When Won-hyeok gave his permission so readily, Han-gyeom practically bounced in his seat as if he might take off flying at any moment. It was obvious just how excited he was about this first-ever gathering with his classmates, and Won-hyeok swallowed a bitter smile.
“But is there some other reason your classmates said they wanted you to come?”
Suppressing the dissatisfaction boiling up inside him, Won-hyeok forced himself to sound as uninterested and relaxed as possible as he asked the question. For some reason, Han-gyeom fiddled with grains of rice and let out a low hum. Won-hyeok stared intently as Han-gyeom’s earlobes turned faintly red.
“They all know that I’m d-dating you, sunbae.”
Of course they did. That was exactly why he had asked Sun-woo and Yubin to spread the rumor like that. The two of them really did have wide social circles in the department, and rumors, by nature, spread easily and quickly, so by now there was probably no one left in the English Department who hadn’t heard about it.
Sun-woo had even asked him, quite cool-headedly, whether it was enough to just say he had a partner, or whether he specifically wanted it known that he was dating Han-gyeom. And Won-hyeok had answered without hesitation that it was the latter.
The key point here wasn’t Do Won-hyeok got a partner, but Do Won-hyeok’s partner is Kang Han-gyeom.
Since he was fairly well-known around school, the rumor would quickly spread to other departments too. And once that happened, the filthy little flies swarming around Kang Han-gyeom—or rather, the Kang Han-gyeom who had revealed that face after cutting his bangs and putting in contacts—would naturally disappear. That had been Won-hyeok’s intention, and the reason he’d made their relationship public.
“So because of that, everyone’s suddenly super interested in me. I think they were curious how we started dating.”
At Han-gyeom’s explanation, Won-hyeok’s eyebrow twitched. He’d known that this rumor would at least make Han-gyeom a hot topic in the English Department, but this was unexpected. He hadn’t imagined Han-gyeom’s classmates would come at him this actively.
“Really? Then won’t that drinking gathering be uncomfortable for you?”
“No! It’s okay. Don’t worry.”
Won-hyeok, who had secretly been hoping that answer out of Han-gyeom’s mouth would be that he was uncomfortable, had no choice but to back down.
Since Han-gyeom had to go straight to his next class right after lunch, he walked Won-hyeok to the front of the classroom.
“You’re going to the club room, right?”
“Yes. I’m thinking I’ll kill some time there before I go to class.”
Won-hyeok slowly nodded. Right then, some of his classmates who were near the classroom cast curious looks at Han-gyeom as they passed by.
“Okay.”
Won-hyeok was just about to turn toward the classroom after telling him to be careful when Han-gyeom suddenly grabbed his sleeve.
“What? Do you have something to say?”
“Ah, no, it’s not that…”
Instead of answering, Han-gyeom gave an awkward smile and then suddenly started staring intently at Won-hyeok’s face. Faced with that pure, yearning gaze, Won-hyeok felt strangely feverish and let out a small, awkward cough.
“Han-gyeom, is there something on my face?”
“It’s just that t-today, I think this is going to be the last time I see you.”
“Hm?”
“Because later I’m going to hang out with my classmates… so I thought maybe I should look at your face a little more while I can.”
His voice was full of shyness and embarrassment, but the look in his eyes as he gazed at Won-hyeok was utterly straightforward. There was a strong sense of determination in them, as though he were trying to store up as much of Won-hyeok’s face as he possibly could.
“Ah, you have to go in now, right? Sorry for holding you up.”
“Han-gyeom.”
As Han-gyeom started to let go of his sleeve, Won-hyeok quickly grabbed his hand again.
“There’s something I wanted to say earlier, but couldn’t.”
Won-hyeok bent slightly at the waist to match Han-gyeom’s eye level.
“It’s fine for you to hang out with your classmates, and it’s fine if you drink too.”
“Yes.”
Wearing a bright smile, Won-hyeok reached out with one hand and firmly cupped both of Han-gyeom’s cheeks.
“But you need to keep in touch every hour. And answer your phone. Got it?”
In the end, Won-hyeok said the words he had been debating since earlier—words he’d kept buried because saying them seemed to contradict his own claim that he wasn’t going to control anything about contact.
“Yes, I will.”
Han-gyeom simply gave a soft smile and nodded.
“Then hurry and go in, sunbae.”
Realizing class time was getting close, Han-gyeom stepped away and waved widely. Watching Han-gyeom’s back as he gradually grew farther away, Won-hyeok let out a long sigh full of worry.
