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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: What's the Reason, Anyway?
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Choi Jong-min had pulled Park Jun-woo out of the classroom, saying he had something important to tell him.
“Help me out, buddy.”
“With what?”
“Help me get close to Cho-hee.”
“Why should I?”
“Why? Isn’t that what friends do? They hype you up right next to her, create some accidental moments, and boom—romance sparks out of nowhere.”
“You pathetic loser, asking for help with something so lame.”
“I wouldn’t ask if I had any other choice. Haven’t you watched dramas? Friends step in and chase off the thugs, then I swoop in like ‘bam’ and save the girl. She falls for me hard and we start dating.”
“Go watch your dramas.”
Jun-woo looked at Jong-min with utter pity and shook his head slowly.
“You really won’t help?”
“I will.”
Jun-woo spun Jong-min’s body around and gave him a light shove.
“Hey!”
Jong-min, about to get mad at the sudden push, spotted Cho-hee right in front of him and flashed a gentle smile instead.
“Hey, Cho-hee.”
He gave her a shy, timid wave.
“Oh, hey.”
Cho-hee greeted him back, but her eyes were on Jun-woo.
Kang A-jin was standing next to Cho-hee.
A-jin, who had been giggling while chatting with Cho-hee, spotted Jun-woo in the hallway and her face hardened instantly.
“See you later.”
She gave a quick greeting only to Cho-hee and headed back into the classroom.
Jun-woo couldn’t shake off A-jin’s icy attitude.
Lately, she’d been treating him cold like this nonstop.
* * *
“We have to pair up in twos to research world civilizations and write three A4 pages in English.”
The class groaned at the English department head’s homework announcement.
“Whoa, three pages in English?”
“Right? Even just the research is tough enough.”
“We’ve got three girls and three guys—how do we pair into twos?”
Park Jung-hwa and Yoo-jin couldn’t straight-up say they wanted to pair with Jun-woo.
The guys, on the other hand, felt awkward around him and didn’t want to pair up either.
They hated comparing themselves to someone who excelled at everything, and deep down, they were a bit intimidated by him.
A subtle battle of wits was playing out unnoticed by others.
Then, Jun-woo broke the silence first.
“Kang A-jin, let’s do it together.”
Everyone turned to stare at A-jin at the unexpected pairing.
The focused attention made her flustered and uncomfortable.
“No, I’ll pair with Jung-hwa.”
A-jin immediately turned down Jun-woo’s offer.
‘Something’s off...’
Jun-woo felt frustrated, unable to figure out why she was so cold to him.
It stung, like she was ignoring him outright.
“How about we draw lots then?”
Even after A-jin’s suggestion, Jung-hwa—who wanted to pair with Jun-woo—proposed drawing straws. Yoo-jin shot her a glare, annoyed at the obvious ploy.
One by one, they drew papers from the pencil case, and finally it was A-jin’s turn.
‘Please, anyone but Park Jun-woo.’
A-jin prayed desperately in her mind.
“Park 1.”
“Day 2.”
Jung-hwa ended up with Do-hyun. Both looked thoroughly disappointed.
“Running.”
“Man, it’s me.”
Yoo-jin paired with Ji-hoon. He was slim but had a handsome face and tall stature. With Yoo-jin’s bright, cute looks, they were both quietly pleased.
“Then A-jin and Jun-woo are together?”
Without even unfolding her paper, A-jin’s partner was set.
Her lips drooped in dismay.
“Infinite...”
Jun-woo watched her the whole time.
Why does she hate it that much?
His brows furrowed deeply.
* * *
Throughout class, Jun-woo couldn’t stop worrying about A-jin’s stiff expression.
Finally, as she was about to head home, he grabbed her to ask about it.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“What...”
“Why are you treating me like I’m invisible?”
His deep voice carried a hint of agitation.
Startled by the resonant tone, A-jin steeled herself inwardly—she wouldn’t back down today, no matter what.
“......”
“Are you ignoring me right now?”
“......”
“Hey!”
Her attitude creased his brows even more.
A-jin shot him a sharp look and spoke up.
“Seems like you’re the one ignoring me.”
“What? When did I?”
“You threw out my charger. How much must you look down on me to toss my stuff like that?”
“The charger again?”
Jun-woo looked exasperated, which only made A-jin resent him more.
“That thing was so precious to me...”
“I gave it away. To your friend.”
“Gave it? You threw it out. You gonna keep lying to the end?”
“Threw it out?”
He was sure he’d handed the battery to her friend.
On a rainy day, he’d even gone out of his way to deliver it personally. This situation felt utterly absurd to him.
“Yeah!”
“She said that? That I threw it away?”
He’d planned to let it slide, thinking maybe he’d stepped on something.
Sure, it might not be precious to him, but it had been to her. Still, it hurt.
A-jin, who’d been bottling up her emotions, finally couldn’t hold back. She collapsed to the ground and burst into sobs.
* * *
One year ago.
A-jin had gone to a youth camp hosted by Y University. From day one, the subpar meals and boring lectures had her wanting to bail with her friends.
