SMW 75

“Choi Seol… contacted you, Noona?”

“Yeah. I was on patrol when I got a call. He said you’d been in an accident and were in the hospital, and asked me to act as your guardian in his stead.”

“How is he? How was Choi Seol? Was he badly hurt?”

“I was surprised at first because he had a bandage around his head, but he seemed more fine than I expected. Once I heard you were unconscious, I was too shocked to pay much attention to that pretty boy, but then again, if he hadn’t been fine, he wouldn’t have been able to contact me directly or clean up your mess.”

It sounded completely surreal. Was that even possible? Even I, who had only suffered light bruises, couldn’t regain my senses for a whole day. According to Noona, Choi Seol had been in a state clearly worse than mine, even if it wasn’t a critical injury. There was no way he could be walking around normally.

It’s okay. You’re not hurt.

The voice that had whispered over and over, hugging me and telling me I was okay, that I wasn’t hurt, still lingered vividly in my ears.

Had he been holding on? Because of me?

“I have to go to Seoul.”

“What? Han Yeo-reum, wait!”

Before Noona could stop me, I climbed out of bed and yanked out the IV needle. As blood streamed down, I heard a sound from Noona that was nearly a scream.

“Hey, you’re bleeding!”

“This much is fine. Choi Seol must have bled more.”

Choi Seol would have been more injured and in more pain because he shielded me. He might still be that way. I pressed down on the back of my bleeding hand with my other hand and started walking again. However, I was caught by Noona after only a few steps.

“What’s wrong with you? Where do you think you’re going in that condition?”

“I heard Choi Seol hurt his head while shielding me. You saw the person who just left, right? That person is Choi Seol’s family, and they took him to Seoul. They said he went of his own will, but I can’t believe that. I think they took him by force.”

The reason Choi Seol wasn’t by my side right now was definitely due to threats. Hadn’t that man said so? He was probably suffering alone right now in that place he hated so much, all because of me.

What on earth was the deal with his memories? From the moment we first met, Choi Seol had never lied to me once. I, who had watched him from right beside him, knew that well. Yet, like a fool, I had been shaken by that man’s words.

Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered even if it were a lie. He said winter was too cold and lonely, and that he missed summer. That’s [stolen content]why he looked for me. If he came to me with such a [unauthorized copy]poignant, yearning heart, that was enough. Thinking that made me even more [stolen content]desperate. I had to get to Choi Seol quickly so he wouldn’t be cold and lonely again.

“Noona, let go. I have to go to Choi Seol quickly…”

“He went of his own will.”

In an instant, my shoulder was grabbed and I was turned around.

“The pretty boy—no, Choi Seol—went up to Seoul of his own volition, so please just calm down.”

“How do you know that, Noona?”

“What do you mean how? Because he told me so himself, obviously. I told you earlier, he asked me to take care of you.”

Noona added, sounding frustrated as she looked at me, still unable to believe her.

“Even if we assume the pretty boy was forced to go to Seoul by threats or whatever, so what if you go up there? Do you think they’ll just let you see him? You saw it yourself. If the Vice Chairman of a conglomerate personally came to warn you, the game is already over there.”

The realistic words piercing my lungs stopped my meaningless struggling.

“You heard him?”

“…I ran right into him on my way out. In my heart, I wanted to just kick him out, but my livelihood was on the line, so I had no choice. I’m sorry.”

My brows furrowed at the unexpected news.

“Did that man say something to you too, Noona?”

“That’s…”

“What are you doing right now?”

A nurse, who had arrived at some point, was staring at us from the door with a look of horror.

“How could you just pull out the needle like that?”

Only then did I look down at the arm where I had removed the IV. Blood was still streaming down, even though it should have stopped. The other hand that had been plugging it was also soaked in blood; to an outsider, it must have looked like a stabbing had occurred. The nurse immediately approached and began to stop the bleeding.

“Let’s talk about the rest later,” Noona said, looking at the doctor who followed her in, just as the blood on my arm was roughly wiped away.

But I shook my head.

“No. I just want to go home.”

They said it was a hospital, but no matter where I looked, there was no hospital atmosphere at all. Rather, because of the luxurious interior, I almost mistook it for a hotel room. Being in a VIP room that was beyond my means, receiving the kind smile of a middle-aged doctor who clearly held a high status, the word ‘compensation’ mentioned by that man came to mind, making me feel uneasy. I didn’t want to be here any longer. Ignoring the protests of the flustered doctor and nurse, I pushed myself up from the bed.

“Fine. I brought the car, so let’s go down together.”

I thought she would stop me again, but Noona readily followed my wish.

“But get the check-up. Big or small, it’s a car accident. There could be invisible aftereffects, so get a proper exam and get the doctor’s diagnosis before you’re discharged.”

“But…”

“Lie down quietly before I knock you out.”

I could read the sincerity in Noona’s firm expression. I had no choice but to return to the bed.

