The next evening, Heewoon went to a Korean barbecue restaurant near the school. He arrived precisely at 6:30 pm, and the place was already bustling with people. It seemed like many students had come here straight from their exams. Some tables even had multiple bottles of soju.
“Hey! Woo Heewoon, over here!”
Jihwan waved his hand vigorously. Heewoon greeted the somewhat familiar faces and took a seat next to Jihwan.
“Wow, this is amazing. Heewoon sunbae is drinking with us.”
“Are you enjoying this? Well… I also like it.”
A guy who had been looking at women as if they were pathetic suddenly burst into laughter and spoke. Heewoon awkwardly smiled while looking at the two of them. They must be his juniors.
“Sunbae, have you had dinner?”
“No. I’m not hungry, so it’s fine.”
Heewoon had felt full eating snow crab with his mom earlier in the day. His mom was surprised, wondering why his tutoring students gave this much, but she seemed pleased. Heewoon vividly imagined his mom bragging to her sister on the phone, ‘Our Heewoon brought back snow crabs.’
“Still, have a little something. Excuse me, can we get 3 portions of pork belly here!”
“Ah. The student body president ordered skirt meat earlier. I should sneak some.”
Heewoon felt a bit out of place as the juniors in front of him were busy moving around. He wondered if his presence was making them uncomfortable.
“You guys are a bit different with him than with me?”
Jihwan muttered incredulously and brought a soju glass from a tray on one side of the table.
“Here, let’s have a drink.”
Jihwan poured soju into the glass and placed it in front of Heewoon.
“Uh, Heewoon sunbae is still on an empty stomach…”
“I’ll get more side dishes!”
“These guys are really…”
Jihwan muttered somewhat sullenly, but the two juniors paid him no mind. Heewoon patted Jihwan’s back sympathetically, complaining about how he was given soju right when he arrived early.
Then, he clinked glasses with Jihwan and drank some soju. The soju went down his throat with a slightly sweet taste.
“I’ll grill the meat.”
“Oh, no, it’s alright. Jihwan sunbae, I think it would be better if you do the grilling.”
At Heewoon’s words, his junior handed the tongs to Jihwan, laughing heartily. Jihwan unwittingly took the tongs and made a face.
“See, Woo Heewoon? What nuisance? Can’t you see they’re excited to see you?”
“Nuisance? Sunbae, please come to the department meeting too. Oh, and please come to the MT too!”
Heewoon awkwardly smiled, looking at their eager eyes.
The atmosphere was more relaxed than he had expected. Perhaps it was because there was still one of his close classmates there, and the juniors sitting in front of him were quite friendly.
As the number of soju bottles increased, Heewoon also greeted his remaining classmates. Some of them would join Heewoon’s table for a drink.
After an hour or so, the noisy restaurant gradually quieted down. After the alcohol kicked in, Heewoon, who had been eating meat in lettuce wraps, noticed some of his juniors glancing towards the entrance.
Heewoon turned his head following their gaze, and his eyes widened. In this crowded barbecue restaurant filled with smoke, someone who seemed out of place was standing near the entrance, looking around as if searching for someone.
“Wow, what a rare occasion for him to be here.”
Jihwan muttered next to him. The name ‘Seo Kangwoo’ was softly whispered here and there. Heewoon stayed silent, but when Kangwoo’s gaze met his, he belatedly waved his hand.
Kangwoo, with a smile, walked toward them, seemingly not noticing that Heewoon had pretended not to see him.
“Sunbae, you were here?”
“Yeah.”
Kangwoo came closer, and Heewoon, who had hesitated for a moment, raised his hand. Kangwoo seemed to have not noticed Heewoon’s initial reluctance.
“Sunbae, were you here all along?”
Moving closer, Kangwoo stood behind Heewoon and gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze. Kangwoo greeted Jihwan sternly, who looked at them both in confusion.
Why is Seo Kangwoo here? Yesterday, he clearly said it was okay for him to come. Heewoon rolled his eyes away and cautiously spoke.
“That… S-Should we leave?”
Heewoon lifted up from his seat, and Kangwoo placed a hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him back down. His gaze flickered to the plate in front of him. Heewoon had put lettuce down to eat a wrap, and there was pork belly on top of the lettuce.
Kangwoo replied affectionately.
“No, just leave before they get to the second round.”
“Alright. There’s a seat here..”
“I’ll sit with my classmates. See you later.”
A large hand gently stroked from his shoulder to his back. Heewoon’s back tensed as the fingers lazily grazed the inside of his shoulder blades. Kangwoo let out a stifled laugh behind him.
There was a moment of silence at the table with Heewoon until Kangwoo went over to his classmates, who were obviously surprised, and sat down. There was a stiffness in Heewoon’s waist where Kangwoo’s fingers had traced along the inside of his shoulder blade. Heewoon wanted to turn his head to look at Kangwoo, but he also didn’t want to meet his gaze.
