By Zephyria 
“…Hey. About that.”
Eun-ha looked sideways, one corner of his mouth curling up. There’s such a thing as context, isn’t there?
The intelligent Im Sujin—despite being undeniably smart—had a notoriously terrible eye for men. It was almost as if she were trying to collect every single piece of trash the world had to offer.
Unable to watch Im Sujin repeatedly plunge herself into disaster, Gu Hae-bin had made a declaration one day. He told her that if she wanted to date anyone from now on, she must first get them vetted. If she hated that and wanted to keep dating whoever the hell she pleased, she should just cut ties with him entirely.
On the surface, it sounded like a cold threat, but it was a last resort born out of worry. And starting with Gu Hae-bin’s proclamation, the others gradually joined in. Before long, it became a general practice among the entire friend group to thoroughly investigate any guy Im Sujin brought as a boyfriend.
Even with this monitoring, not everything flowed in a positive direction…
Firstly, no matter how much they disliked Im Sujin’s partner, they had no right to stop her as long as she herself liked him. Secondly, it was because Im Sujin had a knack for finding scentless trash. People wrapped in plausible packaging, whose true natures were hidden and couldn’t be discerned just by looking at the surface.
“Anyway, forget it.”
“Aw, come on. I’m curious. Someone dating Lee Eun-ha. It feels like some kind of unknown creature; I really want to see what they look like…”
“…….”
“Ah. A photo! You have a photo, right? Show me a photo. Please?”
Im Sujin grabbed Eun-ha’s forearm with both hands and began to shake him vigorously, pleading in earnest. She asked who it was, begged for an introduction, naturally suggested a meal together, and claimed she was confident they’d get along quickly…
Of course, he remained consistent in ignoring her. Every single request was something he didn’t feel like doing. At that, Im Sujin slumped her shoulders and leaned her face in with a sorrowful expression.
“Aw, why—? Is that really so hard?”
Rather than hard… Eun-ha rested his chin on his hand, turning his gaze toward the distant void. He moistened his lips awkwardly before speaking.
“It’s just… a bit weird.”
“What’s a bit weird?”
“If we meet and then break up, it’ll just be awkward…”
If he introduced them only for them to break up shortly after, wouldn’t he just look ridiculous?
It was then. A hand flew nimbly toward his shoulder. Im Sujin slapped Eun-ha lightly—not enough to hurt—and fired off a reprimand with a hint of a joke.
“That’s a statement that would make your partner feel really sad, you know?”
Eun-ha let out a dry laugh and stopped. A series of petty bickering followed. She had a naturally bubbly personality. He didn’t know how much he had suffered from a person who had become completely frantic from drinking. Even when he told her it was too hot so she should get off him, or that she should go to bed, she wouldn’t budge. By the looks of it, she had come out to sober up, just like he had.
After how much squabbling? The conversation, which had started with ‘Who is Lee Eun-ha’s partner?’, drifted and flowed until it arrived at ‘Lee Eun-ha’s dating history.’ Naturally, the topics they had discussed while drinking resurfaced. The atmosphere, which had been nothing but bickering, settled softly in an instant.
In the quiet dawn, Im Sujin, whose face suddenly looked complicated, stared blankly at Eun-ha. Then, as if to break the heavy mood, she let out an “Eh!” and opened her arms wide. She threw herself into a tight hug, clinging to Eun-ha. A mumble that sounded like a complaint— “Aigo, my kid”—was added as a bonus.
“Noona is worrying too much, seriously.”
“Why am I your kid? And my birthday is earlier than yours…”
“You remember my birthday? I’m touch-ed.”
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about…”
It was absurd. How could he be touched by something so trivial? That’s just common sense… He wanted to protest, but he figured that if he spoke plainly, she’d only harass him more, saying he was ‘twice as touched,’ so he kept his mouth shut.
The night deepened. Im Sujin, who had stayed by his side for quite a while, finally showed signs of heading back around the time he started thinking her complexion didn’t look great.
“I should head in now… my stomach has been hurting for a bit.”
Perhaps a hangover was hitting her; she rubbed her solar plexus as if it were stinging. She stood up. “You stay a bit longer and then go in,” she said, strolling away. Eun-ha watched her back as she entered the doorway, then blankly returned his gaze to the front.
Indifferently noting that his own physical condition didn’t seem to be great either.
* * *
The disaster struck early the next morning. Four out of the five members were bedridden, complaining of the same symptoms. Gu Hae-bin, the only one who was fine, stood blankly in the middle of the living room, looking down with a rare expression of bewilderment at the four people sprawled on the floor, slowly wasting away. No, fuck, what the hell is happening…
Waking up to find this scene, he couldn’t help but be dazed. It was impossible for him to handle four people who seemed to be in serious trouble on his own. For the first time in his life, he called 119. The diagnosis received at the hospital, where they arrived in ambulances side-by-side, was food poisoning. The cause was narrowed down to seafood. This was inferred based on the fact that Gu Hae-bin, who doesn’t like seafood, was the only one who hadn’t eaten it yesterday.
And so, in the emergency room on a weekend morning. In a corner of the chaotic space, four people of the same age lay lined up like sausages. All of them, with pale complexions, suddenly exchanged glances as if they had coordinated it. What followed were faint, wheezing laughs. Now that they had calmed down while receiving IV fluids, a sense of reality finally set in.
Looking at his friends who were letting out snickers, Gu Hae-bin felt they were like enemies for some reason and threw a sharp jab.
“You can actually laugh?”
“Honestly, it’s funny. What is all this, seriously…”
Im Sujin giggled, shaking her wrist where the IV needle was inserted. They say you can be happy just looking at fellow idiots… Gu Hae-bin shook his head. Seeing them chatting comfortably, he figured it wasn’t anything to worry about.
It was then. Park Hyeon-ji suddenly remembered something and looked at the spot next to her, her eyebrows knitting in worry.
“Hey, are you… really okay?”
Lying there was Eun-ha, looking like he was on the verge of death, completely exhausted. In fact, among those who got sick, Eun-ha had suffered the most. After vomiting several times until only clear gastric juice came out, he had to lie on the bed almost like a half-corpse due to dehydration.
With a pale face, Eun-ha barely managed a weak nod. Park Hyeon-ji’s expression only grew more serious.
“I heard food poisoning can be dangerous if it goes wrong… He’s not going to end up in a bad way, right?”
Im Sujin mumbled from beyond. At the absurd comment, Eun-ha let out a thin, lifeless breath.
“Why are there so many people saying such unlucky things lately…”
“Who else?”
“Mom…”
“Ah…”
“Why is he the only one this bad?”
“Why? It seems natural to me. Where would a brat who’s always sickly go?”
Words flew through the air. Lying in the middle, Eun-ha let time slip by, his body limp regardless of whatever sounds were coming from either side. His physical condition was a mess. A precarious sense of lethargy swept through his entire body, as if half of his soul had departed.
And yet, even in his delirious state from dehydration, Eun-ha couldn’t shake the feeling that something was unsettling. He felt as if he had forgotten something. A hollow feeling, as if he had missed something very important…