Sorry for disappearing longer than expected. I originally planned to be gone for only a few weeks, but life got busy and I needed more time than I thought.
A relationship also became part of my life during that time, along with vacation and resting, so things moved a lot faster than I expected š
I appreciate everyone who stayed patient and continued supporting the story. I'm doing better now and I'm happy to be back.
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Irina leaned forward on her desk. "Ughā¦ anyway, Mijin, you're all dolled up today. What's the occasion? Got yourself a boyfriend?"
Mijin turned to her, one arm resting on her desk. "Why? Does my makeup look okay?"
"It actually looks good."
Mijin smirked and stretched her arms over her head, fixing her hair. "Got a 3-on-3 blind date with Samisang High today."
"A blind date!?" Irina reacted.
"Yup," Mijin said, grinning ear to ear. "Feels like time's moving soooo slow. I almost died waiting."
Seolhyo looked at her. "What about night study? You're skipping?"
Mijin scoffed. "Who cares about that when I might meet my future boyfriend tonight?"
Irina laughed. "Wow, priorities."
Mijin leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. "Not all of us get lucky enough to have one fall into our laps like someone here, right Seolhyo?"
Seolhyo blinked. "Huh?"
Mijin smirked knowingly. "You know exactly what I mean."
She flicked her hair. "I'm not like you getting a boyfriend without even trying."
Seolhyo blinked, a faint flush rising to her cheeks as she quickly looked away. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
Mijin noticed her avoiding the topic and waved it off with a light tone.
"Nothing, nothing~ Anyway, doesn't your brother nag you anymore? And he already knows about Seojin, right?"
Seolhyo blinked. "Yeah? Why?"
Mijin crossed her arms with a grin. "Then why aren't you two posting each other on Cyworld? Are you shy or something?"
Irina chimed in with a mischievous smirk. "For real! Even Seojin only posts pictures of himself. You know how many girls on Cyworld are wondering if he's single? The comments are full of it."
Mijin look at her sternly. "Exactly! If you don't mark your territory, some fox might try to take your man."
Seolhyo looked at them, exasperated. "Do you two have nothing else to talk about?"
She rested her elbow on the desk and her cheek in her palm.
"ā¦It's justā¦ there are so many eyes on us."
Irina chuckled. "Who cares about those people swarming your Cyworld?"
Mijin added sarcastically, "So this is the problem of good-looking people? How troublesomeā¦"
Seolhyo ignored them and fell into thought.
After a moment, she sighed softly and pulled out a small photo album.
She opened it.
Inside were neatly arranged photos of her and Seojin.
One showed them smiling at the camera, shoulder to shoulder, sunlight spilling through the window behind them.
She flipped to the next.
Seojin was kissing her cheek her eyes wide in surprise, a faint blush spreading across her face.
Another
She was kissing him back, leaning in as he exaggeratedly pretended to faint, head tilted back.
More followed.
One where she was fixing his collar, both of them unaware the timer had already gone off.
Another where she had fallen asleep on his shoulder during study time, her hair slightly messy, his head tilted just enough to rest against hers.
There was one from a rainy afternoon he held his jacket over both their heads, droplets frozen midair as they smiled at each other, their faces just inches apart.
She chuckled softly, remembering how he had taken that on his phone in the rain.
Another showed him offering her a piece of tteokbokki while she glared playfully at the camera, clearly annoyed.
And one more quieter than the rest.
They were sitting on a park bench, their hands barely touching, fingers overlapping.
Her head was turned away shyly, while he looked at her with that small, fond smile.
This was our second dateā¦
He had even asked a passerby to take the photo for them.
She flipped to the last one.
Both of them in their uniforms, sitting together.
Her hand was held in his, their heads resting against each other as the morning sunlight streamed through the window.
There was still a lot of empty space left.
A small smile tugged at her lips as she brushed her fingers over the page.
Soon, I'll fill it upā¦ no we'll fill it up together.
