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Chapter 11
“Don’t you think she’s kind of strange?”
“Right? It’s scary how she has no expression.”
Several children whispered as they looked at Joohee, and she slowly blinked.
When she lowered her head, she was wearing a school uniform.
Joohee thought blankly.
Ah, this is a dream.
It had been a long time since she last dreamed after coming here.
Just then, someone grabbed her hand.
“Joohee!”
When she turned her head, she saw Jihye.
“What are you doing here? Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To where you were.”
Before Joohee could ask anything, Jihye pulled her along.
“Are you okay there?”
“…Yeah.”
“That’s a relief.”
Maybe because it was a dream, Jihye seemed to know everything about where Joohee had been.
Then, another voice was heard from somewhere.
“Joohee.”
It was a very familiar voice, so Joohee turned around.
“They seem like a good person.”
“Who?”
“And I really wanted to say thank you for saving me. Thank you so much.”
Jihye hugged Joohee tightly.
“You have to be happy.”
“…Okay.”
Leaving behind Jihye’s bright smile, Joohee took a step into the light—
—and woke up.
It was still dark since the sun hadn’t risen yet.
But she couldn’t fall back asleep, so she quietly got up, careful not to wake Rowen and Mel, and left the room.
The early dawn air was chilly, but not cold enough to go back inside for a blanket.
She wanted to watch the sunrise for the first time in a while, so she climbed the hill.
From afar, Rowen was watching Joohee climb the hill.
“Nothing’s wrong… right?”
Rowen had woken up when Joohee got out of bed.
But he pretended not to notice until she left the house.
Her back as she climbed the hill looked somehow lonely… like she wanted to be alone.
After seeing her watch the sunrise, Rowen went back into the house first.
These days, whenever Rowen slept, he started having dreams.
The problem was—he knew he was dreaming, but when he woke up, he couldn’t remember anything at all.
It felt like it had something to do with his memories, but since he couldn’t recall them, it was frustrating.
As time passed, it felt like he had forgotten something important.
They said it was temporary, but there was no sign of his memories returning, and Rowen even began having extreme thoughts.
“If I lost my memory because something’s wrong with my brain, wouldn’t hitting my head bring it back?”
“You might die instead of getting your memories back.”
“Haha…”
Rowen laughed awkwardly at Joohee’s blunt remark.
As she soaked the laundry in water, Joohee said,
“Don’t be too impatient.”
“But…”
“Come here and step on the laundry.”
“Ah, okay.”
At her words, Rowen quickly rolled up his pants and came over.
Joohee was making good use of Rowen.
That didn’t mean she left all the laundry to him.
Once Rowen finished stepping on it, Joohee would hang it up.
With the help of spirits, it would be much faster, but she was so used to doing everything alone that she handled everything herself.
While Rowen stepped on the laundry, Joohee sat beside him, staring blankly.
Rowen, diligently working, glanced at her.
“What are you thinking about?”
“…That the laundry will get clean.”
At her answer, Rowen burst out laughing.
“Joohee.”
“…?”
“When I get my memories back…”
“…”
“You’ll still… be my friend, right?”
Gathering his courage, Rowen asked.
Joohee stayed silent for a moment, then nodded shortly.
Behind him, it felt like his tail was wagging happily.
Honestly, Joohee had wondered if he might be the male lead since he seemed like a noble…
But now it seemed she had been completely wrong.
As she silently stared at him, Rowen tilted his head.
“Is there something on my face?”
He wiped his cheek, but there was nothing to begin with.
“Or are you staring because I’m handsome?”
He joked with a grin.
But instead of laughing, Joohee’s expression hardened.
Seeing her face, Rowen laughed awkwardly.
“It’s a joke, a joke! Haha…”
His laughter faded.
If he could, he wanted to take back what he had just said.
Watching him, Joohee became certain he wasn’t the male lead.
The male lead in this story was supposed to be handsome, cold, and obsessively attached to the female lead—
Rowen was the complete opposite.
“Rowen.”
“Yes, Joohee.”
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t make jokes like that next time.”
