* * *
The diary entries were listed by date, with the most recent one dated quite a while ago.
At first, it looked like a regular journal recording daily life, though the tone seemed to suggest it was written for someone else, as if sharing details with them.
It was only when Soohyuk read an entry from a week before the last one that he frowned.
[I got a message from Jeong Sanho.
He says everything is ready.
What could he mean by that? What were you doing, exactly?
I haven’t apologized to everyone yet, but I’m working on it.
By the time you’re back, everything should be set!
Am I being good? So be kind to Jinwoo, okay?]
[Finally, I’m discharged today!
I was trying to be careful with your body… Sorry.
Oh, and Hoonil hyung told me to call him “hyung” instead of “Doctor,” so I decided to give it a try.
But it still feels awkward!]
[Wonbeom hyung gave me a 3-million-won bonus!
But I needed the money, so I didn’t save it for you. Sorry…
I figured I’d let you know in case you’re shocked by the bank balance.]
[Soohyuk hyung and I… kissed.
It wasn’t your first kiss… was it?]
Each day was recorded with casual notes, sometimes just brief comments, sometimes lengthy descriptions of the day’s events, as though logging everything that happened.
Soohyuk scrolled to the very first entry and opened it.
[Hi, Jingyeom!
I’m Baek Jingyeom, borrowing your body for a while!
We even have the same name. Isn’t that strange? I was shocked to find myself in a body with my own name!
It’s hard to believe, but I’m actually in the world of a novel I once read—Gray.
It’s the story with Baek Jinwoo and Tak Wonbeom as the main characters.
I don’t know how I ended up here in your body, or even why…
I thought it was a dream, but it isn’t…
You might be as confused as I was, but it’s real! Please believe me!
Until I find a way to return to my world, until you come back, I’ll stay here temporarily.
I promise I’ll try to live quietly, without causing you any trouble.
And just in case you want to know what happened while you were gone, I’ll record everything from now on…
Someday, this will be your diary, Jingyeom.]
“What?”
Soohyuk’s grip on the phone tightened as he read, his brow furrowing and lips parting in shock.
Slowly, he reread every entry, beginning from the first.
“So… Baek Jingyeom isn’t really Baek Jingyeom?”
No matter how he looked at it, it was absurd.
This wasn’t mere memory loss—there was clearly something wrong.
Yet each diary entry showed a real intent to inform the “real” Jingyeom.
The diary even had photos attached, detailing events with startling accuracy.
The entries mentioned everything: the part-time jobs, the trips, even specific memories like a plush arctic fox toy.
And the most unbelievable detail…
Gray? Possession?
The diary claimed that this world was a novel called Gray, and that Jingyeom was possessed by someone else.
More startlingly, it referred to Baek Jinwoo and Tak Wonbeom as main characters.
In disbelief, Soohyuk searched online but found no novel by that name.
Tracing back the dates of the entries, Soohyuk remembered, “The day Wonbeom and I were together…”
It was definitely when he’d been on a business trip abroad.
“What could have happened that day to make him stop writing his journal?”
Soohyuk closed his eyes tightly.
He’d never felt his heart pound with this kind of tension before; it was enough to make his hands shake.
After taking a moment to regain his composure, Soohyuk selected the option to export the text from the journal app and sent it to himself.
Then, he threw his phone against the wall.
From that day on, Soohyuk had devoured books on psychology, wondering if Jingyeom might actually have a mental illness.
He scoured the internet for case studies and consulted various psychiatrists. Most of them said similar things.
“Dissociative identity disorder… and delusional disorder.”
Dissociative identity disorder involves the presence of two or more distinct identities or personalities in a single person, while delusional disorder is marked by unshakeable false beliefs.
This seemed to match most closely.
The Jingyeom before he’d lost his memory and the one he’d become were so distinctly different that, in terms of personality alone, they couldn’t be the same person.
If Jingyeom really did have dissociative identity disorder, he needed immediate treatment—and perhaps this was the point where Soohyuk should step away.
But he didn’t want to do that.
And if it really was as Jingyeom’s journal hinted—a possession—then, on the off chance that was true…
“Maybe this could actually work in my favor?”
If it were true, then the memory loss would be a lie, and he wouldn’t go chasing after Wonbeom like before.
He would truly be someone new.
And Soohyuk, knowing the truth, would have the upper hand.
“If I just keep him bound to my side like this…”
Soohyuk tapped his phone with his fingertips.
Despite how hard he’d thrown it, only the screen had cracked; the phone itself was fine.
“No one’s seen this but me. …Jinwoo didn’t see it either, did he?”
