Happy October everyone! I am happy to announce that I and a few fellow SoEul writers (KLSoEul, InHwa, and LilisLittleRose) have been secretly working on a spooky and romantic SoEul fic for you guys. The lovely cover art was designed by KLSoEul! :)

Originally, we wanted to update twice a week so that the story would finish in time for Halloween (we were ambitious 😆 ), but due to real life getting in the way, we will be updating every Friday instead. That means one new chapter every Friday throughout October and November for a total of eight chapters.

Each chapter will be written by a different author except for this first chapter which includes sections by all of us.

At the end of each chapter, I will credit the author who wrote that chapter.

*Please note that I am crossposting this story to AO3 and that the other authors have accounts on fanfiction.net if you want to look them up.*

We hope you enjoy! :)

After my heart became unsettled
Every single thing distracted me.
In these shrouded mountains
What prospect of a visit?
The falling leaves in the autumn wind
Mimicked my lover's approach.
- Seo Kyung Duk to Hwang Jini

Somehow, Yi Jeong's intentions had been totally misunderstood the day he spoke with Ga Eul on the stairs at Namsan. Or, rather, he hadn't been able to get out what he'd wanted to say to her once she'd firmly announced that she wouldn't be chasing after him anymore. Indeed, he'd been so shocked by the statement that he'd only been able to stand there, senseless and speechless, watching as she walked away.

In the few months since then, Ga Eul had started her college classes; Yi Jeong had progressed with the therapy for his hand; Jan Di had returned to Seoul; and Jan Di and Jun Pyo had gotten back together and were bickering as much as ever. There had been a lot of changes among their group, but these two facts had not changed: Yi Jeong still wanted to confess to Ga Eul that he liked her, and Ga Eul was still avoiding him like a sickness.

Thus, he had devised a plan.

Surely, Ga Eul would once more be filled with awe at his appearance if he did something as impressive as giving a special lecture on ceramics for the art classes at her university. Specifically, art classes that included her beginners' ceramics class. It helped that he personally knew the head of her art department. Another impressive fact about himself.

When he arrived at the art building on the day of the lecture, Ga Eul wasn't anywhere to be found in the crowd of screaming fangirls at the building's entrance, and though he was disappointed, he'd sort of expected that. Of course, Ga Eul would be sitting quietly in the lecture hall already, as unbothered by his celebrity status as she'd always been. He liked that about her. He missed that about her—that he knew when she said that she liked him, she truly meant that she liked him, and nothing about his status could have persuaded her to like him—or stand outside of a building cheering for him—if she didn't like him as a person first.

This was not to say that he didn't want to use the loads of cheering fangirls to make her notice him because he did, and he was using them. He let the chorus of girls follow him down the hall, making such a commotion that his arrival to the lecture hall couldn't go unnoticed throughout the building.

Yi Jeong wore a classic three-piece black suit with his signature earring; he'd had his hair freshly cut and perfectly styled for the occasion. As he strolled into the lecture hall, he smiled charmingly at everyone he saw and kept a languid, confident pace. Surely, if he stayed in his usual luminous element, he would lure Ga Eul back into his orbit in no time.

He saw Ga Eul sitting in the middle of the lecture hall, and as she turned her head in his direction, he began heading confidently towards her, intent on stopping right next to her chair and saying her name; a ripple of jealousy would wash over the crowd, and Ga Eul would blush in that cute, innocent way she had and fall for him all over again just as she had that night when he'd played the saxophone for her, then picked her out of the crowd in the club.

Unfortunately, none of that happened. He didn't get very far at all before a professor came rushing over to him, eager to discuss his lecture topics.

Yi Jeong internally grimaced but acquiesced to the professor's request. He would just have to find some other way of making Ga Eul notice that he had noticed her. He would also talk to her after the lecture, of course.

"Before I begin my lecture today, I would like to take a moment to talk about my recent injury," he began from the lecture stage a few minutes later, looking deliberately at the section of the lecture hall where Ga Eul was seated. An encouraging smile crossed her face, and he continued, more boldly, "When I was first injured, the doctors only gave me a thirty percent chance at recovering the full use of my hand. I wasn't sure if I would be able to do pottery the way I have been since childhood, and since this is my life's passion, that was very distressing to hear. I despaired for a while, but someone close to me told me not to give up on my one chance at life. It is because of that person that I have decided to still work on my craft while my hand is recovering, and I hope to make that person proud by continuing to move forward. I hope to give an even better effort in the future, so please anticipate my next projects."

