Chapter 15

What Exactly is a Childhood Friend?

“A theme for us?”

Hyun Woo didn’t understand why he had such a thought. After all, the only commonality between them was that they both suffered from amnesia.

In the story, both husband and wife had lost their memories, but it wasn’t due to an accident—it was because of some suspicious drug causing temporary memory loss.

Of course…

“Hehe.”

As I watched Chaeha hugging the photo and grinning, any intention to tease her vanished.

‘Did she use to walk around not smiling so as not to enchant every passerby?’

I was lost in thought staring at Chaeha’s smiling face when—

Gurgle!

A cute sound echoed.

“Are you hungry?”

“…Yeah.”

We had left earlier without eating anything, worried about being late for the reservation. The only thing we consumed was a drink at the café, so it was natural that our stomachs would be growling by now.

“Then let’s eat something nearby before heading back.”

Hyun Woo pulled out his phone.

There were plenty of places to eat nearby, but there were so many options that it felt overwhelming to just pick one randomly.

‘If we’re going to eat, it should be something delicious.’

While searching for nearby good restaurants—

Gooch goochoo.

Chaeha tugged at Hyun Woo’s hand.

“Hyun Woo, I want to eat that.”

“A street vendor?”

Looking closely at what Chaeha pointed to—

“There are plenty of places selling tteokbokki around here besides this one.”

They sold various fried snacks along with tteokbokki. Though it seemed unnecessary to eat street food, still—

“Yeah, I want that one.”

Since Chaeha wanted it, what could he say?

“If you want it, we’ll eat it.”

It had been quite a while since they’d visited a street vendor booth together.

“Oh my~ What a cute couple!”

The owner greeted them with a big smile upon seeing Hyun Woo and Chaeha.

In the past, Hyun Woo would have corrected her, saying they weren’t a couple, but perhaps he decided not to care about other people’s opinions anymore. Or maybe he didn’t mind being mistaken for a couple?

‘This person will only see us once, so…’

Hyun Woo greeted her without much concern.

“Hello.”

“My goodness, but why does the young lady look like that? Did she get hurt?”

Seeing Chaeha’s arm in a cast, the auntie became concerned.

“Ahaha… Yeah, there was an accident.”

“Oh dear, that must hurt!”

Chaeha awkwardly smiled and looked at Hyun Woo intently.

‘Didn’t she just call us a couple?’

Hyun Woo wouldn’t have just sat there if she had said that, right?

One clear memory Chaeha retained was—

– We’re not dating. We’re just childhood friends.

Hyun Woo always made sure to clarify this to everyone else.

“Why is tteokbokki these days 3000 won? Strange.”

Yet now, he was looking over the menu without any hesitation. Had something changed during the time he lost his memory?

“What do you want to eat, Chae Ah?”

“…”

“Chae Ah?”

“Huh? Oh, let’s just go with what we usually order.”

She had been deep in thought and responded belatedly.

In fact, she had suggested coming here because it felt nostalgic—not necessarily because she craved tteokbokki.

‘Why did it feel nostalgic? …Ah!’

Chaeha snapped her fingers as if realizing something.

“Didn’t you like tteokbokki more than me?”

“That’s old news.”

“Not anymore?”

“Well, it’s still true now actually…”

Hyun Woo scratched his neck, and for some reason, he looked kind of adorable doing it, making Chaeha giggle.

“Why are you laughing like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

With a skeptical glance, Hyun Woo turned his head back to the menu board.

“So, one serving of tteokbokki, one serving of blood sausage, and one serving of assorted fried foods. Are you very hungry?”

“A little? Can we make it two servings of tteokbokki?”

“That’s not impossible. Let’s place our order.”

“Sure thing~”

After finalizing their order, Hyun Woo placed it. Since everything was already prepared due to the nature of the street vendor, the food came out almost immediately.

Saucy tteokbokki, chewy-looking blood sausages, and crispy fried snacks lined the table.

“Uh, we didn’t order this…”

“I thought you kids might like it. It’s on the house, on the house!”

The auntie handed them each a fish cake skewer as a complimentary treat.

“Thank you.”

“Hehe, you two are the future of the nation! Eat well!”

Though it seemed like the auntie firmly believed they were a couple,

since they’d already received the service, they decided to let the misunderstanding stand.

Ka-chunk.

Picking up a piece of tteokbokki with a skewer and popping it into her mouth, the sweet yet subtle spiciness spread across her tongue.

Next to her, Chaeha also picked up a piece of tteok and began munching on it.

“Mmm, it’s delicious.”

Her smile made anyone watching feel happy too.

“Is it the taste you expected?”

“Yeah, didn’t we used to eat a lot of tteokbokki?”

“How do you know? We ate a lot of it in front of school when we were in elementary school.”

“I figured you would.”

Even though no specific memory came to mind, Chaeha felt certain about it. Even if her brain forgot, her tongue clearly remembered the taste of street tteokbokki.

