Black Knight Prize Lottery (2)
Even after Lee Ayoung and Song Yena sat across from me, occasional exclamations of admiration from other male students could still be heard. They were admiring glances cast after belatedly noticing the two girls.
"Wow..." Some even stood up to go to the bathroom, only to return and admire their faces all over again.
Leaving those envious stares behind, Lee Ayoung spoke to me.
"Juwan sunbae, I didn't expect you to come since you rarely join external activities."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. You almost always skipped when the student support center staff went out for dinner together."
"That's right..."
I find the dormitory comfortable. After work, it's nice to head straight back and sleep. Going far out for dinner and then returning to the dorm felt bothersome. So whenever the student support center people went out for dinner, I often made excuses to skip—too many assignments, an early class the next morning, and so on. The excuses were varied.
"Juwan... sunbae. You work part-time at the same place as Ayoung unni?"
"Yes. We work together at the student support center. Yena... ssi is Ayoung's roommate, right?"
Before long, the petite Song Yena also began asking me questions. When I answered, she smiled shyly and spoke.
"You can just call me Yena casually. How did you know I'm Ayoung unni's roommate?"
"I saw you during the fire safety education last time..."
Lee Ayoung, Song Yena, and I spent time chatting about this and that. Meanwhile, I gradually observed Song Yena's face sitting across from me. Her features were delicately balanced and beautiful. Whether because of her small stature or her cute yet lovely face, she resembled a finely crafted doll—a living, breathing beautiful doll.
At that moment—
"Juwan!"
A voice calling me came from the side.
"Oh... Bohyun."
It was Ji Bohyun. The guy who had been checking attendance and collecting fees in front of the bar. He approached with an excited expression, glancing repeatedly at Lee Ayoung and Song Yena as he came over. Ji Bohyun soon sat down beside me with a wide grin. The moment he settled in, he spoke.
"Ah. Why isn't there any alcohol or snacks here... Hey!"
Come to think of it, we had only been talking and hadn't ordered anything yet. Bohyun called out to the waiter.
"One order of boneless chicken with green pepper sauce and two bottles of soju. The red label."
He didn't bother asking what snacks or beer anyone wanted. After ordering, Bohyun immediately turned to Lee Ayoung with a thoroughly pleased face.
"I'm Bohyun, Juwan's friend. Do you know him?"
"Ah... I'm Lee Ayoung. I work part-time with Juwan sunbae."
"Oh~ Really? Then just call me oppa."
"Yes?... Yes. Bohyun oppa."
Ji Bohyun looked delighted. Watching him, old memories slowly resurfaced—how our same-major friends had badmouthed him without exception. The guys I used to hang around with were gone now, having gone to the military late or taken leaves of absence, but plenty of people disliked Bohyun. Since I had never been directly involved with him, I hadn't given it much thought, but now I understood why the others had disliked Jang Bohyun.
'There was a guy like that among the sunbaes too.'
While I watched from the side, Ji Bohyun spoke to Song Yena.
"Are you a freshman? I saw you at the entrance earlier, right?"
"Yes?... Yes! Freshman Song Yena."
Song Yena answered with spirited energy.
"Oh. Your name is Yena. Is it because you're short... You're like a total baby, a little kid."
"Ah... Yes."
Even Song Yena soon looked uncomfortable with Bohyun. It was probably because he had brought up her height right from the start. As the conversation with Bohyun continued, discomfort gradually showed on both Lee Ayoung's and Song Yena's faces. Whether Ji Bohyun failed to notice or simply ignored it, he kept talking.
Then the waiter approached our table carrying drinks and snacks.
"I'll set these down for you."
The waiter placed the boneless green pepper sauce chicken, two bottles of soju, and soju glasses on the table before leaving.
-Click.
The one who twisted open the soju lid was Bohyun. He quickly poured soju into glasses for Lee Ayoung and Song Yena, then handed one to me as well before pushing his empty glass toward the center of the table.
"Ah. I'll pour for you."
Seeing that, Lee Ayoung picked up the soju bottle and filled Bohyun's glass. He grinned widely, clearly pleased. Once his glass was full, he spoke.
