Spring Breeze and Late Frost
Wa Sol's ex-boyfriend.
The moment I heard those words, I tilted my head.
"Noona doesn't have an ex-boyfriend, though?"
He tilted his head right back. Something about it rubbed me the wrong way.
"What? Ah... I see. I get it. It didn't end well."
"No, setting aside how it ended — he's not an ex-boyfriend."
"I said I understand. You just wanted to forget about me, huh. Fine. Don't tell Wa Sol about me either. I'm asking you."
What a strange guy. Does he not speak Korean? Wait — maybe that hair isn't dyed. Maybe he's a real blond. A Westerner who doesn't properly understand the language. That has to be it.
"And don't say anything to Wa Sol about it. She's more fragile than she looks."
"I'm not going to say anything. There's nothing to say."
"But... Wa Sol lied to you, didn't she?"
"She didn't lie."
"What are you talking about? She told you that you were her first boyfriend, right?"
"Yeah. How is that a lie?"
"Because I'm her ex."
"No, you're not."
"You really don't get what people are saying, do you."
That's my line.
What a weird person... We were both speaking Korean, that much was clear. But the conversation just wouldn't lock into place.
"Logically speaking — am I supposed to believe someone I just met today, or the person I love?"
"Hmm... Fair point."
Ah. Finally, something was getting through. Thank god.
"You've got it bad, huh. Underclassman... sorry, I don't know your name."
"It's Gachi."
"Right, Kachi."
"Gachi."
Is he doing this on purpose...? What a strange guy...
"Fine. Gachi. Anyone can lie. Thinking that the person you love would never lie to you is a burden on them, too. A real man has to accept even those lies."
"So believing a stranger you just met and doubting the person you love — that's what makes a man?"
"That's not what I said. Why can't you follow a conversation?"
"...Yeah, why can't I."
I was starting to get tired of this. No point wearing out my mouth when we couldn't even communicate. The only upside was that time had passed surprisingly fast.
"I'm gonna head out. Uh... Senior Ju-hyeon, good luck with whatever you're doing."
"Yeah, sure. Say hi to Wa Sol for me~"
"If I remember."
I sighed and walked out of the lounge.
I'd left a lounge, supposedly a place to rest, and somehow I felt like I hadn't rested at all.
"Oh, Gachi."
The second I saw Wa Sol noona stepping out of the classroom, every scrap of that earlier memory and the unpleasant feeling that came with it blew clean away.
Huh. Did something just happen?
"What's up? Were you waiting for me?"
"Today's the day they hand out the semester support grant. I got here a little early, and your class was about to end, so I figured I'd wait."
"Ooooh~ How touching~ So our boyfriend just got his paycheck?"
"Pretty much."
Well, compared to Kiri's income it was a pittance. But it was money I'd earned through my own effort, so I could think of it as a paycheck. (Technically it was a per-semester payment, so it wouldn't come again next month — calling it a paycheck was a stretch...)
"Your class starts at one, right? So we can grab lunch together?"
"Yeah, that's why I waited. And since I got the grant, it's on me."
"Hehe~ Then let's get something expensive."
"Please stick to expensive by ordinary college-student standards..."
"Don't worry~"
I took her hand the way I always did now, under that familiar sideways glance of hers, and she leaned into me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
This was our default posture whenever we walked together.
"Then... ah, let's go here. It's a mala tang place Yun-a recommended."
"Mala tang again?"
"...You don't like it?"
"I like it too much..."
Who in their right mind would look at a girlfriend saying it like that and claim they didn't want any? We'd already had mala tang three times that week, and I honestly didn't care.
At this point I was starting to wonder if maybe I'd always liked mala tang and just never noticed.
Yeah. I like mala tang... probably.
"Haaah, haaah..."
"That's what you get for ordering level four... Here. Chocolate milk."
"Thanks..."
I didn't know why, but I'd been craving something spicy. Out of the five heat levels for mala tang, I usually ordered two — today I went with four.
And this was the result.
Still, I wasn't the type to leave food behind, so I'd finished every last drop of the broth, which was probably why my body was throwing every emergency signal it had.
Slurp...
I drank the chocolate milk noona had bought me, feeling the sweetness and coolness soothe my tongue back to something soft and livable.
And across from me, Wa Sol noona was watching with that you're hopeless smile of hers — a solid ninety-five-point smile — and that healed my heart right along with it.
"Yeah. Fully revived."
"Hehe. Next time, take it easy. But Gachi, you're secretly a spice wimp, huh?"
"My mom doesn't really cook with heavy seasoning. So our whole family can't handle anything too salty or too spicy."
"Got it. I'll remember that."
