The Icy Midnight Call
One of the freshmen gave a puzzled look for a moment.
“Don’t seniors who’ve finished their military service come to the club?”
Eun-a sunbae answered on his behalf.
“They’re too busy worrying about grades, building their resumes, and prepping for job hunts, so almost none of them show up. They only do club activities before enlisting. Even the girls stop coming to the clubroom by their junior or senior year. Our club’s always had a bit lower loyalty than the others. If I weren’t president, I might not have stuck around either.”
“Hyeon-a unnie made you president back then so you’d keep coming. She originally wanted to nominate me, but said I was too slippery to handle it. Claimed I’d corrupt the whole club if I took over.”
“I know. Yujin, you’re such a slick operator—she said you couldn’t be trusted. That if you became president, it’d be booze parties and orgies every day...”
“Heehee, it totally would’ve been. Nonstop drinking parties and wild hookups... Ah, kidding, kidding!”
As Eun-a sunbae shot her a fierce glare, Choi Yujin sunbae quickly looked away, pretending nothing had happened.
The sudden mention of orgies left everyone awkwardly turning their heads in embarrassment.
Eun-a sunbae smoothly changed the subject to lighten the mood.
“Wonder how Hyeon-a unnie’s doing at her company.”
“Let’s hit her up sometime and meet. She landed a gig at a film production house—time to mooch off her a bit.”
From the sound of it, they were talking about a graduated female senior from the mystery club.
They spent the day hopping from one eatery to the next until their stomachs couldn’t take another bite, then wandered the streets aimlessly. That’s when Choi Yujin sunbae pointed somewhere.
“Hey, let’s catch that movie. It’s one I’ve been dying to see.”
“A movie?”
Everyone glanced up at the massive movie poster. It was the blockbuster currently pulling in ten million viewers and dominating the box office.
No one in the group had seen it yet, so they spontaneously decided to go with Choi Yujin sunbae’s suggestion.
They bought armloads of snacks and headed inside.
Club trip plus a movie—it really felt like we were living it up. Choi Yujin sunbae definitely knew how to have fun.
The two-hour runtime flew by in an instant. Maybe because it was so entertaining, but time seemed to pass even faster than expected.
Chatting about the film, they exited the theater and slowly made their way to the waterpark.
The afternoon was a repeat of yesterday’s wild splash fest.
Now that they were used to it, the girls didn’t feel awkward in their bikinis anymore, and the guys splashed into the water wearing baggy square-cut swim trunks.
Everyone had gathered in the massive pool, horsing around, when it happened.
“Isn’t that Yujin-ssi?”
Someone approached Choi Yujin sunbae with a friendly wave.
Turning around, there was yesterday’s kingka guy.
Brimming with confidence, he wore nothing but black triangle briefs, showing off his superior physique. His whole body was chiseled muscle—thighs sharply angled, V-line abs etched deep. He looked straight out of a romance drama lead.
Seemed like he’d chosen the skimpy triangles specifically to flaunt it all.
But to Han Yaseong, it came off as childish. Without the muscles, he might’ve thought the briefs looked cool. But squeezing that build into crotch-hugging triangles just to show off? Far from impressive—more like pathetic.
That reaction was Han Yaseong’s alone, though. The timid guys kept murmuring soft wows, awestruck by the kingka’s ripped body.
The club girls, embarrassed, flushed slightly and avoided staring outright, sneaking peeks instead.
Watching them, Han Yaseong felt a subtle surge of anger. He could tell the club girls were into that kingka. Don’t go for a guy like that... He almost wished they’d crush on someone else instead.
Choi Yujin sunbae, flaunting her voluptuous figure in a red bikini, responded casually.
“Jeong-hun-ssi. These your friends?”
“Yeah. Say hi. This is Choi Yujin-ssi.”
“Hey, introduce yourselves.”
The two guys with the kingka were near-kingka level themselves. Tall and muscular, though a notch below him. The kingka clearly seemed like the pack leader.
The two guys greeted her, and Choi Yujin sunbae handled it with easy poise. Three kingka-tier guys right in front of her, and she wasn’t fazed in the slightest.
