“Did you hear? Eun-seong got a full scholarship.”

Why.

Why is he still here?

Why didn’t that bastard go abroad? There are plenty of engineering universities besides this one.

Hye-yeon stared blankly at Tae Eun-seong as he chatted with their classmates in front of the lecture hall.

Even in a plain black T-shirt, an engineering-student-style checkered shirt, and jeans, his tall frame, broad shoulders, and solid build stood out.

Watching him converse fluently in English with an international student made the emptiness in her chest feel even deeper.

“Why… why didn’t Eun-seong go abroad?”

She wished he would just disappear from her sight. Hyunwoo, the friend who had been watching Hye-yeon’s hollow gaze, spoke up.

“Abroad? I heard he lived overseas during the vacation.”

“No, not that. I mean, why didn’t he just go to school there altogether? What am I supposed to do about my scholarship?”

“You could work part-time or tutor.”

Hye-yeon covered her face with both hands and let out a long sigh.

“Then I’d have less time to study.”

“Or ask your mom to help you out just for freshman year, until you settle in.”

Hyunwoo lightly tapped her arm, telling her she was overthinking it, but comfort from someone wearing a branded shirt was utterly unhelpful.

Sure, she had received a partial scholarship, even if it wasn’t full. But Seoul housing prices weren’t just “prices.”

The freshman dorms were fiercely competitive, and she’d been rejected.

Her mother had already emptied their savings to pay the deposit for a tiny studio, and each required major textbook cost over thirty thousand won.

And that wasn’t all. Back when she wore a uniform every day, she hadn’t noticed, but now, having to change into different casual clothes daily was a problem too.

She had no clothes.

Not in the sense of having a closet full but nothing appealing, but truly nothing she could properly wear.

Today, after digging through the pile of clothes she’d brought from home, she put on a T-shirt she’d bought in middle school, only to find it uncomfortably tight across her chest.

“Ha…”

Even her jeans felt stuffy, clinging to her legs as if she were sweating.

‘I should start looking for tutoring jobs first.’

With a frustrated bite to her lip, Hye-yeon slumped forward onto her desk.

She vaguely felt the gazes of Hyunwoo and a few classmates who were on their phones drifting toward her, but she assumed they were just looking and didn’t bother reacting.

It was just before the lecture began.

Eun-seong returned from the vending machines, drink in hand, chatting in English with his Korean-American friend, and sat down behind Hyeyeon. Back in high school, he’d acted like he had a shield up, barely responding no matter who talked to him. What was with him today?

Then, out of nowhere, he tapped her chair lightly with his finger and called out to her.

“Hye-yeon.”

A boy calling her name so gently.

The low vibration of his voice sent a chill from the tips of her ears through her entire body.

Since when did his voice sound that good?

Was he trying to tell her class was about to start?

No, since when were they close enough for that?

Still lying face-down on her desk, Hye-yeon blinked her lashes in confusion.

“……”

All kinds of assumptions and thoughts raced through her mind.

All through senior year, even when Eun-seong was in sight, she’d treated him like an invisible man. And now, starting today, he was acting like a perfectly normal friend. It was almost laughable.

We’re close, yet far.

No, extremely, extremely far.

“That’s what it feels like, looking from diagonally behind.”

At his calm words reaching her again, Hye-yeon felt like she’d taken a heavy punch to the heart.

Her breath felt tight, her heart pounding violently. She was awake, yet on the verge of panic.

‘What is this feeling?’

Trying not to be overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sensation, Hye-yeon quickly pushed herself upright and glanced back with cool, guarded eyes. Then she answered curtly, on purpose.

“What?”

“I can see everything.”

“Huh?”

Unable to read his intention, Hye-yeon frowned in confusion. Eun-seong, still in the same composed tone, held out the checkered shirt he’d taken off and smiled as if whispering.

“From behind, I can see your underwear.”

Ah.

Ah…!

Aah.

Ugh…

In less than a second, Hye-yeon’s face turned a vivid red, like it might burst. How was she supposed to describe this feeling?

So embarrassed she couldn’t say a word, she snatched Eun-seong’s shirt and tied it around her waist.

Her jeans were probably too tight, and her top too short, so when she sat slumped over, something must have shown.

‘Please, let it have been just a little.’

Hye-yeon felt like crying from sheer humiliation.

* * *

Why did she keep showing Eun-seong such embarrassing sides of herself?

She was going crazy inside, but since there was no way to turn back time, she just chewed hard on her lip.

“Hye-yeon. You’re going to the freshman welcome party today, right?”

Hyunwoo and the others, exhausted from three straight hours of lectures, gathered around her.

“If you’re going right after, want to move together?”

“They seat people in order of arrival, so it’s easier if you sit with us.”

“You’re not going to wait until Jiwon comes, are you? Sounds like she might not show up again.”

With her classmates surrounding her, she couldn’t see what was behind them. Being short, Hye-yeon stood up with her bag and rose slightly onto her toes.

She caught a glimpse of the back of Eun-seong’s head as he left the lecture hall first.

‘I need to return it.’

The shirt in her hand hung awkwardly. It had looked ordinary at a glance, but touching it, the fabric felt soft and sturdy.

More than that… it seemed like a branded piece.

“That’s Tae Eun-seong’s, isn’t it?”

When she trudged out of the lecture hall without managing to return it, Hyunwoo shot her a dissatisfied look.

“If it’s awkward for you, want me to return it for you?”

“No. I should return it myself.”

It was only natural for the borrower to give it back.

Earlier, she’d hesitated to call his name loudly in front of so many people. Returning it with a simple thank-you wasn’t a problem at all. And besides.

“Wouldn’t it look stranger if you returned it? I borrowed it.”

As she said this matter-of-factly while walking down the crowded hallway with her friends, the atmosphere around them cooled oddly.

Hyunwoo’s face did the same.

His ferret-like eyes, stretched long and narrow, froze for a moment, then curved again into a crescent, as if carefully arranged.

“…Well. If that’s how you feel, then fine.”

Was he upset? Over something like this?

Watching Hyunwoo’s strangely cold profile, Hye-yeon found herself growing cautious.

Among the friends she’d made in college, he was the only one she’d truly opened up to, so she wondered if she’d offended him somehow.

Had she drawn the line too firmly?

‘Or is it because I took Tae Eun-seong’s shirt?’

Hmm. Considering she and Hyunwoo had talked about Eun-seong before, maybe it did seem odd that she’d suddenly ended up with his clothes.

‘But is that really something to be upset about?’

Tilting her head to the side, Hye-yon walked briskly between Hyunwoo and the others, thinking how difficult human relationships still were.

Looking back, she’d grown close to Hyunwoo ever since they first talked at the entrance ceremony.

Anyone who looked at the gender ratio in computer engineering would understand. There weren’t many options for friends if you filtered by gender, so Hye-yeon had become close to Hyunwoo without any resistance.

Hyunwoo was tall and had an attractive face. When he smiled, his eyes curved, making him seem likable. And his personality was bright and energetic to top it off.

From the moment he enrolled, he was so outgoing that he was immediately pushed into the role of class representative. Probably a massive extrovert. Compared to the quiet Eun-seong, he was overwhelmingly lively, always inserting himself into this group and that group without exception.

When someone like that followed her around saying, “I heard you’re second place? Let’s be friends,” Hye-yeon couldn’t help but feel fond of Hyunwoo.

Because…

He remembered second place.

Compared to first place, second was only separated by a tiny decimal difference, yet it was treated like an old man shoved into a back room.

When people talked about competitions and mentioned everything except the grand prize, second place felt like that leftover. Ordinary. Forgettable.

But holding onto that ordinary-looking spot wasn’t easy at all, and Hye-yeon had protected that second place almost like her life, imagining that someday she would become first.

And the first person to truly acknowledge that bitter feeling, after she came to college, was Hyunwoo.

“So you’ve been competing with Tae Eun-seong for four years now?”

“Yeah. That’s why I really want to win this time.”

When everyone else praised only Eun-seong as amazing, Hyunwoo alone stood on Hye-yeon’s side.

Even when, over lunch, she let slip just a tiny bit, just a fragment, of the inferiority complex she felt toward Eun-seong, he was the same.

“I’ll seriously cheer for you. No, I’ll support you like crazy.”

“What? How are you going to do that?”

“I’m the class rep, remember? It’s nothing big, but if there’s any information going around the department, I’ll tell you first instead of Tae Eunseong.”

At that, Hye-yeon let out a small snort of laughter and teased him.

“The class rep is going to pick and choose who to give information to?”

“Hey, not like that. I’ll just tell you ten minutes earlier.”

“Only ten minutes?”

“Only ten minutes? That’s huge. Hey. In math, how many problems can you solve in ten minutes? Don’t underestimate ten minutes.”

Bickering like that as they walked through the campus where new shoots were sprouting, she thought, Ah, so this is college life.

A full spring, where pale green leaves densely filled the once-bare branches and cast leaf-shaped shadows across faces.

She had come to college with a capitalist mindset, chasing a higher salary in the distant future, but it was enjoyable in its own way.

She even hoped that if things kept going well like this, she could shake off this rough, prickly feeling toward Eun-seong and become a decent adult.

* * *

The freshman welcome party.

She had been hanging out with Hyunwoo and the group of so-called popular students in the department, then stepped away for a moment.

Since they had reserved group seating, at least sixty upperclassmen and freshmen were gathered there.

They had skipped a proper meal and come straight to the bar, filling their stomachs with side dishes as they drank, so everyone was getting drunk at the speed of a high-speed train.

Some even skipped the food altogether and got wasted quickly, seniors and classmates alike clinging together and whispering among themselves.

‘Everyone’s pretty drunk.’

Hye-yeon hadn’t noticed while she was among them, but when she caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror, her face was flushed.

She stumbled into the restroom, and it took longer than expected to fix herself up and come back out.

Her jeans were so tight they wouldn’t pull up easily, and she kept tucking her T-shirt in and pulling it out again, trying to make sure her underwear didn’t show like before.

She had only done that much, but she was sweating heavily from the heat.

“Hoo.”

In the end, no matter what she did, it felt awkward, so she went back to wearing her T-shirt loose like before.

‘If I sit like this, it’ll just be uncomfortable. I should grab my bag and leave.’

She couldn’t stop thinking about it. She’d exposed herself unintentionally because of her clothes. Besides Eun-seong, who else might have seen?

Come to think of it, had Hyunwoo, who’d been beside her the whole time, noticed? Maybe he’d seen it but felt too awkward to say anything?

‘If Hyunwoo were a girl, he’d have told me without worrying about it…’

Hye-yeon was shaking the water off her hands as she headed back to the table when it happened.

“A-young’s favorite random game! What game! Game, start!”

“Apartment, apartment!”

The bar was quite noisy.

It was louder than a karaoke room, enough to make her ears ring and her head spin. Blinking her sleepy, hazy eyes, Hye-yeon searched for her seat.

And yet… it was strange.

Did people really have instincts like this? No matter how much she tried to convince herself it wasn’t the case, that instinct was almost never wrong, especially with things like this.

