"Do you need a lift?"
The question lingered between them.
Jae-min blinked once, as though he hadn't expected to be spoken to at all. His gaze shifted from the open car window to the man sitting inside.
"...Would that be alright?"
Jihan nodded. "We're heading toward the university district."
"Then... thank you."
Jae-min walked around the front of the sedan.
The driver was already out, opening the passenger door for him.
"Thank you." His voice quiet.
He slipped into the seat and closed the door gently behind him.
For a moment, no one spoke. The soft hum of the engine filled the silence as the sedan pulled away from the curb. Jihan's eyes settled on the back of the stranger's head.
Close up, he looked younger than Jihan had thought. College student.
Probably around Tae-hyun's age.
The damp strands of black hair clung loosely against the back of his neck. Sweat still darkened the collar of his sports shirt. He looked as though he'd hurried out without thinking much about his appearance.
Yet somehow...
Jihan found himself looking anyway.
"...Hyung?" Tae-hyun's voice broke the silence.
Jihan looked over. "What?"
"You zoned out."
"...Did I?"
"A little."
Jihan looked away first. The driver merged smoothly into traffic.
"You're from Haneul University?"
Tae-hyun asked instead, leaning forward slightly.
Jae-min nodded.
"Yes."
"What year?"
"Second."
"Oh."
Tae-hyun smiled easily. "I'm graduating this year."
"Congratulations."
"Thanks."
The conversation died as naturally as it had begun. Just three strangers sharing the same space. Jihan watched the buildings drift past outside the window. Then, almost without thinking—
"What's your name?"
The question left his mouth before he realized he'd asked it. The young man turned slightly in his seat.
"...Lee Jae-min."
Lee.
For some reason, Jihan repeated the name silently.
Lee Jae-min. It suited him.
"You?"
Jae-min asked politely. Jihan almost smiled.
"Kang Jihan."
Recognition never appeared on Jae-min's face.
Only a small nod. "Nice to meet you."
The sedan rolled through another intersection.
Rain from earlier still clung to the roads, reflecting pale morning light beneath the tires.
A few minutes later, the university gates came into view.
The driver slowed.
"I can get off here," Jae-min said. The sedan eased toward the curb. Before the driver could step out, Jae-min had already opened the passenger door himself. He climbed out with a quick bow.
"Thank you for the ride."
"No problem."
Jae-min dipped his head.
"Thank you again."
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It disappeared almost as quickly as it came. Then he straightened, adjusted the strap of his backpack, and disappeared into the stream of students entering campus. He never looked back.
"...Hyung."
Jihan blinked. Tae-hyun was looking at him now.
"You never pick up strangers."
"He was heading this way."
"That's not what I said." The silence stretched between them.
"You made the driver reversed the car." Tae-hyun added. Jihan frowned faintly.
"...Did I?"
Tae-hyun stared. Then he laughed.
"You don't even remember doing it."
Jihan didn't answer. He looked out through the windshield again. Students crossed the road in clusters. Among them—Black hair in a sports shirt. For just a second, he caught sight of Jae-min again before the crowd swallowed him completely.
"You'll be late."
Tae-hyun smiled to himself.
"Changing the subject already?"
He reached for the handle and stepped out onto the pavement. Leaning back in through the open door, he grinned.
"See you tonight, hyung."
The door clicked shut. The driver adjusted the mirror.
"To the office, sir?"
Jihan's gaze lingered on the university gates. Just for a moment.
"...Yes."
The window slid shut. The sedan pulled back into traffic.
---
A taxi rolled to a stop outside the university gates. Before the driver could say a word, Min-woo pushed the door open.
"Keep the change."
He was already halfway across the pavement.
Students flowed around him as he hurried toward the sports building. The locker room wasn't hard to find. The sound of running showers echoed faintly from inside. Lockers slammed shut. Someone laughed near the exit.
Min-woo stepped in. His eyes swept across the room before settling on a familiar figure near the far wall.
Jae-min had one locker door open.
His practice jersey hung over one shoulder while he pulled a clean shirt over his head.
"You—"
Several teammates glanced over. Min-woo cleared his throat.
"...Jae."
Jae-min looked over.
"Took you long enough."
"You say that like I wasn't sprinting across campus."
"You probably were."
"I absolutely was."
Jae-min smiled faintly. It was gone before Min-woo could tease him about it. He shut the locker and sat on the wooden bench, towel resting around his neck. Min-woo dropped down beside him immediately.
"Well?"
Jae-min unscrewed his water bottle. Took a drink. Capped it again.
"...He stopped."
Min-woo grinned.
"That's obvious."
