The bell chime at the entrance of Blue Moon Café sounded like a death knell to Jae-wook. He stood frozen, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
There she was Park Yoo-na.
She wasn't wearing her school uniform. Instead, she wore a soft cream-colored sweater and jeans, her hair falling loosely over her shoulders. She looked even more radiant than she did under the harsh fluorescent lights of the classroom. On the table next to her latte sat her bag, adorned with the unmistakable blue ribbon.
'Starry is Yoo-na? The girl who sits three rows ahead of me? The girl who doesn't even know my name?' Jae-wook thought, his breath catching.
He considered turning around and sprinting out the door. But Yoo-na looked up. Her eyes scanned the room, landing on him. She didn't look away. Instead, her eyes widened, and a slight blush crept onto her cheeks.
To her, Jae-wook wasn't the "invisible boy" from class. Without his glasses, with his styled hair and confident outfit, he looked like a top-tier idol.
"Are you... Gun?" she asked, her voice hesitant but sweet.
Jae-wook forced his legs to move. He sat down across from her, his movements stiff. "Yeah. I'm Gun."
Yoo-na gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh my god! I—I didn't expect you to look like... well, like this! You look so different from what I imagined."
"Is that a bad thing?" Jae-wook asked, his voice naturally dropping into the cool, low tone he used during their late-night raids.
"No! Not at all!" Yoo-na laughed, the sound bright and musical. "I just thought you'd be... I don't know, an older guy with a beard? You look like you could be a model. Or someone from my school, wait—"
Jae-wook's heart skipped a beat. Did she recognize me?
She tilted her head, squinting at him. "You look familiar. Do you live around here?"
"I move around a lot," Jae-wook lied quickly, his voice steady despite the panic. "I spend most of my time in front of a computer, anyway."
Yoo-na relaxed, leaning forward. "Same here! It's so weird seeing you in person. In the game, you're this cold, lethal sniper who barely speaks. But here, you're just... a really handsome guy."
For the next hour, they talked. To Jae-wook's surprise, the conversation flowed easily. They laughed about their failed missions in Shadow Strike Online and complained about the stressful ranking matches. Yoo-na talked about her school life, mentioning how "boring" her classmates were.
"There's even this one guy in my class," Yoo-na said, stirring her drink. "People spread the weirdest rumors about him and our History teacher. He's so quiet, it's almost creepy. I feel bad for him, but he's like a wall. You can't talk to him."
Jae-wook flinched inwardly. She was talking about him.
"Maybe he's just shy," Jae-wook said quietly.
"Maybe," she sighed. "Anyway, I'm just glad you're not like that. I was so nervous that we wouldn't have anything to talk about."
As the sun began to set, Yoo-na checked her watch. "Oh! I have to go. Min-ji is waiting for me." She stood up, smiling brightly. "This was amazing, Gun. We should play tonight, okay?"
"Sure," Jae-wook replied.
As she hurried out, she accidentally bumped into the table, causing her bag to slip. She grabbed it quickly and waved goodbye, disappearing into the crowd.
Jae-wook sat there for a long time, trying to process the glitch that had just occurred in his reality. He reached for his coffee, but his hand brushed against something cold on the table.
It was a silver keychain with a small star—Yoo-na's favorite charm. She had left it behind.
Tomorrow at school, he would have to face her. Not as Gun, but as the "creepy" boy from the back row. And he held the one thing that could prove he was the boy she had spent her afternoon with.