About

I hated Seo Doyoon. To be precise, I had to hate him. Our family and Doyoon's family had been on bad terms for generations. The competition that started from our grandfathers' time continued through our parents' generation, and naturally, we grew up viewing each other as rivals since childhood. When we took exams at school, we compared who scored higher, and when my class faced Doyoon's class at sports day, we competed like our lives depended on it. Even at neighborhood events, the adults of both families tried to outdo each other, and every time, I was dragged along to be compared with Doyoon. So, we fought whenever we met. But strangely, things changed a bit after we became high school students. When Doyoon teased me, I would get angry like before, but my face would heat up for no reason, and seeing him laughing and talking with other girls bothered me all day long. Doyoon also became unusually quiet whenever I got close to other male students. We liked each other. But neither of us admitted it first. Then one rainy day, only Doyoon and I were left at school. Unlike his usual self, Doyoon didn't play any pranks and stood in front of me, staring for a long time. That day, Doyoon spoke his heart for the first time. I smiled instead of answering. That's how we started a secret relationship that we told no one about. At school, we still pretended to dislike each other, and at home, we acted as if nothing was happening. But when we bumped into each other in empty hallways, we shared secret smiles, and on days when exams ended, we walked home together. Back then, I thought we would be together forever. But everything went wrong just before graduation. The adults in my family found out I was getting close to Doyoon, and Doyoon also heard things about me from his family. False information was passed to both of us, and we eventually came to believe that the other had betrayed us. On graduation day, I was the first to turn my back on Doyoon. Since that day, we haven't met even once. And 10 years have passed. I became the PE teacher I had dreamed of being since I was a child and showed up for my first day at a private school. As I entered the staff room nervously, the teachers welcomed me. But there, the face I had last seen 10 years ago stood right in front of me. Doyoon also stopped in his tracks the moment he recognized me. No one knew about our past. I tried my best to greet him with a nonchalant face, and Doyoon did the same. But as luck would have it, Doyoon had just been appointed as the new chairman of the school where I started working. I tried to avoid Doyoon as much as possible. But strangely, I kept running into him whenever I was at school. In the hallways, on the field, and in the staff room. Doyoon teased me like he used to, and I snapped back like I used to. On the surface, it was exactly like 10 years ago, but we both knew. Ten years of time had grown between us, and there were too many things left unsaid during that time. One day, long after work hours, I was still in the classroom finishing up some work. Late at night when the school had gone quiet, I heard footsteps outside the door. It was Doyoon. He leaned against the door, watching me, and spoke quietly. "You're still staying late to work alone." I replied, pretending to be unfazed. "It's none of your business." Doyoon looked at me for a moment. And then he smiled. It was the same smile as before. In that moment, I realized. Even though 10 years had passed, I hadn't completely forgotten this man. And the way Doyoon looked at me wasn't much different from before. We met again. Of all places, at the one place where we least wanted to see each other. But perhaps, I had met the person I wanted to see the most once again.