LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 8.1
[Byun Seungjin]: Is this weather insane or what? It’s crazy hot.
[Byun Seungjin]: Eunoh, hurry up! Why is it taking you so long to get coffee?
[Byun Seungjin]: Did you go to grow the coffee beans or something? Hurry uuuuup!!!
[Han Jiwon]: It must be really hot in Jeju too@~@ Are you on break? Is Eunoh buying the coffee?😊
[Byun Seungjin]: Just reading your text is making me feel better.
[Byun Seungjin]: Yeah, Eunoh’s buying coffee.
[Byun Seungjin]: 20 cups.
[Han Jiwon]: Whoa, 20 cups? That’s generous.
[Byun Seungjin]: It’s not generosity.
[Byun Seungjin]: We made a half-court shot bet, and he was the last one who couldn’t make it.
[Byun Seungjin]: Like, come on, the starting member finishes last? Even a first-year made it.
[Yang Eunoh]: Shut it.
[Yang Eunoh]: Shut up.
[Yang Eunoh]: The owner gave us two free drink coupons.
[Byun Seungjin]: Our Eunoh~~~
[Byun Seungjin]: Guess we’ll have to come back to Jeju to use those coupons~~~
[Yang Eunoh]: You want to turn into a Dol Hareubang?
[Yang Eunoh]: I’m barely holding back the urge to shove a fist in your mouth.
[Yang Eunoh]: You barely made it yourself at the last minute, man.
[Han Jiwon]: 😊 When did Jungwoo make his shot?
[Yang Eunoh]: He made it early on.
[Han Jiwon]: Ah, as expected…
[Yang Eunoh]: “As expected” for Kwon Jungwoo, huh?
[Yang Eunoh]: Why do I get no reaction from you?
[Yang Eunoh]: Am I an “as expected” too?
[Yang Eunoh]: I’m hurt.
[Yang Eunoh]: Didn’t expect you to give me a hard time too.
[Han Jiwon]: No, Eunoh! I didn’t mean to say anything… I was just surprised you were lost TT
[Yang Eunoh]: Not even “last place,” but “lost”………..
[Yang Eunoh]: That stings, haha.
[Han Jiwon]: Sorry! it was a typo 😭
[Yang Eunoh]: Man, if it were rock-paper-scissors, Kwon Jungwoo would’ve 100% been last.
[Yang Eunoh]: What are you up to?
[Yang Eunoh]: Still at your parents’ place?
[Han Jiwon]: No, I’m on the train heading back now!
[Yang Eunoh]: Did your fan meeting go well?
[Han Jiwon]: Fan meeting?
[Yang Eunoh]: Yeah, I figured people from your village came to see you or something.
[Han Jiwon]: Ah, haha, not really anymore. Most of them have seen me since I was littleㅎㅎ
[Yang Eunoh]: Ah, brings back memories. Back in the day, I used to get beat up by the older girls from your neighborhood and cry all the time.
[Byun Seungjin]: Wait, what?
[Byun Seungjin]: I came back from doing barbell lifts, and Eunoh still hasn’t left?
[Yang Eunoh]: I’m leaving now, wait up.
[Yang Eunoh]: I’m coming.
[Byun Seungjin]: Step on the gas, man.
[Byun Seungjin]: Jiwon, how are your parents doing? I still remember your dad’s smile so clearly.
[Han Jiwon]: Seungjin, you met my dad before?
[Byun Seungjin]: Yeah, saw him on a documentary once~
[Byun Seungjin]: Saw? Met?
[Byun Seungjin]: I think I’ve seen your dad’s face more than my own grandpa’s.
[Han Jiwon]: Haha, I see…
[Byun Seungjin]: Kwon Jungwoo’s back.
[Han Jiwon]: Weren’t you with him this whole time?
[Byun Seungjin]: Nah, after the bet, he went to ice his leg.
[Byun Seungjin]: Look at him, coming back all fresh, not even a drop of sweat on him.
[Byun Seungjin]: He didn’t break a sweat, unlike the rest of us.
[Han Jiwon]: Oh no, jumping from a cool place to this heat is going to make him catch a cold.
