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Chapter 6
At the man’s words, Juhee was greatly flustered.
He lost his memory?
This was something she had never even considered.
When she first saw him, blood had been flowing from his head, so that was probably the cause.
Even though she had summoned a spirit and healed him cleanly, this situation still left her bewildered.
—Juhee, what should we do?
Mel whispered into Juhee’s ear.
She had planned to send him away once he regained consciousness, but now that he remembered nothing, she couldn’t just tell him to leave so easily.
After hesitating for a moment, Juhee lightly tapped the back of Rowen’s hand and called out.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Do you really not remember anything at all?”
At her question, the man fell into deep thought.
Then suddenly, “Ah!” he exclaimed and lifted his head.
“Rowen.”
“……”
“I only remember someone calling me Rowen.”
It wasn’t much of a clue.
There was no way she could figure out who he was with just a name.
As Juhee was seriously pondering how to deal with this situation, the man hesitated before speaking again.
“Um… I asked earlier, but why am I here?”
“…You were collapsed in front of my house, so I brought you inside.”
“Then why are my clothes covered in blood like this?”
“They were like that from the beginning.”
She didn’t mention how badly he had been injured.
Since Undine had healed him, there wasn’t a single trace of injury left.
She couldn’t reveal everything to someone whose identity was unknown.
After that, she asked him various questions to figure out who he was, but aside from his name, he remembered nothing.
“Ha…”
As Juhee sighed, the man flinched and gave an awkward smile.
It was truly a difficult situation.
Even though Juhee wasn’t someone who paid much attention to others, she didn’t feel at ease sending away a man who remembered nothing.
Moreover, to reach the village, he would have to pass through the forest—there was no way he could manage that alone.
No matter how much she thought about it, there was no clear solution.
—Juhee, what are you going to do?
Juhee slightly furrowed her brows.
In the end, there was only one option.
“It can’t be helped.”
“Pardon?”
At her firm words, the man’s pupils shook violently.
He had thought she would tell him to leave now that he had woken up, but what she said was completely different.
“Stay here until your memory comes back.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
Since memory loss was temporary, his original memories would return with a little more time.
She had already brought an injured man home and even treated him, so she figured she might as well show a bit more kindness.
If he tried to harm her, she could simply summon a spirit immediately.
The man repeatedly bowed his head in gratitude, then cautiously glanced at Juhee.
“Um… if it’s not rude, may I ask your name?”
Juhee looked at Rowen.
Seeing his bright, sparkling eyes, she answered almost as if entranced.
“…Juhee.”
Since there was no “Kim” here, she only told him her name.
“Juhee… That’s a very beautiful name.”
As if trying to memorize it, Rowen murmured her name several times.
Juhee watched him quietly before turning her head away.
For some reason, she felt a strange sensation and briefly regretted not sending him to the village, but she couldn’t take back what she had already said.
And so, Juhee and Rowen’s not-quite-cohabitation began.
“Hmm…”
“……”
Juhee stared at Rowen expressionlessly.
Sweating nervously, Rowen spoke to her.
“S-sorry. I’ll clean everything up.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Although the kitchen had become a complete mess because of Rowen, Juhee wasn’t cold-hearted enough to make an injured person clean.
However, since her face showed no emotion, Rowen thought she was angry and grew restless.
As he kept pacing behind her, bothering her, Juhee cut him off.
“You’re distracting. Go rest.”
“…Okay.”
With a dejected expression, Rowen trudged back to the room.
Juhee swallowed her sigh and silently began cleaning the kitchen.
A few hours earlier, she had asked Rowen if he could cook, and he had nodded.
Since he wasn’t fully recovered, she told him to make something simple like stew while she went outside to gather fruit.
But when she returned, what greeted her was a completely wrecked kitchen.
Trusting someone with no memory had been her mistake.
Cooking was such a basic skill—she had assumed he would at least manage that.
After cleaning everything, Juhee started making the stew again from scratch.
The pot that had been completely burned was unusable, so she threw it away without hesitation.
