Chapter 5.1

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The first time I heard the name ‘Woo Hoyeon’ was from my fellow university classmates who had returned to school around the same time as I did.

I don’t remember exactly, but it was probably during one of those vague breaks when we were sitting around in an empty lecture hall, chatting about trivial things.

“Oh, speaking of which, there’s someone in our department who’s quite famous, not as much as Yoonwoo, but still. His name is Woo Hoyeon.”

“Oh, right. I’ve heard about him too.”

When Han Yesung brought it up lightly, Seo Dohyeon quickly chimed in. I was the only one who hadn’t heard the name before, tilting my head in confusion.

“The juniors all say in unison, ‘Woo Hoyeon is pretty and aloof, with a rather haughty personality.’ So I thought, ‘This is fate!’ and went looking for him, only to find out he’s a guy.”

Han Yesung spoke quickly, as if reliving the excitement of that moment, then suddenly drooped his shoulders, recalling the disappointment.

“Do you automatically react to the word ‘pretty’? You always claim it’s your fate without even questioning it.”

Seo Dohyeon found Han Yesung’s rapidly changing expressions amusing, speaking in a tone that suggested he found him quite pathetic, yet unable to suppress his laughter.

“But he really is pretty.”

“Really? I’ve only heard about him and never seen his face. Is he that pretty?”

Even after confirming he was a guy, Han Yesung didn’t deny his prettiness, which piqued Seo Dohyeon’s interest.

“Yoonwoo, have you seen him?”

“No. This is the first I’ve heard of such a junior.”

Suddenly caught in the conversation, I just shook my head slightly. At the time, I thought ‘Woo Hoyeon’ being famous or pretty had nothing to do with me.

“When you take classes with the second-years, take a look. Even though his popularity is a bit different from Seo Yoonwoo’s, he’s quite popular. The most annoying part is he seems completely uninterested in it.”

Han Yesung, who had been praising him nonstop, suddenly gritted his teeth as if he had a split personality.

No matter how pretty he was, the fact that he was a popular male junior seemed to stir up disappointment, envy, and jealousy in him.

“You’re as consistent as ever, Yesung.”

“That’s why I like you more.”

Seo Dohyeon laughed even louder, teasing him about how he hadn’t changed before or after the military.

I quickly agreed with Seo Dohyeon, giving Han Yesung a playful grin.

“You guys are pissing me off and making me hungry!”

Han Yesung, not pleased with our teasing, raised his voice.

Then he stood up, walked briskly to the lecture hall door, flung it open, and turned to us with a booming voice.

“Let’s grab a chocolate bar before the next class!”

The way he shouted about chocolate bars made me think all his actions were just preparation for this moment.

“Is Yesung buying? Then I’ll have one with almonds.”

“Seo Yoonwoo, you have fancy tastes. I’ll take the original! But I want two!”

Watching Han Yesung’s energetic exit, I and Seo Dohyeon quickly followed him.

In the end, pushed by our persistence, Han Yesung had no choice but to pull out his precious wallet in front of the vending machine filled with various chocolate bars.

“Do you guys want drinks too? I’ll get those.”

“Seo Yoonwoo, you shouldn’t enchant people if you’re not going to date them. I’ll have grape punch.”

“Then I’ll have orange punch. Oh, does this mean I have to buy lunch?”

Seeing Han Yesung reluctantly pull out bills from his wallet, I felt a bit sorry.

I casually pointed to the nearby drink vending machine and asked lightly, only to get a surprisingly enthusiastic response.

I smiled slightly at the two exchanging silly jokes and quietly walked over to the drink vending machine.

Someone was already using it. I stood behind them, waiting patiently for my turn.

I absentmindedly looked down at the man’s fine black hair, which was about chest-high. Then I noticed a small pink petal resting on his head.

Thinking he might have walked through a shower of blossoms, I reached out without much thought. As I carefully removed the petal with my thumb and forefinger, the man flinched, startled. He turned his head to look up at me.

Glossy black hair, a slender, pale face, slightly upturned eyes like a cat, and large eyes.

The moment our eyes met, I felt as if time had stopped. As I stared at him blankly, the only word that came to mind was ‘pretty.’

It was so beautiful that gender seemed irrelevant.

“…….”

“…….”

The man furrowed his brow slightly, as if questioning why I had touched him so suddenly.

Seeing this, I showed him the small petal in my hand instead of explaining.

The man glanced at the petal, and realizing he had glared at me without reason, his lips moved slightly, eyebrows twitching.

Then, softly, from between his tender-looking lips, came a small “Thank you,” scattering like petals. He nodded his head slightly.

Before I could say anything, the man quickly grabbed his drink from the vending machine and hurriedly disappeared from my sight as if fleeing.

I felt as if I had seen a mirage, staring blankly down the corridor where he vanished.

“Hey, Seo Yoonwoo. You were all smiles pretending not to care, and now you’re already touching him? You’ve got quick hands.”

Han Yesung, with a triumphant expression like a cat that caught its prey, approached me, holding chocolate bars in both hands, making an ambiguous comment.

I blinked slowly, not understanding a word of what Han Yesung said, and then just inserted a bill into the vending machine as if I hadn’t heard anything.

