Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Haneul's Departure
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"What do you mean?"
On a peaceful day.
Kang Hyun stood there, his mind going blank from Yoon Haneul's casual phone call.
-I'm taking a leave of absence.
"You're taking a leave?"
-Yeah. I thought about dropping out but held off for now. I want to really give modeling a shot.
"Wa-wait a second."
He couldn't continue, frozen by her shocking words. She'd been on track to graduate undergrad in a flash and sail straight into med school.
Her sudden announcement made everything feel unreal, leaving him in a tangled mess of emotions.
Why had Yoon Haneul made this choice?
And what should he say?
"How far are you? Want to meet up first?"
-Yeah, I'm at the bus stop.
He bolted.
Abandoning everyone in the shop, he raced to the stop where she'd gotten off the bus.
"Huff, huff."
He ran to the intersection, turned the corner, crossed at the light.
It was so close, but to Kang Hyun, it felt like dozens—no, hundreds—of kilometers.
"Hah, hah... Haneul..."
At the bus stop.
Yoon Haneul stood a little ways in front of him, her nose red.
She looked nothing like someone who'd just stepped off the bus, wearing only a coat in the freezing winter, no scarf or gloves. Her red hands looked frozen solid, and she clearly seemed cold.
She must have agonized after getting off the bus about whether to call him first.
Kang Hyun, his sense of reality slipping away, stammered for a moment before rushing right up to her.
"Haneul! Dropping a bombshell like study abroad without a word... Ah."
But it was strange.
"Why the huge shock?"
Yoon Haneul was smiling.
Seeing that finally put Kang Hyun at ease.
No worries creasing her face, no signs of weariness or stress.
She just looked happy and content. A face he'd seen somewhere before.
'She's made up her mind.'
The expression of someone resolved, with no regrets about their choice. It was identical to his own.
A memory flashed. Her deciding to leave med school for abroad mirrored him rejecting the documents from Choi Jae-cheol of Daijin Group, that pile of money, and burning it all.
The satisfaction and thrill blazing from deep within, like fire—that's what she felt too.
And seeing her after so long, she was even more beautiful and captivating, no need for words. She'd been enjoying modeling, studying related topics, working out hard—of course.
With his tension easing, Kang Hyun spoke to her.
"What the heck. No heads-up."
"You've been buried in studying. But this felt like something I had to tell you first. Good call, right?"
"...Yeah, good call. Where to? How long...?"
"Calm down. I'll explain step by step. It's just a short trip."
"Where?"
"There's Modart Fashion School in Paris. I want to study management. Doing modeling showed me how much I don't know, and people matter a lot too."
"How long?"
"Three years."
"Th-three years!"
As Kang Hyun's face crumpled and he nearly collapsed, she added quickly.
"No, I still have a ways to go before leaving! I'll hang out here for about a year first."
Spotting his pouty expression, she rushed to reassure him. Somehow, she seemed amused by his reaction.
"...Idiot."
"Why?"
Kang Hyun stared at Yoon Haneul for a while, and she stared back.
Then her eyes turned so sweet, like honey dripping from them, that he averted his gaze to hide his flushing face.
"...Mo-modeling must've been super fun, huh."
"Yeah. The photoshoot came out great, fitting model was fun, and I've gotten a bunch of other offers this time. But I want to do real fashion editorial modeling properly."
"...I see. So you turned down the others?"
"Yeah. And..."
"And?"
"There was a call from a broadcaster too. Some program writer. A dating show? That kind of offer."
"Dating... show? Like one of those fake romance things?"
"Guys and girls on an island, finding true love."
Stunned into silence for a while, Kang Hyun finally regained his composure and forced out the words.
"...You're not doing it, right?"
She grinned.
"Nope. Turned it down."
He let out a deep sigh he'd been holding, his relief plain on his face. Yoon Haneul, finding it hilarious, kept teasing him.
"But you're barely replying lately, like you'll study forever. Maybe I should do a dating show?"
"I'm studying!"
"Oh? If you're going to law school, you gotta grind. Why aren't you?"
"Ah, that's..."
"Heh."
Done with the jokes, she grabbed his arm and tugged.
The scent of her perfume after so long.
Even in the dead of winter, past spring, summer, and fall, it warmed the air around them.
"Still, you'll just get cooler as time goes on. Keep it up."
"Will do."
"Even if you go to law school and become a prosecutor, you'll keep watching over me, right?"
"Yeah."
"And you'll keep hanging out till I leave for abroad?"
"Yeah."