They had probably started talking after seeing Eun-seong’s shirt left at the table.

“Looks like he’s already only hanging out with those overseas rich kids. Doesn’t he give off a bad vibe? Feels like his insides are pitch-black.”

“Exactly. He’s tall as hell, though. What, like over 190?”

“Fuck, no wonder. He looks like a total loser walking around, but for some reason, he catches your eye. Short guys are out here crying, damn.”

The crude mix of curses and jokes made Hye-yeon uncomfortable, but she didn’t stop walking. She had her things with her, and Hyunwoo was there. But then.

“Hey, weren’t you getting on well with Hye-yeon, Hyunwoo? Why the hell is Tae Eun-seong suddenly butting in?”

“Yeah. You’re not dating, but you already slept together, right?”

At that, her steps stopped cold.

She hid behind one of the table pillars and replayed the words in her head.

What did they just say?

Who slept with whom?

The moment it sank in, it felt like someone had smashed a sledgehammer into her head.

“Man, earlier I saw her sides showing a bit, and it drove me crazy. Why is her skin so damn pale? She looks way more solid than that dance major girl from before.”

One guy poked at the peach on the fruit platter with his fork, laughing nastily, while another brought both hands to his own chest, mimicking a groping motion. 

“And her chest. Jesus. It’s insane. This right here, wow. Massive. Her body’s skinny, but only there she’s got weight. Did you see it earlier? Looked like her clothes were about to burst."

“You bastard. Hah."

How often have they had conversations like this? 

Seeing the other classmates giggling with flushed faces, it clearly wasn’t a one- or two-time thing. 

She had thought they just bonded over games and drinks because they were guys. She never imagined they built camaraderie in such a vile way. 

“Ha."

The shock sobered Hye-yeon instantly. 

For a moment, she wished this were a dream, but as the alcohol wore off, anger began to boil up inside her. 

The worst of them all was Choi Hyunwoo. 

“Hey. Cut it out."

She had expected him to stop them, but Hyunwoo just smiled mildly, pretending to be decent. 

“You know how much I hate it when people mess with the girls around me."

The fried seaweed roll that snapped cleanly in his hand looked pitiful. 

Hye-yeon remembered the dating story Hyunwoo had told her just yesterday. 

He’d been passionately in love with a second-year dance major and said he really wanted things to go well, so she’d been cheering him on. He had even asked her what kind of gift would be good for a confession, and she’d helped him pick one out. 

That same friend now said,

“I mean, I only practiced with Hye-yeon because of the dance major noona. But, well… It was nice."

“Oooh!"

“But that’s it. Maybe because she only studies, she doesn’t know how to have fun. She’s boring."

Those words stabbed deepest into Hye-yeon’s chest. 

It felt like someone was scraping her heart with a metal spoon, digging out ice cream. Her feelings were gouged without drawing blood, torn to shreds in a single scoop. 

She’d lived a hard life and had arrogantly believed that no matter what happened in college, she’d be able to endure it. 

But realizing that her college life had already been ruined right at the start made tears surge up uncontrollably. It wasn’t even her fault, yet her stomach burned, and nausea rose. And still, the words didn’t stop.

“So that’s why she clings to you and follows you around? Doesn’t she think you’re dating?"
“Yeah, maybe."
“She’s probably waiting to go home with you today, too. What are you gonna do, Hye-yeon? She must be expecting a lot."

“But isn’t it the dance department’s turn today?"

“What? He already screwed the dance department, too?"

The guys, who looked like creepy sewer rats, stared up at Hyunwoo with glittering, excited eyes. 

He looked like a hero, crowned by nothing more than the fact that he’d rolled around in bed with a woman. 

His smug mouth, flaring nostrils, and the hands that kept fiddling with snacks all said the same thing. 

He felt amazing. 

“Fuck, you lucky bastard. If you’ve had your fill, let go already. Even if it’s not us, aren’t there tons of guys drooling over Hye-yeon?"

“That’s exactly why I can’t let go. I told you. I hate it when people touch what’s mine.”

Whether someone got hurt or not. 

“Ugh, asshole."

Along with their anger, scraps of tissue flew at Hyunwoo, but he accepted them gladly, as if they were a shower of flower petals. 

The sly, fox-like smile in his eyes no longer looked innocent. 

‘I really misjudged him. Completely.'

She must have been starved for relationships after keeping her distance from people and doing nothing but studying all through high school. 

Maybe she’d wanted a friend, a companion who would offer warm words without ulterior motives, even if it wasn’t something measurable like grades. 

‘I expected too much.'

All of this came from the hollowness born of a vicious inferiority complex. 

If she couldn’t even acknowledge herself and kept comparing herself to Eun-seong, how was she supposed to stay sane? 

She grew more and more pathologically jealous of Eun-seong, to the point where just being in the same space as him drove her crazy. 

So she’d tried to open up to Hyunwoo just a little, to get empathy and feel relieved. 

Was that kind of sincere conversation not enough? 

‘Then what am I supposed to do?'

How was she supposed to fill this emptiness? 

Hye-yeon clenched both fists and closed her eyes. 

‘If I step in now, they’ll say I’ve gone crazy, won’t they?'

Seniors and freshmen were all here. If she caused a scene, she’d be branded as a weirdo. 

On top of that, Hyunwoo was the class representative, and there were plenty of seniors who already knew him. 

He had more close friends here than she did, so cutting him off right now would only put her at a disadvantage. 

“…Bastard."

Muttering the curse under her breath, Hye-yeon strode toward the table. 

No matter what was said now, the best move was to pretend she hadn’t heard anything. 

If it had been said to her face, that would be one thing. But overhearing things said behind her back and making an issue of it would only make her look ridiculous here. 

This was a heavily male-dominated group. 

Guys like that tended to band together tightly on issues like this. Even when they knew it was wrong, they fooled themselves into thinking it was okay as long as they were part of the majority. 

So, she would go back, but she wouldn’t smile. 

She would never cater to their moods. 

“Oh, Hye-yeon. You’re back? You were in the bathroom for a while."

Seeing the leering gaze sweep over her from head to toe, Hye-yeon let out a hollow laugh. As she gathered her bag, she said clearly, 

“Yeah. I got a call from my boyfriend."

“Boyfriend?"

At her words, everyone’s gaze snapped to Hyunwoo, as if asking what the hell this was about. 

* * *

Hyunwoo looked flustered by his friends' sudden stares, as if worried his lie might be exposed. 

“You had a boyfriend?"

“Yeah. I did. You just didn’t know."

Meeting Hyunwoo’s eyes, Hye-yeon answered coldly and picked up Eun-seong’s shirt that had been resting on her bag. 

“You’re leaving already?"

Her friends tried to stop her, sounding disappointed, but Hye-yeon turned away as if she hadn’t heard them. They could have their fun or not. 

Just as she was about to leave without even bothering to return their farewells, a black T-shirt blocked her path. 

“Oh, Tae Eun-seong!"

It was Eun-seong, who had been sitting at a different table the entire welcome party. The shadow cast by the man standing in front of her felt especially dark and long, the pressure so heavy she nearly forgot how to walk. 

Her breath caught. 

“What brings you here? Don’t tell me you came to drink with us."

Hyunwoo snapped irritably, as if Eun-seong had stepped onto forbidden ground. 

Ignoring everything else, Eun-seong looked down at Hye-yeon and spoke quietly. 

“I came to get my shirt."

Only now did she realize how tall he was. Back then, she’d only seen him sitting, so she hadn’t noticed. Has he grown more since winter? 

And thinking of the handsome face hidden behind that shaggy lamb’s-wool hair and his changed glasses made her heart lurch again, like sudden motion sickness. 

Anyone who saw Eun-seong’s real face would probably feel this way. Just like she did now. 

‘How is he handsome and kind too?'

She’d been wondering how to return the shirt anyway. 

“……"
Honestly, he was annoying, but she was grateful. Especially that he’d shown up at a moment like this. 

“Eun-seong."

If she handed over the shirt, he’d leave. And yet, she felt a petty urge not to return it, like a woodcutter hiding a fairy’s winged clothes. 

Because once he left, she felt like she’d be left behind alone, humiliated like the naked emperor. 

“Well…"

All she had to say was that something had gotten on it and she’d wash it before returning it. 

Hye-yeon hesitated, then clamped her lips shut. The unfamiliar desire to keep him there, even by lying, unsettled her. 

Was it because they were high school classmates? 

Maybe because, compared to the new faces she’d met recently, she knew Eun-seong was someone she could trust, someone who wasn’t two-faced. 

Maybe it was just that having him nearby made her feel a little safer. 

That was all. 

Hye-yeon frowned slightly, holding back tears. 

A few seconds stretched like minutes. She fidgeted with the shirt in her hands like a security blanket. Just as she felt Eun-seong’s gaze grow heavier, 

“What are you doing?"

Eun-seong naturally took the shirt from her arm and jerked his chin. 

“We said we’d go together. Hurry up and lead the way."

In that instant, Hye-yeon’s eyes widened, flashing white. A heart that had rusted from disuse lurched back into motion. 

Eun-seong helping her was an opportunity. A chance to shatter the trust she’d built with Hyunwoo and pay him back in kind. 

Her mind raced. Maybe the alcohol made her bolder, but she linked her arm through Eun-seong’s and smiled brightly. 

“Mm-hm!"

She answered cheerfully. Judging by how Hyunwoo’s expression darkened in real time, it seemed she’d made the right choice. 

* * * 

With everyone watching, Hye-yeon walked outside, arm in arm with Eun-seong. The moment they were out, she let go and took two quick steps away. 

Since it was spring and he’d been wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt, the feel of his bare skin lingered vividly on her arm, but she pretended not to notice. 

‘His arm was pretty firm…'

For some reason, the spring breeze felt muggy. 

On the university street lined with bars, groups of young people stood smoking, neon signs flashing brightly. 

And among them stood Eun-seong, upright and expressionless. 

Her face flushed pink, Hye-yeon averted her gaze and spoke. 

“Uh, anyway, thanks. For helping me."

She quickly shoved the shirt into Eun-seong’s hands, probably stammering as she did. 

“I’ll get going now."

She turned around, but her body moved stiffly, like a broken wooden doll. Was it because she knew Eun-seong was watching her from behind? 

She wanted to walk away confidently, without caring, but it wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped. 

What was Eun-seong thinking right now? 

Was he thinking something like, What a strange girl? 

‘I shouldn’t have linked arms with him.'

He might not have liked it. 

‘What if he thinks I was flirting?'

Before Hye-yeon could even take a few steps while drowning in regret, a calm voice cut through the noisy commotion from behind. 

“Hye-yeon."

At the hesitant sound of her name, she slowly turned around.

The man clutching the shirt in his veined hand closed the distance in just two long strides. 

Close. 

Very close, just like in the dreams Hye-yeon used to have. 

Then he tugged her arm and pulled her right in front of him. 

The distance between their bodies shrank so fast it felt like they might collide at any second. 

Her heart jolted. 

She could feel his breath near her ear. 

“Wh, what are you…!"

“Shh."

