I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 170 - Side Story 9

 

Carson instinctively realized he was a rat in poison. Cold sweat trickled down his spine. His mind spun rapidly.

 

If he chose to sleep in the living room, he would regret it greatly, no matter when.

 

But if he chose to sleep with her now, he didn’t know what kind of trouble he’d be in for the rest of the night.

 

Carson’s gaze drifted to the thin slip Leen was holding.

 

She would even wear it to bed with him.

 

For a moment, the image made Carson’s mind woozy.

 

He had no idea why his wife had been so nonchalant about him losing his memory.

 

Unsure of how to handle the situation, he decided to see if she was telling the truth.

 

“…Do you have any proof that I’m married to you?”

 

Leen barely held back the laughter that threatened to break out, and quietly pointed to a corner of the room.

 

It was where their wedding photo hung.

 

Carson’s gaze naturally shifted to it, and he was mesmerized.

 

Leen looked more beautiful in her wedding dress than he could have ever imagined.

 

“It’s so…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“So beautiful.”

 

Carson stammered, burying his ripe red face in his hands.

 

He looked away, but his mind flashed back to Leen in her wedding dress.

 

‘How the hell did he manage to get married?’

 

After seeing her in the photo, my heart was pounding so hard, and she was still alive and well in her wedding dress.

 

While Carson looked at the photo in shock, a slow smile spread across Leen’s lips.

 

How cute was that reaction after losing his memories?

 

Looks like love at first sight was indeed real.

 

Leen’s eyes narrowed in a coy expression.

 

“So, have you decided what you’re going to do, each room or together?”

 

“Combined, room…”

 

Hearing the words that Carson managed to spit out in a muffled voice, Leen grinned in satisfaction.

 

“Good choice, I won’t let you regret it.”

 

At the mention of no regrets, Carson quickly regretted his decision.

 

It was going to be a rough night.

 

💍 

 

Gulp—

 

Carson, who had been waiting impatiently for Leen to wash up, jumped out of bed when the bathroom door opened.

 

The scent of soap wafted through the slightly ajar door as the bathroom was attached to the room.

 

But it wasn’t Leen who emerged, it was her hand.

 

Carson swallowed dryly.

 

Why was he so nervous when all he’d seen was a wet arm?

 

“Caon, I need a towel.”

 

“Uh, yeah!”

 

Quickly grabbing a towel, Carson turned his head to the other side and handed it over.

 

Who knows how long he kept that up?

 

“Leen…?”

 

When she didn’t take the towel, Carson swallowed hard as he cautiously turned his head away.

 

Through the tiny opening of the bathroom door, a shirtless Leen stared back at him.

 

Even though he knew she was looking at him, his gaze followed his instincts.

 

And the moment he saw what he wanted, Carson collapsed, nose bleeding.

 

Whump—

 

Carson collapsed in a blissful heap.

 

The corners of Leen’s lips twitched upward.

 

💍

 

In his sleepy, dazed mind, Carson hugged something familiar next to him.

 

“Mmm…”

 

He was almost intoxicated by the pleasant scent of soap tickling his nostrils.

 

“Caon, are you awake?”

 

At the sound of someone’s voice interrupting his honeyed sleep, Carson’s eyes fluttered open.

Leen.

 

The woman who claimed to be his wife.

 

Carson’s face flushed bright red as he realized what he had been hugging all this time.

 

He quickly fell to the end of the bed and glared at her.

 

“You, that thing from yesterday…!”

 

“Hmph, what do you mean, that thing yesterday?”

 

Leen tilted her head and shrugged nonchalantly, leaving Carson dumbfounded.

 

But even more baffling was the fact that he found it endearing.

 

The fact that he hadn’t gotten angry, even though it was obvious he’d been tricked, was a sign that something had clicked.

 

I was about to say, ‘I’m sorry about this,’ when I realized it hadn’t happened.

 

“I’m sorry about this incident.”

 

Leen raised an eyebrow, apologizing first.

 

“Caon, you were unconscious for two days because you fought with no immunity.”

 

“…What, two days?”

 

“Yep. You lost more blood than I thought. I should have realized that you weren’t under any control spells…my mistake.”

 

Carson, who hadn’t expected to be unconscious for such a long time, couldn’t believe how helpless he was.

 

Standing in front of this woman made him feel so weak.

 

Leen continued, unaware of what Carson was thinking.

 

“It was cute that you lost your memory, but it made me realize that I need to get your memory back as soon as possible.”

 

Well, we couldn’t be newlyweds forever, could we?