Yoon Haneul's eyes sparkled like a comet. A look he'd never seen. Dazed by their jewel-like beauty, Kang Hyun stared.
"Hmm... I've been thinking lately."
"What?"
"All this time, I've been in situations where I could've crashed into the depths, but you were always there, making me who I am now."
"What're you saying? You're embarrassing me."
"And with you by my side, it feels like I can do anything."
That was it.
She'd been there when he was perfect, and when he was clumsy and messing up nonstop. Amid all the talented, famous people around her, he was always her top priority.
Kang Hyun was the same. He'd believed in her, cheered her on, no matter what. Their time together shone like jewels.
Maybe that 'I like you' she'd brushed off in that weird atmosphere last time was real.
Good friends, but not quite sure about romance yet. Still, their bond was clearly growing.
In a voice clearer and more beautiful than anyone's, Yoon Haneul spoke just for Kang Hyun.
"Come on, wrap up those exams quick. I'll finish studying and come back too."
"Man."
Smiles bloomed between them.
"Got it. I'll work hard too."
They'd reached a point where they could say things like that without hesitation.
Beyond the awkwardness.
A relationship building toward certainty, tied by trust.
Spring arrived.
Kang Hyun's enrollment in Korea University's Graduate School of Law went relatively quietly.
The law school building was just across from the law lecture hall—not far at all.
So his move to law school felt no different from changing grades or majors. Nothing more, nothing less.
He'd expected big changes and a fresh start, but not much had shifted.
"Hey, sunbae."
"Oh? Yeah, doing good?"
A few juniors from student council days greeted him as they passed, and he returned it casually.
No reason for law undergrads and law school students to growl at each other just because the departments did.
Dean Kim Jong-hwan was still acting university president, and the professors were grinding away in their roles.
Everyone hustled through their days in this new March start.
"Hyung, what for lunch?"
"What was it? Third year now, can't remember the cafeteria menu. Dude, you're first-year law school—you should know."
"What're you talking about."
"More than that, hyungs—Dan Seonbae failed again."
"Dan Cholorok sunbae bombed the judicial exam finals again?"
"Wow, really... That bar must be insane. Even Korea Uni super-elite can't clear it."
He still met up with Woo Si-hyung or Yoon Chan-rim now and then for meals, heard bits about the sunbaes.
And the most important—Yoon Haneul.
"Rose Fire Chicken Tteokbokki."
"You can't even handle spicy. Auntie!"
At the intersection in front of school, tasty food was laid out on the tteokbokki shop table.
Munch munch.
"Not spicy at all... Hiss."
"Man. Good?"
"Yeah."
Before she left, Kang Hyun and Yoon Haneul met at least three times a week to hang out.
Once she started prepping for abroad, the tension knot loosened like a snap, bringing ease.
Kang Hyun felt it too. The infamous judicial exam and law school bar exam awaited, but it was still early in the semester.
They met relaxed, strolling aimlessly, working out, hunting food spots, studying together.
When Yoon Haneul walked ahead on a quiet park path, Kang Hyun matched her pace just behind.
When he read law books in the library, she'd hold up her English or French vocab book in the same pose.
Summer meant beach trips, autumn picnics for fall leaves.
Time flowed—one month, two, three...
A full turn of seasons to winter.
Inevitably, it came time for Yoon Haneul to leave.
Incheon International Airport.
"Passport?"
"Ah! Where'd it go?"
"No way? Forgot it?"
"Nah. Here."
"You scared me."
Kang Hyun had come to see her off, accompanying her to the airport, and she hadn't stopped him.
The early morning airport, usually bustling, felt a bit empty.
It was like time had stopped; even helping with her seven or eight bags, or watching her hug her family, he felt detached, unreal.
Even when she introduced him to her mom and dad as her closest friend—still numb.
But as departure neared, reality sank in.
"You're really... going, right?"
"It's not forever."
At the departure gate.
Noticing his darkening face, she smiled softly.
Sometimes a brief parting is needed for growth.
"I'll message a lot. Coming back to Korea in a month."
"Tell me the date right away. Safe travels."
"Yeah. Take care."
Watching her wave, Kang Hyun slowly raised his hand.
True to form, she didn't look back, vanishing across the way.
Afterward, his gloomy face brightened a bit.
'It's fine. It'll be quick.'
No tears, no sadness—just natural, like it should be.
The day she finished studying and returned, or when he graduated law school and cleared all exams—it'd come as naturally as this farewell.
Kang Hyun turned with a grin, heading for the exit.
Now left was his fight with himself, passing the exams.
Winning perfectly in this battle for the next step—that was all.
'My restart too.'