After they had spent a couple of minutes talking about school and their areas of discipline, Jake looked at her with interest.
"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing around here? I mean, this place is quite a distance from school," Jake said, and she shrugged.
"I get my art supplies from the bookstore down the block," Haewon explained.
"You paint?"
"Yeah. It's my passion," She said, and he nodded.
"That's cool. Why, then, did you choose to major in Economics and not fine art or something related to your passion?" Jake asked, and she pursed her lips.
"Well, as my grandfather and mom would always say, your life shouldn't be entirely wrapped around your passion. According to them, my grandmother used to be an artist, and when she couldn't draw or paint anymore because of an injury, she was miserable because that was all she knew to do," Haewon explained.
"I see you inherited the talent from your grandmother. So, I guess Economics is sort of a backup plan. Or did your parents give you no choice?" Jake asked, and Haewon giggled.
"I have plenty of choices, and economics is not a backup plan. I am allowed to do whatever I want. I paint for fun, and I'm studying economics because I also want to be an economist. I can do both, can't I?" She asked, and Jake realized that she had no plans of bragging about being the heiress of a conglomerate.
"Sure, you can," Jake said with a nod.
"What about you? What were you doing around here?" She asked, and Jake shrugged.
"I came to tutor a student," Jake said, and she raised a brow.
"Tutor?"
"Yeah. I do need the cash. I'm a scholarship student, remember?" He lied, and Haewon nodded.
"I see," Haewon said, not knowing whether to feel sorry for him or not. He just didn't seem like someone who was struggling financially.
"Isn't it funny that we both are in the same faculty and must have shared a couple of courses yet have never crossed paths? And I know we have shared some classes," She said, changing the subject.
Jake shrugged. "I believe you don't know every student you've shared classes with or all the students in the faculty, do you?" He asked, even though he had always seen her go in and out of every of the classes they shared.
He always went in late through the back door and sat at the back since he knew she was always punctual and usually sat in the front seat of the class. He also left early so she wouldn't see him.
"You're right. I don't," She said, nodding her head in understanding.
"Charlotte schools here too. Do you remember her? My best friend. You took us to prom together," She said, and Jake raised a brow.
"Really?"
"Yeah. We live together. I bet she's going to be really surprised when she learns about you schooling here too. Can you believe the three of us ended up getting into the same university?" She asked with a wide smile.
"I can believe it," Jake said, and Haewon giggled.
"So, are you going to tell me why you disappeared just like that after prom?" Haewon asked out of the blue after a moment's silence.
"Only if you tell me why you seem so friendly now. I mean, we weren't exactly best of friends back then, were we?" Jake asked with a cocked brow.
Haewon shrugged, "A lot of time has passed between now and then. Besides, the only reason we weren't friends was because you didn't want us to. I imagined that would change after prom, but you disappeared," Haewon said, and Jake looked at her with interest.
"Are you implying that you wanted us to be friends?" He asked, and Haewon considered the question for a moment.
"I mean, you saved me. I didn't expect you to be my enemy or anything," She said defensively.
"I see. Anyway, I had something I needed to take care of urgently..."
"You could have called, couldn't…" She stopped when he raised a brow.
"We didn't have that sort of relationship," He reminded her once again, and she sighed.
That was true. She was nothing to him, so he owed her no explanation. The fact that he had taken her to prom and she had felt a spark between them, and he kissed her cheek instead of her lips, didn't change how things had been between them.
"You're right," She said, and Jake looked at her for a moment.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you would be worried about me or want to hear from me," He said, and Haewon smiled.
"You've changed a lot," She said, and he raised a brow.
"How so?"
"You always used to be so surly," She said with a shrug.
"I guess I outgrew it," Jake said easily.
"By the way, I hope it's not too late to congratulate you since it's the first time I'm seeing you since prom night. I heard you made valedictorian," Jake said, and she smiled.
"Thanks," She said and watched as Jake glanced at his wristwatch again.
"You have to go now, don't you?" She asked, and he gave her a nod.
"Yeah."
"Thank you once again. And I hope you're not going to disappear again," Haewon asked, and Jake chuckled.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere until after I'm done with college. Can I have your number?" Jake asked, and Haewon raised a questioning brow.
As much as she wanted to give it to him and get his so they could remain in contact, she was also curious to know why he wanted it.
"You do owe me a drink, don't you? I wouldn't want you to forget," Jake said, and Haewon giggled as she took his phone from him and imputed her digits.
"Are you really going to give me a call? Do we have that sort of friendship now?" Haewon asked as he dialed her number on his phone so she could get his too.
"Can I? I mean, you don't have a boyfriend who would be mad if I call, do you?" Jake asked, and they held each other's gaze for a minute before she shook her head.
"I don't. You can call," She said, and Jake smiled at her.
"I will. I have to go now. Try to get home safely," Jake said as he pushed away from the table, and Haewon rose.
"I will. You too," She said as they both walked out of the cafe.
They waved at each other before going in opposite directions.
While Haewon was feeling excited about reuniting with him again and couldn't wait to tell Selena, Ivy, and Charlotte about it, Jake was feeling equally excited and triumphant. He couldn't wait to tell his grandmother that sweeping Haewon off her feet might be easier than even he had expected.