Chapter 3. This Was My Place

“So, it looks like chaea will be staying at our house for a while.”

Before leaving the hospital with chaea, I called my mother to briefly explain the situation.

– How on earth… Haah… Alright, I understand.

I could easily picture my mother pressing her temples in frustration.

Her voice carried a heavy exhaustion.

– I’ll have a word with chaea’s mother. Just take good care of her for now. I’ll be back next month, so let’s talk then.

“Yes, take care.”

Click.

And just like that, we got permission from both our parents far too easily.

No matter how you look at it, letting a grown man and woman live together under one roof wasn’t something that should be agreed upon so readily.

Still, as I mulled over that thought and returned to the hospital room—

“You’re back?”

chaea, who had been staring out the window, turned toward me.

But instead of her usual unreadable expression, she was smiling brightly—like a puppy welcoming its owner home.

“Yeah. But you…”

“Hm?”

“No, never mind.”

It felt strange to ask why she was smiling like that, so I swallowed my words.

“I got your medication. Let’s get going.”

“Ah, thanks.”

As I helped chaea to her feet—

“Ow, ow…”

A groan of pain immediately escaped her lips.

“You okay? Want me to carry you?”

I moved as if to give her a piggyback ride, but—

“No, I think I can walk.”

chaea shook her head, gripping my arm tightly.

“…If it hurts, tell me. Don’t push yourself.”

“Mm. I’m really fine.”

Even as I left the hospital with her, unease clung to me.

We walked home slowly, matching our pace.

‘She looks better than when she first woke up…’

As I kept stealing glances to check on her—

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

chaea tilted her head.

Deciding it was a good time to ask what had been on my mind—

“Do you really not remember anything?”

She had said she had no memories of the accident, not even how she woke up this morning.

‘Did she forget that she was about to confess, too?’

I wondered just how much she actually remembered.

“Yeah. Except for you.”

“You remember what we did together?”

“Not clearly… but I think I have a vague memory.”

“…I see.”

I barely swallowed a bitter sigh.

At least we didn’t have to rebuild our bond from scratch, but…

Should I be relieved about that, or devastated that the accident ruined the moment she was about to confess?

“When I try to remember… Ugh.”

“Hey, hey. Don’t force it.”

chaea staggered, clutching her head, and I quickly stopped her.

It would be nice if her memories returned soon, but I wasn’t about to push her after what she had just been through.

“……”

“You okay? Should we go back to the hospital?”

“No, no. Just… hold me.”

“…What?”

“Hurry.”

Before I could even process what she was saying—

chaea suddenly nestled into my arms.

Our bodies pressed close.

Warmth spread from where we touched.

The softness against me was undeniable.

It felt just like our very first meeting—so warm that I froze on the spot.

“Hoo…”

“…What are you doing?”

“When I do this, the headache eases a little…”

Then, she buried her face completely into my chest.

Her warm breath tickled my shirt.

“Hey. People are staring.”

We had already drawn plenty of attention just by walking together.

chaea had a striking appearance on her own, but now she had casts on her arms and legs and was clinging to me—it was impossible not to stand out.

Even so—

“This really helps?”

“Mm…”

Her breathing was already calmer.

If a hug was all it took to relieve her pain, I had no choice but to go along with it, regardless of the stares.

‘This is probably the first time since elementary school…’

I wrapped my arms around her and patted her back, waiting for her headache to ease.

chaea had always been the type to close the distance between us without hesitation.

But when we hit puberty in middle school, I started avoiding physical contact with her.

Back then, even the lightest touch had been enough to make my body react—

Not that things were any different now.

In fact, it felt worse after all this time.

I subtly adjusted my posture to keep certain involuntary reactions from making contact—

“Hoo… I’m good now.”

chaea finally pulled away.

The warmth surrounding me disappeared, replaced by the biting chill of winter air.

And with it came a wave of self-loathing.

‘She’s injured. What the hell is wrong with me? Am I some kind of animal?’

I shook my head hard to clear my thoughts.

“Don’t try to remember anything today. Just rest at home.”

“Alright.”

chaea smiled softly—

A rare, unguarded expression that only I ever got to see.

“Shall we go?”

I quickly helped her along, deciding that lingering on this feeling was pointless.

Right now, I just needed to get her home so she could rest.

But—

“Yoo chaea.”

“Yeah?”

“This is… a little too close, don’t you think?”

There was one thing I couldn’t ignore.

I really wanted to, but—

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“No, not uncomfortable, but… uh…”

The soft weight pressing against my arm.

I had tried my best not to think about it.

But the longer we walked like this, the more obvious it became.

“You’ve been leaning on me this whole time.”

Ever since our hug ended, she had naturally stayed pressed against me—

And she didn’t seem to have any intention of moving away.

chaea blinked and answered casually,

“It’s because I’m grateful.”

“What?”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“…You’re acting kind of weird today. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Oh, we’re here. Let’s go in. My legs hurt.”

Ignoring my question, chaea limped ahead and entered the front gate.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

I heard the familiar sound of her entering the passcode.

As I followed her inside, her words replayed in my mind.

‘She did that on purpose?’

I had always been sure we liked each other.

But chaea had never been this forward before.

If she had, we would have confessed and become a couple long ago.

Was this just another side effect of the accident?

I was still caught up in my thoughts when—

“Aren’t you coming in? Are you just going to leave me here?”

chaea peeked out from behind the door.

“I’m coming.”

Even as I stepped inside, my thoughts remained tangled.

