The next day, Eunbi packs all the clothes she had bought and leaves with her husband. On the way to her husband’s house, Eunbi has her back toward him. She doesn’t talk to him.

“How are you feeling,” he asks.

“Fine,” she mumbles. 

They don’t talk for the rest of the way. 

 

“This is our bedroom,” he says. He opens the door and shows her the bedroom. “Feel free to look around and explore.” He walks away.

Eunbi looks around the bedroom. She opens the closet door and sees her clothes in there.

“This is where you were,” she talks to her clothes. She takes out a shirt and hugs it. “I missed you.” Eunbi hangs her clothes and starts exploring the house. 

The house is small, so there is nothing much to it. 

Her husband is in the kitchen making lunch.

Eunbi stops by the door. “It seems like I don’t know your name,” Eunbi says. “Mom always called you my husband.”

He turns around. “I’ll formally introduce myself,” he says. “Hello, I’m Lee Dawon.”

“Lee Dawon,” she asks. “Can I just call you Dawon?”

“You can call me whatever you want.”

“Cool.”

“Lunch is almost ready,” he says. He goes back to cooking.

The two of them are sitting at the dinner table. Dawon is eating, but Eunbi isn’t.

“Are you not feeling well,” he asks.

She shakes her head.

“Is this not your liking,” he continues. “Is there something else you want to eat?”

“No,” she says. “Is it just a coincidence,” she asks. “I love bulgogi, and you made bulgogi.”

“It’s not a coincidence,” he replies. “We’re married. Of course I know what your favorite food is.”

“What’s my favorite candy?”

“Chocolate.”

“What brand?”

“Hershey.”

“What don’t I like? Food wise.”

“Peanuts and mustard.”

Eunbi looks at Dawon not convinced.

“Eat,” he tells her.

She takes a small bite.

“How did we meet,” she asks him.

“Through friends.”

“Which friends?”

“Taeil and Sooyoung.”

“Sooyoung introduced me to you?” 

Dawon nods his head. “You said it was the best thing that happened to you.”

“I take that back. I’m young and still have a life ahead of me. Why did I get married so early? No offense to you, but why you?” She eyes him up and down. “You’re just average.”

“So this is the 18 year old you,” Dawon asks astonished.

“Oh yeah. Why don’t I have a job? Did I never go to college?”

“No. You never went to college.”

“Why not? I thought I took my college entrance exam.”

“You did, but you never attended college.”

“Why not?”

“Because you didn’t know what you wanted to be.”

“I want to be a nurse.”

“That’s what everyone wants from you. You don’t know if you want to be a nurse.”

“Is that what I said?”

Dawon nods his head. “Eat some more. The food is getting cold.”

That night, Eunbi is sitting in bed. She already took a shower and is wearing her pajamas: a white t-shirt and black pajama pants.

“He seems to know me more than I thought,” Eunbi talks to herself. “Maybe we are really married.”

Dawon walks into the bedroom. He closes the door behind him. He is wearing a white t-shirt and gray pajama pants. He has a white towel around his shoulder to catch the water droplets from his hair. Dawon dries his hair with the towel. 

“Dawon,” Eunbi says. “How long have we been married?”

“A year and a half,” he replies. “Our wedding date is August 14th, 2018.”

“Ahh. It’ll only be three months until that date comes again.”

“Yes. Is there anything you want to do?”

Eunbi looks at him shocked. “No. Definitely not.”

“If there is anything you want to do,” he continues. “Go ahead and tell me.”

“Sure,” she says not meaning it.

He continues to dry his hair. Once he is done, Dawon throws the towel on a chair and climbs into bed. 

“What are you doing,” Eunbi asks. She scoots away from him.

“Sleeping,” he replies. He lies down and pulls the blanket on him.

Eunbi hops out of bed. “In bed,” she asks. “With me?”

“Yes.” He is looking at her. She looks frightened.

“No. I’m not sleeping with you.”

He closes his eyes.

“Fine,” she says. “Take the bed. I’ll sleep somewhere else.”

“No,” he says. He opens his eyes and climbs out of bed. “I’ll sleep somewhere else. You can take the bed.” Dawon walks out of the room and closes the door behind him. He lies on the couch and stares at the ceiling.

Eunbi climbs back into bed. She lies down and tightly hugs the blanket. “What if he comes back here,” she asks herself. “Can I lock the door?” Eunbi climbs out of bed and walks to the door. She looks for a lock, and when she finds it, she locks the door.

The next morning, Dawon wakes up. He sits on the couch and massages his neck. He stands up and walks to the bedroom. Dawon turns the knob, but it’s locked. He turns the knob again. Then, he knocks on the door. 

“Eunbi,” he calls. “Eunbi.”

Eunbi is still asleep. She stirs in her sleep when she hears Dawon calling for her. She crawls out of bed and answers the door.

Dawon stares at the still sleepy Eunbi. Her hair is messy and her shirt is crooked. Seeing her like that makes his heart jump. He hasn’t seen her like this in such a long time. Dawon can’t help but smile. 

“Sorry,” he says. “I woke you up.”

“Did you need something,” she asks in her groggy voice. 

“My clothes. I have to get ready for work.”

