# Chapter 117
From the moment I opened my eyes in the hospital, I felt something was wrong, but it was clear that something had happened while I was unaware. And something unbelievable at that.
My whole body turned cold, and I felt dazed as if someone had hit me hard on the head. It felt like my soul was completely draining out. As I just blinked in confusion, the manager jumped up from his chair.
Seeing my pale complexion, he thought something was wrong and was about to call a doctor, but I quickly stopped him.
“I’m fine. There’s no need for that.”
Waving my hands and then gesturing for him to sit, the manager made a suspicious expression but raised his eyebrows, asking what was going on.
Unable to answer immediately, I quietly mulled over what the manager had said.
In my memory, I had never missed work without permission, and I definitely had never just sat still like a corpse in front of the manager. There was a possibility that the manager was lying, but he had no reason to, and he wasn’t the type to do so, so I couldn’t dismiss it as nonsense.
Then who was the person who had behaved that way? I grabbed my foggy mind, shook my head slightly as my brain wasn’t working well, and opened my mouth. It was to make sure.
“I… I did that? Not recognizing you and just sitting still…?”
My voice kept trembling due to nervousness. By the end, I couldn’t properly continue my words. The manager, whose eyebrows twitched slightly, soon nodded.
“Yes. Just the day before yesterday, I called to check on you, asking if you were eating regularly. Don’t you remember that?”
“…No.”
“…Then, what about throwing up while eating about two weeks ago?”
“I did that?”
At my words, the manager made a serious face. But since I was the most serious one here, I couldn’t say anything. After a moment of silence at my darkened expression, the manager spoke again.
“What’s the last thing you remember? You do recognize me, right?”
“Yes. …The last thing I remember is…”
I rolled my eyes, trying to recall what I had done on the last day I was here. I definitely watched anime and then fell asleep. And when I opened my eyes, I had become Yoon Taeho. It wasn’t a situation that occurred due to some special trigger but something that happened very naturally.
Recalling that day, everything I had experienced as Yoon Taeho passed through my mind like a panorama. Vivid events that didn’t feel like a dream at all. And as my thoughts connected to falling from the railing just before I opened my eyes here, along with what I had seen in the dream, I felt puzzled about why this had happened.
After sitting in a daze thinking for a while, I came to my senses at the touch of hands lightly shaking my body. Turning my head, the manager, still with a serious expression, had his face thrust close. He seemed surprised as I had been sitting quietly without answering for a long time.
“Are you okay? Why are you suddenly zoning out?”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I just had something to think about…”
When I laughed awkwardly, the manager tightly closed his lips as if swallowing a dry cough, then separated them.
“So, do you remember or not?”
He looked like he would call a doctor again if my memory wasn’t intact.
“I remember up to falling asleep the night before work.”
“The night before work? When exactly was that?”
“That was probably…”
I dragged my words as I couldn’t remember the exact date. Still, judging by today’s date, it seems like several months have passed.
“Ah, you know that dessert shop that was supposed to open near the hotel? The one everyone said they would visit.”
“Ah, that place. It’s already been open and in business for a while now.”
As expected, compared to the time I had spent as Yoon Taeho, a long time had already passed here. I scratched my head as if troubled and said:
“Really? It seems I remember up to the day before that shop opened.”
* * *
After undergoing some tests at the manager’s insistence, as I was about to lie back in bed, he, who had been waiting silently, helped support me.
Although I wasn’t so weak that I couldn’t move on my own, my strength had deteriorated from lying down for so long. I didn’t stubbornly resist and comfortably let the manager support my body.
“It’s a relief that there’s no major problem. It seems your memory has returned, but it looks like you’ve forgotten everything that happened during the time you lost your memory.”
“Yes. I’m sorry for causing you worry.”
“It’s fine. I wonder if I said unnecessary things to someone who just woke up.”
The manager, who was laying out slightly regretful, self-blaming words mixed with a bit of pity, soon told me not to worry about it.
And soon, as if all his business was done, he gathered his coat that he had brought to prepare to leave. I was about to express my gratitude once more when the phone ring interrupted, making me close my mouth. The manager raised his hand as if asking me to wait a moment and soon answered the phone.
Judging from the vaguely familiar voice coming from the other end, it seemed to be a work-related call. The manager slightly furrowed his brow and then relaxed it, as if some problem had occurred at the hotel, and spoke as if exhaling a sigh.
“Change it as you wish and check all the rooms beforehand to make sure there are no problems.”
I quietly looked towards the window so as not to disturb the call. Below, on the cabinet, were the drinks the manager had brought. Plus, I learned that the manager had been paying all my hospital bills so far.
I knew he was a good person, but honestly, after learning that he had been taking care of me all this time, I felt more burdened than grateful.
Of course, it was a very thankful thing, but there was no need for him to go this far. Unlike him, who was in charge of a department in a luxury hotel, I was just an employee.
