episode_0062

…Wait.

Are you really okay with this?

“Huh?!”

“Surprise.”

Due to my loud exclamation, everyone around is looking at me.

I coughed softly and lowered my head.

Zero, no, Chaewon.

You can’t just let anyone have their way with you.

If that happens, I’ll be in big trouble. No, I’ll be in big trouble.

Men are weak creatures.

The moment the waistband is unfolded, the expansion up and down is instantaneous.

No matter how much I appear indifferent to the opposite sex, it’s all because I’m a crazy person obsessed with the piano.

Even if other women don’t know, how much I love Min Chaewon.

On the day we met again after imagining facing each other in the same bed, we did it thousands of times.

Why did you hide those things in the bathroom cabinet?

Jung Siwoo is also a man. A man.

“You seemed happiest when you were thinking about the piano, right? Your thoughts were always behind the piano, right?”

No, I can prove it right now. My love for Min Chaewon is sincere.

I won’t avoid your gaze when bathing anymore.

Because I like you that much.

Instead, if I can capture Siwoo.

When the day comes for me to confront that guy bare-chested.

Even if more than three years pass, it’s okay, I promise to come back immediately.

If I come back earlier than the day Siwoo dies, I promise to save Siwoo instead of me.

“I promise.”

The agreement that was endlessly postponed due to Min Chaewon’s refusal to attend finally took place in my inner world.

Okay, I won’t run away anymore.

“I’ll go back.”

“…Suddenly?”

“I miss seeing my naked body.”

Siwoo’s expression crumpled as if he had been punched in the face.

“This is really insane.”

***

However, when we returned to the hotel with complicated thoughts, the room was a mess.

The maids were busy tidying up my scattered clothes and belongings, putting them in a large suitcase.

“Oh, Miss. I didn’t expect you to come back so early.”

“What’s going on…?”

“We’re moving tomorrow. I told you, didn’t I?”

I had no recollection of it at all.

In the midst of the chaos, I saw a familiar blonde head wandering around.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to help.”

“Did Kang Hwi call you?”

“I just came on my own.”

He looked like he hadn’t fully woken up.

Song Seonghyuk said he didn’t come when called but came on his own.

“I guess I’ll have to postpone washing until after the move….”

“I’ll help too!”

I raised my hand to Kang Hwi, who was giving various instructions among the busy maids, but…

“Rest for now.”

The returning instructions were not very interesting.

There was nothing to do.

Everyone was busy moving around, and I felt out of place just watching.

Eventually, I wandered around and tried to move a small bag that caught my eye—.

“I’ll carry that later.”

“Can’t it be put in the truck?”

“They’re precious belongings. If they get lost or something, it’ll be a big problem.”

I found something interesting.

I looked at Kang Hwi and carried the bag to the bedroom where most of the belongings had already been removed.

I unzipped it and took out the items one by one, and I saw a familiar doll.

“It’s Acodia.”

A magical girl with only two fists, Acodia.

It was the doll that Chaewon lost 14 years ago.

“A precious item that connected us….”

I smelled it and it had a very soft and fluffy scent.

I could tell how well Chaewon had taken care of it.

“A precious item indeed….”

Next, an old album and a wooden frame came out.

Then, a pair of small pink rings came out. Small rings that children would wear.

“Let’s see the frame….”

Inside the old frame were two children sitting side by side in front of a bonfire on a summer night.

Wearing a straw hat and a shy expression, the girl was Chaewon, while the boy smiling broadly next to her was me.

Chaewon was holding a fireworks kit in her hand.

Judging by the thin clothes she was wearing, it must have been summer, a photo taken during the six months I stayed at Chaewon’s house in Austria.

The memories, though, were hazy.

Was it because of the problems with my memory after coming back to life, or was it just strangely blurry at that time?

“They must have been really precious memories….”

Chaewon cherished our memories so much that she kept them separately. Why couldn’t I remember them?

Did I remember when I was Jung Siwoo?

Or did I not remember even then?

It was all so confusing.

“…What is it.”

I thought maybe looking through the album would jog some detailed memories, but it was locked.

Of course, the first thing that came to mind was that number.

“Four… Nine….”

I tried our birthday, April 9th, but it didn’t open.

It seemed like a different password was used.

Was it the date I returned to Korea from the empty international airport?

Chaewon had mentioned wanting to get married then.

“……..”

But I couldn’t remember the date.

I vaguely recalled it being around October.

I tried numbers 101 to 109 just in case, but it was no use.

