Chapter 1

A Wrong Encounter

“Where did you leave your eyes? You call something like that a confession, and I’m the one listening to it.”

It was cold.

Sleet flew through the air and stuck to her hot cheek.

So, how did all of this happen…?

It was the year-end party where all the students from the law department gathered.

For several days, Ji Sina had been feeling like she was coming down with something. When she woke up that morning, her head was dizzy, and she had such a high fever that everything in front of her eyes seemed to spin.

With a winter cold, of course, came coughing and a runny nose as a package deal.

Normally, Gise-na, who was so sick from her terrible cold that she could barely think straight, would have been lying in bed under a warm and cozy blanket.

If it weren’t for her friend Jung-hee’s phone call.

“All the third- and fourth-year seniors are coming today. Oh, right! Chae Seong-min sunbae is coming too! The one who came back from his military service this semester!”

“Chae Seong-min sunbae?”

Just like every actor whose name contained ‘Min’ was handsome, Chae Seong-min was a legend among the bookish students of the law department.

“You probably don’t care, but everyone’s going crazy right now. Even the students who work part-time are canceling their shifts so they can come.”

“Sounds like they’re having a really big year-end party this time….”

“Yeah! It’s going to be amazing! So unless you’re sick enough to die right now, get yourself over here. Oh, right! You know that senior who caused a huge fuss because he passed the bar exam recently?”

“Ryu Kang Hyun sunbae?”

“Yeah! He’s a big deal today. I heard he even passed the interview this time. Anyway, he’s coming too! I heard he usually doesn’t attend drinking parties after returning to school, but I guess Seong-min sunbae is dragging him here. They’re close, you know.”

There wasn’t a single student in the law department who didn’t know Chae Seong-min and Ryu Kang Hyun.

There was Chae Seong-min, a kind and smart young man who already had everything a person could want. As if God had said, ‘Here, take this as a bonus,’ he was handsome too, making the hearts of countless women flutter.

And then there was the completely opposite Ryu Kang Hyun. He had a sharp appearance and rarely showed a smile. He was the cold, blunt senior who was best avoided.

The two were famous partly because they were both handsome enough to look like they belonged in a painting. When they were together, they created an even stronger effect.

Chae Seong-min was the angel-like senior everyone wanted to have as a mentor.

Ryu Kang Hyun was the senior everyone wanted to avoid, like a fierce dog.

And Ryu Kang Hyun, in particular…

As soon as he completed the law department credits required to take the bar exam, he took the exam and actually passed it. He had already become a legend at H University.

He was the kind of person who could appear on television with an emotionless face and say,

“Studying was the easiest thing in the world.”

At least when it came to drinking with Chae Seong-min sunbae, this was one party Sina absolutely couldn’t miss.

As Jung-hee had said, unless she was sick enough to die, there was no way she could skip it.

Sina forgot all about her cold and chose a pretty outfit to wear.

Then she hurried to a bar near the university. She managed to squeeze into a seat nearby after pushing past juniors and classmates who were fighting to sit beside Chae Seong-min.

With a nervous heart, she drank the alcohol he gave her one glass after another, pretending it was sweet honey water.

That was when words like a bolt from the blue came out of his mouth.

“I decided to go abroad as an exchange student next semester.”

Sina probably wasn’t the only one who was disappointed.

Every student sitting there let out a disappointed sigh.

The noisy sounds that had filled the room seemed to fade far away, and Sina’s eyes began to shake.

Being an exchange student meant going abroad.

She hadn’t even properly exchanged a few words with him yet….

If they took the same classes next semester, wouldn’t they become closer than they were now?

If there was a class with a group assignment, Sina had secretly hoped she could be in the same group as Chae Seong-min and work harder than anyone else with him.

But now, a huge sense of emptiness came rushing over her, leaving her speechless.

She had dragged her sick body all the way here just to see Chae Seong-min….

If this was going to happen, she should have stayed home.

“This isn’t a year-end party. It’s a farewell party….”

Sina sniffled again, her nose stuffy from the cold.

She felt miserable.

She had never even confessed her feelings, yet she had learned for the first time in her life just how painful unrequited love could be.

It was also the first time she had ever liked someone first.

She had always been the one receiving confessions, but this was the first time she had been unable to say what she felt and had to worry about it constantly.

Upset, she drank alcohol even though she normally couldn’t drink much.

She felt like she was about to burst into tears, so she couldn’t stay there any longer.

Unable to join the excited people inside, she just watched them nervously and quickly went outside before she could make a mistake.

Sina went out to the terrace beside the entrance of the bar and tried to cool down her hot head.

The cold air made her nose sting, and she sniffled.

She sat on a bright blue plastic chair and curled herself up even more.

From a distance, she stared at the noisy people inside the bar.

Her unrequited love had reached its end without her ever confessing.

A heavy lump formed in her chest.

Sina tried to calm her complicated feelings.

‘Maybe it’s for the best. If I confessed to someone who’s leaving to study abroad soon, how uncomfortable would things be for the time he has left? Ah. Maybe I should at least tell him to have a safe trip.’

Her chest felt tight, and her head was dizzy.

Perhaps the alcohol was mixing with her cold, because her vision was slowly becoming blurry.

‘Ah…. Where did he say he was going to study abroad? I wish I could go with him…. Why now of all times? I only have two years left until graduation…. Sigh. I should have gotten closer to him. Then I could at least tell him to contact me after he comes back. Or maybe I could ask him to exchange emails with me….’

Just then, someone approached Sina.

The person said something to her, but the voice sounded distant, and she couldn’t understand what he was saying.

‘Did you drink a lot?’ ‘Are you drunk?’ ‘Are you okay?’

It was probably something like that.

