His ragged breaths still hadn’t calmed. No—if anything, they were growing rougher, as if fueled by a desire about to erupt.
“…Bae Jung-yoon.”
The feeling was so intense, even his voice trembled as he spoke the name. His breath reeked of alcohol.
Go Hoon knew. He really should stop talking now.
He was drunk. Rational thought had long since fled. This impulsive urge was nothing more than a cognitive glitch from a brain dulled by alcohol. He understood that much, so he should’ve kept his mouth shut.
“There’s something I’ve actually been meaning to tell you for a while.”
But strangely enough, he didn’t want to stop. This was a moment when emotion had completely overtaken reason.
Maybe it was the sudden shift in atmosphere. Bae Jung-yoon stood up and looked down at him. The smile in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a glimmer of something unreadable in those pitch-black irises.
“What is it?”
“…Well…”
Maybe it was the nerves, but the nausea bubbling up in his throat was getting worse. Go Hoon tried desperately to calm his racing heart. And then—
“Uweeegh─.”
He collapsed where he sat and vomited everything in his stomach.
***
His head was pounding. As he slowly came to, that was the first sensation that hit him.
Eyes clenched shut, Go Hoon clutched at his throbbing skull.
The last memory was vivid. He’d thrown up in front of Bae Jung-yoon. But before that—he’d been about to say something. Probably about Kkongddeok-i’s true identity…
As the realization hit, Go Hoon’s face turned pale. He shot upright in bed.
What happened after that…? He couldn’t remember. It was gone—completely wiped. Just like that. No way. Why the hell did the memory cut out like that?
He checked himself first. His clothes were the same as yesterday.
Don’t tell me I said it. No… there’s no way. I didn’t say it. I couldn’t have. Right? …Right? Why the hell did I even feel that urge at that exact moment? The confusion made his headache spike again.
“Ugh… my head…”
As he groaned and sat up, the door opened. Go Hoon looked up instinctively—and flinched.
“Your head hurts, Hoon?”
At some point, Bae Jung-yoon had woken up and taken a shower. He approached, towel-drying his damp hair. That’s when Go Hoon realized—this wasn’t even his assigned room. The delayed realization made him scowl as Bae Jung-yoon rummaged through his bag and pulled something out.
“Want another hangover drink?”
Is this guy a damn hangover remedy ambassador…? Still, Go Hoon obediently took the brown bottle.
He popped the cap and drank quickly, desperate to calm his stomach. The mango flavor, which had tasted fine yesterday, now felt cloying and nauseating.
As he sat there trying to settle his stomach, Bae Jung-yoon sat beside him and continued drying his hair. Go Hoon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Hey, Bae Jung-yoon.”
Those pitch-black eyes turned to him.
“Did I… do anything stupid last night? Like, make a mistake or something?”
“A mistake?”
Go Hoon nodded. Bae Jung-yoon’s gaze drifted for a moment, as if recalling the night, before returning to him.
“Nah. Nothing happened.”
…Really? Nothing at all? Go Hoon stared at him with suspicion. But Bae Jung-yoon only gave him that same unreadable smile.
***
Maybe time would bring back the missing memory. He clung to that hope—but it was useless. The memory was gone, as cleanly erased as if someone had used a rubber.
Bae Jung-yoon treated him no differently than usual. From a few steps away, Go Hoon stared at him as he chatted quietly with Kang Soo-yeon.
Yeah. Everything looked normal. Just like always. But something felt off. There was a lingering unease, something unnameable, poking at his chest.
In the afternoon, they headed to the survival game arena. Go Hoon had worried his hangover would ruin the day, but the drink Bae Jung-yoon gave him worked like a charm. His headache vanished in no time.
After a simple lunch, they headed back outside to help with event prep at Jo Seong-il’s request.
“The sky’s getting way too dark…”
It was getting dark earlier than expected. Frowning, Go Hoon looked up at the sky, then turned to Jo Seong-il.
“Hey, do we really have to do the treasure hunt game? It rained earlier, and it might be dangerous to go into the mountains.”
Jo Seong-il stepped closer and lowered his voice.
“I was worried too, so I brought it up, but the student council president said to just go ahead with it.”
“What if someone gets hurt?”
“Then we just have to make sure they don’t.”
As Go Hoon frowned and voiced his concern, a voice suddenly cut in from behind. The student council president—apparently incapable of just standing by—walked over and stood next to them. Arms crossed, he sent a disapproving glare their way, having clearly overheard everything.
“It’s not like it’s pouring rain right now, so what’s the problem? And if we don’t do this, what else are we supposed to do? Just let everyone sit around doing nothing? If you want to change the activity, then how about you suggest something better?”
