Chapter 75

“So, how’s Ha-chan?”

“Well, it’s not that hard. Seolhyang, are you okay?”

She’s my boss at work, but today she’s just a college student attending the same university as me.

So, when I casually dropped the formalities, her eyes shook for a moment.

“Uh, no, me, just say my name one more time.”

“Seolhyang?”

When I repeated it after her cautious question, her body shivered.

“Ha-chan, thank you.”

And for some reason, her eyes held a deep longing.

‘Seolhyang, Seolhyang? What is it? Why does it feel so familiar?’

Maybe because I call her Baek Seolhyang every day.

I felt that the name Seolhyang I blurted out felt familiar somewhere.

Clearly, Baek Seolhyang wasn’t familiar, but Seolhyang was.

‘Something’s up.’

Wait, as a memory flashed by, I turned my head in surprise at the warmth coming from my hand.

Then, Seolhyang, who had somehow grabbed my hand, spoke without turning her head.

“Ha, Ha-chan, uh, let’s go! We’ll be late for class!”

Seeing her with her ears bright red, I started walking with her, feeling the warmth from her hand.

And as I looked at her back, I briefly recalled a hazy memory.

Before my sister returned.

It was a memory from when I was really young.

Yeah, I definitely remember someone holding my hand and walking around school like this.

It’s such an old memory, and soon after, my sister’s return and the shock of my parents’ death made me forget most of the memories close to that day.

But I definitely have memories of living like this.

Is it a mistake?

I’m not sure because the memory is so hazy.

Then, I belatedly realized that I was holding Seolhyang’s hand.

The soft warmth from her hand tickled and confused me.

What does this action mean?

Holding hands can happen, but among peers of the same age, it’s mostly done between lovers.

The words Eun-namu and Baeksan mentioned came back to me.

That Seolhyang might like me too.

‘Is that true?’

While I was in such confusion, we somehow arrived at the university lecture room.

Since the class had just started, when I carefully opened the door, some glances turned this way.

Among them was the professor, who, upon seeing us, immediately turned his head without paying attention.

His actions clearly conveyed that he didn’t see who was coming in and didn’t care at all.

‘Is this the power of the dean’s connections?’

The power of connections.

While I was marveling at such power, the students who saw us couldn’t focus on the class and just blankly stared at Seolhyang’s face.

Honestly, if I didn’t know Seolhyang, I’d probably do the same, so I sat with her in a corner seat.

Even then, our hands remained clasped.

The hand under the desk, held for so long, had warmed up considerably more than before.

Since we’ve come to class, shouldn’t we slowly let go?

When I looked at Seolhyang, she was staring at the poor professor without making eye contact with me.

Thanks to that, the professor’s face gradually turned blue, but she didn’t seem to intend to look away.

After watching her for a while, I decided to ask her casually.

“Seolhyang.”

“Hmm?”

When she answered without turning her gaze towards me, I wiggled the hand she was holding.

Just that made Seolhyang shrink and her face turned bright red.

“Are you going to keep holding?”

When I asked honestly, Seolhyang’s body trembled once, then she looked at me with slightly teary eyes.

“…Do you dislike it?”

I almost blurted out, “I like it.”

Thinking that a beauty’s face is powerful, I silently shook my head without answering.

Since she was embarrassed, my face naturally heated up too.

Then, Seolhyang slightly released the hand she was holding and then interlocked our fingers.

It was a real couple’s interlock.

Shocked by her action, she whispered quietly.

“I won’t let go.”

If that’s the sincerity of a Returner, she might really never let go.

“Damn, I can’t take this anymore!”

At that moment, Baeksan, who had been quietly standing behind us, let out a sound and ran away through the wall.

Well, it’s not my fault, right?

Thanks to holding hands with Seolhyang until the end of class, I felt mentally dazed, not remembering the lecture at all.

Seolhyang seemed genuinely intent on not letting go, tightly holding my hand, and after class, she checked her phone with her other hand.

“Ha-chan, where should we go for the next class?”

Now that holding my hand had become a bit familiar, she looked at me with a less red face.

Seeing her, I checked the time on the wall.

“Let’s have lunch first.”

“Then it’s cafeteria food.”

Seeing Seolhyang’s beaming face, I felt at ease too.

Holding her hand again, we left the classroom.

Perhaps because of Seolhyang’s appearance and the lover-like image of holding hands while walking, many glances turned our way, but her and my hands didn’t part.

It’s still early September, so it should be hot.

The place we headed to was the university cafeteria.

To get to the cafeteria, we had to go down the stairs, and I noticed Seolhyang hesitating.

“What’s wrong? Is your leg hurting?”

“Ah, going down stairs is a bit uncomfortable for me.”

Going down is uncomfortable, not going up?

“It’s because of my chest…”

My puzzled gaze soon turned to her upper body.

…She can’t see below her feet.

No wonder it’s uncomfortable if she can’t see.

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t know. I’ll hold you properly.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Realizing that being big can be tough, I properly held her hand and guided her down.

Entering the cafeteria, we saw many students already eating.

Given the university’s nature, cafeteria food is cost-effective but can’t compare to restaurants, but this university’s cafeteria was quite good.

