When You Forget Me (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8

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A sleek black car glided smoothly along the road.

Though traffic was unusually light and uneventful, Gi Ju, gripping the steering wheel, kept glancing at the rearview mirror.

Since early morning, some unwanted tail had been clinging to him. They tried to follow discreetly, but their sloppy technique made it clear they weren’t sent by the government.

Since he couldn’t tell whether their goal was gathering intelligence or confirming suspicion, confronting them now might backfire unpredictably.

Gi Ju averted his eyes from the rearview mirror and steered into the parking lot of a villa.

Thud.

He stepped out of the driver’s seat with graceful ease, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and walked up the villa stairs. Soon, he unlocked the door via fingerprint recognition and entered the dimly lit house.

At first glance, the interior appeared ordinary, yet it exuded no sense of habitation—understandable, since he usually stayed at Chairman Song’s mansion. Only essential furniture was present, and even that showed no signs of use, not even the tiniest scratch.

Standing before the tightly drawn curtains covering the large window, Gi Ju slightly parted them with his fingertips and lowered his gaze.

After briefly surveying the outside, he lifted an embedded outlet on the adjacent wall.

Click—the outlet panel rose with a sound, and when he pressed what seemed like an empty section of wall, it slid inward along a rectangular outline. Simultaneously, a section of the living room floor slid open, revealing stairs leading underground.

As Gi Ju descended step by step, dim lights above automatically illuminated his path.

The light quickly filled the underground space, which measured about 10 pyeong. Unlike the upper level, which at least had some furniture, this area held only a long desk occupied by dual monitors and a desktop computer.

Gi Ju powered on the desktop, gripped the mouse, and leaned forward, bracing himself with one hand on the desk. On the large monitor, shadowed by his silhouette, Chairman Song’s photo and encrypted data files appeared one by one—then vanished just as quickly.

Gi Ju erased every trace of remaining data, wiped the storage device clean, and straightened his posture. All that remained now was to pretend he was staying there casually and pass time upstairs.

Just as he turned to ascend the stairs again, something caught the corner of his narrow eyes.

He tilted his head, and a photograph reflected in his dark pupils. He immediately picked up the photo resting on the desk.

The picture showed a couple flanking a young boy in front of an amusement ride, all gazing at the child. Though the image had faded and their faces were hard to discern, their joyful smiles were unmistakable.

“…….”

Gi Ju stared at it for a moment, then opened the desk drawer, pulled out a disposable lighter, and set the photo ablaze. The burning image quickly twisted and dropped into a stainless steel bin on the floor.

At that instant, he felt a brief vibration from inside his jacket and pulled out his phone. His gaze, which had been fixed on the blackening ash, shifted to the screen.

「Han Seung Yoon just returned home via his side.」

He stared longer at this message reporting Eun Chae’s schedule than he had at the photograph, then lifted his chin and composed his expression.

Crackle, crackle. The sound of burning filled the underground room.

Unable to attend ensemble practice, Eun Chae stayed home and played her viola, dedicating herself to practice except during mealtimes. She lost track of time so thoroughly that even the hardened calluses on her fingers began to ache faintly—and eventually skipped dinner altogether.

Wiping the sweat thoroughly coating her bangs with the back of her hand, Eun Chae collapsed onto her bed.

Now that no one remained by her side, the only thing truly within her control was her viola.

That’s why, whenever she held it, no thoughts entered her mind—and she liked that. Everything before her eyes faded away, leaving only the sound of the viola in her ears.

She raised her slender hand, made a fist, then released it, and put her viola away.

Knock knock.

At that moment, a dull knock echoed through the room.

Eun Chae froze to her feet. Kwon Gi Ju instantly came to mind, but today she’d been followed by a different bodyguard.

Since she’d spent the day with Han Seung Yoon at a hotel, Gi Ju must have been pulled away. In the end, even if he’d been sincere, his feelings were probably shallow—just like at the very beginning.

Eun Chae exhaled softly and picked up a hairpin from her dressing table.

Servants usually announced their purpose after knocking, yet this time no voice followed—nor any sense of presence. It felt strange.

“I’ll come in.”

Just as Eun Chae was about to invite whoever it was inside without knowing who they were, a low voice spoke first, making her flinch.

The door opened, and Gi Ju stepped in, reaching behind to close it shut.

Watching him, Eun Chae pinned her hair up with the hairpin and spoke toward him.

“What do you need?”

Gi Ju, who’d been looking down at the viola case, slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers and spoke.

“When did you get here?”

At that, Eun Chae frowned with a disbelieving laugh.

“You already know everything—what I ate today, what I did. There’s nothing you don’t know.”

“That’s right. I don’t know anything.”

After a pause, Gi Ju spoke again.

He pressed a hand to the side of his head and tilted it slightly.

“Not even how Eun Chae feels about me.”

“…….”

“I know it—very well now.”

Trending

His staccato-like phrasing made Eun Chae nod faintly.

“Then I’m glad. That means I don’t have to spell it out—that there’s no lingering attachment left.”

“Yes.”

Gi Ju replied matter-of-factly, then continued.

“Let’s meet. With me.”

It was completely incongruent with the situation. Eun Chae blinked, as if she’d misheard.

Despite her reaction, he remained unchanged.

“You don’t need to answer. I already made the first move.”

“I never agreed to meet you. If you’re going to do anything, just be a second.”

Frowning, Eun Chae turned away—but at that moment, her slender wrist was caught in a large hand, yanking her body swiftly around. Startled, she found herself face-to-face with him.