Was this déjà vu? 

Her heart raced. Flustered by how suddenly close he was, Hye-yeon’s face flushed red, her lips parting uselessly, hanging open like decoration. 

She knew this scene.

According to her dreams, this was the part where Eun-seong said being handsome was a secret, then leaned in for a heated kiss. 

“Gasp!"

Without realizing it, Hye-yeon stiffened her lips and looked up, only for Eun-seong’s scent to wash over her. 

A deep, woody fragrance mixed with a fresh hint of fruit. 

Looking down at her, Eun-seong whispered softly by her ear. 

“Behind you. Hyunwoo."

“Ah."

“Just keep walking straight. Until we get out of the alley."

Hye-yeon nodded obediently and followed Eun-seong’s lead.

For some reason, he knew the area well, navigating narrow backstreets with ease. 

Hyunwoo really had come out to check if the two of them had actually left together. 

Pretending to smoke with his friends, his eyes were clearly fixed in their direction. 

Annoyed by that, Hye-yeon clung even tighter to Eun-seong’s arm as they moved. The fabric of his shirt wrinkled under her grip, but the firm solidity beneath her hand reassured her that he was right there beside her. 

Turning the corner, they entered a narrow, dark alley. 

A group of rough-looking men squatting and smoking whistled at them mockingly. 

“Hey. Where you headed? Going to fuck?”

What was wrong with their heads? 

No matter how drunk you were, how could you say something like that to strangers? 

Maybe it was environmental pollution. There are way too many mutants these days.

Already irritated by the filthy comment, Hye-yeon frowned sharply. 

She was about to stop and say something when Eun-seong covered both her ears with his hands and kept walking. 

“Don’t listen to that. It’ll rot your ears."

“I already heard it."

And even like this… she could still hear everything. 

“Still."

Hye-yeon let out a small, incredulous laugh, and the thug smoking behind them bristled. 

“Hey, what the fuck did you just say while laughing at us? What’s rotten? My dick rotten? You saying I’m small, too? I just broke up, you little pieces of shit…!"

She hadn’t said any of that. 

It felt like when all you see is what’s on your mind, and all you hear is dick. 

“He seems really drunk."

At Hye-yeon’s mutter, Eun-seong let out a low sigh. 

“Ha.”

It was the first time she’d ever seen him sigh, and for some reason it sent a shiver down her spine. 

‘Why does he look cool even when he sighs?'

Hye-yeon wondered if something was wrong with her vision. Or maybe the hardware was fine, and it was her brain’s operating system that had malfunctioned. Why? Was this also because of environmental pollution? 

“Hey, you little fuckers, you not coming over here?"

The alley, thick with stale cigarette smoke, stretched long and dark. If they turned left at the far end, it looked like they’d reach an old restaurant district. Sensing the two of them trying to get away, the thug they’d just met yelled sharply. 

“Hey! What department are you in!"

What was this, the military?

He looked offended, like a private who’d dared to run when a sergeant called him. 

Two of the thugs stubbed out their cigarettes and started running toward them. 

This was a first for Hye-yeon. 

Being chased by thugs. 

Her life had been nothing but school, home, school, home, or school, dorm, school, dorm on repeat. 

She’d never imagined something like this would happen to her. 

Eun-seong, who had been briskly walking without caring what was shouted behind them, was the same. 

He was the type who didn’t flinch no matter what happened, like a robot, so she’d expected that. 

“Hey, you fucking bitch!"

For some reason, that curse made him stop. 

“Wait."

Eun-seong turned back with a resolute face, like he was about to confront them. 

But Hye-yeon, who didn’t want this thrilling game of tag to end, grabbed Eun-seong by the collar and yanked him forward. 

“Huh? Wait, I said wait."

“What wait? Don’t act tough for no reason and run! I can’t fight!"

“Why do you think I’d be the one fighting?"

“If you fight, then I fight too, idiot!"

“…You’re the first woman to call me an idiot."

“Shut up! Run, already!"

As she sped up, Hye-yeon slapped Eun-seong’s arm. 

The impact stung her hand instead, his muscle hard as stone from training. 

Judging by the athletic stats he’d shown back in school, he could probably take down those two scrawny guys without a problem. 

But Hye-yeon didn’t want that. 

This was too fun. 

She wanted to keep running. 

“Hey, you assholes! Stop! I’ve got something to say!"

The thugs chased them even harder once they started running, as if their pride was on the line. 

But Hye-yeon and Eun-seong had built their stamina by running for the sake of studying. 

After dinner every evening, they’d run around the track, silently betting on who would reach the finish line first more times than they could count. 

This time too, Hye-yeon ran at full speed. 

One strap of her backpack, hanging like a turtle shell on her back, snapped clean off. 

As it slipped, Eun-seong grabbed it with one hand, took it from her, and kept running. 

Sweat fell like tears, flying backward into the past. 

Her hair, tied high, came loose and flew wildly, long strands sticking to her sweaty face and blocking her vision. 

But she couldn’t stop. 

Hot breaths filled her to the top of her head, drying her lips raw. 

They passed through a market alley that looked like it had once been bustling and emerged into a bright, lively street. 

Neon signs swayed like karaoke mirror balls, dyeing their sweat-soaked hair in vivid colors. 

“Haa, hak, haa…"

Her breathing was so ragged she could taste metal in her throat. 

Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it was slamming at her temples. 

Her mouth was bone-dry, thirst raging inside her, and even wetting her cracked lips with her tongue did nothing to ease the tight pain in her chest. 

And yet, strangely, she felt incredible. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the rush of freedom she’d never felt before, but it washed over her all at once, like cold water dumped over her head. The spring breeze that had felt stifling earlier now felt cool, like mountain air from the countryside. More than anything, Hye-yeon had won. For the first time. For some reason, Eun-seong had kept running behind her the whole way. The destination had been one she’d decided on alone, but the moment they entered a new alley, the two of them stopped in the same place, as if by agreement. 

“Haa, ha…"

To be honest, they’d kept running like mad even after the thugs were long out of sight. 

Eun-seong raised his hand as if to say something, then lowered it again and simply focused on catching his breath. 

Leaning back against the wall of an old building, he tilted his head up, swept his bangs back to wipe the sweat away, and took off his glasses. 

With a soft clink, his sweat-damp face reflected the neon lights, glowing with vivid life. 

Long eyelashes. 

Deeply lidded eyes. 

The absurdly handsome face, tinged with melancholy, slammed straight into Hye-yeon’s vision. 

A clear bead of sweat slipped down along his sharply carved jawline and dropped. Another trail ran down his face and disappeared beside his prominent Adam’s apple. 

Hye-yeon swallowed hard. 

This was insane. 

The presence he gave off was heavier than any man she had ever seen. 

The black shirt, clinging to him with sweat, revealed the outline of his solid body as if it were almost peeled bare. That swimsuit-like silhouette felt indecent, and without realizing it, Hye-yeon averted her gaze and spoke. 

“I won. The race."

“Ha."

Eun-seong gently bit his red lips and smiled faintly. 

“Is that really what matters right now?"

His tone, sounding genuinely baffled, hit Hye-yeon with a fresh shock. 

So he could be sarcastic too. 

It was the moment she realized just how sacred a being Eun-seong had been inside her all this time. Thinking about it now, he had never been a god to begin with. 

Hye-yeon nodded. 

“You’re right."

Maybe, just maybe. 

By deifying Eun-seong in her heart and treating him like a sacred, untouchable being, hadn’t her feelings rotted this badly? 

If you really looked closely, he might just be an ordinary person. Not all that perfect. 

Someone who eats, uses the bathroom, gets irritated, just like everyone else. 

If she had truly known Eun-seong from the start, could she have escaped this suffocating swamp of inferiority? 

If she hadn’t just known him superficially, but had become real friends, close enough to know every hidden corner of his heart.

Then maybe a day like today, where she leaned on someone like Hyunwoo only to be betrayed, would never have happened. 

Hye-yeon’s thoughts surged like a flood. 

Was it because she’d won the race? She felt filled with confidence, like she could do anything right now. 

She had beaten Eun-seong. 

That Eun-seong. 

She was so happy she felt like she might cry. And at that moment, the little devil inside her whispered. 

Hey, Hye-yeon. Are you really going to end it like this? Are you satisfied with winning just once? Eun-seong even tried to stop midway. This wasn’t a completely fair victory. 

Hye-yeon, who had been cooling her flushed cheeks with the back of her hand, let her eyes shine sharply.

'Right…?'

If she seduced Eun-seong properly like this, wouldn’t she be able to win many more times in the future? 

Winning again, and again, building up that sense of accomplishment, maybe someday she could finally shake off the dark feelings of the past and take first place.

'Ah.'

Just imagining it made her happy. 

Hye-yeon became convinced she couldn’t let this joy be a one-time thing. 

“Eun-seong."

It was the first time she had ever spoken his name out loud. 

As she stepped closer, Eun-seong, still breathless with sweat not yet dry, looked at her with a crooked stare, as if wondering what she was about to say. 

Hye-yeon smiled brightly and brushed back her own sweat-soaked hair, meeting his handsome face head-on.

"Do you want to go off the rails with me?"

Eun-seong, who had put his glasses back on and lowered his bangs again, asked back in the voice one might use with a scammer.

"Off the rails?”

"Yeah.”

"What kind of off the rails?"

His voice had grown heavier, so foreign it felt like he belonged to a different world. Probably cognitive dissonance. 

But since Hye-yeon intended to prove that he was human, not a god, she ignored it and continued.

"We couldn’t even play around in high school. We just sat at our desks and studied all the time. We can’t spend our college years boring too.”

"……”

"Honestly, what Hyunwoo said earlier, about me being boring, was kind of a shock."

A good lie always had a bit of truth mixed in, like seasoning in soy sauce.

"So.”

"So.”

"……”

"Can you drink well?"

Hye-yeon stepped closer, eyes sparkling, and asked. 

She could feel Eun-seong growing uncomfortable, but once Hye-yeon made up her mind, she never turned back. 

Once she set a goal, she always crossed the finish line. That was her rule in life.

'If it doesn’t work, keep going until it does.'

Back in middle school, she had even tied a headband around her head to study. When it came to persistence, she was confident she ranked near the top anywhere. 

Hye-yeon clasped her hands together and looked up at Eun-seong with pleading eyes, like a cat in boots. 

Maybe the sweat had finally cooled, because Eun-seong let out a small laugh.

"I thought…"

“How many bottles can you drink? Is your tolerance high?”

"Just go.”

"Don’t tell me you’re good at drinking too. Come on, tell me. How much can you handle? If you drink better than me, I think I’ll be disappointed. Is it a secret? Can’t you just tell me, just me?”

"I said go. I’ll tell you there."

He jerked his chin forward and smiled faintly.

'He’s… smiling?'

She hadn’t realized because he usually had no expression, but when he smiled, faint dimples formed on both cheeks.

'So he has dimples.'

Hye-yeon stored away another newly discovered fact and took the bag with the broken strap from Eun-seong’s hands, hugging it to her chest as she led the way. 

