Knock knock.

Yi Soo glanced at the door at the sound of knocking.

“Yes.”

The door opened and unexpectedly, Yoo Mi entered.

She had never entered after hearing Yi Soo’s response before.

Yi Soo looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“I have something to ask… You’re in the ski club, right, elder sister?”

Had she ever called her elder sister when they were alone? Thinking this, Yi Soo nodded, and Yoo Mi spoke carefully, her eyes crinkling.

“I really want to join the ski club, but they say it’s already closed. Since you’re a member, I thought there might be a way.”

Yoo Mi didn’t want to ask Yi Soo for a favor either, but she was grasping at straws.

If she could just join, what wouldn’t she do?

“What?”

“Can you help me join, elder sister?”

Yi Soo was taken aback by the unexpected request.

Yoo Mi, who never did any rough sports out of concern for injuries, wanting to ski?

Wondering why she was doing this knowing it was already closed, ‘elder brother Ji Ho’ naturally came to mind.

I heard there were many kids disappointed about not being able to join clubs, so we had one of those at home too.

‘You too, because of Seo Ji Ho?’

Yi Soo swallowed a bitter laugh and said with a pathetic expression,

“That’s the president’s decision, so there’s nothing I can do to help.”

“If you just put in a good word, how hard could it be for me to join? It’s not like it’s anything big, just joining a club. Just help me this once, elder sister. Hm? If you say I’m your younger sister, they wouldn’t refuse, right?”

Yi Soo was dumbfounded.

Being in the same club as Yoo Mi?

Even if she joined, I’d try to stop her, and you want me to help you join? And reveal that you’re my sister?

Rather, she thought it was extremely fortunate that Yoo Mi hadn’t joined before it closed.

“I’m asking like this.”

It seemed like it could be easily resolved with just a word from Yi Soo.

Yoo Mi politely clasped her hands together and waited for an answer.

“No. Look for clubs that aren’t closed yet.”

“If I wanted to go somewhere else, why would I ask you? I want to join the ski club. Please, elder sister.”

Yi Soo looked uncomfortably at Yoo Mi, who was clinging and smiling brightly, not giving up, then opened her mouth.

“We already had the freshman welcome party yesterday. It really means it’s closed.”

Usually, the freshman welcome party was held around the end of March, but due to early closure, it was combined with the opening party.

“What, really?”

Yoo Mi’s face crumpled instantly.

“So you were drinking there yesterday and came home late?”

“Yeah.”

Back to ‘you’ instead of elder sister. This is rather more comfortable.

Yi Soo opened the sliding door inside the bedroom and entered the study.

As she was packing books and a tablet into her bag, Yoo Mi followed her in.

“Was elder brother Ji Ho there yesterday too?”

“…Yeah.”

At the mention of ‘elder brother Ji Ho’, Yi Soo glanced at Yoo Mi.

As I thought, it was because of Seo Ji Ho.

“Don’t tell me he took you home yesterday too?”

Yoo Mi asked, swallowing dryly.

Yi Soo stared at Yoo Mi for a moment before speaking.

“Let me ask you one thing. Are you doing this alone or does he know you too?”

“What kind of question is that? Elder brother and I have known each other for over 10 years, from childhood until now. It’s not comparable to you!”

I see.

Yi Soo slightly raised and lowered her eyebrows at Yoo Mi’s words.

She hadn’t imagined they had known each other for so long.

“If you know him so well that it’s not comparable to me, why do you keep coming to ask me? Just ask him directly.”

“Well, that’s…”

Yoo Mi hesitated, at a loss for words.

“Don’t tell me you’re not close enough to ask such things?”

“I can just ask you since you’re in the same house. Why bother!”

“Calling Seo Ji Ho seems like it would be much faster than coming up to my room, don’t you think?”

Yi Soo chuckled and turned away.

Yoo Mi followed Yi Soo into the dressing room and said irritably,

“Just answer what I asked. Did he come with you yesterday too?”