[Byun Seungjin]: Oh, crap. Is he reading his girlfriend’s message? His face just softened up. Not jealous at all, nope.
[Byun Seungjin]: Wait, is he reading this?
[Byun Seungjin]: Did I press the wrong thing?
[Byun Seungjin]: I’m calling him.
[Byun Seungjin]: Feeling so lonely here.
[Byun Seungjin]: Seriously, leave the ones with partners alone to hang with their girlfriends.
[Byun Seungjin]: Let us single folks stick together, haha.
[Byun Seungjin]: Jiwon, when are you coming to Jeju again?
[Byun Seungjin]: We get weekends off too, so come for an overnight trip on Saturday.
[Byun Seungjin]: Let’s rent a car and hit the beach, or maybe a valley would be nice.
[Byun Seungjin]: There’s this place with amazing chicken stew; let’s go eat it together.
[Byun Seungjin]: Han Jiwon~~~~~~~~~
[Byun Seungjin]: The nation’s grandson~~~~~~
[Byun Seungjin]: Guess you fell asleep.
[Byun Seungjin]: Well, it’s understandable since you’re on a train.
***
Dating a famous person has its downsides, but there are some perks too.
The first is that I can easily find parts of his past that I didn’t know about, just by looking online.
Kwon Jungwoo only became a nationwide name after entering university, but it seemed he was already quite famous during his high school basketball days. You could tell just from the vast amount of material available online.
Videos of Kwon Jungwoo from his high school games had exceptionally high view counts, and he was the only high school player to have highlight clips. There was even a fan page dedicated to his casual outfits.
I would often watch these videos in my spare time, but I had to be careful because hours would slip by without me noticing.
High school Kwon Jungwoo had an untamed charm. His basketball style was rougher than it is now, and his interview demeanor varied depending on his mood. On days when he wasn’t satisfied with his performance, his gaze was so sharp that even watching years later, I felt uneasy.
As you might expect from the high view counts, there were a lot of comments. Half of them were criticizing Kwon Jungwoo’s attitude, and some even compared him to me.
One user with the handle “No children but a grandchild” had spammed the comment section with pictures of me.
They posted a photo of me bowing 90 degrees to a reporter, telling Kwon Jungwoo to be at least half as respectful. They had no idea how uncomfortable I felt because of my own personality.
If God gave me the chance to live the rest of my life with someone else’s personality, I would say Kwon Jungwoo’s without hesitation.
The second perk of dating someone famous is that I can get an idea of his day from eyewitness accounts posted online.
I only recently found out that in some of the photos of Kwon Jungwoo’s daily life that surfaced online, I was also in them. While the other people in the photos were carefully blurred out, I was deliberately left unedited.
When I’m with Kwon Jungwoo, my face looks like that.
Since I also had plenty of footage from my younger days, I’d reached the point where I could view myself objectively. But when I was with Kwon Jungwoo, I had an unfamiliar expression.
To think I went around basically announcing my feelings with my whole face like that…. Every time I saved a photo of the two of us onto my external hard drive, I promised myself to control my expressions better.
— Climbed to the top of Hallasan today, and man, it was so hot. The sun was so strong, I thought my face you like so much would burn to a crisp.
Kwon Jungwoo’s voice, as he lay in bed talking on the phone, sounded lazy. I already knew he’d been to Hallasan today from the sightings reported online, but I didn’t mention it, just in case he found it creepy.
I had a secret smile to myself, picturing Kwon Jungwoo in his white windbreaker, just like in the photos. Lying down like him, it felt like if I turned my head, I might see him lying next to me.
“Jungwoo, how did you know I liked your face? Was it really that obvious?”
— Is that even a question? Of course it was obvious. Your eyes practically scream it. Even my eyes, nose, and mouth are getting self-conscious. Especially my lips.
I burst out laughing at his playful tone. Looking back, I realized that Han Jiwon around Kwon Jungwoo was a bit of a mess. I rolled onto my stomach and idly traced the stitching on the bedsheet with my fingers.
