SMW 4

I gasped. The people beside me seemed equally surprised.

“You… don’t remember?”

Could this be it? That thing I’d seen countless times in dramas or manga. But it was strange. Choi Seol clearly remembered my name. And his own.

“How far back… No, I mean…”

Driven by a sudden hunch, I asked Choi Seol.

“How old are you right now?”

I didn’t know why I asked that. I just felt like that was the only way to find the [Read on Read BL Novels]answer. Choi Seol [Read on Read BL Novels]didn’t answer immediately. Perhaps still confused, or perhaps uncomfortable with the question, he narrowed his brows before finally hesitating and speaking.

“Seventeen.”

Oh my god!

“It seems there has been a temporary confusion in his memory due to the shock of the accident.”

The doctor, reciting the test results in a tone that lacked conviction, glanced at Choi Seol. There was no reaction. Instead of an answer, the look he gave the doctor—as if asking ‘So what about it?’—was considerably insolent. It was exactly the face he used to make when looking at someone he didn’t like at school. Looking at him now, he really did seem like a seventeen-year-old.

“So his brain is fine, right?”

Unable to bear the tension, I stepped in and spoke up.

“For the most part, yes.”

“Then there’s a good chance his memory will return once he calms down.”

“…Perhaps. It’s difficult to give a definitive answer at this stage. Cases like this are rare… Based on the CT and MRI results, there are no physical abnormalities, but just in case, it would be best to undergo a more detailed examination at your regular hospital once you return home.”

This seemed to be why Choi Seol’s gaze was so insolent. It appeared the doctor didn’t believe his amnesia was genuine. Well, it wasn’t just a few days or months; it was a full ten years. That was probably why he called it a rare case.

Furthermore, his attitude was a problem. For someone who had lost a third of his life, he showed no sign of confusion after the initial shock. If anything, he looked less than calm—he looked bored. I clicked my tongue inwardly at the way he seemed ready to bolt out of the room at any moment.

That guy really hasn’t changed a bit.

I was feeling a strange sensation as old memories overlapped here and there when the doctor spoke.

“By the way, you said you’re the patient’s friend?”

“Huh? Ah… yes.”

I trailed off awkwardly and glanced at Choi Seol. His expression didn’t change, as if he didn’t care that I had taken the unauthorized copyplace of his stolen contentfriend. I felt embarrassed for being visit our sitethe only one feeling guilty. The doctor, unaware of the circumstances, continued nonchalantly.

“I heard from Nurse Jeong. You were a witness at the scene of the accident. What a remarkable coincidence. To make matters even more surprising, the age the patient remembers is from when you two attended the same school.”

I felt like there was a hidden edge to those words.

Now that I looked at it, the doctor seemed to be suspecting the two of us as a pair. It was quite unfair, but even to me, the timing was suspiciously perfect in more ways than one. All I could do was laugh it off.

“Hahaha, right. It really is quite remarkable.”

“Still, it’s a relief. Having a friend to lean on in a situation like this will make the patient feel less anxious. I heard earlier that the friend stopped the patient from running out of the emergency room.”

“Ah, that. I think he was just a bit startled. He’s calmed down now, so…”

“Normally, since the patient is an adult, a guardian isn’t strictly necessary. But as you know, we live in a world where the slightest issue becomes a scandal on social media. And for the amnesia to specifically reset his memory to his minority years… Moreover, since the patient is showing signs of mental instability, as a medical professional, it’s difficult to let him go without a guardian.”

Wait? This plot is getting weird. Feeling a bad vibe, I hurriedly shook my head.

“Aw, would he really lean on me? It’s been a long time since we last met…”

“You said it was just a while ago.”

I wish you would just stay quiet.

I whipped my head around to glare at Choi Seol, then turned back to the doctor with a bright smile.

“The officer in charge said they would try to contact his family. So the guardian issue will be resolved soon.”

“I don’t have a family.”

That mouth of his definitely didn’t function based on whether something was tedious to say, but rather opened only when he felt like spilling something. My head whipped back toward Choi Seol. I gritted my teeth and tried to speak as kindly as possible.

“Seol-ah. No matter how much memory you’ve lost, Read on Read BL Novelshow stolen contentcan you say such heartless things in front of me—no, things that would make your parents sad?”

The seventeen-year-old Choi Seol I remembered definitely had parents. I had once been personally asked for a favor by a man who said he was Choi Seol’s father. I had also met Choi Seol as he headed home with flowers, saying they were a birthday gift for his mother. Neither were pleasant memories for me, so I didn’t want to think about them deeply.

Wait, come to think of it, he said he lived with his maternal grandmother. As the image of Choi Seol smiling comfortably and saying, ‘My grandma,’ vividly came to mind, my heart fluttered just a little.

Regardless, this was a lie that wouldn’t work on me, even if it fooled everyone else here.

