TTD 147

The first person to greet Ja-kyung when he arrived at the hospital was Kang Yoo-jung. Wearing a doctor’s gown, she smiled prettily as soon as she saw Ja-kyung. Seeing that, Ja-kyung wondered if Wang Lun had been lying just to prank him.

“Is CEO Kang alright? I heard something happened yesterday.”

Yoo-jung pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment.

“It’s better if you see for yourself.”

Following Kang Yoo-jung into the hospital room, Park Tae-soo was the first person she saw. Kang Il-hyun, lying in bed, appeared uninjured and perfectly fine, and Ja-kyung approached him with relief to examine his face.

“Are you alright, CEO?”

As soon as he asked, Il-hyun frowned and looked at Kang Yoo-jung.

“Who is this?”

Yoo-jung let out a groan, and Ja-kyung could only respond with a hollow laugh of disbelief.

“Stop joking around. Are you angry because I wasn’t around? It’s not like I did it on purpose. I didn’t know this would happen. If I had known, I would never have left. I swear.”

The more he spoke, the more hostile Il-hyun’s expression became. His face showed complete incomprehension. Turning to look at Kang Yoo-jung, she came closer and sighed.

“As you can see, he’s not seriously injured, but he has a mild concussion. Because of that, he’s lost some of his memories.”

As if to prove this, Kang Il-hyun called out to Kang Yoo-jung with an expressionless face.

“Noona. Whoever this is, I’d appreciate it if you’d take him out. We were in the middle of an important conversation.”

Ja-kyung was at a loss for words. Such an expression and tone were unfamiliar, and he didn’t know how to handle it. He couldn’t argue that he should stop joking around because his eyes were dripping with cold indifference. Ja-kyung couldn’t accept this situation at all, and it was only when Yoo-jung suggested they leave that he was able to barely collect himself.

Outside, Yoo-jung heaved a deep sigh and crossed her arms.

“It must be shocking for you, Ja-kyung. It’s shocking for me too. He doesn’t even remember that father passed away. Though I’m not sure if it’s fortunate or unfortunate, he didn’t seem particularly sad when I told him about father’s death.”

Ja-kyung’s lips quivered.

He had many questions but didn’t know where to begin.

“When will his memories return?”

Kang Yoo-jung bit her lip with a somewhat troubled expression.

“Hmm. They should return. But I can’t say exactly when with certainty.”

“Is there a chance they won’t return?”

“Perhaps… that’s possible too…”

Is this what it feels like when the sky falls? As he stood there dumbfounded, Yoo-jung reassured him that such cases were rare and asked for his help in staying by his side to aid his recovery.

“Keep coming to show your face. Seeing you might help recover his memories.”

Ja-kyung couldn’t respond. He kept thinking about Kang Il-hyun’s eyes from earlier. Though he understood the situation and tried to remain composed, it wasn’t working well. Unable to muster the courage to go back in and face him again, he hung his head, and Kang Yoo-jung patted his shoulder comfortingly.

***

When Ja-kyung returned home, he examined every corner. For all the chaos that had occurred, everything was exactly as it had been, peaceful. The broken glass had been quickly replaced, and blood stains splattered here and there had been promptly cleaned up.

Ja-kyung met with the security guards to hear their statements. Then he noticed something strange – the man who had begged for help to save his younger sibling was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had gone to care for his sibling? Then he heard an peculiar story from one of the employees.

“Though I hate to be suspicious, that guy kept going around giving out vitamin drinks that day, apologizing for being absent. Since it was hot, we drank them, but after that, I can’t remember things clearly. I thought I was the only one, but other employees said the same thing.”

That day, all CCTV recordings had stopped, and there was no footage of the intruders’ sudden attack. And afterward, the man had vanished. It was hard to understand, since he had been someone who looked at him with tearful gratitude.

Had he really betrayed them? If anything was the man’s doing, there must be someone behind it. Whether his sibling was threatened, or he was paid off. Ja-kyung called Lun, who was nearby.

“Hyung. First, find that man. Find him and bring him here no matter what.”

Wang Lun beat his chest, saying to trust only him.

“Leave that kind of thing to me. Catching rats is my specialty.”

Han casually inquired about Kang Il-hyun’s condition.

“Is CEO Kang still the same?”

