Before dating your childhood friend, test them first chapter 1

* * *

Where did things start to go wrong?

When Jiho regained his senses in a daze, he found himself in the dark.

He felt nauseous from drinking, and the lights were off, so he couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t remember where he was lying or if he had even washed up.

While he had some hazy memories, the darkness made it hard to distinguish between dreams and reality.

Jiho decided he needed to figure out where he was, so he groped around in the darkness.

Feeling the soft blanket and the plush mattress beneath his hands, it seemed he was lying in a bed.

“Ugh…”

He was relieved he wasn’t lying on the street. Oh, right, someone had helped him earlier. Who was it?

He tried to recall, but his condition made it difficult. His back was sweating heavily. He felt like he was going to throw up, and his muscles ached terribly.

Just lying there was painful, making him groan. The most uncomfortable sensation was a prickling feeling all over his body.

While he often felt like throwing up after drinking heavily, this feeling was new to him. Maybe it was because he hadn’t drunk so much in a long time.

Gosh, it’s so hot… Even though he could feel some cool air now and then, indicating the air
conditioner was on, his body heat wasn’t dissipating, as if he had just finished intense exercise.

He was extremely thirsty, feeling like his throat was burning.

“Water, water…”

Jiho mumbled, flailing his hands around.

It dawned on him that he lived alone only after he demanded water as if ordering someone around. He had only recently started living on his own, so he often blacked out after drinking heavily.

Someone did help him earlier, but they must have left after bringing him home. He needed to get up to drink some water and turn on the light.

With those thoughts, he crawled across the mattress without fully opening his eyes. Suddenly, something pressed down hard on both his wrists and covered his body.

At the same time, something inside him stirred violently.

“Gasp! Hngh…!”

It felt like something was piercing him from below. It was like a hot metal rod was poking through him, shaking him so much that he couldn’t breathe and his whole body hurt.

Though his head was throbbing painfully from the alcohol, the threat to his body was sobering him up. His eyes, growing accustomed to the darkness, began to focus.

And then, he finally saw a dark figure in his field of vision.

“Gasp…! Who are you…!”

A person? Startled, he opened his eyes wide, but the room was pitch dark with the curtains drawn, so he couldn’t see anything.

A robber? A thief?

Jiho twisted his body, not knowing what was happening to him. He tried to break free from the person on top of him.

However, his waist was gripped tightly, rendering his efforts useless.

Jiho was quite strong and well-built, even among his peers in the physical education department. It was confusing that his full strength had no effect on the person at fault.

Damn, what the hell?

His heart pounded wildly, and a damp voice whispered in his ear.

“Relax…”

The low, resonant voice sent a shiver down his spine. His body began shaking uncontrollably again.

Jiho realized what was happening to him and was shocked, but the fact that a man was on top of him led to even greater disbelief.

No, no way, damn it!

He struggled fiercely, and his body flipped over, revealing a face he loathed.

“Hyun Jiho…”

Ahn Yejun.

The bastard on top of him was a childhood friend he had known since they were kids.

* * *

The day of the incident, 10 PM.

“Drink, drink, drink! The booze is going in! Chug, chug, chug!”

“How long will you make me dance? Look at my shoulders! They’re dislocated!”

The bar located in Daehangno was particularly noisy today.

The head of the physical education department had gathered the students to drink, celebrating the end of midterms.

The last class of the day was a required course, so no one could skip it.

Though it was a forced gathering, everyone was excited since the exams were over.

This was already the third round, and only a few had dropped out.

For the third round, they drank while eating various dishes like fish cake soup, chicken, and tteokbokki. Jiho, disliking the noise, sat in a corner sipping his beer.

He didn’t mind drinking but hated hanging out with the heavy drinkers, especially the head of the department.

While he was pouring himself a drink in his empty glass, a classmate who had clearly been drinking heavily staggered over and threw an arm around his shoulders.

“Jiho, Jiho!”

It was Lee Taeyun, a friend he shared most of his classes with. Though they were friendly, Jiho hadn’t seen him all evening until now.

Taeyun’s eyes were bleary, and he slurred Jiho’s name strangely, his tongue clearly loosened by alcohol. Jiho clicked his tongue at him.

“How much did you drink?”

“Hmm… Five bottles of soju?”

“You idiot. It’s a miracle you’re still walking. Consider yourself lucky you’re not dead.”

“Ah, that bastard Yoon Chulwon wouldn’t let me off without drinking.”

Taeyun pouted and grumbled, unable to do anything about Jiho’s reproach.

Yoon Chulwon, the head of the department who organized this gathering, was known for his love of drinking, earning him the nickname “Alcohol Monster.”

