“It’s been a while since the five of us got together for drinks like this.”
“This isn’t because of me, right? If you’ve got any conscience, put your hand on your chest and say it, Go Heemin.”
“Who said it was because of you, Yoo In-ho? Why’re you being so prickly?”
By the time evening rolled around, I joined up with the guys. We’d moved to a bar Yoo In-ho recommended and were already a few drinks in.
I watched Yoo In-ho and Go Heemin bicker—half joking, half serious—before turning my head. Sitting close beside me, as always, was the familiar presence of Min Siheon.
The pocket holding the rabbit keyring he’d won at the arcade earlier was bulging slightly. Did he really like it that much? It was ridiculous—and yet kind of cute—so I let out a small snort of laughter.
I lifted the soju glass from the table and took a sip when Yoo In-ho suddenly threw out a question.
I’d thought he was drunk, but apparently his mind was still pretty clear.
“Hey, Cha Jungwoo. What’re you doing over break?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing? I’ll probably study or work a part-time job.”
“Then hey, you wanna try some extracurricular activity?”
“Extracurricular activity?”
Yoo In-ho pushed aside the plate in front of him and propped his chin on the table. I rolled my eyes slightly at his words. Was there something like that? Aside from the vacation training program, I hadn’t heard anything. This was the first time I was hearing about it.
It sounded suspicious—but also tempting. Honestly, I was a little swayed.
With one more mouth to feed now, it wasn’t exactly a bad offer.
When I didn’t immediately answer, apparently not wanting to do it alone, Yoo In-ho started rambling.
“Professor Kwon’s been reviewing grad school papers while continuing his own doctoral studies, right? But apparently there’s a pretty big seminar this break. The schedules overlap, so he’s looking for people to help organize materials and assist with grad-level tasks.”
“What are the TAs doing?”
“He says they don’t have enough people~ It’s not even that hard. It’s not like we’d understand what master’s students are doing anyway. We’d just check the materials that come down, sort them, maybe get on the professor’s good side while we’re at it? And they pay. You could call it a temporary TA gig.”
In simple terms, he was asking if I wanted to work under a professor during break.
Since he called it an “extracurricular activity,” it seemed the school had officially categorized it as some kind of project-based program.
TA work… In a way, it was a pretty good opportunity. Study, get noticed by a professor, and earn money—all at once.
But something about it bothered me. The period probably wouldn’t be that short.
…I’m supposed to be dating Min Siheon, though?
Feeling oddly self-conscious, I glanced at Min Siheon first. He’d been looking at me the whole time.
I immediately realized this wasn’t something I could just agree to on the spot. We’d talked earlier when setting up today’s plans. I said I’d think about it and changed the subject.
“Hey, I kinda need to tell him soon, you know? There aren’t that many spots. I only found out because I’m me and heard there was an opening!”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks~ I’ll let you know within two days at the latest.”
Maybe my answer didn’t satisfy him. Under the table, I felt what I could only assume was Min Siheon’s hand.
“Hey, Go Heemin, you’re not interested in this, right? You’ve got money, time, and your grades are comfortable~”
“Isn’t the last one true for Jungwoo too?”
“That bastard’s in the same financial situation as me! Why’re you making me say that out loud, you jerk?”
While the idiots joked around, I glanced down. The back of Min Siheon’s hand brushed against my thigh. He was looking at me as if to ask, What are you doing?
Slowly, the leg he’d had crossed to the left switched sides. The neat loafers he often wore lightly nudged my calf.
I couldn’t say anything with the guys right in front of us. Telling him to stop, I bent my right elbow and jabbed him in the side.
But Min Siheon didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down.
He stretched out his long leg, slipping beneath the hem of my pants to the bare skin underneath. When I felt my pant leg being lifted near my ankle by his loafer, I went pale and stared at him.
“…What are you doing?”
“What?”
Shameless bastard. It seemed like Min Siheon was sulking. He played dumb, acting like he didn’t know what I meant, but the slight curve of his lips told me he wasn’t in a good mood.
“…I won’t do it. I won’t, okay? I wasn’t that interested anyway. If I rejected it right away, he’d just nag me, so I was dodging.”
When I whispered in a small voice, he finally stopped. The pant leg that had been pushed halfway up my calf dropped back into place.
Seriously, he was like a child. Looking at his now bright, satisfied face, I lightly punched his thigh as a joke.
“Ow.”
“Don’t pretend it hurts.”
“It really did.”
“…It did?”
“Of course I’m kidding.”
“You—”
Anyway, while secretly making it obvious we were dating and tilting our glasses, I learned things I hadn’t known from the new conversation that followed.
“I’m a U.S. citizen.”
“You traitorous bastard. I thought it was suspicious when you said you hadn’t served even after taking two years off!”
The topic of the military had come up by chance. It was the kind of thing guys always talked about when drinking together.
I remembered Min Siheon introducing himself as someone who hadn’t served at our last gathering.
Just as I was about to steer the conversation away, thinking he might feel awkward, Min Siheon—who had suddenly grabbed my forearm tightly—spoke up. No wonder he felt a little different from the rest of us. Even his background was different.
