The Drinking Party
The video titled [Subway Danso Killer Gets Schooled by a Smoking Hot Guy] was sitting at the top of the trending charts. Views: 621,335. Comments: 741. The description read: A ridiculously handsome man subdues a drunk troublemaker on the N-line subway heading toward XX Station.
I hit play. The footage started with an older man trying to calm the Danso Villain down, telling him to sit. Then the train pulled into the next station and I boarded. At first I stayed seated, but when things got ugly I stood up. After a brief scuffle I finished him off with a clean shoulder throw.
“Oh.”
It looked cleaner than I remembered. The Danso Villain didn’t make a single sound after that—he just quietly shuffled back to his seat. Once the situation was resolved, the person filming zoomed in on my face one last time before ending the clip.
Now for the main event: the comment section.
There were other comments too.
Every time I refreshed, the comment count kept climbing in real time. There were also comments from people who had clearly come straight from the gallery.
“Hmm.”
I was scrolling through the comments with a satisfied little smile when one in particular caught my eye.
Below it was an Instagram handle. When I checked the account, it belonged to some clothing brand.
“Hmm… Instagram, huh…”
I’d never bothered with it before because it felt like an app exclusively for social butterflies, but with the way I looked now… maybe it was worth a shot? I was seriously considering learning the ropes when a message from Suyeon popped up.
We chatted for a bit before she changed the subject.
After she sent me the address, I went to bed.
The next day, around dinner time, I headed to the barbecue restaurant we’d agreed on.
“Hojin! Over here!”
As soon as I stepped inside, Suyeon waved at me from across the room. Everyone else was already there.
…And they were all wearing full makeup.
“Everyone, this is my middle school friend, Lee Hojin.”
“Hello.”
The moment I greeted them, her friends let out a chorus of admiration.
“Wow… he really is insanely handsome no matter how many times I look.”
“I can’t believe someone like this went to our school……”
“I feel like I just lost half my life.”
“Suyeon, thank you. No, seriously.”
“Do you model or anything?”
“Alright, we’re pulling an all-nighter tonight. Going all the way to round nine.”
I sat down and the food started coming out. The real meal had begun. As if they’d been waiting for it, questions started flying at me from every direction. It began with the usual background check—major, where I lived, what my parents did—then moved on to hobbies and other personal stuff.
“Hojin, what are your hobbies?”
“Hobbies, huh……”
After thinking for a second, I answered honestly without holding back.
“My hobby is gallery surfing.”
“Genji?”
“What’s that?”
“Oh, gallery surfing? I think I’ve heard of that! Isn’t that the thing where you hang out on internet communities?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
I was a little surprised. So some girls actually knew about it.
“Ah, so do you run a café or a blog or something?”
“Whoa whoa that’s so cool! I wanna see! What do I search?”
All the girls pulled out their phones at once, eyes sparkling. Hmm… they seemed to have misunderstood in a very cute direction.
I gave a vague answer to change the subject.
“It’s just a game-related community. I actually like games more than anything.”
“Really? That’s kind of surprising. You don’t look like the type who games.”
Hey now. Just because I’m handsome doesn’t mean I don’t play games.
“What kind of games? I’m pretty good at FPS. Let’s go to a PC bang together sometime!”
“Dude, teach me too.”
The atmosphere grew warmer and more lively. The girls would ask me questions, I’d answer, and they’d react with perfectly timed, over-the-top responses. I didn’t even have to try—they kept hyping me up all on their own.
So this is what life is like when you’re handsome. Now I get why kings in history only kept yes-men around them. When everyone just tells you nice things, even the food tastes better.
While our fun little gathering of peers was in full swing…
“Hey~ You guys started without me?”
A man walked in from the entrance, waving. He had short hair, piercings, and a somewhat thuggish vibe.
“Ah… Senior Geon-woo.”
“What the hell~ You didn’t even invite me and you’re all eating delicious food by yourselves? I’m so disappointed~ You’ll let me join, right?”
The girls smiled awkwardly and exchanged glances.
“Y-yes, of course! Please sit here……”
Suyeon reluctantly made room for him. The guy named Geon-woo plopped down and immediately started ordering.
“Auntie! Three bottles of soju please~”
I quietly asked the girl next to me.
“Who’s that?”
“Ah… that’s Senior Jung Geon-woo. He just got back from the military and reenrolled.”
“Ah.”
That explained the short hair. The girls were talking to Senior Geon-woo, but their tone was noticeably different from when they spoke to me. It was purely out of politeness because he was a senior.
When the soju arrived, Geon-woo opened a bottle and said,
“You can’t eat meat without soju! Come on, everyone drink up!”
