Senior Jungkook from the Judo Club
"Hey, hey... stop drinking! This is already your third bottle!"
Despite her classmates trying to stop her by grabbing her arm, the main character's determination was clear. She grabbed a newly opened bottle of soju and poured it into the beer glass in front of her.
Splash... splash...
What looked like water at first glance was actually soju, filling up the 500cc beer glass. The main character quickly drank the whole glass, and the classmates beside her gasped in shock, hurriedly clearing the drinks from the table. But it was all in vain because the main character shouted, "Hey, more soju here!"
"Hey, Go Yeojoo! What's going on with you today? Did something happen?"
"Yeojoo, stop drinking and talk to us. Is it because of Seokjin sunbae?"
"...Don't stop me..."
Yeojoo, one of the few female members of the judo team, tried to comfort herself by munching on popcorn that was served as a free side dish, and after a while, her friend Yujin carefully asked, making Yeojoo's eyes water. At that moment, the two friends, worried about Yeojoo, nodded and placed the drinks back on the table.
"Why? Did Seokjin sunbae say something to you?"
"Damia..."
"Yeah. Tell us."
"I'm really... ha... so sad... sniff..."
"Are you drunk? This is Yeojoo, who can drink seven bottles without a problem, so how can she be drunk after just three?"
"I... I... sniff sniff..."
Yeojoo wanted to say it was the alcohol, but she knew it was a lie, so she didn't bother speaking it out loud. She could drink seven bottles and still be fine, three bottles were nothing. It felt like drinking a fizzy soda.
"Aww, Damia, Yeojoo's sad right now. Let's listen to what happened and comfort her."
sniff sniff "Don't listen... don't listen... sniff..."
"Yeojoo..."
"Hey, do you think we're the only ones here? People are watching. Don't forget that everyone around us is from our department."
Yujin grabbed Yeojoo's hand in sympathy, and Damia, trying to cover her face, quickly grabbed a few tissues from the table and tossed them toward Yeojoo.
In this moment, Yeojoo let out a tearful laugh. Seokjin sunbae and I were a perfect match in MBTI... damn, thinking about it again just makes me feel worse.
Even though her friends were worried and asking what happened, Yeojoo had a reason she couldn't speak about. The fact that this was the first drinking session before the freshman orientation with the new members made it even more difficult to talk...
How could she say that the senior she thought was interested in her actually liked someone else with the same name? And that she had even seen those two kissing... She couldn't say it, not for her pride.
"Ugh, it's fine... let's talk about something else."
"Yeah. Yeojoo, have you heard? I heard from a friend that Yoon Yeojoo and Seokjin sunbae went on a date..."
"Let's talk about something else."
"...Ah."
It was already too late. Yeojoo, her hands trembling, clenched them tightly and let her tears fall. In fact, she had already been crying before coming here, and now she was too tired to wipe away her tears.
"Huh? Jeon Jungkook? Did you get discharged? Contact me!"
The voice of a stranger suddenly broke the silence around the table, and Yeojoo wiped her moist eyes and looked up to see someone she hadn't seen before greeting the senior across the table.
He was wearing a black hoodie and cap, and although his face looked youthful, his build was solid, revealing his judo club background. Ah, no wonder Yujin seemed interested—she'd been staring at him for a while.
"Are you returning to school right away?"
"Yeah. There's nothing to do while I rest. I just want to graduate soon."
"How did you know about this place?"
"I asked the class president. I was passing by, so I stopped by."
"Did you contact Yeojoo? She's been waiting for you."
"...Why would I contact her? You know we're not like that."
Crash.
The sharp sound of breaking glass interrupted the conversation. Everyone's eyes turned toward the table, and Yeojoo quickly wiped her damp face and stood up to apologize briefly.
"...I'm sorry."
Her hands trembling, she bent down to pick up the broken beer glass, her fingers shaking.
Even though everyone was calling her 'Go Yeojoo,' it was obvious that they meant 'Yoon Yeojoo,' the graceful and slender rhythmic gymnast. The contrast between them was too stark.
"...Ah."
"Yeojoo, are you okay?!"
The time spent in unnecessary thoughts seemed too long, and finally, her hand had been cut. Seeing her bleeding, her senior Daeshik, who had been maintaining a good relationship with her, handed her a tissue.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thank you." Yeojoo nodded and, rather than using the tissue on her bleeding hand, she used it to clean up the broken glass.
"...Yeojoo?"
As she tossed the tissue and broken pieces into the trash, she tried to stand up, but suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist. It was the guy Yujin had been eyeing earlier. His name was... Jeongguk, she thought.
"...Ah, Jeongguk. He's a second-year from our department. You probably didn't know because he just came back from the military. His name's Yeojoo, Go Yeojoo."
"..."
"..."
Even though Daeshik explained, Jeongguk still held her wrist. Yeojoo, unsure whether to greet him or not, hesitated, but Jeongguk stood up, grabbed his phone and wallet, and left.
"I'll go first. I'll take her to the hospital and then head out. See you at school."
Yeoju, whose hands are wounded.