He was clearly still salty about last night—about them sneaking out of the drinking party. His tone was sharp and prickly.
The ridiculous part was, Bae Jung-yoon had left with him, but the president hadn’t said a single word to him. The unfairness hit Go Hoon like a punch to the chest, and he was about to snap back when Jo Seong-il quickly stepped in.
“Haha, well hey—this way it doubles as a courage test, right? Kills two birds with one stone. Sunbae, we’ll head up now to hide the notes!”
He immediately turned and tugged Go Hoon’s collar.
“Come on, Hoon. Let’s go, let’s go.”
Go Hoon couldn’t ignore Seong-il’s wink, so he quietly followed. He could feel the council president’s glare burning into his back, but chose not to let it bother him.
“Jo Seong-il!”
Just as they passed the lodgings and were about to enter the back trail up the mountain, a voice called out from behind. Turning his head, Go Hoon saw Kang Soo-yeon clinging to Bae Jung-yoon like a koala.
“Does the student council have any emergency medicine? I think one of the freshmen has indigestion—they threw up in the room, and it’s a mess.”
Watching Kang Soo-yeon speak with open disgust, Jo Seong-il made a face of his own.
“Ask someone else. I’ve gotta head up and prep the event.”
“I asked Yeong-seon, and he said you had it.”
“Ugh, why does everyone act like I know where everything is…”
Standing quietly by, Go Hoon finally stepped in.
“Go ahead. I’ll go up and get started.”
“Then I’ll go with Hoon.”
Bae Jung-yoon jumped in immediately. Caught off guard by the sudden offer, Go Hoon blinked at him—but Kang Soo-yeon quickly protested.
“Huh? You’re not staying with me?”
Her voice dripped with displeasure, but Bae Jung-yoon simply smiled and gently slipped her arm from his.
“They’re short on help. I should pitch in. You go inside and rest for a bit.”
“Well, if you’re the one saying it, then I guess that’s fine by me.”
Relieved to be free of the errand, Jo Seong-il quickly handed off the shopping bag.
“Alright, I’m counting on you guys!”
With that, he grabbed Kang Soo-yeon’s arm and pulled her along.
“Wait, wait… I was gonna go help with Jung-yoon—”
“Nope. You’d just get in the way. Let’s go.”
Even as she kept glancing back, Jo Seong-il dragged her off—leaving Go Hoon alone with Bae Jung-yoon.
“Let’s go.”
“…Yeah. Okay.”
The two walked in silence up the mountain path, occasionally stopping to hide the notes for the treasure hunt. The sky had grown even darker now, casting a somber mood over the forest.
Damn, I forgot my phone. Go Hoon slipped his hand into his pocket and only then realized he’d left it behind at the lodge.
He hadn’t had time to charge it after blacking out the night before. The battery had been nearly dead, so he’d plugged it in before lunch and left it there.
It’s not like I need it right now anyway. Brushing the thought aside, he turned his gaze back to the path ahead.
Maybe it was the gloomy weather, but his left knee started to throb slightly. Don’t tell me it’s going to rain again. I should’ve at least brought an umbrella… He was frowning to himself when Bae Jung-yoon’s voice cut through his thoughts.
“Is your leg okay?”
The question startled him—it was like the guy had read his mind. Still, Go Hoon answered flatly.
“It’s fine.”
He held up a finger and pointed in the opposite direction.
“You take that side. I’ll hide notes over here.”
Best to finish quickly and get back. Splitting up, Go Hoon began hiding the notes in earnest.
He didn’t want to make them too hard to find, so he stuck to spots where they’d still be visible—just challenging enough. One note he placed under a fist-sized rock, letting one corner peek out. Another, he tucked between two tree trunks.
But the positioning felt a bit shaky. What if the wind blows them away? Just as the thought crossed his mind, a gust of wind rushed through with a loud whoosh—and one of the notes fell to the ground.
“Oh—!”
It didn’t stop there. The note tumbled forward, rolling toward the edge of the slope.
Go Hoon hurried after it and bent down to grab it—but the moment he saw the view, a chill ran down his spine.
It might just be a back mountain, but it was nothing to scoff at. The trail sloped steeply in the opposite direction of the pension, and the ravine in front of him looked much deeper than expected.
If I slipped here, I’d go tumbling all the way down. The thought made him dizzy. He took a careful step back, brushing the dirt off the paper—when a panicked voice rang out.
“Hoon—!”
He turned, and Bae Jung-yoon was suddenly right in front of him. The moment he felt his arm grabbed, the ground beneath his feet gave way.