“…Okay.”
Rowen answered gloomily.
If he could go back, he would’ve stopped himself from saying it.
Trying to lighten the mood, Rowen cautiously asked,
“Joohee, should I make raspberry pie?”
Her stiff expression softened a little.
Rowen sighed in relief.
Raspberry pie had recently become her favorite snack.
“Want to go pick raspberries together?”
“Yes.”
Joohee immediately went inside, grabbed a small basket, and came back out.
But there was a problem.
“…Lu.”
When they went up the hill, Lu had already eaten all the raspberries.
His mouth was stained red with juice.
Avoiding Joohee’s gaze, Lu slowly stepped back.
Even after checking carefully, not a single raspberry was left.
“You… don’t come here for a while. Send Ro instead.”
Lu whimpered, but Joohee was firm.
In the end, Lu was banned.
Since the raspberries were gone, they sliced some fruits from the forest instead and put them on top.
They were sweet and tasty, but Joohee still wanted raspberry pie.
Watching her expression, Rowen hurriedly said,
“Tomorrow’s market day, right? They’ll probably sell raspberries there. Let’s buy some and make raspberry pie tomorrow.”
Joohee’s eyes widened slightly.
He was right—the village might have them.
But her hopes were crushed.
“Hmm, what should I do? We sold out of raspberries today.”
At the fruit shop owner’s words, Joohee’s lips stiffened.
Rowen urgently asked,
“Not even a little left? I’ll buy even scraps.”
“Unfortunately, none left. They usually don’t sell well, but today they were unusually popular. So they’re all gone.”
At this point, it almost felt like fate was telling her not to eat raspberries.
She gave up, bowed her head slightly, and turned away.
Seeing her, Rowen whispered something to the shop owner and quickly followed her.
“Joohee, don’t be too disappointed.”
“It’s okay. I’ll just wait until raspberries grow again.”
But she didn’t have to wait that long.
The next day, Rowen said,
“Joohee, I’ll go take a short walk nearby. I won’t go into the forest, so don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
He seemed oddly hurried, but since it wasn’t important, Joohee didn’t think much of it.
Meanwhile, after leaving the house, Rowen kept glancing back to see if she was following him, then headed behind the house.
“Lu.”
Surprisingly, Lu was waiting there.
“Trust me. If you take me to the village, I’ll speak well of you to Joohee.”
Lu looked at him suspiciously, but since he didn’t want to stay banned, he let Rowen climb onto his back.
They quickly arrived at the village entrance.
“I’ll be back soon. Stay here and don’t move.”
Rowen jumped off and rushed into the village.
If he took too long, Joohee might get suspicious.
He hurried straight to the fruit shop.
“I’m here.”
“Oh, you came? No need to rush. Wait a moment.”
The owner handed him a large paper bag filled with raspberries.
“How much is it?”
“Just take it.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s on the house.”
It was far too much for a freebie, but the owner refused payment and pushed him along.
“Thank you!”
Rowen ran out of the village, clutching the bag tightly.
Lu was waiting, playing with a small bird.
“Lu!”
Lu’s ears perked up.
Rowen quickly climbed onto his back, holding the raspberries carefully so they wouldn’t spill.
Thanks to Lu’s speed, it didn’t take long.
Now he just had to get Joohee out of the house.
Hiding the bag behind him, Rowen slipped inside.
“Joohee!”
She turned to look at him.
With an awkward smile, he said,
“I got hungry after my walk. I kind of want those forest fruits… we ate them all last time when we put them on the pie.”
Joohee thought for a moment, then stood up.
“Then I’ll go get some quickly.”
“Ah, okay!”
Rowen smiled brightly.
As Joohee left with her basket, Rowen secretly watched until she entered the forest.
Then he quickly started making the pie.
Usually, Joohee would be back in thirty minutes—
but an hour passed, and she still hadn’t returned.
Completely absorbed in baking, Rowen didn’t notice the time passing.
Just as he finished the pie and placed it on the table—
The door suddenly burst open.
Joohee came in, her basket filled with fruit.
“I’m back.”
