In the sudden silence, Sung Ji Chan looked around in confusion.

“What’s with this atmosphere? Why is everyone suddenly like this?”

But no one opened their mouths. There was no way they could.

I, too, could only read the room in the chilled air.

‘To think the point where Sung Ji Chan’s memories stopped was when Jin Hae Yul was around.’

I felt like holding my throbbing head.

I thought we could calmly get through such a big event like memory loss, but I didn’t expect this hidden snag to be waiting.

I kept my mouth shut and watched the situation.

The first to speak in this awkward atmosphere was Yoo Hee Na.

“Ji… Ji Chan!”

Yoo Hee Na said with a strained smile, unable to hide her bewilderment.

“I… have something to say. Can we step out for a moment?”

“Huh? Something to say?”

Sung Ji Chan tilted his head.

“Okay, tell me later. But where is Jin Hae Yul?”

“Ji Chan!”

Yoo Hee Na cried out as if wailing.

“I want to say it right now!”

Sung Ji Chan spoke with a rare look of fluster.

“Really? Then say it. I’m listening.”

“No! It’s something I can’t talk about in front of others!”

Yoo Hee Na’s desperate attempt to change the subject was pitiful.

‘Stay strong, Yoo Hee Na.’

I looked at Yoo Hee Na dragging Sung Ji Chan with sorrow.

In the end, Yoo Hee Na succeeded in taking Sung Ji Chan out of the infirmary.

‘I’m really curious what they’ll talk about.’

I sighed and assessed the situation.

The infirmary felt desolate with the two gone.

Neither Seon Woo Jin nor Ban Ha Min said a word, their faces stiff. The heavy atmosphere. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them look this serious before. I glanced at them, then carefully opened my mouth.

“I’ll… get going then.”

As if coming to his senses, Seon Woo Jin lifted his head.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Oh? Okay.”

I didn’t expect a response. I tried not to show my surprise and said goodbye to Ban Ha Min.

“See you later then.”

“Yeah, bye.”

Ban Ha Min gave a somehow sad-looking smile.

Seon Woo Jin and I left the infirmary and headed to the classroom.

Perhaps because of what just happened, Seon Woo Jin walked with me deep in thought, saying nothing.

Unable to stand the awkward atmosphere, I spoke first.

“Hey… are you participating in anything for the sports day?”

Only then did Seon Woo Jin turn his head to look at me.

“Sports day?”

“Yeah, it’s coming up soon.”

It was a bit out of the blue, but I deliberately brought up a completely unrelated topic from earlier.

‘If we talk about something else, the mood will improve a bit.’

Fortunately, my intention worked as Seon Woo Jin’s serious expression softened a little.

“I’m not. Why?”

It wasn’t a very surprising answer. He’s even lazier than me, so there’s no way he’d participate in such a troublesome event.

I answered casually.

“No, well. Everyone’s going crazy these days. The school atmosphere is pumped up too. Just in case, you know.”

The weather has warmed up and exams are over. Around May, the inside of the school gets chaotic, and it was just about that time now.

‘It’s the period when the kids go the most wild.’

In the original world, around this time, the kids would be busy with various events like sports days, festivals, school trips, etc. Of course, the school I attended didn’t have those.

Seon Woo Jin said:

“Do you like that kind of stuff too?”

His gaze was somewhat doubtful. As if saying ‘Unlikely.’

…You know me too well.

“It’s a hassle…”

In reality, as someone who doesn’t participate in any event, I had nothing to say, so I trailed off.

“But well, it’s cool if you’re good at sports. I’m not though.”

Seon Woo Jin raised an eyebrow.

“Cool?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I guess it would be cool…?”

I just said whatever to keep the conversation going, but with that response, I didn’t know what to say. It would be cool, probably. Usually if you’re good at something, even if it’s not sports, it’s cool.

“Yeah. It’s cool so you should participate in something too.”

I glossed over it and ended the conversation.

As we talked, we had almost arrived in front of the new school building where our classrooms were. Before going to our respective classes, Seon Woo Jin bid me farewell.

“See you later.”

Later? Ah, we agreed to go home together.

I nodded and went into my classroom.

After that, things passed by unexpectedly without incident.

I don’t know exactly how she handled it, but Yoo Hee Na must have done a good job as Sung Ji Chan quieted down again. Of course, it only meant he stopped asking about Jin Hae Yul, not that he regained his memories.

I continued to stick close to Seon Woo Jin during that time. Thanks to that, people completely stopped picking fights with me.

“Why are they always together?”

“I guess he’s not the ice boy anymore but the chic boy now.”

“Is it a love triangle?”

There were more strange misunderstandings though.

And so a few days passed.

“…Now that he lost his memories, his character seems a bit different.”

