What’s she so shocked about?

Senior Kang A-rin stared at me, eyes as round as a startled rabbit’s.

Then her gaze went to Son Yu-ri.

This scene clearly wasn’t computing for her.

“Y-Yu-ri. You know him?”

“Huh? Well, it’s, um…”

Whether it was the drink or the embarrassment, Son Yu-ri’s face flushed red all over again.

Picking up a freshman and drinking with him wasn’t exactly a good look.

“I fell for Senior Yu-ri at first sight, so I asked her out for a drink.”

Better that I take the fall.

If it came out that Son Yu-ri had asked for my number first and brought a freshman to a bar, her reputation would obviously take a beating.

That was just how Korean society saw things back then.

“Wow… Jang Tae-san. You really…”

Senior Kang A-rin’s jaw hung open.

I could guess roughly how the rest of that sentence went.

You really are hopeless!

Arrogant Mouth, did you come to school to date?

Your prospects are rotten already!

But…

“You’re really something! Yu-ri’s been single since birth—her friends will vouch for it—so how’d you hook her? Wow~ I’m seriously jealous. If I’d been born a guy, I’d have gone after Yu-ri myself!”

Huh? What’s this senior going on about?

Is she complimenting me?

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

Son Yu-ri was flustered.

“This is great. Looks like the food’s all cooked, so let’s drink here. Kids, sit.”

“Y-yes, sunbae.”

Just like that, we were sharing a table.

The kids who’d followed Senior A-rin were three guys and two girls.

They’d taken off their name tags, but I’d memorized every name.

We pulled the next table over and sat down.

“Oh! Who stir-fried this? Did Granny do it for you? She was in a generous mood today~.”

Kang A-rin picked up her chopsticks and tasted the sundae and vegetables.

“Oh my God! This is to die for~. See, cooking really is all in the hands.”

Dream on.

“Yu-ri, I’m drinking your beer.”

Without asking, Kang A-rin snatched Son Yu-ri’s somac and gulped it down.

They were closer than I’d thought.

“We were in high school together…”

Son Yu-ri was quick on the uptake.

She explained how they knew each other before I’d even asked.

“Khhhh~. That’s killer! What is this? Is this a new beer? Why is the aftertaste so crisp and sweet?”

This law school senior knew a good drink when she tasted one.

“My babies. You can all have a drink, right?”

“Huh? Y-yes.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Grab a glass.”

Kang A-rin took glasses from the stack beside the table and started pouring for the juniors.

I didn’t mind.

My cozy drink with Son Yu-ri was ruined, but getting to know my classmates was nice too.

“Tae-san, soju? Beer?”

“I’ll help myself.”

“Oh my. Even our Tae-san’s voice is gorgeous.”

Senior Kang A-rin really did seem easy to get along with.

She had the whole table going in no time and kept the kids’ glasses full.

“But who’s… this?”

One of my classmates, a guy in glasses, was showing an interest in Son Yu-ri.

“Yu-ri? Pretty, right? Western painting, art school, third year this year. We were classmates in high school, and our families know each other well.”

“Nice to meet you, juniors. I’m Son Yu-ri.”

Son Yu-ri answered with a small smile.

She didn’t seem to mind the attention from the fresh-faced little kids.

I quietly went to work making bomb shots.

“What! If you mix your drinks, you get a headache the next day~.”

“Dummy. You just drank one.”

“What? That’s what I drank?”

“It’s called somac. You didn’t know?”

“Ooh~ Yu-ri, look at you, all grown up. This from the little kid who went out cold on one shot of soju in high school!”

“I can drink more than you now, you know!”

“Oh my, my, my. You can tell a whopper like that with a straight face? On the honor of Invincible Law, I challenge you!” (TL Note: The Korean is “without even wetting your lips” — telling a lie so smoothly your mouth doesn’t even get dry.)

“In the name of Creative Art, I accept your challenge!”

These two sure knew how to have fun.

“Yong-beom, can you drink?”

“Huh? You know my name?”

“Do I look stupid? Ji-hye, you’re drinking too, right?”

“Y-yes…”

“Come on, what’s with the yes? We’re classmates. Just call me Tae-san.”

“Is that okay?”

The girl in circle lenses sounded surprised.

“Of course. We’re going to see a lot of each other. Let’s drop the formal stuff.”

I’d done my time in the army in my past life, so I took the lead.

College life was just getting started.

Spending it as an outsider was a bad idea.

This time around, I wanted a more colorful life.

“You’re okay with that too, Yeon-a?”

“Sure~.”

“Jun-sik, Hyeong-ju, you good?”

“We’re the same age anyway. Let’s talk like friends.”

“I’m in!”

And that was how I made my first five friends among my classmates.

I couldn’t exactly agree that we were the same age, but according to our ID cards, we were friends.

“Let’s all have a drink. Meeting like this must be fate.”

I raised my glass.

I’d missed drinking like this.

With the high schoolers, it had been pizza or fried chicken every day.

“Tae-san… you’re a real man. Yu-ri, what are you doing? Let’s drink ourselves to death too.”

“Nice to meet you all. Guys, I’ll set you up on blind dates~.”

“Unnie! We want to meet art school oppas too!”

“Yeah? Okay. Just trust your unnie!”

“Yu-ri, what about me? I’m your friend! Set me up too!”

“You’re an old model. All rusted out. Don’t you ever look in the mirror?”

“Shut up! How can you say something that cruel to my face! Who are you to give advice, Miss Single Since Birth!”

