I am Smart

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Moon Si-hyun entered the meat restaurant. The warm, yellow lighting illuminated the large seating area. Several people were already seated.

Moon Si-hyun was dressed in a black shirt and black pants, tucking her shirt neatly into her pants.

“Si-hyun! Come sit here.”

“Wow.”

“Hey, I told you, right?”

“No…”

“Si-hyun, do you remember me? You came for repairs a while back.”

“I’m glad I came, for real.”

It was a company gathering for the restaurant staff. The group seating area was already full. Familiar faces mixed with those she had never seen before.

Looking at the clean plates, it seemed like they had just been set, but the atmosphere was already lively.

“Hello.”

With everyone’s gaze fixed on her, Moon Si-hyun bowed slightly to greet. Everyone smiled and clapped.

Moon Si-hyun was the unspoken main character of this gathering. The manager often mentioned her with affection in relation to the restaurant’s sales, and there were quite a few people who had come just to see her due to the rumors about her looks.

Of course, the biggest reason was that it was her first time participating in such an event.

There was only one empty seat at the group table, intentionally left open for Moon Si-hyun.

Next to the seat were a man and a woman.

A man in a black shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a female kitchen assistant.

Both of them were familiar faces to Moon Si-hyun.

“Hey, don’t drink too much.”

The woman said while crossing her arms and looking at her phone. A few sparkly accessories adorned her ears and under her lips, and some were on her phone.

As Moon Si-hyun quietly sat down, she caught a whiff of cigarette smoke from either side.

“Yeah, I know.”

The people next to her laughed.

“You talk really well.”

The woman chuckled, put her phone down, and patted Moon Si-hyun on the shoulder.

She normally didn’t participate in these gatherings, but came to see Moon Si-hyun since she was attending this time.

“Si-hyun, since it’s your first time, don’t drink too much. If it gets hard, tell me, okay?”

“Sure, thank you.”

After that, a brief explanation was given to set the atmosphere. Moon Si-hyun nodded or bowed her head.

“Oh, but it’s a pity that Da-ram isn’t here. It would be really nice if such a cheerful person were at a drinking party.”

“Right? How old is she? 17!? Yikes… She’s still a child.”

“But how did Si-hyun end up here? I thought you wouldn’t like places like this.”

“Uh, I really begged her.”

“Si-hyun, take this.”

“Thank you.”

After waiting quietly, Moon Si-hyun stood up momentarily to take the drink offered by the manager, pouring her drink with both hands. Then she stood still with a proper posture.

“Oh, didn’t you say it was your first drinking party?”

“…… I learned from my father beforehand.”

Moon Si-hyun briefly lowered her gaze.

“Right. It’s good to learn from your parents. Now, let’s toast!”

The manager, seated at the head of the table, clapped loudly to draw attention.

He rambled on with various clichés. You could definitely see his age in his manner.

“- Alright, then.”

As the manager said this, he lifted his glass. Everyone followed suit, lifting their glasses.

Moon Si-hyun awkwardly joined in, not having learned such things.

Everyone raised their glasses into the air.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers,” everyone replied.

Then, everyone emptied their cups at once, including Moon Si-hyun.

“How is it?”

The man next to her asked.

“…… It’s strong. Tastes like industrial alcohol.”

“Ha ha! That’s right. Exactly that taste. You’re really cute. Your face is pretty too. Are you interested in piercings or something?”

The woman laughed as she spoke.

The group naturally split into smaller clusters as they sat together, and conversations began to flow among them.

But occasionally, loud cheers broke out. ‘Cheers’, or rather, ‘chin-chin’ moments.

For Moon Si-hyun, it was a celebration of her first gathering.

The manager toasted in thanks to Moon Si-hyun for increasing the sales.

A toast was given because a cat gave birth.

Each time, Moon Si-hyun raised her glass, accepting and giving drinks.

At that moment, her phone vibrated in her pocket.

It was a spam message. But just before that, someone else’s message had come in.

[Lee Da-ram]

– Hey unnie

– What are you doing?

“……”

It was a text from Da-ram. Had it come in while the noise had been too much for her to notice?

Moon Si-hyun smiled. She briefly excused herself, took out her phone, and typed a reply.

– I’m at the meat restaurant next door for a company gathering. I might not be able to contact for a bit.

After sending, she switched her phone to silent and put it back into her pocket.

“Si-hyun.”

At that moment, the man spoke slightly.

The woman beside him sighed and took a bite of meat.

“Are you really not going to give me your number?”

The man asked with a smile. It was a refreshing smile that could make anyone who saw it join in. But Moon Si-hyun remained expressionless.

The man had continually asked her for her number.

After a certain point, he began to loosen up, even adding Da-ram and Seo-ah, yet the wall guarding her contact information remained solid.

