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Chapter 12
Yoon-ah hesitated for a moment before speaking, her words dragging as though reluctant to leave her lips.
“Um… but since Yeong-won isn’t signed up… maybe he doesn’t want to. If it’s not absolutely necessary, then maybe we shouldn’t…”
“Did you even ask him?”
“No… I’ve already bothered him enough today.”
Her voice carried a sulky weight. After all, she had chattered the entire time they were moving boxes, dreaming out loud about campus life. It was obvious she wanted to join.
Seoyeon glanced at the small figure shuffling timidly in front of her and chuckled.
“Doesn’t it sound fun, though?”
“Well, yes… but I could just go with you!”
“What about my mission? I’ve got to do my best too, you know.”
“…That’s true…”
Yoon-ah couldn’t even look Seoyeon in the eye, trying to hide her disappointment. To Seoyeon, though, she just looked unbearably adorable.
“That senior might not even know about the missions. You should at least ask, don’t you think?”
“…Really?”
At that, Yoon-ah’s wide round eyes finally turned toward Seoyeon. The tiny glimmer of hope in them made it clear how much she had been suppressing her desire. Seoyeon nodded resolutely.
“He just doesn’t know yet. Once he does, I’m sure he’ll say yes. He is the ‘kind senior,’ after all.”
“…You really think so?”
“I swear on my neck. One hundred percent.”
Watching Seoyeon waggle her wrist dramatically, Yoon-ah finally broke into a genuine smile.
“Yeong-won!”
The moment she spotted him walking in the distance, Yoon-ah darted toward him like a freed prisoner, clutching a folded campus map in both hands.
“Since you gave me extra time at lunch, let’s eat quickly before we go. My treat. How much time do you have?”
“An hour. But… where did you get that map?”
“It was in the welcome kit. The Engineering Hall is closest, so we should start with the cafeteria there!”
With her bright smile and determined stride, she led the way. Yeong-won couldn’t help but laugh softly at the sight of her studying the map so earnestly, something nobody else ever bothered to use.
He himself had ignored such things in his freshman year—signing up for the mentor program only out of formality and never participating. But seeing Yoon-ah’s delight made him feel as though this might actually be fun.
They reached the cafeteria. Luckily, it wasn’t too crowded, giving Yoon-ah time to agonize in front of the kiosk.
“I’ll have the rice bowl! What about you?”
“I’ll take the same.”
No sooner had she doubled the order than Yeong-won slid his card into the machine.
“I was going to pay—!”
“It’s fine. This is just money I got from my boss.”
“…Really? Then… thank you, Yeong-won.”
At that, she finally smiled in relief. Technically, the money came from overseas investments, not a part-time job, but she looked better smiling than guilty. Well, there was some part-time pay mixed in too.
The food came quickly, and the two of them sat side by side with their trays. Yoon-ah whipped out her phone to snap a picture before lifting her spoon with fierce determination.
Unlike her usual chatter during meals, she was unusually focused today, spooning food in silence before finally asking:
“How many stars would you give this? Michelin only goes up to three, so out of three stars.”
“…I’m not really sure.”
“Does that mean it tastes bad?”
“No… it’s just that everything tastes more or less the same to me.”
“That’s true. You’ve always eaten whatever I gave you. With such an appetite, too.”
“….”
Appetite? Did that mean he ate too greedily? He was still pondering when she pulled out her diary. After a long, serious moment, she scribbled something and set it down. Yeong-won caught a glimpse.
It was a food review.
Next to his name: Pending. Next to hers: two stars and detailed notes.
Was this really worth taking so seriously? Amused, he teased lightly:
“I don’t recall saying ‘pending.’”
“You said it all tasted the same.”
“Yes.”
“If we try similar dishes elsewhere, then you’ll be able to compare. That’s why I wrote ‘pending.’”
“So the two stars you gave… those are final?”
“…Hm. You’ve got a point. You’re clever.”
With mock gravity, she nodded and quickly changed her own evaluation to Pending as well. This time, Yeong-won burst out laughing.
“…Hahaha.”
“Wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh like that.”
Her face lit up too, radiant as spring. Flustered, Yeong-won turned away from her gaze. Had he really never laughed in front of her before? Thinking back, maybe the only times he had smiled were because of her. The thought alone made his expression stiffen again.
But now she laughed softly.
“Why the serious face again? Smiling makes you look so much more handso—oh.”
“….”
“I really need to stop complimenting you. I promised myself yesterday I would.”
“…What?”
Her bright expression dimmed as she explained:
“Even if you’re just a comfortable, brother-like friend… I shouldn’t be saying things like that to someone who already has a girlfriend. I realized that too late. Sorry—”
“I don’t.”
His voice cut her off, low and sharp, like ice cracking. The look he fixed on her carried not a shred of warmth.
“…What?”
“I don’t. I’m not seeing anyone.”
After those words, he averted his gaze and picked up his spoon again. A sudden chill seemed to settle around him.
Was not having a girlfriend some kind of sore spot? She couldn’t understand why he looked almost angry. Cautiously, she apologized.
“I… I thought you did. Sorry.”
And with that, silence fell between them.
“….”
Damn it. This wasn’t how he wanted things to go. Yeong-won stabbed at his rice, frustrated.
“Now, please gather into your assigned groups and choose which movie you’ll watch. The options are on the screen.”
The professor’s announcement sent students shuffling about to find their randomly assigned teams. Yoon-ah’s was Group 3.
There were five of them in total. After quick introductions, it was her turn.
“Freshman in Business, my name is Han Yoon-ah. Nice to meet you.”
Her polite greeting shifted the atmosphere strangely. Fortunately, one of the guys redirected attention.
“If we pick something too obscure, it’ll be hard to find reviews or references. Let’s choose between ones people are more familiar with. If you’ve seen it already, even better.”
Everyone nodded at his reasonable suggestion and began tossing out titles. But Yoon-ah clenched her fists in her lap.
Out of thirty films on the list, she had seen—or even heard of—exactly one. An animated movie from Japan her elementary school teacher had once taken the class to see.
“That one… nobody else seems interested.”
The assignment was a mandatory freshman writing project: choose a movie as a group, watch it, and then exchange critiques of each other’s reviews. Picking a familiar film made sense. But she couldn’t say a word.
She had grown up without any devices that could stream films. The one small TV at home had always belonged to her stepmother. Allowance for theaters? Nonexistent.
After marriage, her in-laws’ social obligations and her husband’s career consumed her time. Watching movies had been unimaginable. Even when her husband appeared on dating programs, she only caught glimpses.
Then one of the girls asked:
“Han Yoon-ah, do you have any suggestions?”
“I… honestly, most of these are new to me. I’ll just go along with whatever you all decide.”
“There’s Spielberg’s A.I. on the list. That one was on TV a lot. You must’ve at least seen that, right?”
“…Just pick whatever. I’m fine with anything.”
In truth, she had never even heard the name before. She tried to laugh it off, but another guy muttered under his breath:
“Guess she was too busy being a housewife.”
“And what’s wrong with being a perfect homemaker?” the girl added, her tone carrying a faint edge.
Yoon-ah froze, unable to respond. Her heart thumped violently.
Yes, she had admitted to being twenty-seven, so it wasn’t a stretch for them to guess. But… how did they already know? These students weren’t even from the same department. They were complete strangers aside from being underclassmen.
“How did the rumors spread so fast?”
Confused and shaken, Yoon-ah could only pretend she hadn’t heard.
