Geum Seong-muk's Memory Arc - Complete

Geum Seong-muk and Seo Ye-bin's sweet romance had come to an end.

A reward was delivered to Seong-muk for completing his mission.

"Good work."

"……."

Seong-muk received the thick envelope.

Seo Mu-jin gestured for him to peek inside, but Seong-muk remained silently still.

"I figured you'd count it right away. Base pay of 300 million won, plus another 200 million on my discretion. 500 million should be plenty to make you forget about Ye-bin."

"……."

Even after hearing the amount, Seong-muk didn't twitch.

He finally parted his heavy lips to make just one request.

"…Please comfort Ye-bin well. I've hurt her too much this time."

"Ah, you were quite ruthless. You did a splendid job."

"Did a splendid job…?"

Seong-muk sensed something off in the words.

They weren't the words of a father who cared about his daughter's happiness.

"What happens to Ye-bin later?"

"What do you mean? She'll marry the son of another major conglomerate, of course. The one I've picked out for her."

"………!"

"Why so surprised? Marriages between chaebols are like that. Massive capital merging with capital, power with power! Marrying based on love or emotions like that is pretty distant from our world."

Seong-muk was deeply shocked.

Of course, he'd thought she should meet someone better than him, but he didn't want her forced into a marriage she didn't desire.

"Marriage to someone she doesn't even want? Are you treating your only daughter like a puppet…!?"

"Ridiculous. Who do you think has fed and housed her, let her live in luxury all this time?"

"It's not like I'm sending her somewhere shady—it's a similar family. She should be grateful, no?"

"…Fuck this."

Seong-muk couldn't hold back anymore.

He snatched the envelope off the table.

Whack!

"Urk…!"

Crash!!

"Director Mu-jin!!"

Seo Mu-jin, struck by the hurled envelope, toppled backward. Thrown by Seong-muk, a fastball pitcher in his own right, it became a formidable weapon.

"My orphan life's pitiful enough, but Ye-bin having a father like you is even more tragic. Ptooey."

Seong-muk spat and stormed out.

The bodyguards, caught off guard, panicked and surrounded Seo Mu-jin.

"Director, are you okay?!"

"That bastard…! Shall we grab him right now?"

"No, it's fine. Young hotheads can act out like that."

"As expected of Director Seo…! The one to lead Yujin Group next has magnanimity beyond compare…!"

Seo Mu-jin showed magnanimity before the guards.

But he was no generous soul.

"Director Seo, I know someone on the Bucheon High baseball team. Should I make a call?"

His secretary whispered in his ear.

Seo Mu-jin nodded with a satisfied expression.

"…Teaching that self-taught punk the bitter taste of society isn't a bad idea."

Seong-muk returned to the team.

To forget his breakup with Ye-bin, he threw himself into baseball like a madman.

"Whoa, Geum Seong-muk's looking sharp today…!"

"Should've done this from the start!"

The coaches showered him with praise.

But strangely, his playing opportunities dwindled.

"Weird, why aren't you getting chances? There's definitely an open starter spot…."

"Dunno. Just gotta work harder."

Hwang Tae-gang, now firmly the semi-regular catcher.

He knew Seong-muk's talent roughly, so the situation baffled him.

No matter how hard Seong-muk tried, no spot opened. Then, he overheard the coach and manager talking.

"Coach, Seong-muk's pitching great lately! He's pulled himself together and working hard—shouldn't we give him a shot…?!"

"Coach Yoo, I know Geum Seong-muk's in top form. But he seems to have pissed off some big shot."

"…No way."

"That 'no way.' Pressure from Yujin Group. They said no playing time for him if we want to keep the sponsorship."

"Such bullshit…!!"

The pitching coach was stunned.

How could this happen? But as a mere salaried coach, there was nothing he could do.

"…What a piece of work."

Seong-muk realized Seo Mu-jin's petty scheming was why he couldn't play.

From then on, he truly started going off the rails.

He drank more, smoked more, chased women, and raced motorcycles recklessly.

That's when issues arose with his body.

Thwack!

"What the? You drank last night too? Why's your velocity so off today?"

Hwang Tae-gang caught the ball with a shocked look.

No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't break 130 km/h. Pitcher's elbow—a condition only insiders knew—had struck Seong-muk.

"…Ha, now even my body's screwing me over."

Before, pressure kept him benched; now, he couldn't throw competitively anymore.

He was kicked off the baseball team.

