Eun Seo realized that words truly held great power.

When she called him “Seung Joo-ya” and spoke casually, it really started to feel like he was her younger brother. She never thought she would see him that way, even in death.

Of course, he was actually six years older than her and even paid her salary. Every time she called him “Seung Joo-ya,” Eun Seo felt uneasy about potential future repercussions, so she decided to nip it in the bud early on.

“I, Kwon Seung Joo…”

“I, Kwon Seung Joo…”

As Eun Seo dictated, Seung Joo wrote it down verbatim on a blank sheet of paper.

“…swear to never hold Yoon Eun Seo responsible for anything she says or does to me while I have lost my memories.”

“While I have lost my memories… never hold responsible…”

Seung Joo, who had been writing along, suddenly stopped and sighed.

“Do we really have to go this far?”

“Who knows when your memories will return? I need to ensure my own safety, don’t I?”

Eun Seo replied confidently.

Regardless of his mental state, he was a full-grown adult male, and the man she had secretly harbored feelings for. She absolutely could not address him as “Representative” and treat him as an elder while living with him.

The only way she could cohabitate with him was by treating him as someone completely different from the original Kwon Seung Joo – a pitiful young lamb with nowhere to go. The problem was what would happen later.

If the original Seung Joo found out that some lowly new employee had spoken casually to him and called him by name, there was no way he would let it slide with his temper.

“What if he fires me from the company later for being disrespectful to him? That’s why I need insurance in advance.”

“Come on, I’m sure he wouldn’t say anything after you hid and took care of me.”

Eun Seo replied with a wide smile.

“Surely our representative wouldn’t do that.”

Despair colored Seung Joo’s handsome face.

“Am I really that bad of a guy…?”

“Well, I told you not to ask.”

When she waved her hand dismissively, he asked cautiously, as if afraid.

“What on earth did I do to you?”

“You’d want to die if you heard it.”

In the end, Seung Joo dejectedly finished writing the agreement.

“Alright, write your resident registration number. And the date and name below that, good.”

Only after making him stamp his seal at the end did Eun Seo feel somewhat at ease. With this, he wouldn’t be able to say otherwise later!

As Eun Seo carefully folded and put away the agreement, Seung Joo suddenly asked,

“By the way, what about work today?”

“I ended up taking the day off sick after being late. Because someone ran away and I had to go look for them.”

“I’m sorry…”

Seeing his broad shoulders slump dejectedly again made her laugh. He was surprisingly cute in some ways.

Eun Seo stood up and said,

“Let’s go to the market. We need to buy some side dishes and clothes for you.”

“Clothes?”

“You’ve been wearing those same clothes for a week.”

Seung Joo’s face reddened at being called out. He brought the already short sleeves to his nose to sniff them and asked,

“I kept washing them during the day while you were gone… Do they smell?”

They were the only clothes he had. So while washing and drying them… Eun Seo inadvertently imagined something absurd and hurriedly waved her hand.

Don’t imagine it, he’s eighteen!

“Anyway, come out quickly.”

With that, Eun Seo took Seung Joo and left the house.

There were several supermarkets nearby, but she deliberately headed to a traditional market that took a while to walk to. It was a market that had existed before the neighborhood was developed. Normally, to save on living expenses, she would go to the traditional market even if it was far.

“I’ll stay close to you.”

Kwon Seung Joo walked right next to Eun Seo the whole time, like a young child clinging to his mother’s skirt. She considered telling him to give her some space as it was burdensome, but held back. She thought about how anxious he must feel with the whole landscape suddenly changing overnight.

Passersby glanced at Seung Joo as they walked by. Their eyes seemed to say, is he someone who looks fine but has something wrong with his head?

On such a chilly day, he was wearing only a thin sweater without any outerwear. On top of that, his pants were so short that they rode up above his ankles.

The original owner of these clothes, his secretary, had seemed to be barely 170cm tall. Kwon Seung Joo was nearly 190cm. Not only was he tall, but his build was different. He was a man with exceptionally broad shoulders and chest. The top and bottom garments clung tightly to his body as if tailored, to the point that the shape of his muscles could be seen.

As expected, clothes took priority over side dishes or anything else. As soon as they arrived at the market, Eun Seo took Seung Joo into the first clothing store that caught her eye.

“You’ve probably only worn department store clothes until now, but I’m sorry, it’s beyond my means. Make do with this.”

She gave that disclaimer first before picking out clothes. Given his great physique, she worried whether even the biggest sizes would fit him.

“Excuse me, can he try these on?”

“Go behind that curtain in the back to change.”

Seung Joo obediently took the clothes Eun Seo had picked out and headed to the back of the store. A moment later, he emerged after changing. The store owner gaped at him.

“Oh my, he looks like a luxury item, a luxury! How did you land such a handsome husband?”

“He’s not my husband!”

Eun Seo denied it, her face reddening.

Anyhow, what the owner said was true. With his tall height, great build, and handsome face to match, anything looked tailor-made for him.

After having him try on this and that for a while, the list of items she picked was as follows: Two sets of comfy sweats to wear for various occasions, three t-shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of cotton pants, a thick jumper since it would get cold soon, and a pair of sneakers. She chose the cheapest options for each, but buying one thing after another added up to a considerable amount.

“178,000 won.”

Her hand shook slightly as she handed over her card. Eun Seo’s financial situation was extremely dire. After losing Eun Ho, her mother quit her job and went around searching for him. The meager alimony she received from the divorce was all spent in less than a year, and from then on, it was a spiral of debt.