Before long, a savory smell filled the house.
—It smells delicious! Stew! Today it’s meat stew!
For the injured man, Juhee had specially taken out meat.
Even though it wasn’t refrigerated, thanks to the powder Mel had sprinkled on it, the meat always stayed fresh.
She cut the meat into large chunks and added it to the stew.
Once it was done, Juhee filled a bowl generously.
“Rowen, come eat.”
“Next time, I’ll definitely do it.”
Juhee nodded absentmindedly.
Rowen, who had been sitting quietly on the bed, came out with a sulky expression and sat down.
A warm bowl of meat stew was placed in front of him.
“It should be edible.”
—Juhee’s cooking is the best in the world!
Mel chattered happily.
Juhee also set aside a portion for Mel.
Rowen tilted his head as he watched Juhee place a very small bowl of stew by the window.
He wondered if someone was coming, but even after finishing his meal, no one showed up.
Strangely, when he looked again later, the bowl was empty.
His curiosity about Juhee continued to grow.
But he didn’t ask.
She was already wary enough—he didn’t want to make it worse.
Instead, he cautiously asked,
“I feel a bit uncomfortable… Where is the bathroom?”
Now that he thought about it, Rowen hadn’t properly washed since collapsing and looked rather dirty.
Even the bed sheets had been soaked in blood and needed changing.
Juhee said to him,
“Follow me.”
After roughly tidying up, she led him outside.
However, there was one big problem.
Juhee didn’t have a single set of men’s clothes.
In the end, she decided to go down to the village tomorrow to buy what Rowen needed.
“I’ll buy clothes for you tomorrow in the village. Just bear with it for today.”
“Yes, understood.”
When they reached a pond, Juhee said,
“You can wash with that water.”
“…Just like that?”
“Yes.”
Rowen was surprised but followed her instructions anyway.
As he walked toward the pond, he casually began unbuttoning his shirt.
At his lack of hesitation, Juhee was startled and quickly turned around, leaning against a tree.
She thought he was a rather unusual person with no sense of modesty.
Soon, she heard the sound of clothes falling onto the grass near the pond.
Then only the sound of water remained, as Rowen entered the pond.
—Juhee.
“……”
—Your ears are red.
Mel giggled.
Juhee expressionlessly touched her flushed ears.
For some reason, her heart was pounding, but she dismissed it as mere embarrassment and didn’t think deeply about it.
Mel kept pestering her for an explanation, but Juhee pretended not to hear.
In the end, she avoided answering and buried her face, her eyes darting around.
The next morning, Juhee prepared early to head to the village.
Rowen, who had been glancing at her, finally asked,
“Can I come with you?”
Gathering his courage, he asked—but Juhee was firm.
“Rest.”
“…Okay.”
If Rowen had ears and a tail, they would have drooped.
Ignoring him, Juhee continued packing her things silently.
Then, for some reason, she suddenly stopped and asked,
“What size do you wear?”
“Ah… wouldn’t it be better if I came and tried things on myself?”
“……”
Juhee thought that made sense.
If she bought clothes based only on his words and they didn’t fit, she’d have to go back to the village again.
It felt a bit unpleasant to go wearing blood-stained clothes, but it was Rowen’s choice.
When she didn’t respond immediately, Rowen spoke again.
“Ah… if you’re worried about rumors, I can go alone.”
“Rumors?”
“Yes… you might get caught up in unpleasant gossip.”
That was unexpected.
Since coming here, this was the first time someone had shown concern for her.
And it didn’t feel bad at all.
Unable to read her expression, Rowen grew anxious until Juhee finally spoke.
“No, you don’t need to worry about that. Let’s go together.”
“Really?”
Perhaps he had grown restless staying inside, because Rowen jumped up—only to misstep and fall off the bed.
Rather than hurt, he looked embarrassed, his face turning red as he quickly stood up.
“Haha… I’ll get ready quickly.”
He awkwardly laughed and put on the shirt that had been roughly hung on a hanger.
