Episode 41
30 May to 18 October 2025. Quiet Months.
Summer did not end all at once.
It simply… faded.
Days blurred together—indistinguishable. Weightless. Quietly exhausting.
Day after day. Week after week.
Exams passed.
Holidays came and went.
The fall semester began.
Many times, Mi-yeon picked up her phone and wrote messages to Den.
Many times, she stared at the screen… and deleted everything.
Den checked his phone twice as often, patiently waiting for something from her.
Call, text, emoji. Anything to let him know that he still mattered.
It never happened.
They still greeted each other. Still spoke.
Too polite to be friends. Too drawn to comfortably remain just classmates.
Sometimes they ate together—but only within the safe geometry of larger groups.
Occasionally, by sheer coincidence, they would find themselves in the library.
They would try to sit across from one another, never brave enough to sit beside one another.
Those brief, accidental proximities became their only permitted happiness—small, fragile moments justified by neutral circumstances.
Neither of them could let go.
Neither of them dared to move closer.
And so the stalemate endured.
19 October 2025, Sunday. Evening. Yuna's rented room.
Yuna lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Her face was glowing.
She pressed her phone tightly to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut, smiling so hard it almost hurt.
I finally have a boyfriend, she thought, giddy and breathless.
He's so handsome. Okay, I've never actually seen him… just pictures… but that's only for now!
He just lives far away. That's all.
When winter break comes, he'll save up money and travel from Busan to finally meet me!
I'm so happy!
She opened her eyes and quickly typed a message.
I miss you so much, my love! I think about you all the time!
She added far too many hearts and hit send.
The reply came almost immediately.
I miss you too, Yuna. I think about you constantly.
Send me a photo of yourself—I want to look at you while I think of you.
Yuna only giggled.
She lifted her phone, angled it just right, fixed her hair, and took a selfie.
She sent it without hesitation.
Then she curled up on the bed, knees bent, feet kicking air in pure excitement.
She hugged the phone to her chest again and let out a soft, high-pitched squeal, barely contained by the walls of the small room.
Her happiness was simple.
Bright.
Unquestioning.
And for now, that was all she wanted.
20 October 2025, Monday. Late afternoon. Bus stop near SNU's upper campus.
Autumn had settled in properly. The trees near the campus road burned in muted shades of orange and gold, and the air carried that crisp sharpness that made every breath feel deliberate.
The bus stop looked the same.
But it wasn't.
She was there again.
Yuna stood under the shelter, scrolling through her phone, light dancing across her face.
When she noticed him approaching, she lifted her head easily.
"Hi, Do-hwa-ssi."
There was no awkward bow anymore. Just a small wave.
He smiled back.
"Hi."
They stood side by side without hesitation. Comfortable. Familiar.
"Back to this stop?," he said lightly.
"I thought you preferred the park route now."
She tilted her head, thinking.
"I did. For a while."
A small pause.
"It was nice. Quiet. I liked walking through the trees."
He nodded.
"It wasn't the same."
She laughed softly. "What wasn't?"
"Waiting for a bus, after classes. Without you."
She shrugged.
"I guess I just needed a little time back then."
"A little time?" he said teasingly. "You were gone for months."
She looked at him sideways, amused.
"Were you keeping track?"
He smiled faintly. "Maybe."
She hesitated just a fraction of a second before answering.
"Spring was… lonely."
The word hung in the cool air.
"But summer was better," she added quickly, almost proudly. "Now I have a boyfriend!"
Do-hwa's expression remained steady.
As much as he could manage.
"He's…a very lucky guy."
"I know, right?" she said, pleased. "He's sweet too. We talk every night. For like hours!"
She glanced at the time.
"That's why I'm back to taking this route. I go straight home now. No detours."
"So you can talk to him sooner."
"Exactly."
There was no hesitation in her tone. No embarrassment.
She had grown into herself over the summer—more certain, more composed. Still warm. Still a little dramatic. But not fragile.
"And you?" she asked casually. "How was your summer?"
"Quiet," he replied.
"Studying?"
"Mostly."
She narrowed her eyes playfully.
"You keep doing that, Do-hwa. I need someone who can help me prepare for the next midterms."
He gave a small, almost helpless smile.
"I will do my best."
A bus roared past without stopping. Wind tugged at her hair. She tucked it behind her ear.
"So I was thinking. We have known each other for a while now. Should we just call each other by name?"
Do-hwa let out a soft breath.
"Sure. I'd like that."
Yuna smiled. Somehow that was still a little important to her.
"Cool! I'd prefer that too. We should have done it a long time ago."
"We should have." he replied, fighting his emotions inside.
She looked down at her phone again, the screen lighting her face.
"I should hurry home," she murmured, almost to herself. "He said he'd call as soon as I get back."
The bus pulled up.
She turned to him with an easy smile.
"See you tomorrow, Do-hwa!"
He nodded.
"See you. Yuna."
She stepped onto the bus without hesitation.
Through the window, she waved casually, already glancing back at her phone.
He lifted his hand slightly in return.
The bus doors closed.
As it pulled away, he remained standing under the autumn sky, watching it disappeared.
The wind scattered a few dry leaves across the empty platform.
Six months ago, he had waited in silence for a girl who didn't notice him.
Now he stood beside a friend who didn't know.
That was even more hurtful.
The bus stop was the same.
But everything else had shifted.