Yi Soo, slipping her arms into a cardigan she took from the closet, recalled yesterday’s events.

Last night, while Yi Soo was having an absurd phone call with Ji Ho, there were several missed calls from Ae Ra and Dong Woo.

When Yi Soo didn’t answer, Ae Ra left a message saying they were moving to another location after the first round and to contact her.

Yi Soo called Ae Ra to confirm the location and went there with Ji Ho.

“You go in. I’m just going to get my bag from Ae Ra and go home.”

“I’ll take you home. You’re very drunk.”

Ji Ho said it was because Yi Soo was drunk. He said he would have done the same for anyone else too.

He said something similar on a rainy day too.

That he was giving a ride because it was raining a lot.

She knew it meant not to feel burdened, but it was still uncomfortable.

“It’s fine. I can just take a taxi. You’re a new member, you should stay until the end of the welcome party.”

If it became known that the two of them disappeared together, it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

Considering the attention focused on Ji Ho, it was entirely possible.

“I’ll take you and come back.”

“Why bother? It’s the same as taking a taxi even if I go with you.”

Yi Soo spun around once on the spot to show that she was fine.

It was a bit dizzying, but she managed not to stagger by putting strength in her legs.

“See? I’m fine.”

As Yi Soo smiled, spreading her palms upwards as if to show off, Ji Ho burst out laughing incredulously.

“Alright. Then I’ll watch you go and head back in.”

Ji Ho reluctantly backed down.

Soon after, Ae Ra came out, and Yi Soo got into a taxi with Ae Ra and Ji Ho seeing her off.

In the end, she came home alone.

A strange tension was felt on Yoo Mi’s face as she waited for an answer.

Such an expression must mean she has no certainty about Seo Ji Ho.

“No. …I came alone.”

This was already the second time being interrogated like this.

It was extremely unpleasant to think about what qualifications Yoo Mi had to question her like this.

As Yi Soo frowned and turned away, Yoo Mi’s voice was heard from behind.

“I’m saying this just in case, but don’t show interest in elder brother Ji Ho. I’m first.”

Yoo Mi spoke with a slightly softened expression after hearing that Yi Soo came alone.

Yi Soo laughed in disbelief.

What on earth did she mean by being first?

Was she saying not to covet him because she had claimed him?

“Don’t laugh! I’m serious.”

Yoo Mi’s sharp voice pierced Yi Soo’s ears.

Yi Soo found this situation too ridiculous.

How flabbergasted would Seo Ji Ho be if he knew?

Just the thought made her face feel hot with embarrassment.

Yi Soo whirled around and approached Yoo Mi.

“You, don’t ask me about Seo Ji Ho anymore. If you’re curious, ask him directly or figure it out yourself. Got it?”

She put force into her voice, enunciating each word clearly.

It was questionable whether such words would work on Yoo Mi, but it seemed necessary to address this at least once.

**

Lunchtime. Yi Soo sat across from Ae Ra at a bean sprout soup restaurant outside the school.

Steaming hot bean sprout soup was placed on the table.

“How much did you drink yesterday to be like this?”

Yi Soo asked, looking sympathetically at Ae Ra suffering from a hangover.

Ae Ra took a spoonful of bean sprout soup and said,

“I think we did the soju wave three times among the same year students. Besides that, we drank while playing all sorts of games.”

Even as she spoke, hot soup kept going into Ae Ra’s mouth without pause.

“Ah, I feel like my stomach is finally settling. I was going to eat ramen this morning, but I held out thinking about this soup.”

“You should have left at a reasonable time. Did you stay until the end?”

“You have to go all out when you can. It’s painful now, but this is all memories.”

Ae Ra said with a chuckle.

“Geez. But it seems like you had fun.”

“Of course. When else would I get to do this again? This year is the last.”

