When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 30

The table went still.

“Damn,” Sun Woo said, sitting back. “That’s kind of… poetic.”

“Right?” Kyung Min added. “Like, I know it’s such a small thing, but it feels big.”

Min Ah, meanwhile, clutched her chest dramatically. “I swear, if you don’t tell us who she is, I will start throwing things.”

Tae Sung only chuckled again, shaking his head. “She wasn’t trying to be poetic,” he said. “She was just… kind.”

Joon Ho clicked his tongue. “And that was enough for you to fall?”

Tae Sung didn’t answer right away. He stared down at his drink, as if trying to find the right words.

“I started seeing her more often after that,” he admitted. “Not on purpose, at first. Just by chance. She was always in the same places—sometimes at the library, sometimes outside, sitting alone with a book.”

Ha Ya and Seok Kyung exchanged another glance, but they kept quiet.

“She never really stood out in a crowd,” Tae Sung continued. “She wasn’t loud, wasn’t someone who drew attention. But somehow, I kept noticing her.”

His fingers tapped against his glass. “She was always reading. Always focused on something else. I don’t think she ever noticed me, not really.”

Something in his voice cracked just slightly at the end, and I had to look away.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Min Ah cut in. “Are you telling me this entire time, you never actually talked to her?”

Tae Sung chuckled under his breath. “Not really.”

Joon Ho groaned. “Dude.”

Kyung Min sighed dramatically. “This is actually painful.”

Tae Sung exhaled, staring down at his drink as if the memory was still fresh, as if it hadn’t been buried under years of time.

“I did try, once,” he admitted, tilting his head slightly. “Right before graduation.”

The table was quiet now, the teasing from earlier fading into something softer. Something heavier.

“That day,” he continued, “everyone was gathered in front of the main hall for photos. The whole department, all of us together. We were taking group shots, switching between different friend groups, making stupid poses…”

His lips twitched into a faint smile, but it didn’t last long.

“And then,” he said, voice quieter, “I saw her.”

A silence stretched across the table.

“She wasn’t with anyone,” he murmured. “Just walking across the courtyard. The sun was setting behind her, and for a second, it felt like—like maybe I was supposed to go after her.”

Min Ah sighed dramatically. “Okay, but DID YOU?”

Tae Sung huffed a quiet laugh. “I wanted to. But at that moment, the photographer called for another group picture, and someone grabbed my arm to pull me back into place.”

He leaned back slightly, eyes distant.

“I kept glancing at her between shots. Kept thinking, ‘Just a few more seconds, and then I’ll go. Just one more picture, and then I’ll run to her.’”

Seok Kyung let out a breath. “Oh, no.”

“And then,” Tae Sung continued, the corners of his lips pulling down slightly, “she was gone.”

Silence.

Joon Ho winced. “Damn.”

“I left as soon as I could,” Tae Sung admitted. “I ran after her. Checked all the usual places—the library, the benches near the gardens, even outside the lecture hall.”

His fingers curled slightly on the table.

“But she was nowhere.”

Min Ah groaned. “This is like watching a movie where the leads just barely miss each other. It’s physically painful.”

Yeo Jin shook her head. “So what happened after?”

"Nothing. End of it"

“Dude,” Sun Woo muttered. “That’s rough.”

Min Ah placed her hand over her heart. “This is the most tragic love story I’ve ever heard.”

Joon Ho sighed. “And you never told anyone who she was?”

Tae Sung just smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“No,” he said simply.

Min Ah groaned again. “You’re killing me.”

I let out a sigh, shaking my head. “Alright, can we be done with this now?”

Seok Kyung and Ha Ya exchanged glances, still hiding their knowing smirks.

Tae Sung glanced at me, his expression unreadable.

But for some reason, I still couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze.