If Only Time Would Stop
Kim Baek-hyeon felt a thrill at the thought of drinking with Si-hyeon—the girl he’d only ever been able to look at from afar back in school.
She was the kind of woman whose mere presence at his side could make him feel superior.
And drinking together was only the beginning.
Then he heard she was waiting for another man.
Fuck...
His mood soured instantly.
It felt like Si-hyeon had been stolen from him.
He forced himself to swallow the bitterness and soothe his aching stomach.
At the very least, the guy had to be a loser.
What kind of idiot, three years older than them, came over to his little sister’s friends’ table?
Did he not have any friends?
Soon enough, the man appeared.
Relief washed over him.
Yep, definitely a loser.
Objectively speaking, he wasn’t even handsome. Average at best.
If he were standing next to anyone else, Baek-hyeon wouldn’t have thought twice about him. But next to Si-hyeon, he looked like a complete idiot.
You needed to know your place.
If the two of them walked around outside together, wouldn’t people mistake him for some nouveau riche punk?
That was how badly he didn’t fit.
Even the way he pretended to be relaxed made Baek-hyeon sick.
He should just ignore the guy and separate Si-hyeon from him. Use the excuse of asking her to dance.
If he got her away from the table and left the others standing there awkwardly, the man would probably go home on his own.
But then—
What the hell?
The idiot barged in without knowing his place.
He even claimed he was going to dance with Si-hyeon.
And on top of that, he said something irritating.
He claimed the table was too cramped.
Was he out of his mind?
They’d spent close to 2 million won. That was 500,000 won per person.
For just one night of fun.
And he thought the table was small?
It was obvious he had no experience with clubs.
Figures. He looked like a total shut-in.
“Do you even know how much this table cost before running your mouth?”
“...Don’t know. But you sure do talk rough.”
“Why would I be polite to you? You’re barging in here without knowing your place. This is your first time at a club because you’re living off allowance, right? This table cost 2 million won. Got it?”
“Well. Looks like you’re the one living off allowance. And this does look like a 2-million-won table.”
“...”
What the hell was wrong with this guy?
Baek-hyeon was so stunned he didn’t even know what to say.
There was cocky, and then there was this.
Before he could say anything else, the man continued.
“Doesn’t look like you’re exactly welcoming us here anyway. We booked a bigger table separately, so if you’re uncomfortable, feel free to come over. I’m sorry I messed up the mood. Si-hyeon, Oppa will head back to our table.”
“O-Oppa. Come with us! Hey! Who are you to talk to Oppa like that? What a thug!”
Si-hyeon?
“What’s wrong with you? If he’s someone Si-hyeon knows, you should at least show some manners!”
“I’m going to go with Si-hyeon.”
“Let’s go together.”
“You guys have fun among yourselves.”
“...”
The mood shifted.
All the girls followed Si-hyeon.
Only then did the guys start trailing after them.
When they arrived, there was indeed a larger table waiting there—the one that had sounded like a bluff before.
“...Hey, isn’t that the VIP table?”
“Looks like it. That’s a 6-million-won table.”
“Isn’t that Armand de Brignac?”
“Dom Pérignon’s over there too.”
“...Holy shit.”
“Did he book all this by himself?”
“Fuck, asshole! Why are you ruining the vibe?”
After cursing at him, the friends crept toward the table.
Losers. Like that would earn them any drinks.
Drinks that cost more than 1 million won a bottle?
“Just drink comfortably. Si-hyeon and I have been liking this X-Rated stuff lately.”
“...”
He was insane.
He handed over bottles costing well over 1 million won without the slightest hint of regret.
And all while picking up a bottle of liquor that barely cost 200,000 won.
Seriously...
Was he overflowing with money to the point it had gone rotten?
***
There was no need to humor him for no reason.
If I fought with him there, I’d sink to his level too.
I’d gone out of my way to show Si-hyeon a different side of myself up until now, and if I got dragged down to the same level as that bastard?
Everything I’d carefully built would collapse in an instant.
Thankfully, Si-hyeon came with me.
Honestly, I’d expected it.
Then her friends followed too. So did the guys.
Everyone stared at the table and the drinks in disbelief. I’d heard even empty bottles of Armand de Brignac could fetch around 50,000 won if you sold them?
It was obviously top-shelf liquor.
“C-can we really drink this?”
“Go ahead. Si-hyeon said it didn’t really suit her taste anyway.”
“Wow... Si-hyeon’s palate is seriously refined.”
“Huh? No, it’s not. I actually like this.”
“...”
Refined, my ass. It was the opposite.
The guy who’d picked a fight with me earlier was watching from a distance.
He was shaking.
That alone was enough. Game over.
With the other guys over here too, how humiliating did the idiot feel, left all alone?
I almost worried it might become a trauma.
In the end, he clicked his tongue and went back to his own spot.
Go ahead and enjoy yourself over there.
