High-Stakes Confession Under the Han River Lights
Today was the day I had made up my mind to confess to Da-min.
We had agreed to meet at Jamsil at six o’clock, and I had started getting ready at half past four.
Standing in front of the mirror, I smoothed my clothes and took a deep breath.
“Hah… I’ll manage somehow.”
I had been wondering how to confess when Senior Seo-joon’s advice popped into my head.
“Just say the feelings you feel for that friend when you see him plainly.”
He had told me to speak from the heart.
My heart for Da-min…
I pictured her in my mind.
The bright smile she gave me, the warm gaze in her eyes, the comfort I felt when I was with her.
“I always want to be together with you.”
Yeah, I could do it. Jung Tae-woo.
I looked at myself in the mirror once more.
My appearance was already good enough to debut in the entertainment industry right now without any issue.
“Seriously, I’m insanely handsome.”
My hair and fashion sense still lacked a lot, but thanks to the saying that the face is everything, the person reflected in the mirror looked like a complete work of art in itself.
I straightened my resolve and left the room.
“Tae-woo, are you going out to meet a friend?”
“Yeah, Mom. I’ll go have dinner with a friend and come back.”
“Okay, don’t be late.”
Leaving my mother’s warm voice behind, I stepped out of the house with a heart full of excitement.
But then a thought crossed my mind.
“Still, I’m a celebrity now. If I go out without a cap, won’t everyone recognize me?”
The joy of winning the Olympic championship hadn’t faded yet, so it was a perfectly plausible concern.
“And if someone recognizes me while I’m trying to confess…”
“I’ll wear a cap.”
I decided, put on the cap, and stepped outside.
“Hah… Is it because I’m confessing for the first time that my heart won’t stop pounding?”
Back when I was Kim Chan-ki, with my ugly face, I never even imagined confessing because I thought no one would like me.
“Hah… I need to calm down after drinking something cold.”
I turned my steps toward the convenience store in front of my house.
The moment I arrived, the door opened and two women walked out laughing.
They looked about my age.
“So the oppa told me…”
One woman was speaking to her friend when she suddenly looked at me and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Eh?”
At that moment I pressed my cap down further.
“Was she recognized?”
As if mocking my thought, the two women simply walked past me.
“Was it a blessing?”
I clicked my tongue, thinking I had meddled for nothing, and entered the convenience store.
But unbeknownst to me, the two women behind me kept staring at me with wide eyes.
“Whoa, what was that just now.”
“Wow, seriously, he’s insanely hot.”
“I should have asked for his number.”
“Hey, hurry up. With our faces, what are we gonna do. Plus we’re minors.”
“This is what a celestial face looks like.”
Their keen eyes couldn’t tell how much younger Jung Tae-woo was than them, and his extraordinary appearance was a terrifying weapon in itself.
Even while eating dinner with Da-min, all I could see was her eating—whether the food went into her mouth or not.
“Hah… What if we just eat and part ways like this?”
Although I knew I had to speak up, I couldn’t think of what to say.
“Yeah, let’s just go for it. You can do it, Jung Tae-woo. You’re a real man after all.”
I summoned my courage and cut the steak the way I had seen on the internet, then handed it to Da-min.
Her expression clearly brightened.
“What else are we going to do after eating?”
“Huh?”
“Tch, I must have been too tense. It felt too awkward… Ah, never mind. Just go for it.”
“Don’t tell me you planned to eat only and part ways? Then I’ll be upset.”
“I… I blurted it out.”
My heart pounded like a runaway locomotive and cold sweat soaked my palms.
“Was it too direct?”
Da-min didn’t answer immediately and instead wore an expression as if thinking hard.
That short moment felt like eternity to me.
“Could she hate it?”
Anxiety gripped me.
While I waited for Da-min’s reply, I replayed our relationship so far and questioned myself whether I had misunderstood anything or been too hasty.
“Ah, right. On the internet they said women like guys to plan date courses.”
I gathered my courage and spoke again.
“Hey, what are you thinking about? Your face tells me you feel the same way. After we eat, let’s go for a walk along the Han River.”
“Hah… Lord Buddha, Allah, God of Heaven, Heavenly Lord… Please…”
I prayed desperately to every god I knew.
Under the heart-pounding tension, I waited for Da-min’s answer.
“Th-that is…”
And God heard my sincere plea.
