Chapter 3.1 – Sweet and Delicious
The high ceilings of the club made one feel dizzy just by looking up.
The petite, black-haired Asian woman seemed to exude an air of mystery to the foreigners.
Several men sitting nearby had already cast fascinated glances at her hair color multiple times, but none of their gazes could rival that of Kim Seojun’s.
The LED display at the center of the club blinked, showing the time: 1 a.m.
Around that moment, Lee Heejin and the Russian model entered the club.
Up until then, Moonkyeong had been sitting alone at the central bar table, drinking.
From the entrance, Moonkyeong had noticed Lee Heejin but had no intention of calling her friend as promised.
Even while wrapped in the Russian model’s arms, Lee Heejin’s first question was about Kim Seojun’s whereabouts.
“Where’s Seojun?”
Moonkyeong shrugged her shoulders.
“How would I know?”
“What about Hyukjun?”
“Who’s that?”
“The hockey guy.”
Ah, so his name is Hyukjun.
Moonkyeong pointed with her finger toward the man enjoying an enchanting time surrounded by blonde women in the distance.
Lee Heejin shook her head and asked again.
“Why is he alone?”
“Who knows.”
“Where is Seojun?”
Watching Lee Heejin fume with anger, Moonkyeong remained silent.
Instinctively, Lee Heejin headed up to the second floor, while the Russian model pushed aside the man next to him and sat beside Moonkyeong.
Moonkyeong, slightly drunk, rested her chin on her hand and brushed back her long, flowing hair.
She couldn’t tell whether she was in a good mood or a bad one.
When she turned her head, the man beside her looked very pleased.
Moonkyeong smiled innocently and asked,
“Did you enjoy it?”
Her words were slightly slurred, but speaking in Russian posed no problem.
“Of course.”
His confident response made Moonkyeong laugh heartily again.
“Of course,” she exclaimed, laughing exaggeratedly like a drunk person.
Although he tried to continue the conversation, she couldn’t understand most of what he said.
She shouted,
“Sorry, I can’t really understand you right now.”
“Let’s dance!”
“Huh?”
This time, he spoke in English.
“Dance.”
“Oh.”
The Russian model helped Moonkyeong to her feet, and she was about to dance to the music when she heard someone say that a fight had broken out between Asian women on the second floor.
Seeing staff rush upstairs, Moonkyeong, half-sober, also headed toward the staircase.
As she reached the last step leading to the second floor, Moonkyeong stumbled.
Failing to notice how steep the stairs were, she lost her footing and almost fell backward.
The one who caught her was none other than the Russian model who had been following her.
He gently embraced her in a back hug and easily lifted her onto the final step.
“Careful. I don’t mind holding you, but you don’t like it, do you?”
“Thanks.”
“You’re cute, so I’ll let it slide.”
“Ugh.”
Moonkyeong quickly slipped out of his arms and looked around.
She spotted two women tangled in a fight and a man who, knowing full well the fight was because of him, wore an utterly bored expression.
As the Russian model bent down to speak kindly to her again, Seojun was looking directly at her.
It felt as though he was saying with his eyes, ‘Come here now.’
There was no reason to listen to Kim Seojun, nor was there any need, but her body wouldn’t obey her.
It felt like he was pulling her in, like a magnet.
Moonkyeong was now completely sober.
The two women rolling on the floor in front of her blocked her path to Seojun.
The crowd seemed to enjoy watching the fight rather than trying to stop it.
Even the staff who had rushed in to intervene hesitated when they realized one of the women was Lee Heejin.
“Sigh. You’re famous even here, huh?”
Letting out a deep sigh, Moonkyeong spread her arms to separate the two women.
As she moved, the Russian model also tried his best to break up the fight.
The only person from their group who remained indifferent and didn’t step in was Kim Seojun.
Ah, and there was also the clueless hockey guy still partying downstairs.
Moonkyeong pressed her lips in frustration.
The group returned to their accommodations past 3 a.m.
Despite their earlier brawl at the club, Lee Heejin and her friend clung to each other, crying and making a scene as if nothing had happened.
Moonkyeong found herself wondering how much alcohol one had to drink to end up in such a state.
It was both amusing and pitiful, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
In that fleeting moment, her eyes met Seojun’s across the room.
Unlike the others, who were sprawled on the floor drinking, he had been lounging on the sofa, sipping his drink leisurely since they returned from the club.
Like someone who wanted to live a long life, he neither drank too quickly nor too slowly, maintaining the same pace all night.
