Chapter 31: This Isn’t How I Wanted to Hear Politeness

It wasn’t like unexpected situations only happened once or twice when I was with Chaea.

Hyunwoo’s response was remarkably calm.

“I’ll soothe her, so just stay still.”

“O-okay.”

First, he needed to restrain Chae-rin, who might escalate things.

He hugged Chaea’s slender body tightly.

“Yoo Chaea. Look up at me.”

“Hngh…”

“You’re sweating buckets. Yoo Chae-rin, let’s get out of here for now.”

His judgment was swift.

He didn’t know what the problem was.

But she was complaining of a headache as soon as she entered the room.

It was right to think about it after getting out first.

“Huh? Okay…”

Chae-rin, with a dazed expression, opened the door for them.

Hyunwoo, still embracing Chaea, went outside.

“Hoo… hoo…”

“It’s okay. It’ll be alright.”

Pat, pat.

A skillful hand patting her back.

Her ragged breathing gradually calmed down.

And soon returned to normal.

“Hyunwoo-yah…”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

Letting go of his collar, Chaea burrowed into Hyunwoo’s chest.

The fact that she was clinging to him like this meant her mind was back.

“Why did that happen all of a sudden? What did you see?”

“I don’t know… Maybe too much information came in at once…?”

“That makes sense.”

Chaea’s room would be filled with her belongings.

Maybe her brain rejected the flood of memories trying to surface all at once.

“Wait, hold on, Oppa. So, what’s with this sudden situation?”

“I told you, this happens sometimes.”

Hyunwoo briefly explained to Chae-rin.

That when Chaea showed these symptoms, hugging her would make her feel better.

“…That was real?”

Chae-rin hadn’t forgotten.

She just thought it was an excuse to get cozy and didn’t believe it.

“Why else would we sleep in the same bed every night?”

“That was real too?!”

“……”

Hyunwoo regretted bringing it up.

“Kids. They said dinner’s almost ready, so come on—”

Chaea’s father, who was approaching to call his daughters and Hyunwoo, who were in the room, stopped short.

He couldn’t help but be taken aback.

His eldest daughter, suffering from amnesia, and.

The boy next door he’d watched since he was a kid were in a deep embrace.

…In the hallway, no less.

“Sorry, kids. Did I interrupt…? But why are you doing that there?”

Too flustered, Chaea’s father apologized first, then felt puzzled.

If they were going to engage in such intense skinship, they should do it in the room.

No, in the first place, he couldn’t understand why they were doing that with Chae-rin right next to them.

Hyunwoo, as he’d known him, would never do such a thing.

“I can explain everything, Uncle.”

Conversely, Hyunwoo was calm, even cold-blooded.

It was something he’d fully considered from the moment he left the room.

‘Am I getting used to unexpected situations?’

Hyunwoo sighed inwardly and explained calmly.

“Chaea sometimes says her head hurts when she remembers certain memories, and whenever that happens, hugging her helps… Hey, don’t smell me…!”

He was momentarily flustered when Chaea suddenly buried her face in his chest and sniffed, but.

He managed to finish the explanation to avoid any misunderstandings.

At the lunch table prepared by Chaea’s mother.

“Auntie. Just now, Yoo Chaea…”

As soon as he sat down, Hyunwoo explained everything that had just happened.

He was sick of receiving unnecessary misunderstandings.

He reported everything, from how they lived at Hyunwoo’s house.

To Chaea’s current health condition.

“Oh, is that so. Thank you, Hyunwoo.”

Chaea’s mother, who was going to ask anyway, gave an awkward smile.

Chaea’s father, who had been listening quietly, cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“Ahem. You’re sleeping in the same bed as Chaea?”

“Yes.”

Hyunwoo answered confidently.

He’d already told Hyunwoo’s mother.

It was only a matter of time before Chaea’s parents found out.

And he really hadn’t done anything shameful.

Except for hugging and rolling around in bed every day… No, that sounds weird.

While Hyunwoo was carefully considering his word choice.

“……”

Hyunwoo’s eyes met Chae-rin’s, who was staring at him intently.

She must be thinking about the box she found yesterday because of the talk about contraception.

‘Don’t you dare say anything.’

When Hyunwoo sent a fierce gaze,

Chae-rin was startled and concentrated on her meal.

He’d been acting all confident just now.

But it would be quite troublesome if he mentioned that he had a large box of condoms in his drawer.

Wouldn’t that be like opening up his child’s s*x life?

Even in America, this wouldn’t happen.

“Ahem, anyway, I’m glad you look healthy, Chaea.”

The auntie, who had been scolding the uncle, gave Chaea a kind smile.

“Yes, yes… Thanks to Hyunwoo…”

Too awkward a tone to return for a kind smile.

