Yang Jeongmin is waving at you...
Jeongmin: [Hi!]
Hyebin furrowed her brow even deeper. She didn't remember giving her LINE number to anyone named Jeongmin. Knowing that Hanjin was sitting not far behind her and often played pranks on her, Hyebin instinctively turned around.
Hanjin, who noticed her looking, flashed Hyebin a wide smile. She waved innocently, her mouth busy chatting and laughing with the boys gathered around her. Hanjin didn't look like she was holding a phone at all.
Not Han? Then who was this Jeongmin?
Hyebin: [Hi?]
Jeongmin: [I heard you like me?]
Hyebin reflexively pulled her phone away from her face, eyes widening as she stared at the screen in utter confusion. What kind of prankster sent a confident, bizarre message like this first thing in the morning?
Hyebin: [Excuse me?]
Jeongmin: [You're excused. For a minute. :)] [But seriously, do you like me?] [Girls are usually too shy to admit it, but I just want to make sure.]
Hyebin: [I don't like you. Besides, I don't think I even know you. Who are you, anyway?]
Jeongmin: [Oh, really?] [But I heard from one of your friends that you like me. Isn't that true?]
Hyebin pressed her fingers to her temple, which had suddenly begun to throb. A friend? Who? Could it be…
Hyebin: [My friend? Which one? Who told you something so ridiculous?]
Jeongmin: [Kim Ji-a] [She gave me your phone number last night.]
Hyebin sighed. She'd known it. “Ji-a…”
So Ji-a had tried to set her up with a stranger without her permission? Hyebin roughly rubbed her face. Her best friend had been obsessed with finding her a boyfriend since last semester, but Hyebin never expected Ji-a to go this far—to spread a lie that Hyebin liked some guy named Jeongmin.
The girl leaned back against her classroom's wooden chair. Hyebin's thoughts suddenly drifted back to the main reason she was so reluctant to deal with anything romantic right now. She still carried deep trauma when it came to dating and romantic relationships.
Hyebin had dated back in high school. At the time, she'd placed her trust in her first love, a guy she thought was sincere and cared deeply about her. But their sweet relationship fell apart when she caught her boyfriend holding hands and getting cozy with another girl at a café. The feeling of being betrayed and lied to left a deep scar on her heart.
As a result, the girl broke up with her ex on the spot, without a second thought. Ever since that horrible day, Hyebin had tightly shut off her heart and never entered another relationship with a man. She chose to focus on her education and family, believing romance would only bring distraction and disappointment into her life.
Hyebin strode through the cafeteria corridor, her eyes sharply scanning the wooden tables until she spotted a girl with light brown hair sitting casually in the corner. Ji-a had been in the cafeteria for fifteen minutes already. Her class had happened to finish earlier this semester, so she'd waited for Hyebin while enjoying a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Hyebin roughly pulled out the chair beside her best friend.
Bang!
“OMG!! Kim Ji-a!! You're such a fool!” Hyebin yelled without preamble. She planted both elbows on the table and glared at her friend like she wanted to eat her alive. “Who the fuck is Yang Jeongmin?!”
Ji-a, who had been eating her ice cream, suddenly stopped. Her spoon hung in midair. She slowly turned to look at Hyebin, who had arrived and immediately launched into a tirade.
“Yang Jeongmin?” Ji-a murmured, her eyes drifting upward as she tried to remember which acquaintance went by that name. “Wait… Jeongmin? That Jeongmin?”
“Huff…” Hyebin drew a deep breath and blew it out harshly. Her hands clenched on the table as she tried not to let all her explosive emotions loose in public. “Don't pretend you don't know, Ji-a! You said something weird to him, didn't you? Be honest with me!”
“Wait, you're blaming me?” Ji-a set her ice cream cup on the table as if she couldn't believe she was being accused. “On what grounds? What did he say to you that made you come storming in here and chew me out like this?”
“Well, that Jeongmin guy, or whatever his name is… He texted me this morning and told me something ridiculous!” Hyebin paused. Her throat suddenly tightened as she felt awkward and unsure whether she should explain the ridiculous message to Ji-a in detail.
“What did he say? Don't leave anything out, Hyebin-ah! Now I'm dying to know!” Ji-a pressed, leaning forward.
“He said… something like, ‘I heard you like me?’” Hyebin shrugged, her expression caught between disgust and amusement. “Ugh, I got chills just typing a reply to him! I mean, for God's sake, I've never even met him face-to-face!”