* * *

"Boss, two bottles of soju, please!"

Hye-yeon successfully lured Eun-seong into a random bar where the side dishes were cheap. 

Four pieces of fried chicken wings for $3. 

There weren’t many pieces, but that was fine. The important thing wasn’t the food; it was the alcohol.

In the cramped bar packed with tiny tables that barely fit two people, fast-beat music pounded the floor. 

Eun-seong, sitting on the outer chair, opened the menu and hesitated slightly.

"Two bottles of soju out of nowhere? We didn’t even order food.”

"Don’t you know each person gets one bottle?”

"What are we eating, then?”

"Order whatever. I don’t care."

Hye-yeon crossed her arms and grinned confidently. To be honest, she hadn’t been drinking long, but from the few times she’d drunk with Hyunwoo, she usually outlasted most guys. 

She had never gotten so drunk that someone had to carry her, and she had never caused trouble. On the other hand, she’d vaguely heard that Eun-seong wasn’t good with alcohol and tended to avoid drinking gatherings.

'Hehehe.'

The fact that he still hadn’t answered her question about drinking meant it was probably true. 
Which meant that even if he acted tough now, once the drinking started, there was a good chance Hye-yeon would win.

'Beating Tae Eun-seong twice in one day!'

She felt like she could change her birthday to today.

"Drink."

Hye-yeon filled Eun-seong’s glass to the brim with soju. 

She poured so much that the liquid bulged over the rim. She pretended to tap it playfully and laughed mischievously.

"Wow, surface tension!"

She raised her voice on purpose, worried he might refuse to drink, trying to lift the mood. 

Clapping her hands to hype him up, Hye-yeon soon blinked slowly and stared quietly at the man across from her.

"Not drinking?"

Eun-seong rested his chin on the table, looking at her like he was wondering what she was up to, then let out another soft laugh.

"You’re going to spill it.”

"If it spills, it’s fine. Think of it as disinfecting!"

Just drink it already. 

Hye-yeon smiled and cursed him with her eyes, and Eun-seong lifted the glass and downed it in one go.

"Wow, you drink well. You’re good at drinking too, Eun-seong?"

Hye-yeon chimed in and poured him a second glass. Now it really began. 

She truly wanted to win and planned to go all out, and Eun-seong didn’t bother objecting to her enthusiasm.

"Drink! Cheers!"

As the alcohol crept up, Hye-yeon’s cheeks grew redder and redder, and the two glasses kept emptying.

"Cheeers! Drink, hurry. Hey, don’t dodge it. Don’t dodge it, Tae Eun-seong!"

When her vision started to blur, she even poured only half a glass at times. 

And that made Hye-yeon angry.

"Hey, don’t go easy on me! Pour it properly! There’s no mercy in a match."

She tilted the bottle into her own glass, only for the liquor to overflow and spill onto her thigh.

"Ugh… pour it right, you idiot! What are you doing, letting it spill like that, what a waste!"

She laughed weakly, yelling at Eun-seong like a grumpy neighbor. 

The sharp scent of alcohol stabbed her nose, numbing her head every time she breathed in and out, spreading dizzyingly.

"But it’s fine. I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll let it slide."

Using the handkerchief Eun-seong offered, she wiped the liquor from her thigh, then leaned back against the wall and let out a small hiccup. 

Her vision grew hazier, drowsiness washing over her like eternity. 

The alcohol weighed down her head, and through it all, Eun-seong’s voice came through clearly, as if amplified.

"Shouldn’t you be feeling bad… after something like that?"

She was drunk, on the verge of losing consciousness. 

If she drank just a little more, she felt like she could beat Eun-seong. She couldn’t give up here. 

Just a few more minutes. 

Just a moment with these heavy eyelids. Wouldn’t it feel better if she closed them for five seconds? 

Eyes closed, Hye-yeon muttered,

"I was feeling bad… but being with you made it better again."

Drunk and leaning comfortably back, she smacked her lips, then smiled again. 

Eun-seong let out another sigh-like laugh and filled his glass to the brim.

"You really…"

Gurgle, gurgle.

The clear sound of soju filling the glass shook the noisy spring night.

"Annoyingly pretty."

Through her blurred vision, she saw the man down his soju in one shot.

Staring at his prominent neckline, Hye-yeon slipped into darkness, thinking that no matter how she looked at it, that neck was a work of art. 

* * * 

Pitch-black night. 

The dream flowed violently, like a stream swollen with rainwater. 

The black space that had always been monochrome now twisted and moved in vivid colors, as if drenched in paint. 

Even standing still, the ground warped as if an earthquake had struck, making it hard to keep her balance.

'That’s strange. Did my inner ear break or something?'

To keep herself steady in this unreal world, Hye-yeon threw her arms around Eun-seong’s neck and clung tightly. 

Her top rolled up, fully exposing her navel, but she didn’t even think to fix it. 

She was just cold, and there was a warm human heater beside her, so she wanted to hold on. 

Her soft breasts were squashed against Eun-seong’s chest. 

A low voice sounded immediately.

"Ha, fuck. This is driving me crazy."

Today’s dream felt different. 

When the door opened, her back hit the wall of a dark room with no lights on. 

Eun-seong, holding his glasses in one hand, tilted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. 

Whether because of the alcohol or not, heat surged up abruptly.

When their lips met, the heavy scent of alcohol filled their noses, so strong it felt like it would ignite if someone lit a lighter. 

Every time he bit down softly on her moist, pliant lips, it tasted sweet.

"Uh, Eun-seong, ah…"

Unlike usual, Eun-seong devoured her lips greedily. 

Kissing him in dreams was nothing new, but today felt completely different. 

It was far too intense, almost too real.

"Stick out your tongue."

Soaked in heat, her belly burned.

Ears burning red, Hye-yeon obediently opened her saliva-filled mouth and stuck out her tongue.

"You listen well."

He laughed softly, then thrust out his tongue as if to devour hers, wrapping around her wet tongue. 

The intense suction felt like he was going to rip out the root of her tongue, and Hye-yeon clung to him with a low moan.

"Haah…!"

Each time she let out a broken moan, his sharply pointed tongue pushed deep into her open mouth, scratching teasingly against her palate. 

The tender membrane being scraped sent itchy sensations through her, her stomach tightening and her toes curling.

It felt like her heart was set ablaze, her insides burning fiercely. 

Her saliva-soaked lips swelled, drooling clear fluid.

'This is strange. This feels… just like the real thing.'

But she didn’t want to stop. 

Her head was foggy, her whole body burning out of control, and that made her move her hips instinctively, craving him desperately.

"D-don’t stop, Eun-seong…"

With tears pooled in her heated eyes, Hye-yeon licked his lips like candy.

"Haah."

As if losing his mind, the man let out a hot breath and slid his hand under her T-shirt, pushing aside her bra and grabbing her soft breast firmly.

"Hah!"

It was the first time anyone had ever grabbed her chest so hard, and a cry-like moan slipped out. 

As if frustrated by touching her through layers, he yanked her T-shirt and bra up over her chest in one motion. 

The old, tight bra was pulled up uncomfortably, pinning the clothes in place. 

Below it, her pale breasts hung free, fully exposed, along with her soft pink nipples. The man who usually looked indifferent fixed a lewd gaze on her swaying chest, and Hye-yeon tried to cover herself.

"Ha, ah, don’t… don’t look…"

Nodding as if he understood, he pulled her hands down and, instead of looking, stuck out his tongue and gently licked up the fully hardened nipple. 

Wet saliva soaked the nipple, and with a cool sensation, a bolt of goosebumps shot straight down her spine.

"Hii!"

The strange sensation rattled her brain and left her a mess.

The fact that it wasn’t just anyone, but the man she’d hated and despaired over for three years, playing with her like this, stirred up even heavier emotions. 

It was a feeling she’d always had in dreams. 

At the same time as thinking she shouldn’t let this happen, another useless thought surged like a tsunami, wishing she would just be completely conquered by him. 

His lips closed over her full breast again, sucking like a baby, then his wet tongue emerged, flicking teasingly over her nipple like a rattlesnake. 

While it was her breast being tormented, she felt herself growing wet below, and Hye-yeon twisted her hips, crushing Eun-seong’s head down.

"Ah, ahh! Ah, st-stop… hng!"

With a loud pop, he sucked her breast hard, then lifted his head and laughed coldly, as if incredulous. 

That smile felt like an evil god’s, terrifying and cruel, poison spreading through her entire body.

"Didn’t you say I could do whatever I wanted?”

"I, I didn’t… haah!"

She couldn’t remember, but since it was a dream, she accepted it, struggling to receive his hot, pressing kiss again. 

Soon, he lifted Hye-yeon up, spreading her legs, and carried her toward the bed. 

Thrown down onto the familiar bed, she lay sprawled, still wearing tight jeans, her chest fully exposed.
"You know? You’re wet here. Your jeans changed color."

Straddling her, the man pressed down firmly on the sensitive spot over her jeans. 

Under the thick fabric, the damp, ticklish area twitched, peeking through.

"So shameless. Jeong Hye-yeon."

With a single touch of his hand, the button of her uncomfortable jeans came undone, and she could breathe more easily.

"Haa."

Staring up at the familiar ceiling, Hye-yeon panted hot breaths in a daze. Then he pressed firmly between her thighs over her jeans and gave an order.

"Take them off."

Blinking through her blurred vision, Hye-yeon lifted her hips as instructed and fumbled with both hands to peel off the tight jeans.

Maybe because she was sweating so much, the denim clung stubbornly to her skin. She groaned as she worked it down, and her underwear rolled down with it.

"Ha… seriously. Who told you to take off your panties, too?"

Letting out a troubled sigh, he gently brushed back her damp hair as he hovered over her.

"What am I supposed to do with you?"

His low voice resonated heavily in the space. Then he traced a path downward, pressing his lips lightly to her forehead, her cheek, the bridge of her nose, her lips, her neckline, and her chest, until he reached her flat stomach. 

As if leaving burn marks, he swept down hotly from top to bottom. When Hye-yeon shook her head, saying it was dirty, he spread her legs apart and buried his face between them. 

From that day on, she couldn’t focus on class at all.

"What are you even talking about?"

That day. That moment. 

In the middle of the dark alley, Hye-yeon’s brows knit tightly together.

"You’re messing with me right now, aren’t you?"

Even though several days had passed, the anger from that night was still vivid. In front of the convenience store, Hye-yeon had kicked back her plastic chair, wiped rain from her face with the back of her hand, and shouted.

"Just because Choi Hyunwoo did that, you think you can treat me like this too?"

To be honest, the inferiority complex Hye-yeon carried was a weakness. If someone poked at it, it erupted like an active volcano without warning. 

And the thought that Eun-seong, just like Hyunwoo, was trying to use that weakness to hold her in his palm made her feel betrayed. 

Soaked through as the rain that had stopped began to pour down viciously again, Hye-yeon glared up at him resentfully and said,

"I’m not buying you drinks tonight."

She didn’t want to stay any longer in that mood and turned to go home. That was when his large hands suddenly came up, shielding her forehead from the rain. 

