Chapter 15
Yeonjae had spent the entire day thinking about how she needed to ask Dohan for his number.
So when the chance came unexpectedly like this, her heart felt like it might burst.
Carefully, she typed in her eleven-digit phone number and handed the phone back without saving it.
Dohan, without much thought, entered her name himself and saved it immediately. What did he save it as? Yeonjae couldn’t help but feel a small spark of anticipation.
But when she sneaked a glance, the saved name was painfully formal.
Korean Literature XX Shin Yeonjae
Major + student number + full name.
She felt disappointed for a second.
Shin Yeonjae, are you crazy? The fact that you exchanged numbers at all is amazing. You’re supposed to take this step by step!
She quickly corrected herself.
After saving her number, Dohan called her right away. His eleven-digit number appeared on Yeonjae’s screen.
It wasn’t saved yet—but she already knew it by heart. It was engraved in her memory.
He’s still using the same number.
For some reason, that fact tickled her heart and filled her with a strange, tender feeling.
Dohan slipped his phone into his pocket. He was holding a thick major textbook in one arm. Yeonjae stared at it before asking quietly,
“Do you want me to carry it with you…?”
Dohan laughed out loud as if he had just heard something ridiculous.
“What? It’s okay. I brought my laptop today, so there wasn’t space in my bag.”
Then, as if to stop her from offering again, he smoothly changed the subject.
“What do you want for lunch, Yeonjae?”
“Me? I…”
“Think about what you want while we walk. Hyunoh said he’s paying. Let’s eat something expensive.”
Again?
When Hyunoh had said he lived alone near campus even though his family home was in Seoul, she’d had a similar thought. But now she was certain.
Hyunoh had to be incredibly rich.
Otherwise, how could he open his wallet so easily—even for a girl he wasn’t dating?
Now that she thought about it, it had always been like that.
Whenever she was with Hyunoh, she had never once paid.
Even on days when she had promised to treat him, he would casually pay instead.
She vaguely remembered overhearing that he had lived abroad for a while. Maybe it was just a cultural difference.
Anyway.
He must be really popular with girls.
If he treated girls he wasn’t even dating this well, how good would he be to someone he actually dated?
Of course, that had absolutely nothing to do with her.
While she was lost in thought, the distance between her and Dohan grew.
She hurried after him, but suddenly Dohan stopped walking.
“Yeonjae.”
“Yes?!”
She didn’t even have time to be moved by the fact that her name had been called so many times today. She just held her breath, waiting for what he would say next.
“I kept thinking about something.”
“Y-Yes!”
Dohan pressed his lips together slightly.
The brief silence felt endlessly long.
Yeonjae fidgeted with her fingers, not knowing where to look.
Finally, he spoke.
“I think we’ve met somewhere before. Right?”
“W-Well…”
“No?”
“I’m not sure…”
“Can’t you think of anything?”
Her brain began spinning rapidly.
She had no idea what moment he was referring to.
She had lingered around him for so many years that she couldn’t even narrow down the time period.
But there had only been one time they had directly spoken before this semester—before Hyunoh helped them get closer.
Middle school.
She had seen Dohan many times, but he had only properly faced her once. That time.
If he found her face familiar, it was probably because of that.
For a brief moment, Yeonjae wondered if she should just confess everything about middle school right now.
But she quickly folded that thought away.
It was probably just a small act of kindness to him. Bringing up something from seven years ago? He probably wouldn’t even remember. I’d just look like a weirdo.
Her reason pulled back her racing heart.
So what should she say?
Just as she struggled to think, a familiar voice suddenly cut in.
“Why are you building a road on the way here? Why are you so late?”
Hyunoh.
He strolled toward them in his usual lazy manner.
Their conversation ended there.
Whew. Thank goodness.
“Hello.”
Yeonjae greeted her savior politely.
“Yeah.”
Hyunoh waved casually. In one hand, he held a plastic cup with a sleeve from the campus café.
Based on her long experience working part-time at a café—though she had quit now—she guessed it was probably an Oreo yogurt frappuccino.
He always drinks high-calorie stuff. How does he still eat full meals after that?
Unconsciously, her eyes scanned him from head to toe.
…But I guess everything comes down to body type.
Her gaze stopped on the shirt he was wearing—big letters reading “Democratic Management.” It was probably a department shirt made for a festival or event.
Not even a proper department jacket—just a loose group T-shirt. Hyunoh might be the only student who wore something like that casually.
Wow. He really trusts his proportions and just throws anything on.
Just then, she felt someone’s breath near her ear.
“Pervert.”
“Ahh! You scared me!”
She jumped back in shock. Hyunoh stood there, grinning proudly, making a V sign with his free hand.
“What kind of dirty thoughts were you having while staring at me like that?”
“I wasn’t!”
She glared at him indignantly.
He lowered his voice and asked quietly,
“Did you exchange numbers?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. Honestly, I didn’t expect much.”
“What do you take me for? I can do things when I try.”
…Though she had only succeeded because Dohan asked first.
“Why didn’t you come to class today? You could’ve at least come late.”
She decided not to share the small details and changed the subject instead.
“Why? You two had a great time without me. I stepped aside on purpose.”
“Really?!”
“No. I stayed up until 3 a.m. gaming.”
Seriously.
He yawned loudly and walked ahead, slinging an arm around Dohan’s shoulder.
For a while, the two talked about things only they understood.
Games.
(Wow. Dohan plays games too? I need to study popular games these days.)
Soccer.
(He’s an Arsenal fan. I remember hearing somewhere that you should never make the ‘4senal’ joke in front of Arsenal fans. Must be careful.)
Basketball.
(Golden State Warriors?! I don’t even know the rules of basketball. Definitely need to study that too.)
“Wanna play some early morning soccer this weekend?”
The conversation shifted from watching sports to actually playing.
Wait—wasn’t he supposed to arrange a study session this weekend?
“Impossible. We’re right in the middle of exam season.”
“Oh right. Exams are soon.”
Geez…
Hyunoh seemed to have completely forgotten his promise to her.
“Then want to come to campus this weekend and study? I don’t study when I’m alone.”
“Oh, really? I was planning to study at the central library anyway.”
“Nice. Hey, Shin Yeonjae. You coming?”
Hyunoh suddenly turned his head back and asked.
“Me?!”
She jumped in surprise.
Hyunoh snickered. Dohan had already turned to look at her too.
“Are you free, Yeonjae?”
“Y-Yes!”
…And just like that, she ended up with a weekend plan as well.
As she stood there, stunned by this sudden stroke of luck, Hyunoh winked at her while Dohan briefly looked away.
He hadn’t forgotten his promise after all.
Inside, Yeonjae gave him a round of applause.
