SMW 77

“I don’t think I said I didn’t believe him.”

“I also didn’t think you said you did.”

“It’s fifty-fifty. There is nothing more foolish than trusting a person completely.”

“Even after you confirmed it that day?”

“That’s why I said it’s fifty-fifty. I can’t rule out the possibility that he knew but pretended not to.”

Unless he had truly lost his memory and become a child, the fully grown twenty-seven-year-old Choi Seol was a tiger who knew exactly how to hide his claws. He would have to wait and see which one was the truth.

“Chief Yoon, you don’t seem to trust that fellow at all. Do you have a reason?”

“……Because he was too calm immediately after the accident.”

On the day of the accident, Choi Seol had contacted them first, requesting that Chief Yoon be sent. It was a wise decision. He was a capable talent and the Vice Chairman’s closest aide, so his visit alone would ensure everything was handled smoothly.

“Come to think of it, Chief Yoon must have been with Seol until the helicopter took off. Did his condition not look right?”

“Yes. From assessing the situation to giving instructions, he was flawless in every way.”

Baek Han clicked his tongue shortly.

“Tsk, that’s why he hasn’t come to his senses until now. Who in their right mind handles the cleanup personally after being hit by a car?”

Sending Chief Yoon was essentially a signal that he would take care of everything on his end. He could have just stayed still, been loaded into the prepared helicopter, and remained tucked away in a hospital room, but he caused a fuss trying to take care of his own people until the end, and as a result, he remained unconscious for over two days.

“Since this one has woken up, that one will probably open his eyes soon too.”

“Then…….”

“Whether he actually lost his memory or not isn’t the important part. He’s Read on Read BL Novelsthe type who knows his place, so Read on Read BL Novelsonce he wakes up and realizes I stepped in personally, he won’t be a nuisance.”

If there was one thing that was currently bothersome, it was this.

“The question is whether he still longs for Yeo-reum when he opens his eyes.”

“Pardon?”

“There are things like that.”

Love. Yeo-reum. Longing.

Things that were not just fresh, but smelled of raw water—utterly useless things.

“Let’s head toward the coast. Since we’re in the south, let’s have some sashimi before we go.”

“……Understood.”

Thinking of the mountain of work that had [visit our site]piled up while he was stuck in the Read on Read BL Novelsprovinces for several days, Chief Yoon [stolen content]secretly swallowed a sigh. Before long, the sea revealed itself outside the car window.

The sea, reflecting the sunlight of a beautiful day, sparkled blue. Normally, such a sight would make one feel fluttery or excited, but instead, a cold emptiness filled his chest. The reason was simple.

“It’s winter.”

The breath that lingered at the end of his low murmur blurred across the window.

Where…… am I?

Choi Seol frowned as he found himself standing in the middle of an unfamiliar road. There was nothing around him. No people, no buildings, not even a single common street tree; the world was entirely white. This place was a winter where everything was frozen. He couldn’t remember for the life of him what he was doing in a place that consisted of nothing else.

He felt as if he had been wandering in search of something.

Then, suddenly, upon seeing his empty hands, Choi Seol realized he was on the road returning home after scattering his maternal grandmother’s ashes into the sea. A hollow laugh hovered on his lips.

He thought he had calmly accepted his grandmother’s death, which came after nearly six months of nursing her. He hadn’t shed a single tear during the funeral, and he thought he had become okay enough to send her off with a smile as her ashes were scattered into the sea. Yet, what could have been so shocking?

To the point that he had lost his mind while walking down the street.

Choi Seol stared blankly up at the sky. It was white. As expected, all he could feel in the empty void was a dry, piercing chill.

Is this what it feels like to be left entirely alone in the world? It felt as if even time had stopped. He was lonely. And he was cold. It seemed the fact that there was no one by his side had been that shocking.

It was understandable. Even if he returned, there was no one waiting for him, no one for him to protect, and nothing left to strive to protect. All that remained were the options forced upon him by a man who shared his bloodline.

Rather than killing himself and living while wearing someone else’s skin, it might be better to stop right here and forget everything. Choi Seol let his empty hands hang limp. It was just as he closed his eyes amidst the chilling sensation that was gradually paralyzing him.

Choi Seol?

At the sudden sound brushing past his ear, he opened his eyes and looked ahead, but no one was there. Was it an illusion? It was a familiar voice.

Suddenly, his chest felt tight. He tried to close his eyes and relax again, but he could no longer do so. Feeling as if he were constantly missing something, he instinctively stared at his empty hands again. A different sensation crept into his fingertips. It gradually spread until it reached his heart, shaking his chest with heat. Choi Seol realized that this was longing.

I was searching for longing.

It was a day when the thick scent of grass and the humid [Read on Read BL Novels]air made his head spin. Read on Read BL NovelsOn that day, when he had barely managed to catch his breath in a space draped in greenery, you came to his side, carrying a heat that felt as if it would burn, and carved another warmth into his chest.

It was something that happened on a certain summer day, a day he thought was just any other day.

He wanted to find that summer. Because he felt that it could be his reason to remain in the world, he had run and run through this winter. And what happened then?

When Choi Seol lifted his head again, a large, old tree stood where there had been nothing. The moment he lowered his gaze beneath the tree, which had shed all its green leaves and left only dry, skeletal branches, his frozen lips parted and called out for the one he missed.

Han Yeo-reum?

“…….”

“Baek Han-seol?”

The moment that name was heard, his consciousness, which had been drifting in the void, sank heavily. A terrible pain surged through his heavy head and body. The feeling of landing back in reality was utterly unpleasant.

Fatigue. It was a sensation he had lived almost forgetting recently. No, he had forgotten it entirely.

