Sudden Chill and First Photoshoot
After the sports festival ended and everyone started heading home, the five of us who remained decided to hit up karaoke.
The only issue was Lee Seol acting cold toward me... and that in itself was a pretty big problem.
It had been the same when deciding where to go for karaoke, when booking the escape room, and even when figuring out what to do afterward.
"Then what about you—"
"Wouldn't it be better to just go somewhere close?"
Whenever I tried to speak, Lee Seol would deliberately look away or cut in with something else.
My suspicions weren't off base. I'd noticed it from the start.
The real problem was how obvious it was getting—the others were starting to pick up on it too. They were all desperately pretending not to notice, though.
We filed into a nearby coin karaoke joint, and while the others handled payment, Lee Seol said she was heading to the bathroom. I seized the chance and said I needed to go too.
The rest probably knew I wasn't actually dying for the restroom.
I leaned against the wall near the end of the hallway by the bathrooms, waiting. Sure enough, Lee Seol emerged, shaking water from her hands.
She startled when she spotted me.
"...What? Were you waiting here?"
"You say that like you know exactly why."
"..."
Half-tee, floral shirt, just an outer coat thrown over it—standing around like this in a karaoke hallway felt weird enough. I swallowed a sigh to avoid sharpening the mood any further and got straight to it.
"Talk to me."
"...About what?"
"Tell me why you're acting like this toward me, and then I'll decide whether to let it slide or not."
I'd laid it out bluntly, leaving no room for deflection.
"Did I do something wrong to you?"
It was a genuine question born of curiosity.
I couldn't for the life of me figure out why Lee Seol was treating me this way.
Hadn't she even thanked me recently? Sure, skip the minor stuff like tipping her off about the footbag tournament during sports day, but the thing with Jang Do-ah too.
...Why was I even tallying these up one by one? The whole situation felt ridiculous.
"..."
Lee Seol didn't answer right away, her face twisting as she searched for the right words.
Did it really take that much thought? It felt totally at odds with how she'd treated me that morning... no, even at lunch.
"Oh, that."
She finally spoke, as if she'd settled on what to say. But what came out was a bit out of left field.
"It just reminded me of the old days."
"The old days?"
"What you just said. Telling me to explain why."
Lee Seol's lips twitched for a moment before she continued.
"Back then, the others said the exact same thing to you. And you got over it, right?"
I got what she was driving at.
She meant my past self. Maybe it wasn't so different from how she was acting now—shutting everyone out without a word.
Bringing up my old behavior was her way of saying don't pry. Like, don't be a hypocrite.
I understood the implication, but... this was clearly a different situation from back then.
"...So you're saying I should just brush it off since you thanked me this afternoon, dragged me to the canteen, and now won't even respond no matter what I say? Just assume there's some circumstance and move on?"
"Yeah."
She met my incredulous stare with even more brazenness.
"What's stopping you? You got a crush on me or something?"
"..."
She was shutting me down hard.
"...So don't even ask?"
"..."
"Why's it different with Hana?"
"No issues with Hana."
Her tone was flat. Was that genuine, or just another line in the sand?
"...Fine. Guess you just don't wanna talk to me."
I had no clue how to react, so I just nodded vaguely.
No point pressing further—I wasn't getting anything out of it. I pushed off the wall.
My voice came out colder than I'd intended.
"I'll head in first."
Inside the room, Ji Hyun-su was already belting out a tune.
U Hana had clearly been watching the door; our eyes met the second I walked in.
Seo Jae-hyun too.
I plopped down next to Seo Jae-hyun, and he asked cautiously,
"You two fight?"
"Not exactly..."
I trailed off.
"Dunno."
Honestly, it felt like we had fought. I didn't know why, and she wouldn't say.
...Did U Hana know something? I glanced up, and sure enough, she was looking our way.
Our eyes met briefly.
She flashed a smile—not the oblivious kind, but one that said she knew everything and wasn't asking... for now.
Then she picked up the remote from the table and held it out to me.
"Wanna sing?"
"..."
I didn't want to kill the vibe here too. The others were trying hard to keep things light.
As I took the remote, U Hana checked her phone and spoke up.
"Seol says she's not feeling well and headed home early?"
"..."
"..."
