Department Group Date
Truth be told, I wasn't in much of a position to be preaching at Ahn Seong-hyeon either. I, of all people, had been more prejudiced than anyone.
But I now knew that Han Saebyeok wasn't just some scary person. I didn't even have to look far — just watching how she treated Areum and Hana was enough. Her enthusiastically helping me with shopping just the other day was one of the reasons I'd come to see Han Saebyeok differently.
And more than anything else.
"You know how Saebyeok Sunbae makes all the costumes for the club members, right? From what Bam Nuna told me, she could just buy off-the-shelf stuff, but she makes them herself because she wants to make sure the quality is good."
She was someone who hand-made clothes for every single club member because she wanted them to wear things better than store-bought. There was no way someone like that had a bad heart.
After I offered that defense in my own way.
"Right! Saebyeok might seem cold and scary at first glance, but she's really sweet."
Park Jeong-ah chimed in, her face brightening. She beamed at me.
"You really are close with Saebyeok after all. People who aren't close with her don't know that about her."
No, I mean, calling us close might be a stretch— I didn't even get a chance to make that excuse.
Dreureuk, the door slid open and Han Saebyeok walked in. She looked at Park Jeong-ah with a sulky expression and said,
"Sorry for looking cold and scary."
Park Jeong-ah flustered.
"Huh? S-Saebyeok-ah, that's not what I— I meant you're cool and have charisma."
"Save the excuses."
"Nooo! Come on, you must've heard the compliment part too..."
"Who knows. Anyway, I can't drink. I have work later."
"Oh, uh..."
"I got called in out of nowhere. Didn't think we'd be drinking."
"Mm."
Park Jeong-ah nodded and glanced around at the rest of us. It was understandable that she'd be checking people's reactions — coming to a blind date, and even coming to a bar, only to say she wouldn't drink. Frankly speaking, it was the kind of move that killed the mood.
But from my perspective, I was actually grateful. Because the diet made drinking a bit of a tricky thing for me.
I promptly raised my hand and said,
"Then I'll pass on the alcohol too and just have some soda."
Since she'd said she wasn't drinking first, I could just piggyback off that, right? That was my thinking when I said it.
For some reason, Park Jeong-ah, who had been flustered, looked at me with touched eyes. Seongju Hyung also turned my way, winked, and gave me a thumbs-up under the table.
"?"
Ah, did they think I'd salvaged a mood that was about to sink? I'd unintentionally come off as someone with social sense.
Well, good is good, I guess.
In any case, after all those twists and turns, the department blind date began. Though I wasn't sure the mood would really pick up after all that.
*
"Shall we start with a toast?"
"Yeah. It started a little rough, but let's have fun."
Seongju Hyung, and of course Park Jeong-ah who came as the other arranger, naturally took the lead in setting the mood.
Glasses clinked to break the awkwardness.
Several rounds had already passed. Though of course Han Saebyeok and I were on soda instead of alcohol. They even sold Zero Cola.
While we were sharing drinks like that, talk about me came up.
"Cheol-jin looks way better in person than in photos. When I first saw him, I thought he was a different person."
"Right! I wasn't the only one thinking that? I even wondered if the guys had swapped someone in."
"Haha, thanks for the kind words."
I wrapped it up with a short reply, laughing awkwardly. It was because I was conscious of Ahn Seong-hyeon next to me. Look, Su-jin-ssi. I appreciate you seeing me in a good light, but I'd really rather you focus your attention on Seong-hyeon instead of me...
But Kim Su-jin seemed to still want to talk about me.
"Is your photo old? You look like you lost a ton of weight."
She was talking about the photos we exchanged before the blind date.
"It's from two months ago, so yeah. I didn't have any recent photos. I'm on a diet right now."
"You lost that much in just two months? What'd you do for your diet? Do you work out too?"
"That's..."
I answered each of the questions flying at me in a daze. She was singling me out with her questions, so I couldn't just deflect. What is this, a question barrage?
Was it just my imagination that Seong-hyeon's expression seemed to be getting worse and worse? With the girl my friend was interested in showing interest in me, I felt a sense of guilt for some reason. The lyrics to "Wrongful Encounter" floated into my head.
'Though I think she was probably just curious about my diet method.'
It seemed more like she found me interesting because I'd changed so drastically in two months, rather than the questions being out of romantic interest.
"Diet really is the best form of plastic surgery. I should go on a diet too."
"Hmm. But I think changing my hair and clothes probably made a bigger difference. I used to just wear hoodies everywhere, but the day before yesterday, Saebyeok Sunbae recommended a salon and clothes for me."
At my words, Kim Su-jin's eyes went wide.
"What? Saebyeok did? Picked them out herself?"
"Yes. Clothes are Saebyeok Sunbae's specialty, after all."
Before I knew it, not just Kim Su-jin but Ahn Seong-hyeon too was looking at me and Han Saebyeok with surprise. For reference, Seongju Hyung and Park Jeong-ah seemed more intrigued than surprised.
Jjipul.
Han Saebyeok's expression suddenly crumpled. Then she glared at me, raising an eyebrow, and the look was quite menacing.
