105. Entrance Ceremony, Afterparty, and…. (4)

The afterparty location for the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy wasn’t far. A place called Bongcheon Pocha, about a fifteen-minute walk from the izakaya I was at. My heart pounded, and I practically ran, arriving in less than ten minutes.

─*Tling*.

“Welcome! How many are in your party~?”

“Just one, but my group’s already inside.”

“Ah ha, understood!”

The uniformed waitress stepped aside. I brushed past her and moved further into the restaurant.

‘Let’s see, a large group table…’

I knew Aki’s location from the phone. Past the tables for two and four, she was supposedly at the reserved group seating in the very back.

I navigated through the communal tables, that is, scanning the crowded space. Even though it’s a weekday afternoon, this place, a pub-slash-eatery, was quite the ruckus, and the shop being unusually large made finding anyone a task.

“Ah, could that be them?”

After a short walk, I spotted a mixed group of lads and lasses. Freshmen from our university, I’d bet.

How I could be so sure? Well, the kid wearing that gaudy departmental jacket I mentioned earlier was planted in a very visible spot.

Anyway, approaching a bit closer, I saw a full-blown daytime drinking session in progress. Naturally, boys and girls were mingling, but surprisingly, the gender ratio looked to be about 3 to 7, with the “3” belonging to the lads. Back in my department, it was 9 to 1 in favor of the fellas.

Well, not that having more girls is necessarily better. Still, compared to our department’s quiet post-orientation gatherings, this was practically like the first night of a college retreat.

They’d only known each other for a day, a few hours even. Little cliques were cooing to each other, boys and girls whispering secrets like they were already best mates. And the shouts of, “Pour it up! bottoms up….” suggested a drinking game was in full swing. No wonder Aki got so tipsy.

“……But, hold on.”

Where in the world is Aki anyway? She clearly said she’d be here.

I muttered to myself, scanning the room, still no sign of her. Just then, someone approached from beside me, flashing a warm smile as they spoke.

“Excuse me, are you by any chance from the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy?”

I turned to see a bespectacled girl. She had such a youthful face.

“Ah, no. A different department. I’m in Physical Education… I’m here to see my girlfriend.”

“Ah, your girlfriend. What’s her name?”

“Aki. Fujiwara Aki. The one with, uh, pink hair and big eyes…”

“…Ah!”

Just as I was about to list Aki’s defining features, someone in the corner booth perked their head up.

Reacting instinctively, my eyes followed, and soon enough, I locked gazes with a familiar girl.

“Huh?”

“My lord is here, my lord~! “

Fujiwara Aki.

My girlfriend, the kind I could take anywhere… mostly.

“What~? You came ’cause you missed me~?”

“……”

I suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

She loudly proclaimed me “My Lord” for all to hear, and now everyone was gawking.

Fl*stered, I waved my hand as if to say, ‘Calm down.’ Then, with a quick glance, I signaled to the girl who spoke to me earlier, implying ‘That’s her, over there.’ She seemed to understand, giving a slight smile as she stepped aside.

I headed straight for Aki’s table. She was surrounded by a gaggle of girls. Aside from Aki, there were five girls in total, and they were all watching Aki and me with rapt attention.

“Aki, Aki! Look over there, it looks like your Lord is here…?”

“He must be here to pick you up, Aki!”

“Ooh, our Aki is a lucky one~?”

“Aki-ya, your husband’s come for you~ Won’t you do a little something for him?”

“Ah, should I~? Husband, are you here…?”

“…….”

Why are they telling you to do that? Aki-ya.

Aki’s single line nearly sent the other girls into hysterics, save for one. The short-haired, boyish one just smirked and sipped her drink.

Suddenly a clown, or rather, becoming a simple clown, filled me with such shyness… I almost snatched Aki and bolted, but managed to restrain myself. I had to at least say hello.

“Hello. Um, I’m…”

“Aki’s husband, right?”

“……Ah, yes. That’s true, but…”

“You’re handsome, Husband!”

“Yeah, really cool…!”

“What department are you in? Aki said she’s in Physical Education, so you must be too, right?”

“Yes, yes…”

Impossible to get a word in.

For every one I utter, five questions fire back, keeping me scrambling to answer. Feeling like I’d be swept away by the girls’ momentum if I lingered, I offered brief replies as I made my way to Aki.

“Aki, are you alright?”

“Ah! It’s Husband…!”

Aki gave me a radiant smile.

Her cheeks were flushed, so she must be quite drunk.

‘She doesn’t seem too out of it…’

I wondered how much she’d had to drink to get like this. I glanced to the side to try and inquire.

“Excuse me, who was it that I spoke to on the phone just now?”

“That was me.”

Someone tentatively raised their hand. It was the short-haired girl, the one who’d been smirking a moment ago. So this was the Donghee she spoke of.

Almost involuntarily, I looked at her a bit more closely and realised she really was quite handsome. Beautifully pretty in that classic way, you know? If I’d passed her on the street without hearing her voice, I would have mistaken her for a guy, one hundred percent.

“Ah, I see. Thank you for giving me directions. It was a big help.”

“Huh? Ah, no, it wasn’t that much trouble…”

When I even bowed my head slightly, she waved her hands dismissively, her face reddening as though embarrassed. I gave her a friendly smile and said,

“Say, how much did Aki drink? A lot?”

“Not a ton. Maybe two glasses of beer with that juice cup?”

“Ah.”

*That* explains it. So that’s why her tongue’s gone all wobbly. A single can of beer is her limit, and she downed two cupfuls, so she’s bound to be tipsy.

“Did Aki… cause any trouble, or anything…?”

Aki has awful habits when she’s drunk, so I asked nervously. It’s true, back in high school, she’d barge into the bathroom while I was in there, keep demanding more booze, and hug me tight while begging me to sleep with her because she was tired, making things so awkward for me.