Ae Ra, who quite liked drinking gatherings, attended every drinking event without fail, almost as if she was doing the ski club just to drink.

She was a friend who was practicing the seniors’ advice to have no regrets during pre-med as if it were the truth.

“Hey, by the way, senior Min Woo got completely drunk and passed out yesterday.”

Ae Ra said suddenly, as if she just remembered, after emptying half of her soup bowl.

“Really? I thought that senior was a heavy drinker.”

Yi Soo chewed the bean sprouts in her mouth with a surprised expression.

Min Woo was someone who boasted about his alcohol tolerance as if it was something to be proud of.

“Yesterday, senior Min Woo called juniors from the start to drink with him.”

“Yeah. I was next after you.”

“He called Seo Ji Ho at the end too. And wow!”

Ae Ra paused once as if she was about to tell an amazing story.

“At first, they were drinking from soju glasses, but suddenly they started pouring soju into beer glasses. The atmosphere became strange, and they kept drinking one glass each in turns like some kind of drinking contest. Wow, I was surprised watching Seo Ji Ho. They drank 17 bottles of soju, and until then, Seo Ji Ho didn’t even blink. Only senior Min Woo passed out.”

Ae Ra took a sip of water and added,

“It seemed like Seo Ji Ho was determined to kill senior Min Woo with alcohol.”

Yi Soo slightly frowned.

Was Seo Ji Ho okay?

Yi Soo chuckled at the worry that suddenly arose without her realizing.

Who’s worrying about whom?

“Ha Joon said he once drank 10 bottles of soju and was still fine. He drank soju like it was water.”

“He must have a high tolerance.”

“I know, right? How can he be good at drinking too? Actually, seeing senior Min Woo pass out yesterday was really satisfying. It served him right. He made you and me drink a lot yesterday too. I felt strangely grateful to Seo Ji Ho. Hehe.”

“In your eyes, everything Seo Ji Ho does is cool, huh?”

“Even his drinking form was so cool. He sat up straight and drank elegantly.”

Yi Soo burst out laughing at Ae Ra’s praise of Ji Ho.

“You’re really hopeless!”

“Oh, right.”

“What now?”

“Seo Ji Ho came to me after drinking like that yesterday and asked if you had contacted me.”

“Me?”

“Yeah! That’s why I called you yesterday.”

“Ah.”

Ae Ra had called late last night, asking if she got home safely in one sentence and then hung up.

It was the first time, so Yi Soo thought she was doing something unusual because she was drunk.

She didn’t think there was such a reason.

“When I said there was no contact from you, he asked if I wasn’t curious if you got home safely, so I called. Yesterday I thought it was because I was drunk, but thinking about it now, it’s strange, right? Why would he be curious if you got home safely? Actually, I didn’t think much of it at first.”

Ae Ra narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.

“Well, he probably just looked out for me since he knew I was very drunk yesterday.”

Yi Soo was also puzzled, but feeling like she had to say something, she moved her lips despite not having any suitable words.

“No, he went home alone yesterday without looking after anyone. Were you the only one drunk? Everyone who stayed until the end yesterday was more drunk than you.”

As Ae Ra was about to say something else, Yi Soo interrupted her.

“Hey. Just hurry up and eat your bean sprout soup. We need to settle your stomach and go to afternoon classes.”

Yi Soo scooped up a big spoonful of rice mixed with soup.

And before Ae Ra could open her mouth again, she started chattering about the human biology assignment due next week.

**

Before she knew it, she was in front of the Business School.

‘Is he here now?’

Yoo Mi doesn’t know how many times she’s been here since enrolling.

But the hoped-for coincidence never happened.

As she was fidgeting with her phone while lingering, the door at the first-floor entrance opened and a group of people came out.

Yoo Mi, who was looking intently with wide eyes, found Ji Ho at a glance.

“Elder brother Ji Ho!”

A cheerful voice burst from Yoo Mi’s smiling mouth.