The pair quickly scanned the club girls. Disappointment flickered in their eyes—no real queenkas in sight. Eun-a sunbae with her glasses was the closest, but they got zero interest from her and couldn’t make a move.
Choi Yujin sunbae didn’t seem keen on hanging out with them either.
“Catch you later, then. Gotta play with my friends right now.”
“Ah, yeah... See you around.”
A flash of disappointment crossed the kingka’s eyes. His pride seemed bruised. He’d gone out of his way to chat her up, even bringing his crew for backup, but her brush-off stung.
Choi Yujin sunbae, unfazed, rounded up the blankly standing freshmen and got everyone splashing and laughing again.
Before they knew it, darkness was falling once more. Time really did fly.
Now they understood what it meant to lose track of time while having fun.
Everyone headed back to their rooms for showers, then ordered delivery pizza and chicken for dinner.
Faces showed a touch of regret knowing they had to head home tomorrow.
“Should we stick around and play a bit more?”
It was Choi Yujin sunbae’s subtle suggestion. But the phrasing already implied it’d be tough—normally, she’d have outright said, Let’s play more before we go!
Framing it as a question meant even she didn’t have a firm desire to stay longer.
“Time to head out. Five days on this club trip is plenty. Everyone’s got stuff to do anyway.”
Eun-a sunbae shook her head in reply.
It’d be the fifth day tomorrow since arriving. They’d played their fill; no one really craved more.
Regret mingled with satisfaction—no strong urge to extend.
Han Yaseong had zero lingering attachment. He’d done it all, had his fun.
For one last-night toast, they each grabbed a cocktail and headed to the basement bar.
Soft jazz-like tunes filled the quiet, mellow cocktail lounge.
The group settled at tables and ordered cocktails all around.
Han Yaseong, clueless about them, just picked one at random.
After a while, the waiter brought a variety.
Everyone took a sip from theirs.
Han Yaseong tried a bit—bitter and weird. Definitely not his thing.
Most of the guys grimaced, muttering about the taste. The girls, though, closed their eyes and savored it quietly.
Cocktails seemed tailor-made for women.
Han Yaseong and the guys set their glasses down after a few sips.
As the men bailed, Choi Yujin sunbae scolded them, eyes on the wasted cash.
“Hey, drink up, all of it. You trying to throw money away?”
Reluctantly, the timid guys picked up their glasses again, forcing down sips of the nasty stuff.
But cocktails were a total no-go for Han Yaseong. He managed about a third before giving up and setting it aside.
Bracing for another scolding, but she said nothing more—just relaxed to the jazz, sipping hers.
And so the final night passed.
Or tried to.
But that night, an earth-shattering event unfolded—one that would upend Han Yaseong’s life entirely.
In the girls’ suite room, they were spreading out blankets on the floor to crash like the night before.
Han Yaseong, worn out from all the fun and wandering, planned to turn in early.
Most of the timid guys conked out the moment they lay down, barely a word exchanged. The girls, tired too, chatted softly before drifting off.
The vast living room filled only with quiet breathing.
Han Yaseong was on the verge of sleep himself.
Then, out of nowhere—a phone vibrating.
Bzzz. Bzzz.
Who the hell... The noise right as sleep hit made Han Yaseong scowl instinctively.
The voice answering belonged to none other than Choi Yujin sunbae.
“Mm, hello...”
Her voice was husky, like she’d answered half-asleep.
Han Yaseong hovered in that drowsy haze, but her tone suddenly turned ice-cold, jolting him wide awake.
“Why’d you call?”
He’d never heard her sound like that. Utterly frigid. For a split second, he wondered if it was someone else.
But no—that chilling voice was unmistakably Choi Yujin sunbae’s.
“Hang up. Nothing to say.”
She ended the call with a voice dripping frost, then the sound of her powering off the phone.
Han Yaseong, sleep utterly banished, lay there frozen, not knowing what to do.
Choi Yujin sunbae let out a soft sigh in the darkness, then seemed to sit up. Footsteps echoed faintly as she headed somewhere.