< Chapter 16 >

She looked different from how she did in his memory, but there was no mistaking her.

Her once round cheeks had slimmed, and her soft, childlike eyes now held a sharpness. Her lips were tightly pressed together with that same stubbornness she had even back then.

Her hair, once tied in two small buns, now fell neatly to her shoulders.

His gaze moved to the name tag pinned on her uniform.

Kim Seori.

A name that matched her consistently cool expression all too well.

“You’re the one who ranked first on the placement test?”

At his voice, Seori turned to look at him. Their eyes met.

Of course, she’d recognize him.

“Yeah. Why?”

She didn’t remember him at all.

“I came last.”

“Oh. I see.”

Not even a flicker of recognition, not a trace of interest.

It seemed when she’d lost her dumpling-shaped hair buns, she’d lost her memory along with them.

Well, look at that.

“You’re looking at me like I’m some pathetic trash.”

He frowned, irritated.

Annoying as ever, Dumpling Boss.

* * *

Since they were in the same class, she’d remember him sooner or later.

But contrary to his expectation, Dumpling Boss never did. Just like that day she built sandcastles alone, she now built her grades one by one in solitude.

It was shortly after their first semester began.

“Kim Seori’s only like that because she’s broke. She can’t even afford tutoring. I heard she lives with her grandma, no parents.”

“So she was pretending to be something she’s not?”

The same group of girls who always seemed to dislike Seori were sneering again.

It was the usual story. At the start of the school year, kids would hang out before realizing they didn’t actually get along.

“If she didn’t study that hard, she wouldn’t even get decent grades. Honestly, she doesn’t even seem that smart…”

“Hey, hey!”

“What?”

They froze. Seori had appeared behind them without a sound. The classroom went still as if someone had poured ice water over them.

“I’ve never really pretended to be something I’m not.”

Passing them with a calm expression, Seori added lightly,
“Guess your standards are just that low that I seemed like I was pretending.”

Spoken like a true boss of the Dumpling Gang.

From that day on, Seori was completely alone. Not that she seemed to mind. She never opened up to anyone and acted as though solitude suited her.

No matter what people whispered, her focus never wavered. Study, study, study. She seemed driven by something unseen.

To Seori, Haewon was nothing more than a passing shadow, an irrelevant existence. It was doubtful she even realized the boy sitting next to her had a name.

Different personalities, different backgrounds. Unless forced, the two had no reason to cross paths.

Which was why Haewon came in first on their first exam. Not for any special reason. Just curiosity.

Class Rank – 1st

He wondered if that stiff, statue-like face of hers would finally change.

“Guess the trash beat you.”

The offhand comment brought unexpected results. For the first time, Seori, who’d always ignored him, started to keep an eye on him.

Glance.
During a project presentation.

Glance.
During art class.

Glance.
Even when he scored during basketball practice, her brows twitched faintly.

It was almost funny, watching her so desperate to outdo him. Still, it wasn’t unpleasant.

At least it was better than her usual lifeless stare.

First year of middle school.

“Being second every time must be rough.”

“If you feel bad, maybe you should transfer.”

Second year.

“Leaving already? Don’t you want to see the report cards?”

“I’m going somewhere you don’t exist.”

Third year.

“You’d have to be reborn to beat me.”

“It’d be faster if you just disappeared, so go ahead and do that first.”

With each year, Seori’s animosity toward Haewon only grew.

He’d even thought about letting her win once, but he couldn’t bring himself to.

Then one day, he caught himself wondering.

Why was he always standing in front of her?

He only teased her because she annoyed him. So why did losing to her feel unthinkable?

Why…

By now, he should’ve been bored of it. So why didn’t he want it to end?

…Why?

* * *

When he got tired of overthinking it, Haewon came to a lazy conclusion.

It was probably because he hated Kim Seori.

As he walked down the hallway, their shoulders brushed lightly.

“Tsk.”

Seori scowled and brushed her shoulder as if he’d dirtied her.

“Huh.”

Watching her stomp off, he felt oddly certain.

Yes. He definitely hated her.

Otherwise, why would someone so calm get this irritated every time they met?

As he walked away, he glanced down at the arm that had brushed her shoulder.

Small.

She used to be slightly taller when they first entered middle school. When had that changed? When had she become small enough for him to look down on?

He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a dry laugh.

What a joke. As if he’d ever see that stubborn, forgetful Dumpling Boss as a girl.

“Hey, I heard the class president from the next room likes Kim Seori.”

“The class president? Who?”

