I turned my head, but there were only people sitting and reading books.

Yi Soo stared down at the drink and note placed on the desk.

Why did I feel happy the moment I saw that?

Not even knowing who it was from.

When I unfolded the paper that was folded in half, I saw neat handwriting.

‘See you tomorrow.’

Tomorrow was Friday, when I could see Ji Ho once a week.

**

“The cherry blossoms have all bloomed in just a few days. They’re so beautiful.”

Aera, sitting on the bench, looked up at the white cherry blossoms in full bloom above her head.

Yi Soo, sitting next to her, also smiled as she took in the cherry blossoms.

Just then, Dong Woo came to the bench holding a coffee carrier in one hand.

“Have some coffee.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll enjoy it. Dong Woo.”

“On a day like this, I really want to skip all classes and go somewhere fun. Hey, should we three go to the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival this weekend?”

Aera’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Dong Woo and Yi Soo.

“This week will be the peak. They’ll all fall by next week, so let’s go before then.”

“Shall we? I’m up for it.”

Dong Woo looked at Yi Soo with an excited expression.

“I’d rather not. You two go.”

Yi Soo didn’t want to make time just to see cherry blossoms, which could be seen anywhere at this time of year.

“Why? Are you going to study on the weekend too?”

Aera asked with a frown.

“We’re looking at them right now. This is enough for me.”

Yi Soo tilted her head back and looked up at the cherry blossoms.

“You’ve never been to the Yunjung-ro Cherry Blossom Road, right? It’s on a whole different level from this.”

“Yeah. Let’s go together. We can go early in the morning, take a walk around, and then part ways. It’ll only take an hour.”

Dong Woo also chimed in, trying to persuade Yi Soo.

“Those who want to go should go. I really don’t feel like it.”

“Dong Woo, she’s not budging. Let’s just go, the two of us.”

Aera glanced at Yi Soo as if she couldn’t be persuaded.

“I’ll send you lots of really pretty photos to make you regret not coming.”

“Go ahead. I’ll look forward to it.”

Yi Soo answered with a smile, not looking regretful at all.

“We’re planning to go on a club MT after the midterms are over…”

“Just with your classmates?”

Aera asked excitedly before Dong Woo could finish speaking.

“Yeah. We’re planning to go with just our classmates before the whole club MT in May.”

“Wow! That sounds so fun. Where are you going?”

Aera held onto Dong Woo and asked various questions.

He said they would decide the location by voting on a few candidate places via text, and they were planning to go on a site visit next week.

“It’s exam period, you must be busy worrying about things like that too.”

Yi Soo, listening to their conversation, spoke with concern for Dong Woo.

“Can’t be helped. You’re coming to the MT, right?”

“Of course. If it’s after the exams, it’s not burdensome.”

Yi Soo nodded lightly.

“Any chance you want to come on the site visit together?”

“Sorry. Aren’t there others to go on the site visit?”

Yi Soo made an awkward expression.

“No, it’s not like that. I just thought if you wanted to go, we could go together.”

“Try asking Sun Ah and Jae Ho about that. If you tell them to go together, I think they’d be excited to go. Since the site visit expenses come from the club funds, they can have a date without spending money. Campus couples are really enviable at times like this.”

Yi Soo nodded at Aera’s words.

“Once the location is decided, we’ll ask for volunteers for the site visit. I think those two will probably say they’ll go.”

Dong Woo had asked Yi Soo first with some hope, but it seemed impossible to take Yi Soo out of town when she wouldn’t even go to a cherry blossom festival that only took an hour.

The problem was that it was exam period now.

While drinking coffee, Dong Woo and Aera made plans for tomorrow, and Yi Soo got up from her seat, telling them to have a good time.

“Yi Soo, if you change your mind, let me know even tomorrow.”

Dong Woo, who had come into Jinri Hall for afternoon classes, said with a regretful face once more before they each entered their classrooms.

“What? Cherry blossoms? Heh. I told you I’m not interested.”

