.
He didn't plan on playing in college.
"He's an asshole." Jackson frowned.
"Someone needs to kick him in his nuts."
Mark laughed as his friends tried to comfort him. He didn't need it. He didn't really care, but it was nice that his friend's cared about him.
The bell rang, signaling the start of third period and Jackson turned to face the front as the teacher stepped in.
The class settled down, only a few quiet shippers picking up as a new face followed behind the teacher.
The teacher stopped in front of the class, the stranger stopping as well, and turned towards the class.
"Good afternoon class, we have a new student joining us today. His name is Park Jinyoung, please treat him well as this is his first class of the day."
Mark eyed the new student, much like his classmates were. He looked put together. His hair was neatly combed, his black sweater was fitted and matched well with his blue jeans, and his black rimmed glasses tied the look together. He looked to be the studious type.
Glancing around the class, he could see the sparkle in everyone's eyes. Park Jinyoung was a shiny new toy everyone wanted to get their hands on. Mark was impressed that the new kid didn't squirm under everyone's gaze.
"Mark, if you could show him to lunch and his next class." The teacher called, forcing some of the students to glance his way in envy. "You have your last two periods together."
"Sure thing, teach." Mark called out, leaning back in his chair in an uncaring way.
"Jinyoung, you can sit next to Mark. If you have any questions, he'll be able to answer them. If not, then you can see me after class."
Jinyoung nodded, smiling at the teacher as he moved to take his seat. He ignored the stares of his new classmates and smiled at Mark as he slid into his desk.
"Thanks for showing me around." He whispered, pulling out his notebook and mechanical pencil.
"No problem." Mark answered in return. He saw Jihyo send him a look over her shoulder and raised a brow in question.
He never got his answer as she turned to look at the teacher as he asked for the homework to be collected.
It was okay though. He could get his answer after class.