Chapter 30: Drinking Party
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 30: Drinking Party
“No, no. If you go that way, the focus shifts to the supporting characters again.”
“....”
I didn’t want to listen to Yoo Ah-rin’s constant chirping, but surprisingly—and I mean really surprisingly—everything she said was pure gold.
I wanted to snap back at her, but since her advice was actually helping with the assignment, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
‘They say the truth hurts the most.’
I’d heard that smart-alecks who are always right are the most obnoxious, but I didn't realize it would be this irritating.
“Don’t forget this is a forty-minute movie. Got it?”
“Got it, geez.”
As I forced out an answer through gritted teeth, Yoo Ah-rin clicked her tongue.
Scanning the script, I felt the urge to nitpick, so I tossed a comment her way.
“But why add romance? We could just stick to horror.”
“Hmm? Adding a bit of that makes it easier for the audience to stay focused.”
“Does the lead have to be female? Our group has more guys.”
“What?! Ah, I didn't think of that!”
Yoo Ah-rin clicked her tongue again, lamenting that she’d been so focused on writing the script that she hadn't even considered the casting.
“Is there anyone in the group I know?”
“You probably know most of them.”
After all, our group was almost entirely made up of English Department students. I wasn't sure if she knew the seniors, but I started by listing Seo Ye-rin and Ahn Hyun-ho, followed by Senior Han-gang and Senior Min Ju-hee.
“What?”
Yoo Ah-rin stared at me with a blank expression.
“What is it?”
I wondered if there was a problem, but then she suddenly slapped my thigh.
Smack!
“Ow! Are you crazy?!”
It stung like hell. While I was wondering what her deal was, she started deleting everything she had written.
“Dammit! You have those top-tier faces and you’re going to film a horror movie? You’re going to ruin people who live off their visuals by covering them in makeup?!”
“Hey, we didn't know who would take which role.”
“As long as it’s not you, it’s fine—and you’re doing the editing anyway, so it doesn't matter! If Ahn Hyun-ho or Senior Han-gang takes the lead, the male lead is set. And the female lead has to be Seo Ye-rin. No question.”
“...Are you the group leader now?”
I looked at her, dumbfounded, but she just clicked her tongue again.
“You have no idea how many love calls Ye-rin has been getting from entertainment agencies since high school, do you?”
“....”
She didn't sound like she was exaggerating at all.
“You have a group full of people who’ve had half of life’s battles won for them since birth just because of their faces, and you can’t even take advantage of that?”
“Please.”
Even if she fell short of Seo Ye-rin, it wasn't like Yoo Ah-rin was ugly by any stretch. I wanted to say something back, but it felt like a topic I shouldn't touch.
“Just filming a handsome guy and a pretty girl flirting is enough to get you halfway there. And if we lean into romance, it’s easier for the female lead to get into character, so we’ll focus on her...”
With that, Yoo Ah-rin began typing away. She looked quite comfortable, leaning forward and tapping on my computer keyboard.
“Let’s increase the romance from what I wrote earlier. That way, we can keep the tension of the horror elements alongside it.”
So, horror and romance were being combined, but this time, the romance would carry more weight. I just sat back and watched.
“Ho-oh?”
An intrigued voice drifted from behind our chairs.
Both of us whipped our heads around. There stood Senior Min Ju-hee, wearing a jersey and a white baseball cap, a playful smile on her face.
“Senior Min Ju-hee?”
Yoo Ah-rin looked startled by the sudden appearance, but I raised a hand slightly to explain.
“She said she was coming.”
Smack!
“Why are you only telling me now?!”
Yoo Ah-rin scolded me, slapping my thigh again, but I just shrugged.
“She told me she was coming before I met you. Why would I need to explain every little thing?”
“Ugh, you’re such a jerk. How did Ye-rin ever become friends with a guy like this?”
“Aren't you being a nuisance? Butting into someone else’s assignment like this?”
Despite our bickering, Senior Min Ju-hee leaned against my chair and read through the text on the screen.
Then, she spoke.
“Sorry, junior. What was your name again?”
She was addressing Yoo Ah-rin directly.
“I’m Yoo Ah-rin. I’m a first-year in the English Department, same as him.”
