Chapter 1: You don’t have a dad?

Yoo Chaea.

My childhood friend since we started elementary school together.

“You don’t have a dad?”

“…What?”

Our first meeting was the worst.

Do Hyunwoo.

A little boy who had moved in for his first year of elementary school after losing his father the previous year.

When moving in, he stubbornly insisted on carrying his father’s portrait himself.

And Yoo Chaea, the girl next door, happened to witness it.

As a result—

“…Sniff.”

“H-Huh? Are you crying?”

The boy, whose wounds had not yet healed, let his tears fall without resistance.

“I-I’m sorry. Don’t cry….”

She might not have known that asking about someone’s parents carelessly was wrong.

But she knew enough to realize she had done something bad when the other person started crying.

Chaea’s heart dropped.

Trying to comfort him in her own way—

She pulled him into a tight hug.

After all, how would an eight-year-old know how to comfort someone properly?

She simply recalled how her mother would always hold her warmly whenever she cried.

Saying something so harsh and then hugging him right away—

If Hyunwoo had been eighteen instead of eight, he might have slapped her and called her crazy.

But the tears stopped instantly.

It had just been too long since he had felt another person’s warmth.

His mother, a busy businesswoman, barely had time for him.

And his kind father had passed away a year ago.

“Feeling better now…?”

“…Yeah.”

He had ended up finding comfort in the arms of the very same girl who had hurt him with her words.

Chaea sighed in relief and slowly let him go.

“But what about your mom?”

She had just made him cry by asking about his father.

And now, she was asking about his mother without a second thought.

“She’s at work.”

Thankfully, Hyunwoo’s mother was still alive.

“Oh? Then are you moving everything by yourself?”

Chaea looked shocked.

The house Hyunwoo had moved into was a large, stand-alone house.

From a child’s perspective, it looked almost like a mansion.

And yet, was this little boy moving everything in by himself?

“No, the moving company helped.”

Hyunwoo pointed at the movers who were finishing up and preparing to leave.

“Oh, I see.”

Watching the scene, Chaea suddenly pointed to herself with her thumb.

“I’m Chaea. Yoo Chaea.”

“Huh?”

“What’s your name?”

Only after hearing the question did he realize—

She had said something harsh to him before even asking his name.

But eight-year-olds were too young to hold grudges over such things.

“Do Hyunwoo.”

“Hyunwoo, huh? Want to be friends?”

“?”

That was way too fast.

Especially for Hyunwoo, who never had many friends to begin with.

“You moved in next door, right? We’ll see each other a lot anyway, so let’s be friends!”

“…Okay.”

The day he nodded without thinking—

That was the beginning.

“I’ll give you a present, so come to my house!”

“A present?”

“It’s something I really treasure… but since I feel bad about earlier, I’ll give it to you.”

From an early age, Chaea had been the embodiment of boldness.

She took a boy she had just met straight to her house.

“Come in here.”

“…Why?”

“Just hurry up!”

She even flapped her blanket, telling him to get into her bed.

He had been told never to follow strangers.

Had he just gotten involved with a dangerous person?

“Come on, hurry up!”

As that thought crossed his mind, Chaea grabbed his hand and pulled him in.

“Whoa….”

That day, Hyunwoo witnessed a whole new world.

“Cool, right? It glows in the dark—it’s a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur!”

A luminous dinosaur glowing under the covers.

Even with all the toys his mother often gifted him, he had never seen one like this.

“If I give you this, will you be my friend? How about it?”

“…Okay.”

The lonely boy, enchanted by the glowing dinosaur, ended up becoming friends with the rude girl.

His childhood friend who lived right next door.

And that bond turned out to be stronger than expected.

“You go to this school too?”

“Yeah, that’s why I moved here.”

“Oh, right. I hope we end up in the same class!”

Of course, they entered the same elementary school.

“Huh? We really are in the same class? Nice to meet you!”

“Same here.”

They were assigned to the same class as soon as they started school.

And though they never made any explicit promises—

Living right next to each other meant they naturally walked to and from school together.

“Wow, we’re in the same class again.”

Even in second grade.

“…Again?”

And third grade.

“I knew this would happen!”

Fourth, fifth, sixth…

They were assigned to the same class every single year until they graduated elementary school.

