“Nice to meet you. I’m An Juhee from the English Literature department. Since we’re in the same year, shall we speak comfortably?”

Juhee introduced herself to Ji Ho with a friendly smile.

“Sure. I’m…”

“You’re Seo Ji Ho from Business Administration.”

As Juhee spoke for him, Ji Ho nodded with a light smile.

He looked comfortable and composed despite the attention and gazes pouring in from all directions.

His expression towards Yi Soo was the same.

As if nothing had ever happened.

‘He really seems to have forgotten.’

Yi Soo bit her lower lip hard, dumbfounded.

Just then, the server came and placed soju and seafood tteokbokki on the table.

“I went on a trip to Europe during the break and it was so nice.”

Juhee said as she picked up some tteokbokki with a fork.

“I’m also looking into going this summer.”

“Really? If you have any questions, ask me.”

When Moon Young showed interest, Juhee brightened up.

“I’m thinking of taking a layover flight because direct flights are expensive. How did you go, elder sister?”

“Oh my! Layover? I took a direct business class flight. For long distances, you have to lie down.”

Juhee flipped her long hair back and slightly raised her chin.

“Ah…”

“I can’t ride economy because my back hurts.”

Juhee’s boastful voice grated on Yi Soo’s nerves.

Yi Soo frowned.

Does she really want to say such things?

“I see.”

Moon Young nodded and dragged out her response to Juhee’s showing off.

Ji Ho, sitting next to her, just smirked as if amused, and Yi Soo, who had been looking back and forth between Juhee and Moon Young, reluctantly opened her mouth in the awkward atmosphere.

“If you have time to spare, a layover is fine too. If the transfer time is long, you can go out for a bit of sightseeing. It might be better than being on a plane for a long time since you get to rest in between.”

“That’s right? It’s also good value for money.”

“True. Since direct flights are expensive, save that money and spend it on delicious food.”

Moon Young nodded with a bright smile.

Ji Ho rested his chin on his hand and looked at Yi Soo.

How considerate.

Wasn’t she someone who used to fly first class?

Yi Soo was pretending not to know and sitting there kindly taking Moon Young’s side.

“Yi Soo, you’ve never taken a long-distance direct flight, huh? You don’t know because you haven’t experienced it, but it’s not tiring to go in one go. That’s much more comfortable. If you’re going to Europe, try to take a direct flight if possible. Why go through all that trouble to save a few pennies? If even that money is too much, you shouldn’t go at all.”

Juhee spoke with a snort, as if it was ridiculous.

Her tone was dismissive and presumptuous, but Yi Soo had no intention of arguing about the facts.

She only let out a low sigh at the unavoidable unpleasantness.

At that moment, Ji Ho, who had been listening silently, burst into laughter and filled Yi Soo’s glass full of soju.

Ji Ho met Yi Soo’s eyes with a look that said he understood how she felt.

It must be ridiculous and laughable.

Ji Ho lightly clinked his glass against Yi Soo’s.

“Don’t get upset, have a drink.”

Yi Soo raised her glass while looking at Ji Ho.

Was it because of that look in his eyes? The soju that went down smoothly tasted sweet.

**

About an hour after they had gathered, when everyone was starting to feel tipsy, the president stood up.

“Let’s switch seats once at this point.”

It was right after everyone had taken turns introducing themselves.

As people moved around reading the atmosphere, Ae Ra approached Yi Soo.

“Yi Soo, senior Min Woo wants you to come to his table.”

Yu Min Woo was a senior from the Chemistry department.

Min Woo, a self-proclaimed heavy drinker, had been calling juniors to his table to drink from the start.

Ae Ra, who had been sitting there until now, came to switch seats.

“Okay. Then you sit here.”

Ae Ra was also one of the people who had been eagerly waiting for Ji Ho.

Now that Seo Ji Ho was right in front of her as she wished, she had to try to say something.

“Oh. Should I?”

Ae Ra smiled awkwardly, hesitating.

