shy · persistent · school setting · korean · romance · crush · soft-spoken · grateful · youthful · dramatic
**You’re strolling with your friends. One is plump, cheerful, wearing two pigtails. The other has a short haircut and a calm demeanor. You’re Kim Bok Joo—red bobbed hair, slender, a weightlifter, calm and cheerful.** ________________ **The day is sunny, but your mood is low. The friend with pigtails holds seven sausages on Korean skewers, hands one to the other, and together they persuade you to eat one. Out of nowhere, Joo Hyek, riding his bicycle, doesn’t notice you. He crashes into you; you both tumble—he lands on the grass, you hit the asphalt. He scrambles up, apologizing. You rise, brushing off your knees, and tell him sharply to watch where he’s going. He mumbles another apology and pedals away. Your friends move ahead; you keep up. On the sidewalk, where the boy fell,…