ASIAH 24

Hyun Jaekyung must have belatedly realized that he had ruined the mood. He grinned as if it had been a joke from the start (though the hipster and I could tell it wasn’t) and shouted.

“A random game that Jaekyung likes!”

After that, he tried to pour me a drink, but his impure motives were discovered by the other classmates… that rhymes nicely. Instead, he was counterattacked. In truth, it wasn’t so much that the classmates were upholding justice as it was that it wasn’t fun when I just drank whatever they gave me without getting drunk.

“Ah, please save Jaekyung.”

Hyun Jaekyung begged and pleaded, asking if he couldn’t just mix and drink it himself. But in the end, he had to drink double the penalty shot made by Sungsoo hyung.

“It’s sad to fill up on a bad-tasting drink. Why don’t I have a black knight?”

Why are you looking at me again? When I glared back, Hyun Jaekyung rolled his eyes and sent an SOS to Yeom Hyejin.

“Ah~ I wish I had a black knight too. Auntie, buy me a black knight!”

“Should I be your black rose?”

“A man’s got his pride, I can’t let a woman drink for me.”

“Well, I’ll be… I think Hyun Jaekyung is more into men than I am.”

Go Yeom Hyejin! All the times Hyun Jaekyung had teased or picked on him came to mind. The excitement was clearly gone from Hyun Jaekyung’s face, and it was quite satisfying to see. Sungsoo hyung slapped him on the back.

“Are you getting serious?”

“Hey, hyung, what are you talking about again? But let’s take a short break. I feel like I’m going to throw up from that slap on my back.”

Hyun Jaekyung, who had staggered to his feet, came back with the karaoke remote and entered a number without even looking at the songbook. After he selected everything from well-known dance tracks to trot music and retreated to a corner, the living room once again became a club. No, considering the mood of the songs, it seemed closer to a cabaret. Not that I’ve ever been to one.

Hyun Jaekyung kept time only during the choruses from the corner, but he suddenly looked incredibly tired. He only returned to the center after our classmates had sung about three more songs.

“Let’s play ‘I’ve never.'”

“Oh, good. Honestly, I can’t scream anymore.”

Yeom Hyejin’s voice was completely hoarse. By this point, many had passed out, and a lot of people had gone to bed, either drunk or pretending to be, so the only ones left were me, Hyun Jaekyung, Yeom Hyejin, the hipster, and Shin Yeonji. Kim Sanna was already gone by the time Hyun Jaekyung turned on the karaoke machine. He might have sensed they would make him sing now that his identity as the god of R&B was revealed.

I hadn’t talked much with Shin Yeonji, but she was a social butterfly in a different way from Hyun Jaekyung, who just poked at everyone one-sidedly. She was pretty close with the quiet kids too. Hyun Jaekyung, who was half out of his mind from the alcohol, brought a bowl incomparably larger than before and confidently poured a drink into it.

“Wow, holy shit, what is that?”

“It tastes good, so don’t worry.”

“It’s better if several people get caught at once. So we can share the drink.”

Hearing that, the crazy bastard Hyun Jaekyung poured more alcohol and muttered.

“Then we have to play rock-paper-scissors and drink in the order of who wins. The one who drinks first can just wet their lips and pass it on.”

“You devil.”

“And even if you just fold a finger, you have to drink one glass, no matter what.”

“Crazy… Just hearing about it makes my liver feel sick.”

“So you’re not playing?”

“I’m playing.”

“Then let’s have at least two people drink the penalty shot.”

“Okay.”

The order of questions was decided fair and square by rock-paper-scissors. The one to start was the hipster, and it was a spectacle from the get-go.

“Fold a finger if you’ve ever peed on the street.”

“What?”

But I was the only one who didn’t fold a finger. No, Hyun Jaekyung didn’t either. For some reason, I felt incredibly relieved by that fact. Seeing this, Shin Yeonji snapped at Hyun Jaekyung.

“Aren’t you lying? You’ve done it but forgotten, haven’t you?”

“Disgusting. Even if everyone else in the world does it, I won’t.”

“You… pee… on the street?”

