Chapter 10
Rowen ran into the house and started hitting his head in frustration.
“Ugh, I’m such an idiot! Why did I run away?!”
If Mel had seen him, she would’ve laughed at how ridiculous he looked.
But no matter how far he ran, he always ended up back at Joo-hee’s house.
As Rowen sat with his head down in shame, he suddenly heard Joo-hee’s voice.
“…What are you doing over there?”
Embarrassed again, Rowen’s neck turned red.
“Uh… working out! I was just doing some exercises! My body felt a bit stiff…”
“Oh… okay.”
Rowen felt like she was looking at him as if he were pathetic. He wanted to escape the house altogether.
– Joo-hee, Rowen seems bad at lying.
“Just… leave him alone.”
She felt like if she said more, he might cry.
Trying to be considerate, Joo-hee didn’t say anything else—but Rowen misunderstood, thinking she was disappointed in him and didn’t want to talk anymore.
From that point on, Rowen got startled every time she spoke to him.
“Rowen.”
“Y-yes? I’m totally fine! Did something happen?”
“…”
Joo-hee stared at him like he was acting strange. Rowen gave a forced smile.
“Oh, I was just… lost in thought. Why did you call me?”
“I finished washing up. You can go now.”
“Oh, right.”
He picked up his towel and clothes and stepped outside, looking a little down.
Why am I feeling this way when she’s acting like nothing happened?
He still didn’t understand what came over him that day.
One moment, all he could see were her red lips—and before he knew it, he was leaning so close that he nearly kissed her.
It shocked him when she suddenly opened her eyes.
Maybe it was actually lucky she woke up, he thought. If I had really kissed her, I wouldn’t be able to face her anymore.
He sighed deeply.
It even appeared in his dreams—he’d woken up in a panic more than once.
He tried watching Joo-hee’s reactions carefully, but she didn’t seem to care at all.
But the truth was, Joo-hee was thinking about it.
When Mel started shouting in her ear, she had woken up—and she realized Rowen had been just about to kiss her.
She touched her lips with her fingers.
Their lips hadn’t touched, but if she had opened her eyes a little later, it might’ve happened.
It was awkward, but not unpleasant.
It was a strange feeling.
If it had been any other man, she would’ve kicked him out without hesitation.
But with Rowen… she didn’t want to.
She didn’t know exactly why, but decided to just follow her heart for now.
Still, Joo-hee’s face stayed blank as always, so Rowen couldn’t notice any of this.
A lot of time passed since then.
At first, Rowen got nervous every time Joo-hee talked to him, but eventually, he calmed down a little.
The only problem was—his memory still hadn’t returned.
No matter how hard he tried, his mind stayed blank.
“Joo-hee, when do you think I’ll get my memory back?”
“Eventually. It’s probably temporary, so don’t worry too much.”
Rowen glanced at her and quietly asked,
“Joo-hee… what will you do if I get my memory back?”
“You’ll go back.”
“Then… what if I ask you to come with me?”
That’s when Joo-hee finally turned around and looked at him.
He looked nervous, but her face stayed calm.
She tilted her head slightly, then said,
“Why would I?”
“Huh?”
“Why would I leave my nice home to follow you?”
“O-oh… yeah. Haha. That was a dumb question.”
She looked at him like, Why would you even ask something so obvious?
Rowen gave a nervous laugh.
It was the natural answer… so why does it hurt so much?
Maybe because she didn’t even pause to think about it?
If I forced her to come with me… would she hate me?
He thought, Even if she hates me, at least she’d be by my side.
Isn’t being hated better than being ignored?
He froze at his own dangerous thoughts and quickly stood up.
Joo-hee blinked at him, surprised.
“Ah, I feel kind of sticky. I’ll go take a shower.”
Then he rushed outside without even bringing his towel or clothes.
Mel, sitting on Joo-hee’s shoulder, whispered in her ear:
– Joo-hee, Rowen forgot his towel and clothes.
“…”
– Heehee, you should go give them to him, right?
Joo-hee didn’t say anything, but picked up the clothes and towel.
Joo-hee was still thinking about Rowen’s earlier question.
She felt a little uncomfortable but shook off the thought, telling herself not to worry too much.
