On the first night of our graduation trip, the class representative, Gordon Perkins, suggests that we draw lots in order to get our rooms assigned to us.

"Let fate decide the pairs who get to stay in the same room as long as they have the same number, regardless of their gender! Imagine how exciting this is!"

Throughout my four-year college life, Ivan Decker and I have been in a relationship for three of those years. No one knows about our relationship, though.

I pull out a ball from the box and await my partner.

When it's Ivan's turn, he draws out a ball with the number seven.

Gordon raises his voice immediately. "The other lucky person who gets to stay in room seven is… Rebecca Benson!"

Rebecca, the young woman whom Ivan has pursued in a high-profile manner in the past, goes bright red.

Everyone cheers on them right away, claiming that Lady Fate really wants them to be together. But I'm the only one who stays silent.

No one knows that I've heard Gordon secretly tell Ivan something before it's time to draw lots.

"Look for the ball with the raised dot. I specially saved those ones for you and Rebecca."

As I look at Ivan, who walks over to Rebecca and picks up her suitcase for her with a soft smile, I find myself smiling as well.

It turns out that Ivan never plans on making our relationship official despite having waited for him for three years.

This time, I decide to be the one who leaves first.

We hadn't even finished announcing the room numbers, but the place had already reached a fever pitch.

Gordon Perkins handed Ivan Decker and Rebecca Benson a red wristband each, announcing loudly, "Let me go over the rules one more time. We're pairing by matching numbers. For this three-day, two-night trip, partners have to stay together at all times—it goes by the color of your wristband. No going off on your own."

Whistles rang out from the crowd, and one of the guys patted Ivan on the shoulder.

Rebecca's cheeks flushed bright red as she put on her wristband and hid behind Ivan.

Ivan smiled as he raised his arm to shield her. "Cut it out. She's shy."

"Oh, look at that, already playing protector. Everyone better watch out. If you upset Rebecca, Ivan will come after you."

The teasing instantly swelled into a chorus.

I stood outside the crowd, holding a ball in my left hand and dragging a heavy suitcase with my right.

Before we left, Ivan had stuffed his things into my suitcase, saying, "When the time comes, I'll carry all your bags. I can't drag along an extra suitcase."

Then, he pointed at my new small bag. "How about that one? The strap is long—it won't dig into my shoulder."

We'd been dating for three years, but he'd never once acted intimately with me in front of our classmates, let alone offered to carry my bag. Thus, I was overjoyed, thinking he wanted to use this trip to go public with our relationship.

But on the first day of the trip, he picked up Rebecca's suitcase and slung her short-strapped backpack over the same arm that he was using to shield her from all the teasing.

The suitcase was so heavy it pulled at half my body, sending stabbing pain from my fingers all the way to my shoulder.

I bent down and set the suitcase on the ground. After clearing my throat to suppress the hoarseness, I raised my hand.

"Excuse me."

Everyone looked over.

Gordon, still buzzing with excitement, asked, "What's up, Candice Olson? Since Rebecca's your dorm mate, you two are practically family. You got something to say on her behalf?"

Rebecca froze, her mouth twitching unnaturally.

Ivan suddenly looked up and shot me a tense, warning glance.

But his nervousness was misplaced.

I simply held up the ball in my hand and asked, "Who's number three?"

Gordon glanced around and spotted someone on the other side of the crowd raising a hand.

"Me."

It was a guy in our class who usually kept a low profile.

Gordon smiled and said, "Oh, it's Elias Pugh. I know you're single. What about you, Candice? If you're single, you two can room together. But if you have a boyfriend, I'll switch Elias to—"

I gently cut him off. "I'm single."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ivan's brows relax, then furrow again. He half-turned his head as if to look at Elias, but Gordon had already pulled out an orange wristband.

"That's perfect, then. You're both single—who knows, maybe you two could end up together!"

I took the wristband and nodded politely. "Thank you."

As I reached for my suitcase again, I could feel a pair of eyes on me.

I had no idea what expression Ivan was wearing at that moment, but relief was probably it.

The room numbers were set, and people started lining up to check in.

