Two days later, in the morning.

“Ugh. I’m so sleepy!”

Yi Soo barely opened her eyes to the sound of the early morning alarm.

It had only been two days since she returned to Seoul, so she hadn’t properly adjusted to the time difference yet.

Her condition was terrible, but if she slept in any longer, she might be late for the volunteer work departure time.

Yi Soo painfully raised her heavy body and stumbled out of bed.

After washing up, she dried her hair and walked to the refrigerator to take out the sandwich she had bought yesterday and unwrapped it.

Sitting in a chair, taking a big bite and chewing, her phone rang.

A welcome name appeared on the screen.

“Oh, Ji Ho.”

[Did you sleep well?]

“Yes.”

Ji Ho’s sweet voice was heard over the receiver.

[I’m in front of your house now. Did I come too early?]

He had said he would drop her off early in the morning, saying he would miss not seeing her for 3 days.

“Oh, already? You should have told me before you left. I’ll eat quickly and come down.”

Ji Ho had arrived 20 minutes earlier than the originally agreed time.

Yi Soo’s leisurely mood became urgent.

[It’s okay. Don’t rush and choke, come down slowly.]

“Have you eaten breakfast?”

Yi Soo put down the phone she had been holding to her ear on the table and pressed the speaker button.

She ate the remaining sandwich diligently while taking a sip of juice.

[Yes. I ate.]

“You’re diligent. You didn’t wake up like that every morning in Paris.”

Ji Ho’s laughter was heard over the receiver.

[Because you’re not at our house.]

The corners of Yi Soo’s mouth curled up involuntarily.

“I’m almost done eating. I’ll be down soon.”

She smiled and put the rest of the sandwich in her mouth.

Thinking that Ji Ho was waiting, she couldn’t delay for even a moment.

**

They were supposed to depart for the volunteer work all together from school.

Ji Ho’s car entered the school parking lot.

She had said he could just drop her off on the street and go, but Ji Ho was not one to listen to such words easily.

“Are you going with medical students from other schools?”

“Yes.”

Yi Soo unbuckled her seatbelt.

There was still time to spare until the agreed meeting time.

“There will probably be a lot of unfamiliar men too.”

“Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”

“I won’t be able to see you for 3 days and 4 nights, and thinking about you being with unknown men makes me a bit jealous.”

Ji Ho spoke honestly.

He didn’t want to send her off but had no way to stop her, and just the thought of her doing volunteer work or whatever with strange guys for 3 days and nights made his chest feel tight.

“What? That’s ridiculous.”

Yi Soo glared at Ji Ho slightly and burst out laughing.

Seeing him speak with a sullen face without even smiling, it seemed he was really serious, which made her feel both cute and strangely good.

“I’m not going on a trip, I’m going to volunteer.”

“It’s not just women going. And you’re not coming back in the evening after going in the morning.”

He had intended to say goodbye cheerfully and wish her a good trip, but his true feelings popped out in the end.

‘Was I always this narrow-minded?’

While thinking how ridiculous he was being, he also hoped Yi Soo would understand this feeling even a little.

Yi Soo reached out and stroked Ji Ho’s face.

She asked with a ridiculous look while smiling.

“Should I not go?”

“I would like that.”

“Really?”

Yi Soo met Ji Ho’s eyes as if looking at a child with only a big body.

She waited for Ji Ho’s answer for a while, smiling.

“No. …Have a good trip.”

He knows she has to go even if he doesn’t like it.

It was enough if Yi Soo understood even a little how Ji Ho felt sending her off.

He didn’t want Yi Soo to feel uncomfortable, so he decided to stop.

“Ji Ho, I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but you seem a bit foolish.”

“What?”

Ji Ho frowned and asked back incredulously.

“You don’t seem to know how cool you are. With you around, how could any other man catch my eye? That’s impossible.”

Where did the Ji Ho who always seemed confident and relaxed, sometimes even arrogant, go?