The moment he moved his arm to push off the [unauthorized copy]bed [Read on Read BL Novels]to raise himself, he frowned at the tingling stolen contentsensation. The man who had been keeping watch by his side approached with a sigh.

“Wait a second. You have a hairline fracture in your bone, so it’ll be hard to move properly. I’ll move the bed for you.”

The sound of busy movement followed immediately, and the bed began to move. Only when he was able to lean back in an upright position did Choi Seol let out a deep breath.

“How does your body feel? Should I call the doctor right away?”

“Shut up. My head is throbbing, so be quiet. Forget the doctor too.”

“But…….”

“Anyway, they probably poked and prodded my body plenty while I was unconscious.”

“That’s true……. But, do you remember getting into a car accident?”

At the probing question, Choi Seol let out a cold laugh.

“Why? Are you disappointed that I didn’t wake [stolen content]up and perform a [Read on Read BL Novels]‘Who am I?’ act?”

“Why do you twist my words so much when I’m just checking because I’m worried about you?”

“Why would you worry about me?”

Seeing Choi Seol respond in a tone that suggested he genuinely didn’t understand, the man wore a look of absurdity.

“Of course I should worry as your aide. Even if I weren’t, if a friend of ten years gets into an accident and I just go, ‘Ah, I see,’ would I even be human?”

“I’ve never had a traitor as a friend of ten years.”

“Hey. How long has it been since I betrayed my own bloodline and took your side, yet you’re still saying that……. Are you, by any chance, actually suffering from amnesia?”

Only then did Choi Seol look at the man. The fellow, who reeked of wealth from head to toe for someone his age, was in a different situation than the other secretaries who were merely employed.

“Baek Hee-won.”

“Yeah?”

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet a moment ago?”

At that moment, Hee-won’s face crumpled completely.

“You really……. Ha, forget it. How on earth is that person supposed to be someone who lost their memory?”

“Why, you can’t believe it?”

“Of course I can’t.”

“On what grounds?”

“Because your personality is just as foul.”

At the response, which was far too emotional to be called ‘grounds,’ Choi Seol let out a laugh.

“I don’t think it was particularly great back then either.”

“Even among bastards, a bastard with accumulated experience is on a different level.”

“True, I was still young and quite soft back then.”

“Let’s be accurate. You were only soft toward that kid, Yeo-reum.”

A flicker of agitation appeared on Choi Seol’s face, which until then had been dismissing the conversation as if it were watered-down liquor. Following the sudden, chilling silence, Hee-won spoke hesitantly.

“Come to think of it, I heard you were with him all this time?”

“You probably heard everything from that man, including where I was and what I did, so why ask? He already gave you the coordinates.”

“Coordinates? Surely you aren’t talking about that thing where a guy suddenly says ‘don’t look for me for a while,’ throws his phone and wallet at home, and then, after a long time, sends a single text asking to sell the crashed car?”

“Get to the point.”

“Don’t tell me you lied to him about having amnesia just to stay by his side?”

“…….”

No answer returned. Instead, Hee-won was appalled by the gaze calmly staring back at him.

“Hah! Hey, what are you going to do if he finds out about this…….”

“If you can speak about Han Yeo-reum so casually, it means his condition must be fine.”

“…….”

“The answer?”

Hee-won let out a sigh. Whether the memory loss was a lie or not, there were things that had to be done.

“Han Yeo-reum woke up two days later, got examined, and was discharged. Then he went straight home. I heard he hasn’t stepped foot outside since, but since the police officer next door checks on him morning and night, he’s probably doing well.”

“……How long was I unconscious?”

“Hmm, including today, it’s been about four days.”

The problem was that for someone who woke up after four days, he was far too calm and composed.

That was why Hee-won couldn’t help but feel anxious. It was the same when he had suddenly disappeared two months ago, and it was the same when he arrived at the hospital after hearing about the accident and faced Choi Seol.

Even as he pushed away the medical staff rushing to support him as he stepped off the helicopter, and gave various instructions to Hee-won, whom he was seeing for the first time in nearly two months, he looked so fine that one would wonder if he was actually the one who had been in an accident. Then, as soon as the cleanup was finished, he collapsed without warning, and he had just woken up now.

If that mental strength stemmed from one person, Hee-won worried that he might bolt again as soon as he heard the news upon waking. If that happened, the higher-ups wouldn’t just stand by.

“Four days. Then, it’s already too late.”

Contrary to Hee-won’s expectation that he would immediately ask to contact Han Yeo-reum or say he had to go see him, Choi Seol spoke words of unknown meaning, making Hee-won tilt his head.

“Too late for what? Could it be that Han Yeo-reum…….”

“Forget it. There’s no need to talk further.”

“……What?”

“I’m saying there’s no need to talk about Han Yeo-reum anymore. I’m tired, so get out.”

Choi Seol turned his head away, issuing an order to leave. At that sight, Hee-won’s face became even more bewildered.

“What the hell. Didn’t you go all the way there because you missed that guy?”

“I did.”

“Then why…….”

Why was he saying such things? As if he were a person who had no lingering attachments left.

Choi Seol didn’t give an immediate answer. He simply looked out the window with a calmly sunken gaze.

The scenery, which had faded rapidly during the few days he was Read on Read BL Novelsunconscious, unfolded before his eyes. Even [stolen content]within the artificially tempered air of the hospital room, it was a landscape where a dry chill could be felt.

Winter was coming.

At this time of year, there was exactly one thing he missed.

Winter always made him long for the hot sun of summer. Summer, too, had probably longed for the bone-chilling winter.

And he had always wondered.

If so, would the summer and winter that met like that come to long for each other again?

There was only one answer.

“Because I don’t miss him anymore.”

Summer and Autumn arc, end.