Look at this.
So I-yeon immediately began to watch him with wary eyes, stealing glances. The sound of her rapidly beating heart seemed audible even from here. He raised one eyebrow slightly.
Had 'Kwon Chae-woo' really been kind and gentle?
"I-yeon, have you been well?"
"…Ah."
"My body feels stiff. How long was I asleep?"
So I-yeon slowly lowered her shoulders as if finally reassured by that gentle voice.
"Yesterday was the seventh day."
As he turned his stiff neck, his joints cracked with soft pops.
"Now I know for certain."
"Know what?"
"That I-yeon holds my mornings."
He didn't know anything about professional opinions or examinations. Simply by sleeping together, he came to know it as naturally as the sun rising and setting.
That her existence filled his empty head without gap.
Ridiculously enough, without this log of a woman, he had become a cripple who couldn't even wake up.
"So I'd like to entrust my nights completely as well. What should I do?"
So I-yeon's eyelashes trembled with a rigid expression. She desperately hid her face that looked ready to flee at any moment.
She didn't even realize what she had given away, only awkwardly raising the corners of her lips. The sight was quite something.
So I-yeon was probably still watching for any chance to escape. Like her door that wouldn't open no matter how much he knocked.
Of course, he couldn't be certain. That was something to discover gradually over time. Even so, he didn't want to let the frightened So I-yeon go easily.
Who would be crazy enough to let go of his only memory?
So I-yeon was the minimal unit and everything Kwon Chae-woo possessed in this world. And so, Kwon Chae-woo decided to thoroughly become a 'kind and gentle' husband.
If she said so, if that was what she wanted.
He lowered his body as much as possible, ready to accommodate every whim of his one and only wife. Until she lowered her guard and confessed everything.
So I-yeon escaping from him—and
Kwon Chae-woo catching and keeping her.
No one knew which of them would prove more skilled.
"I-yeon, let's move rooms starting today."
Her delicate features clustered innocently together were lovely, and her efforts to avoid his gaze were amusing.
Kwon Chae-woo hid his dark thoughts and quietly bowed his head. That was when her wet sleeve caught his eye.
Ah, no wonder his eyes felt stinging.
A small warmth spread through his hollow chest. The man covered his face with one hand, barely managing to hide the smile at the corner of his lips.
* * *
"Kwon Chae-woo, wouldn't it be better to rest today?"
I-yeon looked Kwon Chae-woo up and down, dressed in neat slacks and a round cotton t-shirt. She didn't like how he looked just like a university student in such plain clothes.
"Are you worried I'll make a mistake?"
"That's not it…."
I-yeon tucked in her lips that were threatening to pout.
'Now that's what I call identity laundering!'
His hair, unkempt and dirty from two years without cutting, was now neatly styled, falling with gloss down to his forehead. Because of that, his features stood out much more distinctly.
Under ordinary light, the man looking at I-yeon faithfully was different in every way from the murderer she remembered.
Suddenly, the raincoat that had gleamed over beige-toned clothes flashed through her mind and vanished. At that stark contrast, a corner of I-yeon's heart grew uncomfortable.
"I can really go alone, you know."
I-yeon pressed a straw hat down as if to hide her face.
All of this was because of Chu-ja. Normally, he should have had nothing to wear outside except patient clothes. But Chu-ja had not only bought new clothes but even cut his hair herself, completely transforming Kwon Chae-woo.
I-yeon had thought about secretly hiding his shoes, but soon laughed at herself. This really made her seem like the woodcutter anxiously worrying whether the celestial nymph would wear her winged clothes.
It might be harsh, but I-yeon had no intention of letting Kwon Chae-woo go outside. She didn't want her lies to spread beyond this house.
A timid liar's influence was limited to just one person, and even deceiving Kwon Chae-woo alone was shaving years off her life.
She had just wanted him to quietly focus on rehabilitation, but his recovery rate, outstanding to a fault, was the problem.
What excuse could she possibly use to separate him?
"Director, you're really going like that?"
