Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 54

Even after listening to Yeon-woo’s words, Ki-won rubbed his wrist back and forth with a cautious touch as if doubting it. Yeon-woo didn’t know what he could feel by touching it, but he just quietly responded to his examination.

“You should consider yourself lucky that it ended with just this, and never get involved in a fight again.”

“Aw, of course. Don’t worry.”

Ki-won seemed to think that Yeon-woo’s answer was easily blurted out without much thought, and showed a distrustful look. Noticing this, Yeon-woo dry coughed a couple of times in embarrassment and spoke again.

“After we get divorced, I won’t have you to help me, so what guts would I have to do such a thing. Right?”

“…Right.”

“You know I’m not originally reckless. I’ve given it some thought, and it seems like me stepping up today happened because I trust and rely on you that much.”

It wasn’t something he made up on the spot, but a thought that came to him while basking in the fireplace. Because he trusted Ki-won, even if he got hit by the gangsters, he moved with the belief that Ki-won would save him. Knowing himself to be a coward, Yeon-woo filled his speculation with conviction.

“What if I hadn’t seen it?”

“But you did see it.”

“…You really have no fear.”

“It’s because I’m very scared, so I only did this when you were there.”

Yeon-woo, who had been talking back without losing a single word, soon burst into laughter. It was a flow of conversation he couldn’t have imagined under normal circumstances. Being stubborn or unreasonable. He wondered if these changes were possible because the divorce was approaching.

As the laughter that burst out during the conversation continued without being wrapped up, the corners of Ki-won’s mouth also gently rose. There must have been a laughing virus spreading in the air.

“I’ll put a pain relief patch on you.”

Ki-won took out a pain relief patch from somewhere and attached it to Yeon-woo’s wrist. Although he was a bit disappointed since the ointment-type patch had a deeper cooling sensation and faster pain relief effect, the adhesive type wasn’t bad either.

While Ki-won was cutting the patch into several pieces to tape Yeon-woo’s wrist, thunder and lightning struck consecutively a couple of times. The sound was so loud that it was a roar that could make one believe a bomb had exploded nearby. Startled, Yeon-woo let out a scream and crashed into Ki-won’s arms.

“…Ah.”

Perhaps something went wrong due to the lightning strike just now, the power went out. The instantly darkened interior was dyed red by the light of the fireplace alone. Yeon-woo, who let out a small sigh, moved away from him and scratched his cheek as if embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, I was so startled for a moment.”

Ki-won shook his head, saying what’s there to apologize for something like that, and finished taping while looking around. It seemed necessary to figure out whether it was a circuit breaker that tripped or if the power went out completely. Ki-won turned on the flashlight function on his cell phone, said he would go check and be back, and left. Yeon-woo, left alone, blankly stared out the window.

“Is it because we’re in the mountains…? It’s really dark.”

If it were the city, it would still be bright outside, so indoor lighting wouldn’t be necessary, but perhaps because it was in the forest, it was very dark. The dark clouds and fog must have also played a part. Yeon-woo couldn’t let go of his regret for not being able to closely examine the outside scenery and kept pacing by the window.

As he kept taking in the sight of the trees stretching straight up, not knowing how high the sky was, a sense of unease arose in a corner of Yeon-woo’s heart.

‘We can go home, right…?’

Although about 30 minutes had passed since arriving at the villa, the rain was still heavy and showed no signs of stopping. At least the grass yard, which had been fine, now had puddles of water, and its shape was visibly ruined.

He felt the need to check the news. Yeon-woo picked up his cell phone, searched for the weather forecast on the internet, and checked the weather for the week.

“…Is this for real?”

Yeon-woo rubbed his eyelids, finding it hard to believe the results that appeared before his eyes, and waited for the information to change, but no matter how much he rubbed, the weather forecast remained unchanged.

“Hyung, where are you now?”

Thinking he should let Ki-won know about this fact quickly, Yeon-woo shouted into the dark space. After a short while, the flashlight flickered, and a human figure approached.

“What is it, Yeon-woo?”

“Hyung, the electricity isn’t what’s important right now. No, maybe it will be important now?”

Yeon-woo, who had turned pale, expressed his unresolved anxiety, saying, “We can’t live without electricity for three days straight.” Ki-won advised Yeon-woo, whose breathing was disturbed, to calm down and waited for him to slowly explain the reason.