Hye-yeon glared irritably at Eun-seong through the canopy formed by his hands. 

Despite her sharp reaction, the man remained calm. Just like when they first met in front of the convenience store, his quiet, low voice scattered through the cold rain.

"Think about it. I’ll wait."

Unlike her, shaken mercilessly, his voice was solid and steady. 

And then, eyes dark with a relaxed smile.

"I’m confident. About whatever it is. I’ll be better than Choi Hyunwoo."

The moment she heard that, his characteristic confidence scraped straight through Hye-yeon’s insides. Anyone could hear the sexual implication in those words. 

In the end, this guy was no different from Hyunwoo. Just another man driven by what was between his legs. 

Hye-yeon’s mouth slowly fell open. 

‘I thought you were different.'

A wave of crushing disappointment surged over her. 

Her face drained pale, Hye-yeon spat out,

"Get lost, Tae Eun-seong. You’re seriously the worst."

She shoved away the arms shielding her head and ran home like she’d lost her mind. 

She sprinted up the villa stairs two at a time, punched in the passcode with rain-soaked fingers, and the moment the door shut behind her, tears burst out. 

The automatic light came on over the narrow entryway, barely big enough for one person. On the floor lay the bag of beer she’d left there instead of putting it in the fridge. 

Soaked from head to toe by the sudden downpour, she sank weakly to the floor, water dripping from her clothes. More than anything, his words about being better than Hyunwoo felt humiliating. 

Because that meant Eun-seong believed the rumors Hyunwoo had spread.

'Was he helping me for dirty reasons too?'

Maybe because she’d already been hurt once by Hyunwoo, now even Eun-seong’s feelings seemed pitch black to her. 

On top of that, Hye-yeon had never once imagined Tae Eun-seong saying something like that to anyone. To her, he had always been like a god of the universe, observing her from an unreachable height in the sky. 

There was no way a god like that would have something as base as sexual desire. 

In her dreams, he sometimes kissed her or did indecent things, but she’d always thought those were nothing more than acts of benevolence. Illusions created by her own murky desire to take what he had achieved. 

But now… 

That Eun-seong desired her sexually. 

And worse, that he thought of her as the kind of broken girl who’d slept with Choi Hyunwoo. 

Her chest ached with a cold, stinging pain. 

Looking back, even the moment he’d called her out to drink late at night now felt different. She’d been the only one fluttering with anticipation. 

She’d just wanted to talk about the past with Eun-seong, but it felt like his gaze had been on her body, soaked by rain and revealing every curve.

'What… was the Eun-seong I thought I knew?'

What did I think he was to me? 

Did I really see him as some god I could never surpass? 

Overwhelmed by confusion, Hye-yeon rubbed away the tears that kept spilling with the back of her hand. And then she realized she’d never lashed out at someone so cruelly before. 

And that someone had been Eun-seong. 

She could have controlled her emotions and explained that it was a misunderstanding. But she couldn’t. Somehow, she just couldn’t. Because it was Eun-seong.

'Did I trust him that much?'

Hye-yeon felt like someone who’d been utterly defeated by a sudden whirlpool of emotions. 

Idiot. Moron. 

She smacked her wet forehead lightly with her palm a few times, then finally stripped off her clothes and stepped back into the shower to end the exhausting day. 

From the very next day, she stopped meeting Eun-seong’s eyes altogether. 

It felt like she’d gone back to high school. 

Every time she heard English drifting from somewhere, where Eun-seong was talking with David, her attention was pulled that way. 

When Eun-seong spoke English, he used an American accent. His pace was slower than when he spoke Korean, but he only said what mattered, clearly and efficiently. 

Watching him sit at the front of the lecture hall, eavesdropping as if nothing had happened, he still looked exactly the same as ever. 

The model student everyone noticed. 

Distant. 

Endlessly high. 

All the conversations they’d shared, even the insults she’d hurled at him in the rain, blurred like a dream. She almost wished the events of the past few days had never happened at all. 

When Hye-yeon let out a deep sigh without realizing it, Jiwon, sitting behind her for the first time in a while, lightly tapped her back.

"Are you preparing well for midterms?"

Her voice was especially soft and pretty.

"Ah."

Hyunwoo, who’d been sitting next to Hye-yeon again in their major class, had gone out to smoke with friends. 

There were several empty seats around Hye-yeon, and Jiwon, who wasn’t great at talking to lots of people, seemed like she’d been waiting for this moment.

She wore round horn-rimmed glasses and was a bit chubby, holding a pen decorated with cute stickers.

"Jiwon, did you cut your hair?"

Noticing Jiwon’s shorter hair, Hye-yeon grabbed her chair and turned around.

"It suits you.”

"Huh? Uh…"

Jiwon’s face instantly turned red. 

Compared to when she’d grown out her dry, damaged hair, the short cut straightened neatly, made her look much prettier. At the beginning of the semester, she’d worn a striped T-shirt that looked like a foreign prison uniform and had been teased by Hyunwoo and his friends. Maybe because of that, she seemed to be paying more attention to her clothes now.

"Where did you buy that dress?"

Hye-yeon asked out of genuine curiosity. She’d been worrying about her clothes getting too small and had been thinking she needed to buy a few things to wear.

"I-I bought it online.”

"Where? Can you tell me?"

When Hye-yeon asked eagerly, Jiwon hesitated before pulling out her phone and sending her the site. She added that her older sister had told her about it, and that it was cheap with good quality.

'Ah… she’s too precious.'

One of the few female friends she had. 

Hye-yeon checked the site with a touched expression, then looked back at Jiwon.

"Thanks.”

"Huh? Yeah… um, but maybe… since we might end up buying the same thing… could you tell me before you buy it?"

Ah. Wearing the exact same thing would probably be awkward.

"Yeah, I will."

Hye-yeon nodded quickly. 

If possible, she wanted to keep being close with Jiwon like this. 

But Jiwon tended to disappear or fade into the background whenever there was a department event. At first, she would go together with Hyeyeon, but after stepping away for a moment, she would vanish without a word. As that kept happening, the distance between them gradually grew. 

Even in major classes, Jiwon often sat far away, the complete opposite of Hye-yeon. And since their general education classes didn’t overlap, it was more like they’d greet each other in passing if they happened to run into each other in the hallway. 

Seeing that Jiwon didn’t seem to have a group she hung out with, Hye-yeon had tried a few times to get closer, even eating together, but Jiwon always seemed uncomfortable. 

Once, Hye-yeon saw Hyunwoo raise his hand to greet Jiwon as he walked past the convenience store, only for Jiwon to bolt away quickly. After that, Hye-yeon still felt a bit regretful, but she didn’t push or bother her. 

So when Jiwon spoke to her for the first time like this today, it made her really happy. It was also nice to be able to push aside thoughts of Eun-seong, which had been weighing on her heavily since earlier.

"I’m studying this part for midterms."

Hye-yeon lifted her tablet and showed the practice problems she was working on.

"I’m still struggling because it hasn’t really clicked yet."

First-year classes were just programming basics. But watching the professors teach, it felt like they assumed everyone already knew the fundamentals. 

The material had nothing to do with what they’d learned for the college entrance exam, so unless you were a freshman already well-versed in computer science, most people were lost. 

A genius like Eun-seong seemed to handle it effortlessly, but Hye-yeon always stopped by the library after class to study more. Some friends even enrolled in private academies. And Jiwon, sitting in front of her now, was one of those students. 

She muttered softly,

"Still, that’s impressive. Just understanding up to that point. I honestly don’t get any of it…”

"Me too. It’s not like I fully understand it. I’m just barely following along."

Jiwon looked gloomy, saying that the major seemed more and more ill-suited to her. She said she couldn’t even dream of solving the parts Hye-yeon was working on. 

At that, Hye-yeon felt something strange. There are things you can overcome with effort, and things you can’t. Everyone’s limits are different. 

Was this how Eun-seong felt when he looked at me? 

Did I ever wear that kind of gloomy expression in front of him? 

Seeing her past self reflected in Jiwon, Hye-yeon’s chest tightened. She bit her dry lips lightly and spoke in a slightly brighter voice.

"Then do you want to study for midterms together? I don’t go to an academy, so it’d be great if you could share the materials they give you.”

"Really?"

Jiwon’s eyes sparkled with happiness.

"Then I’d be really grateful.”

"It’s nothing. I’m the one who gets the materials, so it’s great for me too."

Hye-yeon usually preferred studying alone, but this time, she decided to make an exception.

"When would be good for you?”

"How about after our major class? I don’t go to the academy on that day."

They matched schedules and even added the tutoring time they’d start after midterms to their planners. Just then, Hyunwoo and his group came back.

"What were you talking about?"

As he flopped down into the seat next to her, the nasty smell of cigarettes wafted over. The unpleasant, scratchy feeling in her throat brought back the day she’d been with Eun-seong. 

Back then, she hadn’t thought the smell coming from Eun-seong was this bad. 

Funny how that works. 

Lowering her long eyelashes, Hye-yeon replied, 

“Jiwon and I decided to study together."

Hyunwoo creased one eyebrow as if surprised.

"With her?"

He shot an annoyed glance back, like, her again? Only now did Hye-yeon notice that Jiwon seemed scared of Hyunwoo. Sitting in the back row, Jiwon ducked her head, avoiding his gaze. 

Feeling subtly irritated by the situation, Hye-yeon snapped,

"You didn’t seem interested in studying.”

"Who says I’m not? I told you before."

Checking his surroundings, Hyunwoo leaned in close and whispered in her ear.

"The seniors said everything comes straight from this professor’s old exams."

Crossing his legs, he lifted his chin confidently. Hye-yeon pretended not to notice, lowering her gaze to her tablet and muttering,

"We’ll see when it actually happens.”

"Think so?"

Hyunwoo chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

"Then, whether it comes out or not, Tae Eun-seong doesn’t need to know."

His eyes flicked briefly toward Eun-seong’s direction. They were confident, as if keeping that information from leaking was no trouble at all. 

That day, as if to prove her choice at the freshman welcome party hadn’t been wrong, an exam guide landed in Hye-yeon’s hands. 

In the quiet library, Jiwon mouthed silently,

"What is it?"

With uncertain eyes, Hye-yeon replied,

"An exam guide."

Her messenger app overflowed with massive files Hyunwoo had sent. The sheer volume of material, the scroll bar stretching endlessly, made her keep swiping her phone screen.

"Then why do you look so scared reading it?”

"Because I’m wondering if this is really okay."

In high school, there was no such thing as exam guides, so every test was fair. But if, as Hyunwoo said, this guide had been passed only to her, then it wasn’t a fair match. 

Her conscience kept knocking. 

But before her conscience could ask permission to step inside, the devil within her spoke first. 

Hey, think carefully. 

Remember how Tae Eun-seong got under your skin. 

Did you forget how he toyed with you like Choi Hyunwoo, saying he’d help you win? 

And on top of that, from the very day he told her to think about it, Tae Eun-seong had gone back to acting like he didn’t know her. 