‘Even if she lost her memories, her feelings are still the same…?’

By the time we got home, the clock had already passed 8 p.m.

Because of chaea’s slow pace, the walk had taken longer than expected.

“Oh, food’s here.”

“Huh? What did you order?”

As soon as we entered, chaea collapsed onto the couch, ears perking up at my words.

“I ordered earlier. You need to eat before taking your medicine.”

The timing was perfect—our meal had arrived just as we got home.

I brought the food to the table.

But when chaea saw what it was, her face fell slightly.

“Porridge…? My stomach’s fine, though.”

“You’re still a patient. You need to be careful.”

She pouted as if she didn’t like it, but—

“…Thanks. I’ll eat it.”

She obediently took the vegetable porridge.

After all, she wasn’t ungrateful enough to refuse food I had thoughtfully ordered for her.

“But… I can’t use my hands.”

She stared at the bowl for a moment before—

“Ahh.”

Instead of picking up the spoon, she simply opened her mouth.

It was a clear request.

“Does it really matter if you hold the spoon with your left hand?”

Hyunwoo raised a reasonable question, but—

“…Ah.”

Chaeya just kept her mouth open as if she didn’t know or care.

She had always been a bit shameless, but not to this extent.

Feeding porridge to a patient wasn’t exactly difficult, so—

“Hoo.”

He blew on the porridge and fed it to Chaea.

“Haa…”

It must still be hot—she couldn’t swallow it right away and rolled it around in her mouth.

She let it cool in her open mouth before finally managing to swallow.

“How is it?”

“Tasteless.”

“Alright… whatever. Just eat it anyway.”

As Hyunwoo cooled down each spoonful, Chaea obediently accepted it like a baby bird.

Once the meal was over and she had taken all her prescribed medicine—

“Hyunwoo.”

“What?”

“What do I do now?”

Chaea suddenly asked a strange question.

“Take a bath and sleep. What else?”

“Already? It’s only nine.”

“You’re a patient. You need to rest.”

“But I took a nap earlier, so I’m not sleepy.”

“That wasn’t a nap. You passed out.”

“Isn’t that pretty much the same thing?”

She kept talking in circles.

Even with memory loss, her habit of not saying what she wanted outright hadn’t changed.

“What do you want to do that you’re beating around the bush like this?”

“Promise you won’t get mad, and I’ll tell you.”

“I’m definitely going to get mad, so don’t bother.”

Chaea was momentarily speechless.

Her mouth opened and closed silently before she finally spoke—

“You’d get mad at a patient?”

She suddenly played the guilt card.

It seemed like she was returning to her usual shameless and easygoing self.

Hyunwoo tilted his head.

“I’ll at least listen.”

“I want to play a game…”

“No.”

He cut her off immediately.

“I wasn’t even done talking…”

“What kind of patient plays games? You can’t even use your right hand. And how do you remember playing games, anyway?”

“Not exactly… I only remember playing with you.”

“…That’s really weird.”

If it weren’t for how completely she had forgotten her parents, he might have thought she was faking the amnesia.

“Anyway, no means no. Just take a bath and sleep.”

“But our break is almost over. Does it make sense to waste a whole day like this?”

Right.

Their second-year winter break was nearly over.

Once they moved up to third year, they wouldn’t have time to relax anymore.

If they wanted to enjoy themselves, this was probably their last chance.

That was exactly why Hyunwoo had decided to confess now.

If he didn’t do it soon, he’d never find the right timing.

“If you suddenly say you’re sick again, what do I do? And what about your mom? How do I face her after she trusted me to take care of you?”

“Then tomorrow?”

“We’ll see how you’re doing. But for today, just rest.”

“…Fine.”

In the end, Chaea backed down first.

“Your dad gave me a waterproof cover earlier, so use that when you shower.”

“It’s uncomfortable… Can’t you just wash me instead?”

“No. I’m going to shower too.”

“…So stingy.”

Hearing Chaea grumble, Hyunwoo barely managed to keep a straight face as he escaped to the bathroom in the living room.

‘What’s with her lately?’

Chaea kept closing the distance between them like it was nothing.

If nothing else, one thing was certain—she had changed since losing her memory.

After finishing his shower, Hyunwoo returned to his room.

Thud.

He dropped the towel in his hand.

“…What are you doing there?”

Chaea was sitting on his bed.

“…That’s always been my spot.”

“…No, it hasn’t.”

Hyunwoo didn’t know where to look.

Avoiding his gaze, he quickly pulled the blanket over her lower body.

Having the girl he liked sitting on his bed in just an oversized, semi-transparent dress shirt was way too much stimulation.

“And what’s with that outfit? Why are you barely wearing anything?”

“I covered up, okay?”

Chaea flapped the oversized sleeves that extended far past her hands, looking aggrieved.

“I couldn’t find any clothes after showering, so I just put on whatever I saw.”

“Oh.”

Hyunwoo finally realized—

In his rush to escape earlier, he had forgotten to bring her a change of clothes.

“Wait here. I’ll get something for you.”

“It’s hard to change… Can’t I just sleep like this?”

“Absolutely not.”

There was no way he could just sit calmly in the same room as his childhood friend, who was only wearing an oversized shirt—

Especially not today, the day he had planned to confess.

Even a Buddhist monk wouldn’t be able to suppress their worldly desires in this situation.

Ding-dong—

“Ma’am, Chaea doesn’t have any clothes to change into…”

Without hesitation, Hyunwoo went next door and rang the doorbell.