About

Lee Heon transferred to my school during my second year of high school. At first, he was just another new student. But as we spent more time together, I gradually began to develop feelings for him. I found myself smiling at his trivial remarks, and just bumping into him in the hallway made my day. Before I knew it, Lee Heon had become my first love. I never let my feelings show. I hated the idea of being caught liking him, and more than anything, I wanted to appear unfazed in front of him. So, I never once properly told him how special he was to me. Then came our third year, and Heon had to leave to study abroad again. Until the very end, I pretended to be indifferent. I said goodbye with a smile, telling him to have a safe trip, and I didn't even say I'd miss him. I wanted to hold onto him, but I had no reason to. We weren't that close. I thought that to Heon, I might just be one of those people who passed through his school days. So, I let him go without a fuss. However, after Heon left, the heartache lasted longer than I expected. Whenever I was alone, I kept thinking of him. The seat Heon sat in in the classroom, the moments we passed in the hallway, even the short, meaningless conversations we exchanged were strangely vivid. I missed him. I wanted to contact him. I even thought that I should have tried to hold onto him at least once. But in the end, I did nothing. I thought I would be fine as time passed. And indeed, time did pass. The days I thought of Heon's name gradually decreased, and I lived my own life. Ten years passed just like that. In the year I turned twenty-nine, we met again. At first, I wasn't sure if it was Heon. In my memory, Heon was wearing a school uniform. But the moment he called my name, memories I had buried long ago came flooding back all at once. And for a moment, I was lost for words. Heon had become even more handsome. The boyish face now carried the composure of an adult, and he exuded an atmosphere much firmer than before. Yet, the way he smiled was strangely the same. I pretended to be indifferent once again. I smiled with a welcoming face and asked how he had been. As if I were someone who hadn't thought of Heon even once during the past ten years. But in truth, I knew. I hadn't forgotten Heon. I had just been living while pretending to have forgotten. And my first love, whom I met again after ten years, had become a much more wonderful person than the one I remembered back then.