Freshmen Welcome Party
Freshmen Welcome Party
"Alright, then let's meet again at this time next week."
""""Thank you for your hard work.""""
The young professor responded with a smile full of charisma.
Every single gesture was crisp and stylish.
Is this why soldiers look cool?
Should I call A-ra soon?
She said she'd come pick me up when it finished, so if I didn't call, she'd sulk.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and got up from the chair.
Just as I tried to leave, Jeong Hwan-yi grabbed my wrist and pulled me back,
forcing me to 'sit down' again.
For a guy on this side, isn't he incredibly strong?
Those muscles weren't just for show.
"Seong-hwan-a. Are you going to the freshman welcome party today?"
"No? You?"
"Of course I'm going! The seniors said they'd buy us free drinks!"
Whether on this side or the other, the Department of Social Welfare had very few men.
Perhaps because of that, the student council seemed to give
the men a lot of consideration.
The first convenience was that attending the freshman welcome party was free.
But normally, do people pay to go to welcome parties?
"Well, once you pay the student council fee, you probably don't need to pay separately, right?"
"Is that so? As if I'd know."
"...I've only known you for a day, but you really do just go with the flow and live, huh."
His motto was that he had little interest in anything outside his own concerns.
That's why, in the other world, I knew A-ra was a member of Queens,
but I had zero interest in the names of the other members.
Now, I just thought of them as A-ra's coworkers.
"Anyway, let's go to the welcome party together. If you're not there, I'll have to
drink stuck next to that Lee Min-ho, you know."
"Hmm... what should I do."
Drinking inevitably meant running late.
If it ran late, I wouldn't be able to take care of A-ra's dinner.
And she'd just be waiting, worrying until I came home.
So, leaning towards not going...
"Ugh..."
What kind of guy has eyes this sparkly.
It makes me weak.
They were also the first friends I'd made, so going straight home on the first day—
was that maybe a bit too much?
Should I just go for today?
I felt sorry for A-ra, but maybe I could just turn a blind eye this once?
Anyway, how should I tell her...
"Huh? Let's go together."
"Ah... got it, so let go."
Before I knew it, I slapped Jeong Hwan-yi's hand,
which had been grabbing and pulling the sleeve of my hoodie.
Only then did Jeong Hwan-yi realize he had been grabbing and pulling my sleeve
and apologized, saying he was sorry.
Though his face was grinning, so he didn't look all that sorry.
"First, let me call my wife."
"Sure, your sister-in-law must be worried....... What? You're married?"
"Yeah."
"When did you get married? Already, at that age?"
"Got married during winter break of my senior year in high school."
I didn't know the details, but A-ra had proposed to me,
and it seemed like this world's me had nodded along to it.
Even if I'd received a proposal in the other world, I would have nodded along as well, though.
"Wow... I figured you had a girlfriend from the ring... Did you, by any chance, knock someone up?"
"I didn't. We just liked each other, so we did it."
"Ah... now that's pure love. Respect, respect."
"What are you respecting?"
Lee Min-ho returned from the bathroom and plopped down in the seat opposite us.
He was curious as to why Jeong Hwan-yi seemed so excited for once.
"Can I tell him?"
"Well, it's something he'll find out eventually, so I don't mind."
"Hey, lend me your ear."
Jeong Hwan-yi whispered into Lee Min-ho's ear
loudly enough for me to hear.
His idea of consideration was so overflowing it was practically exploding.
Seriously, he wouldn't be satisfied just making one or two women cry.
Lee Min-ho nodded along to the explanation Jeong Hwan-yi was giving.
He didn't seem as surprised as I thought he'd be.
"It's not a common thing, but it's not unheard of either."
"Really? I thought I was special."
"No, honestly, you being special is true."
Lee Min-ho chuckled, letting out a giggle.
Suddenly, I felt like I understood why Jeong Hwan-yi had a hard time with him.
So that's why the relationship between those two...
"Just kidding. How old is your sister-in-law?"
"Twenty-two this year. Two years older than me."
"You both got married young,
and if you're even attending university, that means your partner is quite capable. So there's nothing you can't do."
"Well, I suppose so."
At Lee Min-ho's answer, Jeong Hwan-yi nodded his head vigorously,
saying he thought he knew the feeling too.
A-ra was definitely a capable woman.
Even if we had over 10 kids right now, she had the ability
to feed and support them without anyone feeling envious.
The problem was, she was an idol and solo singer
who had even ranked #1 on Billboard.
At this fact only I knew,
I couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
***
In the end, I decided to defer my participation and report to A-ra first,
then take action afterwards.
When I explained the reason in detail to the club president, she understood.
Feeling a pang of guilt for not being able to take care of dinner,
I called her.
"Noona? What are you doing?"
-I'm drinking coffee at the lounge. What about you, Seong-hwan-i?
She must be talking about the sky lounge on the middle floor of the apartment.
It was a cafe-style lounge that sold coffee and drinks.
"Well, you see... actually..."
I told her that I would be going to the freshman welcome party
with the friends I made today.