Shots were passed around. We clinked glasses lightly and each downed one. I was surprised at how well everyone drank. What started as one bottle quickly became two, then three. Even the girls who had been reluctant at first took one look at my face and happily knocked back their drinks.
So the ultimate side dish really is a handsome face.
“Wow, but what the hell are you?”
Geon-woo looked at me, genuinely baffled.
“You’re ridiculously good-looking and you drink like a fish too.”
Now that he mentioned it, I’d been downing soju like water this whole time and still felt completely sober. Wait… did my alcohol tolerance go up along with my sexual appeal?
“Oh, this is Hojin. He’s my middle school classmate.”
“Is that so? Life really isn’t fair, damn. Heh heh.”
Geon-woo gave a crooked smirk and drank. As everyone started getting tipsy, their voices grew louder and they became more forward. Even the girls who had been politely humoring Geon-woo were now fully turned toward me, firing off questions without hesitation.
“Hojin, be honest. How much dating experience do you have?”
“Oh, I’m curious too.”
“I’m betting double digits.”
The girls squealed as they waited for my answer.
“……”
Across from me, Choi Suyeon was quietly watching my expression. After thinking for a moment, I answered honestly, no filter.
“I don’t have any dating experience.”
“What??”
“For real??”
The girls froze like they’d been hit with ice magic, genuinely shocked.
“No way, that’s one hundred percent bullshit. There’s no chance a face like that has never dated anyone.”
Geon-woo cackled, but no one paid him any attention.
“That’s really surprising. Did you just study all the time?”
“No, I heard that when someone’s too good-looking it’s actually harder to approach them.”
“Hojin, you said you live alone, right? I’m a really good cook. What do you think?”
“Hey, hey, you should stop drinking. You’ve had too much.”
“I wonder who’s going to be Hojin’s first girlfriend… I’m so curious.”
Then Geon-woo pointed at himself.
“Hey, aren’t you going to ask me? I’ve got a ton of stories I could tell. By the way, I’m currently recruiting a girlfriend.”
“Um… I’m sure you’ll meet a wonderful person, Senior!”
After that, drinking games started and the mood reached its peak. It was the kind of game where the loser had to drink. Whenever I lost, the girls would immediately raise their hands, volunteering to be my “Black Knight.”
If they drank in my place, I had to grant them one wish.
“Call me ‘baby’ until we leave tonight.”
“Link arms with me for five minutes!”
“Feed me one bite of side dish. Ah~”
The girls kept pressing themselves against me, naturally initiating skinship. Meanwhile, Senior Geon-woo looked increasingly annoyed that all the girls’ attention was on me. He kept glaring in my direction.
“Ding! This time it’s Yeeun’s turn to drink!”
“Ugh… I got picked again……”
As one of the girls lifted her glass, Geon-woo jumped in.
“Me! Me! I’ll be the Black Knight. Give it here.”
“Huh? No, it’s okay……”
Geon-woo snatched the glass, downed it, then turned to her and lay down.
“Give me a lap pillow for five minutes~”
“Ah, ahaha……”
“Senior Geon-woo, you’ve had way too much~~”
Everyone looked uncomfortable, but no one dared say anything to him.
…Hmm.
After that, Geon-woo’s unpleasant behavior continued.
“Hey, is there more booze? Let’s all drink until we die tonight.”
“Don’t date guys just because they have pretty faces~ It’s pointless. A guy who’s been to the military is the best. Heh heh.”
“Anyone got someone to introduce me to? Or one of you can volunteer~~”
The way he kept forcing himself into conversations that had nothing to do with him made him look like an elementary school kid desperate for attention. On top of that, he kept using penalties as an excuse to sneak in skinship with the other girls.
“Senior, maybe you should stop drinking now……”
“Tsk, shut up! You think this is enough? I’m in a shitty mood so I’m drinking more. Auntie! Another bottle of soju!”
The girls who had tried to play along at first were now clearly avoiding him. And then he finally crossed the line.
“Whoops, my hand slipped~~~!”
“Kyaa!”
Pretending to reach for a side dish, he knocked over a water cup and soaked the girl next to him. Her wet clothes made her bra clearly visible underneath.
“Ah……”
“Heh, sorry sorry, my bad. I’ll wipe it for you.”
He reached out with a napkin toward her chest.
“N-no, it’s fine……”
“Come on, I spilled it so I should clean it up~”
His words were slurred as he tried to force himself to wipe her down. The entire mood of the gathering froze solid in an instant.
“……”
I stood up from my seat. I picked up a water cup. I walked over to Geon-woo’s spot. And then—
-Splash!
I hurled the water straight into his face with full force.
“Whoops. My apologies, Senior.”
In the dead silence where time itself seemed to have stopped, I smiled brightly and said,
“My hand slipped.”