“But still, hiking in this weather is overkill. Did you drink enough water? You know you can get heatstroke.”
— Yeah, I had two bottles. Don’t worry. What about you? Were you out taking photos all day again?
“Yeah. I went looking for hanok today, but it was quieter than I expected, probably because of the heat. I thought there would be more tourists.”
— Who’d you go with? The same friends from yesterday?
“No. The ones from yesterday didn’t come today. Instead, Hyoseok came along. You know Kim Hyoseok, right? You saw him briefly at the library once. It was just the two of us all day.”
— Oh yeah, I remember him. The polite one with a good-looking face.
I paused for a moment, unable to relate. Sure, Hyoseok was likable, but I’d never thought of him as particularly handsome. Even accounting for some bias since we were friends, I had a pretty objective and mainstream sense of aesthetics, and this didn’t quite line up.
Does Kwon Jungwoo like faces with a vibe like Kim Hyoseok’s? In a brief moment, I tried to think of any commonalities between myself and Hyoseok. I felt a deep self-disgust as jealousy toward my friend started creeping in.
The reason I quickly agreed was because I was desperately trying to hide this ugly jealousy.
“Yeah, that’s him. The nice and handsome guy.”
— Oh, really? I didn’t realize he was handsome.
“Hm. I think he’s pretty good-looking. His features are decent up close….”
Even as I answered casually, something felt off. I’d intended to agree, but it felt like I was accidentally talking Hyoseok up. A strange silence seemed to stretch between us over the phone, even though Kwon Jungwoo was probably just pausing for a moment.
— Sounds like you had a good time on your date with the handsome guy.
“Come on, it wasn’t a date.”
Finally, Kwon Jungwoo’s slightly sulky but playful tone broke the mood, and everything felt normal again. Or maybe I’d just been overreacting, and there had been no mood to break in the first place.
As the sound of his laugh faded, I thought I could hear a sigh. Then, in a soft voice, Kwon Jungwoo called my name.
— Jiwon, I miss you.
“Uh… Jungwoo, you probably shouldn’t say my name like that. What if someone overhears you?”
— Jiwon. Han Jiwon.
“Didn’t you say you were in your dorm bed? Isn’t it a four-person room?”
— Kwon Jungwoo loves Han Jiwon.
No matter how flustered I was, Kwon Jungwoo kept playfully confessing his love, his words growing sweeter, while I grew more anxious. He seemed to enjoy it more the more nervous I became.
So I quickly sat up in bed and called his name several more times, seriously. Before long, Kwon Jungwoo burst out laughing.
— It’s fine. Everyone’s out at karaoke. I’m the only one here.
“Oh, Jungwoo… you really scared me….”
— Ah, I wish I could’ve seen your face. Oh, by the way, I saw someone who looked just like you while jogging earlier.
“Really?”
— Yeah, from a distance, the back of their head was so cute. They were even wearing a yellow jacket, just like your department jacket. For a second, I thought you’d come to Jeju to surprise me.
“…Was it really that close?”
— Yeah. The more I looked, the more I thought it was you. I even chased after them and took a picture together. Up close, they were just as cute and likable. Just like you.
“Wow, that’s amazing. I didn’t know that could happen.”
I was so petty.
Even though the point of his story was that he thought I was cute, I was still jealous of this stranger. Since when did I care so much about being called cute? Now that Kwon Jungwoo had called someone else cute, I wanted to claim ownership of the word.
— Want to see the photo?
“No, thanks. They say you die if you meet your doppelgänger. What if I see the picture and die?”
I wasn’t particularly eager to see the photo, but I made it a joke. I thought if I brought up the doppelgänger thing, he’d take back what he said, saying the resemblance wasn’t
that
strong.
But instead….
— Ah, that’s true. Okay, I won’t show it to you.
He really didn’t show it to me.
At that moment, I felt a sharp pang in my stomach. It was as if I’d swallowed something jagged, and the discomfort caused me to break out in a light sweat. Without realizing it, I’d been tugging at the stitching on the sheet, and now it was fraying in an ugly way. This didn’t feel like ordinary jealousy—his words had hit deeper. It was as if I’d become someone unimportant to him, someone who could easily be replaced.
