Chapter 3

“Are you alright?”

As she looked more closely, she saw it was a man who worked as both the lifeguard and general maintenance staff at the Forest One community center pool.

“Oh. Yes. What on earth, ha, what happened?”

Ayeon caught her breath and asked.

“Well… can you step out for a moment?”

He held out his hand, and she took it as he helped her out of the pool.

“The window broke. Someone must have thrown a rock from outside. We don’t know how far the shards might have scattered, so we need everyone out for now.”

“Ah…”

Up close, the staff member looked so young that she wondered if he had even graduated college yet.

“Please wait right here. Don’t move.”

He disappeared somewhere, and Ayeon looked around.

That was when she saw the broken window, sunlight streaming through it in sharp fragments.

On the floor beneath the window lay countless tiny shards of glass scattered in disarray.

“Who would do something like that.”

She furrowed her brow.

The quiet around her suddenly felt unnaturally still, and she spun around in surprise.

Unlike earlier, the pool was now completely empty.

She had no idea when everyone else had left.

“Here. Put these on and move carefully.”

The young man came back smiling brightly and placed something at her feet.

It was a pair of slippers with a cute squirrel character on them.

She let out a small laugh.

“Thanks.”

“Still, watch your step as you walk. Careful, careful.”

“Yeah. But it looks like cleaning up the pool will take some time.”

“It’ll be done by the end of the day, so don’t worry. Come back tomorrow and swim hard again.”

“Swim hard?”

“Ah, I mean… swim diligently.”

“Ah.”

He clenched his fist and gave her an encouraging “fighting” gesture.

“Alright, I’ll go clean up!”

Despite the unexpected trouble, the young man’s bright expression made her strangely pleased, even though he wasn’t one of her students.

Maybe that was why.

Even though she knew it wouldn’t be the most comfortable day, Ayeon left the pool determined to get through it somehow.

* * *

“Jooheon?”

When she arrived home, the house was unusually quiet, and she tilted her head.

“Is he still asleep?”

She started toward the dining room, then turned and opened the bedroom door.

“Huh?”

The bed was empty.

“He already left? Without eating breakfast…”

Muttering to herself, she pouted slightly and went back to the dining room to make coffee.

Without Jooheon around, she didn’t feel like preparing breakfast.

She planned to just have coffee and head to work.

As she picked up her cup and was about to pull a paper from her bag, she walked toward the clothing styler.

Inside was the jacket she had hung up earlier.

He must have worn something else to work.

She casually checked the jacket pocket.

The jewelry box was gone.

Even though he’d worn a different jacket, he hadn’t forgotten the wedding anniversary gift.

“Thorough as always.”

She let out a short laugh and closed the styler.

* * *

Ayeon arrived at school and headed not to the lecturer’s office but to the departmental office.

She had something to pass along to the teaching assistant.

Since there wasn’t much time left before her class, she hurried her steps.

“Professor Seon, you’re here?”

The assistant wasn’t there, but Tae-eun, sitting on the sofa with a cup of coffee, greeted her.

“Oh, hi. Where’s Yoonji?”

“Ah, Professor Kim called her in.”

“I see.”

She nodded slowly. From the noisy sound coming from the adjacent student lounge, she glanced at Tae-eun and lifted her shoulders.

“Geez, noisy, right? The students are all excited because the youngest professor in Korea University’s history is coming. We know his face already, but to them he’s a new face.”

Watching Tae-eun pout, Ayeon smiled quietly.

“What time is the welcome reception?”

“Four o’clock.”

She checked her watch. It was an hour away.

“Are you going?”

Tae-eun asked. Ayeon scrunched her nose and shook her head.

“There’s no reason for me to go. I have a class anyway.”

“It’s your first class of the semester. You could keep it short. But hey, aren’t you…”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you curious about Jin Sunwoo?”

The way Tae-eun asked sounded loaded, but Ayeon just shrugged casually.