Chaeha poked the blood sausage and asked:

“Back then, did we eat this lavishly?”

“How could penniless elementary schoolers afford that? We split a thousand-won cup of tteokbokki… Well, to be precise, I got mine stolen.”

Instead, Hyun Woo recalled a memory.

– Ahh~

– What are you doing?

– I want some too!

– I know that. Why don’t you buy it with your own money?

– I just want one bite. Can’t you give me one?

– Sigh… I’ll get some later.

Back then, Chaeha didn’t hide her feelings. Whenever they ate tteokbokki in front of the school, Chaeha would wait with her tiny mouth open until he gave her a bite.

“If you add up all the tteokbokki you stole from me, it must come to at least 100,000 won.”

“Huh? Did I eat that much?”

“Yeah. Every time you took it, I really wanted to punch you…”

“Wait, isn’t that more than 100,000 won if you count what you ate too?”

“…You’re right.”

Come to think of it, she was correct. How could something so spicy and sweet be worth spending money on back then? Reflecting on it now, it seemed a bit wasteful, but—

‘It was delicious, so it’s fine.’

Young Hyun Woo had been satisfied.

“You can pay me back later. Whether it’s the tteokbokki you stole or the rent you owe for living here.”

“Rent doesn’t really need to be paid back though.”

“But the tteokbokki does?”

“Of course.”

“Isn’t that usually the opposite?”

Thanks to this, Chaeha and he had been able to stay together until now.

Munching quietly…

‘It’s still delicious.’

The tteokbokki tasted especially sweet today.

* * *

After finishing their trip down memory lane—which wasn’t exactly a date—they headed home.

“It’s already getting dark.”

“We started late.”

The streets grew dim, and their hands, clasped tightly together, only showed under the streetlights.

The way back was quite long due to their slow pace.

Supporting Chaeha slowed them down, but—

“Today was really fun.”

“I’m glad to hear that. How about your memory?”

“Some things are fuzzy, others aren’t… I’m still not sure.”

“Don’t rush yourself. You can take your time finding them again.”

Thanks to this, they spent the day leisurely walking and chatting.

“Will you come out again next week?”

“Probably. Once midterms start, we won’t have much time.”

“Ah, midterms…”

Chaeha suddenly remembered something she had completely forgotten.

“Will I do well?”

“You’ll remember everything once you see the questions.”

“That’s true.”

Normally, trying to recall concepts brought nothing to mind, but strangely, solving problems came naturally. Still, worry lingered.

‘What if we end up going to different universities?’

It wasn’t about her grades but rather the fear of not attending the same university as Hyun Woo.

Hyun Woo glanced at Chaeha’s expression and said nonchalantly:

“You’re smart, so you’ll be fine. You solved the escape room puzzle pretty well earlier.”

“Hyun Woo…”

Chaeha’s lips curved into a soft smile, melted by the rare pure compliment.

“Why are you feeling so warm today?”

“What did I do?”

“Hehe…”

Chaeha moved closer.

“Isn’t this too close?”

Despite saying that, Hyun Woo didn’t step back. He was like a large dog who growls but stays put when petted.

As Chaeha wondered why he was acting this way today—

‘Is it because people kept calling us a couple?’

This possibility naturally arose.

Today, they were oddly mistaken for a couple many times.

The escape room staff and the street vendor auntie both thought Hyun Woo and Chaeha were a couple.

“…Isn’t it obvious? We’re wearing matching outfits.”

“Huh?”

Only now did she realize they had coordinated their outfits.

“Hmm? But…”

The question followed quickly.

“Do you not mind if people mistake us for a couple?”

“What?”

“Didn’t you hate it when people assumed we were dating? You used to glare and deny it when kids asked if we were together.”

“I never hated it. I didn’t glare either… Well, did I? Anyway, we weren’t a couple back then, so…”.

Watching Hyun Woo fumble over his words uncharacteristically, Eun Bi’s words came to mind.

– If Do Hyun Woo confesses first, would you still want to remain childhood friends?

A question that challenged the premise that they must remain childhood friends. At the time, it felt overwhelming, but now she could slowly contemplate it.

What would happen if she dated Hyun Woo?

Going to cafes together, watching movies, visiting amusement parks, shopping, taking walks, playing games…

‘Aren’t we already doing all those things couples do?’

The more she thought about it, the stranger it felt. They were definitely childhood friends, so they did all these activities together. Then what’s the difference between being childhood friends and being a couple?

Lost in deep thought, they soon arrived in front of her house.

“Umm…”

Standing still, Chaeha closed her eyes and hummed softly.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going inside?”

Stopping suddenly at the door, Hyun Woo couldn’t help but feel curious.

“Hyun Woo, no matter how I think about it, it feels strange.”

“What’s strange all of a sudden?”

Raising her eyelids, Chaeha faced Hyun Woo with a serious expression.

“What exactly is a childhood friend?”

She threw out a question she couldn’t resolve alone.