episode_0036

It is often said that bad memories linger, but as time passes, you will feel it.

That I have brushed off bad memories at some point and continued to live a normal life.

At some point, people believe they have overcome bad memories. It is the instinct of humans for survival to temporarily set aside obstacles to move forward.

However, when the same crisis strikes again, past painful memories suddenly emerge and torment the person.

“If you forget this, you might die, and if you relive that experience, it triggers PTSD.”

I have several such memories.

One is the accident of my parents when I was very young.

Another is the stalking incident in middle school.

The last was being shamelessly used by Yoon Jiyu.

They were events that I pushed into a corner of my memory and did not bring out.

As mentioned above, when a similar incident occurs, the aftermath hits the victim more powerfully than ever.

“You know. He knows everything about our house. Even the location of my underwear.”

So that’s why Jung Siwoo, who now mistakes me for a stalker, is filled with anger like that.

The world wraps around female victims, but

Men who have experienced similar things are ridiculed.

After the truth was revealed, there were middle school classmates who thoughtlessly said, “Wow, I’m so jealous…”

You have to experience it to understand. How terrifying it is.

When you enter the house, there are unfamiliar underwear lying around.

There are traces of someone entering and leaving the bathtub filled with water.

A mysterious shadow near the window close to the bed that doesn’t move and a faint groan can be heard…

A paper coated with gathered hair is enclosed in a letter in the mailbox.

Someone took a picture from an angle that shows inside the house.

The police seemed to be trying to investigate and pass it over, so I just caught the culprit myself and dragged him to the police station.

“I-I just… I was worried about Siwoo… So I was just watching over him… Like a little brother…!”

Surprisingly, the culprit was the private tutor who helped me with my studies at the time. He was a kind and pretty teacher who lived in a good university and a good house, introduced to me by Professor Baek Jung-eon.

Anyway, since then, no matter how beautiful the woman who showed interest in me was, I didn’t feel any interest in her.

I didn’t have the aptitude for dating, but the environment for dating just wasn’t there.

“You were listening in on me every time I took a bath, right? So you know everything, right?”

There was only one woman who passed through that tight sieve, and that was Min Chaewon.

But by controlling Chaewon’s inner self and making a mistake as if it were my own home, everything went wrong.

Siwoo was more angry than ever because he wanted to deny the reality that Chaewon was a stalker.

“Where did you hide the cameras? In the kitchen, bathroom… again?”

“Wait!”

It may be embarrassing, but this is normal.

It’s not common for someone to ask, “Are you from a different world?”

If I were Yoon Jichang and the Yoon Jichang who became Min Chaewon appeared and declared his identity, Siwoo would have easily understood such a ridiculous setting.

Unfortunately, Siwoo is a very realistic person.

He doesn’t believe in miracles, magic, or anything like that.

But if he were to be labeled as a stalker, he would never be able to approach him again.

Even if it were first love, there would be no mercy.

It was a crisis where the perverted private tutor we remember and Min Chaewon would be on the same level.

It was difficult to just muddle through like last time, so extraordinary measures were needed.

“For now, I haven’t stalked you.”

“How can I believe that?”

“I didn’t stalk you. In the first place, what makes you so sure that I stalked you? What’s the evidence?”

“Evidence?”

Surprisingly, everything Jungsu said was just a delusion.

Whether it was sneaking into his house or watching from afar.

There’s plenty of suspicion, but no evidence at all.

“…None.”

Jungsu’s anger subsided slightly.

In the battle of logic, this side had a slight advantage.

But it’s still ambiguous to finish it off.

If I don’t sort out Jungsu’s distrust towards Minchaewon, this uncomfortable relationship will continue.

I have to unravel everything without leaving a trace of doubt about why I know so much about Jungsu, not being a stalker.

With the mentality of a gambler betting all his remaining chips.

I took a deep breath and began the story.

“I understand. Even though it’s a delusion, it’s easy to mistake me for a stalker. Private tutor in 8th grade. From July 5th to July 12th. I can’t completely forget that memory.”

A smooth flow of past stories.

Jungsu furrowed his brows and asked me.

“How did you… You were still watching me, weren’t you…”

“No! Just listen.”

To convince a stubborn realist, shock tactics like hitting the nail on the head, breaking through head-on, and defying common sense are effective.

If I try to logically explain this unbelievable phenomenon of going back three years and becoming Minchaewon, Jungsu will counterattack by pointing out the weak logical structure.

“It’s me.”

“…?”

“You might not believe it, but it’s still me, Jungsu.”

Jungsu, with his mouth agape, approached me and gently touched my forehead.

“Are you hurt somewhere?”

When he would distance himself, calling me a stalker, and now he’s worried about my mental health.

