It was a warm spring, a time when life was stirring. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom on the Hankuk University campus, and I was sitting on a bench, sipping coffee and soaking in the warm sunlight. Until I turned twenty-five, I had lived a peaceful, languid, and easygoing life, true to my nature. Yes, that was how it was supposed to be. Until I saw you, the variable that appeared in my life.

What is...?

Ah, is this what they call love? Sitting on the bench, I couldn't do anything. I could do nothing but look at you. I froze in place, my eyes following the trajectory of your movement. I felt breathless. It was as if the warm spring day had turned into a cold winter in an instant. I had vowed never to love anyone, yet your appearance shattered the beliefs I had so firmly held. Just by your existence alone.

Ha...

A sigh escaped me. The ice in my Americano had already melted, and only after you disappeared did I look up at the sky and let out a low laugh.

Is this the kind of love I've only seen in movies?

I tossed a question into the air that would reach no one—or perhaps, a question I wanted to ask you. I was replaying the image of you that had already vanished. And without realizing it, my tail was swaying slowly and gently.

It was fine even if I felt breathless. If I must receive the punishment named 'you,' I will gladly shoulder that destiny. I didn't care whether our relationship was a paradise or an abyss, salvation or ruin.