"Whoa, whoa what's this?!" Mijin's voice cut in.
Irina leaned over the desk to look. "Woahā¦ you guys have a photo album now?"
Seolhyo flushed and quickly tried to pull it back. "It's nothing!"
But Mijin had already seen it.
She snatched the album and gasped as she flipped through the photos. "Wowā¦ I didn't know Seojin could blush like thisā¦"
She coughed lightly, trying to hide her own flushed face.
Damnā¦ I knew he was handsome, but him acting cute is on another levelā¦
Irina leaned over her shoulder for a closer look. "Ooooh! You guys are so cute here!"
Seolhyo groaned, her face burning. "Ughā¦ just give it back."
"You guys have so many photos here," Irina said. "At least post one! Seriously, any of these would be cute. Like this one where he's feeding you while your cheeks are stuffed like a squirrel."
Mijin pointed at another. "Or this one-"
Seolhyo quickly snatched the album back. "Enough! Stop worrying about our relationship!"
Mijin smirked. "We're just helping you. You know there are sly vixens out there."
Irina nodded with a mock-serious look. "Yeah, you gotta be careful. They might look innocent on the outsideā¦"
Seolhyo rolled her eyes and slipped the mini album back into her bag.
"Why bring that here anyway? Just to show it off?" Mijin asked.
"Of course not," Seolhyo replied. "My brother might see it in my room, so I always bring it with me."
"But your brother already knows about the two of you," Irina said.
"Yeah, but I don't want him to see this. He might actually explode again. It's better if he doesn't."
Mijin shook her head. "ā¦I can't imagine living with someone like your brother."
"Don't even imagine it. It's hell," Seolhyo said, then sighed. "ā¦But it's a good thing that happen. It's not as unbearable as it used to be."
-
After some time, the bell rang.
"Here! I had a good look at it."
Suwon jolted awake from his nap, blinking groggily. "Huh? Was that the bell already?"
Won Suji stood beside him, handing his sketchbook back. "Yeahā¦ haha. You're really good at drawingā¦ Did you take lessons?"
Suwon stood up, slipping his hands into his pockets, a little proud.
"Nah, I didn't take lessons. I just did a lot of sketching from references."
Her eyes widened slightly. "Seriously? How can you be that good without lessons?"
She hesitated, her cheeks tinting pink. "You must really like comicsā¦ I saw a lot of my favorites in your sketchbook like Hellsing and Karakuri Circusā¦"
Suwon blinked, surprised. "Wait, really? You know those? You're the first person I've met here who does."
His eyes lit up. "Oh? You're the first person I've met who knows those. Looks like you're into manhwa too?"
She smiled shyly. "Yeahā¦ a bit."
"Have you read all of those series?"
"Yeahā¦ they're my favorites. Sometimes I try drawing them tooā¦"
"Yeah? Can I take a look at your sketchbook too?"
She stiffened. "R-Right now?!"
"Yeah."
"C-Can I show you next art class? Not nowā¦"
Suwon shrugged. "Alright, next time then."
As he looked at her, his eyes caught the name tag on her chest.
Won... Sujiā¦? That name sounds familiarā¦
Won Sujiā¦ Won Sujiā¦
His eyes widened.
"Oh! So you're Won Suji!"
She blinked, startled. "H-How do you know my name?"
Suwon laughed. "Ah, right Seojin mentioned you once! He said there's someone in our school whose name is literally my name backwards. Guess that's you."
"Y-Yoon Seojinā¦ mentioned me?"
"Yeah," Suwon said, scratching the back of his neck. "He thought it was funny, that's all."
Won Suji blinked, a dazed smile slowly spreading across her face.
Suwon grinned. "Crazy coincidence, huh?"
She nodded quickly, fidgeting with her glasses. "Yeahā¦ kinda wild, actually. Hahaā¦"
She scratched her cheek, her face glowing red as she murmured softly to herself,
"Soā¦ Suwon knows meā¦"
A shy smile tugged at her lips.