Rebecca went off to call her family.

Ivan dawdled, waiting until only I was left before checking in.

"Go find Gordon and tell him you don't want to room with a guy. Ask for a female roommate or a single room, and say you'll cover the difference," Ivan said in a low voice.

He kept his eyes straight ahead and didn't even glance my way.

I was texting my parents to let them know I'd arrived safely.

"Why?" I asked Ivan without even bothering to look up.

"What do you mean, 'why?' You're not single, so how can you room with another guy?"

"And what about you? Are you single?"

Ivan's fingers paused, and he sounded oddly annoyed when he said, "These rules were set from the beginning. All I'm doing is respecting the outcome of the draw."

"Yeah, I'm doing the same thing too," I replied softly.

His brow furrowed. But before he could say anything, I took my key card and turned away.

I'd only taken a few steps when Gordon announced loudly, "Everyone, meet in the media room in half an hour. I already booked it out. Let's take a trip down memory lane and watch the documentary from our freshman year sports day."

Instead of stopping, I just hitched up the strap of my small bag.

They might as well have called the freshman year sports documentary "Ivan's Grand Pursuit of Rebecca".

In the media room, the table was laden with snacks and fruit. The moment Ivan sat down, he placed the strawberries right in front of Rebecca.

The classmate next to him, Ruth Conrad, snickered. "Ivan, here you go playing favorites again. You know Rebecca loves strawberries, so you save the whole plate just for her."

The others joined in the teasing.

Rebecca, shy and embarrassed, pushed the plate toward the center.

"Everyone, please have some. Ivan bought me a lot of strawberries. If it's not enough, I'll have him go back to the room to get more."

But Ivan pulled the plate back, smiling gently. "Yeah, I'll go get more. You eat up first."

With that, he got up and left.

The teasing in the media room instantly hit the roof.

"Rebecca says one word, and Ivan jumps to do it—he's a total henpecked boyfriend."

Rebecca was eating a strawberry with a small smile when she suddenly said, "Candice, I remember you love strawberries too. When Ivan brings them over later, make sure you eat some."

The door opened. Ivan walked in carrying two plates of strawberries and set them both down in front of Rebecca.

He also knew I loved strawberries.

Over the past three years, I'd bought strawberries countless times, and just as many times I'd heard him frown and say, "Don't eat so many. Strawberries are so sweet. You'll break out in pimples again."

I casually picked up an orange and heard Gordon ask me, "Candice, where's Elias?"

Everyone looked over.

I didn't look up as I peeled the orange. "He had something urgent to take care of."

"Looks like you two are a lost cause," Gordon replied, sounding disappointed. "But no worries, the other couple is sure to work out."

Ivan's gaze lingered on me for a moment, then moved away.

"The documentary's starting."

His voice was slightly breathy as he casually handed Rebecca a strawberry, as if it were second nature.

The documentary was two hours long. Everyone was thoroughly entertained. Every time Ivan or Rebecca appeared on screen, they laughed and teased them.

"Ivan's wiping Rebecca's sweat again. She's just running 50 yards, and you're following her closer than the cameraman."

"Look—he's prepared bottled water, a little fan, and even sunscreen for her."

"Rebecca, Ivan chased you so hard back then that the whole school knew about it. How could you possibly hold out and not accept him? You made him stay single for four years, and he was still hung up on you by the time graduation rolled around."

Rebecca looked at Ivan, her eyes growing a bit misty. "I didn't think college relationships would last, so I wanted to wait until after graduation. I never imagined he'd wait for me that long."

One of the guys egged Ivan on. "Ivan, those four years must have been really hard on you, right?"

Ivan gazed back at Rebecca and gave a slight nod. "It was alright."

In just three years lay four years of patience and love.

Sighs of admiration rose around the room. I was the only one laughing inwardly.

How could it be hard on him? After six months of his grand pursuit of Rebecca went nowhere, he'd turned his attention to tennis.

I was the star player of the school tennis team. He'd asked me to be his coach for six months, and by the start of sophomore year, he'd confessed to me.

So, of course it was alright for him. Our relationship might not have been public, but we were happy and having a good time together.