 

Squinting one eye, Leen retrieved a small glass vial of pills from the bedside table.

 

“So I pulled an all-nighter for two nights to concoct the potion.”

 

After taking a potion and popping it into her mouth, Leen leaned closer to Carson.

 

“Leen, why would you…?”

 

It wasn’t a medicine to restore memories she’d lost.

 

She hadn’t lost her memory, so why?

 

Before the question could be answered, Leen slowly pursed her lips.

 

“There’s something I want to hear from your lips, Caon, before we get your memories back.”

 

“…What is it?”

 

“Do you, now that you’ve lost all your memories, do you love me?”

 

Carson stared at Leen. He had only known her for a day, but his answer came quickly.

 

“I do. I love you, and I’m still so in love with you that it’s driving me crazy, like you’re controlling my heart.”

 

Leen smiled wryly at the heartfelt response.

 

“I’m glad I’m your type.”

 

With that, Leen wrapped her arms around the nape of Carson’s neck and hugged him. Carson, flustered by her touch, was about to pull away.

 

A soft touch on his lips.

 

Leen bit his lips slightly to part them, then slid the medicine into him.

 

The lingering heat of her breath caused the medicine to dissolve slightly, leaving a bitter taste on the tip of her tongue.

 

Having accomplished her goal, Leen slowly parted from his lips.

 

Carson stared at Leen with a dazed expression, unsure of what had just happened.

 

She laughed softly and whispered low in his ear.

 

“Swallow it, Caon.”

 

At those words, Carson instinctively swallowed the medicine pill.

 

But his stiff body showed no sign of loosening. It was as if he had lost his mind.

 

Leen smiled before him and waited for him to break free of the ice.

 

How much time had passed?

 

Slowly, memories began to surface in Carson’s mind.

 

Starting with his first meeting with Leen, the day they were dating.

 

The day she gave him a doll at the academic festival.

 

The graduation party and the first night.

 

The day he told her he loved her and started dating her.

 

To the day he gave her a ring and proposed.

 

Up to the day they got married.

 

Carson buried his face in the crease of Leen’s neck as the memories flashed through his mind like a floodlight.

 

“Leen, that was too much.”

 

“But you were the one who said you’d sleep in the living room first.”

 

“That’s a lifetime ago. It was a love at first sight, you know.”

 

Leen laughed and hugged Carson tightly.

 

“I only did it because I wanted to sleep with you.”

 

“…You’re lying. You just wanted to tease me.”

 

“So, you don’t like it?”

 

“No, I like it too much.”

 

Carson’s face fell in exasperation. The tips of his ears flared red, unable to hide it.

Leen couldn’t help but spit out another laugh.

 

“My husband is so cute.”

 

💍 

 

After restoring Carson’s memories, I made another batch of pumpkin pie mixed with medicine and went to visit the village chief.

 

I was going to change places with him as soon as his work was done.

 

The chief looked back and forth between me and Carson and chuckled.

 

“Looks like you finally recovered your memories.”

 

“Yes, I had to work a little harder to make the medicine fast.”

 

“By the way, you two…”

 

The old man’s gaze shifted to Carson, who was hugging me tightly from behind.

 

“You must have been a couple or something, though I thought it might have been a master-servant relationship because he valued you so much…”

 

“Yes. We’re newlyweds, just married. My husband is very protective of me, so there must have been a misunderstanding.”

 

As I shakily pulled out the pumpkin pie and potion I’d brought with me, he asked curiously.

 

“Why is the young lady helping me so much?”

 

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should be honest, then spoke sincerely.

 

“Guilt, of course. It’s not my fault, but it’s a kind of solidarity responsibility…”

 

“I see no reason for you to feel guilty of me, young lady.”

 

Well, I guess my maternal grandfather was the main culprit for the trauma the village chief had.

 

I barely swallowed the words that were about to spill out and spoke in defense.

 

“Well, there are a lot of reasons, but firstly… I am the landlord.”

 

“Never mind that.”

 

The old man looked at the pumpkin pie I’d brought him with an apologetic expression.

 

“More than that, I apologize to the young lady who worked so hard to make it, but I changed my mind when I saw you guys.”

 

“What, you mean…”

 

“Yeah. I’m not going to forget.”

 

I blinked rapidly.

 

“But Grandpa, you have nightmares every night.”

 

“The war was certainly traumatizing enough, but to think that I could forget my loved ones like you do makes me sick.”

 

Grandpa looked up at the sky with sorrow on his gaze.

 

“Who else would remember the men I fought and died with, if not me?”