“Alright. Should I wait for you after class today?”

“No. I’m going straight to the library, so there’s nothing to wait for.”

“Okay. I’ll send a text for the MT location vote sometime today, so please check it.”

“Got it.”

**

Yi Soo went all the way down the classroom stairs and sat in the front row close to the podium.

The advantage of sitting in the front of such a large lecture hall was that you couldn’t feel the restlessness from the back.

15 minutes before class starts.

Yi Soo took out her tablet PC on the desk and found the part she had taken notes on last week to read again.

Although her eyes were looking at the densely packed letters, none of the content was sinking in.

Yi Soo’s mind was filled with just three words.

‘See you tomorrow.’

For more than ten days since Yi Soo had ended the call saying they should stop, Ji Ho hadn’t contacted Yi Soo even once.

If he had really decided to stop with that one word, he wouldn’t have left a note yesterday.

Was it not Ji Ho?

She hadn’t seen Ji Ho in last week’s class.

Yi Soo had sat in the front row and hadn’t looked back once until the end of class.

Yi Soo plans not to look back today either.

‘The more I push away, the more distance there should be. No need to feel burdened while looking at Ji Ho. No need to worry about wavering.’

If this continues, someday it will go back to being indifferent like before.

‘The one thing that bothers me is that there’s still so much I haven’t returned yet…’

An umbrella, clothes, 20,000 won in cash, and a grateful heart.

Even if I pay back the gratitude later, I should return the borrowed money and items quickly.

I wonder if he’s cursing me, thinking I’m running off without contacting him.

‘Is there a way to return these without meeting Ji Ho?’

Yi Soo finished the class with a troubled mind.

After class, Yi Soo deliberately left the classroom late to avoid running into Ji Ho who might be in the back seats.

As she walked with her gaze lowered, she heard a familiar voice.

“Yi Soo.”

When she looked up, she saw Ji Ho leaning against the wall.

As their eyes met, Ji Ho approached with a grin.

“Why are you coming out so late? I’ve been waiting for a while.”

Ji Ho spoke as if he had made plans to meet Yi Soo beforehand.

“Oh. Just because.”

Because of you.

Yi Soo mumbled with a slightly puzzled expression.

It had been almost two weeks since they last met, but Ji Ho didn’t give any special greeting and acted naturally as if they had met every day.

“Why were you waiting for me?”

“I said we’d meet today, didn’t I?”

“Huh?”

Ah. That note from yesterday.

Yi Soo nodded belatedly.

So it was from Ji Ho after all.

“You’re going to the library today too, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go.”

What’s this? This natural conversation.

Ji Ho walked alongside Yi Soo without saying much, following wherever she went.

After making her heart so troubled and then cutting off contact, Ji Ho who suddenly appeared had a calm expression as always.

Though I don’t want to admit it, for several days, Yi Soo’s mind was filled with nothing but Seo Ji Ho.

Even when I tried to shake it off, it wouldn’t work.

I tried not to be swayed by these emotions.

Even though nothing had even started, I already felt drained.

‘This is why I said I don’t like dating.’

I don’t want to waste time on this useless emotional consumption.

I should have stopped before it began, but the problem was that it was already out of control.

Ji Ho followed Yi Soo all the way and sat down next to her.

When Yi Soo looked at him with a ‘why’ expression, Ji Ho whispered very softly, “Study.”

Yi Soo nodded.

Right next to me?

Would I be able to concentrate on studying with Ji Ho beside me?

These days, just thinking about him instantly breaks my concentration.

Even if I cover the right side of my head to block the view of where he’s sitting, the scent emanating from Ji Ho keeps lingering in my nose.

Just that made Yi Soo feel a bit dizzy.

She had a feeling that enduring her feelings for him wouldn’t be easy.

With Ji Ho beside her, Yi Soo memorized the types of 20 amino acids.

Looking at the protein composition and structure written in the lecture notes over and over again, reading and re-reading, she tried to gather her scattered attention.

