Juwon silently stared at Suji before quietly opening his mouth.

“It’s late. You should go in now.”

As he tried to pull his arm away from Suji’s grip, she tightened her hold and said,

“We’re meeting after 3 years. So… let’s just have a cup of coffee. Okay?”

Juwon felt Suji’s hand trembling as it held his arm.

He looked down at Suji’s quivering hand.

Suddenly, he felt this scene was somehow familiar, and then those memories came flooding back.

Spring, 4 years ago, the day Suji confessed to Juwon with a trembling voice, asking him to date her.

And autumn, 3 years ago, the day she tearfully told Juwon they should break up.

On those days, Suji’s hands trembled just like now.

Juwon looked down at Suji with an expressionless face before finally speaking.

“Just because we broke up doesn’t mean we need to treat each other like enemies, but…”

Juwon gently removed Suji’s hand from his arm as he continued,

“There’s also no reason for us to sit face to face and drink coffee like we’re close.”

At those coldly spoken words, Suji’s eyes wavered like candlelight.

As he watched her eyes turn red, Juwon spoke in a calm voice.

“If we run into each other at another gathering, I can at least greet you with my eyes. But, that’s as far as it goes. So let’s keep our boundaries.”

Tears began to well up in Suji’s eyes.

“Well then, get home safely.”

Juwon turned around and walked away.

Tears fell from Suji’s eyes with a plop.

As she bit her lip, feeling a mix of disappointment and misery, Juwon’s retreating figure became increasingly blurry through her tears.

Walking to the parking lot, Juwon called for a designated driver.

Sitting in the passenger seat with his head leaning against the chair, Juwon closed his eyes and pressed his hand to his forehead.

It wasn’t that he felt completely indifferent about seeing Suji after 3 years.

After all, he had liked her enough to accept her confession and dated her for a year and a half.

Suji was the one who started it, and she was also the one who ended it.

But because Juwon had given his all while dating Suji, by the time it ended, he had no lingering feelings left.

And now, 3 years later, while Juwon had no emotional remnants left for Suji, it was true that his mood had sunk.

Juwon let out a short sigh and pulled out his phone.

The time was already past 11:30 PM.

Judging that four women gathered together wouldn’t be asleep yet, Juwon called Ina.

After several rings, Ina answered the phone.

-Hello?

“…”

What’s this? A pronunciation like half her tongue had been cut off?

“Seo Ina?”

As Juwon called her name with narrowed eyes, Ina immediately responded.

-Woni Woni, our Woni, our handsome Woni called? Oh my, how lovely.

“…”

Juwon let out a deep sigh before asking.

“Ina. Just how much… have you had to drink?”

-Drink? I didn’t drink much? Hehehe.

Listening to Ina’s strange laughter, Juwon brushed his bangs back.

“Don’t tell me you’re still drinking right now?”

-No, I’m not? I’m not drinking?

But then, a sound came through the phone.

-Hey. Go buy some more beer.

-Ah shoot! It’s your turn to go this time.

Hearing the voices of the heavy drinkers, Juwon’s eyebrows curved.

“Ina. Can you put Hyunju on the phone?”

-Huh? Why Hyunju? Our Woni Woni?

“I have something to say, so can you please put her on?”

Juwon spoke gently, etching the character for ‘patience’ on his forehead.

-Okay. Wait a moment, Woni Woni.

Then Ina was heard mumbling something as she passed the phone to Hyunju.

-Hello?

Thankfully, Hyunju’s voice sounded like that of a normal human being.

“Hyunju. How much has Ina had to drink?”

-Ah, well… Ina drank quite a bit of soju and beer trying to keep up with her heavy-drinking friends.

“How much did she drink to be in that state?”

-Her condition is… quite cute, isn’t it?

Cute? Is that what you call it now…

Juwon squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.

“If it’s alright, could I stop by for a moment now?”

-Now?

“Yes.”

-Ah. Okay. I’ll let the friends know too.

“And it would be good if Ina stopped drinking now.”

-Ah. Right now it’s just the three of us drinking, so you don’t need to worry.

“Alright. Then I’ll head out now. It should take about 30 minutes to get there.”

By the time Juwon hung up the phone, the designated driver had arrived.

A little while later, Juwon had the car parked next to Ina’s villa, paid the driver, and headed to the convenience store.

After buying 4 bottles of hangover cure, ice cream, and cold drinks, Juwon slowly made his way to the villa.

Standing in front of Ina’s front door, Juwon let out a short sigh before knocking.

Soon the door opened, and Hyunju appeared with her face painted red like with paint.

“Ah. You came quickly?”

Though she only spoke one sentence, an incredible smell of alcohol wafted from Hyunju’s mouth.

Just how much did they drink…

As Juwon was about to answer, suddenly Ina came running from the living room.

Then, with her arms spread wide like a flying squirrel spreading its wings, she leaped into Juwon’s arms.

“Whoa.”

Though he staggered, Juwon quickly reached out to catch Ina.

With her legs tightly wrapped around Juwon’s waist, Ina hugged his neck and said,

“Woni Woni, our Woni! Did you come to see Ina?”

