Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Shin Yeonsu’s already large eyes widened even further.

“So who wins?”

“Hmm, I usually win the minor squabbles, but mom tends to win the big ones.”

“Really? I thought I always won against my mom, but I guess not. I lose every time. My mom is incredibly stubborn.”

Hajun gazed intently at Yeonsu’s profile as she took a deep breath, then let out a sigh. He scratched below his eyebrow.

She was acting surprisingly familiar for a first meeting, and it struck him as odd. He’d thought she was a haughty, feline type, but it seemed he was completely wrong about that.

“What’s your last name?”

“Shin.”

“Ah, Shin Yeonsu. And I’m—”

Yeonsu cut him off.

“I know, Kim Hajun. You’re one year above me, but two years older.”

“Oh, uh. I took a gap year.”

“Right.”

Just as Hajun was searching for something else to say, Yeonsu rummaged through her bag. He almost asked what she was looking for so intently, then decided against it.

“Are you closest with Seonyeong?”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

Hajun stretched, needlessly, in response to Yeonsu’s distracted and delayed answer. He felt like he had to do something.

Just then, a whirlwind swept powerfully around them. It was a tremendous wind, strong enough to shake the bamboo forest.

Perhaps because it was close to midnight, the eerie wind sent shivers down their spines.

Hajun instinctively spread his jacket wide, shielding Yeonsu.

He frowned at the ominous sounds coming from the bamboo forest, but Yeonsu herself seemed unperturbed.

Hajun looked at her.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Of what?”

“The bamboo forest over there.”

“Not really.”

Even after the wind died down, they remained silent for a long time. Hajun coughed as if his throat was dry, and Yeonsu pulled out the chocolate Seonyeong had given her earlier from her bag’s inner pocket, placing it in her palm.

She peeled off the gold wrapper and took a bite.

Yeonsu, who had shown little expression until moments ago, smiled, apparently finding it sweet and delicious.

Hajun felt his neck flush red without realizing it. Each time Yeonsu rolled the chocolate on her tongue, slowly melting it in her mouth, his body throbbed.

He didn’t even realize he was watching her, utterly captivated. Then, sensing his gaze, Yeonsu abruptly turned her head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Looking at what? I wasn’t looking.”

“Sunbae, you’re a really bad liar.”

“…”

“That’s definitely the face of someone who’s fallen for me.”

“Oh, please, no it’s not.”

It was true she was pretty, and that’s why he’d looked, but he wasn’t bad-looking either. He decided it was definitely a good thing he hadn’t said that out loud.

Yeonsu teased him, saying he was taking a joke far too seriously. Hajun felt a sudden surge of irritation, feeling like he’d been played by a tiny girl.

He’d had enough to drink, and the wind had stopped. He thought he should get up, but his legs wouldn’t move.

Hajun was about to take off his jacket and offer it to Yeonsu, who seemed cold, but then changed his mind and pulled the zipper all the way up to his neck.

Given her pretty face, she must have received countless insincere advances from other men. Hajun didn’t want to be seen as just one of them.

“They say sunbaes line up to buy you meals, but you always refuse. Yet today, you came out to the drinking party Kang Yumin called. Why? Do you judge by looks?”

“You think so? You think I judge by how a man looks?”

Looking at the innocent smile on her face, Hajun was deeply confused. He wondered if Shin Yeonsu really did care about that kind of thing.

Wait a minute, was Kang Yumin handsome? He shouldn’t be that handsome enough to sway her that much…

Could it be that he was this popular with girls? If it came down to looks, he was many times better.

Of course, he only thought this to himself, waiting for her next words.

“I’ve heard a lot about Sunbae.”

At Yeonsu’s words, Hajun’s gaze turned to her.

“About me?”

“Yes.”

“What about?”

While all the other buildings were on level ground, the music department building and the male and female dormitories here required climbing a fairly steep hill.

Yeonsu pointed precisely to the top of the path leading to the dorms with her fingertip.

“They say if you confess there – nine out of ten people – you accept?”

“What?”

“They say your nickname is Dangun, like you broadly benefit humanity or something.”

“No! My nickname is Medusa Sunbae!”

“I heard that too, but Dangun suits you better.”

“Why?”

“Because it seems unlikely anyone would fall for you at first sight. So, how many people have you ‘benefited’?”

“…What are you talking about?”

She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed, apparently finding it amusing to tease a sunbae who was two years older.

How could she keep laughing after teasing someone?

Hajun, trying to combat the heat that intensified with each passing moment, needlessly got angry.

“I didn’t know you were like this, but aren’t your words a little bit rough for a first meeting?”

