I—

[ that actually catches mingyu off-guard and he blinks. pain lances through his temples and he grimaces, bringing a hand up to cradle his head. ]

I what? No, he—

[ he tries to remember himself. he remembers. he remembers, doesn't he?

five's twitchiness, the desperation in his eyes. the wards of the room. no, that was before. after. after what happened after? he can feel five's arm gripped in his hand, slender, thin as a branch, stronger than it should be. there's a crackle. he tastes something like blood, like meat searing, like smoke and ash. time pushes back, and he—

he doesn't remember. there's only the before, none of the after. ]

He fought me. I wasn't— I didn't get to finish. He pushed back, and I woke up here.

[ mingyu looks unsettled, an emotion he rarely lets surface but cannot bite back in this moment. he shakes his head. ]

He wasn't right. He was going to do something stupid. I was just trying to calm him down until it was less raw. It's what I would've wanted done for me.

Did the memories come back?