“The weather has been nice recently, hasn’t it? The flowers are blooming, and the spring rain is falling. So, I want to give you your first assignment.”
There were gasps and murmurs among the students, but the professor did not care.
“You’ll understand when you do it, but it’s not an assignment. It’s just play. Go on a date with the partner we set last time.”
At the mention of a date, Sa Rang dropped the pen she was holding in surprise.
She knew the course was titled “Love and Marriage”, but she did not expect such a direct assignment.
She glanced at Do Han.
While she was nervous, he was sitting calmly with his eyes closed.
She didn’t know what she had been hoping for, but a feeling of emptiness overwhelmed her.
“Plan a date together, implement it, and write a report on what was good and what was regrettable. This assignment will be given once a month. March, April, May, June. As the weather changes, people’s feelings change too. On such a day, where would you like to go? On such a day, what would you like to do? As time passes, your feelings for your partner may change. Isn’t our course a couple maker?”
The students who had formed samesex pairs let out disappointed sounds.
Those who had quietly spoken to the professor about their preferred oppositesex partners and got paired up let out silent cheers.
Sa Rang felt excited but also confused.
The idea of going on a date with Do Han alone was already thrilling, but she doubted whether he would do well on this assignment.
He came late to the class he was forced to take, would he put effort into the assignment?
She would be relieved if she didn’t have to go around the date course alone.
Looking at Do Han, who was still closing his eyes, Sa Rang shook her head.
((())) ((())) ((()))
After the class, Do Han pulled out a can of coffee from the vending machine in the hallway.
Instead of returning the remaining money, he asked Sa Rang.
“What do you want to drink?”
“The same for me, please.”
The two sat on the bench next to the vending machine, each holding a can of coffee.
As the cold coffee went down his throat, Do Han finally felt the alcohol leaving his system.
A college friend he used to hang out with had kept him out until dawn, so he didn’t get home until late.
He didn’t know how many times his alarm went off in the morning, but he was in no state to turn it off.
He opened his eyes because he was thirsty and was surprised to see his room so bright that he got up.
From then on, he rushed to shower, change his clothes, and ran out of the house.
He didn’t want to take “Love and Marriage”, a class that annoyed him and he didn’t like the name, for the third time.
He avoided being late because he ran with all his might, but he was so sleepy that he kept closing his eyes.
However, he couldn’t sleep with the professor’s resonant voice.
Do Han had finished his coffee and threw the can in the trash can next to him.
“You don’t seem to be so, but you’re very selfish.”
He leaned towards Sa Rang and looked at her closely.
Sa Rang backed away in surprise at Do Han’s face suddenly confronting her.
His proximity was so close that her mind went blank for a moment.
“What, what did I do….”
“Don’t you even care if I come to class or not? You don’t even call me, even though we’re not strangers.”
Sa Rang felt wronged, but she couldn’t say anything.
She wanted to explain that she had picked up and put down her phone several times, and that she had purposely sat in the back so that it would be easier to find him if he was late, but she kept her mouth shut.
She was afraid to reveal her feelings if she told the truth.
But she was not the type to just endure, so she had to say something else.
“Was I supposed to?”
“What?”
“I didn’t know if I was supposed to, so I didn’t.”
Do Han let out a sigh as if he couldn’t believe it.
“If I couldn’t, why would I have given you my number? I gave it to you so you could call me in times like this.”
“Then I’ll do it next time.”
“He seems to be groveling.”
Do Han furrowed his brow, prompting her to speak cautiously.
“Or, maybe I could…”
Wondering what she was about to suggest, Do Han stared intently at her.
Sa Rang hesitated for a moment before reluctantly opening her mouth.
“Shall I wake you up with a morning call every Monday morning?”
“A morning call?”
“Yes. It seems like you have a hard time waking up early, so I was thinking maybe I could call you to wake you up.”
When Do Han did not respond, Sa Rang wondered if she was being unnecessarily meddlesome and quickly retracted her words.
“Maybe that might be a bit too much of a burden for you? I was just throwing it out there, so don’t mind…”
“I like that.”
“Huh?”
Sa Rang widened her eyes, not having expected him to accept her offer even though she had suggested it first.
“I’ll answer calls even if I turn off the alarm. But it might be troublesome for you, it’s not just for a day or two.”
“It’s okay. I usually wake up early in the morning. I also clean the bathroom because I have nothing else to do at that time.”
“……My mother used to do that.”
Do Han was momentarily reminded of his late mother.
Due to his frequently absent father, his mother often had sleepless nights and would get up early to cook, clean, and do laundry.
When he was young, he thought his mother was just diligent, but he later realized the reason.
She could not bear the loneliness of those hours and had to do something to fill them.
“Anyway, thank you. I look forward to it.”
“Yes.”
Sa Rang gave an awkward smile, buoyed by the thought of waking Do Han up every Monday morning.
She felt like a high schooler trying to act mature, and now, like a mother.
She regretted her words a bit.
“When shall we do the assignment?”
“Huh?”
Unable to adapt to the sudden change of topic, she asked back.
“The date assignment. When are you free?”
“Weren’t you sleeping?”
She was greatly surprised to find that he knew about the assignment. She had thought he was asleep because he had his eyes closed for a while.
She had been secretly admiring him for that while, and she felt dizzy at the thought of what would have happened if he had opened his eyes in the middle.
“You really are selfish.”
At Do Han’s sudden words, Sa Rang’s eyes widened as if something big had happened.
Do Han found her startled bunnylike expression cute and felt a desire to tease her.
On the other hand, Sa Rang was dumbfounded to hear the same words twice.
She wondered why she had been deemed selfish this time.
While she was feeling anxious, Do Han squinted his eyes, revealing his hurt.
“You should have woken me up if you saw me sleeping. Not waking someone up in class to get grades all for yourself, not even calling when nobody’s coming. I didn’t see you that way.”
Sa Rang felt as if she was plunged into darkness.
Not knowing how to reveal her true feelings, she could not utter a proper word.
“No, it’s not like that.”
“Do you see me as a terrible person, too?”
“Huh?”
Seeing Sa Rang’s confused expression, Do Han felt upset, wondering if she really thought so.
“So, you thought you shouldn’t befriend me?”
At his sarcastic tone implying that it wouldn’t be any different with her, she opened her mouth urgently.
“I want to be friends!”
At her firm voice, Do Han’s eyes widened a little.
Even though it wasn’t a confession, but simply wanting to be friends, his heart strangely pounded at the thought.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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