“Was I too bad? Thinking about being far away from you makes me feel empty.”

“No. You’ve never been bad to me. You’re always the best to me.”

“You just called me foolish though.”

Ji Ho said with a chuckle.

He had been petty about not wanting to send Yi Soo off, but he couldn’t help but smile again as if it never happened.

Click.

The sound of the seatbelt unbuckling was heard.

Ji Ho reached out and cupped Yi Soo’s cheek.

Leaning more than halfway, he kissed Yi Soo’s lips.

Feeling Yi Soo’s body stiffen slightly in surprise at the sudden kiss, Ji Ho barely parted his lips and said.

“A farewell kiss.”

Their lips met again.

He greedily savored Yi Soo’s soft lips.

Ji Ho pulled Yi Soo’s waist close and lifted her hand to wrap around his neck.

Ji Ho kissed Yi Soo longer, deeper, and sweeter than before while cupping her cheek.

**

She got out of the car with 3 minutes left until the agreed meeting time.

Yi Soo walked, covering her reddened and swollen lips with one hand.

“Yi Soo!”

Ae Ra, who was standing in front of the tour bus, waved her hand when she spotted Yi Soo.

It was the first time they had met since the last day of exams.

Yi Soo, also happy to see her, jogged lightly towards Ae Ra.

“Ae Ra, you’re not going on a solo trip somewhere, are you? Hehe.”

Ae Ra was not only wearing flawless skin makeup, but even eyeliner she usually didn’t wear.

Dressed in a bright blouse and a fluttery skirt that came down below her knees, Ae Ra looked more suited for a blind date than volunteer work.

“Does it look like I’m too dressed up?”

Ae Ra had a troubled expression seeing Yi Soo burst into laughter as soon as they met.

It was also ridiculous that she was worried about that after coming dressed like this.

“But it’s okay because you look pretty.”

“Should I have dressed more casually?”

“No. Just change clothes right after we get there dressed like this. Make sure to greet a handsome guy before changing clothes.”

“Okay. That’s what I was planning to do.”

At 9 o’clock sharp, after checking attendance, they boarded the bus one by one.

Shortly after, two 28-seat luxury buses departed side by side.

After about two hours, the rural landscape began to appear outside the bus window.

Ae Ra and Yi Soo chatted non-stop until arrival, catching up on all the stories they had missed.

The bus that had been slowly reducing speed came to a stop in the playground of the rural elementary school where they would be staying for 3 days and 4 nights.

Several buses from other schools that had already arrived could be seen in the playground.

Yi Soo also gathered her luggage and got off the bus.

As soon as she took a breath, the humid air rushed in.

While moving to the assigned classroom by team, Ae Ra suddenly pulled Yi Soo’s arm hard.

Then she whispered in an excited voice in her ear.

“Yi Soo, look! Do you see that guy coming this way?”

“Huh? Where?”

Yi Soo immediately turned her gaze to where Ae Ra was gesturing.

The man’s face, which had been faint in the distance, gradually narrowed the gap and entered Yi Soo’s pupils clearly.

Yi Soo’s eyes widened.

‘That’s Min Jae.’

Min Jae approached with wide strides and stopped a step in front of them.

“Hello?”

Ae Ra greeted first with a bright smile.

Ae Ra was too busy looking at Min Jae to see what kind of face Yi Soo was making.

“Yes. Hello.”

Min Jae greeted Ae Ra and then immediately said to Yi Soo.

“Long time no see, Yi Soo.”

Yi Soo’s surprised gaze and Min Jae’s welcoming gaze awkwardly collided.

Min Jae’s voice, which was smiling, trembled slightly.

Yi Soo, who couldn’t easily continue speaking because she was so surprised, finally opened her mouth.

“Uh… Long time no see.”

Yi Soo, who had barely managed to greet him, just blinked slowly.

She had heard that he was retaking the college entrance exam, but after that, no one had told her anything about Min Jae.

Yi Soo scanned the other school buses parked in the playground with her eyes.

