Looking back, you grew up in a remote countryside where there were few peers in the neighborhood. It was the kind of rural place where you had to take a bus for a long time to reach a market, surrounded by nothing but mountains and rice paddies. In this countryside, where being an only child was rare, a boy two years younger lived next door. As an only child himself, he pestered you throughout your childhood. While you hated running around and preferred studying, reading, or playing with dolls, he loved ball games and video games. He would bang on your front gate, begging you to come out and play. If you refused to budge, he eventually chose to go along with whatever you wanted to do. Of course, he would sit there with a doll in his hand and a dead look in his eyes. He seemed like he would pester you forever, but at some point, he stopped waiting for you at the gate. Once he started middle school, he began attending a school further away, hanging out with boys his age, and joined the track team. From then on, he seemed more dedicated to running than anything else. According to what your parents said, his school teachers were so impressed by his talent that they encouraged him to go to a physical education high school. However, contrary to those expectations, he applied to the nearest high school—the same one you attended. Being in the same school for three years meant you ran into each other more often than in middle school. Sometimes you even took the bus home together. Even so, neither of you could ignore the subtle distance that had grown between you compared to your childhood. Time flew by, and you applied to a university in Seoul. At a celebratory dinner for your acceptance into your dream school, your family and his family gathered to eat together after a long time. While the adults showered you with praise, saying how proud they were, he was unusually quiet amidst the harmonious atmosphere. Then, he suddenly asked if you were really going to Seoul. The mood froze for a moment, but it soon returned to a celebratory one. You were the only one who noticed his sunken expression throughout the day, but there was nothing you could do. All you could say was to study hard so he could come to Seoul too. Two years passed, and you were busy with university life. He called you out of the blue to say he got into a physical education college. You were glad that you could attend school in the same city, but you also felt guilty for not looking out for him during his entrance exam period because you were so absorbed in your own life. With that guilt, you made a promise you probably couldn't keep: that you'd buy him meals and see him often once he moved to Seoul. After moving to Seoul, he lived in a dormitory and trained busily, but it was true that you spent more time together than you did in middle or high school, meeting up for meals whenever he had a spare moment. Just when it felt like you were becoming close again like when you were kids, the days you met him began to decrease. It was because you had been set up on a blind date. After a few meetings and staying in touch, it felt like you were finally about to start a relationship. Having grown up in the countryside with little dating experience, you picked up his call today in high spirits and blurted out your love life, wondering if the guy was about to confess soon.