“Nice!”
“Then after we eat, let’s walk along the Han River.”
“Alright.”
After that we no longer ate in silence, but I found the silence anything but uncomfortable—it overflowed with excitement.
After finishing our meal, we took a taxi to the Han River.
Beneath the darkening sky, the river welcomed us.
The city lights reflected on the water, sparkling like stars fallen into the river.
“It’s dark.”
“Yeah, we came too late.”
Da-min asked with slight worry in her voice.
When I looked around, despite the night, the walking path was still crowded with people.
Couples, families, and friends gathered in small groups.
“Well, there are still plenty of people. Or maybe it’s better that I, the celebrity, don’t stand out.”
Pfft—
“What? But it’s really pretty.”
In her eyes the Han River nightscape sparkled.
“You’re prettier than that.”
The words echoed in my heart like a whisper.
The wind stirred, making her hair sway slightly as she looked at the river. Her appearance was far more beautiful than the scenery spread out before us.
We walked along the Han River while talking about old memories.
Childhood memories surfaced one after another, and the conversation flowed naturally.
“So when you were five, you followed me around because you liked me, and you were so cute back then,”
“What? What are you talking about,”
“Hahaha—”
After sharing childhood stories, I felt my trembling heart gradually settle.
“Then when you were eight you pooped in the blanket and the auntie scolded you—wuuu—”
“Hey, Auntie, even though I’m a registered celebrity now, do you have to shout it that loud?”
I panicked and quickly covered Da-min’s mouth with my hand.
“Wuuu— Hey, take your hand away.”
“If you promise not to say those words anymore, I’ll take my hand off.”
Suddenly Da-min grabbed my hand and I couldn’t help shouting.
“Kyaa!”
“Heh, you’re acting spoiled.”
Da-min said with a victorious smile.
“Hey, if I do that, will you take your hand off?”
Our playful banter continued for a while. Gradually, as we walked along the Han River, silence fell naturally.
“Hey, Da-min.”
In the silence I cautiously spoke up.
“Why?”
“Do you remember when I called you during the Olympics?”
“….”
After a brief silence, Da-min answered quietly.
“I remember.”
“What did you plan to say?”
Naturally we stopped and stood beneath a streetlamp by the Han River.
A gentle light surrounded us, and the starlight reflected on the water rippled quietly.
At that moment, we both looked into each other’s eyes.
Time seemed to stop. We forgot the surrounding noise and the cold night air, simply standing there gazing at each other.
“Do you really want to know?”
Swallow.
I swallowed my saliva.
I had always been curious even during the Olympics. That call was the beginning—the moment I had admitted that I liked Da-min.
“Y-yeah… I want to know,”
I answered with a trembling voice.
“We’ve been friends since we were five,”
And finally the question that had haunted me was about to be answered.
“That’s right…”
When I answered, Da-min hesitated for a moment.
“Have you ever seen me as a woman? Not just a childhood friend… but a woman…”
Beneath the streetlamp light, her long eyelashes trembled.
“Da-min…”
My voice trembled.
“When you feel good, I feel good too, and when you’re sad, my heart aches with you. That’s been true since we were children. But I thought it was just because we were childhood friends and natural.”
I took a breath and looked into her eyes.
In her pupils I saw hope and anxiety.
“But now I know. When you smile, my heart warms, and when you’re sad, my chest hurts… That wasn’t friendship, Da-min. That was love.”
The streetlamp light gently illuminated Da-min’s face.
Beneath that light, her beauty shone even brighter.
“Why have I not known how beautiful and charming a woman this is until now? You have always been beside me…”
I carefully reached out and took Da-min’s hand.
“Hic!”
“Da-min, to me you are no longer just a childhood friend. You are the woman I love and want to continue loving.”
Da-min’s face turned bright red. She looked at me, then lowered her head.
Her appearance was so lovely that it felt as if my heart melted.
“Will you go out with me?”
“Tae-woo…”
Da-min said with a trembling voice.
“I… I like you too. For a long time…”
The moment I heard those words, my chest swelled with joy.
Our hands were still clasped, and the warmth seemed to connect our hearts as one.
“Da-min, then… shall we start dating from today?”
Da-min looked up and met my eyes.
“Yeah, Tae-woo. From today, we’re dating.”
From a childhood friend to a lover — the beginning of a new chapter.