“So, was he pretty? Was I right?”

Han Yesung pressed the round button under the grape punch, asking me in a sly voice.

“What?”

“What do you mean, what? I’m talking about Woo Hoyeon, the guy you were just hitting on.”

At my indifferent response, Han Yesung replied in a tone that suggested he found my reaction unexpected. Oh, that was Woo Hoyeon?

“Huh? That was Woo Hoyeon? I didn’t get a good look! Was he really as pretty as Yesung said?”

Seo Dohyeon, seemingly regretful for missing the sight of the rumored junior, quickly joined our conversation, asking me, who was still in a daze.

I looked at the hand that had removed the petal from Woo Hoyeon’s hair, then at the corridor where he had quickly disappeared.

Then, I quietly pressed the button and handed the orange punch to Seo Dohyeon, answering.

“Yeah. He was really pretty.”

That was my first encounter with Woo Hoyeon. If I had been a girl, I would have believed without a doubt that I had fallen for him at first sight.

And surprisingly, once I had familiarized myself with Woo Hoyeon’s face, spotting him at school wasn’t difficult anymore.

His unforgettable, strikingly beautiful face was often seen in lecture halls or the library, occasionally in the school cafeteria, and frequently on the paths between buildings.

Whether he was aware of the rumors surrounding him or not, Woo Hoyeon’s aloof yet somehow transcendent demeanor was enough to capture my interest.

Initially, all I thought was ‘He’s pretty,’ and after some time, ‘I see him quite often.’ But eventually, I began to wonder, ‘Why does he always seem to be alone?’

Naturally, my gaze followed Woo Hoyeon more and more, and eventually, I found myself wanting to know him or become friends with him.

So, whenever I had the chance to eat or have coffee with juniors, I would subtly ask about Woo Hoyeon. Why he was always alone, if he had any close friends.

The answers from the juniors were always the same.

‘He’s been alone since the first year. Even if you want to befriend him, he seems to prefer being alone. It’s hard to approach or get close to him.’

And the juniors were right. Woo Hoyeon was easy to spot but hard to approach.

He rarely participated in departmental events and wasn’t involved in any clubs. After classes, he would just disappear home. It was hard to create natural interactions or connections.

He was even secretly nicknamed ‘Celebrity’ among his peers, with jokes about him being busy balancing studies and a secret schedule.

If it was that hard for his classmates, it was even more so for me, a senior who had returned to school.

I couldn’t use my status as a senior to buy him meals or coffee, nor could I build a personal connection.

I was so eager to befriend Woo Hoyeon that I was practically desperate, anxious, and flustered.

I didn’t even think deeply about why I wanted to befriend him so much; I just did.

It was a feeling I’d never experienced before. But as someone once said, ‘Life is about enduring.’

Hoping to create an opportunity outside of school, I switched my commute from the subway to the bus, and after two long months, my chance finally came.

Like a miracle, like fate, Woo Hoyeon walked up beside me as I waited for the bus, and only one thought crossed my mind.

If I miss this chance, there won’t be another.

So, I grabbed the seemingly distracted Woo Hoyeon, rambled on unusually long, and quickly got his number and a weekend date.

It was more like I forced it, but still.

After that, I barely remember how I got home. The thought of finally making a connection made my heart race and adrenaline surge for no reason.

I tried to calm my excitement, thinking it was too much just for getting a male junior’s contact, but it was no use.

That night, after securing a movie date with Woo Hoyeon using movie tickets as bait, my condition only worsened.

I needed a sedative.

Lying in bed and falling asleep peacefully seemed impossible, and I didn’t want to show up in front of Woo Hoyeon tomorrow looking sleep-deprived. So I decided to read.

I thought reading would be the only way to calm my heart, which felt like it was about to float away like a helium balloon. I grabbed a book from the nightstand without much thought.

What I picked up was a novel titled ‘My Match is You Anyway.’

It was a title I had never seen before. I raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

As I pondered whether I had such a book, I remembered that my sister had returned a bunch of books she borrowed from me all at once yesterday.

It seemed like one of her books had slipped in among them.

Honestly, I wasn’t concerned about the book’s content. I just needed the act of reading to calm myself, so I opened it without further thought.

Whether it was my sister’s book or mine didn’t matter. I just needed to read.

But as I focused on the text, my mind gradually calmed, and I found myself getting absorbed in the fictional world. That’s when I felt a strange sense of discord.

At first, with terms like ‘alpha’ and ‘omega’ that I didn’t know, I thought it was a fantasy novel. But as I read on, all the characters were male, and a deep love story unfolded.

The psychological descriptions were detailed, and the plot wasn’t forced. The character ‘Woo Yeonjun’ strangely resembled Woo Hoyeon, making it quite enjoyable to read, yet I felt a bit flustered.

However, I didn’t want to stop reading just because it was a love story between men.

So, I continued reading naturally and unknowingly fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning, a black window was hovering in front of me.

Still half-asleep, I blinked slowly, wondering what it was. The window seemed to shiver as if startled by something.

1) Oh! You’re awake. You were sleeping so soundly that I worried you might have died from a failed transmigration! Haha, just kidding, just kidding. Joke, joke.