The cafeteria buzzed with the usual noise of chattering students and clinking cutlery. Cha Hayeon stood in line with her friends, picking up her lunch tray. As they walked toward the seating area, her gaze drifted toward the far corner of the room. There, facing the window with the soft light highlighting the contours of his gentle face, sat Nam Jihoon—quietly eating his meal, his expression unreadable.
A small smile played on Hayeon's lips.
"You guys go ahead. I need to talk to a friend," she told her friends.
They nodded and walked off, leaving her to approach Jihoon. She hesitated for a heartbeat before stepping toward him.
She approached the table and stopped beside him. "Can I sit here?" she asked, her voice carrying a note of shyness.
Jihoon looked up at her, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "No."
Hayeon blinked, caught off guard.
He chuckled. "You can sit here, next to me."
She smiled and sat down quietly. For a moment, neither said anything. Then, Hayeon broke the silence.
"You were really amazing at the race yesterday," she said, her voice warm with admiration.
Jihoon chuckled lightly. "Thanks. Honestly, I thought you were angry with me."
She shook her head. "Why would I be? I mean, okay—I was, at first. But then I thought about it and realized it was my fault for letting my guard down. You won fair and square, and I was genuinely impressed by you." Her voice lowered slightly, a soft blush blooming on her cheeks. "So I wanted to get to know you more... "Do you want to be friends with me?" She looked at him, hopeful.
Jihoon's eyes sparkled as he gave a quiet laugh. "It would be my pleasure."
As they continued eating, Hayeon found herself stealing glances at him. Now that I really look at him, she thought, he's actually really handsome… and tall. Sometimes, he even looks as cute as a puppy. She smiled to herself. Mom always says to find someone like Dad—a man with kind eyes and puppy-like warmth—and Jihoon gives me the same vibes Dad has when he's around Mom.
Jihoon caught her glancing and smiled. "If you have something to ask, you can just ask."
Caught off guard, Hayeon flushed bright red. She lowered her gaze and asked shyly, "What kind of girls do you like? I mean—what's your type?"
He raised an eyebrow, amused. "Why do you want to know?"
She fumbled. "Ah—never mind! It's okay if you don't want to say." She quickly turned back to her food.
Jihoon smiled and leaned in slightly. "I like girls like you."
She choked on her food in surprise. Jihoon reached over immediately, gently patting her back with one hand while offering her a glass of water with the other. She grabbed his wrist with both hands and drank from the glass he held, calming down slowly.
When she finally caught her breath, he set the glass down and tenderly wiped the corner of her lips with his thumb.
"You okay?"
She nodded, ears glowing red.Jihoon found her expression utterly adorable.
"Come on, eat before it gets cold," he said, grinning.
Both of them smiled as they continued eating, unable to hide the happiness blooming between them.
A loudspeaker announcement rang through the cafeteria, announcing the next game, which would be played in teams. Hayeon and Jihoon were paired together.
"Ohh, cool! We're in the same team!" she beamed.
Jihoon smiled. "Looks like it."
Around them, murmurs spread like wildfire. Students went pale at the announcement. Hayeon and Jay on the same team? It felt like a nightmare to everyone else. No one expected to win now.
Later, while others were getting ready for the game, a student approached Hayeon.
"Jay said to meet him in Room 17 before the game," he informed her.
"Oh? Alright, thanks," she replied, a bit curious.
She headed to Room 17, wondering if Jay wanted to strategize. Opening the door, she stepped in. "Jay?"
He was sitting casually, playing on his phone. "Why did you call me here?"
Jihoon looked up. "What do you mean? Someone told me you called me."
Their eyes widened at the same time. "Shitttttt…" they muttered in unison, bolting for the door.
But it was too late.
They heard the click of a lock and footsteps running away. "Sorry!" someone called from outside. "You guys already have enough points! Let us win this one!"
"You cheaters!" Hayeon shouted. "Don't let me catch you or I'll beat your asses!"
She turned to Jihoon with a sigh. "Now what? We missed the game…"
Jihoon leaned back in his chair, smiling. "It's fine. I'm actually glad. We get to spend some time alone."
