My Other Half : JAYFER? & JANRI? JohYan ?

JAYJAY POV

I don’t know what Keifer is doing to me.

Every time he looks at me, something warm spreads in my chest… like a memory trying to wake up.

And today, it got worse.

I was sitting on a bench in the garden, hugging Cin on my lap like a tiny child (because he basically is). Felix sat beside me slurping juice like a toddler.

Then Keifer appeared.

Not walking.
Not talking.
Just standing there, staring at me like I was his whole universe.

“Jay,” he said softly.

I swear my stomach flipped.

Felix immediately elbowed me. “Ooooh, Jayjay, lover boy alert!”

“Shut up,” I whispered, pushing him.

But Keifer kept staring at me, and my face went redder than ketchup.

“Cin,” Keifer said, voice flat, “off.”

Cin jumped off my lap instantly and saluted. “YES SIR.”

What the—
Cin never listens to anyone.

Felix gasped dramatically. “Woahhh, Jay! Your man speaks and the child obeys!”

“He’s NOT my—!” I slapped his arm. He cackled.

Keifer didn’t even react. He just stepped closer and crouched in front of me, eyes scanning my face gently.

“Did you sleep?” he asked.

“Y-Yes.”

“Liar,” he murmured. “Your eyes are red. You were overthinking again.”

My breath hitched.

How did he know that?

Before I could answer, he reached out and brushed a thumb under my eye.

I froze.
My whole body went still.

“Ke—Keifer…” I whispered.

“Hm?”
His voice was warm. Too warm.

“You… you can’t just touch me like that in front of people.”

“Then let’s go somewhere private,” he said casually.

EXCUSE ME?!
My soul left my body.

Felix screamed, “OH MY GOD—PRIVATE?!”
Cin fell on the grass purposely.
Eren whistled like a clown.
Calix shouted from a distance, “KEIFER YOU DOG!”

Keifer ignored all of them, holding my hand as he stood up.

“Come with me.”

“H-Hey! Wait—!”

He didn’t give me a chance to escape. He guided me out of the garden, down the hallway, up the stairwell, to the rooftop—where the wind always feels too intimate.

As soon as we reached the top, he let go of my hand only to cup my cheeks gently.

“You look tired,” he whispered.

“I’m… fine.”

“No.”
His eyes softened.
“You were crying last night.”

I sucked in a breath. “How do you know that?!”

His expression froze—he said too much.

“…I just know,” he muttered.

“Keifer.” I stepped closer. “How?”

He looked away.

“You used to cry like that before,” he whispered without thinking.

My heart stopped.

BEFORE.

Again.
Again that word.

“Keifer… did we really know each other?” I asked softly.

His jaw tightened. “Jay…”

“Tell me.”

“Not yet.”
His thumb stroked my cheek. “I don’t want to rush your memory.”

Memory?

My heart twisted painfully.

“Why does it feel like… I’m forgetting something important?” I whispered.

He closed his eyes for a moment, like he was fighting something inside.

“You are,” he said quietly. “You forgot something. Someone.”

Heat pricked the back of my eyes.

“Someone… important?”

“The most important,” he murmured.

My chest tightened so hard I couldn’t breathe.

“Keifer,” I whispered, “were you that someone?”

He opened his eyes—full of sadness and softness all mixed together.

Instead of answering, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
Slow. Long. Warm.

I melted.

Then he kissed my cheek.
Then the other cheek.
Then the tip of my nose.

“Keifer—” I breathed.

“Shh,” he murmured. “You’ll remember when it’s time.”

His forehead rested against mine, our breaths tangled.

And suddenly, a flash hit me—

A little boy carrying me on his back.
Dirty sneakers.
Warm hands.
A laugh I loved.

“Ma—” I gasped.

Keifer froze.

My lips trembled.
The name—
The name was there.
Right there.

“Ma… ki…”

Keifer’s eyes widened, breath catching.

I reached for him without thinking, fingers curling in his shirt.

“Kei—Keifer… who’s… Maki?” I whispered.

He swallowed hard.

“You know who he is,” he said, barely audible.

“I… I don’t,” I said, voice breaking. “But I feel him. Like… like he’s here.”

His eyes softened painfully. “He is.”

The wind blew around us, but his voice was the only thing I could hear.

I looked up at him—really looked.

The way he watched me.
The way he touched me.
The way he knew me.

My heart whispered one truth.

But my lips couldn’t say it.

Not yet.

Instead, I whispered, “Keifer… kiss me.”

His eyes widened in surprise—but only for a second.
Then he leaned in, slow and careful, and kissed my cheek again—long, warm, full of longing.

Not lips.
Not yet.

He pulled back just enough to whisper:

“I’ll wait until you remember on your own… Jay.”

My chest ached.

I didn’t confess.
I couldn’t.

But in that moment, I knew—

Keifer wasn’t just someone.
He was someone I loved once.
Someone I was slowly remembering.

And the name on my tongue…

“Maki…”

Wasn’t a memory.

It was a truth waiting to come home.