“Didn’t sleep well? You look extremely tired.”

On the campus of Sunhyeon University standing tall on the hill, behind the humanities building which was the highest of them all, there was a wisteria bench that Yoo In liked.

Around this time, the tree branches that had been bare all winter would become lush, making it perfect to sit under the tree shade and enjoy the breeze.

On the bench where the afternoon sun filtered thinly through the dense green leaves twisting upwards in a sparse pattern, Yoo In sat Ji Han down and handed him a cold drink from the vending machine, but he just smiled faintly.

As he reached out to open the can Yoo In was holding, she waved him off saying it was fine.

“It’s okay. Just talk to me. What’s wrong with you?”

Even after his hand that had been floating in the air came down gently, Ji Han was quiet for a long time.

Yoo In looked at her friend with her brow slightly furrowed, then turned her gaze to the central lawn spread out widely in front of them, letting out a thin sigh.

“What’s the problem? Does Jae Hee know about it too?”

“……”

“This is the first time I’ve seen you like this, so I’m really worried, you know?”

“……”

“Sigh, alright. Talk when you want to.”

“…That bracelet.”

“Huh?”

As she lowered the can she was about to drink from, Ji Han stared straight at the silver chain gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight and said,

“That. Did that person give it to you?”

His voice sounded strangely unfamiliar, as if just pulled up from deep underwater.

The firmly frozen look in his eyes was also raw, something Yoo In had never seen since meeting Ji Han.

Yoo In stroked the cold metal with her left hand and answered awkwardly.

“Oh, yes.”

“Are you going to date?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if you’re going to date. With that person.”

“……”

“Or. Have you already decided to date?”

The aggressive tone and expression made Yoo In flustered.

Like Ki Yeon yesterday, Ji Han was also taking such an aggressive stance towards him, and Yoo In had no idea why, which made it even more confusing.

It seemed clear there was something between the two men that Yoo In didn’t know about, and they were trying to keep that fact away from Yoo In. Just what could it be? Was it related to that serious face?

“Never mind that. Tell me what you wanted to say first, Ji Han.”

Ji Han didn’t answer. He just glared fiercely at the bracelet visible between his fingers, then let out a sigh that sounded like a groan.

“Yoo In. Are you serious? Have you really thought this through?”

“Thought what through?”

“Exactly what I said.”

His face that always smiled gently now radiated a strongly negative aura. Though he tried to sugarcoat it, Ji Han seemed to want to ask if she was in her right mind.

His malicious emotions were clearly directed at Ki Yeon. Though puzzled, an even thicker and stickier sense of unpleasantness clung to the bottom of Yoo In’s mind.

To Ji Han who kept asking without revealing his own thoughts, Yoo In questioned back stiffly.

“What about you? Why have you been acting like this since yesterday?”

“What about yesterday?”

“Did the director do something wrong to you? Why were you so rude? You’re not that kind of person.”

Manners. Ji Han chewed on the word quietly, tilting his head back to laugh hollowly, looking quite bitter.

But when he met Yoo In’s eyes again, his expression was neatly tidied into a blank face.

“You heard everything that person said to me. He didn’t keep his manners either.”

“I told you I had a prior appointment. You must have known it was with the director. But then you suddenly told him to move−.”

“No, Yoo In.”

Ji Han gently cut off her measured words.

“Are you… ha. That person.”

“……”

“Are you taking that person’s side now? Who is he to you? What is he? Do you really have feelings for him? Really?”

Yoo In gave Ji Han an unreadable look as he kept asking the same thing over and over.

She found it hard to accept how they both kept circling around the same spot, only asking and trying to hear what they wanted.

She knew something was quite off, but not knowing what made her feel frustrated.

“Ji Han. Is that important right now?”

“…Yes.”

“……”

“It’s important, Yoo In. So answer me.”

The chain touching her palm felt hot. She gathered the lingering memories from yesterday, which had been easier than expected.

She didn’t ask further why this was important to her friend. She decided to hear Ji Han’s stubborn insistence first, then listen afterwards.

The small fragment towards him that stirred up and rose hazily in her heart. She finally voiced it.

“You’re right. I like that person.”

Whoosh−.

The fresh blue afternoon breeze wrapped warmly around them as it passed, but Ji Han remained motionless as if trapped alone in ice.

His terribly disheveled face soon looked like he was about to cry. Why are you making that expression? Is there some reason I shouldn’t like that person? Is that it?

Her hand gripping her wrist tightened at the sudden anxiety.

“…Nam Yoo In. Are you serious?”

Yoo In nodded silently. Ji Han’s pale eyes began to tremble finely.

After staring at Yoo In for a while, Ji Han abruptly stood up from the bench. He roughly rubbed his face with both hands and asked,

“Why?”

Not knowing what he meant by ‘why’, she lowered her gaze and didn’t open her mouth. Strangely, her mood was getting worse and worse. Strangely.

“Do you really think someone who just buys you expensive things and takes you to fancy places to show off their money is sincere about you?”

Yoo In slowly raised her eyes. She tried to check if she had heard wrong, but Ji Han, filled with agitation, poured out his anger as it was.

“It’s so obvious he’s trying to take advantage of someone like you who doesn’t know anything and can’t refuse! How can you believe that’s sincerity?”

