The Competition (7)
“Uh…”
It was nothing more than a plain little box of nutritional supplements, yet the sheer presence it gave off pulled that involuntary gasp right out of my mouth.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden…?”
I stood frozen in place for a long moment, unable to take another step. Nari, who’d been following behind me, asked the question as she overtook me—and then she spotted the box of supplements sitting right in front of the door too.
“What the hell is this? Doesn’t look like a delivery…”
She picked the box up and turned it over in her hands, examining it from every angle.
“Want it? They’re supplements.”
“Huh…? Why is this just sitting here in front of the door in the first place?”
“Beats me.”
When exactly had Seoa come all the way to our place to leave this? Well… we’d spent a fair amount of time back at the club room, so she’d had plenty of opportunity.
I still couldn’t understand why she would go this far. Had she really wanted to get these to me that badly?
She was something else, honestly.
I felt a strange wave of relief that I hadn’t given her our door code last time. If I had… she might have been waiting for me inside the apartment right now.
A pretty chilling thought.
“Let’s go in.”
I left Nari still fretting over the mystery of the box, unlocked the front door, and ushered her inside.
Naturally, she carried the box of supplements in with her.
“Are you seriously telling me to take some unidentified mystery pills?!”
“When you put it like that it sounds weird! They’re just regular supplements. Good for your eyes.”
“How would you even know that? You haven’t even looked inside.”
“Ah…”
I had the distinct feeling I’d just slipped up. She was right—I hadn’t so much as peeked into the box, yet I’d been acting like I already knew exactly what it was.
“Alright! What should we eat? Tteokbokki? Noona, what do you want?”
“Tteokbokki for me too!”
“Uh… but is tteokbokki really the right thing to pair with alcohol?”
“Why? Is that weird? It’s totally normal… right, Nari?”
I hastily changed the subject and tried to wriggle free. Nari shot me a faintly suspicious look but didn’t press any further. I was grateful it seemed to blow over.
Then she pulled another sudden stunt.
“Ugh, I’m so tired…!!”
Just like last time, Nari flung herself onto my bed. Come on—lying on someone else’s bed in your outdoor clothes is just plain bad manners, isn’t it?!
I opened my mouth, fully intending to scold her this time. But before I could, Sebin noona looked ready to do it for me.
“Nari. That’s Minjae’s bed. You really shouldn’t just flop down like that.”
As expected… noona really was noona. She was only a year older than Nari, yet she could still show this kind of mature side. No—Sebin noona was just a genuinely kind person at heart. The sort whose manners were second nature.
I was quietly admiring her when I actually looked—
—and found her sitting on the edge of my bed herself while delivering that lecture. So according to her own logic… as long as you didn’t lie down, it was fine? From my perspective, sitting or lying made zero difference.
“Everyone… could you maybe get down?”
There was a brief bit of chaos after that, but it settled down fine.
Now the three of us were sitting amicably around a low table on the floor. And during that little uproar, the tteokbokki had arrived. Come to think of it, we’d only ordered the food—there was no alcohol yet.
“Where are you going?”
“Just to the convenience store for some drinks.”
“No way, we should all go! You can’t just ditch us like that when you’re the host!”
Was that how it worked? I’d figured since I was the youngest, and the only one who actually knew where the convenience store was, I could just make a quick solo run.
In the end we did as Nari said—all three of us walked to the store together, bought the alcohol together, and came back together. What a spectacularly inefficient way to do things.
“Minjae, happy birthday—!!!”
And just like that, our drinking party began.
It was a strangely awkward scene. Drinking with two girls in my own apartment… my heart couldn’t help but race. The usual musty air of the place had somehow filled with a pleasant fragrance.
We mixed soju and beer into paper cups, downed them in one go, and dug into the tteokbokki.
It was actually pretty decent.
“Oh right! It’s your birthday, so… we have to do the thing, right?”
“Nari, you’re going to kill Minjae.”
Huh? What on earth were they planning… and why did Sebin noona look genuinely worried?
And why did the two of them already know what this was about while I was completely left out? What were they going to do to me?!
I could only sit there watching, unable to insert myself into the conversation. Then Nari suddenly stood up and headed for the kitchen.
“Minjae, you got a pot or something? Or at least a really big cup…”
“Huh? There’s a big cup if you open the top shelf, but… why all of a sudden?”
“This’ll do.”
Nari came back holding a small pot in one hand, wearing a meaningful little smile.
At first I thought she just wanted to portion out some tteokbokki.
But then… she started pouring alcohol straight into the pot.
“W-what is this…”
“Okay! I’ll only pour this much. Your turn, unnie!”
The pot already held a full bottle’s worth of clear soju. And there was still another round coming?!
I had a sinking feeling I was the one who was going to have to drink whatever ended up in that pot.
“Minjae, are you okay with this? You said the first time you ever drank was with me… is it really fine to just chug like this already?”
“Unnie, it’s fine. He handled himself really well when we drank together. I got drunk first that time… and Minjae walked me all the way home. So don’t worry and just pour it in!”
“Ah… really?”