At that moment, Chu-ja pointed at I-yeon's attire with dismayed eyes. White sneakers caked with mud, a baggy gray suit that was too large, and on top of that, a straw hat used for manual labor.
"Does our Gabin Tree Hospital have no pride or what?"
"That's right here."
I-yeon proudly displayed the file folder containing her career and treatment records to date. Even if the hospital was empty enough for flies to buzz around, not a single tree she had tended had ever died. That was I-yeon's pride and joy.
"Because you look like this, you absolutely have to take that."
Chu-ja spoke in ventriloquism, gesturing with her eyes toward the man standing behind.
"From now on, think of that as our hospital's signboard. If you go around with someone like that, won't the ladies think 'Ah, if I entrust our trees to Gabin Tree Hospital, flowers will bloom just as prettily!' or won't they?"
"Th-that's sexual harassment!"
I-yeon's eyebrows fluttered like butterflies hit by strong wind. Her face reddened for no reason as she began dusting off various parts of her clothes meaninglessly.
Today was the day of the bidding information session for the
"Kwon Chae-woo."
I-yeon placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. Her mouth wouldn't open at all as she stared at the ground, but after a moment, she faced him.
"Outside is… dangerous."
Chu-ja wore an expression that said 'What nonsense is this,' while Kwon Chae-woo seemed focused on her voice.
"Especially for Kwon Chae-woo, it might be even more so."
"Why?"
Because if external stimulation is too strong, you might regain your memories.
But unable to say those words, I-yeon hesitated. Seeing her visibly racking her brain, Kwon Chae-woo, who had been waiting patiently, suddenly clasped his hands behind his back and asked abruptly.
"Is I-yeon hiding something from me?"
"No!"
The answer came suspiciously fast. A strange expression flickered across Kwon Chae-woo's face. I-yeon instinctively realized she had to immediately seal this small crack.
"You're handsome!"
Whether it was usable quick wit or terrible improvisation, she couldn't even tell herself.
"If you go there… it's all just middle-aged men. You have no idea how scary men's jealousy can be. Someone young and kind like Kwon Chae-woo would never understand."
Yes, this much should be enough!
I-yeon mentally wiped away sweat like someone who had just finished a major task.
"Am I pretty enough that you want to hide me?"
"…What?"
Kwon Chae-woo fiddled with his ear with a strange expression, somewhere between smiling and frowning. He had pulled his earlobe so hard and folded his ear so much that the reddened skin looked painful.
"In I-yeon's eyes, am I really like that?"
"Well…."
Flustered, she dragged out her words and rolled her eyes. After pondering, I-yeon decided to convey her intent through vague words.
"…Well. I just wish Kwon Chae-woo would stay at home."
And that was actually quite close to her true feelings.
"Because you want to see only me?"
"Well…."
The more cleverly she avoided answering, the more she felt like she was sinking deeper into a quagmire. I-yeon looked at Chu-ja for help, but she was standing far back, snickering silently.
Now there was no choice. I-yeon decided to somehow convince him, coax him, and do her best to keep him from going outside as much as possible.
"W-we're newlyweds. Considering the pause due to the accident, we're still newlyweds. So naturally… you'd want to keep good things to yourself…."
Kwon Chae-woo looked satisfied as he pulled up the corners of his lips—
"Then I-yeon can't go outside either."
"What?"
"I don't want to be apart even a little."
"…"
"I'll be quiet, so just carry me around like a potted plant."
At that overt gaze, I-yeon faltered. Unlike his gentle tone, his gaze was somehow obsessive and direct.
If she refused, his underlying intention to rather lock the door handle and isolate together so that no one could go out was clearly reflected.
Then just once more. It might be repulsive, but let's take one more step here. I-yeon tried to set the mood again so she wouldn't lose ground.
"…Are you really sure you're okay? You're still a patient. I acknowledge that Kwon Chae-woo's recovery is exceptional. But honestly, I don't feel good about taking someone with no memories to a complicated place."
Her soft cheeks, looking like they'd crumble if squeezed, shook endearingly with every word. Unaware that the man's gaze had deepened another inch, she continued speaking.