Because It's My First LoveW. Kkot Seoryeong
I still remember that day so clearly.
Leaving the school I’d grown attached to, struggling to adjust to the new one—
and hiding away in an empty room just to breathe.
“Thought no one was in here... oh, guess not.”
A guy with unbelievably big eyes peeked through the slightly open door.
I stared at his face in surprise—his sharp features, small face, and those eyes that took up half of it.
Wait a second… he looked familiar.
That kind of face isn’t common.
Just as I was about to mentally sort through where I’d seen him before,
a sharp voice came from across the room.
“What are you staring at?”
His voice matched his looks—cold and piercing.
Embarrassed, I gave a small nod and glanced downward.
No, seriously... I have seen him before.
That icy look—ice, ice… Ice?!
The memory hit me like lightning. I jerked my head up and stared at him again.
Yeah. That face. It’s him.
“…Oh my god.”
I needed to run.
That was the only thought in my head.
-
To explain my “not-so-important” connection with him,
we’d have to go back to about a year ago.
It was the day I completely bombed my very first mock exam as an 18-year-old.
I’d aced the last one of my first year and let it go to my head.
All day, I walked around school like a ghost.
Apparently, watching me was too much for Kang,
because he grabbed my hand and dragged me to my favorite dessert café.
“You look like you’re dying.”
Though I’d come unwillingly, a few bites of cake later, I started to feel better.
He told me it was okay, that I did well enough, that I’d do better next time.
Nice sentiment, but it didn’t work.
It’s not comforting to hear “you’ll be fine” from someone who’s always been top of the class.
Head drooped over the table, I let everything spill.
“I missed over half the non-fiction questions on the March exam.
Why would they randomly throw in a science passage?!
I'm a humanities student—how am I supposed to get those right?”
“Yeah, even I thought that passage was tough.”
If science kids thought it was hard, what about us poor liberal arts kids?
Just as I was about to calm down with another forkful of cake,
the rage returned.
“The people who wrote those questions should get rained on.
Like—bam—instant storm.”
“Wow, that’s… surprisingly light for how mad you are.”
Kang leaned his chin on his hand and smirked.
Well, yeah. It’s not like I’d wish death on them. Just some harmless rain.
But truth be told, the real issue wasn’t the questions.
I slacked off because I got overconfident after doing so well last time.
“Eat this and let’s get ready for the next one, okay?
If you bomb again, I’ll have to drag you back here.”
Without hesitation, Kang wiped the crumbs from the side of my mouth with his fingers and popped them in his own mouth.
If anyone else had done that, I’d have screamed in embarrassment.
But Kang had been around forever. I’d known him since we were little.
So his actions didn’t even surprise me anymore. They just felt… natural.
“Whoa… hey, look over there.”
“What?”
“That guy drinking the chocolate smoothie… he’s ridiculously hot.”
Kang turned to look too.
My eyes sparkled as I took in the stranger’s face.
How could someone’s face look like that?
But then I saw Kang frown.
“I’m not exactly ugly either, you know…”
He bit down on his straw in irritation.
Honestly, Kang is very handsome.
He gets confessions left and right at school.
But I guess… because I’ve known him for so long,
he doesn’t really feel like a “guy” to me. Just Kang.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re good-looking too.”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
Guess he could tell I was just trying to smooth things over.
Sure, it was half a joke…
but the compliment was true!
“Oh my god, he looked at me!”
I quickly lowered my head.
After a few seconds, I peeked back up.
His lips were moving—was he talking to me?
My brain went into romance-novel mode.
A fateful first meeting… love at first sight…
But then I spotted the wireless earbud in his ear.
“…Oh. He was on the phone.”
Dang it.
For a second there, I really thought he was talking to me.
I almost got excited for nothing.
I awkwardly sipped my coffee and watched as he walked out of the café like I didn’t even exist.
“Talk about an ice prince.”
“…‘Prince,’ huh.”
At the time, I thought he was just a random passerby in my peaceful, breezy life.
Just a stranger in a café.
That was… until—
Thud—
“Shit…”
The coffee I was holding spilled all over his shirt.
His chocolate smoothie lay wasted on the floor.
I felt the pain in my forehead after I saw the stain on his clothes.
Panicking, I stumbled back and shut my eyes.
“I’m so sorry!!…”
“Are you okay?!”
Kang rushed over.
His eyes scanned the situation, clearly trying to process it.
I nodded slowly, looking up at him.
He was half a head taller than me—always had been.
“I’ll pay for the cleaning! I’m really sorry!!”
“Do you even have enough for that?”
I blinked up at him.
His shirt logo came into view.
Luxury brand.
Crap.
Yup, I messed up.
Figures—he did look like some rich kid.
I started mentally calculating how much this would cost me when Kang’s voice, low and barely controlled, came from behind.
“I’ll pay for it. Is that okay with you?”
His tone was polite… but barely.
I turned and looked at Kang wide-eyed.
He was probably stepping in because he’s from a wealthy family too,
but that only made me more uncomfortable.
I grabbed his arm, trying to silently say “don’t.”
That’s when the other guy spoke again.
“Forget the cleaning. Just pay me back for the smoothie.”
He said it casually, like he couldn’t care less.
I looked at him to make sure—really?—and he just raised an eyebrow.
“What? Don’t want to?”
I quickly pulled out my wallet and handed him the smoothie money.
Relieved. And grateful.
But then…
‘Why the hell is he here?!’
I was shocked to see him again—not just because he was a high schooler like me,
but because we were suddenly attending the same school.
For a moment, our eyes met and locked.
He looked at me with a blank expression, like he didn’t recognize me.
I gave an awkward smile and began backing away.
“Oops, wrong room–” I tried to say.
That’s when he spoke.
“Hey.”
And just like that… I froze.