Yeonwoo entered the hospital the secretary had told him about. As he made his way toward the familiar lobby of Juseok University Hospital, a staff member approached and stopped him, saying running wasn’t allowed here.
“I’m sorry.”
Yeonwoo bowed his head, panting for breath. Then he looked around for Sanggyun, whom he was supposed to meet in the lobby.
A car accident? What do you mean, a car accident? If he’s hospitalized, was it serious? When did it happen, and where is he hurt?!
—Please calm down. It was a traffic accident, but fortunately, it was just some minor bruising. He’s hospitalized only for observation and testing in case of any delayed symptoms. His phone was damaged during the crash, which is likely why he couldn’t contact you.
If even the secretary described it that way, then it really must’ve been a minor injury. Hearing her composed explanation helped ease some of the shock, but the fact that Chahyun had been in an accident still weighed heavily on him.
He really didn’t seem right in the head. When he called me, I honestly thought he’d gone insane.
Yeonwoo was especially uneasy because of what Sanggyun had said before.
What if the accident had happened because of the sleeping pills? And on top of that, Chahyun probably hadn’t even been sleeping properly while obsessively searching for him. His condition must’ve been a wreck.
In the end, it all felt like his fault.
Yeonwoo was startled when his vision began to blur, and he instinctively reached up to his eyes. Even when he found out Chahyun was going to marry someone else, even when they broke up—he hadn’t cried. But now, the tears came.
“Yeonwoo! Over here—this way.”
As he was wiping his tears with the back of his hand, Sanggyun, who’d gotten his message, came toward him. Yeonwoo pulled his hat lower, trying not to show he’d been crying.
“Hyung, how is Chahyun? Is he awake right now?”
“What’s with the mask? You sick or something? I barely recognized you.”
“I have my reasons. How’s Baek Chahyun?”
“Jeez, you’re always in such a rush. His family’s been in and out of there nonstop, meddling in everything. He’s finally getting a bit of rest now.”
“Oh.”
“He’ll be happy to hear you came. But why’d you take so long? He’s been here for days.”
Sanggyun gestured for Yeonwoo to follow as he led him toward the hospital rooms.
“…I only found out today. That he was hurt.”
“What? Baek Chahyun didn’t tell you?”
“……”
“Huh. Maybe he didn’t want you to worry. But that’s not like him….”
Yeonwoo hung his head as they stepped into the elevator together. Honestly, it was his own doing. He was the one who said they should break up. From Chahyun’s perspective, there was no reason to contact him just because he got injured.
Still, the fact that he hadn’t known about the hospitalization at all—it was a shock. He had acted like he’d made a clean break, but maybe he hadn’t let go of his feelings for Chahyun as much as he wanted to believe.
“Or maybe he couldn’t bring himself to call because you broke up with him? Knowing his usual personality, he probably really wanted to contact you.”
“How did the accident happen?”
“He didn’t see a car coming out of an alley and swerved to avoid it, ended up hitting a utility pole. But it was a light hit—he’s fine.”
“God… that’s a relief. Really…”
“His family’s just being extra cautious, so they kept him here for a few days. Normally this would’ve been a one-night stay.”
They walked down the hallway and stopped in front of a sign that read VIP Room. Sanggyun gestured for Yeonwoo to wait and went inside first.
“Baek Chahyun. I’m coming in, alright? Hurry up and see who’s out here—hey! What the hell are you doing?”
Yeonwoo, still waiting just outside, leaned forward in surprise, thinking something was wrong.
But Sanggyun was completely blocking his view, so he couldn’t see Chahyun’s face.
“Why are you getting dressed? You’re supposed to be discharged tomorrow—”
“Forget it. I’m not even fully healed, so what’s the point of staying another day. I want to leave today.”
At least his voice sounded normal. Yeonwoo relaxed slightly, blinking back tears threatening to rise again.
“Are you a doctor now, or what?”
“Too many annoying people coming by to visit.”
“Well, good timing then. Yeonwoo’s out here.”
“Yeonwoo?”
At those words, Yeonwoo flinched, then slowly stepped inside the room.
Chahyun was fastening the buttons on his shirt and jacket, with a small bandage stuck to his forehead.
