The Freshman's After-Party
Lee Seol came home at dawn. Was it around four or five in the morning? It felt a bit early, to be honest. Of course, it was entirely her friend's fault. Why the hell did she have to run around like a maniac while on her period? She even took a Tylenol the day before—the crazy bitch. Left with no choice, Lee Seol had to escort her friend home with the others, and after taking a taxi back, she had to take off her shoes and… "Ah." Right. Lee Doha was using the room. It had just occurred to her.
When she entered the house, Lee Doha had been sprawled out on the sofa, fast asleep. However, seeing the computer in his room turned on, it looked like he had fallen asleep while gaming. You idiot, turn the computer off. She poked him with her foot to wake him, but he just sat up, grabbed some water from the fridge, and flopped right back down. "You crazy moron." Left with no choice, she turned off the computer herself and checked to see if anything in the room had changed. Judging by a quick glance, it didn't look like he’d touched anything.
She quickly washed her face, but brushing her teeth… hmm. She was pretty tipsy, so she skipped it. No, actually, she skipped washing her face too… it was too much of a hassle. She just took out her contacts. Lee Seol grabbed a cleansing wipe from her bedside table and scrubbed her face with it. As she stripped off her clothes and collapsed onto the bed, she caught the faint scent of air freshener. "What is this?" Closing her eyes, the smell seemed even stranger. "Did he spray Febreze?"
And there was something else… a sweet or fishy smell, but it was strangely pleasant. No… was this actually good? Was it just because she was drunk? Or was it something else? Maybe it was just because the scent of the air freshener had soaked in deep, but it wasn't a familiar fragrance. Did Lee Doha, that bastard, actually lie on her bed? Ugh, how repulsive. It felt a bit different from the old-man smell that had been there until a week ago. She didn't know. She’d just ask him tomorrow.
Lee Seol closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
She woke up much later the next day. After lounging around and finally washing up, it was already evening. She was in the living room, applying moisturizer after a quick face wash.
"Hey. Lee Doha."
"What."
Lee Doha replied listlessly from the sofa behind her.
"Were you lying on my bed or something?"
"Yeah. Why."
"Oh, for fuck's sake. You contaminated my bed. I was wondering why it smelled so weird."
"…My bad."
"What?"
"Sorry."
Lee Seol turned her head. Usually, she would have retorted with, "What kind of bullshit is that?" or "Isn't that my bed?" but for some reason, she didn't today. A chilling assumption crawled up her spine.
"…Don't tell me, did you spill something? In there?"
"No. It's not that."
"Don't lie to me. What did you do? Perfume? Did you spill some cosmetics?"
"I said no, you idiot."
"This is so fucked up. Tell me the truth. What did you spill, you asshole? Did you jerk o— ah. Anyway, tell me before I tell Mom."
Her voice lowered instinctively. Mom might be listening from her room. Lee Doha took his eyes off his phone and glared at Lee Seol with a look like he’d just eaten shit.
"Do you really want to get hit?"
"Just tell me. What did you do? Honestly. To your sister, be honest. Then I'll consider it a mitigating factor."
"No, I was just spraying Febreze in there and I spilled some. I wiped it all up, though."
"……."
Lee Seol let out a sigh of relief.
"God, you moron."
"But come to think of it, why should I be sorry? It’s my bed originally, isn't it? You asshole?"
"Yeah, get lost."
She was going to wait for the serum to absorb… but she was too lazy, so she just applied lotion right away. She’d been so nervous, thinking he’d touched her cosmetics. Then, a sudden curiosity struck her, and she asked Lee Doha, "By the way, why don't you go out? Lately."
"What about it?"
"Did you really become a total loser? You never go out. Don't you have friends?"
"I don't."
"What's up with that?"
"Sis, please, if you have a younger brother, show some interest in him. Do you know how long it's been since I cut contact with those kids?"
Oh~ Lee Seol made a sound. She’d talked about Lee Doha with her friends while drinking, and now that she thought about it, he had changed his number. He used to hang out with brain-dead idiots, so that was a good thing. But why did she need to know that? Lee Seol suddenly felt annoyed. Why should she care about her brother's social life? So, she gave his legs, which were stretched out on the sofa, a sharp kick.
"Ah, fuck. What are you doing?"
"What."
"Are you actually crazy? You just kicked me. My leg."
"So what?"
"Wow…."
Lee Doha clicked his tongue and shifted his gaze back to his phone. Lee Seol was about to head back to her room when she stopped at his next words.
