Chapter 04

 The Lost Girl

On the day he was scheduled to leave for winter training, Seung-hyuk spotted Rian while slowly making his way home after his early-morning jog.

She was carrying a bag almost as large as her own torso and walking out through the front gate with a somewhat determined expression.

Judging by her appearance and attitude, it seemed she was heading to school.

Her small feet moved briskly with light, graceful steps, her pale, slender ankles showing beneath her clothes, while her brown hair swayed softly with every step.

Seung-hyuk stopped for a moment and watched Rian’s back as she gradually disappeared from his sight.

Then he simply went inside the house.

The dim early-morning air was still quite cold, with the sun not yet fully risen.

Perhaps because she had dressed too lightly, Rian sniffled from the chill and unconsciously quickened her steps.

Although each department at Korea University had some discretion in its admissions process, roughly half of its students came from affiliated high schools, while the other half entered as freshmen from outside schools, like Rian.

Today was the day when students like Rian would gather in advance for orientation.

Unable to trust herself to find her way because she was notoriously bad with directions, she had set out particularly early.

From Lieutenant General Lee Jung-hyuk’s house, which wasn’t far from the university, she could reach the school directly by tram.

After the climate crisis, countries around the world began considering environmentally friendly policies their highest priority.

As part of this effort, Huhan undertook a massive urban redevelopment project that transformed its cities.

One of those changes was the widespread use of trams, which produced relatively little pollution.

The tram Rian needed to take was scheduled to arrive in ten minutes.

When she reached the stop, Rian stood there rubbing her arms vigorously to keep warm.

The trams were completely unmanned.

Rian pressed the door-opening button herself, boarded, entered her destination, and tapped her card.

Once she took a seat, the tram slowly began moving.

Perhaps because it was an affluent neighborhood, or perhaps because it was still so early, there were very few people inside.

The neighborhood itself was remarkably quiet, allowing Rian to peacefully enjoy the scenery outside.

She kept checking her phone in case she somehow missed her stop, but she found it quite interesting to look around the unfamiliar yet clean and orderly neighborhood.

The small, pretty cafés and charming shops selling little decorative items caught her eye even though they weren’t open yet.

These were things she hadn’t noticed when she had come here by car with her father because she had been too nervous.

The tram eventually left the upscale residential area surrounded by tall walls and emerged onto the main road.

After about ten minutes of repeatedly stopping at various stations, an announcement came over the speakers.

“Korea University.”

Even without the announcement, Rian immediately knew that the next stop was where she needed to get off.

The university’s ancient-looking main gate immediately caught her attention from afar.

A massive, towering archway stood at its center, constructed from walls of tightly packed brick and decorated with closely spaced golden bars.

Sitting inside the tram, Rian felt increasingly overwhelmed as the school drew closer.

“Wow…”

Rian stepped off the tram in a daze and slowly walked through the main gate, an involuntary exclamation of admiration escaping her lips.

The magnificent entrance was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Inside, magnificent buildings that looked like works of art stood scattered throughout the campus.

The grounds were so vast that the university even operated its own dedicated trams.

The entire campus felt like a city in itself.

There wasn’t a single piece of trash on the ground.

Pedestrian paths and roads were meticulously separated so that the routes of pedestrians and vehicles never overlapped.

It felt like entering a clean, orderly, carefully planned city.

At the end of the broad road extending straight ahead from the main gate stood a beautiful, enormous fountain adorned with statues of tiny angels, streams of water spraying high into the air.

A wide lawn stretched out around it.

Now that she was actually here, Rian understood why so many students, herself included, desperately wanted to attend this university.

Its reputation as a first-rate school was certainly part of it.

But every building and sculpture, combined with the lush greenery surrounding them, created the illusion that she had stepped directly into a painting.

The thought of becoming part of such a magnificent place eased, if only slightly, the hardships she had endured over the past few months.

In truth, Rian had passed the various entrance tests entirely because of her ballet skills.

However, the ballet department had very few available spots, and there simply wasn’t an opening she could obtain through her own efforts.

The power of a single recommendation letter written by Lieutenant General Lee Jung-hyuk, however, was extraordinary.

Thanks to it, Rian was able to enter the university everyone dreamed of attending as the only freshman in the ballet department.

She had arrived earlier than expected, and the campus was still relatively empty.

With plenty of time remaining, she wandered around admiring one place after another.

Before she knew it, however, it was almost time to head to the orientation venue.

Rian hurriedly opened the campus map on her phone.

The sudden lack of time made her panic, and once she became anxious, even the directions displayed on her phone began to confuse her.

