Body

Tick-tock. The sound of the clock’s second hand echoed.

For some reason, the problems weren’t solving easily today.

Frowning, Yeon-ha bit the tip of her mechanical pencil.

12:32 PM. Only 28 minutes of lunch break remained, but she had barely made any progress in her workbook. She was far behind the chapter she had planned to finish today.

With a sigh, Yeon-ha leaned back in her chair.

Her gaze remained fixed on the firmly shut art room door, showing no signs of opening.

Realizing she was unconsciously waiting for Mu-jin, Yeon-ha irritably ran her fingers through her long hair.

It was strange how her heart felt light just because Mu-jin had casually said, “See you tomorrow.” It was probably just an offhand remark to him.

By now, he had likely forgotten all about it and was outside playing soccer or basketball. She had often seen him hanging out with his classmates on the field.

Still… I didn’t get to thank him yesterday.

Thinking of how she had successfully submitted her drawing assignment, Yeon-ha absentmindedly poked the blank parts of her workbook with the tip of her pencil before sitting up straight.

There would be another chance to run into him. She could thank him then.

Yeon-ha took out her scratched-up MP3 player and wired earphones from her pocket.

Soft classical music flowed from the old device.

While most teenagers were obsessed with smartphones featuring a certain apple logo, Yeon-ha considered internet-connected phones a luxury.

For her, as long as a phone could make calls and send texts, that was good enough.

She didn’t usually like studying with music, but since she was already distracted because of Mu-jin, she decided to just accept it.

A melancholic violin melody filled her ears, layered with the soft notes of a piano.

Thanks to the music, her focus slowly started to return.

Tap, tap.

Someone lightly tapped her shoulder.

Startled, Yeon-ha looked up to find Mu-jin standing right in front of her.

Her eyes widened like a startled rabbit as she pulled out her earphones. The music had been so loud that her ears still rang.

“When did you…?”

“I was here for a while, but you didn’t hear me.”

Checking the time, she saw that it was already 12:50 PM.

Apparently, she had been so focused that nearly 20 minutes had passed.

It was almost time to head back to class.

Yeon-ha started gathering the scattered stationery from her desk and put them back into her pencil case.

Holding her tangled earphones, small MP3 player, and workbook in her arms, she turned to look at Mu-jin.

He was simply watching her, observing her actions with quiet curiosity.

With only 10 minutes left of lunch, she couldn’t understand why he had come all the way here.

He didn’t seem to have been playing sports, as he still smelled fresh, like clean soap. His neatly buttoned uniform shirt looked crisp and dry.

“Why are you here?”

Yeon-ha frowned slightly as she asked.

She hadn’t meant to sound harsh, but her voice came out like a sulky girl upset that he was late.

Mu-jin must have picked up on that, as a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

“I came to see you.”

Why?

A giant question mark popped up in Yeon-ha’s head.

The art room wasn’t even close to his classroom.

Coming all the way here just to see her? She couldn’t make sense of it.

But for some reason, she felt like she shouldn’t ask why.

Instead, she fidgeted with her tangled earphone cord, feeling oddly restless.

Mu-jin smiled—a subtle, unreadable expression.

It was the kind of smile that made people foolishly give away their hearts.

For a moment, she understood why some people would do anything for a beautiful face.

Realizing that was a completely useless thought, Yeon-ha quickly averted her gaze.

“Here.”

She pulled out a carton of milk from her bag and handed it to him.

Mu-jin raised an eyebrow, studying the milk as if trying to figure out her intentions.

“For helping me yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“The drawing assignment.”

“Oh.”

From his blank expression, it was clear that he hadn’t expected this.

Yeon-ha wondered if giving milk to a wealthy heir was a ridiculous gesture.

Milk was the best she could afford.

Back when she bought it, she had thought it was a good idea. But now, seeing his reaction, she regretted it.

About an hour ago, she had made a mistake.

Her ears burned red with embarrassment.

“If you don’t want it, never mind.”

Just as she was about to take it back, Mu-jin quickly reached out.

“I never said I didn’t want it.”

He turned the milk carton in his hands, inspecting it before muttering.

“But it’s plain milk? I like banana milk better.”

Yeon-ha blinked in surprise.

Of all the things he could have said, that was the last response she had expected.

A third-generation chaebol heir—who could have anything he wanted—was complaining about plain milk?

But the way he stared at the carton was so serious, as if the world had just ended.

A small chuckle escaped her lips.

“Next time, I’ll get banana milk. I’ll remember that.”

“You actually laugh, huh?”

As he opened the milk carton, his dark eyes glanced at her.

His expression was one of mild surprise, as if he had just discovered something new.

Did he think she was some emotionless doll?

The idea was so ridiculous that it made her laugh again.

Their eyes met in midair.

And then, out of nowhere, both of them started laughing.

It wasn’t even a particularly funny moment, yet there they were, laughing together.

It was strange.

Their only connection was that they lived under the same roof.

And yet, here they were.

For some reason, Yeon-ha thought this kind of day wasn’t so bad.

It was a summer when they were both seventeen.

⸻

In front of others, or at home, they acted like strangers.

They never acknowledged each other, to the point that the housekeepers gossiped about how two people in the same grade had never even made eye contact.

But inside the art room during lunch, things were different.

It was as if that space existed in a separate world, where nothing outside mattered.

There, Yeon-ha studied, while Mu-jin read books or sketched.

If she struggled with a problem, he became her private tutor.

And sometimes, she posed as his art model.

Time passed.

One year, then two.

Eventually, they reached graduation, and their secret lunch hours came to an end.

Though she felt a pang of sadness, Yeon-ha told herself it was just the natural course of things.

She entered a business major she had no interest in, following orders from Song Yeo-sa.

And of course, the order to watch over Mu-jin continued.

Every time she reported his movements, guilt ate away at her.

But it was a choice she had to make to survive.

“Jung Yeon-ha.”

Mu-jin’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Startled, she looked up.

It had been a long time since she thought about him so deeply.

And yet, it was as if he had read her mind.

This was the first time he had spoken to her since high school.

She glanced around.

They were at their university MT trip.

The students who had been drinking were now passed out on the floor or in the bathrooms.

Her new friend, Ah-young, was curled up beside her, completely knocked out.

Scanning the room, Yeon-ha realized she and Mu-jin were the only two still sober.

No one was watching.

That must be why he was talking to her.

“Let’s go for a walk.”

“A walk?”

After a moment’s hesitation, she placed her cardigan over Ah-young and followed him outside.

The timing was perfect.

With everyone too drunk to notice, there was no harm in following him.

As she stood up, she swayed slightly from the mild buzz of alcohol.

Mu-jin, walking ahead, glanced back at her.

“Want me to hold you?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m not that drunk.”

He shrugged.

The early spring air was still chilly.

They walked in silence, their footsteps crunching softly on the damp ground.

Under a streetlight, Mu-jin brushed the dirt off a bench and sat down.

Yeon-ha watched his side profile.

In just a few years, he had grown more mature.

“Jung Yeon-ha.”

“What?”

She sat beside him.

“Have you ever kissed someone before?”

His dark eyes locked onto hers, deep and unreadable.