The hospital rooftop.
Cha-hyeon stood precariously close to the edge, leaning against the railing as he exhaled a long, weary breath. The wind brushed over his forehead, ruffling his unkempt hair.
Fucking hell.
Suddenly, he clenched his jaw tight. That feeling—like he’d been soaring at the peak of happiness only to be hurled off a cliff—he couldn’t ignore it anymore. He had to admit it now.
“…Hyung.”
“But… I just got a Special Reward, apparently…?”
The moment Ji Se-min had said that, Cha-hyeon had known. He’d felt it in his bones—that this new, out-of-nowhere reward was going to come with a catch. That it was going to do something to Se-min.
And when Se-min had immediately collapsed into an unnaturally deep sleep, as if he were dead, it had only proven him right.
“…Se-min? Ji Se-min!”
No way… Not the same thing as me…
His nerves had been wound tight, his senses on high alert. Fear—raw and undefined—seized him, and he couldn’t even explain why. But less than a full day later, Se-min had woken up like nothing had ever happened.
Without a single memory of Sung Cha-hyeon.
Complete amnesia. His forehead creased deeply as Cha-hyeon shut his eyes.
“…What the hell is this…”
He’d been clinging to hope all this time—something that wasn’t like him at all. Even when he’d harassed the medical staff to confirm Se-min was okay while he remained unconscious, even when they’d rushed him through the emergency admission process, even when they told him it was just sleep and he’d flown into a rage, and even when Se-min woke up, completely fine—Cha-hyeon had still hoped. Obsessively. Desperately. That this reward wasn’t that kind of thing.
Because if it was—if Se-min really had forgotten everything about him…
If that endless love could just disappear in a blink…
“So… we really were dating?”
“I mean, I just can’t believe it. That I was with someone like you, and that you say we were engaged… But that’s just your story, right? I don’t remember any of it…”
“…Are you hoping I’ll say something specific?”
~ Unclaimed Rewards List ~
♦ …Clear Reward… (2/3)
His sharp eyes turned toward the sky, unfocused. His heart beat out of rhythm, anxiety hammering in his chest, and yet… his head throbbed strangely with it. He couldn’t tell if what he felt was his pain or Se-min’s. Whether it was the ache that had come with his second reward, or the anguish of watching Se-min now.
Something deep in his chest tensed. He held his breath, then finally exhaled—long and shaking.
Fine. Denial won’t change anything.
He accepted it: Ji Se-min had lost every memory related to him. He no longer remembered Cha-hyeon. No longer remembered loving him. The blind, unconditional affection Se-min once gave him? Gone.
He even accepted how Se-min now acted—like he still couldn’t quite believe they were ever really together, even after being told they were.
But why now?
Why this moment, of all times?
After they’d finally come to understand each other. After they’d embraced each other’s fears. After they’d finally realized they were in love. When nothing was left but happiness—when everything was finally falling into place…
Why?
With his eyes and the tip of his nose tinged red, Cha-hyeon stared into the air and, for the first time, let the question take shape.
“…What’s this reward even for?”
Memory loss. Again. Just like what happened to him.
And just like that, his relationship with Se-min was reset to zero.
As Se-min had once said: when Cha-hyeon lost his own memories of his pair guide, he hadn’t felt all that uncomfortable.
That was only because Se-min had accepted him with open arms. Treated him like it was nothing. Like the missing memories didn’t matter.
And because deep down, Cha-hyeon had feared that if he did remember—he would lose the version of himself he had become.
He recalled a thought he’d once had—during the Mindscape Dungeon created from Se-min’s memories. Watching the “original” Sung Cha-hyeon laugh sweetly with Se-min had triggered the same conclusion.
“So I was just the stand-in, and I should’ve shut up and disappeared quietly?”
Now it felt like the world was giving him the finger. Like it was punishing him for agreeing not to restore their memories.
He let out a dry laugh. But seriously—just because he didn’t want his memories back… did he deserve this?
Se-min had been okay with it too, hadn’t he?
Cha-hyeon stared at his status window—the one that had always felt like an extension of himself ever since he awakened.
But now… now it felt foreign. Detached.
The glowing, bluish window still hovered in its usual place, unchanged.
Don’t fuck with me.
He muttered it under his breath like a warning.
He wasn’t going to lose.
Even if Se-min had forgotten everything, nothing between them had truly changed.
“….”
Cha-hyeon’s gaze, which had been stuck on repeat like an obsessive mantra, suddenly shifted.
He looked toward the entrance to the rooftop garden.
There wasn’t a single presence here besides himself.
“…Hyung.”
And suddenly, he remembered—this same rooftop, a long time ago. The same moment when he’d just realized he’d lost all his memories of someone precious. The same unfamiliar voice, calling out to him.
