Chapter 15. What Does It Mean to Be Childhood Friends?

“It felt like a theme made just for us?”

Hyunwoo couldn’t understand why Chaea thought that.

The only thing they had in common was amnesia.

Even in the story, both the husband and wife had lost their memories.

But theirs wasn’t due to an accident—it was caused by a suspicious drug, resulting in temporary memory loss.

Of course…

“…Hehe.”

Watching her hug the photo with a wide grin, he lost all desire to argue.

‘Did she originally avoid smiling to keep from charming every passerby?’

As he absentmindedly admired Chaea’s smiling face—

Grrrgle.

A cute sound echoed through the air.

“Hungry?”

“…Yeah.”

They had skipped a meal earlier to avoid being late for their reservation.

The only thing they had consumed was the drink from the café.

Naturally, she would be starving.

“Then let’s grab something to eat nearby.”

Hyunwoo pulled out his phone.

There were plenty of places to eat in the area.

Too many, in fact—so many that randomly picking one felt difficult.

‘If we’re going to eat, it should be something good.’

Tap, tap, tap.

Just as he was searching for good restaurants nearby—

Tug, tug.

Chaea gently pulled on his hand.

“Hyunwoo, I want to eat that.”

“The food stall?”

Looking in the direction she pointed—

“There are other places selling tteokbokki, you know.”

The stall sold tteokbokki along with other Korean street food.

Did they really need to eat street food?

“Mm-hmm, but I want that one.”

Well, if Chaea said so…

“If you want it, then let’s eat it.”

For the first time in ages, they stepped into a food stall.

“Oh my~ What a lovely couple we have here!”

The middle-aged lady running the stall greeted them with a warm smile.

In the past, he might have corrected her.

Was he simply not caring about how others saw them anymore?

Or had he decided it didn’t matter if people mistook them for a couple?

‘Not like we’ll ever see her again anyway…’

Hyunwoo didn’t mind and greeted her.

“Hello.”

“Oh my, but what happened to your girlfriend? Did she get hurt?”

Seeing Chaea’s arm in a cast, the woman fussed.

“Haha… Yeah, I had a little accident.”

“Oh dear, that must hurt.”

Chaea laughed awkwardly and turned to look at Hyunwoo.

‘Didn’t she just call us a couple?’

If this were before, Hyunwoo wouldn’t have let that slide.

The memory she still held onto was—

—“We’re not dating. We’re just childhood friends.”

He had always made sure to correct anyone who thought otherwise.

“Tteokbokki is 3,000 won these days? That’s crazy.”

But now, he was casually looking at the menu like it didn’t bother him at all.

Did something change while he lost his memories?

“What do you want to eat, Yoo Chaea?”

“…”

“Yoo Chaea?”

“Huh? Oh, let’s just get what we used to order.”

She had been lost in thought and replied a little late.

Honestly, she had suggested coming here out of a strange sense of nostalgia.

It wasn’t that she desperately wanted tteokbokki.

‘Why did it feel nostalgic? …Ah!’

A sudden realization struck her, and she clapped her hands.

“Didn’t you like tteokbokki more than me?”

“That was a long time ago.”

“You don’t anymore?”

“Well… Actually, I still do.”

Hyunwoo scratched his neck.

For some reason, she found that action cute.

A small giggle slipped out.

“…What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

Hyunwoo narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously before turning back to the menu.

“Then let’s get one tteokbokki, one soondae, and one assorted fried set. Are you really hungry?”

“A little? Can we make it two servings of tteokbokki?”

“Not a problem. We’ll order now.”

“Tell me what you want~”

Hyunwoo placed their order.

Since it was a street stall, everything was already prepared.

Their food arrived almost instantly.

A plate of tteokbokki drenched in spicy sauce, springy soondae, and an assortment of crispy-looking fried snacks.

“Oh, we didn’t order this…”

“You two remind me of my own kids. It’s on the house.”

The stall owner handed them each a skewer of fish cakes.

“Thank you.”

“Haha, no problem. You young ones are the future of this country—make sure you eat well!”

It seemed she was convinced they were a couple.

Well, they had already received free food—there was no point in correcting her.

Poke.

Hyunwoo speared a piece of tteokbokki with his skewer and popped it into his mouth.

A perfect balance of sweetness and subtle heat spread over his tongue.

Beside him, Chaea also took a bite.

“Mmm, it’s delicious.”

Her bright smile was enough to lift the mood.

“Did it meet your expectations?”

“Yeah. We used to eat tteokbokki all the time, didn’t we?”

“How’d you know? We always had it after school in elementary.”

“I just had a feeling.”

Even if she couldn’t remember everything clearly,

Her body instinctively knew—

The taste of street tteokbokki was familiar.

As she picked up a piece of soondae, she asked,

“Did we always eat this much back then?”

“Of course not. We were broke elementary schoolers. We could only afford a single 1,000-won cup of tteokbokki… Actually, more like I bought it, and you stole bites from me.”

For once, it was Hyunwoo who reminisced about the past.

—“Ahhh~”

—“…What are you doing?”

—“I’m opening my mouth. It means I want some.”

—“I know that. But why don’t you buy your own?”

—“I just want one bite! Just one! Can’t you spare a piece?”

Sigh… I better get some back later.

When they were kids,

Whenever Hyunwoo ate tteokbokki in front of their school,

Chaea would always stand next to him, her tiny mouth open expectantly,

Waiting for him to give her a bite.