“Ping pong toss?”
“Yeah, looks like you throw the balls and try to land them in one of those baskets.”
As Jae-ha gave a quick explanation and walked up with Su-min, one of the club members inside the booth quickly sprang to his feet. The others sitting with him whispered excitedly, their eyes fixed on the two.
“Welcome! Want to play?”
“Yes.”
The ping pong club didn’t seem to have advertised much—there weren’t many people around. Thanks to that, Su-min and Jae-ha could start right away without waiting in line.
“You get three balls. If you land them in the basket, that’s 1 point. In the mug, 3 points. In the soju glass, 7 points. Different prizes for each score so, uh… g-good luck!”
The member, clearly inexperienced, stumbled through the explanation before handing Su-min three balls. On the booth wall was a prize chart: 1 point got you candy, 5 points a small snack, 10 points a keyring, 15 points a plushie, and 21 points fifty thousand won in cash.
“So if you get all of them in the soju glasses, you win money.”
“Seriously?”
When Jae-ha gestured, Su-min let out a little “Oh!” and nodded eagerly. …What if he does have some cheat ability? Some kind of psychic trick… Ever since learning Su-min was an Imoogi, Jae-ha couldn’t help but second-guess everything.
Narrowing his eyes, Jae-ha watched as Su-min tossed the first ball. Thunk, thunk—it bounced twice, landed in a soju glass, then immediately popped back out.
“Ah, so close.”
The club member sympathized with far more enthusiasm than Su-min himself, who only frowned at the glass. He threw again.
This time, the ball was on target but clipped the rim and flew off the table. The last one, thrown too hard, ricocheted off the glass and dropped into a basket.
“Well, that’s still 1 point! Here, candy for you.”
“……”
Su-min took the tiny lollipop with an utterly dissatisfied look. He clearly wasn’t accepting the outcome. Jae-ha laughed, patting him on the back.
“Step aside.”
Jae-ha hadn’t aimed for the soju glasses from the start. Why would they put up cash as a prize otherwise? It was because almost no one could do it. He aimed at a mug instead, tossed lightly, and the ball bounced straight in.
“Wow!”
The nearby member cheered. Even though the mug was bigger than the soju glass, its tall sides made it tricky—you needed just the right bounce.
The second ball came up short. But after striking the rim of the mug, it deflected oddly and dropped neatly into a soju glass.
“……”
Su-min’s eyes went wide in disbelief, like he’d just witnessed a scam. The member was shouting “Amazing!” while murmurs spread through the growing crowd.
Looking around, Jae-ha realized people had gathered. Not just the other members, but passersby drawn by the commotion. A few, when they met his gaze, actually flinched and shrank back.
When did all these people show up…? I’d better finish this.
He tossed the last ball lazily. It landed in the largest basket, bringing his total to 11 points—just enough to earn a prize.
“Eleven points! That’s a keyring! Hold on, I’ll get it for you!”
The member shouted and ran inside. Just then, a bright, clear voice called out.
“Hey, is this fun?”
Jae-ha turned. Two girls who looked like they’d come just to enjoy the festival were standing there, stealing glances at him and then shyly looking away.
“Yeah. You should give it a try.”
He answered casually. Whether it was fun wasn’t really what they were after anyway.
“We saw earlier—you’re really good. Got any tips?”
“Don’t aim for the soju glasses. They’re too hard.”
“What? But you got one in!”
The girl laughed brightly, her friend giggling beside her.
“So, are you two going around together? Want to join us?”
“Sorry. I’m just showing my friend around.”
“Oh, perfect! It’s our first time at a college festival too. We don’t know where to go.”
Her eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands. Jae-ha opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly someone grabbed his arm. He turned—and saw a familiar face.
“Jae-ha Oppa! What are you doing here?”
Ji-woo rushed over with a big smile, carrying a large plastic bag. Next to her was Jeong-seok, holding another bag—looked like they’d been shopping for supplies.
“Oh, just looking around. You guys prepping the pub?”
“Yeah. Hyung-jun Oppa messed up the order, so we’re short on cooking oil. Honestly, he’s so scatterbrained.”
“You’re not even carrying anything…”
Jeong-seok muttered, but Ji-woo ignored him. She turned to the two girls near Jae-ha and grinned.
“Sorry, but we’re borrowing him for a while! If you want to see him again, come to the Business Department pub tonight~!”
“Business, Business! If you want to see the hottest guy in Business, swing by our pub~!”
In an instant, their shameless advertisement boomed out. Kids, no shame at all. While Jae-ha just stared blankly at the absurdity, Ji-woo finished her pitch and tugged him along.
“See? I just saved you.”
Her triumphant whisper chirped like a chick. Jae-ha chuckled, gave the girls a polite nod, and let Ji-woo drag him away. Behind them, Su-min finally wrapped up with the club member and followed.
“So people really do get picked up at festivals.”
“Right? Feels like a scene from a drama.”
Once they left the booths, the crowd thinned out. Ji-woo and Jeong-seok kept sneaking glances at Jae-ha as they chatted.
“Well, it is Jae-ha Oppa…”
“Bet he’s gonna be swarmed today.”
“What were you even doing there? Playing ping pong?”
Jae-ha looked back. Fortunately, Su-min was still following.
“Just showing a junior around.”
At that, both of them turned to look too.
“A junior? Wait, don’t tell me it’s the same one? The one you ditched us for?”
Somehow, Jeong-seok remembered the incident Jae-ha himself had almost forgotten. He rattled on, looking wounded.
“Wow, so you’re even showing him around the festival? We like festivals too, you know!”
“Yeah! This is discrimination!”
“What kind of special junior is he? We were just born yesterday, and look at this treatment!”
“He was just born too. Same age as you guys.”
Well, give or take a hundred and eighty years—but in human terms, close enough. With that little truth tucked away, Jae-ha replied shamelessly. Ji-woo and Jeong-seok raised a fuss, mostly complaining about why he didn’t hang out with them. As if they’d even have time with all the pub prep.
“Anyway, I was just checking out the booths. I’ll head back. I’ll help with the pub soon.”
As Jae-ha tried to leave, Ji-woo grabbed him again, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
“Oh! Oppa, if you’re wandering around anyway, how about promoting our pub while you’re at it? Then you don’t even need to help with prep.”
“Perfect. I’ll call Min-hee Noona.”
Quick as lightning, Jeong-seok pulled out his phone. Jae-ha frowned.
“…Me?”
“Yeah. We’ve got the perfect item for you. You don’t even need to do anything—just wear it while walking around. Stop by the pub and pick it up.”
Ji-woo grinned, gripping his arm tightly in case he tried to run.
What, some kind of placard? Whatever. Not a big deal. Jae-ha glanced at Su-min. The younger boy, trudging along blankly, looked back when he felt his gaze.
“Mind if we make a quick stop?”
Su-min nodded without hesitation. Ji-woo’s face lit up like the sun.
“Wow, he’s so chill. Officially approved as Jae-ha Oppa’s favorite junior.”
Favorite junior? What even is that…
“Min-hee noona’s using it now. Let’s go!”
Jeong-seok, done with his call, set off cheerfully. Every step made the bag in his hand crinkle noisily, drawing even more attention.
