#14 Lilium Casablanca 1
The March mock exam was over. The results were disastrous. She’d only been saying she was studying hard, but deep down, she hadn’t even had the will to pass the CSAT, so her lack of effort had shown up plainly in the scores. Not a single subject broke past third grade. It was bleak, utterly bleak. Everyone around her was saying not to put any stock in the March mock, but of course, getting a report card like this gnawed at her nerves anyway. It was only natural. Her inability to perfectly refuse even a forced role was one of her bad habits. If it took courage to turn down unwanted tasks, then she was definitely a coward.
Yujin stirred her iced Americano haphazardly with the straw as she mulled this over. What am I gonna tell Mom? She’ll flip out for sure. And yet here she was, lounging in a café with her friend, gossiping away—this had to be peak legend life. Yujin muttered to herself.
The day after the mock ended, she’d lied to the academy about being sick and come straight to meet her friend. What was the point of going in anyway? It’d just be students glaring at their results with fire in their eyes. Someone as unmotivated as her would only end up feeling unnecessarily burdened.
“Sigh, life.”
“What now?”
Seohyun, whom she hadn’t seen in a while, snapped at her with a click of her tongue as Yujin let out a deep sigh. Seohyun’s hairstyle today was effortlessly chic: ash-gray waves swept to the left, exposing her ear on the right—a setup that must’ve taken at least thirty minutes with the straightener alone. Her slightly upturned eyes contrasted with her languid double eyelids, and the beauty mark under her right eye was sensual enough to catch even another woman’s gaze. Sweeping her hair to the left was probably to highlight that mark. She was stunning already, but paired with her taller, model-like frame and meticulously coordinated outfit, it was perfection. Navy skinny jeans, a long white shirt tucked into a belt, topped with an oversized black rider jacket. It was still chilly in March. If Yujin tried strutting around like that, she’d catch a cold in three minutes flat. Seohyun would probably blow up if she said it out loud, though.
Anyway, Seohyun lived in the same neighborhood and had been her frenemy since kindergarten, cycling through rivalry and bestie status until they’d settled into inseparable soulmates. Honestly, if Seohyun asked for a kidney, Yujin would ditch bikini season forever and race to the hospital. Seohyun would do the same.
“How’s a working adult supposed to get a repeater’s struggles~?”
“If it bugs you so much, why didn’t you take the boss up on it back then?”
Seohyun blew on her nails, meticulously polished with nail shine. It might sound like a rude jab, but that was just her usual way of talking and dealing with people. Yujin was so used to it now that anything sweeter would make her suspicious—probably meant she’d done something wrong.
“I did modeling too, y’know?”
“What? Didn’t you say you weren’t interested?”
“Hand model for my mom’s jewelry catalog.”
Yujin wiggled her fingers playfully, and Seohyun took a defeated sip of her coffee. She knew Yujin’s hands were pretty—hell, her whole body could grace a runway. Seohyun figured she herself topped out at fitting model at best, but Yujin had the blessed looks and proportions to aim for fashion modeling with just a bit of upkeep. It irked her that Yujin was wasting it. She’d never said it outright—too much pride at stake.
“So, what’s up?”
Seohyun set down her cup and sliced her crepe cake into two uneven pieces with her fork.
“The bigger one’s yours.”
“Huh? You sure? What’s the occasion?”
“I’ve been gaining weight—gotta start managing it.”
“Yesss! Love ya, Seohyun~!”
Yujin, who’d been moping moments ago, perked up instantly, digging into the cake with gusto. A cute puckered kiss was the cherry on top. Yujin’s puppy-like charm always melted Seohyun’s icy walls. Watching her was like seeing an adorable pet begging for treats.
“So, spill it already.”
“Okay, first there’s this super minor issue, and then a really super important one. Which first?”
“Just pick one.”
Yujin’s face turned suddenly serious. Seohyun didn’t buy it for a second—her lips were twitching; she was clearly gearing up to tease. Fifteen years as besties meant she could read those eyes like a book.
“Minor one first. My March mock grades across five subjects? They add up to my age.”
“And the big one?”
“I’ve got a crush.”
Seohyun felt a headache coming on. She’d been at ‘Fit Life’—one of Korea’s top online malls—for two years now, and Yujin had even gotten scouted as a regular model like her. She’d ditched it all, jingling off to repeater cram school with “Gotta retake the CSAT~,” and now her “most important problem” was a crush? With grades as the “minor” one? Even being generous, shouldn’t both be major deals?
“I respect your mom more than my own parents.”
“Pfft, live with her for a week and that’ll change.”
Ignoring Yujin’s darkening expression, Seohyun wrapped it up. “If you were my daughter, I’d pack your bags and shove you out the front door.”
“Hahaha, that joke slays!”
Seohyun felt a fresh wave of dizziness watching Yujin cackle in delight. But that was tradition—girl talk about love always got serious, blood ties or not. Yujin probably hadn’t dragged her out just to whine about scores anyway.
“I’ve never studied, so whatever. Who is he?”
“Seohyun, we’re like Adam Smith’s invisible hand—unseen besties, right?”
“Ew, why so cheesy all of a sudden?”
