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Chapter 21
The End of First Love
A hoarse, raspy voice came from Jeong-ha, his throat completely worn out.
Yeon-woo shut his mouth, unable to find anything else to say. Soon, the homeroom teacher walked in.
Yeon-woo kept sneaking glances at Jeong-ha. But Jeong-ha never once looked back at him. Maybe it was because of last night—his face was grim. Until the mock exam began, Yeon-woo just kept staring at the back of Woo Jeong-ha’s head like someone nursing a crush.
I can’t be like this.
It was the first mock exam of their senior year, but he couldn’t concentrate at all. It felt like he was paying the price for seeing something he never should have seen.
“Alright, begin.”
It was 9:40. Everyone bent their heads over their desks. Yeon-woo did the same, and so did Jeong-ha, seated not too far away. After the long test ended, each student wrote their self-graded scores on a sheet of paper, cut in half from an A4 page.
“Class rep, collect the papers and bring them here.”
“…Yes.”
Being the class president was tiring for things like this. Yeon-woo took the sheets one by one, sloppily handed over, and finally stopped in front of Jeong-ha’s desk.
I wonder if he did well? For the first time, Yeon-woo found himself curious about someone else’s score. He glanced at Jeong-ha’s expression.
“Give me your paper.”
“…I didn’t do it.”
“You didn’t grade yours?”
“Why should I bother with that?”
His face said why would anyone waste time on that, leaving Yeon-woo speechless. At the same time, he thought, yeah, that’s just like Woo Jeong-ha.
Seeing him colder than usual, Yeon-woo awkwardly muttered,
“…Then I’ll just tell them you don’t have one.”
“Yeah.”
The reply was utterly indifferent. Jeong-ha didn’t meet his eyes even once and lay back down on his desk. Still distracted, Yeon-woo stared at him persistently before finally turning away.
“……”
Even after handing in the papers, even after the closing announcements, Jeong-ha didn’t move. Students who weren’t staying for night study started leaving one by one, and the classroom quickly grew noisy. Seizing the moment, Yeon-woo carefully shook Jeong-ha’s shoulder.
“…Woo Jeong-ha.”
“……”
“You’re not seriously planning to sleep here again tonight, are you?”
Yeon-woo whispered worriedly. At that, Jeong-ha cracked his eyes open and glared.
Just as Yeon-woo didn’t want to be in the annex when his cousin beat him, the main house probably wasn’t a pleasant place for Jeong-ha either. Still, leaving him at school like this didn’t sit right with Yeon-woo.
“Maybe you should just stay in the annex today…”
The thought that the deranged stepmother might hurt Jeong-ha if he went back made Yeon-woo’s words rush out. Watching his lips move, Jeong-ha slowly sat up and gave him a cold look.
“Hey.”
“……”
“Who are you to care about that?”
The chilly answer made Yeon-woo’s face burn red. He had told him not to butt in before, but still…
“……”
Yeon-woo realized that since last night, he had started to feel something like camaraderie with Woo Jeong-ha. After all, they shared the same misfortune—parents.
“Go.”
Cutting him off bluntly, Jeong-ha lay back down again. Face hot, Yeon-woo just stood there staring before finally rising to his feet.
“…Fine. I was meddling too much.”
He muttered under his breath. He wasn’t sure if Jeong-ha even heard, but a wave of pointless bitterness welled up in him.
Walking straight back to the annex, Yeon-woo tore off the pink scarf he’d always worn and tossed it carelessly into a corner.
To Woo Jeong-ha, I’m just someone who needs to look after him—like my mother would. Nothing more.
The thought that he had, even for a moment, seen him as an equal felt ridiculous. Yeon-woo pulled the blanket over his head for the first time and bit down hard on his lip.
Two days passed like that. In the meantime, Yeon-woo didn’t exchange a single word with Jeong-ha. What was more bewildering was that, where before Jeong-ha would at least have said something, now he remained as cold as ever.
Rumors began to spread among the students that the two of them had fought, which only made Yeon-woo grit his teeth in frustration.
“You two must’ve fought like cats and dogs, huh?”
“Shut up.”
Eun-young kept poking at him every day. Normally he ignored her, but today was different.
On the day of the senior class field trip, all the students gathered at the entrance of Mount Gaeak. At the top there was a research center, and since they had already finished a round of mock exams, the trip was meant as both a learning experience and a stress reliever.
“Alright, it’s been a while since we’ve gone hiking. Pair up and head up the mountain. Go!”
The one enjoying this most seemed to be their homeroom teacher, who immediately bolted up the mountain alone. The rest of the students followed reluctantly, one by one.
In the end, only Chae Eun-young, Jang Seok-woo, Seo Yeon-woo, and Woo Jeong-ha were left at the bottom.
Unable to start climbing while stealing glances at Jeong-ha, Yeon-woo scowled when he saw who was left. One was Eun-young, and the other was Seok-woo, the guy who had once confessed to him in a bizarre way and gotten slapped for it.
“…Ha.”
Jeong-ha sat on a bench nearby, watching it all unfold with a bored expression. Seeing that listless gaze, Yeon-woo unconsciously put his hands on his hips. How long is he planning to just sit there?
Noticing the tension between them, Seok-woo smirked and lit a cigarette.
“This is entertaining.”
The wave of smoke made Yeon-woo glare daggers.
“You know smoking’s banned on the mountain, right?”
“We’re not even up yet.”
“It stinks. Put it out.”
“You gonna pay for my cigarettes, then?”
Seok-woo leaned in with a toothy grin, exhaling another puff of smoke. Eun-young, watching nervously, took the chance to head for the trail.
“Jang Seok-woo, hurry up.”
“You want me to go up with you?”
“Would you rather I pair with Seo Yeon-woo instead?”
At her sharp retort, Seok-woo pretended to act annoyed.
This whole trip had a little scheme planned. If Jeong-ha had bolted up first, it would’ve been ruined—but fortunately, he hadn’t moved. Just as Seok-woo and Eun-young wanted.
Perfect. We can use the excuse that they didn’t seem to get along.
Seok-woo muttered inwardly. He flicked the ash, crushed the cigarette under his shoe, stretched his shoulders, and strolled over to Eun-young.
“Damn, the weather’s fucking great.”
“…Let’s go.”
Eun-young looked like if she stayed any longer, her face would give away the plan. Chuckling, Seok-woo strode quickly up the mountain.
That left only Jeong-ha and Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo debated leaving him and going alone, but at that moment Jeong-ha stood from the bench. Without sparing him a glance, he turned his back and started climbing.
Caught off guard, Yeon-woo bit his lip and hurried to follow.
“……”
Dry twigs snapped underfoot. Yeon-woo took one step, then Jeong-ha followed with his own. It was clear he was aware of him, but he never looked back.
“Haa…”
At the base of the mountain, the trail split into three. The signpost was so broken it was impossible to tell which path led where.
Who the hell did this?
Already irritated from watching Jeong-ha, Yeon-woo muttered in annoyance.
“Which way are we supposed to go…”
Still, he didn’t want to turn back. After staring at the signs for a while, Yeon-woo chose what seemed to be the easiest path. This time, Jeong-ha trailed after his footsteps.
And so, step by step, they walked—Jeong-ha watching Yeon-woo’s feet, Yeon-woo watching his. Their breathing grew heavier, their bodies hot from exertion.
“Hey.”
“……”
“Are you sure this is the right way?”