Bedtime rolled around, and she and her friends plotted to sneak out that night—a full-on midnight escape.
They’d packed their bags and were slipping past the helpers when, unfortunately, one popped out from a spot they’d missed.
“Ladies, where are you off to?”
“We’re busted!”
Regretting their failed attempt even before it started, she turned—and there stood a living David.
Over 180 cm tall with a toned, perfectly slim build. His face, reminiscent of Gong Yoo’s, was straight-up shocking.
A-jin froze on the spot.
Moonlight shone only on him, dazzling her eyes so much she could barely look straight.
Kim Kwang-hyun—he awakened something in A-jin that she hadn’t even known was there.
“Oppa, can’t we just go?”
“Yeah, it’s so boring.”
“Tomorrow will be way more fun. We’re doing a barbecue party.”
At the friends’ complaints, Kwang-hyun smiled and winked.
A-jin’s already muddled mind went even hazier, utterly enchanted by that gesture.
“Uh... yeah. Let’s just go back.”
She wanted to heed Kwang-hyun’s words.
No—she wanted to stay by his side longer.
“Good thinking. You’re a good girl.”
Kwang-hyun patted her head, calling her sweet.
A man’s touch.
A shiver raced across her face, her cells swelling with thrill.
Her eyes widened, ears perked up, mouth agape.
And so, led by Kwang-hyun, she and her friends were dragged back to the dorms.
The next day, he was right. Recreation, barbecue, even a concert. The kids had a blast.
Plus, Kwang-hyun playing drums was powerful and sexy—different from his ethereal moonlight glow the night before. But...
“Mister.”
A-jin called the eight-years-older Kwang-hyun “Mister.”
The first time, he smiled kindly and waved it off, saying he wasn’t that old yet. But “oppa” felt wrong and awkward for her.
“Mister, where are you going?”
“Got some work. Have fun, and sleep well tonight.”
Spotting him with his travel bag, A-jin rushed over, calling out desperately.
The camp wasn’t over yet.
Leaving her regret behind, he departed with just a smile.
Unable to hold onto Kwang-hyun, A-jin sank to the ground right there and sobbed for a long while.
She didn’t know exactly why she cried or why the tears poured out so sorrowfully, but the thought of never seeing him again made them flow endlessly.
She’d cried alone like that. So heartbreakingly... That was the start of A-jin’s one-sided crush.
A week later, A-jin posted on the school homepage.
She didn’t know where the courage came from, but she publicly wrote that she wanted to contact Kwang-hyun.
Miraculously, as if heaven had heard her prayers, she got his contact info from a friend of his a few days later.
A-jin couldn’t contain her joy.
They started talking, and for six months, she messaged him every single day.
Those were the happiest moments of her routine.
Sometimes replies didn’t come, or they arrived late.
She’d fret over the timing, imagining every worst-case scenario, but even a short message filled her with all the happiness in the world.
Looking back, he might’ve found her annoying. The thought hit her during their last call—that maybe he’d put up with her so the kid wouldn’t get hurt.
“A-jin, Mister got a girlfriend.”
It was a shock.
An indescribable, unimaginable shock.
A-jin holed up at home for a week, not eating, just crying.
It was quite the painful growing pain.
Her mom, at her wit’s end, planned a family trip to cheer her up a bit.
With everyone’s help, A-jin slowly returned to normal life.
* * *
To A-jin, the battery wasn’t just any object. It was the first and last gift from Kwang-hyun, on her birthday—no expectations, pure surprise.
Her name even beautifully engraved on it.
It might be ordinary to others, but to her, it was irreplaceable, no matter the price.
Never had her heart leaped so joyfully; she’d stayed up nights calming it. She carried it everywhere, cherished it always.
And yet, he dared throw away my memory...
She hated Jun-woo.
Her tears finally burst forth.
Not for the discarded battery, but because it felt like the last thread connecting her to Mister was severed—like she should let go of even lingering feelings now. The tears wouldn’t stop.
Jun-woo panicked at A-jin’s sudden outburst.
Had he committed some huge crime?
He felt wronged but had no clue what to do with her crying in front of him.
“Hey, are you... crying?”
“Sniff, sniff.”
“You’re really crying? Over a battery?”
“It’s not... because of that...”
A-jin couldn’t get the words out amid her hiccups.
“Then what?”
“Sniff, sniff.”
“Okay, stop crying first. It’s just a charger—I’ll buy you a new one. Why cry over something like that?”
Jun-woo knelt on one knee, leveling his eyes with hers.
A-jin lifted her head, glared at him, and huffed.
“Just? It’s not about needing it.”
“Then what? Stop crying. Your ugly face is getting even uglier.”
He meant to lighten the mood.
But he realized his mistake right away.
Completely offended, A-jin shoved him and stood up.
He, leaning toward her, lost balance and toppled backward.
“Ah, hey!”
“You’re such bad luck.”
A-jin wiped her tear-streaked face and stormed off.
Jun-woo sat there stunned, the situation having gone from bad to worse.
For the first time in his life, things weren’t resolving on his terms.