He’d called her name familiarly once, helped her when she was drunk once, even drank with her and run around laughing, and then, after that one incident at the convenience store, everything reset to zero.

'Right. This is who you are.'

Someone who could ignore her for three years after the art room incident, and do it again if he wanted. 

A cold-blooded person who could part from a friend he’d spent every day with without a trace of regret once they did something he didn’t like. 

The image of him looking down on her as if ruling from above, sneering, wouldn’t leave her mind.

"Cute, Jung Hye-yeon."

Isn’t calling someone cute something you say to someone beneath you? 

The thought of how far down he must have looked at her to laugh like that filled Hye-yeon’s eyes with murky emotion. She really wanted to win. No matter how dirty the method, even just once. 

Hye-yeon shared the exam guide Hyunwoo gave her with Jiwon, but she didn’t send it to Eun-seong.

He’d figure it out on his own. 

Whether from friends like David or somewhere else.

'Not my problem.'

She also tried her best to forget the words he’d said about coming to him instead of Hyunwoo.

'What am I, some accessory of Choi Hyunwoo?'

Was she his girlfriend or something? 

She couldn’t forgive Eun-seong for making assumptions and saying something like that without even asking her properly. When she thought about it again, part of her did wonder if his words, "I’m confident I’d be better," didn’t necessarily have a sexual meaning.

'If that’s all it was, he would’ve contacted me to explain.'

Remembering how she’d cursed at him and shoved him away back then made a sharp pain stab her chest. 

Honestly, Eun-seong’s misunderstanding hurt her more and felt more like betrayal than when Hyunwoo had talked about her behind her back. Maybe it was because of how long she’d known him. 

Just then, Jiwon tapped lightly on her desk.

"Hye-yeon, did you solve this one?"

Jiwon asked in a small voice, glancing around at their surroundings, and Hye-yeon lifted her head sharply.

"Ah, yeah."

When Hye-yeon showed her the part she had solved so far, the dark look on Jiwon’s face gradually brightened. 

“That’s really amazing."

Jiwon smiled as she read through the notes, clearly absorbed in Hye-yeon’s solution. Watching her like that, Hye-yeon felt a jolt of realization hit her.

'I shouldn’t be spacing out.'

Jiwon was working this hard, too. 

Taking her notebook back, Hye-yeon finally focused on studying again. 

* * * 

After that, she had no idea how time passed. 

Whenever she opened her eyes, she organized the day’s tasks in her planner, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed for the library. 

Professors who showed no consideration for the exam period assigned papers anyway, and after pulling all-nighters writing reports while digging through unfamiliar materials she barely understood, morning would already have arrived.

'Who said studying in college was easy?'

Anything is easy if you half-ass it, but if you aim for the top, it’s bound to be hard. 

Short on sleep, Hye-yeon dozed off for a moment, then startled awake. On her phone, which she’d left on silent, there was a missed call from her mother.

'It’s… late.'

Worried something might have happened, Hye-yeon called back. Her mom, who said she had just gotten off work and finished showering, sounded unusually cheerful.

"Hey, Hye-yeon. Have you seen the cherry blossoms?"

Did her mom know the meaning of cherry blossoms?

"It’s midterms."

Hye-yeon replied in a heavily subdued voice. 

Even staying up all night wouldn’t be enough to cover what she still needed to study. She was going crazy with anxiety, and there was no way she could go back to the countryside to play flower-viewing companion to her excited mother.

"Already? It feels like you just started school."

Other moms, like Jiwon’s, knew all about exam schedules and took care of everything. But Hye-yeon had always thought it was fine that her own mom didn’t know every little detail, since she was busy with work. 

At college information sessions, most students came with their parents, or their parents came alone. Even sitting there by herself in her uniform, Hye-yeon had been fine. 

When she moved into the dorm in high school, she packed and unpacked her things alone through delivery services, and that was fine too. Their family was clearly different from those friends whose parents drove them everywhere, so she believed she should endure that kind of inconvenience on her own. 

After all, her mom was enduring things too. 

Trying desperately to fill the void her father left behind, hiding her sighs as she flipped through utility bills one by one. 

One day, Hye-yeon overheard the landlord’s daughter-in-law chatting while eating fruit.

"Our Hye-yeon takes care of everything herself. I don’t have to worry about a thing. She’s so mature.”

"Maybe it’s because her dad passed away early.”

"That could be why she grew up so fast."

Her mom had said she was grateful, yet secretly hurt by those words. 

And still, her mom’s faith was always firm. She always said Hye-yeon would handle everything just fine on her own. 

But… 

Just like an old strap suddenly snapping one day, the burden piling up inside Hye-yeon had been growing heavier with each passing day. 

Maybe that was why.

"Mom, you don’t even know when my exams are?"

Those sharp words slipped out.

"You really don’t know anything. Back during the CSAT, did you even know which periods I was taking which subjects?"

She knew. She knew very well. 

She knew that the cosmetics shop her mom worked at had been insanely busy preparing post-CSAT sales.

So much new inventory had come in that it piled up like a mountain, and her mom had been sorting it all night, unable even to talk long on the phone to ask how Hye-yeon did on the exam.

She knew all that. 

And yet. 

Even knowing it all.

"Hye-yeon…”

"I’m busy right now. Really busy. I don’t care if flowers are blooming, the wind is blowing, or it’s raining. I don’t want to see or hear any of it!"

Hye-yeon burst into tears, resentment spilling out.

"Mom, everyone here is good at studying. They’ve all been abroad, so they can speak English without even studying!"

One of her classes was taught by a foreign professor, and honestly, there was so much she couldn’t properly understand.

"If I do well here, I can get into the dorm next semester and get a scholarship. I can barely keep up, but while everyone else goes to academies, I have to do tutoring. I don’t have time. I really don’t have time… hic."

The words she’d spat out in irritation turned into thorns, stabbing straight back into her chest.

"I see. So that’s how it is."

Her mom’s calm reply sounded more deflated than before.

"I didn’t realize you were that busy. I’m sorry."

Hearing her mom apologize made Hye-yeon crumble on the spot.

"I didn’t know you were carrying such a heavy burden. Mom… really didn’t know anything."

It wasn’t her mom’s fault. Her mom had nothing to apologize for. 

Her father’s business collapsing, leaving behind debts and a young daughter before dying, wasn’t her mom’s fault. 

So blaming her mom for this poverty made no sense. 

But trapped by this shabby reality and growing impatience, Hye-yeon couldn’t endure it anymore and exploded. 

Painful breaths escaped her chest. Even now, the thought of Eun-seong made her angry. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t feel this cornered. 

Rubbing away the tears falling in heavy drops, Hye-yeon bit her trembling lip. The hurt she’d caused her mom felt like nails driven straight into her own heart, punishment she deserved. Guilt flooded her, and she wanted to claw her own face apart. 

A choked voice slipped out.

"…I’m sorry. That’s not how I meant to say it."

Even as she said it, her soft lips kept trembling. After venting her frustration for so long, reason slowly returned, and the reality of what she’d done hit her coldly. 

Cooled tears soaked into her collar. 

On the other end of the line, her mom took a heavy breath, then laughed again, her voice steadier.

"It’s okay. Mom believes in you. If it gets too hard, you can rest a bit. Just be careful not to ruin your health…"

Crying, Hye-yeon nodded.

"Okay.”

"It must be hard being all alone so far away. I wonder if you’re eating well. Should I come make some side dishes this weekend?”

"I can’t rest on weekends.”

"I can take a day off. What do you want to eat?"

Normally, she would’ve told her not to come, that anything was fine. But clutching one trembling shoulder, Hye-yeon flushed and muttered awkwardly,

"Just… Mom’s cooking."

When her mom asked if the menu really didn’t matter, Hye-yeon gave a faint smile and nodded. 

And true to her word, her mom came that weekend, no matter how busy she was. 

She took a bus up from the countryside, spent half the day grocery shopping near Hye-yeon’s place, and when Hye-yeon came home from studying at the library in the evening, freshly cooked rice sat on the table in a small electric rice cooker. 

Hye-yeon scooped up a bite of steaming white rice and smiled awkwardly as she ate. 

It was made with the same rice she always had in her studio, but maybe because her mom made it, it tasted different. 

Sweeter. Better.

"The kimchi had all gone sour."

Her mom said this from the narrow kitchen, where she was still stir-frying fish cakes instead of sitting at the small table.

"So I made it into soup."

It was kimchi stew, generously filled with pork and tofu, simmered spicy and rich. She said she’d used chili powder ground fresh at a mill by the old lady upstairs back in the countryside, and the moment Hye-yeon tasted it, she knew it was different from anything she’d eaten outside. 

Her chest warmed, her throat tightening as she gulped down the broth. For some reason, her eyes kept burning, but she didn’t cry. 

Her mom spoke softly.

"I’ll make all the side dishes before I go, so don’t throw them away. Eat them with your meals, okay?"

Thinly sliced carrots and onions mixed into stir-fried fish cakes were set down in front of her, releasing the warm scent of soy sauce, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. 

As if she’d been waiting, Hye-yeon piled the fish cakes into her mouth and chewed, answering,

"Okay."

Her mom, who probably wasn’t even eating properly herself, smiled weakly with a thinner face than before and patted Hye-yeon’s head. 

Even after her mom left, saying she had to catch the bus, the cozy smell of rice lingered in the room for a long while. 

Sitting back down to study, Hye-yeon lifted her head. 

Tomorrow was the last exam. 

The very subject Hyunwoo had gotten her the exam guide for. 

On the wall of her studio apartment, the banner she hadn’t taken down yet still hung there.

"Defeat Tae Eun-seong."

‘I can’t go crooked.'

As long as there was even one person in this world who believed in her, she couldn’t fall onto a bad path. 

It was late. 

Just yesterday, on the way back from the exam, Choi Hyunwoo had bragged that he’d made sure the information absolutely wouldn’t reach Eun-seong’s group.

'Let’s be fair.'

It wasn’t like she wanted to win in a dirty way. 

Hye-yeon opened her messenger and sent the large file to Eun-seong. She didn’t add any unnecessary comments. Just the file name alone was enough to make it obvious what it was. 

Even if he asked why she sent it, she planned not to answer. She just didn’t want to be petty. 

And strangely enough, the moment she saw the file finish sending to Eun-seong, a sense of peace settled over her. She didn’t know whether he’d see the message or not while focusing on studying, but she’d done what she needed to do, so she decided not to worry about the rest. 

Hye-yeon went back to studying. 

She dozed off briefly, then checked her messages again in the morning, but Eun-seong still hadn’t read it.

'Why hasn’t he checked it?'

Did he not need what I sent? 

Or was he getting back at me for ignoring his messages before? 

All kinds of thoughts crossed her mind, but she didn’t have the luxury of feeling upset. Gathering her neatly organized notes and tablet, Hyeyeon hurried on. 

She went to school, finished the last exam, and midterms were finally over. About half of the questions on that subject’s exam seemed to have come from the guide. And only after the exam ended did Eun-seong finally read the message Hye-yeon had sent. 

[Thanks] 

A reply came, but Hye-yeon only read it and didn’t continue the conversation. 