She was hopelessly bad with directions.

Even with a map in front of her, she was still hopelessly bad with directions.

Eventually, after walking around in circles, all Rian could see were beautiful buildings whose names she didn’t recognize, several neatly arranged trees, and a bench.

Looking more closely, she realized that there were no signs anywhere on the beautiful buildings indicating what they were.

Perhaps the university had removed them all because they were considered elements that would ruin the appearance of the architecture.

At this rate, she couldn’t even figure out where she was.

With less than five minutes remaining until the orientation began, Rian’s face crumpled with distress.

“What am I going to do…?”

She was embarrassed, but just as she decided she would have to call someone from the administrative office, a kind voice came from behind her.

“You look like you’ve gotten lost. Can I help you?”

Seo Ji-hoon had attended Korea University since kindergarten, gradually making his way through its entire educational system.

He was the star of the Naval Officer Department and a prospective university ambassador.

As the son of a man who operated the largest hotel group in the country, he had grown up wanting for nothing.

With a handsome face that naturally made everyone like him and a warm, friendly personality, he was quite skilled at making use of his natural charm.

Above all, he didn’t dislike the attention and popularity he received.

It had been an exhausting Monday.

A sports game had started late, and after watching it all the way to the end, Ji-hoon realized that it was already too late to bother going to sleep.

So he had come to school early that morning without getting any sleep at all.

Although the students attending today’s orientation were all freshmen, those who had already been part of the school since childhood would probably have difficulty mixing with the newcomers.

They would be like oil and water.

Before welcoming the freshmen, Ji-hoon had parked at his department building and decided to take a walk around campus.

That was when his attention was caught by a small, delicate, beautiful girl.

Getting lost in this rather unfriendly university, where even the names of the buildings were impossible to identify, was common.

Since there was still plenty of time before the school tour, Ji-hoon decided to help the distressed-looking girl.

To be honest, he couldn’t deny that after seeing her pretty face, long, wavy brown hair, and clear green eyes, he had been even more curious to talk to her.

And so, driven by that curiosity, Ji-hoon approached her.

Startled by the sudden voice, Rian flinched.

She glanced sideways and saw a boy in a brown coat smiling gently at her.

Normally, she would have simply thanked him and politely declined the offer.

But right now, she was in danger of being late on her very first day.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Rian cautiously answered.

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you?”

“Of course. Where are you trying to go?”

“The Hall of Harmony. I thought it wasn’t very far from the fountain, but…”

She lowered her eyes shyly.

“I can’t figure out which direction to go from here.”

The Hall of Harmony was the university’s main auditorium and the venue for today’s orientation.

So she’s a freshman too.

For some reason, Ji-hoon felt strangely pleased to hear that.

He offered to personally take her there and matched his pace with hers.

“Oh, I’m Seo Ji-hoon, a first-year student in the Naval Officer Department. You’re a freshman too, right? What department are you in?”

“Oh, yes. I’m in the ballet department.”

“Weren’t you nineteen? We’re the same age, so you can speak casually with me.”

The girl replied that she would, and that she looked forward to getting along with him.

After that, she said nothing more.

I guess she’s not much of a talker.

Whenever other people were around Ji-hoon, they usually did everything they could to keep the conversation going.

This girl, however, seemed quite quiet.

When they reached the orientation venue, the girl thanked him and immediately ran inside the building.

Considering how late she already was, it was only natural.

Yet Ji-hoon felt strangely reluctant to leave.

Instead, he walked toward the administrative office staff nearby.

Using his characteristic sociability, he chatted casually with the employees.

Then, among the students pouring out of the building, his eyes searched for the unfamiliar girl.

He immediately spotted her pale, exotic-looking face.

Wanting to at least learn her name, Ji-hoon approached.

But when he saw her talking with an administrative employee, he stood behind her and quietly waited.

Then he overheard enough of their conversation to learn that the girl’s name was On Rian.

“Your address has changed, right? The dormitories are currently under construction, so there aren’t many rooms available. We’re assigning them according to distance. Naturally, students coming from farther away are given priority.”

“Ah… It would be difficult from where I’m currently living.”

“What exactly is your new address?”

Rian hesitated briefly before answering cautiously.

Ji-hoon listened closely despite the noise around them.

“Su­seok-dong… 1-ga, 6-ro.”

Su­seok-dong was the wealthiest district in all of Huhan.

And Ji-hoon knew Su­seok-dong 1-ga, 6-ro very well.

That was undoubtedly the home of the most famous person at Korea University.

Lee Seung-hyuk.