Kwon Jungwoo, blissfully unaware of my feelings, didn’t mention the photo again for the rest of the call.
And neither did I.
***
Our communication started to dwindle about two weeks after Kwon Jungwoo left for his training camp.
Kwon Jungwoo’s training schedule grew more demanding by the day, and I became busy preparing for a major contest. We hardly had time to reach out to each other.
The contest was sponsored by the government, and the theme was to promote Korea through cultural heritage, natural landscapes, history, or traditional culture. Since up to five photos could be submitted, I aimed to fill all five slots to the best of my ability. It was a prestigious contest, so I wanted to give it my all.
I went on several shoots with classmates, including Kim Hyoseok. Carrying heavy cameras around in the heat was no easy task, so I had no time for calls or messages.
Although Kwon Jungwoo was upset by the lack of contact, we both understood that our schedules didn’t align.
“Haa…”
The alarm woke me up. It was late in the morning. By now, Kwon Jungwoo was already deep into his training.
I couldn’t get up from the bed, just tossed and turned, checking my phone. I was so exhausted yesterday that I fell asleep as soon as I got home, unable to even take a call. All I did was exchange a quick “sleep well” message before crashing.
“…Huh?”
I was mindlessly deleting all the ad notifications that had piled up overnight when one caught my eye.
“Kwon Jungwoo has uploaded a photo. Check it out on SNS now.”
It had been a while since he posted on SNS—ever since he shared a photo of the two of us. In other words, since the picture of my squished-up face was shown to the world. I quickly opened the app, remembering how flustered I was that day when he uploaded it instead of making it his profile picture like I asked.
Given that the last two pictures he posted were related to me, I had a feeling this one might be too.
“Aah…”
As soon as I saw the picture, a pleased sigh escaped me.
It was a selfie of Kwon Jungwoo taken with a white Maltese. He was crouched down next to the little dog, smiling brightly at the camera.
His bangs were slightly damp, probably from jogging, and his clear skin seemed to glow under the sunlight, making him look even more radiant. Seeing Kwon Jungwoo’s relaxed smile after so long made me miss him even more.
Then, I noticed the Maltese’s outfit. The bright yellow tone of its tiny clothes seemed familiar—similar to the color of our department’s jumper. As I made the connection, a sense of unease crept in, and the caption below the picture revealed the cause.
A photo I couldn’t use because someone wasn’t curious until the end.
I miss you.
“……”
It was then that a conversation from a while ago resurfaced in my mind.
He had said he saw someone who resembled me… Or wait, did he not mention it was a person?
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity. When he said it looked like me, of course, I assumed it was a person, not a dog. He could’ve at least mentioned it had a tail. Then I would’ve asked him to show me.
Maybe Kwon Jungwoo had been waiting for me to ask for a photo all along. It wasn’t that I wasn’t curious—I just didn’t want to face it. But Kwon Jungwoo didn’t seem to realize that.
I miss you.
His last sentence hit me square in the chest.
I missed him so much I thought I might go crazy. I wanted to see him, to touch him, to hold him. I imagined burying my nose in the warmth of his neck, breathing in his scent, and confessing that I was jealous of that little dog. Would he laugh, or would he cringe and say I was suffocating him?
For some reason, I felt like this time, Kwon Jungwoo had deliberately tried to make me jealous, so maybe he wouldn’t mind.
Ah, I’d been upset for no reason.
The more I thought about it, the funnier the situation seemed, and I found myself laughing again. Smiling broadly, I scrolled through the comments.
Name: What the heck
Name: Is the athlete dating?😭
Name: Ah… a dating signal…
Name: But it’s been a while since he broke up, so it’s about time…
ㄴ
Name: How long has it been?
ㄴ
Name: A few months now.
ㄴ
Name: Wow, you’re casually digging into someone’s private life like it’s no big deal. That’s a crime, you know.
Name:😭😭😭
Name: Does he really have a girlfriend?