“……”

“He has nothing to lose. In the end, you’ll be the one who gets hurt, Yoo In. That bastard is just trying to mess with you once. It’s just simple curiosity, nothing more!”

“……”

“Nam Yoo In, think again even now. It’s not too late yet……”

Yoo In stood up without listening to her friend’s words any further. Was the story he insisted on hearing just slander about Ki Yeon?

She tried her best to remain detached, but the whirlpool rising to the tip of her chin was quite fierce, showing no signs of subsiding.

Why. For what reason. Worry? Overprotection? At this point, she couldn’t understand Ji Han’s behavior with any words.

So it took a little time before she could speak.

“Yoon Ji Han. I don’t know why you think that way about the director, but.”

A steep breath slipped between her lips and was exhaled long after.

No matter how angry she was, she didn’t want to say just anything to Ji Han. After organizing her thoughts and going over them several times, removing unnecessary things.

She wanted to convey it plainly.

“You haven’t experienced whether he’s sincere or not. You haven’t seen it with your own eyes. Wouldn’t I know better than you… what kind of person the director is?”

“Yoo In.”

“I really hate that. People talking about things they don’t know well. You know how much I suffered because of that.”

Ji Han froze, revealing a dejected face filled with shock.

It seemed he had finally realized what mistake he had made. However, the water had already spilled from the cup and could not be picked up again.

Ji Han himself would know better than anyone that it couldn’t be undone.

Yoo In turned around with her bag in her hand that still had a slight tremor, then dropped one hesitant sentence.

“Let’s… stop for today. I’ll contact you later.”

****

Ki Yeon terminated the message that was about to go to voicemail for the third time.

Yoo In wasn’t answering the phone. It had been long past when her classes ended, and more than enough time to get home. She hadn’t even checked the multiple messages he had left, just in case.

As far as he knew, she didn’t have any particular schedule, so why couldn’t he reach her? Ki Yeon shook his tightly knotted necktie loose with a hint of anxiety creeping in.

“What’s the problem now.”

Ki Yeon rubbed his tightly closed eyelids in irritation and leaned back deeply in his chair. Anyway. How can she not fix the habit of hiding away and holding onto everything when there’s a problem?

Even if he wanted to express his dissatisfaction, the other person had disappeared, so he could only swallow it inside during this time he hated.

It’s not like something terrible would happen just because they couldn’t contact each other for a few hours, but why was he so curious, worried, and impatient?

She must have gone home. Maybe she fell asleep briefly after dinner. Or she could be spending time with her parents.

Or. Could it be.

“…Is she with Yoon Ji Han?”

As soon as he said it, a scornful laugh burst out. It was a very unfamiliar experience that just imagining could make his mood this foul.

Of course he was angry at the guy who came out to check on them under the guise of being a friend. Still, it was bearable.

Above all, it was because Nam Yoo In clearly didn’t see him as a romantic interest at all, and because Nam Yoo In looked so pretty mumbling while looking up at him holding his hand.

So he pretended to be a gentleman and held back for a moment from revealing and crushing someone else’s unrequited love, whether it got shattered or trampled.

He was starting to regret a little for suppressing it unnecessarily.

“…!”

The device in his hand vibrated. It was a call from the person he had been waiting for.

Ki Yeon let out a low sigh, then put the phone to his ear.

“Yoo In.”

− …Yes. Did you call?

The voice lacking any energy sounded very suspicious. Ki Yeon instantly cycled through possibilities.

It’s quiet around her so she’s probably not outside. She doesn’t sound like she’s been crying, but she seems down. She’s in a bad mood. That’s it.

Why would Nam Yoo In be in a bad mood? The puppy who was smiling just fine this morning.

Ah. Ki Yeon instantly deduced the answer.

“What were you doing not answering the phone?”

− …..

“Hm? Yoo In.”

− …Just. Sleepy.

“Sleepy, so you slept?”

− …..

She’s not saying anything even though it wasn’t a difficult question.

Ki Yeon became more and more confident in the conclusion he had drawn. The more certain he became, the faster the fire inside him rose in temperature, but he didn’t want to show it in front of Yoo In, or at least not over the phone.

“Are you at home?”

− Yes.

“Are you busy?”

− …No.

A tiny voice that seemed about to shrink away. Hearing it made him very displeased, and he frowned and rubbed his brow.

This was the reaction Nam Yoo In showed when she was wary of Ki Yeon, in other words, when she disliked Ki Yeon.

Not the Nam Yoo In who smiled brightly saying she liked him, but the Nam Yoo In who only frowned and looked like death. It’s not that he disliked that Yoo In, but the smiling Nam Yoo In was much prettier and more enchanting.

But now, Nam Yoo In was…

Ki Yeon, who had been breathing slowly with a hint of irritation, suddenly had a brilliant idea.

“Nam Yoo In. Want me to buy you tteokbokki?”

Yoo In on the other end of the line laughs, thinly and very softly.

“You said you wanted to eat it.”

− …Not that.

“Then what? I’ll buy you anything, so tell me.”

− Ice cream.

She only says ice cream when told to say everything. How modest our Nam Yoo In is. Unlike his complaining head, Ki Yeon was finally able to form a shallow smile.

The man checked the time on his wrist and said,

“Come out in 30 minutes.”