Chapter 19: Cherry Blossom Misunderstandings

After Chaea sensed an unusual atmosphere between Enubi and Jinhyuk, suspicious circumstances continued to surface.

One such moment happened while Hyunwoo was preparing dinner.

“Are we having pasta tonight?”

“Yeah. It’s what you liked, remember?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to taste it to know. But I like everything you make.”

Hug.

Chaea wrapped her arms around Hyunwoo from behind as he cooked.

“Hey… Don’t cling to me—it’s dangerous.”

Hyunwoo felt a sudden sense of crisis.

The soft sensation against his back.

If he tried to avoid the awkward feelings, the hot pan in front of him awaited instead.

But if he stayed still…

“I’ll be quiet and stay still.”

“That’s not the problem.”

Chaea didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go.

Just when the heavy sensation pressing against his back made his mind go blank—

Ding!

A notification chimed from Hyunwoo’s phone.

“Let go for a second.”

Using the alert as an excuse, he slipped out of Chaea’s embrace.

When he unlocked his phone, a yellow speech bubble notification appeared.

He thought it would just be another advertisement, but—

[Thanks.]

The sender was Lee Jinhyuk.

That was the only message he had sent.

[?]

Confused, Hyunwoo sent a question mark in reply.

[Thanks to you, I found a good model. I’ll help you out more from now on.]

[What are you talking about? What model?]

[Jung Enubi agreed to be my art model.]

[??? Why?]

[Can’t tell you. Anyway, thanks—I got a pretty model.]

[?]

The reply only made things more confusing.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Jinhyuk… He just suddenly thanked me.”

“Huh? Why?”

“No idea.”

As Hyunwoo frowned and reopened the chat—

Ding!

This time, it was Chaea’s phone that chimed.

“Oh, it’s Enubi.”

Chaea’s face brightened as she unlocked her phone.

As she read through Enubi’s messages—

[Chaea, you really should be grateful to me. I can’t believe I’m doing this…]

She blinked in confusion.

The sudden message didn’t make any sense.

[What’s wrong? Did something happen?]

[Ha… No, it’s nothing. You didn’t even ask for help—I’m doing this because I want to.]

[Is it something serious you can’t talk about?]

The message made Chaea worry.

Could it be about a concern Enubi shared before Chaea lost her memory?

If so, was Enubi struggling alone while Chaea had no recollection of it?

[It’s not like that. Just forget it. Anyway, check this out.]

Enubi brushed off the concern and sent a few links.

When Chaea opened them, they were all women’s clothing websites.

[What’s this about?]

[Just seeing if there’s anything nice. Don’t you think these are styles guys would like?]

The meaningful message made Chaea stroke her lips thoughtfully.

“Hmmm?”

Why was Enubi suddenly sending clothes that guys might like?

Since Chaea was already on the “Jinhyuk & Enubi” ship, her mind started racing.

“Hyunwoo, I think Enubi really likes Jinhyuk.”

“Yeah? Well, dinner’s ready—open wide.”

“Ah—”

Hyunwoo, uninterested, twirled some pasta and popped it into Chaea’s mouth.

As she chewed, her face lit up with delight.

“This is so good!”

“Glad to hear it. Open wide again.”

“No, wait! Listen to me, Hyunwoo.”

Chaea nearly accepted another bite without realizing it but quickly came to her senses.

“Enubi just sent me a bunch of women’s clothes that guys might like.”

“And?”

“Isn’t that because she wants to impress Jinhyuk?”

“Does it matter? We all wear uniforms at school anyway.”

“That means she wants to meet him outside school!”

Did it really mean that?

Hyunwoo thought to himself as he twirled more pasta.

‘…Wait, isn’t this the same fork I just fed Chaea with?’

He accidentally shared an indirect kiss with her.

But Chaea, completely oblivious, was tapping her fingers on the table.

“Is Jinhyuk acting strange at all?”

“He’s always strange, so if he gets any weirder—oh, wait.”

Hyunwoo remembered their recent conversation.

“Come to think of it, Enubi agreed to be Jinhyuk’s art model.”

“What?!”

“You probably forgot, but Jinhyuk’s planning to pursue art. I have no clue why Enubi’s volunteering to be his model, though…”

“That’s it!”

Before Hyunwoo could finish, Chaea exclaimed.

The last piece of the puzzle had finally clicked into place.

“She’s buying new clothes to look good while modeling for him!”

“…Why would she do that out of nowhere?”

“I don’t know. But isn’t that the only explanation? Like you said, we only wear uniforms at school.”

“Maybe she just wanted some new clothes.”

“No way. If that were true, she wouldn’t have specified that they’re styles guys would like.”

Chaea chuckled confidently, like a detective who had solved a mystery.

“Enubi definitely likes Jinhyuk. She’s modeling for him and buying clothes to impress him.”

“Think whatever you want, but… don’t say that in front of Enubi. I’d like to keep my other arm intact.”

