Chapter 14

It felt like a theme specifically designed for us.

I only left the house after breaking a sweat in the morning.

“Isn’t escape room something where you have to walk around a lot?”

“I deliberately chose the one that requires the least movement.”

“Oh, you’re quite the clever one.”

Today’s date course… no, the place selected to help retrieve memories was an escape room café.

“An escape room club… I don’t think I suggested we go in first, did I?”

Chae Ah and Hyun Woo were members of the escape room club.

Of course, there was no way their school would allow a club that didn’t help with university admissions.

“Didn’t you say you’d go in first when I set it up?”

It was a free club established by Hyun Woo as the head. Since he intended to enter university through coursework and had the grades to back it up, this choice was possible.

“Is it going to be fun?”

“It will definitely be fun.”

Hyun Woo wasn’t baselessly confident.

When they reached the age where playing at playgrounds became less appealing…

– Chae Ah, there’s this thing called an escape room café. Doesn’t it sound fun?

– What is it?

It was a newly discovered hobby after always playing games at home.

Hyun Woo enjoyed solving puzzles and problems, while Chae Ah liked looking at gadgets and interior designs, which is why this hobby has continued until now. Despite the slight expense, it wasn’t really an issue for Hyun Woo.

“We have some time left, so let’s sit for a bit before heading over.”

Hyun Woo pointed at the café nearby. Thinking they might be late, they hurried out, but ended up arriving earlier than expected, thus needing to pass the time.

“Welcome~”

The part-timer greeted them warmly with a smile as they entered.

Hyun Woo simply nodded briefly and looked at Chae Ah.

“What do you want to drink?”

“What did I used to like?”

“Americano.”

“Then I’ll have that.”

“Okay.”

Hyun Woo went to the counter to order the drinks.

“One iced Americano and one peach iced tea, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Please wait a moment~”

After receiving the vibration bell and sitting down, Chae Ah immediately asked her question.

“Don’t you drink coffee?”

“Coffee doesn’t sit well with me, and I don’t like bitter things anyway.”

“Now that you mention it, that does sound familiar.”

Woom-

“I’ll be right back.”

It seemed pointless to give them a vibration bell when the drinks arrived almost immediately after sitting down.

He brought the tray with the drinks and handed Chae Ah her coffee.

“Try it once. Your taste might have changed.”

“Alright.”

Tsoop-

Chae Ah took a sip through the straw.

A slightly bitter yet clean feeling accompanied it.

– I bought you coffee, Chae Ah.

– Huh? Thank you! How did you know I wanted coffee?

– I just happened to see it and thought of you.

A fragment of memory surfaced.

‘That’s right. Hyun Woo sometimes bought me coffee.’

Even though he disliked coffee himself, whenever he saw a café, he’d remember Chae Ah and buy her an Americano.

“Hm…”

A carefree laugh escaped her involuntarily due to the pleasant nostalgia mixed with the taste of coffee.

“…What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“Nothing. This is really good.”

“Really? I can’t tell much about coffee flavors.”

“You’re still too young, Hyun Woo.”

Hyun Woo flinched.

– Exactly, what does coffee even taste like?

– You’re the one who bought it, so why are you suddenly hinting at something?

– No, I’m genuinely curious. It just tastes bitter.

– Haha. You’re still too young, Hyun Woo, if you don’t know how coffee tastes.

The same conversation from the past was repeating itself.

Recalling the past once more,

and again in the present, Hyun Woo chuckled while brushing his fringe aside.

“What? Can’t move anywhere without me?”

“Where wouldn’t I go without you?”

“…Tsoop.”

Having run out of things to say, Hyun Woo silently sipped his iced tea.

Indeed, compared to coffee, the straightforwardly refreshing and sweet iced tea suited his taste better.

* * *

After spending some time at the café, they arrived at the escape room café.

“Did you make a reservation?”

“For two under the name Hyun Woo.”

“Just a moment… Is your reservation for ‘Retrieve Lost Memories’ at 3 PM?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Alright, please store your belongings and take a seat. I’ll explain the details.”

After confirming the reservation,

while storing their outerwear in the cabinet,

“‘Retrieve Lost Memories,’ huh?”

Chae Ah whispered into Hyun Woo’s ear.

“Is this theme made specifically for us?”

At the unexpectedly innocent question, Hyun Woo chuckled.

“Could be. It’s just a coincidence. I chose the one that required the least movement, and it turned out like this.”

Hyun Woo was also slightly surprised when making the reservation.

Since the name of the low-activity theme was ‘Retrieve Lost Memories,’

he booked it without even checking the story, drawn by the name alone.

After storing their belongings and sitting down,

the staff kindly began the explanation.

“Are both of you new to escape rooms?”

“No, we’ve done it a few times.”

“In that case, I’ll skip explaining locks and devices and go straight to the story.”

From the side, Chae Ah blinked and looked at Hyun Woo.

‘But isn’t this my first time?’

Interpreting her gaze,

‘Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything to you.’

Hyun Woo blinked back to convey his intentions.

In the meantime, the staff brought over a book containing the story.

“You find yourselves locked in a room upon regaining consciousness. You’ve forgotten how you got here and even who you are.”

Hmm.

Chae Ah shivered involuntarily, feeling slightly pricked.

“Your goal is to find clues, figure out who you are, who the person lying unconscious with you is, why you’re trapped here, and then escape! Any questions?”

“None.”

“Alright. The person holding the tablet, please come forward, and the person behind, please close your eyes and hold onto the front person’s shoulder.”

Closing his eyes, Hyun Woo held the tablet,

and Chae Ah, holding onto Hyun Woo’s shoulder, followed the staff.

