It was the next morning. I dragged my exhausted body along, staggering as I moved. I’d left the house early to tell Min Siheon about what had happened yesterday.
If it weren’t for this, I would’ve had some leeway before the morning exam. Seriously, my luck just sucks.
Getting off at the subway station and walking up toward campus didn’t feel good at all. If anything, the closer I got to the main gate, the heavier it felt.
“…What if I actually get in?”
Honestly, I hadn’t come up with much of a plan regarding what happened yesterday. It’s not like there was much of a plan to make. If I got accepted into the vacation training program, I wouldn’t even be able to back out—I’d just have to go.
Since it was a program run free of charge by the university foundation for students, once you applied, there was no turning back unless you had an exceptional reason.
That was information I’d looked up through Yoo In-ho the moment I woke up this morning.
Usually people get rejected, not accepted and then refuse to go, so I guess there wasn’t much of a guide for that scenario.
In simple terms, I should’ve failed at the document screening stage or some other requirement so that going became impossible from the start.
But like that was up to me. The results were already finalized—only the announcement remained.
“If it really comes down to it, I’ll just apologize and explain, I guess.”
I was the one who’d applied, so it wasn’t like I could blame anyone. Dragging my feet, I headed toward the place we’d agreed to meet.
Following the walking trail behind the school, I spotted someone’s silhouette in front of the bench by the vending machine.
It was Min Siheon—the one I was meeting. He really was diligent. Even from afar, the tall shadow he cast felt incredibly welcome.
It wasn’t as hot as midday since it was still morning, but the blazing sunlight hadn’t softened at all.
Under the pouring rays, parts of Min Siheon’s hair were tinted brown.
Sensing my presence, he turned his head and shifted his body toward me. Our eyes met—his lips curved into a bright smile beneath his slightly disheveled bangs.
“Jungwoo.”
“You got here early.”
I lifted a hand in greeting, and his smile deepened. Watching him break into that radiant grin, guilt crawled up my body from the ground.
This—this is seriously making me feel awful. As I stared at the deep dimple in his pale cheek, my hand rose to my face without me realizing.
Seeing that, Min Siheon furrowed his brows and took a long stride toward me, closing the distance in an instant. Beyond my half-blocked vision, I could see the worried look on his face.
Before long, the hand covering my face was pulled down, clearing my sight.
I squinted against the pouring sunlight, adjusting to the brightness, and noticed his hand wrapped around my wrist where he’d pulled it down.
We stayed like that for a while, awkwardly facing each other at close range.
As I blinked in flustered silence, Min Siheon tilted his head, bending slightly at the waist to peer into my face.
“You’ve got something to say, don’t you?”
Guess I don’t have a talent for lying. Honestly, I hadn’t planned to hide it anyway.
It was already written all over my face before I even confessed, so I resolved not to joke around and try to deceive him.
Well, that was why I came out here in the first place.
“Hey, Siheon. Don’t be shocked, okay?”
“I don’t know what it is, but take your time.”
Sorry. I’m really sorry, Min Siheon. I kept repeating the apology in my head. Forcing open my stubborn mouth, I spoke.
“Before I started dating you, I applied for an overseas vacation training program.”
“…What?”
“If I’m unlucky, I might end up in the U.S. for the entire break.” I repeated what I’d said yesterday.
Min Siheon looked stunned.
His brows had shot up, and his eyes had gone stiff. It was obvious he’d lost his words.
He wasn’t someone who showed exaggerated emotions, so it didn’t feel over-the-top.
But having watched him for a long time, I could tell. Min Siheon—he was flustered. And not just a little.
“I forgot. I’m really sorry.”
That was why I couldn’t bear to look at him anymore. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut.
Before long, I heard his voice and cautiously opened one eye.
For some reason, Min Siheon’s voice had returned to its usual gentle tone.
“You mean the program run by the foundation, right? Are the results out?”
“…No. I’m supposed to hear at lunch today.”
The hardened expression from earlier had vanished without a trace. After responding kindly, Min Siheon wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“Then let’s go check the results together. It’s fine if someone accompanies you, right?”
“Uh… yeah, but are you okay?”
“With what?”
“With what,” he says. Seeing how calm he looked, all the worrying I’d done through the night suddenly felt pointless.
Maybe he was the type to grow more detached once he started dating. Discovering sides of him that didn’t match what I’d imagined left me momentarily dazed.
