It’s the worst situation.
If she keeps trying to stimulate the lost memories of her past through my existence, could it be that her lost memories are coming back to her?
I wasn’t completely unprepared for this.
I boldly took advantage of the original setting to survive, but I didn’t know what might happen in a long battle. I was worried. I just hoped it wouldn’t happen.
But who would have thought her memories would resurface so quickly after just a few days?
“I see. Sometimes memories from childhood that we forget can suddenly come back. Do you remember anything else?”
Instead of searching for the best response to the suddenly faced situation, I decided to just observe for now.
How much do you remember? Just spill it already.
“I heard a voice in my dream.”
“A voice?”
“The voice of my mom, wiping my sweat and holding my hand while worrying about me.”
She placed her hand on her chest as if to engrave the precious memory she regained into her heart.
But that’s something parents do for their little ones, right? I played the role of a big brother diligently last night.
There’s still not enough information.
If I try to act like I know something here and it doesn’t match her memory, I’ll just become a split version of Kang Yoon-ho.
Nothing more? If there is, say it.
My mouth feels dry.
As I waited, listening to her words, she opened her mouth again.
“I heard a voice outside. A little boy’s voice.”
No way! Why would you hear such a voice?! You should have concentrated on your mom’s voice!
This is a big problem.
The owner of that voice isn’t me, of course. If she saw the owner of the voice in her dream, she could become suspicious of me.
‘You said you were close, so why does another kid appear in your dream?’
What should I say?
‘Sohee, you must’ve been two-timing from childhood. And now you confess? No wonder you couldn’t remember your big brother. To you, big brother was just a passerby.’
If I say that, she’ll probably make me walk on all fours from tomorrow.
I need to set up a safety net quickly.
“I don’t remember when, but I’ve been to Sohee’s house because you were sick. Wasn’t it your big brother you saw in your dream?”
If it’s not a dream, I’ll just claim it’s me.
If she says it was someone else, I’ll just spin it that Cheon So-hee played with another boy.
Sohee, in fact, your big brother was your second.
“I didn’t see his face. I only heard the voice.”
“What did he say?”
“Outside, he said, ‘Are you okay, Sohee? Please, Sohee.’ The voice of a worried little boy.”
Huh?
Could it be…
“It seems that the one in your dream was indeed your big brother. Big Brother was the one who brought some candy when Sohee was sick.”
I said it smoothly with a nostalgic tone.
“I think I heard something was brought, but… I can’t remember beyond that.”
Cheon So-hee frowned as if trying to remember the dream again, but it seemed she couldn’t recall anything.
“I was worried about sick Sohee all night, and the next day, the candy was what I brought, hoping it would cheer her up.”
“I don’t remember.”
Cheon So-hee shook her head slowly, as if she wanted to treasure the little memory she regained, placing her hand on her chest and closing her eyes quietly.
I smiled at her, who had her eyes closed, as if to say, “Aren’t you impressive?”
I escaped by a hair’s breadth.
Who would’ve thought she could fabricate memories.
It seems what she had was a kind of lucid dream.
Perhaps a child watched a horror movie before bed, and then, in the dream, the murderer from the movie appeared. They say that kind of story happens often.
Or maybe a college student got so hooked on an idol group, searching for fan cams all week long, that the idol showed up in their dream.
Who would’ve thought something fantastical like this would happen to me. A moment before thinking “This ends here!”, waking up and screaming.
Cheon So-hee must’ve had such a lucid dream.
Last night, she must have been mentally weakened while bound by some curious ropes. Thanks to that, the fake memories I spoke of before she slept intruded into her hardened mind.
Having fallen asleep immediately after hearing my story, she must’ve dreamed of something related to my actions and words.
Wiping her sweat and holding her hand became her mother, while the past story transformed into the voice of a child.
If it were someone else, they might have shrugged off those memories as mere dreams. However, since she had no memory, she mistook a simple dream for lost past memories.
I thought it was a big crisis, but it turned out to be a big gain.
“I think I’m finally starting to remember the real big brother.”
I spoke to her, who had her eyes closed, contemplating the memories.
I mustn’t miss this opportunity.
Kang Yoon-ho is Cheon So-hee’s big brother.
It’s time to stamp that confirmation hard.
“I only heard the voice and you got the candy wrong.”
No, this girl.
It’s not wrong. You just didn’t remember.
Aren’t you going to admit it already?
If you had called it tteokbokki instead of candy before sleeping, would you remember?
“Haa. That’s true.”
I sighed dramatically in front of her to feign frustration.
“But…”
“Huh?”
“Thank you. For helping me remember.”
She suddenly bowed her head towards me. The first time I received gratitude from her.
“No, Sohee, you don’t need to thank me for this.”
As I panicked, Cheon So-hee lifted her head again.
“Keep this. It’s yours from now on.”
Cheon So-hee extended the rope she had set aside to me.
“Sohee, you’re the one using this, right?”
Why should I be the one to keep this troublesome thing? I waved my hands in a dismissive manner.