The manager immediately put his cell phone in his coat pocket, suggesting the call had ended.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing serious… We have a VIP customer with a long-term reservation who keeps changing rooms whenever there’s a gap. It’s a bit troublesome.”
I opened my eyes wide, feeling a bit surprised.
“Do defect issues occur that frequently?”
“No. It’s not that kind of problem, they just want to change rooms because they don’t like them.”
“What?”
At that moment, a false breath escaped me due to the absurd feeling. It wasn’t completely unheard of, but it wasn’t a common occurrence either. They must be someone really important if they’re a VIP.
Seeing my expression, the manager clicked his tongue and said:
“They seem to be some kind of artist. Last time, they wanted to change rooms because the window position made it hard to concentrate, and this time they want to change because they don’t like the furniture arrangement.”
Seems like a lunatic. I just smiled awkwardly, roughly understanding what had happened.
“Anyway, I should go. It’s a holiday, but I can’t even rest comfortably.”
It seemed he was planning to call again to check if there were any problems.
I called out to the manager a bit loudly to stop him as he was about to leave the room.
“Manager!”
“Hm? What is it? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“It’s not that… Um, thank you. For continuously taking care of me, and the hospital bills must have been a lot… If you tell me how much it is, I’ll send it to you as soon as I settle things.”
“Well… let’s talk about that later.”
The manager smiled wryly as if this kind of atmosphere was awkward for him.
“No. Honestly, you didn’t need to do this much for me.”
I voiced my honest question because it’s difficult for an ordinary person to take care of someone to this extent, even if they’re a workplace subordinate.
At my words, the manager straightened his upper body, which had been facing the door, and hesitated.
“You’ve been working so hard. You’ve got grit, and I’ve been watching you since you were a part-timer, so of course I should help. …So hurry up and come back to work. You should get a manager position now.”
The manager roughly ran his hand through his hair as if a bit embarrassed. He added a solemn comment at the end, deliberately inducing a playful atmosphere. I hadn’t known he thought so highly of me, so I just blankly stayed there and then raised the corners of my mouth to smile.
“Well, take care, and I’ll contact you later.”
The manager gestured as if telling me not to come out. I nodded and watched his retreating back for a moment.
Soon, in the quiet hospital room, I turned my body and lay on my side. The sunlight was very bright, as if telling me that the weather outside was quite hot.
With nothing to do and just lying still, my body began to feel languid. When I closed my eyes for a moment, Yoon Taeho’s face, standing alone in the room, flickered in my mind.
“Hah…”
While talking with the manager and pondering why this had happened, such thoughts came to me. Why my soul had migrated to Yoon Taeho’s body. I recalled the image of him cleaning the room spotlessly, not leaving anything behind, and then going out to throw away the trash.
“It’s exactly like me when I was young.”
There was a time when I was submerged in very deep solitude and loneliness, unable to escape alone. Even if I struggled to get out, it didn’t get better, and it only got better after a long time, but occasionally, there was emptiness in my heart.
Was that why?
I closed my eyes firmly and recalled the conversation between the boys arguing in the dream.
“I understand your feelings.”
“Understand?”
“I understand why you’re angry. Honestly, it’s not like I said something untrue; you just don’t invite me home, often ignore my calls, so I got angry.”
“…You still don’t think you need to apologize.”
“What are you talking about? I already apologized. I came to find you first like this.”
“No. If you were truly sorry, you wouldn’t easily say things like ‘I understand.’ …Acting on your own is not just once or twice.”
Yoon Taeho shouted loudly to Moon Seoheon, who was turning his back, after hesitating.
“Hey! You’re hiding things from me too. And! The Four, no one else wants to be with you except them, so even if I made a mistake, couldn’t you just let it go!?”
Clearly knowing deep inside that this wasn’t right, he denied it. That’s what a momentary emotion is. Since it was already hurt, the words burst out in anger were all sharp.
“Enough. Go home.”
To the words that came out like a sigh, Yoon Taeho couldn’t say anything and left the place. And his face, frowning as if about to cry. Even the expressionless Moon Seoheon who was looking at him.
I just felt a bit sad. If Yoon Taeho had known how to observe his surroundings better, that boy wouldn’t have abandoned himself.
“Still, it seems like Moon Seoheon wanted to get along well.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to Yoon Taeho’s house first and would have continued to ignore Yoon Taeho.
In fact, Yoon Taeho probably wanted to remain close too. Because he was the only person who had helped him when no one else was around. But foolishly, he betrayed his closest friend and acted just like those who had made him that way.
“Stupid guy.”
If he hadn’t tried to act cool and had valued the people who liked him more, he wouldn’t have been ruined like that. Unnecessary feelings of inferiority and self-loathing had eaten away at everything.
A long sigh flowed out with my complicated feelings.
