With the holiday season in full swing, the hotel lobby was bustling with guests. I hadn’t expected it to be so crowded – I had just come down for a light stroll – but I ended up running into some familiar faces.

It was the Hani Dance Company. Judging by their stage makeup, the dancers must have come straight from their Friday night performance.

Among them was Heo Yeonseo.

“I heard this place was booked out for the end of the year – Yeonseo, you’re amazing. How did you get a reservation?”

“I just asked them to call me first if there were any cancellations, and as luck would have it, a spot opened up. I guess I got lucky.”

“I heard we were having our company dinner at Eun Restaurant, so I’ve been starving myself since last night. I almost passed out from hunger while dancing earlier.”

“But look at Yeonseo-she’s not even dressed to eat. Who wears tight pants to a company dinner?”

“Oh please, I’ll just unbutton them secretly under my coat.”

The women burst into laughter as they passed me.

I took a step back, dragging my injured foot.

Although our orchestra had worked with the Hani Dance Company before, I hadn’t been part of this performance. There was no reason for the dancers to recognize me.

Or so I thought.

To be more honest, I thought there was no way Heo Yeonseo would recognize me.

That’s what I assumed.

“……”

This wasn’t the scene I was expecting – she was walking with her colleagues, suddenly her head tilted in curiosity, she turned to look at me, our eyes met, and she stopped.

Caught off guard, I bit my lower lip.

Was I staring at her too obviously?

Inwardly regretting it, I quickly tried to compose my expression. But Heo Yeonseo carefully scanned my face again, her gaze filled with certainty, as if she knew who I was.

Because of the tight bandage around my ankle, I couldn’t run away quickly. I had no choice but to meet her eyes, unable to escape her gaze.

“Go ahead. I’ll stop at the bathroom and catch up.”

Sending her colleagues ahead, Heo Yeonseo walked straight towards me.

“Hello, you know who I am, right?”

At that moment, my mind was swirling with thoughts.

Should I say yes? Should I pretend not to know her?

While I hesitated, caught in the sharp tug-of-war between those choices, Heo Yeonseo spoke again.

“I graduated from the same traditional arts high school as you. I’m your junior – two years below you.”

She even introduced herself as a junior from the National Traditional Music High School, which made it a little embarrassing for me to deny knowing her.

At that time, Heo Yeonseo was the most famous student in our school. I took a deep breath.

“Yes, I remember. Heo Yeonseo.”

“I was actually hoping to meet you. I thought about asking some acquaintances for your contact information, but I had something to talk about. It’s funny that we meet here. Do you have a moment? We’re dancers, so our dinners don’t usually last long. We don’t drink much either. Oh, is it too late now? I guess I got a little anxious because I didn’t have your contact information. If you give me your phone number, I can call you later.”

“No, that’s okay. I have time today.”

She was someone I was once prepared to be involved with in a nasty, messy scandal. If she was someone I would have to face sometime, it didn’t make much difference if it was today or later.

“Were you here for dinner as well, Sunbae?”

“No, I’m staying here.”

At my answer, Heo Yeonseo’s face brightened.

“That’s perfect. Then I’ll come to your room later. I’d like to talk somewhere quiet, away from people. That would be better for you too, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s room 2201.”

“2201…”

Heo Yeonseo repeated the room number to himself, tilting her head slightly in thought before giving a quick, polite nod.

“See you soon.”

And she really did come by soon. Less than two hours had passed when the doorbell rang.

“I thought the floor number sounded unusual before, but security here is intense. It’s a good thing I’m friends with the manager – otherwise I probably wouldn’t have made it.”

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know I had to notify the front desk if I was expecting a guest. You’re actually the first one I’ve had over.”

It was a brief commotion. When Heo Yeonseo asked the desk clerk to let her up to the 22nd floor, where I was staying, the clerk, though polite and courteous, refused her request.

She ended up in a quiet standoff with the clerk, who spoke in roundabout terms but firmly denied her access.

Finally, Yeonseo called the hotel manager, whom she knew personally, and asked him to contact my room.

It was only after I received the manager’s call that I learned of the incident downstairs.

