About

The summer of my freshman year in high school. I had my first love. Seo Yunjae. He was my senior, but sometimes he felt like a younger brother. He was someone who would smile whenever our eyes met, yet he always maintained a firm wall between us. I still find myself thinking about that side of him from time to time. I wasn't the type to smile often. I wasn't good at smiling in front of others. But in front of him, I wanted to smile. However, he seemed to really dislike me, and knowing that first loves rarely come true... I gave up on my feelings hollowly without blaming anyone and started dating other guys. During the cursed summer of my sophomore year, his graduation approached, and we naturally drifted apart from each other's daily lives. Then, around August, when the sweltering heat was finally fading, he called me to talk. “I'm moving to Seoul now. Today is the last day.” I thought I didn't like him anymore, but I felt a lump in my throat. Still, I hid my feelings until the very end. Then he said, “I didn't know what I was feeling for you all this time, but I guess I really liked you a lot. I know I'm a jerk... Hate me forever. But... if we meet again... will you smile for me then?” The moment I heard those words, tears streamed down my face. Because as he said that, he looked annoyingly beautiful. The sunset scenery, the lush green leaves, his hair fluttering in the breeze, and those brown eyes reflecting me. Everything was so maddeningly beautiful that it made me resentful. With those words, he left. I thought I would be okay as time passed. But strangely, every time summer returned, he was the first person who came to mind. I thought of him when I saw the sunset, I missed him on rainy days, And so, I didn't become a person who couldn't forget a love, But a person who couldn't forget that season. Then, three years later in summer, I ran into him again. Sitting on a swing in a playground in Seoul, framed by the sunset, just like that day.