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Chapter 13
She was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t even think of a response. While Chaeyoon stared at him with flustered eyes, Kyungsoo’s voice came from behind.
“Teacher, who is this mister?”
The answer didn’t come from Chaeyoon, but from Muhyun.
“Someone who lives at the villa.”
“But nobody lives in the villa.”
“I will, starting today.”
“Why? The villa is the teacher’s house.”
The childlike, straightforward question seemed to leave even Muhyun momentarily at a loss for words. When he couldn’t answer, Kyungsoo asked again.
“Teacher said she’s not going on blind dates. Chasing someone who says they don’t like it is a bad thing.”
Chaeyoon watched with quiet satisfaction as an expression of utter disbelief appeared on Muhyun’s face.
Then, when Muhyun glanced at her as if asking her to do something about the child, she reluctantly opened her mouth.
“As Kyungsoo said, I’m the owner of the villa, and I have absolutely no intention of taking in a tenant. You must have plenty of other houses in Seoul, so why don’t you go rest somewhere with a nicely renovated bathroom, Director Seo Muhyun.”
To show she had no intention of listening to his reply, Chaeyoon immediately took Kyungsoo’s hand and turned away.
As they walked toward the annex, Kyungsoo kept glancing back before looking up at her and whispering.
“Teacher, that mister is still there. I don’t think he’s leaving.”
“Don’t worry about it. If we leave him alone, he’ll go.”
“What if he doesn’t? He came to go on a blind date with you, right? Even though you said you didn’t want to…”
It seemed Soona’s constant talk about blind dates had rubbed off on Kyungsoo. Chaeyoon let out a hollow laugh and gently patted his round head.
“That mister didn’t come for a blind date. If we leave him alone, he’ll go home, so you don’t need to worry.”
Just as Chaeyoon was reassuring Kyungsoo, another car appeared at the entrance to the villa. A taxi stopped with its headlights shining brightly, and when the rear door opened, Kyungsoo’s mother stepped out.
Kyungsoo’s face lit up the moment he saw her.
“Mom!”
Though he had complained nonstop, it seemed he had been waiting eagerly for her to arrive. Forgetting even to say goodbye to Chaeyoon, Kyungsoo ran straight to his mother.
As Chaeyoon followed with a smile, Kyungsoo’s mother approached her with her son hanging onto one arm. Even then, she glanced several times at Muhyun, who stood stiffly in the front yard like a mannequin.
“Teacher, thank you for watching Kyungsoo. Something suddenly came up at work, so I’m late.”
“That’s understandable for someone who works. It’s fine.”
“This is bread—I picked it up on the way. Please have it as a snack.”
“Oh, you really didn’t have to—”
“After what happened over the weekend, I felt bad. I chose something tasty, so please don’t refuse.”
“Then I’ll accept it gratefully.”
Chaeyoon took the shopping bag, exchanged goodbyes, and saw them off.
Even as Kyungsoo’s mother crossed the yard with her child, she kept glancing at Muhyun, but she never asked Chaeyoon who he was.
After seeing them off to the driveway, Chaeyoon ignored Muhyun and headed toward the annex. But as if he had been waiting for this exact moment, he immediately followed her.
“I’ll be staying on the second floor, in the room I used to use.”
“I never said you could stay at the villa.”
Chaeyoon replied without even turning around. But Muhyun answered calmly, as though he had expected this reaction.
“I don’t plan on sleeping on the street.”
“If you don’t like it, you can go to another house.”
“Sorry to shatter your prejudice, but not all conglomerates own multiple houses.”
“Then go to someone else’s house—”
“I’m not used to sharing space with others.”
“…Director Seo Muhyun.”
“And I want to reminisce about my memories with my grandfather. One night just wasn’t enough.”
Chaeyoon, who had been frowning and turning away, bit her lip tightly at his last words.
She knew well what this villa had meant to Muhyun as a child. He had told her himself how eagerly he used to wait for school vacations just so he could come here with his grandfather.
That was why she hadn’t been able to leave this place all this time.
It was also why she diligently cleaned and maintained the villa every weekend—the memories of him were still embedded everywhere.
She just hadn’t expected that she would one day be pushing away Muhyun himself when he came asking to stay.
Hiding her bitter expression, Chaeyoon thought:
He was just as sly as ever, then and now.
Even after losing his memories—without remembering anything about her—Muhyun still seemed to know exactly how to sway her heart.
Chaeyoon stopped and glared at him openly, her displeasure clear. But Muhyun met her gaze as if such a look had no effect on him whatsoever.
Of the two standing off against each other, Chaeyoon was the one who backed down first.
“Just for today. Please clean up properly before you leave for work.”
After speaking in a sharp voice, she turned toward the back door of the villa. Instead of answering, Muhyun left behind a cold smile and walked past her into the villa.
The next evening.
Facing Muhyun once again, Chaeyoon wore a stunned expression. Meanwhile, Muhyun shamelessly met her gaze, just as he had the day before.
She already knew that the bathroom renovation was just an excuse. It seemed he was deliberately provoking her like this, hoping she would eventually leave on her own.
She could understand it. He had forgotten everything.
To the amnesiac Muhyun, she was nothing more than “a suspicious woman occupying his grandfather’s villa.”
But understanding his perspective didn’t make her heart hurt any less.
Chaeyoon felt the familiar pain press heavily against her chest.
How long would she have to keep facing Muhyun like this? Even as her heart ached, part of her resented him for remembering nothing at all.
“Looks like the bathroom renovation is taking a while,” she said.
“It’s an old apartment.”
Seeing him respond so smoothly, Chaeyoon let out a deep sigh of disbelief. Muhyun gave a small snort of laughter.
“I’m trying to find my own answer, too. How about being a little cooperative?”
“…To me, Director Seo Muhyun is an uninvited guest.”
“Even though we’d hardly run into each other if you didn’t mind me?”
“I’m the one who has to clean up the villa after you use it.”
“Ah.”
Only then did he nod as if he finally understood.
“So I’m unpleasant enough that you don’t even want to clean up after me?”
That couldn’t be it.
Whenever she cleaned up after Muhyun, she would inevitably sink into memories of the past again.
Revisiting those memories was happy—but doing so every day was far too painful.
When she only stared at him in silence, Muhyun shrugged lightly.
“Sorry, but there’s no other way. Why don’t you just accept it?”
Chaeyoon was left speechless by his brazenness, her mouth hanging open.
What was even more infuriating was that, even then, she found herself recalling that his original personality hadn’t exactly been pleasant—and somehow agreeing with him.
She glared at him, her eyes filled with resentment.
As always, Muhyun looked completely unaffected by her gaze.
In the end, she had no choice but to turn away without saying anything. If he kept pushing, it was obvious she wouldn’t be able to oppose him to the very end.
She only dipped her head slightly and turned away. He didn’t stop her.
After entering the house at a brisk pace, she paced the living room irritably before belatedly realizing she hadn’t lowered the blinds.
The moment she strode to the window, her eyes met Muhyun’s exactly—he was standing outside, looking in.
Without avoiding his gaze, Chaeyoon pulled the blinds down. As they slid down with a soft rustling sound, she thought she glimpsed the corner of Muhyun’s lips lifting slightly on the other side.
