Different from Last Time

Ju Min Ji

“Where are you going?” Im Sol asked over the phone while I was getting ready.

“A dinner party with Ri Sook and his friends,” I replied.

“A celebration of what? Upcoming exams?” she laughed.

“I don’t know… maybe,” I added, laughing with her.

“By the way, is Yoo Sik also coming?” Im Sol asked cheerfully.

“Yeah. Ninety percent chance.”

Kim Yoo Sik was Ri Sook’s best friend. They had been childhood friends, and Im Sol had a crush on him since tenth grade. But students misunderstood everything. They assumed Ri Sook and Im Sol were dating, and soon the rumor spread across the entire school. Because both of them were popular, everyone seemed strangely invested in a relationship that didn’t even exist.

Although… I couldn’t deny it completely.

I had always felt that Ri Sook liked her in his own quiet way, but he never showed it. He hid everything behind a cold expression, making it impossible to prove anything.

“Can I come too?” Im Sol interrupted my thoughts. Even through the phone, I could imagine her pleading eyes.

“Umm… I’ll ask,” I said.

“Okay!” she replied, sounding even happier.

“Just get ready. I’m sure he’ll agree,” I added.

“Yes! I’ll see you—bye!” she said, cutting the call with laughter.

This was the reason I liked her. Her cheerfulness added a soft glow to my otherwise quiet life.

I stepped out of my room.

Nam-woo was in the kitchen when I entered. His gaze shifted toward me.

Our eyes met again.

But this time, he looked away first.

I glanced around, searching for Ri Sook, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Ri Sook?” I asked Nam-woo softly.

“Oh, he left already,” he replied, his expression suggesting that Ri Sook must have told him he’d be leaving early.

“So I—” I began, but he interrupted me.

“You’ll go with me,” he said casually, taking a sip of water.

Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he added,

“Are you ready? Should we leave?”

I nodded, almost without thinking.

But a question echoed in my mind.

How could Ri Sook leave me behind like this—

with someone who didn’t even know me,

someone I wasn’t even sure knew my name?

The house felt unusually quiet after that, as if something important had left before I could understand it. I stood there with Hwang Nam Woo, the space between us filled with unspoken words.

Im Sol’s message buzzed on my phone.

I’m getting ready. Don’t you dare leave without me.

I smiled faintly.

"Can you come on your own, I'll message you the address"I replied as I sent her the address.

"Ok I'll be leaving" she messaged as I kept my phone in my pocket.

"let's go" Nam woo said calmly. I nodded.

The party wasn’t loud. It was warm. Music played somewhere in the background, and people laughed in small groups. Someone handed me a drink — something sweet, harmless-looking. I didn’t think twice.

I shouldn’t have refilled it.

By the time I realized there was something unfamiliar in the taste, my head already felt light. Not spinning — just softer, like the world had slowed down without asking me.

Nam Woo noticed first.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

“I think so,” I said, though my words felt slower than my thoughts.

Im Sol arrived late, breathless and smiling, her eyes searching the room. Yoo Sik never came.

She pretended not to care, but I saw the disappointment she tried to hide.

Still, she stayed.

Laughter came easier after that. Time slipped strangely. At some point, I leaned too close to Nam Woo without realizing it. At another, he steadied me when my steps went slightly off.

Our conversations were cut, unfinished.

None of the sentences ever ended. Maybe they didn’t need to.

By the end of the night, Ri Sook returned to take Im Sol home. Im Sol protested weakly, tired and half-dreaming, letting herself be guided away.

That left Nam Woo and me

The road felt longer than before. My steps slowed without meaning to, and Nam Woo noticed.

“You’re going to fall,” he said gently.

“I’m not,” I replied, stubborn — then immediately stumbled.

He sighed, then crouched down in front of me.

“Get on.”

“What?” I laughed softly. “No, that’s embarrassing.”

“You’re already not walking straight,” he said, glancing back at me. “Just for a bit.”

I hesitated, then wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He lifted me easily, as if I weighed nothing.

The world looked different from there.

I rested my chin near his shoulder, my face too close to his neck without realizing it. When the road dipped slightly, my lips brushed against his skin by accident.

I froze.

“S-sorry,” I mumbled.

He didn’t turn around. “It’s okay,” he said, voice calm — maybe too calm.

For a while, we stayed quiet. The night air felt cooler, and his back was warm beneath my arms.

“I don’t want to hurt my loved ones,” I said suddenly.

He slowed. “Why would you?”

“I don’t know,” I murmured, tightening my grip just a little. “Sometimes… when people get close, something always breaks. I don’t want to be the reason.”

He thought for a moment.

“You’re not someone who hurts people,” he said. “You worry too much.”

I smiled against his shoulder. “That’s because I care.”

He walked on, steady and quiet, carrying me.

When we reached my house, he gently let me down. I stood there, swaying slightly, still holding onto his sleeve.

“Thank you,” I said. “For not letting me fall.”

He met my eyes. “Anytime.”

"Aren't you going" I asked as he was also entering the house with me.

"Umm… No I thought Ri Sook already told you..."

He said as Ri Sook told him something that I don't know.

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