Next-door neighbors.

Same school.

Same class.

There was no reason not to stick together.

“Are you guys dating?”

“Why are you always together?”

It was only natural that their classmates started teasing them.

“We’re not dating.”

Hyunwoo always answered honestly.

“Yeah. Why? Are you jealous?”

But Chaea, always too busy playing to bother explaining, just brushed it off.

Which meant Hyunwoo’s explanations were always in vain.

“Do Hyunwoo, hurry up!”

“…I don’t feel like running.”

“Oh, come on! We’re short one person without you!”

A super extrovert, Yoo Chaea dragged Hyunwoo into playing with all the kids in the neighborhood.

And thanks to her, the once-awkward Hyunwoo learned how to socialize.

By the time they moved on to middle school—

Where everyone still treated them like an official couple—

Neither of them paid much attention to it.

But then—

“Damn, Do Hyunwoo. You lucky bastard.”

“What do you mean?”

“How does a guy like you have a girlfriend like Yoo Chaea?”

“I told you, we’re not dating.”

“Liar! Stop rubbing it in!”

The real problem started when puberty hit.

Girls usually mature faster than boys.

Chaea, even in the upper years of elementary school, had already started to develop.

Her standout looks and early growth made her the center of attention among the boys.

Hyunwoo, on the other hand, matured slightly later, in his first year of middle school.

“…This is driving me crazy.”

The moment he discovered ways to deal with his desires—

A deep sense of self-loathing took over him.

Maybe it was because his childhood friend was just too attractive.

Every time he watched certain videos, he looked for actresses who resembled Chaea.

In every show he watched, he always liked the characters who reminded him of her.

“Hyunwoo, can I sleep over at your place again today?”

Unaware of his turmoil, Chaea remained the same.

She still messed around like a kid, putting him in a headlock.

Trapped against her soft underarm, Hyunwoo thought about his still-full trash bin.

“…No.”

“Why? Is your mom home today?”

“No, but—”

“Then why not? We need to defeat Diablos tonight!”

A super extroverted, big-breasted, beautiful childhood friend who came over every day to play games—

“Do Hyunwoo, you should pay double taxes in the future.”

“…I don’t even earn money yet.”

“Just do it.”

He endured the jealous remarks from his few friends.

And his own self-loathing for having feelings he knew he shouldn’t.

By the time they finished middle school—

“…At this point, isn’t this fate?”

“Fate? It’s just a coincidence.”

“No way! How are we in the same class even in high school?”

As if it were natural, they ended up in the same class in their first year of high school.

And as time passed, things started to change.

“Hyunwoo, I got confessed to again yesterday.”

The biggest change was that Chaea’s popularity had skyrocketed beyond imagination.

A neat, sharp bob.

Mysterious violet-tinged eyes.

A beauty mark that added the perfect touch.

An exceptional figure that turned heads regardless of gender.

On top of all that—

-Chaea, how do you solve this?

-01,0124….

She consistently ranked among the top students.

-Yoo Chaea, are you joining basketball at lunch today?

-Of course.

-Okay. Hey! Yoo Chaea’s in too!

And she had a laid-back personality that let her get along with anyone.

Male classmates.

Upperclassmen from the sports teams.

Even girls had started confessing to her.

“You must be happy.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“You turned them down again anyway, didn’t you?”

“I might not have.”

“But you did.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Chaea’s ears twitched in discontent.

As time passed, her expression became harder to read.

Her poker face made it difficult to tell what she was thinking, and that contrast with her easygoing nature only boosted her popularity.

But Hyunwoo alone could read her emotions from the subtle twitch of her ears.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

“Do you know why I never accept any confessions?”

Chaea turned to Hyunwoo as if she had been waiting for the question.

“No idea.”

“Ask me properly.”

“Why don’t you accept them?”

“Because of you.”

“…What?”

Hyunwoo, who had been responding absentmindedly, suddenly froze.

“What did you just say?”

“Who knows?”

Moments like this always left Hyunwoo at a loss.

Whenever she said something ambiguous with that unreadable expression, only for the tips of her ears to flush red—

Thump.

His heart would start racing out of control.

That was how every day of high school felt.

