# [Prince] Episode 1
“Hey, did you see him?”
“Who?”
“Park Wonbin.”
During the week after classes started, I must have heard the name Park Wonbin more than twenty times.
At first I figured there must be some freshman like that. But strangely, his name kept coming up every other day.
“He was seriously so damn handsome.”
“But I heard his personality sucks.”
“Why?”
“Jihye tried talking to him, but he didn’t even answer properly.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Guess he only wants to hang out with people like him.”
And then, at the very end, the same kind of comment always followed.
Prince.
When I first heard that nickname, I wondered why anyone would call a college student a prince, but after seeing him in person, I could kind of understand why.
Black hair, white skin. Even from far away, he had a strikingly handsome face, and he always wore clothes that looked obviously expensive at a glance.
The problem was that he was always alone.
Lunch alone, classes alone.
I’d never seen him have a long conversation with anyone, even if someone tried talking to him.
“I heard he didn’t even show up to the drinking party last time.”
“Yeah. They called him and he said he wasn’t going.”
“So cold.”
I thought there’d be no reason for me to get involved with someone like Park Wonbin.
I was a sophomore, and he was a freshman.
“All right, I’ve posted the results for the mentor-mentee pairing program, so check them!”
……At least, that’s what I thought until today.
*
“Holy shit.”
The moment Sujin, who was sitting next to me, saw the roster posted in the group chat, she snatched my phone away.
“Hey, Kim Yeoju, amazing.”
“Why.”
“You’re Park Wonbin.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your assigned junior.”
I looked at the screen again.
Kim Yeoju - Park Wonbin.
It was real.
“Wow, I’m jealous.”
“What’s there to be jealous of?”
“His face.”
“What am I supposed to do with my junior’s face?”
“You eat together every week, don’t you?”
Mentor-mentee pairing.
Literally, it was a program in our department that paired one senior and one junior together. Until freshmen got used to school, seniors were supposed to show them the ropes, but our department especially loved this kind of thing, so we had to eat together and do missions all semester long.
“But still, that’s rough for you.”
Sujin said as she gave my phone back.
“Why?”
“Because it’s Park Wonbin.”
“So?”
“Haven’t you heard the rumors?”
As if I could have not heard them.
“Apparently all the girls who tried talking to him first gave up. He doesn’t answer.”
“Not at all?”
“Yeah. I heard he barely even makes eye contact.”
I looked down at the roster again.
Kim Yeoju - Park Wonbin.
……I was already tired.
*
The first mentor-mentee meetup was on Friday.
I got to the cafe about ten minutes early, and Wonbin was already there.
End seat by the window.
He was wearing a black hooded zip-up, earbuds in, looking at his phone, and up close he was even more uncomfortably handsome.
“Park Wonbin?”
He looked up.
“……Yes.”
“Hi. I’m Kim Yeoju, your senior.”
“Ah, yes.”
That was it.
……What is this?
“Can I sit?”
“Yes.”
I sat across from him, and I felt like I was going to die from the awkwardness.
I’m usually able to get comfortable talking to even a complete stranger within ten minutes, but there was no opening with him.
“Wonbin, what do you want to drink?”
“I’m okay.”
“Still, we came to a cafe, so get something to drink. I’ll buy it.”
“I’m really fine.”
“……Okay.”
Another silence.
I fiddled with my straw for no reason.
It was the first time I’d ever met someone who was this impossible to talk to.
“How’s school been?”
“It’s fine.”
“What about classes?”
“It’s fine.”
“Have you gotten close with your classmates?”
This time, the answer didn’t come right away.
Wonbin looked down at the table.
“……Just a little.”
Ah.
Now I finally understood why the others had given up.
“If you don’t know something, you can ask me. Course registration, assignments, anything.”
“Yes.”
“I did go to school a year earlier than you, after all.”
“Yes.”
“…….”
“…….”
Save me.
In the end, I left before even filling the full hour we’d planned.
“Then see you next time.”
“Yes.”
“Be careful going home.”
“Noona…….”
My foot froze as I was about to turn away.
Huh?
When I turned back, Wonbin had his mouth pressed shut.
He seemed like he’d just said something.
“What did you say?”
“……Nothing.”
“Huh?”
“See you next time.”
Then he lowered his head.
On my way out of the cafe, I immediately sent a KakaoTalk message to my friend.
[Hey]
[I met Park Wonbin]
The reply came right away.
[How was he????]
After a moment of hesitation, I typed.
[He’s handsome, for sure][He really is damn handsome][Maybe the rumors are true]
That was really what I thought, up until then.
Park Wonbin was just,
I thought he was a prince who didn’t hang out with people like us.
