Memory of the First Love

“So, that’s why I think… this senior probably isn’t the one, right?”

“Ah… that makes sense.”

Yun Dae-eon and Seon Ji-ha were sitting on the floor, bypassing the expensive sofa to engage in a debate that wasn’t quite a debate. In front of the pair sat a cluttered table. A bottle of orange juice, which Dae-eon had been drinking so much of that he’d eventually just grabbed the whole bottle, occupied one corner of the table.

They had certainly started out on the sofa, but as time passed, Dae-eon had naturally migrated to the floor first. Having lived alone since his parents passed away, Dae-eon didn’t own a sofa, making floor-seating his default comfort zone.

Ji-ha had followed suit, sitting on the floor almost reflexively. Dae-eon likely didn’t know this, but this was actually the very first time in Ji-ha’s life that he had just plopped down on the floor to do something.

“Right? This senior had that huge fight with the student council back then, so he never even sets foot in the department office anymore.”

“I… didn’t know. Not at all….”

Currently, they were discussing the thirteenth candidate on the ‘First_Love_Candidate_List_.xlsx’.

However, they weren’t looking at a laptop but at printed sheets of paper. An hour ago, Dae-eon had playfully grumbled that “trying to share a 17-inch laptop with two big guys makes it feel like my eyeballs are going to pop out.” The moment he heard that, Ji-ha had gone into his study and printed out the entire list of candidates.

Finally, they reached the conclusion that even the thirteenth candidate was a bust. Dae-eon took the lead, picking up a marker and dragging a thick line through the name of the thirteenth candidate, ‘Kim Ah-reum.’

As always, Ji-ha’s expression turned dejected the moment a candidate was eliminated. With only 25 candidates left, his gloom was even more pronounced. Sensing Ji-ha’s mood dipping, Dae-eon spoke up with forced cheer.

“Wow, there are only twenty-five people left! If we keep going a bit longer, don’t you think we’ll find them soon?”

Find them soon? Not a chance. Dae-eon fully intended to desperately negate every single one of the remaining 25 names. He figured if none of the 38 candidates were chosen, even this man would eventually give up—.

“They might not be among the twenty-five. If that happens… then I plan to check the sales records of the pharmacies near the university for that day.”

“Pardon?”

“Just in case this fails….”

He’s not going to give up.

Dae-eon felt a dizzying headache coming on. They had checked the CCTV and narrowed down the candidates; if it wasn’t one of them, he should just give up. What was this about digging through pharmacy sales records?

There were at least five pharmacies near the university campus that Dae-eon knew of. Even if Ji-ha actually managed to scour all their records, it wouldn’t be as easy as he thought.

Regardless, once they got past this list, the probability of finding the person would become extremely slim. Dae-eon decided to take comfort in that.

“Senior, you really are amazing! Then shall we finish checking the list? Haha, let’s see, the fourteenth candidate is….”

Sensing that further logic wouldn’t work on this man, Dae-eon quickly changed the subject. He pushed the paper he had just crossed out across the table and checked the next candidate.

“Let’s see, the name is… Yun… Dae-eon?”

Blink, blink.

Dae-eon stared blankly at the paper. Right in the center of the A4 sheet, ‘14. Yun Dae-eon’ was printed in large, bold font. The fourteenth candidate was none other than himself.

While he was staring at the paper in a daze, he heard Ji-ha’s delighted voice from beside him. Ji-ha was clearly happy to see Dae-eon’s name on the printout.

“Ah… it’s you, Junior.”

“…….”

That’s right. I went there too. I mean, I’m the one you’re looking for.

Dae-eon’s mind raced. In truth, it had been easy to dismiss the rest of the 38 candidates. With a little scrutiny, he could find that their alibis or reasons for visiting were slightly off.

But the real culprit, Yun Dae-eon, was a different story.

If he made even a small mistake here, Ji-ha might catch on. Dae-eon’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. He felt as if he had come all this way just to negate his own existence.

“Hahaha… well, since I’m one of the candidates, should we read it slowly?”

“…Yes.”

“Yun Dae-eon. Green hoodie, jeans, no bag. Entered Building 114 around 5:48 PM, exited around 6:24 PM. Reason for entry: Unknown. Trait: Unknown. Special notes… Looks cute…?”

