The Past Flame
The lecture ended. In about 40 minutes, to be exact.
Honestly, it didn't feel long at all. The structure made it hard to drag out anyway.
From the start, if they gave long lectures during OT, they'd draw the ire of the students. Their evaluations would tank too.
The professors knew this structure inside out, so they always tried to wrap up OT as quickly as possible.
Today was no different—they just said stuff like, "We're gonna do this~" and called it a day. As an engineering major focused on theory, they only covered how the theoretical studies would proceed, the exam format, and what assignments we'd have mid-semester.
But that wasn't the important part. The important part was Na-eun.
I immediately messaged her.
[My lecture's over]
[Rabbit emoji clenching its fist]
Na-eun replied almost right away, even sending an emoji. I just messaged back, "I'll come wait for you," and got up from my seat.
Looking around, there were a few girls I didn't know and a bunch of guys who seemed familiar.
With the major being so male-heavy, it was unavoidable.
Some of them were even friends of mine.
And sure enough, none of my friends were cold enough to just pass by without saying hi after so long.
"Seonwoo Lee, hey."
"Hey."
"How've you been?"
"Good."
"You look good."
We exchanged light greetings and slipped right into chit-chat.
And in that conversation, there was one topic I absolutely couldn't ignore.
"Hey, Seonwoo. You heard?"
"Heard what?"
"That chick's coming back to school."
"That chick?"
A question mark popped up over my head, and the guy next to me who brought it up immediately shut his mouth.
"Hey, quiet down."
"Ah, sorry."
I'm not dumb enough to miss the vibe.
"…Suhyun Kang?"
The three guys around us went silent.
"Don't worry about it. Got a new girlfriend anyway."
"Oh yeah, you did get a new one, right? Congrats."
"How old is she?"
"What school does sis-in-law go to?"
"One question at a time, guys."
I was certain—if I told these guys about Na-eun, they'd swarm her just to see.
"Gotta go, got plans. I'll tell you later."
"Ugh, that popular asshole."
"Die."
"Drop dead!"
"Yeah, eat shit."
The usual guy banter full of jabs continued, and I ended it with a curse before heading down to the bottom of the campus.
Even on the way down, honestly, it nagged at me.
Suhyun Kang was coming back to school.
I'd thought she'd already graduated. I didn't even know why she'd taken a leave in the first place.
But if there was one thing I hoped for…
…I never ran into her.
I had no idea what reaction to give if I did.
*
When I arrived at the nursing college where Na-eun was, she came right out.
"Oppa~!"
Na-eun came running toward me, and behind her were some girls who looked like her friends.
Classic Na-eun. She's so pretty and cute, and kind to boot—people can't help but stick to her.
"That's him…"
"Whoa, jackpot."
"Such a perfect couple."
"Na-eun Jeong, I'm so jealous…"
I could hear the whispers. Since they were impossible to ignore, I nodded lightly toward them in greeting.
"…Hi, I'm Seonwoo Lee, Na-eun's boyfriend."
"Ah… hi…"
"Hello…"
"Nice to meet you…!"
"I'm Kim Ji-eun, Na-eun's friend…"
They all seemed similar to Na-eun somehow.
Not in looks—Na-eun's on a whole other level there. Those girls had their own charms, but Na-eun overshadowed them completely.
It was more like… they all gave off sweet, kind vibes.
Na-eun's made a ton of good friends.
I felt a swell of pride and looked at Na-eun.
"Na-eun-ah, you have afternoon lectures too, right?"
"Yeah, afternoon ones too."
"Wanna hit a cafe and chill for a bit?"
"Yeah, see you girls later…!"
Na-eun waved frantically at her friends behind her, and they sent her off with happy faces.
They probably hadn't been friends long, so they were cool with it for now.
But once she got closer to them, it'd be harder to steal her away.
A little sad, but… can't be helped. Na-eun needs to hang with her friends too.
Thinking that, I took her hand and headed out of the school.
As we walked slowly hand-in-hand, Na-eun asked,
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"Um, I've got a question."
"What?"
Na-eun stared at me intently, then poked my cheek with her finger.
"…Na-eun-ah?"
"…Something wrong?"
"Outta nowhere?"
I blinked at her, and her little mouth moved.
"Oppa, your face doesn't look good."
My face looked bad? Me?
I was flustered, but also confused.
This might sound weird, but I was pretty good at managing my expressions.
Like, when a junior trolled and got the whole unit punished with push-ups, I went right up after and said with a smile, "Don't do it again next time."
Even though I was pissed inside.
That's how good I was. And Na-eun read me?
I looked at her, and her clear eyes stared back.
One look at that gaze, and I knew.
I'd never fool Na-eun again.
Those eyes pierced right through me.
She wasn't someone I could trick with half-assed face control…
In the end, I slowly opened my mouth.
To say the words I really hesitated to tell my current girlfriend.
* * *
"…My ex transferred back in."
"Your ex…? Transferred…?"
I was shocked.
As far as I knew, Oppa's ex was the same age as him. That meant she should've graduated already.
But transferring back?
"What year?"
"Dunno. Didn't hear a thing about her last year."
Oppa shook his head, and he looked so unfamiliar like that.
The Oppa who always smiled at me seemed confused for the first time. It made my heart ache just watching.
"…Oppa, let's go sit at a cafe first."
"Sorry…"
I shook my head.
It wasn't Oppa's fault he was confused—it was that woman's. Oppa hadn't done anything wrong.
So I just shook my head.
At the same time, I was pissed.
That woman dumped Oppa so heartlessly when he was struggling, and now she wants to show up again?
I was furious. Annoyed.
For the first time, I felt like I could hate someone.
*
We ordered two coffees at the cafe and sat facing each other without a word.
*Slurp* *Gulp*
Only the sounds of sipping coffee filled the space between us.
Amid those noises, Oppa spoke first.
"…Just ignore it, and it'll be fine."
"Oppa?"
"We're broken up anyway. Nothing left between us."
Oppa spoke calmly, but his eyes swirled with emotions.
I was confused by this unknown side of Oppa, but what shocked me was next.
"…Sorry, Na-eun-ah."
He apologized to me.
"For what?"
What was there to be sorry for? To me? What did he have to apologize for here?
He wasn't gonna say he was going back to her while dating me, right? No lingering feelings, right?
If so, I'd never forgive him. No, I definitely wouldn't.
After taking everything from me, to suddenly toss me aside?
Flustered, sad, angry feelings swirled inside as Oppa's words came out…
"…For making you uncomfortable."
……Such a warm, considerate thing.
Suddenly, I felt like an idiot.
I knew better than anyone what kind of person Seonwoo Lee was. The guy who went to a motel just to hold me while I slept, without touching me at all.
No way he'd do the worst thing I just imagined.
I felt sorry to Oppa for no reason and lightly tapped his finger as I spoke.
"…What're you sorry for? She should be the one apologizing."
"Na-eun-ah."
"I'm really fine. Not uncomfortable at all. If anything, I'll stick even closer to you."
I smiled brightly at the deeply apologetic Oppa.
"I wanna show her. That you're my boyfriend now."
And with that, I gave him my trust and love.
To this ridiculously kind man.