Chapter 20
The next morning, everyone at school seemed unusually loud.
Whispers.
Stares.
People looking at Min-jun… then at Ji-eun.
Ji-eun felt uneasy.
Min-jun noticed the change too—his eyes scanning the room sharply.
"What's going on?" she asked quietly.
Before Min-jun could answer, Jin-woo—the boy from the other class—walked in with a shy smile.
"Oh! Ji-eun-ah, good morning! Uh… here."
He held out a small charm keychain.
A cute pink teddy bear holding a tiny heart.
"I saw it and thought it looked like something you'd like."
Ji-eun blinked, surprised.
"Oh—thank you, but you didn't have to—"
Before she could finish, Jin-woo gently reached out and clipped it to the zipper of her backpack himself.
"Perfect," he said, smiling softly.
Ji-eun flushed, embarrassed.
But behind her…
Min-jun's entire expression went cold.
Completely cold.
Jin-woo turned to him.
"Morning, Min-jun!"
Min-jun didn't reply.
His eyes were locked on the keychain—
then on Ji-eun—
and something inside him snapped.
It wasn't anger.
It was something sharper.
Something he didn't understand, but felt too strongly.
---
During Class
Ji-eun tried focusing on the lesson, but Min-jun kept tapping his pencil, jaw clenched, eyes fixed anywhere except her.
Finally, she whispered, "Min-jun."
No reply.
"Are you… upset?"
His pencil stopped.
A slow exhale.
"…No."
But he didn't look at her.
Which meant he was.
Ji-eun looked down at the little teddy keychain.
Suddenly, it didn't feel cute anymore.
Just heavy.
She turned the keychain around in her fingers.
Min-jun's voice came out low.
"You like it?"
Ji-eun turned to him.
"What?"
"The keychain."
He didn't look at her.
"Do you… like it?"
Ji-eun hesitated.
"I mean… it's nice."
Min-jun's jaw tightened for a second.
Just a second.
Then—
He said something she never expected.
"You shouldn't accept things like that."
Ji-eun blinked.
"…Why not?"
Min-jun finally looked at her.
His eyes were darker than usual.
Not angry.
Just… wounded.
"Because people will think he's special to you."
Ji-eun's heart skipped.
"So what?" she whispered.
Min-jun froze.
Ji-eun continued softly.
"Why does that matter to you?"
He swallowed hard.
And for the first time, Min-jun ran out of places to hide.
"I just…"
He looked away, voice low.
"I don't like it."
Her eyes widened.
"Min-jun… are you jealous?"
His head whipped toward her instantly.
"No."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You are."
He opened his mouth… then closed it again.
His silence answered for him.
Ji-eun smiled—small, warm, and a little teasing.
"Min-jun… you don't have to get jealous. There's nothing between me and Jin-woo."
He looked at her quietly.
Searching.
Doubting.
Wanting.
And Ji-eun, without thinking, slowly unclipped the teddy keychain from her bag.
She placed it on the desk between them.
"I don't want things from other boys," she said softly.
Min-jun stared.
His breath caught.
Ji-eun continued, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I want… only yours."
Every wall he built—
every cold mask, every guarded look—
shattered in an instant.
He didn't smile.
He didn't look away.
He simply stared at her with an emotion she'd never seen so clearly.
Something deep.
Something real.
Something like… love.