Black Rose: "So What."
Yoon Hana mulled over the words she had spat out quite some time ago. "So what." Her cheeks, flushed a deep red, spoke volumes about her current state of mind.
"Sis. Don't tell me you're saying it looks like I have feelings for Lee Suhyun right now?" Her tone was less sharp than usual. Her pronunciation came out strangely slurred. It felt like the person speaking had no idea what her own face looked like at that moment.
To Lee Seoeun, Hana's reaction was simply adorable.
"No~ I never said anything like that. Why are you getting so worked up~"
It was still too early to tease her for fun. And even without deliberately provoking her, if they just let time pass... Lee Seoeun held her tongue and broke into a gentle smile.
"No. If you keep pushing it like that, the others are going to misunderstand."
Even though she said that, the other members were too busy eating the meat to pay any attention to the two women's private conversation. Even Park Juyeon, sitting directly across from them, didn't spare them a glance as she focused on her grilled pork belly feast. With perilla leaves placed on her small hands, she was once again enjoying the food according to her own perfect combination formula.
One piece of meat, a quarter teaspoon of ssamjang, two garlic cloves. Finally, one piece of grilled kimchi.
She assembled the wrap to the perfect size for her mouth and lost herself in her own little world, efficiently devouring the meat.
"Suhyun hyung! Switch with us!"
The male juniors who had already polished off a bowl of rice came rushing out again and surrounded Suhyun.
"No, you guys eat more. I'm honestly full."
"Come on~ How can we make a senior grill the whole time!"
When Taeho practically confiscated the tongs, Suhyun had no choice but to step back a little and stand there awkwardly beside them.
"Suhyun hyung. You ready to drink hard today?"
They were twenty years old—the age when they basically carried their IDs plastered on their foreheads. For them, drinking was combat, and alcohol tolerance was fighting strength.
"If we're drinking, we'll drink."
Suhyun had already figured out from the last drinking session that he wasn't half bad at it.
"Ooh~ I'll mix up a nice soju-beer for you!"
Even while coughing from the smoke rising off the grill, Taeho answered smoothly. There was also a bit of calculation involved—the idea that getting close to Suhyun, who played guitar, would surely teach him something. After getting properly scolded by Hana during the early ensemble sessions, he hadn't been able to approach her easily. If he wanted to improve his playing, latching onto Suhyun's coattails seemed like the right move. He'd heard rumors that Suhyun was called the "guitar god." It sounded like he could play incredibly difficult songs. Unfortunately, the junior never caught the part about him being a one-song specialist.
"But Suhyun hyung, do you play any other games?"
His ankle was still bothering him, but Suhyun found this kind of casual conversation far preferable. Sitting among the girls the whole time made him feel like he was about to break out in hives.
After a while of the juniors' one-sided questions and Suhyun's explanations, Lee Seoeun hurried over to the grill and ordered them to stop cooking.
"Aigoo. Looks like we won't be able to finish all this."
Today's grocery run had failed at portion control. Still, having leftovers was the smarter choice compared to running short.
The Spirit members hauled the trash and remaining food inside. Now came the true end of the day and the real highlight of the MT.
"Alright. Fill your glasses~"
MTs for broke college students never came without cheap booze. The small paper soju cups were filled to the brim with clear liquid. In situations like this, the club president was supposed to lead the first toast. Lee Seoeun, who had been sitting on the floor, cleared her throat and stood up.
"So~ This is the first time our Spirit 23rd and 24th generations have gathered as a complete group to drink together!"
"Let's all take care of our own conditions properly!"
"Nice to meet you all~~ Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Five from the 23rd generation. Six from the 24th. Following Lee Seoeun's instruction to sit in balanced numbers with the juniors, Suhyun ended up in the seat next to Hana by chance. His table had been divided by school year, facing each other like some kind of interview that wasn't an interview.
"Does Jiho drink well?"
Hana, holding the soju bottle, filled Jeong Jiho's glass generously with a bold attitude.
"Ah... I think I'm around one bottle."
Jeong Jiho, the bassist for the 24th generation. The owner of a calm impression, he stood on that subtle boundary between insider and outsider. He tended to grow quiet around talkative people, but would chatter away when surrounded by quieter types. He possessed the kind of personality that let him get along comfortably anywhere. In a way, it matched the image of the bass instrument perfectly.