"…Oh right, Do Harim went to that OT after-party."
"Oh, really?"
—
"So, you're a freshman, right?"
Ever since Kim Ihyun had slipped away to another table, and Seo Yunha had followed her, Do Harim realized what poverty in the midst of plenty meant. In short, it was like that. A silent clamor. Solitude amidst the noise. Something like that. Another guy sitting next to her asked cautiously, so Do Harim fidgeted with her fingers, glanced around, and answered.
"Yeah. Freshman."
"…Ah. Right? You're not a senior, are you?"
"No."
"That, group chat profile, isn't that a Japanese song? That profile picture."
"Ah. Yeah."
Ringo. Could what Lee Doha said be true…? That he checks everyone's profiles.
"Wow… it somehow really suits you? The Japanese Literature department. Ah, that's a compliment. I'm definitely not insulting you or anything."
"Ah."
"You entered the Japanese Literature department because you're interested in Japan, right?"
"That's, true, but."
"Oh. It's a perfect fit. I came here because I like Japan too. What do you like about Japan? Do you know Kurumi? Sanrio. Ahhh, of course you do, right? Do you like stuff like that?"
"A little…?"
"Oh, really? A little? Hey, it's not a little, it's a lot, isn't it? Like, piling up dolls and stuff. Ah, of course, that's a compliment. Your style just has that vibe. You know, that thing. Jirai-kei? Right? Jirai-kei. Are you also Ryousangata?"
…Fuck. What is this guy. Disgust was welling up inside her. …Lee Doha. When are you going to reply?
Do Harim glanced down, intending to open Twitter, but because of the flashy-looking guy across from her, she had no choice but to lift her head back up.
"Hey, why are only you two talking? Let me in on it. Isn't this supposed to be led by the seniors? They just took off and left us."
The guy next to her gave an awkward laugh at that. The flashy guy continued without hesitation.
"How old is everyone? Let's just start drinking among ourselves for now."
"Ah, I'm 22." The guy next to her replied. The flashy guy shifted his gaze to the person next to him.
"Ah, I'm an '07 liner. And you?"
"I'm an '07 liner too. 20 years old."
"How about you?"
The gaze landed on Do Harim.
"I'm, 24."
As she spoke after a pause, the flashy guy's eyes went wide. "Oh, really? 24? Wow, you're a nuna."
Do Harim gave a formal, perfunctory nod. However, the one who reacted most sensitively to the mention of 24 was the guy sitting next to her. He looked startled, glanced around, and started waving his hands exaggeratedly while making "uh, uh, uh" sounds.
"24? Ah…! You were a huge nuna. Ah, I'm sorry."
"No. It's fine."
"Ah, I'm really sorry, really. I really didn't know. I thought you were 20, or, you know, younger than me."
"It's really fine."
"But you really don't look 24. You look really young."
"I got it…."
"I'm really sorry. Really. I'll apologize."
"……."
How long are you going to keep apologizing? Oh, seriously…. Regret started to set in. No, maybe it had been there for a while. Ah, I'm doomed. I'm definitely going to sink. To the bottom of the abyss…. I shouldn't have come. To the OT….
"Hey, bro. The nuna said it's fine. Let's not be gloomy and keep apologizing, let's just have a drink. So, where are you from? I live around here."
"Me, near Hanam?"
"Wow. You came from so far away. Hey, good job, take it, take it."
Still, the flashy guy seemed to be leading the bleak atmosphere… that wasn't bad. It was good that he stopped the apologies. Do Harim awkwardly toasted with the four of them and drank. Instinctively looking for water, the flashy guy handed her a canned drink from beside him.
"Here you go, cola."
"Ah. Thank you…."
The flashy guy then immediately turned his head and changed the subject.
"Anyway, you said you came from Hanam?"
"Yeah. That's right."
"Hanam… what's in Hanam? I was thinking of saying 'Potato Country' if there was a friend from Gangwon-do. Hanam… hmm. Hanam. I only know Hannam…."
Pfft! Do Harim spat out her drink. Ah, fuck.
"Ah. That was a joke. Just a joke."
The guy from Hanam, who had been watching Harim's reaction, soon gave a hollow laugh. "Ah, this friend is a bit 'Hannam-ish'. Too reckless."
"Ah, sorry, sorry. The nuna is here, that was a bit over the line. But didn't we all come to the Japanese Literature department with the mindset of finding a Japanese guy or girl? Anyway, shall we start with introductions?"