Beating out the people who were eyeing Yi Soo’s seat, Yi Soo immediately handed over her seat to Ae Ra.

As Yi Soo and Moon Young moved to another table, Ae Ra and another freshman sat in their place.

Ji Ho glanced at the seat Yi Soo had moved to in between drinks.

One glass, two glasses, three glasses, four glasses…

Min Woo, sitting across from her, kept filling Yi Soo’s glass without stopping.

Empty soju bottles were quickly piling up on the table.

Was the purpose to promote friendship, or to make people drink?

The atmosphere was quite coercive, but Yi Soo kept drinking with a silly smile.

Every time the glass touched Yi Soo’s lips, Ji Ho unconsciously furrowed his brows.

The constant chatter of Juhee and Ae Ra didn’t reach his ears at all.

Just as Ji Ho, unable to watch anymore, was about to stand up to switch seats, Yi Soo stumbled to her feet.

**

The world was spinning.

Yi Soo, who had gone to the bathroom supporting herself against the wall with one hand, looked at her face reflected in the mirror.

Her face was not just pale, but ghostly white.

“Wow. I’m drunk but it doesn’t show.”

Yi Soo washed her face with cold water at the sink.

She tried to sober up a bit, but it was of no use.

The alcohol she had drunk continuously without much food must have been at least two or three bottles.

She was drunk from drinking whatever senior Min Woo gave her, but it was much more bearable than listening to Juhee’s boasting.

The drinking session with seniors who shared her sense of humor was fun too.

But drinking any more seemed too much.

Yi Soo left the bathroom and went outside to sober up as well.

People stumbling drunkenly. People chattering in groups. Loud music blaring through speakers.

Even on the streets covered in thick darkness, everything was chaotic.

Yi Soo headed towards Luna Garden behind the main auditorium, avoiding the dizzying noise and lights.

It was quiet there in the evening when there weren’t many people, and she thought the alcohol might wear off a bit by the time she walked there and back.

Her shoulders involuntarily hunched against the chilly night air as she walked.

She hadn’t realized how drunk she was while sitting, but with each step, the asphalt ground seemed to rise into the air.

Her body swayed this way and that, not feeling gravity properly.

“Ah, I feel like I’m going to collapse.”

Yi Soo stopped walking and bent over deeply.

She took deep breaths with both hands on her knees.

The cool air entered deep into her lungs and came out with a strong smell of alcohol.

After several deep breaths, Yi Soo straightened up again.

The moment she lifted her head and took another step, everything spun before her eyes and her body swayed greatly.

“Ah!”

As Yi Soo fell diagonally in an instant, a large hand caught her shoulder.

It was a firm hand that felt so stable she wanted to lean on it for a moment.

“Be careful. You almost fell.”

A familiar scent enveloped her surroundings and a sweet voice penetrated her ears.

I guess I know who it is without looking now.

Thinking that even Seo Ji Ho’s urgent voice was sweet, Yi Soo raised her head.

Is this a coincidence again? She looked at Ji Ho with an expression that asked why he was here.

“You kept stumbling as you walked.”

Like you were about to fall.

Yi Soo’s pupils were half-dilated.

The smell of alcohol was also strong.

Ji Ho, who had followed her out, kept following her out of concern as he saw her stumble once in a while.

Maintaining a distance close enough to reach out his arm at any time.

“Wow, …thank you.”

Yi Soo put strength in both legs and straightened her tilted body.

“Strangely, whenever I see you, grateful things keep happening. I think I’ve said thank you every time I see you.”

Yi Soo said with a chuckle.

“You seem very drunk.”

Ji Ho found Yi Soo’s disheveled face, which he was seeing for the first time, a bit unfamiliar.

Dilated pupils. Slightly slurred pronunciation. Pale skin. Smiling eyes for no reason.

“Do I look drunk to you?”

Ji Ho laughed in disbelief at Yi Soo, who blinked her eyes wide as if that couldn’t be the case.

“You’re stumbling like this, how could you not know?”