The password was too simple, so Jinwoo might have looked—but it didn’t matter.
As he stared at the phone, Soohyuk’s lips curved into a dangerous smile.
When Jingyeom finally woke from his coma, Soohyuk asked if his memories had returned, wanting to know if he truly lost them or was only pretending.
Jingyeom had said no, looking distinctly uncomfortable. But Soohyuk kept pressing.
Then came his reply:
“I’m not really interested.”
“It hasn’t affected me much, you know? I’m not that uncomfortable, and I’m not desperate to find them. I’d rather not talk about this anymore…”
That was when Soohyuk made his decision.
Whatever happened, he would be the only one to know about the journal app.
Since then, he continued observing Jingyeom but found nothing strange apart from his personality change.
If he’d noticed anything else, it was that Jingyeom treated him more comfortably than he did others.
Even more so than Jinwoo.
At the same time, Jingyeom was clearly aware of Soohyuk’s presence, which made him think it wouldn’t be long until he could finally make him his.
That evening, after waking up, Jingyeom realized he was lying in bed and stayed under the covers for a while.
His bruises didn’t hurt unless he touched them, but remembering what happened earlier made him incredibly embarrassed.
The incident on the sofa while watching a movie, and the time he’d banged his head against the desk and cried.
He felt his ears and neck flush as he rubbed them with his palms.
“This place really is dangerous.”
If he stayed here much longer, he might actually settle into Soohyuk’s embrace, he thought, as a warning blared in his mind.
Jingyeom tapped his lips with his fingertips and sighed.
Before, he hadn’t even considered dating, preoccupied with the thought he could disappear at any time.
But now that worry was gone, so maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
If Soohyuk were the one…
“But… Jinwoo is weighing on my mind.”
It wasn’t just Jinwoo. He was also concerned about Wonbeom.
If it were strangers, it wouldn’t matter, but these people were so closely connected to him that he couldn’t take it lightly.
“There’s no guarantee that his feelings won’t change someday.”
With his love for novelty, Soohyuk might suddenly get bored and leave him, saying he was no longer fun.
Caught up in these worries, Jingyeom concluded it might be best not to pursue anything with any of them.
“But… the problem is, I don’t really want that.”
Without a proper ending, Soohyuk and Wonbeom would both track him down no matter how far he ran.
They had the means to do so.
“In any case, Jinwoo worries me.”
The way he clung to him and his lingering anxiety weighed on Jingyeom’s mind.
Growing up together since childhood, Jinwoo’s sense of loss would be even greater than the other two’s.
Jingyeom knew he would never fully understand Jinwoo’s feelings.
Even if he tried, he could only scratch the surface.
Maybe bumping his head earlier had uncorked a flood of thoughts.
“Shouldn’t my brain be simpler with some cells gone? …Or am I just getting dumber?”
Jingyeom, who had planned to stay in bed a bit longer, suddenly locked eyes with Soohyuk, who had come in to feed him dinner.
The room, lit with the colors of the sunset, glowed warmly.
“You’re awake? When did you get up? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“…”
“What’s wrong? Are you still in pain? Should we go right now?”
Soohyuk moved closer to the bed.
When Jingyeom didn’t respond and only looked at him, Soohyuk wondered if he was still in pain.
Seeing Jingyeom’s flushed face, he reached out and touched his forehead.
“You don’t have a fever, but your neck is warm.”
Although Jingyeom’s forehead felt fine, his neck radiated heat.
Perhaps it was from being under the blanket, but considering Jingyeom’s frailty, there could be another reason.
Soohyuk sat on the edge of the bed and gently rubbed Jingyeom’s cheek.
“Are you hurting, or are you just groggy from waking up?”
“…”
“If you don’t answer, we’re going to the hospital.”
“I just woke up.”
At the mention of the hospital, Jingyeom quickly replied, making Soohyuk chuckle.
He knew Jingyeom hated hospitals from living in them all his life, but his reaction was a bit too quick.
Soohyuk found it endearing yet slightly exasperating, so he lightly pinched Jingyeom’s cheek.
Watching Jingyeom wriggle in discomfort brought a gentle smile to his lips.
His eyes curved, and a smile spread across his face so naturally, without even trying.
“I really don’t want to let you go.”
At first, it was just curiosity, but now, he’d developed a determination to keep Jingyeom close, no matter what it took.
“Just don’t get hurt, no matter what happens.”
Mental illness, possession—whatever it might be.
As long as he could stay by his side, nothing else mattered.
* * *
Aww
👍
good
Awwww