Remember what?
"More importantly, your class is at one. We've still got time — let's walk around a bit."
A post-meal stroll with Wa Sol noona.
I was more than fine with that.
"Yeah, let's. Oh — and thanks for the chocolate milk. It hit the spot."
"Right back at you. The meal was great. Hehe. Why does food always taste better when Gachi's the one buying?"
I'd bought her meals plenty of times while we were dating. Of course, in both amount and frequency, she still outpaced me by a mile.
And every single time, she'd eaten with this genuinely happy look on her face.
"Especially today — it was money you earned through your own hard work. That made it even better."
"The stuff I bought before was money I worked hard for at my part-time job, too."
"Money you worked hard for so you could send Eve donations, you mean."
"Don't use my past against me..."
"Hehe."
Noona nestled lightly against my chest, pressing her cheek to me. Even through my clothes I could feel how soft it was.
"It's the result of you putting real effort into something you could actually do. That makes me proud of you. And it makes me happy, because it's adorable."
Something I could actually do.
I couldn't earn the kind of money noona did — not anytime soon. This was about all I had. Honestly, I hadn't expected to suddenly strike it rich like some fiction protagonist either.
In the end, reality was just like this.
"Hmm. Thinking about it that way, I'm glad I locked you down early."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I just get the feeling... Gachi's going to become someone really incredible. Could be the rose-tinted glasses talking, though."
"Yeah, that's a pretty biased take. Haha."
Someone incredible.
I couldn't really see it myself. I didn't have some grand dream, and I wasn't outstanding at anything in particular.
What did "incredible person" even mean, anyway?
President? Too far. National assembly member? Wait, why was I only thinking of politicians.
"I don't really know. But I'll try, at least."
"Yeah. For now, just give everything you've got to the things you can do."
How many girlfriends in this world would say something like that to their boyfriend? Noona had said she was lucky to have locked me down early — but I felt the opposite.
I was the lucky one. Because it was her. Because the person beside me was her.
After a short walk, we headed into the department building together. At this hour the lounge would probably be packed, so we grabbed takeout drinks from the cafe and went out to the exterior stairs.
"It's definitely gotten warmer. Even just sitting out here like this would've been freezing two weeks ago."
"Yeah. It's full spring weather now. Still — keep a jacket on you just in case. Don't catch a cold like last time."
"Yeees..."
Noona answered with her lower lip stuck out, nursing her chamomile tea — the face of someone who knew she'd brought that one on herself.
She kept saying how good it tasted because I'd bought it with the grant money, and that I should keep buying her things like this from now on.
This was consideration, I figured.
Coffee and black tea rarely spiked past five thousand won, after all.
"It's fine. I'm starting a part-time job next month anyway."
"What?"
"Is that really so surprising?"
"But... then we'll have less time to hang out."
"I still have to work."
"...Yeah."
From the shape of her mouth just now, it looked like she'd been about to say something like but I'm already working. Then she'd realized that wasn't fair and accepted it right away.
"Still, though..."
Noona muttered something after that, but the rest of it got carried off by the wind before I could catch it.
Whoosh.
Out on the stairs, mid-conversation, we suddenly felt a spring breeze. Warm, gentle, pleasant.
Spring really had arrived.
Which meant flowers would be blooming everywhere.
Or maybe that didn't matter much. There was already a flower right next to me.
"...Noona."
"Hm?"
An empty stairwell. No matter how carefully I checked our surroundings, there was no one watching us.
Once I was sure, I leaned in toward her, and she closed her eyes and met me halfway without missing a beat.
Our lips brushed lightly, soft against soft, and we didn't pull apart until the spring breeze had settled.
"...Hehe. Is it okay to kiss at the school building like this?"
"As long as we don't get caught."
"Gachi, you're a bad student~"
"If your grades are good, you're an honor student."
"That tracks, too~"
Even for us, who'd grown so natural with each other, a kiss somewhere like this was a first — and a little heat rose to my face.
Honestly, I wanted to do it one more time. But unfortunately, it was about time to head into class.
"Alright. I'm going."
"Okay. Text me when class is over."
"Got it."
We were about to part ways, leaving the lingering reluctance behind us —
when a wind blew that was nothing like the spring breeze from a moment ago. A little rougher. A little colder.
Apparently the late frost of early spring wasn't quite finished yet.
"Wa Sol?"
The rough wind rose at the same moment someone called noona's name from the top of the stairs where we stood.
And that voice still... set something unpleasant crawling under my skin.
"Waa, long time no see."
"...Senior Ju-hyeon."
And noona's voice, too —
sharper than any voice I'd ever heard from her.