Every time he asked, Moon Si-hyun politely declined.

“I’m sorry.”

“Really? Well, I can’t help it then.”

The man looked at Moon Si-hyun’s empty glass and offered to fill it again, pouring more.

Alcohol makes people loosen up. Of course, the man wasn’t out of his mind nor did he intend to do anything untoward with the opportunity.

He simply wanted to take this chance to become closer with her.

“Come on, let’s toast among ourselves.”

“Sure.”

“Yeah.”

The man and the woman clinked their glasses with Moon Si-hyun and took a drink.

With each sip, her expression slightly scrunched up.

Lee Da-ram liked Moon Si-hyun. Really, really liked her.

She idolized her for being the exact opposite of herself—tall, cool, lovely voice, and stunning looks. With a strangely naive aspect to her as a twist.

Even her hobbies were cute. Gaming, dolls, and eating sweets. But she feels embarrassed about them. Feeling this way made all her actions seem adorable to Da-ram.

Da-ram rolled around in bed in her pajamas. She had finished work earlier than others today. Yet she felt a slight worry about Moon Si-hyun. She picked up her phone.

– Hey unnie

– What are you doing?

The message she had sent earlier, after finishing work, still didn’t get a reply. She let out a light sigh.

‘Come to think of it, I feel like they mentioned some kind of group gathering today. Did she possibly go with them?’

She briefly thought about giving her a call, but decided against it. Doing too much might be a bother.

Lately, her concerns about Moon Si-hyun were related to the relationship between her and the male seniors.

To be honest, Moon Si-hyun exhibited almost no wariness as a woman. She was too physically close to men and seemed numb to contact.

That was how it appeared to Da-ram. No, it appeared that way to anyone.

Even if they weren’t as concerned as Da-ram, a few of the women who had become somewhat friendly with Moon Si-hyun shared the same worries.

However, the reason Da-ram pointed it out more than others was because her familiarity with Moon Si-hyun allowed for it.

Her unusually close proximity to men.

Such behavior mirrored her past self.

In middle school, she faced unpleasant incidents because of it, especially from other girls.

Since then, Da-ram began to rethink how she carried herself.

One reason she chose to enroll in a high school where she had no acquaintances was that.

“……”

Thinking about those times brought a mix of feelings. Da-ram turned her gaze to the side.

During such times, she always played games. She sat at her computer.

Reading Moon Si-hyun’s message about going to the meat restaurant next door for a gathering came a bit later.

“Where are you going!?”

“Mom, just wait a second!”

Da-ram opened the front door without even changing her clothes.

Moon Si-hyun’s text from a few hours ago sent a shiver down her spine. She had tried calling several times afterward, but Moon Si-hyun didn’t pick up.

Bad thoughts began to creep into her mind.

“School…”

With quick steps, her breath became slightly labored.

Perhaps it wasn’t as serious as Da-ram was thinking.

It’s not unusual for adults to attend a gathering, and the odds of something bad happening there are almost nil.

It was all just worry based on her memories, alongside concerns stemming from Moon Si-hyun’s usual behavior.

She had claimed to have never tried alcohol. But why was there still no contact? For Da-ram, without experience in such gatherings, it was impossible not to think of negative outcomes.

The ‘next door meat restaurant’ was the only one here. Da-ram rushed inside.

Group seating, group seating. She searched for a pre-arranged spot. A familiar face she had once worked with appeared by the end of the column.

She walked quickly towards the column.

“Unnie!?”

With a sense of urgency, she shouted as she moved past the column.

“……?”

But something felt off. Despite it being a group seat, the voices weren’t clear.

There were a few empty seats. Even those who remained seemed to have flushed faces, quietly gossiping, leaning somewhere, or slumped over the table.

Everyone was clearly drunk.

And there was Moon Si-hyun, who Da-ram had been searching for.

Only she remained upright in a chair without a backrest, sitting straight.

Her typical expressionless face and posture remained unchanged.

Next to her sat a man. However, he was clearly not in a normal state; his head bobbed forward occasionally.

“Ugh……”

The man groaned and finally managed to speak while looking at Moon Si-hyun.

“Hey… why are you like this…?”

As he spoke, he swayed back and forth.

“Drink… well…”

– Thud.

In the end, he collapsed, forehead against the table.

Moon Si-hyun paused, placing a hand over her mouth, then looked around.

Now, there was no one left to pour her a drink. Reluctantly, she poured for herself.

And quietly, holding the glass with both hands, she took a sip.

“Drinking more makes it a bit sweet.”

“…… Mm……”

The man groaned, still lying face down.

“About that number…”

“I’m sorry.”

“……”

The situation was utterly different from what she had anticipated.

“Huh?”

Da-ram could only freeze momentarily.