Unrequited Love Obsession Diary - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 1

『Hobbies include exercise, morning swimming twice a week or more, occasional running, prefers reading to movies, most recently read Philip Roth’s Indignation, uses a 4-year-old iPhone, member of the Business department student council’s PR department.』

This is all Shin Yeon-jae knows about Lee Do-han’s preferences.

Oh, and one more thing. He likes women with short hair.

“Please cut it short. About chin-length.”

The hairstylist at the hair salon she’d rushed into before class looked surprised.

And rightfully so, since it would be rare to find a woman asking to cut her waist-length hair without showing a single styling photo.

No, she probably looked like a crazy woman.

In fact, Yeon-jae was crazy.

Crazy about Lee Do-han.

Speaking of him, he was a famous figure in the Business department that everyone knew.

It was impossible not to know him.

184cm tall. A cleanly handsome face. Broad shoulders. Gentle personality. Black hair covering his forehead.

Among ordinary college students, he was a shining presence who seemed to live in a different dimension.

In a generation where wireless earphones were common, he always insisted on wired ones. He wore an earphone in only one ear, letting the other dangle down, and his earphone cord was never once seen tangled.

He always carried the same backpack. Today was no different.

Dohan took his backpack off his shoulder and pulled out his textbook. A male classmate who always secured the seat next to Dohan asked him.

“When did you buy that?”

“Well. When I entered high school?”

Yeon-jae quickly pulled out her notebook.

She found the line that read ‘backpack bought in college’ and crossed out the word ‘college,’ then added a few characters.

『College. High school.』

“You use things for a long time. Didn’t you say your current phone is also 4 years old?”

“If it’s not broken, I just keep using it.”

She moved to a new line and wrote one more.

『Uses things for a long time.』

As expected. It perfectly matched his prudent atmosphere.

The notebook where she collected information about Dohan had already exceeded half a page.

Yeon-jae suddenly became curious.

Does he know I exist now?

A few days ago, just as the professor was entering the classroom.

That day too, the classmate who sat next to Dohan asked.

It wasn’t loud enough to shake the classroom, but at least loud enough for Yeon-jae sitting three rows behind to hear.

“Hey, Dohan. Do you know that girl with glasses in the back row is always looking at you?”

“Really?”

“Looking at her face, she doesn’t seem to be from our department. Isn’t she taking business classes just to look at you?”

“No way.”

Saying this, Dohan showed a light smile.

Unlike his light response that didn’t exceed five syllables, his expression showed he didn’t know how to react, and his attitude seemed to want to end the conversation at an appropriate point.

But his classmate stubbornly added one more comment.

“Like a stalker. Creepy.”

‘Mind your own business. I’m not looking at you anyway.’

…is what Yeon-jae thought in her head, but since she had indeed been stealing glances at Dohan, her conscience pricked her for a moment.

But she overcame it in 1 second.

‘If I were weak-hearted, I couldn’t have done this in the first place.’

From the beginning of the semester, Yeon-jae had carefully considered what classes Dohan might take, then selected and registered for four classes from the 3rd and 4th year business courses for her double major.

The current class, 【Digital Marketing Strategy】, was Yeon-jae’s favorite among them. It was the only one of the four that she took with Dohan.

…That’s right. She only lucked out with one of the four.

‘My luck is absolutely terrible.’

Thanks to this, the other three courses that Dohan didn’t take became this semester’s burdens.

Today too, Dohan arrived 5 minutes before class time. So Yeon-jae always arrived at the classroom at least 10 minutes early.

And she always sat in the back row. Since Dohan usually sat around the middle, sitting in the back row was the most appropriate position to look at him from a distance.

Meanwhile, Dohan’s business department classmate, Kwak Seong-hyeon (she learned this name she didn’t want to know naturally while observing Dohan), always arrived precariously 1-2 minutes before class started.

It was routine for him to throw down his bag and lie down to catch his breath, but on days when he arrived early, he would look around for Yeon-jae before even opening his textbook.

And he would always throw out an irritating comment. Just like today.

“Whoa, the stalker cut her hair.”

Crazy bastard. I didn’t cut my hair for you to see.

Dohan, who usually showed little reaction, turned around today.

Yeon-jae reflexively lowered her head. Her thick glasses slid down her nose.

Quickly setting up her textbook to half-cover her face, Yeon-jae silently waited for Dohan to look away.

Soon Dohan turned back around. And said quietly.

“Seong-hyeon.”

Kwak Seong-hyeon’s face showed a sneer, firmly believing he had gained Dohan’s agreement.

“You’re noisy.”

The atmosphere instantly froze.

It was just five syllables.

But those five syllables alone made Kwak Seong-hyeon’s mouth shut as if it had been sewn with thread.

Throughout that entire process, Yeon-jae was quiet.

But her heart pounded as if it would burst. Not only her earlobes but even the protruding bones on the back of her hands felt hot.

* * *

After class started, the air between Dohan and Kwak Seong-hyeon had softened. Kwak Seong-hyeon acted friendly toward Dohan as if nothing had happened.

