#052
Jiwoon brought his car home and changed clothes. It would probably be even colder at night. Entering the dressing room, Jiwoon put on a casual shirt with a loose-fit sweatshirt securely over it. Then he touched up his hair, sprayed on some cologne, put on his padding, and took a taxi.
When he arrived at the opening ceremony venue, it was 6:50. The opening ceremony was supposed to start at 7 o’clock, but as soon as he entered the bar, he could already hear the loud, boisterous noise.
Sighing at the liveliness he hadn’t felt in a long time, someone came rushing toward Jiwoon with a clatter.
“Oh! Oppa! You came!”
Hayeon’s face was slightly flushed as she shouted loudly. She was holding two bottles of soju in one hand.
“Hello.”
Come this way! Hayeon spoke cheerfully and grabbed Jiwoon’s wrist, dragging him to the very front table right in front of the stage. It was obviously going to be a very noisy spot.
“See, didn’t I tell you? Handsome Jiwoon oppa is here. Take good care of the old man!”
Giggling, Hayeon dumped Jiwoon at the table and disappeared with her soju. The people sitting in front welcomed Jiwoon warmly, telling him to sit here.
“Hello, hyung! I’m Choi Taewoo!”
“I heard about you from Hayeon, but you really are handsome! I’m Kim Hyeonji.”
“I’m Lee Jiwoon.”
“Ah, hyung. Speak casually, speak casually!”
“Alright, now that introductions are over. Penalty drink! Penalty drink!”
Before Jiwoon could even start speaking casually, the spirited freshmen rushed at him like crazy. Jiwoon’s comment about wasn’t it supposed to start at 7 was immediately dismissed.
The drinking glass was filled with a glug. Without bothering to avoid it, Jiwoon emptied a 500ml glass and roughly answered the flood of questions.
The kids who had just turned twenty literally chattered non-stop. Jiwoon naturally started speaking casually as he exchanged drinks with them.
Just as he was getting into a more comfortable position and making various age-related jokes with Taewoo.
“Ah, ah. Hello everyone. I’m the president.”
Wooooo! Everyone cheered at the sudden voice. A neat-looking man introduced several people including Lee Hayeon. They seemed to be something like business school student council executives.
“Then let’s begin the strongest business school opening ceremony! First, we’ll have introductions from our beloved professors.”
The elderly professors went up on stage and threw out a few words of greeting. Jiwoon listened appropriately and clapped appropriately.
Just as he was thinking he should get acquainted with a few classmates and ask about various information since he was here anyway, the introductions ended. After the president said a bit more, he turned off the microphone with the shout “Let’s party hard!” It was the beginning of a crazy party.
Jiwoon drank an enormous amount of alcohol. He secretly threw away about half of it, but since there were so many drinks coming his way, he was quite drunk.
Moreover, while Jiwoon stayed in one spot the whole time, the other people didn’t. The people at the table kept changing.
Second-years pouring drinks asking why he didn’t come to the MT, third-years saying they were the same year so let’s get along well, and first-years mixing soju and beer with the determination to eat and die. Plus fourth-years and even graduate students.
As a result, at some point he couldn’t even secretly discard drinks and just kept taking shots straight. Alcohol surged up from Jiwoon’s stomach as he kept pouring drinks down.
In a tipsy state, Jiwoon chuckled “puhuhuh” at someone’s joke, then soon came outside to smoke a cigarette.
Though it was a dark night with darkness fallen, Jiwoon’s surroundings were brightly lit with the store’s lights. Lighting a cigarette in an alley between neon signs, Jiwoon blankly felt a rushing sense of liberation.
It seemed like he was momentarily liberated from Yechan. Jiwoon chuckled and soon shook his head, brushing off the thought.
……Did Yechan also come to Korea University? Ah, at this time he probably went to the military. And as soon as he thought that, Yechan came to mind again, making Jiwoon shake his head vigorously once more.
Ha, this is serious. His alcohol-affected head kept bringing up thoughts about Yechan.
* * *
The noisy bar door opened and a tall man entered. Several people who were drinking abruptly stopped their actions. Even though they were quite drunk, they couldn’t take their eyes off the noticeably handsome man.
The loafers of the man wearing a black long coat moved without hesitation.
“Hayeon.”
“Huh? No, why are you so late? Are you in your right mind?”
As soon as he arrived at the opening ceremony, Yechan found Hayeon and smiled while extracting the necessary information.
“Where’s the returning student hyung’s seat?”
“Returning student?”
“Lee Jiwoon hyung. I’m curious.”
“Ah! Over there, follow me.”
Is there something that connects between old people? Hayeon giggled as she guided Yechan to the table.
However, Jiwoon happened to be away from his seat. Some disappointment rose, but Yechan had been waiting for Jiwoon all this time. For someone like him, waiting this much was nothing.
Yechan asked someone appropriate to switch seats with him, then called a server. Then he set up his own utensils and drinking glass at the seat.
As Jiwoon stopped by the bathroom to wash his hands and was returning to his seat, he saw another new back of a head.
