Right after arriving at the academy, **Sia** locked herself in her dorm room without looking back.

[Miss, are you alright? **Yu-jin** seems really down.]  
[What on earth happened?]  
[Please at least let us know if you see this.]

‘…Shut up.’

—Whoosh.

She flung her ringing phone away.

It was an act of wanting to avoid being disturbed by anyone.  
She was incredibly confused right now.

‘I’m already feeling dizzy from all these strange memories.’

The source of her confusion was the sudden flood of memories.  
Memories of herself… and **Yu-jin**. 

But now, memories that shouldn’t exist.

[Hehe. **Sia**, I missed you….]  
[Ugh, you fool. Who shows up to a friend date dressed like that? Such a waste of a pretty face.]  
[I, I put in effort to dress like this…?]

‘Why is **Yu-jin** acting so pathetic?’

In her mind, **Yu-jin** was a competent and cunning young man.  
But the memories that had been forcefully inserted just moments ago depicted a completely different **Yu-jin**.

With hunched shoulders and a personality that flinched at the slightest brush of a girl’s hand.  
His speech was stammering with tension.  
It was so pathetic that it didn’t fit his character at all.

Still, his face was his face.  
There was an irresistible cuteness that made it hard to hate him…

[Hii, hiiik!!]  
[Huh. He fights well, but… there’s something ugly about him. Such a waste of a face.]

In the entrance exam, he had cried and used every trick in the book to ugly pass.  
The **Yu-jin** in those memories was a bit too pathetic for her liking.

In every way, he was worlds apart from the current **Yu-jin**.

[Well then, let’s go to the movies. There’s a romantic film you like, **Sia**; a fun one just came out. I got tickets for a really good seat.]  
[Huh? Did I ever mention what movies I like?]  
[Uh, um, actually that, hypnosis…]  
[What? I can’t hear you if you mumble~.]  
[……I’ll tell you later, later. Sorry.]  
[Don’t be boring. Fool.]

There was one more thing.  
A sense of guilt that occasionally popped up. The inferiority complex it triggered.

For some reason, **Sia** felt she knew the source of it.

[**Yu-jin**!! Make sure to like me!!]

‘Could it be because of this? He hypnotized me to like him?’

Amid the dizzying mix of memories, one stood out.

He was a talented individual who had passed the entrance exam at stage 10, so when he treated her warmly,  
That day he suddenly hypnotized her.

[Huh? What? A confession?]  
[Did it… work on me?]  
[Ahaha. You fool. But, maybe you were impressed by my courage to pursue a flower on the edge of a cliff?]  
[……? What does that mean?]  
[I’ll think about it specially. You fool.]

‘That hypnosis didn’t work at all.’

The hypnosis had not taken effect.

After all, asking someone to like him?  
Given his appearance, how could he be disliked?  
From the start, **Sia** had never particularly disliked **Yu-jin**.  
Love was a different issue, but still.

Because of that, she had been getting along with **Yu-jin** more closely afterward.  
In a slightly different dynamic, where she took the lead.

[**Yu-jin**, aren’t you playing too much with **Sia**? Didn’t we agree to go on a date?]  
[You went with me yesterday, you hussy! And **Yu-jin** enjoys being with me more….]  
[Don’t fight….]  
[**Yu-jin**, get lost!]  
[Shut up. This is a matter for the girls.]

‘This hussy is just like before.’

Arguing with **Alice** was a bit annoying.  
Yet, it was still a happy memory.  
In her memories, she was always smiling. Surely she was happy.

[Oh, right. **Yu-jin**.]  
[Huh? Why….]

—Smooch.

[……!!!!?]  
[This is a one-year anniversary gift. This is **Sia**'s first kiss, so treasure it. Fool.]

‘To the point of sharing my first kiss.’

It was an added bonus that she fell for him not for his looks, but for his character.

In that way, the **Yu-jin** in her memories became her boyfriend.  
It was the day that marked one year since they met.

[**Ninomiya Aika**?! Why are you….]

‘…After this, my memories become hazy, but I feel like we did various things.’

However, the only memories she fully recalled were up until they became lovers.  
After that, they were scattered, but…

There was one clear memory that remained.

[……**Yu-jin**. If you forget me, I’ll kill you.]  
[Even if I die, I won’t forget.]

In the distant future. In an unknown white place.  
**Yu-jin**, now missing an arm, smiling down at her as she cries while seeing him off.  
Though she had gained a little weight, he still smiled handsomely.

Finally…

[I could never forget the wives who made me human.]  
[……If you can’t say anything.]

