Who Is This Guy Calling Himself My Boyfriend?

I've gotten into an accident.

When my childhood friend, Jason Patel, drops by to visit me, I feel like pulling a prank on him all of a sudden.

So, I ask, "Who are you? I've lost my memory."

He's left feeling stunned for a moment before he reveals the fake smile that he often wears whenever he pulls pranks on others.

"I'm your boyfriend, Jason Patel."

My heart begins pounding wildly in my chest. I decide to go along with this little prank.

That summer of us playing pretend has to be the happiest time of my life.

But when Giselle Ford returns to our lives, Jason immediately clears the air between us.

It turns out that he and Giselle have had a crush on each other during their high school days. Unfortunately, they missed the chance to date each other.

What am I to them, then? So, I can only grant their wish of wanting to stay together.

That's why I laugh and call Jason out for being an idiot because he can't even tell that I faked my memory loss.

Unexpectedly, I get into another accident some time later. When I wake up, I ask Jason who he is again.

Impatience flickers across his expression. "Don't you feel lame for using the same trick twice?"

What he doesn't know is that I've truly lost my memory this time.

At Giselle Ford's welcome party, Jason Patel made his position unmistakably clear as he tried to distance himself from me.

"Winter was in a car accident and lost her memory. I was just teasing her. How could I possibly be dating her for real?"

As I watched him panic, my heart felt even more sour than the lemonade I had made for him these past few days. It felt like he had gripped my heart and twisted it until all the bitterness was squeezed out, yet even that was not enough for him.

No one knew that I had known Jason for 15 years, or that I had loved him for just as long. I kept that secret tightly hidden, buried deep where no one could see it. Two months ago, after I was in a car accident, I claimed I had lost my memory. At first, it was only meant as a small prank.

I had tilted my head and asked who he was in the most foolish tone imaginable. I never expected him to say he was my boyfriend. The moment those words left his mouth, my heart began to race, followed by an overwhelming rush of joy. I immediately abandoned the idea of pranking him. Instead, I pretended to believe him and obediently went home with him.

I didn't know why Jason had claimed to be my boyfriend that day, nor why he spent that summer acting like the perfect partner, staying by my side through everything I loved.

I thought our relationship had finally moved beyond being childhood friends. I thought we were genuinely in love. I even regretted that my fake amnesia had tainted something that should have been pure.

Just as I was about to confess the truth and begin a fresh start with Jason, Giselle came back. That was when I realized she was the one he truly loved.

I had loved Jason for 15 years, and for five of those, he had loved Giselle. He liked her, yet he feared he was unworthy of the goddess he adored and kept silent. When she went abroad, he buried his feelings, just as I had always buried mine for him.

"You coward. No wonder you've let all these years slip away," I thought bitterly, unable to tell if the blame was his or mine.

I had never seen Jason so tense, laying himself bare in front of everyone with no hope of winning, as if waiting to be judged.

The other guests stayed silent, watching him closely. I cursed him silently, then sighed. It didn't matter. I had planned to confess after tonight's gathering anyway.

Being a few months older, I had always been the one to take the fall for him since childhood. This would be the last time I did.