"Sure Einstein. Well, we talked a little"
"About what?"
"Nothing much. My name and department, i did lie about my last name though."
"Oh, for the plot. Well, I told you it would work."
"You laughed after the first three failures."
"I was supporting you."
"You called it entertaining."
"It was entertaining."
Jae-min shook his head.
"I regret telling you anything."
"You'd miss me."
"I really wouldn't."
Min-woo laughed. The sound bounced off the rows of metal lockers before fading. Only then did he notice Jae-min had gone quiet again.
"What was he like?"
Jae-min rested the bottle between his hands.
For a long moment, he didn't answer.
"...Normal."
"Normal?"
"I expected someone..." He frowned slightly.
"...Hard to talk to."
"And?"
"He wasn't." Silence settled between them. Jae-min looked down at the floor.
"...For a second..."
He stopped, collecting his thoughts. Min-woo waited.
"I almost forgot why I was there."
The words came quietly. Barely above a whisper. Then Jae-min let out a slow breath and shook his head once. "It won't happen again."
Min-woo studied him for a moment before nodding.
"Alright."
He didn't ask what Jae-min had meant. Didn't tell him to be careful. He already knew both of those things. Instead, he nudged Jae-min's shoulder with his own.
"So."
Jae-min looked over. A grin slowly spread across Min-woo's face.
"What's next?"
Jae-min reached down and picked up the basketball resting against the bench. He spun it once in his palm and caught it.
"The second meeting."
Min-woo gave a single nod, already moving the pieces around in his head.
"Good."
He tipped his shoulder against the locker beside Jae-min.
"So where?"
Jae-min frowned.
"Where?"
"Where do you accidentally run into a man like Kang Jihan twice?"
Silence settled between them. Jae-min bounced the basketball once against the floor, caught it, then did it again.
"...I don't know."
"Think. Unless your plan is to fake another morning commute every day, we need somewhere he actually chooses to be."
The ball slowed in Jae-min's hands.
"Chooses?"
Something clicked loose in his memory.
---
His sister had been sprawled across the couch one Saturday afternoon, phone in hand, waiting for a drama to finish loading.
"You know what's funny?"
Jae-min kept his eyes on the game flickering across the television.
"What?"
"Jihan is terrible at teaching."
"...Teaching what?"
She laughed under her breath.
"Golf."
That made him look over.
"He plays golf?"
"Every Saturday."
She smiled at the screen, as if the answer amused her all over again.
"He says it's the only place nobody asks him to be someone's son."
Jae-min had rolled his eyes.
"I hate golf."
"I certainly didn't forget." She laughed again."But he loves it."
---
"...Golf."
Min-woo frowned.
"...Golf?"
Jae-min nodded.
"My sister used to say he played every Saturday."
A slow smile spread across Min-woo's face.
"That's perfect."
"No."
"...No?"
"I hate golf."
"You've played before?"
Jae-min let out a quiet sigh.
"When I was fourteen."
He leaned back against the locker, already regretting where the conversation was going.
"My dad decided golf would 'build character,' so he dragged me to a driving range."
His eyes drifted toward the ceiling as the memory came back.
"I missed the first ball completely. The second one rolled about a meter. The third barely left the mat."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"So I got annoyed. I figured the problem was that I wasn't swinging hard enough." He paused, taking a shallow breath.
"So I put everything I had into it. The club sliced through the air..."
"...missed the ball....and came right back into my forehead."
"I woke up twenty minutes later in the clubhouse with an ice pack on my head and my dad trying very hard not to laugh."
A long uncomfortable silence stretched across them. Min-woo stared at him. Then his shoulders started shaking.
"No..."
Jae-min already knew.
"...Don't."
"You knocked yourself out?"
"I was fourteen."
"With your own golf club?"
"I said I was fourteen!"
Min-woo bent over laughing, one hand gripping the locker for support.
"I've known you for six years..." he managed between breaths, "and you never thought to tell me this?"
"It wasn't exactly one of my proudest moments."
"Oh, it's one of mine now."
Jae-min groaned and covered his face.
"I never touched a golf club again."
Min-woo finally straightened, wiping at the corner of one eye.
"Well..."
He clapped Jae-min once on the shoulder.
"Looks like your comeback starts tonight."
Jae-min dropped his hand from his face.
"...You're serious."
"Completely."
"I'd rather get hit in the head again."
"You probably will."
The basketball left Jae-min's hand before he thought about it. Min-woo barely ducked in time. It smacked against the locker with a loud clang before bouncing harmlessly across the floor. Min-woo laughed all over again.
"Yeap. Definitely starting tonight."