* * *
Taking the alcohol out of the bag and preparing the bowls and spoons, a decent table setting was quickly completed. Jiho and Yejun sat side by side, and Taeyun sat across from them.
It seemed that Taeyun planned to start with beer, as he opened the beer bottle with an opener on the table. With a satisfying pop, the distinct aroma of beer filled the air.
Taeyun, claiming he could pour beer in the perfect ratio, filled the empty glasses without being asked.
He handed a glass to Jiho and Yejun one by one, then lifted his beer glass with his right hand and enthusiastically said, “Let’s do a toast. What should our toast be?”
“Why do we need to decide on a toast? Did you learn that from Yoon Chulwon?”
Jiho replied indifferently, as if to dampen the enthusiasm.
In the Physical Education department’s drinking gatherings, Yoon Chulwon always led a toast, usually something cliché like ‘Best of PE Class of XX!’
The class president was oddly diligent about such unnecessary things, while neglecting his actual duties.
“Hey, don’t jinx it by mentioning that guy’s name. We’re just doing it for fun.”
When Jiho retorted with a pout, Taeyun looked genuinely offended. Given that Taeyun had many bad experiences with Yoon Chulwon, being compared to him was understandably annoying.
Regardless of the reason, the mention of a toast inevitably brought Yoon Chulwon to mind. Jiho grumbled in displeasure, and Yejun looked at him with a smile.
“That’s right, Jiho. Comparing you to your class president is too much.”
“Wow, Yetto’s actually taking my side for once?”
Taeyun responded first, seeming a bit surprised since Yejun usually sided with Jiho.
Jiho also found it surprising and looked at Yejun, who gave a bitter smile as if he too had suffered.
“I’ve also had my share of trouble with your class president, so I somewhat understand.”
“Ah, I see. You’re like an honorary member of the PE department.”
Taeyun nodded in understanding with his eyes closed.
Listening to their conversation, Jiho let out a small, hollow laugh. It seemed participating in many drinking sessions earned one an honorary title.
What a pointless honor. Feeling increasingly incredulous, Taeyun extended his glass to the center and said, “Alright, in the spirit of things, Yetto, you decide the toast today.”
As if bestowing a special privilege, Taeyun handed over the task of creating the toast to Yejun.
Jiho, watching this unfold, was almost dumbfounded, but Yejun didn’t hesitate and made a suggestion.
“Since Jiho and I are living together, how about ‘No fighting’?”
“……”
Jiho erased the startled expression from his face.
No fighting?
What a childish toast, but then again, he wondered if it was because of the conversation they had in the morning.
Just this morning, he felt burdened by those words, thinking they had an odd meaning, but now it seemed a bit endearing…
Lost in his thoughts for a moment, Jiho suddenly snapped back to reality, wide-eyed.
No way, was he finding this guy cute?
His mind must be malfunctioning to think of a guy who’s probably covered in hair as cute.
“Alright, let’s go with ‘No fighting’. Yetto, lead the toast!”
While Jiho was clearing his unnecessary thoughts, Taeyun and Yejun had decided on the toast.
Seeing them raise their beer glasses, Jiho had no choice but to raise his own.
Despite grumbling, he wasn’t one to back out once he agreed.
“No fighting!”
“Okay!”
When Jiho lifted his glass, Yejun shouted the first part, followed by Taeyun and Jiho completing the toast.
Even though there were only three of them, the toast felt quite powerful due to their enthusiasm.
With a clink of their glasses, the three of them drank.
Each gulp made Jiho’s throat bob noticeably.
The beer went down particularly smoothly, likely thanks to Taeyun’s skilled pouring.
“Ah…”
Jiho drank about a third of his glass in one go and set it down. Despite the bitter taste of the alcohol, his lips curled up in a smile.
He didn’t seem like someone who had experienced something odd due to alcohol recently.
Jiho disliked unfair situations where he was forced to drink or had to drink with uncomfortable people, but he let his guard down when he was with people he liked.
After a refreshing gulp, he picked up a piece of rolled omelette prepared by Yejun with his chopsticks.
The neatly shaped omelette felt soft and fluffy as he picked it up, and it was even more delicious and tender in his mouth.
Unlike the dry, rough omelettes at the university bars, this one was moist and melted in his mouth.
As Jiho sampled other side dishes, Taeyun, eating a sausage, spoke up.
