Quiet fairy-like girl x cheerful puppy-like boy
In her second year of high school, Ye Wan Jin transfers schools and mistakes a strange boy for the classmate who's supposed to show her around.
The boy seems to have just finished playing basketball. His slightly damp black hair falls in soft strands over his forehead. He raises his eyes, their clear, dark irises shining as they meet Ye Wan Jin's gaze, with a hint of confusion in them.
At last, he lifts an eyebrow. "Follow me."
He takes her to the academic affairs office. Someone happens to pass by and call the boy's name.
"Ning Yi!"
Only then does Ye Wan Jin realize she's mistaken him for someone else.
Before leaving, Ye Wan Jin gathers her courage and thanks him. "We don't even know each other, but you still showed me the way. Thank you."
The young man is tall and broad-shouldered. At her words, the corners of his lips lift, and his voice rings clear and bright. "It's fine. Don't we know each other now, classmate Wan Jin?"
In that moment, Ye Wan Jin looks up at him, her heartbeat pounding like a drum.
That evening, Ye Wan Jin runs into him again on the stairs of her new home. He's visiting her grandmother, and only then does she learn his name is Ning Yi.
Just like his name, Ning Yi shines like a star. He's smart, handsome, and kind, always the dazzling center of attention.
She, on the other hand, is quiet and reserved. Lost in the crowd, she's easily overlooked.
He and Ye Wan Jin are in the same class. Like he does with any other classmate, he calls her "Wan Jin."
Though he treats her no differently from the rest of the class, Ye Wan Jin is still content. She carefully guards this unknown, budding love as it continues to grow.
But one day, her father discovers the crush she wrote about in her diary. He calls her shameless, then tears up the diary. Its pieces, along with her self-respect, flutter into the endless night, vanishing from sight.
A few days later, the torn diary reappears beneath her desk. Someone has painstakingly taped the shreds back together. On the last page, there's a note.
It's in Ning Yi's handwriting.
-- Wan Jin, good luck on your college entrance exams.
On the evening after the exams, the whole class goes out to celebrate. She sees a girl hand Ning Yi a love letter.
The girl pouts at him. "Won't you at least think about it...?"
Ning Yi's voice is helpless, with a hint of indulgence. "Sure, I'll think about it."
Ye Wan Jin quietly hides in the shadows. Only then does she realize that her one-sided performance has quietly come to an end. Her unrequited love is destined to go nowhere.
That evening, Ye Wan Jin makes an excuse and leaves the teachers' banquet early.
At the stairs in her building, the motion-activated light comes on with the sound of footsteps. The tall young man is sitting lazily on the steps, his arms resting casually on his knees. He looks up at Ye Wan Jin as if he's there to call her to account.
"Didn't we agree to go home together? Why did you leave so quickly?"
His voice carries the faintest hint of hurt. "Wan Jin, are you going to leave me behind?"
Reader's guide:
1. Both leads are each other's first and only. A sweet, innocent school romance, mainly set in high school. At first, the heroine has a secret crush; later, they both secretly like each other. No age gap, and no intimacy before adulthood.
2. The love letter is a misunderstanding.
3. Only the romance between the leads is guaranteed to be sweet. Please don't read if that bothers you.
Theme: Love