Assuming this, Sina buried her face in her knees and simply nodded.

A short laugh sounded above her head.

Then warmth spread over her shoulders, which had become frozen in the winter weather.

It was a thick brown jacket.

As the footsteps slowly moved away, she heard the click of a lighter.

When she raised her head, she saw the back of a tall man smoking a cigarette a short distance away.

She couldn’t see him clearly, but if he was kind enough to cover her with his own jacket on such a cold day, it had to be Chae Seong-min.

The warm body heat left in the jacket, along with its fresh and clean scent….

Her calm heart began to beat faster.

‘Ah…. He’s really this kind. How am I supposed to give up on him, sunbae?’

For some reason, she felt even sadder.

She wasn’t generous enough to easily let go of someone who was taking a big step toward his future.

Gise-na, who lived proudly and had never once given up on something she wanted, found it difficult to accept the ending of this unrequited love without even confessing.

So even though she knew very well that it would never come true, she wanted to confess at least once.

‘Sunbae. Take care of yourself while you’re studying abroad. Please contact me sometimes.’

A simple confession that wouldn’t put any pressure on him.

Rather than saying she loved him, she would say she had loved him, using the past tense.

‘I like you. I liked you.’

‘If you come back from studying abroad and you don’t have anyone you’re seeing…. Sunbae, please give me a chance then.’

No.

That sounded too long and desperate.

Wasn’t there something else she could say?

Something simple, but memorable….

Before she could decide what to say, the man finished his cigarette and walked back toward Sina.

“….Sunbae.”

“….”

She would smile and tell him how she felt.

Not too seriously, but not too casually either.

She had to tell him without putting too much pressure on him.

But just as she was about to speak, her heart, which she had barely managed to calm, collapsed at the sight of the sleet falling in front of her.

It was the first snow.

“Sob. Sunbae…. I actually like you. I really, really like you. Sniff….”

“….”

“So, can’t you not go on that exchange program? I haven’t even gotten to confess to you…. I, no, that’s not what I mean. Your study abroad, sob, I want to go with you too. No, just don’t go. If you’re going, take me with you. Waaah.”

“Haa….”

“I’ll, I’ll treat you better. I… I’ve never liked anyone before, sob, so I can’t, I can’t let you go. Waaah. Can’t you date me for just one month?”

Before she even realized what she was saying, the words just came spilling out in a completely disorganized mess.

It was pathetic.

Had there ever been a moment in her life when she had been this pathetic?

Never in her life had she made such a pathetic confession in front of anyone.

But the cold, the alcohol, the freezing wind, and her frozen brain and mouth had turned the confident confession of the dignified young woman she had intended to make into the childish whining of a little girl.

When the senior gave no answer, Sina lowered her head even more.

The dam holding back her feelings had finally broken, and her emotions overflowed uncontrollably.

Sina sobbed like a child, even hiccupping between her cries.

Her shoulders shook again and again.

She wiped away her flowing tears with the back of her hand and sniffled even harder through her completely blocked nose.

“This is unbelievable. Were you always like this?”

The noisy sounds from inside the bar suddenly seemed to disappear into the distance.

The atmosphere around them became cold and silent.

“Where did you leave your eyes? You call something like that a confession, and I’m the one listening to it.”

It was cold.

Sleet flew through the air, stuck to her cheek, and quickly melted away.

Her burning cheek became cold in an instant.

“That bastard says he’s going abroad with a woman, and you still want to confess to him?”

What was he talking about?

A woman?

He wasn’t going alone.

He was going with a woman?

This was the first time Sina had heard about it.

From the moment she heard that Chae Seong-min was going abroad, she had been so focused on that one fact that she hadn’t paid attention to what came after it.

Her pupils shook as everything in front of her spun.

Why hadn’t she heard the most important part?

If she had known there was a woman, she wouldn’t have confessed.

She wouldn’t even have stayed here.

“I don’t know if you’re too drunk to tell right from wrong or if you’re just stupid. You’re quite an unusual character for someone who looks like you.”

Sina’s face became whiter than a sheet of paper.

She couldn’t tell whether it was because of the below-freezing weather or because of his cold, sharp voice that felt like an ice pick.

“I don’t think this is something you should say while watching the first snow of the year.”

“….”

Sina quickly wiped away the tears around her eyes and blinked several times.

What was really happening?

If this was a nightmare, she needed to wake up.

The man standing in front of her wasn’t Chae Seong-min.

It was Ryu Kang Hyun.

This jacket….

This jacket was definitely….

Wasn’t it hanging over the chair where Seong-min sunbae had been sitting?

Why?

No, why?

Of all the men in the world, why did it have to be Ryu Kang Hyun?!

She shook her head hard.

Get a grip, Gise-na.

Are you still drunk?

No.

The alcohol had already completely disappeared from her system, and her vision was perfectly clear.

Even when she lifted her chin and looked up at him, the owner of that face did not change.

The man standing before her had thick eyebrows and sharply shaped eyes twisted in displeasure.

He was the fierce dog she had always wanted to avoid.

Ryu Kang Hyun himself.

“Hic.”

She was so shocked that she even hiccupped without realizing it.

Ryu Kang Hyun let out a small, mocking laugh.

Her face became pale, and her mind went completely blank.

She needed to say something, anything, to fix this situation.

But all that came from her slightly open lips was a stupid, confused sound.

Sina flared her nostrils as she tried to breathe after having forgotten to do so for a moment.

“Ptooey—achoo!!”

She suddenly sneezed.

With the forceful sneeze, something that had been blocking her nose came running out.

Then, into Sina’s rapidly shaking eyes, Ryu Kang Hyun’s distorted face came closer and closer.

By now, whether she had confessed to a man who had another woman or not was no longer important.