“When you drink a lot and can’t find a bathroom, you really can’t help but do it, can you?”

“That’s why I don’t sit in places like flowerbeds.”

Ugh… Is this what college students are like, just saying whatever comes to mind? No, that’s a generalization; it’s just that there are a lot of people like that here at the moment. I stayed because Hyun Jaekyung didn’t go to bed, and now I’m seeing all sorts of things. I said proudly.

“I’ve never been drunk.”

“How is that possible? Especially for a freshman?”

“Hmm… I don’t remember our drinking sessions well. Didn’t Jooyoon just drink water?”

“No, I forced a ton of alcohol on him during the welcoming party too, but he was fine.”

Hyun Jaekyung seemed to be in a bad mood even as he defended me. He was even glaring at me with one corner of his mouth turned up while saying that, but I shouldn’t wonder why he’s acting like that. Hyun Jaekyung’s tantrums are his own business, not mine.

Why is he getting so competitive about drinking tolerance? Of course, I like that I can hold my liquor. It feels like proof that I’m both wholesome and physically strong.

But when they heard that, they reacted like a pack of wolves that had found prey after starving for a hundred days. It was unsettling. Are they going to gang up on me again like before? But since I was the most sober one here, having drunk even other people’s penalty shots, a smile came to my lips automatically. It was my turn.

“Fold a finger if you’ve ever blacked out from drinking.”

“Ha… You lucky bastard, I’m jealous.”

“Maybe he blacked out but doesn’t remember?”

Even when just folding a finger, we had to down a glass, so everyone except me had already had at least one. Hyun Jaekyung looked more upset than I had seen him all day. It was his turn after me.

“Fold a finger if you’re a virgin.”

Ah, that son of a bitch… This time, I was the only one who folded a finger. Just so there are no misunderstandings, I don’t consider this a humiliation. It’s just that the childish Hyun Jaekyung’s intention is so obvious that it’s unpleasant.

“Jooyoon, should I set you up with a girl?”

Shin Yeonji asked as if she were genuinely pitying me. These guys seem to hang out with their own kind of wild kids, so they mistake their special circumstances for the norm. If you took a survey, not many people would have lost their virginity, really. Not everyone, could be… There’s no way there are that many guys like Hyun Jaekyung. Especially not before the summer of freshman year of college…

I was about to politely decline the well-intentioned offer when Hyun Jaekyung pressed down on my head.

“It’s fine, this bastard and Ha Wonjong are too busy with their otaku stuff to be interested in real women.”

“Hey, Jooyoon might not be, but I am, okay? Shin Yeonji, who are you going to introduce to Jooyoon? Show me a picture.”

“Get lost~ Come back when you’re ten centimeters taller.”

“That really hurts…”

As I was watching their exchange, a glass was suddenly thrust at me. Hyun Jaekyung was grinning as he pushed the penalty shot toward me. What a childish guy. I don’t care how many penalty shots I drink. His hands really are pretty. Only his hands…

Anyway, the atmosphere, as if I hadn’t done something I was obviously supposed to do, was quite uncomfortable. Even though I knew well that it wasn’t the common sense of the world I had lived in, and even though I’m a person with a pretty strong sense of self, it still was.

Even worse, the topic then shifted in that direction, so the next person, Yeom Hyejin’s, question was this.

“Fold a finger if you haven’t stayed overnight with a girlfriend or boyfriend. If you’re human.”

Adding the ‘if you’re human’ condition, how cowardly…

As I was folding my finger in anguish, Shin Yeonji also stealthily folded one. Seeing that, Yeom Hyejin lunged like a piranha.

“What’s with Shin Yeonji?”

“…You said stayed overnight, right? Haha.”

…If this were a chat, her tone would have been followed by a string of ‘keke’s. The others cackled, spewing all sorts of profanities. Why am I here listening to all this useless information? While revealing my own to the whole world.

Next was Shin Yeonji.

“Fold a finger if you’re the tallest person here.”

“She’s blatantly targeting him…”

“Hey! Drink up, drink up, hey! Drink up, drink up~”

I’ll drink, but I’m not gonna die, hehe. The next one was the hipster, who smiled at me with his eyes like a still from ‘The Great Gatsby’ and raised his glass. I wondered why, and then he asked his question.

