Before We Became Strangers

Chapter One The Boy Who Ruined My Photograph Han Seo-ah had three goals for her first day at Haneul University. Find her lecture hall. Make at least one friend. And take a photograph worthy of the portfolio she had spent two years building. By 10:17 a.m., she had accomplished exactly none of them. Her lecture hall appeared to have relocated itself. The girl who had promised to help her find it had vanished somewhere between the administration building and a suspiciously expensive coffee shop. And the perfect photograph she'd been trying to capture—a beautiful shot of autumn leaves falling across the university courtyard—was being ruined by a group of ridiculously overdressed students. More specifically, one student. He stood beneath a golden ginkgo tree wearing black from head to toe, one hand tucked into his pocket and the other holding a phone that probably cost more than Seo-ah's entire camera setup. His hair was styled so perfectly that she briefly wondered whether he'd brought a personal hairdresser to university. His friends surrounded him, laughing at something he had said. He didn't laugh with them. He merely smirked, as if even laughter needed his permission. Seo-ah adjusted her camera. One step to the left. Better. She lowered herself slightly, framing the golden leaves against the bright autumn sky. Perfect. She raised the lens. And the boy turned directly toward her. Click. Seo-ah lowered the camera. Silence. She stared at the photograph. There he was. Right in the centre. His expensive watch caught the sunlight. His expression suggested that the entire world had personally offended him. And his face was annoyingly photogenic. She zoomed in. Unfortunately, the photograph was actually good. That made it worse. Seo-ah sighed. "Congratulations," she muttered. "You've ruined nature." "Excuse me?" She looked up. The boy was walking toward her. Up close, he was even more irritatingly handsome. Tall, sharp-featured, and dressed like he had an important business meeting immediately after destroying someone's peace of mind. His friends followed a few steps behind him, looking far too interested in whatever was about to happen. Seo-ah glanced at her camera. Then at him. "Your face," she explained. He blinked. "My face?" "It was in the photograph." For a moment, nobody spoke. One of his friends pressed his lips together. Another suddenly became fascinated by his shoes. The boy stared at Seo-ah as though she had just announced that she owned the university. "Do you know who I am?" Seo-ah glanced behind him. Then back at him. "No. Should I?" A small, strangled sound escaped one of his friends. The boy's eyes narrowed. "Kang Min-jae." Seo-ah waited. He waited too. When nothing happened, his expression changed. "You seriously don't know who I am?" "I'm beginning to suspect you're a celebrity," she said. "But since you're standing in front of me instead of on a screen, I'm guessing you have time to move." His friend actually coughed. Min-jae turned his head slightly. The friend immediately developed a sudden interest in the scenery. Seo-ah lifted her camera again. "Could you move a little to the left?" Min-jae looked at her as if she had spoken another language. "You're telling me to move?" "Congratulations. Your hearing works." His jaw tightened. "Do you always talk to people like that?" "Only when they stand in front of my camera without permission." "You could have asked me to move." "I could have. But then we'd both have wasted our time." The silence that followed was magnificent. Seo-ah would have appreciated it more if she hadn't been standing in the middle of it. She offered him a polite smile. "Have a nice day, Expensive Ego." Then she turned around and walked away. Just like that. No nervous glance over her shoulder. No sudden realisation that she had offended someone important. No apology. Kang Min-jae stood beneath the tree, watching her disappear into the crowd. Behind him, someone started laughing. It was a mistake. Min-jae turned slowly. "Something funny, Ji-hoon?" Choi Ji-hoon, who had apparently decided that his life was worth less than his curiosity, grinned. "Nothing. I just didn't know people could talk to you like that and survive." "She didn't do anything." "Of course not." "Ji-hoon." "I'm quiet." He was not quiet. He was smiling so hard that Min-jae briefly considered having him transferred to another university. Min-jae looked in the direction Seo-ah had gone. That girl was irritating. Unbelievably irritating. And if she thought she could speak to Kang Min-jae like that and walk away without a second thought, she was about to discover something important. He didn't lose. Not arguments. Not competitions. And certainly not to a girl with a camera. --- Han Seo-ah, meanwhile, had already forgotten his name. Mostly. She was too busy trying to figure out why the university map appeared to have been designed by someone who hated new students. Building C was apparently behind Building A, beside Building F, which was next to a courtyard labelled Building D. She stared at the map. "Whoever designed this needs to be investigated." "Are you threatening the university map?" Seo-ah turned. A girl stood beside her, holding an iced coffee in one hand and a folder stuffed with papers in the other. Her dark hair fell over one shoulder, and her expression suggested she had been having an equally difficult morning. Seo-ah considered the question. "Not yet." The girl nodded solemnly. "Good. Because I was about to join you, and I don't want to get expelled on my first day." Seo-ah laughed. It came out before she could stop it. The girl smiled. "I'm Park Yu-na. Fashion design. Currently lost, emotionally exhausted, and seriously questioning whether my tuition includes a complimentary guide." "Han Seo-ah. Photography. Lost, hungry, and beginning to suspect this place was built by someone who wanted students to suffer." Yu-na held out her iced coffee. "To suffering." Seo-ah tapped her camera lightly against the cup. "To surviving it." They shook hands. And just like that, Seo-ah had accomplished one of her three goals. She had made a friend. Neither of them knew that the friendship would become one of the most important parts of their university lives. For now, they had more immediate problems. "Do you know where Lecture Hall Seven is?" Yu-na asked. Seo-ah stared