Chapter 20: The Overambitious First-Year

Yoonwoo returned to Seoul as summer vacation was drawing to a close, his schedule having been delayed more than anticipated. Consequently, he had missed a few appointments he’d made with Yeon-chae.

Yeon-chae seemed a little sulky at first. However, after Yoonwoo rescheduled to take him to a movie and treat him to *jukkumi*, his pout quickly vanished.

In fact, Yeon-chae barely touched the spicy octopus. Yoonwoo, who loved such fiery dishes, ended up devouring almost all of it himself, nearly bursting his stomach in the process.

A few more days passed, bringing them closer to the autumn semester’s opening.

Around that time, Yoonwoo had resumed his cafe part-time job, a routine he had maintained throughout the previous semester. One morning, Yeon-chae arrived at the cafe, settling into a corner seat and steadily drinking several cups of Americano.

‘He’ll damage his stomach by just pouring caffeine into himself like that,’ Yoonwoo thought, a flicker of concern crossing his mind.

Yoonwoo had been observing Yeon-chae out of the corner of his eye.

Once the customers thinned out and he had a moment to breathe, he grabbed some cookies and approached Yeon-chae’s table. Yeon-chae was seated with his back to Yoonwoo.

The laptop screen Yeon-chae was staring at displayed the new semester’s timetable.

Yeon-chae’s expression, as he intently gazed at the screen, utterly oblivious to Yoonwoo’s approach, was so profoundly serious that Yoonwoo found himself mirroring the gravity.

Yet, a strange familiarity tugged at Yoonwoo; the structure of that timetable seemed oddly known to him.

After a moment of thought, Yoonwoo realized the schedule was almost identical to his own.

Yeon-chae was only in his first year, second semester. Yet, his timetable included three advanced major courses intended for third-year students—courses Yoonwoo himself was taking.

‘Did he doze off on registration day?’ Yoonwoo mused, finding the course selection baffling.

Yoonwoo placed the plate of cookies on the table. He then lightly tapped Yeon-chae’s shoulder with his fingertips.

“Yeon-chae, what are you doing taking advanced major courses already?” he asked, a hint of exasperation in his voice. “You’ll tank your grades.”

Yeon-chae turned around with a startled expression.

A sliver of sunlight touched his clear cheek, making it glow brightly. His long eyes widened into perfect circles, reflecting his surprise.

“This timetable arrangement is the best one…” Yeon-chae mumbled, fiddling with his earlobe. His voice was unusually quiet, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor.

Despite having boldly registered for advanced courses, Yeon-chae now kept glancing at Yoonwoo, anxiously gauging his reaction.

“It just ended up like this when I was registering. Really,” Yeon-chae insisted. “I didn’t intentionally plan it this way…”

“Who said anything?” Yoonwoo countered, feigning innocence. “I didn’t say a word.”

He seemed embarrassed by Yoonwoo’s comment, fumbling for excuses. His expression was so endearing that Yoonwoo couldn’t resist running a hand through his bangs.

Yeon-chae’s eyes crinkled as a soft chuckle escaped him, a quick, relieved smile spreading across his face. It was amusing how swiftly his anxiety melted away.

However, Yeon-chae’s cuteness aside, his ambition this time was simply excessive.

The advanced major courses this semester were rumored to be tough even for upperclassmen, and the professors teaching them were notoriously strict. Even Yoonwoo, who had no choice but to register for them, was already filled with worry.

Given this daunting situation, it was obvious that Yeon-chae, a mere first-year student, would be complaining of burden and difficulty within a few weeks, inevitably applying for course withdrawals one after another.

Yoonwoo felt a pang of pity for Yeon-chae, an overwhelming urge to rescue this poor puppy.

He figured he could still persuade him to change his courses, even now. As Yoonwoo began to tidy Yeon-chae’s disheveled bangs, he opened his mouth to speak.

“These are courses with a lot of team projects,” Yoonwoo pointed out gently. “You’re still a first-year, so third-years probably won’t want to be in the same group as you.”

He continued, “Just drop the third-year courses and change to mostly introductory major courses instead.”

Yeon-chae gazed up at Yoonwoo, a flicker of disappointment crossing his pale eyes.

His soft cheeks puffed up in real-time, becoming plump like bread rising in an oven. Then, his face turned sulky.

Despite having calmly let Yoonwoo fix his bangs moments ago, Yeon-chae suddenly slapped Yoonwoo’s hand away. Yoonwoo was taken aback by the unexpected reaction.

‘Why is he disappointed?’ Yoonwoo thought, blinking in bewilderment.

Yeon-chae, his face still sulky, finally opened his mouth. “I can do it alone.”

That was nonsense. Yoonwoo forgot his embarrassment and let out a puff of laughter.

“Hey, how are you going to do all those team projects by yourself?” he asked, incredulous.

“If I work hard, I can…” Yeon-chae mumbled, lowering his eyes.

His broad shoulders drooped a little more than before, mirroring his dejected expression. The thick eyelashes of his downcast eyes trembled faintly.

It had been a long time since Yoonwoo had seen him sulk like this. They hadn’t met often, so he hadn’t had many chances to see Yeon-chae’s ‘puffy dumpling’ face.

Yoonwoo was secretly pleased by the familiar sight, yet he didn’t show it. Instead, he asked gently,

“Don’t you have any classmates taking the same courses?”

“No. I don’t have any classmates,” Yeon-chae replied quietly.

“Hey, why are you taking them alone again?”

“What do you mean ‘alone’…” Yeon-chae mumbled.

“Huh? You just said you don’t have classmates.”