If anything, I almost felt a little disappointed. I forced the corners of my lips upward in a faint smile.
Min Siheon must’ve seen right through my thoughts. Letting out a soft huff, he pressed closer and buried his head into my shoulder.
“You crazy bastard, this is school.”
“It’s fine. No one’s going to walk all the way into the trail first thing in the morning on the last day of finals.”
Well, that was true, but the lecture building right beside the trail came to mind, and I pushed at his shoulder with my palm.
Instead of moving away, he only mumbled more protests about how it was fine.
“Classes that use Building ○○ finished finals yesterday. Today it’ll just be TAs or professors. And people don’t come this way at this hour. Except us.”
“…How do you even know that? You’ve got a sharp brain.”
I twisted my shoulder at the warm breath spilling through the thin fabric of my shirt. Then his low voice followed.
It was the kind of conclusion no normal person could possibly understand how he’d arrived at.
“To follow you.”
“What are you talking about? Today’s the results announcement. Don’t tell me you applied too.”
“No, I didn’t. But there’s nothing wrong with traveling on my own dime.”
“…….”
So what he was saying was that if I got accepted into the short-term language program, he’d spend his own money to follow me.
“…Are you insane?!”
Where does he think that is? More than anything, the scale of it was way too big.
At the very least, it meant staying abroad for over half the break—so at least a month.
And Min Siheon probably didn’t even know which country the program was in or what region it was located in.
He’d never shown the slightest interest in that kind of thing.
If he were going for some other purpose, I might’ve understood. Studying, personal business—something like that.
But hearing that the only reason was me made something in my chest leap wildly. Not from excitement—from shock.
“My ears hurt.”
“Sorry. …You’re trying to change the subject, aren’t you? Where do you think you’re going? And Min Siheon, I’m pretty sure I heard you’ve got good foreign language credits. Didn’t you live in the U.S. for two years when you took a leave of absence? You can do free talking and grammar just fine, can’t you? There’s absolutely no reason for you to go.”
The visa alone was an issue, and just factoring in the country, the cost would be enormous. Well, maybe not for someone who lived in that kind of apartment.
Still, regardless of that, I didn’t want my choice to cause Min Siheon trouble.
The reason I called him out today was to apologize—if I had to go, I’d go and come back as quickly as possible.
The fact that I brought it up before even knowing whether I’d been accepted was because he was on my mind.
Since we were in a relationship, I didn’t want to just inform him—I wanted to discuss things with him.
But seeing how he was acting today, I felt like maybe I shouldn’t have bothered. I’d forgotten.
“He can be pretty persistent.”
That Min Siheon tended to become especially tenacious when it came to attachment.
“What?”
“…Nothing. Anyway, I don’t even know if I got in yet. So don’t casually say you’ll follow me or anything. It’s scary.”
“Then did you come to tell me first because you were worried about me?”
“Hey, you…!”
Why does he read my heart so well? I’d meant to scold him for only hearing the good parts out of what people say.
But seeing him smile playfully with his head still buried in my shoulder, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything cold.
I swallowed the sigh that had risen to my throat. For some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was the one wrapped around Min Siheon’s finger.
Well, since it had come to this. I felt relieved that he wasn’t taking it too seriously.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t worried he might get stressed out over this. Maybe it was better to take it positively.
“After the exam today, let’s go on a date tonight.”
“Sure, sure. Do whatever you want.”
“You have to stay with me today.”
“Anyone hearing you would think we haven’t seen each other for a month.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Anyway, Jungwoo, I’m going to be by your side.”
“I told you to stop saying creepy things. Let’s change the subject.”
It was while I was indulging his not-quite-pouting antics that the phone in my pocket began vibrating for a long time.
Yoo In-ho: [Cha Jung, when are you coming? There’s 15 minutes until the exam. Don’t tell me you’re retaking it?]
“Ah, shit.”
The moment I saw Yoo In-ho’s message, everything went dark before my eyes. I hadn’t even realized how much time had passed because I was stuck with him.
Vacation training program, America—whatever. I had to go take the exam first. Summoning superhuman strength, I peeled Min Siheon off me.
After patting his cheek twice, I quickly turned my back.
“I’m late for my exam. See you later!”
“Yeah.”
It felt like his steady gaze followed me from behind, but I didn’t have the mental space to pay attention to it right now. There wasn’t a single peaceful day until finals were finally over.