“Right, sorry. I think we had a drink together at the first semester MT, but I forgot your name.”
So they had met briefly at the MT. For the record, I didn't go. My ex-girlfriend hated the idea of me being around other girls, so I remember we just hung out together instead.
“Have you eaten? I was going to grab food with Woo-jin. Do you want to join us? My treat.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. In exchange, could you email me what you wrote? I’d like to talk more about it.”
“....”
When I shot her a worried look, Yoo Ah-rin smirked at me. Her "I told you so" expression was so annoying that I immediately flipped her the bird.
Yoo Ah-rin promptly flipped me off with both hands.
* * *
“Sigh.”
Senior Ju-hee had mentioned chicken, but we ended up at a pork belly restaurant.
As I looked over the other scripts while eating, I felt a surge of irritation. Even though they’d sent them in just a day, these weren't even scripts—they were more like fairy tales.
The romance scenes were overly emotional and blatant, while the horror parts were completely absurd. Compared to what Yoo Ah-rin had just written, the difference was staggering.
“What kind of shitty...”
As I muttered to myself, Senior Ju-hee slammed her empty soju glass onto the table.
“Right?! Look at these bastards, just scribbling whatever to try and get out of doing work. One guy even plagiarized, so I already tossed his out.”
“Wow.”
“If you’re going to plagiarize, at least be subtle about it. Copying a drama that’s popular right now... sigh.”
Senior Ju-hee grumbled, looking exasperated. I thought they would at least try, but it seemed there were more shameless people than I expected.
“And Han-gang, that jerk... he even put in a scene where the male and female leads kiss! Then he had the nerve to say he didn't mind playing the lead. He might as well have just said he wanted to kiss Seo Ye-rin!”
‘When did she drink this much?’
I glanced at the table; the empty bottles were lined up like dominoes. Ordering pork belly naturally led to ordering soju. While I had only been sipping a few glasses while reading the scripts, it seemed Senior Ju-hee had been charging ahead.
“Hah! Ye-rin hasn't even had her first kiss yet! You think she’d do it for this?!”
And then there was Yoo Ah-rin, who had been acting as her drinking pacer.
‘How many glasses is that? Two, three, four, five...’
Look at these two, completely wasted and talking nonsense. Even if I generously estimated that I’d finished one bottle, it meant they’d each had about two.
“On the other hand, the script you wrote is great! Ah-rin should have been in our group!”
“Me toooo! I should have signed up for that class tooooo!”
“Woo-jin on editing, Ah-rin on the script! Ah, if I just had you two cuties, this would have been so easy!”
They were in high spirits, humming and vibing perfectly together. Since there was still meat left, I planned to finish it quickly and leave, so I was busy grilling.
“Look at our cutie working again! You’re so adorable, I could die?!”
A heavily intoxicated Senior Ju-hee dragged her chair over to sit right next to me. She put her arm around my shoulder, grinning in a way she rarely did.
“Hey! I heard everything! You settled with those guys?!”
“Ah, well. Yeah.”
Come to think of it, the thugs who beat me up were acquaintances of Senior Ju-hee.
“Sooo! Kind! Soooo! Kind!”
She lifted her arm from my shoulder and ruffled my hair vigorously. I felt like I was going to go bald at this rate.
“This jerk is kiiind?!”
This time, it was the opposite. Yoo Ah-rin dragged her chair to my other side and held out a bottle and a glass.
“When did you order another bottle?”
As I glared at her in annoyance while being petted by Senior Ju-hee, Yoo Ah-rin stuck her tongue out.
“My choice!”
She poured a drink and was about to toss it back when...
“...Wait, why am I the only one drinking?”
She started questioning herself.
“You have to drink too!”
She suddenly thrust her glass at me. I realized I was in for a rough night and sighed as I took the glass. If she drank any more, she wouldn't be able to walk, and I’d have to take care of her.
‘I really, really don't want to do that.’
She wasn't my girlfriend; I wasn't enough of a gentleman to look after a drunk girl I’d only talked to a few times today.
“Down it! Doooown it!”
I gulped down the drink and stuffed a piece of grilled pork belly into my mouth. This was supposed to be a nice meal on someone else's dime, but...