“…I don’t need classmates,” Yeon-chae insisted, though his voice lacked conviction.

Yeon-chae shrugged his shoulders in response, his mouth still downturned.

‘I knew it,’ Yoonwoo thought, clicking his tongue inwardly.

Yoonwoo had almost no memory of Yeon-chae socializing with his classmates. Even during the summer MT, Yeon-chae had been indifferent to hanging out with others.

Yoonwoo had long given up on Yeon-chae’s social skills, so this came as no surprise. ‘What’s wrong with not having many friends?’ he’d concluded after spending a semester with Yeon-chae. ‘As long as he’s pretty and healthy, that’s enough.’

Fortunately, all three courses were in the same section as Yoonwoo’s. ‘If you don’t have teeth, you can still chew with your gums,’ he thought, a familiar resolve settling over him.

Thinking that he would have to keep Yeon-chae company again this semester, standing in for his absent classmates, Yoonwoo pointed at the timetable on the laptop screen.

“This ‘Human Resource Management’ course is mostly discussion-based,” Yoonwoo explained. “You can’t do it alone. There’s a lot of thesis reading, too.”

“It’s fine—” Yeon-chae began, but Yoonwoo cut him off.

“I’ll help you organize the papers,” Yoonwoo offered. “Let’s be in the same group.”

“What? Really? What’s gotten into you?” Yeon-chae’s voice rose, surprise evident.

His light brown eyes, wide and round, wavered cutely, but his cheeky response irked Yoonwoo. Having sincerely intended to help, Yoonwoo frowned deeply.

“Hey…” Yoonwoo exclaimed, “What do you mean ‘what’s gotten into me’? Is that how you respond when someone offers help?”

Yeon-chae seemed oblivious to Yoonwoo’s irritation, instead asking urgently, “Are you really going to be in the same group as me?”

“I just said so,” Yoonwoo confirmed.

The words, ‘Who else would you do it with if not me?’ almost escaped his lips, but Yoonwoo held them back.

The image of Yeon-chae, so indifferent to socializing with his own classmates, trying to navigate team projects with upperclassmen he’d just met was simply unimaginable.

However, Yeon-chae continued to look at Yoonwoo with a suspicious expression, as if such kindness from Yoonwoo was entirely out of character.

Yoonwoo flared up, exclaiming, “What do you take me for?”

“Hmm…” Yeon-chae mused.

Yeon-chae remained silent for a moment, but then a grumbling voice popped out. “You told me to take other classes.”

“Huh? That was because I thought this would be too difficult,” Yoonwoo clarified, “so I told you to start with the basics.”

“That’s the same thing,” Yeon-chae retorted.

“So, you don’t want to be in the same group?” Yoonwoo challenged.

“What about this one?” Yeon-chae quickly pivoted. “Intermediate Accounting. Will you be in the same group with me for this, too?”

“Intermediate Accounting doesn’t have team projects…” Yoonwoo started.

“But I think it’ll still be difficult,” Yeon-chae pleaded. “Can’t you help me, Senior?”

“Well, alright…” Yoonwoo conceded, a hint of resignation in his tone.

Yoonwoo didn’t know precisely how Yeon-chae expected him to help, but he nodded anyway. Yeon-chae’s cheeks brightened instantly.

With a soft smile, Yeon-chae tapped the name of another major course on the timetable with the tip of his long finger.

“Strategic Case Study,” Yeon-chae announced. “They say this one has a lot of team projects, too, Senior.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Yoonwoo confirmed.

‘Did he know that and still register?’ Yoonwoo thought, narrowing his eyes as he scrutinized Yeon-chae’s expression. Conscious of his gaze, Yeon-chae’s eyes curved into a round, soft smile, his face utterly innocent and clear.

Feeling somewhat suspicious, Yoonwoo couldn’t find anything specific to say to that innocent expression. He opened his mouth reluctantly.

“…Strategic Case Study is a thesis-heavy course, despite its name,” Yoonwoo explained. “Wouldn’t it be better to drop it? If you add this course to Human Resource Management, it seems like it’ll be too tough.”

“No,” Yeon-chae stated firmly. “There are no other major courses I can take now. These are all full.”

He even brought up the course registration screen to show Yoonwoo, his voice resolute. Yoonwoo was momentarily speechless, yet he still tried to persuade him a little more.

“That’s true,” Yoonwoo conceded, “but it’s hard for a first-year student to read so many theses in a week. You’ve never even taken a thesis lecture before.”

“No. I can do it…” Yeon-chae insisted, though his voice was small.

It still didn’t work.

Moreover, Yeon-chae had already become dejected again after Yoonwoo’s comment.

Yoonwoo, resigned, softened his gaze and spoke soothingly to the sulking Yeon-chae. “Alright. Then I’ll show you how to find theses on the library website later. Let’s take the lectures together.”

“Yes, yes. That’s good,” Yeon-chae answered, blinking his eyes.

The puffiness had already receded from his cheeks, which had been round like steamed buns. Instead, with a flushed and slightly raised face, Yeon-chae quietly looked at Yoonwoo, then smiled, his eyes curving beautifully.

“Thank you, Senior.”

“For what…”

Yeon-chae’s lips curved upward softly, a pretty dimple appearing faintly on his clear cheek. The youthful, handsome face of the twenty-year-old smiled brightly, still retaining an innocent, boyish charm.

Yoonwoo stared blankly at Yeon-chae’s smiling face for a moment before snapping back to reality. He felt embarrassed to be thanked for merely offering a few words of intervention. Choosing his words, Yoonwoo simply gave a sheepish smile.