Bzzzt.
The phone vibrated.
Kim Sil-jang, who had been standing in front of Choi Sang-hyuk, reporting to him, paused for a moment. Choi Sang-hyuk opened a desk drawer and pulled out the vibrating phone. The cracked screen displayed an incoming call.
Choi Sang-hyuk remained silent, simply watching the phone buzz. After ringing for a while, the vibration finally stopped. A few seconds later, a short vibration signaled an incoming text message.
[This is Kim Min-seok, the owner of this phone. I don’t know who has it, but I will compensate you generously, so please contact me.]
There was a sense of urgency in the message.
Choi Sang-hyuk paid no mind to Kim Sil-jang still standing before him and scrolled up to read through the previous messages from the same number.
[I am Kim Min-seok. Please contact me if you have this phone.]
[I am the owner of this phone. I will compensate you, so please contact me.]
After reading the same messages he had seen multiple times before, Choi Sang-hyuk let out a shallow sigh.
At first, he thought Seo Ha-yoon was just putting on a show. Jumping from the third floor—barely high enough to get hurt—it only looked like a pathetic attempt at protesting against him. If it were Seo Ha-yoon, he was more than capable of pulling such a stunt.
The whole amnesia thing, too, seemed like nothing more than a cheap trick to escape from being caught with Ha Jun-seo. But now that a few days had passed, his thoughts had shifted slightly.
“Continue.”
Choi Sang-hyuk set the phone down on the desk and spoke. Kim Sil-jang nodded and resumed his report.
“I reinvestigated the hospital where Seo Ha-yoon was admitted, but there was no record of anyone named Kim Min-seok. Just in case, I searched through hospital records from a month before his admission up until yesterday, but there was no record of him ever being treated there. Of course, he wasn’t listed among the unconscious patients either.”
“You said he has the same birth date as Seo Ha-yoon, grew up in an orphanage, and lived in a gosiwon (a small, cheap rental room for students and exam takers) in Norangjin, right? Check again to see if there’s anyone named Kim Min-seok who fits those details.”
“Understood.”
“And investigate that bastard who claims to be his father.”
“Yes, sir.”
Choi Sang-hyuk waved a hand, dismissing Kim Sil-jang.
Left alone, he habitually picked up Seo Ha-yoon’s phone and fidgeted with it.
It was a phone Seo Ha-yoon never let anyone touch. Of course, whether or not Seo Ha-yoon had been protective of it, Choi Sang-hyuk had never really cared enough to look through it before.
Was that the mistake?
Would it have been better to properly monitor and control Seo Ha-yoon from the start?
If he had… maybe that bastard wouldn’t have spread his legs for someone else. Maybe he wouldn’t have thrown money into that bottomless pit of a father.
Choi Sang-hyuk exited the message thread with the person claiming to be Kim Min-seok—Seo Ha-yoon—and opened another conversation. The contact name was saved as Son of a Bitch.
[Ha-yoon, the living expenses for this month haven’t come in. You can’t just cut me off without saying a word.]
[Ha-yoon, I’m in a tight spot right now. Just send me ten million won for now.]
[Seo Ha-yoon, why aren’t you answering your phone? Are you avoiding your father? Call me the moment you see this.]
[Seo Ha-yoon, what the hell are you trying to pull? If you keep this up, you’re going to regret it. Call me immediately.]
[You little shit, are you playing games with me right now? Are you really not going to answer? If you keep this up, I’ll spill everything.]
Nearly all the messages were filled with threats.
“Spill everything, huh…?”
Choi Sang-hyuk muttered as he read Seo Chang-seop’s texts.
There was no way Seo Ha-yoon, who was greedy and selfish to the core, would willingly hand over money to his so-called father. At least, the Seo Ha-yoon that Choi Sang-hyuk knew wouldn’t. Which meant Seo Chang-seop must have something on him. That much was obvious from the messages alone.
Was that why?
Why Seo Ha-yoon, despite having access to Choi Sang-hyuk’s card, would buy ridiculously expensive things, only to get bored of them and resell them as second-hand goods not long after?
Why he clung to Ha Jun-seo, accepting every extravagant gift without hesitation?
Maybe it was all because of this.
“Seo Ha-yoon…”
Choi Sang-hyuk rolled the name on his tongue, savoring the sound.
His name tasted both bitter and sweet.
Just what was it that Seo Ha-yoon was so desperate to keep hidden?
What had made him pour money into Seo Chang-seop just to keep his mouth shut?
Under normal circumstances, Choi Sang-hyuk would have dragged Seo Chang-seop in immediately and beaten the truth out of him. But now wasn’t the time.
Seo Ha-yoon firmly believed he was Kim Min-seok.
And Choi Sang-hyuk… didn’t entirely dislike this Kim Min-seok version of him.
At this moment, he had no desire to uncover Seo Ha-yoon’s secrets.
If anything, he liked the way things were now. He didn’t want to see that fragile balance shattered.
“Pathetic.”
He laughed at himself.