I spoke while watching Sung Ji Chan excitedly chatting with his classmates. Seon Woo Jin asked back:

“What is?”

“No, well, how should I say…”

Flippant and flirty, perhaps.

In a word, the kid got a bit weird.

I never thought the day would come when I’d find the original Sung Ji Chan serious.

The 16-year-old Sung Ji Chan didn’t hide like before. Rather, he was actively interacting with the other kids, you could say.

Previously, while he played the role of a gang boss, he tried to minimize his presence at school. But now, he strutted around conspicuously.

‘It almost feels more annoying somehow.’

Seeing the kids flocking around Sung Ji Chan reminded me of Ban Ha Min for some reason.

Seon Woo Jin had a pensive expression for a moment before opening his mouth.

“…That’s Sung Ji Chan’s real personality.”

“Huh?”

“He was originally like that.”

Then what is he now?

It didn’t seem that way, but did he truly mature after becoming a high schooler? Well, that’s possible.

I was about to accept it but then the thought of ‘Jin Hae Yul’s accident came to mind.

‘Ah.’

Could it be that his personality changed after that incident?

It’s common for people to change after going through something big.

Since that accident hasn’t occurred yet in Sung Ji Chan’s memories, he might have reverted to his original personality.

‘If that’s really the case, it’s a bit sad.’

They say you mature as much as you hurt. It would mean that event left a huge scar on the hearts of the three fools…

Just then, Sung Ji Chan spotted me and waved.

“Yo, wifey!”

Scars or whatever, I just hope he goes back to how he was.

I stared at Sung Ji Chan with dead fish eyes.

Last time I clarified that I wasn’t his girlfriend, but Sung Ji Chan didn’t listen at all.

To be precise, even knowing I’m not his girlfriend, he’s just calling me that to tease me.

No, if you lost your memories, aren’t I a stranger to you? You act so chummy with someone you don’t even know well? The pre-memory loss Sung Ji Chan was truly an annoying fellow.

Before I knew it, Sung Ji Chan had made his way through the crowd and approached.

“What, you’re with Seon Woo Jin again today. Are you really cheating?”

Seon Woo Jin spoke with a serious face.

“Can’t I just punch him once?”

“You endure it.”

I forcefully unclenched Seon Woo Jin’s fist as he looked about to smack the back of Sung Ji Chan’s head for real.

Sung Ji Chan looked at us with an odd gaze.

“You two really get along well, huh?”

“What?”

When I asked back, Sung Ji Chan grinned.

“Nothing, it’s just my first time seeing Seon Woo Jin hang out with a girl like this.”

It was obvious he was trying to tease so I didn’t even want to respond. Seon Woo Jin looked at Sung Ji Chan with disdainful eyes.

“What are you, an elementary schooler?”

Sung Ji Chan shrugged.

“Yeah, well. You two have fun.”

Then he raised a hand in greeting.

“I’m off, wifey. See you later.”

That damn ‘wifey’ again.

I flipped my middle finger at Sung Ji Chan’s retreating back.

After Sung Ji Chan completely disappeared, I spoke.

“Do something about your friend. I’m afraid he’ll really cause an accident at this rate.”

“I’ve never had a jerk like that as a friend.”

Today too, Seon Woo Jin denied his friendship.

There’s really no helping it. I shook my head from side to side.

[This is the timeline separator]

Returning home, I flopped onto the bed. And I called the system.

[You called?]

Yup.

“That Sung Ji Chan is really annoying. Isn’t there a way to get his memories back?”

[There is one way…]

Seeing it trail off, it was obvious even without looking.

“You’re trying to make me do another absurd quest, aren’t you? I’m not doing it.”

[Miss Ju Eun, your insight has really sharpened!]

Of course. It really was a quest, it seems.

‘I don’t need to do those bizarre quests just to find Sung Ji Chan’s memories, not even my own.’

Let’s just live with the annoyance for the time being. It’ll come back someday.

[Don’t worry too much! Have faith in the human body’s natural healing power.]

Yeah, the doctor said it would return soon too, so it should be fine.

Well, even if it never comes back, it doesn’t really matter, does it? I’ll have to adjust my happy ending plan a bit though.

I rolled around on the bed, lost in thought.

‘Speaking of which, I wonder if the sports day will be okay.’

The kids are already uncontrollable, but with Sung Ji Chan losing his memories too, I was more worried.

‘Usually big incidents occur at these special events.’

And with the male lead losing his memories on top of that. It was a foregone conclusion that something would happen. I was curious… no, worried about what variable Sung Ji Chan’s memory loss would be.

‘Well, it’ll work out somehow.’

If we’re lucky, the memory loss issue might get resolved before then.

Let it be. I decided to put my mind at ease.

But as always, my luck wasn’t great.

In the end, the curtains rose on the sports day without Sung Ji Chan regaining his memories.