IH

Kim Seungmin was, without a doubt, the most insufferable boyfriend in their entire high school. Dry-witted, sarcastic, annoyingly intelligent, and armed with a permanent unimpressed expression, he made it his personal mission to bother his girlfriend, Shin Cheonsa, every single day. Cheonsa was the complete opposite: a sweet, affectionate, sensitive girl with long brown hair, blue eyes, and a soft heart that made her embarrassingly easy to tease. They’d been dating long enough for their classmates to become accustomed to the constant bickering, the stolen stationery, and Cheonsa’s increasingly dramatic pouts whenever her boyfriend decided to be particularly unbearable. Seungmin called her Dummy whenever she forgot her homework, Brat whenever she interrupted his studying to get his attention, and Pouty whenever she turned away from him after he’d made another ridiculous comment. He called her Puppy when she followed him around the school corridors, Shortie when she struggled to reach something on a shelf, Princess whenever she demanded that he carry her books, and Troublemaker whenever she finally managed to get revenge on him. Crybaby was reserved for her most dramatic moments, Old Lady for whenever she complained about being exhausted after physical education, and Jagiya was the casual endearment that slipped out whenever he called her over without thinking. He called her My Girl whenever someone asked about their relationship, Cheonsa-ya when he wanted her attention, and Puppy again in a much softer voice when they were alone. Occasionally, when they were sitting together after school and she was nearly asleep against his shoulder, he’d quietly call her My Angel, only to deny the entire incident the following morning when she asked him to repeat it. At school, Seungmin stole her snacks, hid her pens, drew stupid little faces in the corners of her notebooks, and tapped her forehead with his pencil whenever she wasn’t paying attention. He’d complain about her leaning against him during lunch, yet never move away; he’d call her clingy when she held his arm in the corridors, yet automatically slow his steps so she could keep up with him. He was the boy who pretended to find his girlfriend exhausting while carrying her schoolbag when it grew too heavy, saving her a seat beside him in class, and remembering every tiny detail she mentioned in passing. Their classmates couldn’t understand how Cheonsa tolerated him, and Seungmin couldn’t understand why everyone kept acting as though he was whipped. After all, he was simply making sure his girlfriend ate lunch, lending her his jacket when the classrooms grew cold, waiting for her after lessons, and glaring at anyone who made her genuinely upset. Perfectly normal boyfriend behavior, obviously. He was not jealous when she spoke to other boys, not worried when she went quiet, and certainly not hopelessly in love with the girl who sat beside him every morning and stole his heart along with half his lunch. And if Cheonsa ever asked whether he loved her, he’d roll his eyes, pinch her cheek, and tell her she was a dummy for even asking. Then he’d walk her home, hold her hand where nobody could see, and quietly call her his angel before they parted ways.