His sight was obstructed by the hat, revealing well-shaped lips. There was something subtly provocative about the way the cigarette flickered. Wooyeon slowly opened his mouth with his eyes fixed on his reddish lips.
“Well, if you have…,” he said.
A faint pheromone scent wafted in the air. It wasn’t Dohyun’s; it was the smell of the cigarette he was smoking. The artificially produced pheromone imitation couldn’t be compared to what emanated naturally from him.
“Do you have a wish?”
Wooyeon asked Dohyun, lifting his eyes only. Dohyun lifted his hand from the hat, placing a cigarette between his index and middle fingers. Whoo, the smoke that billowed out dispersed into the air.
“Well, what should I ask for?”
It seemed that anything would be fine if it was Dohyun. Running an errand was fine, assigning a bothersome task was fine, and even asking for money would be fine.
The ones who were surprised, on the other hand, were the others.
“Senior, are you really making a wish?”
“You cheeky bastard, give him a drink and ask him to run errands.”
“Hyung, I didn’t think you were that way…”
In the face of a torrent of criticism, Dohyun awkwardly lit a cigarette. Seeing even himself laughing, it seemed like it was all just a joke. Dohyun flicked the shortened cigarette butt onto the wall and ruffled Seongyu’s hair.
“You should have said that to senior Jinsang.”
Seongyu couldn’t say anything. Surprisingly, he was silent even though he wasn’t present. The other juniors also bowed their heads, and Garam, while lighting a cigarette, sighed.
“If you say things like that, people will notice.”
Dohyun shrugged silently. His gaze passed Wooyeon as if brushing against him. Garam sucked on the cigarette and exhaled towards the sky.
“It’s a saying to speak your mind. If you don’t want to drink, then don’t. If you act all senior-like and threaten to post things on the internet, what’s the point? What era are we living in to do such things? Once that guy enters society, he won’t be anything.”
After finishing his words, Garam shouted ‘Kim Jinsang, you jerk,’ without hesitation. It was loud enough for people smoking elsewhere to turn around. Of course, no one followed suit.
“Well… It’s difficult for a freshman to stop him in that situation.”
“This kid talked all high and mighty, but now he’s trying to back out.”
Garam unhesitatingly blocked Dohyun’s escape. Dohyun dodged to the side as if he was used to it and swept his hair back. His hair, still wet, was fixed, revealing his forehead.
“You don’t have to force yourself to drink a drink you don’t want to.”
Wooyeon thought those words were directed at him. And he also thought that Dohyun seemed to be in a bad mood. His gentle eyes and neatly arranged eyebrows were slightly tilted.
“There will be many occasions like this in society, why bother doing it in college?”
“Hyung…”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Seongyu spread his arms with a sulky look in his eyes. Dohyun, sensing he might be embraced at any moment, took a step back. The other juniors seemed moved, but Garam was furious.
“Hey, I said the same thing. Why is the reaction different?”
“Noona…”
“It’s too late, you punk.”
Wooyeon felt relieved that Dohyun put the hat on for him. His face was burning, and he was convinced that his expression must have looked strange. Naturally, he thought it would be good to express gratitude, but if he opened his mouth, it seemed like his emotions would spill out.
“Anyway, in that sense, I’ll drink all the alcohol that Wooyeon brings later.”
Garam’s grumbling words went unheard. The fact that he would be in a position where no one would offer him a drink once he entered society didn’t matter much. The important thing was that Dohyun cared about him.
“Noona, what about me!”
“Are you going to drink mine too?”
“You guys survive on your own.”
“Wow, look at the change in words.”
Wooyeon stole a glance at Dohyun and fidgeted with the hand in his pocket. The other hand habitually scratched his ear. How did he manage to beg so coolly? His throat kept itching.
***
“I can’t drink anymore, ugh.”
Garam covered his mouth and bowed deeply. The neatly tied hair was now disheveled. Her appearance was almost like a ghost on TV, making Wooyeon instinctively step back.
