Chapter 47 …
Jung Taeheon, who had parked the car in the lot, immediately voiced his dissatisfaction with a sour expression.
“I already explained that I couldn’t avoid this because of the MT today. But didn’t you say you were going to the MT too?”
“That’s one thing, and this is another. I don’t mind being late since I’m taking my own car. And I told you I’d give you a ride, didn’t I?”
“How? The locations are different. And MTs start by everyone leaving together. I don’t want to stand out in front of others. Instead, I’ll meet you a bit earlier before next week’s class and teach you the lecture part for today.”
“Hah, so MT comes before me? I’m looking really handsome right now, you know?”
“That’s always the case.”
Haeju’s firm reply made Taeheon’s mouth twitch briefly.
He tried to hide his inability to resist by covering his slightly upturned lips with his hand, lowering his eyebrows in a pitiful gesture.
“My crush is really disappointing. If I go make a new crush, I might just get rid of that guy. Same goes for a crush girl. Remember, your crush only exists here.”
“Considering your dating history, wouldn’t it be better to take care of yourself first? Put your hand on your chest and think about it.”
Taeheon immediately placed his hand on her chest. His brows furrowed.
“I feel so nervous. Even more nervous now.”
“Is he really crazy…?”
Haeju slapped his hand away with a sharp sound.
Without realizing it, she checked his thigh—and sure enough, there was a presence there.
Her face turned bright red.
In fact, right after spending the night with Taeheon, the exam period started immediately, and since then, there had been no significant skinship. Both were busy, and even if there was a lingering romantic atmosphere after her café part-time job at night, he had always sent her home neatly.
They had both tried their best to avoid touching each other, so Haeju had accumulated quite a lot of pent-up feelings.
Yes. Even after such an intense night together, their abnormal symptoms hadn’t improved at all.
“Should we just go all the way this time?”
Haeju averted her gaze from someone who wasn’t listening to reason.
Somehow, Jung Taeheon had become more and more reckless.
And here they were now.
She felt uneasy leaving Taeheon in that state.
Come to think of it, except for the mistake of sending a drunken message during the OT at the start of the semester, she had hardly ever contacted him first.
It really was hard to reach out first.
Haeju fiddled with her phone, hesitating.
“Wow, I heard there are a lot of people in the Business department. It’s true.”
“Business?”
Haeju looked puzzled as she scanned the unfamiliar faces.
Now that she noticed, the number of chartered buses was unusually high.
Even though the Department of Media and Communication had many students, the number attending the MT was limited, so it seemed excessive for them alone to be here.
“Now that I think about it, there are a lot of people I haven’t seen before.”
“That makes sense. The Business department is going to the same MT location as us.”
“What?”
Haeju looked at Jimin in surprise, and she, with a slightly bewildered expression as if saying “you didn’t know?”, explained.
“You didn’t know? I thought your clingy buddy would have told you. It’s not officially a joint MT; it’s just the same place. So the seniors didn’t really announce it. The lodging fee is free, so the participation cost is really cheap.”
“…I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t know since no one told you.”
A familiar voice came from nearby.
Haeju turned her head in surprise to see Jung Taeheon, carrying a Boston bag on his shoulder, grinning right in front of her.
“Senior?”
“Nice to see you like this, junior.”
She opened her mouth in bewilderment.
“Weren’t you angry?”
“Why would I be?”
“But just now, you didn’t even look back until the end…”
Haeju paused mid-sentence, realizing she felt betrayed.
“So you were teasing me.”
Taeheon couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
Haeju glared at him with thin eyes, then slipped the phone she had been hesitating with into her pocket.
“When did you know?”
“From the beginning. I planned this all along. My cousin asked me to bring some kids for a trial run before opening the resort.”
Indeed, in a world where connections were money, this made perfect sense.
Haeju felt the immense gap between them, yet didn’t show it since it was nothing new.
More pressing was another matter.
“Then why did you pretend to sulk until the end? You could have stopped halfway and come together.”
“This way is more dramatic. How is it? You thought you wouldn’t see me, but now that we meet, isn’t it more exciting?”
