Presentation Nerves and Post-Party Drama

Finally, the presentation we'd prepped for over a week kicked off. Farewell, group project. Let's never meet again.

I glanced at Han Seol, half-worried she might be tense, but she wore her usual blank expression. Of course. Why was I even fretting over her? From spending a week prepping with her, one thing was clear: she wouldn't buckle under this kind of pressure. The only time she'd blatantly shown emotion was during that call the other day. So no need to worry—she'd handle it fine on her own. We'd split the parts evenly, so now it was just go time.

Wait for me, grades. I flashed her a senior's smile and asked, "You got your parts memorized, right?"

"...."

"...Seol-ah?"

".....Yes, yes...? Did you call me, sunbae?"

She'd been dozing off. Now I noticed—her face was impassive, but her hands were trembling. What the hell? She could cut us guys down without mercy, but a presentation had her shaking? My rosy assumption that she'd nail it without a hitch was crumbling fast.

"...You can do this, right?"

"..."

Silence again. Ah, fuck. Goodbye, my GPA. Then her pitch-black eyes started quivering. She was that nervous. Was that what she meant by "anything but the presentation"? Was she really bad at this?

Disaster piled on disaster, twisting everything into a mess.

"Next up, Group C!"

The professor spun his pen and called out, making her shoulders twitch. One more group, then it was our turn.

"...Really nervous, huh?"

"....N-no."

She tried to play it cool, but if this kept up, we'd tank our score, and Minji would lose it. I could already picture her rampaging, giving me a headache. I'd be exhausted reining her in, on top of my own shitty grades and cleaning up someone else's mess. No way.

I held up all ten fingers to Han Seol. "Seol-ah, watch closely."

"....?"

She tilted her head at my outstretched hands, then guarded her body with a wary look. No, that's not it. I cleared my throat sharply, reminding her we were in a lecture hall. Only then did her guard drop. She clasped her hands demurely, signaling she was listening.

"This is what I do when I'm tense...."

Embarrassing as hell to actually do it. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tension often melts away with something ridiculous. It's like venting the pressure crushing you, helping you realize you've been too wound up.

"I can't do it." I folded my thumb, voice thick with shame.

"I can do it." Next, my index finger.

She stared, wondering what the hell I was doing. Yeah, I knew how childish this looked. But for the grades, I'd play the fool.

I kept folding: middle, ring, pinky. Thumb, index again... until all fingers were tucked, fists clenched tight.

"I can do it. It's like self-hypnosis. Suddenly, the nerves fade, and everything works out."

"....Does that actually help? The result's the same either way."

"That's not the point. It's about... you know, convincing yourself you can do it. Whether you can or can't—it's up to you...."

So damn embarrassing. Shame burned hot; I trailed off. I hated my dad for teaching me this—a close second-worst in my life.

"...Sunbae, you have some weird sides. I thought you were always so serious."

"...."

"But yeah. Seeing you act like an idiot actually eased my tension."

Idiot? Did I hear that right? Who talks to their lofty senior like that? I lifted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my bowed head to glare—

"Group D! Up front!"

—but she surprised me with her expression.

"Our turn. Let's go, sunbae."

Her crescent-moon smile left me nodding mutely.

The presentation wrapped without a hitch. When our meticulously crafted slides hit the screen, Seol's prep shone through. Gone was her pre-talk smile; she powered on with stoic blankness. Despite the initial shakes, she spoke clearly, steadily—like she was used to crowds. Made me want to gripe, Why the hell were you trembling then? But I couldn't.

I'd seen her afterward: fists clenched tight in quiet joy. Yeah... as long as my clowning helped a bit...

After class, Han Seol approached me on her own for the first time. "Thanks for earlier. Your goofiness relaxed me."

Uh, yeah. You laughed plenty. Could've toned it down. I didn't want to dwell, so I pivoted. "...You did great. Hey, you heading to drinks tonight?"

With the hellish group project done, Minji and Ji Hye had suggested a team round. Han Seol was on the team, so it applied to her too. I'd tried dodging, but...

"Quit playing hard to get already? Just come."