Selfish, materialistic Seo Ha-yoon.
Seo Ha-yoon, who was obsessed with money and sex.
Seo Ha-yoon, who never hesitated to deceive people.
Seo Ha-yoon, who seemed to be born to seduce men.
Could he really believe what Seo Ha-yoon was saying now?
Was his dissociative identity disorder real?
Did he truly believe he was Kim Min-seok?
Or was he just pretending, sending texts and calls to his old phone as part of some elaborate scheme to fool Choi Sang-hyuk?
There was no way to know for sure—at least, not unless he cracked open that small, cunning head and looked inside himself.
Seo Ha-yoon had deceived him so many times before.
Yet, despite everything… this time, Choi Sang-hyuk wanted it to be real.
He wanted to believe that Seo Ha-yoon had genuinely lost his memories.
That he had truly become Kim Min-seok.
He wanted to believe that Kim Min-seok was the pure and genuine side of Seo Ha-yoon that had been buried deep inside.
That with this regained innocence, he could build a relationship with Seo Ha-yoon—one entirely different from before.
Whether he was Seo Ha-yoon or Kim Min-seok… time would naturally reveal the truth.
With that thought, Choi Sang-hyuk closed the cracked phone screen and placed it back in the drawer.
***
[This is Kim Min-seok, the owner of this phone. I don’t know who has it, but I will compensate you generously, so please contact me.]
After sending the text, Kim Min-seok leaned back against the sofa with a sigh.
He wasn’t sure if continuously reaching out like this was the right thing to do. Wouldn’t it be better to just throw away all these complicated thoughts and guilty feelings and continue living like this? Maybe this was a chance heaven had given him out of pity.
The more he thought about it, the more tangled his thoughts became.
“What are you thinking about so hard again?”
Ha Jun-seo asked as he handed him a fresh strawberry milk.
Instead of answering, Kim Min-seok simply accepted the cup and took a sip. The drink, freshly blended with real strawberries and milk, had a sweet and refreshing taste.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah, it’s delicious.”
Kim Min-seok nodded and gulped down the strawberry milk. Drinking something made from expensive fresh strawberries—it was a luxury he had never imagined in his life.
“Our Ha-yoon eats anything so well.”
Ha Jun-seo said with a pleased smile. He seemed to genuinely enjoy bringing food to Kim Min-seok and watching him eat. Just watching someone eat made him this happy?
To Kim Min-seok, that was nothing short of real love.
“Aren’t you going to have some?”
Now that he thought about it, there was no cup for Ha Jun-seo.
“I don’t like strawberries. I don’t really care for milk either.”
“Then why did you buy strawberries? You could’ve bought something we could eat together.”
“I bought them because you like strawberries.”
“But it feels bad if I’m the only one eating something delicious.”
At Kim Min-seok’s words, Ha Jun-seo’s eyes crinkled into a deeper smile. He reached out and gently brushed his fingers over Kim Min-seok’s cheek. His touch was affectionate.
“Whether it’s amnesia, dissociative disorder, or even a soul switch… I don’t really know. But right now, this isn’t bad. Getting to experience a kinder Seo Ha-yoon.”
“I’m… kind? Just from something like this?”
Ha Jun-seo nodded.
All he had done was suggest eating something they could share, and yet that was enough to be called kind?
Just how bad was Seo Ha-yoon’s usual personality?
That thought led to curiosity.
What kind of person was the real Seo Ha-yoon?
Liking money and sex—that much he already knew.
But people weren’t that simple.
There had to be more to Seo Ha-yoon than just that.
“What kind of person is Seo Ha-yoon?”
Kim Min-seok asked cautiously.
“…”
Ha Jun-seo thought for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“Loves money. Loves sex…”
“…Ugh…”
Kim Min-seok bit his tongue at hearing the exact same words he had heard from Choi Sang-hyuk.
For fuck’s sake, Seo Ha-yoon. Just how much do you have to love money and sex for both of them to describe you the same way?
“He’s sensitive, has a terrible personality, selfish, sharp-tongued, and picky as hell—if someone doesn’t meet his standards, he won’t even acknowledge them as human…”
“…Ha Jun-seo, you are talking about your own boyfriend, right?”
Kim Min-seok looked at him, aghast at the endless list of flaws.
Ha Jun-seo smirked.
“It’s not all bad. For one, he’s beautiful and sexy. If he puts his mind to it, he can seduce and strip anyone—man or woman—without breaking a sweat. And when he’s in a good mood, he can be so sweet, he’ll melt you down to nothing. He gets lonely easily, so he loves clinging to people. And when I give him expensive gifts, seeing how happy he gets puts me in a good mood too.”
“…Are you sure you’re not still listing his flaws?”
“The more expensive the gift, the happier he is. So, of course, I kept buying him pricier things. Especially that day I gave him a watch—only for him to turn around and sell it behind my back. But that night… fuck, the way he sucked my dick, that was something else. He did everything I wanted without a single complaint. That night was perfect.”