His name stayed on the roster, but he was barred from the training field and stadium.

"Coach, what the hell…!!"

"Hwang Tae-gang, separate personal from professional. Geum Seong-muk's out because he's no longer useful as a player for our prestigious Bucheon High."

"Kuh…!!"

Hwang Tae-gang was brushed off.

Ultimately, Seong-muk was demoted from team member to regular student.

His full delinquent life began.

He was like a 5-ton truck with busted brakes. Throughout his second year, he wandered without touching a baseball.

He roamed the streets, pulling all sorts of delinquent stunts. One day, staggering drunk down the road, Seong-muk suddenly realized.

"………."

Traces of her lingered everywhere in Busan.

The girl he'd loved most.

Of course, Seong-muk hadn't seen Ye-bin since that rainy day. No one knew what happened to the girl who vanished from Bucheon High.

Yet the memories remained.

Seong-muk felt it.

Repeating these crazy acts to forget those memories was nothing but self-destruction—nothing more, nothing less.

"Guess it's time to leave Busan…."

He decided to leave Busan.

Too late, he sought schools that could rehab him, but rumors had spread through baseball circles: "Don't take Geum Seong-muk."

He gave up transferring to a school with a team and headed to Munhyeok High, a general high school in Seoul.

That was where Seong-muk's recovered memories ended.

"………."

Seong-muk lay in the hospital room.

Beside him were Hwang Tae-gang with a troubled expression and Seo Ye-bin tightly gripping Seong-muk's hand.

"Tch, not sure if this was the right call…."

The two had called an ambulance right after Seong-muk collapsed.

They'd rushed him to the hospital in a panic without notifying the team.

Even now that things had settled, they still hadn't.

It was entirely at Ye-bin's insistence.

"Multiple doctors from various departments examined him multiple times and found nothing wrong. No need to blow it up."

"Ugh, true, but…."

If word got out, Seong-muk might miss the next game.

If there was truly nothing wrong, Tae-gang agreed not to escalate.

"Anyway, you okay?"

"With what?"

"Seong-muk, they said no chance of his memories returning."

"………."

Ye-bin's face turned sad.

At London's top University College Hospital, brain science experts had unanimously stated:

'Real memory loss….'

And permanent, at that.

Still, Ye-bin clung to a sliver of hope.

Just then, Seong-muk opened his eyes.

"Where…?"

"Oh, Seong-muk!"

Seong-muk looked around.

His gaze first landed on Hwang Tae-gang.

"Oh, Tae-gang. What happened?"

"…You collapsed. Guess accumulated fatigue caught up. We were nearby, so we brought you here."

"Ah, got it. Thanks."

Seong-muk bowed his head in gratitude.

Soon, his eyes turned to Ye-bin.

"………."

"………."

A moment of silence.

Ye-bin swallowed hard and asked.

"Do you… remember who I am…?"

"…………."

Seong-muk tilted his head.

His face said he had no clue.

"Sorry, no idea at all."

"…Ah."

His eyes on Ye-bin held no emotion—just the bland neutrality of facing a stranger.

Ye-bin squeezed her eyes shut.

Now she had to accept it.

The Geum Seong-muk she knew was gone.

Gone forever, irretrievable.

The Geum Seong-muk she knew was gone.

Gone forever, irretrievable.

But saying he was completely gone might not be accurate. The current Seong-muk knew what had happened between them.

However, Seong-muk had no intention of revealing it.

'…Can't be helped.'

From his position, he had to draw a line regarding their past memories.

Of course, pretending not to know despite seeing them pricked his conscience a bit, but it was just "watching" Geum Seong-muk's memories like a movie via the system.

Same body, different entity.

Yet while viewing those memories, Seong-muk felt an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠odd sense of familiarity.

'…His behavior patterns are weirdly similar to mine as a kid. Nah, just my imagination?'

Thanks to his parents keeping him in check, he hadn't gone that wild, but real-life Seong-muk had his share of stormy youth.

Various hypotheses bubbled up, but he shook his head vigorously.

'Tch, drop the nonsense.'

Seong-muk focused on the essence.

Anyway, Ye-bin was projecting onto the past Geum Seong-muk.

The current Seong-muk couldn't fully reciprocate those heartfelt feelings. So he deliberately asked—to define their relationship upfront.

"By the way, what were we?"

"………."

Ye-bin was at a loss for words.

She hung her head and spoke heavily.