“Ah… But doesn’t my face look fine?”

Yi Soo tilted her head far back and thrust her face under Ji Ho’s chin as if to show him.

At the childlike gesture asking him to look, Ji Ho clenched his hands tightly.

If he didn’t, he felt like he would cup Yi Soo’s face with both hands.

“No. You look very drunk at a glance.”

“Really? I didn’t know I was drunk because my face turned white.”

“How could you not know. You know too well, so go sit over there. You might fall again.”

When Ji Ho pointed with his chin to a bench a few steps away, Yi Soo stumbled over.

Luna Garden, far from the main gate, was quiet.

Only the sound of cars speeding by could be heard occasionally beyond the wooden fence.

“Why did you drink so much when you can’t handle alcohol?”

“Well… It’s awkward to ruin the mood. They complain if you don’t drink. So I just drink.”

Yi Soo sat on the bench, leaning her slumped body loosely.

She gave off a strong smell of alcohol with every exhale.

“Isn’t it tiring to live like that?”

“…”

“Earlier with An Juhee, and the senior Min Woo too. Not being able to refuse the drinks they force on you.”

“Juhee was, a bit hateful.”

“You should have done the same to her. Asked if she’s ever flown first class.”

Ji Ho laughed playfully.

“Ugh… No. That’s too childish.”

Yi Soo shook her head, frowning.

Just thinking about such boasting made her cringe.

“It was uncomfortable listening from the side, but you endured it well.”

How much have I endured in life already?

Yi Soo smiled bitterly as if that was nothing.

Come to think of it, Yoo Mi had called Seo Ji Ho “elder brother Ji Ho”.

What kind of relationship do those two have?

Yi Soo thought for a moment and then shook her head.

It seemed pointless to know, and in fact, there was something else she was more curious about.

“…Why didn’t you contact me?”

If she had been sober, she wouldn’t have asked, but Yi Soo’s intoxicated tongue moved on its own.

Her tone was filled with resentment.

Yi Soo looked at Ji Ho with reproachful eyes.

“Were you waiting for me to contact you?”

Yi Soo furrowed her brow.

Is he saying he didn’t know? Or is he really asking if she waited?

It was difficult to read Ji Ho’s expression.

Yi Soo wanted to calmly say no, but she had already given a strong affirmation with her eyes and expression.

“…That umbrella, did you just give it to me to keep?”

Yi Soo asked again instead of answering.

“…I asked if you waited.”

Ji Ho also asked again instead of answering.

Their mutual determination to get an answer created a long silence.

Their tightly closed lips showed no signs of opening, but Ji Ho had gotten his answer from Yi Soo’s eyes and expression.

Yi Soo’s reddened face was fully reflected in Ji Ho’s sunken eyes.

As Yi Soo looked away first and lowered her head, Ji Ho’s voice came down from above.

“I, waited.”

It was a calm voice.

“Thinking that if I didn’t, you might contact me first. Hoping that would happen.”

After taking Yi Soo home and returning to his own house, he had thought about it constantly.

When and how to contact her.

He typed and deleted messages on his phone countless times, and almost called but stopped.

Having never experienced anything like this before, the situation was both flustering and novel.

I feel this way, but how do you feel? Would it be an answer to say I didn’t because I was curious about your reaction?

Yi Soo, perhaps because she was drunk, didn’t quite understand what Ji Ho was saying.

“Why?”

Her mind was hazy like a foggy mist and only her heart was strangely pounding.

“Because I want you to care about me.”

“…You said you would contact me.”

Then why did you wait?

“That’s why I waited.”

I just wanted to return the umbrella. It’s not like I was waiting for Seo Ji Ho.

Thinking she should rephrase that after saying it because something seemed off, Yi Soo heard Ji Ho’s voice along with a low laugh.

“That’s a relief.”

Ji Ho felt half relieved, half ridiculous at himself for feeling that way.

Not understanding what he meant by relief, Yi Soo looked up at Ji Ho.