The menu had a variety of options.

“Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll buy. I can’t afford expensive things, but I can buy cafeteria food.”

“Pfft, where does Ha-chan’s money come from?”

“Work talk is prohibited. Consider this a warning.”

“Ah, my bad. But what happens when warnings pile up?”

She looked at me with expectant eyes for some reason.

What can I do if they pile up?

If it were Ayu, I’d just flick her forehead, but I can’t do that to Seolhyang.

“You’re taking too long. Can I keep piling up warnings?”

“That’s cheating. There’s hardly anything I can make you do.”

“Cheating? Then, let’s say that with the next warning, we have to answer whatever the other asks immediately.”

That seemed fair enough.

Nodding, I bought meal tickets and waited at our seat for our number to be called.

“Ah, I’ll get some water.”

As I got up to get water before the meal arrived, I realized I was still holding her hand.

She stared at our clasped hands.

Then, she gave me a shy smile.

“…Will Ha-chan hold my hand again after we eat?”

“Ah, yeah.”

As she slowly let go, I absentmindedly answered and hurried to the water dispenser.

Then, to calm my confused mind, I bumped my head against the dispenser and quietly took a deep breath.

Ji-eun and Si-ho are minors, so there’s a line, but Seolhyang is the same age as me.

She’s also a proper member of society, and I’ve treated her as an adult woman all along.

With her making such obvious advances, it’s hard for me to handle.

For some reason, it seems Seolhyang really likes me.

The problem is, I don’t know why, so my head is all over the place.

Because I can’t guess why someone like her would like me.

A woman who’s socially, physically, and ability-wise flawless suddenly says she likes me at first sight.

Who would easily believe that?

“I never thought I’d have such worries.”

I hated myself for not being able to accept someone’s goodwill because of what happened with Gwak Sa-yeon.

If it weren’t for that, what would I be like now?

Would I have confessed to her right away?

Thinking that someone like her liking me is a miracle.

No, well, let’s seriously think about it now.

Let’s say she likes me.

Then what about me?

‘Do I…’

Have feelings for her?

Seolhyang is my boss and the head of the World Returner Association.

She’s reliable, cool, and beautiful.

Enough to easily develop feelings of admiration.

But if you ask if I like her…

‘…Well.’

It might sound ungrateful, but while I like her as a person, I can’t say I like her romantically yet.

Initially, due to my trauma, I tend to see people like Seolhyang, who I think are amazing, as out of reach.

Lately, I’ve been consciously reducing that tendency, but it still lingers in my heart, tormenting me.

And I know very well that my actions are very rude to Seolhyang.

‘Then, even now.’

I decided to treat her more rationally.

To see what feelings I have for her as a man and a woman.

To make sure of that.

“I’m back.”

When I returned with the water, Seolhyang greeted me with a smile.

She’s truly outstanding in her beauty.

“Thanks for getting the water.”

“It’s nothing.”

Saying that, she took the glass and soon started to smile faintly.

“I never thought I’d be attending school with Ha-chan again.”

“Huh? Again?”

At that moment, her following words made me turn to look at her, and Seolhyang, startled, laughed awkwardly.

“Ah, I mean, I didn’t think I’d be attending school again! Even if it’s just for a day.”

Her smiling face stuck in my mind.

Come to think of it, the reason we came to school today was because she was caught in a dimensional shift while transferring schools during elementary school and never got to experience school life.

She couldn’t relive middle or high school, but she wanted to experience university life, so she made time for this.

‘Rather than romantic feelings…’

I hoped that at least today could be a day that filled a bit of the school life she missed.

“If you want to come again, I’ll come with you, so don’t worry. Let’s attend all the classes today.”

“…Really?”

“Really.”

Her eyes lit up.

At that moment, she seemed to remember something and looked slightly displeased.

“But you’d go to school with someone else if they asked, right?”

I’m not sure who would ask me to go to school, but I scratched my head once.

“I’m not that kind of overly kind person, I think.”

“You are. Too much. Sometimes it’s annoying.”

Saying that, she soon looked hesitant.

“But I like that about you…”

“Number 153! 153! Your pork cutlet is ready! Come get it!”

At that moment, the cafeteria lady shouted, cutting off Seolhyang’s words.

Apparently, the pork cutlet had been ready for a while, as several numbers before ours had piled up.

“…Let’s get the pork cutlet first.”

She left her words unsaid and got up with a red face.

Following her, I brought the pork cutlet and we started our meal.

The pork cutlet tasted just like the ones from Kimbap Heaven.

Nothing special, but Seolhyang eating it was a bit precious.

Because she seemed more suited to a steak, with her high-class image.

“You’re making me shy by watching me eat like that.”

Because I was staring too much, Seolhyang blushed and glanced at me.

But it was quite fascinating to see her nibble on the pork cutlet with her small mouth.

“Or do you want to do something like this?”

At that moment, she picked up a piece of pork cutlet with a fork and held it out to my mouth.

We were both eating the same pork cutlet, but for some reason, hers looked more delicious.

‘Even if I don’t know what love is yet.’

I definitely understand why couples do this kind of thing.