Chapter 11
“Hey, isn’t she kind of weird?”
“Right? It’s scary how she doesn’t show any emotion.”
Some students whispered while looking at Joo-hee.
She slowly blinked and looked down—she was wearing a school uniform.
Joo-hee thought to herself, Ah… this is a dream.
It had been a long time since she’d dreamed, especially after arriving here.
Just then, someone grabbed her hand.
“Joo-hee!”
She turned her head—it was Ji-hye.
“What are you doing here? Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“Back to where you belong.”
Before Joo-hee could ask anything else, Ji-hye pulled her along.
“Are you okay over there?”
“…Yeah.”
“I’m glad.”
Since it was a dream, Ji-hye seemed to know everything about where Joo-hee had gone.
Suddenly, another voice called out.
“Joo-hee.”
It was a voice she recognized, so she turned to look.
“He seems like a good person.”
“Who?”
“And I really wanted to say thank you… for saving me.”
“Thank you so much.”
Ji-hye gave her a tight hug.
“Be happy, okay?”
“…Yeah.”
Then, leaving smiling Ji-hye behind, Joo-hee stepped into a bright light—
and woke up.
It was still dark outside, before sunrise.
Joo-hee couldn’t fall back asleep, so she quietly left the room, careful not to wake Rowen or Mel.
The early morning air was chilly, but not cold enough to go back for a blanket.
She wanted to see the sunrise again, so she climbed the hill.
From a distance, Rowen was secretly watching her.
“I hope nothing’s wrong…”
He had woken up when she got out of bed.
But he didn’t say anything and let her leave the house.
Her back as she climbed the hill looked lonely—like she wanted some time alone.
So Rowen watched her from afar, then quietly returned home after seeing her watch the sunrise.
* * *
Lately, Rowen had been dreaming every time he slept.
The problem was, he never remembered what the dream was about after waking up.
He was sure the dreams were connected to his lost memories, but since he couldn’t remember them, it was frustrating.
He started to feel like he’d forgotten something really important.
Even though it was supposed to be temporary, nothing was coming back.
Rowen started thinking extreme thoughts.
“What if I hit my head again? Maybe that would bring my memory back…”
“If you do that, you might die instead,” Joo-hee said bluntly.
“Haha…” Rowen gave an awkward laugh.
As she soaked laundry in the water, she said,
“Don’t rush. Just wait.”
“But…”
“Then help me do laundry instead.”
“Ah, okay.”
Rowen quickly rolled up his pants and walked over.
Joo-hee was putting him to good use.
But she didn’t make him do everything.
Rowen would stomp the clothes clean, and Joo-hee would hang them out to dry.
She could’ve used the spirits’ help to make things faster, but she was so used to doing it alone that she just did everything herself.
While Rowen was stomping on the laundry, Joo-hee sat nearby and spaced out.
He looked over and asked,
“What are you thinking about?”
“…That the laundry is getting nice and clean.”
Rowen burst out laughing at her reply.
“Joo-hee.”
“…?”
“If I get my memory back… will you still be my friend?”
It took him a lot of courage to ask.
Joo-hee was quiet for a moment, then gave a small nod.
Rowen smiled brightly—he looked like he had an imaginary tail wagging behind him.
Actually, Joo-hee had been wondering if Rowen might be the male lead of this story, since he seemed noble.
But now she was sure he wasn’t.
He tilted his head and asked,
“Is there something on my face?”
He wiped his cheek just in case—but of course, there was nothing there.
“Or maybe you’re staring because I’m just too handsome?”
Rowen grinned at his own joke.
But Joo-hee didn’t laugh. In fact, her expression turned serious.
Seeing her reaction, Rowen awkwardly added,
“It was just a joke! Really! Ha… ha…”
His laughter grew quieter.
He wished he could take those words back.
Watching his reaction, Joo-hee was now certain:
Rowen was definitely not the male lead.
In the book, the male lead was supposed to be handsome, cold, and obsessively in love with the heroine.
Rowen was the total opposite.
“Rowen.”
“Yes, Joo-hee.”
“Next time, don’t make jokes like that.”
“…Okay.”
Rowen answered with a sulky voice.
If he could go back in time, he would slap himself to keep from saying it.
Wanting to break the awkward mood, Rowen shyly asked a new question…
“Joo-hee, should I make raspberry pie for you?”
