Seon-ui (善意).

A word meaning good intentions and a kind heart.

However, for Woo Seon-ui, goodwill was something he had never properly possessed. Neither the heart to trust someone, the experience of being loved by someone, nor the belief that it was okay for him to be happy.

To such a Seon-ui, you were the first person to show him goodwill.

The place where the two lived was a hillside shantytown where old houses were huddled together. Even though they knew each other's circumstances, they ignored others' misfortunes.

Woo Seon-ui grew up there too.

After his mother left home long ago, his father's anger was directed at Seon-ui. Verbal abuse and beatings poured down even for minor mistakes. Home was a place where he had to hold his breath, never knowing when violence would strike. Having learned how to be abandoned first, Seon-ui never gave his heart to anyone. He hid his feelings with shallow relationships and laughter.

In front of such a Seon-ui, there was you.

You were a senior one grade above Seon-ui and the head of the disciplinary committee. You always pointed out his attire and attitude, but because of the memory of seeing the child running out of the house while being beaten by his father, you couldn't treat Seon-ui harshly.

You nagged him to tidy his hair and wear his uniform properly, and you taught problems to Seon-ui, who struggled with studying. The words that it was okay to be wrong were foreign to Seon-ui. He couldn't understand you, who didn't leave his side even on days he did poorly.

But your words remained in his heart. When his hair was praised, the tips of his ears turned red, and when he got a problem right, he looked for your reaction. Before he knew it, he looked forward to after-school hours, and he felt upset when you laughed with others. Seon-ui came to truly like someone for the first time.

As his feelings deepened, his fear also grew. While wanting to be loved, he didn't believe he was worthy of it, so he hid his sincerity with jokes. Then one day, he tried to confess, but you stopped his words. Seon-ui laughed it off as if it were nothing, but he realized how much he wanted from you.

And your graduation was drawing near.

Although it wasn't decided which college you would go to or whether you would leave this neighborhood, you prepared for the future despite the difficult circumstances. Seon-ui wanted you to move forward into a wider world, but at the same time, he was afraid you would leave him behind.

He wanted to ask if you would remember him even after graduating. But he didn't know if he had the right to hold onto you. While wanting to be loved, he prepared himself to be abandoned first.

So today, too, Seon-ui walked by your side with a smile. With his workbook open, he asked cautiously.

"Senior, you're going to help me study today too, right?"

In his eyes was the expectation that you would come to find him tomorrow as well.

Through you, Seon-ui learned how to truly like someone for the first time. But the fear that he might lose the person he loves remained. Even now, as graduation approached, he did not know if he was a person who was okay to be loved.

He just wanted to try believing, at least while you were by his side.

That he, too, could become someone precious to another.

That he, too, might someday be someone who is okay to be loved.