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Chapter 04
Thud—
The ball bounced off Jeon’s head and fell to the ground, rolling away.
“Ball!”
Watching Jeon scurry after it, Lee Hyun felt a wave of reality hit her: What am I even doing here in the middle of the night? The idea of playing catch with her notoriously difficult boss after work felt completely surreal, impossible to get used to.
Was this supposed to count as some form of social interaction? Could she call this “after-hours work” with a mentally unstable boss? It wouldn’t make it any better…
She disliked overtime, and she disliked her crazy boss even more.
On top of that, this park had been a place Hong had loved. She hadn’t even looked at it since Hong had left. Seeing dogs that reminded her of Hong out for walks with their owners made her heart ache, and she wanted to leave immediately.
Amid the swirl of emotions, Jeon returned, tossing the ball back.
“I love playing catch with you, nuna!”
“R-Really? I’m not enjoying this at all.”
She said the latter in a tiny, almost whispering voice, careful not to be overheard. Being stuck in such an absurd situation while worrying about her livelihood felt unbearably harsh.
“But throw a bit harder! Harder, nuna!”
The demands never ended. That guy, seriously!
Resigned, thinking “Forget social norms, I don’t care anymore,” Lee Hyun threw the ball with all her strength.
Thunk—
“Ugh!”
Jeon’s head jerked backward with a wobble.
“Director!”
Lee Hyun rushed to support him. He clutched at the snowball that had hit him, barely standing upright. Her heart sank at the worst-case scenario as she examined him, her face on the verge of tears.
“Are you okay? Let me see your face, Director.”
She gently took his hand away. The area just above his eye had turned bright red. She realized it would bruise badly in a few hours and felt even more shocked.
“It must hurt a lot. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to throw it that hard, and I didn’t expect it to hit you. Since it looks serious, let’s go to the hospital! Director.”
She grabbed him and headed for the road. As she reached out to hail a taxi frantically, Jeon’s large hands gently enveloped her wrists.
“I’m fine, nuna!”
Her startled heart quickly calmed at the soft tone and serene expression. As his racing heartbeat settled, Jeon picked up the ball that had rolled away.
“We can’t lose this ball.”
He tucked it safely into his pocket, then bounced back to her side, smiling brightly.
“Let’s go get beer and chicken. Your favorite, nuna!”
“Ugh.”
Jeon groaned in pain as soon as he woke up, pressing his hand to his face. The pain spread from his eye to his forehead. Confused, he looked around, trying to understand what had caused this sudden pain, and saw a mirror in front of him.
“What… is this?”
Why do I look like I got beat up?
His last memory was working in his office.
“Oh, my secretary went out to get a sandwich…”
After that, his memory went blank—a complete blackout. Panicked, he grabbed his phone and called his secretary. After several rings, her voice came through:
“I was about to report you missing to the police if I hadn’t heard from you in ten minutes. Where were you last night, and why haven’t you contacted anyone? And where are you now?”
“I’m at home… of course…”
No, this isn’t right.
Jeon froze, stunned by the unfamiliar surroundings.
“Where… is this?”
As he slowly took in his surroundings in confusion, a presence caught his attention. A sharp, cautious gaze shot toward it. Seeing Lee Hyun standing there, Jeon immediately hung up.
“Hong Lee Hyun?”
“You’re awake.”
Had he gone completely insane and barged into her house last night?
He couldn’t even bring himself to ask what had happened. The awkward silence was suffocating, and he struggled to find reason in this incomprehensible reality.
His secretary tried calling again, but Jeon hung up immediately.
“Are you okay? I can make some bean sprout soup for you.”
“I didn’t drink yesterday.”
“You did. With me… with chicken.”
Me? Chicken? I’ve barely ever eaten that much in my life…
“I ate chicken?”
“Yes. You ate two whole chickens by yourself.”
“Lies.”
The words slipped out instinctively. Lee Hyun let out a dry laugh, her eyes sharp and seemingly fed up. Jeon instinctively knew:
Ah, I messed up with Assistant Hong again…
“Why would I lie? But after the morning… you seem like a different person.”
Lee Hyun seemed calm, almost unshaken.
“Your expression, eyes, tone. Everything’s different.”
Jeon frowned, overwhelmed by the pain and confusion. He couldn’t retrieve any memory, and the void beyond the missing circuits of his mind was terrifying.
“Just in case you don’t believe me, I recorded it on video… Want to see it?”
He didn’t have the courage to watch it now, but he knew he couldn’t keep avoiding the truth.
“Can you send it to my email?”
“I will.”
“The hangover soup isn’t necessary. Thanks for everything.”
Even though Lee Hyun said it was okay, Jeon neatly folded the blanket he must have slept under.
“How can I ever repay this gratitude… and apologize?”
Honestly, he had no idea why this was happening to him. Despite trying to stay calm and composed, he wanted to collapse and cry out in frustration.
“Director.”
Her firm tone made him unconsciously tense, though he tried to remain composed.
“This may upset you, but I’m worried, and there are a few things troubling me as well.”
Staying overnight at someone else’s house made Jeon realize just how serious the situation had become.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“How about visiting a hospital or a fortune teller?”
“…”
He couldn’t object. Deep down, he knew confirming this was Lee Hyun’s home meant it wasn’t something that could be solved by doing nothing.
While thinking it was slightly embarrassing to visit a hospital or fortune teller with his secretary, Jeon noticed something strange.
Something that always appeared when he lost his mind:
Why, whenever he did something ridiculous, did he fixate on Hong Lee Hyun?
Maybe this had something to do with her. And to figure it out, he’d need her company.
“Would you… accompany me?”
Lee Hyun didn’t answer immediately. After a pause, she finally spoke with resolve:
“Yes. I will.”
“Thank you. Let’s go, then.”
As Jeon turned to leave, dizziness struck, and his vision went dark, making him stagger.
“D-Director!”
Lee Hyun quickly grabbed him before he could fall. In trying to steady himself, he lost balance further and ended up pulling her into a full embrace. They fell backward, bodies overlapping.