"Come sit here," Jihoon offered, patting the chair next to him.
Her face instantly turned crimson. She hesitated, then sat beside him.
"So… how old are you?" she asked, trying to distract herself.
"Eighteen."
She blinked. "Really? You look kind of… young. I thought you were my age."
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen. So I'm two years younger than you."
He laughed. "Thank God we don't have a big age gap. Otherwise, it'd be weird seducing a child."
"Y-You're such a flirt!" Hayeon said, fanning herself.
"Are you hot?" he asked, concerned.
"No, I'm fine," she replied quickly, changing the subject. "So… why did you come here?"
He shrugged. "My parents are always busy. Usually, they send me to camps like this to 'learn' something. But this time… it's a punishment."
"Punishment?"
"Yeah. I have this annoying younger cousin who keeps saying my parents don't love me that's why they don't come home . I got pissed and hit him. So… I got sent here."
Hayeon's eyes narrowed in fury. "That brat deserved it! If I were you, I'd have done even more!"
Jihoon burst into laughter and pinched her cheek gently. "Thanks for standing up for me."
"What about you?" he asked. "Why were you sent here?"
She sighed. "There was this guy who kept proposing to me—talking about marriage and all. I rejected him, but he wouldn't stop. One day, I got so annoyed I pushed him into a pool. He tattled to his parents and mine. And because he's an investor's son, Mom sent me here to smooth things over."
Jihoon's jaw tightened with jealousy, but he said nothing.
"Is your mom like my parents ?" he asked.
"No, not at all. She's amazing. She loves me so much. To others she may seem cold, but to me, she's everything.She just wanted to avoid ruining our company's relationship with them. She knew I'd handle this camp easily."
Jihoon looked at her with admiration. "You really sound like the main character of a story."
"Of course I am," she said proudly.
He smiled faintly and murmured under his breath, "While I'm just an extra… even in my parents' story."
She turned to him with a serious expression, her brows slightly furrowed.
"Jay… no. You're not just some extra."
He looked at her, unsure. And that's when she spoke with a soft but firm voice, like she was trying to plant something deep in his heart.
"Look, when I said I'm the main character, I didn't mean it like I'm better than anyone else," she said. "I meant that I'm the main character of my own story. Just like you are in yours."
He blinked at her, and she continued.
"Think of it this way—imagine I take a cab to go somewhere. The driver and I chat for a few minutes before I get off. For me, he's just a side character in my day, in my story. But for him, he goes back to his life—his own problems, dreams, maybe a family waiting for him—and in his story, I was just a passing moment. That doesn't make either of us less important. We're just living different chapters of our own books."
She smiled softly, her voice dipping lower, more tender.
"And you know what? Every story matters."
"You say you're an extra in your parents' life… maybe you are. Maybe they haven't given you the place you deserve. But that doesn't mean you're not the main character of your own life. And just like any good story, your life matters. It matters a lot. Even if it's been full of sad parts so far… that doesn't mean it'll stay that way. You're still writing it. So don't let anyone, not even your own thoughts, convince you you're not important."
Jihoon's eyes welled up with tears—tears he hadn't even realized were there. Hayeon noticed and gave him a soft smile, wiping them away gently.For a moment, she just looked at him, really looked at him.
"You really do look like an abandoned puppy right now," she teased softly.
He blinked, startled.
Her voice, when she spoke again, was gentle, yet steady.
"So Puppy… if you don't have an owner…"
She paused, meeting his eyes.
"Would you like me to adopt you?"
Her hand gently patted his head. Jihoon looked up at her, stunned by the kindness in her touch. Their eyes met, and Hayeon, without thinking, cupped his face with both hands and placed a soft peck on the tip of his nose.
A light, fluttering kiss. Warm, fleeting.
Jihoon froze.
It wasn't a kiss meant to seduce. It wasn't even romantic in the traditional sense. It was soft. Reassuring. Like a promise. Like a declaration: You're not alone anymore.
As she pulled back slightly, still holding his face in her hands, she smiled with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"That was your adoption stamp," she murmured.
"You're mine now, little puppy."
Jihoon's heart, which had been quietly aching all this time, felt like it had finally been noticed.
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