Chapter 5 …
“Journalists must be diligent and truthful!”
“Diligent and truthful!”
The drinking session began with a corny toast from an old senior who had graduated late and had many peers from the working world.
As people age, their sense of age differences becomes blurred. Even seeing a senior just one year older seemed overwhelmingly imposing right now.
Ha-ju tried to muster as much social grace as possible in that environment, struggling to maintain her composure.
Finally, a senior who had been hiding among the freshmen in the Department of Media and Information Studies appeared.
“You guys were working hard to find the spy, huh? And it was me! Hahaha… Wait, why aren’t you surprised, Jimin?”
“I saw you talking with another senior earlier. You were speaking so casually that I thought, if there’s a spy, it has to be you.”
When Jimin shrugged as if that was obvious, the senior looked embarrassed.
Of course, not all freshmen were as perceptive as Jimin, so most were in complete shock.
“I thought our department didn’t have anything like that…!”
“Damn, what did I even say…”
The senior had pretended to be a middle-aged freshman, enrolling one year late. Ha-ju, who had been tipped off by Jimin, was able to navigate it without mistakes.
“Hyung, what exactly was the conversation we had, or rather…?”
“I’ll keep your secret thoroughly. But I didn’t know Ha-ju had that kind of taste. Guys, you know Ha-ju…”
“Wait, hold on!”
Hahaha.
Sometimes just staying calm gets you through the basics.
Ha-ju looked at Ha-jun with a pitying expression.
The atmosphere at the drinking table warmed quickly. Ha-ju imitated the pouring technique she had learned from videos, diligently drinking the alcohol poured by the senior.
“Wow, your name’s Seo Ha-ju? You drink really well.”
“Ha-ju’s surprisingly good at games too. Look at that serious expression.”
“Wow, and you just downed that in one go?”
A pretty, quiet, and introverted freshman who drinks well—the kind that makes you want to tease her a little.
Ha-ju was the type of junior who naturally drew attention without effort, making people instinctively care for her.
Even when drunk, she carefully handed over cups with both hands, used polite language consistently, and drank whatever was given to her. She showed effort, was mild-mannered, and had no particularly bad habits, making her a commendable first-year student.
“Huh? Looks like she’s a little drunk?”
“Crazy. How much did you make her drink?”
“I only saw her have three soju-beer mixes. This guy’s insane.”
“Man, if Seobbeon sees this, he’ll freak out.”
Even when drinking, her already pale face became even whiter, making it hard to tell she was intoxicated until she was completely drunk—a type of junior who subtly causes concern at every drinking event.
“Damn, Lee Hyun-woo’s here.”
Ignoring someone’s muttering, everyone watched a man enter the table.
The man looked at Ha-ju, who was nodding off with a stiff face.
“Hey, you guys. I told you not to overfeed the freshman alcohol.”
“Well, she was drinking so calmly, not changing color at all…”
“I’m fine.”
When she looked up, her eyes met those of a strict-looking male senior. He wore a typical college outfit: a sweatshirt over a departmental jacket and jeans.
Ha-ju immediately recognized the handsome senior Jimin had mentioned.
Lee Hyun-woo was, honestly, more than just good-looking—tall and well-proportioned, undeniably handsome.
“How come you guys still can’t control yourselves after returning? What’s this junior’s name?”
“Hello, senior. I’m Seo Ha-ju, a freshman in the Department of Media and Information Studies at Korea University.”
Ha-ju swayed and bowed her head while greeting.
Hyun-woo looked troubled and said to the male group,
“I’ll keep an eye on her while I rest, so you guys go to another table.”
“Ah, okay…”
The group around Ha-ju stood and moved their glasses to another table.
Jimin had already left for home, commuting from far away. Most of the other classmates she was familiar with were at different tables, and they weren’t in a good state to look after her.
Unbeknownst to Ha-ju, a male senior disliked by most female seniors was at her table, which explained why the female seniors had already fled to another table earlier.
“Do you live far?”
