By Zephyria 
“For your information, my older sister is just a normal writer. She’s not some mastermind or behind-the-scenes manipulator.”
Min Si-hu easily accepted the chiding reply, saying, “Is that so?”
“And honestly!”
Ban Pyo-ran, his face still serious, lightly slapped the table. The drinks in the glasses sloshed. His eyes blazed with an unusual intensity.
Ban Pyo-ran exclaimed,
“There’s something more unbelievable than all of us existing in reality!”
“What is it?”
“That you’re all actually good-looking!”
“Huh?”
“It’s unbelievable that South Korea could have this kind of talent pool! That’s why being possessed by the novel makes more sense!”
At Ban Pyo-ran’s sudden outburst, his fists clenched, I swallowed a cough and pursed my lips.
I almost choked trying to hold back my laughter.
He seemed so serious that I felt I couldn’t laugh.
But it was funny because there was a point to it. Even someone who didn’t care much about looks could see that everyone here was handsome.
“I’ve never really thought of myself as good-looking.”
“Me neither, really.”
“What!”
Ban Pyo-ran, enraged by Seong Hae-min’s and Jeon Jae-hyung’s humble remarks, retorted indignantly. He pleaded with them not to say such absurd things. He even grabbed Kim Yi-dam to get his agreement.
It was unbelievable that this meal, without a drop of alcohol, had such high energy. If this continued, the sitcoms broadcast by the TV stations would be in trouble.
Finally, unable to hold back, Ban Pyo-ran shouted,
“Lee Beom, you’re an adult now, right?”
“Yeah.”
“This won’t do. We have to start drinking!”
Even though we were starting to feel full, once the alcohol started flowing, it went down smoothly.
“Cheers!”
“Hey, your glass is empty!”
“Cheers!”
“Ah! We should have ordered this sooner!”
With the combination of Ban Pyo-ran and Min Si-hu going wild, and Jeon Jae-hyung quietly making his presence known, “Cheers!” continued endlessly.
Are they really okay drinking like that…?
But there was no time to think about it. We were swept up in the whirlwind of those human-shaped locomotives, while Seong Hae-min, without encouraging them, calmly laughed and enjoyed himself.
What was surprising was that Lee Beom was quietly drinking well. Although Lee Beom kept glancing around, he was fine even with these people drinking at a crazy pace beside him.
“Beom, how can you drink so well?”
To my casual question, Lee Beom just smiled wordlessly and scratched his ear.
Not understanding the meaning behind it, I looked at Seong Hae-min, who patted my shoulder.
“He said he played around until he was in his third year of high school.”
“Ah.”
Right. I had forgotten because he was so calm. Unlike me, who took my first sip of alcohol at twenty, Lee Beom was someone who had grown up strong!
Still…
No matter how he spent his time before, the Lee Beom I knew was someone who studied hard and eventually succeeded in college entrance exams, wasn’t he?
Although I was pacing myself, I was starting to feel tipsy. The proof was the silly grin plastered on my face.
Everything felt funny and enjoyable. So, I did things I wouldn’t normally do.
I patted Lee Beom’s back enthusiastically.
“That’s right, it’s commendable that you studied!”
Even though I didn’t hit him that hard, Lee Beom flinched and stiffened.
Unable to contain my excitement, I headed straight for the group who were talking boisterously. Kim Yi-dam, who was also grinning foolishly like me, saw me and made a gap, which I squeezed into.
“Hey, hey. I have a question too.”
“What is it! Hae-jun, what is it! Ask away!”
Everyone’s faces were flushed with heat. I asked excitedly,
“Can the time spent in the novel be included in our current age, or not?”
“Huh?”
“Hey now.”
It was something I was genuinely curious about, but everyone waved their hands. Even Ban Pyo-ran, whose face was flushed but showed no change in complexion despite downing so much alcohol, exclaimed indignantly with a red face.
“Hae-jun, do you want to age that much?”
“Yeah. Suddenly becoming an old man.”
They all answered so curtly that I was bewildered. Now, it was the others who were bewildered.
“This is new.”
“Does it mean people with their own consciousness are different?”
The explanation from the murmuring group was this:
Their memories of the novel world were not the same as mine. They didn’t have them from the moment the novel began, but rather from their early childhood, albeit faintly.
At this completely foreign concept, I sat there stunned, as if I’d been hit on the head with a tray.
Was I the only outsider…?
“To explain it for Hae-jun, it’s kind of like this! It’s something I experienced, but it’s not really my experience, yet I was so immersed that it felt like my past… it’s vague.”
“Oh, that’s exactly it.”
“I thought it might be difficult for some people to recall because of the forced immersion.”
“Ah, that’s why Hae-min struggled.”