at her. Then slowly raised the university map. "Please tell me that's not where you're supposed to be going." Yu-na's face fell. "Oh, no." "Oh, yes." They looked at each other. Then, without another word, they started running. --- By lunchtime, Seo-ah had discovered four important things about Haneul University. First, the campus was enormous. Second, the food was surprisingly expensive. Third, Yu-na had a talent for getting lost even when standing directly in front of the building she needed. And fourth, Kang Min-jae was apparently not just some random, overdressed student with an inflated ego. He was the Kang Min-jae. The only son of the Kang family, whose business empire stretched across hotels, luxury developments, and several industries Seo-ah had never cared enough to research. His father, Kang Tae-jun, was a powerful businessman whose name appeared in financial magazines. His mother moved through Seoul's elite social circles as though every room belonged to her. Min-jae himself was infamous around campus. His friends were wealthy, influential, and accustomed to getting their way. Students competed for their attention. Rumours about their parties, arguments, and humiliating treatment of people they disliked travelled faster than official university announcements. Apparently, making Min-jae angry was considered a terrible life decision. Seo-ah listened to all this while eating a lunch that had cost more than she felt comfortable admitting. Then she looked at Yu-na. "So you're telling me the guy I called Expensive Ego is the university's unofficial king?" Yu-na stopped chewing. "You called him WHAT?" "Expensive Ego." Yu-na stared at her. Then she slowly placed her chopsticks on the table. "Seo-ah." "Yes?" "Do you have any surviving family members who would miss you if you disappeared?" Seo-ah nearly choked on her water. "WHAT?" "I'm asking a serious question!" "Why would I disappear?" "Because Kang Min-jae doesn't like being embarrassed, and you apparently embarrassed him before lunchtime on your first day!" Seo-ah leaned back. "He'll live." Yu-na looked genuinely horrified. "You don't understand. People literally avoid arguing with him." "Then people should consider developing personalities." Yu-na covered her face. "Oh, we're going to die." "We are not going to die." "Speak for yourself. I have plans. I want to become a famous fashion designer, own a beautiful apartment, and marry someone who doesn't think basic respect is an optional subscription." Seo-ah grinned. "Then you should probably avoid the men on this campus." Yu-na pointed a chopstick at her. "Especially the handsome ones." "Agreed." "Rich ones too." "Obviously." "Actually, let's avoid men entirely." Seo-ah raised her drink. "To a peaceful university life." Yu-na clinked her cup against it. "To a peaceful university life." Neither girl noticed the young man standing outside the cafeteria, looking directly at their table. Kang Min-jae had heard enough to recognise one particular voice. He couldn't hear every word. But he had heard the phrase Expensive Ego. Again. His expression darkened. Ji-hoon appeared beside him, following his gaze. "Oh, look. It's your favourite photographer." "She's not my favourite anything." "Of course." "Stop saying that." "I didn't say anything." "You literally just said—" "Min-jae." He turned. Ji-hoon was smiling again. Min-jae hated that smile. He hated it almost as much as he hated the fact that he had remembered the girl's face. "Find out who she is," Min-jae said. Ji-hoon's eyebrows rose. "Why?" "Because I want to know." "Why?" Min-jae stared at him. Ji-hoon raised both hands. "Fine. I'll find out. But if you're planning to apologise for being in her photograph, I want to be present for that historic moment." Min-jae walked away. "Keep dreaming." Ji-hoon watched him go, grinning. For a boy who claimed not to care, Kang Min-jae was suddenly asking an awful lot of questions. --- That evening, Seo-ah sat at her family's small dining table, telling her parents about her first day. Her younger brother, Jun-seo, was halfway through stealing food from her plate. "Stop that," she said, slapping his hand away. "I'm growing." "Grow somewhere else." Their father laughed so hard that he nearly dropped his spoon. Their mother shook her head. "Seo-ah, please don't fight with your brother at the table." "He started it." "He was born after you," her mother replied. "You should know better." Jun-seo grinned triumphantly. Seo-ah stared at him. "This family is a dictatorship." "And you're still the least obedient member," her father said. She couldn't even argue with that. For a while, the conversation moved to her classes, her new friend, and the photographs she wanted to take around campus. Her father listened carefully. Her mother reminded her not to skip meals. Jun-seo demanded to see every photograph on her camera and declared most of them boring. It was an ordinary evening in an ordinary home. But Seo-ah loved it. Her family didn't have much money. Sometimes bills arrived faster than paydays, and sometimes her parents quietly adjusted their own expenses to make room for hers. Still, their home was full of laughter. Nobody expected her to become extraordinary to deserve their love. They simply wanted her to be happy. Later, in her bedroom, Seo-ah reviewed the photographs from her first day. Autumn leaves. The university courtyard. Yu-na making an exaggerated face at the cafeteria. And one photograph she had almost deleted. Kang Min-jae. She zoomed in on the image. He looked directly into the camera, his expression caught somewhere between arrogance and disbelief. Seo-ah tilted her head. Annoyingly photogenic. She saved the photograph to a folder labelled Campus. Then she switched off her camera and went to bed. Across Seoul, Kang Min-jae sat in the back of a luxury car while his father discussed an upcoming business event. He answered when spoken to. Nodded when expected. And tried not to think about a girl who had looked him in the eye and treated him like an inconvenience. He had met hundreds of people who wanted something from him. Money. Influence. Attention. Approval. Han Seo-ah had wanted him to move three feet to the left. It was ridiculous. It was insignificant. And it was absolutely not going to bother him tomorrow. He was certain of it. Completely certain. For at least the next twelve minutes.