Episode 3
“I love you,
I love you.
I love you.”
The bold words echoed in Tae-joo’s mind and ears like a reverberating sound. He had thought that she was unpredictable, but he never expected something like this.
After coming out of his shock, Tae-joo looked around. Getting confessed to by a girl in a school uniform? If anyone saw, he’d be in serious trouble. Was there anything more awkward or terrifying than this?
“I think I fell for you from the moment I first saw you.”
After throwing the bomb, Yoon-seol continued with her calm confession, blushing and giving a shy, playful look.
Tae-joo, regaining his composure, narrowed his eyes.
“Yoon-seol.”
“Yes?”
Her bright brown eyes sparkled as if waiting for his response.
“Are you practicing for a role?”
“How could you say that?!”
Her round eyes turned into sharp triangles. She looked like she had been insulted.
“I’m the one who’s wronged. Who would want to confess like this while eating tteokbokki? But I think the teacher misunderstood…”
“Does that make sense? You’re nineteen…”
“So just wait a few more days, sir.”
“Then I’ll be twenty.”
Yoon-seol added with a pout, and Tae-joo, lost for words, closed his lips.
In his life, many women had tried to get his attention, but no one had ever made him this embarrassed with a confession.
“Okay, fine, let’s move on.”
“Not just move on; I really like you…”
“Why me?”
Tae-joo glanced at his watch and gestured for her to sit down, as if challenging her.
“First of all, you’re handsome. You’re tall too.”
Yoon-seol covered her face with both hands, peeking at him.
“Mm… I think you have a nice body too.”
Tae-joo’s arm muscles tensed.
This kid’s bold.
“Why are you looking like that?”
“Honestly, I think you’re even more handsome than Cha Eun-woo.”
When he gave her a warning with a sharp look, Yoon-seol lowered her head and whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Still don’t believe me? Want me to say more?”
“Enough.”
Tae-joo reached out and covered Yoon-seol’s mouth. She struggled for a moment but soon calmed down in his grip.
He didn’t know how to handle this bold little one who had become more talkative.
“Teacher, you bought me tteokbokki.”
Her plump lips moved, tickling his palm.
“That was the first time I ever ate tteokbokki.”
Tae-joo recalled the past. Whenever they had lessons, Yoon-seol’s stomach would growl, and once, when he asked her what she wanted to eat, she hesitated before quietly saying, “Tteokbokki.”
He took her to a snack shop where she seemed as if she had entered a new world, her eyes sparkling.
“So, it’s because of tteokbokki?”
“Yes. Because you ate tteokbokki with me. I was so, so happy that day.”
Yoon-seol murmured shyly, her long eyelashes fluttering.
Tae-joo closed his eyes, feeling conflicted.
She liked him because of tteokbokki. This was a big problem. If he bought her something better, would she offer her life in return?
“Yoon-seol, I think you’re misunderstanding something…”
“Shh. Wait, I think I’ve been caught sneaking out.”
Suddenly, Yoon-seol pressed her finger against his lips, showing him her vibrating phone.
“Let’s talk later.”
“But there’s no later…”
“I’m going now, teacher.”
“Ha, fine, go then.”
Tae-joo, with a throbbing headache, waved his hand dismissively.
“Ah, if you’re not going to eat this, can I take it? Excuse me, can I get this packed?”
Yoon-seol grabbed the bowl with both hands and walked up to the snack shop owner.
She really was smart.
While he was watching her, Yoon-seol suddenly turned and rushed up to him, whispering near his ear.
“…And teacher, don’t worry about my age. My birthday is January 1st.”
Her warm breath tickled his ear, and the scent of fruit drifted past him.
“I’ll be twenty in just a week, so don’t worry.”
Yoon-seol smiled and ran off, holding the black bag as if it were a treasure.
It felt like a storm had just passed. All that was left was the peach fragrance she had left behind.
On TV, Yoon-seol was smiling brightly, looking at him. The snack shop owner’s skeptical gaze was an added bonus.
[I like you so much, teacher.]
The words Yoon-seol had whispered echoed in his ear.
“…I’ll pay.”
Tae-joo cleared his throat awkwardly and took out his wallet.
In the taxi, Yoon-seol sighed deeply.
“I thought I was going to die from nerves.”
Was what she said right?
With the teacher right in front of her, she felt like her mind went blank, unsure if it was a dream or reality.
Yoon-seol pulled her cheek to check. It hurt, so it was real.
It was really him. After four years, they met again.
Her heart was pounding rapidly in her left chest. She felt like it might spill out of her mouth at any moment.
“…Hey, student!”
“Yes?”
“Where are you going? You have to tell me the destination once you’re in a taxi!”
“Ah, AK Hospital.”
Yoon-seol finally told the driver and then took out a cap and hoodie from her backpack.
“Heh.”
She couldn’t help but smile.
He had become even more handsome. A golden-haired, pierced, glamorous man had turned into a cool adult who took her breath away.
His dark hair, which almost covered his eyes, looked brown under the light. Sometimes he seemed cold, but at other times, he felt caring.
His sharp eyes could be fierce, but when the corners of his eyes softened, her heart skipped a beat.
She couldn’t deny that he was more handsome than any male celebrity she had ever met.
Her heart was pounding as she looked at the black bag resting on her lap, the tteokbokki still warm.
Since her debut, she had always lived doing what her mom and agency told her to. Eating what they told her to, wearing what they told her to, quietly complying with everything.
Tteokbokki was her first act of rebellion.
[You’re hungry again.]
[Sorry, I couldn’t eat anything during the shoot.]
[What do you want to eat?]
[Huh?]
[Say what you want, anything.]
[…Tteokbokki.]
She had said it hesitantly, knowing it was a forbidden food.
[Let’s go.]
[Where to?]
[You said you wanted tteokbokki.]
[Can I really eat it?]
Why wouldn’t you? Why are you looking around? If you want it, just eat it.
It wasn’t just about tteokbokki.
He was the only one who ever listened to her voice in a world where adults always said no.
He was the only adult who showed her the outside world when she couldn’t even go to school.
The person who treated Yoon-seol as Yoon-seol.
Her teacher.
And,
Her precious first love.
Her heart melted like fresh tofu.
Yoon-seol breathed onto the window.
On the foggy glass, she wrote his name, then drew a heart and her own name next to it.
<Tae-joo ♡ Seol>
She stared at it for a moment, then shyly wiped it away with her palm.
How long would he stay in Korea?
Young Master will be returning to the U.S. soon, won’t he? Maybe he won’t ever come back to Korea after this trip. He’s so handsome and capable, and he’ll be popular in the U.S. too.
He’ll settle down. We’ll find him a good wife.
Yoon-seol remembered the words of Manager Choi and Chairman Kang and frowned.
Time was running out. She became anxious.
She couldn’t just let him leave like this.
Thinking about it, Yoon-seol took out her phone and made a call.