The moment he read “looks cute,” Ji-ha panicked and snatched the paper away. Because Dae-eon had still been holding it, the paper tore in half. Dae-eon stared blankly at the scrap remaining in his hand.

He turned his head to look at Ji-ha. He didn’t look the type, but a moment ago, his movements had been as wild and fast as a predator snatching prey. Now, however, his face was flushed bright red, and his head was hung low.

Because of his shaggy bangs, his eyes were already hidden, but now that he was looking down, even his nose had disappeared. He clearly didn’t want to show his face. Dae-eon let out an awkward laugh.

“Ahaha, ever since I was young, Omegas have told me I look cute quite a lot. Especially the older girls….”

It wasn’t a lie. Back in his first year of middle school, Dae-eon was very short and had a particularly pale, soft appearance. Because of that, older Omega students often came to see him, calling him cute.

One of the Omega girls he’d become close with had even asked if he’d consider dating her seriously with the intent of a permanent bond. The funny part was that Dae-eon wasn’t officially an Alpha, but a Recessive Omega. Back then, he had felt as much of a survival crisis as he did now.

Of course, once he entered high school and spent every lunch break running around outside, that soft cuteness had vanished.

Still, I didn’t expect to hear that I’m cute from another Omega even in university….

“But isn’t it a bit gross now? I’m actually quite tall for an Omega. I’m 180cm.”

To be precise, he was 178.9cm, but that wasn’t important. Dae-eon lived his life firmly believing he was 180cm.

“You’re… cute… Junior….”

Ji-ha muttered in a voice as tiny as a mosquito’s. Dae-eon didn’t know exactly what part of him was cute, but since it was a compliment, he nodded.

“Well, if you see me that way, I’m glad. Oh, but Senior, how long are you going to keep using formal language with me?”

“……Pardon?”

“Just speak comfortably. All the other seniors speak casually to me.”

At those words, Ji-ha finally lifted his head. As his bangs shifted, Dae-eon was finally able to see his eyes. Even the areas around his eyes were flushed red. He seemed incredibly embarrassed about having been caught thinking Dae-eon was cute.

Ji-ha’s pupils shook aimlessly at the request to speak casually before he said cautiously:

“Dae-eon… Junior….”

“Just Dae-eon. Oh, not ‘Dae-yeon,’ but ‘Dae-eon.’ A lot of people get that mixed up.”

He turned red all the way to his neck just by saying “Dae-eon Junior.” What on earth was he so embarrassed about? Finally, when Dae-eon told him to just call him ‘Dae-eon,’ Ji-ha covered his mouth with a trembling hand.

“D-Dae-eon.”

“Oh, that’s good. Call me that from now on. Senior, you don’t have any juniors you’re close with, do you?”

If he didn’t have any classmates he was close with, there was no way he had juniors. It was an obvious question, but Dae-eon pretended not to know. Ji-ha gave a shy nod.

“Dae… eon is the first junior I’ve become close with.”

“Me? Whoa, I’m honored. Unfortunately, you aren’t my first senior, though.”

Dae-eon kept the conversation going with a grin. He naturally pulled out the next sheet—the fifteenth candidate—and pointed to it with his finger.

“I’m close with this senior too! Ah, but I heard about this senior….”

It was perfectly natural. Dae-eon wanted to move past his own name as if it had never happened. Using his eloquent tongue, he tried to quickly launch into a story about the fifteenth candidate. It was a struggle for survival.

As long as I don’t get caught like this, I can end this ridiculous search for a first love. Dae-eon babbled on, desperately pointing at the next page.

However, Ji-ha stared intently at Dae-eon and spoke.

“But… Dae-eon.”

“Yes?”

“That day… why did you come to Building 114?”

Right. There was no way he’d just let it go.

Dae-eon scratched his head. Just as he was about to make an excuse about going to a locker far from the department office to grab a textbook, Ji-ha asked in a dry voice, giving him no room to lie:

“If my memory serves me correctly, there was a textbook on the desk in the department office that day. It was definitely a freshman textbook.”

The guy had an unnecessarily good memory. Truly unnecessarily.