Name: Am I the only one who thinks he’s talking to the dog?😂 He probably posted it because he misses the dog at home
ㄴ
Name: I second that!😁 He’s in Jeju right now
ㄴ
Name: Thirded.
ㄴ
Name: Isn’t Kwon Jungwoo living in the dorms? Does he have a dog there?
ㄴ
Name: No, it’s probably from his family’s house.
ㄴ
Name: Fourthed.
ㄴ
Name: Fifth! Obviously about the dog
ㄴ
Name: He probably misses the dog since he’s in Jeju 😭
ㄴ
Name: Sixth! So cute 😭 Does he have a Maltese?
ㄴ
Name: Seventh!
ㄴ
Name: Eighth! Oppa, I get told I’m like a dog a lot too. I’m typing with my paws right now.
ㄴ
Name: But is it confirmed that the dog is from his family’s house?
As I kept reading, the general consensus in the comments was that Kwon Jungwoo was talking about a dog from his family home. The more I read, the more plausible it seemed, and I started to wonder if I was the one who had misunderstood.
Then, suddenly, the mood in the comments shifted.
Name: <Link>
Name: Saw him last night 😭 Looks like Kwon Jungwoo has a girlfriend 😭
ㄴ
Name: Noooo 😭
ㄴ
Name: ????????
ㄴ
Name: Oh no, there are photos too…
ㄴ
Name: What… It’s undeniable…
Name: Did he meet someone last night after posting this? Explain, please 😭
Name: He probably posted it, then went to meet someone after feeling like he missed them.
ㄴ
Name: 2222 There was a sighting about an hour after he posted the photo.
Name: Oh my god, there’s an article now.
Name: <Link>
Name: Why’s there an article? That never happened before.
ㄴ
Name: It’s probably because of the dating rumors with Jiwon. Han Jiwon was mentioned in the article too.
ㄴ
Name: ???? The reporter’s out of control.
ㄴ
Name: Han Jiwon??? They’re just trying to get views, can’t even tell what’s what anymore.
ㄴ
Name: Ugh, leave Jiwon out of this! I’m so mad!!😭
Name: Isn’t Kwon Jungwoo going to clarify this?😭
ㄴ
Name: Why should he clarify when Jiwon is mentioned?
ㄴ
Name: No, I mean the dating rumors
Name: But honestly, they’d look good together. Please be happy😭
ㄴ
Name: ???? The faces are blurred in the photo, though?
ㄴ
Name: Who’s the woman in the photo?
ㄴ
Name: Who is she?
“……”
It had only been a few minutes since the dating rumors first appeared.
How could someone who’s busy training in Jeju be caught up in dating rumors? I was sure it was just another baseless rumor, just like before, and clicked the link in the comments.
The moment the page loaded, I was greeted by a photo of Kwon Jungwoo in a casual outfit, wearing a baseball cap, entering a pub with a woman.
The two didn’t seem close enough to spark dating rumors based on the photo alone. It was dark, and the poor image quality made their faces indistinguishable. Only his height and proportions suggested that the man might be Kwon Jungwoo.
Still, the fact that an article had been written must have been due to the witness’s additional commentary.
I saw Kwon Jungwoo just now!!!!!
I’m from Jeju, and holy crap, I just saw Kwon Jungwoo!!
He’s so freaking tall and handsome, even more than in photos. Like, I swear he’s a god in real life 😭 He’s a hundred, no, a thousand times better looking in 3D 😭
And he went into a pub with some girl, and his manners were on point. You know that tall guy thing? Where they hold the door open with one hand and you can just walk under it? She went right through, smiled back at him, and man, she was gorgeous too. She looked like she might be an aspiring celebrity or something. Anyway 🙂
The two of them seemed close, at least like they were flirting… hehe
And if they’re drinking together this late at night, well, I’m sure they’re about to start dating 🤗
Ugh, they looked so good together 😭 They keep popping into my mind.
The second link was to an article based on this sighting. The article started with the blurry photo, and the headline was incredibly provocative.