Ignoring Seohyun’s blatant disgust, Yujin pressed on. “Bear with me even if I sound nuts, okay?”
“You say nutty shit all the time. I’m ready—spill. Please don’t say it’s a girl.”
Yujin took an exaggerated breath, speaking with the gravity of a doomsday prophet. Seohyun wanted to smack her.
“He’s a teacher.”
“You psycho!”
Seohyun shot to her feet. “Aaaah, wait—hear me out to the end!” Yujin clung to her arm, whining as Seohyun nearly flipped the table. Seohyun itched to jab a fork into her bestie’s forehead. She knew repeater life was rough from hearsay, but three months turning Yujin into this?
“Teacher? Age gap?”
“Twelve years. Same zodiac—Dragon.”
Seohyun, who’d been trying to stay rational, now clutched her face and sighed deeply. She knew Yujin’s head was a flower field sans strategy, but Provence rose garden levels? UNESCO heritage site territory.
At twenty, even a five-year gap felt huge to Seohyun—let alone twelve. Sure, celebs bragged about conquering ten- or twenty-year differences, but it was rare in real life. No wonder those guys got called homewreckers.
“What’s he like?”
“Super kind, chill, insanely sexy. Ripped muscles—his collarbone and Adam’s apple? Obsessed.”
Yujin’s face lit up with bliss just thinking about it. Seohyun tsked, eyeing her. Yujin needed a hard lesson to snap out of it. If her picky eyes were this smitten, he had to be drop-dead gorgeous. In the dating ecosystem, hot guys sat at the pyramid’s peak—rarer than pretty girls.
The thought of a worldly thirty-something toying with naive Yujin tore at her heart. She blurted, “You’ve never even had a boyfriend. Weren’t there guys with sexy collarbones around you?”
“Nooo, that’s not it! There’s no one else like him. I’d regret it forever if I let him go.”
“Pic? Lemme see.”
“Nah, don’t have one...”
No photo? Just a one-sided crush with zero connection, then. Seohyun deflated, annoyed at her own meddling.
“No SNS? Insta would do.”
“Nope, nothing. His Kakao profile’s just his nameplate. I’d die happy seeing one pic before bed~ Should I sneak a shot? Huh? Seohyun, can I?”
Terminal stage. From all the love advice sessions, Seohyun could tell. Yujin got more fired up the more you tried to stop her—too late now. Still, curiosity nagged.
“How’d you meet? What subject?”
“Not a subject teacher. He does counseling at the academy. Went ’cause I was stressed, and he was amazing. Now we grab meals alone sometimes? Academy gives evenings off, so we head out for food.”
Sounded casual—probably Yujin overreading it. She’d always been hopeless at romance. High school legend: oblivious to confessions, chirping back, “Sure! Let’s be great friends!”
“What sparked it?”
“I almost got nabbed by guys in that alley behind the commercial strip?”
“What?!”
Seohyun’s eyes bulged before Yujin finished. She’d kept that from her? Yujin usually spilled everything in person, but still—that was huge.
“He showed up and saved me. Probably the trigger, if I had to pick one.”
Yujin slurped her straw. Truth was, she couldn’t pinpoint when the feelings started. Movies and dramas loved dramatic causes, but reality? You wake up one day already in love.
“Thanks for that. Go on.”
“Why’re you acting like a nagging in-law? Ugh, look at that glare.”
Yujin shoved Seohyun’s forehead, forcing her upright as she loomed half over the table. Seohyun admitted she was a bit worked up and sat back. The issue hit too close; blood rushed to her head. If she didn’t know Yujin so well, she’d feel hurt.
“I go see him every day, just talking. Weirdly, chatting with him calms me right down, makes everything easy. Guess it’s the counselor thing—he listens so well.”
Nothing left to say. It had shifted from advice to crush-bragging hour. Couldn’t douse her excitement now.
“Brews killer coffee too. Bet you’d find café stuff lame after one sip!”
“Coffee’s coffee.”
Seohyun’s tone soured despite herself. Yujin beamed on, oblivious, rattling off praises. Why the unease? Felt like losing her bestie.
“Oh, and his body’s insane. Felt it over his shirt—pure rock. Fights like a beast too.”
“Uh-huh.”
Big whoop, scrapping well at that age. Cynical thoughts spun in Seohyun’s head unbidden. If some sleaze tried claiming Yujin, she’d body-check his spine to dust.
“He gets me so well. Really thinks about who I am, how I can be happy...”
“You’re in deep. Big trouble now.”
Yujin paused at the tease, then smiled softly, propping her chin on overlapped hands atop the table.
“Yeah, I think I’m in real trouble.”
Streetlights glowed outside, bathing Yujin’s face. It was like a photoshoot unfolding live. Her jet-black bob and porcelain skin were breathtaking.
“He’s a good guy.”
Happiness dripped from the words as Yujin wore an expression Seohyun had never seen in fifteen years of friendship. A melting smile, like chocolate on the tongue. The fresh scent of first love clung softly to her lips like butter.
So that’s what Yujin looks like when she’s in love.
Ice clinked in the clear glass. Seohyun’s heart clinked too.