Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 74

“No, what-“

“By the way, it looked like you were carrying something when you came in.”

Yeon-jung opened her mouth again, but her voice was once again swallowed up by Ki-won’s.

“What I was carrying when I came in? Ah, if it’s that…”

Yeon-jung naturally responded despite the abrupt change of subject and bent her waist. It was to pick up the paper bag she had put on the floor.

“I felt bad about not being able to attend the wedding then. I bought a gift for Yeon-woo. I was going to send it to your house, but we happened to gather.”

The paper bag seemed to contain quite a lot, as it was heavy unlike its appearance. Yeon-woo, who received it, expressed his gratitude and peeked inside. Most of the items were packaged in boxes, making it difficult to identify the contents accurately, but he couldn’t help but be surprised by the familiar brand names.

“This is…”

“A wedding gift. I didn’t know what kids these days like, so I safely bought watches, but I wonder if it’s okay.”

More than okay. Yeon-woo closed his lips that were about to open with force and alternately examined the gift and Yeon-jung. If his memory was correct, the cheapest product of that watch brand was in the tens of millions of won.

“But now that I see, you don’t have a watch on your wrist. Are you the type who dislikes the tightness on your wrist?”

Yeon-jung said that if that was the case, a watch gift would be awkward. Yeon-woo shook his head busily and expressed his gratitude for her gift.

“No, not at all. Thank you… I’ll use it well.”

Although he wasn’t sure if he could casually accept something so expensive, Yeon-jung’s attitude of giving it nonchalantly helped lessen the burden. A gift from family… In fact, he was happy even though he had doubts about whether he could call the Kwon family members his family or if it was just his greed.

Perhaps it was because it had been so long since he had received a gift from family. Yeon-woo had to constantly make an effort to hold back the tears that were about to well up.

“I didn’t know you liked watches.”

Ki-won blurted out while observing Yeon-woo, who was turning red up to his cheeks with delight. His lips were pouting out similarly to his tone. His somewhat dissatisfied expression brought a smile to Yeon-woo’s face.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous right now?”

When Yeon-woo looked at Ki-won with a puzzled face, Yeon-jung, who had been watching, clicked her tongue. She also added that he should stop doing things that were chillingly unsuitable. She scrunched up her face as if it was disgusting. Although he was her younger brother, Ki-won’s reaction, who had always been expressionless, stiff, and without aegyo, seemed unfamiliar to her.

“I’ll buy you something better than this, Yeon-woo.”

“Oh… I’m already happy with just this?”

The startled Yeon-woo stuffed the paper bag into his arms. It was because Ki-won reached out his hand as if he was trying to snatch the gift away. It was already enough that his sister had bought it for him, and he couldn’t receive an expensive item from Ki-won as well.

Kwon Yeon-jung burst into a refreshing laughter at this sight and wiped her teary eyes. She seemed triumphant that she had won against Kwon Ki-won.

“That’s right. Unintentionally, I ended up giving the first watch gift, huh?”

Kwon Yeon-jung slightly raised her chin as if teasing Ki-won, narrowing one corner of her eyes. Yeon-woo found it difficult to distinguish whether he was acting jealous or actually displeased. In the end, Yeon-woo observed the nerve war between the two, being mindful of them.

“Ah, Yeon-woo. Do you like chocolate?”

“Chocolate? I eat it occasionally!”

“There’s also chocolate I bought from Belgium in there.”

It seemed she had prepared a variety of things, even though he was already grateful for just the watch. Yeon-woo held the paper bag he had tucked into his arms even more preciously. Mrs. Lim, who had been watching this scene with satisfaction, announced the end of the meal.

“Everyone seems to have finished eating, shall we get up now? Daughter-in-law, do you want to see Ki-won’s room? It’s the room on the right on the 2nd floor.”

“Is that okay?”

He was secretly curious about the room Ki-won had lived in before marriage. At the voice full of interest, Ki-won got up from his seat and took care of Yeon-woo.

“There won’t be much to see, but if you’re curious, take a look, Yeon-woo.”

Ki-won’s gentle voice slyly flowed into Yeon-woo’s ears.

“Yes!”