Minji's push left me zipping it. Fair enough—I'd been dodging too much lately. Bonding matters in relationships. Guys bond over games easy, but girls were different.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. Minji-sunbae insisted this time."

I could picture it. She must've appreciated Han Seol's hard work on the materials. That's her style—keep favorites glued to her side. Ji Hye had warmed to her a bit, and she'd follow the seniors' lead anyway.

"Cool. 7 at Sensual Pub, right? That one near Havana Pharmacy."

"Yes."

"Good work today. See you later."

"You too, sunbae."

I waved casually at her bow and headed out. College life meant drowning in assignments, so time to tackle the leftovers. Sighing through them, I realized: Rie loss incoming.

Rie loss. Major issue. Miss a day of streaming, and there's a hours-long gap. Fill it to fully enjoy the next. Purely my take, but I hated missing a second of her broadcasts—and I'd kept that up till now. No choice this time. Guess I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠watch the VOD.

Resigned, I minimized my assignment tab to check her stream schedule, hopping to her channel.

...Hiatus? Perfect timing. Wait, no—not perfect. Rie loss confirmed. VOD would've let me catch her cuteness, but...

Melancholy hit; I reopened assignments. Rough day all around.

"Oh, oppa! You made it?"

Yawning into my hand while scanning for the group, a voice called from behind. Must've passed them. I used Ji Hye's frantic waving as a beacon and sat.

"This place is pricey, Suhyeon Yoo. How do you skip every time?"

"Sorry."

"Sigh... I'm the sinner for dragging a busy guy here. O-twi good? Ordered it with draft beer."

"Perfect. You know me too well."

I thumbs-upped Minji. Their fried squid was killer. She'd ditched her glasses tonight, sharpening her gaze—suited her light brown hair oddly well.

"Anyway, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seol-i~! Was worried, but you killed it today?"

She slung an arm around Seol beside her, snagging some popcorn chicken. "Would've been thrilled if you'd said presentation from the start. Nailed it."

"...Just got lucky today."

"Pffft... Seol-ah, I'm calling that humility now. Love it."

"...Th-thank you."

"Then later, wanna work with unni—"

"Quit it. You're stressing her out. Turn into an ajusshi every time we drink?"

"...Fine, fine. No forcing. No. For. Cing."

Crazy bitch. Already scheming to claim Seol. Her skills with docs made it half-understandable.

As chatter flowed, four frothy drafts and steaming fried squid arrived.

"Alright, we're all beat from that shitty group project. Cheers to surviving."

Team leader Minji raised her glass; it became the toast.

"You too, unni~!"

Ji's clink triggered the rest, glasses chiming in sync.

"Kaaah... hits the spot... Hey, Suhyeon, turns out you bus-ed on Seol, huh?"

"Nah, doesn't suit oppa at all."

Grateful for Ji Hye's backup. Honestly... bus? Kinda? Reconsidering, Seol carried like 70%.

I gripped my glass tighter. "W-well... yeah..."

"Pffft... ahahaha! Bu-bus parasite!"

Dog bitch. One drink and she turns feral—looks deceiving, weak to booze, tension skyrockets fast. Already there.

"No. Sunbae helped a lot."

"Right, unni! Oppa’s embarrassed!"

"Nah, kids. No need to cover for this bus parasite that hard. Pffft..."

Despite the juniors' fierce defense, Minji latched onto teasing me. Endured "bus parasite" for 30 straight minutes.

As vibes heated up, Han Seol said she was hitting the bathroom. That was 20 minutes ago. Minji was sloshed, oblivious; Ji Hye indifferent. Escape? Nah, unlikely. Sighing, I grabbed my jacket and stood.

"Oppa, where you off to?"

"Bathroom run. Entertain Minji."

"Yessir~!"

Ji Hye saluted, clinging to Minji. I headed to the restrooms. Voices grew louder near.

At the center: one woman and a ridiculously tall guy.

"C'mon, can't give a number? Just to a same-school oppa?"

"I said no. Fuck off. Quit bothering me."

Whoa. Her sharp tone stole my breath. It was Han Seol.