"Then let's toast."
Lee Ayoung, Song Yena, and I raised our glasses and clinked them against his.
-Clink.
"Kya~ Nice. Let's play a game. A game."
Bohyun had his own firm pace. It was annoying and uncomfortable, but my thoughts soon shifted.
'Wait... if it's a game...'
I had momentarily forgotten why I came to the freshman welcome party in the first place. It was to act as the black knight and receive the quest reward. Naturally, to play the black knight, someone had to lose a game and be forced to drink. The situation where Bohyun pushed for games... wasn't bad at all.
"Alright. I'll go first. 1, 2, 3."
"Hmm... 4."
"5... 6."
While these thoughts ran through my head, Bohyun quickly started the game. It seemed to be the classic counting game where whoever says 31 has to drink.
'Do people still play this game these days?'
I wasn't sure. Whether the game was still popular or if Bohyun simply enjoyed old ones, it had been a long time since I'd played drinking games.
"7, 8, 9."
"10! 11! 12!"
"13. 14."
I participated moderately. It didn't take long for the result to appear.
"30. Ayoung unni. Hehet."
Song Yena shouted with a shy smile, clearly pleased she had won. It was now Lee Ayoung's turn, so she had to drink.
'Now... then I'll be the black...'
-Gulp.
Contrary to my plan to act as the black knight, Lee Ayoung simply drank the glass of soju lightly.
'No, come to think of it—if I don't offer to be the black knight, there's no opportunity.'
I was momentarily flustered watching her drink so casually. Drinking one glass of soju wasn't that difficult after all. Maybe I wouldn't get the chance to be the black knight today.
-Click.
-Click.
The next game involved hitting the tail of a soju glass lid until it fell off. This one didn't take long either. In fact, no drinking game ever had a slow tempo. Thinking about it now, these games seemed to exist mainly as an excuse to make the girls at the table drink. They could also be seen as a way to liven up the atmosphere, but at least Jang Bohyun, grinning as he played, clearly had making others drink as his goal.
"Oops...!"
-Thud.
Not long after, the tail of the soju glass lid fell. The loser was Song Yena. She also emptied her glass of soju without complaint. After that, Bohyun kept the games going nonstop. It felt like experiencing all the drinking games I hadn't played in a while, one after another. Before long, Lee Ayoung's and Song Yena's faces grew steadily redder. The drunker they became, the worse they played, which meant they had to drink even more—a vicious cycle. Eventually, their limit arrived.
Bohyun spoke with a pleased expression.
"Alright. This time it's Yena's turn."
"Hoo..."
Song Yena stared at the soju glass in front of her with a troubled look. Her face was flushed bright red, as if she had caught a cold. I glanced at her troubled expression and asked casually.
"If it's hard to drink... should I be your black knight?"
"Yes...? Yes! Sounds good!"
Song Yena's face lit up instantly and she accepted my offer. I almost reached for her glass, but instead picked up my own soju glass and emptied it.
Meanwhile, Ji Bohyun beside me looked at me with a disappointed expression.
-Gulp.
As I poured the soju into my mouth, a quest notification window appeared before my eyes.
Table 7 Black Knight
📍 Result: Black Knight Prize Lottery generated
🎁 Effect: Common sense alteration applied — no one finds the reward strange
⏳ Duration: Until end of freshman welcome party
-Flutter.
A lottery ticket simply labeled "Black Knight Prize Lottery" fell in front of me. It was made of the same material as a regular convenience store scratch-off ticket—the kind you reveal with a coin.
'Let's see... do I have a coin?'
I rummaged through my pockets for a coin. Meanwhile, Bohyun had already started another game without pause, using the lid from the newly ordered soju bottle.
-Click.
-Click.
-Click.
'Found it!'
While the others were absorbed in the game, I pulled a coin from my pants pocket. Taking it out, I slowly scratched the edge of the lottery ticket.
-Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
As I scratched bit by bit, letters gradually appeared.
[Ch]
'Chieut?'
What word could start with chieut? Feeling curious, I continued scratching the rest of the ticket with the coin.
-Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.