"…Friends. Just friends."

"Ah, got it."

Seong-muk nodded.

Ye-bin remained with her head bowed.

'Friends… us, friends?'

They'd never been just friends.

From ambiguous "friend of a friend," one incident rocketed them to lovers, then strangers.

But no choice.

The Seong-muk before her didn't know who Ye-bin was.

He didn't remember their tense first meeting, their first date racing along Busan beach, or that rainy day running outside together.

Memories only she held.

It hurt so much.

Drip—

"Huh…."

Tears trailed down her cheek.

Ye-bin tried to laugh it off awkwardly.

"Weird, I'm off today…."

"Don't cry."

"…………!"

Seong-muk reached out and gently wiped her tears.

His touch made her tremble.

"You're a good person. Crying for a friend like that."

"Me, good? Never…."

"I know I wasn't a great guy. Heard I was a nuisance, twisted personality, barely any friends."

"………."

"Just the fact you were friends with a mess like me means you must be deep and warm-hearted. So…."

"Don't cry."

Seong-muk looked straight into Ye-bin's eyes.

After staring wordlessly, she smiled brightly.

"Thanks. I won't."

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, struck a "I'm fine now" pose, and bolted up.

"Hospital bill's paid. Discharge whenever. Good luck with the rest of the tournament…!"

And she dashed out.

Seong-muk smiled, gazing out the window.

'…That should do it.'

In the original story, Seo Ye-bin later turns villainous, stirring trouble with malicious articles against characters.

For her, deeply wounded by past Seong-muk, no comfort could top words directly from "him."

Though they were different people, sharing the body eased his odd sense of debt.

'Probably won't cross paths much, but hope she shakes it off and thrives.'

With her studying in the UK now, their paths wouldn't overlap for years—and if she skipped villainy, even less.

As Seong-muk thought it wrapped neatly, he felt Hwang Tae-gang's displeased stare.

"What? Why the look?"

"You really asking?"

"…What?"

"Forget it. Your arm, your choice."

"……??"

Question marks popped in Seong-muk's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes.

Something was up, but Tae-gang stayed mum. He'd find out soon enough.

'Seo Ye-bin… that look's been a while.'

Hwang Tae-gang had seen it.

The spark reignited in Seo Ye-bin's eyes.

"Haa, haa…!"

Ye-bin panted on the hospital stairs.

She'd run straight here after leaving the room.

Thump, thump!

Her heart raced like this only rarely.

Half-dead inside lately, long-forgotten emotions brought life back to her face.

'He's not the old Seong-muk, but….'

The current Seong-muk was lethally charming enough to shake her. When he wiped her tears, her heart nearly stopped.

Like forgetting the old with the new, only this Seong-muk could make her forget the past one.

"…It's not over."

Her body tingled.

A challenge sparked long-dormant energy.

No greater motivation than returning to his side.

"Friends first, then."

The painful word "friends" now rang pleasantly.

Even without memories, start from scratch and build anew. That could be refreshingly novel.

'Of course, getting to Seong-muk won't be easy.'

Mountains to climb loomed steep.

Seo Mu-jin, shoo-in for Yujin Group heir. Without toppling him, Ye-bin couldn't escape puppetry.

'About one or two months till heir selection.'

Seo Mu-jin's cruelty—treating underlings like trash—meant poor reputation.

His hidden scandals weren't few. If Ye-bin moved, key executives would follow her in droves.

She'd resigned to fate, living by his will. But now, she resolved.

To drag her own father from the throne with her hands—the one who'd inflicted irremovable pain on her and Seong-muk.

Ye-bin hurried down the stairs. She'd be swamped now, splitting every minute for groundwork.

Suddenly, a thought hit; she paused.

"Right, a gift for Seong-muk."

A gift for Seong-muk—and Korea's national team. Shake up their next opponents, the North Korean team.

'One of Seong-muk's teammates is the Dear Leader's son.'

Politically and team-wise, a loss was unacceptable. Ye-bin decided to lend a hand.

Drip—

"Jeong Director. Got all the data I requested on North Korean team Kim Jung-cheol, the Dear Leader's second son?"

"Blast it all. Make that fat pig up north squirm."

The call ended.

With near-total control of massive media outlet Yujin Press, one call was enough to unleash desired articles.

Ye-bin smiled brightly.

"Hope he likes it."

The gift she'd prepared for Seong-muk rocked global media the next day. In a big way.