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Chapter 28
The End of First Love
‘What… is this?’
It took a long moment for her to grasp the situation. Yeon-woo, who had been staring blankly with a dazed look, slowly widened her eyes.
“……!”
This, right now—
Her lips pressed tightly shut. Frozen in place with the ice bar still in her hand, Yeon-woo’s face flushed red, blooming like a camellia flower.
It hadn’t even been a proper kiss, just the briefest brush of lips, and yet the faint sensation still lingered.
Like the way an old burn scar could keep catching her attention, her lips tingled with heat.
It was the first time she had ever touched someone like that—and strangely, she didn’t dislike it.
“Hurry and eat it, it’ll melt.”
A sly voice cut in. Jeong-ha, looking perfectly nonchalant, casually switched his big ice bar with Yeon-woo’s and handed it back to her.
With an untroubled face, he bit into his ice bar and muttered,
“Sweet.”
His smiling expression made Yeon-woo’s face burn even hotter.
He hadn’t even said what exactly was sweet, but Yeon-woo found herself glancing, unbidden, at his lips.
Her head felt light, like her body temperature was rising. Without thinking, she blurted out words she didn’t quite mean to.
“……I-It just tastes good, that’s all.”
At her stammering reply, Jeong-ha’s eyes curved into a grin. He hadn’t even taken a bite of hers. Unable to hold back his laughter, a low chuckle escaped him.
Startled and embarrassed, Yeon-woo smacked his stomach with her fist.
“Ah, ow.”
“As if it hurts!”
“Eat it already. It’s really melting.”
With a pout, Yeon-woo bit into her ice cream, muttering words she couldn’t bring herself to say out loud.
Why does he seem so used to this?
It felt like only she was flustered—and that made her sulky. Cheeks puffed, she took a big bite. Jeong-ha looked at her curiously, but Yeon-woo kept her gaze down, face reddening further.
Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest.
“The weather’s nice.”
At his shameless remark, Yeon-woo glared at him, but he pretended not to notice. Only after she exhaled sharply did the tranquil scenery come back into view—
The white dog sitting calmly in the distance, the bicycles resting as if no one would take them, and the clouds drifting slowly across the sky.
Everything felt dreamlike, hazy. She was afraid it might vanish at any moment.
She wanted to answer Jeong-ha with something—anything—but no solution came.
“……”
What should she do?
With only a single bite gone, Yeon-woo sank back into her thoughts, her face clouding over.
Jeong-ha glanced at her quietly, but Yeon-woo, lost in her own mind, never noticed.
“It melted.”
Jeong-ha’s voice jolted her back. By the time she looked, the ice cream had already begun to drip in the hot sun—plop—onto her hand.
“Ah!”
Flustered, Yeon-woo fumbled, as if searching through her bag. Just then, Jeong-ha reached out and wiped a drop of chocolate ice cream from her hand with his thumb—then casually brought it to his mouth.
Yeon-woo’s wide eyes filled with shock.
“Y-you could’ve just wiped it off.”
The sight of his red tongue flicking out to lick it felt strangely indecent.
“So what. It’s just sweet.”
His relaxed tone stole her breath away. His gentle, dark eyes seemed to pierce straight through her heart.
“Seo Yeon-woo.”
“Y-yeah?”
And then, without hesitation, Jeong-ha closed the distance between them.
“I like you.”
Yeon-woo blinked, unable to respond. Her tangled thoughts turned blank and white.
Petals of the last spring blossoms fluttered in the breeze, falling over her head.
“I like you, Seo Yeon-woo.”
Jeong-ha only smiled, as if he had never expected an answer from her at all. The breeze tickled her cheek.
She wanted to say something, but no words came. It was as though he understood everything, even her silence. Leisurely, his gaze trailed from her eyes, to her nose, to her lips, and down to her slender neck. Then he spoke again:
“At this rate, it’ll all melt and fall on the ground.”
“……It’s because you distracted me.”
The words slipped out in a suppressed voice. In just a few short months, Jeong-ha had seeped into her heart—and with only a few words, he had swayed it completely.
“When we go to Seoul, I’ll buy you more.”
“……”
“As much as you want—until you get sick of it.”
“I won’t get sick of it.”
Just like I’ll never get sick of you.
As if he understood the hidden meaning behind her words, Jeong-ha laughed.
That alone seemed to be enough of an answer. His smile brimmed with satisfaction, as though he had gained everything.
And so, spring passed—faintly, beautifully.
By the time they bickered their way back home, the sun had already set.
Watching Yeon-woo head into the annex, Jeong-ha turned his steps.
He had said he would inherit his father’s business after graduation, but he couldn’t just leave Seo Yeon-woo alone until then.
She would only keep trembling in anxiety.
And Jeong-ha wasn’t the type to just sit by and watch.
As if his mind was made up, he strode into the main house.
Walking down the dark-brown corridor, he stopped before the heavy walnut door and knocked firmly. Knock, knock—the sound split the silence.
“Yes.”
At the curt reply from inside, Jeong-ha pushed the door open without hesitation. Sitting at the table, reading documents, was his mother. His brows lifted slightly.
“…Your teacher called earlier. Is that why you’re here?”
“Something like that.”
“So, not exactly.”
The lady of the house brushed her thumb over her lips absentmindedly. Her skin, neglected for too long, felt rough beneath her fingers.
“…Is this really worth interrupting my busy time?”
Jeong-ha looked at her calmly. Her face no longer shone the way it once had. He remembered the days when her beauty had terrified him, polished like porcelain, and he had lived in fear she might kill him.
But now, as he looked at her frailer form, her seated height even shorter than his own, a mocking smile touched his lips.
“Since you’re busy, I’ll be direct.”
“……”
“Take care of Yeon-woo’s debt.”
The words dropped like a bomb. His mother flinched.
When she lifted her head to meet her son’s gaze, she saw not him—but the blurry image of her husband.
The husband who always had another woman by his side. Rage twisted her features.
“Why should I?”
A bluish vein bulged across her temple.
She had already received a call from the teacher earlier. Before she could even be proud of Jeong-ha taking first place, she had been curious about who this “other student” was.
A woman’s intuition was sharp. She had asked about Yeon-woo’s national ranking before anything else.
Ever since hearing the answer, she had been burning inside.
Now, she couldn’t rid herself of the thought that, just like her husband, even her son was letting himself be dragged down by some insignificant girl.
“You really take after your father. Running around, getting distracted by any woman you think is pretty.”
