The First Night
What does it mean to become an adult?
Age? A respectable career? A sense of responsibility?
I toss the vague notions around in my head, but none of them really hit home. The parents who should have taught me were gone long ago, leaving me to drift through my school days in an aimless daze.
Perhaps that was why I fell for her at first sight.
Unlike the other kids our age, she was remarkably mature. With her porcelain skin, jet-black hair, and pale pink eyes, she looked just like a princess straight out of a fairy tale. For a hollow, empty kid like me, that was more than enough to leave me spellbound.
Her name was Lee Gayeon. Even her name carried an effortless air of nobility.
Growing close to Gayeon took a considerable amount of time. No matter how many times I tried talking to her, she wouldn't budge an inch. Spurred by sheer stubbornness, I hammered away at her defenses over a hundred times before I finally managed to strike up a real conversation.
After we became friends, I learned that she shared the exact same pain I carried: she, too, had lost her parents in the Great Disaster ten years ago.
Then again, this city was overflowing with orphans.
And so, watching the stars together on a summer night, we made a promise.
That we would stay together forever—
The wish we entrusted to the night sky flickered with a faint, bittersweet glow.
What would become of me? What did I even want to do?
Nothing was certain yet, but one thing was clear: the aimless wandering of my childhood was over. The end of my youth had finally arrived.
The answer came on Gayeon's nineteenth birthday.
It's a bit embarrassing to put into words, but to cut straight to the chase—that was the night I became an adult in every sense of the word.
The union of two bodies, the shape of life, the course of nature.
I still couldn't banish the image of Gayeon looking up at me with shy, moist eyes from my mind. In stark contrast to her usual aloof demeanor, her fragile side carried an intoxicating gap, and for that one night, I was as completely lost in the heat as any teenage boy. Hours slipped away unnoticed.
At long last, our fates were tied together.
I couldn't help humming to myself. My heart felt so light that if I let my guard down, I might just float straight into the sky. If the phrase "winner at life" meant anything, this had to be it. I could say it with total confidence now: I'd finally found the answer to how I wanted to live.
Whoosh—
I washed away the idle thoughts under the cascading stream of the shower.
Today was the entrance ceremony at Baekya Academy. It was best to hurry.
I whipped up a quick breakfast, toasting a slice of bread and wolfing it down. It seemed Gayeon had returned to her own house the moment she woke up. Coming from a wealthy, prestigious family, she probably had all sorts of preparations to make before heading to school. Frankly, she was gorgeous even without a speck of makeup, so I didn't see why she needed to go to all that trouble... though if I ever said that out loud, she'd surely glare at me with that freezing, silent pressure of hers all day.
I really wanted to walk there together, though.
Still, I couldn't help the disappointment. There was no other way to put it. Come to think of it, we hadn't exchanged a formal confession, but wasn't Gayeon technically my girlfriend now? Honestly, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. Even if she was busy, leaving for home without a single word stung a little.
Slipping into the Baekya Academy uniform, I finally headed out the door.
Ugh.
The moment I stepped out of the apartment entrance, blinding sunlight bore down on my eyes.
Sizzle—
The sun felt unusually piercing today. It was so intense I could barely keep my eyes open, and a prickling heat stung against my skin.
· · ·
Thankfully, the bizarre sensation didn't last long. At this rate, I wouldn't have to worry about being late on my very first day.
Baekya Academy was about a ten-minute walk away. Famous in more ways than one, simply graduating from there came with immense prestige. Just three high-school-like years was all it took to secure direct entry into leading conglomerates, elite universities, or government branches—wherever one wished.
I could hardly contain my excitement for the future I'd share with Gayeon starting today. With a buoyant heart, I quickened my pace.
"Before you embark on your three years here at Baekya Academy, there is one thing I wish to impart to you all...(omitted)...."
The entrance ceremony took place in the academy gymnasium. Letting the chairman's droning address go in one ear and out the other, I began scanning the faces of the freshmen one by one.
Oh.
The lineup was surprisingly impressive. While that was nice to see, it was also slightly frustrating. Usually, I'd spot Lee Gayeon right away. Not that she could ever blend into a crowd, of course.
Hmm...
I gave up on searching for my girlfriend, who had ghosted me since morning. She seemed to be standing at an angle I couldn't see from where I was.
"Ha Seojin."
A familiar voice sounded from behind, accompanied by a thump on my back. Turning around, I was greeted by an obnoxious face.
"What? If you were here, you should've said something earlier."
His name was Lee Hyunwoo—my bad influence of a friend since middle school.
"Well, you looked so dead serious. I thought you were scouting for a girlfriend or something."