“Aren’t you cold?”
And Se-min—handing him a cardigan that fit him perfectly, saying those words with that familiar gentleness.
Cha-hyeon hadn’t felt cold since he awakened. And yet, he instinctively brushed his arms with both hands. The hospital gown crackled emptily under his touch.
His lips pressed tight, and his expression grew hazy.
***
To Protect You… | Sung Cha-hyeon & Ji Se-min Story Compilation
Views: 3.1M Likes: 100K
“I couldn’t die alone, so I made this video.”
0:00–0:10 – Sung Cha-hyeon staring at a Guide Ji Se-min photo caught on Center cam
0:11–0:50 – “Let’s title this: From High Schooler to Grown-Up Sexy Charisma—feat. JiJu’s Growth Arc”
0:51–1:04 – Sung Cha-hyeon smiling at Ji Se-min
1:05–2:00 – The two of them messing around
2:01–2:37 – Still messing around
2:38–2:59 – “We’re basically like family”
3:00–4:03 – The legendary interview
4:04–4:13 – Esper Jeong Jeong-ho’s crying fit montage
4:14–4:20 – “We’re dating.”
7,500 comments
– The world’s big, and lunatics are everywhere
– Why am I watching a compilation of Sung Cha-hyeon staring at JiJu like he’s the damn sun?
– Oh my~ they look sooo good together hehe! Even the ice-cold Esper Sung has a fluttery side~~~!!!^^ May you live happily ever after~ hehe
– The fact that the channel owner also made a “ChaNotSatisfiedHyun” video? Absolute madness. You can feel their determination not to die alone
– Is this a patience test or something?
– Congrats, you’ve won an event^^ Please send us your address^^
– There has to be a reason you made this video
– Hi! I’m a 3rd grader promoting positive comments online!
***
“Wow…”
Se-min let out yet another quiet exclamation, not even sure how many times he’d said it by now. His eyes were glued to his phone screen.
After Cha-hyeon stepped out to get some air, Se-min had sat in the hospital room, trying to figure out if he’d said something wrong. For a while, he’d been genuinely concerned. But as time passed, his curiosity got the better of him, and his fingers started tapping through his phone.
Cha-hyeon’s words came back to him.
“If you don’t believe me, just look it up.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust him—but still. Seeing for himself felt right.
After all, if he were being honest, he couldn’t say he fully believed everything just yet.
Now that he thought about it, maybe the reason Cha-hyeon had left the room was because he’d shown his discomfort so clearly.
If he were in Cha-hyeon’s shoes—watching the person you loved treat you like a stranger—it would’ve hurt. It would’ve been suffocating and heartbreaking.
Feeling increasingly guilty, Se-min went to YouTube and searched.
At first, even as he typed their names in the search bar, he didn’t expect much. He still felt like a regular person. Normal civilians didn’t just show up on YouTube, right?
But then…
[Epic Love Story Alert – The Secret Romance Everyone Knew: Sung Cha-hyeon X Ji Se-min XD ^^ <3 ]
[(Full Video) Esper Sung Cha-hyeon’s C/S-Class Rank-Changing Dungeon Solo Clear – Press Conference / MRN]
[Cha<3Se Age Gap: Dongsaeng ➜ Lover ^^ Chemistry Compilation]
[‘That’ Esper’s Famous Quotes ㄷㄷ]
[“We’re dating.” – 1-Hour Loop]
[The Reason the U.S. Is Shocked, Japan Is Stunned, and the Whole World Is Jealous of the S-Class Esper x S-Class Guide Romance ^_^ XD]
“…What the hell…”
Se-min stared at the endless stream of recommended videos and muttered under his breath in disbelief.
Especially that last one—with Cha-hyeon’s confident photo, a blurry shot of himself, a heart emoji between them, and a thumbnail showing the U.S. President and a nuclear missile launch—left him completely stunned.
Maybe he should’ve known. When Cha-hyeon had told him to just look it up with such confidence, it should have tipped him off.
Apparently, the entire country knew about their relationship.
…If that YouTuber was to be believed, even the U.S. President did.
Se-min looked down at his left hand.
A platinum ring sparkled on his fourth finger—familiar and not at all uncomfortable.
He stared at it, dazed.
“…So it was real.”
It was impossible to deny. Everything pointed to it.
He really was Cha-hyeon’s fiancé. He really was an Awakened. And everyone knew it—it was public record.
…Wait.
Suddenly, his gaze shot to one corner of the screen.
Among the related videos, a certain keyword caught his eye.
[The Reason the U.S. Is Shocked, Japan Is Stunned, and the Whole World Is Jealous of the S-Class Esper x S-Class Guide Romance]
“…S-Class Guide?”