'She probably means, why am I running my mouth about unnecessary things.'
...Honestly, I'd said it on purpose. I wanted to redirect Kim Su-jin's interest elsewhere. That's why I brought up Han Saebyeok, but at this rate, I felt like I might get hit later.
I redirected the target of interest one more time.
"And Seong-hyeon's way more of an expert than me when it comes to working out and dieting. This guy's been doing sports for a long time. If you ask him, he'll tell you everything."
"Really? Now that you mention it, Seong-hyeon's arms are really thick. Do you hit the gym?"
"Ah, yes!"
As I thought, she was genuinely more interested in dieting than in me as a person. Once I subtly turned the conversation, she fired off a question barrage at Ahn Seong-hyeon. I should've done this from the start instead of pointlessly acting chummy with Han Saebyeok.
"Guys, let's play a drinking game now. We came to a department blind date; we can't skip the drinking games."
Were drinking games mandatory at department blind dates?
I had thought that a group blind date meant sitting demurely in a cafe and politely asking about each other's interests and tastes. I mean, in dramas, when characters go on blind dates or arranged meetings, you see a lot of those scenes.
But from the way things were going, a department blind date seemed very different from a typical blind date. The venue itself was a bar, and the vibe they were going for was cheerful and rowdy rather than serious. Now I understood why Seongju Hyung had said it was 'just a gathering to hang out with the opposite sex.'
"I'm down for games, but... what about Saebyeok and Cheol-jin? They're not drinking."
At Park Jeong-ah's comment, Kim Su-jin folded her arms and fell into thought.
"Hmmmm. Then I'll drink for Saebyeok! I'm the one who dragged her out here anyway, so I guess I'll be the Black Rose!"
That was an extreme solution.
Anyway, the girls' side got resolved that way... so should I just start drinking after all?
"Then I'll drink for Cheol-jin."
Ahn Seong-hyeon said with a shrug. I voiced my doubt.
"Huh? You're a lightweight. You sure you'll be okay?"
Ahn Seong-hyeon immediately had a fit.
"What are you talking about! You're the one who's a heavy drinker — I hold my own pretty well, you know!"
"Is that so."
"It IS so!"
Whoa, why's he yelling. He's always the first one to pass out.
Well, I didn't object. Worrying about this big guy drinking and passing out is laughable anyway. I was going to duck out midway, so I wasn't going to be the one taking care of him.
So the drinking games began.
There was a problem.
"I Am Ground — Self-Introduction!"
It was fine at first.
That's a game I'd played a lot in elementary and middle school.
Through this game, we naturally dropped formal speech. For reference, on the girls' side, Kim Su-jin was an early-year 21, and Park Jeong-ah and Han Saebyeok were both 22 — all nunas to me. They were Seongju Hyung's acquaintances, so that was only natural.
Anyway, my repertoire bottomed out at I Am Ground.
"Bunny Bunny Bunny Bunny! Ah, Cheol-jin got caught!"
"Seong-hyeon's the one drinking, right?"
I didn't really know drinking games. It was because I'd skipped every drinking occasion up until now, citing my diet. The only time I'd ever played drinking games was during the MT.
"Subway, Subway! Which line, which line!"
"Cheol-jin! Seong-hyeon drinks!"
How could I, someone who'd been holed up in his house until a few months ago, possibly know the subway line map well?
On top of that, games I didn't know flew around everywhere. Naturally, I became the culprit most of the time. I wondered if this could possibly be fun, but fortunately, there was another person just as bad at drinking games as I was.
"I Like Strawberries! I Like Strawberries!"
"Saebyeok, wrong! Su-jin drinks!"
That was Han Saebyeok.
The flow of the games mostly went like this.
Usually either I or Han Saebyeok lost, and Ahn Seong-hyeon and Kim Su-jin drank in our place. Before long, everyone else was perfectly sober while just those two had faces rapidly turning bright red. It wasn't because they had low tolerance — it was because they were downing drink after drink in a short span of time.
"Hoo-ah..."
"Ughh..."
The smell of alcohol was thick on both of them, but neither complained. Kim Su-jin because she had sins to atone for toward Han Saebyeok, and Ahn Seong-hyeon out of pride. He'd volunteered for this himself, and with Kim Su-jin holding on, there was no way he'd be the first to cry uncle.
"Here are your french fries, fish cake soup, and two bottles of soju."
The server resupplied us with snacks and alcohol.
Ahn Seong-hyeon swiftly grabbed the ladle and served the broth and solid bits to Kim Su-jin first — she was already licking her lips in anticipation.
"Oh, thanks."
"No problem. You've been drinking a lot; you okay?"
"Hehe. Yeah, I can hold my liquor. But why are you still speaking formally? We agreed to drop the formal speech."
"Ah, right, we did. Anyway, eat plenty of snacks while you drink. Your face is red."
"Hihi. You're not really one to talk, yourself~."
Maybe a sense of camaraderie had formed from downing drinks together, because the mood between them looked pretty good. I watched Ahn Seong-hyeon and smirked. You little shit, look at that corner of your mouth curling up.
