Chapter 439: Lies (12) |
A month had passed since Kwon Oh-Jin returned from the rift.
News that humanity’s hero, who was believed to be dead, had come back alive would have shaken the world. However, Song Ha-Eun and the other women close to him all agreed to keep his return a secret. Therefore, the world didn’t flip upside down.
They only informed a handful of people with personal ties to him like a few Celestials, Baek Mu-Kang, Sakaki Ryo, and Han Jun-Man.
Everyone tried their best to restore his memories after learning he had lost them. Even Kwon Oh-Jin’s lovers had failed to bring his memories back, so expecting anyone else to succeed was unrealistic.
One ordinary morning, after all those desperate attempts had come to nothing, a delicious array of food appeared on the table.
“Ta-da! Today’s breakfast is white rice, spam, fried eggs, and seaweed!”
Every Korean would instantly recognize this ultimate combination, plated beautifully to stimulate the appetite.
“Ah… yes. Thank you as always, Miss Isabella.”
Despite the perfect meal, Kwon Oh-Jin showed no particular reaction and just sat down with an awkward smile.
“Ah… r-right.”
“And you don’t need to use formal speech with me either.”
Kwon Oh-Jin nodded stiffly like a wooden puppet on strings. “O-Okay. I-I got it.”
Isabella gently patted his rigid back. “You don’t have to act so stiff around me. I told you. You and I were lovers… Practically married, really.”
“R-Right. You did say that.”
“So please, be a little more comfortable with me! It’ll help your memories return faster.”
“Got it…”
At the mention of his memories, Kwon Oh-Jin’s expression froze for a moment. He quickly forced a faint smile and moved his spoon toward the meal that had been prepared with care.
Chomp, chomp.
He ate quickly, almost like he was shoveling food in.
Vega fluttered over to him. “Eat slowly. It’s not like someone is chasing you.”
Ever since the two Black Heavens clashed, the Law’s restrictions had weakened even more. Now. Vega could remain in her true form even on Earth. Nonetheless, she intentionally kept herself as small as a hand. After all, this form was most familiar to Kwon Oh-Jin.
Right now, all of his lovers were doing everything they could to make his environment as familiar as possible, hoping this would help his memories return.
They had left Vega’s temple and moved back into the apartment in Hapjeong.
Everything from the furniture arrangement to his bed, his clothes, and his meals had all been prepared to match his preferences before he lost his memories.
They also revisited places that left strong impressions in his past like the orphanage he grew up in and the moldy one-room apartment he once shared with Song Ha-Eun.
“This time, you said you were going to the beach you visited before?” Vega asked.
“Yes. We’re going to try visiting San Fruttuoso. A lot happened there too,” Isabella said.
Their trip to the famous vacation spot in Italy had been one of their most vivid shared memories.
“But wasn’t that place ruined by the demonic beast attack?”
“We restored it as closely as possible to how it used to be.”
Restoring the resort cost an absurd amount of money, but it had been quickly rebuilt thanks to the international relief funds and manpower pouring in. After all, the second War of Stars had taken place in Italy.
“I see. Then, I will call Riarc this time as well.”
Cassia deeply sighed and dropped her head. “If it’s San Fruttuoso… I’ll have to sit this one out.”
She couldn’t go for the sake of recreating Kwon Oh-Jin’s past experience as accurately as possible. After all, she hadn’t been part of that trip back then.
“Um… S-Sorry, Cassia.”
“Hmph. It’s fine. It’s my fault for meeting Lord Oh-Jin later than the rest of you.” Cassia pouted and mumbled under her breath, “I really wanted to show Lord Oh-Jin my swimsuit… Hehe.”
“What’s with that laugh?”
“Oh, nothing. I was just thinking… Would seeing your body, built like a cereal box, even excite him?”
“You!”
The two sisters bickered as usual.
Watching this familiar scene repeat itself for more than a month, Kwon Oh-Jin said with difficulty, “I’d like to stop now…”
“Pardon? You don’t want to go?”
“I don’t want to keep traveling around for the sake of recovering my memories.”
“W-What do you mean by that?” Vega asked.
Seeing the women’s shocked faces, Kwon Oh-Jin bit down hard on his lip. Clenching his fists, he forced the words out. “Even if we go there—!”
He slammed the table.
Bang!
“I still won’t remember anything!”
When they went to the orphanage, when they visited his old one-room apartment, he hadn’t been able to recall a single thing.
“Mr. Oh-Jin…”
“I want to remember! I want to recall everything that happened with all of you! Our moments together, our memories, our past! I want to remember it all! But—I don’t know anything. No matter how hard I try… nothing comes back.”