“Yetto, you seem eager to drink today?”
“Me? Why?”
Yejun blinked innocently, as if he didn’t understand what Taeyun meant.
“You easily agreed to come over today.”
“Well, it’s Jiho’s housewarming, right?”
“True, it is a housewarming. But did you prepare all these side dishes without wanting to drink?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow… With this kind of dedication, Jiho should marry you later.”
Taeyun said in disbelief as Yejun nodded as if it were the most natural thing.
He raised an eyebrow and smirked, wondering what kind of guy Yejun was.
Even though Taeyun’s comment was clearly a joke, Jiho couldn’t help but think it wasn’t entirely wrong. Jiho swallowed his food and joined the conversation.
“What nonsense. Right now, he’s the one taking care of me.”
“Oh, right.”
Jiho responded, pointing out who was currently dependent on whom, making Taeyun laugh heartily, clutching his belly.
It was a laugh that could make anyone think he was already drunk.
Taeyun often made such pointless jokes, but he played a significant role in keeping the atmosphere lively during their drinking sessions.
With good company and tasty side dishes, the drinks kept flowing, and the mood gradually warmed up.
Just as Jiho felt his face getting a bit flushed, Taeyun leaned towards Jiho and, as if he had just remembered something, started to speak.
“Right, Jiho, don’t you really want to meet an omega?”
Taeyun suggested with twinkling eyes. Jiho unconsciously furrowed his brow at the somewhat unexpected suggestion.
Most energetic university students his age would gladly accept such an introduction, but not Jiho.
He preferred natural encounters, even if it seemed old-fashioned.
That’s why he had turned down all the introductions he’d been offered so far, so it puzzled him why the person who knew this best was making such a suggestion.
Waving the hand holding his glass, Jiho responded indifferently.
“Why an omega all of a sudden? You know I don’t like being introduced that way.”
“I know, I know. You’re all about natural encounters. But this one’s really pretty and has a great personality. Just look at her photo first, okay?”
As Taeyun spoke, he pulled out his phone, apparently looking for the omega’s photo.
Jiho wasn’t interested since he didn’t believe in judging people by their looks, but Taeyun persistently showed him the phone.
“See? Isn’t she pretty?”
“…”
She was indeed beautiful. Jiho thought she looked familiar and realized she was the omega who had been on the cover of the university magazine recently.
But he couldn’t understand why Taeyun wanted to introduce him to someone so pretty and capable of attracting any alpha she wanted.
He wasn’t particularly outstanding or had a fully developed secondary gender. Instead of feeling interested, Jiho was more puzzled.
“She’s pretty, but… You want to introduce her to me? Why?”
“Yeah. She broke up with her alpha a while ago… She asked if I could introduce her to someone. And you’re the only decent guy in the Physical Education department.”
“….”
Was that a compliment or not? It seemed foolish to be pleased with such a remark.
Anyway, there was no special reason it had to be him, and he was even more reluctant if it was just to alleviate her loneliness.
He was about to refuse again, but Yejun spoke faster than Jiho.
“Taeyun, why are you introducing her to Jiho and not to me?”
“Huh?”
Taeyun and Jiho both turned to look at Yejun, blinking in surprise.
It made sense since Yejun was so popular that people lined up to introduce him to omegas.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that omegas practically tripped over him.
Despite this, Yejun had remained single because no one met his standards.
Plus, he wasn’t the type to be desperate for a relationship, often rejecting introductions.
The fact that he was now actively asking why he wasn’t being introduced was surprising.
Jiho looked at Yejun in surprise, while Taeyun tilted his head.
“Why are you interested in this…? Didn’t you say you liked someone?”
Yejun’s confession about liking someone came up during a chicken galbi meal.
Though he didn’t explicitly say it, the atmosphere hinted at it.
Now that he thought about it, he did say he wanted to impress someone by eating chicken breast.
As he recalled that moment, he made eye contact with Yejun.
A strange tension from that morning flowed between them.
Moments like this made him feel unfamiliar and distant.
What was this…? Jiho tensed up involuntarily, but Yejun casually shifted his gaze to Taeyun and answered.
“I don’t have anyone I like. So give me that introduction.”
Yejun, without blinking an eye, said he had no one he liked.
Unlike the other day when he created a serious mood, his response was completely different now.
* * *
Liar, liar!
Oh what’s this 😲