[Photo] Kwon Jungwoo’s Dating Scandal with Han Jiwon Was Just a Fluke? His Real Love Revealed!?The article summarized the witness’s account, and the last section contained more information about Kwon Jungwoo and me than about the supposed dating rumors. Unsurprisingly, the comments at the bottom were filled with criticism for the reporter.
After confirming there were no follow-up articles, I went back to Kwon Jungwoo’s SNS. In the meantime, the number of comments had increased, and the photo of Kwon Jungwoo, still smiling with the Maltese in yellow clothes, remained unchanged.
“……”
I knew all along that when he said he missed me, it was meant for me.
I don’t know who the woman you met yesterday is, nor why you met her so late at night, but I figured you had your reasons. You probably didn’t want to wake me to explain it when I was already asleep…
My mind kept defending Kwon Jungwoo. Even though I wasn’t planning to argue, I constantly made up excuses for why it couldn’t have been helped. I wasn’t even sure what “couldn’t have been helped” meant, but my mind was trying to convince me that this dating rumor was just a harmless incident.
I opened the chat window with Kwon Jungwoo and hesitated for a moment.
Should I send a message? What should I say? Should I cautiously ask if he saw the article, or bluntly ask who the woman was? Or should I pretend I don’t know anything and ask if he slept well? It’d probably be easier for him if I gave him a chance to bring it up first…
As I struggled to decide, I suddenly realized that my fingertips were trembling. It wasn’t just my fingers, though. The hand holding my phone, my shoulders, my chest—they were all shaking uncontrollably.
“Ugh…”
As soon as I became aware of the trembling, a wave of nausea hit me. The hand covering my mouth felt cold. The voice in my head that had been trying to convince me it was no big deal had disappeared, and suddenly, my mood plummeted.
It wasn’t that I doubted Kwon Jungwoo. What was torturing me were the comments about how well Kwon Jungwoo seemed to match with someone else.
He’s always been tall and good-looking, so no matter who he was with, people found their relationship intriguing. Kwon Jungwoo probably knows his own appeal too. With all the comments about how well they matched, there’s no way he wouldn’t notice.
When rumors of me and Kwon Jungwoo dating spread, people around us kept joking and trying to pair us up. He’s probably hearing similar things again now. I don’t know who the woman is, but since people don’t know Kwon Jungwoo has a girlfriend, they’re bound to keep linking the two of them together.
“……”
My stomach felt tight, and another wave of nausea rose. Trying to calm down, I quickly grabbed some water from the fridge. That was a mistake.
My empty stomach didn’t take well to anything, and it immediately tried to reject what I’d just swallowed. I rushed to the bathroom and threw up, not even realizing until then that tears had started streaming down my face.
The chill that had seeped into the gap between me and Kwon Jungwoo over the past few days, as our contact grew less frequent, now felt like a freezing wind. I hadn’t even heard his side of the story yet, but I was already gripped by fear that he might leave me.
The confidence I’d had in overcoming any changes had completely vanished, and for the first time in a while, I was overwhelmed with the urge to give up.
What if I ended things with him before he could break up with me? If I were the one to call it off, maybe I wouldn’t get hurt as badly. I even had such selfish thoughts. Even though I know I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. Every time I dreamed that Kwon Jungwoo was breaking up with me, I’d always cling to him miserably.
For a moment, I imagined myself calmly accepting his breakup proposal. But then the image of Kwon Jungwoo walking away came to mind, and I felt deeply wounded once again.
***
“Hyoseok, did you take a lot of pictures?”
“Just so-so. What about you?”
“I don’t know, maybe it’s the heat, but I’m having trouble focusing. I keep feeling like I can’t catch my breath.”
“I know, right? The fact that there’s not a single cloud in this weather is practically a natural disaster.”
“Anyway, I’m thinking of heading to a café to cool down and regroup. Want to come? There’s a pretty spacious one nearby.”
“Sounds good. Let me finish up here, and I’ll meet you there with the others. You go ahead first.”
“Alright, see you in a bit.”
The walk to the café, after parting ways with Kim Hyoseok, was scorching due to the blazing sun. I was grateful to be wearing a hat as I quickened my pace, hoping to arrive before the sweltering heat from the asphalt cooked me.
