Chapter 5
The team project and presentation were finally over. They’d received high marks, which meant only one thing — a celebratory dinner, according to Jang-hoon.
Yeon-ha narrowed her eyes immediately. His real intention — to flirt with Sena — was far too obvious.
But when Sena, all smiles and utterly unaware, chirped an enthusiastic “Okay!”, Yeon-ha couldn’t bring herself to say no.
Besides, she told herself,
“It wouldn’t hurt to see Gian’s face for a bit of healing.”
And that was how she ended up agreeing to the dinner.
They took a table at a wide, bustling pub near the university — a favorite spot for Seoyeon University students. Four of them sat together, drinking round after round of beer, laughing loudly, and venting the stress that had piled up through the semester.
To be precise, three of them did the talking. Gian mostly just listened — if he was listening at all.
Or maybe not even that, Yeon-ha thought, watching him.
He sat there with his usual detached expression, his beer hardly touched. Then why even come at all? she wondered, though the thought only made her grin wider. Just being near him made her happy.
As the night wore on, the pub grew more crowded and noisy.
Yeon-ha, who had been drinking a little too much — her spirits buoyed by both relief and the faint joy of seeing Jian again — slipped out of the bar for some air.
She crouched in a quiet corner outside, the alcohol blurring her senses and pressing against her skull.
Ugh… sleepy.
With her forehead resting on her knees, she began to doze off without realizing it.
Then — tap.
Something poked her head.
Scowling, she looked up, ready to snap — only to see Gian standing there, holding out a bottle of hangover cure.
So that was what had tapped her head — the glass bottle.
“Thank you. Would it be weird if I… kept this as a memento instead of drinking it?”
Her silly, effortless flattery made Gian’s brows knit. He took the bottle back, opened it himself, and shoved it toward her.
Having no choice, Yeon-ha took it and drank it down in one go — grimacing immediately.
“Ugh. I think I might throw up.”
Gian stood beside her silently, looking down at the top of her head. The sight of her always caught him off guard.
She seemed light and frivolous most of the time — but sometimes, she wore a bitter expression that looked far too deep for her age. At those moments, an inexplicable melancholy seemed to cling to her small frame.
She seemed careless about everything, yet he’d come to realize she actually wasn’t.
She worked hard — at school, at her part-time jobs, even at her hopeless crush.
Nothing about her was half-hearted.
Even when she trailed after him with every excuse in the book — I need healing, I missed your face — she always had her responsibilities finished first.
It was ridiculous, and oddly admirable.
As she began to nod off again, Gian reached out and gently poked the back of her neck with his finger.
“Something happen?”
Startled awake, Yeon-ha lifted her head. Her pale eyes glimmered in the dark — softer, but deeper than usual.
“Oh? Do I look like something happened?”
So she admits there’s something wrong, he thought, but couldn’t bring himself to say what was actually on his mind:
You stopped sending me your morning messages.
That would sound like he’d been waiting for them.
He pressed his lips together instead.
For some reason, the image of the fox from The Little Prince crossed his mind — the one who asked the prince to tame him.
“Tame me.”
Except in this case, Gian wasn’t the fox. And Yeon-ha wasn’t the prince.
Still — somehow — she had tamed him.
He’d grown used to waking up to her name on his phone screen.
And now that it was gone, he didn’t like it.
Worse, he didn’t like that he didn’t like it.
Sensing his gaze, Yeon-ha looked up again and smiled faintly.
“Congratulations, by the way.”
“On what?” Gian frowned slightly.
“I’ve decided I’m not going to like you anymore. You’re finally free from the business department weirdo’s obsession.”
So she knew about that nickname, he thought dryly.
Gian kept his tone casual. Still, he couldn’t help but ask,
“What caused that change of heart? Don’t tell me you found someone even more handsome than me.”
His voice was calm — too calm — but irritation simmered beneath the surface.
Unaware of that, Yeon-ha raised her head, her eyes gleaming with earnest conviction.
“There’s no one in the world — or at least in Seoyeon University — more handsome than you, Gian-senior.”
“Then why?”
Yeon-ha hesitated, rubbing her temples. She had expected him to laugh or tease her, not ask why.
“Oh, that’s… I just decided to live more realistically. Instead of chasing after you, I can work another shift. Instead of staring at your face, I can tutor another student.”
“That’s… my situation now.”
Her voice softened, and she buried her face against her knees again.
Gian should’ve felt relieved. He didn’t.
Instead, a weight settled in his chest — heavy, tight, and inexplicable.
She spoke again, her tone tinged with laughter.
“You know, I thought you’d be happy — maybe even tell me to go ahead. But you’re surprisingly calm, senior.”
Gian’s mouth curved faintly.
“Yeah. I’m surprised myself. Maybe you’re finally starting to get on my nerves — just like you wanted.”
Their eyes met — his dark, hers pale — a tangle of glances suspended in the air.
Then, abruptly, Yeon-ha snapped back to reality.
“Oh no, the last bus!”
She jumped up, rummaged through her pockets, and cursed under her breath — her phone was still inside the pub.
She dashed back in, grabbed it from the table, and stared in despair at the glowing screen.
The last red-line express bus to Gyeonggi Province had already left.
She still tried running for it — only to arrive just in time to see the bus pulling away.
Bent over and breathless, she clutched her aching stomach and muttered to herself.
Now what? Sleep at the library? Call a cab?
But Sena lived in the dorms, and Yeon-ha had no nearby friends she could crash with.
She trudged back toward the pub, mind blank, when a familiar figure blocked her way.
Gian.
“You ran out like a track star,” he said dryly. “Missed it?”
Yeon-ha scowled. “Yes. And it’s all your fault.”
“My fault?” He raised an eyebrow. “How is your lack of time management my fault?”
“Because,” she declared dramatically, “I was too busy looking at your face, and time just disappeared. So technically, this is on you. Take responsibility, senior.”
Her words made no logical sense — alcohol talking more than reason — but Gian found himself smiling.
She just said she didn’t like me anymore, he thought.
And now she’s blaming me for being too handsome to catch her bus.
It was absurd. Infuriating.
And ridiculously endearing.
So for once, Gian decided to be generous.
“Want to come to my place, then?”
Yeon-ha froze — her eyes wide, like a startled fawn.
Did he just say… his place?
And just like that, the night shifted — quiet, heavy, and full of something unnamed.
