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Chapter 15
Would her fiancé know that she had no memories at all? Judging from the doctor’s words that he had already received the family’s consent, there was a high chance that he did.
Still, she didn’t want to openly reveal that she couldn’t remember a thing. That would only become her weakness now.
“Who are you?”
But she just couldn’t bring herself to act familiar with a man she had no recollection of whatsoever. The caregiver had told her about this so-called fiancé, but she couldn’t just blindly believe it.
From the very moment the man stepped into her hospital room, she felt vaguely unpleasant, uncomfortable, and uneasy.
“Hyun-jung, aren’t you going to look at me when you speak? You’ll make me feel hurt.”
Everything about the man was strange—his atmosphere, his scent, even his tone of voice. It was all deeply confusing. Perhaps it would have been better if he had come with her family instead.
“Yes. After an accident, it’s possible that you might not remember for a while. Let’s get some tests and treatment. That will help.”
His words were endlessly gentle, yet strangely, she felt no warmth at all.
“And even if your memories never return, I don’t mind. As long as you stay healthy by my side, that’s all that matters. Our marriage won’t change.”
She was just thinking that the short time she had spent with the caregiver felt far more comfortable, when suddenly there was another knock on the hospital door.
The man who had been about to reach for her hair looked irritably toward the door as it opened.
She thought it might be the caregiver returning after briefly stepping out, but instead, another man walked in.
He was so large that he seemed to fill the entire doorway. At least 190 cm tall, with broad, athlete-like shoulders—but even more striking than his build was his face, so unrealistically handsome it stole her breath away. Even with amnesia, it seemed she could still recognize beauty. Hyun-jung stared blankly at the man standing there, forgetting even to breathe.
The man said nothing, only letting his sharp gaze sweep over her as she leaned against the bed. Even through the blanket, his eyes fixed precisely on her injured leg. Pain she had almost forgotten suddenly prickled back into her awareness.
Who was he? Why did he draw her eyes more strongly than the man who had been introduced as her fiancé? Was he someone she had once known? Had he rushed here upon hearing she was hurt?
“Who the hell are you?”
Jaeseok’s eyes narrowed at the sudden intruder.
Who was this man? Where had he seen him before? Was he a celebrity? Maybe that was why he looked familiar.
The face was so annoyingly handsome it made him uncomfortable.
And that wasn’t all. The coat and shoes the man wore were luxury brands Jaeseok knew well—shoes he himself hadn’t been able to buy because they didn’t carry his size. And the watch peeking out from his sleeve was one of only a handful in the world.
At a glance, this was no entertainer. He looked like the son of a chaebol family, someone with both immense wealth and power. Jaeseok’s expression twisted. There was no way Hyun-jung knew a man like this.
If she had, Young-wook would never have chosen Jaeseok as his son-in-law instead.
Uneasy, Jaeseok recalled flashes of yesterday. That was it. This was the guy who had saved Hyun-jung on the highway.
“Who… who are you?”
Noticing the subtle air in Hyun-jung’s gaze toward the man, Jaeseok quickly cut things off before she remembered more.
“Who is he? Hyun-jung, do you know him? No, right?”
The way she looked at this stranger—different from how she looked at him—made his mood curdle.
Stepping between them, Jaeseok glared up at the much taller man and barked his order. Before this stranger could reveal himself as the one who had saved her, he had to drive him out. His impatience grew.
“Didn’t you hear me? Get out.”
The man, who until then had only been watching Hyun-jung, lowered his eyes slightly to glance at Jaeseok. It was just a moment, but the blade-sharp gaze made chills run down Jaeseok’s spine. Unconsciously, he looked away.
The man’s aura was overwhelming, and Jaeseok cursed inside at himself for flinching.
“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear me tell you to leave?”
He couldn’t let this stranger think he was intimidated, especially not in front of his woman, Hyun-jung.
“Get out while I’m asking nicely. Before you’re dragged out.”
“……”
The man’s arrogant expression and unyielding eyes only grew sharper, chilling the air.
“……Who are you?”
At Hyun-jung’s question, the man’s eyes—until then regarding Jaeseok like some bothersome insect—slowly shifted.
“Who are you?”
Her voice trembled as she repeated the question to the tall figure at the door. Her heart raced, afraid her so-called fiancé would succeed in driving him away.
Should she at least pretend to know him? But what if he really was a stranger?
The man didn’t give her the answer she had been hoping for.
“It seems I came to the wrong room.”
His low voice shattered her fragile expectation.
“My apologies.”
After glancing at her briefly, he offered a polite bow and left. He didn’t hesitate, just like someone who really had entered the wrong room. The only one left with a pang of regret was Hyun-jung.
She didn’t know why her chest tightened as she watched his tall figure retreat. Before she could think to stop him, he was already gone. Her dry lips parted slightly in frustration.
“……”
She didn’t know who he was. But maybe the urge to hold on to him came only because she felt so weak without her memories.
When Tae-geon, still in disarray, finished washing up at his grandfather’s house, Kim Sun-woo called.
He had managed to secure an ER nurse, and the emergency surgery had gone smoothly. Hyun-jung had been moved to a VIP room that evening. He also promised to quickly arrange for a VIP ward nurse to stay with her.
Just as he’d heard at the ER, visitation was restricted to family only. Since a caregiver was already there, the family wasn’t at the hospital.
Assuming they were staying at a nearby hotel and would return the next day, Tae-geon immediately set off for the hospital. It would be easier for Hyun-jung to open up to him when no one else was around.
Of course, before leaving, he had to let his grandfather’s personal physician treat his scrapes and burns. His grandfather and the doctor insisted, even granting him a day off, and with Secretary Kim hounding him as well, he had no choice but to comply. At least he could be thankful he didn’t have to go all the way to a hospital for treatment.
Sun-woo, refusing to back down, ended up handing the wheel to the driver and tagging along, promising to nap in the car. The excuse was that the nurse they hired was too busy in the ER to answer the phone often, so he needed to be there in person.
Annoying though he was, Sun-woo was reliable, and Tae-geon couldn’t help but smile despite the tense situation. After all, hadn’t he been able to save Hyun-jung thanks to him?
But—
When he entered Hyun-jung’s hospital room, the last thing he expected was to see Cho Jaeseok there. The rat-like man was squeaking arrogantly, and Tae-geon seriously considered how best to dispose of him.
And then came the blow.
“Who are you?”
Hyun-jung’s words hit harder than anything else. He had thought she would be glad to see him. He hadn’t expected her to leap up with joy, not with her leg injured—but to look at him blankly, as if she had never seen him? That was beyond imagination.
It was just as absurd as the time she had brazenly asked for a one-night stand.
Her clear eyes staring into him, her voice asking who he was, buzzed in his ears like a swarm of bees.
“Director, why are you already out here?”
Secretary Kim, who had been talking with the nurse at the VIP ward desk, spotted him and hurried over. He looked between Tae-geon, who hadn’t even properly entered the room, and the bend of the corridor.
“Isn’t Ms. Seo Hyun-jung in the room?”
Tae-geon gave no reply, only staring grimly back down the hall he had just left.
“Let’s go. Oh—and tell the nurse we were visiting someone else. Say I mistakenly went into the wrong room.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Cho Jaeseok was in there.”
