Ch.121121. Once a Year.

“Yeah. Oppa. Ah~~~ Everyone’s drunk and sleeping anyway. Yeah. I’ll call you again when I get home.”

Seo-eun’s call was brief.

Honestly, Jae-jun did say something, but due to her drunken state, she couldn’t hear him properly.

After entering the passcode, she returned to the entrance.

There was no sound of conversation.

Only Kang’s loud snoring filled the silence.

She wondered if everyone else had gone to sleep in this short time…

Ju-yeon and Su-hyeok with faces as red as ripe persimmons.

The two were sitting quietly on chairs without saying a word.

Despite being quite drunk herself, Seo-eun could tell at a glance.

The thought ‘Ah, something happened between those two!’ was obvious—they were too transparent to hide the atmosphere.

“What? You guys aren’t sleeping yet? If you’re tired, go rest!”

Seo-eun didn’t pry further.

There weren’t extra blankets, but there were plenty of cushions.

Since they had rented the place for an overnight stay, there would be no problem as long as they cleaned up and left by tomorrow morning.

“Sh-should we?”

Su-hyeok jumped up and started cleaning up the empty bottles.

He wanted to tidy up the trash and messy table before going to sleep.

“Aren’t you drinking more? Did you finish everything?”

“…Yeah.”

Ju-yeon reached out to clean up the chicken box that had nothing but bones left.

“I’ll help you, Su-hyeok.”

“Ah… okay.”

It would have been a lot for one person to clean, but with three people, it was quick.

The three decided to leave the smaller items for the other two to handle when they woke up, and each began finding a comfortable spot to sleep.

Seo-eun chose the floor right below the sofa where Hana was sleeping.

Ju-yeon seemed to be planning to sleep on the carpet, taking off her socks and resting her head on a cushion.

Su-hyeok, after reading the room, leaned against the wall in a corner near where Kang was sleeping.

He felt suddenly sober.

Su-hyeok still vividly remembered Ju-yeon’s surprise kiss.

In a life where he never thought he’d have occasion to kiss anyone…

He had already allowed his lips to be claimed by two people.

To be honest, it wasn’t exactly in the best condition.

He was already quite drunk, so the only way to describe the scent would be the smell of alcohol.

But the sensation was amazing.

There was no other way to describe it but amazing.

When he first kissed Hana, he thought her lips were incredibly soft.

But Ju-yeon’s lips were even more pillowy and moist.

If Hana’s kiss during the trip was hot and passionate, Ju-yeon’s kiss was shy and warm.

Although he was the one who said he would give a gift, he felt more like he had received one instead.

“Turning off the light?”

Seo-eun leaned over and turned off the only lamp that was still on.

Darkness descended.

The sound of breathing could be heard from all around.

Seo-eun must have passed out immediately, as she toppled over from her sitting position and lay down.

Meanwhile, Su-hyeok’s eyes remained wide open.

Lately, he’d been seriously wondering if this was all okay.

Though they weren’t living in the Joseon Dynasty with its deep-rooted Confucian values, he had kissed two band members who weren’t even his girlfriends.

Of course, Su-hyeok had never forced anything or deliberately created such situations.

It was always Ju-yeon and Hana who approached him first.

Though he wasn’t actively jumping into the romance battlefield for the sake of the band’s peace, he couldn’t help feeling confused.

Was what he was doing right?

Where was he heading?

He had joined the band to make music.

But it seemed like his concerns about music were diminishing more and more.

-Rustle.

A shuffling sound came from across the room.

Someone was awake and moving.

They didn’t seem to be turning on the lights.

The footsteps gradually came closer.

A dark silhouette stopped in front of Su-hyeok.

The dim light coming through the window illuminated flowing long hair.

It seemed Ju-yeon was also unable to fall asleep.

But… what was she trying to do…?

Ju-yeon took one more step toward Su-hyeok’s side and knelt on the floor.

Slowly, as if parallel parking, she leaned her back against the wall.

She moved closer to where Su-hyeok was sitting and placed her shoulder against his arm.

“…Ju-yeon?”

Su-hyeok couldn’t speak loudly because of the sleeping members.

“Huh…? Ah. You’re not sleeping…?”

Though Ju-yeon was also whispering, her voice overflowed with embarrassment.

“Ah… I can’t sleep. But why suddenly?”

“Th-the floor is too hard.”

