He Is That Guy

The exam period that had crawled by finally ended.
Leaving the lecture hall last, Eun Haeseong walked up to where Kim Daeseok and I were waiting in the hall and made a soju-drinking gesture.
“Go?”
“Go!”
“I’ve got plans.”
When I cleanly turned down the drinking invite, their snickering faces hardened in an instant, like I’d betrayed them.
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“I’m serious.”
Sorry to kill the vibe, but I really did have a dinner plan with Chae Yu-jeong, so there was no helping it.
He’d been waiting only for the day my exams ended, whining a dozen times a day that he wanted to see my face—there wasn’t any other way.
“Go with the others.”
“We wanted the three of us to really get into it for once!”
You hit the club every other day and party with women, what are you… I looked at his sulking act in disbelief, and in the middle of it, Kim Daeseok’s eyes lit up.
“Hey, Yu Ji-han. Don’t do that—bring him. Let’s drink as four.”
“What?”
“You’re meeting Chae anyway. Call him and we’ll drink as four.”
There he goes again.
“If we’re being strict, he’s not a total stranger to Eun either. He kind of glanced by us at the front gate last time.”
If you’ve never spoken and only passed by once, that’s a stranger, you idiot.
“Whoa, I’m in. I vote yes.”
Eun brightened and flashed a thumbs-up. What a load of crap.
“How do you even know I’m meeting Chae? Don’t tell me you texted him again?”
“No? You only ever message one person when you take breaks lately, and it’s Chae.”
“That’s…”
“And that time you ditched us for dinner, you said you ate with him.”
“……”
“Judging by your face, you’re meeting him. At least ask. Maybe he’ll say yes.”
Why is this asshole only sharp about useless stuff? I kept my face blank.
“He’s shy. He’ll hate it.”
“That’s why you ask.”
The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, faces saying hurry up and ask.
Out of excuses, I finally pulled out my phone and texted him.
[Yu Ji-han: I’m done with exams]
[Chae Yu-jeong: Wow!! >▽<]
[Chae Yu-jeong: You worked hard!!]
[Chae Yu-jeong: (sticker)]
[Chae Yu-jeong: We’re meeting today, right?]
[Chae Yu-jeong: Where should we go?]
Not even five seconds passed before replies poured in. It was always like this with him; not surprising anymore.
But just for today, slower replies would’ve been fine. I clicked my tongue and put it bluntly enough to make him feel the pressure.
[Yu Ji-han: Was gonna, but]
[Yu Ji-han: the guys are pushing to drink]
[Yu Ji-han: they’re making a fuss to bring you too]

Well? A surprise invite like this is super annoying, right?
I went ahead and laid out excuses he could use to say no easily.
[Yu Ji-han: one’s Kim Daeseok, there’s one more]
[Yu Ji-han: you kind of glanced by him before at the gate, but still weird, right?]
[Yu Ji-han: you can refuse]
[Yu Ji-han: they’re just tossing it out there]
[Yu Ji-han: lol the more I think about it the more forced it is fr, right?]
[Yu Ji-han: who calls someone out of nowhere to drink.. might as well sell manners at a market]
[Yu Ji-han: you’re refusing?]
Good. That should do it.
I waited for something like, “Gasp! Right! That’s awkward, I don’t want to go!” As usual, he read it instantly—and answered instantly.
[Chae Yu-jeong: I’ll go!]
“…?”
Did I misread that? I rubbed my eyes and looked again.
You’ll go? He just said he’s coming?
[Yu Ji-han: lol?]
[Yu Ji-han: What?]
[Chae Yu-jeong: Should I head to your campus?]
[Chae Yu-jeong: If it’s drinking, I shouldn’t drive, right?]
[Chae Yu-jeong: It’s fine, I can grab a taxi—I’ll be there soon!]
[Chae Yu-jeong: (sticker)]
A black cat beamed and stuck up a thumbs-up. A pounding headache hit a head that had felt fine even during the exam.
“Man, I get to drink with the famous Sensory.”
Laying it on thick, Kim Daeseok filled Chae’s glass with soju.
Even I, who’ve known him since high school, found his face so punchable I winced. Somehow Chae took it without a hint of discomfort.
“We’re not some old boomer types. Relax. Yeah? Eat a ton of meat too.”
“Cut it out.”
