Chapter Index

    Seo Yerin sat down next to me with a smile.

    It felt so natural, even though we weren’t moving into the dorms, that I couldn’t help but feel flustered, and others started to murmur.

    “Huh? What’s your type?”

    “Hey, more importantly, this is where only people entering the dorms are sitting.”

    Just because Seo Yerin was here, I wanted to prevent others from expecting her to move into the dorms as well.

    “Oh, right.”

    Pretending to be surprised, even though we both already knew everything.

    “Then let’s go somewhere else to drink.”

    Seo Yerin immediately got up, trying to take me away.

    “No, no! Let’s drink here. It’s fine. Even though I’m not a dorm resident, I’m just hanging out.”

    Eunwoo urgently held onto Seo Yerin. It seemed like others didn’t want Seo Yerin to leave either.

    ‘This must be how it feels.’

    I’ve heard that if you’re pretty and handsome, you won’t have to pay for drinks in college, and it seemed true.

    “Thank you.”

    Seo Yerin smiled and sat back down. She leaned in and took the drink I was having.

    “Woojin, you should stop drinking now.”

    “Why?”

    “It’ll be hard for me to take you back if you drink too much.”

    “I’m not drinking to get drunk.”

    “How many glasses have you had until now?”

    “Um, about one bottle?”

    “You’ve already had quite a lot.”

    “You know I don’t get drunk easily on beer or soju.”

    “But if you keep drinking, you’ll end up getting drunk.”

    As we bickered while holding our glasses, I could feel eyes on us from around.

    Glancing around, it was a bit awkward to see everyone staring at us.

    ‘This is the problem with being with Seo Yerin.’

    Her looks were so captivating that even among actors, she would stand out, making it impossible not to attract attention among regular people.

    Some guys were even openly showing desire, swallowing their saliva.

    “Don’t you carry a mask or something? Put it on.”

    I told Seo Yerin to cover her face, but she confidently swept her hair back instead.

    “I dressed up nicely on purpose.”

    “So you think you’re pretty?”

    “Is it bad to think that?”

    “Why did you come looking like that?”

    “Answer me. Am I pretty?”

    Does she really have no sense of the situation, with everyone staring at us?

    “Sigh, yes, you’re pretty. But is there any point besides being pretty?”

    “Hmph, I’m glad to be pretty. Thanks, Mom and Dad.”

    She’s really pushing it.

    “Accidents often happen in university dorms, like crossing the line, causing trouble.”

    “…”

    “So I came to warn you. Since she’s already taken, don’t touch her.”

    Seo Yerin poked my cheek with her finger, laughing.

    Her mischievous yet innocent smile suited her well.

    “If you get any closer, Woojin, you might lose your legs.”

    Whispering softly, this time she pinched my cheek.

    Unintentionally tensing up, I felt my waist stiffen.

    Facing the chaos and incidents in the dorms right now felt somewhat comical to me.

    “Also, you don’t seem to be in a good mood lately, so you’re not socializing and acting like a loner, cosplaying.”

    “Yeah.”

    “You dressed up to lift Woojin’s spirits, right? How does it feel? Do you feel superior?”

    “…”

    I do feel a sense of superiority. But the feeling of casually using Seo Yerin due to this modest sense of superiority felt bitter.

    “Don’t do it again next time. Got it?”

    Reading my mind as if she could, she smiled brightly, nodded her head, and rubbed her face against my shoulder.

    I had long since stopped paying attention to the gazes of others.

    “Alright, I give up.”

    Since Seo Yerin had taken my drink, I started eating meat instead.

    “Oh, hello seniors! I’m Kim Chulsoo, a freshman in English Literature!”

    “I’m Choi Younghee, also a freshman!”

    Chulsoo and Younghee?

    Other students behind them also bowed and greeted us.

    When I was alone earlier, I didn’t even bother to look up, but now that Seo Yerin is here, just look at how she immediately greets me.

    “I might not have known that I was an English major.”

    I tend to not lead a particularly quiet university life.

    “Hello, guys. I’m Seo Yerin, a sophomore. This is Kim Woojin, also a sophomore.”

    “Yeah, would it be okay if we buy you a drink, seniors?”

    Chulso immediately offers a bottle of alcohol.

    “No, he shouldn’t drink more; he’ll get drunk.”

    “Hey, I won’t get drunk?”

    “Yeah, Woojin didn’t get drunk. It’s fine even if we don’t pay attention, guys.”

    Teasing me again by pinching my cheek. From the way they spoke to their expressions, it was nice to see them being friendly to the freshmen, but to me, it just seemed tiresome to deal with.

    The freshmen returned to their table.

    “The kids didn’t greet you?”

    Curiously asking while I put a piece of meat in my mouth, I nodded.

    “Why would they greet me? They probably didn’t even know I’m an English major.”

    “Huh? How could they not know?”

    What nonsense.

    “They could not know. Where can you find someone who leads as quiet a university life as me?”

    “… ”

    While I sipped on cider, Seo Yerin looked at me incredulously.

    “Why.”

    “Where can you find someone as noisy as you in university, Woojin?”

    “What are you talking about?”

    How am I noisy?

    “Don’t you remember from the karaoke? You fought with Hangang sunbae, and then you were sniped in the bamboo forest.”

    “… ”

    “You shouted at the seniors at the intestines restaurant. You were sniped in the bamboo forest then too. You’ve been sniped twice.”

    But wasn’t Seo Yerin there that time?

