Chapter 25

Finally, Seol-rin opened her mouth with difficulty.  

“Professor, I’m really sorry about that night. I must have lost my mind for a moment. I know you were quite drunk as well.”  

“…”  

However, Tae-oh’s expression only grew more serious. 

Had I struck a nerve? 

Seol-rin’s anxiety deepened.  

“P-Professor, you said you wanted to talk yesterday… I was just so nervous and… I wasn’t prepared… I acted rashly. I’m really sorry, Professor…”  

“Seol-rin.”  

“…!”  

He suddenly dropped her surname and called her by her first name. His voice was as gentle as that night.  

When Seol-rin didn’t respond, Tae-oh called her name again.  

“Seol-rin.”  

“Yes, yes?”  

Finally responding, Seol-rin’s eyes widened. Her heart pounded as if she had been transported back to the night they kissed.  

It was just the two of them in the professor’s research lab. 

Was it okay to feel this kind of fluttering emotion toward the professor in a place I considered sacred and untouchable?  

Tae-oh’s piercing gaze felt almost tangible. Soon, his lips moved gracefully.  

“That night, I was drunk, yes. But one thing is clear—”  

He paused, and Seol-rin held her breath. It was unlike him to hesitate.  

When Tae-oh’s lips moved again, Seol-rin felt an indescribable emotion well up inside her.  

“It wasn’t a mistake.”  

“Oh… Professor…”  

Her heart raced, and her mind spun. At the same time, her chest tightened, and heat flooded through her body.  

“Seol-rin, what about you?”  

Tae-oh asked. Why did his gaze, which she had always found cold and distant, suddenly seem so warm?  

“I…”  

She needed to answer his question quickly, but words got stuck in her throat. She couldn’t believe this was happening.  

It had only been a month since she started working as an assistant under Ma Tae-oh, who was nicknamed “SexMa.” She had vowed not to fall for him, yet here she was, completely drawn to him.  

She had tried to keep her feelings to herself, promising not to let him notice. But it all seemed pointless now.  

She had always thought it was impossible for the two of them to be together, but as she replayed Tae-oh’s words—“It wasn’t a mistake”—tears welled up in her eyes.  

She had pretended to be fine all along, but it seemed she had been holding it in for too long. The tears flowed uncontrollably.  

“Sniff…”  

“…Are you crying? Did I do something wrong?”  

“No, it’s not that… It’s just… I’m happy.”  

Tae-oh, visibly flustered by Seol-rin’s sudden tears, grabbed a tissue from the table and handed it to her.  

“If you’re happy, don’t cry. Stop.”  

“Pfft, what kind of advice is that?”  

Taking the tissue, Seol-rin burst into laughter at Tae-oh’s awkward attempt to comfort her. Laughing and crying at the same time, she felt utterly ridiculous.  

“Ha ha, sorry, Professor. Hearing you say ‘Stop’ was just too cute.”  

“Who you calling cute here?”  

“Professor, please stop catching me off guard like that. You keep making my heart flutter.”  

“Don’t change the subject. You still haven’t answered my question.”  

All the time she had spent wondering whether Tae-oh would be straightforward or evasive now seemed laughable. Today, Seol-rin realized that Ma Tae-oh was a man who went straight to the point.  

“I feel the same way, Professor.”  

Still teary-eyed, Seol-rin smiled brightly. She felt overwhelmed with happiness, as if this was the best moment of her life.  

“That night, it wasn’t a mistake.”  

***

“Wait, so? Are you saying you’re dating the professor now?”  

“Well… something like that?”  

“Ugh, stop being so vague. So is today officially Day 1 or not?”  

After work, Seol-rin had taken refuge at Mi-yeon’s house. Without asking for permission, she grabbed a cold beer from the fridge.  

“Ah, beer tastes especially good today.”  

Sure enough, the beer tasted sweeter than usual. In her current mood, even the bitterest herbal medicine would probably taste sweet.  

Mi-yeon, unimpressed by Seol-rin’s vague answer, approached her with a skeptical look and pressed for details.  

“Come on! Just tell me properly! What happened?”  

“The professor… said it wasn’t a mistake!”  

“What wasn’t a mistake?”  

