No Strings Attached

Why is he everywhere?

Ji-yeon stared at the list of names on the group project sheet, feeling the usual dread bubble up. Group projects were never about the project—they were social minefields.

Her group for Consumer Behavior class consisted of three strangers: a cheerful girl named Hae-won, a gamer-looking guy called Dong-jun, and a quiet guy with round glasses she’d already forgotten the name of.

They’d agreed to meet at the department lounge after class to discuss the project.

Ji-yeon arrived early and snagged the corner seat, quietly sipping a canned peach drink while skimming the syllabus. Hae-won came in a few minutes later, plopping down with a smile.

“Hey! You’re Ji-yeon, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I remember you from the welcome party last week. You were sitting with Hyun-il sunbae, right?”

Ji-yeon blinked. “What?”

“At the ice cream place after the party. I saw you two walking together. You know him?”

Ji-yeon took a slow sip of her drink. “Not really. We’re… kind of acquaintances.”

“Ohh.” Hae-won grinned. “Lucky. He’s so popular.”

“Yeah,” Ji-yeon muttered, not committing to anything.

Dong-jun arrived next, slinging his backpack down with a groan. “Sorry, my game went over time.”

“Again?” Hae-won teased.

“I needed to get my daily missions in. Also, sunbae was in my match.”

Ji-yeon looked up. “Which sunbae?”

“Hyun-il. You know him, right?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“Oh.” Dong-jun laughed. “Well, he was playing on his alt account. That guy’s good. Clean aim.”

“You sure it was him?” she asked, skeptical.

“Positive. His profile picture is his jersey number. Plus, he was trash-talking in that annoyingly polite way.”

Ji-yeon didn’t respond, just looked back down at her drink.

They started discussing project roles, tossing ideas back and forth. But even as they planned their survey questions, she kept hearing Hyun-il in passing. Apparently, he was everywhere. A club exec. A favorite among the basketball fans. Friends with someone’s older brother.

She didn’t say anything, but it was starting to bug her.

Later that afternoon, Ji-yeon met Minji outside the café again, this time in front of the vending machines.

“How’d the group meeting go?” Minji asked.

Ji-yeon dropped coins into the machine, watching them clink down.

“It was fine. Except apparently everyone and knows Hyun-il.”

Minji turned to her, raising an eyebrow. “Why’d he come up?”

“Some girl saw us after the welcome party. The guy in our group said they play games together.”

Minji grinned. “Wow. Your lives are just destined to cross.”

Ji-yeon gave her a flat look. “Please stop.”

Minji nudged her. “Is this the part where you start asking me if you should text him first?”

“I don’t even have his number.”

“That can be arranged.”

“No thank you.”

Minji laughed as Ji-yeon walked away with her grape soda. “You’re weirdly flustered for someone who doesn’t like him.”

“I’m not flustered. I’m annoyed. Why is he everywhere?”

---

Later that night, Ji-yeon sat in her room, trying to scroll through her reading but was spacing out completely.

She stared at the bandage on her palm, almost healed by now.

She grabbed her notebook and flipped it open to take notes. Then sighed.

There, tucked between class doodles and lecture scribbles, was a sketch she didn’t remember drawing—just a little cartoon of a guy with spiky hair and a basketball.

She frowned, stared at it for a second… then scribbled it out with a pen.

He’s not that bad, her brain offered helpfully.

She threw her head back and groaned.
“No. Absolutely not.”