Chapter 2: Memoriam

Summary: Min-Gi tries to return to a normal life after the field trip two years ago, but his past comes tumbling back in anyways.

Min-Gi adjusted the beanie on his head and remained buried in his notes. He’d prefer doing this at home in his room, but he had to go into work today and opted to take his breaks studying in the bathroom where he hoped he wouldn’t be questioned. At least today his shift at the diner was a moderate success with minimal interaction with other people. Now all he needed to do was to pass his G.E.D. exam so he could leave town, never to be seen again there. As soon as Ryan came back, of course.

Min-Gi wondered if he should’ve gone with Ryan the night he arrived perched on Min-Gi’s window, begging him to leave town for good in Ryan’s van together. Min-Gi shook his head. It was too risky, he told Ryan. He couldn’t change Ryan’s mind about leaving, however. The only thing Ryan left with Min-Gi was a long hug and a promise to return once he’d found a stable place for the two of them to start over.

They texted and called each other often, but it just wasn’t the same. Min longed for the days they'd spend in his room back to back, playing music until the sun came down. He missed the nights spent laying side by side in the grass, hands grasped together. Every so often he’d ask Ryan when he would come back, and he always answered with, “Soon.” He’s dealt with a year’s worth of “Soon” by now.

The sharp pounding against the stall door sends him and his notes sprawling. He opened the stall door and fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“Horace…”

“The new hire’s been waiting to start her training 10 minutes,” the older man said gruffly. Min-Gi sighed and stuffed his notes into his backpack before following Horace out of the bathroom. A young, dark skinned woman with curly black hair stood in the kitchen awkwardly. Her eyes lit up upon spotting Min-Gi.

“Hi…” she said softly.

“Portia?”

“You two know each other already?” Horace grunted, turning to Min-Gi. “You better not start giving her any special treatment.”

“You… don’t have to worry about that,” Min-Gi sighed.

“I’m just saying. Just because you’re in the running for Assistant Manager around here doesn’t mean I won’t hesitate to set you back in line.”

“I get it, Horace.” Min-Gi struggled to keep his annoyance from creeping back into his tone. Horace seemed satisfied with his answer and walked out of the kitchen. Portia casually rocked back and forth, her arms crossed behind her back.

“Haven't seen you in a while,” she finally says, looking at the floor.

“Yeah… I’ve been occupied.” He swallowed hard.

“So…you’re supposed to get me started with training?”

“Yes, right!” Min-Gi was grateful to change the subject. “So, basically we’ve gotta do a lot of things here. If there’s someone in the kitchen, there’s gotta be someone at the register. We usually alternate tasks depending on who shows up to the shift first. They get first pick. It’s super important that there’s more than one person on a shift. Back when I first started, I had to do literally everything on my own.”

“That must have been hectic!” Portia gasps.

“Yeah, but I was lucky to get this job in the end. Kinda hard finding employment these days.” He trailed off at the end, leaving an uncomfortable silence in the air only punctuated by the slight creaking of Portia swaying back and forth on the floor.

“So…” she finally said. “What do I do now?”

“Right. Well, I guess it depends on if you want to start with register or cooking duty. I’m pretty good with both so I could help you either way.”

“I guess we could try cooking! My half-sister usually cooks for the family and I’d like to try something on my own so I don’t have to order out when she’s not here,” she said. Min-Gi nodded and brought her over to the stove. He handed her a hairnet and placed one on his head.

“There’s quite a few meals you’re gonna have to learn how to make here at Dumpty’s but let’s start with something simple. We’re making flapjacks.”

Min-Gi proceeded to demonstrate how to prepare the batter the first time, then waited for Portia to try it on her own. Things were well until…

“Sorry!” she yelped as the batter splattered out of the bowl and onto the two of them.

“It’s alright! My first day, I dropped a plate of freshly heated grilled cheese sandwiches on Horace’s foot.”

“He must have been so mad.”

“Pissed, actually. If I weren’t the only one who was willing to work here, he’d have definitely fired me that day.”

He hands her a towel to get herself cleaned up.

“I’m surprised you’ve been working here all on your own before I got here,” she says, wiping her face.