“Nah, nothing like that. She was actually kind of cute?”

“Aki was…?”

“Yeah. What did she say, again? She was mumbling something with slurred words… Oh, she said her ‘hubby’ was super handsome, and you’d all be surprised if you saw him in person, or something like that?”

“Right, that’s what she said. And that *atashi* only has to call once and he’ll come running, right? Right?”

“But is that actually true? Does he really come running whenever Aki calls?”

“Well, that’s….”

“……Of COURSE! My hubby loves *atashi* so much! See? He came running right away!”

Little *pfft* sounds of laughter bubbled up from here and there. Not mocking laughter, definitely not, just giggles from the girls who found Aki, with her slurred speech and wobbly words, endearing. But somehow, the embarrassment was all mine, so I pretended not to hear and cleared my throat.

“Looks like she’s pretty drunk… Um, would it be alright if I took her home?”

“Yeah, of course! You’re her boyfriend—or her hubby, rather—so you definitely should~!”

“Oh, but before you take her, can I ask you one serious question?”

“Uh… Sure, what is it?”

“Aki was saying earlier… Do you two really live together? Aki said you got a two-room apartment nearby and you’re living together, because her hubby loves her so much and begged her to live with him…?!”

“……”

What kind of things have you been saying behind my back, Aki…?

The words caught in my throat, and the girls stared at me with curious eyes. They didn’t say anything, but they were all waiting for my answer.

I was about to say that wasn’t true, that we just liked each other and lived together because of that… but then, this thought stopped me.

If I deny what Aki said now, won’t Aki be the only one who looks ridiculous?

They don’t seem like bad kids, so the chances are low, but… what if one or two of them starts thinking of Aki as someone who just blurts out whatever comes to mind when she’s drunk?

“……Yeah. Well.”

Once the thought took root, I couldn’t bring myself to say no. So I just nodded firmly.

“I liked her a lot… so I asked her to live with me.”

“Whoa, really? Since when…?!”

“When was it. Right after the university announcements, I looked for a place immediately… So, has it been about three months?”

“Oh. So, you two have been dating for three months now?”

“No. We’ve been living together for three months, but we were dating before that. Been together about three years.”

“Three years? So, since high school…? And you both ended up at the same university?”

“Well, yeah, I guess?”

“Wow, that’s amazing…!”

“You’re both the same age, right? Did you study together in your last year of high school? Like, did you go to the library together?”

“We didn’t really go to the library. We studied at home instead. We were taking tutoring together.”

“Ah, tutoring…! So you met Aki while you were getting tutored?”

“No. Not really. I’ve known Aki since way before that. When was it… almost kindergarten, maybe….”

“Kindergarten? So you two are childhood friends?”

“Yeah. That’s right. Childhood friends.”

“Wow, wow…!”

The girls’ gazes shifted, growing gradually more favorable.

Before, it was a look of half-doubt, cautiously probing Aki and me. Now, that was completely gone, replaced by soft eyes that seemed to envy, or even admire, the bond between us. Telling them a story about Aki must have worked.

“Honey, you like being popular with the girls…?”

*Poke.*

Aki nudged my arm with her index finger.

Apparently, she didn’t like me talking to the other girls while leaving her to the side, her cheeks puffed out, face flushed. I chuckled and gently took her hand in mine.

“What, are you jealous?”

“Yeah, I’m jealous. Really…!”

“…Pfft.”

Ah. How cute…

Usually, I’d retort with something cheesy, but I was drunk, so my emotions were unusually honest. I found Aki adorable like that, gently massaging her fingers as I spoke.

“Are you tired? Should we go home?”

“Ah, are you leaving already?”

“It’s just getting fun, can we stay a little longer!”

“That’s right! Just ten minutes, no, twenty! You have plenty of time anyway…!”

“Aki, you’re going to stay a bit longer, right? Huh, huh?”

“…Umm, should I?”

Aki reached for the soju glass. I quickly snatched her wrist.

“No more drinks. Let’s just chat and then go.”

“Aww, whyyy…!”

“Why, you ask? …You’ve already gone over your limit.”

“No way! I want to drink more…!”

“Are you going to keep acting like this…?”

“Uh-huh, I want to drink. Let me have some, hmm, Master…?”

Aki looked up at me, her voice laced with a coquettish whine.

“……”

Ah, aegyo is cheating…

In that instant, my resolve weakened, and I released Aki’s wrist. Whatever, she’s already drunk, it’s not like a few more drinks here will cause any big trouble.

“But just one glass, got it?”

“Hehe. Got it…!”

Aki smiled prettily and emptied her glass in one go.

“Oh, Aki’s quite the drinker~!”

“Aki’s boyfrien-… ah, not that. Master, would you like a drink, too?”

“……Just call me Woo-joo. And speak casually, we’re probably the same age anyway.”

“Ah, really? Then can I just call you Woo-joo?”

“Yeah. Do that. But what’s your name?”

“I’m Lee Ji-young. You already know from the phone call, right?”

“Ah, Lee Ji-young. That was you?”

“Yup, that was me. Ah, this is Dong-hee, this is Ye-ji. And next to her is…”

“Master. No talking to other girls…!”

The moment I tried to join the conversation, Aki’s prohibition came down. Her voice, thick with a slur, made the other girls, including me, laugh, and Aki raised her eyebrows upward as if dissatisfied.

“Don’t laugh, silly Master…!”

“I wasn’t the only one laughing, why are you only saying something to me?”

“I can’t exactly tell the other girls off. Master is all mine….”

“Aki, can’t I be yours too?”

“Nope, can’t. Aki only has Master.”

“Gasp, that’s too much…!”