Come Back

The night air was quite chilly.

The outdoor tables of the hotel restaurant, which had been bustling with people all through the summer and fall, were nearly empty. Two women, one wrapped in a knee blanket and the other draped in a shawl, were deeply focused on their conversation, while no other customers were visible.

Lee Hae-seong slowly walked around the pool, which was lit up, before heading down to the garden below.

The hotel was built on a high elevation, so from the garden, the view of Seoul stretched out in full. Like the shimmering lights reflected on the water, the night view was beautiful.

The city’s nightscape, though an artificial creation, had a natural beauty that could evoke deep emotions. Up close, it was filled with tangled desires and greed, but from afar, it appeared as a city of light, like a star full of romance and hope.

Lee Hae-seong stood, his hands in his pants pockets, staring emotionlessly at the city. The entire city seemed to lose its charm and vitality with the disappearance of just one person. To him, it was like that.

The difference between imagining that a light that once embraced that child still existed somewhere and knowing that it didn’t was a decisive one. It wasn’t just about a single little light. No matter how much people admired the city, it could never move Lee Hae-seong.

To him, the city was in darkness.

Suddenly, he turned around. The imposing hotel building stood tall, gazing back at him.

In the suite room he had reserved, Yoon Hye-an was having a consultation with a doctor from New York.

Yoon Hye-an, who was in the bedroom for the session with a translator, had initially planned to wait in the living room, but for some reason, couldn’t calm his mind and had left the room to wander around.

It was past 9 PM here, but in New York, it was still before 9 AM. Though it wasn’t an ideal time for a session, the famous doctor who was actively involved in research and treatment had a difficult schedule to align with.

Though the consultation was for therapeutic purposes, the doctor had explained beforehand that the results couldn’t be guaranteed. If the symptoms were psychological, the treatment could be very quick or, conversely, very difficult—an obvious statement, but still true.

Lee Hae-seong turned his wrist to glance at his watch. The consultation was nearing its end.

Turning his back on the city lights, he retraced his steps.

After washing his hands and making a whiskey on the rocks from the minibar, the bedroom door opened.

Yoon Hye-an emerged, an unreadable expression on his face, accompanied by the translator. Lee Hae-seong, briefly pressing his lips together after sipping his whiskey, approached them with the glass in hand.

“You must be tired. It was your first session, so you must have been nervous. Was there anything uncomfortable?”

“The doctor made me feel comfortable, so it was fine.”

In truth, it was Lee Hae-seong himself who looked more tense than Yoon Hye-an, who appeared calm. Even when they arrived here, Yoon Hye-an had seemed composed.

Lee Hae-seong pointed toward the open bedroom door with a subtle gesture of his chin.

“You’re still connected to New York, right?”

Instead of answering, Yoon Hye-an nodded.

“Don’t leave, wait here. I’ll take you.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Your manager can’t take you, so you probably came by taxi. I’ll take you.”

Lee Hae-seong took another sip from his whiskey and, as if to encourage him, lightly placed his hand on Yoon Hye-an’s shoulder and added:

“I’d like to hear about how the session went.”

Only then did Yoon Hye-an give a single nod.

Not twice, but one large, deliberate nod. That habit reminded Lee Hae-seong of Choi Hong-seo.

He wasn’t sure if Choi Hong-seo was consciously aware of it, but Lee Hae-seong remembered it clearly. Every time Hong-seo did that, it was hard for him to hold back a smile. He didn’t want to say it was cute, fearing that if he did, it might embarrass Hong-seo and stop him from doing it.

Despite his youthful appearance, Choi Hong-seo had been mature and polite. So that simple gesture of nodding stood out even more to Lee Hae-seong.

It wasn’t a lazy or impolite gesture. When Choi Hong-seo did it, it was always done seriously, as if it was something important. Like a child looking up to someone and following them blindly.

The child who had once been suspicious, wary, and misunderstood gradually began to show those signs as time went by. Answering with a nod, exchanging playful words, and even stubbornly insisting on something. All of it was proof that the child was opening up, and Lee Hae-seong cherished every movement, every gesture that showed that. It made him happy.

Was Yoon Hye-an intentionally mimicking that behavior?

As the time of silently gazing with his hand resting on Yoon Hye-an’s shoulder lengthened, Yoon Hye-an looked up at Lee Hae-seong with an anxious expression. His face didn’t appear to belong to someone capable of such calculating and crafty behavior.

When Lee Hae-seong first encountered Yoon Hye-an through the report, he had been certain. But the more he met him in person, the more confused he became. He could no longer be sure whether the person in front of him was really the same as the one described in the report.

