Chapter 15. A New Heart
The keyring, shining under the sun, looked well-used. But it was still clean, as if it had been carefully taken care of.
Hae-young was surprised twice — first, seeing something that didn’t suit him hanging from Taesung’s bag, and second, when he gave it to her as a lucky charm.
“Huh…?”
“What do you mean ‘huh’? Take it. It works really well. Luck will follow you.”
“……”
“Ha, I’m such a nice guy.”
Taesung flicked the keyring with his finger and smiled.
At that moment, Hae-young’s heart suddenly felt squeezed like a press had pushed down on it. Then it expanded again.
It was still a chilly spring.
Even flower buds hadn’t bloomed yet, but it felt like petals were falling onto her heart.
What would happen if all those colorful petals piled up on her heart?
At that moment, Hae-young was trapped in Taesung’s smile, feeling both nervous and excited.
A new spring after winter.
A new semester at a new school.
A new feeling toward someone.
Standing at the start of a season she had never experienced, Hae-young had a faint feeling.
Maybe this year — her nineteenth year — would be something really special.
Thanks to Taesung, Hae-young got to school safely and headed straight to the teacher’s office.
There, she met her new homeroom teacher and greeted her.
“Hae-young, nice to meet you. Let’s have a good year together, okay?”
“Yes, teacher.”
“Our school has more science classes, so the liberal arts students all know each other already. Even though it’s the first day, let’s go introduce you to the class. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
The teacher said she had been the 2nd-year homeroom teacher last year too, so she already knew most of the students, and the class mostly stayed the same.
Hae-young didn’t really want to introduce herself, but looking into the teacher’s kind eyes, she couldn’t say no.
Thankfully, maybe because of the charm Taesung gave her, her heart felt calm.
“Shall we go, Hae-young?”
“Yes.”
Hae-young nodded and followed the teacher, who was carrying a teacher’s notebook.
The hallway full of excitement for the new semester didn’t feel much different from the one in Pohang or Seoul.
‘I was scared for nothing.’
Just as she was starting to feel annoyed for being nervous, they arrived at Class 3-2.
The sliding door opened with a sound, and the teacher stepped in first.
Cheers rose from the class in different tones.
It made Hae-young feel better, like it meant the teacher was well-liked.
Then the teacher waved her in.
“Come on in, Hae-young.”
With the gentle voice, Hae-young nodded and stepped inside carefully.
She shook off her remaining nervousness and began her introduction.
“Hi, my name is Cha Hae-young. I transferred from Pohang. Nice to meet you.”
“Everyone, give her a big hand!”
The teacher encouraged the class cheerfully, and the students clapped half-heartedly.
Then the teacher showed Hae-young where to sit.
“Hae-young, you can sit next to Cha Kyung over there.”
“Yes, teacher.”
Hae-young nodded and walked confidently to the second seat from the back.
“Hi.”
Hae-young greeted her seatmate, Cha Kyung.
‘Wow, so pretty. She’s like a totally different species from me.’
Cha Kyung looked like a doll Hae-young used to play with — she admired her beauty silently.
Cha Kyung gave a small nod and a slight glance in return.
“Ah… haha. You’re shy, huh.”
Feeling awkward from the short greeting, Hae-young started taking out her pencil case and books on purpose to look busy.
“Everyone, we’re doing self-study first period because of a meeting. So study quietly!”
After the teacher left, the classroom went quiet — but only for a moment.
A group of girls walked up to Hae-young.
‘What is this? Are they bullies?’
Thinking the group was coming to mess with her, Hae-young clenched her fists on the desk.
‘If they punch me, I’ll punch them right back…’
But instead of messing with her, the girls went after her seatmate.
“Oh my, Cha Kyung! We’re in the same class again?”
“…Yeah.”
Cha Kyung answered in a weak voice, and Hae-young’s eyebrows twitched.
Just as the girl who seemed like the leader tried to pull Cha Kyung’s hair—
“What are you doing?”
Hae-young grabbed the girl’s wrist.
Then she checked her name tag.
“Gye Na-ri?”
“Hey, let go, transfer student.”
“Nope.”
“Hey!”
Gye Na-ri shouted, but Hae-young didn’t even blink.
“What?”
“Why are you getting in our business?”
“I’m her seatmate.”
Gye Na-ri tried twisting her wrist, but she couldn’t break free from Hae-young’s strong grip.
“Mind your own business. Don’t try to be a hero and end up embarrassed.”
“Isn’t it more embarrassing for a bunch of girls to gang up and bully someone? You’re nineteen.”
“You country girl…”
Angry at Hae-young’s words, Gye Na-ri raised her voice.
“Hey, I have a reason for treating her like this!”
“What?”
“Her dad was in a hit-and-run! He’s in jail!”
“So what?”
Hae-young asked calmly, surprising Gye Na-ri.
“W-what?”
“Did she do the hit-and-run? Is she in jail? What era do you think we’re in? That kind of guilt-by-family stuff is outdated.”
“……”
“And who are you to judge her? Are you a judge? A prosecutor? Who do you think you are?”
“……”
“You’re just a bully pretending to be a hero. Nothing more.”
As Hae-young kept talking, the other students started whispering.
They had accepted the bullying as normal — but now they were questioning it.
“Come to think of it, Moon Cha Kyung didn’t do anything wrong, did she?”
“Yeah, Gye Na-ri kind of overdoes it…”
The mood in the classroom quickly shifted.
Gye Na-ri and her group looked around nervously.
Feeling it wasn’t the right time to push more, Gye Na-ri pulled her hand free and said:
“Ugh, just wait and see.”
She gave Hae-young a warning glare and went back to her seat.
Hae-young stared at her until she sat down, then turned to Cha Kyung.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yeah.”
Seeing Cha Kyung’s pale face, Hae-young suddenly felt a strong need to protect her.
Ah, I need to protect this girl.
With that in mind, she gently held Cha Kyung’s hand.
“Let’s be friends. No, please be my friend. Please.”
She confessed shyly.
During lunch, after eating, Cha Hyuk came back to class. He was solving a math problem but then looked at Taesung.
“What’s up with you?”
“Uh… nothing.”
“Pick one.”
Even though Cha Hyuk was usually cold, he couldn’t ignore his friend acting all weird.
And since he was Taesung’s only friend, it felt right to listen.
“Come on, just tell me.”
“It’s just… ha…”
Taesung looked out the window toward the building where Hae-young’s school was.
“I wonder if she’s doing okay.”
“Who? What?”
“Who do you think? Cha Hae-young.”
“Who’s Cha Hae-young?”
“You know… the girl I married…?”
Realizing what he just said, Taesung slowly turned to look at Hyuk, who was staring with curiosity behind his glasses.
“Married?”
“Hey, no! That’s not what I meant…”
Taesung had planned to keep the marriage secret and panicked.
But logic-driven Hyuk wasn’t buying it.
In the end, Taesung told him everything.
How his grandfather forced him to marry in exchange for career freedom.
How the girl he married goes to the neighboring school.
And that it wasn’t a marriage out of love.
After listening, Cha Hyuk nodded, understanding most of it.
But then, he asked one more question.
“Then why do you care so much? That’s not like you.”
