#163
Somehow, my dreams were very unsettling. It was a very sad dream, but I could only remember fragments of it.
It felt like I was running away after being deeply hurt. Well, it was probably just a nonsense dream, but it seemed to have worsened my emotional instability.
I got up from bed and took out the leftover piece of cake I ate yesterday from the refrigerator in the kitchen. I planned to have this for breakfast because I couldn’t be bothered.
‘How am I supposed to get better like this.’
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed better to sort out and bury my memories as soon as possible.
First, I needed to quickly resolve what I had been putting off.
“Boss, I’m sorry. It seems… the hospital says they need to wait for me to be more stable, so I think I’ll have to quit.”
Seeing it was 9 o’clock, I thought it wouldn’t be too early and called the cafe owner. It was to completely quit my part-time job.
It wasn’t like taking sick leave from a company, and I had been thinking about it for a while, believing I couldn’t maintain this situation indefinitely as a part-timer.
– Really? Is Jaeha’s condition that bad? I was planning to just cover for you and wait for about a month.
“Haha… thank you. But it’s likely to take more than a month.”
– I see, that’s really unfortunate…. Since it’s a health issue, it’s hard to ask you to come in until we find a replacement…. Alright. If you want to work part-time again after you get better, feel free to contact us anytime.
“Thank you, boss.”
The boss was unusually kind, but since I was the only one benefiting from it, I decided to accept it as someone else’s kindness. For whatever reason, it seems my past self before losing my memories had built up a lot of goodwill.
After hanging up, I immediately went into the group chat and left a farewell message starting with “Thank you for everything until now.”
It seemed like someone was trying to say something with a “Wait…!”, but I had already left the chat room, so I couldn’t see the content.
Well, it’s probably nothing important. Anyway, leaving the chat room made me feel a bit relieved.
‘No matter how much I think about it, I can’t remember how to make a Frappuccino.’
Going to work part-time in this state would be more harmful than helpful, and I’d probably just cause accidents. Given that no memories have returned yet, maybe the memories of the cafe part-time job will vaguely come back in about 10 years.
It was an impulsive decision, but thinking about it again, it’s the right thing to do because the cafe wouldn’t need a troublesome part-timer like me.
Anyway, now that I was officially free, all I had left was time. To enjoy it slowly, I needed to regain my memories and think about what to do from now on.
‘I should drink some coffee… Huh?’
Just as I was thinking I should make some plans for the time being, my phone suddenly rang repeatedly. I flinched as soon as I heard the “ding” sound. Checking my phone, I saw I had received a message.
Jerk
[Nothing wrong?]
The number saved as “Jerk” was Shin Haejun’s. According to Hyun Dowoon, who was eager to restore my memories, I was apparently a great person with an incredibly kind and angelic personality. It felt like hearing about someone else entirely, but anyway, it seemed that even my past self, who was like that, thought Shin Haejun’s personality was far from normal.
To have saved him as “Jerk” when I apparently never got angry, what on earth did he do?
Anyway, asking if anything was wrong, I didn’t understand what he meant so suddenly in the morning.
Jerk
[I heard you quit your job]
[What? How did you know?]
Jerk
[Your boss told me]
The cafe boss, to Shin Haejun? Why on earth?
[Why would the boss tell you?]
Jerk
[Because that cafe is a Haesun Food franchise]
Hmm, I just learned that, but even hearing the answer, I didn’t understand.
[What does that have to do with the boss telling you about me?]
Shin Haejun’s replies, which had been coming in less than a second, suddenly stopped. It seemed I had made a very sharp observation.
As there was no further reply, I was narrowing my eyes and glaring at the screen to prompt a response when Shin Haejun’s reply came back.
Jerk
[I’m the group’s heir, you know. You’re my closest confidant. So]
[Um.. anyway]
No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t a proper answer. And thinking about it, I felt like Shin Haejun had been monitoring me. Just because someone is an acquaintance doesn’t mean they need to know every single move…. It seems my feeling that the boss was unusually kind wasn’t my imagination. There must have been some adult circumstances at play.
If this were a mere novel like in my delusion, it would be a novel featuring a criminal who stalks civilians. Of course, since it’s not a world in a novel, that can’t be the case.
Anyway, did he contact me to ask about this? As I was tilting my head in confusion, another message suddenly came in.