Ja-kyung nodded, trying to appear composed. Though he had stayed nearby and visited his hospital room for several days, his reactions remained utterly cold. Whatever he had heard from Kang Yoo-jung, his eyes showed even disgust when looking at Ja-kyung.

[To think I got involved with a man, how surprising.]

Ja-kyung had hoped Il-hyun’s memories might return if he showed his face often, but facing a Kang Il-hyun who despised him was more torturous than he had imagined. Hope began turning to despair, and he became frightened at the thought that his memories might never return.

“Where are the ones you caught?”

The rest had fled, but they had captured and confined two of them, though their condition wasn’t good and they wouldn’t answer any questions. Even when threatened with death, they kept their mouths shut, showing they weren’t ordinary thugs.

As the three were having a serious conversation, the housekeeper happened to cross the courtyard. She was watering the potted plants in the corner when Wang Han quietly approached and whispered.

“From now on, I’m never going to complain about the housekeeper’s cooking.”

Wang Lun also nodded in agreement.

“One of the criminals tried to take the housekeeper hostage that day. We all thought the old lady was done for. But surprisingly, she grabbed a pen and subdued the criminal in an instant. It happened so fast, we couldn’t even see her strike properly.”

Wang Han kept expressing amazement as he recalled that day. Ja-kyung had known to some extent that she wasn’t an ordinary person. Though, of course, he hadn’t imagined she would be that skilled in combat.

As he approached, the housekeeper turned and smiled warmly.

“The sun is so strong that the plants dried up. This is what happens when you give them even a little less attention.”

Ja-kyung looked down at the flowers in the pot. As she said, they were withering. Suddenly, he remembered the house where he lived as a child. The flowers in that garden were always well-maintained, and Ja-kyung knew it was because of Kang Il-hyun.

Seeing his troubled expression, the housekeeper stroked Ja-kyung’s back.

“The CEO will get better soon. As you know, he’s a very strong person.”

Feeling choked up, he hung his head, and the housekeeper pushed his back, saying he should go inside. After entering, Ja-kyung headed to Kang Il-hyun’s bedroom. One side of the bedroom still displayed items related to Ja-kyung.

The doll resembling Lee Ja-kyung chosen instead of taxidermy, childhood photos, portraits, and even frames containing printed messages full of affection. Looking at them made his mood sink even lower.

Ja-kyung went to the bed, lay down, and hugged Il-hyun’s pillow, burying her face in it. The emotions she had been suppressing welled up, and he lay there holding his breath, as quiet as a mouse. He tried to erase the contemptuous look in Il-hyun’s eyes, but it only became clearer, and finally, his eyes stung, and he pulled the blanket over his head.

Unable to sleep for several days, he had dozed off when he vaguely heard people talking. As he rubbed his eyes and came out, he saw Kang Il-hyun standing before him, and his expression hardened.

“Ah…”

He was supposed to be discharged tomorrow, so why was he here already?

Kang Yoo-jung was beside him, wearing a somewhat troubled expression.

“Oh, Ja-kyung’s here. He insisted on being discharged, so he came early. Really, there’s no stopping his stubbornness.”

Kang Il-hyun alternately looked at Lee Ja-kyung and the items in his bedroom, his face twisting unpleasantly. “What is this?” He asked Kang Yoo-jung, not Lee Ja-kyung, and she explained with a smile. Saying it was like fan collecting, that he had done this because he liked Ja-kyung, but his expression grew increasingly sour. Ja-kyung shrank back, and Il-hyun picked up his phone with an irritated expression. Then his gaze moved to Ja-kyung.

“Have everything in my bedroom cleared out.”

It was essentially telling Ja-kyung to leave.

Ja-kyung barely held back his choked voice as he snapped back.

“I was just about to leave anyway.”

As he left, Kang Yoo-jung followed. There was a sharp sound of the door closing, and Ja-kyung barely managed to suppress the wave of sorrow that washed over him. Yoo-jung came close, comforting and consoling Ja-kyung.

“Please understand, Ja-kyung. It’s because he’s lost his memories. I don’t know how much he’ll regret this later.”

“Will his memories really return?”

Yoo-jung couldn’t readily answer Ja-kyung’s question, and Ja-kyung realized that perhaps Kang Il-hyun’s memories might never return. Even when the housekeeper tried to console him, he couldn’t hear anything anymore.