[Anyway, this time I’ll make you truly happy. I’ll become the best man suited for you, so wait for me.]

‘Wives? Why is it plural?’

It was a very concerning title.

Wives? It certainly felt as if there were many.  
That was the reason for the confusion in her mind.

‘What kind of ridiculous memory is this? Am I losing my mind? Schizophrenia?’

Her rationality denied the memories.

Suddenly recalling memories of a future that didn’t exist? Does that even make sense logically?  
How could that upstanding young man have multiple wives?  
And that I would accept it so easily?

No way.  
At the very least, she wouldn’t permit her husband to roll around with other women.  
**Sia** wasn’t that broad-minded.

‘But… why does my heart race just recalling it?’

Yet her heart was affirming those memories.

Just thinking about it made her feel sweet and bittersweet.  
Sometimes happy, sometimes angry, loving. It was a joy.  
These were too precious to dismiss as lies.

In the end, **Sia** couldn’t come to any conclusion.  
She simply locked herself in her room and reflected on her memories.

Time passed: one hour, two hours. Three hours.  
It was more than enough time to make the suddenly emerged memories her own.

—Whirring.

‘…**Yu-jin**, he must have been hurt. I left him so abruptly.’

After her dizzying thoughts settled to some extent,  
The first thought that came to her was concern for **Yu-jin**.

I wonder what he’s doing right now.  
I remember being excited and kissing him, but after that, I can hardly recall anything.  
I think I gave him a handkerchief when he had a nosebleed. Hm.

Gingerly, her hand moved toward her phone.

‘Everyone must be worried. At least a text….’

—Tap, tap, tap.

[42 missed calls]  
[99+ unread messages]

‘……?’

An unusual number of missed calls.  
**Sia**'s eyes widened.  
No matter how much she had come here on her own accord, it wasn’t something to warrant this many calls.  
She wondered what was going on.

“…Most of these are from **Yu-jin**.”

After checking what was going on, about half of them were indeed from **Yu-jin**.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong. Please at least accept my call.”  
Most of the messages were filled with apologies.

A small laugh escaped her lips.

[**Sia**, I messed up… I’m sorry for being a foolish brat….]  
[I’ll be banging my head against the door until you come out, so please hear me out and let me explain….]

‘This pathetic yet adorable side is certainly reminiscent of the **Yu-jin** from those memories.’

It was so cute that even the fact he was currently banging his head against her dorm door would be something a girl would find horrifying.

‘Yeah. What does it matter if those memories are real or not? After all, I’m living differently now. I’m living in the present.’

Thanks to that, the clouds in **Sia**'s mind cleared.

Nonexistent memories? Unfathomable emotions?  
Not my business. My heart will decide.

The memories that had surfaced today were indeed fascinating, but…  
Reality had changed significantly from those memories.  
Her heart too, was entirely different from then.

—Creak.

‘I like **Yu-jin**….’

For some reason, her steps toward the entrance felt light.

Because she decided to acknowledge the feelings she had been pridefully ignoring until now.  
It was thanks to that that she felt a little better.

Creak. The sound of the front door opening echoed.

“

**Sia**, I’m sorry!! It’s all my fault.”  
“Get up, you fool.”

—Grab. Whoosh.

“……!!!?”

**Sia** enveloped **Yu-jin**, who was sprawled out on the ground, in her shadow and threw him inside.

In the meantime, their eyes met.  
**Alice**, who had been restless trying to stop **Yu-jin**, caught **Sia**'s gaze.

**Alice**’s eyes narrowed.

“**Sia**!! What on earth did **Yu-jin** do to deserve this…?!”

—Pause.

“**Sia**? What’s with that expression?”  
“Because of this fool, I’ve gone through a lot.”  

In contrast, **Sia** wore a face of complete composure.  
Her eyes were filled with pity.

“You too, me too.”  
“What does that mean?”  
“Forget it. I’m going to talk to him for a bit, so you go do your thing.”

—Creak. Bang.

With that, she closed the door with an incomprehensible sound.  
**Alice** could only blink in confusion.

What’s going on? That expression looks just like how **Bochong** looks at **Yu-jin**.  
She muttered to herself.

---

The next day.  
The day of my second gate exploration dawned.

—Boom.

“Honestly, tell me, **Yu-jin**. What happened with **Sia** yesterday?”  
“Um, well.”  
“If you lie, I’ll crush you.”  
“…….”  
‘What do you mean by that, **Alice**?’

**Yu-jin** realized that the difficulty of harem building had increased a hundredfold compared to before his regression.