Last Day Dinner Party (2)
"I remember this part clearly. Doyoon, you started going cold on me exactly a few days after your elbow healed. It was right around then, so… hmm…"
Well, that timing's about right…
Cheon Sojin pouted, lost in thought for a moment. She furrowed her brows, pressed a finger to her temple, brightened as if something had clicked, then sank back into uncertainty. The parade of expressions was so strangely cute that I found myself staring without meaning to.
"No, but… if it really started then… hmm…"
And then, without warning, my eyes kept drifting to those pouted lips. In the cold night air they should have been dry by now, yet Cheon Sojin's lips still held a soft sheen of moisture.
"Ahem. Ahem."
I cleared my throat out of sheer embarrassment and turned my head away. Beside me, Cheon Sojin looked up and studied my face.
"What is it? Are you cold?"
From two steps away — close enough to touch — those bright, sharp eyes were fixed on me. Seeing Cheon Sojin's face this close after so long shook my heart far more than I'd expected.
"N-no. It's not that…"
"Huh? But your face is a little red…"
She took another step closer and stretched out her arm, reaching for my forehead.
I jolted back in alarm.
"I-I'm fine! I'm not sick or anything…!"
She has a boyfriend — why is she acting like this…!
She'd always had a mischievous streak, but closing the distance this openly was a first. The alcohol had to be the culprit.
The phone call I'd overheard earlier came back to me. Her boyfriend had sounded pretty worried — and with a girlfriend who looked like this and drank like this, worry was the only sensible reaction.
"L-let's just head back inside!"
"See? You are cold. Called it. Hehe."
"Y-yeah. You're right. Let's go in."
I quickly steered Cheon Sojin back into the barbecue restaurant. She followed without protest, still grinning to herself as if something delighted her endlessly.
I brought Cheon Sojin back inside the restaurant.
"Hyung, calling games with Doyoon is harder than you'd think."
"What are you talking about? A hundred-fifty-five-kilo fastball and a slider that breaks like that? You could throw whatever and still rack up the strikeouts."
"Aigoo, you really don't get it."
Inside, the people who'd already headed home or back to the dorms were gone, and the real veterans' hour was just getting started. In the seat I'd originally claimed, Kim Gyeongmo and captain Kwak Daehwi sat side by side, deep in conversation. Gyeongmo was waving his chopsticks through the air, explaining something with great intensity, while Kwak Daehwi wore a sly smile, his face already half-flushed.
"No, Daehwi hyung, listen. Against righties it's fine, but when an at-bat against a lefty drags on, I've got nothing good to call."
So they were talking about me. As I approached, Kwak Daehwi caught the sound of my footsteps.
"Oh, he's back, he's back. Where'd you go? Huh? Team Leader Cheon's here too?"
"Ah — I ran into her on the way back from dropping Daegeun off."
"Oh, yeah?"
I'd been worried they'd read something into us walking in together, but Kwak Daehwi didn't seem to think twice about it and let it go.
"Here, Team Leader — sit down."
Kwak Daehwi cleared some dishes to make room for Cheon Sojin. She hesitated a beat, then carefully took the seat. Finding myself naturally sharing a table with her again brought back the way she'd been throwing charm around outside, and a flicker of unease ran through me.
"So, Doyoon. Against lefties, you—"
The moment Kwak Daehwi started to speak, I instinctively glanced across the table at Cheon Sojin.
…But.
Outside, she'd been full of words and shifting expressions by the second. Now she was quiet, as if someone had flipped a switch. She sipped water, head bowed, staring blankly under the table.
Kim Gyeongmo picked up where they'd left off.
"Look, Doyoon — your slider has a big break, but not much drop. That's why it's rough to throw against lefties. You know that, right?"
"Ah, yeah… I mean, kind of…"
I made a vague sound of agreement, but honestly, every scrap of my attention was locked on Cheon Sojin.
Minutes ago she'd been a nine-tailed fox. Now she sat without a word, only nodding quietly.
…Huh? What's with her all of a sudden?
Maybe the alcohol had hit her hard, or maybe something else was going on — her expression looked a little stiff.
She seemed uncomfortable, and I couldn't stop fretting over it.
"Anyway! Next year, we're making the fall classic for real. Honestly! Holding a dinner just because we finished strong at the end? It wounds my pride. I refuse to accept it."
Kwak Daehwi spoke with grim resolve. Kim Gyeongmo beside him nodded hard in immediate agreement.
"Exactly! We! Finished last, as embarrassing as that is. We need to take that to heart!"
They're gone. Completely gone.
I left the two of them on the verge of swearing a blood oath and quietly rose from my seat.