“Nearby. I’ll go home once I sober up a bit.”
“Alright. If you can’t manage, I’ll take you home, so let me know.”
“Yes.”
Ha-ju bowed again, swaying, her whole body trembling. Hyun-woo, unable to watch her like this, sat in front of her to keep her company until she sobered up.
Crash.
“Kim Min-jun, you bastard!”
A commotion erupted at another table with male seniors. Hyun-woo got up to check the source.
Apparently, a senior who had been in a couple with a girl left for the military after they broke up, but that girl was now dating another senior who had returned.
The problem was, all three were classmates. The female senior had graduated, but the two male seniors were now third-years.
Smack.
The two men collided between tables with a heavy thud.
Crash!
The table toppled, glasses and dishes scattered and broke.
Department events are always unpredictable, but this was a major accident.
Even when the department head rushed to intervene, the two men refused to separate. They continued shouting at each other with lingering resentment even after being pulled apart.
Meanwhile, a freshman vomited on the floor.
“Ha… today is really a mess.”
Hyun-woo roughly tidied the scene and looked at Ha-ju’s table.
The well-behaved drunk freshman was quiet, so there wasn’t much to worry about…
Or so he thought.
The fully drunk freshman had disappeared.
“Did you see where that freshman, who was nodding off in the corner, went?”
“Ha-ju? She said she’d go out to sober up a bit and then come back in.”
Hyun-woo sighed, running a hand through his hair.
It was good she left on her own, but he felt uneasy.
The alcohol made Ha-ju’s head spin.
It was the first time she had truly drunk in her life.
Since the college entrance exam, she had done various part-time jobs. Sometimes the shop owner would suggest joining company gatherings, but Ha-ju always avoided them—they made her uncomfortable.
No adults around her could teach her to drink, so before entering college, she practiced once at home, learning the pouring technique from online videos.
Ha-ju wasn’t stupid—she knew that, for smooth school life, she shouldn’t cause trouble for seniors.
If she got carried home by a senior due to poor pacing, she would immediately be labeled as a troublesome person from their first meeting.
She staggered along, making the trip feel especially long today.
It was over a 30-minute walk.
Taking a bus wouldn’t have been much faster than walking, to her one-room apartment on a hill in a district known for inconvenient transport.
“Maybe I should’ve paid more for a closer place…”
Still, the price was reasonable, the place was clean, quiet, with unobstructed views rather than facing another building.
The rooftop was open, letting her hang laundry on nice days, and the landlord maintained the building well.
There was no separate maintenance fee, which was a bonus.
Though using a shared laundry machine, the apartment was spacious for an older building.
As she walked, she reached a shop crowded with people.
Other departments seemed to be having their post-opening gathering there today.
A man was smoking outside the shop, talking to a female student.
Ha-ju didn’t have the energy to look at them and kept her gaze on the ground, walking weakly.
“Senior Tae-heon, I heard you broke up with Soo-hee? She took a leave of absence, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So you’re single now?”
“Probably not.”
“What do you mean ‘probably not’?”
“You seem like you’re about to confess to me, so I’m saying no politely.”
“Oh… it’s not like that.”
The junior gave an awkward smile. Her assumption was correct.
“Then that’s a relief.”
“…But what have you been staring at?”
“Someone familiar-looking, swaying drunk from the top of the head.”
“That person? Wow, she’s really drunk. With hair covering her face, she shouldn’t even see where she’s going, but somehow she’s walking.”
Staggering, swaying.
Long hair fell like a curtain, hiding her face. But from the length and build, it was clear she was female.
“Walking alone like that at this hour is kind of dangerous…”
“Exactly.”
The girl passed by slowly, swaying past them.
As she passed, the wind blew her hair, revealing her face for a moment before hiding it again.
The observers’ eyes widened.
“Wow, she’s really pretty.”
The junior gasped.
Tae-heon quickly stubbed out his cigarette, turned the junior’s shoulder toward the shop, and gently guided her inside.
“Go inside. Something came up, so I’ll handle it now.”