Hyunwoo laughed off my grumble with a playful chuckle. Tall, lanky, and fierce-looking, he was the spitting image of a delinquent. Back in middle school, he'd boycotted classes all the time. Now that we were practically legal adults, though, that didn't mean much.
"So, did you find her?"
"Find what?"
"Lee Gayeon. Pretty sure you've been craning your neck for her this whole time, haven't you?"
"I don't know, can't see her. More importantly, keep it down. People are glaring."
Of course, the fact that Ha Seojin hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention to the chairman's impassioned speech up on the podium was a minor detail worth overlooking.
"Tch, boring."
Hyunwoo left it at that. In the past, he would've thrown a fit like an untamed beast. He really had matured a bit. Not as much as me, obviously.
"...and the value that our institution prizes above all else is..."
That said, this old man's speech was never going to end. The standing students, unable to hold still any longer, began squirming and shifting their weight.
How long had we been standing there?
The moment we'd all been waiting for arrived all at once.
"Now, would the freshmen representative, Student Lee Gayeon, please step up to the podium."
Ah.
Tap, tap.
Haughty, measured steps.
Emerging from the back of my field of view, Lee Gayeon ascended the stage without losing an ounce of her composure.
"Whoa..."
"Insane."
"Which class is she in?"
Gasps of admiration rippled across the gym. The guys, in particular, couldn't tear their eyes away from her, and a few even started frantically shaking their sleeping friends awake. Even the girls seemed silenced by her regal aura, unable to utter a word.
Feeling a quiet surge of superiority, I gazed up at Lee Gayeon.
She lightly tapped the microphone before speaking.
"Greetings. I am the freshmen representative, Lee Gayeon..."
Unlike the chairman's mind-numbing lecture, Gayeon's words sank straight into my ears. Every syllable was music to me.
Except—
Not once, until the very end of the ceremony, did our eyes meet.
My assigned room was Class 1-A. Since it was on the first floor of the main building, it was right outside the gymnasium.
Dashing over to the classroom, I unpacked my things at a prime window seat.
I wonder which class Gayeon got...
Being the freshman representative, she was delayed, so I hadn't had the chance to ask. It'd be great if we ended up in the same class. Just the thought of seeing her face every day, talking, and spending time together filled me with warmth.
"Ha Seojin, you're here too?"
Hyunwoo plopped down into the window seat directly in front of mine.
"By the window again? Study a little, will you? Just a little."
Look who's talking.
"Anyway, spill the beans about Lee Gayeon. I heard she went to your place for her birthday?"
We had a wonderful time. Something this guy would never comprehend.
"Today's our day one."
"......What?"
Hyunwoo's face froze.
A second later, his features contorted in pure outrage.
"You bastard. May you freeze to death. Don't you dare talk to me again."
Hyunwoo slammed his head onto his desk and instantly passed out.
No matter how many times I saw it, it was baffling. How on earth could someone fall asleep in under a minute? That was a talent in its own right.
Left without a conversation partner, I propped my chin in my hand and stared idly out the window. Students bustled past, hunting for their assigned rooms.
There was no sign of Lee Gayeon.
She's late.
My mood, which had been soaring high enough to touch the clouds when I left home, was beginning to sink. It shouldn't be this hard to catch a glimpse of her.
Chatter, chatter— Before I knew it, the room was packed with freshmen.
Lost in thought while gazing out the window, I hadn't noticed the time slipping by. There were only two empty seats left in the entire classroom: the one directly to my right, and the very front desk in the center row.
Why the seat beside me had been left vacant until the very end gave me mixed feelings, but it seemed like the perfect spot for Gayeon.
Right then, a sudden commotion broke out in the hallway.
Under the gaze of dozens of eyes, a girl of graceful, solitary poise stepped through the door.
My childhood friend, and now my girlfriend.
Lee Gayeon.
Speak of the devil.
Full of anticipation, I waited to see which seat she would choose.
Gayeon swept a cool glance across the classroom before walking straight toward me.
Naturally.
Lately, it really felt like everything in the world was going my way.
Her footsteps halted right in front of my desk.
"...Take this."
"?"
Instead of taking the seat beside me, Lee Gayeon held out a small envelope.
Dumbfounded, I accepted it from her hand.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she walked over to the very front desk in the middle row and began unpacking her bag.
Is she shy?
I'd been hoping for some sweet flirting at school too. What a shame.
Still, I supposed I had to be understanding.
Unable to contain my curiosity, I broke the seal of the envelope.
And then—
I'm sorry. Let's break up.
My entire body locked up, completely stripping me of speech.