By Zephyria 
Тhrough the limited fiеld оf vision obsсured by thе hаt, hе соuld sеe a раir оf well-definеd lips. The wаy thе cigаrettе flickеrеd slightlу felt somеhow еrotic. Woо-yeon kеpt his gaze fiхed оn thоse reddish lips and spоke slowly.
“If уоu hаvе… sоmething…”
A fаint scеnt оf pherоmоnes lingered. It wasn’t Dо-hyun’s; it wаs thе smell of thе сigаrеttе he wаs smоking. An аrtificial existencе mimicking phеromonеs couldn’t cоmpаre to thе sсent emаnating from him.
“Dо yоu hаve а wish?”
Wоo-уеon lооkеd up onlу with his еyеs tо аsk Dо-hyun. Do-hyun, removing his hand from the hat, held the cigarette between his index and middle fingers. Whoosh, the exhaled smoke scattered into the air.
“Hmm, I wonder what I should ask for.”
If it were Do-hyun, it felt like it would be okay no matter what he requested. It would be fine if he asked for an errand, fine if he gave him a tedious task, or even fine if he asked to borrow money.
On the contrary, the ones who were startled were the others.
“Seonbae, are you really going to make a wish?”
“You stingy bastard, you’re just going to make him drink that and then make the kid your lackey.”
“Hyung, I didn’t think you were like that…”
At the barrage of criticism, Do-hyun put the cigarette back in his mouth with a troubled expression. Seeing that he himself was smiling, it seemed it had been a joke. Do-hyun crushed the shortened cigarette butt against the wall and ruffled Seon-kyu’s hair.
“You should have said that to the nuisance Seonbae.”
Seon-kyu couldn’t say a word. This was despite the fact that the person in question had already left the spot. His classmate also bowed his head, but only Ga-ram sighed as she lit a cigarette.
“If you talk like that, the kids will walk on eggshells.”
Do-hyun shrugged silently. His gaze brushed past Woo-yeon. Ga-ram took a long drag of her cigarette and exhaled toward the sky.
“I’m telling you, say everything you want to say. If you don’t want to drink, don’t drink. If some Seonbae tries to pull rank, tell them you’ll post it on the internet. What era are we living in to do things like that? That bastard is nothing once he enters society.”
Having finished her sentence, Ga-ram shouted, “Kim Nuisance is a son of a bitch!” as if telling them to repeat after her. Her voice was loud enough to make people smoking elsewhere look back. Of course, no one repeated it.
“Well… it’s hard for a freshman to stop it in that situation.”
“This bastard, after I did all the work of calling out the old-school mentality, he’s trying to slip away alone.”
Ga-ram didn’t hesitate to kick Do-hyun in the back of the knee. As if accustomed to it, Do-hyun dodged to the side and swept his hair back. His still-wet hair remained fixed, revealing his forehead.
“You don’t have to force yourself to drink alcohol you don’t want to.”
Woo-yeon thought those words were meant for him. He also thought Do-hyun looked displeased. His gentle eyes and neat eyebrows were tilted slightly askew.
“There will be plenty of times like that once you’re out in society, so why bother doing it even in college?”
“Hyung…”
Seon-kyu opened his arms with teary eyes. At the sight of him looking like he might dive into an embrace at any moment, Do-hyun took a step back. His classmate also had moved eyes, but Ga-ram stepped forward indignantly.
“Hey, I said the exact same thing, so why is the reaction different?”
“Noona…”
“Too late, brat.”
Woo-yeon thought it was a relief that Do-hyun had put the hat over his head. His face was flushing, and he was certain his expression had become strange. It would be nice if he could naturally say thank you, but it felt as if emotions would burst out the moment he opened his mouth.
“Anyway, in that sense, I’ll drink all the alcohol that comes to Woo-yeon later.”
He couldn’t even hear Ga-ram speaking boastfully. It wasn’t important that he would eventually reach a position in society where no one could force him to drink. Only one thing mattered: the fact that Do-hyun had worried about him.
“Noona, what about me!”
“Are you going to drink mine too?”
“You guys survive on your own.”
“Wow, look at how she changes her tune.”
Woo-yeon stole a glance at Do-hyun and fidgeted with his hand in his pocket. His other hand habitually touched his ear. Why did he have to act so cool? His throat kept feeling itchy.
* * *
“I can’t drink any more, ugh.”
Ga-ram covered her mouth and bowed her head deeply. Her neatly tied hair had become messily disheveled. She looked like a ghost from a TV show, so Woo-yeon instinctively flinched and stepped aside.
“Hey, someone put her in the loser’s room.”
A sophomore habitually supported Ga-ram. The way she swayed unsteadily made her a complete drunk. However, even while being dragged away by the sophomore, she reached her hand toward Woo-yeon.
“I’ll take care of that baby… blegh.”
“Ack, Unni! You can’t throw up!”
It had already been two hours since this drinking party started. Those who played drinking games gathered in the living room, and those who didn’t sat at the table in the kitchen. Woo-yeon wanted to sit at the table, but he had no choice but to take a spot in the living room following the other freshmen. And the first dropout to collapse was Ga-ram.
“Did you really hate calling her Noona that much…?”
Seon-kyu asked Woo-yeon while watching Ga-ram make her humiliating exit. Woo-yeon couldn’t bring himself to refute it and avoided eye contact. When he made a rare apologetic face, Seon-kyu scratched his cheek awkwardly.
‘Today, I, Ga-ram, will be Seon Woo-yeon’s Black Knight.’
