EPILOGUE

10 years ago.  

Seonghee, who had lost interest in her workbook, glanced at Haji. When Haji didn’t stop solving problems despite the gaze, Seonghee flopped down onto the table.  

“Let’s take a little break now, okay?”  

“…Alright.”  

When Haji finally gave her permission a little later, a small cheer escaped Seonghee.  

Haji looked at Seonghee and let out a small, helpless laugh. It didn’t seem like this was the first time this had happened.  

Every time, it was Seonghee who dragged Haji to her house to study together, but it was always Seonghee who gave up first.  

“I’ll go get some water.”  

Haji, holding an empty cup, went downstairs to the first floor. Naturally, she headed toward the kitchen. As water flowed out with a trickle, she went over her remaining study plans in her head.  

Math was done, and she decided to repeat the English listening practice two more times.  

Just as she was about to return to Seonghee’s room, she placed her foot on the first step of the stairs.  

Clunk, the sound of the front door opening made her instinctively turn around.  

Huh?  

The person who entered through the front door was a boy wearing the same school uniform as hers. The name on the badge, in a different color, was familiar. Ki Seojin.  

As soon as she saw the name, she remembered. He was the famous student council president. With exotic features, a tall height, and an IQ of 160, he was the school’s top student.  

He was the subject of countless rumors, even to someone like Haji, who wasn’t interested in others. ‘He’s a foreigner, he’s mixed-race, he’s a prince from somewhere, he’s a trainee at an entertainment agency,’ and so on.  

Even during the morning assembly today, people were talking about him. He had apparently scored full marks at the Math Olympiad.  

Haji had also been encouraged by her homeroom teacher to participate in the next Math Olympiad, so she had perked up her ears at the conversation her friends were having.  

Although later, the girls’ conversation turned into something more mischievous.  

‘Did you see Seojin oppa’s abs?’  

‘Where?’  

‘In a dream.’  

‘What? Are you crazy!’  

As her fragmented memories came to an end, Seojin, the protagonist of those memories, passed by Haji’s side.  

“Abs…”  

“Are you Seonghee’s friend?”  

Without realizing it, the words her classmates had said slipped out of her mouth. She hadn’t expected Seojin, who was about to walk past, to turn his head and meet her gaze.  

When Seojin asked the question, Haji’s head shot up. Seeing this, Seojin slightly curled up the corners of his lips and stepped down to stand on the same level as her.  

“Or are you an acquaintance? You’re too small for that.”  

“I’m her friend.”  

Haji quickly answered. If he had seen the color of her name badge, he wouldn’t have been unaware that she was Seonghee’s friend.  

So, she added with a stubborn voice,  

“I’m not small. I’m over 160cm…”  

“You still need to grow more. If you keep boasting like that, you won’t get taller.”  

At 160.2cm, just barely over 160, Haji straightened her neck proudly. Seojin, as if genuinely concerned about her height, looked her over from head to toe. Mischief sparkled in his eyes.  

Boasting? It’s not like I dreamed about seeing his abs!  

Before Haji, feeling wronged, could say anything, a small laugh escaped from between Seojin’s teeth and lingered briefly above her head. He said what he wanted to say and climbed the stairs.  

Watching his retreating figure, Haji rubbed the back of her neck. She had only exchanged a few words with him, but her neck ached stiffly.  

Tsk.  

“So that’s why there are so many rumors about him?”  

She felt like she understood why the rumors about him never stopped. The aura emanating from his statue-like exotic features was different from that of ordinary male students. His mysterious appearance sparked curiosity, but the air of unapproachability made it even more so.  

After that, although she visited Seonghee’s house again, she never ran into Seojin. Even at school, there were moments when she felt like their eyes met, but they never spoke or interacted closely.  

She almost forgot about that short conversation from that day—until the start of the second semester.  

***

The second semester began, and the scorching summer arrived.  

Behind the empty storage room, the occasional sound of a pencil scratching paper could be heard.  

“Hmm.”  

Haji pursed her lips tightly as she stared intently at her workbook.  

This was Haji’s secret spot. The only place in the school where she could be alone.  

The shade that blocked the blazing sunlight and the gentle breeze that blew through made it as good as any air-conditioned café.  

Having been selected as the first-year representative for the Math Olympiad, Haji was studying harder than ever. Math was her strongest subject, and she wanted to excel.  

“…Oh, I got it!”  

The answer to a problem she had gotten wrong several times finally fit. A thrilling sense of accomplishment washed over her.  

Ding-dong-ding, the bell signaling the end of lunch rang, and Haji raised her head.  