Even though she blocked her view with her hair, strangely, she kept feeling his gaze as if he was constantly looking at her.

She closed her eyes tightly. She hesitated whether to dash out of this place.

After spending time in confusion, it became 10 PM.

She managed to fill the time she had set for herself, but she had just forcibly sat and endured, with little left in her head.

‘How did I end up like this?’

She felt self-loathing at the fact that her concentration, which had never wavered anywhere else, had completely crumbled in front of Ji Ho.

When Yi Soo packed up, Ji Ho followed her out as if he had been waiting.

Yi Soo handed Ji Ho the 20,000 won she had borrowed as they left the library.

“Sorry for paying you back late. I didn’t bring the clothes today, so I’ll give them to you next week.”

Ji Ho looked at Yi Soo as he received the money.

“You’re going home now, right?”

“Yeah.”

Yi Soo was about to turn around after saying goodbye.

“Yi Soo, wait a moment.”

“What?”

“I’ve been waiting for you all this time.”

“What?”

Yi Soo looked at Ji Ho with a face that said, what are you talking about?

Didn’t you say you were studying?

“There’s somewhere I want to go with you. I waited until you were going home.”

“Then you should have said so earlier. It’s been five hours.”

“If I had told you, would you have agreed? You would have refused, saying you need to study.”

Yi Soo couldn’t say anything because it wasn’t exactly wrong.

“Am I right?”

Ji Ho asked with a slight smile.

For the past few days, Ji Ho had been watching Yi Soo study in the library from afar every day.

It was quite a nice time just looking at Yi Soo studying in the same spot until 10 PM.

He wanted to walk her home so badly, but it was too obvious that she would decline with an awkward face, so he didn’t approach her.

“So where do you want to go at this hour?”

Yi Soo couldn’t bring herself to say no to Ji Ho who had waited all this time.

She had said she was going home, so there was no other excuse.

“You’ll see when we get there.”

“You know it’s past 10 PM, right?”

“Yeah. The later we go, the better.”

Ji Ho didn’t seem to have any intention of telling where they were going.

Yi Soo raised her eyebrows slightly and tilted her head.

As Yi Soo stood still, not moving readily, Ji Ho leaned his head slightly in front of Yi Soo’s face and said with a smile.

“I said I’d do my best, remember? You haven’t forgotten, right?”

“Are you planning to repay me the same way this time?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Recalling the words she had promised to Ji Ho, Yi Soo burst into a small laugh.

It was embarrassing and sorry that she hadn’t done anything so far after just saying those words.

“Of course I haven’t forgotten.”

Yi Soo didn’t know what kind of ‘best’ Ji Ho wanted, but she couldn’t refuse.

If given the chance to do her best, she should gladly do it.

**

After about 20 minutes of driving, they arrived at the Yeouido National Assembly Waterside parking lot.

“Let’s get out.”

As Ji Ho got out of the driver’s seat and came around to the front, Yi Soo opened the passenger door first.

“Leave your bag in the car.”

“No, I’ll go straight home after we’re done.”

She wanted to avoid coming back to the car and going home together.

“Didn’t you say you’d do your best?”

Ha! That again.

Ji Ho put Yi Soo’s bag down on the passenger seat and closed the door.

Yi Soo had no choice but to leave her bag and follow Ji Ho.

After walking a short distance, they came to Yunjung-ro lined with fully bloomed cherry blossom trees.

“We’re here. This is the place.”

“Don’t tell me you came all the way here at this hour to see cherry blossoms?”

Yi Soo looked at Ji Ho with wide eyes.

“Yeah. Cherry blossoms at night are really beautiful, you know.”

She had adamantly refused when Aera and Dong Woo asked her to come together during the day, but now she ended up here with Ji Ho at night.

Was it fate to come to the cherry blossom festival this year?

“Here, I really wanted to come with you.”

Ji Ho looked at Yi Soo with a bright smile.

Yi Soo couldn’t take her eyes off Ji Ho, who was smiling more radiantly than the blooming cherry blossoms.