She knew it wasn’t a valid reason.

But still, she wanted to be indulged.

After all, today was a special day that comes only once a year.

Her birthday.

The one day when you can be the main character just for being born.

Although it was past midnight, Ju-yeon wanted to stay by Su-hyeok’s side until the very end.

“Can I… sleep… next to you…?”

Ju-yeon’s small hand grabbed the hem of Su-hyeok’s t-shirt.

“But if hardness is the issue, the sofa over there…”

“…It’s my birthday.”

There was no logic to it.

Pity is one of the emotions furthest from love.

Even though he couldn’t see her face, Su-hyeok looked toward Ju-yeon.

What was she thinking, making such a request?

After pondering her intentions, Su-hyeok couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.

“…We’re just sleeping next to each other. That’s all.”

Though he dreaded the morning to come, Su-hyeok decided to worry about tomorrow later.

“Thank you, Su-hyeok.”

Ju-yeon rested her head on his shoulder with relief.

It was indeed more uncomfortable than the carpet she had been lying on earlier.

Su-hyeok’s arm couldn’t possibly be softer than a pillow.

But Ju-yeon could say with certainty.

That her 21st birthday…

Would be more special than any birthday she had ever celebrated.

Her eyes slowly closed.

Su-hyeok’s warmth was indeed comforting.

If only time could stop.

She wished the world would end on August 31st.

But that was an impossible wish.

And so their second semester was about to begin.

* * *

The first to fall asleep is often the first to wake up.

On the morning of September 1st.

Hana had to open her eyes while suffering from a hangover once again.

The problem was that she had gone along with the ridiculous idea of drinking soju with cake.

Damn… my head hurts so much…

The sunlight seeping through the window gap indicated that morning had arrived.

Compared to the noise they had made last night, the party room was neatly organized.

It seemed the remaining members had cleaned up before falling asleep.

“Waaater…”

As Hana got up looking for water, she couldn’t help but frown deeply.

Because there were people sleeping with their heads leaning against each other like affectionate lovers.

Though she didn’t know the full story, she felt angry first.

Why are they sleeping like that?

In this spacious room, why do they need to be cuddled up together?

Before even drinking water, Hana staggered over to Su-hyeok, knelt in front of him, and firmly pressed his thigh.

He slowly opened his eyes.

“Hey.”

“Mmm…?”

“What’s this?”

After seeing Hana’s cold face, Su-hyeok looked to his side.

There was Ju-yeon, sleeping right next to him as if she would never let go.

Su-hyeok became wide awake, as if splashed with cold water.

“Ah… well…”

His mind wasn’t working properly.

But he knew he needed to explain.

“Mmm…?”

As Su-hyeok raised his head, Ju-yeon also woke up.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she too discovered Hana’s sullen face.

“Park Ju-yeon.”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you sleeping next to Lee Su-hyeok like that?”

“…I don’t really remember. Su-hyeok, do you remember?”

Ju-yeon was giving Su-hyeok the most efficient escape route.

“I-I don’t really…”

“…Are you lying?”

For Hana, blacking out after drinking was a regular occurrence.

It felt hypocritical to call them out when she did the same, but still, suspicious was suspicious.

Wouldn’t it be more concerning that they were like this while drunk?

“Yaaawn… But… why… does Su-hyeok need to be interrogated by you?”

Ju-yeon yawned while pointing out Hana’s weak spot.

“It’s not like Su-hyeok did anything weird to me.”

At Ju-yeon’s provocative response, Hana struggled to maintain her composure.

She was saying it outright.

She was asking what right Hana had to interrogate him when she wasn’t even his girlfriend.

Hana glared at Ju-yeon.

Ju-yeon didn’t avoid her gaze either.

The atmosphere was becoming increasingly hostile.

The unexpected relief pitcher was Kang, who suddenly jumped up.

“Let’s go eat hangover soup!”

His voice was too energetic for someone suffering from a hangover.

His voice forced Seo-eun to wake up as well, and she urged everyone to pack up and leave.

“Did we forget anything?”

Seo-eun checked if the younger ones had all their belongings.

“We’re getting the special hangover soup. We must eat it!”

“Hahaha… yeah. Sounds delicious.”

“Lee Su-hyeok, come out for a workout this evening!”

“…We’ll see?”

Su-hyeok realized that September was going to be difficult right from the start.