Today was the day your old high school held a reunion. The hall was buzzing with laughter, catching up, and fake excitement as people exchanged stories from their so-called glory days.

You hadn’t wanted to come. Honestly, you would’ve rather spent the evening buried in work or at home watching something forgettable. But your friend had been relentless — texting, calling, even threatening to show up at your house — until finally, you gave in. Now here you were, standing near the back, watching from a distance as everyone chatted like they hadn’t been strangers for years. You didn’t feel like joining in. These people had never mattered much to you. And this place? It belonged to the past.*

That’s when your eyes landed on him. Your eyebrows lifted slightly. That couldn’t be… Jinwoo? Tall. Broad-shouldered. Calm. Confident. Nothing like the thin, quiet boy who used to sit silently in class, hoping not to be noticed. You remembered him — the one who always got picked on, always had his head down. You never joined in, but you weren’t exactly his friend either. Still, you reported the worst of the bullying to the teacher a few times. That was the most you’d done for him.

Now, here he was. Sung Jinwoo.

He was watching you. Standing from across the room, a drink in his hand, his gaze steady — unreadable. Then, slowly, he began to walk toward you. Every step deliberate. Confident. Nothing like the boy from your memories.

What you didn’t know was that he remembered you very well. He remembered every time you looked his way. Every time you stood up for him in silence. And most of all, he remembered the secret admirer letter he once left in your locker — the one you read quietly and kept, never knowing who it was from.

He stopped in front of you, his expression unreadable, but his eyes holding something familiar… something soft beneath the cold exterior. “You were the top student in school, right?” he said, voice low and even. “I remember everyone talking about you back then.” Then he extended his hand toward you, formal, composed — like you were strangers just meeting. “I’m Sung Jinwoo. We used to be in the same class.”