She steps to the side, and Dawon walks in.

He walks to the closet and grabs his clothes. 

“Go ahead and sleep some more,” he says. He walks out of the room and closes the door behind him. 

Eunbi crawls back into bed and sleeps. 

After Dawon is done washing up he goes to the kitchen and starts making breakfast. After he is done with that, he walks back to the bathroom and changes into his black suit. Then, Dawon walks to the bedroom. He twists the door open and sees Eunbi still soundly asleep. Dawon walks over to the desk and grabs his wallet before he exits the room. Dawon makes sure to close the door.

Eunbi wakes up. She looks around the house, but Dawon isn’t home. She walks to the kitchen and opens the fridge. She takes out a water bottle and drinks from it. Eunbi puts the bottle back. That’s when she sees the breakfast Dawon made for her. There’s a sticky note next to it.

“Sandwich with just ham, cheese, and mayo. Just the way you like it.”

Eunbi picks up the sandwich and takes a bite. “Mmm,” she hums. 

After washing up, Eunbi goes outside and takes a stroll around the neighborhood. 

“This is a beautiful neighborhood,” Eunbi talks to herself. “Very quiet. Lots of trees. I like it.” Eunbi continues walking and ends up at a convenience store. “Why does this place look so familiar?” She walks inside and buys herself a bunch of candy. Eunbi walks home eating the candy. She is smiling as she eats them.

Eunbi enters the house and sees Dawon walking from the kitchen. He is wearing a blue polo shirt and skinny jeans.

“You’re home already,” Eunbi asks.

“Yes,” Dawon replies. “I only had to go into the office for a few hours today.”

“Oh.”

“Where did you go?”

“Walk around the neighborhood. The neighborhood is very beautiful and quiet. Did you pick this neighborhood?”

“You did, and I did.”

Eunbi nods her head. “I bought some candy. Want some?”

Dawon smiles. “Yes.”

They’re sitting on the couch munching on the candy.

“Did you regain your memory,” Dawon asks.

“No,” she replies. “Why?”

“You bought my favorite candy.”

“Which one?”

“These chips.”

“You like those chips?”

Dawon nods his head. 

“I don’t even like those chips,” Eunbi says. “Why did I buy them?”

“For me.”

“No. I don’t even remember.”

“Maybe your self conscious remembered.”

“So,” Eunbi says. “Where do you work?”

“I’m an accountant at Hairstyles.”

“The parlor shop?”

Dawon nods his head.

“An accountant,” Eunbi asks.

Dawon nods his head. 

“Woah,” Eunbi exclaims. “You’re smart.”

Dawon chuckles. “You can say that.” He’s falling in love with her all over again.

“Do you not have to be in the office,” Eunbi asks.

“I work from home,” Dawon explains. “We have a shared excel that’ll show me the inputs that they put in at the shop, so I don’t have to be there all the time.”

“Woah,” Eunbi exclaims. “That’s so cool!”

Dawon chuckles again. 

“So you stay home more than you go to work,” Eunbi asks.

He nods his head.

“I wish I can have an occupation like that,” Eunbi continues.

“I don’t want to sound rude or come off as rude,” Dawon says. “But because of me you didn’t go to college because I told you about my occupation like I did just now.”

“Really?”

Dawon nods his head.

Eunbi pouts and eats a piece of chocolate.

“I’m sorry,” Dawon says. “I didn’t mean to put you in a sour mood.”

“But it seems like I found my happiness no,” Eunbi asks. She looks up at Dawon.

He softly smiles and nods his head. “I feel like I’ve been falling in love with you all over again,” he says. “Your mind state is at 18, but even though, I love you. You’re a little childish, but I like that side of you. You were mature, and I fell in love with you because of that, but I also like this new side.”

Eunbi is staring at him, and he is staring at her. His eyes are loving.

“You e,” Eunbi says. 

The look in Dawon’s eyes change. 

“How can you say that to a child,” Eunbi continues.

“You’re not a child,” he defends. “You’re 23.”

“That may be, but to me, I’m 18.”

“18 is also considered adult.”

“Young adult. Innocent adult.”

“Okay,” Dawon says defeated. “I’m sorry I offended you. I’ll try harder not to do that in the future.”

Eunbi stands up and walks to the bathroom.

Dawon is sulking in his seat.

Dawon walked into the parlor and everyone greeted him with a smile. He greeted back happily. 

“How’s it going,” Dawon asked.

“Great,” the manager replied. “You?”

“Not too bad.”

“How’s Eunbi?”

“Fine. She’s healed, but her memory is still fuzzy.”

“Yeah? She doesn’t remember you still?”

Dawon nodded his head. “I’m a total stranger to her. I had to sleep on the couch last night.”

“But that’s so uncomfortable.”

“My neck still hurts.” He moved his head back and forth. “She also locked the bedroom door.”

“She’s never done that before.”

Dawon frowned.

“Don’t you have the keys to your bedroom door,” the manager asked. “You could’ve unlocked it.”

“Then I would’ve upset her. I’d lose her trust. I’d rather wait for her to remember me.”

The manager nodded her head. “It’ll take time, but your patience will prevail one day.”

Dawon forced a smile.