Even Though We’re Together (1)
Crazy bastard.
He was my husband, but that bastard is definitely a crazy bastard.
It’s been one week since I was locked in this room. That day, after bringing me from the cafe, Yoo Seonjae locked me in this room and locked the door.
Even after hearing my voice begging in terror to be let out, Yoo Seonjae wouldn’t open the closed door.
Yoo Seonjae.
Those three syllables held a strange power. That name, written countless times in my diary, felt simultaneously longed for, sad, and somehow suffocating.
It was just a name, yet I was curious about what meaning this person held for me that just seeing the name alone evoked such complex emotions.
I learned that Yeoul and Yoo Seonjae had been married by reading the diary I’d been keeping.
It didn’t seem like my feelings were completely gone. Because the diary was full of nothing but stories about Yoo Seonjae.
My memory problem was caused by a type of pregnancy toxemia.
The hospital explained that betas mainly show physical symptoms, but designated individuals sometimes develop mental issues as well.
It was quite absurd.
No one who hasn’t experienced waking up not knowing who they are or where they are could understand that feeling.
I told Yoo Seonjae differently, but the truth was, even in the midst of all that, I was certain about one thing—that I was pregnant. That’s the most bewildering part. Is it my will to save the child no matter what, or is this just a symptom of pregnancy toxemia?
In any case, thanks to that, I was able to keep the baby safe. The problem is this person called Yoo Seonjae.
Why did the name Yoo Seonjae float around in my head in a situation where I didn’t even know myself properly? Even if he’s my husband, could his existence really rummage through my mind that intensely?
I was curious. I was curious, but there was no way to find out about him. All I knew was just the name Yoo Seonjae.
I didn’t know his age, what he looked like, or what he did for work. Just Yoo Seonjae, my husband, I miss you. Only those fragmentary facts and emotions churned through my mind.
Meeting Kim Yeonghyo was by chance. The neighborhood grandfathers said there was a car that came in to deliver food supplies if you wanted to go to the mainland, and it was good to ride that car together to save on boat fare. Thanks to them taking me to that “bread truck,” I was able to meet Kim Yeonghyo.
I was happy just knowing he was someone who knew me. He did retch from the alpha pheromones he unconsciously released when he saw me, but he was still the first acquaintance I’d met.
I heard from him what kind of couple Yoo Seonjae and I had been. But even hearing about what I’d experienced, nothing particularly came to mind.
It wasn’t just me who felt regretful. Kim Yeonghyo was also very surprised by my situation and wanted to help.
I had to go to the hospital frequently, and it would be good to have someone who knew me nearby, so I followed him to the mainland.
Seeing me struggle with alpha pheromones, Kim Yeonghyo’s younger sister, a beta, started taking care of me, and feeling bad about just receiving help, I asked if there was anything I could help with.
Through his sister, Kim Yeonghyo showed interest in the trademark rights I’d talked about before and readily expressed his desire for help, but I thought I wouldn’t be able to help in a state where all my memories had vanished.
However, while visiting his factory and examining the products, the products automatically branded themselves in my mind. Even though my memories had disappeared, the knowledge and abilities I possessed seemed to be ingrained in my body, remaining intact.
Thanks to that, I was able to earn my keep with him.
I even gave Kim Yeonghyo, who only produced at the factory and didn’t have a separate bakery name, the name Hyohyo Bakery.
Seeing them happy each time I did something like that made me feel good. He told me stories about Yoo Seonjae every day over the phone.
Anyway, since he was supposedly the only person I’d ever loved and my husband, I was curious about a lot. But the more I listened, the more I couldn’t shake a strange feeling.
He supposedly liked me, but I couldn’t understand why everything he did seemed to be centered around himself. That’s where the doubt arose.
They say Yoo Seonjae loved me so much, but did I love Yoo Seonjae?
My diary was full of longing for Yoo Seonjae, but it seemed like I’d left home on my own, delivered divorce papers, and had no intention of returning to him.