He lightly patted Yoon Hye-an’s thin shoulder as if to press down on it, and with a tired voice, he spoke.

“Alright, then… rest for a bit.”

On the laptop screen in the bedroom, the doctor was waiting for the meeting with Lee Hae-seong. After closing the door, Lee Hae-seong slumped into the chair in front of the desk.

After a brief greeting, the conversation turned to the details of the consultation.

“Hye-an has no memory of his past. He’s like a completely blank slate.”

“Are you saying that the fact that he can’t remember is true?”

“That’s a question that can only be answered once the consultation progresses further. For now, we need to trust what the patient says and continue the sessions.”

The doctor glanced down at the chart under the screen, a slight smile on her face as she responded to Lee Hae-seong’s impatience.

“However, one peculiar point is…”

“…”

“In cases where someone forgets everything, they usually feel anxiety about it. They wonder who their family is, what kind of childhood they had, or how they lived. Without any foundation to recognize themselves as ‘I,’ it’s natural for anyone to feel anxious.”

Her sharp eyes, visible beyond her glasses, sparkled.

“But Hye-an doesn’t feel any of that anxiety.”

Swallowing a dry gulp, Lee Hae-seong kept his eyes fixed on the laptop as he reached for his whiskey glass.

“Hye-an has found some information about himself online, so he knows the basics. But to him, it’s like the character of a novel or a movie. He can’t recognize it as himself.”

“…”

“No matter how much he might dislike the past self he learned about, the fact that he doesn’t know anything about himself would naturally cause some anxiety. Hye-an is essentially like someone who’s just been born at the age of 27.”

Slowly turning the glass in his hand, Lee Hae-seong asked again, as if confirming.

“So, you’re saying that Yoon Hye-an doesn’t feel any anxiety about that?”

“That’s right. After talking to him, this part struck me the most.”

“You think he might want to replace his erased past with information about Choi Hong-seo. What do you think about that?”

The doctor smiled leisurely.

“First and foremost, it’s important for the patient to trust the doctor and open up. It can take years for both the heart and mind to open up. You knew this, didn’t you?”

Lee Hae-seong licked his dry lips, puffed his chest out, and slowly exhaled.

The doctor had a positive view of Yoon Hye-an as a patient.

There was an effort to answer questions honestly. He didn’t have an overly defensive attitude to protect himself, nor did he behave emotionally. The doctor’s observations continued.

Yoon Hye-an was lying. He had stolen memories of Choi Hong-seo as if they were his own. — Whether the doctor’s response was reassuring, or if this was the conclusion Lee Hae-seong had expected, was unclear. He felt tired and heavy.

When he returned to the living room, Yoon Hye-an was reading the script of *Cream Mansion* on the sofa.

Upon hearing the door open, he looked up, closed the script, put it in his bag, and stood up. It was a different bag from the one he had been carrying last time, but it was still from a luxury brand that had passed its season.

Leaning against the open doorframe, Lee Hae-seong watched him for a moment before walking into the living room.

“You must be exhausted from the consultation. Should I order room service? Want to eat something?”

Yoon Hye-an shook his head and replied.

“I ate dinner before coming. It’s fine.”

Right. He probably wouldn’t want to sit down and eat with me. I’m not the easiest person to be around.

I was too tired to soak in the bathtub, yet I suggested he stay for dinner… I don’t even know why I made that offer myself.

He stared blankly at the hand tightly gripping the strap of the bag crossing in front of his chest, then turned his head as if to look away.

“Let’s go, then.”

There was no conversation between them until they got into the car.

In the elevator, the attendant stood by the door while Lee Hae-seong and Yoon Hye-an each took a corner inside. During the walk to the parking lot, Yoon Hye-an followed Lee Hae-seong, a few steps behind.

It wasn’t until the sedan carrying the two of them left the underground parking lot that Lee Hae-seong spoke up.

“I’m going to smoke.”

Yoon Hye-an nodded, and Lee Hae-seong took a cigarette and a lighter from his jacket pocket and lit it. He lowered the window halfway and, giving an absent-minded glance at the scenery outside, took a drag from the filter.

After a while, feeling a gaze on his profile, he turned his head. Acting as if he hadn’t noticed, Yoon Hye-an subtly turned his head away, and Lee Hae-seong casually spoke.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

Yoon Hye-an hesitated for a long time, opening and closing his lips, gripping and releasing his pants on his thighs… Finally, he murmured.

“I think Vice President is a non-smoker… I think I saw that somewhere.”

A faint laugh shook Lee Hae-seong’s shoulders. He lowered his head, let out a short sigh, and, with the cigarette hanging from his fingers, rubbed the back of his neck.