“I’ll be seeing him often now anyway.”

“True.”

Tae-eun smiled wryly and finished her coffee.

“Yoonji’s late. I guess I’ll come back later.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m heading to class. See you.”

She checked the time and jolted in surprise before hurrying out of the office.

Her next class was in another building.

Walking quickly, she pulled out her phone to call Jooheon.

But all she heard was the automated message saying he couldn’t take the call.

“He must be really busy…”

She puffed her cheeks and tilted her head.

She exited the building, walking briskly down a path lined with tall plane trees on both sides.

Then her pace slowed, and eventually she stopped altogether.

“Sunbae.”

…It was Jin Sunwoo.

She hadn’t seen his face in six years.

He had always been calm and composed, but compared to the fresh-faced boyishness of back then, he now carried a deep and mature charm.

“Sunbae.”

His gaze was bright, his voice gentle.

“Sunwoo.”

She smiled lightly and without pretense.

It was strange.

She had worried about her face betraying her disappointment over the failed professorship if she ran into him, but all of that seemed meaningless now.

The moment she saw him, all she felt was genuine warmth.

“Ah, should I be calling you Professor Jin now.”

She muttered awkwardly.

“No, just call me Sunbae like always.”

He answered with a soft smile.

“How could I.”

She frowned slightly and pressed her lips together.

Six years ago, they had been senior and junior. But not anymore.

Jin Sunwoo was now a real professor, while she was only a part-time lecturer.

She could no longer see him simply as a younger junior.

“If that’s too formal, then at least when it’s just the two of us.”

He said it lightly but with genuine sincerity in his calm tone.

They both laughed softly.

“You’ve really grown up, Jin Sunwoo.”

“We’re only two years apart.”

He shrugged slightly, as if it was unfair.

“Are you trying to gloss over the two-year class gap and act like we’re equals now?”

She teased him playfully.

Come to think of it, he had always carried himself like a senior even as a junior. He was clean-cut, tall, and exuded a quiet confidence.

That must have been why.

She remembered teasing him back then in ways she never did with others, just to see how this unusually calm and serious guy would react.

“Haa, you’re still the same.”

He rubbed his forehead with a grin.

“What.”

“You’ve always been obviously smart and capable, but subtly…”

“Subtly what?”

“…Cute. Seriously, if someone saw you right now, they’d think you were a student here to take a class, not teach one.”

She knew he was teasing, but his words didn’t sound unpleasant. She narrowed her eyes, but a smile crept to her lips.

“Don’t make fun of an ajumma. And keep your distance. Up close, you’ll see I’ve changed a lot.”

He stepped closer instead.

Then he looked at her quietly for a long moment.

The air between them shifted in one direction, her hair lifted slightly, and the space felt charged with a refreshing energy.

He chuckled softly.

“You look exactly the same to me. Where have you changed?”

Had he always been this tall?

He was taller than Jooheon, enough that she had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes.

She laughed too.

“You really did grow a lot, Jin Sunwoo.”

“I was always tall. I was the tallest in our department. You didn’t know? I’m hurt.”

“Wow, look at you teasing your Sunbae. You really have grown up.”

She wrinkled her nose, and he smiled again.

“Ah, Sunwoo, I have to go teach.”

She checked the time and suddenly looked serious.

“Oh, you have class in the Humanities Building?”

He calmly nodded toward the building ahead.

“Yeah. A liberal arts class.”

“Let’s go then.”

She nodded and started running toward her building.

“Sunbae, slow down!”

She heard his voice calling from behind as she ran carefully, watching her steps.

He smiled as he watched her go, but then his expression turned faintly bitter.

“Sunbae…”

She was just running toward the Humanities Building a short distance away.

But for some reason, it looked like she was stepping onto a distant path with no visible end.

He stared after her with a worried gaze.

Then his phone rang.

“Yes. I just arrived. I don’t know why someone who never contacted me all this time is suddenly calling now.”