DP Side Story Episode 22
by BrieDeep Pivot Side Story, Episode 22
Their eyes met in an instant—the kind of accidental glance that wasn’t accidental at all.
Those clear, unreadable blue eyes stared directly at Seo-joon, full of something he couldn’t quite pin down.
“Uh… Let’s go one more round, Yeon-woo.”
Seo-joon deliberately looked straight ahead as he spoke.
But Yeon-woo’s gaze stayed locked on his side profile, unwavering.
“Um, Lieutenant…”
Yeon-woo’s hesitant voice reached him, and in the corner of his eye, Seo-joon saw the faint motion of his throat swallowing hard.
“You said… we were dating.”
“…”
“Then… why don’t you hold my hand?”
Seo-joon turned to look at him.
Yeon-woo, who’d been staring so intently just a second ago, dropped his gaze immediately.
His eyes, flushed red at the corners, flickered as he continued, softly:
“…And you don’t kiss me, either.”
Seo-joon’s mouth fell slightly open—but no words came.
This was the same Cha Yeon-woo who’d gotten a nosebleed the last time he so much as teased him a little. He couldn’t risk a repeat.
“Yeon-woo, you’re still a minor right now.”
“But my body’s an adult.”
Twenty-one, he mumbled in a tiny voice—barely audible, but enough to make Seo-joon want to scream into the void.
He inhaled deeply and replied as calmly as he could:
“Your mind is still a minor. What kind of guy do you take me for, thinking I’d do something to a high school student?”
Sure, when Yeon-woo had been twenty and still clueless, Seo-joon had done all sorts of things.
But with this version—this pure, unknowing eighteen-year-old? He didn’t even want to hold hands.
…Also, he was not ready for another round of Hee-min’s wrath.
“I’ve been thinking,” Yeon-woo said suddenly.
“…Here we go,” Seo-joon muttered under his breath.
It didn’t matter if he was twenty or eighteen—Cha Yeon-woo’s brain was always full of too much thinking.
“You said you and I did… more than kissing.”
Nope. Nope nope nope.
Seo-joon shook his head before he could say any more.
“So I was wondering… what if we try doing all that again, one by one? Maybe it would help me remember?”
“…”
“You know… the things we used to do.”
Yeon-woo dropped his eyes and gently ran a single finger across the back of Seo-joon’s hand.
That light, ticklish touch made Seo-joon whip his head forward and let out a long, quiet sigh.
“Yeon-woo.”
“Yes?”
“Get out. Right now.”
“Um… Lieutenant… are you mad at me?”
From the passenger seat, Yeon-woo cautiously glanced at Seo-joon, who had been silently focused on driving. Was it just his imagination, or was the car moving a bit more roughly than before?
Fidgeting with his seatbelt, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but sneak worried glances his way.
Finally, the car came to a stop.
Seo-joon pulled into the underground parking lot of the research center and, while unbuckling his seatbelt, finally spoke.
“I’m not mad.”
“…”
“Let’s go. I’ll take you back to your room.”
Seo-joon got out of the car, and Yeon-woo quietly followed, stepping down from the passenger side.
As they waited for the elevator, Seo-joon deliberately ignored the pair of eyes fixed on him.
Ding.
As the elevator doors slid open, Seo-joon stepped inside and looked at the eighteen-year-old version of Yeon-woo with a heavy heart.
The memory that was supposed to return in just a few days… was showing no signs of coming back, and it had been nearly ten.
Ding-dong.
A soft notification buzzed from his phone—it was a reminder for a movie premiere he’d booked ages ago to watch together with Cha Yeon-woo. It was a sequel to the last one they’d seen—no way he could take this younger Yeon-woo.
Forgot to cancel that too.
Same with the pension trip he’d booked far in advance. He hadn’t postponed it in time.
Part of it was because he hadn’t known when Yeon-woo’s memory would return.
But honestly… he’d just forgotten. Completely.
The truth was, Seo-joon’s life looked fine on the outside, but it was all a mess underneath.
It felt pathetic, how lost he was without Yeon-woo—how quickly everything unraveled.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and let out a slow breath.
“Right now, the one who’s most desperate… is me, Yeon-woo.”
Yeon-woo had endured far longer silences with patience.
Seo-joon, on the other hand, couldn’t even manage ten days without spiraling.
“If you never get your memory back… then you and I aren’t lovers. We’re nothing. A one-sided memory doesn’t make a relationship. Don’t you think so?”
Ding.
Seo-joon stepped out of the elevator first. Behind him, Yeon-woo’s soft footsteps hurried to catch up.