“I’m too busy to date.”

“So am I! Do you have any idea how many law school seniors hit on me?”

“Show me the proof~.”

“P-proof…”

They were close friends, no question.

Different departments, but there was real affection in every look and every word that passed between them.

“Sunbaes, why not settle it fair and square? Whoever drinks more wins.”

“Ooh, I like that!”

“Me too! Drink, my friend!”

“Not a chance. My friend!”

And the two of them clinked glasses and drank.

“Why is the somac taking so long? Hurry up and make us more~.”

The duel that had suddenly flared up between the two college women was fiercer than I’d expected.

And I dutifully kept the somac coming.

I paid my respects in advance to the hell they’d be waking up to tomorrow morning.

Tadak, tadadadak.

The steady rhythm of a knife on a cutting board was pleasant to hear.

Chiiiiiit, chiiiit.

Steam was hissing out, like rice finishing in a cooker.

“Mmmm~.”

Whatever it was, the cool, spicy smell creeping in was incredible.

It was mouth-watering.

A limp body, heavy as wet cotton, stirred drowsily awake.

Soft bedding tickled a cheek.

The bedding smelled fresh and nice, too.

It wasn’t the usual bedding smell.

What? The bedding smells different!!!

Son Yu-ri’s eyes flew open.

“Heok!”

The sight in front of her tore a scream out of her.

Through a gap in the curtains she caught a glimpse of clear, crisp winter sky.

The room was several times bigger than hers, and completely unfamiliar.

It had a calm, cozy feel.

A huge king-size bed held her.

A large painting of an apple orchard hung on the wall.

Son Yu-ri could tell it was an oil painting by a serious master, someone who knew how to capture nature exactly as it was.

Apart from a comfortable wooden rocking chair by the window, there was no other furniture.

The owner of the room was clearly a plain, unfussy person.

“Wh-where… am I?”

It didn’t look like a kidnapping or anything.

Son Yu-ri searched her memory.

Last night, at Granny Kkotsuni’s sundae place, she’d set out to settle things once and for all with Kang A-rin, her law school friend from high school.

The somac had gone down way too smoothly, and she’d gotten drunk.

She’d traded rounds with the law freshmen.

She’d never had so much fun drinking in her life.

With her friend there too, she’d let her guard all the way down.

She’d even nagged Jang Tae-san for taking too long with the somac.

And then at some point… everything went dark. She’d blacked out cold. (TL Note: The Korean says “the film snapped” — memory as a reel of film that breaks mid-show.)

“N-no way!”

She threw back the covers and looked herself over.

“Whew…”

Thank God, she was still in the clothes she’d had on yesterday.

Nothing felt off in her body either.

“But where is this? It doesn’t look like A-rin’s place…”

Son Yu-ri eased herself out of bed.

Srrrrrrt. She drew back the curtains that covered the floor-to-ceiling window.

“Ah!”

And there, the moment the curtains parted, was the sweeping Han River.

What? This is Gangnam?

She could see the Han River, and familiar bridges across it.

Across the river, cars streamed back and forth along the Gangbyeonbuk-ro.

Chunks of ice bobbed on the river, and the water looked colder than ever.

“Where on earth am I… it’s not a woman’s room…”

At least she’d called home last night.

She’d told them she might pull an all-nighter at school for a professor’s special assignment.

Art students had plenty of nights like that, so she’d gotten the okay even over break.

But spending the night out like this threw her.

Warily, Son Yu-ri crept up to the door, which stood slightly open.

Whose place is this? Ugh… this is driving me crazy.

Chewing her nails, she listened for what was going on outside.

The building was obviously new.

This was the villa neighborhood of Cheongdam-dong, known as one of the richest areas even in Gangnam.

And with a view of the Han River, at that.

Whoever lived here was seriously loaded.

“If you’re up, wash up and come out.”

“!!!”

A man’s voice she knew came from the direction of the kitchen.

J… Jang Tae-san? Aaaaaah! What is this!

To her shock, the voice belonged to Jang Tae-san, the law freshman she’d met yesterday.

Son Yu-ri’s head was a complete mess.

The word meltdown might have been invented for this exact moment.

A few words tossed his way out of curiosity, one night of drinking, and now she’d slept over.

Her face burned, and her chest felt tight.

Anyone would conclude the same thing: a third-year art student had seduced a clueless freshman.

To pull herself together, Son Yu-ri hurried into the bathroom and showered.

Thank God she always kept a spare set of underwear in her bag for late-night studio work at school.

The bathroom was clean and spacious.

If this had been a friend’s place, she’d have wanted to take her sweet time on a morning like this, but she washed fast and came out.

As she dried her hair, she sorted out her thoughts.

She arrived at exactly one conclusion.

I’ll just face it head-on!

Luckily, nothing had happened last night.

A night like that mattered to a woman. She didn’t want to waste hers on a one-night stand.

But she stepped carefully all the same.

Spending the night in a strange man’s home, in a strange man’s room—Son Yu-ri would be the first to scold herself for that.

The living room’s pretty too…

The moment she stepped out, the whole Han River spread across a giant wall of glass.

Different again from the view in the bedroom.

The view blew the tightness right out of her chest.

“Come to the table. Everything’s ready.”

Jang Tae-san called from the kitchen.

Son Yu-ri crossed to him in quick little sparrow steps, like a new bride who’d overslept.

And then…

“!!!”

What is all this???

(End of Chapter 83)