The small lock, old but without a trace of rust, securely guarded Chaewon’s secrets.

“What are you doing.”

“Ahh!”

Startled by the sudden voice, I clutched the album and rolled halfway off the bed.

“Don’t scare people like that!”

“What are you looking at that made you jump like that.”

“Ugh. Seriously.”

It was Song Seonghyuk, reminiscing about the intimate memories of Min Chaewon and Jung Siwoo, foolishly coming to be teased.

“Why?”

You’re not an alpha male, you’re a pitiful slave.

Looking up where Carinthia was on my phone, I found it was in southern Austria, in the heart of the Alps.

With its high peaks and numerous lakes, it was truly an ideal summer resort.

“This is probably…. Lake Wörthersee to the west of Klagenfurt.”

The lake was so clear and beautiful that it could be mistaken for a sea if not for the towering peaks on both sides. That was Lake Wörthersee.

“What did we do and have fun here… Did you tell me everything?”

“I did.”

“Tell me.”

“…?”

Song Seonghyuk stared at me through his bangs.

“You’re really mean.”

“Oh. Sorry, is it because I don’t remember well?”

“You couldn’t forget. You said it was the most precious six months of your life.”

Song Seonghyuk shook his head in annoyance.

I felt a little guilty, but I was in a hurry, so I couldn’t help it.

Since we’ve started, let’s play the slave role a little longer. I want to know.

“Even if you asked me to tell you, your descriptions were vague. Instead of explaining what we did and had fun, you just said ‘it was good.’ That’s why.”

Chaewon.

Why did you stop talking?

“If your memory is fuzzy, why don’t you open that album?”

Song Seonghyuk pointed to the album with the three-digit lock.

“You said you had the most enjoyable time of your life in there.”

That’s right.

Everything I’m looking for is inside that.

“But it’s a three-digit….”

The numbers that rarely come to mind, so I have no choice but to use a crude method here.

“I’m going to help with moving the luggage again.”

“Ah, thank you~.”

After sending off Song Seonghyuk, I started turning the numbers from 000.

It’s a piece of cake to reach 999 anyway.

Now that it’s difficult to keep the promise with Chaewon, I have found a precious pastime.

With each change of number, the view from the room gradually changes.

After passing 100, two suitcases were taken out.

After passing 200, the temporarily set up hangers were all organized.

After passing 300, even the maids changed into ordinary clothes.

After passing 400, Kang Hwi came to pick me up.

“Miss, are you ready to go?”

“Huh? Already? I thought we were moving tomorrow.”

“You came back earlier than expected, so we can go right away. We only have the suitcases.”

“Is that so?”

Seeing me frantically turning the lock, Kang Hwi chuckled and said, “It’ll take a while if you keep turning it like that.”

“…Do you know the password?”

“I don’t, but I’ve seen you enter it a few times, so I have an idea of what it might be.”

“Tell me!”

“Let’s go to the car first.”

“Okay.”

I shouldn’t have bothered turning it up to 400.

I should have asked Kang Hwi earlier.

Like when playing the piano. It’s better to find out first and then act, rather than rushing ahead and suffering.

It’s a chronic illness, so I can’t help it.

When I want to do something, I never hold back.

“If Chaewon couldn’t hold back in front of me….”

I hope she’s living well without dying.

If I had confessed everything three years ago like I am now, maybe something would have changed.

“Well, it’s the future, which may or may not happen….”

I get up and leave with Kang Hwi to the suite.

The splendid night view of Seoul outside the window bids me a faint farewell.

“After everyone moves to the designated vehicles, let’s meet at the mansion. When we arrive, take out a few outfits for yourself, and we’ll organize the rest tomorrow morning!”

“Yes~!”

The maids in casual clothes boarded the trucks and vans.

I got into the large black sedan at the end with Kang Hwi.

The back seat was very spacious, suitable for a chairman or a dignitary G90 limousine.

Before I got into the car, Kang Hwi, who had been holding an album in his arms, said, “The password. As far as I remember…. It was placed on 000 and turned. Click. Click. Clack. Does that sound familiar to you?”

Considering the number of times it was turned, there are 2 possibilities for each digit. With three digits in total, there are only 8 possibilities.

Even 112, 118, 192, 198 were confirmed to be incorrect passwords, leaving only four numbers. In fact, it was as good as the correct answer had been found.

Why did I work so hard to turn the dial?

Click.

“It’s open.”

The lock opened soon after.

“…Huh.”

[ 9 ] [ 9 ] [ 2 ]

Along with the numbers that somehow felt familiar.