Following the three of them, I ended up at a bar with private rooms near the school. It was a bit too shabby to be called a karaoke bar… more like a budget version.
As expected of a college town, the rooms were almost full despite it being daytime. Even though the rooms were separated, it seemed impossible to block out the clamor coming from beyond the doors. It was noisy, and the air was stale.
We followed the server to a room at the end of the hall on the right. Jin Nari and Han Seoyun naturally sat facing each other across the table. Park Chanmin looked a bit dumbfounded at the sight, then sat down next to Jin Nari.
I couldn't just stand there like a statue, so I sat down next to Han Seoyun, but… the awkwardness was palpable. I tried not to show it, but my stiff expression probably gave it all away.
Jin Nari, seemingly familiar with the place, checked the menu and without hesitation ordered a set menu with soju and beer. The unfamiliarity of it all was awkward.
Before the drinks arrived, the conversation was sporadic, but once the alcohol came, it flowed freely. Especially from Park Chanmin. This bastard, who had been so prickly during lunch, was now running his mouth like a runaway colt after a few drinks. 'Ugh, you crazy bastard….'
I picked up the glass in front of me and shook my head, then my eyes widened at Jin Nari's suggestion to play a game, saying the atmosphere was too down.
“This is how you get to know each other in a place like this, by drinking. The penalty shot is here….”
With her tiny hands, Jin Nari mixed soju and beer in a tall beer glass. A rough estimate confirmed it was definitely not the golden ratio. Could a soju-beer mix be that transparent?
I closed my gaping mouth and swallowed dryly. It looked less like a penalty shot and more like a drink intended to kill someone.
***
'Ah, damn it…' Regardless of my will, I was the first of the four to get drunk. My vision was all blurry, but because of the alcohol, I felt fine. Just a moment ago I had no energy, but now, with the alcohol as my fuel, I felt a surge of strength in my body.
I bobbed my shoulders to the melody coming from the three of them. It was a pretty… familiar melody… but for some reason, the lyrics weren't clear, so I just kept bobbing my shoulders.
As their voices grew louder, my lips parted unconsciously. Park Chanmin, his face flushed red, was the most excited, bobbing his shoulders. Seeing him, I couldn't close my gaping lips and just laughed.
I was bobbing my shoulders a beat behind when I got caught again in a suddenly started "timing game." 'Ah… they were too good at this game.'
I stared at the overly transparent, not-quite-yellow drink in front of me and swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth. 'I'm a little… dizzy….'
“Oppa, use a black knight! Please?”
I heard Jin Nari's voice from in front of me. A black knight. I lifted my gaze from the penalty shot. A black knight… the guy I would ask to drink for me was also wasted…. I reached my hand across the table, fumbling a few times before finally grabbing the glass.
“No… but, why… why do I keep getting caught…? Something's weird with this game.”
My tongue felt completely twisted. My voice was just dragging on. A moment ago, the alcohol seemed to give me energy, but now even the glass in my hand felt heavy. I brought the glass in my hand to my lips without hesitation and emptied it in a few gulps.
“Haaah….”
I couldn't even taste the alcohol anymore. Park Chanmin, sitting across from me, tilted his head back as if he were drinking, and when I put down my empty glass, he let out a “Kya—” sound. 'You crazy bastard….'
Wiping the alcohol from my lips with the back of my hand, I looked up, and Jin Nari, sitting next to Park Chanmin, looked particularly excited. Jin Nari, contrary to her appearance, seemed to be a very good drinker. How should I put it… her face hadn't changed color at all, and her speech was the same as when we came in. Is that even possible for a person?
It seemed like Park Chanmin and I were the only ones drunk here. My vision was getting blurry. I vaguely heard someone suggest another round of the game, but I wasn't in a state to continue, so I just shook my head.
“Ah… no... no more, no I can't…. Really… I'm… getting… dru… drun… no, drunk….”
Unable to fight the drunkenness, I leaned back against the sofa, and Han Seoyun, who was sitting next to me, pulled on my arm. My body was pulled along lightly as usual, and my head landed on a round shoulder. Even with the alcohol at the top of my head, I thought, 'Isn't this a bit… rude?'
Even in my drunken state, I tried to pull myself together. I straightened my head that had dropped and moved my body. I muttered, “It's okay,” but… a hand reached out in front of me, filling a glass and saying, “Drink up, drink up,” so I couldn't refuse and accepted it.
I think I was completely drunk now. What was it called, damn it… alcohol-body unity…? I didn't even remember where I was anymore. The face in front of me was familiar… who was the guy passed out on the table….
I managed to prop my arm on the table after it slipped a few times and rested my chin on my hand. So… that big dog-like… no, big dog… that was… Park Chanmin. He passed out first, and we have to go home…. Still, I think I can hold my liquor a bit better than him.
