Chapter 3: Let’s see me for a moment

It was a traffic accident.

At the intersection in front of the school, she saw the green light and crossed the crosswalk without checking her surroundings.

She was hit by a car that didn’t slow down at the amber light and died from excessive bleeding.

On the day of the funeral, the desperate cries of a mother who lost her daughter, the scent of chrysanthemums, and the sight of Chaerin in a neat school uniform in her portrait photo—she was indelibly etched in my memory.

The fact that a classmate had died was already a huge shock at such a young age, but the reason it was even more unforgettable was.

[If even you leave me, how am I supposed to go on alone…]

A sense of kinship.

By her mother’s side, her husband had already passed away before her daughter.

Later, Joon heard through the grapevine that Chaerin had lost her father before she even finished elementary school.

‘Her acting like a delinquent probably has something to do with that.’

Having experienced the pain of a fatherless life himself, he understood it better than anyone.

He, too, had nearly gone astray because of that pain more than once or twice.

“…”

No matter how much time passed, Joon couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Then, a thick hand appeared in front of him, pointing at Chaerin, and suddenly snapped its fingers.

“Hey, why are you staring at her like that?”
“Huh?”

Only then did Joon tear his eyes away from her and turn his head.

‘I didn’t even realize I was staring.’

The delinquent group seemed to have noticed his gaze, as they were whispering and glancing in his direction.

Their chatter was too far to hear, but it was obvious they weren’t saying anything good, so he tried to ignore it and looked back at Yuma.

“This punk…”

Yuma was grinning with an expression so infuriating it made Joon want to punch him.

“Why’re you smirking? Finally showing symptoms of radiation poisoning?”

Normally, Yuma would’ve responded with a string of curses, but he kept that annoying grin on his face.

“Heh heh… punk.”
“What? Say something, you bastard.”
“Forget it, man.”

Just from his expression, Joon could tell Yuma was lost in some weird fantasy, so he quickly set the record straight.

“Just to be clear, it’s not what you’re thinking.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Whatever you’re imagining right now.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“…Just get lost.”

No matter how firmly Joon spoke, Yuma, thrilled at finding something to tease him about, kept up his antics until the break ended, only returning to his seat when the bell rang for class.

As class started, Joon’s gaze fell on the back of Park Chaerin’s head, diagonally across from him, and he sank into thought.

‘Knowing she’s going to die and just sitting here feels wrong…’

They weren’t close, but they were in the same class.

More than anything, the image of her mother crying endlessly at the funeral, calling her name, weighed heavily on his heart.

‘If I died, my mom would cry like that too.’

“Ha…”

Fine, since I’m back in the past, I might as well save someone.

With that resolve, he ignored the lesson he wasn’t listening to anyway, opened his notebook, and started jotting down details about her death.

‘When exactly was the accident?’

As far as he could recall, it was still during the winter uniform season.

‘It was not long after the semester started…’

He vaguely remembered, but the details were fuzzy, and he racked his brain trying to recall.

Then, his eyes caught the birthday list posted at the front of the classroom.

‘Right, her birthday.’

When Chaerin died, he’d overheard something at her funeral.

[Her birthday was coming up in less than a week…]

She had died a week before her birthday.

That narrowed down the timeframe considerably.

‘So, if I can just confirm her birthday, the real problem is…’

How to approach Park Chaerin.

He knew she’d get hit by a car after school in front of the school, but without the exact date, he’d have to keep an eye on her constantly.

‘Following her around like a stalker and getting caught would be a disaster.’

Was there a way to openly hang out with her?

‘The only thing we have in common is that we both lost our dads.’

But he couldn’t exactly walk up and say, ‘Hey, you don’t have a dad? Me neither, wanna be friends?’ That wouldn’t work.

He mulled over how to approach her, but no good ideas came.

“See you tomorrow, guys.”
“Yeah~”

Even after classes ended and after-school hours began, he still hadn’t come up with a decent plan.

Lost in thought, he stayed seated as Chaerin’s friends gathered around her, and they started leaving the classroom.

“Ha… whatever.”

He instinctively knew that overthinking wouldn’t yield any solid solutions, so he stood up.

‘Since when did I overthink stuff like this?’

Just dive in.

In the end, Joon decided to tackle the problem in the way he knew best and called out to her as she was about to leave.

“Park Chaerin.”

As he approached and called her name, everyone in the class turned their attention to them.

Maybe because Joon never initiated conversations with girls.

Or maybe because the other party was Park Chaerin, rumored to be the prettiest girl in school.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched with eager eyes, as if anticipating a fight.

“Chaerin, Chaerin.”
“What.”
“That guy keeps staring at you.”
“…Ha.”

She’d vaguely noticed it too.

His gaze was so blatant, but it wasn’t just that.

Maybe because of the striking looks she inherited from her actress mother.

She drew attention from both guys and girls, making her hypersensitive to such stares.

‘Annoying.’

She didn’t want to care, but he was staring so obviously that even her friends noticed.

From her experience, she’d likely get a confession within a week, or a month at the latest.

Some might call it vanity to assume this just because someone stared at her face for a while.

‘Another one’s fallen for me.’

Her friends all thought the same, as her beauty was beyond ordinary.

“It’s barely been a week since school started, and he’s already trying to hit on you~”
“But that guy never seemed interested in girls… guess your face did the trick.”
“…Stop talking nonsense.”

She recognized his face but could barely recall his name and had never spoken to him.

‘That guy who’s always goofing around…’

Since starting high school, she’d seen his personality in class—completely frivolous.

Always wearing a grin, spouting silly nonsense with his friends.

‘Just an immature, ignorant boy.’

The type Chaerin despised most.

People who lived like carefree cartoon characters from her childhood, without a worry in the world.

In truth, Joon always smiled to avoid worrying his only remaining family, his mother, but.

“I f*cking hate him.”
“Pfft… you’re gonna hurt his feelings.”

There was no way Chaerin could know that.

Her genuine disgust made her friends burst into laughter, unable to hold it in.

“God, you’re hilarious.”
“Come on, he likes you, don’t be like that~”
“Who asked him to like me?”

Nothing was more repulsive than unwanted affection.

Especially from someone she despised.

‘If he talks to me, I’ll tell him to get lost.’

Recalling past confessions, she planned how to shut him down as the bell rang.

After enduring another boring school day, it was finally after-school hours.

“Let’s go, Chaerin-jjang~”
“Can you stop adding ‘jjang’ to my name?”

As she got up to head to cram school with her friend, who was using that annoying tone as usual.

“Park Chaerin.”
“…”

The voice she least wanted to hear called her name, and she instinctively grimaced.

She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and there was Joon, the guy who’d been staring at her during the break.

‘Ugh, f*ck.’

An uneasy feeling crept up her spine, wondering what he was about to say.

She frowned at the unwanted attention and sighed inwardly.

‘If you’re gonna call me, do it quietly somewhere else.’

His attention-grabbing move silenced the classroom.

The pressure amplified the irritation already filling her chest.

“What.”

Though winter had passed and spring was approaching, Park Chaerin’s tone was as cold as ice.

Everyone in the class, even those not involved, felt a chill from her frosty aura.

It was an unmistakable signal to shut up and leave.

A softer-hearted kid might’ve shed a tear.

But.

‘He’s smiling?’

No matter how angry a high schooler’s expression was, it was still just a high schooler.

The age gap wasn’t huge, but to Joon, who’d been in his mid-20s, her threat didn’t faze him.

With the same goofy smile he always wore at school, he said.

“Let’s talk for a sec.”