While Chaea seemed sure, Hyunwoo couldn’t shake his doubts.

Their relationship did seem closer, but something important still felt missing.

“For now, let’s just eat. Open wide.”

“Ah—”

Whatever was happening, Hyunwoo continued feeding Chaea pasta until they finished dinner.

The next day.

Arriving well before homeroom, Enubi opened the classroom door.

At this early hour, the room was empty.

Except for one person—

Jinhyuk, who was playing a mobile gacha game featuring anime girls.

“You’re early.”

“You told me to come early.”

Enubi greeted him casually as she placed her bag on the seat beside her.

Without even turning his head, Jinhyuk responded in his usual indifferent tone.

“I’m busy later, so now’s the only time.”

The reason the two arrived at school early was simple.

They wanted to finalize the details of their project to push Hyunwoo and Chaea together.

“So, what did you say to Dohyunwoo yesterday?”

Even though no one was around, Enubi lowered her voice as she asked.

“Not much.”

“What? You said you’d actively help!”

“I will, but there has to be a reason. I can’t just tell him to confess to Yoo Chaea out of nowhere.”

“I recommended some clothes to Chaea. You should’ve done something too.”

Enubi clicked her tongue in disapproval and shook her head.

That’s right.

The clothes she sent to Chaea weren’t meant for herself.

Chaea thought Enubi had picked them to impress Jinhyuk.

In reality, Enubi chose outfits that guys would like—something perfect to catch Dohyunwoo’s attention.

That was her only intention.

‘I was a fool to expect anything else. Ugh.’

According to Enubi’s original plan, Jinhyuk should’ve either tested the waters with Hyunwoo or pushed him toward Chaea.

But because he only thanked her without taking further action, Chaea ended up completely misunderstanding the situation.

“Still, I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“The cherry blossom festival.”

It wasn’t like Jinhyuk hadn’t thought of a plan to bring them closer.

“Oh? The cherry blossom festival?”

“They need an event to rekindle their feelings, right? And the festival’s coming up soon. It’s the perfect opportunity.”

“You’re right… Why didn’t I think of that?”

Impressed by Jinhyuk’s unexpectedly good idea, Enubi’s face lit up.

“What’s this, Lee Jinhyuk? You can actually come up with decent ideas? Let’s tell Chaea and Dohyunwoo as soon as they get here.”

“Okay.”

Slap!

Feeling good about their plan, Enubi grinned and playfully smacked Jinhyuk’s arm.

By then, more students had filled the classroom, and before long, Hyunwoo and Chaea arrived.

“Huff…! See? I told you, Hyunwoo.”

As luck would have it, they walked in just as Enubi was laughing and hitting Jinhyuk’s arm.

From a distance, it looked like she was flirting with him.

Hyunwoo’s eyes widened in shock.

‘Is this real? Does Jung Enubi actually like Lee Jinhyuk?’

At first, he thought it was ridiculous.

But now, Chaea’s suspicion seemed more convincing.

“…Yeah. I think you’re right.”

Just like that, Hyunwoo also fell into the same misunderstanding as Chaea.

As the four of them grew more entangled in their assumptions, Hyunwoo and Chaea felt a strange mix of emotions as they took their seats.

“Good morning, Chaea! Dohyunwoo, you too!”

Enubi greeted them with her usual cheerful energy.

“Why are you in such a good mood today?”

“Huh? Am I? Well, there’s a little something.”

Glancing at Jinhyuk, Enubi let out another laugh.

When their eyes met, Hyunwoo and Chaea both thought the same thing.

‘She definitely likes him.’

‘I knew my hunch was right.’

Unaware of their assumptions, Enubi kept talking.

“Chaea, you said your cast comes off next week, right?”

“Yeah, it looks like it.”

“Then, how about we go to the cherry blossom festival? It’s happening the week after next.”

“Whoa, the cherry blossom festival?”

“Yeah. You, me, Dohyunwoo, and Lee Jinhyuk—we can all go together.”

Hearing that, Chaea’s eyes sparkled as she interpreted Enubi’s words in her own way.

‘She wants to go with Jinhyuk but doesn’t want to be too obvious, so she’s bringing us along!’

Just as she was about to nod in agreement—

“But that’s three weeks before exams.”

Hyunwoo poured cold water on the plan.

“S-So what? It’s not like the festival’s on exam day.”

Enubi stammered, sensing trouble.

And her bad feeling quickly turned into reality.

“We should study.”

“Three weeks early? You’re supposed to rely on your regular studying for exams.”

“Have you even been preparing regularly?”

“…”

Silenced by Hyunwoo’s bluntness, Enubi fell quiet.

“We’re seniors. We only have two more exams before college. We need to take them seriously.”

Hyunwoo drove the point home with one final, brutal fact.

“…Right, we’re seniors. I didn’t forget that…”

The once-enthusiastic Enubi slumped her shoulders in defeat.