Don’t you think we are going too fast? chapter 25

At the mention of the Pepero game, everyone jeered.

Naturally, no one volunteered readily, and Go Cheolmin nudged Jung Noeul in the ribs.

Judging by the amount he ate at lunch and dinner, he wasn’t a lightweight when it came to food.

Noeul, caught by the senior of the student council, put on a tearful face and stepped forward.

In Taeshin’s team, Lee Taeshin was singled out due to Park Kangseop’s scheme. Everyone clapped and pushed him towards the stage.

Taeshin was usually shy and not good at things like this.

Typically, when Taeshin found himself in a bind with such matters, I would step in and stop it or handle it in his stead, but now I couldn’t help him.

Caught in the mood where sitting still would make him a traitor, Taeshin eventually stood up. He didn’t look well, which worried me.

The five people, who looked like they were there against their will, stood on stage and stared into space. The club president excitedly checked their names and groups, then waved a Pepero stick.

“As you all know, the Pepero game requires two people, right? Some of you up here might feel unfair about being called out, so let’s have a revenge time! Those on stage, please point out your partners!”

Everyone cheered and clapped at the announcement to choose a partner to get back at rather than someone they wanted to couple with.

Those who had volunteered others to the stage either hid their faces with their hands or clasped their hands together, begging for forgiveness.

Even Go Cheolmin raised his hands in a repentant pose at the fiery glare from Jung Noeul.

Amid the chaotic atmosphere, I locked eyes with Taeshin.

The look in his eyes as he chose his game partner seemed familiar. His dark, deep gaze didn’t quite suit him, yet it wasn’t unfamiliar.

Before I could recall where I had seen that look before, Taeshin turned to Park Kangseop.

As Taeshin’s gaze met Kangseop’s, Kangseop jumped and crossed his hands in refusal. Despite this, Taeshin firmly pointed his finger at him.

‘Come up.’

Though he didn’t speak, that was exactly what he meant. Understanding Taeshin’s intention, his teammates pushed Kangseop towards the stage.

Kangseop, a prime example of the phrase “you reap what you sow,” muttered curses under his breath as he stood beside Taeshin.

The club president teased the four who appeared to have chosen people they were interested in rather than for revenge. The room erupted in an enthusiastic reaction.

The club president, who was good at rousing the crowd, handed each participant a Pepero stick.

As Taeshin received his stick, Kangseop rubbed his head and face with his palm.

Jung Noeul and Go Cheolmin, who had driven him to the stage, marked the chocolate on the Pepero to indicate how far they would eat.

Facing each other, Taeshin and Kangseop bit into their Pepero sticks. Kangseop’s face twisted, while Taeshin’s face was obscured from my view.

“Ready, go!”

At the club president’s shout, the Pepero game began. Taeshin and Kangseop’s game looked more like a battle than a game.

As soon as the start signal sounded, Kangseop quickly approached Taeshin.

Whether it was out of determination to win or spite for being called out, Kangseop held Taeshin’s face with both hands, leaving only a small piece of Pepero.

As Kangseop lunged at Taeshin, people cheered and clapped, chanting for them to kiss.

Even though I knew it was just a playful struggle, the alcohol made my mind wander.

I remembered the time I kissed Taeshin, his face drawing close, lips touching, and tongues mingling.

Just thinking about it made my lips tingle. I rubbed them roughly with my fingers.

I needed to think about something else.

Though I had been doing well lately, the alcohol made the memories resurface.

I should probably quit drinking.

Meanwhile, Taeshin pushed Kangseop away by pressing his forehead and neck with his palms and kicked his shin.

“Ow!”

Kangseop knelt, clutching his shin.

Taeshin spat out the Pepero stick he had in his mouth, which hit Kangseop’s crown before falling to the floor.

As everyone laughed at Taeshin and Kangseop, the club president diligently checked the Pepero sticks.

The winners were a team that had eaten their Pepero down to crumbs, motivated by the promise of special snacks.

After exacting his revenge, Taeshin and the injured Kangseop returned to their group.

As Taeshin descended from the stage, our eyes met briefly, but this time I was the one who looked away first.

Again, my lips tingled.

The drinking party in the auditorium continued a bit longer before it was disbanded.

Told to continue the party in the dorms, we returned to find bottles and snacks piled up outside our room.

We opened drinks and snacks in our room.

With people whose names I didn’t know, we continued the drinking party.