What was it? What could have happened that made me break up with him?
In the midst of all that, I received contact from Kim Yeonghyo saying Yoo Seonjae wanted to see me. So I wanted to confirm it myself. Whether he and I were really in a relationship where we couldn’t live without each other, as Kim Yeonghyo said.
I knew as soon as I met him.
Ah, I really did like Yoo Seonjae. The baby in my belly is definitely Yoo Seonjae’s baby.
The alpha pheromones had been so nauseating, but the pheromones from Yoo Seonjae weren’t nauseating at all. Rather, they were comfortable. So comfortable that my body heated up.
That was all.
Even seeing his face, his memories didn’t come back. So I thought it would be better to just dryly ask about the things I’d deduced one by one.
I didn’t think that would upset him, though.
I thought we’d broken up.
He supposedly had enormous wealth, and if he’d wanted to, he could have found his husband hiding on an island right away. If he wanted to contact me, wouldn’t there have been some way to do so?
The fact that he’d neglected his husband for several months like that meant he also had his reasons, and wasn’t that because we were already separated?
The moment I tried to confirm that, I never expected Yoo Seonjae, completely losing it, would pour pheromones on me like crazy.
Or that I’d end up confined like this.
“…Did I really like him?”
The words I muttered while shaking the door that wouldn’t open didn’t reach anyone and scattered in the air.
A long sigh burst out.
This room is supposedly the one I used before leaving home, and maybe that’s why my mind felt at ease.
A room… but it’s more than five times the size of the place I’ve been staying, so I can’t really tell if this is a room or a house. Plus, there’s a bathroom and toilet attached to the room, so there’s no inconvenience in living here at all.
When it was mealtime, meals were consistently provided. The food Yoo Seonjae brought, saying he only brought things I liked, was all restaurant-quality food that would come out of high-end restaurants. I don’t know where he buys it from, but it wasn’t bad, though bread kept floating around in my head.
I wanted to say I preferred just simple bread rather than this kind of food, but it didn’t seem like the stage to let my guard down yet, so I just accepted the food he gave me.
The door is definitely locked, but I don’t feel confined at all.
Even before, I didn’t know who I was and rarely went outside because of being pregnant, so being inside all day was nothing.
Plus, since the area of that “house” had expanded, it was less suffocating, so should I consider this fortunate…?
The room had a locking mechanism that could be locked from both inside and outside, but there was no separate key.
Only Yoo Seonjae’s fingerprint could open the door. Whether I locked it from inside or he locked it from outside, I could never open the door.
Spending time alone in the room all day like that, when night came, Yoo Seonjae would open the locked door and enter.
As if thinking I would harm him, Yoo Seonjae always doused me with pheromones when entering. Enough that I couldn’t come to my senses.
The baby in my belly liked it.
Every time Yoo Seonjae’s pheromones were poured on me, the baby in my belly would jump around happily. It was amazing how actively it moved. Until now, it had only occasionally kicked with its foot.
Even so, since they were alpha pheromones, when he poured pheromones like that, I couldn’t move at all. I could do nothing but lie on the bed gasping for breath.
After making me like that, Yoo Seonjae would come lie down next to me. He would just lie beside me and look at my face. He didn’t touch me or try to force anything.
It felt strange.
To confine me after making me this defenseless, yet not lift a finger.
Feeling his gaze looking at me like that, when I dozed off, it would be the next morning.
It was amazing. I’d never slept this long all at once before, but being next to Yoo Seonjae made me sleepy. Even without memories, does my heart feel at ease?
In this state, I even thought it wouldn’t be bad to continue being confined.
I shouldn’t have thought so complacently.
“Haah, Yeoul.”
Like usual, I’d fallen asleep feeling his gaze watching me. As soon as I woke up from sleep, feeling unusually strong pheromones, I met the eyes looking down at me.
“Wh-what?”
“Haa, Yeoul. Haah—”
