#71
I heard it was supposed to be a three-on-three blind date, but I never heard anything about Kang Jihan taking up the remaining spot. I thought Kim Minhwan would bring one of his classmates, so I didn’t even ask.
Nam Seonwoo stared blankly at his phone. The message thread from earlier appeared on the screen.
[Me: Hey]
[Me: Why is he coming here]
[Kim Minhwan: What?]
[Me: Are you seriously trying to kill me? I told you I don’t like him]
[Kim Minhwan: But… Jihan hyung said he wanted to come… How could I refuse…;;]
[Kim Minhwan: It’d be great if you two become friends! ^o^]
Where on earth does he find these annoying emoticons?
With that irresponsible message as the last word, Kim Minhwan was now enthusiastically chatting with the person across from him. Judging by his slurred speech, he seemed to be quite drunk already.
Nam Seonwoo sighed and put his phone away. The one fortunate thing was that two out of the three girls who came to the blind date already had boyfriends. The meeting, which started with the honest confession that they came “just because they were bored,” was unexpectedly going well. Of course, Kang Jihan was so quiet it was hard to believe he was the same person who had been talking so much earlier.
Anyway, thanks to Kim Minhwan’s enthusiastic chatter making up for that one person’s share, the third drinking game was about to begin.
“I’ll go first. Who do you think has dated the most here? One, two, three!”
Without thinking, Nam Seonwoo pointed at Kim Minhwan. It was a question that could offend some people, so pointing at Kim Minhwan was the safe choice. However, he never expected everyone’s fingers to point at him.
“Wow, amazing. A unanimous vote from the start?”
“Seonwoo wins! Drink up, drink up!”
He didn’t mind drinking the penalty shot. He just couldn’t believe that Kang Jihan had pointed at him. Hiding a bitter smile, Nam Seonwoo picked up the glass.
“Do I really give off that impression?”
“It just seems like you would. You know, people with Seonwoo’s personality are often like that. They seem really caring, gentle, and kind, but it turns out they’re actually quite promiscuous behind the scenes.”
It was unfair. In his previous 34 years of life, he had never dated anyone except Kang Jihan. As he was about to raise the glass with a shudder, a hand suddenly appeared and took it away.
Nam Seonwoo watched in bewilderment as Kang Jihan downed his drink. As Kang Jihan put the glass down, the table, which had momentarily fallen silent, erupted into a mix of cheers and jeers.
“What’s this? A white knight? Did you just play the white knight for Seonwoo?”
“No, hyung! We finally got him to take his first drink, and you took it away? How could you!”
Curious eyes turned to Kang Jihan. It seemed to draw even more attention because the guy who had been sitting like a statue suddenly made an unexpected move. The girl with a ponytail sitting in front of Kang Jihan asked meaningfully.
“Why did you play the white knight? It’s so different from when Minhwan got the penalty drink earlier.”
Kang Jihan stared at Nam Seonwoo and said,
“Seonwoo gets really nasty when he’s drunk.”
Nam Seonwoo sneered. Aside from whether his drunk behavior was nasty or not, Kang Jihan actually had a lower alcohol tolerance than Nam Seonwoo. The nerve of him to volunteer as someone’s white knight. It was ridiculous and infuriating.
While Kang Jihan wasn’t a complete lightweight, he was already quite intoxicated. Scanning Kang Jihan’s side of the table, it looked like he had emptied at least one bottle.
‘Well, fine. If he wants to drink it himself.’
If he ends up getting drunk, it might actually be a good thing. Nam Seonwoo could just ditch him and leave.
“Wait, what’s this about his drunk behavior? Minhwan, do you know?”
“I don’t know… When did you even drink with Jihan hyung…?”
“Anyway, since you played the white knight, you get to make a wish! What does Jihan want from Seonwoo?”
The short-haired girl who had been in sync with Kim Minhwan held up a soju bottle like a microphone to Kang Jihan. Several pairs of eyes, including Nam Seonwoo’s, focused on Kang Jihan’s tightly closed lips. Whatever came out of that mouth, Nam Seonwoo was prepared to down an invalidating drink.
“Don’t drink.”
As if reading Nam Seonwoo’s thoughts, Kang Jihan said firmly.
“Next time, I won’t stop at just one.”
He had forgotten. Kang Jihan was a crazy bastard who didn’t distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be said in public.
“…Stop? What’s stopping? Does anyone understand what they’re talking about?”
“Boo. Inside jokes are no fun. Come on, let’s move on to the next question!”
Thanks to the alcohol-fueled atmosphere, everyone seemed to just move past Kang Jihan’s statement rather than digging into it. The only one who couldn’t move on was Kim Minhwan. With a sullen expression, he lowered his head and fiddled with something under the table.