Yi Jeong paused and gave a small bow, and the room broke into applause. Ga Eul clapped as well, still smiling, though it was more of a friendly smile than it was an awe-filled, So-Yi-Jeong-just-thanked-me-in-his-art-lecture smile. He hoped she understood from his words how important she was to him. He thought about pointing her out to everyone but wasn't sure if she'd kill him if he did that. It was one thing to talk to her or appear to romance her—he talked to and seduced a lot of girls, so that was no cause for much speculation. But if he made such a serious public declaration, the rumor would probably spread that she was his girlfriend before he even had a chance to ask her properly. Which could either work in his favor or make her extremely upset with him.

It had definitely backfired in Jun Pyo's case.

He decided not to risk it and launched into his lecture, with that effortless charisma and charm that always made girls swoon over him, and it worked. Kind of. The other girls in the audience leaned forward in their chairs, giggled quietly among themselves, and made eyes at him while he paced the stage. Ga Eul, on the other hand, kept her eyes on her notebook as she scribbled notes for almost the entirety of his lecture.

Notes! When she could easily ask Yi Jeong in person about anything she couldn't remember. How could she not lift her eyes to him even once?

He tried taking questions from the audience. He tried cracking a few jokes. Ga Eul barely raised her head the entire time, and as he kept glancing at her, he lost track of what he was saying several times and had to restart his train of thought. All in all, it wasn't the best presentation he'd ever given, distracted as he was by Ga Eul's infuriating red headband bobbing up and down as she bent over in her chair.

Despite his uncharacteristic fumbling, when the lecture was over, a bunch of the female students crowded around him, asking questions about ceramics with more enthusiasm than even he would have given the subject and questions about his personal life with thinly veiled suggestions in their eyes.

Ga Eul said nothing to him. She gave him a small smile when their eyes met across the vast hall, then quickly retreated up the stairs and out the back door.

A smile? He'd just given a whole speech about her, and all she could give him was a smile?

Even for a commoner, Ga Eul was too stubborn sometimes.

Keeping his well-practiced charm in place, Yi Jeong smoothly excused himself, citing his busy schedule, and followed Ga Eul out of the lecture hall as quickly as he could. Jan Di had mentioned that she had an education class after her art class on Tuesdays, so he attempted to find her in the crowd of students heading towards the education building, but he walked all the way there without seeing any sign of her.

And now his plan to be as conspicuous as possible was backfiring—a crowd gathered near him when he stopped in front of the education building. A few girls took out their phones to snap his picture, and for once, Yi Jeong was in no mood to smile and play along.

He actually wished to be invisible so he could sneak into the building and find Ga Eul and mercilessly for not even saying 'hello,' and Yi Jeong wishing to be invisible was as rare as him wearing casual clothes.

Sighing, Yi Jeong realized that his rendezvous with Ga Eul would have to happen another day. He'd just have to think up a better way to get her to notice him.

The recent setback had dented Yi Jeong's confidence, but not enough to stop him from another attempt to win Ga Eul over. He had made the mistake of using his public persona to impress her, which ironically prevented him from even meeting her. Thankfully, Yi Jeong had an ace up his sleeve.

His phone buzzed, with a message from Eun Jae: She's on her way.

When Eun Jae had heard of Yi Jeong's predicament, she had been more than eager to help him. Ga Eul was a student she was particularly fond of, and she had resoundingly approved of the match. Just now, Eun Jae had sent Ga Eul on an errand that led to his studio, where he was sure everything would work in his favor.

He waited in anticipation for the moment Ga Eul would accept his confession. Then Yi Jeong would finally be able to do what he had been secretly wanting to do since the moment they met. Her eyes would flutter closed as he leaned in and…

Snapping back to reality, he estimated that Ga Eul would arrive any minute. He pressed the button on his stereo remote to cue the music, a playlist of romantic ballads that he had used when he was dating around, something he had stopped many months ago when his life had almost shattered if not for a certain bumpkin. He dipped his hands into a bucket of water, and went to work on the nearly completed pot on his wheel. His right hand felt stiff, but he could still manage a simple vase with his eyes closed.

He smiled to himself knowing there was rarely any woman who could resist the sight of him at his pottery wheel. In fact it had worked its magic on Ga Eul once before. He remembered with pleasure the dreamy look she had in her eyes as she had watched him work. This would be easy.

He had just gotten into his rhythm when the door creaked open and he heard the familiar click of her shoes. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two feet clad in dark socks and girlish heels. The feet stopped and faced him. Perfect. He just needed to stay in this pose for a few more minutes to get the full effect. Yi Jeong conce