Classes with assignments resumed as usual, and Hye-yeon started a new tutoring part-time job. She’d gotten quite close with Jiwon while studying for midterms, so whenever Hyunwoo wasn’t around, they were almost always together in the library. 

With exams over, the campus seemed to return to its normal rhythm. The crowds of students that used to pack nearby cafés and the library thinned out, leaving things quieter.

And when one thing passes, the next one draws near.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

After stopping by the department office, Hyunwoo shouted loudly in the department lounge.

"The festival’s coming up!"

The freshmen gathered together after class and widened their eyes.

"Which celebrities are coming?”

"Don’t know that yet. Aren’t you curious what our department’s going to do?"

Excited at the thought of the festival, the students bounced with enthusiasm. There were a few ideas suggested by the upperclassmen, and it sounded like the freshmen would probably just have to do whatever they were told. 

Hye-yeon, who was sitting on the lounge sofa waiting for Jiwon to arrive, found herself quietly curious about what a university festival would be like. Back in high school, she’d been in a club too, but it felt more like science competitions to show off academic zeal, so it hadn’t been very fun. 

But listening to her friends chatter on, she started to feel a bit interested.

"They say at least one freshman team has to do a talent show.”

"That’s annoying."

Jungwon pouted at Hyunwoo’s comment.

"Why don’t we just make Eun-seong’s group do it?"

Hyunwoo said.

"Like he’d agree.”

"We can go through the seniors. I’ll contact the third-year department head."

He clearly wanted to make Eun-seong look like a thorn in the seniors' eyes. Unable to let go of his bully tendencies from high school, even as an adult. 

Not wanting to stay in the same space any longer, Hye-yeon stood up from the sofa.

"Where are you going?”

"Jiwon’s here."

She answered curtly and stood up. The male classmates mumbled in disappointment, saying things like how the room would feel gloomy without their goddess. Not wanting to hear it, Hye-yeon frowned and left. 

As soon as only the guys were left, the room fell quiet, then someone spoke up.

"Did you hear? They say Tae Eun-seong got first place again.”

"That bastard didn’t even get the exam guide. How did he come in first? That test was total crap.”

"Hey, shh. Hye-yeon’s still outside."

When Jungwon warned them to be careful, the room went quiet again. Had Hyunwoo gone around telling people even about her inferiority complex toward Tae Eun-seong?

"Ha."

There are no secrets in this world. 

And she didn’t feel anything for Hyunwoo anymore anyway. 

Swallowing a hollow laugh, Hye-yeon turned away, clenched her teeth, and climbed the stairs. With every step up the steep stairway, her whole body felt heavy, like weights were tied to her legs. 

So… Eun-seong had beaten her without even looking at the exam guide she sent.

'It was like a mouse worrying about a cat.'

As the sense of defeat surged again, her eyes stung red. 

She’d worked so hard she’d even snapped at her mom, and still she couldn’t come close to his feet. All the days she’d agonized felt pointless. Like a sparrow trying to chase a stork and tearing its legs apart. Was that what she was doing? 

Shaken by the result, Hye-yeon swallowed her tears and climbed the outdoor stairs. And just as she reached the top, she locked eyes with Eun-seong, who was standing in the lobby with David. 

He’d acted like he didn’t know her at all before and after midterms, but seeing her now, he greeted her unexpectedly.

"Have you thought about it?"

He just sounded insane now. 

* * * 

The man seemed unchanged before and after the exams. Maybe the only thing that had changed was Hye-yeon’s heart. 

It felt like she’d sprinted up a mountainside at full speed, only to collapse in exhaustion. The ceiling was too high to climb any further, completely out of reach.

"I didn’t ask during exams because I figured you had a lot on your mind. But thanks for the exam guide."

The way he said it was soft, casual. 

Wearing a khaki windbreaker that broadened his shoulders, one hand tucked into his pocket, Eun-seong looked down at her with an easy expression. When their eyes met, she thought she’d feel angry, but that wasn’t quite it. 

Just like in high school, a distant fear washed over her, along with a strange sense of awe. 

Do I… 

Hate you, or admire you? 

Hye-yeon replied with a flat gaze.

"You didn’t read it."

He clearly hadn’t checked it until right before the exam, but Eun-seong didn’t deny it and lowered his eyes. His long lashes fell thoughtfully, giving him an enigmatic air.

"You’re not even denying it."

A cold laugh escaped her. 

It wasn’t so much anger at him as it was self-mockery. Someone had endured humiliation to get that material. And someone else had never needed it in the first place. 

Now she didn’t even know what this feeling was anymore. What name she was supposed to give it. 

Hye-yeon’s eyes reddened. She bit her trembling lip and looked away. Sensing something was wrong, David grew restless.

"What are you thinking? Eun-sung?"

David’s flustered voice rang out, like he couldn’t understand why Hye-yeon was suddenly on the verge of tears. In response, Eun-seong politely asked David to give them some space.

"Of course."

Not knowing what was going on between them, David still patted Eun-seong on the shoulder, saying he hoped they’d find a great solution. 

She could feel the gazes of people passing through the lobby. Hye-yeon felt like her heart was being torn apart. Crying during a fight meant losing. That’s why she’d sworn never to cry in front of Eun-seong. 

But for some reason, she kept becoming honest in front of him. 

No matter how hard she tried, emotions weren’t something you could just hold back.

"Be honest. You can tell me."

Those words he’d said back then felt like a fuse, and tears burst out.

"Hic."

Eun-seong pulled his hand out of his pocket and took a step closer.

"Why are you crying like this?"

Even though he was the cause of her hurt, he used that sweet voice to bewitch her. The veins stood out clearly on the back of his hand as he carefully pressed against the corner of her eye. 

The touch was so gentle that her stomach churned. 

Why was Eun-seong being so kind to her? 

It was a thought that surfaced unconsciously, but she could tell just by lifting her chin to look at him. A persistent gaze. Eyes that anyone passing by could plainly see were filled with desire. 

In those calm, dark eyes holding a faint hunger, her own face was reflected. A woman with hair in complete disarray and a terribly twisted expression, crying inside them.

"I wasn’t trying to make you cry."

Eun-seong’s hand brushed beneath her eye and slowly moved toward her ear. Carefully tucking her tear-soaked hair behind it, he wore a quiet smile at the corner of his lips. 

Hye-yeon didn’t push his hand away on purpose. 

They were hands that had touched her body countless times in her dreams. Maybe because of that, instead of feeling unpleasant or repulsed, she felt oddly relieved by the warmth they carried. 

At least this warmth was real. 

Warm enough to make it sink in that he wasn’t a god, but a living person. 

Yeah. 

As long as you’re human.

'I don’t care how you look at me.'

In the end, the one thing that could bring a powerful man to his knees wasn’t someone stronger than him, but the woman he loved. 

It wasn’t the way Hye-yeon wanted things to be, but if the method worked, she didn’t mind breaking herself. 

Because now, because of Tae Eun-seong, she wanted to go that far. 

The warmth of his hand. 

Gripping it tightly with both of hers, Hye-yeon looked up at him with reddened eyes, biting her trembling lip, and spoke.

"Eun-seong."

Whenever she called his name, his shoulders reacted, just barely. 

Deliberately not looking there, Hye-yeon took a step closer. 

For the first time, she stepped forward instead of running away.

"I thought about it."

Eun-seong stayed still, as if frozen. 

He looked relaxed on the surface, but Hye-yeon knew better. All through high school, the Eun-seong she’d seen sat stiffly solving math problems like a bookish scholar. Holding a girl’s hand was probably a first for him. 

Maybe during a sports day 

With an unchanged, quiet expression, he looked down at her. Like a tragic heroine on the verge of collapsing into his arms, Hye-yeon closed the distance until she stood right at his chest and grabbed his collar. 

Today, Eun-seong was layered in a plain shirt, a checkered overshirt, and a windbreaker on top. A good scent rushed over her, like he’d put on men’s cologne. 

Looking up from below, she couldn’t see his whole face because he was so tall, but his sharply sculpted jawline and prominent Adam’s apple stood out. 

And… 

Even with a face that perfect, you still insist on hiding behind glasses and messy hair. 

Eun-seong’s throat bobbed slightly, as if shaken. 

He stood awkwardly, not quite able to pull her into his arms, as if waiting for her to speak. 

Then Hye-yeon looked up at him with a steady gaze and said,

"Thinking about it, I think I like cool guys like Hyunwoo more than people who are just good at studying."

For a moment, Eun-seong looked flustered. Then his lips slowly curved upward on one side, as if amused. 

He pulled her closer with one hand, their bodies pressed together, and lowered his head as if he might kiss her at any second.

"So."

He met her eyes, clearly telling her to go on. 

Unfazed, Hye-yeon met his gaze and curved her eyes softly as she spoke.

"If you win first place in the talent show at the festival, I’ll date you."

He was a man with an unrealistically handsome face, yet he still wore messy hair and glasses. Tall, well-built, impossible to miss physically, and yet he always dressed plainly, as if to cancel it all out. 

And she was telling Eun-seong to go on stage at a festival talent show with hundreds, thousands of people, and take first place. 

Was that even possible? 

Hye-yeon’s lips curved upward in satisfaction before she could stop them. Seeing that twitching smile, Eun-seong creased his double-lidded eyes and let out a disbelieving laugh. 

The hand around her back tightened slightly.

"And if I don’t get first place."

His low voice vibrated as his Adam’s apple moved. Watching him swallow, it was obvious he was shaken. That subtle reaction pleased Hyeyeon. 

She straightened her smile and replied quietly.

"I want you to disappear from in front of me."

Whether he went to the military or studied abroad. 

Without realizing it, she said it seriously. Eun-seong gave a faint laugh.

"That’s a bit… extreme.”

"If you don’t want to, you don’t have to do it."

It was just a bet. Honestly, she didn’t even think it was possible.

She just needed an excuse to shake him. 

The same way he’d grabbed her weakness and shaken her around. 

The devil inside Hye-yeon waved a sports-day flag and celebrated victory. 

How would someone who could barely show his face to others ever get on stage? 

Of course, he’d refuse. 

Thinking that, she stepped back from his side. Watching him stand there, unable to say anything, whether from shock or lack of confidence, made her feel oddly refreshed. 

Maybe she was being a little too harsh just because she’d lost midterms. But he’d been the one to bring up the exam guide and poke at her first.

"Guess it’s too hard, right?"

Hye-yeon deliberately looked disappointed and stepped back again. The distance between them widened, and her body slipped free from his hand.

"Then it can’t be helped. Let’s pretend the bet never happened, and from now on, don’t act like you know me."

Me, scrambling desperately to climb even though I knew I couldn’t. 

You, grabbing that desperation and shaking me with it. 

The closer they got, the more dangerous and unsteady it felt, and in the end, Hye-yeon chose to stop. 

At first, she’d thought getting close to Eun-seong might motivate her, but after being utterly defeated in midterms, she was tired too. 

If she kept forcing herself up this slope, she felt like she’d just end up falling on her own. 

