Yoojin stared blankly at Dongha, startled, before giving a small shake of her head in disbelief.
"Dongha? What are you doing here?"
"I was around your campus and thought I'd drop by… didn't expect to run into you right away."
"Wait, your school's around here too?"
"Ah… I go to Korea Modern Arts College. It's in Gangnam."
"Gangnam? That's far. Don't you have class?"
Yoojin tilted her head, confused.
It was Monday morning—traffic between Gangnam and Hankuk University easily took an hour and a half.
But Dongha didn't seem to care. His gaze stayed fixed on her face, as if he were studying every feature, comparing it to something he remembered.
"No classes today. I'm in my final semester—it's mostly fieldwork now, so I hardly go in."
"Really? You're graduating already? What about the army?"
"Went right after dropping out of high school. I entered college early."
"Seriously? I took the GED and went straight to college too. I'm graduating this year."
Their eyes met, wide with surprise.
She remembered how he'd once said ballet wasn't fun without her. Now he'd dropped out and was graduating early, just like her.
It almost felt like some strange parallel universe had folded their paths together. Yoojin laughed in disbelief.
But Dongha's expression suddenly darkened.
"You dropped out of high school, Yoojin?"
"So did you. It's not a big deal. It just means I studied on my own."
Her teasing tone made him chuckle. The way she lifted her chin so confidently—it was bold, almost disarmingly cute.
"You were dancing at that club the other night. Still dancing?"
"Yeah. But not ballet anymore—street dance."
"Street dance?"
The unfamiliar term threw her off. Street dance? What even was that—like Latin dance?
"My major's Street Dance Performance at Korea Modern Arts College. Double majoring in Choreography and Creative Dance."
"Oh… I see."
Hearing that, a pang of emotion hit her—something between regret and melancholy.
She looked away, eyes drifting past his shoulder, but Dongha let out a short laugh, the corners of his mouth curling.
That laugh swept away her complicated feelings in an instant.
"You probably don't realize how diverse street dance is," he said lightly. "These days, I choreograph for entertainment companies. That's my main gig."
Finally, Yoojin understood why he had been at that Hongdae club with idol trainees.He had found his own path—and he looked proud of it.
"So that was work that night?"
"Pretty much. Those kids were ours. I stopped ballet, got into the street scene, joined a crew, and it worked out. Going to the army early was smart too."
"That's great."
Yoojin smiled faintly.
Watching him now, she couldn't shake off a small pang of guilt-if she hadn't quit ballet in her past life, maybe Dongha would've followed a different path too.
In that other life, he would probably be studying ballet in Russia by now.
She lifted her head.
Just then, a cool autumn breeze swept through, scattering dry leaves and brushing through Dongha's hair.
The sunlight caught on his features—his tall frame, sharp jawline, and calm, confident eyes—and for a moment, Yoojin forgot to breathe.
In the dim club, she hadn't really seen him.
Now, in daylight, he wasn't the boy she remembered—he was a man.
The angles of his face had matured, his lashes longer, his gaze deeper.
As she stood there mesmerized, he leaned closer, his voice low and smooth.
"Yoojin, why don't you come see where I dance? Don't you want to know what kind of dancing I do now?"
The sharp glint in his eyes caught the sunlight.
A second gust of wind swept between them, stirring the hem of his herringbone coat.
And with it, her heart stirred too.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Don't you ever miss spinning in front of a full-length mirror?"
His words struck something buried deep inside her—a dormant hunger she'd kept sealed away.
Her breath hitched. Her pulse quickened.
A tingling sensation swept through her body.
"I… I don't know."
She had sworn never to dance again.
Dance was the thread that had bound her to Choi Hyun-oh and the Kangrim Group—the past she'd vowed to leave behind.
But… just once, couldn't she?
It wasn't ballet.
Maybe going there, just to watch, wouldn't hurt.
Yoojin bit her lower lip, lost in thought.