“Yeah, well, business is usually slow around here, so it’s nothing I can't deal with.” Min-Gi got the rest of the mess cleaned up. “So, you wanna try again?”

“Maybe we should try the register for now. So I can learn about both!” She says, glancing back at the stove. Min-Gi shrugged and brought her out to the front. To his pleasure, Portia picked up on the ins and outs of the register pretty quickly. Within a few hours, she was capable of manning the register without Min-Gi watching over her so he could focus on other duties in the restaurant.

After a while, Min-Gi replaced the “Open” sign at the door with a “On Break” sign and crossed into the kitchen. Portia looked up when he pushed a plate of a muffin and orange juice towards her.

“This one’s on the house. Don’t tell Horace,” he said with a wink. The two of them sat silently in a booth away from the windows.

“I haven’t seen Ryan around in a while,” Portia said finally. “How’s he been?”

“Busy,” was all Min-Gi could bring himself to say. Truth be told, Ryan was pretty vague whenever they talked over the phone.

“You’d think with the way you two were attached at the hip he’d be here with you but…”

“He’s been out of town for a while. I don’t blame him.”

The uncomfortable silence returned. Portia took another long drink from her mug before saying, “Because of that school trip, right? I thought the police said you guys were innocent? That it was a freak accident?”

“Yeah but… “I should’ve kept a closer eye on them. If I hadn’t looked away for a second-”

“Hey,” she interrupted. “Blaming yourself for a small mistake isn’t gonna bring them back. I hope one day they’ll be returned home safe but until then… try not to beat yourself up too much about it. Alright? I think our break’s almost over. Maybe later today after work, you and I can hang out at my? My dad got me new cassettes from his business trip to Japan.”

“Maybe… I’ll see if I can make it after the memorial service tonight.”

“I’ll see you there, then?” She asked, squeezing his hand as she got up. Min-Gi nodded, but he was unsure if he even wanted to show his face at the service.

Hours passed and patrons began to slowly trickle out of the building, presumably to attend the memorial service. After helping Portia close up, he got his things together and pulled his beanie over his head.

He spotted his mother in the kitchen making a snack when he walked home.

“Hi mom,” he said softly. She looked up and turned around to wrap her son in a tight hug.

“I take it work went well?” she asked, ruffling his hair and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Yeah. I uh… ran into an old friend working at the diner. New hire I had to train.”

Her eyes lit up at the mention of that.

“Ryan came back?” His chest tightened. Min-Gi cleared his throat and shook his head.

“Someone else,” he said. He could see the light in her eyes dim a little, but she remained smiling. He knew his mom adored Ryan and was devastated when he left.

“Well, it’s nice that you’re starting to socialize with others again. I was worried you’d get lonely.” She pushes the plate of fruit she was eating towards him, permitting him to take some as they talked.

“She wanted me to hang out and listen to music tapes from her dad… after the memorial.” He said, taking a few orange slices.

“Why don’t you and I can go to the memorial together, so we can pay our respects? Plus I want to meet this friend of yours,” his mom suggested, gently nudging him and winking. Min turned bright red and shook his head again.

“Not that kind of friend. You remember Portia Lockhart from band class?” he said.

“Oh yeah, you two always did the solos in the concerts. Best of your class I might say. That’s nice. So, are we still going to the memorial together?”

Min-Gi sighed and nodded. Mrs. Park kissed his forehead and went back into her room to change. Min-Gi went into his own room with the rest of the snack plate to put his books down and change out of his uniform. He climbed on top of his bed, curling up with the plate on the nightstand as he waited for his mom to get ready. He looked at his phone, Ryan’s most recent message staring back at him.

“Working on something. Be ready.”

Min held the phone close to his chest and stared at the wall decorated with photos of the two through the ages.

His mother gently tapped on the door. “I’m ready to go,” she said. He pulled himself up and followed her to the middle of town where the service was being held.

Most of the people here were already preoccupied and barely acknowledged the mother and son’s presence. Mrs. Park moved forward to talk to some of the other mothers in town. Occasionally those women glanced at Min-Gi. Some seemed to give him looks of pity.

