Cha Jungwoo wasn’t the type to give his attention easily to people around him. Still, he treated me as fairly special.
He was a man in his twenties who had only dated women, yet he even tolerated physical touch from a big guy like me. That meant that if the subtle defensive mechanisms he had built up could be broken down, getting closer to him would be more than possible.
While approaching him very slowly, I decided to make him recognize that I was someone he could date.
Thinking that it was about time to stir Cha Jungwoo’s awareness, I headed to the club room—a place I hadn’t visited in quite a while.
What should I do with you? Staring at the photo frame sitting on the shelf, I voiced thoughts the other person would never hear.
I should’ve gone to the MT. Seeing the photo of Cha Jungwoo, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Go Heemin and frowning slightly, made jealousy rise inside me.
I kept staring only at the pictures that contained Cha Jungwoo, ignoring every other photo that held no interest for me.
It was lunchtime, so the hallway had emptied out and fallen into a quiet stillness. From beyond it came the sound of someone’s footsteps.
“You’re here.”
There was a reason I had come here.
He must’ve had time alone. It was the perfect timing—when all the usual nuisances would be busy with classes—so I knew Cha Jungwoo would be by himself.
Originally, I’d planned to run into him along his route.
But I’d heard that Cha Jungwoo was heading to the club room.
With his laid-back personality, he wouldn’t rush, so I took a shortcut and arrived first. That was how things had led to this moment.
Through the narrow glass of the door, someone’s silhouette flickered.
With all my attention fixed outside, I noticed Cha Jungwoo’s arrival immediately.
Watching the wavering silhouette from the corner of my eye, a small laugh slipped out.
…So cute. That occasional clumsiness of his really drove people crazy.
I had intended to create an opportunity after meeting him face-to-face, but seeing his awkward behavior—and the face in the frame—made it impossible to hold back any longer.
I can’t do this. Thinking of him standing beyond the door, I raised a hand and slowly traced over the surface of the frame.
Since I couldn’t express it to him directly, this was my way of conveying it indirectly.
The cold glass beneath my fingertips only made my impatience grow, as if it lit a fire under the longing I’d been carrying with me.
The moment my body, stripped of reason, leaned toward the frame, instinct grew stronger—he’d find out someday anyway, so what did it matter?
It was amazing I’d endured this long. It felt like there was no such thing as rationality when it came to containing affection that had already overflowed.
Sorry, Jungwoo. With tender emotion filling me as his face drew closer, I pressed my lips gently against the photo.
The cool, hard texture made a corner of my chest ache, but imagining him watching this scene from the other side of the door helped me endure it.
I want to see your expression. Not this stupid frame—I want to kiss you directly.
Beneath my lowered lashes, my face reflected faintly in the glass.
Ah, at that moment, I felt relieved that what stood before me was only a photo frame and not Cha Jungwoo himself.
Maybe it was already too late. Feeling the prickling gaze from the side, a faint smile slipped out.
Watching the silhouette gradually move away, I wondered what would make an appropriate ending.
I didn’t want to just let him go, but grabbing him felt like a reckless choice. Right then, the sound of metal rang out from beyond the door.
It seemed Cha Jungwoo, hurrying away, had bumped into something.
With a noise that loud, he probably thought I’d heard it from inside the club room.
Catching the quick, tapping movement of sneakers, I hurriedly grabbed the doorknob and turned it.
Already ran off? Seeing no sign of Cha Jungwoo, I carefully considered where he might’ve gone.
The hallway to the right, which led to both the exit and another floor, was quite long. If he’d gone that way, even someone athletic wouldn’t have escaped without me at least catching a glimpse of his back.
That meant the only option left was the left hallway, where a nearby corner turned sharply…. I focused all my senses on the solid wall at my side.
“……”
…Maybe I should stop here for today. Imagining Cha Jungwoo holding his breath, trying to hide his presence, I barely managed to regain the reason that had almost snapped.
My original goal had only been to stir his awareness. After reminding myself that this much was enough, I stepped back.
It was disappointing—no, it hurt far more than that—but for Cha Jungwoo’s sake, and for my future self, I decided to retreat here.
I picked up the belongings I’d tossed nearby, closed the club room door, and turned away.
Not toward the left hallway where Cha Jungwoo was probably hiding, but toward the right hallway that would take me farther away from him.
***
The weather outside the building was brilliantly clear. Turning the corner and leaning against the wall, an unnecessarily bright sky came into view.
After lingering there for a while, killing time with a lingering sense of regret, I realized leaving now would be too much of a loss for me.
I hadn’t managed to join him in the club room, but I had no intention of wasting the entire day.
Taking advantage of the gap between classes, I decided I should at least share a meal with Cha Jungwoo, waiting for him to check the photo frame inside the club room.
