#Side Story 2 – 02
Cruising Altitude 01
‘Oh, what should I do…’
Cold sweat broke out from nervousness. After realizing the sudden truth, the thought of rushing out of this place floated in my mind, but I wasn’t the type of person who could be cruel to a woman.
“Oppa, don’t you want to drink more?”
“Huh? Oh… yeah… I’m taking herbal medicine… I’ll just drink this…”
Habitually mumbling the excuse Saheon hyung had repeatedly told me, I awkwardly smiled while fidgeting with my hands under the table. Reciting ‘When drinking outside, only one beer. Say you can’t have more due to your constitution’ was the last remnant of my conscience.
The other person, whose cheeks were flushed red from alcohol, shyly smiled and sipped her beer. I looked down once more at the unanswered, hopeless messages on the messenger and despaired.
「Hahaha we’re at our apartment hahaha」
「How is it? Isn’t she nice? She’s a good kid」
「She’s interested in you」
「That’s why she asked to be introduced」
「Try to treat her well >< bb」 *** To explain the beginning of this incident, I need to start from an earlier story. While I was still unenlisted, I had been considering my enlistment timing since the end of my freshman year. Putting aside Saheon hyung's ridiculous claim that 'Moving abroad would solve everything,' I asked military veterans around me like Chaehun hyung, my father, and my uncle, and learned that enlisting after finishing the sophomore year was the most common. I also concluded that enlisting after sophomore year would be best. So, after completing my sophomore year, I enlisted in January at the age of twenty-two. This process included Saheon hyung's tearful life as a military girlfriend, and an incident where I casually mentioned considering getting a tattoo to avoid enlistment, only to see hyung having nightmares, groaning "No... No... Army... No..." and cursing, which made me drop the idea. In any case, after completing 18 months of military service, I was discharged in the summer at age twenty-three. Since I had promised to devote a semester to hyung after being discharged, I spent the fall and winter of my twenty-third year literally like one body with hyung. During that time, I also met Yoo Do-jin hyung and Choi Hyun-oh, who had enlisted together and were still in the military. Since they enlisted later than me and planned to maintain student status for about half a year after discharge like I did, I would only be able to meet them at school around the time I became a senior. This worked out well for Saheon hyung. Strangely, Saheon hyung, who hadn't liked Choi Hyun-oh much from before, made a sound like a laughing camel, "Heeng!" when he heard the news, which earned him a pinch on the lips from me. So, now at twenty-four, I was returning to school alone this semester. Even though my hair, which still showed signs of military life, had grown back to its previous length, everyone could tell I had just returned from the military due to my strangely stiff demeanor. French Literature was originally a female-dominated department, and that fact hadn't changed during my time in the military. With Choi Hyun-oh, the only male classmate, absent, and being in the ambiguous position of a junior in a small, elite department, most of my classmates had already graduated. While it was nice to get along well with classmates I clicked with, I didn't like forcing relationships with people I wasn't close to. Since I lived a life of rushing home after classes anyway, I was having an uneventful college life without particularly close companions when I unexpectedly met a familiar face. 'Oh, Lee Cheongmyeong! Cheongmyeong-ah!' It was someone I had hung out with a few times thanks to being Yoo Do-jin hyung's junior and friends with the sociable Choi Hyun-oh. Happy to see a familiar face after a long time, our conversation went on for a while. While talking about military experiences and recent life, I also learned that he was dating a student from the French Literature department. Thinking I might have heard the name before, I found it interesting and we parted ways. After that, I ran into Yoo Do-jin hyung's junior a few more times, had meals together, and sometimes his girlfriend joined us. My department junior, who was in the same year but a different class, became a bridge connecting me, who had been wandering alone, with other juniors. They were all nice kids, so I could easily become friends with the juniors I had been awkward with. Although I wasn't particularly lonely, it was certainly welcome to have more familiar faces - it also meant fewer meals eaten alone. While living such a smooth life, the incident occurred a few hours ago. After the midterms ended, I had been lounging at home for a few days when Yoo Do-jin hyung's junior contacted me. He asked if my exams were over, and if I had time, suggested we have dinner together and hang out a bit before parting. He said his girlfriend and a friend of hers would also be coming. The exams were over, tomorrow was the weekend, and coincidentally, Saheon hyung had also said he had plans with his friends today. After thinking for a moment, I gladly accepted and sent a message asking for hyung's permission. Hyung replied with 'Okay♥'. At the time, I thought it was just a normal appointment. I got ready casually and arrived at the meeting place on time to find Yoo Do-jin hyung's junior, his girlfriend, and an unfamiliar face. '...Oh.' 