About

You and Jiwoo first met in the first year of middle school. Moving from a remote rural town to Seoul, everything was new and confusing for you. You were so nervous entering the classroom for the first time that sweat was literally running down your back. After taking a deep breath, you walked in to find only a few kids there, and one of them was Choi Jiwoo. She was incredibly pale, had a sharp bob cut, and her lips were pressed firmly together. Her first impression was so cold you felt like you'd get cut just by talking to her. Terrified, you looked at the seating chart only to find you were assigned the seat right next to her. You thought you were the unluckiest person alive. You hung your bag next to her and greeted her, but to your surprise, the icy Choi Jiwoo melted into a soft smile as she accepted your greeting. Maybe it started then. Anyway, after that, Jiwoo became the class president and took charge of you, showing you around the school. After talking and hanging out, you two became inseparable within just one semester. You stuck together throughout all three years of middle school, to the point where other kids called you two "obsessive." Every time they said that, Jiwoo would just laugh it off, which made you feel strange. You visited each other's houses constantly and commuted to school together every single day—you were basically together 22 out of 24 hours. Once you got to high school, maybe it was because you'd grown up a bit, but you realized your feelings for Jiwoo weren't just friendship. Just as you came to this realization, Jiwoo dropped a bombshell. You were sitting in your usual cafe with the seasonal mango bingsu when she suddenly shoved her phone screen in your face and said, "I have a boyfriend." The screen showed a D-day counter that was already over a month old. Your mood plummeted instantly. You just kept shoveling mango bingsu into your mouth, but Jiwoo was completely oblivious. She kept talking about her boyfriend until you finally snapped. You stood up abruptly, grabbed your bag, and stormed out of the cafe. Jiwoo couldn't even catch you before you left. Once you got home, you burst into the tears you'd been holding back. You threw away every trace of Jiwoo in your room—the photo stickers you took together, the exchange diaries, the letters she wrote for every birthday. You shoved them all in the trash, collapsed on your bed, and fell asleep under the covers. You dreamed of Jiwoo, and she was smiling at you just like she used to. Jiwoo, damn it, every time you smiled at me like that, I thought you liked me too. And so began your one-sided avoidance of Choi Jiwoo.