“Have you been dealing with a stalker or something?”

Heo Yeonseo asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“Sorry?”

“It’s just… from what I can tell, it seems like there are special instructions at the front desk. Like, no visitors allowed on the 22nd floor under any circumstances. That’s usually when someone has taken shelter in a hotel for personal safety reasons.”

Come to think of it, the hotel manager had also said something to me quietly earlier, making sure that Yeonseo couldn’t hear:

—”If you don’t wish to receive visitors, I’ll do my best to turn them away. Please don’t hesitate to let us know.”

Hearing Heo Yeonseo’s question, the first person who came to mind was Lee Jae-hyup.

It seemed likely that the tight security around this room had been put in place to keep him away from me-perhaps even to protect against other dangerous individuals he might send.

“I’ve been coming to the Riche Hotel for years, and this is the first time I’ve ever been turned away at the door. I was honestly shocked.”

“Sorry for the inconvenience.”

“No, it’s fine. We met safely in the end – that’s all that matters.”

Of course, a lot had happened, but I couldn’t just say Lee Jae-hyup’s name out loud. So I quietly changed the subject.

“…Right. Would you like some coffee?”

“I don’t drink caffeine at night. I ordered some fruit juice from room service on the way up – I hope that’s okay? Anyway, the bill is going to Lee Seol-won, so it’s all covered.”

Heo Yeonseo mentioned Lee Seol-won’s name in passing, as if it were nothing.

But it was impossible for me to stay calm when I heard it.

So she knew everything when she came here.

My heart pounded in my chest.

“To be honest, I was a little nervous before. I wondered what I would say if you said you didn’t know me. That’s why I introduced myself as your junior in high school – but then you said you remembered me right away, and that surprised me too.”

“It’s not that I could say I didn’t remember. But I was the one who was surprised when you called me Sunbae, Yeonseo.”

In retrospect, this part was also strange.

Sure, I remembered Heo Yeonseo-she was a well-known figure who caused quite a stir in the entire school. But how did she know who I was? I wasn’t even her direct senior.

As if to answer my belated curiosity, Yeonseo spoke up.

“You were very popular, especially among the boys. But you were always so quiet and usually only hung around with one or two close friends, so it was hard to get close to you. That’s probably why no one ever said anything out loud. Still, I bet more than a few of them secretly had you as their first love.”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly something I could avoid knowing, even if I wanted to. My name is Heo Yeonseo, right? Try saying it quickly.”

I repeated her name several times in my head.

Heo Yeonseo, Heo Yeonseo… Hyeonseo… Ah-Hyeonseo.

“Your friends called you Hyunseo, right? I didn’t really have any friends, so people would just call me ‘Hey, Heo Yeonseo!’ But if you say it fast, it sounds like Hyunseo. So the boys would always look around and think that someone was calling for you.

Hearing about my school days from someone else felt strange and unfamiliar.

It was even more so because I had never imagined that people would be so aware of me in places where I wasn’t even present.

A little embarrassed, I gave a small nod.

“And I also have a personal memory that I’m grateful for because of you.”

“Me?”

Had we shared such a private moment? I couldn’t remember any personal connection between us.

No matter how hard I searched my memory, nothing came to mind.

Then again, maybe it made sense that I couldn’t remember.

Until I saw Heo Yeonseo on the stage of the Songun Art Hall, I had completely forgotten about her.

“I don’t know if you ever heard the rumors, but I didn’t have a good reputation back then. I was quickly isolated at school, and I didn’t even have anyone to eat lunch with. I hated lunchtime because I was always alone in the cafeteria. But then one day you came looking for an empty seat… and sat down next to me.”

‘Did I really do that?’

If I had, I probably wouldn’t have thought much about it.

There were rumors that Heo Yeonseo benefited more from her parents’ background than her actual abilities warranted. I could understand why other students kept their distance. Still, it was hard not to feel sorry for her as she sat all alone.

Besides, she was studying Korean dance and I was studying gayageum – there wasn’t much overlap between us.

If I had to guess, I probably didn’t have a good reason.