episode_0019

Several weeks passed, and Mira was able to be discharged from the hospital. Her schizophrenia wasn’t completely cured, as the disease mechanism, which stems from excessive dopamine secretion, makes short-term treatment difficult and arduous.

Typically, the focus is on observing symptoms through consistent medication and regular outpatient visits. In Mira’s case, as her condition wasn’t severe enough to require continuous hospitalization, it was decided she would be discharged to live at home and receive outpatient treatment.

Several more weeks passed. The situation, which they had hoped would improve, remained stagnant. Mira still mistook Minho for Yunyoung, and her lost memories remained unrecovered.

Minho recalled what the doctor had said. It was a bleak prognosis: if her memories didn’t return within a short period after amnesia, there was a high probability she would never recall them.

If that were true, the incident at the motel would likely never see the light of day, which might seem pathetic, but a larger problem arose. It was about how long he would have to keep pretending to be Yunyoung and caring for Mira.

At first, he had tried to care for her because she was his best friend’s girlfriend, but her condition was more serious than he’d imagined, and anxiety and fear began to creep in, wondering if he might end up having to take responsibility for her entire life.

─1─

Minho met his forgotten friend in a dream. There, his friend denounced Minho and hurled insults, asking how he could have done such a terrible thing to his girlfriend. He looked incredibly angry and furious.

Minho couldn’t offer a single excuse. He simply accepted everything like a sinner. He knew he was the one who had first betrayed their friendship. Even if it had happened unintentionally, the outcome was as it was, so he believed the responsibility lay with him. Moreover, his friend’s girlfriend’s mental state had deteriorated, so there was no other recourse but to silently endure the flood of accusations.

Ironically, this dream became a new turning point for Minho.

At first, he tried to dismiss it as merely an unpleasant dream and forget it, but he couldn’t. The dream’s content kept resurfacing in his daily life, tormenting and unsettling Minho.

It was happening again now. Minho, who had again involuntarily recalled that dream, snapped back to reality at the slight tug on his arm beside him.

“What are you thinking about?”

When he turned his head, he saw a woman gazing at him with innocent eyes that seemed to know nothing. Her gaze was pure, devoid of any hint of suspicion or doubt, as she looked at Minho. Minho felt guilty under her gaze, but he didn’t show it and checked his watch.

“It’s already this late. Shall we head back now?”

“They say there’s an event at the central plaza today…”

“It’s late. Let’s go back. I’ll walk you home.”

“Okay.”

They watched a movie, ate dinner, and walked along the street like an ordinary couple. Since the incident at the motel, Mira had been living in a fabricated world.

Even Yunyoung’s death, which had saddened her, was completely forgotten, and she firmly believed Minho was Yunyoung.

Minho had never imagined things would turn out this way.

At first, he thought Mira would recover in a few days and planned to act as Yunyoung’s stand-in only until then. If it was a ‘temporary’ memory impairment, as the doctor had said, she would return to her old self in two to three days at the shortest, or a week at most, and he thought his role would end there.

But that never happened. Even after a week, her condition remained the same, far from improving. He even took her to a larger hospital for a check-up, only to learn the shocking truth that Mira was suffering from schizophrenia.

The doctor advised him to ensure the patient took her medication properly and to prevent her from experiencing any major shock, as it could hinder her recovery.

To prevent mental shock. That meant Minho would have to continue playing the role of Yunyoung as he was.

Having only dealt with a stoic and closed-off Mira, seeing a smiling, lively Mira around him made Minho gradually grow fond of her. It had been bothersome and annoying at first, but living with her, he started to understand why Yunyoung had liked and loved Mira.

She was a pure and cute girl, unlike the women of today.

Now Minho was Yunyoung, and he could touch her body just like Yunyoung without any qualms. Each time, Mira would blush and yield herself to him. It was undoubtedly behavior driven by her belief that Minho was Yunyoung.

To Minho, Mira was a good partner. The first time, he felt like he was betraying Yunyoung and had felt sorry, but with the second, third, and increasing number of times, his guilt towards Yunyoung faded, and now he could embrace Mira without any hesitation.

Today was no different.

Minho took Mira home and they did it again in her studio apartment. At first, he was nervous and could remember each visit, but now he was too used to it. He had even lost count of how many times he had been there.