“The kiss. He said it wasn’t something he did by mistake.”  

“Oh my god! And then?”  

“When he asked me how I felt, I said it wasn’t a mistake for me either.”  

“Kyaa!”  

Mi-yeon’s expression changed dramatically with every word, as if she were watching a romance drama.  

“And? What happened next?”  

“Next?”  

“Yeah! Did you two officially decide to date or something?”  

“Well…”

Jin Seol-rin took a sip of beer and fell into thought. Now that she thought about it, nothing significant had happened after they both acknowledged that their kiss wasn’t a mistake.  

“So, nothing happened after that…”  

“Nothing? Are you saying you talked about how it wasn’t a mistake and that’s it?”  

“Yeah. After we talked, I went back to the office to work. The professor had a late afternoon meeting, so I left work first…”  

“What? Oh my god, you’re so frustrating!”  

Mi-yeon, looking utterly dumbfounded, shouted in frustration. She couldn’t believe how naïve her friend was, even at her age. Dragging Seol-rin by her thin wrist, Mi-yeon sat her down on the sofa and spoke in a calm but firm voice.  

“So, in the end, you’re saying the two of you still aren’t anything to each other?”  

“No way, that’s not it!”  

Hearing the words “not anything,” Seol-rin flared up. Tae-oh’s warm gaze, which seemed to see her as someone special, was proof enough for her that she meant something to him.  

“Then what are you two?”  

“Uh…”  

But when it came down to it, she couldn’t clearly define her relationship with the professor. Without saying a word, Seol-rin took another sip of beer. The sweet taste she had enjoyed earlier now felt bitter.  

“Am I… not dating the professor?”  

“Based on what?”  

“Well, we both admitted the kiss wasn’t a mistake… What more do you need? Adults don’t do that ‘starting from today, we’re officially dating’ thing, you know. That’s childish.”  

She scoffed at the idea of it being childish, but her eyes betrayed her unease. While she was thrilled to know the professor felt the same way about her, she hadn’t given any thought to how their relationship would progress from here.  

“Hey, the more mature you are, the more you need to be clear about things! You should be setting a date and time, even stamping a contract if needed, saying, ‘From this moment, we’re dating, so let’s make it work.’ Geez.”  

Shaking her head, Mi-yeon placed her hands firmly on Seol-rin’s shoulders. Her eyes sparkled with a serious intensity.  

“You really need to be careful. The scariest thing in the world is falling for someone on your own, dating them on your own, and then breaking up with them all by yourself. Nothing’s scarier than that!”  

“Whoa… Then what should I do? Should I ask the professor tomorrow? Like, ‘When did we start dating?’”  

“Are you insane? Are you really going to ask, ‘Professor, can you tell me exactly when we started dating?’”  

“Is that… not okay?”  

“You idiot, you’ll just seem desperate. This is the time to subtly guide him into confessing naturally.”  

“Guide him… into confessing?”  

“Exactly. The best way to do that is—”  

Mi-yeon’s impromptu love lecture continued until the cold beer had turned lukewarm. After passionately explaining her strategy for quite some time, she patted Seol-rin’s shoulder as she wrapped up her lesson.  

“Got it? If you do exactly as I say, it’ll work 100%. Trust me!”  

Seol-rin, who had been listening intently like a diligent student, tilted her head and asked, 

“But Mi-yeon, can I ask you one more thing I’m curious about?”  

“Go ahead. What else are you wondering about?”  

“If you know so much about this, why aren’t you dating anyone?”  

“…W-Well, it’s because no one I like has shown up yet! Just wait and see. If someone does, I’ll snag them right away. Don’t you know my nickname is ‘Ten Minute’? It only takes me ten minutes to win someone over!”  

“Ugh, when was that even a thing? You’re getting old, Mi-yeon.”  

“What?!”  

“Pfft! Just kidding, just kidding. Anyway, thanks for the tips. And thanks for letting me crash here tonight. I’m going to bed now. Goodnight!”  

“Ugh, you little—”  

Laughing, Seol-rin disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Mi-yeon glaring at her retreating figure with a pout. Downing the rest of her beer, Mi-yeon muttered to herself, 

“It’s going to be another long night. Sigh.”