First Prey: My First Love, Lee Se-ah
It feels like ancient history, but it was only about five years ago… ah, make that six now.
Man. I kept thinking it hadn't been that long, and somehow six years have already slipped by. At this rate I'll be joining the ranks of washed-up has-beens who age faster than the calendar turns.
Back when I'd just started high school, my first love was—naturally—beautiful.
Not that I knew much about her. She wasn't even my age; she was two years ahead of me, already grinding through her college entrance exams.
We crossed paths by chance at a cram school, and that first hallway encounter… I still can't forget it.
Long, glossy straight hair that swayed with every step. A faint, lingering scent of acacia. The kind of small face and porcelain skin you only read about in celebrity write-ups—and a smile nestled right in the middle of it all.
Being a hardcore exam student, she didn't wear a single accessory, yet she was prettier than anyone who drifted through that academy. A peerless beauty stitched together from every flattering phrase in the book—there was simply no one else like her.
Different grade, different class, and still the most famous person there.
Exam candidate Lee Se-ah.
Diligent, kind, and—far more famously—so kind on the eyes that students talked about her looks more than her grades. There were even lunatics who enrolled at the academy just for a chance to meet her.
Ah, I was the exception. Everyone else was signing up, so I mindlessly followed along and lucked into it.
Anyway, if you're wondering what kind of memories I actually shared with Lee Se-ah…
An empty academy hallway.
"S-Senior!"
"Hm?"
She turned at the sudden call, and even her profile seemed to catch a halo of light.
My hands and feet were shaking, but I squeezed out every drop of courage I had—like toothpaste from a dying tube.
"Who are you? Same school?"
"Ah, well, um… please take this!"
"…Canned coffee?"
"F-for when you're thirsty. That's all!"
"Huh? Hey. Hey? Hey!!?"
I bolted straight out of the academy without looking back once.
Truly, nothing special as far as nostalgic flashbacks go.
I wasn't some shy guy who'd never spoken to a girl, and I definitely wasn't that pure-hearted a character. It was just a little episode that showed how hot my blood ran back then.
I quit the academy right after, too.
After that reckless stunt, I spent the whole night thrashing around with a spectacular series of soccer kicks that kept the blanket from ever hitting the floor—then begged my mom until she let me drop out.
At school I stayed wary of running into her by accident, but for better or worse, none of those cliché romance-drama coincidences ever happened.
Even so, the pounding in my chest was real.
Because—
Damn. Just thinking about her and I'm still rock hard…
On the private jet, I tugged my pants open for a quick inspection like a diligent little student.
I was practically bouncing in my seat, dying to see her already, when—
"Mr. Junhyuk, we will be landing shortly. Please confirm that your seatbelt is fastened."
At last—the sound of coming home to Korea.
Yeah, insane crowds are still not my thing…
Back in a packed metropolis. The moment I set foot in Korea, the to-do list was crystal clear.
Like one of those old TV shows that tracks down first loves and beloved teachers, I started at the academy.
I was ready to run around in person, sit through a warm little interview with a director I'd never met, and slowly piece together the clues—until—
"Fuck this, I'm done!"
I got sick of it in about five seconds and just paid for the information instead.
The world has private investigators, and money solves most problems. Thanks to the convenience of cash, I had her address and workplace in no time.
Home in Gyeonggi Province, job in Seoul proper—the classic pattern.
Showing up unannounced at the house of someone I'd barely brushed past years ago would have been ridiculous, so I hit the workplace first.
Design major, huh…?
Two workplaces were listed—maybe she was working a side hustle. One was a company called Design Bon Co., Ltd.; the other was a café named An Angel Lives in This Café.
Weekdays at the company, weekends pulling a few shifts at the café, by the look of it.
Today was Saturday, and she was supposedly on the morning shift—so I went straight over.
"Welcome! An Angel Lives in This Café!"
A young waitress greeted me as I stepped inside. Half-convinced she might have called in sick, half-wondering if finding her could really be this easy, I edged toward the counter—and there she was, back turned, diligently stacking paper cups.
"Um, excuse me?"
Hair cascading like silk made my heart skip. Could it be?
The employee heard my voice, called out a bright "Yes, just a moment!" and slowly turned to face me.
Thump!
Just meeting her eyes sent a jolt through my chest like a defibrillator.
The girlish softness was gone, replaced by a mature smile. Her long hair was still there, pulled back neatly with a scrunchie for work.
I'd shot up since then, so the height difference was more pronounced now. At 183 centimeters, I had a good look down at her—she was probably around 165.
Different place, different years, a completely transformed presence—and my heart was hammering.