Perhaps I was the only one who felt happy.

Just as I took a bite of the orange, Ruth suddenly pointed at the screen and shouted, "Candice, why was John Hudson holding an umbrella for you? Was he trying to pursue you?"

The topic shifted to me.

I shook my head and replied, "No, he was just being nice."

Ruth pressed on, "Too bad he didn't come today. He was clearly into you. You should consider him. I think you two would make a good couple."

On the other side, Ivan continued pouring water for Rebecca in one smooth motion, acting like he hadn't heard a word we were saying over here.

"No, thanks. I actually have a boyfriend," I said with a faint smile.

Ivan froze abruptly, his hands balling into fists.

I knew him too well—he was afraid I'd blurt something out.

But Ruth grabbed my arm and asked loudly, "Who is it? Is he from our class?"

Dozens of eyes turned my way. I kept my smile unchanged and nodded. "Yup."

The place went wild, and they all demanded to know who my boyfriend was.

Ivan's expression gradually darkened as he started typing away on his phone.

I felt my phone vibrate twice, but I didn't look at it. Instead, I just answered, "He had something going on, so he couldn't come."

There were seven or eight guys who hadn't shown up today.

Gordon looked disappointed. He was about to ask more when Rebecca suddenly yelped. Her cup had tipped over, and water spilled all over her pants.

Ivan quickly grabbed some tissues and wiped her pants.

"Sorry, my hand slipped," Rebecca apologized, her face flushed.

"It's fine. I'll go with you to get change. Don't want you to catch a cold."

Ivan led Rebecca away.

The documentary lost its appeal, and everyone else dispersed.

When I got back to my room, my suitcase was open. Ivan's things had all been taken out.

…

That night, I kept staring at my phone. The unread messages on the screen were still the two sentences he'd sent.

"Don't tell them. Let's not ruin the vibe."

Right. As his girlfriend, I couldn't ruin the flirtatious vibe he had going with Rebecca.

It was just like during the charity sale in sophomore year. Even though I had the highest proceeds, I had to give the award certificate to Rebecca just so I wouldn't overshadow the campus belle.

Or like the tennis tournament in junior year—just because Rebecca had said she'd like to try playing in a match, I had to withdraw so I wouldn't crush her enthusiasm.

For three years, Ivan was good to me. He was there for me through every high and low. Aside from refusing to go public, he did everything a boyfriend was supposed to do.

The only exception was that whenever Rebecca was involved, I was always the one put on the back burner.

…

Dawn came, and my phone had remained silent. I gazed out the window at the rising sun and felt myself growing calmer.

The plan for the day was sightseeing.

Ivan and Rebecca, both wearing red wristbands, stayed together the entire time. He used the camera I'd bought him to take her picture at every viral photo spot and to take selfies with her in front of the landmarks.

While resting by a bridge, everyone asked about my future plans.

"Candice, are you planning to stay in Fayton after graduation or go back to Rosemouth?"

"Back to Rosemouth," I replied flatly.

Ivan twisted open a bottle of water and handed it to Rebecca. Then, his eyes flicked over to me, casual but pointed.

Gordon poked him. "Rebecca, since you're from Fayton, you're definitely staying here, right?"

"Of course she is," Ivan blurted out without a second thought.

Rebecca's eyes sparkled as she quietly pressed herself closer to him.

But the others looked puzzled.

"Candice, don't you already have a job lined up in Fayton? Why would you go back to Rosemouth?"

I smiled and said, "I turned down the job because I wanted to live closer to my parents."

"Really? Is it for your parents or for your boyfriend?"

The whole group crowded around, eager for gossip.

My smile deepened. "Both. My parents hate to see me go, and my boyfriend has also decided to settle down in Rosemouth."

Everyone whooped and pressed me to say who it was, but I just shook my head and refused to say anything more.

At the next scenic spot, Ivan cornered me outside the restroom.

"Did you really turn down the job?"

He was beyond anxious, as he should be.

After all, we'd found that job together. The company had been impressed by my credentials, but my condition for accepting it was that they hire Ivan at the same time.