Instead of looking guilty, Ji-a's face lit up instantly. A huge grin spread across her lips. She giggled in satisfaction, then quickly reached for both of Hyebin's hands and clasped them tightly.
“Ooh, really?!” Ji-a laughed delightedly. “Congratulations, Han Hyebin! You're going to have a boyfriend soon, and we can go on a double date this weekend! Doesn't that sound absolutely perfect?!”
“Oh, you're totally crazy!!” Hyebin roughly yanked her hands away. “A double date? In your wildest dreams, Kim Ji-a!! No way!” Breathing hard, Hyebin stood up and shoved the chair she'd been sitting in, making it screech. “I'm going back to the library. Being around you is raising my blood pressure!”
Hyebin spun around, intending to leave the cafeteria. But it seemed bad luck had decided to stick with her today. Her body suddenly collided with someone's broad chest. The person had apparently been standing right behind her without her noticing.
Thud!
“Ow!” Hyebin cried, instinctively taking two steps back. She held her slightly bruised forehead, then raised her head to look at the tall guy blocking her path.
The guy wore loose black jeans, a plain T-shirt under a denim jacket, and a silver pendant necklace around his neck. He was handsome, with a strong jawline and eyes narrowed in a friendly smile. His sweet smile only widened as he looked at Hyebin.
Yang Jeongmin.
Behind him, Ji-a was giggling in satisfaction with her boyfriend, who had just arrived and was now draping an affectionate arm around her shoulders. Rather than help Hyebin out of the awkward, infuriating situation, Ji-a was enjoying a ridiculous romantic-drama scene playing out in real life for her best friend.
“What kind of friend are you…” Hyebin muttered, turning toward Ji-a and shooting her a deadly glare.
Then Hyebin turned her attention back to Jeongmin, who stood in front of her. He looked slightly dazed, staring at her furious expression with faint confusion. Unwilling to indulge in any more of a scene, Hyebin let out a long sigh and broke eye contact. She decided to walk past Jeongmin and leave the cafeteria as quickly as possible.
“Oh, hey! Wait!” Jeongmin tried to stop Hyebin. He turned and jogged after her as she hurried toward the cafeteria exit. His hand reached out and caught her wrist. “Why are you running?”
Hyebin came to an abrupt stop. She didn't answer. Instead, she lowered her head and stared coldly at Jeongmin's hand wrapped around her wrist. Seeing the intimidating look in her eyes, Jeongmin immediately released his grip.
“Ah, sorry… I didn't mean to be rude,” he said, raising his hands. Hyebin didn't respond and simply continued walking. But Jeongmin seemed incapable of giving up. He hurried along beside her. “Can we talk for a minute?” he asked, trying to match her pace. “My name is Yang Jeongmin. You're Han Hyebin, right? Let's be friends!”
Hyebin clenched her teeth, keeping her face blank and refusing to acknowledge the strange guy beside her. In truth, she knew a little about Jeongmin from the gossip she'd heard that morning. He was a new transfer student from Australia who had enrolled this semester, which explained why he was so blunt and seemed a little unfamiliar with local etiquette.
“Why won't you talk to me at all?” Jeongmin asked again, sounding somewhat bewildered now. “Is this all because of my ridiculous message this morning? Come on, I was just joking around! I'm sorry if my message or my behavior upset you.” Jeongmin let out a short sigh, his tone becoming a little more serious. “But honestly, I really did want to be your friend. Ji-a said you're fun once people get to know you.” Feeling completely ignored, Jeongmin's patience began to waver. He stopped walking and called out rather loudly, “Hey! Why won't you talk?!”
Jeongmin's loud voice echoed through the outdoor garden, making several students sitting on the benches turn toward them curiously. Hyebin stopped in her tracks. Her patience finally snapped. She turned to look Jeongmin straight in the eye, exhaling sharply with her face flushed from frustration.
“Could you stop?!” Hyebin snapped, her voice restrained but emphatic. “Stop trying to talk to me! I don't know you, and I'm not interested in being friends with you or having anything to do with you! And one more thing: everything you heard from Kim Ji-a is a LIE! Okay?!”
After spitting out her frustration in a single breath, Hyebin turned around and quickened her pace toward the next lecture hall, leaving the garden without another word. Meanwhile, Jeongmin remained standing motionless in the middle of the walkway. He blinked several times, processing the spontaneous outburst of anger he'd just received from the sharp-eyed girl.
But it took only a few seconds for the corners of his mouth to slowly lift. “Interesting…” Jeongmin murmured, as if the girl had only made him even more curious.