Whether he was embarrassed to be caught or something else, the look in Choi Seol’s eyes changed. His eyes widened slightly, as if he were surprised, or as if he were seeing something peculiar…

Huh? Peculiar?

“I really don’t. My mom died young, and the grandma who raised me passed away not long ago.”

“….”

“Actually, you said I’m twenty-seven now, so was that already ten years ago?”

The voice denying it again was calm. He let out a bitter, scoffing laugh, as if the current situation were absurd. Only then did I realize that Choi Seol was telling the truth.

“Oh dear, it seems the friend didn’t know.”

Perhaps the confusion on my face was too obvious, as the doctor looked back and forth between us. He seemed more surprised that I didn’t know the situation despite being called a friend than by the fact that Choi Seol had no family.

“I… I’ll be right back from the restroom.”

I needed a moment to manage my expression. Just as I was about to stand up with a convenient excuse, my wrist was grabbed. I frowned at the considerable strength of the grip and looked at Choi Seol. Perhaps because I had already stated my destination, his mouth twitched as if to ask where I was going, but then closed again. However, his gaze remained persistent. It was an inexplicably anxious look. Maybe that’s why.

“I’ll be right back.”

At the words I added unconsciously, the grip on my arm loosened. Was that the right answer? I was inwardly flustered, but getting out of there was the priority. Even as I stepped into the hallway and the door closed, I felt his gaze clinging to me.

What was that just now?

As I stood in the hallway blankly recalling Choi Seol’s behavior, my wrist where I had been grabbed felt tingly. Just as I was about to rub it, someone suddenly thrust their face in front of mine.

“Is the exam over?”

“Gah!”

I let out a shrill cry and jumped back. The sound of my back hitting the door with a thud echoed quite loudly. I didn’t even have time to feel the pain. I had stepped into the hallway, but I was still right in front of the consultation room where Choi Seol was.

“What’s with you, giving me the creeps. Are you surprised by my handsome face?”

“You just suddenly popped up. Let’s just go, quickly.”

“Go where? I have business with the flower boy.”

“He’ll be out soon, so hurry.”

I pushed Noona’s back, trying to get as far from the door as possible. However, remembering Choi Seol’s gaze from a moment ago, I positioned myself just within sight of the door should he walk out.

“What’s wrong? Is there something I should be careful not to say? Don’t tell me… did they say there’s a fatal problem with his brain?”

Noona seemed to interpret my restless behavior that way. Staring at Noona’s increasingly serious expression, I asked something else instead of answering.

“Did you try contacting Choi Seol’s family?”

“Huh? Um, well…”

Since her own question had been ignored, she could have pressed me, but instead, Noona trailed off, looking troubled. Seeing that reaction, it seemed Choi Seol’s words were true.

“Is it true that his parents passed away early?”

“How did you know? Right, you said you were friends.”

“…I just found out.”

At my delayed answer, Noona’s expression became puzzled. Fortunately, she didn’t dig deeper.

“Well, it’s possible not to know. Not all friends tell each other everything. It’s true his mother passed away when he was young. As for his father’s side, there’s absolutely no information, so there must be some circumstance. Honestly, in a situation like this, it’s usually obvious. Sigh, I feel like cursing a bastard I’ve never even seen, so let’s just drop it.”

Noona sighed as if suppressing her anger and continued.

“Anyway, because of those circumstances, it seems he had no other relatives to turn to after the maternal grandmother who raised him passed away. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for him to be alone at such a young age.”

Choi Seol had been quite a celebrity at school. It was partly due to his looks, but he was top-tier in everything—sports, studies, and even his personality—so rumors were inevitable. Despite that, his family environment remained thoroughly shrouded in mystery.

There were even wild rumors: someone claimed they peeked at his student record and there was no address listed; others said they followed him home and he disappeared into an expensive black car halfway. The students’ imaginations ran wild. The most absurd theory of all was a secret of birth.

Some said he was the son of a mob boss, others that he was an illegitimate child of a chaebol family. visit our siteAt the time, I shook my head at such nonsense, but now I felt that Read on Read BL Novelsany one of those rumors would have been better than the truth. To have no relatives at all.

Then, who was the person who came to me ten years ago, claiming to be from his father’s side?

As expected, memories from ten years ago were not to be trusted.

“Do you happen to know when Choi Seol’s maternal grandmother passed away?”

Choi Seol had clearly said it was “not long ago.” Since he believed he was seventeen, that meant she had passed away during the time I knew him and saw his face every day in class.

It was certain that she hadn’t passed away during the summer. Then when was it? I had never heard anything like this from the teachers or the classmates who flocked around Choi Seol. I had never sensed any such thing from Choi Seol himself. Finally, Noona’s answer came.

“The death report was filed in mid-December, so it would have been the dead of winter.”