Sebin noona poured soju into the pot without the slightest hesitation. It came cascading out in a heavy, generous stream—almost as if she were pouring her feelings along with it.
Noona…? If even you dump that much in, what am I supposed to do?!
I could only stare at the pot as the liquid inside swelled and swayed ominously. Then the pot was placed in my hands.
“It’s your birthday! Of course you have to drink the birthday toast!”
This was… a birthday drink?
Was that even a real tradition? I checked both their faces, half-convinced they were just messing with me, but neither of them looked like they were joking. They were simply waiting for me to drink.
“Hurry up!!”
“It tastes worse once it gets lukewarm.”
The two of them, who’d been egging me on from the side, now had their phones out and were trying to film the whole thing.
There was no backing out now. Fine… I’d just drink it.
“Thank you, everyone!! And good luck on the competition!!”
After that short cry of resolve, I lifted the pot and began gulping down the bitter soju.
How many swallows had it been? How many more would it take? No matter how much I drank, the amount barely seemed to shrink.
I don’t even drink water like this… is this actually okay?
That worry started creeping in. I squeezed my eyes shut and somehow finished the whole thing… but afterward I needed a moment to myself. If I opened my mouth too soon I was certain it would all come right back up.
“Whoa… he actually finished it. Insane… I’m putting this on my story.”
“A-are you okay? Drink some water… or do you want this cola instead?”
Nari was staring at me like I was some kind of marvel. More importantly—‘he actually finished it’? What kind of thing is that to say right now?! You were the ones who told me to finish it!
In complete contrast, noona immediately came over and fretted over me.
“As expected… only noona’s got my back.”
“…….”
Uh… wait. Did I just say that out loud?
The room had gone dead silent in an instant, so yes—I must have actually spoken those words. My inner thoughts had slipped straight out of my mouth without me noticing.
I made a mistake like that…? Me…?
“Hey… Kwon Minjae. What about me? After everything I’ve done for you… being nice to you is completely pointless, huh…”
“Yu Nari! You too. Of course I’m grateful to you too… Ahh…! You both know how truly thankful I am, right?!”
Wait… why am I saying all this? I don’t know. I just feel good, I guess.
“Minjae…?”
“Nari, I think Minjae’s already dead…”
Huh? But I feel amazing right now…? Why are they saying I’m dead? This is only the beginning, isn’t it?
“Everyone! Let’s just drink already! Don’t just sit there staring! Come on?!”
“Ah… yeah. First let’s get Minjae sitting down properly.”
“How did a guy like me end up with two such wonderful benefactors?! Thank you so much. Because of you… because of you… I’m living a whole new life right now. Other than Seoa, no one ever celebrated my birthday… and I really wanted to be celebrated, you know? Haa… haa…”
Everything was spinning. I couldn’t even hear my own words anymore. Something was still happening around me, but…
When I suddenly came to and opened my eyes, I was lying on the bed. My head was killing me…
I must have blacked out for a bit. Well… that much alcohol hitting my system all at once would do it. I should probably be grateful it hadn’t turned into acute alcohol poisoning.
I carefully turned my head and checked my surroundings.
But… Nari and noona were still here, still drinking. The sight of them now felt almost like a nightmare.
They were still going at it, just the two of them. What on earth were they talking about so intently?
That thought lasted only a second—I was desperately thirsty. I was about to ask them for some water.
“Nari, how much has Minjae told you?”
“……About what? You mean Seoa?”
“Yeah.”
“Why do you even want to know? Actually, more than that—I had no idea you even knew about Seoa, unnie.”
W-wait a second… what exactly were the two of them discussing?
The mouth I’d opened to ask for water snapped shut again.
“That came out a little nasty just now, Nari.”
“What? I was just being honest.”
The atmosphere between them felt off. I had no idea how they’d even started talking about Seoa… or how this current undercurrent had developed between them.
This didn’t seem like the right moment for me to sit up, so I closed my eyes again and desperately pretended to be asleep.
“Are you still going to show up at the club room after the competition’s over?”
“Who knows? Why? That almost sounds like you’re telling me not to come.”
“If that’s how it sounds, then so be it. I was just asking.”
“Unnie… you’re acting a little weird? I think you’re drunk. You should probably head home soon.”
“What about you? I’ll leave if you leave.”
“Ah… is that so?”
At this rate the two of them really seemed headed for a fight. I’d never seen them like this before. Especially Sebin noona looking this sharp-edged—it was a first.
Oh, come to think of it… back when the two of them stayed behind talking in the club room that one time… Sebin noona had seemed a little dissatisfied with Nari even then. Was that what this was about?
If so, I needed to get up and stop them right now. This wasn’t a situation where I could just keep lying here pretending to sleep and eavesdropping.
From the looks of it, both of them were pretty drunk… I wasn’t sure how long I’d been out, but I could tell a fair amount of time had passed.
Which meant they’d been drinking together that whole time. Of course they were wasted.
They were both clearly drunk and on the verge of fighting over something trivial.
We couldn’t let a gathering that was supposed to be fun for everyone end like this. Especially since we were a team. If they fought like this, everything would fall apart.
Get up. Get up and change the mood myself.
“W-water… please…”