The drinking members each served themselves some fish cake soup, and I took hold of the ladle.
"Sunbae, shall I serve you some too?"
"Ah, yeah. Just a little for me."
"Okay."
As I was serving the fish cake soup to Han Saebyeok.
A sudden objection came from beside me.
"What, Cheol-jin, you're still using formal speech too? I thought you and Saebyeok were close?"
"Haha..."
I just laughed. Well, I did think we'd gotten closer than before, but not enough to confidently say so right in front of her. If I agreed carelessly and she came back with 'You think we're close?' I'd get my feelings hurt.
But this Kim Su-jin nuna, maybe because she was tipsy, wasn't letting it go easily.
"Calling her sunbae is weird too. Who goes around calling people sunbae in college these days? You're not even in the same department."
"Huh? People don't say sunbae? Everyone around me does. Is it different by school?"
"Nooo, that's not the point! It's too stiff. It feels like there's distance."
I mean, I was using the title sunbae for Han Saebyeok, so why was she the one feeling the distance?
"The formal speech is weird too. We're all speaking casually now anyway!"
...This nuna was drunk.
But that bastard Ahn Seong-hyeon was smiling contentedly like he found it adorable. Dude, you've only known this nuna for an hour.
"Saebyeok-ah, right? You feel the distance too, don't you?"
Now she was clinging to Han Saebyeok. Flusterment spread across Han Saebyeok's face. It was an expression I'd never seen on her before.
"I don't really care..."
"You're in the same club, aren't you. You gonna keep being all stiff? Are you a boomer, Saebyeok?"
"Boom— this girl, seriously."
"Eek!"
Whoa. She subdued Kim Su-jin with a single look.
I quietly gave a tiny seal clap. At that, Han Saebyeok looked at me and let out a dry laugh.
"Are you drunk too? You didn't even drink."
"No, well. You don't have to be drunk to give this much of a reaction."
People with no gift for words are supposed to at least be good with reactions. I was still maintaining the beginner's mindset I'd had when I first started going to freshman meetups before the semester began. Even just having good reactions gets you halfway there.
Han Saebyeok smirked and poured cola into my glass.
"Oh, thanks."
"...You can just speak casually. And you don't have to call me sunbae."
"Huh?"
I looked at Han Saebyeok, a little surprised. At that, Han Saebyeok slightly averted her gaze. Oh, this was the first time I'd seen this person look away from me first.
"If you don't want to, forget it."
"Ah, no. I'll call you nuna."
It had actually been on my mind a little anyway. Everyone else called each other by name or hyung, nuna, and I was the only one using the title sunbae for Han Saebyeok.
"You're still gonna use formal speech?"
"Haha... I find it more comfortable to use formal speech with anyone even a year older than me. That's why I still use formal speech with Seongju Hyung too."
Seongju Hyung kept telling me to speak casually with him, but I still hadn't dropped the formal speech. For reference, Ahn Seong-hyeon had long since started speaking casually.
Anyway, after a brief break, the drinking games started up again.
When was this going to end.
*
The meeting at the bar didn't end until a full two hours had passed.
Honestly, it was kind of fun. As Seongju Hyung had said, it felt more like hanging out with friends than a blind date, and that was nice. I'd kept losing at the drinking games at first because I didn't know them, but after playing for a while, I started to get the hang of them.
The group that came out of the bar split into two.
"Second round! Let's go for round two!"
"Coin noraebang? Or a bowling alley?"
"Let's do both!"
The members who wanted to go for round two.
And.
"I'm gonna bow out here."
"Ah, you said you had work, right?"
"Yeah."
Han Saebyeok, who was heading back now.
I quietly piggybacked on that too.
"I'll be going too."
"Ah, whyyy!"
Kim Su-jin whined in protest and came up to me. I pointed a finger at that bastard Seong-hyeon and said,
"Ahn Seong-hyeon, grab that nuna."
"Okay!"
"Eeek!?"
The guy grinned brightly and grabbed Su-jin nuna by the shoulders from behind. The little shit, it seemed he did know to be grateful. He was beaming and mouthing 'thank you' at me.
I waved my hand lightly.
"The numbers work out even if I leave. And I have some stuff to do too. I had fun today."
"Yeah, Cheol-jin-ah, nice meeting you. Let's hang out again sometime."
"See you again!"
They exchanged goodbyes and the group moved off into the distance.
That Kim Su-jin nuna, she was really so bright and cheerful. I'd only met her for the first time today and hung out for barely two hours, but she treated people like she'd known them for years.
'Her personality's similar to Areum.'
At least on the outside. Though I suspected the inside was different. A sex parrot as extreme as Areum wasn't exactly common, after all.
Anyway, I'd seen off the group and was about to head back myself when.
"Whoa, you scared me!"
When I turned around, I saw Han Saebyeok standing there with her arms crossed, staring at me.
"...Why are you so startled."
You need me to tell you?
"Because I obviously thought you'd already left."
"...I had something to say."
"Something to say?"
When I asked back, puzzled.
"You, any interest in getting a tattoo?"
"...Huh?"
A reply I never could have imagined came back.
I reflexively covered my nape.