By Zephyria 
Woo-yеоn knew how muсh the threе оf thеm wоrriеd аbout him. Hе аlsо knew that hе hadn’t failed sо badlу as tо be this dеprеssеd, аnd if anything, hе knew his midtеrm grades would likеly turn out well.
Нowever, thаt didn’t chаngе the result of the final еxam. Do-hуun hаd sаid hе wоuld show him a mоvie if hе did wеll on the tеst, sо there was no lоnger аnу justificatiоn tо аsk fоr оne. Rаthеr than thе fact that he had ruined thе results of his hаrd work, he wаs upset that hе had bеen robbеd оf time with Do-hуun.
“Woo-уeоn, сheеr uр. You саn makе uр fоr it during the final ехams.”
Gа-rаm lеd thе disheartened Woo-yeon and gathered the club members. She reserved a pub for an after-party and comforted Woo-yeon, telling him to have a drink and shake it off. Out of politeness, Woo-yeon said, “I’m okay now,” only to be put in a headlock by Seon-kyu, who told him not to lie.
“Come on, cheers with Noona. If you don’t want to drink, you don’t have to.”
Woo-yeon nodded, fiddling with the small soju glass. Ga-ram filled his glass to the brim with soju. As they raised their glasses, the nearby club members joined in one by one.
“What? You’re trying to toast without me?”
“Oh! Me too!”
“Me too, me too!”
The wave of toasts naturally reached where Do-hyun was. Woo-yeon felt Do-hyun, who had been talking to other club members a short distance away, looking over.
“Kim Do-hyun! Aren’t you going to say something as the club president?”
“Oh, a toast!”
“Seonbae, you’re so cool! Please say something!”
“……You guys must have had a drink before coming here.”
No alcohol had been consumed yet, but the atmosphere was already drunken. As if used to such club members, Do-hyun raised his soju glass. While the atmosphere had been pushed toward Do-hyun, the actual toast came from Ga-ram’s mouth.
“For the Yeonggojeon! That’s how we do it, right? For the Yeonggojeon!”
“Cheers!”
Woo-yeon clinked glasses with Ga-ram and then set his glass down. Because of the memory of his previous mistake, he was very reluctant to drink. Even after seeing him put the glass down, Ga-ram didn’t stop him and instead pointed at the others.
“Hey, look at these guys, lacking manners and cutting their glasses short.”
“Ah, Unni, please. You’re like a nuisance oppa.”
“Hul…… how could you say that……”
Ga-ram began to mimic a returning student with a wounded expression. Seon-kyu shuddered, telling her to stop, but she didn’t. The way she thrust the bottle forward, asking who dared to avoid a Seonbae’s glass, was the epitome of a returning student.
Woo-yeon let out a hollow laugh and leaned against the wall. During the general assembly, it had been nothing but awkward, and during the Membership Training, it had been nothing but annoying, but now it was just chaotic. Nevertheless, the figure of Do-hyun, standing some distance away, remained clear in his sight.
“…so……”
As soon as he entered the gathering, Do-hyun was seated in the center before anyone else. Once a group formed around him, Woo-yeon had no choice but to sit in a corner with Seon-kyu. If Ga-ram hadn’t come over, he would have been like a forgotten sack of barley, just as he was during the general assembly.
“…….”
After listening to a hubae for a long time, Do-hyun smiled and picked up the bottle. He filled the hubae’s glass, filled his own, and naturally toasted. The moment he saw Do-hyun’s characteristic gentle smile, Woo-yeon felt his stomach twist and turned his head away.
“Who wants to play a drinking game!”
An inexplicable unpleasantness surged and wavered. It wasn’t the usual fluttering excitement, but something denser. It felt starkly apparent once again that no matter how close he was to Do-hyun, he was ultimately just one of many hubaes.
“Woo-yeon, do you want to play a drinking game?”
Ga-ram asked cheerfully, twirling the cap of a soju bottle. Woo-yeon, who had been chewing on the inside of his cheek, blinked blankly.
“A drinking game?”
“Yeah, if you want to play, Noona will make you a ‘kkakdugi’.”
“What? Why are you favoring Woo-yeon!”
“Hey, you guys just don’t know. If we make him drink a penalty shot, we’ll have to close down this business for the day.”
In truth, he wanted to drink, but he couldn’t forget the mention of him swearing in English. It would be fine if he could just moderate his drinking, but unfortunately, Woo-yeon still lacked that ability.
“Is it really okay if I don’t drink?”
“Of course, of course. Just drink water.”
Ga-ram nodded readily and brought over a large water bottle. Since the incident with the returning student had spread by word of mouth, none of the club members particularly objected.
“Starting with the bottle cap!”
Starting with Ga-ram’s words, the bottle cap passed to the person next to them one by one. Woo-yeon carefully observed how Ga-ram did it and flicked the edge of the cap with his finger just as she had. The cap passed along until it reached Seon-kyu, where the tip snapped off cleanly.
“Oh, Seon-kyu got caught? Bottoms up!”
“What? Aren’t we supposed to designate who drinks?”
“Who cares, you’re the youngest.”
Seon-kyu looked bewildered but obediently drank the soju. He seemed to have predicted his fate regardless of how much he argued. Woo-yeon learned the wrong common knowledge that this is how drinking games are played.