I sliced through his excited babble and let out a quiet sigh. This is why I didn’t want to bring him.
“Don’t just take whatever they pour. Pace yourself. Eat your sides too.”
Worried he’d force himself to drink among people he barely knew, I warned him, and he just smiled dopey and nodded.
What did he do so well to be smiling that pretty? Unreal.
“What’s your limit?”
“I can drink like other people.”
“Still, cut it with water.”
If “like other people,” maybe a bottle. Good. This combo was already stressful; if he got drunk, it’d be twice the headache.
Feed him decently and send him home early, I decided. I dropped a few well-done pieces of meat and sides onto his plate.
“What are you, his mom, Yu Ji-han? So devoted.”
Pouring his own glass, Kim grumbled at my behavior.
Across from us, Eun, who’d been silently watching me and Chae, chimed in too.
“Feels more like how you treat a girlfriend.”
“He doesn’t even dote on his girlfriends like that. There’s a reason he gets dumped with that face.”
Girlfriend talk came out so naturally that Chae’s round eyes locked onto me. For fuck’s sake.
“Why are we talking girlfriends right now?”
“I’m remembering how he treats people! He made the girl he dated before the army cry.”
“Mm-hmm. Told a girl who said she’d wait, ‘Why would you wait,’ and coldly cut her off—made her cry in the end.”
“Amazing, Mr. Yu Ji-han~ What good is consoling her? You shouldn’t have made her cry to begin with. But even while consoling her, you kept telling her not to wait—so cold to the end…!”
“Wow, are you trash? You’re actual trash.”
“Ha…”
Like hyenas on a kill, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) they went to town on me. The longer their back-and-forth went, the sharper I felt Chae’s gaze on the side.
Nope. I grabbed the soju and filled Eun’s empty glass to the brim. If they had time to yap, they could drink.
“Shut up and drink.”
“Yeah, let’s drink ourselves to death!”
Simple-minded, Kim walked right into my trap. The filled shot glasses clustered in the middle.
“Cheers, cheers!”
The clink rang bright. I sighed in relief.
We’d eat hard for two hours and send Chae first. If his limit was a bottle, he’d be nicely buzzed by then and it’d be easy to get him out.
“Perfect.”
I organized the plan in my head and looked at my own shot. Just two hours.
“……”
An hour later, I pressed my forehead and looked down at him, flushed and slumped against the wall, barely conscious.
“How many shots did he have?”
“Two? Three?”
“So half a bottle’s his limit.”
Even Kim—who drinks better than me—and Eun, who can knock back two bottles easy, stared at him, dumbfounded.
“You said you drink like other people.”
Why did a guy who can’t even finish a bottle say he drinks like other people.
“We should get him home. He’s properly drunk.”
I silently agreed with Kim and gently shook Chae’s shoulder.
“Hey, Chae. Up. Don’t sleep here—go home.”
“Mm.”
Half-dozing, he lifted those long lashes at my voice.
If he had some sense left, I could put him in a cab. He’s a grown man; I didn’t need to personally—
“Hyuuung…”
He looked up at me with that flushed face and smiled. The curve of his eyes, the soft rise of his lips—my eyes went there on their own.
It was such a bright smile I could almost imagine a halo over him in a dingy bar. Face-to-face with it, I thought seriously:
“We absolutely have to take him.”
Letting someone this pretty and smashed go off alone? Way too dangerous.
On top of that, he’s a somewhat known pro. If he zoned out halfway or ran into some creep… horrible.
“But I don’t know his address.”
Last time we’d gone by car, and I didn’t remember the building and unit.
Do I check his ID for the address—? After turning it over, I decided I’d just take him to my place. No need to complicate it; I’d bring him, put him up for the night.
“I’m heading out first. I’ll take Chae.”
“Oh, what? Gonna hit a motel?”
At the word motel, my shoulder flinched before I knew it.
…Don’t take it the wrong way. We’re both guys; that’s clearly what he meant.
“No, my apartment.”
“Holy—your apartment you never open even when we’re crawling on the floor drunk?”
“He’s not you.”
“Huh? What’s the difference?”
“……”
I ignored him and hauled Chae up by the arm flopping at his side. Tall as he is, he was heavy.
My place was close enough that calling a taxi made no sense… I’d have to support him and walk. With one warm arm slung over my shoulder, I staggered out of the bar.