Chapter 14
Hyunoh, unlike before, recognized Yeonjae at a glance. He even felt a subtle sense of pleasure at seeing her again.
Yeonjae hadn’t changed at all.
She still kept her long, straight hair. The face revealed beneath her black hair was pale, like someone who had grown up without much sunlight.
That ugly pair of glasses was the same as ever. And the pretty features that couldn’t be completely hidden even behind those ugly glasses were unchanged as well.
She was still so thin that he wondered if she actually ate properly. Even that oddly bored-looking expression of hers hadn’t changed one bit.
But wasn’t she in the Department of Korean Literature? Why was she in a business school class?
The question didn’t linger long. In an era of severe employment difficulties like this, it wasn’t uncommon for humanities students to double major in business. Hyunoh quickly accepted the sight of Yeonjae sitting in a business administration lecture hall.
In the new year as well, Hyunoh often found himself observing her.
And there’s something only someone who watches another person closely comes to realize.
Before long, Hyunoh discovered the person at the end of Yeonjae’s gaze—the protagonist of Shin Yeonjae’s world.
Lee Dohan.
An acquaintance whose face he knew (they had known each other since freshman year, though he forgot his name every time) would often joke that Yeonjae was basically Dohan’s stalker, which only reinforced what Hyunoh had noticed.
It was exactly that.
In the so-called “love village” that is a university, it wasn’t a big deal who liked whom. Especially when it came to someone like Dohan, who was frequently the object of unrequited love.
But when the one harboring that crush turned out to be Yeonjae, Hyunoh was a little surprised.
Yeonjae always sat behind Dohan. She stayed in the classroom until the very end and then trailed after him. As for everyone else, she treated them like background scenery, giving them not even the slightest bit of attention.
Not long ago, she had even cut off her long straight hair—hair that had reached nearly to her waist and had practically been her mascot.
A memory flickered through Hyunoh’s mind—Gwak Seonghyeon asking what hairstyle he liked on women, and Dohan replying absentmindedly, “Short hair?”
No way. Would she really cut her hair because of that one comment?
Hyunoh, who had thought of long hair as part of Yeonjae’s identity, could only smack his lips in disappointment.
Still, watching Shin Yeonjae’s ever-changing expressions whenever she couldn’t contain how much she liked someone—it was surprisingly enjoyable.
Maybe that was why.
When he found the notebook, his heart stirred more than it should have.
“I’ll help you.”
There was no justification, no reason, no objective behind those words.
Maybe it was just because it was a new semester. Because it was spring.
It was the season when everything begins. In a season like that, anyone might feel their heart move for no particular reason at least once.
Meanwhile, Dohan found himself thinking once a day for several days in a row.
Where have I seen her? Her face looks familiar.
“Yeonjae.”
“Yes?”
“Are you in the advertising club?”
“Ah, no.”
“Oh, really? Never mind then.”
And thirty seconds later—
“Yeonjae.”
“Y-Yes?!”
“Were you in our school’s central reading club?”
“No….”
“I see….”
And another thirty seconds later—
“Yeonjae.”
“Yes?!”
“You two over there, do you have a question?”
In the end, the professor had passively called out both Yeonjae and Dohan, and Yeonjae bowed her head, apologizing.
For some reason, Dohan felt like everything was his fault. He stopped asking further questions and thought,
Am I making her uncomfortable?
What else could explain why she jumped every time he spoke to her?
But instead of directly asking if she was uncomfortable, Dohan said,
“Yeonjae, you seem pretty shy.”
“Haha.”
And Yeonjae, without giving any real answer, simply let out an awkward laugh.
As she laughed, she realized another truth.
If she just laughed like this, wasn’t she basically admitting that she felt awkward?
“Ah, it’s not—”
She was about to hurriedly explain herself when—
Dohan, who had been glancing at his phone under the desk, suddenly leaned in close to her ear and whispered. His breath brushed against her cheek. Yeonjae unconsciously held her breath.
“Kang Hyunoh says we should grab lunch together. The three of us.”