Only after repeating several tests and interviews over half a day was I able to escape the hospital. Ultimately, unable to overcome the fatigue, I fell asleep as if fainting the moment I climbed into Noona’s car.

When I regained consciousness, the familiar scenery of the yard unfolded before my eyes.

“You’re finally awake.”

“Are we home already?”

“I stepped on it as much as I could while you were asleep. What do you want to do? Do you want to finish the conversation we were having before you get out?”

There was nothing to hesitate about. I nodded, shaking off the lingering drowsiness. As soon as I sat up by raising the seat I had leaned back, Noona began talking immediately without needing further questions.

“I also saw that high-class young man who visited the room for the first time today. Before that, his intentions were conveyed through my boss. A while ago, my boss suddenly started asking this and that about the circumstances of the pretty boy’s accident. In over ten years of police work, that was the first time I’d ever been interrogated.”

After cursing for a moment, saying things like this is why these clueless bastards with too much money are the worst, Noona took a cigarette out of her front pocket and put it in her mouth.

“It wasn’t anything serious, though; in reality, it was closer to a gag order, just like with you earlier. After all, it would be troublesome if it got out that a chaebol heir had amnesia.”

“But why…”

“Why didn’t I tell you?”

A moment of hesitation crossed Noona’s face. The still-unlit visit our sitecigarette was placed unauthorized copyback between her fingers.

“The pretty boy asked me to. He said he didn’t want you to know.”

The anger that hadn’t erupted even when I spoke with the Vice Chairman now surged properly.

“I guess both of you wanted to make me a cheerful fool.”

“Hey. Why do you have to twist it like that?”

“What else is it called when I’m walking around grinning, completely unaware of what’s happening around me?”

“I know. I get why you’re angry, but sometimes it’s better to remain ignorant. You saw it earlier. That bastard threatening you with a smile. He did the same to me, using my job as leverage.”

“…”

“That’s how people with money act. They cut out every single element that might cause them even the slightest loss. What can ordinary citizens like you and me do in the midst of that? It only makes you feel filthier.”

Noona added, ruffling her hair as if she too felt frustrated.

“And the pretty boy is probably the one who knows that best.”

Suddenly, the story of Choi Seol’s Maternal Grandmother came to mind. There was probably no one who knew better than he did what kind of power crushes a person. Did he project me onto his Maternal Grandmother? That might be why Baek Han’s threats worked so well.

If Choi Seol had truly abandoned his promise to Baek Han and come down here because of me, that would make sense. If he had been forced to go to Seoul because they threatened me, that too was a fully understandable situation.

But why? I wasn’t happy about it at all.

“The day before yesterday, Choi Seol did say he had to go back.”

Perhaps that was just what I wanted to believe.

“Really? Then it was already planned. He probably figured he might as well go since things turned out this way.”

Noona’s face brightened, as if a burden had been lifted from her heart. I stared at her for a moment before speaking.

“Noona. While I was unconscious, did you ever get a contact from Choi Seol?”

“Huh?”

Noona’s flustered reaction alone provided stolen contentthe answer. Even on my phone, which [visit our site]was plagued daily by loan offers and internet ads, there hadn’t been a stolen contentsingle missed call for two days. I found that hard to understand.

Even if we weren’t in a serious relationship, one couldn’t help but worry if the other person had an accident. I had clung desperately to news of Choi Seol’s well-being the moment I woke up; why wouldn’t the other person do the same? At least the Choi Seol I knew wouldn’t have been like that.

But what about now?

Whether he had lost his memories or not, regardless of the truth, I didn’t know what kind of person the twenty-seven-year-old Choi Seol was. Was he still worrying about me?

Even now… does he still like me?

You never know, do you?

Baek Han’s words from the hospital room came back to me. What I feared most after receiving Choi Seol’s confession was the possibility that the twenty-seven-year-old version of him might no longer like me. But now, I felt I might become afraid of him in a different sense.

“Here. Take this.”

While I was sinking into vague anxiety, a bankbook and a card in a transparent case were held out in front of me. It took several seconds just to realize what they were. When I finally looked up with a questioning gaze, Noona pressed them into my hand as if she knew what I was thinking.

“Open it. I’ll explain once you’ve checked.”

At Noona’s urging, I finally opened the first page [stolen content]of the bankbook. Choi Seol’s name was clearly written there. And [visit our site]the moment I saw the amount stamped on the next page, I looked up again.

“It’s the money from selling his car.”

I frowned at Noona’s explanation.

“But why is he giving this to me?”

“He asked me to give it to you if he ever left this place.”

“I mean, why on earth?”

“He said it was a debt for everything you’ve done for him.”

I looked back at the amount written in the bankbook. It was a sum I had never seen in my life, nor would I likely see in the future. It was excessive for a ‘debt’ incurred over just a few months.

“Oh, he said this too. He hoped it would be helpful whatever choice you make in the future.”

Ah, I think I understood this part.