"I'm gonna hit the restroom."
The moment I said it, Kwak Daehwi lifted his head with a wobble.
"Yeah, yeah~ go ahead. Hey, Kim Gyeongmo. Kid's going to the bathroom."
Gyeongmo's eyes were already half-shut. He barely seemed to process the words, just mumbled "Yeah, yeah," as I swallowed a sigh, nudged the table aside, and stood.
The restaurant was already more than half empty. The noisy energy of the early evening had given way to the drowsy lull that settles over a drinking party winding down.
I walked quietly toward the hallway.
I hadn't taken more than a few steps when small, quick footsteps pattered up behind me.
I turned. Cheon Sojin was following me at a slightly hurried pace, hands clasped in front of her.
"Uh… Team Leader, why are you following me?"
"Ah, just… I was heading to the restroom too."
Some time had passed, and the alcohol seemed to have loosened its grip a little. The coquettish voice from outside was gone; her steps and expression were far calmer now.
Even her tone had settled back into its usual register. A faint trace of embarrassment flickered across her face, as if she half-remembered what she'd been doing earlier.
"Ah… okay."
An awkward silence filled the hallway. For reasons I couldn't name, a tight nervousness made me pick up my pace.
Only once I was inside the restroom did I finally exhale. Whenever things got dangerous, the effects of Diamond Body kept detoxifying me, so I barely had any alcohol in my system. I washed my hands under cold water, cooled my flushed face, cleared my throat once at the mirror for no good reason, and straightened my clothes.
When I finished and pushed the door open, Cheon Sojin was standing right there.
I froze for a second in surprise. She was waiting by the door as if she'd been standing there solely for me to come out.
"Uh… were you waiting for me?"
"Yes."
Cheon Sojin paused a beat, then lifted her head.
"Tell me."
"Sorry? Tell you what?"
"What you were upset about."
"…Didn't you say you were going to figure it out yourself?"
It felt too trivial to say out loud, so I tried to dodge with the words she'd used earlier. But Cheon Sojin dropped her gaze for a moment and spoke very quietly.
"…No matter how hard I think, I can't figure it out. First of all — was it something I did wrong?"
"…No, it wasn't."
Damn it. It's awkward to say, but she's fretting this much — I can't just keep quiet either.
I rubbed the back of my neck for no reason.
"So… the truth is."
"Yes."
"That time I was throwing in the bullpen. You came with the general manager, remember?"
"Ah… yes. That day. Right."
Cheon Sojin thought for a second, then nodded as the memory returned.
"When the GM said he'd put me in a game, you were standing behind him and… you…"
My lips felt like they'd gone dry.
"Behind him, you kind of…"
Cheon Sojin tilted her head ever so slightly.
"I… did what?"
"Ah, well… you made it really obvious you didn't like the idea, so…"
The more I talked, the quieter my voice got. It was true that I'd been hypersensitive that day, desperate to complete the Third Journey — but the idea that a grown man had sulked over something this small still made me feel pathetic.
"So I was a little… hurt, I guess. At first I ended up treating you coldly without meaning to, and later on you stopped talking to me too, so it felt weird for me to start conversations first, and that's how it…"
When I finished, it felt like my breath caught in my throat. It had been embarrassing enough while I was saying it; explaining the whole thing made it worse.
Cheon Sojin simply listened.
After a moment, she spoke.
"…I see."
"Yeah, I… I'm not usually that petty, but—"
I started to pile on more explanation, but Cheon Sojin gently shook her head.
"No. I understand completely. You had every right to feel hurt. I'm sorry."
She looked at me for a moment, then said quietly,
"Doyoon."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember what I said at the sushi place?"
"Ah… which part exactly…?"
I had no idea what she was about to bring up. I just stared at her, blank.
Cheon Sojin drew a light breath and spoke.
"We agreed to be friends. If nothing changed by the end of the season."
Ah. That.
The conversation from the sushi restaurant came back in a rush.
"R-right. So, friends—"
"No."
Cheon Sojin cut me off firmly.
"There's something you need to know first. Don't think it's strange — just listen."
"…What is it?"
Cheon Sojin looked away for the briefest second. Then she let out a short breath.
What is she building up to like this…?
Her manner left me a little uneasy.
And then the words that followed—
"Would you come over to my place for a bit?"
—were far more sudden and out of nowhere than anything I'd imagined. The air in the hallway seemed to freeze.
"T… Team Leader's place?"
My voice came out louder than I intended at the completely unexpected invitation.
Instead of answering, Cheon Sojin pressed her lips together and simply nodded. There wasn't a trace of playfulness or drunkenness in her expression.