“It’s already this late.”  

Despite her resolve to leave before the bell rang, she was already late. Haji hurriedly gathered her workbook. Seonghee would undoubtedly scold her with worried nagging again.  

Although she wasn’t in the exact spot Haji was, Seonghee often worried because kids who were known troublemakers hung out near the storage room.  

Haji, feeling more rushed after hearing the bell, quickly rounded the corner from behind the storage room when a faint smell of cigarette smoke hit her. She had encountered students smoking nearby a few times before.  

They had an unspoken agreement to ignore each other and not invade each other’s spaces.  

But right now, she was too pressed for time to pay attention to such students.  

“I need to hurry… Oh?”  

A startled sound escaped Haji’s lips.  

Why is this person…?  

“Busted.”  

The most famous person in school.  

Even though they had only met once, he had left a strong impression—Ki Seojin. Haji’s wandering gaze stopped at the cigarette in his hand.  

Holding a cigarette in one hand, he curled his lips into a loose smile, as if it was no big deal.  

Why is Sunbae…?  

“Why…?”  

A genius in looks and brains, smoking in front of the storage room?  

The thought crossed her mind that even this sight would make the girls who liked him squeal in excitement. However, such idle thoughts vanished the moment he spoke to her.  

“You’re the first-year representative for the Math Olympiad?”  

“Yes.”  

Seojin’s gaze shifted from her workbook to her face. His stare made her feel uneasy, as if he could see right through her.  

“Is that why you haven’t grown taller?”  

“…”  

Another insult about her height. Haji’s eyes sharpened.  

Seojin, finding her reaction amusing, extinguished his cigarette on the ground and left behind an incomprehensible remark, just like last time.  

“See you tomorrow.”  

A cool scent of mint lingered as he walked away. It was hard to believe he had just been smoking.  

What does he mean? Tomorrow?  

“Ah!”  

Haji, who had been pondering his words, suddenly turned her head. It was already well past the time for class to have started.

Her skirt, brushing against her knees, fluttered as she half-ran.

***

Scratch, scratch—the frustration in Haji’s hands sharpened the tip of her pencil.  

The answer to the problem wouldn’t come easily today. She had tried applying every formula she knew.  

“Ugh, what is it…?”  

Haji glared at the problem as if she were locked in a staring contest with it.  

The cool shade behind the storage room, which had always been a refuge, felt oppressively hot today, as if she were standing alone in the middle of the school field. Letting out a sigh, she grabbed her hair, which tickled her neck, and tied it up with a hair tie.  

I have to solve this no matter what.  

Resolving herself, she gripped her pencil tightly.  

“You’ll never find the answer that way.”  

A strange voice caused Haji’s head to whip upward.  

“Huh…?”  

At the same time, a small laugh escaped Seojin’s lips.  

She must have been quite frustrated while solving the problem. The slight furrow in her brow remained as she stared at him, which he found amusing.  

What’s with that furrowed brow that doesn’t even suit her? Is she some kind of herbivore?  

The image reminded Seojin of the Animal Kingdom documentary the school had played not long ago. Haji, looking at him with her innocent face while still on edge, resembled a cautious herbivore.  

Seojin’s laughter made Haji’s face turn red. She seemed to have misunderstood, thinking she was being mocked, but Seojin didn’t bother to correct her, even though he knew.  

“Relax your brow.”  

Seojin reached out and touched the space between her eyebrows with his index finger. Once her frown disappeared, she looked much better.  

Though he felt her flinch beneath his touch, he pretended not to notice and casually took her workbook, which she had been battling with.  

“Want me to help you?”  

“Why?”  

Her suspicious gaze, paired with the wary look in her eyes, was impossible to hide, and Seojin found this audacious girl amusing.  

She was simply amusing.  

She said everything she wanted to say but never dropped her guard. Her round eyes resembled those of a rabbit, while her flushed cheeks were like those of a chipmunk. Either way, she was undoubtedly a herbivore.  

“Because now we share a secret.”  

“Oh…”  

When Seojin raised his index and middle fingers to his lips, Haji seemed to recall what she had seen yesterday.  

Seojin waited patiently for her. The sound of her internal calculations, debating whether or not to get involved with him, seemed to echo with each click of her thoughts.  

“Then, just teach me this one.”  

After finishing her mental math, Haji pointed at a specific problem. She seemed determined to make it clear that she wasn’t getting something for nothing, and her bold gaze meeting his was equally entertaining.  

And so, their secret tutoring sessions continued until the day before the Math Olympiad.  

That year, the school caused quite a stir when two students from different grades achieved perfect scores.