“There’s a club opening party on Thursday. You must have gotten a text message too.”

It was a group message sent by the ski club president.

Aera nodded while checking her phone.

“Seo Ji Ho will come to the opening party too, right? Wow, I’ve only seen him from afar, but I’ll finally get to have a conversation with him. How was it for you?”

“What?”

“You must have talked in the car. The two of you alone in the car on a rainy day. Ugh. The atmosphere must have been so strange.”

Aera brought her arms together in front and exaggeratedly shuddered.

“Just, you know.”

“His voice is totally killer, right? I overheard it in passing, and his vocal cords are like pure honey. It’s like my eardrums were melting.”

“Well…”

Was it enough to melt? It was sweet and melodious though.

Yi Soo silently recalled that day.

The glances he gave while driving, his voice, his smile do come to mind.

But mostly, she remembered feeling uncomfortable, awkward, and nervous.

“Oh my, why are you so nonchalant? Weren’t you affected at all being alone with Seo Ji Ho? I think I would have been so nervous.”

“He’s not some celebrity or anything.”

Yi Soo laughed incredulously.

“Hey, Seo Ji Ho is way better than a celebrity. He’s a third-generation chaebol and handsome. Tall. Great voice. They say he has a good personality too. And he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“You know a lot. If you like him that much, why don’t you go for it?”

“Ugh. He’s way out of my league. How could you live with the anxiety of dating someone like that? Guys like Seo Ji Ho are just for admiring! Actually dating would be too burdensome.”

Aera shook her head vigorously and waved her hands.

Yi Soo chuckled in agreement at her extremely realistic words.

**

“Yoo Mi, do you know how to ski?”

Yoo Mi’s dance major classmate Eun Ji asked.

“I can learn that much.”

“What if you get hurt skiing? That’s why I don’t do it.”

Eun Ji looked at Yoo Mi with an expression of utter incomprehension at her sudden decision to join the ski club.

Ever since starting dance, she had deliberately avoided sports with a risk of injury, watching alone while her whole family went skiing every winter.

“I just won’t get hurt.”

Now that she knew Ji Ho had joined the ski club, such concerns were no issue for Yoo Mi.

Though she had worked hard to get into Korea University, with different majors it wasn’t easy to run into Ji Ho on campus.

Afraid he might dislike it, she had been cautious about contacting him too often, but if they were in the same club, they could naturally meet and keep in touch.

It seemed like a chance to make up for the slightly distant relationship since Kim Yeon Soo left for England.

Yoo Mi took a deep breath in front of the ski club room and opened the door.

“Hello.”

Yoo Mi greeted brightly as she entered.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“I came to sign up as a new member.”

Yoo Mi spoke while linking arms tightly with Eun Ji, whom she had brought along because it felt awkward to come alone.

During new member recruitment, they were supposed to welcome you just for opening the door, but strangely the atmosphere was cold.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Our recruitment has already closed.”

“What? Already?”

Yoo Mi’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes. We had too many sign-ups yesterday, so it closed early.”

“Oh my! There’s not a single spot left? I really wanted to join!”

“We’ve had so many students pleading like that too. I’m sorry.”

Yoo Mi’s face crumpled as she let out a sigh close to lamentation.

Closed recruitment. It was a variable she hadn’t considered at all.

If only she had known a day earlier.

Why didn’t she find out sooner? Her chest ached with self-reproach.

Reluctant to leave due to disappointment, she looked around the club room and noticed several photos on the bulletin board.

A moment later, when she spotted Yi Soo in one of the photos, Yoo Mi’s face crumpled miserably.

‘Ha! Yi Soo was in the ski club? Ugh, so annoying!’

**

Three days had passed, but there was no contact from Ji Ho.

He had asked for her number as if he would definitely call.

For days, Yi Soo had been constantly checking her silent phone and carrying the umbrella in her bag.

As time passed, it increasingly irritated her and strangely upset her mood.