He was an older student with a poor reputation and wasn’t popular with the decent crowd.

Jiho wasn’t close to Yoon Chulwon either.

The guy often teased him for not having manifested his ability yet, so Jiho avoided talking to him.

Even if he was forced to drink, five bottles of soju was stupid.

Jiho looked at Taeyun with pity, but Taeyun didn’t mind and just smiled, reeking of alcohol.

“By the way, our Jiho, Jiho… Did you do well on the exams? You must have, right?”

“Isn’t it a bit late to ask that after the third round? You’re way too late.”

“I was stuck with that bastard and couldn’t escape.”

“Yeah, well… I did okay on the exams.”

Jiho shrugged and spoke nonchalantly.

He couldn’t say for sure since the grades hadn’t been released yet, and there was nothing particularly good or bad to report.

It was a common response, but upon hearing it, Taeyun squinted his eyes narrowly and spoke with a hint of annoyance.

“Quit lying. Being overly humble is just as annoying.”

“…If you weren’t going to believe me, why ask in the first place?”

“If the top student in the department says they did just okay, it means they did well. You’re such a deceiver.”

It was true that Jiho had consistently topped the department since the first year and received academic scholarships, but he had no idea how he’d done this time.

Being called a deceiver seemed a bit much, but it wasn’t exactly unpleasant to hear. Jiho chuckled and sipped his beer.

As they tried to shift the topic playfully and start a friendly conversation, the clatter of dishes rang out.

What was that?

When they turned their attention to the commotion, a tall, white guy was awkwardly bowing and smiling sheepishly.

“Oh no, my hand slipped. Sorry about that.”

As he laughed it off, despite the ruckus, everyone just smiled and let it slide.

Geez, that guy…

Jiho looked at him with disdain while popping a piece of boneless chicken into his mouth.

Taeyun, who had been watching, asked Jiho curiously.

“Why does Ahn Yejun always show up at our physical education department gatherings? He’s in business major.”

Taeyun nodded towards the tall guy.

Although they were from different departments, Yejun often attended their department gatherings and had become familiar with everyone.

Jiho, Taeyun, and Yejun also shared some common elective classes, which had formed friendship around them.

“I don’t know, the crazy guy says he’s thirsty for alcohol. And he paid, so I can’t stop him.”

“He’s your childhood friend, why don’t you take care of him more?”

“Am I his parent? What’s there to take care of? Besides, he’s closer to our department folks than I am.”

“Oh… I’ll give you that. He’s a total social butterfly, and you’re way too antisocial.”

Taeyun laughed, leaning towards Jiho as if he found it immensely amusing.

Ahn Yejun was Jiho’s friend. No, not just a friend, but a childhood friend since their snot-nosed days.

Their mothers knew each other, so they ended up going to the same kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school… and now university.

Initially, they just got along because their personalities didn’t clash much, but it had been years now. It was a tenacious bond that had persisted to an almost tiresome extent.

In the past, Ahn Yejun was a delicate kid who often became a target for bullying. His fair and pretty appearance made him seem weak, and his particularly timid nature didn’t help.

Jiho had often protected him like a knight in shining armor during those times.

They were friends, but Jiho also felt a subtle joy from Yejun depending on him.

He wouldn’t deny that he took care of him as much as a parent back then.

However, the current Yejun had grown to the point where it was hard to believe he was once a frail child. He had grown significantly and had even manifested as an Alpha.

His personality had changed drastically too.

He knew how to make good use of his looks and had turned into a charmer who could win over anyone. He had become quite the campus celebrity.

Jiho didn’t think Yejun’s growth was a bad thing.

Though the cuteness had diminished, it was much better than being a target for bullying.

But… why doesn’t he hang out with his international business department friends and instead come to our department’s drinking parties?

It wasn’t as if he wasn’t friendly with his classmates, which made it even more puzzling.

Why? Maybe there aren’t many drinking parties in the international business department?

Anyway, there was no reason to look after someone who fit in better without him than he did.

Yejun wasn’t the same kid from their childhood.

As Jiho tried to distance himself from the group and quietly drank with Taeyun, a loud, heavy voice broke through the noise.

“Lee Taeyun! Where are you?”

It was Yoon Chulwon, the head of the department.

Lee Taeyun muttered, “Oh crap…” and ducked his head, but Yoon Chulwon noticed them first.

Seeing Taeyun, Yoon Chulwon grinned and strode over.

Jiho thought he would take Taeyun away, but Yoon Chulwon’s interest wasn’t in Taeyun—it was in Jiho.

“Oh, what’s this? Hyun Jiho, you’re here?”

“…”

Damn, why is he coming to me?

* * *