Kangwoo, holding a soju glass loosely, stared intently at Heewoon’s rigid back. Their voices didn’t carry far, and Heewoon’s face was hidden from view. Kangwoo wondered what expression Heewoon was making. Perhaps his eyes were out of focus as he was surprised. Kangwoo’s mouth slackened. Imagining Heewoon’s various expressions was quite enjoyable for Kangwoo.
“What’s this, Woo Heewoon, are you friends with Seo Kangwoo?”
Jihwan glanced at Kangwoo, who was grinning, and asked Heewoon.
Heewoon nodded, nervously poking at the overcooked meat. A junior also glanced at Kangwoo, who was sitting way behind them, and chimed in.
“Our eyes have been blessed because of that recently.”
“Are you guys happy?”
The juniors chuckled again. Heewoon took a sip of soju, then put a piece of meat in his mouth. His heart was strangely thumping.
“Why are you drinking alone? Cheers.”
Heewoon clinked glasses with Jihwan, then emptied the half-full glass in one go.
“Ugh. But how is Seo Kangwoo?”
“What about him?”
“There are many rumours of him flying around, right? His own classmates don’t even know him well.”
Jihwan muttered while looking behind him, and the juniors sitting in front leaned forward with curiosity.
“He’s right, how’s Kangwoo sunbae?”
Three pairs of eyes were filled with curiosity. Heewoon had known the real Seo Kangwoo for about three months now. The time rapidly rewound in his head.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Jihwan grumbled in frustration as he looked behind, and the juniors in front also were eager to know.
Seo Kangwoo, the person everyone was wondering about. He knew about him.
And only him alone.
“He’s just… fine.”
Heewoon replied somewhat casually while picking up his chopsticks.
“Why? Is he really an aspiring celebrity or something?”
Heewoon just smiled and didn’t respond. What’s going on? Why aren’t you saying anything? Jihwan muttered in disbelief.
Heewoon thought to himself. They would probably continue to be in the dark about Seo Kangwoo.
But…
Why was he so reluctant to share even trivial information about Kangwoo?
“Is he really rich?”
“I don’t know.”
This is really strange. It should be okay to tell them about something like that.
His heart was beating loudly. His blood rushed, and his breathing quickened slightly. His vision became very clear. He could see their faces clearly, a mixture of curiosity and disappointment
“I… don’t really know much either.”
Heewoon shook his head and picked up a soju bottle. Then, he poured drinks for his juniors and Jihwan. When he tried to pour into his own glass, Jihwan stopped him and held up the soju bottle.
“Come on, let’s have a drink.”
Clink- Four soju glasses collided above a few pieces of meat on the hot grill. Heewoon drank the clinking soju and thought to himself.
It’s because I’m afraid they might get involved with Seo Kangwoo for no reason. In a way, I’m helping these guys.
The feeling he was experiencing now was similar to feeling smug because they were so ignorant and innocent.
***
About an hour later, the first round ended.
As the crowded venue emptied out all at once, there was a lot of commotion. Heewoon got up from his round chair and opened the lid of the chair. He bent his waist to take out his padded jacket and bag, swaying slightly.
Jihwan had made them drink so fast that in a short time, Heewoon was quite drunk. Heewoon ignored Jihwan, who kept pestering him to go for a second round, and started getting dressed. He put on his padded jacket and wrapped the new scarf he had recently bought.
It happened when he was squeezing through the people rushing out. Someone pulled his bag from behind.
Heewoon stumbled backward, feeling something hard on the back of his head, and a familiar scent filled his nose. A hand gently gripped his shoulder and steadied him.
“Did you drink a lot?”
Kangwoo asked softly.
“No.”
“No, really? You drank quite a lot.”
If he already knew the answer, why was he still asking?
“Let’s go out slowly.”
Kangwoo sat Heewoon back in the chair. Heewoon nodded and gave a half-hearted wave to Jihwan, who was giving him a look that said they should go for a second round.
Then he blinked his eyes in confusion.
A bowl of soybean paste stew appeared in his woozy vision. Heewoon grabbed a spoon close to his hand and stabbed it into the pot.
Heewoon spilled about half of it while bringing it slowly to his mouth. Just then, Kangwoo’s hand snatched the spoon away.
“Ah, why…”
“That’s not your spoon.”
Kangwoo, looking a bit annoyed, tossed the spoon carelessly onto the table. Heewoon’s eyes widened at the sound, then quickly narrowed again. It was cold, and he felt somewhat hungry. But Seo Kangwoo wasn’t letting him eat the soybean paste stew.
“I want to eat the soup…”
Kangwoo chuckled as he looked at Heewoon, who was wobbling in his seat without a backrest. Half of his face was buried in the scarf as he slumped forward with no strength. A muffled voice crawled out.
“The seafood ramyeon was delicious…”
Heewoon suddenly craved the taste of the ramen he had eaten before. It was such a luxurious ramyeon. As Heewoon, swaying with his head down, recalled the taste of that ramen, he heard Kangwoo’s voice. He thought Kangwoo was talking to him, but he was actually on the phone.
Heewoon raised his head and stared at Kangwoo, who was on the phone. Kangwoo, who had given him a quick glance, lightly brushed his flushed cheek with his fingertips.
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