Chapter 42: The Cannibalism of Self

“Do you think I’m a madman who would soak his body in drugs? Giving sleeping pills to a person already on pheromone stabilizers and psychiatric meds? Which lunatic would—”

Junseong pushed past the frozen Chief Choi and threw the door open. He walked straight to the bedside where Min Seonghye lay as if dead. When Junseong simply stood there in silence, Chief Choi, unable to bear the tension, stomped over.

“This is driving me crazy. Fine, let’s say he got the pills from someone else. But no matter how well the medicine works, why has he been sleeping like this for days?”

Looking at Seonghye, who had his eyes closed in a peace undisturbed by anyone, Junseong felt a wave of nausea. The corners of the sleeping man’s mouth were pulled up slightly—as if someone were tugging them with invisible threads.

“This bottle… was it in plain sight from the start?” Junseong’s hand trembled slightly.

Chief Choi, looking more nervous than before, replied, “On the desk. Right in the middle. Like he wanted it to be seen.”

At that moment, Seonghye’s lips curled up just a fraction more.

“…!”

It was a simple, minor change in expression, but the pill bottle slipped from Junseong’s hand. He didn’t even notice the loud clatter or Choi’s confused stare; his face was slowly distorting in horror.

Chief Choi shook his head irritably. “Hey, why are you acting so unsettling again? Seeing you make such a terrifying face in front of a sleeping kid is giving me the creeps.”

“…….”

In the blink of an eye, Seonghye’s expression returned to neutral. His languid breathing remained constant. When Chief Choi grabbed Junseong’s shoulder to turn him around, Junseong could only mutter like a man in shock.

“No… this isn’t right. This is all wrong.”

His pupils were unfocused, glazed over by the impact of his realization. Chief Choi shook him again. “Damn it, Dr. Kim! Get a hold of yourself! Wake up!”

“…It makes no sense. No. This shouldn’t…”

Disjointed words spilled from Junseong’s mouth. His voice was weak, yet his eyes—unlike a moment ago—hardened into a cold, sharp clarity as he pieced the situation together.

Junseong went straight to Professor Jang and confessed everything that had happened between him and Seonghye. This triggered a fierce debate among the medical team. Led by Professor Jang, they began a more meticulous examination of Seonghye’s state, and the news eventually reached the Chairman’s ears.

The medical team formulated a hypothesis: Min Seonghye’s two personalities were no longer coexisting. The rupture began the moment the Second Personality discovered the “medicine” (the vitamins) in Seonghye’s room.

The unstable symbiosis had finally cracked.

Furthermore, while Seonghye had tried to “kill” the Second Personality by stealing his time, the Second Personality had launched a far more depraved counterattack.

Once a personality harbors malice, it can focus on destroying the host’s life. It wasn’t just about ruining Seonghye’s reputation, daily life, and social connections. The Second Personality had begun to overwrite Seonghye’s waking hours with sleep, forcing him into a state of permanent unconsciousness.

It was as if he intended to make the daytime Min Seonghye appear as a person who never existed—to slowly kill his presence and, eventually, swallow him whole.

Junseong wasn’t sure whether to call this “identity erasure” or “personality murder,” but he knew one thing for certain:

The Seonghye that Yunhwan had met in Sanghee-ri was not the original self. It was the split-off Second Personality who had seized control and buried the original self.

“…….”

And then, during the accident in the mountains, a Third Personality had emerged.

The three personalities, branching from a single body, were now locked in a cycle of predatory behavior. The original Min Seonghye remained buried in the darkness he so loathed. The Second Personality, who buried him to stand in the light, was waiting to wake again. For now, the Third Personality seemed to be blocking them both, but…

“…I wonder how long that will last.”

Looking up at the darkness that felt particularly suffocating tonight, Junseong swallowed a sigh.

“I’ll say it again.”

The smile on his face vanished like a dying ember. Having heard for the second time that his memories had briefly returned, Seonghye looked more annoyed than happy.

“I don’t remember any of it.”

His eyes, with their sharp contrast between black and white, stared directly into Yunhwan’s. It was Yunhwan who felt flustered; he hadn’t expected Seonghye to be so displeased by the news of his recovery.

Facing those pitch-black eyes, Yunhwan felt his mouth go dry. Unable to withstand the cold gaze, he looked away.

“I don’t remember a single thing, so what ‘memory’ are you saying I found?”

Seonghye gripped Yunhwan’s shoulder and pulled him forward. The distance between them closed instantly.

Is the fact that his memories returned really this upsetting?

The “Original” Min Seonghye, whom Yunhwan had only briefly seen for the first time in weeks, had vanished like a mirage, but the fact that he could return was encouraging. Of course, there had been that unnecessary contact…

“…….”

Yunhwan bit the inside of his cheek as the memory of the kiss resurfaced. He bit hard enough to sting, which effectively cleared the unwanted thought from his mind. But his luck was out; the moment he met Seonghye’s glossy, intense gaze, his shoulders froze.

“Then tell me. What did I say to you?”

“…What?” Yunhwan stammered.

“The Min Seonghye who ‘remembered’—what did he say to Kwon Yunhwan?”

Seonghye stood with his arms crossed, looking down at him. With every breath, his chest moved visibly behind his folded arms. Yunhwan couldn’t tell if it was anger or something else.

“Fine, let’s say my memory came back. I’m asking what that Min Seonghye said to you.”

He uncrossed his arms. He grabbed Yunhwan’s hand and pulled him even closer, lowering his head so they were eye-to-level. He was hypersensitive, focused entirely on what had been exchanged between Yunhwan and his “other” self.

“Well… it wasn’t anything special, really…”

“You looked at me like you’d seen a ghost, Hyung.”

“I didn’t—”

“Just now, when you were on the phone with the doctor. In this room. The moment you saw my face.”

Yunhwan had no defense. After the “remembering” Seonghye lost consciousness, Yunhwan had called Junseong in a panic, only to be terrified when Seonghye appeared silently behind him. He rubbed his mouth with his hand; he couldn’t deny it.

The momentum of the conversation shifted entirely to Seonghye.

“If you were that surprised, I guess my memory really did come back for a moment,” Seonghye said, his voice flat.

His dry gaze swept over Yunhwan’s face. Yunhwan felt his spine stiffen under the scrutiny. But Seonghye wasn’t composed either; his pupils were darting, trying to hide a growing anxiety. Even if it was only for a moment, he had to know what had been said.

The fact that he had lost his memory after saving Yunhwan from a fall proved that even before the amnesia, Yunhwan was no ordinary person to him. Even if he hadn’t “imprinted” back then, he had risked his life. What angered Seonghye was the realization that his past self had been that devoted—and that those intense memories still prevented Yunhwan from forgetting the “old” Min Seonghye.

Seonghye’s face hardened. “So, tell me. Hurry.”

Then, his black eyes landed on Yunhwan’s lips, which were more swollen than usual.

“Hurry…”

The moment he saw the plumped skin, Seonghye’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily. His dark pupils seemed to crack with a sudden surge of intensity, and his refined expression crumpled into a fierce scowl.

A rough voice broke through his lips.

“Your lips… why do they look like that?”

Seonghye’s finger pressed down firmly on the lips swollen from the earlier kiss. He felt the smooth, taut texture. Angered by the sensation, a harsh curse escaped his mouth.

The fact that his memory had returned no longer mattered. All of his senses were now focused like a bombardment on the man in front of him.

“Answer me from now on. When my memory came back… what the hell did the two of you do?”