CHASING STARFISH

7

Irene ended up attending Seoul National University, becoming the oldest student in her junior class. It wasn't an ideal situation.

After retrieving her school records and evaluating her credited subjects, Irene was required to take a short bridging course and exam. Fortunately, she passed everything and was allowed to enroll in the second term.

"Hello, I am Bae Irene, I'm 25 y—" she began, only to hear giggles from the back row of the lecture room.

"Nice to meet you noona!" shouted one of the students.

The professor urged her to continue, and she did, grateful her father had produced a plausible story about her long illness that caused her to give up school. It was a pity, but who cared about the past? She had a bright future ahead.

Irene chose performing arts and decided to major in acting. Her mother always told her she would eventually land numerous commercials, and Irene wanted to put that theory to the test. Though she didn't see herself as particularly beautiful, she hoped to ignite her passion for singing and dancing through this endeavor.

One day, while she was at the library doing assignments, someone stood in front of her table.

"Irene, right?" the girl asked. Irene stared at her for a few seconds before recognizing her.

"Yeri?" Irene hesitated but then nodded. Yeri gave her a friendly hug before putting her books down on the table.

"I didn't know you study here. We should have met up sooner," Yeri said, smiling.

"Well, I just transferred. What are you taking up?" Irene asked.

"Acting. Now I know who's the famous Campus Noona they're talking about," Yeri smiled, shaking her head. "I was wondering who that new departmental beauty everyone's gushing about. Come here, let's take a pic. Jungkook will be happy to hear the news." Irene hesitated at the mention of Jungkook but decided a picture wouldn't hurt.

It's all in the past, she reminded herself.

"I enrolled early, so I got to choose special classes. Let me see your schedule," Yeri said. Irene showed her the schedule, appreciating Yeri's friendliness and accommodating nature. "Great, we have two classes together," Yeri mumbled to herself as she marked her notebook.

"Yeri, how is Jungkook?" Irene asked.

"He's doing great, but we seldom see each other now. He's a busy man," Yeri replied.

"Oh, so he's working already or something? I guess he doesn't want to take over his family business, huh?" Irene said, and Yeri looked at her as if she had said something wrong.

"Eonni, he's an orphan. He was raised by his father after his mother died. He put up his own studio after his father passed away," Yeri explained. Irene felt a pang of disappointment. She wondered how many lies did Taehyung managed to fool her with.

Yeri and Irene became closer after attending classes together. Luckily, Yeri didn't mention Taehyung much, to Irene's relief. She wasn't interested anymore, or at least forcing her heart not to. She knew he was likely happy now, but she couldn't forget that he once saved her life and made her heart flutter.

Despite his lies, she was where she was because of him.

"Eonni, it's Jungkook's birthday next week. I'm planning to throw him a surprise party. Will you help me?" Yeri asked while they were chilling in a snack bar just outside the school premises. Irene hesitated, not wanting the party to be awkward with her presence.

"Oh, uh... how can I help you? I'm sure Joy would be better at planning this party," Irene replied. Though Joy and Yeri had met a few times, they weren't particularly close. Joy wasn't the sweet, friendly type, but there was something appealing about her.