There was a short history behind how Ga-ram ended up like that. After proudly declaring herself the Black Knight, Ga-ram sat next to Woo-yeon to keep her word. Coincidentally, a returning student was opposite them, and they led the drinking games while engaging in a strange battle of nerves.
‘Woo-yeon is caught!’
‘Unni, are you going to drink for him?’
‘Bring it all to me. This kid won’t be drinking a single drop today.’
As boldly as she had shouted, Ga-ram gulped down every drink that came her way. Sitting cross-legged with her back straight, she almost looked like a general. However, before long, she collapsed dishonorably.
‘Woo-yeon… got caught again?’
‘Is Ga-ram Seonbae drinking this time too?’
‘…Bring it. I keep the words I’ve spoken.’
Woo-yeon truly boasted a learning ability that was close to zero. Even if taught one thing, he could only do half; if taught two, he forgot what he learned before. Moreover, because the returning student openly targeted only Woo-yeon, the damage fell entirely on Ga-ram.
‘Unni, do you owe Woo-yeon something?’
Around the time she had finished more than two bottles, one of the seniors asked worriedly. This was because the desperation with which she volunteered as the Black Knight was like a debtor who had taken out a private loan. Ga-ram shook her head with hazy eyes and answered in a steadfast voice.
‘I’m going to make him call me Noona.’
“…I’m not smart, so I can’t do this kind of thing.”
It wasn’t that Woo-yeon intended it. He didn’t have any ill will, nor did he dislike the title of Noona. It was just that he was new to drinking games, and there were so many rules to memorize that adapting was simply difficult.
“Alright, alright, since Mungaram has died a gallant death, now it’s Woo-yeon’s turn to drink, right?”
Thinking the obstacle was gone, the returning student excitedly poured the drink. Since everyone was half-drunk, there was no one to stop him. The game started immediately, and as expected, the person caught was Woo-yeon.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.”
Woo-yeon gulped down the soju under Seon-kyu’s worried gaze. He had tried beer, but this was his first time with soju, and the first taste wasn’t too bad. Perhaps pleased that Woo-yeon drank without hesitating, the returning student even clapped and cheered.
“You drink well! You must have been frustrated not being able to drink because of Mungaram, huh?”
In the next drinking game, Woo-yeon won again. To think that Woo-yeon started it and Woo-yeon got caught—Seon-kyu thought this was a talent in itself. Woo-yeon silently drank the alcohol this time as well.
“Now, Woo-yeon again!”
One glass, two glasses. The amount of alcohol they emptied was slowly approaching a crate. Of course, it wasn’t just Woo-yeon drinking. Seon-kyu occasionally volunteered as the Black Knight, and others were caught in the games evenly. It was just that Woo-yeon’s proportion was overwhelmingly high.
“Wow, they said Seon Woo-yeon couldn’t drink, but he’s doing just fine?”
The returning student’s eyes had also gone unfocused at some point. The only ones who were sober were Seon-kyu, who was good at drinking games, and Woo-yeon, who sat upright. As the amount Woo-yeon drank increased, Seon-kyu became restless and fidgeted.
“Are you really okay?”
“I told you I’m okay.”
On the surface, Woo-yeon looked fine. His complexion was clear (actually, he was paler than usual), and he answered well. However, his clear pupils felt a bit blurred.
“Now, now, there’s no time to eat snacks!”
Starting with the returning student’s words, the drinking games resumed. This time it was an image game. For ‘the person who seems to come from a wealthy family,’ Woo-yeon received all the votes, and for ‘the person who seems to have played around the most in high school,’ the majority pointed at him.
“Are you guys still playing drinking games?”
Do-hyun came out into the living room at exactly that timing. He sat in Ga-ram’s empty seat and took an empty paper cup. The drunkards asked if he wanted to play, but he firmly refused and poured his own drink.
“Where did Mungaram go… and who’s caught now?”
“Me.”
Woo-yeon glared at the soju with a sullen face. At that prickly answer, Do-hyun tilted his head with curious eyes. Under the gaze that looked closely at him, Woo-yeon appealed in an aggrieved voice.
“They said I look like I played around.”
“…An image game?”
Nod, nod, his head nodded. Do-hyun took the drink placed in the center with an ambiguous expression. Then, he subtly asked the returning student for permission.
“I can drink it, right?”
“Hey, why would you…”
“…It’s fine.”
In a flash, Woo-yeon snatched the paper cup from Do-hyun. And before anyone could stop him, he downed it in one go. The returning student laughed heartily as if to say, ‘See?’
“He drinks just fine, since a while ago…”
“Seonbae, please stop it.”
The one who stopped him was Seon-kyu, who had a fed-up expression. He had gained a bit of courage with Do-hyun’s appearance. Sigh, Seon-kyu exhaled and spoke a bit more strongly.
“Woo-yeon is uncomfortable.”
“…No, fuck, the person himself is staying quiet, so why are other people making a fuss? Woo-yeon, you tell me. Are you uncomfortable?”
Woo-yeon set the paper cup on the floor with an expressionless face. Despite drinking that much, his face was still white and clean. He blinked slowly and answered in an ordinary tone.
“No, I’m not uncomfortable.”
“See, he says he’s fine…”
“It’s not that I’m uncomfortable, it’s that it’s annoying.”
The people gathered in a circle stopped moving. The same went for Do-hyun, who was beside him. Amidst the flood of gazes, Woo-yeon looked directly at the returning student.
“Cut it out, seriously. Just because I’m staying quiet, do you take me for a punching bag?”