Yena Bae has a summer job at her scientist mother’s groundbreaking memory-erasure clinic, Sori of Us, in Busan, South Korea. Yena’s task is to organize the archive of clients’ “mixtapes”: collections of sounds used to obliterate selected memories. Lucas Pak (like Yena, a Canadian) is determined to get his harabeoji, who has Alzheimer’s, into a memory-recovery study at Sori despite his grandfather’s disinterest in regaining lost memories. When Yena runs into Lucas, she’s shocked to see her old best friend, the boy on whom she had a crush; Lucas moved away when they were 14, inexplicably cutting contact with her. Yena is doubly surprised (not to mention hurt) when she realizes that Lucas has had all memories of her erased. Yena can’t tell Lucas about his own memory loss—the physical side effects would be painful for him—but she accompanies him around Busan, the two of them getting to know each other (again) as Lucas collects sounds to jog Harabeoji’s memory. What Yena doesn’t know is that she also had a memory erased, one that holds the key to their estrangement. While the scientific aspects of memory erasure take a backseat to romance in this speculative novel, the questions it raises regarding the ethics of memory tampering are thought-provoking.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Past Lives in this gripping, emotional story of two childhood friends navigating the fallout of one erasing their memory of the other, from acclaimed author Sarah Suk.

Seventeen-year-old Yena Bae is spending the summer in Busan, South Korea, working at her mom’s memory-erasing clinic. She feels lost and disconnected from people, something she’s felt ever since her best friend, Lucas, moved away four years ago without a word, leaving her in limbo.

Eighteen-year-old Lucas Pak is also in Busan for the summer, visiting his grandpa, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. But he isn’t just here for a regular visit—he’s determined to get his beloved grandpa into the new study running at the clinic, a trial program seeking to restore lost memories.

When Yena runs into Lucas again, she’s shocked to see him and even more shocked to discover that he doesn’t remember a thing about her. He’s completely erased her from his memories, and she has no idea why.

As the two reconnect, they unravel the mystery and heartache of what happened between them all those years ago—and must now reckon with whether they can forge a new beginning together.

He erased their entire history, but can he erase the connection that still pulls them together?

• Childhood Friends to Strangers: He was her everything, until he disappeared without a trace. Now Lucas is back in Yena’s life, but he has no idea who she is.
• Amnesia Romance: A poignant story about a boy who chose to forget and a girl who was never given a choice, forcing them to navigate a past he can’t remember and a future she can’t imagine.
• South Korea Setting: Spend a summer on the vibrant, sun-soaked streets of Busan, from a cutting-edge memory clinic to bustling beaches and night markets.
• K-Drama Inspired: Perfect for fans of angsty, emotional K-dramas with high stakes, family secrets, and a love story that defies memory itself.