* * *
Meanwhile…
Rowen walked quickly toward the pond.
“I must be crazy… thinking about becoming royalty.”
He had felt ashamed after imagining that, as a royal, he could command Joo-hee and she wouldn’t be able to resist.
That thought made him hate himself—and feel like he didn’t deserve to be near someone as good as Joo-hee.
He wasn’t really planning to wash. It was just an excuse.
So he sat on a rock near the pond and let his thoughts wander.
A few minutes later, he heard footsteps.
When he turned around, his eyes widened.
“…Joo-hee?”
“You left your clothes and towel.”
Sure enough, she was holding his things.
“Oh… thanks.”
Honestly, Rowen hadn’t expected her to bring them.
He thought he had figured out her personality by now—and that she wouldn’t go out of her way like this.
But he didn’t show his surprise.
Joo-hee placed the towel and clothes on the ground.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“W-wait! Joo-hee!”
She turned back to face him, and he slowly walked closer.
“I’ve been wondering about something.”
“What is it?”
Rowen came a little closer, but Joo-hee didn’t step back.
“When we first met… why did you let me stay here?”
“…”
“I had no injuries, just lost my memory. We were complete strangers.”
Joo-hee looked down and started thinking.
Rowen waited nervously, his heart pounding.
As the silence grew, he started to regret asking—afraid her honest answer might hurt him.
He rushed to add,
“You don’t have to answer if it’s—”
“There’s no real reason. You could say I was careless.
But I didn’t feel like you were a threat.”
“…”
“And if I had let you go… I think I would’ve kept wondering about you.”
She meant that after helping him once, it would’ve felt uncomfortable not knowing if he was okay—especially if something bad happened in the forest later.
But Rowen misunderstood the meaning—and his face turned red.
Mel, of course, immediately tattled.
– Rowen’s face turned bright red!
Joo-hee sighed. With Mel around, there was no such thing as a secret.
* * *
At the same time…
Lowengrin’s disappearance was being kept a top secret.
So the capital was not under strict control.
Thanks to that, Rian had no trouble leaving the city.
He planned to check each nearby village one by one.
“I hope he’s somewhere close…”
Going too far might cost him too much time.
But there was one big problem: the horse he borrowed had a mind of its own.
“Hey, move! Come on!”
The horse would run for a bit, then stop and walk slowly on its own.
Even kicking it didn’t help—it would just snort and ignore him.
Rian was dying of frustration.
“Please! I’m begging you. I don’t have time…”
Only after pleading did the horse start moving again.
Rian wanted to exchange it, but since it was borrowed, he couldn’t.
Because of the horse’s frequent stops, what should’ve taken half a day took him until nightfall.
“Ugh, I’m going crazy…”
At this pace, he wouldn’t be able to search all the villages.
It was already dark, so he couldn’t start searching right away.
With a deep sigh, Rian entered the cheapest inn in the village and unpacked.
* * *
The Next Morning…
He hadn’t slept much, but his mind was sharp.
He left the horse at the inn and went out to explore.
On the way down to the first floor, he asked the innkeeper:
“Has a man with black hair and green eyes stayed here recently?
He’s very handsome—you’d remember if you saw him.”
Rian guessed that people in the countryside probably wouldn’t recognize the prince, so he described Lowengrin’s looks instead.
The innkeeper frowned and shook his head.
“Well… we get all kinds of people. Even though this place is old, it’s cheap, so lots of guests come through.”
“Please try to remember. It hasn’t been that long. Maybe about a week ago.”
“Hmm… sorry, my memory’s not what it used to be. I don’t think I can help much.”
“It’s alright. By the way, can I leave my horse here for a bit?”
Rian pulled out a silver coin and handed it to the innkeeper.
The man’s eyes widened, and he quickly smiled and took the coin.
“Of course! And if I remember anything, I’ll let you know right away.”
“Thank you.”
Rian had a feeling Lowengrin wasn’t in this village—but still, he searched the area carefully.
He moved quickly since he was alone, but he didn’t find a single clue—not even a strand of hair.
So, he had no choice but to move on to the next village.
It wasn’t until several days later that Rian finally found a lead about Rowen.
