It wasn’t as if one more would make a difference—he’d already done it several times tonight. When Jae-ha calmly lifted his glass, it was immediately filled to the brim with liquor.
A much slimmer arm than his own looped lightly around his. With her sleeve rolled up just enough, bare skin brushed against him. They leaned in close, downed the shot in one go, and their eyes met. Seongji blinked rapidly, then quickly turned her gaze away.
The crowd, already hyped up, demanded another game from her. The game circled around again, but Seongji, now clearly tipsy, kept fumbling with silly mistakes.
“I think Seongji’s drunk.”
By the fourth time she pointed at him for a love shot, Jae-ha finally spoke, his tone steady. The remark only drew laughter from the others. Seongji mumbled a faint, slurred apology, her words tangled on her tongue.
He didn’t mind—he could still drink plenty—but having a completely wasted junior girl was another matter. Jae-ha reached over and took the glass from her hand.
“I’ll drink it. Take a break.”
“What’s this, a black knight?”
“Seongji, you’re lucky.”
“Jae-ha oppa, are you sure you’re okay?”
He nodded, then downed two shots back to back. Flustered, Seongji kept apologizing as she poured him some water.
Luckily, others noticed she was getting worryingly drunk as well. The rowdy, game-filled atmosphere gradually gave way to calmer chatter.
“You good, Jae-ha?”
“Still fine.”
“As expected—born to drink.”
A senior clicked his tongue and poured him water, insisting he drink it. Jae-ha accepted politely, sipping water instead of more alcohol. He hadn’t lost a single game, yet he’d been forced to drink enough to count as punishment.
“Seongji, no matter how much you like him, really? You wouldn’t even do a love shot with anyone but Jae-ha?”
“N-no, it’s not like that…”
She floundered but didn’t actually deny it. Catching on quickly, others teased her with playful remarks about scary devotion.
“Seongji, did you really get rejected? Why does Jae-ha keep accepting everything?”
“Yeah, why play black knight for her? Suspicious.”
“Wouldn’t it look weirder if he refused?”
It was, after all, just a drinking game punishment. Refusing would’ve drawn even more attention. With Jae-ha’s casual reply, one classmate suddenly leaned in, looking eager. He was known for his wide social circle.
“Seo Jae-ha, don’t you ever think about dating? How about a group blind date?”
“At my age? Seriously?”
“Hey, what’s wrong with our age?”
When Jae-ha didn’t respond, others quickly raised their hands in his place.
“Oh, I’m in.”
“Me too!”
“…You guys too?”
The first guy who brought it up looked at the volunteers with a grave face, only to be scolded for hesitating. Another friend shook his head beside them.
“You lot might need blind dates, but Seo Jae-ha doesn’t. If he wanted to, he could start dating right away.”
Not exactly true, though.
“Totally. Even people from other departments know Jae-ha oppa. He shows up on the school’s anonymous forum all the time.”
“Oh, I even left a reply once! I praised him for being kind. Do you know how many DMs I got afterward asking me to introduce him?”
“So, how did it feel being a stand-in celebrity?”
“Exhausting.”
The cheeky answer sent laughter rippling around the table.
Jae-ha didn’t use the anonymous forum, but friends sometimes sent him screenshots, saying a post looked like it was about him. From those, he had a general idea. The posts did seem to describe him, though sometimes he thought people shared ridiculously trivial details. Still, it was nothing like the overblown image his classmates were making it out to be. What was he, some kind of idol? Might as well call him a celebrity. He opened his mouth to deny it, but before he could, an arm hooked around him.
“No way—protect Jae-ha oppa!”
“Yeah, what’s dating going to get you? If you date, you won’t hang out with us anymore. That can’t happen.”
“Don’t do it, hyung. Don’t start dating.”
One by one, drunk classmates clung to him, whining in his ear. What a mess. Since he hadn’t planned on dating anyway, Jae-ha pried them off with a scolding look.
“Drink up. Stop talking nonsense.”
“Yeah, who needs dating? Let’s just hang out together!”