Seeing him retreat in surprise after touching my forehead, it seems like there’s a conflict between first love Minchaewon and stalker Minchaewon.

“It doesn’t hurt at all. Should I continue?”

“What…”

Sorry, Jungsu.

Let’s talk about the painful story we’ve kept hidden in our hearts.

“When I was 2 years old, both my parents passed away in an accident. The cause was drowning due to a cruise ship sinking.”

“Wait. What story—.”

“Just listen!!”

Jungsu closed his mouth.

He must have sensed something unusual.

He might have felt the same feeling he had when he was trying to organize things when he was with me.

“Six months later, thanks to Professor Baek Jung-eon, I started living in a luxurious house with a large garden where I raised a big dog. Madam Baek had charming tear dots. She had a habit of drinking warm tea at 5 in the morning.”

“Three years later, Baek Cheong-ha was born. Since the professor couple were busy, we were often left in the care of a nanny. Cheong-ha was a troublemaker, and when the exhausted nanny was at her wit’s end, I first touched the piano to calm her down.”

“La Campanella. It was a piano piece I had been listening to since I was young, my favorite. I played it slowly, like a lullaby for Cheong-ha. Do you remember?”

Jungsu nodded slowly.

“The following year, I became a student of the professor and started playing the piano in earnest. At the age of 12, I was selected as a young talent by the Kanghwi Cultural Foundation and started receiving support. That’s when the world-renowned pianist Margaret Hebler came for an interview. Do you remember?”

“I remember.”

“At that time, I confidently told Margaret that I wanted to become the best Mazepa player in the world.”

“Wait.”

Suddenly bringing up embarrassing stories, Jungsu covered my mouth with his hand.

“Ah. No… I mean…”

“Ah, come on.”

“That’s, you don’t have to say it, just move on!”

“Hehehe (K-Mazepa).”

“Aaah.”

Jungsu wriggled like a twisty snack.

As if the rib pain disappeared completely.

“In middle school, there was a stalking incident. The culprit was a female college student who used to help with studying. She first made her presence known by leaving a pair of white cotton panties with a black ribbon in the middle of the room.”

Jung Siwoo barely managed to keep his mouth shut.

“…. I already told you that story earlier, so let’s stop there.”

“Fine.”

They looked at each other and nodded briefly, agreeing not to continue with that story.

“At the high school first-year festival, I played the 6th Etude arranged by Professor List in the style of Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 and received a standing ovation from the entire school.”

“That was nice.”

“There were five girls who wanted to hang out together in December of that year. They were majoring in dance, violin, gymnastics, flute, and piano.”

“… I think I remember that.”

Siwoo, scratching his head, suddenly stood up from his seat.

“Wait. I don’t think we need to talk about what happened after that.”

“What do you mean? It’s not over yet. I remember all their names.”

“Why do you remember that of all things?”

“I remember because you remember.”

“Ugh.”

“This is the most interesting part. Aren’t you going to listen?”

Siwoo pleaded as he leaned on my shoulder.

“Let’s stop here.”

“No, we have to prove to you that we are the same being.”

“How about we talk about something else? Like music.”

“This is also a story about music.”

After the stalking incident, the girls who showed interest in me couldn’t be considered as potential partners, but Jung Siwoo was too kind-hearted by nature.

I didn’t want to talk about the stalking incident, but I also didn’t want to hurt their feelings by rejecting them outright.

So, I persuaded our homeroom teacher to let me borrow the school auditorium with a grand piano on Christmas day.

The five girls became the only audience invited to a two-hour concert filled with carefully selected Christmas songs.

“The piece I played at that time was—.”

“Stop!!”

Even though his appearance resembled Min Chaewon, Siwoo seemed to completely identify me as himself now.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to keep my mouth shut so easily.

In the past, I couldn’t even touch Chaewon properly.

Does this mean I’m cleared of the stalking accusations?

… But just in case. Let me tell one more important thing.

The only chance for Siwoo to relax and remove his hand from my mouth was when I mentioned, “The day before you entered Hanyang University, a professor suggested that you should marry Baek Cheongha.”

Siwoo stared at me with half-moon eyes.

You bastard, you really have guts in front of your dark past.

“Okay. I admit it. You are Jung Siwoo. I am you. You are me.”

Mission accomplished.

It was tough, but Min Chaewon was cleared of the stalking accusations.

And Siwoo’s sudden confession was also avoided.

“Thank you for believing in me. I guess I am a kind person after all, believing in such ridiculous stories.”

Siwoo, looking at my chest that his shoulder touched, then slipping away like a slime, muttered as if to say I was pathetic.

“Yeah…. There’s no way someone like Min Chaewon would be like this….”

Wait, that stung a little.