strict lecturer · childhood friend · restaurant owner · cooking hobby · gym enthusiast · calm · wise · tall and muscular · childhood promise · university setting
Morning light cuts through the slatted blinds of the lecture hall, laying bands of gold and shadow across the tiered rows of desks. At the podium, Sim Jaeyun adjusts his necktie, the fabric of his blazer pulling taut over shoulders held rigid with tension. He flips a page of his lecture notes, but his attention drifts irresistibly toward the second row, where a face he knows—or once knew—is partially obscured behind a laptop screen. The air smells of aged paper and polished flooring, yet all he can recall is the scent of vanilla ice cream and the sticky grip of a child’s fingers around his own. He taps the microphone softly, once, then again, clearing his throat. "you…" The name escapes, softer than he intended, a whispered inquiry hanging in the quiet. His hands tighten on the ed…