Campus Log - Chapter 48

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine now.”

After hastily answering, heat rushed to his cheeks. He must have really shown it. It must have been obvious if that blunt girl asked if he was okay now.

“Sang-hee-yah.”

Eun-seok stopped Hong Sang-hee as she was about to go up the stairs.

“Were you worried about me?”

A hint of expectation crept into the question before he could stop it.

“A little.”

Hong Sang-hee’s voice was so small it could’ve been drowned out by the dishwashing sounds from the cafeteria. Without waiting for his reply, she turned and walked away.

Instead of saying goodbye, Eun-seok gazed at her sneakers disappearing around the stairwell landing.

He changed into workout clothes and came back down to the first floor, but couldn’t muster any energy. Sitting on the exercise bike, lazily spinning the pedals, the streetlight filtering through the window caught his attention.

Eun-seok got off the bike and opened the gym window. The trees that lined behind the dorm like a wall carried in a cool breeze.

The first thing that caught his eye was the tree where he’d broken down. Under the tree heavy with white blossoms, he’d cried bitterly, unable even to smell its warm fragrance.

And that’s where he had his first real conversation with Hong Sang-hee.

Back then, he’d been tormented by the thought that Hong Sang-hee might have eavesdropped with ill intent, that rumors would spread through the school. When kids actually asked him “Is it true?” A few days later, he thought only, It’s come.

But now he knew. Even if it had been Kim Do-wan crying under that tree, Hong Sang-hee probably wouldn’t have spread rumors.

Eun-seok took out his phone and adjusted the camera’s focus. The unknown flowers blooming profusely under the white streetlight suited his sentimental taste perfectly.

Satisfied with the framed photo, he looked it over and decided to post it on Instagram. While he was at it, there was something else to check.

Eun-seok uploaded the flower photo he’d just taken to his Story, which would disappear in 24 hours.

He didn’t add any particular caption. Nothing ruins the mood like trying to sound profound with some line while drunk on night air. For things like this, just posting a single photo was classier.

His fingers tapped on the window frame. People who noticed he was online sent DMs, but he had no time to care about them.

He repeatedly tapped the “viewers” list, meticulously scanning each ID one by one. Unable to stay still, he paced restlessly around the gym. Without realizing it, he found himself nibbling on his lower lip.

Twenty minutes of refreshing later, the ID he’d been waiting for finally peeked out among the list of people who’d viewed the photo.

“Found it.”

[ntfrme23]

It was Hong Sang-hee’s ID.

Countless people viewing his posts had always been a given, but discovering one ordinary ID among them—was it supposed to feel this delightful?

The deep sense of relief came partly from confirming that Hong Sang-hee wasn’t upset about his erratic behavior today. The underlying satisfaction came from realizing that Hong Sang-hee had taken the trouble to search for his account separately.

Meaning she wasn’t completely uninterested, after all.

A flicker of curiosity required to type his name into the search bar. At least that much was clearly present somewhere in Hong Sang-hee’s heart.

Eun-seok sent her a message without hesitation.

You in your room?

Unexpectedly, the number 1 next to the yellow message bubble disappeared immediately. As he took a deep breath, a simple reply arrived.

Lounge

Without hesitation, Eun-seok dashed out of the gym. The lounge wasn’t far. Because of that, he was able to immediately spot Hong Sang-hee choosing snacks in front of the vending machine.

As he approached, catching his breath, Hong Sang-hee’s eyes widened. Her face, half-hidden by her glasses, looked particularly clear. In the dim lounge, the vending machine’s pale light illuminated even the slightly damp ends of Hong Sang-hee’s hair.

She must have just showered and come down. The cozy scent he’d smelled all day from her green group t-shirt now emanated even more strongly from her.

Suddenly, his throat tightened. He’d come because he had something specific to say, but suddenly words wouldn’t come out. So, unintentionally, he just stood there foolishly for an awkwardly long time.

“Did you have something to say?”

Hong Sang-hee asked first. Her direct gaze made his heart race.

Meanwhile, the vending machine pushed out a Pepero snack, dropping it into the retrieval slot. Hong Sang-hee bent down to pick up the snack. Eun-seok looked down at the back of her round head and swallowed dryly.