As Yeonwoo stepped into the room, their eyes met. Chahyun looked a bit pale.
It was supposed to be a minor accident, but seeing the dried blood on the bandage made Yeonwoo’s stomach drop.
“You—you should’ve told me you were hurt.”
Now that they were face to face, all the worry, hurt, and relief that had been building up inside Yeonwoo surged up at once.
Even as Yeonwoo approached and stood in front of him, Chahyun continued buttoning his jacket and silently looked down at him. Not realizing the coldness in that gaze, Yeonwoo reached out toward his bandaged forehead.
“I kept calling you, and you wouldn’t answer—I was so worried—”
But before his hand could touch him, Chahyun leaned his head back and looked toward Sanggyun.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Is this your friend?”
Chahyun pointed at Yeonwoo and furrowed his brow. Sanggyun stared at him, not understanding.
“…What?”
“I said—is this your friend?”
Even though he was pointing at Yeonwoo, he kept his gaze on Sanggyun.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned ice cold.
“What are you talking about? It’s Yeonwoo—Hong Yeonwoo. You didn’t recognize him because of the mask?”
Sanggyun chuckled awkwardly, thinking it was a joke, and patted Chahyun’s shoulder. But Chahyun remained expressionless, not even a hint of amusement in his eyes.
“Who’s that supposed to be?”
“…What the hell are you saying?”
Yeonwoo was completely thrown off. Was this a prank? Or was he still mad at him?
But despite all the possibilities running through his head, Chahyun just kept staring at Sanggyun with that same blank expression, like he was waiting for an explanation.
“Yeonwoo? He’s the guy you were… dating…”
Sanggyun looked just as confused. He glanced between the two of them, unsure if this was a joke or something serious.
“My boyfriend?”
“Well, I mean… not anymore, you broke up, but… Are you serious right now?”
“First I’ve heard of it.”
Chahyun tilted his head slightly, as if thinking something over, then looked back at Yeonwoo.
Because of the hat pulled low and the mask covering most of his face, only his brows and eyes were visible. Chahyun stared at them closely.
For a brief moment, something like curiosity flickered in his eyes—but then even that faded into disinterest. He jerked his chin toward Sanggyun, as if to say, explain this.
“I dated this thing?”
Even after saying it, he looked no closer to remembering. His gaze grew darker, more strained.
“If this is some kind of joke, it’s not funny.”
***
“When they ran the tests, they said there was no problem with his brain. So how can you call it memory loss? That doesn’t make sense.”
“He remembered the moment of the crash clearly. And when his family and acquaintances came, he talked to them without any issues. There were signs of a mild concussion, but he recovered quickly.”
“Then how is it possible… that I’m the only one he doesn’t remember?”
Yeonwoo pressed Sanggyun for answers, desperate for any explanation of what had just happened. Sanggyun hesitated for a few seconds, then spoke.
“Maybe there was an impact to the hippocampus or temporal lobe when the accident happened…”
“You said it was a minor concussion!”
“We’ll have to run more tests. But honestly, it’s so out of the blue, I don’t even know what to tell you.”
Yeonwoo buried his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead with both palms. Sanggyun let out a deep sigh—he was just as frustrated.
“…Sometimes when someone goes through something extremely traumatic, even a light physical shock can cause memory to vanish. It’s kind of a defense mechanism—when the stress is too much to handle.”
Yeonwoo anxiously wiped his face with trembling hands.
He still couldn’t believe it.
Chahyun… had lost his memory because of the accident.
And out of everyone—he could only not remember Hong Yeonwoo.
Even after seeing it with his own eyes, Yeonwoo wanted to deny it. It almost seemed more plausible to believe that Sanggyun and Chahyun were playing a cruel joke.
“Even minor brain damage can show up in a huge variety of symptoms… This is probably one of those aftereffects.”
“…His memory. When will it come back?”
“That depends on the person. There’s no way to predict it.”
They sat across from each other in the consultation room, a desk between them. For a long moment, neither could say anything. They just stared at each other.
Finally, Yeonwoo parted his lips, voice heavy.
“What if… what if the memory loss is a side effect of overdosing on sleeping pills?”
He couldn’t help but ask.
Because deep down, he was terrified that this was his fault.