Dongha watched her struggle, amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Well?" he coaxed softly.
She reached out unconsciously, fingers brushing the sleeve of his coat—
"Yoojin! Yoojin, my fellow trainee!"
Seo-hee came rushing over, waving an iced coffee.
Spotting Yoojin standing with a stranger, she sped up, protective instincts kicking in.
'Ugh, not another leech. Though this one's… tall.'
She stepped between them, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
"Seriously? First it was that hopeless romantic last semester, now this guy?"
Her sudden intrusion made Dongha flinch and take a step back.
He couldn't understand why random women always appeared to interrupt moments with Yoojin.
His expression hardened, jaw tight.
He turned away from Seo-hee and looked at Yoojin instead—anxious, almost pleading.
But Yoojin snapped back to reality, the spell broken.
"Yoojin, you okay?"
Seo-hee held out the coffee.
"Ah—yeah. Thanks, unnie."
Yoojin took it and sipped, trying to ease the awkward tension pressing between the three of them.
"Unnie, this is Dongha—my middle school classmate."
"Oh, really?"
Seo-hee sized him up, tapping her foot.
The broad shoulders under the cashmere sweater, the herringbone coat, the dark boot-cut jeans—everything about him radiated confidence, dominance even.Exactly the kind of man she distrusted on instinct.
"I'm Jang Seo-hee. Yoojin's senior—and fellow recruit at Samho Group."
At the mention of Samho Group, Dongha's brows relaxed, and a slow smile spread across his face.
Whatever irritation had clouded him seconds ago vanished instantly.
"You passed the Samho recruitment?" he said, grinning at Yoojin.
"Uh… yeah."
"Congrats, Yoojin. Really."
She smiled awkwardly, glancing between him and Seo-hee, unsure what to do.
Dongha chuckled, then reached out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Seo-hee noona. I'm the same age as Yoojin. Mind if I call you that?"
Startled, Seo-hee nodded automatically.
"I'm Yoon Dongha. I also passed Samho's open recruitment. Looks like we're colleagues."
His friendly grin melted away her irritation.
"Really? Then we're batchmates!"
When Dongha let go of Seo-hee's hand and extended the other toward Yoojin, she instinctively took it.
He held her hand longer—just long enough to make Seo-hee's eyes narrow in suspicion.
Watching them, Seo-hee realized with a sinking feeling that this man knew exactly what he was doing.
Trouble, she thought.
This one won't be easy to shake off.
*
—"Hello?"
"Hey, bro. It's me."
—"Dongha? You're the one calling first? That's new."
The deep, gravelly voice rumbled through the car speakers.
Dongha was driving toward the dance studio in Hapjeong, his encounter with Yoojin still playing in his mind.
"Remember what you offered me before?"
—"What offer?"
He could almost see the smirk behind his brother's feigned ignorance.
Yoon Tae-young — Chairman of Samho Group, and his only brother.
"The recruitment offer. You said I could join through the open intake."
—"Ah, that."
"So… is it still valid?"
—"The list's already finalized. Bit late to ask, isn't it?"
"Come on. You're the chairman. It's not like that's hard for you."
Dongha swallowed dryly, eyes flicking between lanes.
—"Well, for my one and only brother… maybe I can make an exception."
There it was. His brother's brand of affection — manipulation disguised as family care.
"Please, hyung."
—"What's gotten into you? You've never asked me for anything. Not since that time you wanted my signature for your high school withdrawal form."
Amusement laced his voice.
"Just… this once."
—"Alright. I'll tell HR. Expect an email about orientation soon."
"Good. But I'm choosing which department I'll be in."
—"Ha!"
His brother's laugh crackled through the speaker.
Everyone knew Samho's three-month internship program was brutal — new recruits were thrown into the hardest departments to see who survived.
Still, Tae-young's tone turned warningly low.
—"Dongha… this is the real world. You can't just do whatever you want."