Even though it was a weekday afternoon, the café had quite a few customers, probably because it was a tourist spot. I grabbed an iced Americano and found a relatively secluded spot to sit. The other patrons, sitting in groups here and there, paid me no attention.
“Haah…”
After setting down my heavy camera bag and gulping down the cold drink, I let out a deep breath. My overheated body gradually cooled down. The air conditioning finally made me feel alive again.
Slumping back against the chair, I fumbled through my bag for my phone. It had been hours since I’d last checked it, and even the phone felt hot from the heat.
I turned on the screen, expecting to see a morning greeting from Kwon Jungwoo, perhaps along with a brief explanation about the dating rumor.
But when I saw the notification on the screen, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Thirty-four missed calls. Every one of them from Kwon Jungwoo.
Why on earth did he call so many times…?
I didn’t even notice my mouth hanging open as I stared at the missed calls again and again. It was during the time he should have been in training. I couldn’t believe he’d called that many times in the middle of his busy schedule.
Was something else going on besides the dating rumor? Was he worried because I hadn’t messaged him in the morning?
Feeling anxious, I noticed that there were also a lot of messages in the <Understanding Architecture> group chat.
[Byun Seungjin]: The air conditioning in the training room sucks.
[Byun Seungjin]: I feel like I’m gonna die with a barbell in my hands, damn.
[Byun Seungjin]: It’s so freaking hot~~~~~~
[Byun Seungjin]: Dude, check this out.
[Byun Seungjin]: Kwon Jungwookkkkkk dating rumors again hahahahahaha this is nuts
[Byun Seungjin]: He got caught with my sister yesterday hahahahaha
[Byun Seungjin]: We all met together but he’s the only one who got snapped like this
[Byun Seungjin]: This is hilarious hahahahaha
[Byun Seungjin]: Ugh, why aren’t they seeing this? Are they in a match?
[Byun Seungjin]: Guess they’re in a match.
[Byun Seungjin]: I’m talking to my sister right now.
[Byun Seungjin]: She’s super pissed off hahahahaha
The picture Byun Seungjin sent was a screenshot of a conversation with his older sister.
Her messages, filled with harsh words from beginning to end, were aimed at the reporter. Her wit and sharp tongue, showcased through a variety of insults, gave a glimpse of her intelligence, which was fitting for someone who had passed the announcer exam.
The <Understanding Architecture> chat ended there. I was the last person to check the messages. That meant Kwon Jungwoo was also aware of the situation. Of course, he probably kept calling me knowing I wouldn’t be able to answer.
“……”
So, it really wasn’t a big deal.
I felt relieved deep down by the realistic reactions of Byun Seungjin and his sister. I had anticipated that the dating rumor stemmed from a misunderstanding, but still…
But even so, I couldn’t shake off the lingering discomfort. Comments about how well Kwon Jungwoo matched with someone else kept echoing in my mind. Those weren’t misunderstandings—they were objective facts, and there was no way to soothe myself about that. I could only accept it and wait for the pain to dull over time.
I kept re-reading Byun Seungjin’s messages, trying to calm my mind. Just then, Kwon Jungwoo’s name popped up on my screen again, his thirty-fifth call.
“Hello.”
— Did you see the article?
As soon as I answered, Kwon Jungwoo got straight to the point. You’d think he’d say something about me not picking up, but there was no hint of that in his tone.
I hesitated for a moment before answering that I had seen it, and I heard a quiet sigh from him.
— I’m sorry. As soon as I saw it, I posted an explanation on SNS and called the reporter. I just confirmed that the article’s been taken down.
“Oh… I see…”
— Did you see my explanation?
“No, I haven’t seen it yet.”
— Is it okay for us to talk now? I need to explain everything to you.
Make some time for me.
His calm voice sounded peaceful. Whenever we talked during the day, there would usually be the echo of the gym in the background, but not today. I could faintly hear birds chirping, which made me realize he was standing outside the gym.
For a moment, I imagined Kwon Jungwoo standing behind our school basketball court. Walking back and forth under the trees, crushing the dirt beneath his feet as he spoke to me.