Chapter 9

She couldn’t even pinpoint why she had gotten so angry. But one thing that really bothered her was how Yeon-woo had spoken about Professor Ma without knowing him at all.  

Sure, she had her own complaints about Tae-oh being a typical by-the-book type. But she had also seen firsthand how much effort he put into the school and the Philosophy Department. That’s why she had snapped.  

“Ugh… I should’ve tried harder to convince him. Argh…”  

At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Yeon-woo. She knew well that being a celebrity wasn’t as glamorous as it seemed.  

The cold kimbap sitting next to Yeon-woo in the van had spoken volumes. That’s why she had given him her precious meal voucher. Whether or not he actually used it, she didn’t know. But at least it eased her guilt for snapping at him.  

As she sighed deeply, there was a knock at the door. Then came a voice scarier than the Grim Reaper’s.  

“Miss Jin Seol-rin, may I come in?”  

“…Yes!”  

Her voice was tense as she answered. The door opened, and Ma Tae-oh walked in gracefully. His cool gaze swept over her face.  

‘Why does she look so flustered?’  

Tae-oh, who had come to the assistant office to request some binding work, was puzzled by Seol-rin’s pale face. She looked as if she had just seen a ghost.  

“Did something happen?”  

“No… nothing at all.”  

“Really? You don’t look well.”  

“It’s just… I’m hungry! I think it’s because I didn’t eat much for lunch. Haha.”  

Feeling guilty, Seol-rin laughed awkwardly and waved her hands. She was clearly on edge. And as expected, Tae-oh brought up Yeon-woo.  

“By the way, did you contact Cha Yeon-woo?”  

“…Oh, no! He didn’t answer the phone. What should I do?”  

“Hmm.”  

Without realizing it, she had blurted out a lie. There was no way she could tell Tae-oh that she had told Yeon-woo to enroll or not—it was his choice.  

But Tae-oh’s response was unexpected.  

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. Don’t worry too much about it.”  

“Really? Are you sure?”  

“Now that I think about it, this isn’t something you should be handling. I acted emotionally earlier. I’m sorry.”

At last, Seol-rin’s face started to brighten. Tae-oh found her ever-changing expressions fascinating. As he watched her quietly, he handed her a USB drive and spoke again.  

“Please bind the thesis file stored in here. I’ll need 10 copies before next week’s weekly meeting.”  

“Yes, Sir! Understood.”  

Seol-rin immediately received the USB with a bright smile and a cheerful voice. But for some reason, Tae-oh remained standing there, looking as if he had something more to say.  

“Professor, is there anything else you’d like me to do…?”  

“Are you very hungry?”  

“Pardon?”  

“If you’re really hungry—”  

Just as Tae-oh was about to suggest eating together, Seol-rin waved her hand.  

“Oh, no, it’s not that bad! Thank you for your concern, though.”  

But her response was a firm rejection. For a moment, Tae-oh felt a strange sensation, as if steam was rising from his head.  

“…Alright.”  

He closed the assistant office door with a loud bang and muttered to himself with an awkward expression.  

“I got rejected again.”

***

It was past 10 p.m. The campus was dark, except for the light shining from Tae-oh’s research office. He finally lifted his head after staring intently at his thesis. His tired, cold eyes behind the silver frames revealed his exhaustion.  

Tae-oh was writing a thesis to be published in the world-renowned philosophical journal, ‘Journal of Philosophy’, by the end of the year. If it passed the review, it would mark a historic moment as the first Korean to be published in the journal.  

‘Look, Professor Ma. I wasn’t going to bring this up, but our department might be merged next year..’  

The thought of the potential merger suddenly came to mind, causing Tae-oh to frown slightly. He was determined to prevent it at all costs. He believed that if his thesis were published in the journal, the merger talks would disappear. With that hope, Tae-oh returned to his thesis.  

Time passed, and his eyes began to sting. Removing his glasses, he lay down on the sofa.  