A-ra just made 'Mm. Mm.' sounds and answered
what I was saying.
-Where are you going?
"It's a meat restaurant right in front of the school, a place called
Happy Pig Slaughterhouse."
-Then, if you call when it's about to end, Noona will come pick you up.
But just drink a little, and you can't get drunk and follow another woman, got it?
"I can really go?"
-It's not like Noona is oppressing you, and it's your freshman welcome party.
Have fun with your friends.
"Noona...."
I knew A-ra was an understanding woman,
but was she this much so?
There was a case where a man around thirty posted on a community
about going to a PC bang and drinking with his male friends, and he had sent a text calculating the budget and time, asking for approval and permission, but the reply he received was just no. When the man revealed the text message, the incident drew the ire of men everywhere.
His wife, even while leaving on a trip to Hong Kong the next day, still didn't give him permission.
The reason was just...
Just that she didn't want to.
Seeing that, I was completely dumbfounded.
But for me, I felt like tears would blur my vision.
I was so glad I didn't marry those kinds of women,
but married A-ra instead.
She was lovely from the start, but the more we spent time together,
the more lovely she became.
Is this what being a married couple meant?
-Instead, if you get drunk, no nighttime activities for a week, got it?
"....Wouldn't you find that harder to endure, Noona?"
A-ra laughed, saying something she didn't really mean.
She was teasing me to try and relieve the guilt I felt.
Though it was over the phone, I hoped it reached her properly,
and with that feeling, I gave a kiss sound and ended the call.
Drink moderately, don't follow unknown women...
Was I being treated like I was tiny or something?
"Permission? Tell me quick!"
'I got permission, so let go of me already.'
Was I really that welcome at a drinking party?
I approached the club president who was writing the participant list up front.
The department head wasn't here yet, so she must have come in person.
"Um... President?"
"Ah! Seong-hwan-ssi, how did it go?"
"I got permission, so I think I'll be able to attend."
"Ahh! Thank you so much. I was a bit worried because those insane bitches... no, those dog-like... no, those classmates who said they wouldn't come if Seong-hwan-ssi wasn't coming were quite numerous."
"Ah-ha.....?"
What did that mean?
Why did my attendance or absence become
the reason for the seniors' attendance or absence?
"What do you..."
"I have a lot of things to check on, so I'll go first! Seong-hwan-ssi, please make sure to come!"
The president, who had been leisurely taking attendance until just moments ago,
said she was busy and ran off.
And she cut off my words, too...
Dumbfounded, I stared at the whiteboard in front of me for a while.
***
"What are your hobbies?"
"Do you have a girlfriend? Do you have one?"
"Do you happen to like Japanese anime?"
The last question was unexpected,
but every single question they asked was basically similar.
About me.
They seemed curious about that.
Just then, the president intervened and started to push them away.
They had been crowding too close, and she seemed to be being considerate.
"You're making Seong-hwan-ssi uncomfortable. Please stop it."
"Acting all nice... you're curious too, you bitch!"
"Who was the happiest when he said he was coming, who's the one hiding her feelings, you faker!"
"That was relief and joy because you all said you'd skip the welcome party and everything if Seong-hwan-ssi didn't come!!"
"Wow... now she's even dropping honorifics. Our department president."
"Just because you're president, you're all that? To your sky-high seniors? You wanna die."
"Aigoo... I should've kept my mouth shut."
The president also seemed to suffer a lot, being pestered by them.
Were all the seniors, overall, just going my-way or what?
Their relationships were really good, and they seemed like nice people, but their energy was way too high.
"For now, everyone sit down. This is supposed to be a freshman welcome party,
but at this rate, it feels like a group blind date for Seong-hwan-ssi."
The president stood up and calmed everyone down.
Following that, the seniors and classmates all went back to their seats and sat down,
and my heart felt a bit more at ease.
Because earlier, I really thought I was going to be crushed to death.
"President, we don't mind at all, you know?"
"Me and the freshmen do mind. You idiots!"
Even back in their seats, it was the president's classmates
who were stirring her anger.
Shrugging their shoulders as if they couldn't help it, they sat down.
The male seniors pressed their hands to their foreheads, enduring headaches.
And the look in their eyes as they looked at me was apologetic.
"Ahem.. well then..."
The president cleared her throat and raised her glass high.
The gesture looked a little awkward, but it was completed in a more brilliant form by the seniors' following actions.
The seniors also raised their glasses full of beer high together.
Alone, it would have been an unbelievably awkward sight, but the act of raising it first
was staged into a scene so cool it made my heart swell.
Was this what they called mob mentality?
Only us freshmen were bewildered, not knowing what the action meant,
but the quick-witted classmates filled their glasses with beer and copied the action.
Wait a second, that person isn't pouring beer, she's slamming down soju.
"Then, let's celebrate the entrance of our juniors, the Class of 2017 freshmen. Cheers!"
""""""""Cheers""""""""
The women clinked their glasses hard enough to break them
and downed all the contents in one shot.
Regardless of whether it was soju or beer.
And so, the freshman welcome party began.