A gut feeling had never been more right.
Ji Se-min stood in a daze, eyes fixed on the luxury villa looming before him, completely spaced out.
Right. If he thought about it logically, the reason he couldn’t recall where he lived was simple. He probably didn’t remember because, in his mind, it had always been “the house I live in with Cha-hyeon.” That association alone was likely enough for his memory to block it out entirely.
And really, what part of this screamed “home” to someone like him? The neighborhood had a guard booth at the entrance. From here, you could even see the Han River in the distance. A place like this was the kind of villa complex you’d expect a young billionaire in his twenties to own. Or maybe a civil servant with a near-impenetrable job security pulling in several hundred billion won a year. Even as an S-rank Guide, Ji Se-min’s current bank balance couldn’t possibly afford this.
Unless, of course… this home actually belonged to the S-rank Esper next to him—Cha-hyeon—whose overwhelming presence was impossible to ignore.
Even after the aide dropped him off and drove away, Se-min just stood there, staring blankly at what was supposedly “their home.”
“Why are you just standing there? Let’s go.”
Cha-hyeon gently tapped Se-min’s shoulder. It was only then, as if waking from a trance, that Se-min started blinking rapidly. His voice came out barely above a whisper.
“…H-Hyuuung…”
Cha-hyeon raised an eyebrow. Se-min looked pale and hollow, completely forgetting that they’d agreed yesterday to drop the honorific. He quickly corrected himself.
“I mean, Hyung… Is this really our house?”
“Yeah.”
“…Why?”
Cha-hyeon’s brows arched further, as if he couldn’t comprehend why anyone would ask something so obvious. Se-min knew it was a meaningless question—just grasping at straws—but he couldn’t help himself.
“I just… I mean, are we… living together?”
The question seemed to catch Cha-hyeon completely off guard. He stared at Se-min with a puzzled expression, like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. In that look, Se-min could almost hear the unspoken “Isn’t it obvious?” He swallowed hard.
“W-We’re actually living together?”
This wasn’t just some romantic comedy with a chaebol male lead anymore. This was like the second act of a rom-com where two strangers are forced to live under the same roof after some unexpected twist. No—this wasn’t a drama. This was real life. And in real life, wasn’t this kind of situation just… a disaster?
Reeling, Se-min shook his head, trying to snap himself out of the spiral of ridiculous thoughts.
“Yeah. Is there a problem?”
A dark crack formed between Se-min’s lips. Is there a problem? Did Cha-hyeon really think moving in with someone he barely knew—someone he was apparently engaged to—was something you could just… go along with?
Without realizing he’d just hit the nail on the head, Se-min stumbled backward slightly, lips moving silently.
“Ah, I, um…”
But with Cha-hyeon standing there, just looking at him so calmly, Se-min couldn’t bring himself to say anything. What was there to say, really?
If they were living together just to split the rent, maybe it wouldn’t feel this awkward. But cohabiting as a couple? That was something else entirely.
And it wasn’t even him who had agreed to this—it was the version of himself before the memory loss. From his current perspective, he was about to move in with someone who considered him a lover.
They’d promised marriage. There’d been a proposal. So living together now… wasn’t this practically the same as moving into a newlywed home?
…Or maybe not? If they were already like family, maybe it made sense to live together? Their relationship had just changed from hyung to lovers, and they’d grown up living together anyway. Was this not that strange?
But now, that “like family” mindset was gone. Still, hadn’t he decided to try again? To make it work? Then maybe trying to return to how things used to be was the right move.
A lover he’d promised to marry. A bond so close it bordered on family. Stranded somewhere between those two lines, Se-min had no idea which way to go.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“…Ah, no. I mean… yeah… no…”
In the end, Se-min just trailed off and followed behind Cha-hyeon like a lost puppy, still looking like someone desperately wondering if this was all a huge mistake.
But… well, this was apparently his house. He didn’t exactly have somewhere else to go. And his belongings were probably here too, right? Still… cohabiting?
Even as his fingers tapped in the door lock code, confusion clung to him like static. But the moment the door opened and he stepped inside, all of that was swallowed by a wave of pure astonishment.
“Whoa…”
A wide, pristine entryway. A scent that felt strange and familiar all at once. The open space stretching from the hallway to the living room felt endless.
Se-min didn’t bother hiding his awe. Beautiful was beautiful—there was no denying it. And this was where he and Cha-hyeon supposedly lived?
“The house is seriously gorgeous.”
Cha-hyeon gave a soft laugh and placed a pair of house slippers in front of him. Se-min’s eyes landed on them—they were a matching set, identical except for the size.