His shoulders trembled as he sobbed.
“I don’t want to… disappoint you all anymore.”
Every time he failed to remember, he saw the sorrow in their eyes and couldn’t bear it any longer.
“Do you… Do you all even understand how I feel?”
When he first opened his eyes, everything in the world felt unfamiliar. Strange gazes, voices, and people he had never seen before surrounded him. He didn’t even know who he was.
“You say we were lovers? You say I should be comfortable around you? How do you expect me to do that?” He glared at Isabella. “I don’t know anything about you! How am I supposed to act comfortable with you?!”
“Mr. Oh-Jin…”
“I…”
The spoon slipped from his trembling hand and rolled across the floor.
Clang!
Covering his face with both hands, Kwon Oh-Jin lowered his head. “I-I don’t remember anything.”
A heavy silence fell.
Watching him sob, none of the women could speak.
They all knew that forcing familiarity onto a man who had lost his memories was cruel. Even so, they couldn’t stop. They wanted to cling to the faintest hope, a fraying rope, a rotting lifeline… because they didn’t want to lose him. Not like this.
Song Ha-Eun, who had been watching quietly, rose from her seat and walked toward him. “I’m sorry, Oh-Jin…” She gently embraced him and softly smiled. “It’s okay. You can stop now.”
“What…?”
“You can stop trying to recover your memories.”
She recalled the words he had left her before he headed toward the rampaging Black Heaven.
“Even if I forget, you’ll remember."
All their memories, everything they shared, she carried them all.
“So… it’s okay even if you don’t remember.”
Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes trembled as he looked at the four women gathered around the table. “No… I’ll try for a little longer.”
Had he changed his mind?
Kwon Oh-Jin clenched his fist firmly. “I want to remember the time I spent with all of you.”
“But just now, you said—”
“I know it’ll be hard. It’s honestly been painful.” He bitterly smiled. “Even so… you’ve all treated me so kindly when I can’t remember anything.”
In a world blank as white paper, they were the colors that brought it to life.
“I want to remember all of you too.”
“Oh-Jin…”
Tears welled in their eyes as they moved closer to him.
They held one another, as if solidifying their resolve, when the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong.
“Who is that?” Song Ha-Eun asked.
“Did you order something?” Isabella asked back.
“No, I didn’t.”
Cocking their heads in confusion, they went to check the intercom. There stood Han Jun-Man with an awkward expression.
Song Ha-Eun opened the front door with a puzzled look. “What brings you here this early in the morning?”
“Ah… well, um…” Han Jun-Man smiled uneasily and held out a square box. “I came to deliver something.”
“Who’s it from?”
“That’s…” After hesitating, he said, “It’s from Oh-Jin. More accurately, it’s something he left with me two years ago.”
“What…?”
Crash!
A chair toppled over as Isabella and Cassia sprinted over.
“W-What did you just say?!”
“Two years ago! That means…!”
Han Jun-Man squeezed his eyes shut as if he had expected this reaction. “P-Please calm down!”
Song Ha-Eun glared sharply at him. “If he left it with you two years ago, why are you only giving it to us now?”
“He… asked me to. He said he didn’t know when it would happen, but once he woke up from a long sleep, I should wait about a month before handing this over to you.”
“What is it?” Song Ha-Eun opened the box. “A phone…?”
It was Kwon Oh-Jin’s old phone from two years ago.
Han Jun-Man practically fled the apartment. “Well, I’ve delivered it just like I promised, so I’ll be heading back to work now!”
“What on earth…?” With a tense gulp, she handed it to Kwon Oh-Jin. “You try.”
“Ah, okay…” Puzzled, Kwon Oh-Jin pressed his thumb to the screen.
The moment it unlocked, a video began to play.
—Ah, ah. Is it filming?
He had recorded this video two years ago before going to fight the Heavenly Demon.
—Well… I don’t know how much time has passed. If you’re watching this, it means you woke up, right?
The Kwon Oh-Jin in the video smiled faintly.
—By now, the Black Heaven probably swallowed all your memories. No matter how many favorite foods you ate, the clothes you used to like, or the places that should’ve been familiar… None of it brought anything back, right?
The Kwon Oh-Jin in the video stared straight through the screen at the present Kwon Oh-Jin.
—Alright then. Let’s get started.
Started? Get started on what?
The bewildered Kwon Oh-Jin in the present stared at the screen.
The Kwon Oh-Jin in the video twisted his lips into a crooked grin.
—The final lie.