Soon after, a vibration sounded, and Nam Seonwoo looked at the screen.
[Kim Minhwan: Why aren’t you answering? When did you drink with that hyung? ??]
It was puzzling why the guy who had been chatting away right next to him was suddenly texting. Nam Seonwoo tapped Kim Minhwan’s thigh to get his attention, but he just stared at his phone with a sullen expression.
‘Sigh…’
Finally, Nam Seonwoo replied, and a response came back immediately.
[Me: What do you mean drink? How many times do I have to tell you I’m uncomfortable with him]
[Kim Minhwan: But you just said…]
Whether he meant it was a lie, or that he had said it, or if he was calling Nam Seonwoo a liar, it wasn’t clear, but what was certain was that Kim Minhwan was drunk. Nam Seonwoo smacked the back of his head to snap him out of it, which made Kim Minhwan’s eyebrows droop even more.
“Since Seonwoo got caught, is it Seonwoo’s turn to ask a question?”
“No, Jihan played the white knight, so the right to ask goes to Jihan.”
“Ah! Right, right. Then Jihan, next question!”
Attention shifted back to Kang Jihan. But Nam Seonwoo was still bickering with Kim Minhwan. Just as he was getting annoyed with the endless vibrations and about to step on Kim Minhwan’s foot,
“Who do you think is most likely to be cheating on their partner?”
Kang Jihan asked loudly, as if wanting to be heard.
“Wow, that’s a harsh question. Isn’t this targeting us?”
“No, we told you we have partners. Cheating means secretly dating someone!”
Laughter erupted from across the table. But Nam Seonwoo could tell that this attack wasn’t aimed at them, but at him. It wasn’t just his self-consciousness. Kang Jihan kept staring in his direction. His cheeks felt like they were burning.
He wanted to ask what partner Kang Jihan was talking about, but to Kang Jihan right now, Nam Seonwoo was ‘a piece of trash who has a partner but gets drunk and goes on blind dates on top of having one-night stands,’ so he had nothing to say.
“This should be fun! Let’s point. One, two… three!”
This time too, Nam Seonwoo pointed at Kim Minhwan, the easiest target. Unlike before, the votes were scattered. The girls giggled and pointed at each other, Kim Minhwan pointed at Kang Jihan, and Kang Jihan pointed at Nam Seonwoo.
At that moment, Kim Minhwan snatched the penalty drink. He glared at Nam Seonwoo’s finger with an aggrieved look and shouted.
“Hyung, really…! You see me as that kind of trash! Fine, I’ll drink it. I’m just human scum who goes on blind dates behind my partner’s back, so I’ll just drink it!”
He then gulped down the soju in the beer glass. Everyone stared at him in shock, not understanding why he suddenly got so upset.
“Earlier too, what, you thought I’d dated a lot? I’ve never dated anyone! I’m a pure single! Did you actually think I was some kind of player!?”
“No, you pointed at me too-”
“You shouldn’t do this to me, hyung! What partner? You know I only hang out with you when I’m at school!”
It felt like his eardrums were going to burst. Nam Seonwoo recoiled with a disgusted look, and his shoulder brushed against Kang Jihan’s. Startled, he moved away in the opposite direction, only for Kim Minhwan to grab his arm and start whining.
“I’m not that kind of person… Hurry up and say you’re wrong. Say you misunderstood! Waaah…”
“Oh my. This is Seonwoo’s fault.”
“That’s right. Seonwoo should apologize.”
The girls, also tipsy, clapped and giggled at the spectacle before them. The meaning of the blind date had long since faded. Nam Seonwoo heaved a heavy sigh. There was nothing more pointless than dealing with a drunk person, so he figured he should try to calm him down first.
“Okay, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“Drink to make up! Let’s have a reconciliation drink!”
“Since you’re making up, shouldn’t it be a love shot? Love shot! Love shot!”
He was about to quickly down the drink before they actually suggested something like a love shot, but once again, the glass was snatched away. It was Kang Jihan again. As they watched him quietly empty the glass, Kim Minhwan, not wanting to be outdone, raised the remaining soju bottle.
“I can be a white knight too! I was originally Seonwoo hyung’s white knight!”
Nam Seonwoo felt like crying. On either side of him, guys who couldn’t hold their liquor were downing drinks in pairs, while across from him, people were applauding enthusiastically as if encouraging the two.
‘These crazy idiots, really…’
He knew Kim Minhwan always got noisy when drunk, but Kang Jihan was truly unexpected. But soon he realized that thought was wrong too. After all, Kang Jihan was just twenty-one years old.
‘…Right. Who can I blame?’
Nam Seonwoo thought self-deprecatingly. He was the oldest one here. It was mostly his fault for coming to this half-baked blind date just to avoid Kang Jihan.