“I’ll only use it when I sleep with you.”
“Ugh.”
If you want to live, you better hold onto it yourself. Is that it?
“I’ll keep it until the memories of you come back.”
“I hope your memories of me come back soon.”
I said it with an unwilling expression while reaching out for the rope, although it was insincere.
“I… I hope so too.”
As Cheon So-hee handed over the black rope, she looked up at me instead of my hand.
Did the morning sunlight make me mistake what I saw?
For some reason, her smile, filled with the joy of finding precious memories, seemed to be looking at me.
————–
Time passed after that.
Since the day she was bound by the black rope, the glances she sent my way had softened considerably.
The fake memory must’ve triggered some change in her heart.
If I could deepen that fake memory with the black rope, might I not be able to dramatically improve our relationship? I tried subtly a few times but soon gave up.
Unlike the first day I was bound, from the second day onward, she wasn’t mentally incapacitated, so there seemed to be no effect. Plus, I was fearful that continuing it might revive her real past memories.
To be honest, it’s a little frustrating.
If only we could talk about holding hands as we entered Sungkyunkwan together after growing up, or if I could change the ending of the sad story Sohee told me into a happy one and exchange token items… I wanted to include those iconic promise scenarios.
While one fake memory has proven quite effective, since that day, although she still holds some suspicion toward me, she no longer maintains a razor-sharp edge with everything.
As the time together grew longer, some slight changes came to our relationship.
“Yoon-ho. Order this.”
“Yoon-ho. Follow me.”
The way Cheon So-hee called me upgraded from ‘you’ to ‘Yoon-ho.’
Although she still doesn’t recognize me as her big brother, it seems there’s something awkward about constantly calling me ‘you.’
Thanks to the improvement in our relationship, it wasn’t a tense situation, like riding a sword every single day anymore.
—-
“The Joseon person storyteller is coming!”
“I’m here to listen again!”
“Hurry up and go up!”
As our relationship improved, the storytelling also went smoothly.
Even without major events like the first few days, there were no fails in my daily routine.
At this point, it seems unlikely that I’d have to return to a shabby house with leaking roofs and rats scurrying around while I’m sleeping.
Doing storyteller work like this led to fun things too.
“Storyteller. You look handsome up close. Take this.”
A beautiful lady in silk clothes praised Hamurin and handed me money.
“Come see me every time you come down.”
She gave me another smile as I was about to go back to the stage.
I had no reason to refuse.
“You’re quite the talker.”
“You’re tall too.”
“You’re looking good up close too.”
Though her whispers were soft, they resonated clearly in my ears.
Although the lady continued with embarrassing words, since she kept offering money, I collected it every time I went down.
“That’s all for today, thank you!”
“Wooow!”
“It was fun!”
After finishing the story and bowing to the crowd, I stepped down from the stage.
‘Where’s Sohee?’
She vanishes each time, making it hard to find her.
“Master.”
As I searched for Cheon So-hee, the beautiful lady who had talked to me earlier approached me.
“Oh! You’re the one who praised me earlier. What brings you here?”
Hearing the title ‘Master’ after a long time felt quite pleasant to me, one often called a barbarian, storyteller, or at times even a Koryo pawn.
Although she wasn’t as beautiful as Cheon So-hee, it still made me smile that such a beauty was showing me kindness.
“Um, would you be able to share the story you told today at my house?”
The lady flashed a smile as if she was teasing me again.
“Ah! Are you inviting a storyteller to your feast?”
Is there a feast in a wealthy household? Performing at a rich family event would be a welcome offer.
“No.”
The lady suddenly approached me, within an embrace’s reach.
Is it because the height difference made it feel so? A pleasant aroma wafted from the top of her head.
“Huh?”
“Hehe. I just personally want to invite you for my own reasons.”
The lady flashed a charming smile, lightly grazing my chest with her fingers. The touch of her nails running across my chest sent a strangely pleasant chill down my spine.
Oh.
Could it be…
“If it’s because you have elderly parents…”
No, calm down. Good fortune like this doesn’t just randomly happen.
No matter how tempting, ladies always act formally around me.
She silenced my lips with the finger that had been stroking my chest.
“You’re adorable. But my parents aren’t around.”
Really? Could it be?
Is this happening to me?
“Sister, you’ll be misunderstood like this.”
This is the first time in my life encountering someone so proactively flirting right off the bat, and I’m feeling flustered.
“It’s not a misunderstanding… Hehe. If you find it burdensome, how about dinner with me?”
Dinner sounds good.
Suddenly, thoughts of romance and marriage with this beauty flashed through my mind as a first step.
First, I’d order food that makes little noise in a cozy atmosphere and start with light jokes, stepping into an initial bonding phase.
If the mood stayed good, maybe we’d enjoy a second round of drinks.
I’d intentionally choose a place with dim lighting, have a drink, a little touch here and there, and maybe even slip my waist around.
Then if the tension built up between us…
“Yoon-ho. What are you doing right now?”
But my uplifting imagination was shattered by a chill voice from behind.