Yeonsu’s sparkling eyes beneath her long eyelashes blinked rapidly.

“It’s not our first meeting.”

“It’s not?”

“No, I’ve seen Sunbae many times. You were always asleep, face down, whenever I stopped by the old student council room. And during last month’s sports festival, Sunbae brought a hockey stick.”

“Ah, that’s because the class rep said they were holding a flea market or something after the sports festival…”

“Did it sell?”

“No, I lost it.”

He’d played in all sorts of games, from soccer to basketball, loving physical activity. When he returned, the hockey stick had disappeared by magic.

He had cherished it, having used it in the first game he ever played. If he’d known he’d lose it like that, he wouldn’t have brought it.

The class rep had said anything useful was fine, so he’d grabbed it absentmindedly on his way out of the house because it had caught his eye.

But looking at the items at the flea market, a hockey stick seemed utterly useless to everyone else.

Why had he even brought something like that?

“I think I just saw it.”

“What? Where?”

Yeonsu again pointed to the dormitories with her fingertip.

“The girls’ dorm?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t tell me Seonyeong is the culprit?”

“No, Seonyeong’s roommate. Should I go get it for you?”

When Hajun didn’t answer, Yeonsu muttered, “If you don’t want me to, just say so.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to, but he specifically didn’t want to send Shin Yeonsu back into the dorm.

And he wasn’t even sure it was his.

“It’s fine. It might not even be mine.”

“Sunbae’s signature was on it.”

“How did you even see that?”

“I have good eyesight.”

“Later, if there’s a chance, you can bring it. Not today.”

Her large, dark eyes, as if about to close, squinted slightly in the gust of wind. Yeonsu blinked a few times, then got up from her seat.

As Hajun started to rise with her, Yeonsu bowed her head straight away to him.

“Alright, I’ll head out first then.”

“Aren’t you coming down together?”

“Why would I?”

“Huh?”

“I like walking alone. Well then.”

Hajun’s thought of needing to walk her home because it was dangerous became meaningless as Shin Yeonsu walked down the path alone.

Shin Yeonsu might be fine, but he was absolutely not. What if a ghost appeared?

“Hey, hey! Wait for me!”

Was it his imagination, or did her steps quicken?

“Let’s go together, please!”

Hajun’s initial assessment of her was: “She looks normal, but her personality is weird.” That was it.

He found Yeonsu a second time in the old student council room. He had headed there to fill some dull, boring time, and she happened to be studying, her textbook open.

He casually tossed his empty bag onto the sofa, then glanced at her as she didn’t even spare him a look.

“Hey, Shin Yeonsu. Aren’t you going to say hello?”

Only then did Yeonsu finally look up. Today, too, her hair was tied up high.

“Hello, Sunbae.”

“You said you saw me asleep here a few times, so it must be true. Why aren’t you in the new building and staying here?”

Yeonsu slowly looked around, then bit down on the tip of her pen.

“It’s quieter here.”

The student council room primarily used by business administration students had been newly built in the department’s new building. Therefore, this old student council room was worn and dated, and mostly unused.

A sticker indicated it would soon be closed, but it had the advantage of being next to the main sports field, so leftover equipment from the sports festival was scattered everywhere.

In other words, it was now mostly used as a storage room.

Hajun briefly looked at the book Yeonsu was reading, then said to her,

“Alright, go on and study. I’m not going to disturb you, just going to nap for a bit and then leave.”

“Okay.”

He lay down, using the bag he’d just thrown as a pillow. He’d rushed here, unable to resist the drowsiness that came after a meal, but as soon as he lay on the sofa, his sleepiness vanished.

He turned onto his side. His gaze naturally fell on Yeonsu, and he watched her for quite a while.

Shin Yeonsu hadn’t once taken her eyes off her book. She stared at the book for a full forty minutes, like someone possessed by a ghost who died from being bad at studying in a past life.

Finally, Hajun, itching with restlessness, couldn’t take it anymore. He got off the sofa and pulled out a chair at Yeonsu’s table.

“Is it fun?”

“What is?”

“Studying.”

“It’s fun.”

Hajun needlessly tapped a leftover paper cup from the sports festival as he continued.

“Wow, I guess I shouldn’t associate with you.”

“I want to be close with Sunbae.”

His heart softened for a moment at Yeonsu’s words, whether it was flirting or some other tactic.

“…Why?”

He hadn’t even gotten an answer yet when Yeonsu gathered her books and stood up. Hajun’s gaze busily followed her movements.

A creaking sound came from the old doorknob Yeonsu held. A moment later, as she was about to open the door and leave, she turned back.

“Because I think I’ll see you here often.”