I'd followed a trail of paid clues to get here, and the rush of triumph nearly knocked me over.
That same beauty from back then… no—saying she'd gotten even prettier was more accurate. Unlike before, she wore earrings and a necklace, dressed herself up with real care.
A pearl born without a single flaw, polished until no one else could come close.
"Um…… sir?"
"Ah—yes! Yes! One Americano, please!"
"No, it's not about the order. If you don't mind me asking…"
I realized then that while I'd been staring at Se-ah, she had her chin in her hand, staring right back at me.
Then, as if something clicked into place, she gently needled me with a goddess-tier smile.
"Back then—it was canned coffee, right?"
Twice.
We'd barely reunited and already my heart had been run through a second time.
I never imagined she'd remember that day from her side.
Lee Se-ah came out from behind the counter with a smiling glance and pointed toward a quiet seat by the window.
"It's pretty slow right now—hardly anyone here. Want to sit?"
True to her role as the older one, she took the lead without missing a beat.
I walked over like a robot, as if I'd been dropped straight back into those green years, and Se-ah never stopped smiling.
"What a coincidence. Living this hectic life, running into a junior I know in the middle of huge Seoul… ah, are we even acquaintances?"
"R-right? What a coincidence, though!"
A coincidence manufactured by a private investigator, mostly.
I scratched the back of my head, thoroughly overwhelmed.
"I didn't think you'd remember me…. It really was a long time ago."
"How could I forget something that absurd? Out of nowhere you hand me a canned coffee and then bolt out of the academy like a rocket. I called after you and you didn't even look back once."
"…Didn't you get approached a lot back then, noona?"
"Never a reaction like that. Watching someone turn bright red and take off running like a scene out of a comic—that was a first."
She gave a little snort of laughter, then added,
"Plus you were pretty handsome. Still are, huh?"
"Hahaha… nothing compared to the eternal academy goddess, though."
"Hey! Did you swallow a stick of butter on the way here? Why are you laying it on so thick all of a sudden?"
Even the smile she wore while pretending to hate the flattery scored a perfect hundred.
Sharing a precious memory dropped the walls between us. As a bonus, my heart turned into a flower field and just… loosened.
"What have you been up to these days, noona? Besides the café—you work at a design firm, right?"
"Huh? How do you know that?"
"Ah, well… word got around the academy back when you were there… that you wanted to go into design."
"Did it? …I guess I must have mentioned it without thinking.
What about you, then? Let's see—you're two years younger, so… done with the military, back in school?"
"No. I'm working."
"Already?! Without even finishing college?"
"Well… you could say things just turned out that way."
"Kids these days really are different……"
"…It's only two years, you know?"
By then our chat had warmed into easy banter, and the bright young staffer from earlier discreetly set a cup of coffee in front of each of us.
I thanked her and took a sip—only to find myself staring blankly as Se-ah tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sipped her own. Even that ordinary little gesture held me captive.
A short trip down memory lane, and I even started daydreaming.
If I'd been braver back then, could it have worked out? She'd already said she liked how I looked—maybe it really could have.
I was sinking into useless thoughts when something impossible to miss caught my eye.
"………You're wearing a ring."
"Ah, yeah! I'm engaged."
A gold band on her ring finger threw off a bright, impossible-to-ignore gleam.
I'd been so caught up in the fun of talking that the uppercut came out of nowhere.
Standing there in her café apron, cheeks faintly pink, she spread her palm wide and held it out like something precious.
"We got engaged a year ago… but you know how the economy is. We kept putting the wedding off and putting it off, and here we are. Aigoo—working two side jobs on top of everything. This body is getting old, I tell you."
"……."
"Junhyuk, right? What about you—I bet you've got plenty of girls. Take some advice: engagement, marriage, whatever—do it as late as you can."
She laughed playfully, but none of it was reaching my ears anymore.
The first love I'd marked as my target was, from the jump, a half-married woman with a fiancé.
My mind went black. The flower field withered.
And from the ashes, black despair began to bloom…… except it didn't.
Thump-thump-thump!
A third time.
My heart pounded for the third time.
If anything, it was racing even harder—overclocked and completely unhinged.
Of course the world wouldn't leave a delicious, top-grade prize like this sitting around unclaimed.
My eyes, my heart—they'd been telling the honest truth all along.
If someone had already taken the prey I'd set my sights on, I'd just take her back.
"Noona."
"Hm?"
"If things have been rough lately… would you take a look at this contract?"
"A… contract?"
With the mindset of an apex predator ready to snatch her away on the spot, I pulled out that contract.