Wednesday lunchtime. She was on her way to the student cafeteria with Aera.

A group of men could be seen pouring out of the business school building.

“Yi Soo, I see Ha Joon up ahead. Is Seo Ji Ho there?”

Aera craned her neck, looking around.

Yi Soo’s eyes narrowed along with hers.

“…I don’t see him.”

Ha Joon seemed to be heading to the student cafeteria too, as the distance gradually closed until they met in front of the building.

“Ha Joon.”

Yi Soo called out, and Ha Joon broke away from his group of friends.

“Oh, Yi Soo.”

Yi Soo took Ji Ho’s umbrella out of her bag and held it out to Ha Joon.

“Can I ask you a favor? Could you give this to Seo Ji Ho?”

“Ah, that’s a problem. I don’t have any plans to meet Ji Ho today…”

Ha Joon glanced at the umbrella as he spoke.

‘Did Ji Ho ask me to do this so he could receive it in person?’

Ha Joon tilted his head with a slightly puzzled expression.

Yi Soo could just give it to him directly, yet she’s asking me.

What are these two doing?

“Call Ji Ho and give it to him directly. You can make plans to meet, right?”

So this is what Ji Ho wants.

Ha Joon held back a chuckle that was about to escape.

“Okay.”

Yi Soo nodded with a disgruntled expression.

Who doesn’t know that?

I just don’t want to contact him first.

“Seo Ji Ho is coming to school these days, right?”

For a moment, she had needlessly worried that something might have happened to him.

Really, of all things.

“Of course. I saw him briefly this morning too.”

“I see.”

Yet he still hasn’t contacted me.

Did he forget?

Suddenly such a thought flashed through her mind.

What if Seo Ji Ho didn’t care about the umbrella at all, while Yi Soo alone had been waiting for his call and worrying about it for days?

Yi Soo bit her lower lip hard.

Ha Joon said goodbye to Yi Soo and went to his friends.

“Yi Soo, maybe he’s saying to just keep the umbrella? Seeing as he hasn’t contacted you, it seems he doesn’t intend to get it back. You gave him that expensive perfume too, right?”

Aera said to Yi Soo.

“Yeah.”

He definitely said he would call.

Did I hear wrong?

Why am I getting so worked up over an umbrella?

The image of Ji Ho casually giving her the perfume came to mind.

The umbrella would mean even less to him.

What was I foolishly waiting for alone?

Yi Soo suddenly felt feverish, her face burning.

After lunch, Yi Soo went to the medical school and put Ji Ho’s umbrella in her personal locker.

Someday he’ll remember and contact me. Or not.

Yi Soo glared at the umbrella for a long time before slamming the locker door shut.

**

Ji Ho left the library after 9 PM and went to the parking lot.

He got in his car, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot.

He stopped at the brake behind the parking barrier at the main gate.

While waiting for the car in front to pay, Ji Ho rolled down the window.

A cool breeze rushed in, lightly ruffling Ji Ho’s hair.

Ha Joon said he met Yi Soo today.

She asked him to pass on the umbrella, but he refused, telling her to contact Ji Ho directly.

It was just as Ji Ho had expected.

Somehow he thought it would be like that.

Yet there was still no contact from Yi Soo.

She could contact him first anytime since she has his number.

It seems she won’t do it until the end.

Is she deliberately not doing it, or does she not care at all?

Ji Ho had intentionally not contacted her after saying he would.

He was curious how Yi Soo would react, and he wanted to make her wait and think about him.

Though it’s questionable if she actually did.

Maybe it’s a lingering effect of being rejected when he asked her to eat together.

How did I become so childish?

Ji Ho chuckled and brushed back his fallen hair.

At that moment, a pleasant laugh was heard from beyond the window.

Turning toward the sound, he saw Yi Soo walking on the sidewalk, laughing.

For an instant, a welcoming smile spread rapidly across Ji Ho’s face, only to furrow into a frown the moment he spotted Dong Woo beside her.