Other games continued endlessly. Woo-yeon was more sober than anyone, but he drank more water than anyone. The club members, who initially doubted Woo-yeon’s skills, eventually couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed.
“Being this bad at it is also a talent……”
“No, it’s okay to be a bit bad at drinking games.”
“That’s right, Woo-yeon, you’re handsome, so it’s fine.”
Woo-yeon drank water, confused about whether he should be happy or sad. This was technically his second drinking game, but it was still hard to adapt. There were so many rules, different theme songs for every game, and having to perform actions on top of that made his head feel like it was going to explode.
“Mungaram.”
Around the time they had finished more than three bottles, Do-hyun approached from behind Ga-ram. Ga-ram, who had been pointing at a hubae with her chopsticks, peeked her head back.
“What?”
Though the words were addressed to Ga-ram, it was Woo-yeon who felt the tension. Woo-yeon gripped his chopsticks, his face stiffening. The pheromones that had been far away had suddenly arrived within reach.
“Go downstairs for a bit. The Seonbaes are here.”
Despite the party being in full swing, Do-hyun’s voice was purely soft. The quiet, gentle voice made the inside of his molars itch.
“What? Tell them to come up on their own.”
“Min-jeong Noona is here too.”
The moment the words were spoken, Ga-ram sprang up. She let out a curse, telling him he should have said so sooner, and hurriedly tidied her clothes. Finally, she let down her loosely tied hair and tucked it neatly behind her ears.
“Hey, do I look okay?”
Even under the dim lighting, it was clear that her face was flushed with tension. Do-hyun looked at Ga-ram indifferently and asked back in a half-hearted tone.
“Do you want my honest opinion?”
“No, just shut up.”
As if she hadn’t expected anything else, Ga-ram hopped over the chair. The way she left the pub with her hair fluttering looked completely excited. Woo-yeon blinked, watching her receding back, and turned his gaze away when Do-hyun looked at him.
“…….”
He felt like getting upset again. Do-hyun would move away again and wouldn’t return until the party ended. Curiosity about who ‘Min-jeong Noona’ was mixed with an unknown sense of rebellion. The image of him talking to other hubaes came to mind, when suddenly a soft voice was heard.
“Did you drink a lot?”
Do-hyun was observing him intently. After carefully scanning him from the top of his head to his ears, he casually stepped over the chair. It was the exact spot where Ga-ram had been sitting just a moment ago.
“……Drink?”
“You played drinking games.”
Answering thus, Do-hyun took the soju glass. He seemed to be checking if it was alcohol or water by smelling it slightly. Woo-yeon answered dazed and bewildered.
“It’s water. Ga-ram Noona made me a kkakdugi.”
“Kkakdugi?”
A thin laugh escaped. Returning the glass obediently, he muttered, “That’s a relief.” Because he looked truly relieved, Woo-yeon asked without realizing it.
“Because you’re afraid I’ll swear in English?”
Do-hyun didn’t answer, but his gaze held a mysterious light. As if it didn’t matter, Do-hyun narrowed his eyes and spoke ambiguously.
“I am worried you might get drunk.”
The word ‘worried’ made his stomach tickle. Thinking that Do-hyun sitting next to him and checking his glass were all out of ‘worry’ made him feel elated. Do-hyun probably said it without any particular meaning, but Woo-yeon felt like he was getting ahead of himself.
“Hyung, by the way, who is Min-jeong Noona?”
While Woo-yeon was fidgeting, Seon-kyu, who was opposite them, asked. Seeing that the other Seonbaes didn’t ask, she seemed to be a famous figure among them. Do-hyun nodded and answered briefly.
“A graduated Seonbae from the club.”
“Heh, how much of a Seonbae is she?”
“Her student ID number is higher than mine……”
Woo-yeon secretly admired Do-hyun’s profile. It was hard to believe he was someone who had been drinking, as his complexion hadn’t changed and he looked perfectly fine. Do-hyun reassured Seon-kyu that they were kind people and added in a sweet voice.
“They’re good Seonbaes.”
It was a truly pleasant face. It was different from the smile Woo-yeon had felt was artificial. The moment he saw the lips forming a gentle arc, his throat stung and twitched.
“……Why ‘Seonbaes’?”
Woo-yeon pretended to be expressionless, suppressing his prickly heart. Do-hyun shifted his eyes to look at Woo-yeon.
“One more person is coming. A former club president Seonbae.”
At the mention of ‘former club president,’ he remembered what he had heard from Ga-ram. Had she said he brought in the ‘Management God’ to save the dying club?
“Is the Management God not coming?”
“That Hyung is……”
He had asked unintentionally, but Do-hyun’s expression changed. He frowned slightly, then relaxed his expression kindly as if nothing had happened. It was a very unnatural smile.
“Why, are you curious about what he looks like?”
Woo-yeon shook his head without thinking deeply. Ga-ram had talked about him being a god and his face radiating light, but he wasn’t particularly interested. Besides, if he was the Teaching Assistant’s lover, wouldn’t he be the owner of those thick pheromones?
“He’s probably an Alpha anyway……”
At Woo-yeon’s words, Do-hyun’s lips parted slightly. And just as he was about to say something, the entrance of the pub became noisy. He sighed, saying that Hyung was consistently the same, and turned his head toward the noise.
“Looks like they’re here.”