“Get some rest. I’ll come back in the morni—”
He turned at the hospital room door—and stopped short.
Yeon-woo was right there, close enough to collide. Seo-joon instinctively stepped back and looked up at him.
“I want to get my memory back soon too, Lieutenant.”
“…”
“I want to know everything about what we had between us.”
Their eyes met and held.
For a fleeting moment, Seo-joon felt like those clear blue eyes were about to read right through him.
Then—
Pout.
Yeon-woo’s lips jutted out just slightly.
“So stop treating me like a kid.”
He brushed past Seo-joon and stepped into the room. The way he moved made it very clear—he was definitely sulking.
Clack.
The door shut, leaving Seo-joon standing alone in the hallway.
“…”
Seo-joon let out a breathless laugh, caught somewhere between disbelief and affection.
Hospital Day 11.
The medical team observing Yeon-woo’s condition finally approved his discharge.
They believed that returning to a familiar environment might help him recover his memory faster.
“Lieutenant, Dr. Kang Hee-min gave this to me earlier.”
Seo-joon turned around and looked down.
Yeon-woo stood there, holding out both hands—nestled between them was a ring.
“They said I was wearing it at the time of the accident.”
His wide eyes stared up at Seo-joon, completely open and sincere.
“This is… a couple ring, isn’t it?”
Seo-joon snatched it from his hands without hesitation.
“Yeah. But I’ll put it back on for you when your memory returns.”
“N-Not now?”
Yeon-woo, startled, hurried after him as Seo-joon turned to walk away, his eyes round with dismay.
“What kind of thirty-year-old wears a couple ring with a high-school dropout minor, Yeon-woo?”
Seo-joon shot him a serious glare, deliberately harsh—and Yeon-woo instantly wilted.
“…You’re really so mean.”
How is he exactly the same as before?
Seo-joon couldn’t help but find that familiar phrase both endearing and a little ridiculous.
“And what if I get my memories back? Then what will you do?”
…A little brazen, too.
Seo-joon responded as he packed up Yeon-woo’s things.
“What do you mean, then? If that happens, you’re really in for it. I’m not going to let you off easy.”
After putting him through all this stress and worry, Cha Yeon-woo would absolutely deserve an all-night scolding.
“…What does ‘not letting me off easy’ mean?”
That question from behind made Seo-joon freeze. Slowly, he turned to look at Yeon-woo.
As soon as their eyes met, Yeon-woo quickly looked away, ears burning red as he shifted awkwardly in his seat.
So even Cha Yeon-woo had a questionable phase once, huh?
Guess he wasn’t as innocent all his life as Seo-joon had assumed.
“Oh, you want to know what I mean by that?”
Yeon-woo’s wide eyes flicked toward him—then immediately darted away again.
Seo-joon started walking over slowly.
“Curious?”
“W-What? No, I…!”
Startled by how close Seo-joon suddenly was, Yeon-woo scooted back in a panic.
Seo-joon leaned in right up to his face.
Yeon-woo’s blue eyes squeezed shut. His lips shifted slightly, like he was expecting something. Seo-joon looked at him for a beat—
Then grabbed his lips and twisted.
“Uurgh—! Ow, ow! It hurts! Agh! Mmhp—!”
“Skipping class and learning weird stuff instead? What do you think ‘not letting you off easy’ means? You’re gonna get scolded until you cry, that’s what.”
“Aaaagh…”
Tears welled in Yeon-woo’s pinched, crumpled eyes.
His lips, still pouting slightly, were now smudged red with finger marks.
Seo-joon took his hand and gently pulled it forward.
Then he retrieved the couple ring from his pocket—and slid it onto Yeon-woo’s left hand.
“Just for now. Keep it on.”
“…Just for now?”
Yeon-woo’s teary eyes blinked up at him, shimmering like glass.
Seo-joon ruffled his hair and turned away.
He always did like wearing it on his right hand better.
But that part, he kept quietly to himself.
“Wow… I’ve never been in a house this big before.”
Yeon-woo, back home at last, looked around with wide, astonished eyes.
Gasp…
He sucked in a breath when he spotted the huge TV in the living room.
“Jeong-woo would totally freak out if he saw this.”
At first, he hovered close to Seo-joon, clearly unsure of how to act. But it didn’t take long before he started exploring the place more freely, curiously poking around every corner of the house.
Despite the adult body, his face lit up like a kid in a toy store—and Seo-joon had to bite back a laugh.
“The bedroom’s this way.”
Yeon-woo trailed behind Seo-joon, step for step.
When he saw the bed—the very one they used to fall asleep in together—he stopped in his tracks.