The flashy guy's name was Kim Yeonjun, and the guy from Hanam was Lee Gonghyun. And the guy sitting next to her was Choi Hangjun.
"Wow, this is my first time seeing a 'Do'. Isn't the surname 'Do' a bit rare? What kind of 'Do' is it?" Kim Yeonjun asked. Just as Do Harim was about to respond, Choi Hangjun chimed in.
"But isn't it not that rare? Because you'd probably have seen at least one person with it. And people with the surname 'Do' are usually really pretty. Like the nuna's name, too."
"Ah." Kim Yeonjun let out a short exclamation, then smiled affably.
"That's right. Actually, saying I hadn't seen one was a lie. I just said it to liven up the atmosphere."
Then Lee Gonghyun laughed, "Puhahaha." He seemed to like it. Kim Yeonjun listened to the chaotic, noisy drinking games going on around them, then slowly shook his head and said, "Whoa, they're already having so much fun over there. Should we do that too? Or rather, shouldn't the seniors be leading this? Where did they go, seriously."
Lee Gonghyun added, "But Yeonjun, you're fun! It's actually fine because you're here, seriously."
"Oh, really? Thanks. But that kind of talk is a bit cringey. Especially between guys."
"Ah, is it? Am I already drunk?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's too gross between men. But, if the nuna had said it… maybe it would have been different? Ah, would it have been definitely different?"
"Haha! Crazy." Lee Gonghyun laughed loudly as if it were funny. Do Harim also covered her mouth and let out a small laugh. The phrasing was deliberately weird, so it was funny. Was he being nice on purpose? Hmm. She wasn't sure about that, but….
"But Gonghyun, you know I'm joking, right?"
"Ah, okay, okay. Of course."
"I'm joking with the nuna too. I'm not actually looking for compliments, seriously."
"…Pfft."
"Oh, hmm. Yeonjun is definitely good at leading. He could be an MC? His gift of gab is good, really good."
At Choi Hangjun's words, Kim Yeonjun smacked his lips, then smiled. "…Ah, of course, hyung."
Just then, Harim lowered her head under the table. A message. It finally arrived. Lee Do. You crazy bastard! Why did you take so long…! She hurriedly pressed the window that popped up at the top to check the message.
The corners of her mouth twitched involuntarily. Ah, a rock. What was he going to use a rock for? Still, it wasn't bad that he replied quickly. It was definitely good. Hmm. Since she could borrow the wisdom of an OT veteran, everything would be okay from now on. The moment she moved her fingers to check her Twitter DM window, a voice sounded awkwardly from beside her.
"Ah. The phone. Nuna, honestly, this is a bit… the drinking party."
Do Harim's eyes flicked toward him.
"What?"
"I mean, the drinking party, the phone. Because we're talking together. Yeonjun is leading the conversation like this. Etiquette, etiquette."
Etiquette. Put the phone away? ……. What? What kind of bullshit is that? I shouldn't use my phone? In the momentary silence that followed, Kim Yeonjun let out an "ahhh" and immediately jumped in.
"Ah, you can use your phone, hyung. You might get a text from your family suddenly. Or maybe an important message. It's the nuna's choice to use her phone, honestly."
There was no time to say anything. As Kim Yeonjun spoke, Choi Hangjun rolled his eyes and observed Do Harim.
"Ah… but, usually when drinking, there's, like, etiquette, and stuff. Usually when you're drinking, isn't it like that? Usually."
"No, hyung. Isn't privacy important these days? It's like that. You might get a message from someone important."
"Ahhh. Like… a boyfriend, that kind of feeling? Important."
"Huh? That's not necessarily it, but… anyway, whatever."
Silence descended rapidly. Do Harim didn't say anything, but that only made it weigh heavier. That was when—
"Oiii, juniors! We're here!"
Kim Ihyun and Seo Yunha, who had vanished somewhere earlier, appeared again. And the news they brought was quite radical.
"We're going to that table over there to play drinking games, who wants to come? You don't have to know how to play. We'll teach you everything."
…Drinking games. Ignoring the strange talk about etiquette, Do Harim moved her fingers rapidly.
And, the reply that came immediately.
Ah. This crazy bastard. He was watching! You fucking crazy bastard………………. He really was watching. Hmm. For some reason, Do Harim felt her heart lighten, so she typed quickly.
Do Harim, while typing the chat, tilted her head sideways. "Who's going? Anyone else going?"
"Uh, me…."
"Oh, junior, are you going?"
"Ah. Yes. I don't really know how, but…."