Epilogue Chapter 7
I suddenly turned my head in surprise.
“…”
Ah, I avoided it too obviously. It’s embarrassing. I sighed softly and chewed on my lip.
Joo Kwon-oh was already gulping down his third drink.
“Why are you drinking so fast today? Didn’t you drink in Europe?”
“I was too busy to have time to drink.”
Liar. Even though you had parties…
I grumbled internally, twisting Joo Kwon-oh’s answer.
Before long, the atmosphere around Joo Kwon-oh heated up, and they started ordering drinks other than beer.
The casual dinner gathering quickly turned into a full-fledged drinking party. Joo Kwon-oh, unusually, drank everything that came out and played light drinking games.
Afraid that attention might turn to me, I distanced myself from the table to show I had no intention of joining the games. And I kept my eyes fixed on the table as much as possible.
By the way, it’s the first time I’ve seen Joo Kwon-oh drink so crazily. I was a bit worried that he might be drinking too quickly.
…Should I stop him? But after a brief moment of consideration, I decided to pretend not to notice, as my pride was hurt from acknowledging him first.
“Hey. If we go all out like this, how are we going to do night work?”
“We’ll just sleep a bit and then do hangover night work.”
“Ugh, I tried that a few times in freshman year and never want to do it again. I’d rather just go home and sleep.”
“Forget it, let’s have another round and play a game. If you lose, it’s a one-shot.”
“Isn’t this going a bit too far?”
As his behavior became more daring, other classmates started to express concern. But perhaps because it was exam period when anything other than studying seemed exciting, no one actively tried to stop him. Rather, more people than usual were getting caught up in it.
“Then what about the midterm evaluation next week?”
“I don’t know. We’ll figure something out. The weather’s getting colder and the autumn leaves will fall soon. What’s the point if we can’t even enjoy the best weather?”
“I heard the autumn leaves at Dosan Park are really pretty.”
“Ah, right. I saw it on Instagram. But won’t it be crowded?”
“Still, I’d like to go if it weren’t for the exams.”
“Why does Joo Kwon-oh know so many hot spots?”
“He has a girlfriend, right? It’s good for date courses.”
“Really? He had a girlfriend?”
“Yeah, he saved all these places to go together when he came back to Korea.”
“Ooh.”
Kim Jae-hyun, who had been listening to Joo Kwon-oh’s group talk, poked me while eating fried chicken skin. Then he lowered his voice and whispered in my ear.
“Looks like he has a girlfriend. He might have a slick face, but judging by his personality and behavior, he’s a bit of a punk. I wonder what women see in guys like that.”
I just moistened my throat with beer without responding to his words.
“Hey. But are you sure Kwon-oh has a girlfriend?”
At that moment, a female classmate from the painting department spoke up. It seemed they had gotten quite close, as she was calling him by his first name without the surname, which irritated me for some reason.
“Why?”
“There are no photos, and none of Kwon-oh’s friends have ever seen her.”
I couldn’t help but pay attention to the ongoing discussion about Joo Kwon-oh’s love life.
“That’s right. If they’re from the same school, wouldn’t it be difficult to hide it so thoroughly?”
A club member close to Joo Kwon-oh chimed in.
“At this point, you should just reveal her.”
“Who is it? Come on, just tell us here.”
“Did you break up while he was on his internship?”
Joo Kwon-oh downed his full glass of alcohol, then swept his gaze over the expectant faces focused on him.
He narrowed his slightly unfocused eyes, grinned, and opened his mouth.
“Curious about my lover?”
“Of course we’re curious. We’ve heard a lot but never seen her.”
“Should I show you? She looks exactly like a peach. Really cute.”
“Ugh. What’s with the sweet act?”
Kim Jae-hyun made a small gesture of throwing up.
I kept watching Joo Kwon-oh’s direction due to a strange tension. When someone like Joo Kwon-oh starts bragging about their lover, it’s bound to attract all attention. Especially the girls from the painting department were sparkling with curiosity.
“What? A peach? You’re unexpectedly devoted.”
“She must be really pretty. What’s her personality like?”
“Personality? She’s like a fox.”
“A fox?”
“Yeah. She plays with me…”
Joo Kwon-oh’s words slurred slightly from intoxication.
I was so dumbfounded by his words that my mouth fell open.
Me? When did I ever play with you? You’re making me out to be a complete villain.
“She plays with you?”
“She says she doesn’t have time to meet me because she’s busy, but then she goes out drinking secretly with her friends.”
“Wow, that’s harsh. That’s a complete lie.”
“There’s more.”
“What, what is it?”
“She doesn’t wear the couple ring I bought her… She doesn’t carry around the gifts I gave her either. I picked them out every time I went into town in the Netherlands.”
“…”
“Does she not like them? They all looked good to me…”
Sympathetic exclamations burst out from here and there.
“Wow, she really seems to be playing with him.”
“No. Why would a decent-looking guy date a girl like that?”
Even Kim Jae-hyun, forgetting his previous hostility, was shaken and clicked his tongue.