“……”
The awe lasted all of two seconds before reality came crashing in. Couple slippers? Right at the entrance? They might as well have hung a sign that said “We’re dating.”
So they really were living like a newlywed couple.
That realization made something in Se-min’s chest twist. It felt like motion sickness, nauseating and sudden. He scrambled to fix his expression.
What’s wrong with me? Was it the weight of finally understanding what “trying to develop feelings” actually meant? No… that wasn’t all of it. There was something else underneath.
Forcing himself to stay calm, Se-min slipped into the slippers. They were already broken in, perfectly shaped to his feet.
He didn’t remember them, but they fit him like a glove. That detail alone made all his earlier resolve start to crumble, his uncertainty showing all over his face.
And he felt it—that quiet, probing gaze.
A sidelong glance revealed Cha-hyeon watching him. Not like someone analyzing, but more like… someone reminiscing. As if trying to picture the version of Se-min who still had all his memories.
“…Excuse me!”
The nausea surged violently. Se-min quickly bowed under the pretense of polite greeting, needing an excuse to lower his head. Cha-hyeon gave a small nod, then turned and led the way inside.
Just as he’d expected from the entrance, the house where he and Cha-hyeon had once lived together was huge and beautiful. Maybe because it was high up on a hillside, the Han River beyond looked more like an endless sea. The interior was clearly designed to reflect Cha-hyeon’s taste—clean lines, tidy surfaces, but with warm and whimsical details sprinkled throughout. Somehow, it all blended into something that felt… homey.
“Feel free to look around. Make yourself comfortable. …Or do you want me to give you a house tour?”
Cha-hyeon added the last part with a small, amused smile, like he’d just thought of something fun. Already on edge, Se-min flinched like he’d been stung.
“Huh? N-No! It’s okay. You’re probably busy… I, um, I’ll just… yeah…”
Even he knew he was overreacting. Swallowing hard, Se-min muttered sheepishly,
“Maybe later. Or if you just give me a quick rundown, I can explore on my own…”
Watching him with concern, Cha-hyeon pointed to the living room.
“From the living room, the two inner rooms are mine. The ones on the outer side—you’ve been using those. We share the dressing room. But, …never mind.”
He seemed like he was about to add more, then thought better of it. But Se-min already understood what he was trying to say.
They were practically living like a married couple. Wouldn’t it be even weirder for a couple like that to sleep in separate rooms?
His face paled and flushed repeatedly. He cleared his throat, hoping it would help settle the nausea—it didn’t.
“…Yeah. Got it. Thanks. I’ll go take a look.”
“…Alright.”
Seeing how overwhelmed Se-min looked, Cha-hyeon quietly made his way to the kitchen, as if giving him some space. Only then did Se-min exhale the breath he’d been holding.
Phew… Slowly, he began walking through the house. It would’ve been weirder to just stand in the living room like a statue.
But still… he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was snooping around someone else’s home. Even though this was supposedly his, and even though Cha-hyeon had given permission, a part of him still hesitated.
Since the inner rooms belonged to Cha-hyeon, he decided to avoid those. He’d only look at what was his.
Moving quietly, Se-min returned to the entryway. The first door he opened, the one closest to the entrance, felt… desolate. Just a single bed and a clothing rack.
There was even a subtle chill in the air. Was this supposed to be my room? Or maybe it was a guest room he used whenever he wasn’t sharing a bed with Cha-hyeon?
Unsettled, Se-min quickly shut the door and moved to the next one.
To his surprise, the second room felt… right. It looked like someone actually lived here. It felt personal.
So the first must’ve been a spare room—maybe for guests, or barely used.
Without realizing, Se-min let out a small sigh of relief and stepped inside.
He slowly looked around. The large windows filled the room with warm air, though the space felt like it hadn’t been used in a while. Still, it was clear the room had been put together with care.
He didn’t remember any of it—but every inch of it was undeniably his taste.
The bed. The desk. The wardrobe. The computer and laptop. The headset. The robot figures. The Guiding books…
Se-min wandered slowly, gaze flicking from object to object, his movements stiff with tension. The nausea hadn’t gone away, but there was something surreal and fascinating about it all.
A room perfectly tailored to his tastes—one he was seeing for the first time.
“…Huh?”
His steps stopped at the desk. More precisely, in front of a picture frame resting on it.
Staring blankly at the frame, Se-min instinctively rubbed his eyes.
But the photo inside didn’t change.
“……”
In an instant, the wonder drained from him. A tidal wave of nausea rose up, fiercer than ever. Staring numbly at the photo, Se-min slowly reached out… and picked up the frame.