Even now, it felt as though he was speaking to her with his gaze, but she quickly looked away.
She knew better than to stare at Kim Seojun for too long in Lee Heejin’s presence.
Unlike her, Seojun’s gaze lingered for quite some time, and Lee Heejin clearly noticed where he was looking.
As Moonkyeong picked up a bottle to drink some beer, Lee Heejin spoke.
“Moonkyeong, can you get me some ice water?”
At her request, Moonkyeong stood and headed to the kitchen.
She grabbed a cup, added a few ice cubes from the ice maker, and filled it with water from the fridge.
Laughter echoed from the others behind her.
When she returned to the living room and handed the glass to Lee Heejin, the latter smiled more warmly than usual.
“Thanks.”
“Sure.”
“Here, want this? I didn’t finish it.”
Lee Heejin offered Moonkyeong a half-empty beer bottle.
Her friend, who had been holding back laughter, finally burst out, clapping her hands.
Moonkyeong accepted it with a cold stare.
“What, did you spit in it or something?”
Lee Heejin playfully winked.
“No, why would I? Why would I do that to you?”
Moonkyeong set the beer bottle on the floor, forcing herself to maintain a calm expression.
“I’ll drink my own.”
“Moonkyeong.”
“Yeah?”
“You were adopted, right?”
“……”
“My mom told me. She said you were in an orphanage, and your mom took you in when you were already grown. How old were you then?”
Moonkyeong bit the inside of her cheek deeply.
She knew Lee Heejin’s intentions; she always struck where it hurt most.
Lee Heejin’s clumsy attempts at manipulation were always so obvious.
So what? What does it matter if I was adopted?
Since childhood, people had always been curious about this. Even her friends from elementary school, with whom she used to play dolls, had been the same.
[Moonkyeong, where do you live?]
[Why do you want to know all of a sudden?]
[I’m just curious. What does your dad do? And your mom?]
[Why? If I say I don’t have a mom or dad, will you pity me?]
[Why would you say something like that?]
[I don’t want to play with you, so don’t act like you know me from now on.]
Moonkyeong laughed bitterly. Back then, just like now, she hated the hypocrisy of people who pretended not to know while knowing everything.
And the biggest hypocrite, of course, was herself. She had pushed all her friends away with the excuse that she didn’t want to play with them, but that was just her pride—something she wanted to protect at all costs.
She should have realized from the beginning that such pride was something she never had to begin with. But back then, she was too young to understand.
Moonkyeong stared straight at Lee Heejin’s distorted face.
Anyway, this girl has no brain, and I have no ego.
The world is so, so fair.
She picked up the bottle she had silently put down earlier and drank it in one gulp. After finishing the bottle without leaving a single drop, she placed it back in Lee Heejin’s hand. The group around them erupted into cheers of admiration.
Lee Heejin, changing her crumpled expression, looked at Moonkyeong with interest.
“You’re amazing, as always.”
“Does that answer your question?”
“Yeah. Perfectly.”
“Good, then.”
Kim Seojun, who had been lounging on the sofa with a relaxed demeanor, also stood up.
“Look at you all, just messing around.”
With an annoyed tone, he climbed up to the second floor. Moonkyeong sat back down with the group and continued drinking. Lee Heejin, perhaps no longer bothered, stopped pestering Moonkyeong.
By the time dawn broke, at the deepest hour of the night, Moonkyeong was still awake. Sleep, which rarely came, only made her more restless. One by one, people passed out drunk, but no matter how much she drank, she couldn’t feel the slightest intoxication.
She regretted not seeing his expression when he heard the truth about being adopted. That regret lingered.
Did he laugh at me? Or pity me?
Looking at the passed-out Lee Heejin, Moonkyeong took a deep breath.
“What does it matter?”
Nothing would change anyway. After all, he had said it himself.
[Do you want to play with me?]
What does that even matter when it comes to playing?
It’s not like she was going to fall in love with Kim Seojun.
They weren’t going to love each other.
They wouldn’t share their hearts, so it didn’t matter.
Moonkyeong steadied her swaying body and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Standing in front of his door, she sobbed quietly. Even if a day came when she regretted this moment, a moment she could never return to…
This was her first time.
The first time should be beautiful.
She wanted to choose her first time herself.
When she courageously opened the door, he had just stepped out of the shower. As if expecting her to come, he shook the water from his damp hair and laughed softly.
“Welcome.”
His voice was monotone, but still dangerous and beautiful.
So beautiful that she felt like giving him everything.
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