“Ah, sure. Haha.”
In the end, Yeonjae failed to offer any explanation and could only laugh awkwardly again.
Ha… I want to die….
It seemed Hyunoh hadn’t been wrong when he said she couldn’t even eat something that was spoon-fed to her.
Even with Dohan initiating conversation first, she couldn’t muster any strength.
On top of that, Hyunoh—who would normally jump in at the right moment to help—wasn’t here now.
And this was a class all three of them were taking together.
As for what Kang Hyunoh was doing right now, while the lecture was in full swing—
Overslept.
…That was the situation.
And then the flood of follow-up messages:
If I’m late again today
I’m seriously getting an F
Can you check attendance for me just once
Please, Shin Yeonjae God
Noona!
Are you insane?
Who are you calling noona?!
Please
I’m literally on my knees right now
ㅇ
I’ll buy you food hehe
And so Yeonjae had checked attendance for Hyunoh, even disguising her voice as a man’s when she answered for him.
The night before, Hyunoh had proposed a detailed roadmap for the future. Now that they had formally introduced themselves, it was time to build the relationship, he had declared.
He boldly announced that he would arrange for them to study together at the library this week, and gave Yeonjae another mission.
Get Dohan’s number.
Because of that, Yeonjae hadn’t been able to focus since the class began.
I have to ask for his number. His number. Phone number. Number.
Her mind was so full of the thought that she had to ask for his phone number that she was on the verge of developing a complex.
After class ended, while they were waiting for Hyunoh, Dohan asked,
“You must like books. You’re even in small clubs. You said before you chose Korean Literature because you liked books, right?”
Ah, if not today, there won’t be another chance….
Lost in thoughts of how to ask for his number, Yeonjae was pulled back by Dohan’s voice. A low baritone—gentle, slightly husky.
“Haha. Well….”
Yeonjae did like books.
…Comic books. And martial arts novels.
“Yes, I like them!”
But that was what she said. It wasn’t completely untrue. Web novels were pretty fun these days too.
“Do you have a favorite author?”
Dohan smoothly led the conversation.
The problem was that Yeonjae couldn’t respond as smoothly.
She hesitated between several model answers.
- Philip Roth
- Raymond Carver
- Kurt Vonnegut
Before class started, on days when he arrived early, Dohan would often read. And since Yeonjae had secretly watched those moments every time, there was something she knew.
Senior Dohan likes British and American literature.
All the authors listed above had passed through Dohan’s hands at least once.
Yeonjae had bought every book Dohan had read—and read them all. Some had been very interesting.
But others had been so boring she yawned nonstop. Once, she had opened a book and fallen asleep immediately, only to wake up the next morning.
But I don’t know who his favorite author is….
Genuinely lamenting her lack of proper stalker dedication, Yeonjae decided to answer honestly instead.
“I like martial arts novels like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon…!”
Stories where swordsmen fly across rooftops and battles are decided with a single glance.
Dohan was silent for a moment.
I’m doomed. I should’ve just said I liked Korean novels.
“Ah, I like martial arts too.”
But his response didn’t sound like polite lip service, and Yeonjae’s eyes sparkled.
“Really?! I would’ve thought you’d never read martial arts novels.”
Jackpot. That worked.
“Really? Why would you think that?”
“I just thought you’d only like academic books. Or books that appear in world literature collections….”
“What? Me?”
Ah. Did I say something wrong again?
“Yeonjae, you’re unexpectedly funny.”
Once again, Dohan’s easygoing tone rescued her from despair.
At that single word—“funny”—Yeonjae felt her mood lift into the air.
Just then, her phone vibrated.
I’m at the business building first-floor café
“Hyunoh says he’s waiting at the café on the first floor of the business building.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Dohan nodded and began gathering the things scattered across his desk.
This was the moment.
“Sunbae, your—”
Yeonjae was about to ask for his number when—
“Oh. Right. I don’t even have your number, Yeonjae.”
Dohan slid his phone toward her first.