Twitch.

Thanks to that, the auntie’s lips trembled, but.

Her smile never collapsed.

“You still don’t remember Mom and Dad at all?”

“…No.”

Chaea answered, glancing at them.

‘This is what I was worried about.’

She was eating the shredded kimchi, but.

No memories with Mom and Dad came back.

Her tongue was screaming that it knew this taste.

But her brain’s ability to recall information stored somewhere was broken.

“Still.”

She didn’t know if she should do this.

But Chaea honestly revealed her feelings.

“I don’t remember, but it’s cozy.”

“…Huh?”

“As soon as I came into the house, it felt familiar and warm…”

Apart from her nervous and worried mind.

Chaea’s body had already adapted to her own home.

“Um… So, what I’m trying to say is… Thank you. For continuing to wait for me, and for letting me stay at Hyunwoo’s house, hehe…”

The eldest daughter’s innocent smile, which she hadn’t seen in a while.

Chaea’s mother, who was moved by it, put down her chopsticks.

She wouldn’t be able to pick anything up anyway because of her trembling hands.

“I didn’t want to hear politeness like this.”

“…Pardon?”

“You never used to use honorifics, no matter how much I told you to. You’re only doing it now that you’re like this.”

Instead, she bit her lip tightly and said.

“But it’s okay. I just want our daughter to be healthy. You didn’t say thank you or smile much when you grew up. But you’re doing it now, right? So, I like our daughter’s current appearance too…”

Her eyes were red.

But as if she wouldn’t shed tears.

Chaea’s mother smiled brightly.

“Mom wants to hear our daughter speak informally again…?”

Even if she didn’t want to push her.

She had found a way to bring back her memories, so she couldn’t help it.

Parents aren’t beings who like their children’s appearance.

They remember everything from when they were born and breastfed.

When they took their first steps.

A relationship connected by a special bond.

Wouldn’t they have no choice but to hope that they would return to the way they were before as soon as possible?

The atmosphere became serious.

Clatter.

Hyunwoo, who put down his spoon, made a resolution.

‘Let’s really do this right.’

This is too slow.

Until now, they had just been playing together, and it was closer to accidentally stumbling upon memories.

But there are families waiting like this.

For the people who gave warmth to Hyunwoo in his childhood.

Let’s recover her memories as soon as possible.

Lunch ended in a somewhat subdued atmosphere.

“Auntie. I’ll do the dishes.”

It was awkward to just slip away like this.

Hyunwoo was about to put on rubber gloves.

“Huh? Why would a guest do the dishes? You’re already working hard just taking care of Chaea.”

Slap!

Chaea’s mother, who he didn’t even know when she approached, snatched the rubber gloves away.

“No, but…”

“No buts. It’s okay, Auntie will do it, so just take responsibility for Chaea until the end.”

“Okay… What?”

He felt like he had just heard something he shouldn’t have answered casually.

Hyunwoo was pushed out of the kitchen.

‘What did she mean by “until the end”?’

As he stood there confused.

“Hyunwoo-yah. Should we go to my room one more time?”

Chaea asked, tugging at his collar.

“No, let’s not go in today.”

Hyunwoo immediately shook his head.

Going into the room would be the best way to recall memories.

But the question of whether it was worth trying while enduring the pain was a question mark.

“Then, shall we go to my room?”

Then Chae-rin pointed to her room.

“I don’t think you’ll remember as much in the living room as you would in my room.”

It was a reasonable statement.

However.

“Do you think Yoo Chae-rin’s room will be okay?”

“Well…?”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t know either.”

There was no guarantee that Chaea wouldn’t complain of a headache in Chae-rin’s room.

“Ah, is that so…?”

While Chae-rin, who belatedly thought of the possibility, was also lost in thought.

“…Let’s try it.”

Chaea, with a determined expression, perked up her ears.

“We can’t keep putting it off, and I think this will be okay.”

She grabbed Hyunwoo’s hands.

Turned around and snuggled into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his waist.

A position called a back hug.

“Wouldn’t it be okay if we went in like this?”

Hugging her when a headache occurs makes her feel better.

If they hugged in advance, wouldn’t there be no chance of a headache occurring?

It was a kind of reverse thinking.

“Well, it’s a really creative idea, but.”

There’s just one problem.

“Is waddling like this the best you can do?”

Humans aren’t structured to walk around hugging each other.

“There’s no other way. Come on, hurry up and follow me.”

“No, ha… Okay. If we’re going, let’s go quickly.”

As Hyunwoo and Chaea, who had become penguins, waddled after Chae-rin.

“Can I take a picture of this?”

Chae-rin took out her cell phone.

“Would you?”

Of course, Hyunwoo refused firmly.

His walking looked very funny for someone who was so firm.