    I told Chanwoo and went after her.

    “The rumors must have spread to the freshmen, right? The number one senior to avoid! Kim Woojin!”

    “… ”

    “And yet, it’s really surprising that you claim to lead a quiet university life. Is this some kind of rich person’s mindset or something?”

    “Hey, I’m not rich. I have to work part-time now.”

    “What kind of part-time job?”

    “I don’t know. But I did well at Gold One. Shouldn’t I go in that direction?”

    “Doing well? Working at a place like that?”

    Reaching out immediately, holding both cheeks, stretching them out, Seo Yerin burst into laughter.

    “Oh! Just kidding! Kidding! Ouch!”

    “She’s gone crazy. Why do you cross the line like this?”

    “You should too!”

    Letting out a sigh and releasing her cheeks, Seo Yerin took the drink she had taken from me and exhaled heavily.

    “But, Woojin.”

    “What now.”

    Leaning on my shoulder, Seo Yerin subtly whispered so only I could hear.

    “You know, you were really cool back then.”

    “When?”

    “When you helped me.”

    “I helped you so many times.”

    “Hehe, yeah. That’s right.”

    It was meant as a joke, but she took it seriously.

    Seo Yerin subtly hooked her arm through mine.

    Her ample chest gently pressed against my arm.

    “Whether it was at the karaoke, the intestines restaurant, or even at the casino this time. You always came to my rescue.”

    “… ”

    Was I getting somewhat sentimental?

    Honestly, at that time, I got a bit carried away and embarrassed when I thought about it occasionally.

    But it wasn’t like that for Seo Yerin—.

    “I get excited thinking about those times.”

    “… What, isn’t reminiscing about memories a good atmosphere?”

    “It feels wet though. Touch it.”

    “We’re in public. There are other people around.”

    There were quite a few people who kept sneaking glances at us from nearby. I had given up caring about such things already.

    “Isn’t that what’s exciting?”

    “Do you want to spice up your university life?”

    “You’ve already spiced it up.”

    “… ”

    It stings a bit when you hit with facts.

    Since the conversation seemed like it might get awkward if it continued like this, I turned my gaze.

    From the neighboring seat, Eunwoo, who had been watching us enviously, and I locked eyes.

    “Come to think of it.”

    Eunwoo and Seo Yerin also have their own relationship.

    As Anonymous69 and Anonymous90.

    Should I mention it?

    Eunwoo still doesn’t know Seo Yerin’s true identity, and Seo Yerin is also unaware that Eunwoo is Anonymous 90.

    After a brief moment of contemplation, I decided not to do anything.

    There was a reason for being anonymous.

    If I tell Seo Yerin,

    “…She’ll probably suggest reading fortunes right away.”

    Since she sees Anonymous 90 as a rival.

    “But how did he mess up his college life by hanging out with three girls?”

    Upon hearing Seo Yerin muttering beside me, I shut him up by stuffing a lettuce wrap into his mouth.

    * * *

    “….”

    Min Ju-hee, with her hand deeply inserted into her pocket, exhaled cigarette smoke while staring at the ground for no reason.

    She was standing outside the smoking booth in front of the restaurant where the dormitory gathering was taking place.

    The fact that she hadn’t entered even though she had arrived a long time ago meant that Min Ju-hee had been contemplating deeply.

    “Sigh, I really have to go in now.”

    Min Ju-hee didn’t particularly enjoy dormitory gatherings, but there was only one reason she had come here.

    She wanted to talk to Kim Woo-jin.

    Since he must be quite drunk by now, it would be easy to hear what he truly felt.

    That’s what she thought when she came, but despite making up her mind, she was just puffing on a cigarette in front of the restaurant, unable to go inside due to anxiety.

    At that moment,

    The restaurant door opened, and two people came out.

    “Oh.”

    Kim Woo-jin and Seo Yerin.

    Although the gathering wasn’t over yet, the two of them were getting up to leave first.

    “What will you do if you get drunk?”

    “I’m not drunk!”

    Kim Woo-jin supporting a seemingly drunken Seo Yerin.

    Min Ju-hee stared blankly at the two of them.

    “Woojin, are you going home?”

    “I’ll take you.”

    “Why? I want to sleep at your place!”

    “No.”

    “Then you sleep at our place.”

    “Oh, right. I can’t go all the way to your house. It would be weird if I met your mom.”

    “Wow, Woojin, you’re sobering up quickly.”

    Having a rather friendly conversation, the two of them left.

    Watching them from the smoking booth, Min Ju-hee put out her cigarette.

    “….”

    She sighed, shrugged her shoulders, and decided to turn back.

    * * *

    Move-in day at the dormitory.

    I was in the middle of moving all my belongings except for the room I had lived in for a year.

    There weren’t too many things to carry, and thanks to a senior who offered to move them by car, all I had to do was move them to the room.

    It seemed like there were still some vacancies in the dormitory this time, and I was one of them.

    “Lucky me.”

    On the first floor of the dormitory, people were bustling around, just like me, moving in.

    As there were too many people, it was a bit crowded, and as I pondered whether to start in a little while,

    Knock, knock.

    “Hmm?”

    When someone tapped on my shoulder, I turned around to see Choi Yiseo wearing a navy t-shirt.

    “Choi Yiseo?”

    Since classes hadn’t started yet, I wondered why she was here, but Choi Yiseo smiled brightly and said,

    “I’ll help you move.”

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