"What about Jiyeon?"
Seong Jiyeon, the female vocalist of the 24th generation. She stood at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Jiho. In MBTI terms, she was extreme E. Drinking parties, gatherings—she never missed a single one. She radiated incredibly strong insider energy.
"For me~ If it's something unnie gives me, it's always a yes~"
Her comment from the very start was on another level.
"Wow~ Looks like I'm the weakest one here, huh?"
From Hana's perspective—someone who couldn't hold her liquor but still enjoyed it—the MT was something to welcome. The usual problem for light drinkers was that getting home became difficult, but today she could simply drink without responsibility and pass out if she wanted.
"Cheers!"
Small talk flowed around each table. The topic at Suhyun's table was, as expected, romance.
"Sis. So I held hands with this guy in front of the stairs, right? But then the next day, he didn't contact me at all!"
"Sounds fishy?"
"Right?"
Unlike the girls who were laying out their own romance theories, Jiho and Suhyun simply munched away on the snacks in front of them. When they had nothing to say, they kept picking at food. Suhyun had already emptied two more glasses than the others.
"You said you don't date, right, hyung?" Jiho, noticing the quiet Suhyun, carefully struck up a conversation.
"Ah. Yeah..."
He agreed, but the more accurate answer might have been that he couldn't.
"Have you ever dated before?"
Since the conversation didn't seem likely to continue, Jiho took one step further with a deeper question.
"Well..."
Hana's ears perked up toward Suhyun.
"Yeah, yeah~ Ah. I really hate that kind of thing."
Her mouth was reflexively responding to Jiyeon's words, but Hana was unconsciously focusing on Suhyun's voice.
"No."
Suhyun smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.
Yeah. Being a lifelong solo wasn't some mortal sin. There was nothing to gain from pretending he had a girlfriend when he didn't. On the other hand, Hana's lips twitched ever so slightly at Suhyun's answer. She couldn't say why. The fact that Lee Suhyun had never dated before shouldn't have affected her in any way, yet somehow Hana felt her tension rising a notch.
"Alright! Shall we have another round?"
Hana raised her glass. One bottle of soju was her lethal dose, and she was already starting to feel the buzz creeping in. Ah... It hasn't even been an hour yet... She resolved to endure with sheer willpower and let out an almost uncle-like exclamation.
"Hey everyone! Let's play a drinking game!"
Lee Seoeun, sitting at the far end of the opposite table, called the members together. Honestly, the number of people wasn't ideal for games, but it wasn't impossible.
"If you get picked, one shot of soju! Black Knight! Black Rose is active! If someone drinks in your place, you grant them one wish!"
"Sounds good!"
"Then let's start right away!"
"Jiyeon's favorite random game~ What game~"
The scene she had only seen on the internet was playing out right before her eyes. With his body completely stiff, Suhyun awkwardly tried to follow the rhythm. He had practiced beforehand... but actually doing it, he found it incredibly hard to keep up with the tempo. It almost made him feel like online games were a blessing.
"Suhyun, three!"
"Su."
The beat was already off. Playful jeers poured down on him.
"Ah~ Here comes the alcohol~ glug glug glug glug glug glug."
He drank.
"Suhyun hyung! Take the glass!"
He drank again.
"Ah! Lee Suhyun! Do it properly!"
He drank yet again. Park Juyeon, another outsider like him, seemed to have been completely forgotten by everyone. She barely got picked at all. Why are they only this harsh on me?
After drinking four times in a row, the fuzzy buzz hit him hard. Hana, sitting right beside Suhyun, was starting to wrestle with her own internal conflict.
Should I help him just once?
If Hana had been a heavy drinker, she would have stepped up without hesitation and coolly taken the shot for him. But she was an even weaker lightweight than Suhyun. Who was she to worry about someone else? Still, the sight of Suhyun's flushed red skin bothered her, and that was the moment she made her big decision.
"...I'll drink it for you."
Hana, who had been reaching for the glass, turned her gaze toward the owner of the voice. Park Juyeon, who had been quietly passing her turns until now, slowly rose from her seat.
"Ooooh~ Park Juyeon~"
"Juyeon unnie is so cool?"
"Wow!"
The rest of the members let out exclamations in unison.
"Th-the wish is granted, right?"
It was her great first step toward saving a fellow outsider who was being tormented by the insiders.