“Fold a finger if you’re a woman.”

“Damn, Shin Yeonji is in the lead.”

Shin Yeonji, who had folded four fingers by herself, gave a thumbs-up, then changed the finger to her middle one and stuck it out at the hipster. The rest, except for the hipster, showed signs of impatience that their plan to gang up on me from the start had been thwarted. Especially Hyun Jaekyung.

Anyway, it was now my turn.

“…Fold a finger if you’re not participating in the sales event.”

“Ah… that’s so boring.”

“Jooyoon, you’re repaying kindness with enmity.”

I’m not a comedian, and I have no obligation to make my classmates laugh, so the comment about it being boring didn’t affect me. This time, only Shin Yeonji and I didn’t fold a finger, and when Yeom Hyejin folded his, only the women had one finger left each. When Hyun Jaekyung’s turn came, he winked at the girls and shouted.

“Cheonhabong Brothers, fold ’em!”

“Oh~ Hyun Jaekyung~! What a beautiful self-destruction~!”

“Looks like he likes the nickname.”

“……”

Everyone but me burst into laughter. Does he want to look good in front of the girls that badly? And does this guy really not care at all that he lied to me? If it were me, never mind being sorry, I would have been too embarrassed to ever say something like ‘Cheonhabong Brothers.’

Isn’t the Cheonhabong incident when Hyun Jaekyung lied to my face, got hurt while clowning around on his own, and then stimulated my guilt to get a free drink? He kept pretending to be hurt even though he was fine except for a scratch, and then when he was caught, he was flying around again. What is wrong with that bastard?

“Jooyoon looks seriously pissed.”

“Hyun Jaekyung had better watch his back tonight.”

“……”

I must have been glaring at him without realizing it. I downed the penalty shot and looked at Hyun Jaekyung, and he immediately avoided my gaze as if he had been looking at me the whole time. What was that?

I was so preoccupied with that that I don’t even remember what question Ha Wonjong asked. Somehow, everyone except the hipster was left with only one finger. To make things worse, it was my turn next, but they said it was too obvious and therefore not fun, and changed the next turn to Yeom Hyejin by playing rock-paper-scissors. Since it was four against one, I had no choice but to comply.

On top of that, Hyun Jaekyung even added makgeolli to the bomb shot he had been making a fuss about mixing deliciously.

“What? All of a sudden. Are you self-destructing?”

“I think I’ll actually die if I drink that.”

“For fun.”

Still, it seemed better to have at least one type of alcohol I liked in it. Hyun Jaekyung knows I like that stuff. Surely he didn’t add it to be considerate, right?

…I must be going crazy. What does it matter if it’s a type of alcohol I like, when several kinds are mixed in a huge bowl? It looked like most people would be knocked out after a few sips, so I spoke up for the public good.

“I think it would be better if I just drank it.”

“Wow, now that it looks like you’re going to lose, you’re suddenly accepting defeat gracefully.”

Hyun Jaekyung’s taunt extinguished all my motivation. Seeing even Ha Wonjong sputtering next to me, I really wanted to see those two drink it, but I was powerless, and everything depended on Yeom Hyejin. And Yeom Hyejin had been ganging up on me until just a moment ago.

Yeom Hyejin also grinned, as if he had belatedly realized his power. It was a smile that sent a cold sweat down my spine.

“At the athletic festival…”

“Aargh!”

Before he could finish, Hyun Jaekyung screamed. That guy was involved in everything from the sports events to the talent show.

“…Fold a finger if you’re participating in basketball.”

At the words that followed, I screamed inwardly too. Hyun Jaekyung wriggled like a caterpillar that had fallen from a tree and then shouted.

“Ah! I was going to gang up on Jooyoon, but Yeom Hye, this is ridiculous. We’re not friends anymore.”

“Whatever.”

He could voice his complaints, but he couldn’t go against the rules. Hyun Jaekyung and I simultaneously folded our last fingers, and with that, we were the only ones with closed fists.