“Hey, someone put him in the loser’s room.”
A sophomore promptly supported Garam. She was swaying so much that she was practically a lost cause. However, even as she was being led away by the sophomore, Garam reached out toward Wooyeon.
“I’ll take care of this kid… Ugh.”
“Ugh, Unnie! Don’t throw up!”
It had been two hours since this drinking session began. Those playing drinking games gathered in the living room, while others sat around the kitchen table. Wooyeon wanted to sit at the table, but he ended up in the living room following the new students. And the first casualty was Garam.
“Why does she hate being called ‘Noona’ so much…?”
Seongyu, watching Garam exit in disgrace, asked Wooyeon. Wooyeon couldn’t bring himself to argue and avoided eye contact. When he made a rare apologetic face, Seongyu lightly scratched his cheek.
‘I’ll be Seon Wooyeon’s dark knight today.’
Garam had her own short history of becoming like this. After boldly declaring himself a knight, Garam sat next to Wooyeon to keep her word. Coincidentally, the returning student was sitting across from them, and they led a peculiar drinking game while engaging in a strange fight.
‘Wooyeon is caught!’
‘Noona, do you want me to drink for you?’
‘Bring it all to me. He won’t drink a drop today.’
Garam cheerfully shouted as she downed each glass. Her crossed legs and tilted waist made her look like a general. However, it didn’t take long for him to fall disgracefully.
‘Wooyeon is caught again?’
‘Will senior Garam drink this time too?’
‘…Bring it. I’ll keep my word, even if I have to spit it out.’
Wooyeon truly boasted learning capabilities close to zero. Tell him one thing, and he could only remember half of it. Tell him two things, and he would forget what he learned before. Even worse, with the open intention of the returning student targeting Wooyeon, Garam bore the full brunt of the consequences.
‘What does Unnie owe to you, Wooyeon?’
As she consumed more than two bottles of alcohol, a senior, with a concerned expression, asked worryingly. The earnestness with which she declared himself a knight seemed like a debtor who had taken out a loan. Garam lifted her hazy eyes and answered with a determined voice.
‘I’m going to ask you to call me ‘Noona.’’
‘…My head is bad, so I can’t do this.’
Wooyeon didn’t intend for this to happen. He didn’t harbor ill feelings, and he didn’t dislike calling her ‘Noona.’ However, it was just difficult for him to adapt since it was his first time playing a drinking game, and there were many rules to remember.
“Come on, now that Moon Garam has valiantly fallen, it’s Wooyeon’s turn to drink, right?”
The returning student was excited at the thought of the troublemaker being gone. Everyone was already half-drunk, so there was no one to stop him. The game started again, and as expected, Wooyeon was caught.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.”
With Seongyu’s concerned gaze, Wooyeon downed the soju. He had tried beer before, but this was his first time with soju, and the initial taste wasn’t too bad. The fact that Wooyeon was drinking without hesitation pleased the returning student, who applauded.
“You drink well! Must have been frustrating not being able to drink because of Moon Garam, huh?”
The drinking game continued, and once again, Wooyeon was chosen. Seongyu thought Wooyeon’s ability to get caught even after starting the game himself was a talent. Wooyeon silently drank the alcohol again.
“Come on, it’s Wooyeon again!”
One glass, two glasses. The glasses were gradually nearing the edge. Of course, Wooyeon wasn’t the only one drinking. Occasionally, Seongyu played the role of the knight, and others were caught in the game as well. However, the weight of Wooyeon’s participation was overwhelmingly high.
“Hey, Seon Wooyeon, you said you couldn’t drink, but you’re doing so well?”
The returning student, too, seemed to have sobered up at some point. The only ones seemingly sober were Seongyu, who was good at the drinking game, and the upright Wooyeon. Seongyu couldn’t contain his excitement as Wooyeon’s consumed amount increased.
“Are you really okay?”
“I said I’m okay.”
Wooyeon seemed fine outwardly. His face was somewhat pale, even paler than usual, and he answered promptly. However, there was a slight haziness in his eyes.