“I just checked the weather forecast, and I think we’re doomed…”

Yeon-woo informed him that heavy rain was forecasted for three days straight. He also added that an article was posted saying that not only was the rainfall high, but a flood watch was also issued, so areas at risk of landslides should be careful.

“Even if we go back to Seoul now, the car has become like that… We’re trapped in the villa until the rain stops.”

“Oh my, I should have checked in advance before coming.”

Ki-won turned off the flashlight he had left on and answered silently. Is he really a person to be worried about? Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes at Ki-won’s lukewarm tone.

“Hyung, did you by any chance know it was going to rain?”

“How could that be?”

“…Right. You’re also at risk of not being able to go to work like this, so that can’t be.”

Yeon-woo waved his hand, saying to forget it as he had said something unnecessary. The unsettled Yeon-woo erratically circled around, sat on a chair, and thought deeply. He hadn’t found a house yet and hadn’t packed all his belongings, so what should he do? The plan to cleanly break up was completely shattered.

“I definitely had to go look for a house tomorrow…”

Yeon-woo muttered, mentioning the unrealized plan. The house was a problem, the belongings were a problem, and there were more than just one or two issues.

“If you’re worried because you haven’t found a suitable place to live yet, you can stay at my house. What are you so worried about?”

“But…”

“The contract may have ended, but our relationship hasn’t.”

Our relationship, Yeon-woo moved the corners of his mouth at Ki-won’s remark that seemed to give him leeway once again. This was why he had planned to submit the divorce papers and immediately leave the house on the day the contract ended. Yeon-woo took a deep breath, trying to regain his sobering mind that was about to become slack.

“Now that things have turned out this way, I guess it can’t be helped… If the weather forecast isn’t wrong and we can’t leave the villa until the day after tomorrow, I’ll have a favor to ask of you.”

Instead of answering, Ki-won gently stroked Yeon-woo’s round head. Feeling needlessly embarrassed, Yeon-woo threw out a question that came to his mind.

“By the way, what about the electricity? Is it okay?”

“It’s completely out. I think we’ll have to call a repairman, but it’s impossible with this weather.”

It was frustrating enough to have his legs tied, but the electricity acting up was a bolt from the blue. Yeon-woo had to cover his ears once again at the flash of lightning that struck at the right timing.

Rumble, boom! It was as if a war had broken out. As Yeon-woo removed his hands from his ears that he had covered in fright, Ki-won pointed to the bedroom.

“Shall we move to a different spot? The walls on the bedroom side are a bit thicker, so the sound will be less.”

“Is it because we’re in the mountains? The thunder and lightning sounds are no joke… It would be best to do as you say.”

While moving, Yeon-woo kept an eye on the sky, wondering if lightning would strike again.

***

With no electricity coming in, the boiler couldn’t be used. Although a small fireplace attached to the bedroom was turned on, it couldn’t fully warm the floor, and the warmth quickly escaped as it needed to be ventilated periodically. Yeon-woo, whose legs were cold, couldn’t endure the cold and burrowed into the blanket.

“Even if we have chargers, we won’t be able to use them, so let’s turn off all our cell phones.”

“Ah… Right, it would be big trouble if the battery drains quickly.”

In case of unforeseen situations, cell phones needed to maintain battery life to communicate with the outside. Yeon-woo immediately turned off the power at the man’s words and placed the now useless cell phone on the table. Fortunately, in the meantime, Ki-won found a flashlight that ran on batteries and placed it in the middle of the room.

“This makes for a bit of an atmosphere.”

Thanks to the burning flames on one side, there was light, and there was also flashlight on the other side, so it wasn’t dark.

“Oh no, my clothes…!”

Yeon-woo belatedly recalled that the washing machine must have turned off and abruptly sat up. He had been comforting himself that he would be able to wear the pants that had finished washing and drying soon, but nothing was going his way.

“I’ll go get them.”

“No… They’re probably covered in laundry detergent foam by now, so I’m going to leave them.”

If the electricity comes back on tomorrow, he can do the laundry then. Even if he brought them now, the clothes wouldn’t dry because of the moisture. Yeon-woo’s giving up was faster than ever.