“Why don’t you get a girlfriend, Hyunwoo?”

“How would I, when you’re always stuck to me?”

“…Heh.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

They spent their first year carefully testing each other’s feelings.

“Hey, if we don’t have partners by graduation… should we just date each other?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“You know exactly what I mean. Why are you asking?”

And by the time their second year ended, they both knew for sure.

That winter break, after watching a movie together—

Chaea received a long confession text.

“Sorry. You’re not really my type… Is this too blunt?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because you’re right here.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

On their way home together—

“So, what exactly is your type?”

Hyunwoo suddenly asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“I mean, you’ve turned down every single confession so far. Just how high are your standards?”

“Hmm… It’s not really about high standards.”

Chaea tapped her lips with a finger before answering.

“First, someone who looks good in glasses.”

Hyunwoo wore thin, round-framed glasses.

“Someone who acts indifferent but is actually considerate.”

Chaea fiddled with the jacket she was wearing.

The one Hyunwoo had draped over her shoulders after she complained about the cold.

“Someone who looks tired but also kind of sexy… What’s the word for it? Ah, right. That decadent charm.”

Hyunwoo abruptly stopped in his tracks and held his breath.

Chaea continued speaking nonchalantly.

“That’s my type.”

“…Was that a confession just now?”

“Should I wait for what you’ve prepared first?”

Whether it was from the cold…

Or for another reason…

Chaea’s ears turned bright red.

“Hah.”

Hyunwoo let out a hollow laugh.

He hadn’t expected her to realize he had been planning to confess.

And the way she was obviously embarrassed but pretending not to be—

“…How did you know?”

“I saw it yesterday when you went to the bathroom. You should’ve hidden it better.”

“…Damn.”

Hyunwoo ran a hand through his hair.

“Alright, then. Wait for me at the playground.”

“The playground?”

“Yeah. You said you wanted to see what I prepared.”

Twitch.

Chaea’s flushed ears twitched.

She opened and closed her mouth as if hesitating before finally saying—

“Then I’ll show you what I prepared too.”

“…You prepared something?”

“Yeah. I’ll bring it, so wait for me there.”

Chaea scurried off.

As Hyunwoo stepped into his house, he murmured—

“Good thing I planned to do it today.”

He had originally meant to confess before the break ended.

He couldn’t stand the thought of moving on to their third year without saying anything.

He retrieved the poorly hidden bouquet.

Fixed his appearance in the mirror.

Then left the house.

The playground they were heading to was a special place.

From elementary school to their second year of high school, Whenever they were bored, Wanted to exercise, Or whenever Chaea had a fight with her parents, They had always gone there to pass the time.

“Hoo…”

Hyunwoo took a deep breath and hid the bouquet behind his back.

Even if the answer was already set in stone,

The act of letting go of their ten-year-long childhood friendship

And taking a step forward was nerve-wracking.

“…?”

But an hour passed.

Then two.

And Chaea still hadn’t shown up.

“She said she’d be right back.”

At first, he thought maybe she was taking longer because of what she was preparing.

-Yoo Chaea, where are you?

But she wasn’t even checking her messages.

By the time two hours had passed, an unsettling feeling crept up his spine.

Could she already be here but hesitating to come in?

Just as that thought crossed his mind—

Ring ring—

His phone rang.

Hyunwoo immediately checked the screen.

He thought, of course, it had to be Chaea.

[Chaea’s Dad]

But the name displayed was an unexpected one.

Confused, he answered.

“Ah, hello, sir. I—”

“Hyunwoo, you need to come to the hospital.”

Hyunwoo had naturally grown close to Chaea’s father after spending so much time with her.

He had always been a relaxed and gentle man.

Hearing such urgency in his voice for the first time sent a chill down Hyunwoo’s spine.

“What happened?”

“Don’t panic and listen carefully. Chaea is…”

The next words struck him like a hammer.

“She was in an accident and is being taken to the emergency room. So hurry…”

The world around him blurred.

His mind went blank.

Of all days, why today?

Not yesterday.

Not tomorrow.

But today—

The day they had finally laid their feelings bare.

Why did this have to happen?

What had she gone to prepare?

Even as questions swirled in his mind—

Hyunwoo threw aside the bouquet and ran toward the hospital.