“……”  

While lying there with his eyes closed, a faint light seeping through his eyelids began to bother him. He tried ignoring it by shutting his eyes tighter, but after a moment of tossing and turning, he abruptly sat up. A voice lingered in his mind.  

‘Professor, so please, sleep at home—and make sure to turn off the lights. Understood?’  

A self-deprecating chuckle escaped Tae-oh’s lips. He couldn’t believe he was so affected by the words of his assistant.  

But not long after, the light in his office turned off completely. Lying back on the sofa, he muttered to himself, as if speaking to someone.  

“What a ridiculous person…”

***

Today was one of those rare days when Yeon-woo had no schedule. A day when he could laze around without anyone nagging him. Normally, he would have stayed in bed until the afternoon, but for some reason, he woke up wide-eyed at the crack of dawn. Yesterday’s events kept replaying in his mind.  

‘If I’m overstepping, I’m sorry. Ultimately, it’s your choice whether or not to enroll. But one thing’s for sure: I’m not writing your study plan for you. I’ll be going now.’  

‘Since you’re already here, at least have a proper meal before you go. Don’t settle for kimbap. Anyway, it was nice meeting you.’  

“Ugh, how embarrassing.”  

Kicking his feet under the blanket, Yeon-woo groaned. All this fuss over a study plan. He had planned to avoid the inflexible professor and use the assistant to make things easier, but everything had gone wrong.  

“So annoying.”  

Jumping out of bed, Yeon-woo rummaged through the denim jacket hanging on the coat rack. Inside was the crumpled meal voucher.  

Other than when he was very young, it was rare for anyone to tell him to take care of himself and eat properly. Most people thought worrying about a celebrity was the most pointless thing ever.  

“What does she take me for? How dare she give me something like this?”  

Yeon-woo angrily tore at the corner of the voucher. But he soon stopped. He was overcome by a strange feeling that he shouldn’t destroy it.  

“Ugh.”  

With a deep sigh, Yeon-woo carefully put the voucher back into his pocket and sat at his desk. He rarely used his laptop except to check his fan café or search for articles about himself, but today was an exception.  

“How to write a study plan…”  

For hours, Yeon-woo searched online for tips on writing a study plan and began jotting down his thoughts.  

“Phew… finally done.”  

After spending the entire morning working on his study plan, Yeon-woo’s fingers stopped typing. He felt conflicted about wasting one of his few days off like this, but at the same time, he felt a sense of accomplishment. Above all else—  

‘Show how much you’ve struggled to get here. Show the values you’ve gained along the way. If you bring in a hastily patched-together study plan, it’ll make your entire life look like a patchwork job.’  

He wanted to meet that assistant again. He wanted to tell her that not a single thing in his life was handed to him. That his life was anything but a patchwork.  

A faint smile crept across his lips.

***

“Goodnight, Professor!”  

Seol-rin cheerfully said goodbye and carefully closed Tae-oh’s office door before walking away. At the end of each workday, her first thought was relief that everything had gone smoothly. The only thing making her anxious now was that there was only one day left until Cha Yeon-woo’s study plan deadline.  

“Whatever. It’ll work out somehow.”  

Deciding there was no point in worrying about tomorrow, she quickened her pace.  

“Waaaah…”  

Suddenly, she heard a child crying. Her gaze instinctively followed the sound. On a bench, she saw a boy who looked about six years old, sobbing his heart out. He was crying so pitifully that she couldn’t just walk past him. Seol-rin cautiously approached.  

“Hey, sweetie, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”  

“Sniff… sob…”  

“Where’s your mom? Where is she?”  

“Waaaah!”  

At the mention of his mom, the boy cried even harder. Seol-rin’s face showed a hint of distress. After waiting anxiously by his side for a few minutes, the boy finally spoke.  

“My mom… my mom…”  

“Yes, yes! What about your mom?”  

“My mom… left me here because I didn’t listen to her… sniff…”  

“What…?”  

Seol-rin’s heart sank.