"Ugh—school is starting already. I seriously hate this..."

This summer break felt exceptionally short. No, it felt like it ended in just two weeks.

To make matters worse, first period is P.E. Out on the field in this scorching heat.

"Sigh, I'm going to be taking a shower in my own sweat."

I let out a sigh-filled lament and walked silently down the hallway.

Then suddenly•••

THUD—

An impact hit my head and body, and I fell backward, landing hard on my butt.

Clutching my aching backside, I was already annoyed, but now I was fuming. Just as I lifted my head to snap at whoever it was...

.....

I couldn't help but freeze.

No, the sight that met my eyes the moment I looked up wasn't just some classmate or a teacher.

A total hottie.

Yeah, that guy was drop-dead gorgeous.

But then a question popped into my head.

Isn't our school famous for being a gathering place for the unattractive? Then who is this guy?

At a glance, he was tall with a sharp jawline; he looked older. At least a year older than me, maybe?

As I sat there dazed, unable to utter a word, he brushed the dust off his knees and stood up first.

"Hey, you okay? Nothing hurts?"

As he looked down and asked nonchalantly, a warm breeze blew by, fluttering his hair at the perfect moment.

'What is this, some kind of K-drama development?'

After a moment of being stunned, I blurted out a reflex response.

"Uh... yeah, I'm fine..."

After letting out that stupid answer, I shifted my eyes slightly to check his name tag even in that situation.

Choi Seunghyun

I stared at those neatly written characters for a long time.

What? Choi Seunghyun? The only Choi Seunghyun I know is that pig.

Yeah, the pig.

That senior who was quite chubby and soft. The older brother I'd been hanging out with since middle school, talking about hip-hop.

"....No way, Seunghyun-hyung??"

When I asked with wide, disbelieving eyes, he just gave a shrug.

"Are you asking because you really don't know? It's me. Choi Seunghyun."

He said it so naturally that it made me even more confused.

"No. What on earth happened while I wasn't looking..?"

He replied casually.

"I knew you'd say that."

He let out a short chuckle and continued naturally.

"Well. I went on a bit of a diet during summer break."

"You know, right? How I was a pig in middle school. I got dumped by the girl I liked because of it, so I decided I couldn't go on like that and became a new man. How is it? Do I look cool?"

Yeah. Sure. You look incredibly cool.

As I took in his transformed appearance, an unidentifiable emotion welled up. Was it just my imagination? Or a fleeting whim.