That should be enough by now. I pulled out my phone and called him.
Ring—ring— Even as the call continued, Cha Jungwoo didn’t pick up.
I already knew he tended to withdraw from unfamiliar things, so I didn’t think much of it.
Without stopping my attempts to call, I turned back toward my original spot.
It was like I had just arrived here.
Through the long stretch of windows along the hallway, I saw Cha Jungwoo approaching, his face absentminded.
The way he stared at the phone in his hand with a dazed expression, letting out a sigh, was adorable.
“Hmm.”
I remembered that at times like this, I shouldn’t give Cha Jungwoo too much time to think.
If I let my guard down, I’d probably end up wandering around searching for him.
As I pushed open the entrance door and stepped inside, Cha Jungwoo—now standing face-to-face with me—came to an abrupt stop.
As if sensing a flicker of shadow, he lifted his head, and our eyes met.
“…Oh. Min Siheon?”
“Why do you look so startled? Did you do something bad?”
“N-no. Why would I be startled?”
“Then that’s good. You didn’t answer your phone. I was about to go look for you, but here you are.”
“I didn’t realize my phone was in my bag…. I was just about to pick up. Uh, you came to find me?”
“Yeah.”
His eyes wavered even as he denied it with his words. He sent me a searching look, as if trying to figure out where I’d come from, then checked behind my back and let out a sigh.
Watching the resigned smile that followed, I realized he was willing to let things slide.
“Anyway, why?”
“Let’s go eat. You’re free now too, right? You haven’t had lunch yet, have you?”
“…Eat? Well, yeah.”
“Then eat with me.”
“Should we call the others too? Their classes should be ending soon.”
“No, I’m going to make you treat me today. You said you’d buy me a meal last time, remember? Buy it today. So just the two of us.”
“…Alright. A promise is a promise. Okay.”
It seemed what he’d witnessed earlier had shaken Cha Jungwoo quite a bit.
With a more vacant expression than usual, he simply nodded obediently at my words.
Honestly, he could’ve bought me food anytime—and secretly, I’d intended to pay again today.
But if I didn’t use an excuse like this, he’d definitely drag along the usual interruptions, so I told a lie he’d never notice.
I lifted the corners of my mouth in a smile. Cha Jungwoo let out a light sigh and slumped his shoulders.
He stuffed the phone in his hand roughly into his pocket, shook out the wrinkles in his bag and slung it over his shoulder, then brushed past me and headed out the door.
“Let’s go. What do you want to eat?”
Even as he passed, the casual tap of his hand was as warm as ever.
This consideration—putting me first while setting aside his own worries and concerns—was one of Cha Jungwoo’s most fatal traits.
“…Anything’s fine.”
Even though I was full of lies, at least this one thing I said was true. As long as I was with Cha Jungwoo, anything was fine.
It’s not time yet. I’ll wait just a little longer. Smiling where Cha Jungwoo couldn’t see, I followed after him.
It was a day that made waiting for the ending that would someday arrive feel like torture.
***
After class ended, I picked up my phone out of habit and checked my schedule.
Ever since meeting him, it had become one of my routines—to check whether Cha Jungwoo and I had free time in common.
Thinking of Cha Jungwoo in my arms during the time he visited me, I felt how much my patience had worn away compared to before.
Maybe that was why I felt the need to see him frequently, just to fill that emptiness.
“……”
Since his class must’ve ended before mine, going to the lecture room felt pointless. I stood in the hallway, deep in thought.
Just as important as seducing Cha Jungwoo was making it look natural—so no one would grow suspicious.
Without him realizing, without the people around us sensing anything strange, I was slowly letting everything become dyed in my color.
Then, memories of the past surfaced, and I wondered if I’d been moving too hastily lately.
Get a grip. Cha Jungwoo and I were in a relationship where a single mistake could ruin everything.
So today again, I decided to think of a way to approach him.
That’s when Yoo In-ho came to mind.
Cha Jungwoo and Yoo In-ho had similar class schedules. Unless something unusual happened, there was a good chance Cha Jungwoo had gone with Yoo In-ho.
Maybe I should contact Yoo In-ho. Since I hadn’t even saved his number, I searched for his name in the department group chat.
Dream Port? Or the campus cafeteria? My head was busy with plans the entire time I walked.
Maybe it was because I couldn’t think straight. By the time I came to my senses, I had already moved to another building.
“Ha.”
Seriously? The place my feet had automatically carried me to was somewhere I knew all too well.
If my memory wasn’t wrong, it was the lecture building where Cha Jungwoo had just finished class.
I must’ve completely lost it. There was no way I’d unconsciously chase after Cha Jungwoo like this otherwise. That alone proved just how far gone I was.
