Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2.1

Hajun’s gaze, which had been fixed on her for who knew how long, lingered. She tried to ignore his blatant stare, which rushed toward her like an unstoppable wave, but it persisted.

Why is he looking at her like that? She was going to get indigestion.

Yeonsu, with wide, clear eyes, finally asked, “Why?”

“Because you’re eating so well.”

Yeonsu even made a show of rolling up her sleeves. Their way of conversing remained unchanged, even after so long. Their exchanges were always half-joking, a cheerful back-and-forth.

“Senior, didn’t you know? I grew up poor. Never got to eat proper tangsuyuk when I was a kid. So now that I’m all grown up, I’m eating to my heart’s content.”

Hajun chuckled aloud. Why was she telling such a ridiculous joke so seriously?

“It’s not a joke, though?”

“Oh, come on.”

“What do you know about poverty?”

“Is poverty a weapon? You always try to win arguments with it. Besides, what era are we living in? Everyone eats tangsuyuk.”

“Of course you don’t know reality, not with a watch like that.”

Yeonsu instantly recognized the watch as being worth tens of millions of won and pinpointed that fact. He must have worn only expensive luxury brands in college too. Back then, she’d been too young and naive to recognize them, but now she could easily gauge their worth.

“And that alcohol? You paid for that in advance and brought it, didn’t you?”

This time, Hajun seemed flustered and offered a lame excuse.

“It’s not that expensive.”

“If it’s not that expensive, why pay for it separately?”

“Well…”

“It’s fine. If you buy it, I’ll just say thank you and drink it.”

“Alright then. But Shin Yeonsu.”

“What?”

“Your mouth is always the problem.”

“What about it?”

“You’re still using that mouth to argue with your mom these days, aren’t you?”

What they’d been saying was all in good fun, a playful back-and-forth, but Yeonsu suddenly clamped her mouth shut. Even their classmates, who had been chatting about their daily lives, fell silent. Hajun’s eyes widened, and he quickly spoke in a flustered voice.

“What? Why? What’s wrong? I fight with my mom all the time these days too. Every single day. It’s totally normal.”

As Hajun scrambled to recover, Yeonsu met his gaze with a profound look and downed her sorghum liquor in one gulp.

“You’re lucky, Senior, to have a mom to fight with.”

“Why do you talk as if you don’t have one?”

“…”

“Y-you don’t mean… she passed away, did she?”

Yeonsu looked as though she was about to burst into tears, then suddenly broke into a wry smile.

“Nope.”

The words were barely out of Yeonsu’s mouth when Seonyeong smacked her hard on the back.

“What’s with you, talking about your mom like that?” she fussed.

Their classmates also scolded Yeonsu, admitting they’d been tense for a moment, genuinely believing her mom had passed away. They said every time Shin Yeonsu made those heavy jokes, their hearts always plummeted.

Hajun scratched the back of his neck.

“Ha. Still the same, absolutely still the same. Is it fun to tease people? Your mother’s doing well, isn’t she?”

Yeonsu met Hajun’s eyes steadily.

“Yes, she’s doing well.”

As the situation settled, Hajun huffed, as if deeply wronged.

“I’m not the type to lose to anyone, anywhere, you know? But I just can’t win against you. Seriously, Shin Yeonsu has the strangest personality in our whole department. She’s number one.”

Their classmates all laughed at the two, who always ended up in a fierce verbal sparring match whenever they met. Among their classmates, if Hajun’s nickname was Medusa Senior, then Yeonsu’s was unequivocally Eundolgae.

A slightly unhinged dog. Everyone knew to keep a respectful distance, firmly believing that if you provoked her unnecessarily, you’d get bitten and suffer for it.

Despite all that, Yeonsu was still very popular among her classmates. Her bright, easygoing, and often smiling personality had a different vibe from Seonyeong’s, but it was just as captivating.

“I told you, Yeonsu should’ve gone into entertainment! Why let that acting talent go to waste?”

“Only her acting talent? What about that face? That figure? Ugh, I’m so jealous.”

“Yeonsu, it’s not too late! You should debut as an actress. Directors would line up to cast you after just one audition.”

Yeonsu waved her hand dismissively.

“Alright, alright, enough with the flattery.”

Her classmates all mimed licking their lips in unison, then burst into laughter. Time spent with the people who had shared her entire youth was always comforting like that. Memories of studying hard in the library until dawn during exam periods, then rushing to a bar and playing boisterously all night, grew more poignant with each passing year.

Click.

Right in front of her, Hajun opened another bottle of sorghum liquor. He filled Yeonsu’s empty glass first.

The clock hands pointed to eleven. Perhaps because they had been drinking high-proof liquor since early in the evening, some were already losing their wits.

“Yeonsuuuuu. Don’t send me away. You know I love you so much, right? I love you so much!”

“Yeah, okay, Jian. I love you too. Go home safe, and button up. It’s cold.”