Then she began to unleash a merciless barrage of kisses.

Rata-tat-tat on the left cheek!

Rata-tat-tat on the right cheek!

And finally, rata-tat-tat on the lips!

Though Juwon was dazed by the machine gun-like kiss bombardment, he couldn’t help but smile.

He wasn’t sure if these were kisses or lip punches, but Juwon found himself laughing nonetheless.

As he gazed at Ina with laughter in his eyes, Ina also looked at him with a broad smile.

Among her overall flushed face, Ina’s especially reddened nose caught his attention.

“This is not Rudolph who fell into a vat of alcohol…”

Juwon muttered with a chuckle.

And there were three people who had been watching the two with their mouths wide open…

Hyunju, who had witnessed the kiss barrage up close, was surprised that Seo Ina could be such a bold girl.

Wow… that face, that height, is it for real? This is totally a jackpot among small, medium, and big wins! Hayun and Yejin were amazed.

As the three expressed their surprise with different expressions, Juwon gently put Ina down and walked with her to the living room.

Hayun and Yejin, who were sitting there, quickly stood up.

Juwon bowed his head to Hayun and Yejin in greeting.

“Hello. I’m Lee Juwon, Ina’s boyfriend.”

“Ah. Hello. I’m Kim Hayun.”

“Hello. I’m Han Yejin. We’re both high school classmates.”

While Hyunju’s face was red, these two women’s faces were normal.

Clearly, the smell of alcohol was strong on their breath, but their complexions were fine.

They must be true masters…

Juwon nodded and glanced at the living room table, his eyes widening.

Next to the table with snacks and dried side dishes, soju bottles and beer cans stood in formation.

Looking at those bottles, too numerous to count, Juwon’s gaze hardened. Seeing this, Yejin quickly waved her hands and said,

“Ah. This is mostly what the three of us drank. Ina didn’t drink much.”

“We were just about to clean up and go to sleep.”

As Hayun explained as if making an excuse, Juwon relaxed his expression and looked at the two.

“No, it’s fine. You were just having drinks with friends, I have no right to say anything. Just, from next time, please have our Ina drink a little less.”

Amidst all this, all the two heard was ‘our Ina’.

“Ah. Yes. We will.”

Juwon handed the plastic bag he was holding to Yejin.

“I bought some hangover cures and ice cream. Please have them before you sleep.”

“Oh my. Goodness. Thank you.”

Yejin quickly took the plastic bag with surprised eyes.

A handsome man who’s also sweet. Wow… Seo Ina really hit the jackpot!

As Yejin looked at Ina with envious eyes, the jackpot winner Ina smiled brightly while holding Juwon’s hand.

Juwon looked down at Ina like that, then smiled and patted her head.

“Well then, I’ll be going now, so make sure to drink the hangover cure before sleeping. Okay?”

Ina looked up at Juwon, blinking her eyes.

Drowsiness mixed with the intoxication that had reached its peak was creeping in.

“…You’re leaving?”

“Yes. I have to go. I’ll call you tomorrow. I’ll come pick you up.”

Juwon gave a short bow to her friends, caressed Ina’s cheek once, then headed to the entrance.

“Please get home safely.”

As Hyunju bid farewell to Juwon, Ina, who had been blinking her eyes, suddenly ran to the entrance.

Then she hugged Juwon tightly from behind just as he was about to open the door.

At this sudden back hug, Juwon’s eyes widened as he held the doorknob.

And Hayun’s lips twitched as she watched from the living room.

“Ah. Really… is she trying to make us singles jealous?”

“Ugh… Hey. Let’s open another bottle of soju after Ina’s boyfriend leaves.”

Yejin spoke in a voice just low enough that Juwon wouldn’t hear.

Juwon turned his head to look down at Ina, who was looking up at him with sorrowful eyes.

“Woni, don’t go. Okay?”

As she gazed up at him with round, chestnut-colored eyes sparkling brightly, Juwon unconsciously gulped.

For a moment, he wanted to remove Ina’s three friends from this space and hold Ina in his arms.

He had an urgent desire to hold this adorable girlfriend in his arms and shower her with kisses.

But thoughts are just thoughts, and Juwon, who detected 3 laser beams aimed at them, smiled as he removed Ina’s hands from his waist.

“You drank a lot, so get a good rest today. Let’s play a lot tomorrow. Okay?”

As Ina pouted and looked dejected, the mediator Hyunju approached Ina’s side.

She put her hands on her hips and spoke in a lecturing tone.

“Seo Ina. For the sake of the single ladies, limit your affection to this point. If you go any further, a riot might break out. Understand?”

“I get it… I won’t do it anymore.”

As Ina answered in a subdued voice, Juwon chuckled and stroked her cheek.

“Alright. Wash up and go to sleep soon. Okay? Then I’m really going now.”

Juwon, who looked up with a regretful expression, bowed once more to Hyunju and her friends before opening the door.

After closing the front door, Juwon leaned against it and let out a long sigh that rose from deep in his chest.

He had a feeling that tonight would be difficult to fall asleep.