One round was over in bed. Mira, with her cheeks flushed red, quietly asked.

“Yoon Youngah, shall we… do it again?”

Minho didn’t reply, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard. He had clearly heard Mira’s words but had ignored them out of annoyance.

It had already been five months since he started living as Yunyoung for Mira. During this time, which was short yet long, Minho had explored and enjoyed every inch of Mira’s body. He had also been able to try out all the perverted acts he had only fantasized about on her.

Mira didn’t like it, but that wasn’t important to Minho. Because Mira tried to grant every request her lover Yunyoung made, and Minho knew this well and had exploited it.

With the indoor smoking, the room quickly filled with cigarette smoke. Mira seemed to dislike it, but afraid of being disliked by Yunyoung, she couldn’t properly show it and merely asked.

“Can I open the window?”

“It’s cold.”

“Ah… okay.”

The room was filled with cigarette smoke. Mira seemed to struggle to breathe, but Minho paid no mind, simply smoking his cigarette.

A moment later, Minho, having finished his cigarette, asked. His voice was indifferent.

“What would you do if I disappeared?”

“What are you saying, disappeared…?”

Mira’s voice trembled with anxiety. Minho spoke in a light tone, as if it were nothing.

“I said ‘if.’ Why are you so scared?”

“Did I do something wrong? If I did something wrong, please tell me. I’ll fix it right away.”

“I just asked because I was curious.”

“B-but you don’t just ask something like that for no reason.”

“I told you. I asked because I was curious. Why are you reacting so sensitively? You seem a bit prickly lately.”

When Minho pointed that out, Mira, as if realizing her mistake, suppressed the emotions she had been pushing forward and apologized.

“Sorry…”

“Well, if you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t. It was just a thoughtless question from me. I’m not going to leave you.”

As Minho said that, he placed his hand on Mira’s body once more. Mira closed her eyes and accepted him again. For several months, she had thought Yunyoung had changed. He seemed colder and more stoic, but unlike before, he actively desired her, so she didn’t dislike the change.

She had no idea that the man she loved was Minho, not Yunyoung. If she were to find out, she would surely faint from the immense shock.

-1-

Minho was soon scheduled to transfer to a trading company in Hong Kong. Though his current company didn’t offer bad conditions, he had always dreamed of living abroad at least once. Additionally, he felt a desire to leave Korea. As a result, he impulsively looked into it and was fortunate enough to find a company that would accept him.

A few days later, Minho drove to a residential area, parked his car by the roadside, and got out. It wasn’t the car Minho usually drove.

Minho entered a nearby building as if familiar with it. After entering the 1st floor entrance password to open the door, he climbed the stairs and stood before a certain unit.

He lightly pressed the doorbell. Soon, the door opened, and a person’s voice was heard from inside.

“Who is it…?”

The front door was on the chain lock.

“It’s me.”

When Minho said that, the person recognized the visitor’s identity.

“Oh… I’ll open it right away.”

The lock on the inside of the door was disengaged, and the door opened. The person who came out was a pregnant woman. Her belly, bulging significantly, suggested she was full-term.

The pregnant woman rejoiced upon seeing Minho.

“Welcome. Why didn’t you call ahead? Come in quickly. You haven’t had dinner yet, have you? I was making dinner, do you want to eat before you go?”

The pregnant woman, who had been chattering excitedly, asked while subtly observing Minho.

For several months, Minho had always left quickly, unable to stay with her, citing busyness as an excuse. So, she was happy that he had visited her home after such a long time.

“I don’t feel like it.”

“But why don’t you try a little? It’s early, but it’s still dinner time.”

“My stomach doesn’t feel good. And I don’t have much time. I just stopped by briefly.”

“You must be very busy with work.”

For Minho, it wasn’t exactly a lie. He was preparing to resign, handing over duties and finishing up work. Though it was evening, it wasn’t that he had finished work; rather, it was more like he had briefly made time to step out.

“So that’s why you haven’t been in touch lately… I was having all sorts of strange thoughts on my own. But… can’t you visit more often? I keep feeling anxious when I’m alone.”

“You’re not a child. What are you so scared of?”

“I wonder if I’m actually dreaming. This fear that the reality I’m in now will shatter keeps pressing down on my heart. And… I also feel like I’m forgetting something important.”

Minho’s attention was drawn to her last words, spoken indistinctly.