Taeshin and Kangseop also drank with us in our room, as we were allowed to move freely between rooms.

In a mixed group of freshmen and seniors, conversations flowed, and someone suggested a drinking game.

After several games, the atmosphere heated up, and a game of truth began.

An empty soju bottle was placed in the middle, spun to point at someone who would then reveal a truth.

“Oh? It’s me!”

One particularly unlucky senior had been picked several times when it finally landed on Taeshin.

The unlucky senior, excited to have a new target, asked a question.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

The most popular question in truth games was always about relationships.

Taeshin answered the first question easily and spun the bottle. Feeling as if he had glanced at me, I watched the bottle spin.

In the room filled with alcohol, Taeshin’s pheromones were overwhelming.

The fleeting sensations I had felt throughout the day were now constant, making it hard to concentrate.
Being exposed to Taeshin’s pheromones while tipsy was more distracting than I had imagined.

Every little action, every turn of the head, every laugh drew my eyes to him, making it difficult to focus on anything else.

I pretended to be interested in other conversations, but my mind was entirely occupied with Taeshin, and the memories I had buried were surfacing, ready to spill over.

I needed to concentrate. Taking a deep breath, I steeled my resolve. I had managed so far; if I could just hold out a little longer, things would get better.

“Hey? First time being caught, right? Alright, is there someone here you’re interested in? Yes or no?”

As I tried to pull myself together, the soju bottle pointed at me.

The person who spun it asked a question, and as I thought about the answer, I looked around and nodded.

“Yes. There is.”

“From your expression, it seems you misunderstood my question. It’s not just a simple interest, but like, you know, someone who catches your eye, someone you’re really into.”

The questioner twirled their finger with a mischievous expression. Everyone laughed, teasing the questioner that they should have asked if there was someone they wanted to date.

“Uh…”

I looked around once more and, with a smile, changed my answer.

“No, there isn’t.”

There were people I wanted to be friends with, but no one I was interested in beyond that.

When I denied it with a smile, the questioner seemed like they wanted to say more, but the game moved on, and things quieted down.

After my turn passed and a few questions went around, it landed on Taeshin again.

As soon as the bottle pointed at him, I turned my head. It wasn’t because I was interested, but when I looked directly at Taeshin, it felt like scratching an itch.

“Have you had your first kiss? If so, when?”

The questioner asked, looking at Taeshin with curious eyes.

Although the question was directed at Taeshin, my heart thumped heavily.

First kiss…!

The memory of the Pepero game earlier floated up like a buoy, and the remaining fragments of that memory lined up in my mind.

Taeshin and I had no secrets.

As far as I knew, Taeshin’s first kiss was with me not long ago. And that was the same for me.

A rough and passionate kiss, where a hot tongue ravaged and sucked inside my mouth.

I held my breath and tensed up, fearing that story might come out. I watched Taeshin look at Park Kangseop while feeling my slow, pounding heartbeat.

“Why are you looking at me?”

Park Kangseop frowned and asked, puzzled.

If I were someone else, I might have suspected something was going on between Taeshin and Park Kangseop, given the significant way Taeshin looked at him.

Taeshin picked up a filled glass.

“I’ll drink.”

“Did you two do it? Did you?”

“Wasn’t the Pepero game earlier not just a game?”

“We didn’t. You saw it.”

As Taeshin downed the drink in one go, people started questioning Park Kangseop.

As Park Kangseop denied it with a frustrated and bewildered look, everyone pushed the atmosphere further, suspecting something.

But Taeshin spun the bottle without saying a word. His resolute attitude stopped further teasing.

As the truth game continued among others, my unsettled heart downed water. I mistakenly grabbed the wrong glass, swallowing soju instead of water.

I made a mistake.

As the alcohol buzz crept up, I quietly slipped out of the group, grabbed my coat, and went outside.

Not just out of the room, but out of the building entirely, where the cold and biting winter air swept over my alcohol-soaked body.

“Ugh… I’m going crazy.”

I took a deep breath in the night air to clear my head and curled up on a bench, pulling my knees up.

I had been drinking carefully, but that last shot of soju made my face hot and my vision blur.

Shivering from the rising warmth and the cold wind, I looked up at the sky.

The countryside night sky was clear and dark. I could see the stars.

“Sunwoo.”

As I was counting the twinkling stars one by one, I heard Taeshin’s voice.

Turning my blurred gaze from the alcohol, I saw Taeshin approaching.