It didn’t look like anyone was going back to your table anytime soon.
“If you need anything, just say so. We can order a few more bottles.”
“R-really?”
“Just take good care of Si-hyeon for me.”
“O-of course. Si-hyeon’s already way out of our league anyway. She’s insanely pretty.”
“Yeah. So many people wanted to be friends with our Si-hyeon.”
“At the very least, someone at your level has to be standing next to Si-hyeon.”
“Even saying that makes me grateful.”
“...”
Si-hyeon’s face turned red.
So cute. She was getting embarrassed.
She might have been a little tipsy too.
Even though X-Rated wasn’t all that strong, it was still about as strong as soju.
And since it actually tasted good, she kept sipping it.
Take it slow.
If I got greedy, I might end up doing the deed tonight.
But that didn’t seem like a good idea.
Si-hyeon had never been drunk before, and tomorrow, once she sobered up, she might think I’d forced myself on her.
Why bother?
We’d be together from now on anyway.
And after an experience like tonight, it probably wouldn’t be easy for her to date some other guy.
The contrast would be brutal.
Guys their age would probably feel their wallets screaming just from buying her dinner.
For now, Si-hyeon probably didn’t realize that.
But over time, wouldn’t she feel it?
“H-hang on a second. Sir!”
“Hm?”
“Isn’t that a Patek Philippe?”
All eyes turned to my wrist. It didn’t seem like they knew much about Patek Philippe, but the shock on their faces was enough to spark their interest.
Thank God someone recognized it.
I’d been told before coming here that this watch brand was Patek Philippe, and that it was incredibly expensive.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“S-s-s-s-seriouslyyy!”
“Why are you screaming like that, Dae-seong? Is it expensive? It does look seriously cool...”
“T-that thing’s at least 100 million won...”
“...Huh?”
“Whoa!”
“R-really?”
You can drink more. You’ve earned it.
The girls’ eyes changed.
With hundreds of millions of won sitting on my wrist, of course I looked different to them now.
Si-hyeon looked flustered. She must have been vaguely aware I’d succeeded, but feeling it on her skin made it different somehow.
After staring at the watch for a long while, Si-hyeon and her friends eventually went back to drinking and enjoying the club.
How could they not enjoy this?
They’d just turned twenty, and they were drinking the most expensive liquor at a VIP table.
The attention from everyone around them only made them more excited.
“S-sir, can we pour some of this for the others?”
“Of course. We won’t even finish it all anyway.”
“T-thank you!”
“O-Oppa, can we finish one bottle too?”
“I told you to drink comfortably. Order more if you want.”
“Amazing... Thank you so much. I’ll never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”
“If it weren’t for Si-hyeon, I’d honestly want to be friends with Oppa.”
The feeling of superiority you experienced at a young age was enough to short-circuit their reason.
People crowded around, eager for a taste of Armand de Brignac and Dom Pérignon.
They were practically opening their mouths under the table.
There were plenty of pretty girls among them too.
The guys were too intimidated to even approach. Their confidence had been crushed.
The sense of superiority I felt here was even more intoxicating than the one I’d felt spending money in America.
Even I felt that way, so there was no way my self-control could stay intact.
As we were having our fun—
“Why?”
Si-hyeon poked me lightly.
Then she brought her mouth close to my ear.
No way...
“Um... my mom’s calling.”
“...Oh?”
What was I even hoping for?
Still, the breath brushing against my ear sent a fierce surge of desire through me for a moment.
Enough that I wanted to give in to greed.
I forced myself to hold back.
“Want to go outside and answer it?”
“I think I should... I didn’t tell her I’d be out late today...”
It was hard to talk in here, so we went outside first.
Hand in hand.
***
Once we were outside, she took the call.
In the end, Si-hyeon said she wanted to go home.
Of course I had to go with her.
“I-I can just go in first on my own. It’d be a waste of money otherwise...”
“It’s fine. And how could I send you back alone? Let’s go in and say goodbye first.”
“...Okay.”
She didn’t refuse twice.
That was a huge improvement.
We went back inside the club and told everyone we were leaving first.
All of them looked incredibly disappointed.
Instead, I ordered a few more bottles and came back out.
Of course I chose Armand de Brignac and Dom Pérignon again. Their disappointed expressions vanished almost instantly, replaced by cheers.
We hailed a taxi.
Once Si-hyeon got in, she seemed drunk enough that she leaned against my shoulder.
Her breathing was soft and even.
At the same time, her chest rose and fell against me.
I felt like I was going to lose my mind.
I pretended to be drunk too and let my hand drift to her thigh.
She flinched. It looked like she was hesitating.
So I stopped there.
Fortunately, she kept breathing softly against my shoulder.
Maybe even that flinch had just been my imagination.
On the way home in the taxi, I wanted this moment to be the end of the earth itself.
It was so sweet that I wished time would stop.
Forever.