'Ah, you're here? This is the friend I mentioned we'd hang out with today. She's my junior.' 'Huh? Oh...' 'Hello!' I must have subconsciously assumed the "friend" we were hanging out with would be male. As I responded awkwardly, the person I was meeting for the first time greeted me warmly. 'Y-yes... Hello.' 'You're Lee Cheongmyeong oppa, right? I'm twenty-one! Please speak comfortably!' 'Oh, okay...' I could tell at a glance that she was a very lively person, reminiscent of a small, energetic Pomeranian. I averted my gaze slightly due to the positive energy radiating from her entire body. The twenty-one-year-old who introduced herself as 'Lee Seo-hee' said she was in the Physical Education department. She seemed to already be familiar with Yoo Do-jin hyung's junior and his girlfriend, calling them 'unni' and 'sunbae-nim' without reserve. Seo-hee seemed to be the type who easily befriends strangers, like Choi Hyun-oh. Even I, who was a bit awkward due to my instinctive shyness in front of strangers, became relatively comfortable in less than an hour. We had dinner at a famous restaurant near the school, and naturally moved on to drinking. The second round menu was pajeon and spicy whelk salad. Having made a promise with Saheon hyung, I ordered one beer and kept sipping on just that. It was a boisterous drinking session I hadn't experienced in a long time. It was an enjoyable gathering where we were busy laughing at the continuous flow of interesting stories. Yoo Do-jin hyung's junior and his girlfriend seemed quite drunk, while Seo-hee and I were relatively sober. Time had already reached 9:30 PM. 'We're going to smoke for a bit.' Yoo Do-jin hyung's junior, whose face had reddened considerably, said. His girlfriend also stood up, apparently a smoker too. Since it was common for people to go smoke during drinking sessions, I replied without suspicion. 'Okay, see you soon.' He placed his hand on my shoulder, grinned, and left with his girlfriend, taking their belongings. Since their belongings were just a wallet and the girlfriend's bag, I didn't notice anything strange at that point. Having never imagined this situation could occur, I didn't find it odd when Seo-hee started asking me personal questions after we were left alone. Where I lived, whether I lived alone, about my family, favorite foods, etc. It was partly because she asked so naturally, as if the conversation was flowing. It was when I sent a message asking when they would return, thinking they were taking too long for just smoking, that it happened. 'By the way, do you have a girlfriend, oppa?' As I was about to open my mouth - while I didn't have a girlfriend, I was dating someone - 'If not, how about someone like me?' A sudden fastball came in. Although there was clearly nothing in my mouth, I felt like I was choking. Flustered by the bold question, I opened and closed my mouth like a goldfish. Kids these days are scary... I broke out in a cold sweat as I looked at Seo-hee, who was smiling calmly. 'I, I have someone I'm dating...' 'Really? Sunbae-nim didn't say anything about that.' If you only heard my timid voice, I was the one who seemed less confident. I couldn't understand why she was suddenly showing this interest. That's when the reply arrived. 「Hahaha we're at our apartment hahaha」 「How is it? Isn't she nice? She's a good kid」 「She's interested in you」 「That's why she asked to be introduced」 「Try to treat her well >< bb」 "What a shame. I asked for this meeting because I was interested in you, oppa. I didn't know you had a girlfriend." Yoo Do-jin hyung's junior who invited me for dinner. Seo-hee who naturally joined in. Her expressing interest, and the message telling me to treat her well because she was interested in me. Only then did everything seem to fall into place. This was a blind date. "But you know, just because there's a goalkeeper doesn't mean you can't score." She winked playfully and picked up the menu. Her flirtatious words made me involuntarily gasp. Although it wasn't my intention at all, I felt a pang of conscience, as if I had cheated on Saheon hyung.