“So that’s why you said you were in the U.S.?”
“Yeah. Oh, did I not tell you?”
“Uh… you just said you were there for about two years. I thought you’d done a short-term study abroad or something. Was it because of your family home?”
“No. Hmm, I was just… taking a break?”
His expression was strange. Taking a break—it didn’t sound like much on the surface. But the nuance was oddly off.
Thinking it might be better not to pry, I tried to pull back, but Min Siheon tilted his head slightly and whispered by my ear.
“…Then you probably don’t know this either? The state I lived in legalized same-sex marriage quite a while ago.”
“…You crazy bastard!”
Startled, I jerked away. Min Siheon was leaning on the table, laughing.
That rotten jerk. He really did have a sly streak. I didn’t know if he meant it seriously or as a joke, but I could only hope he’d stop here.
“What’re you two doing?”
“Hey, Cha Jung—what’d he say this time? So what else are you hiding, huh? You deceitful bastard…!”
I was cornered under Go Heemin’s narrowed eyes and Yoo In-ho’s loud protests, chopsticks in hand.
This was all his fault. Well, it was partly mine too for not immediately rejecting Yoo In-ho’s extracurricular proposal.
Still, the correct answer was that he was the worse one.
As I broke out in a cold sweat, wondering what to say, Min Siheon—smiling at my side—drank from his glass and spoke in a low voice.
I worried he might blurt something reckless in his tipsy state, but instead he gave a suitably vague answer.
“I just told him I lived in the U.S. until college. I don’t really know many people in Korea. As for friends… what you guys know is pretty much all there is.”
“Oh, what the hell. That’s it? Figures, you’ve got that random air about you~ Guess that’s why you don’t care about what people think. Clinging to Cha Jungwoo and all. Man, you’re seriously free-spirited.”
At Yoo In-ho’s reply, I quietly let out a dry laugh. That bastard must’ve thought Min Siheon and I had a lot of physical contact while pretending not to notice.
Should I call that a relief? Somehow, it turned into a natural excuse.
So while we were at it, I decided to use this chance to create an atmosphere where Min Siheon wouldn’t get any strange ideas.
The method was simple. I just had to pick a fight with Yoo In-ho.
“What does that have to do with anything, idiot?”
“What, you punk?”
If he got loud, Min Siheon would definitely stay quiet.
“Jungwoo, you let it slide.”
“Go Heemin, you damn bastard! I’m the one getting cursed at—why’re you telling Cha Jungwoo to let it slide!”
Maybe he hadn’t meant to help, maybe he just found the scene entertaining. Go Heemin, who’d been watching, joined in, and the bar grew noisy again.
From that point on, the one who had to deal with Yoo In-ho wasn’t me—it was Go Heemin.
Letting out a small sigh of relief, I shot Min Siheon a warning look. …Try that one more time. Seeing my firm gaze, he obediently nodded.
I’d just warned him for being annoying, but his earlier words kept bothering me.
“By the way, do you really not know anyone in Korea besides us?”
After hearing me, Min Siheon let out a small laugh and leaned closer. The warmth of his body brushing against my shoulder made me realize I’d lost to him again.
“Yeah, I only have you… guys. So you have to stay with me.”
That was way too obvious. He could’ve at least erased that pause in the middle.
He’d kept half the guys here in check before. I knew roughly who he was talking to, so I couldn’t even reject it.
I flicked his forehead with my finger, and he squeezed one eye shut before opening it again.
…Friends, huh. Come to think of it, I should probably meet them soon. Because of what Min Siheon said, people I’d been putting off for a while started coming to mind.
They were guys I’d hung out with constantly since high school.
Before transmigrating, I’d had different friends—not these guys. We went to different universities, but even after becoming adults, we’d stayed in touch and met regularly.
It hadn’t been that long ago that we’d meet up for drinks after work. But it was already close to half a year since I’d seen those bastards.
Should I meet them? Suddenly, I felt like I should.
We’d been so close that if these guys didn’t exist, they’d definitely be the ones I’d be hanging out with outside of school.
Actually, even after I returned to college, they’d kept contacting me. It was just that I’d been too preoccupied with Min Siheon and the other characters from the book to pay attention, so I’d ended up neglecting them.
But now, you could say everything had been resolved.
Had their universities or circumstances changed like mine? I started thinking I should find out about any possible changes.
Just then, Min Siheon’s voice continued from nearby. He must’ve found my sudden silence suspicious. Already pressed close, he tilted his shoulder and leaned in even more.
His lips were so close to the back of my neck that I could feel his breath. If I wasn’t careful, they might touch. I became conscious of the others’ eyes.
“What are you thinking about so hard?”
“Hmm.”
The answer didn’t come out right away. It had already been this difficult just meeting up with the guys we both knew. There was no way Min Siheon would be okay with people he didn’t know.
It was good that I finally had the time and decided to meet them.
But Min Siheon—the embodiment of jealousy—was what worried me.
