Chapter 54. At the Start of Twenty

“I was curious how your exam scores turned out since you disappeared without a word after the CSAT.”

“Ah…”

Haeyoung’s pupils widened noticeably at the reminder of something she had forgotten.

“When I asked Mrs. Jincheon, she said you went back to your hometown.”

“I’m sorry. You helped me so much…”

Haeyoung quickly cut into Gijun’s words to apologize.

She only intended to cut off contact with Joo Taeseong, but instead, Haeyoung vanished entirely.

Aside from the occasional text to Chairman Joo, she hadn’t contacted anyone—not even Gijun or Chakyung.

Feeling awkward about her rudeness, Haeyoung mumbled an excuse.

“I just needed time to organize my thoughts…”

“Why? Did the exam go badly?”

“No, I did well. Even better than in the mock exams.”

“Then why?”

“Well, it’s just…”

Haeyoung bit her lip, unable to continue.

Just then, the drinks they had ordered arrived.

Trying to ease the tension, Haeyoung took a sip of her grapefruit ade.

“It’s really cold today, and you ordered something chilled?”

“Ah, yes. I drank last night…”

Caught off guard by Gijun’s sharp question, Haeyoung quickly set her glass down.

“Still, it feels weird talking about drinking in front of you, since you were my teacher…”

Haeyoung tried to change the subject, and Gijun gave her a faint smile.

He had already noticed the faint smell of alcohol on her in the car.

But he calmly played along as if he were just now figuring it out.

“So what? You’re a legal adult now.”

“…Haha.”

“Who did you drink with?”

Lifting his warm coffee with a graceful gesture, Gijun asked in a flat voice.

“Taeseong?”

This time, he didn’t pretend not to know.

Haeyoung had tried so hard to hide it, but it was painfully obvious.

“H-How did you know?”

“You always make that face whenever someone brings up Taeseong.”

“…Ah.”

Haeyoung touched her cheek, rolling her eyes.

She had thought she was good at maintaining a poker face in any situation—but apparently not.

“If you drank with Taeseong right after your birthday, then he must have come here yesterday.”

“…”

“But you’re alone now, so that means he went back to Seoul already.”

“…”

“Am I wrong?”

Haeyoung nodded, as if under a spell, at Gijun’s sharp deductions.

“And you like Taeseong.”

The final blow, calmly delivered after a pause, completely shattered the composure Haeyoung had struggled to maintain.

“Since when did you know?”

“Hmm, let’s say it was when we bumped into each other in front of the library.”

Gijun smiled with the sort of tired expression only adults wore.

He crossed one leg and leaned forward like a counselor offering relationship advice.

“You haven’t confessed?”

“…I don’t plan to.”

“Why? Because Taeseong likes Minju?”

Gijun mentioned Minju casually, as if it were nothing.

“You know about that too?”

“Of course. Back in the day, the three of us used to hang out.”

“…Ah.”

For some reason, Haeyoung’s gaze dropped.

She felt like she had just been reminded of the time Minju and Taeseong had shared—a time she wasn’t part of.

“Do you remember what I told you back then?”

“Advice… Ah, yes.”

“I said, ‘Why not just take him from her? From his first love.'”

That line from in front of the library came back clearly, maybe because it had shocked her at the time.

“‘What if you just take him?’ You said that.”

“Right. But maybe there’s no need anymore, is there?”

“No need…?”

Gijun’s firm tone left Haeyoung confused.

He furrowed his brows slightly, as if trying to make her see what he meant.

“Because Taeseong’s feelings…”

“Because his feelings are clear, I’m going to stop liking him.”

Before he could finish, Haeyoung cut in—almost as if she didn’t want to hear any more advice.

“Yesterday, he ran to that woman while he was with me. He probably only came because I disappeared.”

“…”

“Because he was worried—as a friend.”

“But you two are married.”

“Only on paper.”

Haeyoung let out a bitter laugh.

It was the most bitter smile a twenty-year-old could wear.

She would face many more heartbreaks in the future.

But in this moment—

At the start of twenty, Haeyoung’s greatest despair was Joo Taeseong.

Gijun suddenly wondered.

Had he ever seen Haeyoung look this sad for this long?

In the past year of tutoring her, one thing had become clear.

Haeyoung was resilient.

Sadness and hardship passed through her quickly.

Like a snowball that lingered in the cold but melted instantly under warm sunlight.

He liked her sunny personality. She felt like the little sister he never had.

But now, she seemed clouded over.

It was like that snowball of despair might never melt.

Taeseong had become the cloud blocking out Haeyoung’s sunshine.

“I’m going to use the restroom for a bit.”

“Okay.”

Lost in thought, Gijun nodded lightly.

Once Haeyoung was out of sight, he muttered to himself.

“So… she never confessed.”

He tapped his thigh with his fingers.

He was certain.

Taeseong didn’t like Minju. He liked Haeyoung.

At least, to Gijun, it seemed clear now.

And the Taeseong he knew wasn’t stupid enough not to realize his own feelings.

But then, a different doubt crept in.

“Or… is he just testing her?”

Taeseong was a straightforward guy, but still…

Maybe he was torn between the calm waters of first love and the sudden lightning bolt that was Haeyoung.

Maybe this was what people called fishing for affection.

He’d seen it too many times in college—guys who’d bait girls just to back away.

“That’d be surprising, though…”

Just as Gijun murmured those words, Haeyoung’s phone lit up.

He looked over instinctively.

He hadn’t meant to.

But despite his intentions, the sender’s name stood out too clearly.

〈Joo Taeseong〉

Without hesitation, Gijun picked up the phone.

Sorry. I’ll contact you once I take care of a few things.

“Ha—.”

He had wanted to believe Taeseong wouldn’t go that far.

Fishing? That didn’t sound like the guy he knew.

“But this is way too textbook.”

He reread the short message, then deleted it without hesitation.

At first, the feelings between them seemed like innocent childhood play.

Later, he even found Haeyoung’s puppy love endearing and rooted for her.

But this? This wasn’t okay.

He couldn’t root for her if she was being weighed on a scale.

“She’s too good for that.”

Gijun put the phone back where it was and quietly pressed his lips together.

Taeseong took a taxi all the way from Pohang to Seoul and got off in front of a house in Pyeongchang-dong.

When he handed his card to the driver, the cabbie chuckled.

“I thought you were crazy, offering that much for a taxi ride—but turns out, you’re not crazy, just rich! Ha-ha!”

Taeseong got out of the car without a word.

Normally, he might’ve made a quick joke in return.

But not today.

His mother had already arrived—having gotten there straight from the airport.