7 PM—time for the last customer. Usually, special cases came at this hour. The door opened, and an
unexpected person walked in. A man who looked slightly younger than me. But his eyes were strangely
familiar.
"Hello."
"Oh . hello. How can I help you?"
He stared at me for a long time. I could sense complex emotions in his gaze—longing, pity, and . guilt?
"I came to return your memories."
"Return?"
"Yes. The memories you lost."
A chill ran down my spine.
"Do you know who I am?"
The man smiled sadly. "Kang Min-jae. 29 years old. Psychology graduate from Seoul National University.
And . my older brother."
"Brother?"
"I'm Kang Min-ho. Your younger brother."
I collapsed into my chair. It was the moment when the first piece of a puzzle I'd been curious about for
three years finally fit into place.
"Then . why can't I remember ."
"Because you erased them yourself, hyung. Three years ago."
Min-ho pulled out an old newspaper from his bag.
'Drunk Driving Accident Kills Family . Perpetrator is Seoul National Graduate Student'
'Victims were crossing at a crosswalk with 6-year-old daughter'
'Perpetrator Kang Min-jae (26), blood alcohol level 0.15%, license revocation level'
The perpetrator in the photo was . me.
"This is . me?"
"December 24th, three years ago. Christmas Eve. You had drinks with your graduate school friends and
drove home."
Min-ho's voice trembled. "You ignored a red light and hit a mother and daughter crossing at the
crosswalk."
I looked at the newspaper again. There were photos of the victims—a young woman and a cute girl
about 6 years old.
"Lee Eun-ju, 32, and her daughter Lee Chae-won, 6. Chae-won died on the spot, and Eun-ju passed away
three days later at the hospital."
My hands shook.
"After that, you . couldn't bear it. You had nightmares every night, couldn't eat properly. Eventually ."
"I erased my memories?"
"At first, you tried to erase only the accident-related memories. But that wasn't enough. Because all the
memories connected to that day became traumatic."
Min-ho continued explaining. "Memories of drinking with friends, memories of gripping the steering
wheel, even memories of buying the car . everything connected to that day became painful."
"So?"
"In the end, you erased all memories before that. College days, family memories, even memories with
me."
I shook my head in disbelief. "That can't be . Then who am I now?"
"You created a new personality. A fake identity for someone who lost their memory. And this shop ."
Min-ho looked around. "This shop was originally started by our grandfather. You helped him since you
were young. So even after erasing your memories, you instinctively continued this work."
I held my head. Too much information was flooding in at once.
"Then . what I've been doing all this time?"
"Acts of atonement. Even unconsciously, you were trying to pay for the sin you committed by carrying
other people's pain instead."
Min-ho pulled out something else from his bag—a small glass bottle.
"These are your original memories. I've been keeping them for three years."
Inside the bottle, lights of complex colors swirled—gold, blue, red . countless emotions mixed together.
"Why . why are you telling me this now?"
"Because you're changing, hyung."
Min-ho examined my face closely. "At first, even when you received other people's memories, you
remained yourself. But over the past few months . your face keeps changing."
"What do you mean?"
"Look in the mirror."
I looked in the mirror. Min-ho was right. My face was . different somehow. The wrinkles around my eyes,
the lines around my mouth, even the color of my pupils.
"By receiving too many other people's memories and emotions, your original identity is becoming
blurred. If this continues ."
"What will happen?"
"You might become a completely different person. Or rather, it seems like that's already happening."
I reflected on the past three years—hundreds of customers, thousands of memories. All of them were
accumulated inside me.
"Then . if I want to know who I really am?"
Min-ho held out the bottle. "You need to take these back. But ."
"But?"
"The memories of that accident will return too. Everything from that night. Are you prepared to relive that
pain?"
I hesitated for a long time. I had lived peacefully (in a way) for three years—was there really a reason to
reclaim those hellish memories?
But at the same time, I was curious. Who was the real me? What kind of person was I?
"You decide, hyung. I . I'll support whatever choice you make."
I could feel the sincerity in Min-ho's eyes.
I stared at the bottle. Twenty-six years of my life were contained inside—happy moments, sad moments,
and . the moment of an irreversible mistake.
"Can you . give me some time?"
"Of course. But you can't think about it too long. Your original identity is already quite blurred."
Min-ho placed the bottle on the table and stood up. "I'll come back tomorrow. Think about it until then."
After he left, I was alone. I stared at the bottle and thought: Who am I now? Someone who has lived for
three years taking on other people's pain? Or a criminal who killed an innocent mother and daughter
through drunk driving?
I looked in the mirror again. Just today, Seo-yeon's sadness and the donor mother's pain of separation
were etched on my face.
"Who . am I?"
That night, for the first time, I fell asleep without dreaming.