An unprecedented opportunity. It seemed that Seongjun, whose memory was hazy, was mistaking him for his fiancé.
What should he do? An ordinary person would have corrected Seongjun and handed the ring back. But Yuhyeon was different. He was sick to death of living through days of poverty.
Seongjun had been lying to the people around him, claiming he had a fiancé. And because of that, those around him believed the fiancé actually existed. Which meant… even if he made the outrageous claim that he was Seongjun’s fiancé, there would be no one to refute it.
No. Don’t do it. How are you going to handle the fallout?
Yuhyeon pressed his fingers to his temples. He needed to clear his head. No matter how difficult things were, he couldn’t let himself say things he couldn’t take back.
If he let himself be blinded by the temptation of money and crossed a river he couldn’t return from, it would be over. There was no guarantee of safety afterward. Seongjun would keep going to the hospital and trying one thing after another to recover his memories — which meant those blank memories were a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment.
Yuhyeon hesitated, then ultimately pressed his lips firmly shut. At that, Seongjun leaned in and murmured, as if urging him on.
“If you just stay silent like that, I won’t know anything. If there was something between us, you need to tell me clearly.”
“…That is.”
“Seo Yuhyeon, were you involved with me?”
Seongjun asked the blunt question and pulled out a cigarette. Long tendrils of smoke curled from the cigarette as the lighter’s flame caught it.
“I’ve heard that many patients never recover their damaged memories.”
“The memories… forever?”
“Yes. They never come back, forever. I’ve also been given a diagnosis that suggests I may be one of those cases.”
There was something enigmatic about Seongjun as he exhaled a long drag of smoke. Even hearing that his memories might never return, he didn’t look sad, nor did he look flustered. He only pressed Yuhyeon to answer, as if demanding a response. That seemed to act as some kind of trigger — Yuhyeon’s lips parted slightly.
“…You asked what kind of relationship we had, didn’t you?”
There was a strong possibility that this man’s memories would never come back for the rest of his life. In that case, wasn’t this gamble worth taking?
The thought of lying through his teeth made his mouth feel bone dry. Still, he worked to keep his expression as composed as possible and steadied the muscles in his throat so his voice wouldn’t waver. Yuhyeon chose, in this moment, to become the most shameless man in the world.
“I’m engaged to you.”
The words came out more steadily than he expected, even though they were anything but easy to say — it even surprised him. He had to wonder if he’d always been this brazen. Then again, the blood of his father ran through him. The shamelessness of his biological father must be hereditary.
The moment the sentence ended, Yuhyeon drew in a breath as subtly as he could. He needed to settle his breathing in order to keep his poker face. But Seongjun didn’t give him much time to collect himself.
“That’s rather strange.”
“Pardon?”
Thud. His heart sank. Had he gone too far with something too absurd after all? Even if the other person had lost his memories, there were things you could say and things you couldn’t. Just as belated regret began to set in, Seongjun spoke.
“The engagement ring is with Seo Yuhyeon, so the claim of being my fiancé doesn’t sound unreasonable.”
It seemed he wasn’t completely dismissing it. Yuhyeon worked hard to keep his shaky breath from escaping.
“But why does Seo Yuhyeon address me so formally and call me ‘sir’?”
If he had used that title at Glock, he could have made the excuse that he was keeping work and personal life separate. But they were in a park right now, and it was just the two of them. Caught off guard, Yuhyeon tightened his grip on his sweaty palms.
“That’s because….”
“I’m sorry if it’s a rude question.”
“…I mean.”
“It’ll be easier for both of us if we address any doubts clearly. Would you tell me?”
Gulp. He swallowed hard. He racked his brain for an answer, if only to get himself out of this. Words once spoken couldn’t be taken back, so he had to clear Seongjun’s suspicions by any means necessary.
Wait….
A voice flitted through Yuhyeon’s head as he scrambled for a solution. It was something Seongjun had casually said on the day Yuhyeon had been sexually harassed by a customer.
— Even a contract would do. If I could find someone willing to be my fiancé, I’d make sure the reward was more than satisfactory.
A contract…. With the word contract at the center of it all, Yuhyeon’s quick mind began spinning without pause. Seongjun had been looking for someone to play the role of his fiancé. Couldn’t he use that?
“We had a… contract. A contracted engagement, that is.”
“A contract?”
“You were reluctant to date anyone with the intention of marriage, so you hired me as a solution to that.”
Once the words started coming, they poured out in a tone that made it impossible to tell what was truth and what was fabricated. Yuhyeon realized he needed to take the lead in guiding the conversation and not give Seongjun any time to think.
“As for a written contract — there was a possibility it could be lost, and it could cause complications if someone stumbled upon it, so you said we should make it a verbal agreement.”
“Verbal….”
Seongjun tilted the corner of his mouth in an ambiguous smile, stroked his chin, then shifted his gaze to Yuhyeon. Yuhyeon subtly watched for any reaction while trying to appear unconcerned. If Seongjun showed even the slightest sign of doubt, he would have to come up with yet another excuse.
“Then there’s no evidence, aside from that ring.”
“That’s true, but….”
“Understood.”
Seongjun dropped the cigarette from between his lips into the rainwater and pressed the tip of it down under his shoe.
“The contract was verbal, so I can’t confirm it with certainty — however, I do have a memory of that ring. And when I listened to what Seo Yuhyeon said, nothing struck me as particularly inconsistent.”
Was he actually believing him now? A wave of relief washed over Yuhyeon’s pupils.
“If it was an employment arrangement, it also makes sense that you called me ‘sir.'”
At the same time, he couldn’t quite shake the thought that Seongjun seemed to be believing him too easily.
He actually thinks I’m his contract fiancé.
Yuhyeon tried to let himself relax now. There was no reason for Seongjun to deliberately play along with his lie. The heart that had been pounding wildly settled down to some degree. Yuhyeon let out the breath he’d been holding in gasps and bit down on his parched lower lip.
But then, the next words that fell from Seongjun’s mouth hit like a bolt from the blue.
“However — since I’ve lost my memories, I’ll need to reconsider the employment arrangement.”
“Pardon? Reconsider… it?”
What on earth…. He had barely managed to escape one crisis, and now another obstacle had come crashing down. Yuhyeon felt dizzy.
“What I mean is, I want to verify whether Seo Yuhyeon is someone I need enough to continue the contract. As I said, my memory isn’t intact.”
“Verify how….”
“I have no way of knowing how you used to play the role of my fiancé. So spend a few days with me.”
“…Pardon?”
Spend time with him — what does that mean exactly?
His mind was spinning. Could he possibly mean a bed partner? Yuhyeon’s eyes wavered, suddenly seized with fear.
“In the most literal sense of the word — I mean dates. Even if it’s a contract, we’re supposed to be engaged. To everyone else’s eyes, we should look like a loving couple. Don’t you think?”
“Yes, yes…. You’re right!”
The meaning of “spend time with me” was a trial date. Yuhyeon’s face burned with embarrassment at having jumped to strange conclusions all on his own. He ducked his head and stared at his feet, trying to hide the flush spreading across his reddened cheeks.
