Remembering Elizabeth (Featuring Suho and Sehun)

I still couldn’t believe he had come to get me. I kept looking over at Suho in the car, and even though he was raving in Korean, I had to smile each time. He had put me in the car, putting a hand on my head so that I didn’t bump it on the door, and wrapped the seat belt around me like a child. It was so sweet. I guess I didn’t realize how tired I had gotten from staying up all night and crying so much but the relief of being here and the heat of the car made me drowsy and before I knew it, I was asleep.
When I opened my eyes, I had been transported to a fairytale world. Suho was trying to get me out of the car but I was busy trying to look around his shoulder. This couldn’t be right. Had he brought me to a really expensive hospital? A REALLY expensive hospital? The house looked like a castle.
“Where are we?” I asked as Suho shut the car door and took my hand.
“I can’t seem to trust anyone else so I brought you home. Is that alright?” he asked.
Home?! Wow! I think Suho is Prince Charming!
Suho looked around at me and laughed. My eyes must have been super wide as I tried to look at everything. “Hmmm? Uh… yeah, it’s fine.”
“Are you sure? You look a little upset,” he said.
“Not upset. Amazed. You live in a castle!” I couldn’t help but show my wonderment.
Suho burst with laughter. “It’s not a castle. It’s just a house.”
“No. When parts of your house are round and have cone shaped roofs, you live in a castle.”
He had to stop to laugh at that one. “You are so cute.”
I blushed.
When Suho opened the front door, he went through but I didn’t. I was frozen in place. I didn’t belong here. I was afraid if I stepped over that threshold that I would wake up in that dirty little corner of that horrible state house room and realize this was all a beautiful dream that I had escaped into. This was a place for important people and I felt like by entering it I would make it dirty somehow. I didn’t feel worthy.
“Well, come on in,” Suho said.
“Who are you Suho?” I asked.
His mouth turned into a line as he looked at me. I must have looked crazy standing outside the door.
“I tell you what, if you come in and let me get some food into you, we’ll sit down and I’ll explain everything that I know. I also have someone here that I want you to meet.” He held out his hand to me.
I halfway hoped that when I stepped into that house that I would start to spin around and my mismatched clothes would become Cinderella’s dress, glass slippers and all. As I put one foot into the “castle” I was hit with a feeling. A bad one and I didn’t know why it was bad. A pain hit my brain and I grabbed my head and cried out as images began to come to me in flashes. I didn’t know why I knew but the last time I had stepped into someone’s house I didn’t step out for a long time. I saw Tom’s door only it didn’t belong to Tom. There was another man there. The images were chaotic and didn’t seem connected. I saw a thick chain, pink rose petals, a red sofa, and a diamond ring. I couldn’t make it stop.
Then, the pain was gone and I opened my eyes to look up at Suho who was standing over me with the most pained expression I had ever seen on someone’s face.
“Elizabeth! Are you alright? Please be alright. What is happening?” He sounded panicked.
I wanted to reassure him so I smiled and said, “Hi Suho. Am I Cinderella yet?”
He collapsed beside me. He pulled me into his lap and hugged me. “What am I going to do with you? Stop scaring me!”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I think I was remembering something.”
He stood up pulling me with him and said, “Can you stand? Can you walk?”
“I’m fine now. I can walk.” The truth was I was a little dizzy but he seemed so worried that I couldn’t tell him that.
I looked around at the entrance for the first time and this place just kept getting better and better. Everything was gleaming white and shining crystal glass. There were columns everywhere I looked and to the left was a staircase that wound around the wall to a high balcony on the second floor. Doors led off in all directions and I could only imagine what treasures lay beyond each one. I followed Suho through a large door under the staircase and into what had to be one of the round rooms I had seen from the outside. It was only round on the outside but otherwise it was long and full of expensive looking furniture. There were couches and chairs with delicate looking legs and puffy footstools and shiny doodads on little tables. This room was also white and cream with touches of pastel here and there in the form of pillows and throws. There were gigantic pictures on some of the walls that were most definitely painted and not photographed. The room should have looked stuffy and untouchable but the opposite was true. It was very inviting and I just wanted to sink down into one of those puffy looking couches and cuddle up.
Suho helped me with my coat and took off his own. I admired how he matched the house with his big white sweater and pressed black pants. His shoes were even shiny. I looked at my clothes and I felt like a bag lady.
“Come over here and sit down. You look like you’re about to drop. Did you sleep at all last night?” he asked as he led me to the puffy couch I had been eying.
“I didn’t dare. That place was really scary.” I’ve been in scarier. I didn’t know why I had that thought. Amnesia was a real bitch!
