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Shinyu saw Dohoon sitting alone in the school gazebo, wearing his headphones.
His mind was racing—should he go up to Dohoon and give it to him directly, or just slip it into Dohoon’s locker later?
He stared at the koi pond in front of the gazebo, deep in thought.
“Wouldn’t it be better to give it to him directly? At least he’ll remember my face…”
That was the thought running through Shinyu’s head.
After a long internal debate, Shinyu finally decided to approach Dohoon.
“Dohoon-ah—”
No… that wasn’t his voice.
Shinyu suddenly froze in his tracks. It was a girl’s voice—Sullyoon.
“Oh, you’re done?”
“You didn’t hear me calling you just now?”
“Ah… sorry, I had my headphones on.”
“It’s fine. Sorry I made you wait, Jihyo unnie suddenly started talking to me.”
“It’s okay. Wanna go now?”
Before Sullyoon could reply, Shinyu quietly turned and walked away from the gazebo.
“He is here,” Dohoon thought.
He looked around and found a spot where he could see his favorite hyung, lost in thought, staring into the koi pond.
“Why does he look so tense? Is something bothering him? Is someone messing with him again?”
Dohoon wondered, still watching Shinyu.
Even though his headphones were on, no music was playing. His phone screen was off. His mind was too busy drifting toward “his hyung.”
That is, until a loud slap on the shoulder snapped him out of it. A pretty girl was standing in front of him, arms crossed.
“Oh, you’re done?”
“Didn’t you hear me calling you earlier?”
“Sorry… I had my headphones on.”
“It’s fine. Sorry for the wait—Jihyo unnie wanted to chat a bit.”
“It’s okay, Sullyoon-ah. Wanna head out? Let’s take a taxi, buses are probably packed by now.”
“You didn’t bring your car?”
“Nah, Gyu hyung’s using it. I can’t just steal my brother’s car.”
“Haha, true. Okay wait, let me call a taxi. So we can going home separately later, right? Me with my parents and you with your parents. So Gyu oppa and Wonwoo oppa are riding together?”
“Yep. 100 points for my future sister-in-law.”
“Still ‘future,’ you know~” she giggled.
“Let’s go or we’ll get stuck in traffic. The taxi’s already at the gate.”
Dohoon stood up, glancing toward where Shinyu had been sitting—but he was gone. His eyes scanned the garden and the sports field, but there was no sign of him.
“Dohoon-ah, hurry up!” Sullyoon called out. Dohoon ran toward her.
Inside the taxi, Sullyoon suddenly asked something that had been on her mind.
“Dohoon-ah, do you… like Yu oppa?”
Dohoon was stunned.
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“I saw you staring at him earlier, even when I was talking to Jihyo unnie. You were just zoning out. And you were wearing those gray broken headphones again—you didn’t even hear me calling you.”
“And don’t forget when you panicked during PE class when Yu oppa fainted. You even hurt your hand on purpose just to go to the school clinic and check on him. You followed him all the way home to make sure he wouldn’t faint again, right?”
Dohoon didn’t say anything. He just watched the traffic outside.
“Why don’t you just tell him you like him? Are you scared?” she asked gently.
Dohoon turned to her.
“It’s not that I’m scared… It’s just…” he mumbled.
“You’re scared you can’t protect him, right? Honestly, Yu oppa reminds me of Wonwoo opaa back in high school. He was sweet, pretty, and quiet—just like him. But he had no close friends and got bullied a lot by jealous girls because their boyfriends liked him more, even though he never wore makeup. Besides, who wouldn’t be jealous? They’ve put on makeup to look prettier, but Wonwoo oppa only wears sunscreen—yet their boyfriends still say he’s more beautiful.”
“Sometimes he’d come home with bruises and limp legs, and told our mom he just tripped or slipped on stairs. But I never believed him. The third time he came home limping, I confronted him—and he told me everything.”
“She stayed home for a week. Then guess who showed up at our house with her class notes? Gyu oppa. He’s Social studies student, and wonwoo oppa is Science student—no idea how he got those notes. He even said the girls who bullied her got punished—thanks to a recording from Soonyoung oppa. He promised not to tell Mom, and from that point on, he and Wonwoo oppa got closer.”
“So Dohoon, if you just stay still, Yu oppa will never know how you feel.”
“But if I suddenly say hi to him, wouldn’t that be weird?” Dohoon asked.
“Was it weird when Gyu oppa randomly came to my house to visit Wonwoo oppa even though they barely talked before?”
“Okay… I’ll try to talk to him tomorrow.”
“Nice! At least let him know who you are!”
The next morning, the sun was already shining brightly. Dohoon was full of motivation to finally talk to his favorite hyung.
But when he arrived at his locker, a piece of paper fell out.
He looked around, opened it, and read the letter. The moment he finished, he ran straight to Sullyoon’s class.
Crash!
“Sullyoon-ah!” he called out in a panic.
“Whoa—what’s wrong? Breathe, calm down.”
“Read this.” He handed her the letter.