“….”
“You hesitated with your phone like you were thinking about contacting a sulking crush? Should I open the message chat now?”
Taeheon smirked teasingly, shaking his phone.
Haeju pretended to be a little upset on the surface, but internally, she was greatly relieved that he wasn’t actually sulking. She even felt secretly happy.
The Business department had as many students as Media and Communication, with a fairly balanced gender ratio, so Haeju was subtly worried that Taeheon’s feelings might change while he was at the MT.
The rumors of his colorful dating history weren’t baseless.
Although Taeheon outwardly acted clingy, Haeju, now used to him, seemed to develop a similar anxiety.
Jimin, who was watching the two of them from beside Haeju, covered her mouth.
“No way. He’s a crush guy.”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. She looked expectant, as if thrilled.
“The one beside him, I’ve seen before. Hi, Media and Communication freshmen. Are you close with Haeju?”
“Yes. I’m Kim Jimin, first-year student of Media and Communication. You’re Senior Jung Taeheon, right?”
“Yes. We’ll be seeing each other a lot from now on, so please take care of me.”
“Same here.”
They naturally exchanged greetings.
Haeju was about to say something more when another person suddenly appeared beside Taeheon.
“Non-departmental student, what are you doing to our freshmen?”
“Making a move.”
“Come out.”
Hyunwoo, looking tired, grabbed Taeheon by the nape.
Taeheon looked at Haeju with a pitiful expression.
But she didn’t particularly want to hold him back, so she waved casually.
“Take care.”
“That’s too much…”
Taeheon, dragged away by Hyunwoo, was handed over to a female senior presumed to be from the Business department.
The female senior glanced at Haeju briefly, as if their eyes met for a moment.
She slightly curled her lips and tapped Taeheon’s arm.
Haeju felt a strange sensation. She watched Taeheon interact with the female senior.
He took it in stride, joking with the junior, then headed toward the bus.
Of course, just before boarding, he didn’t miss waving to Haeju even from a distance.
“….”
It felt like the vague anxiety she had was now a reality.
The resort was wide and neat, as expected from a new construction.
It was on elevated terrain, offering a great view: the sea on the outer side and a mountain view on the inner side.
The building was U-shaped, with the main building housing the reception, breakfast hall, auditorium, fitness room, swimming pool, arcade, convenience store, and other facilities. The east and west wings stretched far apart, leaving space in the center.
The Department of Media and Communication occupied the east wing, and the Business department the west wing.
The recreation area was on different floors of the same building, and the barbecue area used the same glamping site but had separate tents to keep students from different departments apart.
At least, that was true for all amenities except the fitness room, pool, and convenience store.
“Taeheon senior, is he interested in Da-eun?”
“Didn’t he not get over his ex? I heard earlier in the semester he was still drinking because he couldn’t forget Suhee. At the party, he kept looking at his phone—I asked what he was looking at, and apparently it was Suhee’s profile picture.”
“Wow, I thought he’d dumped her during vacation, but it seems he was the one dumped?”
“I don’t know. Ever since she took a leave, they haven’t been in contact.”
“Then maybe he’s moving on from Suhee to Da-eun.”
“Life’s so unfair. He meets all the pretty girls on campus.”
“Huh? Isn’t he supposed to be interested in the Media freshmen?”
“From the greeting earlier, it didn’t look like anything. He might just be fishing around.”
The Business male students chatted as they walked outside the convenience store.
Gossip you don’t want to hear somehow reaches your ears.
Haeju, who had been fiddling with the chocolate-flavored drinks on a buy-one-get-one promotion in the corner of the store, bought two cans and went outside.
Hearing about his ex and the break-up right in front of her made her assume it was just a rumor, but she felt uneasy about the details, like the part about seeing the ex’s profile picture at a party.
He had told Haeju that she was his only crush, yet rumors circulated about him having a crush on someone else—what was that about?
‘Was that person named Da-eun? They seemed really close, touching each other casually…’
She walked on with a slightly disappointed expression.