“Aigu! Cutie! You eat so well! Eat more! More! Two more orders of pork belly here!”
“No! Don't bring more! I’m fine!”
Senior Ju-hee was ordering more food to force-feed me.
“Hey! Why aren't you drinking?! Another bottle of soju here!”
“No! I’m not drinking! Don't bring it!”
And Yoo Ah-rin was pouring soju into my glass like it was an endless spring.
“Sigh, I’m so damn tired.”
I just wanted to go home.
* * *
“Ugh, seriously!”
I could have predicted this outcome the moment we left the restaurant.
“Why are they so heavy?! I’m gonna die!”
I was trudging through the night streets, struggling with a drunk woman draped over each shoulder. Both were leaning their full weight on me, practically being dragged along. It was a nightmare.
“Where do you live, Yoo Ah-rin?! Senior, you can just go to the dorms, right?!”
Since the Senior lived in the dorms, I could just drop her off there. The problem was Yoo Ah-rin.
“Nooo! Nooo! Dorms are clooosed!”
“What?”
Senior Ju-hee waved her arms in the air.
“Cuuurfeeeew!”
“There’s a curfew?!”
She nodded vigorously, looking far too happy about it.
‘God, I’m going crazy.’
I thought about dropping Yoo Ah-rin off first, but...
“Zzz.”
She was already fast asleep on my shoulder, drooling. My clothes were getting soaked, and I found myself gripping her arm tighter out of sheer frustration.
“Dammit...”
Should I just dump them both here?
The moment that temptation crossed my mind, a solution struck me.
I didn't want to waste my money putting them in a motel, and I was too scared of the consequences to leave them on the sidewalk. But my place was too small to take them both back.
So.
I pulled out my phone.
A few minutes later.
In front of a villa.
A short-haired girl stood there with her arms crossed, glaring at me with a look of pure displeasure.
“Haha, hey.”
I gave Choi I-seo an awkward smile. She tilted her head slightly and asked, “What’s so ‘hey’ about this?”
“....”
“Are you bragging about drinking with two women?”
She was in a really bad mood today. I shouldn't have called.
“Oh? You ignored my text about working out earlier, but you call me for this?”
“Ah, you texted? I was too busy to see it.”
I’d been so overwhelmed by the two drunks that I hadn't checked my texts and just called her. It was a disaster.
“So? What do you want?”
Choi I-seo was being even colder than when we first met. I gave her another awkward smile.
“Well, your place is big. I was wondering if you could let these two sleep over—urk!”
“Heehee! Cutie’s cheeks are so squishy!”
Senior Ju-hee pulled on my cheek so hard my words slurred. Seeing that, Choi I-seo marched over and took Senior Ju-hee from me.
“Min-ji! Help me out here!”
Min-ji, who had been at the police station. It seemed she’d gotten off with just a fine; she ran over and took Yoo Ah-rin from me.
“A-Ah, hi!”
I greeted her awkwardly, then looked back at Choi I-seo.
“Wow, seriously, thank you. If it wasn't for you, I would’ve just dumped them in a motel and left.”
“You weren't planning on doing anything weird, were you?”
“Me? To them? Are you crazy?”
“...If you say so.”
At my firm denial, Choi I-seo dropped her suspicion and leaned Senior Ju-hee against herself. Since she worked out, she was strong and didn't seem to struggle much with the weight.
“You don't have classes tomorrow, right?”
Choi I-seo asked suddenly.
“Right, no classes on Fridays.”
Since tomorrow was Friday, I told her I was free. She hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively.
“If you have time tomorrow, do you want to go somewhere with me?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s not a weird place. I just... want to go together.”
Seeing Choi I-seo acting shy, I wondered what was up, but I agreed for now.
“Sure, let’s do that.”
“Promise? No backing out!”
Then, as if afraid I’d change my mind, she hurried inside with Senior Ju-hee.
“What’s the deal? Where is she planning to go?”
I wondered about her behavior, but then I hummed a tune, thinking it was good since I’d be bored tomorrow anyway.
* * *
The next day.
“Fuck.”
The place Choi I-seo took me to was the gym.