“I’m so sorry they sent you there. They should have contacted me first.”
“It’s okay. It isn’t your place to save me Suho. I mean I’m so glad you did but it still isn’t your job.” All of a sudden I felt like a burden.
“It is. I found you. I sent you to that hospital. It’s my job.” He walked over to a panel on the wall and pushed some buttons, said some things in Korean and then came to sit in the chair beside me.
“We will eat in a few minutes but first I need to talk to you. Are you ready to hear what I found out from the doctors at the hospital? Some of it is pretty bad I’m afraid and if you’d rather wait until you’ve rested that would be fine with me.” Suho looked very serious.
I thought about it. Of course I was dying to know something. Anything. But now that I was confronted with finding out bad things, I felt a little afraid. Look, its already happened. Whatever it was is over and you are safe now. It’s better to know than to be in the dark and keep having these weird flashes that you don’t understand.
“I’d like to know now,” I said in a quiet voice.
He thought for a minute and I felt like it was just as hard for him to say as it was going to be for me to hear. He sat up and put his hands together in front on him, elbows on knees. It seemed like a fatherly way to sit.
“Well, some really bad things happened to you. They don’t know everything of course and they are guessing about some of it. It seems that you have been abused by someone for a while. You are underweight and malnourished which means you’ve been starved but they don’t know for how long.” Suho swallowed and looked at his hands as he talked. I had another quick flash of the man in that apartment I first woke up in. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at his hands, and then it was gone.
Suho continued without looking at me, “They think the cuts that you have come from a strap of some kind. It looks like you were beaten. And the marks on your wrists suggest that you were tied up too. There is an odd deep bruise on your ankle and they think it was from some sort of longterm imprisonment. There was a needle mark on your arm and they think you were given something that caused your amnesia. If that is the case, they may be able to reverse it. It depends on what you were given and if it caused any permanent brain damage.”
Suho sat back and cleared his throat. The way he sat now didn’t look fatherly at all. He looked like a little boy in a big chair who was about to confess a wrong he had done. I could tell that whatever he had to tell me next was very hard to say. I braced for the worst because what I had just heard was pretty bad.
“The worst part is that they found some damage on the inside. They think…” he paused and began rubbing his hands on his pants.
“It’s okay Suho. I’m okay,” I felt such a need to reassure him.
“They think you were “savagely raped” which are their exact words.” He closed his eyes and bit his thumb nail.
It was quiet for a minute and I let it all sink in. I didn’t remember any of it. How can something that bad happen to someone and they not remember any little part of it?
“Is that all?” I asked.
“Not exactly.” He sat up again and finally looked at me. Instead of sadness or pity what I saw in Suho’s eyes was fury. “There have been some disappearances of American girls in Korea for a few years now. You were the last one and the only one to be known to survive. But, the way that you were found has given the police some hope that they may find some of the others alive too. They may just be in other countries with the same amnesia that you have. That is why we know who you are and who your family is. They have been searching for you for months and your sister is coming to get you next week.” He looked so relieved to be done with the worst of it. I think the fact that I didn’t freak out helped a lot.
“Well, that’s good I guess. Can we have a ball before then?” I looked at Suho who looked completely dumbfounded. I started to laugh a little and then a little more until we were both laughing so hard we couldn’t talk.
After we settled down, he said, “We shall see.”
Then, a voice said something in Korean and I looked around to see the source but there wasn’t one.
Suho began to laugh again. He said, “It’s just the intercom. The food’s ready. Come on.”
He stopped at the panel and pushed some buttons. He said something I didn’t understand and another disembodied voice spoke. He sounded stern then and said something that sounded like an order. Suho was impressive.
We left the room to cross the front entrance to go into a set of double doors. I looked up at the balcony as we went through and noticed a messy looking young man looking down at us. Even though he was rumpled, he was still beautiful. Then it struck me. Ohhhhh! It makes sense now. Two gorgeous men sharing a house this nice and being impeccably dressed all of the time. I get it. This must be Suho’s significant other!
I forgot my thoughts though when we entered the dining room. I was speechless. It wasn’t that big but it was magnificent. Crystal and gold glinted around the room. There was a long cherry wood table that shined like a mirror and had twelve chairs surrounding it that looked as soft and cushy as the sofa in the living room. I sunk down into one and looked over the food that had been spread out on the table. It was way too much for the two of us.
“Are we having company?” I asked Suho who had taken the seat beside me at the head of the table. He flipped a cloth napkin which he settled in his lap so I did the same.
“Just Sehun. I want you to meet him before I tuck you into a nice warm bed for the night.”
