Did I originally sleep this much? The clock I checked as soon as I opened my eyes pointed to two o’clock in the afternoon.

It’s beyond the level of sleeping in. As soon as Na Eun raised her body from the bed, a headache came and she held her head.

Even though she slept enough, every time she woke up, strangely her head hurt and fatigue rushed in doubly.

She tried to adjust her sleeping time, thinking that could happen if she slept too long, but strangely it didn’t work well.

It was hard to overcome the sleep that came frantically every night.

I couldn’t see Jae Kyung leaving today either. After tidying the bed, she stepped into the living room and looked around the already empty house.

She didn’t know well, but it seemed Jae Kyung had started his company life early, and at some point he became busy, leaving early in the morning and only returning late at night.

At least I wanted to see him off when he left. She didn’t hide her upset expression.

When I get married, I must see him off to work, she made that resolution and suddenly realizing that she would soon be marrying Jae Kyung, her face flushed red.

Marrying your first love, others would pry saying you should meet the other person more, but she had no hesitation in building a future with Jae Kyung.

Because she had no confidence in meeting a better person than this, or liking someone more than this in the future.

But I think I asked Jae Kyung for something last night, what was it? I remember accepting his proposal, but I can’t recall what happened after that in detail.

Na Eun, who had been lost in thought for a while, soon felt dizzy again, closed her eyes tightly and stood in place for a long time.

Let’s think about it later since my head hurts.

Wanting to escape from the pain in front of her first, she stopped thinking and entered the bathroom.

Taking a cold shower made her feel like the throbbing headache was getting a little better.

After finishing her shower and changing into casual clothes, she headed to the kitchen.

As expected, the meal Jae Kyung had prepared before leaving was on the dining table.

It was morning, but because Na Eun woke up in the afternoon, it became a late lunch and an early dinner.

“It looks like you’re sleeping well, so I’ll just go. Make sure to eat well and don’t forget to drink the tea too.”

On the small post-it placed on the tablecloth was his message written in Jae Kyung’s neat handwriting.

I should keep this. After carefully taking it, Na Eun returned to the room.

The letters and notes Jae Kyung gave were all precious to her, so she always kept them without throwing them away.

Putting the post-it well in the box inside the drawer and smiling, Na Eun suddenly found her pencil case in the shopping bag Jae Kyung had left last night and took it out.

I wonder what kind of pen I, as a college student, was using.

Curious, when she opened the zipper-type pencil case, it wasn’t much different from high school, making her laugh again.

She should quickly have the meal Jae Kyung prepared and take care of herself, but Na Eun, absorbed in looking at her pencil case, neglected it for a moment.

Sitting on the bed and carefully looking inside the pencil case, she found a cherry-shaped hair tie that looked already broken and useless, and happily fiddled with it.

As expected. I carried it around even after becoming a college student.

It was an item with precious memories of her father, so in middle school she always wore it on her wrist, and when it broke, she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away and put it in her pencil case to carry around.

Seeing the hair tie again, Na Eun lowered her head, feeling like she might cry thinking of her father.

She needed a little more time to accept that the person who loved her the most in the world was now gone from her side forever.

But it’s okay. At least the memories remain. She comforted herself inwardly, caressing the hair tie.

Although she forgot many things now due to the aftereffects of the accident, the hair tie, a trace of love and memories of her father, remained intact in front of her.

That’s enough, she was comforting herself, when suddenly strange conversations flashed through her mind.

‘Thank you for finding my hair tie.’

‘Kiss me.’

‘Is this also an experiment?’

What is this? Na Eun became dazed by them. It wasn’t Jae Kyung.

‘I’ll do it.’

‘Whatever you want, everything.’

Who is it? Na Eun opened her eyes wide, still holding the hair tie. It wasn’t the one she loved.

But somehow it was a familiar voice.

‘Don’t let go.’

This time it’s her own voice.

Na Eun covered her mouth with the back of her hand, unable to believe she had said such a thing to someone.

An image of herself desperately clinging to someone as if not to fall began to emerge from somewhere deep in her memory.

Am I perhaps… starting to regain my memories now?

It was something to be grateful for. Jae Kyung would also be happy to hear it as a sign of her body recovering.

But Na Eun felt like fainting from the memories that came pouring in partially like a passing shower, not fully returned.

Only a few pieces out of many puzzles had been taken out, but they were all things that couldn’t possibly be there, no, shouldn’t be there, so she was bewildered.

Does it hurt? Someone embracing her asks kindly, kissing her ear.

Then the her in the memory shakes her head frantically and swallows her tears.

