Chapter 43:

The man who had been sitting up straight facepalmed and bent over as though he was suffering from pain. He leaned forward holding either side of the narrow table. His knuckles were white.

“Whenever I think of your ex-husband, I feel nauseous.” Kwon Chae-woo drew a clear line between him and the Kwon Chae-woo before he lost his memory as if they were two different beings.

Lee-yeon remembered him crying in his sleep. His sleeves were never dry. “Still… aren’t you even a bit curious about your past? About what might have happened to you…”

But Kwon Chae-woo shook his head. His face was stiff. He didn’t want to talk about their unhappy marriage nor wanted Lee-yeon to bring up any unpleasant memories. He put down his chopsticks and lowered his eyes.

“I know I can’t run away from my past self. I mean the past and the present have to live in the same body but I know he was going to of egret,” he said, “I don’t know much about my past but the past me was a stupid bastard who could only jump to the worst conclusions.”

Lee-yeon scratched the back of her neck and tried to drown her complicated emotions.

“Did that bastard make good money?” he suddenly asked, raising his head to look at her.

“Um… not really.” Lee-yeon avoided his gaze.

Kwon Chae-woo snorted. “I knew it.”

“You do know you are talking about yourself?” said Lee-yeon slowly.

“You have a strong sense of responsibility, and that sometimes becomes a problem for you,” he said, “You don’t seem to know when to take on responsibility and when to draw your boundaries to keep people out. Why are you living like this?”

Lee-yeon slowly lowered her spoon feeling his words prick at her conscience.

“No more sacrifices,” said Kwon Chae-woo sadly. “If you let in a man with an empty brain and a problematic past, you should take full advantage of him.”

Kwon Chae-woo smiled at her. His eyes looked so sad and innocent. Lee-yeon forgot what she was about to say and stared at him.

“I am so sorry for whatever I might have done in the past,” he said, “I don’t have any recollection of it. You are the only person in the world who makes me human. I can’t even wake up without you by my side.”

Lee-yeon bit her lips. “But people don’t change that easily,” she said.

“I understand you can’t trust me completely. But I have no recollection,” he said. “Who are you comparing me to? Do you think I am no different from how I used to be in the past?”

“Um… I don’t know.”

“If you end up not being able to erase that trash from your memory, I’ll get rid of my d**k.”

Lee-yeon scooped a spoonful of rice and put it in her mouth. She didn’t know what to do. She was relieved for now that she didn’t need to talk with food in her mouth. She didn’t know whether she felt glad of his obedience or his unwavering faith towards her.

“I can be anyone you want, Lee-yeon,” he said gently.

Seeing Kwon Chae-woo trying so hard to convince her, Lee-yeon held back her smile.

* * *

“I don’t think we were properly introduced before.” A child appeared in front of Kwon Chae-woo, who was on the floor doing his push-ups.

Kwon Chae-woo stopped and got up. The boy was so small he only reached Kwon Chae-woo’s waist.

“Who’s this little boy?”

“I’m Lee Gyu-baek. A first-grader at Willow Tree Elementary School.” The child craned his neck to look up at Kwon Chae-woo. Gyu-baek admired the man’s abs.

Just then Gyu-baek saw Lee-yeon through the window. He looked at Kwon Chae-woo and then at Lee-yeon outside the window. He clapped his little hands together. “I can smell it!” he said.

“What?”

The child sat down on the floor and took out a book out of his bag. He flipped the pages in a hurry. Kwon Chae-woo crossed his arms and looked at the child.

“Male ring-tailed lemurs secrete floral scents to attract females. They flirt and try to win their heart by smell,” he said after a while, “that’s what the male smells like, right now.” His eyes were twinkling with confidence.

*Lemurs – a type of wild animal

Kwon Chae-woo scratched the tip pf his eyebrow with his forefinger. “I don’t know who you are, child,” he said, “but that’s just sweat you smell.”

“The male must be younger than the director.”

“No, she said we are about the same age.”

“You can’t be. You’re in trouble. Then you’ll smell bad.”

“What?”

“It’s a disadvantage. Younger lemurs emit pheromone substances stronger and longer than older ones. The older females don’t like the smell.”

Kwon Chae-woo looked at the child, speechless. “The male is now in trouble,” said the child.

He smiled at the kid and wiped the sweat dripping down the tip of his chin with the back of his hand. He just wanted to laugh but he restrained himself.

“Our director is very popular,” said the child.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“How popular?”

“Sawmill carpenter, nursery dealer, and a reporter from the Ministry of Environment stop by once in a while. They all smell like you.” The child looked at him. “The male needs to try harder.”

The child was distracted by the line of ants near his feet. Kwon Chae-woo realized who this kid was. Is he the insect doctor that Lee-yeon told me about? Something about an elementary school…

Kwon Chae-woo sat down on the balls of his feet and held out a hand to the child to shake. “Yes, male lemur,” said the child. “From now on, you will be my assistant.”