Chapter 46 – The Memory That Ruined Me

Chapter 46 – The Memory That Ruined Me

Behind the Gold: AUREUS Unfiltered – Episode 6 Begins

Theme: "If You Could Forget One Thing"

Live Viewership: 1.08 billion

Trending Hashtags: #AUREUSUnfilteredEp6 #MemoryThatRuinedMe #HeLovedHerStill

The stage lights warm to a soft gold glow, no longer blinding.

They've crossed the halfway point in the show, but it no longer feels like entertainment. Now, each episode feels like excavation—digging deeper into what makes AUREUS who they are, what broke them, and what they buried to shine.

Jeon Mira:

"For today's theme…

If you could forget one thing—just one—what would it be?"

Her voice is gentle. She knows this one will cut.

Because pain doesn't always come from what's lost.

Sometimes, it's what you remember too well.

Rin

The group's sunshine, the clever-tongued genius, is the first to speak.

Rin (smiling faintly):

"The first time someone said, 'You're not what we expected.'"

(He shrugs)

"Meant it as a compliment. But all I heard was, 'You're not enough.'"

The smile lingers. But this time, it doesn't reach his eyes.

Minjae

He doesn't joke. Not this time.

Minjae:

"I wish I could forget how it felt to think no one believed in me.

Even when they did."

Eunjae

Eunjae (quietly):

"The time I watched my friends debut before me.

And smiled for them.

But hated myself."

Hyunjae

His voice is low. Almost inaudible.

Hyunjae:

"I'd forget the feeling of being replaceable."

He doesn't elaborate.

He doesn't have to.

Yeonwoo

He looks into the camera, voice firm.

Yeonwoo:

"I wish I could forget the pressure to never mess up.

Because when you're the leader, your mistakes aren't yours alone."

And then—Jaeheon

The air changes.

Everyone already knows what his answer might be.

The world has heard his voice tremble when he said:

"I wrote over a hundred songs for her."

"I wish she knew I liked her."

"The ball ruined me."

But they don't know what that really means.

Until now.

Jaeheon (soft, cold):

"If I could forget one thing…

It would be the way I felt when I saw her.

That night.

At the ball."

The others go still.

They know the line.

The ball—again.

The word alone has become a symbol to fans. A ghost. A myth.

But this time, he continues.

And the myth becomes a man.

Jaeheon:

"I remember everything. The color of her dress. The way her eyes didn't flinch.

The way she didn't even see me.

She walked past like I was air.

And I've been haunted ever since."

Jeon Mira (carefully):

"You've spoken of her before. But now, it sounds like…"

He cuts her off.

Not cruelly. Just—final.

Jaeheon:

"I love her.

But I don't think I was ever supposed to.

That's why I want to forget."

Audience Chat Reactions (Selected Global Feed)

@aureus_theoryvault:

"He said it. He finally said it—I love her. This isn't mystery anymore. It's devotion."

@jaeheonsghostgirl:

"It's not about heartbreak. It's about obsession. Memory. Reverence. This is religion to him."

@voidinvelvet:

"He fell in love with someone who probably never looked at him.

He built a cathedral in his mind for her. And now he wants to burn it."

POV – Jaeheon (Short Internal Monologue)

You weren't supposed to live in my head for this long.

But I saw you once.

And I've been dying quietly ever since.

I want to forget you.

But I can't.

Because I never really had you, did I?

POV – Anastasia Celeste Volkov (Simultaneously)

In the upper floors of a cold white skyscraper,

the world's most powerful woman pauses the broadcast.

Her AI had predicted the ball would be mentioned again.

But even the algorithm had not expected him to say it so plainly.

Anastasia (flatly):

"He's not in love with me.

He's in love with a delusion."

She stands, leaving the monitor behind, voice colder than steel.

Anastasia:

"They all say that. Until they see what love costs."