I had been looking down, but I slowly raised my head at Min Si-hu’s words. With a clear sound like glass chiming, Min Si-hu, who had been mixing soju and beer, shrugged.
“He was severely injured. Honestly, it’s understandable even if Seong Hae-min doesn’t remember anything.”
Min Si-hu’s words caused the already subdued tension to drop sharply.
While some of them said their novel memories were vague, for me, they weren’t just memories I could dismiss as mere novel events. It was six months I had experienced with a clear head.
And Seong Hae-min getting injured…
It was because of me.
Pretending to drink, I tilted my head back and glanced at Seong Hae-min. Seong Hae-min himself was calmly downing his soju-beer mix.
“That’s wrong. I’m just glad I met Hae-jun.”
“How touching, you kid!”
At Seong Hae-min’s calm words, Min Si-hu put an arm around his shoulder as if to give him a headlock. Instead of forcefully pushing him away, Seong Hae-min skillfully handed Min Si-hu a soju-beer glass, making him let go.
Min Si-hu, who happily took the glass, repeatedly shouted cheers. Ban Pyo-ran, caught up in the mood, clinked glasses with him. I also ended up shouting cheers along with them.
“But are the other characters real too?”
“They might be.”
“More people probably don’t remember, like our cousin?”
“Ah, that’s a shame.”
“Why?”
“I regret not being able to say thank you to Do Yun-hyeok at the end!”
“Gulp!”
“Oh my, are you okay?”
At Ban Pyo-ran’s regretful voice, I choked on the soju I was sipping. Ban Pyo-ran patted my back with a worried expression.
I lowered my head to the floor for a moment, calming my pounding heart. I never imagined that someone among us would want to see Do Yun-hyeok.
Thanks to that, I fell into a secret dilemma.
Do Yun-hyeok… should I introduce him?
Jeon Jae-hyung, who I thought would speak up saying he had met him, was quietly but intensely downing alcohol. Since I didn’t bring it up first, he kept his secret, just like in the novel.
As we exchanged all sorts of conversations, over twenty bottles of soju piled up.
While they were drinking themselves silly, I had only managed about one bottle out of all of them, but I was overwhelmed.
The countless toasts. The countless bottles of soju.
As everyone got thoroughly drunk, the table became calmer compared to earlier.
Kim Yi-dam had already passed out and was dozing off, while Lee Beom and Seong Hae-min were the only ones consistently clinking glasses.
Given how much Min Si-hu, Jeon Jae-hyung, and Ban Pyo-ran had drunk, if they were still sober, there must have been something wrong with the store’s alcohol.
“Sob…”
Just as I thought the gathering might be wrapping up, Min Si-hu, whose face was flushed and clearly showing his intoxication, suddenly got teary-eyed and started wiping his tears.
The dazed gazes of everyone turned to Min Si-hu. Ban Pyo-ran, who seemed to have been drunk, clamped his mouth shut like a clam to hold back his laughter.
His drunk behavior is crying!
Everyone held their breath, watching the sniffling Min Si-hu.
Unaware, Min Si-hu, who was blowing his nose alone, shouted,
“I’m… so glad!”
“Glad about what, suddenly?”
“Because in reality, I have a great relationship with my mom!”
Wiping his tears, Min Si-hu clenched his fist and shouted,
“I’m going to tell her I love her when I get home today!”
Everyone struggled to hold back their laughter, their faces turning red. Ban Pyo-ran was even holding his breath. And exactly three seconds later, everyone burst into loud laughter again.
With his slurred speech and muddled pronunciation, such a resolution!
Min Si-hu, oblivious to everyone laughing at him, was reiterating his vow.
If you think about it, Min Si-hu was the most sincere about the novel.
Shaken by Min Si-hu’s drunk antics, we didn’t break up but went straight to a second and then a third round. Whether this was a hangover cure with alcohol or not, by the third round, we were actually becoming more sober.
After wandering from place to place, we finally ended up at a karaoke room.
“Running through the blue sky- sob…!”
We had come to see Min Si-hu’s singing skills, but Min Si-hu couldn’t shake his crying habit and was sobbing face down. We unceremoniously pushed the bothersome Min Si-hu aside and enjoyed the karaoke room to our hearts’ content.
Just like in the novel, Jeon Jae-hyung and Lee Beom were also skilled singers. Ban Pyo-ran, who was enjoying the karaoke more passionately than anyone, said something as he listened to Lee Beom sing.
“But honestly, you’re so charming when you sing.”
At the sudden remark, all eyes turned to the two of them.
Could it be… romantic feelings developed in reality too?
It seemed I wasn’t the only one thinking that, as Lee Beom’s expression turned strange at this confession, or whatever it was.