A cute little woman in a pink maids uniform came out and began serving us.
“Junie?”
I looked around and saw the pretty rumbled man leaning against the door. He barely looked at me.
“Come and eat Sehun. I have someone I want you to meet.” Suho didn’t even look up. He just took a sip of his water.
“I’m not really hungry. Can’t we do this later?”
“No. Please sit down.” Suho sounded stern.
The man Suho called Sehun rolled his eyes as he walked behind him and chewed on his bottom lip. He sat across from me and slumped in his chair.
“Sit up Sehun. This is Elizabeth. She is going to be our house guest for a week and I’m putting you in charge of her care.”
Sehun and I both stared at Suho with our mouths open.
“Um… no. That’s not going to work Junie. I can’t.” Sehun looked at me and then back at Suho.
“Where are your manners Sehun? You haven’t said one word to Elizabeth.” Suho talked to Sehun like a father instead of a lover. Maybe he was his big brother.
“Forgive me. Hello. It is nice to meet you but Junie is mistaken. I don’t mean to be rude but I can’t care for myself right now. Much less you.” He licked his lips and slumped down again.
“Elizabeth, Sehun has been going through something and he needs something to take his mind off of it for a while. He also needs to improve his English. Since I have a lot of business to work on this week I think this is the perfect solution. Sehun, Elizabeth has also been through something and she can sympathize. She needs a lot of care right now and you aren’t busy. Please sit up and eat something. Also, next time you come to the table, please dress for it.” Suho took a bite and looked at us with a grin on his face.
Sehun sat with his eyes rolled up the whole time Suho talked.
“May I be excused,” asked Sehun.
“Sehun, you haven’t eaten for days. Please at least eat a little. Then I need for you to take Elizabeth up to the pink room and help her get ready for bed.”
“Fine.” Sehun pushed his fork around the plate without taking one bite.
I couldn’t help but look at him between my own bites. He was pretty yes but he was also interesting. He had a habit of biting his bottom lip which I found enticing for some strange reason. I was also a little sad that I wasn’t going to spend my time with Suho. I didn’t know why but I only felt safe in his presence. I didn’t know how I was going to deal with this solemn man in front of me.
We finished the rest of the meal in silence. When we were done, Sehun waited for me to go through the door and then led me up the stairs. He still hadn’t said a word. We went down a long hallway and turned left in the middle. This place was huge! We went to a door in the middle of this hall and when he opened it, I almost fell down. The pink room wasn’t pink. It was pink and white and cream and gold. The room was big and spacious with tall ceilings and wood floors. Plush rugs were everywhere and a giant fireplace dominated the end of the room. The most magnificent part of the room though was the bed. It was in the center of the room on a platform surrounded by columns. The bed had to be king sized but it was rounded on the edges and while the sheets were cream colored, the satiny comforter on top was the prettiest pink I’d ever seen. It was a very girly room with gold accents everywhere and plump pink chairs and a couch in front of the fireplace.
“Eeeee!” I couldn’t help but squeal when I went inside. I looked around at Sehun with a huge smile and a look of delight on my face and I think it melted his armor a bit because he looked down and smiled. I think he tried not to laugh at me. “Is this really my room? Really?”
“Yes. Really. If you’d like to wash up before bed there is a bathroom through that door.” Sehun pointed to a door I hadn’t seen at the other end of the room.
“I feel like a princess!” I jumped up and down a little as I looked around. Sehun did laugh a little then.
“If you don’t need anything else, I’ll have something sent up for you to sleep in. I’ll check on you in the morning okay?” He turned to go.
“I’m sorry Sehun,” I said and he stopped but didn’t turn around.
“For what?” he asked.
“I’m sorry I have become your burden. I’ll be fine on my own. You don’t have to babysit me.”
“I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well.” He walked away. I felt bad.
When Sehun had left, he shut the door but looking at that closed door made my stomach ache for some reason. I hurried over and jerked it open. I almost didn’t expect it to open or to even be locked but it opened easily and I left it open wide. I walked around the room and looked at everything and touched everything. This can’t be real.
Another little woman in a pink maids outfit came in and laid out a shirt and men’s pajama pants on the bed and turned down the blankets. She smiled as she she left and shut the door. I rushed over and opened it again. I’m going to have to leave word that the door needs to stay open. I walked over and looked at the clothes I was supposed to sleep in but for some reason I knew I couldn’t wear those. I kept getting flashes of that little apartment bedroom, a broken dresser, and clothes laying everywhere. What the hell?
I just climbed in the bed with the clothes I was wearing and I was asleep before I could begin to think of my strange situation.

Notes