#161
The leave of absence certificate wasn’t just one. I wondered why he went to the school to get the documents, but it seemed he had also applied for a leave of absence and got his own documents.
“Why on earth did you take a leave of absence?”
“If you’re doing it, I should too. Couples are one body and soul. Right?”
Shin Haejun grinned. He always acted like we were a couple whenever we talked, as if trying to brainwash me. As if I should choose him.
“What couple, you’re just the young master.”
I scoffed. Shin Haejun scolded, “Hey, is that attitude appropriate for the young master?” However, his eyes were curved in a smile, so it wasn’t scary at all.
“Anyway, what nonsense have you done? If my mom finds out you took a leave of absence because of me, she’ll flip out!”
Although all my memories were gone and I only had new memories built recently, it was clear that my mom adored Shin Haejun. When I shouted loudly, Shin Haejun picked me up again and strode towards the living room.
“I took a leave because I wanted to. Come on, let’s light the cake.”
“Why are we celebrating a leave of absence! Besides, you did it because of me, didn’t you! Don’t lie!”
I shouted, glaring at the candle wax that had dripped onto the cake. I don’t know when he prepared it, but the wax had melted, as if he had hastily put it on while I was punching in the door code.
When I didn’t make a move to blow out the candles, Shin Haejun blew them out for me and rolled his eyes.
“You’ve become a bit aggressive lately.”
“I’ve always been aggressive.”
I answered, pouting my lips. Then I scooped up some cake with the fork on the table and held it out to Shin Haejun.
“Eat this and leave quickly. Clean up all this clutter too.”
The already small living room was in chaos with all the things Shin Haejun had brought. Shopping bags with various luxury brand logos and party supplies were stuck everywhere, completely ruining the cozy living room atmosphere.
Now that I looked closely, there was a strange phrase written on the cake: “Honeymoon while on leave.”
I glared at Shin Haejun with dull eyes like a frozen pollack.
“What! Parties are fun. You used to like parties.”
“If you’ve had a bite, leave quickly.”
Shin Haejun muttered glumly but didn’t refuse the fork I offered. I pushed Shin Haejun’s back as he munched on the cake. When I tried to pull out the fork, he grabbed my hand tightly and gave me an eye smile.
That sly personality hasn’t changed at all… No, I shouldn’t think like this. I decided to shake off these delusions.
“Dowoon hyung isn’t coming today. You should leave too, to be fair.”
“Good that that unpleasant guy isn’t coming.”
“How can you call him an unpleasant guy when there’s such an age difference between you and hyung?”
I frowned. If there was one thing that was the same between my delusion and reality, it was that Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon extremely disliked each other. But in my delusion, at least they pretended to be indifferent while watching my reaction, but reality was more intense.
“Ah, it’s a good opportunity today.”
“What opportunity?”
“I’ll let it slide.”
Shin Haejun grinned mischievously and moved towards the entrance with his bag, as if it was the right timing to hit and run.
“Hey, take all this with you!”
“See you tomorrow! Those are all non-refundable because I opened them anyway!”
“What? Take them with you!”
I shouted, but Shin Haejun just shook his head, slammed the front door, and disappeared.
‘I’m going crazy…’
Well, at least the candles on the cake are all out, so I’ll clean up a bit later.
I looked around the living room with blank eyes. Seeing the shopping bags piled on the sofa, I got a headache, not knowing how much money he had spent again.
‘It’s not like they’re competing with money…’
Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon always tried to prove how much they loved me by pouring money on me. All those shopping bags were prepared by Shin Haejun, but all the clothes I was wearing today were forcibly gifted by Hyun Dowoon.
The house was very ordinary, but expensive-looking things were scattered everywhere, suggesting this wasn’t a one-time occurrence.
I mustered up the energy to clean up the messy house diligently, ate a slice of cake, and put the rest in the refrigerator. Maybe because it was bought by the rich young master, it was very delicious.
After that, I placed the medication I got from the hospital in the living room and stared at it blankly. No matter how I thought about it, I still didn’t want to take it. It wouldn’t make my delusions disappear anyway. However, I knew Hyun Dowoon would check as soon as he came tomorrow, so I couldn’t not take it.
‘To me, this current situation feels like a delusion.’
Actually, am I just having a really long dream? As days went by, the memories I called “delusions” were becoming more and more vivid. Events and situations were coming back sequentially, but fortunately, I couldn’t feel the emotions from those times. There were too many painful and sad memories situationally, and if I recalled them all now, I felt like my heart would burst.
