Chapter 42:

It was already morning when Lee-yeon woke up with a headache. She got up from the bed, not knowing how the dinner party ended.

Just then, the bathroom door opened, and a man wrapped in a large towel, dripping water, walked out.

His wide shoulders and the water cascading down his toned chest caught Lee-yeon’s attention immediately.

“Good morning”

“What, what is that?”

“What?”

“I mean, why are you…”

Lee-yeon couldn’t take her eyes off the man who had just come out from the shower. She knew that observing a half-naked person was not a manner, but human curiosity was more tenacious than she thought.

Her hangover went away like magic. Her eyes then turned to the towel that covered his lower body.

‘The silhouette under the fabric…….’

“Lee-yeon, do you remember what I said after the dinner party yesterday?”

“Y-yes?” Lee-yeon flinched and looked up at Kwon Chae-woo. She brushed her hair and pretended like she was unperturbed, but there was no way to hide her blushing face.

“What… did you say?”

“I said my memory came back a little bit.” He said with a frown.

“What?!”Her mouth was wide open, and her face turned pale. The dust floating in the air seemed to have stifled her. It suddenly became difficult to breathe.

“W—what did you just-”Her voice trembled.

He stepped closer, the water dripping from his hair started to form a valley on ran down Lee-yeon’s knees.

Kwon Chae-woo looked down at Lee-yeon and said in a calm voice.

“I was going to kill myself.”

Her eyes widened as if time had stopped. ‘He was…. going to kill himself?’ It was something Lee-yeon didn’t know. Her body became so stiff that she couldn’t even manage to pry her mouth open.

Since she was the one who knew the truth and hid the truth, she always got the upper in her relationship with Kwon Chae-woo. But for the first time, their position changed.

“I died two years ago.”

Kwon Chae-woo knelt on the bed and looked down at her. His posture looked like he was begging for forgiveness, but in Lee-yeon’s eyes, he looked authoritative.

Between the man’s knees, Lee-yeon’s legs were bound. She was so close to him that she could see the tiny water droplets dripping down his abs.

“I’m dead.” He repeated as if trying to brainwash her. “That Kwon Chae-woo is dead.”

“….”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I never wanted him to wake up.”

It was not only Lee-yeon who took advantage of the memory loss. Kwon Chae-woo wanted to comfort her by erasing all his past. He wanted to tell her that the man who gave her unrecoverable wounds was gone.

If only he could squeeze in even a little bit of Lee-yeon’s closed heart and become a new sprout, he wouldn’t feel guilty about lying.

“… Do you, do you really remember?”

“You don’t believe me?”

Lee-yeon’s eyes filled with confusion.

‘The man who was burying a person was trying to kill himself?’

‘No way.’

Lee-yeon narrowed her eyes, and Kwon Chae-woo did not avoid her gaze. Suddenly, she remembered the moment when her eyes met with Kwon Chae-woo’s in the dark mountain that night.

‘He seemed surprised to see me.’

‘Come to think of it, I know nothing about Kwon Chae-woo.’

What nightmares he has every night, and why, as Kwon Ki-seok said, a person who has sensitive hearing got attacked from behind. There were too many unknowns in the first place to doubt his confession, so every attempt felt useless.

In that respect, she was no different from Kwon Chae-woo, who lost his memory because she knew nothing about him.

As if insisting on his innocence, the man looked her straight in the eyes.

“There is only one thing you need to remember from now on.”

She wanted to organize her thoughts, but the man didn’t allow even the slightest gap. Lee-yeon broke out in a cold sweat despite his mellow, soothing voice.

“Because you told me I was a kind and gentle husband, I wanted to become such a husband from now on. So, I filled my empty head with only your words.”

“….”

“Because your words are my first milestone to change.”

“Keep in mind. Your first husband died two years ago. I’m not your ex-husband. If you still have a ring, throw it away, and if there are any pictures you took with him, burn them.”

Lee-yeon didn’t know how to react.

“You now have a new husband, and I’m not going to lose to ‘that Kwon Chae-woo’ in your memory.” He revealed his fierce possessiveness. “Since you started taming me, you have to take responsibility until the end.”

Lee-yeon held her breath without realizing it. The man who put shackles on his own neck was beaming, and she couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not.

* * *

Clear eyes, creaseless forehead, Kwon Chae-woo was enjoying the morning sun shining through the window.

Lee-yeon couldn’t get used to the man sitting at the table eating breakfast with her.

‘…Why is he not asking anything? If his memory is coming back, he must have a lot of questions. Did Kwon Chae-woo really tried to kill himself?’

However, Kwon Chae-woo, who was only interested in the present and even made bean sprout soup in the morning for Lee-yeon.

She began to study the man’s face. He was sitting in a straight posture, and the way he held the chopsticks was perfect as the images from the textbook.

There was no sound of tableware hitting or chewing food. Lee-yeon slightly frowned as the unexpected silence fell between them.

She put the spoon down as she rubbed her cheek. “Kwon Chae-woo.”

“Yes?” He immediately turned his eyes to her.

“Don’t you have anything to say to me? Anything you’re curious about.”

“Not really.”

“Why?” Lee-yeon bit her lips.

‘Tak―’ Just then, Kwon Chae-woo put down his chopsticks. It was the first noise he made since he had sat down at the table.