Why are they always sticking together like that?

Yi Soo laughed while repeatedly hitting Dong Woo’s arm with one hand, as if he had said something funny.

Though it didn’t seem to have any impact, Dong Woo pretended to be hurt and grabbed Yi Soo’s wrist with his large hand.

Seeing that, Ji Ho’s brow furrowed sharply.

Their facing each other and laughing looked terribly intimate.

Just friends, she said.

As the car in front moved, Ji Ho also lifted his foot from the brake and slowly moved forward.

In the side mirror of the slowly moving car, he could see Yi Soo’s brightly smiling face and Dong Woo’s back as he walked backwards, facing Yi Soo.

Veins bulged on Ji Ho’s hand gripping the steering wheel.

With her beaming expression, Yi Soo looked like someone who didn’t care at all about Ji Ho’s contact.

Playing hard to get alone with a woman like that.

Ji Ho couldn’t help but laugh at himself in disbelief.

**

Yi Soo entered the pub where the opening party was being held.

Having arrived a bit late, familiar faces and unfamiliar new students were already packed in from the inner tables.

Dong Woo, the club treasurer, was at an inner table with the seniors, and Aera, who had come earlier, could be seen at a corner table.

“Hello! Hi!”

Yi Soo greeted here and there, nodding her head several times, and sat down in a nearby empty seat.

An Ju Hee from the English Literature department and new student Kim Moon Young were sitting across from each other at the table.

“Hello, unnie. You remember me, right?”

“Of course. You’re Moon Young, right? Ju Hee, it’s been a while.”

“Oh, Yi Soo. Long time no see.”

Ju Hee smiled, fluttering her long fake eyelashes.

Today she looked excessively glamorous, perfectly styled from head to toe.

“It seems like a lot of people came this time, don’t you think?”

“So many people were disappointed that club sign-ups closed. My friends kept asking me if there was any way to join late.”

“I can see why. My friends were like that too.”

“Why?”

This was news to Yi Soo.

“There was a commotion when rumors spread that Seo Ji Ho joined. When have we ever closed recruitment before? We can’t know if they really joined for skiing or because of Seo Ji Ho.”

Ju Hee snickered before continuing.

“But you know what’s funny? Seo Ji Ho hasn’t come even once since joining. Some people were even asking if he really joined. If he doesn’t come today either, half will probably leave.”

Now that she mentioned it, there were many faces today that rarely came to meetings.

Ju Hee was one of them.

Just then, Ju Hee’s eyes suddenly widened.

“Oh my! He’s here.”

At those words, Yi Soo turned her head to see Ha Joon and Ji Ho getting off the elevator.

Tall height requiring you to tilt your head back to look up, a slender body, a flawlessly handsome face.

Seo Ji Ho, bowing slightly in greeting, instantly drew everyone’s attention.

The faces of those who had been eagerly awaiting his appearance lit up with joy and relief.

Just as a fierce battle of wits was about to break out over where he would sit, Ju Hee’s voice rang out faster than anyone else’s.

“Sit here.”

Ju Hee gestured towards Ji Ho while pulling back the chair where she had placed her bag.

As if it had been reserved for Ji Ho from the start.

As Ji Ho passed by Yi Soo’s side, a familiar scent wafted over.

“Ji Ho, I’m going to sit inside.”

Ha Joon patted Ji Ho’s shoulder before leaving.

Ji Ho gave a slight nod in greeting as he sat down across from Yi Soo.

It was the first time since that rainy day.

She thought he wouldn’t come today either.

Yi Soo couldn’t control her expression well.

She wanted to be nonchalant, but facing Seo Ji Ho smiling calmly, she felt a subtle anger rising inside.

She also felt wronged, as if she alone had worried and waited, and strangely hurt as well.

As she tried to force a smile, Yi Soo’s face contorted oddly.

Feeling as if Ji Ho’s staring gaze was piercing right through her, Yi Soo lowered her eyes.