“Ah… amazing. I can drink better….”
“Oppa, are you drunk?”
I heard a laughter-filled voice from my side. Feeling a light shake on my arm, I whipped my head around, and that… that… I knew her, who was she.
Anyway, the girl who had been sitting next to me the whole time asked if I was okay. I gave a rough nod. In the midst of it all, someone's phone kept ringing. A buzzing sound vibrated….
It seemed close, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out where it was coming from.
“Just a little… bit, I'm not that drunk…. But I'm getting drunk… uh… I am. But whose phone is ringing…?”
At my question, Jin Nari, who was sitting across from me, reached out her hand. I think I was admiring Jin Nari's face, which still showed no signs of drunkenness. Or was it shock?
“You're a really good… good drinker…. Wow….”
At my muttering, Jin Nari smiled and put the phone to her ear. I guess the ringing phone belonged to her. My throat felt like it was on fire, so I fumbled around on the table. Looking for a glass of water.
As if she noticed my action, the… the… girl next to me pushed a glass towards me. The color was a bit familiar… but I was so thirsty that I didn't realize what it was and downed another glass.
“Ah, shit… I guess this is alcohol… ah. Hic—cup.”
What is this. A hiccup sound came from inside my throat. I thought it only happened in cartoons, but being drunk really did give me hiccups. It was fascinating, though… a bit stupid….
I hiccupped at a steady pace, “Hic—cup,” my chest heaving. I couldn't tell which of the glasses on the table was alcohol and which was water.
I could hear Jin Nari's voice from in front of me, but unlike her face, her voice was really slurred. 'What the, I thought she wasn't drunk… I guess she is.'
Looking at the table full of alcohol bottles, I conceded, 'Ah, it'd be weird not to get drunk.'
“Uh… where is this place, well… in front of the school, that, yes. Right, right, hey— Yeoul oppa, right now….”
Jin Nari's voice was full of both drunkenness and laughter. Her slurred speech felt strangely cute. Jin Nari was like a forsythia today too. Meaning small and cute. I nodded my head as if answering the thoughts floating in my mind.
As I unconsciously stared at Jin Nari on the phone, the girl sitting next to me tapped the back of my hand. My head whipped from front to side in an instant.
“Oppa.”
“…Huh?”
“Want more to drink?”
This girl had been sipping alcohol by herself next to me, and really… she seemed to be a good drinker too. Wow… I've never seen a girl drink this well. Really, really…. Instead of answering, I just shook my head.
“N-no…? No? Ah… I wo-won't, won't drink…. If I get this drunk… ah… these bastards will again… ha… give me shit, hic—cup— they will….”
My pronunciation was all round and mushy, embarrassingly so. I forced my tongue to work and barely managed to refuse. At that, she seemed to find me funny and gave a light smile, her lips stretching slightly.
“Oppa, who cares what anyone says.”
Every time she smiled, dimples appeared under her eyes, and that… what was it. I'm sure I knew… anyway, those dimples made her look gentle. Even though she had a cold-looking face…. Ah… speaking of a cold-looking face, someone flashed through my mind.
The cold-looking one is Nam Kangwoo… that's right. But Nam Kangwoo is like a spring breeze when he smiles…. My thoughts jumped all over the place.
I think I kept muttering, “I'm getting drunk….” And whenever I was about to collapse on the table, the girl next to me would keep leaning my body against her shoulder.
“Ah… no, really… I'm dizz—y”
“Oppa, drink this.”
I opened my mouth at the coldness of the glass touching my lips, then frowned at the faint scent of alcohol.
“Ugh— this is also alco, hol…. Eh… peh….”
My eyes were getting blurry. I wanted to straighten my leaning body, but my actions couldn't follow my thoughts.
“It's okay to lean on me.”
I heard a laughter-filled voice from above my head. And with that sound, my eyes closed. I vaguely heard Jin Nari's voice. 'Woon? Yoon? What was it….'
“Seoyun, is Yeoul oppa drunk?”
Ah, right. Seoyun. What Seoyun was it. So… that… haaah… Ha, Han Seoyun. I muttered the name that finally came to mind and let out a small laugh. At my laughter, her slender shoulders flinched.
“I think he's drunk.”
I wanted to say I wasn't drunk, but even I knew I was too drunk to answer. The two of them continued their conversation. It was hard to understand because of the ringing in my ears from the drunkenness… what were they saying.
“...Cute. Really…. …Weak…. …Will he remember?”
I heard a quiet voice from above my head. What was there to remember? I strained my ears to listen more closely.
And at that moment, the faint scent of cosmetics hit my nose.
Something soft and squishy touched my tightly closed lips.
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