With one hand gripping her wrist and the other lifting her small chin, Kwon Gi Ju leaned in closer.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying—let’s do it.”

“…….”

“Whatever it takes—if it means starting something with me.”

Panic flickered in Eun Chae’s eyes.

She’d assumed Kwon Gi Ju would never accept her suggestion to be a second.

Unconsciously tensing her jaw under his grip, she shoved his hand aside and stepped back.

“Fine.”

Her flat tone made Gi Ju lock eyes with her.

Meeting his gaze without flinching, Eun Chae voiced her unfiltered thought.

“You’re suited to be my second, Kwon Gi Ju. We should’ve started this way from the beginning.”

Knock knock.

Right after Eun Chae finished speaking, another knock followed. Then, the housekeeper’s voice came from beyond the door.

“Miss, the Chairman is asking for you.”

Eun Chae shot Gi Ju a quick glance, then passed by him and whispered,

“I’ll go out first—do whatever you need to on your own.”

Leaving as if she’d been alone all along, Eun Chae followed the housekeeper down the stairs. Though she wanted to glance back at him still in her room, she didn’t.

Kwon Gi Ju, who’d just seriously suggested starting something with her—any way at all—had enveloped her in his emotions again, something she hadn’t felt in a long time. She couldn’t fathom his intentions. Perhaps he calculated that if she accepted his proposal lightly, she’d be easy to manipulate.

Ever since he reappeared after two years, she hadn’t been able to stay composed. It felt like she’d been blindsided by something completely unforeseen, leaving her helpless.

And yet again, without warning, Kwon Gi Ju had forced his way back into her life—and this time, she accepted him, crafting a different path toward a different ending.

Eun Chae exhaled softly and blinked. Her vision darkened briefly, then brightened again.

If even a sliver of trust in someone remained within her, she might have wavered the moment she confirmed his sincerity. But he’d shattered that trust long ago—nothing was left.

Then she’d make sure he knew: even if he threw away all his pride and came crawling back, he’d still amount to nothing in her life.

He needed to understand just how pathetic she’d felt then—and just how cruelly he’d treated her.

He’d worn himself down trying to possess her, only to fail and be left with nothing but emptiness.

Gi Ju needed to feel that same bone-deep humiliation, that trembling despair.

The next morning, Eun Chae left home to go to school.

Normally, she couldn’t move freely without an arrangement with Han Seung Yoon due to the engagement party incident, but last night, Chairman Song had unexpectedly asked about her concert rehearsal progress and even went so far as to buy her a new viola—behaving almost cluelessly.

Since her fiancé’s family was apparently fond of classical music, the Chairman, who’d never shown interest before, now fully supported her ensemble practices. Whatever his reason, as long as he wasn’t obstructing her, she was glad.

As she descended the stairs, Gi Ju, waiting ahead, opened the car door for her.

Seated in the back, Eun Chae glanced forward through the windshield and watched Gi Ju walk around the hood to get into the passenger seat.

It had only been yesterday that he’d agreed to be her second.

Since barely a day had passed, she couldn’t quite believe their inappropriate relationship had truly begun.

The moment Gi Ju settled into the passenger seat, Eun Chae rested her chin on her hand and turned her head away. But when she briefly glanced forward, their eyes met through the rearview mirror.

Eun Chae sucked in a breath and instinctively looked away first.

How long had he been watching her?

Was it coincidence? It felt too precise to be mere chance.

They weren’t really having a secret affair—or were they? From his perspective, it probably was.

Glancing up again cautiously, mindful of the driver, she found him still looking at her.

A tingling sensation crawled across her face, and she turned away, smoothing her cheek with her hand.

ads

Soon, they arrived at school, and after getting out, he carried her viola and accompanied her all the way to the Art Hall.

Confused why he’d bother coming all the way to the Art Hall, Eun Chae snatched the hard case from him and immediately turned away.

That she was accompanied by a bodyguard was already common knowledge at school, so the ensemble members took their seats as usual—but countless eyes fixated on Gi Ju’s back as he scanned each of their faces before turning to leave.

Though it had been two years, some of the musicians seemed to remember him. Unfazed by others’ attention, Gi Ju stepped outside.

He soon listened to the music spilling through the crack of the door.

More precisely, he tuned his ears to Song Eun Chae’s viola—its voice like her own.

“If violins use the strings Mi, La, Re, Sol, then violas use La, Re, Sol, Do. Their range sits in the middle, but if you listen closely, it’s incredibly gentle—like a mother’s embrace, warm and soothing.”

Song Eun Chae’s face, riding the viola’s melody, shimmered like a mirage before his eyes.

“Then shall we roll around like we used to?”

When she’d said that, the skin beneath her eyes had been unusually red.

She’d seemed like a hedgehog bristling with spines, or a tightly curled-up cat—either way, utterly vulnerable. And yet, she’d casually suggested he become her second, as if nothing mattered.

As if she held not a shred of lingering attachment. As if all hatred had long burned away. As if Kwon Gi Ju had been completely erased from her mind.

Wasn’t that exactly what he’d wanted?

Then why did it feel like a heavy blow to his head?

To not even be worthy of hatred—to have become nothing at all—that was…

Gi Ju tightened the corners of his eyes and rubbed his furrowed brow.

Why?

Now that he’d confirmed he was truly forgotten, was he actually shocked?

Gi Ju scoffed at his own pathetic state. Turning his cold face aside, he stared at the Art Hall entrance, crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.

Yet in his ears, Eun Chae’s sound still echoed.

Arms crossed, leaning against the wall, Gi Ju closed his eyes.

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