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(1st POV for Jungin MC to avoid confusion for the two Jungin)

The truth was, I was deeply shocked by my friend’s confession that he had always hated me.

My stomach churned.

Was that why Jungin wanted revenge?

Did he steal my body and run away just to get back at me?

Was all of this insanity driven by his hatred for me?

My head spun.

I couldn’t bear to listen to Lee Jungin any longer.

I needed a moment—a moment to pull myself together.

“Jungin, just… wait a second. My head hurts for a moment…”

“Fuck, do you think I enjoyed living in that house? I’m the one who got scammed! Fucking hell, I survived, but thanks to who?”

With his fists clenched and his eyes tightly shut, Jungin shouted over the head of the excited Lee Jungin.

“What? Your brothers love you? Your parents are kind? Where do you think a bastard like you gets off? Do you know how much I suffered because of that woman because of you?”

“Jungin… Please, just stop.”

“You knew everything, didn’t you? You knew it all and still acted oblivious, pretending you didn’t realize your stepmother was trying to kill you? That’s what you were doing, wasn’t it?”

Ugh… My head—it felt like it was about to split open.

I couldn’t make sense of what Lee Jungin was saying.

When I closed my eyes, strange, tangled memories surged up in my mind, one after another.

“Stop it… Let’s talk about this later.”

A sticky black shadow loomed over Jungin, dragging his struggling body down into the mire.

‘No, this isn’t… These aren’t my memories…’

Jungin grabbed his head with trembling hands and stood shakily.

‘My head… it’s splitting. Please, make it stop.’

I had to leave this place. I needed to find someone who could hold me together.

Beomhyeon.

Jungjin- Hyung… Jungwoo-hyung, Jungseo-hyung…!

As the memories of the people I cherished filled my mind, I headed toward the exit.

“Stop what? Oh, right, your body’s messed up too, isn’t it? You won’t live much longer anyway, so let me tell you a little secret.”

Lee Jungin, gripping my wrist tightly, ground his teeth.

With a mocking smile, he stared into my blurred eyes and said:

“Lee Jungjin, Lee Jungwoo, and Lee Jungseo—they all hate you too. How could they not? Their father cheated on their mother and had you. What’s to like about that? That’s why, when you begged for their help, they left you and went to America.”

“No, no…!”

The image of my brothers leaving me flashed through my mind.

This wasn’t my memory.

My brothers wouldn’t have abandoned me.

Tears streamed down my pale cheeks as I shook my head like a madman.

Gasping in pain, I struggled to breathe, my chest tightening as if my airways were blocked.

“Looking back now, it pisses me off. I thought, since you’re an illegitimate child living in the main house, you’d at least inherit some stocks or a building. But no, you’re worse off than a driver.”

“Ah… ugh.”

These memories—they weren’t mine.

So why did they feel so vivid?

Why did my body seem to remember and respond, as if they had seeped into my very skin?

Jungin’s shaky hand groped around and rested on his knee.

His fingertips traced over the soft skin and the rough scars below it.

The sensation burned into his mind—a reminder of the accident when he was hit by a car while escaping Jang.

“Are these… really my memories? Was this all mine…?”

The anguished question hung in the air as Lee Jungin—or rather, the real Choi Jungin—furrowed his brow.

Didn’t he already know everything when he came to the hospital?

Faced with this unexpected reaction, Choi Jungin’s expression hardened.

‘Fuck, so what.’

Even if he had stolen Lee Jungin’s body, the abuse he had endured because of it was a fact. He was a victim too.

Running a hand through his messy hair in frustration, Choi Jungin looked down at the pale-faced Jungin, who suddenly collapsed, and spoke.

“Ugh, it hurts… It hurts so much… My head…”

“Hey. What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

Jungin trembled, feeling as though sharp claws were tearing and ripping through his insides.

Lying on the cold floor, he bit his lip, panting through the pain.

His trembling hand reached out for help, his gaze locking onto Choi Jungin, who stared down at him.

“Hey… Do you have money?”

Jungin had already spent all the money he got from Lee Jungjin.

There was nothing left.

If he had known it would come to this, he would have demanded more.

With regret filling his dark eyes, Choi Jungin blocked Jungin’s path as he crawled toward the exit.

“You do have money, don’t you?”

With bulging eyes, he frantically rummaged through Jungin’s pockets.

He wasn’t sorry about taking money from Jungin, even if it was out of guilt for the abuse Jungin had suffered on his behalf.

After all, he had come here to demand money anyway, so this was no different.

“Friendship, huh? Come on, help me out here. You owe me anyway, don’t you?”

The buzzing sound in Jungin’s head was surreal.

Watching his friend’s face light up as he found the money in his pocket, Jungin wished he could just lose consciousness.

Taking out all the money from Jungin’s wallet, Choi Jungin scoffed at the small amount.

“I knew it. What’s 200,000 won? What kind of pocket change is this?”

Muttering complaints, Choi Jungin stood up and looked down at the curled-up Jungin, who was writhing in pain.

“I’ll be in touch again, so make sure you have more money next time.”

“…”

“Or should I just go to Beomhyeon? You like him, don’t you?”

Jungin thought there was no lower he could fall, but hearing Beomhyeon’s name come out of Choi Jungin’s mouth shattered him.

“He doesn’t know, does he? That the person he was engaged to… was actually me.”

“Don’t… don’t do it!”

“Should I let him find out?”

Writhing in agony, Jungin reached out and grabbed his ankle with desperate hands, pleading.

“Don’t say it. Don’t…”

“Well, that depends on how much effort you put into convincing me.”

Choi Jungin grinned and rubbed his fingers together suggestively before being interrupted by the ringing of his phone.

Looking at the screen, he shook off Jungin’s hand.

“Anyway, answer when I call. See you around.”

Watching Choi Jungin walk away while chatting on his phone, Jungin sat in despair.

Why hadn’t he noticed until now? He blamed himself for being so clueless, sinking into deep self-loathing.

“Beomhyeon… Hic, Beomhyeon, I need you… Please, hold onto me…”

Hugging his trembling body, Jungin buried his face in his knees and silently cried for a long time.

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