Chapter 1 of The Night Before the Meetup

: A Single Photo

The night before we were supposed to meet for the first time, my roommate told me the photo my online boyfriend sent was fake.

"Someone who uses a fake photo to date you online must be insecure and too ugly to show his face!"

The next day, my online boyfriend messaged me: "Sorry, something came up last minute. Can you wait for me for half an hour?"

I breathed a sigh of relief because I'd just gotten a notification about an expert lecture.

I heard the speaker was a huge name in the academic world. When the university found out he was coming to Silverwood City, they spent a fortune to hire him for this lecture.

I made sure to grab a seat in the front row. The moment I looked up—

'How could this person look exactly like the "fake photo" my online boyfriend sent me?'

I was in an online relationship, and my boyfriend sent me a picture of himself.

Drop-dead gorgeous!

I couldn't contain my excitement.

But my roommate immediately threw cold water on my excitement.

"There's no way a guy that handsome exists in real life. And even if he did, a guy like that wouldn't need to date online. Someone who uses a fake photo to date you online must be insecure and too ugly to show his face!"

I started to panic a little. "It can't be that bad..."

My roommate was completely confident. "Use your head. If you were a guy and looked that good, would you have trouble finding a girlfriend?"

After all, I'd been talking to him for so long and had a really good impression of him. I didn't think he was the kind of person my roommate was describing.

Seeing I wasn't convinced, my roommate said, "If you don't believe me, just ask him to meet up. I guarantee you he won't dare to show his face!"

I pursed my lips and sent him a message: "Are you free tomorrow?"

In the few seconds of his silence, my heart was in my throat.

DING-DONG. The notification sound chimed.

My online boyfriend replied, "What's up for tomorrow?"

With trembling fingers, I typed out my message: "We've been talking for so long, let's meet up tomorrow, okay? How about here at Crestview University? Can you meet me on the athletic field?"

As soon as I sent it, he went silent.

My roommate rolled her eyes. "See? What did I tell you?"

The words were barely out of her mouth when he replied, "Okay. Tomorrow at 2 p.m. I'll be waiting."

A weight lifted from my chest. I glanced at my roommate. "See? I told you he wasn't like that."

My roommate was still being stubborn. "We'll see for sure when you actually meet him tomorrow."

To prepare for meeting my online boyfriend, I woke up extra early the next day. I made sure to get everything else out of the way before I started getting all dolled up.

I thought our meeting would go smoothly, but then he sent me another message: "Sorry, something came up last minute. Can you wait for me for half an hour?"

I was actually relieved when I got the message because I'd just received a notification about an expert lecture.

I heard the speaker was a huge name in the academic world, Ian Grayson. When the university found out he was coming to Silverwood City, they spent a fortune to hire him.

I didn't want to miss such a great learning opportunity.

A half-hour delay was perfect. It meant I could attend the expert's lecture.

After getting his message, I quickly sent him a one-word reply: "Okay."

Then I rushed to the lecture hall and made sure to grab a seat in the front row.

'Romance is one thing, but my studies couldn't fall behind.'

The big shot hadn't even arrived yet, but the students were already buzzing with excitement about the lecture.

"I heard the expert just got back from overseas not too long ago and won the highest award in his field!"

"And most importantly, I heard he's around our age! And he's handsome!"

"Someone caught a glimpse of his face this morning and was totally floored."

...

Amidst all the chatter, I remained perfectly calm, keeping my head down and preparing my materials.

'After all, I'm a taken woman now. It doesn't matter how handsome some other guy is.'