“Lee Dohan, are you going to the cafeteria for lunch today?”

“Sorry. I have plans.”

Today too, Dohan declined Kwak Seong-hyeon’s meal invitation.

Yeon-jae couldn’t understand why Dohan kept Kwak Seong-hyeon around, but after observing for two or three months, she realized.

Kwak Seong-hyeon isn’t Dohan’s friend. He’s just one of the people trying hard to become close to Dohan.

In this class, there’s only one person who could be called Dohan’s friend.

No, in this entire school, just one person.

Creak.

The door opened behind them.

A man was entering the classroom carrying nothing but a single unbound textbook, no bag.

About 15 minutes had passed since class started.

The classroom was as quiet as a mouse except for the sounds of note-taking and other daily noises, plus the professor’s voice.

Cutting through the awkward silence, when the man finally found an empty corner seat and sat down, the professor stopped writing on the board.

And looking directly at where the man sat, said.

“Kang Hyeon-o.”

Kang Hyeon-o.

A man who always came in later than the professor, and the only person whose name the professor had memorized so well that he would mention it even during class.

“You’re still being late even though half the semester has passed?”

For a very dishonorable reason.

Usually, three tardies are considered equivalent to one absence. Even Yeon-jae, who was indifferent to everyone except Dohan, was concerned about his attendance record.

Given his frequency of tardiness, it was hard to believe that he hadn’t yet met the criteria for an F grade. Perhaps he was already guaranteed an F and didn’t even know it, just showing up to the classroom out of habit.

“I’m sorry.”

The man bowed his head lightly as a courtesy. Despite his words, his attitude didn’t seem particularly apologetic.

Since this wasn’t just a day or two, even the professor seemed dumbfounded and let it pass without much comment. Once class actually started, the man focused quite well on the lecture.

After observing that much, Yeon-jae’s gaze turned back to Dohan.

* * *

When class ended, the students filling the classroom began closing their textbooks one by one and putting them in their bags.

Dohan did the same, and so did Kwak Seong-hyeon, who clung to him like a leech as if he wanted to become Dohan’s conjoined twin.

Only Kang Hyeon-o stood up carrying his book in his bare hands without a bag, with his pen tucked in his back pocket, and approached Dohan.

“Hey, Lee Do-han.”

Dohan turned to look at Hyeonoh and made a welcoming face.

“If you’re going to be late like this, why did you move in front of the school?”

Despite his welcoming expression, Dohan asked back in a blunt tone.

Hyeonoh was the only person with whom Dohan used a casual speaking style.

Since this was a side of Dohan that he rarely showed, as he usually maintained appropriate distance from everyone and kept up appearances, Yeon-jae perked up her ears.

“Have you eaten?”

“No. Not yet.”

“How about blood sausage soup?”

“Sounds good.”

“Let’s go to the new place in front of the back gate.”

Kang Hyeon-o was one of the key figures related to Lee Do-han, noted in Yeon-jae’s notebook.

A sharp but handsome face. A willful attitude as if some part of his neural network was twisted. A rough-looking atmosphere.

Due to his naturally cold impression, sometimes even just looking at him felt scary, as if he might be glaring rather than simply watching.

He was in the same Business Administration department as Dohan, and from the conversations she had overheard, he seemed quite intelligent.

Once, Dohan had said to Hyeonoh:

“You can get the results you want with just one-tenth the effort of others.”

Even from Yeon-jae’s perspective, he seemed to live life quite easily.

The professor who didn’t seem to truly hate him despite his constant tardiness. He even often joked around and requested meetings!

He seemed approachable to others, but became difficult at crucial moments.

Just like now.

Kwak Seong-hyeon, who had been clinging to Dohan’s side like a leech, started reading the room when Hyeonoh appeared and then disappeared.

And all these characteristics of his were perfect for being Dohan’s friend.

Yeon-jae quite liked the picture of Hyeonoh being next to Dohan.

While pretending to pack her things and eavesdropping on Dohan and Hyeonoh’s conversation, Yeon-jae remembered that she had a major class at the Humanities Building, which was 10 minutes away from the Business Administration Building, and hurriedly got up from her seat.

Vowing that next semester she would absolutely not schedule other classes back-to-back with Business Administration courses.

* * *

It’s been quite a while since I started taking the same classes as Dohan, so it’s about time to set the next goal.

While heading to the Humanities Building, Yeon-jae decided.

The next goal is doing a group project together.

There was a group project listed in the syllabus she had checked in advance. Given Dohan’s personality, he would surely participate diligently in group projects too.

If that happened, having a direct conversation with Dohan wouldn’t be just a pipe dream.

While thinking such thoughts and walking with her eyes on the ground, Yeon-jae realized that her hand found nothing when she casually reached into her jacket pocket.

Yeon-jae stopped dead in her tracks.

My notebook!

Like Hansel and Gretel picking up bread crumbs, she frantically retraced her steps, but the notebook was nowhere to be seen.

Yeon-jae’s face gradually turned pale like someone who had been punched in the solar plexus.

I’m screwed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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