Chapter 348: Surprise

Chapter 348: Chapter 347: Surprise

In winter, the sky darkens quickly. It was just after five, but the sun had already set. A bell rang, and students from Jornheim University began streaming out of their classrooms in groups.

Young, vibrant men and women walked across campus, their faces alight with the uninhibited smiles of youth. They chatted about which stores had the best Christmas atmosphere and which malls were holding Christmas events.

Nearly everyone was walking in groups, making a lone figure particularly conspicuous—especially when that person was an exceptionally handsome man. Two girls whispered to each other for a moment, and then one of them jogged up to him.

“Excuse me, could I get your contact info?” Up close, the full impact of his looks was even stronger. The girl’s face flushed, and she explained nervously, “I’m in charge of the English club. We’re holding a Christmas event tonight, and you could join us.”

“No, thank you.” His voice was cool but polite, the rejection immediate and unthinking.

The girl from the English club looked a little disappointed and was about to try again when a cheerful female voice called out from nearby.

“Simon!”

Beneath a “bald” plane tree, a girl in a long white down jacket was waving energetically in their direction. She looked a little clumsy, but even with a mask on, it was obvious she was gorgeous.

‘Is she here for her boyfriend? What kind of dreamboat managed to get such a beautiful girlfriend?’

Just as the English club girl was thinking this, she saw the man in front of her freeze for a second. His cool expression suddenly softened, and he strode quickly toward the plane tree.

“What are you doing here?”

“Surprise?!”

Their voices rang out at the same time. Joanna Kennedy let out a “PFFT” of laughter, and the corners of Simon Lockwood’s lips curved into a smile.

“I’m surprised,” Simon Lockwood said. “Very surprised.”

He truly hadn’t expected Joanna Kennedy to come find him, but there she was, right in front of him. Simon Lockwood reached out and touched the warm skin of her neck, only then certain that this wasn’t a dream.

“Didn’t you say you were heading to the film set?”

“Changed my flight.” Joanna Kennedy raised an eyebrow, her beautiful peach-blossom eyes glinting with a touch of smugness. “I couldn’t just leave you to spend Christmas all alone, now could I?”

“Simon’s psyche is so fragile. What if you saw all the happy couples celebrating Christmas, got heartbroken, and hid away somewhere to cry?”

“…I wouldn’t cry.”

“Mmmhmm, sure.” Joanna Kennedy nodded perfunctorily, her expression screaming, ‘Yeah, right!’

Simon Lockwood: “…”

Joanna Kennedy loved seeing the normally cool and aloof Simon Lockwood get that helpless, speechless look on his face. Feeling smug, she couldn’t resist giving his shin a playful kick.

“What are you doing? I changed my flight for you, and you’re just going to make me stand here? Simon Lockwood, I’m cold, you know!”

As if to prove her point, Joanna Kennedy hopped up and down a couple of times. There was a step on the pavement that she nearly tripped on, making Simon Lockwood’s heart pound. With lightning-fast reflexes, he wrapped an arm around her waist, his tone heavy. “Joanie, behave yourself.”

Joanna Kennedy huffed twice but didn’t say anything.

Simon Lockwood softened his voice. “I wasn’t scolding you.”

Joanna Kennedy huffed again, still silent.

“…I heard there are some Christmas activities on campus. Want to go check them out?”

“Is it fun?” Joanna Kennedy finally deigned to speak to him. Simon Lockwood breathed a sigh of relief and answered honestly, “I’m not really sure.”

Joanna Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Then I don’t want to go.”

‘He doesn’t even know if it’s fun. What if it’s boring? That would be a total waste of time.’

Simon Lockwood was at a bit of a loss. “Then where do you want to go?”

He hadn’t looked into any entertainment options; since starting school, his life had been a monotonous routine between three points. He had no idea what interesting places were nearby.

Joanna Kennedy had changed her flight to spend Christmas with him, and he didn’t even know where to take her. In that moment, Simon Lockwood started to doubt himself. ‘Am I really as unromantic as Joanna Kennedy said I was?’

Joanna Kennedy didn’t know that a single joke she’d made had sent Simon Lockwood into a spiral of self-doubt. She had come to find him on a whim and didn’t really have a specific place she wanted to go. Then, remembering the scene from earlier, she had an idea. “Why don’t you just show me around your campus?”

“…But aren’t you cold?” Simon Lockwood asked subconsciously.

Joanna Kennedy shot him a glare, and Simon Lockwood pressed his lips together, not daring to speak again.

As one of the country’s top universities, Jornheim University had a vast campus, complete with its own roads and traffic lights. It had been two years since Joanna Kennedy graduated from art school, and stepping back onto a campus felt a little novel.

“Oh, that’s the library,” Joanna Kennedy said, looking at the large building in the distance with a hint of pleasant surprise.

“You’d definitely need a degree to work here,” Joanna Kennedy remarked wistfully.

Her comment seemed to come out of nowhere, but Simon Lockwood’s lips tightened into a thin line. He took Joanna Kennedy’s hand and tucked it into his own pocket.

Her cold hand was enveloped in warmth. Joanna Kennedy paused for a moment, then laughed. “What’s this? Don’t overthink it. I was just making a random comment. Besides, my current job pays way more than a librarian’s, you know.”

“I’m not,” Simon Lockwood said, but he unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand, as if he could comfort its owner just by holding on.

Joanna Kennedy sighed. She swore she wasn’t trying to play the victim; it was just a passing thought. Though her time working at the Marinus library had been tiring, it was hardly “miserable.” So many people had it tougher than her. Who was she to complain?

“Alright, don’t be sad,” Joanna Kennedy said deliberately. “If you keep this up, I won’t ever be able to mention the past again.”

She said it to try and lift his spirits, but Simon Lockwood just frowned. “Why are you trying to comfort me?”

“You’re the one who suffered. I should be the one comforting you.”

“…”

Joanna Kennedy was the one who dropped out of school and went to Marinus alone. Joanna Kennedy was the one who worked at the library to make a living. Joanna Kennedy was the one who lived in a damp, old house in the old district.

‘Such a dazzling person had suffered so much because of him, because of a damned mission, and now she was the one comforting him?’

Simon Lockwood felt like a complete hypocrite. He pressed his lips together, his voice dropping low. “Am I being petty again?”

After he spoke, he waited quietly for Joanna Kennedy’s “verdict.” But she didn’t take the opportunity to laugh at him. Instead, she leaned in obediently and rested her forehead against Simon Lockwood’s shoulder.

Simon Lockwood froze for a second, then subconsciously wrapped his arms around her. He heard Joanna Kennedy say, “Everything is better now. And it’s only going to get better from here.”

“…” After what felt like a long time, Simon Lockwood’s Adam’s apple bobbed slowly. “Mm…”

He and Joanna Kennedy would have many bright tomorrows. There was no need to dwell so much on the past.

The two of them embraced as if they were the only ones there, quickly drawing attention. Simon Lockwood’s exceptional looks had already caused a stir when he first enrolled. And though Joanna Kennedy wore a mask, her signature peach-blossom eyes and outstanding aura were impossible to look away from.

Someone secretly took a photo and posted it on the Jornheim University forum.

[SHOCKER! The Literature Department’s new transfer, the untouchable campus star, has a girlfriend!!!]

The forum was especially active due to Christmas, and within ten minutes, the thread had over a hundred replies.