Prologue 1
Prologue 1
Yeon Jiwoo, a senior majoring in Business Administration at Seonun University, had many secrets.
Her light brown hair and hazel eyes, with a touch of green, came not from the woman listed as her mother on her family register, but from another mother entirely. She had siblings who were old enough to be her aunt or uncle. She was the youngest daughter of Seonun Construction, the parent company of Seonun University.
To protect all these secrets, Jiwoo had lived her whole life without a single friend.
Her life was less lonely than… boring.
It suited her more to say she was bored than to say she was alone.
Almost as if she were addicted to secrets, Jiwoo didn’t stop there. She was also in a secret relationship.
‘♥ My Yulie ♥’
Jiwoo giggled foolishly as she looked at the name of her boyfriend, surrounded by a plump little heart.
Just seeing the name, which was beautiful even in written form, brought a dreamy smile to her face as she thought of her boyfriend.
Sweet, handsome, tall, and a brilliant pianist, Baek Sunyul.
Of all the secrets Jiwoo kept, Baek Sunyul was the one most dear to her heart and the most thrilling.
Her grateful first love, who had approached her first, despite her having no friends and being too shy to make any.
The savior who brought light and salt to Jiwoo’s dull, colorless world.
Living each day as his girlfriend felt like a dream come true for Jiwoo.
[Babe. You know tomorrow’s Monday, right? What should we do tomorrow?]
9:20 PM (Unread)
…Even if, in truth, the only day she could see the boyfriend she loved so much was just one day a week. Monday.
After much deliberation, Jiwoo finally hit send, quickly turned off the screen, and placed her phone on the desk.
Then she waited for Baek Sunyul’s reply, her heart pounding.
One minute… two minutes… three minutes… The phone remained silent as the minutes dragged on.
“……”
Well, it was Sunday evening. He might be busy.
I mean, I messaged him on a day that’s not even Monday, so it makes sense if he’s taking a while to respond.
Despite the rationalizations running through her head, Jiwoo’s fingers impatiently tapped on the desk.
After a long wait, her phone buzzed with a low rumble.
“He replied!”
Jiwoo snatched up her phone and turned on the screen in a flash.
But instead of the reply she had longed for from her beloved Yulie, the notification was from someone completely unfamiliar.
[Jaeseong Courier: Tracking Number 1661445869 / A package sent from Banana Mall Co., Ltd. is scheduled to be delivered between 2 PM and 3 PM tomorrow.]
Well, in a way… it was a message she’d been waiting for.
As soon as Jiwoo saw the sender, she quickly closed the message like a guilty child caught doing something bad.
“Ahem.”
Even though no one was watching, Jiwoo let out a few awkward coughs for no reason.
The items that had just been shipped were things she had carefully selected for her date with Baek Sunyul the next day.
She had been a little worried about the delivery being late, but thankfully, it seemed like everything would arrive on time. Mondays with Baek Sunyul were always special, but tomorrow was going to be even more special than usual.
‘What’s the best gift for an anniversary?’
Because Monday, September 5th, just one day away, marked exactly 190 days since she and Baek Sunyul had started dating.
In the online community Jiwoo belonged to, every day ending in a “0” was considered an anniversary. It was a rule she absolutely loved.
So far, Jiwoo had celebrated 18 anniversaries. Among them, only two had fallen on a Monday, but both had passed without any special events.
On Day 50, April 18th, a Monday, they simply met up for coffee and parted ways.
On Day 120, June 27th, another Monday, Baek Sunyul had been away on volunteer work, so they couldn’t meet at all.
And now, their 19th anniversary—the third one to fall on a Monday—was finally arriving. Jiwoo was determined to make it a real, proper celebration this time.
Hugging her phone close, Jiwoo smiled with excitement as she went over the anniversary date plan she had been crafting for so long.
First, they would finish their liberal arts class together at noon, then go for lunch. After that, they’d head to the department store to pick out matching rings. Then, they’d return to her place, open the package from Banana Mall, and move on to spending a hot, passionate time together—swiftly and smoothly.
…That is, if Baek Sunyul agreed.
Bzzzt. Her phone vibrated.
Snapped out of her daydream, Jiwoo looked down absently.
This time, it really was the message she’d been waiting for.
[♥My Yulie♥: Let’s have dinner together.]
9:48 PM (Read)
‘Dinner?!’
Just one short message, but it set Jiwoo’s imagination racing. She leapt up from her seat, phone still clutched in her hand.
Since their dates always ended strictly before 5 p.m., she had never once had dinner with Baek Sunyul. That’s why she had meticulously planned their date schedule to end before then…
‘He’s finally willing to see me in the evening too!’
