The Musical (2)
"This should be enough. Let's head back."
I said as we left the store. My wallet felt a lot lighter in contrast to the heavy shopping bags weighing down both my hands. We'd already blown way past the budget I'd roughly calculated. And to top it off, my feet were starting to ache. Walking any further would really be pushing it.
"Already? Teacher, there's just one more shop down that alley—can't we check it out?"
Choi Da-eun looked at me without hiding her disappointment. I'd always seen her focus right up to the end of our tutoring sessions, so I'd assumed she had decent stamina. But I never imagined it'd be this good. Was it just her youth? That endless energy without a hint of fatigue was honestly enviable—and a little scary. For a moment, it felt like looking at my young cousins visiting during the holidays.
"Da-eun, it's already 7 p.m. I think we've done plenty for today."
I couldn't exactly tell a student I was broke, so I convinced her by saying it was getting late. The sky, which had been bright blue, was now dyed in red sunset hues. Neon signs were flickering on one by one along Hongdae's streets. The crowds who'd gathered for shopping were gradually turning into groups reeking of booze. Wandering these streets with an underage tutoring student felt a bit prickly on my conscience. And more than that...
Her mom would probably be pretty upset if she found out.
I didn't want to risk blowing this sweet tutoring gig I'd barely landed.
"Aww... It's a shame, though..."
Choi Da-eun stomped her feet a little. As a high school senior with college entrance exams right around the corner, I could understand her wanting to blow off some study stress and play more after a rare break. But I couldn't just give in to her whining indefinitely.
I glanced at Da-eun's friend beside her, Jo Yu-jin. Unlike Da-eun, she looked pretty worn out physically. Reading the vibe, I shot her a look. She caught it, nodded, and stepped in.
"Da-eun, now that you mention it, I'm kinda hungry too. And my feet hurt."
Jo Yu-jin said, gently tugging at Choi Da-eun's arm.
"Huh? You too, Yu-jin? Hmm... Fine. Shopping ends here, then. Teacher, let's go grab dinner."
Thanks to Yu-jin's perfect assist reading my signal, Da-eun nodded along.
"Since you helped out today, dinner's on me. Pick whatever you want."
"For real? Then mala tang! That's cool with you, right Yu-jin?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
Choi Da-eun, who'd been pouting at the idea of stopping shopping, suddenly bounced ahead excitedly like it had never happened.
"Thanks for the help."
Out of Da-eun's sight, I quietly thanked Jo Yu-jin. She replied with a quick wink.
Ching.
The subway sped off beyond the closed screen door with its signature chime.
"They're gone..."
On the bustling platform full of people coming and going, Choi Da-eun stood still for a moment, staring at the now-empty screen door.
Her tutoring teacher, whom she'd run into by chance in Hongdae today and shopped with like crazy. She'd seen him for over half a year through tutoring, but this was the first time meeting outside the study space.
Her impression of Lee Jun-woo had always been simple: your average engineering student. The typical guy who came to mind when you thought "male engineering tutor"—kinda sloppy. Sure, his face was pretty good-looking, but she'd seen plenty of guys like that, so it hadn't stood out much.
But today felt different. More precisely, shopping with him had gradually shifted her view.
How does he even walk around in clothes like that?
Normally, Lee Jun-woo showed up to every session in the same old stuff: hoodies or checkered shirts with baggy fits and dull colors—peak engineering student fashion. The first time he'd come out in the clothes she'd picked for him, Da-eun had briefly wondered if it was someone else who looked kinda like him. His broader-than-expected shoulders, small face, long legs, topped off with his features—it was like a whole new person. Watching that transformation had been more fun than she'd anticipated, so she'd gone a bit overboard with the spending today.
Hope he's okay with it...
Snapping back to reality, she felt a twinge of guilt toward her teacher. They'd bought a ton, and she'd caught him hesitating a few times midway.
"Hmm..."
Still... even if she'd egged him on saying it suited him perfectly and he had to get it, he'd bought it because he could afford it, right?
It was done anyway. Deciding not to overthink it, she turned her thoughts back.
