Prove It — Or Let Me Go

Haejin was suggesting treatment out of concern for post-traumatic stress disorder, but as he spoke, it began to sound like he was mocking him, implying he had a mental problem.

Worried that this might cause a misunderstanding, Haejin hurriedly corrected himself.

“D-don’t misunderstand! I phrased it poorly, um… From my perspective, it seems you were quite deeply affected by the incident of my death.”

“……”

“So… I’ve heard there’s something called post-traumatic stress disorder. I think you might be experiencing something like that toward me. I thought… maybe it would be good to get treatment for that part.”

In his past life, Haejin had also been told to seek psychiatric help.

It was a sensitive topic for the listener, one that could easily offend.

That’s why he was being extremely cautious.

When Haejin spoke as carefully as possible while gauging Beomwoo’s reaction, Beomwoo’s expression, unsurprisingly, was not good.

Beomwoo frowned, his lips twitching, before speaking with an effort to remain calm.

“That’s not it. I already told you I genuinely like you, Haejin. It’s not that I suddenly started liking you; I’ve liked you all along. I know my past actions make it hard to believe, but this isn’t sudden.”

“That’s not what I mean! I believe you feel like you like me.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“But… It seems to me you might be mistaking your feelings…”

Even as Beomwoo pleaded with a look of suffocating frustration, begging Haejin to believe his sincerity, Haejin remained firm.

This man seemed like he had never properly experienced the feeling of love.

When he agreed to date him in this life, Haejin had thought, ‘He’s such an outstanding person, he must have had more romantic experience than me. He’s probably experienced a lot.’

But upon reflection, it seemed this man had never truly loved anyone before.

Although Beomwoo claimed to have liked him since their past life but realized it late, even that didn’t sound entirely convincing.

Now, it seemed clear he was mistaking the palpitations, obsession, and fear stemming from PTSD for love.

Beomwoo wasn’t lying to deceive him, but a mistaken feeling couldn’t become genuine love.

Haejin was someone who could be overwhelmingly happy just receiving the kind, affectionate treatment Beomwoo gave now.

In his past life, he would have been happy just to be noticed by him; now, Beomwoo treated him with overflowing care, as if he were precious.

So, Haejin could have pretended not to know about Beomwoo’s mistaken feelings and lived with it.

But he couldn’t pretend not to know if Beomwoo was mentally unwell, and that wasn’t the right path for either of them.

Haejin needed someone who would truly love him, and Beomwoo needed someone who could teach him what love was.

Seeing Haejin speak with such conviction despite his words, Beomwoo’s expression twisted.

He didn’t seem angry at Haejin’s distrustful attitude, but rather deep in thought.

“Ha…”

Beomwoo stared at him for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

Even though he had said he would do anything for Haejin, Haejin still felt awkward because his words and suggestion could have been hurtful.

Even though he knew he didn’t need to worry about Beomwoo’s feelings in this situation, it was an unavoidable instinct.

As Haejin remained silent, unable to say anything, Beomwoo, who had been lost in troubled thought, broke the silence in a low voice.

“If it’s proven that I’m not clinging to you because of PTSD… will you believe me?”

“……Huh? What do you mean?”

“If I get examined, won’t it show whether I’m experiencing PTSD or not? I’m asking if you’ll believe me once I prove I’m not clinging to you because of something like that.”

“…….”

Believe him?

Haejin was at a loss for words at Beomwoo’s question.

Belief aside, even if his attitude had changed, he was ultimately the same person from their past life.

That couldn’t be possible.

Still, feeling that Beomwoo’s question was meaningless since he was so convinced, Haejin realized that not answering ‘I’ll believe you if it’s proven’ wouldn’t harm him.

In fact, Beomwoo would lose even the chance to stay by his side temporarily and also wouldn’t receive treatment for a potential mental health issue.

But perhaps because of a lingering sense of attachment… Now that he knew Beomwoo might be suffering mentally because of him, it was hard to just let it go.

After a moment’s thought, Haejin reluctantly answered.

“If you get tested and it shows that’s not the case… If the results say there’s no problem at all… then I’ll believe that all your actions until now were because you liked me.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Haejin answered directly to Beomwoo’s question, which seemed to seek confirmation.

Since it was impossible anyway, Haejin spoke plainly.

Beomwoo’s furrowed brow relaxed.

He nodded with a face that seemed to think he had a chance.

“Alright. I’ll get examined.”

“……You mustn’t lie or manipulate the results during the examination.”

“I won’t. If you distrust me that much, you can accompany me as a guardian during the examination.”

“No, it’s not that I don’t trust you…”

Haejin trailed off awkwardly at Beomwoo’s confident demeanor.

Seeing Beomwoo acting so self-assured, Haejin, despite his own conviction, felt strangely unsettled, thinking, ‘My choice… is correct, right?’

He had subtly mentioned his concern about potential manipulation, but far from being offended, Beomwoo acted even more confidently, saying he had no reason to do such a thing.

He seemed to not even consider the possibility of having PTSD and was so self-assured because he genuinely believed he liked Haejin.

Belatedly, Haejin thought it would be difficult for Beomwoo to tell a doctor that they were married in a past life and that he had experienced his spouse’s death.

That might make an accurate diagnosis difficult.

But after a moment’s thought, Haejin gave up thinking further.

While some level of fabrication might be necessary—since telling the complete truth about their past life might get him diagnosed with delusional disorder—Beomwoo likely wouldn’t undergo the examination with outright lies.

If Haejin was that suspicious, he could simply accompany him into the examination room.

“I’ll prove definitively that I like you, Haejin.”

“……”

“We’ve learned a lot today, and you look tired. Let’s rest for now.”

While Haejin was lost in thought, Beomwoo ended the conversation, perhaps thinking they had made enough progress or because Haejin looked too exhausted.

Haejin was already physically battered, and now this flood of bad news had left him mentally drained and weary.

Haejin answered with a look and closed his eyes.

His body was so tired he could fall asleep instantly, but the moment he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, his mind flooded with thoughts.

Back when he didn’t know Beomwoo was a regressor, even after being hit-and-run, he had thought positively—that things were different from his past life, that his choices were gradually changing his fate.

But now, that optimism sank into darkness.

Learning that Beomwoo was a regressor like him made his entire life so far feel like a trick, filling him with resentment and betrayal.

He wanted to just hate Beomwoo outright, but even in this situation, he found himself concerned that Beomwoo might be mentally unwell… He hated that part of himself.

…Soon, his connection with Beomwoo would be completely severed.

The end of their current relationship was clearly in sight.

Once Haejin was discharged and stepped out of Beomwoo’s shadow, and once Beomwoo overcame his PTSD and realized his feelings for Haejin weren’t love… After that, Haejin’s life would truly change.

The plan he had made when he first regressed—to live anew without any connection to Beomwoo—would finally be realized.

It felt like the heart that decided to trust him had been toyed with, and the betrayal swelled as memories of their pleasant time in Busan just days ago surfaced.

However, at least it had become clear when he could start anew, and he no longer needed to doubt or wonder why Beomwoo was being so good to him.

Haejin thought he could now let go without any lingering attachments and forcefully settled his heart, trying to sleep.