Yeon-woo held Ki-won’s hand that was held out in front of him and hastened his steps. The kind family, delicious food, Yeon-jung’s gift, and the warm warmth. The corners of Yeon-woo’s mouth stayed up for a long time without coming down.

It was so warm and nice that he wanted to savor this feeling even for a little bit. Yeon-woo’s round eyes narrowed like a crescent moon.

***

Finding Ki-won’s room was easy. It was because there weren’t many doors, perhaps because each bedroom was so spacious. Moreover, there was only one door in the right corridor, so the location could be identified at once.

“Hyung, have you lived here since you were young?”

Yeon-woo asked, waiting with a peeping motion for the bedroom door to open.

“No, this house was built a few years ago, and I originally lived in a different house.”

“Ah…”

He had hoped to find traces of Ki-won’s childhood, but an answer that deviated from his expectations came back. Although he was a little disappointed, he decided to be satisfied with being able to see traces of Ki-won from 5 years ago. What would Ki-won’s room in the main house be like? Yeon-woo boldly stepped his foot beyond the open door.

“Hm?”

If there was something he felt after sufficiently looking around, it was that it was quite empty. The word ’empty’ might not suit a bedroom, but he couldn’t explain it with any other word. There was a lot of empty space because there wasn’t more furniture than necessary, and it felt like looking at a hotel room because there wasn’t much sense of life.

“Is this really Hyung’s room? Not a guest room?”

“I told you there wouldn’t be much.”

“You must have moved all your belongings to the apartment you live in now…”

Yeon-woo walked briskly towards the desk. Several professional books were lined up on the wooden desk. If there was a family photo placed, it would feel like a place where people lived. Yeon-woo passed the empty space and moved on to the bookshelf.

“Oh? This is Hyung’s graduation certificate, right?”

What caught Yeon-woo’s eye was a graduation certificate written in a foreign language. He couldn’t read the contents in detail because he wasn’t good at English, but it was a famous university that anyone would recognize just by looking at the name. Yeon-woo, who had not gone to college, carefully touched the frame border and looked at the graduation certificate with curiosity.

“You studied abroad…”

The image of Ki-won occasionally talking to overseas clients in English flashed by. He thought he had learned English simply for business, but there was a reason he was good at foreign languages.

“Your eyes will fall out like that.”

Ki-won smiled faintly as if he couldn’t stop Yeon-woo, who couldn’t leave the front of the bookshelf. Yeon-woo was slowly moving sideways, forgetting to even blink his eyes, wondering what was so interesting.

“Actually, I was curious about Hyung’s childhood.”

He was disappointed that the bedroom he had roughly looked around lacked a sense of life, but fortunately, there were many things to see on the bookshelf. More than half of the bookshelf was filled with professional books or books of unknown identity, but the university graduation certificate he had discovered earlier and the displayed trophies caught Yeon-woo’s attention.

“Did you receive this during your college days too?”

Yeon-woo pointed to what was presumed to be a sports trophy. The trophy with a ball-shaped top was placed in a glass case.

“I received that when I participated in a football match when I was 18.”

“Wow, Hyung, you stayed abroad for quite a long time. Could it be that… you were born abroad?”

Yeon-woo thought seriously, thinking it could be possible.

“How could that be? I was in Korea when I was very young.”

“Oh…”

Yeon-woo repeatedly nodded his head at Ki-won’s words. It was a moment when he realized that his belief that he knew quite a bit about Ki-won was his own misconception.

“…This is amazing.”

Yeon-woo muttered and took his eyes off the trophy. What was the reason he decided to study abroad? Simply thinking, there was a reason to broaden his horizons. When Yeon-woo was making short speculations, Ki-won pointed to the sofa.

“Your legs must hurt. I’ll find and bring what you want, so sit down and look.”

“Oh, then I want an album! I want to see childhood photos.”

“Photos…”

Ki-won moved to the opposite side, leaving Yeon-woo sitting in a chair behind him.

“I don’t know if there will be an album or not.”

“Why? Did you not take many photos when you were young?”

“…I did take some.”

Yeon-woo raised his eyebrows at Ki-won’s lukewarm answer.

“So, is there one or not?”

“I think this is all there is.”

Ki-won, who belatedly answered Yeon-woo’s question, placed a small album on the table. Yeon-woo’s face looking down at the album was filled with anticipation.