‘So he got into medical school this year.’

“Oh my, what’s this, you two know each other?”

Ae Ra, who had been looking back and forth between Min Jae and Yi Soo, exclaimed in surprise.

Not knowing the inside story, Ae Ra’s face brightened even more than before, as if she was happy about the connection between the two.

“Yeah. We were high school classmates.”

“Wow! Really? Then you’re the same age as us. Then I guess we can speak comfortably. Is that okay?”

Ae Ra, who thought Min Jae was a year younger because he was a freshman, asked with a smile.

Age wasn’t important, but being the same age was more welcome than being younger.

Min Jae nodded towards Ae Ra.

“Since we’ll be working together for 3 days and 4 nights, it would be better to speak comfortably from the start. Although we greeted each other the day before yesterday, I’m Kim Min Jae.”

“Yeah. I’m Han Ae Ra.”

Yi Soo looked at Ae Ra, who was smiling brightly and talking with Min Jae, with a dumbfounded expression, never imagining that the handsome guy Ae Ra had mentioned on the phone would be Min Jae.

‘I promised to help Ae Ra do well, but what should I do in this situation?’

“Yi Soo, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Ae Ra tapped Yi Soo’s arm, who was standing blankly with her mouth tightly closed.

“Oh, it’s just so unexpected.”

“Yi Soo, let’s do well together.”

“Huh?”

Yi Soo asked back with round eyes at the words “let’s do well together.”

“We’re in the same kitchen team, right? Let’s work hard to make food.”

“Ah… Okay.”

Min Jae grinned as he watched Yi Soo nod.

Min Jae had deliberately checked the list of Korea University students when he heard Yi Soo was coming and intentionally applied for the kitchen team to be on the same team.

“Let’s go inside.”

Min Jae started walking in the lead.

They had to unpack in the classroom assigned as a temporary dormitory and gather in the kitchen right away.

The three walked side by side across the playground.

“Were you two not very close when you were in school?”

“Do we look that way?”

Min Jae raised his eyebrows slightly at Ae Ra’s question.

“Yeah. You seem awkward somehow. You were friends, right?”

Ae Ra asked jokingly with a laugh.

“Of course we were friends.”

Min Jae turned his head and looked at Yi Soo.

If he had to be precise, they were closer than anyone and then became more distant than anyone.

No emotion could be read from Yi Soo’s expressionless face.

“Maybe it’s because it’s been so long. This is the first time we’ve met since graduation.”

Ae Ra walked between Yi Soo and Min Jae, continuing to talk to Min Jae.

“Did you apply for the kitchen team because you’re good at cooking?”

“I do like it.”

“Wow. Really? That’s reassuring. Yi Soo and I are not good at cooking.”

Ae Ra laughed at the end of every sentence, even though what she was saying wasn’t funny.

“Yi Soo, you say something too.”

Ae Ra lightly nudged Yi Soo’s elbow, who hadn’t said a word until now.

She had been happy to hear they were classmates, but seeing Yi Soo more sullen than someone meeting for the first time made Ae Ra frustrated.

“Oh.”

Yi Soo hesitated, not knowing what to say.

Should she tell Ae Ra the truth about what happened with Min Jae?

It was ambiguous what to say anyway.

She also wondered if there was any need to tell the excited Ae Ra.

Yi Soo suddenly felt a headache as she found herself worrying about something she didn’t need to.

None of what Min Jae and Ae Ra were saying reached Yi Soo’s ears as they walked.

Before they knew it, they had reached the entrance of the building.

“They said we should unpack and meet again by 12, let’s hurry inside.”

Yi Soo reminded Ae Ra, who was distracted talking to Min Jae, of what they needed to do.

“Oh. Okay.”

“See you in a bit.”

At Min Jae’s words, Yi Soo just nodded slightly and turned to walk away.

Ae Ra followed Yi Soo with regret hanging in her eyes.

It was a surprising start to the volunteer work from the beginning.