What he really wanted to say was, don’t even dream of going to a gathering like that, but after hearing him say it was his first time and that he was looking forward to it, he couldn’t bring himself to say what he truly felt. How could he throw cold water on Han-gyeom when he was so excitedly talking about being invited by his classmates?
Did he even have anyone he knew in second year? Come to think of it, imagining that little mutt sitting in the middle of a drinking gathering full of people he mostly didn’t know made Won-hyeok’s insides feel heavy and unsettled.
“Hey, aren’t you coming in? What are you doing just standing there blankly?”
Just then, Sun-woo opened the back door and poked his head out. He’d come to check on his classmate, who still hadn’t come in yet.
“Ah, yeah. I’m coming.”
“These days, watching you is the most fun thing for me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means what it means.”
Won-hyeok tilted his head at Sun-woo’s vague answer.
***
The class dinner was held at a nearby bar. For a gathering where attendance was supposedly optional, quite a lot of people had shown up, and Han-gyeom looked around a little awkwardly at the scene.
From what he’d heard, it seemed they occasionally held drinking gatherings like this within the department to build closer bonds with their classmates. The class representative had told him that especially during the week exams ended, they always got together at least once for a big drinking session.
Various dishes were set out across the long tables that had been pushed together. Everything from stews and soups to basic bar food like fries, along with heavier dishes that could actually fill you up. And beside them, an enormous number of bottles proudly displayed themselves.
“D-do people really drink all of this?”
“Hm? Of course. Once we get going, that probably still won’t be enough.”
Ye Ji-won, sitting across from Han-gyeom, answered like it was no big deal, and Han-gyeom had to swallow down his surprise. Then again, if you thought about it, this really was what true college life looked like. Class ends, you gather with your classmates, you hang out and drink, and the next day you even skip class once because of a hangover.
Han-gyeom couldn’t help being surprised, because he’d spent his life in a way where that supposedly ordinary experience had never been ordinary at all for him.
“Alright, alright, everyone, get ready to fill your glasses!”
At the class representative’s booming voice, the classmates each began taking beer glasses or soju glasses depending on what they planned to drink.
“Beer? Or soju?”
Han-gyeom was floundering a little when a voice suddenly came from beside him.
“Ah, I’ll have beer…”
One of the male classmates, whose name Han-gyeom was only vaguely sure of, nodded and brought over a beer bottle and a glass. The classmate, who had a likable face and a strongly masculine air about him, expertly opened the bottle.
“By the way, I think this is the first time we’ve actually talked like this.”
Golden beer filled the glass to the top. The sound of the foam bubbling at the surface was swallowed up by the classmate’s voice beside him.
“Y-yeah. It is.”
That was probably why he couldn’t even remember his name. Accepting the glass with thanks, Han-gyeom tried hard to recall the name of the classmate sitting next to him. But he couldn’t remember it, and that only made things more awkward.
“Hey, Han Su-hyeon. Are you even allowed to come to drinking gatherings? Your girlfriend hates this kind of thing.”
At that moment, another classmate suddenly called out from somewhere. Only then did Han-gyeom remember that the classmate beside him was named Han Su-hyeon.
“We broke up.”
“Wow, I thought this one would last a while at least.”
“Hey, just look at that bastard’s face. You can tell at a glance he’s the cheating type.”
“You’re saying that right in front of me? Harsh.”
Even at the mischievous teasing, Han Su-hyeon brushed it off like he was used to it. Then he looked over at Han-gyeom, who was smiling happily beside him.
“Why are you smiling? Are you making fun of me too?”
“Huh? No, no.”
Startled, Han-gyeom hurriedly waved his hands.
“It’s j-just that I couldn’t remember your name, but now I finally did.”
At Han-gyeom’s explanation that he’d smiled because he was happy, not because he was mocking him, Han Su-hyeon stared blankly for a moment. Then, as if he were thinking about something, he gazed off into the air before suddenly bursting into laughter.
“What is it? D-did that upset you? Sorry. I’m not very good at remembering names…”
Besides, if his memory was right, this was actually the first time he had ever spoken to Han Su-hyeon since entering college. The name of a classmate with whom he’d never even been close enough to really say they knew each other had long since become unnecessary information in his mind.
But at the same time, it wasn’t exactly normal to still not remember the name of a classmate after taking classes in the same department for two whole years. Han-gyeom, worried that maybe he’d hurt his feelings, desperately tried to explain himself.
“No, it’s fine. Well… if you think about it, I’m the same.”
“Hm?”
“I had no idea you were this pretty.”
Still not used to compliments like that, Han-gyeom only nodded awkwardly. The class representative, who had been watching that whole exchange carefully from across the table, suddenly jumped to her feet and suggested they make a toast.