By the time her mother passed away, they were already sitting on a mountain of debt. Eun Seo, who was just a middle school student at the time, didn’t know that the debt would be inherited by her. By the time she found out, the deadline to renounce the inheritance had long passed. In the end, it became Eun Seo’s debt.

She started repaying the debt as soon as she turned twenty, but hadn’t even paid off half of it yet. Most of her monthly salary went to debt repayment, so her living expenses were always at the bare minimum or below.

“Ah, I’m in a good mood. I’ll only charge 170,000 won since I got to see our handsome husband.”

“Thank you, but he’s not my husband!”

The owner threw in three plain t-shirts and a bundle of socks as freebies, saying they were leftover stock and would be comfortable to wear at home.

With this, it seemed they had bought most of the necessities, but Seung Joo still looked reluctant, frequently glancing somewhere. When she checked, it was the section where men’s underwear was displayed.

Only then did Eun Seo realize – ah, he must only have the underwear he’s wearing now too. She had picked out clothes for him, but couldn’t muster the courage to choose underwear.

“Pick whichever ones you like.”

After saying that, she deliberately looked elsewhere out of embarrassment, but then she heard the owner’s astounded voice.

“Oh my, these won’t fit at all! They won’t even go up his thighs!”

“It’s fine. This is the size I usually wear…”

Sneaking a side glance, Eun Seo saw the owner objecting to the underwear Seung Joo had picked out.

Even Eun Seo, who had never even seen men’s underwear before, could tell that the ones he chose were absurdly small. He must not be fully aware of his own build yet.

Unable to stand by anymore, Eun Seo picked out a box with the largest size underwear and handed it to the owner. Her gaze was fixed on a distant point.

“G-Give us these, please.”

The owner took them and chuckled.

“Mm-hmm, the bride knows the groom’s size best.”

“Geez, I said he’s not my husband!”

Eun Seo felt like crying at the owner’s relentless teasing. I haven’t even held hands with a man yet!

“Aw, what are you getting so shy for? You’ll probably have a baby soon too.”

After paying for the underwear, Eun Seo practically fled from the store. Seung Joo quickly followed her out.

“I’ll wear them well, thanks.”

Seung Joo, now dressed head to toe in new clothes, happily looked down at himself.

Even in cheap new clothes – just a plain white sweatshirt, jeans, and an ordinary black jumper – he looked like he walked out of a casual fashion photoshoot. It was impossible for such a man appearing in the market not to draw attention.

“Hey, handsome guy over there! Come here, I’ll give you a good deal.”

Market ajummas gestured and called out to him from here and there. It seemed their goal wasn’t to sell things but to ogle him, as they surrounded Seung Joo without actually trying to hawk their wares.

“Oh my, how can someone look like this?”

“Are you a celebrity?”

While the ajummas, who had abandoned their own stalls to rush over, gaped at him as a group, Seung Joo just kept his eyes humbly lowered.

“The bride must get full just staring at her husband’s face all day.”

Too tired to argue anymore, Eun Seo held back metaphorical tears.

“Just give me 1,000 won worth of bean sprouts, please.”

“1,000 won? That’s not even enough for his nose! Your husband could eat that much in one meal.”

Despite her scolding, the vegetable stall ajumma filled the largest bag to bursting with bean sprouts. It was an incomparable amount to the 1,000 won portions Eun Seo usually bought.

It was the same at the butcher and the fish shop. Each of them competed to give more, as if they couldn’t help themselves. The butcher ajumma resolutely piled meat on the scale despite the owner ahjussi’s protests. At the fish shop, she bought a batch of mackerel, but got a large Spanish mackerel as a freebie.

“Thank you.”

When Seung Joo bowed his head in thanks, the ajummas were thrilled as if they had struck gold.

There are perks to taking him around, Eun Seo thought to herself, but then the fish shop ajumma called her out.

“I gave it so your husband can eat a lot. So you eat just a little and give it to your husband, okay?”

How can you discriminate so blatantly like that? Eun Seo felt annoyed and turned around to leave as soon as she paid.

“I want to go home.”

Seung Joo, who had hurriedly followed behind her after taking the plastic bags, said,

“You eat a lot. I don’t need to eat much.”

Despite carrying heavy plastic bags full of radish, potatoes, and onions in both hands, Seung Joo also took the bag of bean sprouts Eun Seo was holding.

“I’ll carry it.”

But her rankled feelings didn’t subside easily.

Originally, Eun Seo didn’t eat proper meals often, so even when she went to the market, she would just buy things like bean sprouts or tofu and come back. Buying meat or fish was especially rare. Today, she had intentionally bought a variety of things because of Seung Joo.

“You must have had an easy life. How can you be like that everywhere you go…”

She started to say sarcastically, but quickly shut her mouth. His circumstances had come to mind. Even as a figure of speech, she couldn’t say he had an easy life.

She remembered yelling at Kwon Seung Joo right before the accident.

[Someone like you has probably never experienced pain even once in your life. You’ve probably never lost sleep from hardship, or cried your heart out.] [Let me give you some advice. Someone like you shouldn’t give advice to others.]

She regretted it now. How could I have spoken so thoughtlessly about his life when I knew nothing? Without even knowing…

Eun Seo suddenly blurted out inadvertently,

“…I’m sorry.”

When she snuck a glance to the side, Seung Joo crinkled his eyes and gave her a bright smile.

“What are you sorry for?”

Somehow it was hard to look at him directly, so Eun Seo quickly averted her gaze.

“It’s nothing.”

Even though she wanted to apologize, that person was already gone. That thought made a chill wind suddenly blow through a corner of her heart.