How can this simply be a delusion? Everyone is saying the same thing, that I have wrong memories, and there’s no way to prove otherwise, but if I had to say, it feels more like a lie that I don’t have any of my original memories.
I sat at the desk and turned on the computer. Then I accessed an amateur novel site and looked over the writing I had organized yesterday.
[Unlike me, ordinary awakened ones had many restrictions on what they could put in their inventory. Their inventory was like a kind of bag, so they couldn’t carry things that exceeded its size or were too heavy.
Instead, I could use my inventory infinitely without restrictions, but I could only open it in dungeons. That’s why I, who was just an ordinary F-rank guide, could act like an esper.]
I was posting to organize and get rid of these memories that everyone called delusions. Even though I was told to forget everything, somehow it felt like I shouldn’t forget. I promised to forget because I didn’t want to worry the two of them anymore, but my wish was to write it down like this so I could see it anytime.
I specifically chose a novel site because the situations were too fantastical, making it hard to find an appropriate space. I decided to record it in an online space because if I just wrote it privately on my computer, the two of them could see it anytime.
No one knows I’m doing this, but as I organized it in writing, I felt a surprisingly strong sense of reality. It was even too specific to say I came up with it myself.
Maybe I actually have tremendous literary talent.
Comments(3)
Chick: The setting is incredibly detailed
HongieKongie: The writing seems very imaginative. I’ll come read the next chapter!
MiyeonMom: It’s fun!
There were comments overnight. My heart fluttered a bit at the fact that there were comments. And they were all compliments!
‘Is this the feeling that made the author write?’
I mean, the author in my delusion. I thought she wrote terribly, but now I wonder if she wrote to see reactions like these comments.
I felt a strange sense of elation when complimentary comments were posted. In my delusion, I always got beaten up in the comments, but here they were all good comments, which felt weird.
Anyway, I should write the next part quickly.
‘If a red-eyed Shin Haejun or a blue-eyed Hyun Dowoon appeared, I could believe it.’
I wish there was evidence that my memories weren’t delusions but real. It’s unlikely at present, though.
I smiled bitterly and diligently wrote down the memory that came after that.
***
‘That novel is boring but quite interesting.’
Kim Sehyun checked the novel site for new serializations while going home after finishing his part-time job. It was quite a fresh fantasy novel among the ones he had seen recently, and he was reading it diligently. Although it lacked the excitement of quickly flipping through pages because it put too much emphasis on the setting, there was a character he was drawn to, so he read each new serialization as it came out.
‘The characters seem familiar from somewhere.’
The novel was in first-person perspective, so the protagonist’s name never appeared. Other people were only referred to as ‘Team Leader’ or ‘Center Director’. Only the villain, ‘Kim Hyun’, appeared with his own name.
‘Kim Hyun is strangely… appealing.’
Even though he’s a villain, Kim Sehyun generally liked overpowered characters, so he felt much more drawn to the S-rank Kim Hyun than the F-rank protagonist.
As novels typically go, the protagonist had to serve some satisfying revenge, so it was a bit disappointing that Kim Hyun acted too foolishly for an S-rank.
Moreover, the Team Leader’s personality was very cold at first, but as time passed, he seemed like a whiny child, which was a bit surprising. It looked as if a suppressed personality suddenly burst out, making Kim Sehyun think there might be a reason or it could be the author’s discretion.
As expected of a rookie author’s first work, there were various flaws, but still, Kim Hyun was likable and it was worth reading for its freshness. It was the first time he had seen the setting of guides and espers, so he was looking forward to what kind of activities there would be in the future.
‘Ah! If you look at the appearance description, it’s totally Lee Jaeha!’
The cafe where Kim Sehyun worked was famous for its handsome morning part-timer. He was quite tall, with light brown hair and pretty eye color, a flashy person. His personality was also cheerful and straightforward, so quite a few people came to see Lee Jaeha. He didn’t seem to know it himself, and it seemed to be going well with a customer who always came at 2 o’clock.
‘Is he quitting the part-time job?’
Recently, he had been taking time off from work saying he was sick, but it seemed the boss was willing to wait a bit longer. He probably thought there was no need to change since customers liked him. Thanks to that, Kim Sehyun was covering those hours.
Suddenly remembering Lee Jaeha, Kim Sehyun shook his head. He was earning more money for the extra hours he worked, and it wasn’t someone he particularly cared about.
‘Rather than that, the novel… Huh?’
Just as he was about to focus on the novel again while walking down the alley, Kim Sehyun discovered something and his eyes widened.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