Joo-hee’s serious expression softened a little.
Rowen let out a sigh of relief in his heart.
Raspberry pie was her favorite snack these days.
“Do you want to go pick some raspberries with me?”
“Yes.”
Joo-hee quickly answered and went inside to get a small basket.
But there was a problem.
“…Roo.”
When they climbed up the hill, they found all the raspberries were gone—Roo had eaten them.
Roo’s mouth was stained red from the raspberry juice.
Roo avoided Joo-hee’s eyes and backed away slowly.
They looked around to see if any were left, but Roo had picked them all clean.
“You… don’t come here for a while. Send Lo instead.”
Roo whined at her words, but Joo-hee was firm.
In the end, Roo was banned from coming near.
Since there were no raspberries, they used thinly sliced fruit from the forest on top of the pie instead.
The fruit was sweet and tasted good, but Joo-hee still wanted raspberry pie.
Noticing her expression, Rowen quickly said,
“Tomorrow we’re going to the village, right? They might sell raspberries there. Let’s buy some and definitely make raspberry pie tomorrow.”
Joo-hee’s eyes widened slightly at his words.
Come to think of it, maybe the village really did sell raspberries.
But her hopes were quickly crushed.
“Oh no… sorry. We’re all out of raspberries today.”
At the fruit seller’s words, Joo-hee’s lips tightened.
Rowen quickly asked,
“None at all? I’ll take even leftover bits if you have any.”
“Sorry, not a single one left. Normally they don’t sell that well, but today for some reason they sold out fast.”
At this point, it felt like the world didn’t want Joo-hee to have raspberries.
She gave up, bowed politely, and turned around.
Rowen whispered something to the shopkeeper, then ran after her.
“Joo-hee, don’t be too disappointed.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just wait until raspberries grow again.”
But she didn’t have to wait that long.
The next day, Rowen spoke to her.
“Joo-hee, I’m going for a walk nearby. I won’t go into the forest, so don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
Rowen looked kind of rushed.
It was just a walk, so Joo-hee wondered why he seemed so eager—but since it wasn’t serious, she didn’t think much of it.
Meanwhile, after leaving the house, Rowen kept glancing back to check if Joo-hee was following him as he headed behind the house.
“Roo.”
To his surprise, Roo was already there, waiting for him.
“Trust me. If you take me to the village, I’ll talk to Joo-hee for you.”
Roo looked at him suspiciously but didn’t want to stay banned, so he let Rowen climb on.
Roo ran quickly and brought Rowen to the village entrance in no time.
“I’ll be right back, so stay here, okay?”
Rowen jumped down and headed into the village.
If he took too long, Joo-hee might get suspicious.
He rushed to the fruit store.
“I’m here!”
“Oh, you’re back? You didn’t have to hurry. Hold on.”
The shopkeeper filled a paper bag with raspberries and handed it to him.
“How much is it?”
“Just take it.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a bonus. Just go ahead.”
It seemed like way too much to be a bonus, but the shopkeeper refused to take any money and gently pushed Rowen out.
“Thank you so much!”
Rowen ran out of the village holding the big bag of raspberries close to his chest.
Roo was nearby, playing with a little bird.
“Roo!”
Roo perked up his ears.
Rowen jumped onto Roo’s back and held the raspberry bag tightly so it wouldn’t spill.
Thankfully, Roo ran fast, and not much time passed.
Now, he just had to get Joo-hee out of the house.
Hiding the bag behind his back, Rowen quietly entered the house.
“Joo-hee!”
She turned her head to look at him.
Rowen smiled awkwardly and spoke.
“I came back from my walk and now I’m hungry. I kind of want the fruit from the forest… but we used it all up on the last pie.”
Joo-hee thought for a moment, then got up.
“Alright, I’ll go get some real quick.”
“Ah, okay!”
Rowen grinned widely.
As she picked up the basket and left the house, Rowen peeked from behind to make sure she really went to the forest.
Then he quickly started making the pie.
Normally, Joo-hee would be back in 30 minutes, but this time an hour passed and she hadn’t returned.
Rowen was so focused on baking that he didn’t notice the time passing.
Just as he finished and placed the pie on the table, the door burst open.
Joo-hee came in with a basket full of freshly picked fruit.
“I’m back!”