“Jun Woohyun. You know, the broadcasting club head.”

Around him, the guys were chatting.

“Didn’t Minhyung confess to her last year and get rejected? Lots of guys like her, apparently.”

“Well, she’s the prettiest in school. Her attitude’s rough, but still.”

“True. Honestly, Woohyun and Seori would make a perfect couple.”

The boys chuckled, waving their hands in front of each other’s faces.

“They’ve got that ‘meet-the-parents’ vibe already.”

“Totally. I know what you mean.”

Tapping his phone while sitting on the locker, Haewon frowned slightly. His finger slipped.

Game over.

He’d been about to beat his high score. Scowling, he rubbed his face.

This was all Kim Seori’s fault. Her name kept echoing in his head, making it impossible to focus.

‘Who’s this Jun whatever anyway?’

Maybe that guy he’d seen walking toward the teacher’s office a few days ago. Just a blurry background extra in his memory.

Sliding off the locker, Haewon opened the classroom door, then froze.

Seori was walking down the hall with some guy.

‘Jun whatever, huh.’

He could tell at a glance. The “meet-the-parents” guy.

Perfect posture, uniform buttoned up, the kind of clean-cut face that looked like it belonged on a school brochure.

A walking opposite of Haewon.

His eyes followed them, slightly narrowed. They looked like the ideal model students for a promotional poster.

‘So that’s her type?’

As Woohyun said something, Seori smiled faintly.

“…”

So she could smile. Apparently, she only did it for people she liked.

Haewon watched them go, then pulled out the piercing in his ear and tossed it into the trash.

“Haewon, why’d you throw that away all of a sudden?”

“It was getting annoying.”

Yeah, he hated her. She made him act like someone he wasn’t.

* * *

It was near the end of middle school when he overheard it.

“About Haewon in our class,”

His foot paused mid-step as he rounded a corner.

“He’s not going overseas after all. He’s going to the regular high school nearby.”

“Really? He’s rich, smart, has everything. Why not study abroad?”

“Sounds like his grandfather wants him close. Doesn’t want to let him go.”

Haewon leaned closer, listening.

“I get it though. That kid gives off a weird vibe. His eyes already look dead inside.”

That part was unfair. His mind was usually just empty, not dead. What, was he supposed to keep his eyes moist with artificial tears?

“Well, who knows what goes on in families like theirs.”

“I met his father once. The man’s terrifying.”

“You didn’t hear? His parents had an arranged marri—”

The conversation cut off abruptly. Someone had covered his ears from behind.

His heart dropped into his stomach.

Frozen in place, he blinked as muffled voices echoed around him.

He remembered this. This exact feeling. This exact situation.

A pair of warm hands blocking the noise.

When the hands finally pulled away, the teachers’ voices had faded.

He turned slowly.

Thanks to the stairs, they were eye-level. Seori stood there, eyes wide with surprise.

“Uh…”

She looked more startled by her own action than he was. Her wide eyes trembled slightly.

“You didn’t need to hear that. My body just moved on its own.”

Her voice trailed off into awkward silence.

Then, realizing she’d just done something for Seok Haewon of all people, her face quickly cooled back to its usual indifference.

Without another word, she brushed past him and started down the stairs. Halfway down, she stopped and looked up again.

He was still standing there, staring blankly at her.

“Still got those dead fish eyes, huh.”

Even “lifeless” was too generous.

With that, she turned and disappeared with calm, quick steps.

“…”

Haewon sat in the cafeteria later, fiddling with his ear. The scene replayed in his mind over and over.

Why, of all days, did they serve dumplings today?

He stabbed one with his chopsticks.

‘Do I even need a reason?’

She hadn’t changed. She still acted kind for no reason, even to people she supposedly disliked.

Tap.

He rolled the dumpling across the tray with his chopsticks.

Maybe he finally understood why he never wanted to lose to Kim Seori.

Because if he ever did, their paths would split forever.

That study-obsessed girl didn’t care about him, only about being number one.

Tap.

He rolled the dumpling again.

Her eyes came to mind. The light brown ones that always looked straight at him. Annoyed, frustrated, sometimes sharp but always alive.

He’d thought he never wanted anything. But maybe that wasn’t true.

He wanted that gaze. The way she focused so completely on one thing. He wanted her to look at him like that.

Tap. Tap.

As he kept rolling the dumpling, the girl sitting across from him finally asked,

“Haewon, do you not like dumplings?”

His chopsticks stilled. A faint smile touched his lips.

“No.”

He’d never disliked them. Not once.