“Yeah, exactly!”
At his words, they let go instantly, as if they’d never latched on, and scrambled to grab their glasses. Their carefree faces clinked cups, already forgetting what they’d just said.
By the third round, the group had dwindled. Even Ji-hyang , who’d held out the longest, finally surrendered and called it a night. Only five remained, including Jae-ha.
Even then, a quiet izakaya with just a couple of bottles soon shifted to a winding-down mood. True to their promise, even the department’s hardest drinkers ended things quietly at the third round. Cheong-hee, however, declared he was off to drink more with another group, earning applause from everyone.
Waving goodbye, Jae-ha parted from his all-night drinking buddies and walked home alone. A glance at his watch showed it was well past three in the morning. Even with his high tolerance, drinking until this hour had finally given him a buzz.
He walked through the quiet backstreets and unlocked his front door. The keypad beeped, the lock clicked open, and the sensor light flicked on. Moving sluggishly, he kicked off his shoes and stepped into the living room—then froze.
On the dark sofa sat a towering silhouette.
“…What the hell?”
For a second, he thought it was a ghost. At his muttered words, the figure stirred slightly. Not asleep, then. Jae-ha flicked on the light. Piercing eyes locked straight onto him.
“You’re still up? Working on homework?”
There wasn’t a single book or laptop in front of Hae-hyun, but he asked out of courtesy. At that, Hae-hyun’s blank expression suddenly crumpled.
“What time is it?”
Jae-ha instinctively replied in a calm, chiding tone.
“I told you I’d be late.”
“Then why didn’t you answer my calls?”
“Calls?”
He fished his phone out of his pocket. Several missed calls and unread messages from Hae-hyun filled the screen.
[Ju Hae-hyun]
So when are you coming home?
[Ju Hae-hyun]
Sunbae
[Ju Hae-hyun]
Are you ignoring me?
[Ju Hae-hyun]
Answer when you see this
[Ju Hae-hyun]
Sunbae
[Ju Hae-hyun]
Hey
The later the messages, the angrier they sounded. Jae-ha apologized simply.
“Sorry. I keep all my notifications turned off.”
Too many people messaged him. Checking them all in real time would mean never sleeping.
“Did something happen? Was I in danger?”
He asked sincerely, half-wondering if this was curse-related. He’d said Jae-ha was safe for a few days. He’d even seen him briefly at school earlier. But at his casual words, Hae-hyun’s brows drew tight.
“Do you seriously think that’s the point?”
…Then what is? He didn’t say it out loud, but his face must’ve shown it. Hae-hyun suddenly shot to his feet.
In a few strides he crossed the room, towering over him. The overhead light was swallowed by his broad frame, casting shadow over Jae-ha.
“You kept me waiting… How much did you drink?”
The scolding tone faltered. Instead, he leaned in close, sniffing.
“Did you go to a club? You reek of perfume and alcohol.”
He accused Jae-ha, tugging at his jacket, nose brushing dangerously close to his skin.
“Hey, that tickles.”
Only then did he stop. Still bent over, he lifted his gaze. His eyes, level just below Jae-ha’s, met Jae-ha’s with a sulky defiance. Jae-ha reflexively grinned. He flinched, then scowled hard.
“Go shower.”
“Huh?”
“Now. The smell will bother me when I try to sleep.”
“What—wait…”
If anything, wasn’t it his habit of climbing into Jae-ha’s bed that was the real problem? But before he could argue, Hae-hyun shoved him toward the bathroom with surprising force.
“Hold on—”
“Scrub thoroughly and come out.”
He spoke like it was an absolute rule. Jae-ha couldn’t even muster the obvious Why the hell are you ordering me around in my own house? before he was pushed inside.
“I’ll check after you’re done.”
Hae-hyun’s voice rang sharply through the door.
“…”
Jae-ha stared at the door, dumbfounded. Then, with a sigh, he stripped and turned on the shower. Maybe the alcohol had finally caught up with him—he couldn’t even be bothered to resist.