Having come from the cold outside into the warm interior, his drunkenness surged up. Jiwoon blinked for a moment and headed to his seat with his gaze fixed on the back of the head. It was around the time he thought the hair color looked familiar.
“Oppa! Where did you go? I was looking for you! Here’s a penalty drink for the latecomer, oppa pour it for him!”
Hayeon popped up from somewhere and grabbed Jiwoon. Soon Hayeon stood in front of the table, swirled the soju bottle to create a whirlpool, and opened the cap.
“This is Yechan oppa. A brave soul who took a leave of absence as soon as he enrolled! You two would look good together. Old people with old people.”
At the familiar name, Jiwoon froze stiff and turned his head from the giggling Hayeon. Somehow everything that caught his eye seemed to move slowly.
Jiwoon looked at the person in front of him. Seo Yechan, who had slightly thicker features and now gave off a completely adult atmosphere with no trace of his youthful appearance, was looking at Jiwoon.
What would it be like if we met again? If I saw you again, what should I do? Could I smile? What if tears came?
There was a time when he had casually imagined such things. No, actually he had done so recently too. Every time he fell asleep, his brain ignored its owner’s commands and arbitrarily drew the happiness it wanted.
However, the only action Jiwoon could take now was to stare at Yechan while frozen stiff.
Yechan, wearing a neat navy knit, stood up from his seat.
Jiwoon clenched his fists tightly to keep his hands from shaking. His eyes followed Yechan’s face where no emotion could be read.
His heart pounded. Standing up, Yechan briefly made eye contact with Jiwoon. For a moment, something sparkled in Yechan’s pupils as if power had been turned on.
“I’m Seo Yechan.”
Watching Yechan extend his hand and speak to him, Jiwoon bit his tongue hard. What the hell is this guy doing right now? The voice he had imagined thousands of times was treating him like a stranger.
Jiwoon’s eyes turned cold. Hayeon, who knew nothing, continued speaking excitedly while shaking the soju bottle.
“Oppa, what are you doing? Come on, hurry up and greet each other, then penalty drink!”
Slowly lowering his head, Jiwoon stared intently at the hand Yechan had extended. He remembered that hand. It was a hand he had held many times.
Hurry up! Hayeon shouted loudly and grabbed Jiwoon’s hand, bringing it to Yechan’s hand. Yechan lightly grasped Jiwoon’s hand and let go. The white hand was still hot.
Raising his gaze again, Jiwoon met Yechan’s eyes with an expressionless face. Yechan was smiling as if painted on.
Yechan was still treating him like someone he was seeing for the first time. At that attitude, something in the depths of Jiwoon’s heart began to writhe and emit black smoke.
“Good, with this the old people have nicely finished their introductions! Ah, hurry~! Yechan oppa, receive your penalty drink!”
The first-years’ urging to tease the latecomer was intense. Hayeon smiled brightly and handed Jiwoon a newly opened soju bottle.
Looking at the 500ml glass Yechan was holding, Jiwoon reflexively tilted the bottle. His past two years flashed through his mind.
The pouring soju filled Yechan’s glass. When the soju filled more than half the glass, Hayeon made a shrill “hieek” sound.
“Uh-oh, oppa. Are you trying to kill Yechan oppa today?”
At Hayeon’s words, Jiwoon snapped to attention and straightened the soju bottle.
“If you tell me to die, I’ll die.”
Awesome! At Yechan’s nonchalant response, Hayeon eagerly poured beer into his glass as if she’d been waiting for this. The black smoke rising inside Jiwoon grew in volume.
Yechan’s eyes, his way of speaking, his manner of talking that excluded himself from everything. It all irritated him. The other kids at the table raised their voices.
“What’s this about? Hey! Yechan oppa is going to die today!”
“Seo Yechan! Seo Yechan!”
Before he knew it, everyone around had united and was giggling while calling out to Yechan. It felt like his ears would bleed. The name he had struggled to avoid for so long was echoing from all directions.
Yechan picked up his glass. And drank it all in one shot. Watching his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed the alcohol, Jiwoon remembered how many kisses he had showered on that spot.
Ah, fuck. Jiwoon roughly twisted his lips. Yechan pulled the empty glass away from his mouth.
His stomach churned. Jiwoon turned his body to leave. And before he could even take a step, he was immediately caught.
Yechan was holding Jiwoon’s arm. The place he was grabbed felt burning hot.
“Sunbae-nim too.”
This bastard knew I was here. At the thought that immediately came to mind upon hearing the title “sunbae,” Jiwoon’s body stiffened.
Yechan wiped his mouth with his sleeve and smiled. Yechan’s eyes looking calmly at Jiwoon were composed.
“You should have a drink too.”
Ooh! Cheers erupted from the surroundings who were desperate to make others drink.
This must be really fun for you. I’m not having any fucking fun though. Yechan’s act of not knowing him seemed like it would continue. Jiwoon’s black smoke finally turned into anger.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