Dull-kung.

The door opened, and a cool breeze hit their skin.

“I’ll knock to signal you to start. The time limit is 60 minutes.”

Kung.

Tap tap tap.

The knock sounded immediately.

Hyun Woo and Chae Ah opened their eyes simultaneously.

“Eh.”

“Eh?”

They both exclaimed at once.

Thinking the setting would be bleak since they were supposed to have lost their memories,

“It’s a living room.”

“Smaller than our room.”

“Not ours, mine.”

Surprisingly, it was an ordinary room.

As for anything unusual,

wall graffiti or a locked safe?

“What should we do here?”

“First, we need to find the initial puzzle. You can sit on the bed for a moment.”

“Got it, yuck… the bed is harder than it looks.”

Chae Ah, expecting softness, sat down and massaged her bottom.

“There’s no way they’d put a nice bed here for decoration. Does it hurt a lot?”

“No, it’s fine… hey? Isn’t this a problem?”

Shaking her head, Chae Ah lifted the blanket she had been sitting on, revealing a book with a problem written on it.

“That’s right. This seems to be the first problem.”

“I found it with my butt!”

“Please don’t shout so loudly.”

Escape room cafes surprisingly lack good soundproofing.

Holding Chae Ah’s lips with his hand, Hyun Woo started reading the problem.

“Looks like we need to log into the computer first.”

“Can you see that right away?”

“Because we’ve been to so many together.”

After finding the first problem,

the rest flowed smoothly.

“Isn’t this one supposed to be converted into numbers?”

“I just thought the same thing.”

“Liar.”

“No, really.”

Even without her memory, Chae Ah’s sharp eye caught aspects Hyun Woo hadn’t considered.

“…What is this?”

“Seems like finding a pattern. Let me see that for a second.”

Hyun Woo swiftly solved the difficult puzzles.

As described, with little activity required,

most problems could be solved while seated without much physical movement.

“Sooop…”

“Let me try, Hyun Woo.”

“Hold on, I think I get it.”

“I think I do too.”

Thanks to this, even sitting on the bed, Chae Ah could participate in solving the puzzles together.

Until they encountered a particularly stubborn puzzle that neither could solve despite putting their heads together.

“Hmm…?”

“There must be another clue somewhere.”

“Didn’t we check everything?”

“Yeah. We’ve opened all the drawers.”

“Ah! Could it be that?”

Chae Ah noticed something and jumped off the bed.

“What is it?”

“Over there, on top of the wardrobe. Wait a sec.”

Pointing to something atop the wardrobe she hadn’t noticed before, she immediately tried to climb on a chair.

“Hey, hey, that’s dangerous. Let me do it.”

“No, I found it, so I’ll get it. Just hold the chair steady for me.”

“No…!”

Nevertheless, Chae Ah stepped onto the chair.

Hyun Woo firmly held the chair to prevent her from falling.

‘That’s why I said I’d do it.’

Looking straight ahead, he found her posterior filling his view.

Equally impressive in size as her bust, it left him unsure where to look.

“This seems to be it, Hyun Woo.”

“…Right. Get down quickly; it’s dangerous.”

Fearing potential misunderstandings, he quickly turned his head.

“Ta-da.”

Chae Ah descended proudly, completely unaware of the scene Hyun Woo had just witnessed.

“This seems to fit, Hyun Woo. Perfectly matches.”

“Oh, indeed. If we put it here… “

Hyun Woo tried hard to forget the clear lines he had seen moments ago and refocused on the problem.

* * *

“The last one should be like this.”

Dal-chak.

Although there were a few tricky parts,

they successfully escaped within 60 minutes.

“Congratulations! You managed to escape without using any hints!”

The staff clapped and provided a detailed explanation of the story.

“Since you gathered clues, you probably guessed already, but the two of you were actually lovers.”

“Hmm.”

“Isn’t that what we expected?”

It wasn’t hard to deduce their relationship.

Pictures taken together,

toothbrushes side by side in the bathroom,

there were plenty of clues indicating the couple lived together.

‘…But isn’t this similar to my own room too?’

There were photos taken with Chae Ah as a child,

and toothbrushes placed side by side in the bathroom.

While Hyun Woo experienced a sense of déjà vu,

the staff continued the explanation.

“The reason you lost consciousness was due to suspicious drugs in the drinks at a newly opened café. By leaving the room and reporting the suspicious manager, you successfully escaped.”

Clap clap clap clap.

The staff clapped again and handed over a heart-shaped whiteboard.

“Feel free to decorate it as you like, and we’ll take a commemorative photo. We’ll print it immediately, so let us know when you’re ready!”

Why not just use a regular whiteboard?

Seeing Chae Ah already pondering with the pen in hand,

he decided there was no need to overthink its significance.

“How about just writing our names?”

“Even so, we should decorate it a bit.”

“Then… “

After decorating the whiteboard together and taking a picture,

Dr-r-r-rk.

they waited for the photo to print.

“Please enjoy other themes next time.”

“Yes, goodbye.”

“We offer discounts on couple themes, so please visit again!”

“…Thank you?”

Leaving the escape room café while hearing the staff’s meaningful words,

on the way home,

Hyun Woo naturally held Chae Ah’s hand and asked,

“How was today?”

“It was super fun.”

“I knew it. What was the best part?”

“Um… the best part was…”

At Hyun Woo’s question, Chae Ah recalled the atmosphere of the room they were initially locked in.

Though smaller than the house they shared with Hyun Woo,

the vivid sense of living together was clearly represented.

“It felt like a theme specifically designed for us.”

She smiled, hugging the photo dearly.