It doesn’t hurt. So keep holding me. Don’t let go of me. Don’t drop your body. She clung to the warmth of the other person accommodating her acting spoiled like a child.

And soon, below the touching upper bodies, a black patterned tattoo…

“……!”

No way!

Na Eun dropped the hair tie she was holding and covered her mouth with both hands.

Her horrified gaze turned to the floor.

The cute cherry-shaped hair tie was pitifully rolling on the floor.

But she couldn’t throw a shred of sympathy at that precious thing. Na Eun got up from the bed she was sitting on and clasped her trembling hands together.

She headed towards the bedroom doorway as if running away in a hurry, then realized she had nowhere to go and sank to the floor.

Na Eun, covering her mouth with both hands again to hold back a scream, lowered her head.

It’s a lie. There’s no way I did that. My body just hurts so I’m remembering the fake as real.

Even if she repeated it in her mind, wanting to deny it, goosebumps rose from the too vivid memories.

Moreover, what was most certain was her own feelings.

It’s warm.

I don’t want to let go.

I want to be together always.

She was so shocked that the feelings she had towards the other person while crying in the arms of a man whose face and name she couldn’t remember at all were so sincere.

So ardent.

No matter how much she wanted to insist that the memories weren’t real but fake, she could clearly remember her heart for the other person at that time, which was even more shocking.

I, I…

She despaired inwardly at the unbelievable memories of the past.

I… betrayed Jae Kyung.

Originally liking things tidy, Jae Kyung had been rushing straight to the company building’s shower room after work these days.

He had to be careful not to have even a little of the other person’s blood stuck on him or the strong smell of gunpowder remaining on his body.

Until right before entering the house, he repeatedly checked his appearance.

Nothing else was on him from head to toe except the refreshing scent of soap.

After thoroughly checking himself, he opened the door and went inside.

He said he would come quickly, but today too, it was past midnight when he came home.

Jae Kyung, who was heading towards the dining table to habitually check if she had eaten well, was surprised to find Na Eun sitting on the living room sofa.

I thought she would be sleeping.

“Na Eun-ah.”

At his kind call, Na Eun raised her head that she had been hanging down.

He was worried that she might have woken up from dreaming about her parents and was crying, but it didn’t seem like that.

Jae Kyung approached her and gently asked why she wasn’t sleeping, but instead of answering, Na Eun bit her lip and covered her face with both hands.

When it seemed she couldn’t bear to look at him, Jae Kyung’s gaze turned to the kitchen.

He habitually checked if she hadn’t touched the teacup he had prepared for her to drink.

Of course, it was a meaningless act since he couldn’t see in detail from the living room to the table inside the kitchen. Instead of checking, Jae Kyung asked her,

“Did something happen?”

“…I can’t marry you.”

At her serious but firm words, Jae Kyung tried hard to hide his solidifying expression. He shouldn’t show his emotions.

He had to figure out the reason for her action and draw out the desired response with the most appropriate reaction.

Jae Kyung, who had lived like that all his life, was even now preparing for a psychological battle with her.

“Is there a reason you suddenly changed your mind?”

Deliberately expressing disappointment and heartache at the unexpected rejection, he stroked Na Eun’s hair, and she lowered the hands that had been covering her face as if in agony.

Unable to look at Jae Kyung, she spoke with her gaze fixed on the floor.

“…Jae Kyung-ah. We’ve been dating continuously since high school, right?”

“…Does it seem like we haven’t?”

I wonder if the drug effect isn’t working properly. Should I increase the dosage?

While Jae Kyung was casually thinking that, Na Eun closed her eyes tightly, seeming even more desperate at his answer.

“We never broke up even once in between?”

“Why?”

“…Tell me honestly.”

“No.”

He answered.

“Not even once.”

That was true. Although they had cried out that they had abandoned each other, he had never broken up with her.

On that day on the rooftop of the academy building, it was Na Eun who calmly announced the breakup, saying they should really split up, but since Jae Kyung had never accepted it, it was invalid.

Jae Kyung had never once broken up with her.

On the other hand, Na Eun, interpreting Jae Kyung’s words in her own way, lowered her head at the terrible reality.

If it was true, if it was like that, she had to set things straight right now.

“…Jae Kyung-ah, I… don’t know what kind of girlfriend I was to you before I lost my memory.”

If my memory is correct, I’m really a bad person, so I thought about pretending not to know and letting it go till the end, even if it’s for a very short time…

Trailing off, she bit her lip and confessed.

“I think I met someone other than you.”

“……”

“I’m sorry.”