He sat furthest away from everyone, trying not to bring any attention to himself. To his left he saw Mikayla’s two dads talking to Tulip’s mom. She seemed to be here by herself, as Mr. Olsen was nowhere to be found. He vaguely remembered Tulip looked very upset on that fateful field trip. Min-Gi looked around to see if the Cosay family showed up, and spotted Jesse’s younger brother Nate sitting under a tree surrounded by some kids from the neighborhood. He turned to his right and nearly fell out of his seat at the sight of the girl sitting next to him.

“Didn’t expect you to be here,” she said, crossing one leg over the other. “Did lil’ ol’ me give you a scare?”

“What are you doing here… Grace,” he asked once he recovered from the shock and could focus on the person in front of him. “This doesn’t seem like your scene.”

“I didn’t think it was yours either,” she said with a shrug. “I came to pay my respects, same as you apparently.”

“And…you just so happened to sit right here next to me?”

“Crazy how these things happen, right?” she said casually. Something about her tone felt peculiar, but Min-Gi could not determine if this was good or bad. Either way, he wanted nothing to do with it right now.

“Grace, we haven’t spoken in two years, What are you really here for? Just drop the niceties and tell me to fuck off like everyone else does.”

“I didn’t come over here for that, ok?” she sighed, her face falling a bit. “I do miss hanging out with you and Ryan with Simon. When those kids went missing-”

She paused when she noticed him flinch.

“Sorry, you can continue.”

“You guys drifted away from us really quickly. We would’ve helped you guys-”

“This is solely Ryan and I’s problem to deal with. Well… just mine now I guess.”

“Have you…heard from him since he left town?” Grace asked pensively.

“We stay in touch, but I’m… I’m starting to think he’s not coming back. I wouldn't blame him.”

Grace was quiet for a moment. Then she looked up at him.

“Listen, Min. About those kids-”

“If you’re going to tell me it’s not my fault, just save it. I know they’re gone and there’s nothing I can do about it!”

“Actually… there might be something we can do. One in a thousand chance of it being legit, but it’s worth a shot to bring them back…or you can at least have some closure.”

Min stared at her as she pulled out a tattered notebook with an infinity symbol printed on the top. “I found this notebook a while ago talking about some numbers train. I’ve been gathering pages that were ripped out and scattered all over the woods trying to put things together. The door has this portal that takes people to this…wormhole of infinite train cars filled with anything imaginable.”

“And you think that’s where the kids are?” Min-Gi asked.

“This notebook documented their appearances. It’s too similar to be pure coincidence. It can’t hurt to try,” she insisted. Then, her voice dropped to a whisper. “Plus, Simon and I met this weird white orb… robot thing with legs from the train and–”

He scowled and stood up suddenly. Nearby citizens turned their heads toward the ongoing commotion, but Min-Gi didn’t care at this point.

“You’re joking, right?”

“Min-Gi, everyone’s looking at us,” Grace whispered, putting the notebook away in her bag. The book shifted slightly even after she’d let go, but I figured he was just seeing things. He shuddered.

“Ever since that field trip two years ago, people haven't looked at me the same. Even the people closest to me. I’ll probably never be able to clear my name in this town and it’s gonna be stuck to me until I die. I’ve accepted that. But I'd never expect you of all people to try and play some sick joke on me like this.”

“I’d never joke around about something like this, Min-Gi. You know me. I’m your friend.”

“Not anymore apparently.” He turned his back to her coldly.

“This isn’t a joke, I swear! I know it sounds crazy but I wouldn’t tell you about this if I wasn’t confident that we could do anything about it. We can fix this,” she said, reaching for his shoulder. He gently but firmly removed her hand.

“Just…leave me alone, alright? Forget you ever met me.”

He stormed off, his head spinning. He hastily sent his mother a text about going home because he wasn’t feeling well. It was partially true. He felt sick that someone he considered a friend would mock his already guilty conscience like that.

He crossed through the backyard straight to the bathroom. Min-Gi spent the next 10 minutes rinsing his face until that sick feeling became bearable. He realized he’d left the back door open and rushed to go close it. Someone jammed their boot in at the last second and he jumped.