So, out of spite, she threw everything out without even hiding her ugly, honest feelings.

'He’ll think I’m shameless, won’t he?'

That someone like me is the worst. 

He was the kind of person who didn’t stop those who left and didn’t chase those who went. She thought this was the end between them. Something that burned out before it even caught fire. 

At least it ended without anyone getting hurt, she thought, and turned away. 

Just as she hugged her books to her chest and headed down toward the lawn, a voice called out from behind her.

"Okay."

What? 

For a second, Hye-yeon thought she’d misheard. But before she could process it, Eun-seong came down the steps, approaching with slow, deliberate strides. 

Inside the campus, lush with deep green foliage. 

Between cherry trees that had already lost most of their blossoms, a single late-blooming crimson flower scattered in the breeze. 

Hye-yeon’s white skirt and blouse fluttered softly, her wide eyes trailing after Eun-seong, unable to hide her shock. 

Reaching the bottom of the steps, he looked straight at her and said,

"Okay. Your proposal."

As the wind blew, his hair scattered, revealing his striking face. When even his broad forehead was fully visible, whispers rose from nearby female students. 

Did you just see that? 

Murmurs of disbelief spread as they glanced over, but Eun-seong ignored it all, blinking once as he fixed his gaze on her.

"But I have a condition."

Why was it? 

Even though she thought it was impossible, a nervous thought crept in. 

What if he actually pulls it off? 

Hye-yeon watched him warily, tensing her brow and drawing her body inward.

"What condition?”

"If I win, you belong to me."

What kind of insane nonsense was that now? 

Hye-yeon’s thin brows twisted sharply.

"Dating me or that, it’s the same thing."

Eun-seong smiled again.

"It’s different."

Why is that suddenly scary? 

Hye-yeon pressed her soft lips tightly together.

"You’re not talking about… human trafficking or something, right?"

Eun-seong rubbed his chin, glanced away, and nodded. 

“Pretty close.”

"What?"

Startled, Hye-yeon dropped the book she was holding. Thankfully, it landed on the grass by the flowerbed unharmed, and Eun-seong bent down to pick it up. 

Hye-yeon snapped.

"Are you crazy? You expect me to gamble my life on something like this?”

"I did too. My life. You said it yourself. If I lose, I should go to the military or study abroad. That’s basically putting my life on the line as well.”

"That’s because I thought you wouldn’t accept it…”

"I am accepting it."

Was he really insane? 

Hye-yeon snatched the book back from his hand, her face pale with shock.

"You… you… Why are you going this far… you… don’t tell me."

Her grip tightened around the book.

"Don’t tell me you love me that much?"

At that, Tae Eun-seong burst out laughing again.

"Puh, hahahaha!"

It had been scary enough when he only smiled quietly, but now that he was laughing while clutching his stomach, Hye-yeon felt so frightened she almost wanted to cry.

"Ah… seriously, Jeong Hye-yeon."

Still chuckling like he’d lost his mind, Eun-seong wiped the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes and continued.

"You… ha. What do you think love is?”

"Why are you suddenly asking something so philosophical?"

Hye-yeon widened her eyes and pulled her neck in like a turtle, then blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I don’t know. Something like dopamine and noradrenaline acting up, and then serotonin gradually activating, I guess."

But then, unbelievably, Eun-seong covered his mouth, nodded, and agreed.

"Ah, if it’s like that, you might be right."

Hye-yeon felt like her heart was about to burst. Maybe she didn’t even realize how much pressure she was under from this endless string of overwhelming moments. It felt like someone had grabbed her heart and was wringing it out like laundry. 

And then… 

Eun-seong brushed his hair back slightly and bent down, bringing his face closer. 

“Because right now…”

"……”

"I’m shaking too."

When he said that with a slight crease in the bridge of his nose, Hye-yeon’s face flushed bright red. 

They were close enough to feel each other’s trembling breaths. 

Her lightly swaying hair tickled both his cheek and her own. 

Eun-seong’s gaze, now almost free of laughter, dropped slightly. 

His eyes traced her dark brown pupils, her straight nose, and finally her small, red lips. 

He spoke in a low whisper.

"I…"

Hye-yeon felt her heart squeeze painfully tight. 

This was completely different from emotions she’d only imagined or felt in dreams. She’d started all this thinking she would shake Eun-seong and throw him off balance, but somewhere along the way, it felt like she was the one being drawn in. 

Her tense shoulders stiffened, her neck went rigid. Her heart pounded so loudly she worried he might hear it. She could barely breathe. She felt like she might faint before he said another word. 

Only then did she realize that, just like him, she’d spent all of high school studying, never even holding a boy’s hand. Everything was her first, too. 

And she was only realizing it now.

"I want a down payment, Hye-yeon."

Their breaths brushed against each other as he spoke.

"Huh…?"

Her gaze wavered aimlessly. Then his hand naturally wrapped around her waist and pulled her in. 

Their stomachs pressed together. 

It was near the back gate stairs where there weren’t many people, and they were behind a large tree, but it was still a place where passersby could easily see them if they looked. 

And it was a bright day after the rain. 

Under the sunlit trees, leaf shadows swayed gently. Then, slowly lowering his lips, he said,

"If you don’t want it, push me away."

Her hand tightened on his collar. As she drew in a breath, his grip around her waist kept her from moving, and her lips were claimed in an awkward, helpless posture.

"Mm!"

Unlike her own lips, roughened by days of emotional strain, Eun-seong’s lips were incredibly soft and moist. A smile pressed against her lips as he pulled away just slightly.

"Relax your lips, Hye-yeon."

And then he softly captured her small lips again. Her shoulders kept tensing up, and the difference in their heights made her wobble in place. He held her body more firmly with one hand and lifted her chin with the other. 

Without realizing it, Hye-yeon rose onto her tiptoes. 

It felt strange. 

Her heart was racing like it might leap out of her chest, yet every time his warm lips met hers again, stealing her shallow breaths, it was so sweet she felt like she might melt.

"Haa…"

Eun-seong pulled back briefly to breathe, then leaned in again, parting her lips and pushing in with his thick tongue. His wet tongue brushed her palate and gently wrapped around her tongue as it tried to flee.

"Mm…"

A sound like a moan slipped out. Something deep inside her felt unbearably itchy, somewhere she couldn’t scratch, twisting her whole body.

"Haa…"

She felt his breath grow hotter. Without realizing it, she followed his earlier instruction and relaxed her lips, slowly closing her eyes. She was just letting her body move the way he guided it, but the sensations kept growing more intense.

'Why is he… so good at kissing…'

As she tried to open her eyes slightly, he noticed her wavering focus and teasingly brushed her lower lip with the tip of his tongue. Hye-yeon shuddered at the ticklish sensation.

"Ah!"

He wrapped his lips around hers again, laughing softly, as if that was exactly the reaction he wanted.

"How can even your moans be pretty?"

His hand slid down her back. Tracing the curves of her body with the tips of his fingers, her ears burned red in an instant and warmth spread between her legs.

'What is this… why is he this experienced?'

Hye-yeon found herself breathing raggedly, almost as if her body now belonged to his hands.

"H-h… doing this here…”

"Then is it okay somewhere else?"

With reddened eyes, Hye-yeon shook her head. 

Of course, doing something like this with Eun-seong, here or anywhere, had never been part of her plan. As she bit down on her lower lip, he slid his fingers in and parted her lips, smiling in satisfaction. 

“It’d be nice if you let me keep going somewhere else."

His crescent-shaped smile made her heart drop straight to the floor. 

And then.

"Hey, PC café?"

Just then, the voices of their classmates heading toward the engineering building’s back gate drifted over.

"I’ve got dinner plans, so I’ll just play three rounds.”

"Let’s get ramen too."

The noisy group sounded like they were getting closer. Hye-yeon twisted in his grip, but Eun-seong didn’t let go.

"If you go out now, they’ll notice. Your lips are all messed up.”

"Forget it, I’m going the other way."

Frowning, Hye-yeon pushed him away and said she’d go the opposite direction.

"Which way?"

Because Eun-seong was stalling, their classmates were almost right there. Hearing how close they were to the back gate, he grabbed her hand and pulled her behind an old tree in the flowerbed. 

It would’ve been better to stay separate.

"If we get caught here together, that’s…"

She was about to say that would be the worst possible outcome. 

Tap. 

Suddenly, Eun-seong cut her off with a quick kiss. It was just a brief touch, but the sudden kiss startled her so much she hiccupped.

"Hic!"

Damn it. Why now of all times? 

Flustered, Hye-yeon looked up at him. Another hiccup slipped out, and Eun-seong hurriedly covered her mouth with his hand. 

A large hand covered Hye-yeon’s entire lower face. 

When their eyes met, Eun-seong lifted his other hand and pressed his index finger to his own lips, silently telling her to calm down. To reach the lobby from the engineering building’s back entrance, you had to climb at least five steps. There was a height difference between the building and the flowerbed, so if they hid in the shade right beside the stairs, they might avoid being seen. 

The problem was the hiccups that just wouldn’t stop.

"Hic."

Afraid that even the smallest sound might escape, Hye-yeon began trembling all over. Noticing this, Eun-seong pulled her in with his other arm and pressed her tightly against his chest. Thanks to that, even when another hiccup came out, it was muffled inside his arms, barely audible outside.

By now, their classmates were pouring down the back stairway in a group. Their voices overlapped noisily.

"But seriously, is it okay to make Tae Eun-seong’s group do the talent show?”

"Why? You got something you wanna do instead?”

"No, it’s just… what if it wrecks our department’s image? What if he goes on stage and starts shaking and pees himself or something. Pfft.”

"Hey, then should I belt out a song for us?”

"Hic."

Another hiccup slipped out. Hye-yeon squeezed her eyes shut, on the verge of tears. The hand gripping her shoulder tightened. 

She buried her face against his chest, waiting desperately for this moment to pass. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of her mouth, while Eun-seong, in contrast, stayed calm, watching the movement on the stairs above.

"Whatever. If we make that guy do it, we’ll get kicked out of every department mixer.”

"Kicked out my ass. He’d probably get eliminated in prelims with some pig-slaughter scream. Heh."

Thankfully, the classmates seemed too absorbed in their own conversation to look down toward the flowerbed. As their loud laughter faded into the distance, Eun-seong loosened his grip on Hye-yeon’s shoulders and slowly let her go. 

Her face was a complete mess, streaked with tears. 

And the hiccups still hadn’t stopped.

"Hic."

At this point, wasn’t she the one making pig-slaughter noises? 

Mortified, her face burning red, Hye-yeon covered her mouth with both hands and looked up at him. 

Eun-seong gently wiped at the corners of her eyes with his finger and murmured,

"The down payment feels… a little lacking.”

"Hk.”

"You should hold back, right?"

His hazy gaze drifted to her swollen lips. Looking closer, it was obvious how much she’d been kissed. The tint she’d applied had smeared onto his lips as well. 

Eun-seong lightly pressed the back of his hand against his own mouth and let out a damp breath.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Then, holding his burning red ears with both hands, he looked down at her and said,

"I really want to win this bet.”