Even during makeup, I couldn't tear my eyes from my phone screen.
"What're you doing?"
The makeup artist asked, so I answered.
"Ticketing."
"You can do that on your phone?"
"Heard phones are faster sometimes."
It was the ticketing day for a band coming to Korea.
I'd logged into the site ahead of time and registered payment methods like Choi Dong-rak suggested. All that was left was finger speed at go-time... and luck.
And then it was time. No hesitation—I smashed the buy button.
"Got it?"
"...Nah. Lagged out, screen froze."
"Aigoo."
The brief sigh from the makeup artist.
The frozen screen finally moved again after a while. The next page showed standing spots nearly gone.
I tapped the first available one I saw.
"Oh, got it?"
"No. Payment screen won't load."
"Aigoo."
It just kept loading forever before popping up "Seat already selected."
"...Blew it."
"Aigoo."
Honestly, I hadn't expected this level of hype in Korea. Figured ticketing would be straightforward.
...Underestimated it.
I messaged Choi Dong-rak right away.
"Looks like it worked out somehow?"
"Yeah, my friend grabbed one for me too."
"Nice. Should put you in a good mood for the shoot?"
"Yeah..."
It felt like she was soothing a kindergartener.
From her perspective, an 18-year-old probably did look young.
Once makeup wrapped, I stood up.
First outfit: white shirt, thin knit, black slacks. Super clean and simple vibe.
I straightened my clothes lightly and stepped out of makeup.
The photo studio came into view right away—white backdrop, set lights, camera gear.
A few staffers huddled by the monitor, chatting.
We'd already exchanged greetings when I first arrived, so I approached slowly.
The photographer introduced himself as Lee Han-su. He smiled lightly at me.
"First shoot, right?"
"Yeah."
He grinned reassuringly.
"No worries. Newbies often nail the vibe best."
"Hearing that just makes me more nervous."
"Haha, humble type, huh? With that face, you'd think confidence comes naturally."
As shooting kicked off... the first few shots were stiff as hell, even by my standards.
Every time I wondered if this pose worked, the shutter clicked silently, which only ramped up the pressure. Felt like every awkward moment was being captured.
After a bunch more shutter snaps, Lee Han-su finally spoke.
"Looking good. Student vibe, but not just student... nailing that feel."
"...Really?"
I half-doubted it, and he chuckled.
"Just stand like that. Don't overthink the camera... or treat it like acting."
Acting.
That's exactly what I'd thought on the way over. Hearing it out loud turned vague instinct into certainty.
Tension eased from my body bit by bit.
By shot 10 or so, I was getting the hang of it.
"One word about acting, and you transform—born performer for sure."
Lee Han-su eyed the monitor, sounding pleased.
"These are turning out great. Wanna see?"
I edged over cautiously.
There I was on screen—me, but not quite the mirror version.
"This from early on?"
"Better than you thought, right? No lies."
Way more solid than I'd imagined. A few even looked... pretty good, honestly.
"Seen the results—ready to go for real now?"
After shooting wrapped fully, I met the magazine's editor for a quick interview.
It was right there in the studio corner—30 minutes tops, per manager Jin-su hyung.
"Gonna get killer reactions. Already hyped."
She sat, smiling warmly, tone calm and vibe-relaxing.
Then the questions rolled.
"Web drama's blowing up—what's the most real-feeling moment lately?"
"Probably... SNS? Or at school."
"What'd you focus on most playing your character?"
"First lead role, so..."
Most were about Eighteen's Temperature.
I'd gotten sample questions ahead, and it stayed chill overall.
Mid-flow in the easy back-and-forth,
"Any personal experiences that helped with the romance flutters?"
Kim Yul in Eighteen's Temperature mostly acted out empty, hollow love. Not too tough there.
But toward the end, he realizes what he'd clung to was real love—late realization.
That final confession scene? Way harder to sink into. No personal fuel.
"No dating experience."
"Haha... got it."
Polite smile, but skeptical vibe.
"Still, you've felt butterflies sometime. Or switch gears? First love—what scene pops up first?"
I pondered. Post-Lee Min-woo memories, obviously.
First love. Had to dig deep. Closest thing...
"Gotta go back to kindergarten—is that okay?"
"Perfect. Even better if it's that vivid—means it mattered."