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~Chapter 58~
It was about a month after she had entered university.
“Uweeeek!”
Dain was patting the back of her classmate, who was vomiting repeatedly next to her.
“Should I stop patting?”
Maybe that would be better.
She was patting because throwing everything up usually helped after drinking, but even after some time, her classmate kept vomiting nonstop. Something about it felt strange.
‘Is something wrong? She’s not going to throw up her organs, right?’
Dain suddenly felt afraid.
“Are you feeling better? Should I stop? Want to go rest instead of throwing up more?”
Her classmate stopped vomiting for a moment and answered weakly.
“No, please keep going. I want to throw it all up.”
“Oh, um… okay.”
Dain held her nose with one hand and continued patting her friend’s back with the other.
“Yeah. If you leave some inside, you’ll still feel uncomfortable. Don’t hold it back, just get it all out. Once you vomit everything, you’ll stop.”
“Will I? What if I just keep vomiting until I die?”
Dain patted her rhythmically with a straight face.
“If you die like that, I’ll be the first one the police suspect, so please don’t.”
“Mm, thanks, Dain. I’ll just keep vomiting.”
Pat pat pat pat!
Bleh bleh bleh bleh!
Dain patted more firmly.
“Your hands are magical. I feel like I can finally breathe now.”
Her classmate smiled with a flushed face.
“That’s my job, patting backs.”
Back when she didn’t know her alcohol tolerance, Dain had gotten completely drunk after only a few drinks during her first university drinking party.
She was proud of herself for working hard to get into university, and sitting among her happy classmates made her want to relax for once.
It was her small reward to herself.
Just one day to let go like a normal student.
But even if she went home drunk, it didn’t change the fact that she had to work a weekend part-time job the next morning.
There were no supportive parents or family telling her to rest if she was tired, so she had to work like a zombie.
For Dain, who had to earn money for tuition and living expenses all by herself, a hangover was a luxury.
That day, she realized something again.
Being able to drink comfortably and act drunk is a privilege of those who have enough.
After that, Dain never touched alcohol again. Instead, helping her drunk classmates—giving them medicine and patting their backs—became her job.
“Dain, thanks. I think I’m okay now. Let’s go back inside.”
It was a neon-lit back alley behind a university bar.
Her classmate straightened her back with effort.
She motioned for Dain to go in with her, but Dain shook her head.
“I’ll come in a little later.”
“Okay.”
Dain wanted something refreshing.
She decided to stop by a convenience store to buy an ion drink, but as she entered an alley, she bumped into a group.
“Sorry.”
“No, I’m sor—oh? Freshman?”
It was a group of upperclassmen. They were holding cigarettes, so they must have stepped out for a smoke.
“Yes, I’m a freshman.”
They had all sat at tables by year and mixed later, introducing themselves, but there had been so many faces that she couldn’t remember who was who.
As Dain bowed slightly and turned to leave, one of them spoke.
“Where are you going? Want to smoke with us?”
One of the seniors grinned and held out a cigarette.
Dain shook her head.
“No, I don’t smoke.”
“Really? That’s too bad. I wanted to share one with you. Have you never even tried? Never even held one?”
“Uh… no, I’ve never tried it.”
“Then just try holding it once.”
He wouldn’t give up and held out his e-cigarette.
“You probably don’t like using the part where my mouth touched, right? Don’t worry, I have this too.”
He held out a regular white cigarette toward her.
She already felt awkward and uncomfortable around so many unfamiliar faces, and now all their attention was on her. She froze.
“I’m not saying you have to light it and smoke. Just hold it in your mouth—”
As she wondered how to get out of the seniors’ teasing, one of them pushed through the group and came to stand in front of her.
“I’m going to the convenience store. You come too.”
He patted her shoulder as he passed, signaling her to follow.
Still dazed, Dain followed him, grateful for the escape.
“Hey, Hwang Sungmin! Why are you taking the cute freshman with you!”
The displeased voice of a senior echoed behind her as she left the alley.
Dain stood quietly next to Sungmin as he picked out ice cream at the convenience store.
‘Since he brought me here, does that mean he’s going to buy it for me too? Should I pick something? That might be awkward though…’
She didn’t really want a stranger to buy her anything since she could pay for herself, so she decided to wait.
If she picked something now, he might just add it to his bill, so she would wait until he finished paying.
While choosing, Sungmin suddenly asked,
“What ice cream is good these days?”
“Sorry?”
“I’m a returning student. I don’t know what’s popular now because I was rotting in the army.”
“Um… maybe the Wild Boar Bar?”
It was an ice cream with chocolate crumbs that fell everywhere when you bit it, and strawberry syrup inside.
She just named the first thing she saw, but it probably wasn’t the best answer.
He smirked as he picked it up.
“Your taste is classic.”
When he disappeared to the register, Dain hurried to the drinks section.
She debated whether to buy soda or an ion drink and finally grabbed an ion drink. But when she turned around—
“You still had something to buy? Here, hold this.”
“Huh? Oh, um…!”
Sungmin swapped the ion drink in her hand for the Wild Boar Bar he’d just bought.
“Let’s go.”
He gestured for her to follow, holding her drink hostage as she stood frozen in front of the fridge.
Ah… her plan failed.
Drip.
Sitting side by side on a campus bench, Dain’s ice cream dripped onto the ground.
“It’s melting.”
“Ah.”
She quickly bit into the melting part. At the same time, Sungmin bit into his own ice cream.
Dain stole a glance at his profile as he ate.
He was wearing a black windbreaker that rustled whenever he moved. His recently cut military hair looked stiff and prickly, and his pale face didn’t match the idea of someone who had just left the army.
‘This is awkward.’
The sound of the wind and the rustling jacket made the silence even heavier. She needed to say something.
“Uh… you can smoke if you want.”
She hated cigarette smoke, but he had saved her from the seniors’ teasing.
But he shook his head.
“I didn’t come out to smoke. I don’t smoke.”
Then why did he even go out there?
“So you just followed your friends out?”
He paused for a moment, then gave a small laugh.
“Yeah. It was hot inside too.”
Looking out at the dark campus, he turned to Dain.
“Your ice cream’s melting again. Do you not like it?”
“Ah.”
The half-eaten Wild Boar Bar was melting and about to lose its entire chocolate coating.
‘He bought it for me…’
She tried to eat it anyway, but he handed her a tissue and took the ice cream from her hand.
Whoosh.
It landed neatly in the trash can.
Dain felt guilty.
“I’m sorry. You bought it for me.”
“Why are you so sorry? People will think I bought you something super expensive. It’s just an ice cream.”
“Still…”
“Are you cold?”
Before she could answer, he was already halfway out of his windbreaker.
“No, no. I’m not cold.”
“But I already took it off. You could’ve said you were.”
He smiled awkwardly and draped the jacket over his shoulders again.
“…Your name is Jung Dain, right?”
“Yes.”
Oh no. How does he know my name? He must have a good memory. I can’t even remember his.
Dain tried hard to recall his name and finally shouted,
“…Sungmin! Right? Sungmin-sunbae! Ha ha, I know your name too.”
Then, for the first time, his black eyes sparkled with life.
“Now that’s better.”
