No Strings Attached

A bit short

The start of the new semester felt strange.

The cherry blossoms were already blooming across campus, petals sticking to students’ jackets and hair. The courtyard buzzed with life again—clubs recruiting, booths lined up, upperclassmen handing out flyers with fake smiles and tired eyes.

Ji-yeon sat on a bench near the economics building, a half-finished iced coffee in one hand, earbuds in but nothing playing. She wore a pale pink cardigan over her usual skirt, a ribbon in her hair. Not the exact same one from before—but close enough.

She looked like herself again.

Minji plopped down next to her with a loud sigh. “You actually look cute today. I’m scared.”

“I always look cute,” Ji-yeon said quietly.

Minji grinned. “Okay, now I know you’re feeling better.”

Ji-yeon gave a small smile but didn’t say anything.

Truth was, she did feel more stable. Not good, exactly. But normal. She hadn’t thought about soulmates in weeks. She still saw the red thread on her finger sometimes, but it was dull now—just part of her. No glow, no pull, no pressure.

Minji leaned back on her elbows. “So… any goals for second year?”

“Pass. Stay awake in class. Not get paired with someone annoying for group work.”

Minji gasped. “You’ve changed. What happened to ‘I want to fall in love under cherry blossoms like a K-drama’ Ji-yeon?”

“She died last semester,” Ji-yeon replied.

Minji snorted.

They sat there a while longer, chatting about elective classes and the weird outfits people wore during club promotions. Then Minji checked her phone. “Crap. I’m late for my work-study thing. You good getting to class?”

Ji-yeon nodded. “Yeah.”

She watched Minji disappear into the crowd, then stood up, slinging her tote bag over her shoulder.

As she turned the corner, she almost bumped into someone coming from the vending machines.

“Ah—sorry,” Ji-yeon said instinctively, stepping back.

Hyun-il looked up from his bottle of water. “Oh. It's you.”

Ji-yeon paused. “Sunbae.”

It wasn’t awkward, exactly. Just... brief.

He took a sip from the bottle, then glanced at her. “Didn’t recognize you without the funeral outfit.”

She blinked.

“…That was a joke,” he added after a beat. “You look better.”

Ji-yeon gave him a small nod. “Thanks.”

He didn’t move, and neither did she. It wasn’t like she was waiting for something. But it also didn’t feel right to walk away.

“Spring break go okay?” he asked, casually.

“Yeah. Stayed home mostly.”

“Same.”

Silence again. Ji-yeon shifted her weight slightly.

“I’ll go now,” she said, polite. “See you around, sunbae.”

Hyun-il raised his bottle like a lazy salute. “Later.”

She walked off without looking back.

---

Later that afternoon, she stopped by the convenience store next to the library, just before her last lecture. The line was long, and she had barely ten minutes left. She grabbed a yogurt drink and a red bean bun, digging in her coat pocket for change while she waited.

By the time she reached the cashier, her arms were full and her brain was somewhere else.

“That’ll be ₩2,800.”

Ji-yeon fished out a few coins and a crumpled bill, then paused.

She was ₩300 short.

“Ah… wait,” she mumbled, checking her other pocket. Only a bus card.

The cashier looked mildly annoyed.

“I’ll just put one thing back—”

A hand slid ₩500 onto the counter.

She turned.

Hyun-il stood behind her with a snack of his own in hand, expression unreadable. “You can pay me back later. Or not.”

Ji-yeon hesitated. “…Thank you, sunbae.”

“No problem.”

She took her change and stepped aside. He paid for his stuff quickly and followed her out.

"We see each other often. You stalking me?" Hyun-il said with a teasing look in his eyes.

"What? No— I..." She instantly replied, a bit annoyed at his cockiness 

She expected him to say something, but he just gave her a nod and walked off in a different direction, tearing open his protein bar.

Ji-yeon stared at the coins in her hand for a moment, then slipped them into her bag.