Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 78

“No… I didn’t drink it, I ate it.”

Strictly speaking, Yeon-woo answered firmly that he hadn’t drunk alcohol. Ki-won, who was interpreting Yeon-woo’s words while his Adam’s apple bobbed, turned his gaze to the green tea.

“That’s right, this seems to be real green tea.”

Ki-won tilted the half-empty teacup to examine its contents. The temperature and color were too wholesome to be considered alcohol.

“Given that you said you ate it, it must be this.”

Ki-won’s dark pupils stopped at the chocolate. He examined the carelessly scattered chocolate wrappers and let out a small sigh. What the alcohol-intolerant Yeon-woo had eaten was chocolate made with whiskey. With that alcohol content, it must have been quite bitter, but it seemed to have suited his taste. Realizing that he had already eaten more than half, Ki-won moved the chocolate out of Yeon-woo’s sight and spoke softly.

“Why did you eat so much when you can’t even drink alcohol?”

“…I didn’t know it contained alcohol.”

Perhaps fortunately, he hadn’t directly drunk alcohol or eaten a large amount. As they conversed, his dizziness subsided and the effects of the alcohol gradually faded.

He could have just gone back to bed and slept it off. However, Yeon-woo hesitated before gently pulling out the chair next to him.

“Would you like to sit here?”

“Sure.”

Ki-won didn’t refuse Yeon-woo’s invitation and took a seat in the chair he had pulled out for him. Yeon-woo, who had slightly twisted his body towards Ki-won, exhaled softly. Strangely, whenever Kwon Ki-won was nearby, his heart would calm down and his mood would inexplicably improve, and it was the same now.

“Nice fragrance…”

Yeon-woo slowly steadied his breathing with his forehead pressed against Ki-won’s shoulder. Ki-won, unfazed, fiddled with Yeon-woo’s hair before lowering his head. It was to get as close to Yeon-woo as possible to inhale his scent.

“It doesn’t seem to be a heat cycle.”

“Tch… It’s not like that.”

It seemed he had misunderstood when he said there was a nice fragrance. Yeon-woo, who had detached his forehead from Ki-won’s body, put the remaining chocolate in his mouth and offered some to Ki-won.

“It’s delicious.”

His pronunciation was muffled as he spoke with the large piece of chocolate in his mouth. Undeterred, Yeon-woo persistently offered the chocolate to Ki-won, and his face lit up when he saw that he didn’t refuse.

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s sweet.”

Not long after, Yeon-woo’s previously calm face turned bright red. He had thought Ki-won would take it with his hand, but Ki-won had eaten it directly from his fingers. Yeon-woo’s caught wrist trembled slightly.

“Hyung…?”

The moment his fingers were gently bitten, a chilling sensation ran down his spine. Despite Yeon-woo’s growing bewilderment, Ki-won didn’t budge.

“…Hyung, are you drunk?”

Since Yeon-woo, who had eaten much more chocolate than Ki-won, was still maintaining his senses, asking if he was drunk was essentially a pointless question. Although his wrist seemed to be held weakly, for some reason it wouldn’t budge when he tried to pull it away. Having failed to retrieve his outstretched hand, Yeon-woo stared at Ki-won with trembling eyes.

“No, I’m perfectly sober.”

“Then… I must be drunk.”

If that wasn’t the case, there was no way his heart would be beating this fast. As Yeon-woo, unable to decide where to fix his gaze, finally averted his eyes, Ki-won spoke casually.

“Yeon-woo, it’s true that you can’t drink alcohol, but you haven’t had enough to get drunk.”

“How do you know I can’t drink alcohol!”

“Well…”

It seems his memories were slowly returning. Ki-won whispered the latter part slyly, and Yeon-woo struggled to lower his rising body temperature.

“First, please let go of my wrist… You seem a bit strange right now.”

“How do I seem?”

“Just… This kind of behavior isn’t normal between ordinary people…”

While accepting the chocolate might be okay, grabbing his wrist and biting his fingers didn’t seem like normal behavior. Doesn’t it look like the kind of playfulness between lovers?

“We’re not an ordinary relationship.”

Yeon-woo’s heart began to race rapidly. Thump, thump, thump. The beats resonating in his chest were loud enough to echo in his ears. Yeon-woo swallowed hard and met Ki-won’s eyes as he looked down at him quietly. The Yeon-woo reflected in his pitch-black pupils had a face that wouldn’t look out of place if he were to do something rash right then.

“Don’t joke like this. If you keep doing this…”

“If I keep doing what?”

“I… I…”

I’ll get too confused. The words that had risen to the tip of his tongue disappeared down his throat along with a dry swallow. The other person was a patient with no memories. From his perspective, he suddenly found himself with a spouse, so it was understandable to be confused. That’s probably why he could act like this.

The thought that Ki-won might regret extending their contract once his memories returned flashed quickly through Yeon-woo’s mind, and the corners of his mouth were calmly pulled down. Thanks to this, his heart, which had been racing momentarily losing reason, quieted down as if knowing its place. He shouldn’t misunderstand that Ki-won was acting this way because he had feelings for him.

“Hyung, you’re doing this because you have a problem with your memory. We… shouldn’t be like this originally.”

Kwon Ki-won had Hyun Ji-un as a future remarriage partner. Yeon-woo tried to hide the emotion welling up inside him as he stood up from his seat. He judged it would be better to go to sleep instead.

“Why shouldn’t we?”

But Ki-won was more persistent than Yeon-woo had expected. Yeon-woo, who had tried to escape, found himself unable to move as his arm was grabbed. Forced to turn and face Ki-won, Yeon-woo looked down at his firmly held arm and let out a small sigh.

“Because… you have Hyun Ji-un.”

He hadn’t meant to say this much. He didn’t want to reveal that he had been paying attention to Ki-won’s private life. Especially if it was related to a strategic marriage.

“What?”

For a moment, it seemed like irritation flashed across Ki-won’s expression, but was it an illusion? Before Yeon-woo could properly grasp Ki-won’s emotion, his expression was wiped clean in an instant. Yeon-woo’s lips parted, and he showed his palm. It was a gesture asking for a moment to wait.

“I thought the intoxication had completely gone away, but I guess not. For me to say such things…”

I need to pull myself together. Yeon-woo was about to choose to keep his mouth shut, but Ki-won wouldn’t allow it.

“Seo Yeon-woo.”

It was a rigid voice. The hand gripping Yeon-woo’s arm also tightened. Yeon-woo shrank back at his reaction but found the situation difficult to understand. He had been uncertain before, but now it was clear. Kwon Ki-won was definitely annoyed.

Why are you pretending not to know? I clearly saw it. You were keeping Hyun Ji-un by your side.

And in a very intimate way, at that. Words that seemed ready to burst out of his mouth floated in his mind, but Yeon-woo just ended up gnawing on his lower lip.

“Yeon-woo, what exactly are you misunderstanding? Why is Hyun Ji-un’s name coming up here?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“You have to tell me for me to know.”

Ki-won used a gentle tone as if coaxing and soothing Yeon-woo. Then he pulled Yeon-woo’s arm to bring him closer. Ki-won wrapped his arm around Yeon-woo’s waist and lifted his head to meet his eyes. There was a hint of determination that he wouldn’t let go until Yeon-woo spoke.

“You… were planning to remarry Hyun Ji-un after divorcing me.”

“…What?”

Ki-won’s furrowed brow clearly revealed his negative emotions. He didn’t even try to hide his feelings, maintaining his annoyed expression for quite a while.

“Who said such nonsense?”

“…Isn’t it true?”

“It’s not.”

“How would you know?”

At Yeon-woo’s last words, Ki-won seemed to be at a loss for words, taking in a sharp breath.

“How would I not know about my own affairs?”

“You have amnesia right now.”

“……”

“It’s natural that you don’t know, since considering remarriage with Hyun Ji-un would have happened after you made the contract with me.”

Ki-won had said he couldn’t remember anything after meeting Yeon-woo. It was normal for Ki-won not to recall his relationship with Hyun Ji-un, as he would have considered remarrying her after meeting Yeon-woo.

Kwon Ki-won slowly closed his eyes and then let out a deep sigh. He seemed to be trying to control his emotions.

“Right, it seems the key is to recover my memories. Right, Yeon-woo?”

“Yes. Until you recover your memories, you can’t be certain…”

“To recover my memories quickly, I’ll need some help.”

“What?”

Cutting off Yeon-woo’s words, Ki-won abruptly stood up. It happened in an instant – Ki-won leading Yeon-woo to the bedroom. Unable to keep up with the sudden speed, Yeon-woo stumbled, but Ki-won didn’t stop.

“Hyung, hyung?”

Although a flustered Yeon-woo asked him to stop for a moment, Ki-won acted as if he couldn’t hear Yeon-woo’s voice. Why is he so angry? He could only see Ki-won’s back as he was being led, but he could feel his emotions from the atmosphere. Kwon Ki-won was clearly expressing his irritation.