“Stay back!”

“Relax, it’s me.”

Min-Gi froze. After a moment, he opened the door slightly further to a lopsided grin beaming back at him.

“Ryan!”

“Told you I’d be back.”

Ryan took a step inside the house. His knees almost immediately buckled.

“Woah!” Min-Gi barely managed to hold onto him before he collapsed completely.

“Sorry, it’s been a long walk over here.” Ryan said sheepishly. Min-Gi helped him inside and made him sit on the couch. Once settled, Ryan pulled him in for a long kiss. Min-Gi’s face heated up and he pulled Ryan even closer by his waist.

“I missed you,” he whispered when they finally broke apart. He held Ryan’s face in his hands gently. He was still smiling and a bit dazed from the kiss, but he looked absolutely drained with darkness circling his eyes. “You look tired.”

“I’m fine,” Ryan insisted, sitting back up. “How’ve you been?”

“I manage. You said you were working on something?” Min-Gi awkwardly changed the subject.

“Yep! Just ironing out the kinks and we’ll be all good to go. But in the meantime… I’ve really missed getting to spend time together like this,” he said, linking his hand in Min-Gi’s. The latter smiled and pulled him close.

“Did anyone try to give you hell on the way here?” he asked.

“No, the neighborhood was kind of empty now that I think of it.”

“Yeah, probably for the memorial service today…” he grew quiet as the afternoon's events flooded to the front of his mind.

“Didn’t go so well, huh?” Ryan asked, brushing his thumb against Min’s knuckles unconsciously.

“No, I went, it’s just… I ran into Grace there.” Ryan’s eyes softened at the mention of her name.

“How was she? What did she say?”

“She said she had some book that would help us find the kids on some secret number train and I just… what does she take me for?”

“Maybe she wanted to help, Min.”

“By listening to some random book she got from who knows where?”

“You could at least hear her out.”

“I did. It’s a stupid idea. All the trains here are normal, you know that. And no train shows up in the middle of the woods where there are no train tracks to be found.”

“Any ‘normal’ train would have been tracked down and found by now with those guys in them. And that wasn’t a normal train we saw. The lights… the flashing…the fact that we couldn’t even go through that portal after Tulip went through?”

“You really think we should go through with this?” Min asked softly. Ryan shrugged. “But you said you were working on something? Shouldn’t we be more worried about that?”

“I am,” he said, slightly defensive. “It’s just not quite ready yet. Look, I got a HUGE gig in New York. Like, life-altering, trajectory-of-our-lives-changing big. And I got us the train tickets that’ll take us there. If we’re successful, we’ll never have to worry about anything again.”

“But Ryan–”

“Chicken Choice Judy has another chance, Min.” his eyes sparkled.

“That band name you came up when we were like… 14?” Min-Gi sighed.

“It’s been our dream since we were kids, have you forgotten already?” he asked softly. “We were gonna join the battle of the bands before graduation and get noticed like we planned before…”

“Yeah…”

“I’ve got everything under control, I promise. If this goes through, we won’t have to worry about this town ever again. We can even get Grace and Simon back on board.” He placed both hands on Min-Gi’s shoulders

“One, that’s a HUGE ‘if’. Two, train tickets? What happened to your van?”

“Long story…”

“Ry…” Min-Gi groaned in exasperation.

“Enough about that though. Let’s just… Give Grace a chance, alright? At least until things fall into place.”

Ryan’s eyes bore into Min-Gi’s as he gently held both Min-Gi’s hands in his own. Min-Gi closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

“...One thing goes wrong and I’m out.”

“Deal.” Ryan grinned and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He couldn’t help but smile a little.

“You won’t regret this,” he said as Min-Gi led him to his bedroom.

They both lay together on the bed, face to face. In the dim lighting of the room, Ryan looked even more tired and worn out. He’d have to find out what Ryan was up to this past year one way or another. In the meantime…

“I’ll let my parents know you’re back when they get home,” he said. He reached out tentatively and pressed a kiss to Ryan’s forehead. He then gently cupped the side of Ryan’s face in his hand. Ryan smiled as he melted into the embrace and closed his eyes.