Why had Lee Jun-woo always worn such weird clothes?
Did he really just bury himself in studying?
That seemed plausible. He'd mentioned a few times how he'd focused solely on studies back in school.
But what was the reason he suddenly wanted to buy clothes...?
She should've casually asked midway, but she'd been too caught up in the shopping to remember. A guy as indifferent to fashion as Lee Jun-woo suddenly coming to Hongdae for clothes—the reason nagged at her. She kept pondering it all the way home, even after transferring to Line 3.
Job interview maybe?
Or a date?
If it's a date, with who?
Are they a thing?
Or just a crush?
Wonder if his date's the engineering student type like him?
Or total opposite—super stylish?
A high school girl right at the age where romance tales thrilled her—once her imagination latched onto dating, it spiraled deeper, tail after tail.
Finally arriving home after getting off the subway, she reached a conclusion.
"Gotta ask how the date went next time. Hehe."
It had to be a date. Just who, why, how, and what happened—she'd hear it straight from him at the next session rather than texting now. Hearing it directly would be a hundred times more fun than imagining.
"Can't wait already."
Dopamine had crashed into her study-packed routine. The thought of the story that would unleash it already had her heart racing.
"Got here way too early."
Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.—an hour and a half still before the musical started. I'd already arrived at our meeting spot in front of the Art Center.
Maybe because it was so early, the line for on-site tickets was short, and I grabbed mine in minutes. Now I had absolutely nothing to do. I plopped down on a chair tucked in some quiet corner inside the center.
Did I overestimate the travel time?
My obsession with never being late to appointments had led to this. If it were a meetup with Kang Min-jun, I'd have arrived about ten minutes early, picked up tickets after linking up with him.
But today's appointment was with Kim Seo-yeon. One I'd set up to apologize for my major screw-up. In a situation like that, of course you arrive first and snag the tickets ahead to score points—a lesson hard-learned from years in my past life's corporate grind.
...Just maybe overdid it a bit.
I pulled out my phone to text Kim Seo-yeon that I'd arrived, then closed the app.
KakaoTalk in about 35 minutes.
That way she wouldn't feel pressured. Texting now would just come off like "I'm here, so hurry up"—nothing more, nothing less.
What to do to kill time? Scrolling through apps on my phone, I opened the webnovel app with its signature purple icon. The novels here weren't exactly like my past life's, given this was a novel world, but there were tons of similar spin-offs. Comparing them line-by-line to what I'd read before was one of my favorite hobbies.
But today, for some reason, the words weren't sticking. I could barely register the light green background and black text. In the end, I pocketed my phone and closed my eyes for a bit.
Glancing at the clock afterward: still just 1:50. Felt like an hour had passed, but only twenty minutes.
"How the hell do I kill time...?"
Even my other hobby, games, wouldn't hold my attention. My mind was tense, time crawling unbearably slow. Worst wait ever, all around.
As I tapped my foot in frustrated rhythm...
"No way... Lee Jun-woo?"
The familiar voice I'd been waiting for came from behind. Turning around, there she stood.
"No way... Kim Seo-yeon?"
She looked completely different from usual. Not the standard jeans-and-hoodie combo, but a carefully styled, almost unfamiliar look. And with her hair down instead of the usual ponytail, she seemed like someone else entirely.
I'd figured she'd dress up, but this was beyond expectations.
She stared right back at me. Her gaze slowly scanned me up and down, taking in my outfit.
"......"
The shock at each other's unfamiliar appearances faded quickly into a heavy, awkward silence. I broke it first.
"Why're you here so early?"
"Just... got here sooner than expected. And you got here even earlier but didn't even text?"
Her tone had a sharp edge. Looked like her anger hadn't fully subsided.
In the suffocating atmosphere, I quickly changed the subject.
"Wanna hit a café? Got the tickets already, and we've got time before it starts. Dessert's on me."
"...Sure. Let's go."
I didn't miss the slight upward twitch of her lips. Dessert really was the key to melting anger. I let out a quiet internal sigh of relief and headed to a nearby café with her.
Kim Seo-yeon Picking Out Clothes (Image)