“Come on, it’s time to eat snacks!”
With the returning student’s words, the drinking game resumed. This time, it was an image game. Wooyeon was voted as the person who seemed like they would live well in the category ‘a person who seems to live well at home,’ and in the category ‘the person who probably had the most fun in high school,’ the majority pointed to him as well.
“Do we still have to play drinking games?”
Dohyun came out to the living room at just the right time. He sat in Garam’s empty seat and brought an empty paper cup. When he was asked by the heavily intoxicated people if he was going to play the game, he firmly declined and poured himself a drink.
“Where’s Moon Garam… and who got caught this time?”
“It’s me.”
Wooyeon looked at the soju with his round face. At his snappy response, Dohyun tilted his head with a puzzled expression. Wooyeon, feeling unjustly accused, appealed with a pitiful voice as Dohyun looked closely at him.
“He said I might have to hang out with him.”
“…Image game?”
Nodding, heads were nodding in agreement. Dohyun brought the placed alcohol to the center with a vague expression. Then, he discreetly sought understanding from the returning student.
“Can I drink it?”
“Why would you…?”
“…Alright.”
In a fleeting moment, Wooyeon snatched the paper cup from Dohyun, and without hesitation, he downed the drink. The returning student chuckled as if he expected this.
“You drink well. You’ve been doing well since earlier…”
“Senior, please stop.”
Seongyu, with a face expressing annoyance, was the one who restrained him. He was in a state of gaining a bit of courage with Dohyun’s appearance. Seongyu, who sighed, spoke a bit more forcefully.
“Wooyeon is uncomfortable with it.”
“…No, seriously, why the hell is everyone making a fuss when I’m just sitting here? Wooyeon, speak up. Are you uncomfortable?”
Wooyeon placed the paper cup on the floor with an expressionless face. Despite drinking so much, his face remained pale and neat. He blinked slowly and answered with a graceful tone.
“No, I’m not uncomfortable.”
“See, he’s fine…”
“It’s not discomfort, it’s irritation.”
The group that had gathered around halted their movements. Dohyun, standing nearby, was no exception. Amidst the concentrated gaze, Wooyeon looked directly at the returning student.
“Quiet down a bit, seriously. Just because I’m sitting quietly doesn’t mean I’m someone to mess with.”
Thank you so much for the update! I’m glad it ended with him speaking up for himself. I really hope I find out if the ML recognizes him or not. I have so many questions
ur welcomeeee <3333
Thanks for the chapter!
ur welcomeeeee <333
Thank u so much for the translation
Finally he spoke his mind to that jerk like a senior
thank you for your support~<333
I love how straight to point both our MC and ML is. Our MC also knows when to put his foot down.At the beginning, I really had a bit of issue accepting Garam’s character. She’s loud, too forward and almost sounds obnoxious. But i realised it might be my judgemental self trying to find all this red flag attributes in her lol. She’s loud though. And what’s with seniors always expecting their juniors to accept drinks from them, and then getting angry if the junior politely rejects by saying ‘no thank you’ ? Must i accept a drink from you just because you offered? That sunbae is so disgusting. Wooyeon should get a mosquito repellent, cause that senior keeps buzzing like a mosquito with his unappealing non-fragnant pheromone. Also, our dear sweet translator, thank you so much for your hardwork. And for giving us the opportunity to enjoy such a beautiful story. Thank you so much 💓 💗 💓💗💓💗💓 .
oh my goddddd QAQ
You’re comment literally made my day T.T💛💛
A lot of Korean stories have taught me that their society will indeed expect you to drink whatever an elder or senior coworker gives you, like your job could seriously depend on it! But Wooyeon seems clear that he will never be in that position for a job. I wonder if it’s his normal to call someone out like this or is this a rare look at how he is when he’s drunk 😏
In few paragraphs Garam is referred as His/he
Thanks for the chapter 😁
omg thanks for pointing it out QAQ <333
Is this mtl? I cannot understand anything