In a way, this reaction was natural given that the person being thoroughly played was none other than Joo Kwon-oh. He always stood out with his overflowing confidence, smooth-talking, and ability to lead the atmosphere regardless of who he was with.
He knew objectively that he was quite a catch, so he had an image of someone who would lead others rather than be led by anyone.
So the news that some foxy girlfriend had Joo Kwon-oh wrapped around her finger naturally stirred up the table.
“Is that so? Do you guys also think she’s playing with me?”
“Yeah, totally.”
No, that’s a lie, Joo Kwon-oh. If you say it like that, everyone will think it’s true.
I glared at Joo Kwon-oh with wide eyes. But he, who would normally have keenly noticed my gaze, seemed to have dulled senses due to getting drunk so quickly.
Perhaps due to the alcohol, Joo Kwon-oh wore a gloomy expression he rarely showed.
I heard someone among the female classmates whisper softly, “He’s cute.” Along with that, my insides burned black.
Don’t make that expression. Everyone’s looking only at you.
“Lying is really bad quality, isn’t it? This is a trust issue.”
“Right. You can’t fix people. That kind of thing doesn’t change easily.”
“Isn’t it better to end it before getting more deeply involved?”
“That’s not possible. I like her too much.”
Even Kim Jae-hyun was completely drawn in by Joo Kwon-oh’s seemingly predetermined answer.
“At this point, isn’t it just one-sided love? What kind of girlfriend acts like that?”
The problem is that all of this is distorted facts.
“It’s frustrating. Joo Kwon-oh, what do you lack?”
“This bastard never introduced his girlfriend, so this was why…”
“If it were me, I’d break up.”
“No, I can’t break up with her.”
“Then she’ll lie again.”
“Just believe her. If you believe, she’ll keep meeting you, right?”
“Oh my god. That’s ridiculous.”
Joo Kwon-oh seemed to firmly believe that I was genuinely manipulating him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be making such a serious sullen face.
He must be completely drunk.
“Hey, show us a picture. I’m curious how pretty she is.”
“Ah. I said I’d show you. But you can’t fall for our peach when you see her face…”
As Joo Kwon-oh rummaged through his pocket to take out his phone, everyone showed interest with fire in their eyes.
Watching him slowly pull out his phone while slightly tilting his body, I turned pale.
No. It looks like he’s really going to show them.
“I’m going to… buy cigarettes for a moment. Anyone want to come with me?”
Feeling the impending crisis, I stood up abruptly to divert attention.
“What cigarettes all of a sudden? Just go by yourself.”
Kim Jae-hyun snorted as if he had heard nonsense.
“No one… wants to come with me?”
“Ah. I’m out of cigarettes too.”
At that moment, Joo Kwon-oh got up unsteadily and followed me. Fortunately, he fell for my ploy.
Disappointed groans flowed from various parts of the table.
“Ah, what’s this?”
“Show us the picture before you go.”
“There, there’s a convenience store in the next alley, let’s go quickly and come back.”
I urged him, afraid someone might grab Joo Kwon-oh, unable to contain their curiosity.
“On second thought, I can’t show the picture. I don’t like others seeing my lover.”
Joo Kwon-oh put the phone he had taken out back into his pocket. Then he grinned at me.
As if he had known I would react like this.
“…”
So, it wasn’t Joo Kwon-oh who had been caught up in this, but me. I realized it when I saw that relaxed smile.
This… this fox! This gumiho!
I glared at Joo Kwon-oh, inwardly berating him, feeling completely played.
He raised the corners of his mouth languidly as he left the bar with me.
“Where are you going, peach? Didn’t you say you were going to buy cigarettes? The convenience store is this way.”
“…You’re really annoying.”
“Why?”
“You did that on purpose, right? Saying you’d show the picture. To make me nervous.”
I snapped as soon as we came out to the noisy alley. Joo Kwon-oh narrowed his eyes, pouting his lips like someone sulking.
“What about you? You said you didn’t have time because of the final exams… You don’t have time to meet me because of night work, but you have time to come drink?”
“…”
That’s because I was upset because of you! Does he think I came here because I was excited?
I felt tightness in my chest as our situation seemed to be getting more tangled.
Hearing Joo Kwon-oh’s words that seemed to be criticizing me, the slightly floating feeling from the alcohol completely crashed.
“…Think what you want.”
I said that and walked towards the convenience store.
“Looks like you’re not even going to make excuses anymore.”
Joo Kwon-oh muttered as he followed.
“Why are you following me?”
“I’m worried someone might pick up my peach if she’s rolling around on the street at night.”
“How can you joke in this situation?”
“I’m serious.”
“…”
I couldn’t believe I could have such a childish fight with Joo Kwon-oh. Feeling like the situation was getting worse the more we talked, I decided not to respond.
As I walked, Joo Kwon-oh followed me again.
“Jeong-ha.”
“…”
“But why did you take off the ring?”
“…”
“Do you really not like the design? I always wear mine…”
“That’s…”
“Should we match with a different one?”
Joo Kwon-oh’s voice was noticeably gloomy.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