Sullyoon read it—and her eyes widened.
“You’re kidding me!”
“I’m not. I found it in my locker this morning.”
“Come with me.”
She pulled him out of the classroom. Her classmates looked confused.
“Sullyoon! Class is starting soon!”
“Please let me be excused!” she shouted back.
Whispers started among the students:
“Are they dating?”
“Did he get a love letter and she’s going to confront someone?”
“Doesn’t she already have a boyfriend?”
“Is she cheating?”
“We need to do something about this…”
But just before they could follow her, the bell rang, and they were forced back to their seats.
Meanwhile, Sullyoon and Dohoon had arrived at the counseling office, where Jun—Sullyoon’s cousin and the school counselor—was waiting.
“What’s the matter, my little cousin and my future brother-in-law?” he joked.
“Cut the small talk, oppa. We just came here to ask—can you confirm if a student named Shin Jeonghwan aka Shinyu, the top-ranked student in this school, reallyhas officially withdrawn from this school?”
“So the news is out, huh? He asked us to keep it secret until graduation.”
“So it’s true… Shinyu hyung isn’t a student here anymore?” asked Dohoon.
“That’s right my future brother in law.”
“Why’d he transfer? He’s a senior. Was it because of the bullying?”
“No, not at all,” Jun replied.
“He’s been planning to transfer since second year, but it was delayed due to his parents’ divorce. Now that the case is settled, he’s moving abroad with his mom. Jeonghan’s staying here with their dad.”
“Abroad?”
Jun nodded.
“I see… then I’ll take my leave, seonsaengnim.” Dohoon bowed and left with a heavy heart.
“Dohoon-ah, I’ll excuse you from first period!” Jun shouted after him. But Dohoon didn’t reply.
He headed back to the gazebo near the koi pond. He glanced at the PE class, hoping to catch one last glimpse of Shinyu’s classmates. His eyes then landed on the bench where he last saw him, and now empty.
Back in the office, Jun turned to Sullyoon.
“How’d he find out Jeonghwan transferred?”
“From the letter. It didn’t say his name, but who else could’ve written something like this for Dohoon?”
Jun took Sullyoon’s phone and read the photo of the letter.
“Wow… he really wrote this from the bottom of his heart. Just like I told him to.”
“Wait—you told him to write it?”
Jun just smiled and nodded.
Flashback
Knock knock
“Come in!” Jun called.
“Oh, Jeonghwanie. What brings you here?”
“I’m here to submit my withdrawal papers. Where should I turn them in?”
“It’s official then? You’ve been planning this since 2nd year…”
“Yes, the case is over. I’m going with my mom abroad. Jeonghan hyung is staying here.”
“Ah… that’s tough. You two are really close. Okay, I’ll take care of the forms for you since the admin office is closed.”
“Thank you. Here they are.”
Jun checked the documents.
“Hmm? That’s all?”
“Isn’t that everything?” Shinyu panicked.
“Haha—I meant the letter for Dohoonie.”
“W-what?!”
“Don’t you want to leave something for the person you love most in this school? Even if he doesn’t know you, at least let him know someone cared. You might meet again someday.”
“Should I…?”
Jun nodded.
Back at the gazebo, Dohoon clutched the letter in his hand, staring up at the blue sky.
“Shinyu hyung… I’ll study hard so I can see you again someday.”
💌 The Letter
To Kim Dohoon
From someone who likes you (?)
Hi, Dohoon-ah. By the time you read this, I might already be gone from this school. Maybe you don’t even know who I am.
I’m probably just one of the many students here you’ve never met—but everyone knows who you are.
You’re Kim Dohoon, the captain of our basketball team who led us to a national championship.
I’ve always admired how you train, how you lead your team, how you support them—even when you're injured, you still cheer from the sidelines.
And because of all that… I kept wondering
Is it wrong for me to like you?
I don’t even know what’s good about me.
Could I ever be good enough to stand next to you?
I doubt it.
There are so many prettier, more charming people in this school.
If I stood beside you, people would say:
“You’re not pretty enough for Dohoon.”
“You’re too plain for him.”
“Dohoon deserves better.”
“She must’ve used witchcraft to get him.”
So now that I’m leaving and we won’t see each other again, I want to say something
Dohoon-ah, I like you.
No, actually—I think I’ve fallen in love with you.
Crazy, right? Someone you’ve never met saying that?
I’m sorry… but I really think I love you.
It breaks my heart that I won’t get to see you anymore.
I hope you still chase your dream of becoming a doctor.
I remember when your hand was bleeding and you told the nurse,
“I want to be a doctor. It seems cool to help people.”
But honestly—what kind of doctor gets injured like that?!
I always wondered how you hurt your hand so badly…
Did you do it on purpose?
Please eat better so your stomach won’t hurt again.
And don’t drink too much coffee—it’s bad for you.
Lastly,
Please keep being the same Dohoon I’ve always known.
This is all I can say now
Dohoon-ah, I love you.
I truly believe we won’t meet again in the future