Jerk
[I’m coming home now, right in front]
Where did he go this early in the morning? And I don’t understand why he’s reporting to me that he’s going to his home. I propped my chin up and glared at the message, not knowing how to respond.
[Oh, okay..]
I sent a perfunctory reply with a feeling of “So what?”, but there was no response from Shin Haejun, who I thought would get angry. Instead, I heard the doorbell ring.
‘He meant he was coming to my home?’
Why is he treating my home like it’s his own? Above all, coming at this hour was inconsiderate. I crossed my arms and looked towards the entrance, then walked over and opened the door.
“Why did it take so long to open?”
“Why did you come?”
I looked at Shin Haejun suspiciously, then suddenly noticed that he didn’t look well and became a bit puzzled.
“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”
It was funny, but Shin Haejun looked a bit anxious. Come to think of it, he had been rambling since morning, could something have happened?
Now that I saw Shin Haejun like this, I felt a bit worried. I thought being healthy was his strong point.
“It’s nothing! Let’s just go somewhere.”
“What? Where?”
Shin Haejun jumped as if it was absurd, then suddenly grabbed my wrist. I couldn’t understand what was going on at all.
“Quickly.”
What’s really going on? I thought he looked a bit anxious, but looking closely, it wasn’t just a bit, he looked very anxious. As if someone was chasing him.
“Did you see a ghost in broad daylight? Why do you look like that?”
“…What are you talking about.”
When I jokingly asked because he was so suspicious, Shin Haejun’s face turned pale.
“Wait…. Ah!”
Eventually, Shin Haejun knelt down and tried to put shoes on my feet. I was surprised and smacked his shoulder.
“What on earth is going on! You need to explain!”
When I glared and spoke, Shin Haejun looked up at me with a tense face. I was about to slap him and kick him out, but his eyes were so desperate and there was something about him that made my heart soften, so I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Anyway, it was the most serious face I had seen from him, so I felt that something big must have happened to him. Moreover, his whole face was saying not to ask, which was completely different from yesterday when he was excited about having a party.
I looked down at Shin Haejun’s face quietly, then patted his shoulder to tell him to relax.
“Let me change clothes and then we’ll go, okay?”
At my persuasion, Shin Haejun’s shoulders drooped and he nodded. It was fortunate that he at least listened to this much.
After I changed into casual outdoor clothes and came out, Shin Haejun was sitting in front of the entrance, looking at his phone with a very anxious face. Seeing his fingers moving quickly, it seemed he was chatting with someone.
When he saw that I had changed clothes and come out, he quickly stood up. In his hand was my medication bag.
“…Am I not coming back home today?”
When I asked glumly, Shin Haejun nodded. Is he thinking of going to his family home?
I thought it was strange to be doing this from the morning, but anyway, I decided to go along with Shin Haejun’s pace. Just in case, I even sent a message to Hyun Dowoon with a brief explanation of the situation, so I thought we could handle any problems if they arose.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Glancing at my phone, I saw that Hyun Dowoon had checked the message but hadn’t replied. This wasn’t like him usually.
It’s a strange morning. I put on my shoes, feeling somewhat anxious. Shin Haejun quickly opened the door and was waiting for me to come out.
***
Hyun Dowoon was glaring at the man sitting on his sofa with his long legs crossed.
Black hair and a familiar face. It was Shin Haejun, whom he usually considered a thorn in his side. However, what was alien was that Shin Haejun’s eyes were sparkling completely red like rubies.
And the fact that the house, which was always neatly organized, was in a mess was completely different from usual.
From in front of Shin Haejun, across the coffee table, and all the way to the opposite wall where the TV was mounted, there was a straight line of ice pillars.
Thick ice pillars in an ordinary house is not a common occurrence. And if those pillars were suddenly summoned by some unknown force as if by magic, it’s not just uncommon, it’s something never seen before in life.
Shin Haejun, who had created those pillars, was looking down at Hyun Dowoon’s phone with an expressionless face.
Jaeha
[Suddenly Shin Haejun came and is telling me to go somewhere.. Seems like something bad happened. I’m leaving this message just in case you worry. I’ll contact you again later.]
It was a message left by Jaeha before leaving home. And it had been over 2 hours since that message was received.
Hyun Dowoon was tense, not knowing how Shin Haejun would react after just reading the message. He was trying to compose his expression to not show it, but he felt sweat forming on his forehead.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
