CHAPTER 3: Sweet and Delicious (Part 1)

The high club ceiling alone made her head spin. The small, dark-haired Asian person was a mystery to people from other countries.

Several times, men sitting nearby had cast admiring glances at her peculiar hair color, but none could match the gaze of Kim Seojun.

The digital display in the center of the club flickered, indicating 1 a.m.

Around that time, Lee Hee-jin and a Russian model entered the club. Meanwhile, Moon-kyeong remained seated alone at the central bar table, sipping her drink.

Moon-kyeong had been watching her from the entrance, but she had no intention of calling Lee Hee-jin’s friend.

Even as she nestled in the arms of the Russian model, Lee Hee-jin asked about Kim Seo-jun’s whereabouts.

“Where’s Senior Seojun?”

Moon-kyeong shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know.”

“What about Hyuk-joon?”

“Who is he?”

“Hockey.”

Oh, so his name is Hyuk-joon.

Moon-kyeong pointed her finger at a man in the distance, surrounded by blonde women, having a blissful time. Lee Hee-jin raised her eyebrows and asked again.

“Why is he alone?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where did Sunbae go!”

Ignoring Lee Hee-jin’s persistence, Moon-kyeong remained silent.

Instinctively, Lee Hee-jin ascended to the second floor, and the Russian model pushed past the man next to her to sit down next to Moon-kyeong.

Drunk, Moon-kyeong rested her chin on her hand and swept her long, flowing hair. She wasn’t sure if she was in a good mood or a bad one.

Turning her head to the side, she saw a very satisfied expression on his face. Smiling innocently, Moon-kyeong asked

“Was it good?”

Her tongue was slightly twisted, but she had no trouble speaking in Russian.

“It was good.”

At his confident answer, Moon-kyeong smiled broadly again.

He said a few more words, but she couldn’t make out the rest of what he said.

She shouted.

“I’m sorry, I can’t understand you right now!”

“Dance with me!”

“Huh?”

This time he spoke in English.

“Dance.”

“Ah.”

Raised to her feet by his hand, Moon-kyeong was about to dance to the music. The sound of a fight between Asian girls on the second floor rang clearly in her ears, coming from someone’s mouth.

Seeing the staff rushing upstairs, she, halfway through her drink, headed for the stairs to the second floor.

As she stepped on the last step to the second floor, Moon-kyeong wobbled. Unaware of the steepness of the stairs, she lost her footing and almost fell backwards.

Catching her was the Russian model who had been following her the whole time.

He held her gently in a back hug and gently guided her up the last flight of stairs.

“Be careful. I’m more than welcome to carry you, but you’re not gonna be comfortable, are you?”

“Thanks.”

“You’re pretty, so I’ll let it slide.”

“Ugh.”

Moon-kyeong quickly slipped out of his arms and looked ahead.

She found herself fixated on a man who, despite knowing that two women were fighting because of him, wore a bored expression, showing no interest whatsoever.

As the Russian model bent down to speak to her again, this time in a friendly manner, Seojun was looking exactly this way.

It seemed as though he was saying, “Come over here right now,” with his gaze.

There was no reason for Moon-kyeong to listen to Seojun or even need to, but her body didn’t seem to obey. It felt strangely as if he were pulling her towards him like a magnet.

She was now completely sober. Two women blocking her way, jostling in front of her, hindered her from rushing to Seojun.

Instead of trying to stop them, people around seemed to enjoy their fight. Even the staff who rushed in to control the situation quickly backed off when they realized one of the women was Hee-jin.

“Hmm. Looks like you’re famous even here.”

With a heavy sigh, Moon-kyeong spread her arms to separate the two women. As she moved, the Russian model also clung desperately to stop the two from fighting.

It was only Seojun among their group who didn’t intervene, remaining indifferent.

Oh, and that stupid hockey player downstairs.

Moon-kyeong pressed her lips together in annoyance.

The group returned to their accommodation after 3 a.m.

Whenever they fought and bickered in the club, Hee-jin and her friend would hug each other as if to say, “When did we become like this?” and showcase a combo of crying, laughing, and making a scene.

Moon-kyeong suddenly became curious.

How much alcohol does it take to reach that state?

She couldn’t help but laugh at how funny and sad it was.

In that brief moment, she met Seojun’s gaze across the room. Unlike the others, who were sprawled out on the floor, he had been sitting leisurely on the couch, drinking since they returned from the club.

As if to say that he wanted to live a long life, he had been in that state since earlier, not too fast, not too slow. It seemed like he was about to say something with his gaze again, but Moon-kyeong quickly averted her eyes first.

She knew she shouldn’t stare at him for long in Lee Hee-jin’s presence.

Unlike her, Seojun’s gaze lingered for quite some time, and Hee-jin vividly witnessed where he was looking.

It was when Moon-kyeong reached for a bottle to pour herself a beer.

“Moon-kyeong, can you get me some cold water?”

At Hee-jin’s request, Moon-kyeong got up from her seat.

She went to the kitchen, grabbed a cup, put a few ice cubes from the ice maker, and filled it with bottled water from the fridge.

She could hear the laughter of their companions from behind. When she returned to the living room and handed the cup to Hee-jin, she smiled more kindly than usual.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

“This was the one I was drinking. Do you want some?”

Lee Hee-jin held out her half-finished beer bottle to Moon-kyeong, and her friend, who had been holding back her laughter, finally burst into applause.

Moon-kyeong accepted it with a cool gaze.

“Why? Did you spit in it or something?”

Hee-jin blinked innocently.

“No, nothing like that. Why would I do something like that to you?”

Moon-kyeong set the beer bottle down on the floor, trying to maintain a casual expression.

“I’ll drink mine.”

“Seo Moon-kyeong.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you adopted?”

“…….”

“My mom said you were from an orphanage, and your mom brought you back. How old were you then?”

Moon-kyeong bites down on the flesh of her mouth. She knew Hee-jin’s intention of poking at her vulnerability.

Hee-jin’s stupidity was too apparent even this time.

So what? Are you so curious about my adoption?

It had always been like this. Even back in elementary school, all her friends who played dolls with her also wanted to know.

[Moon-kyeong, where do you live?]

[Why do you suddenly want to know that?]

[I’m curious. What does your dad do? What about your mom?]

[Why? If I tell you I don’t have a mom or a dad, will you feel sorry for me?]

[Don’t say that.]

[I don’t want to play with you, so don’t pretend to be my friend from now on.}

Moon-kyeong chuckled inwardly. Then and now, she disliked the hypocrisy of people who pretended not to know everything while asking questions they already knew the answers to.

Among them, the biggest hypocrite was undoubtedly herself. She had pushed away all her friends with the words that she didn’t want to play with them, but it was her pride that she wanted to keep until the end.

She should have known from the beginning that she didn’t have such pride to begin with, but she was too young back then.

Moon-kyeong looked straight into Hee-jin’s contorted face.

Anyway, she has no brain, and I have no self.

The world was cruel but it was fair.

She wordlessly picked up the bottle she had set down and gulped it down.

After draining the bottle without leaving a drop, she handed it back to Hee-jin, and their group exclaimed in admiration from the side.

Lee Hee-jin changed her crumpled expression again and looked at Moon-kyeong curiously.

“As expected, you’re amazing.”

“Got your answer?”

“Uh, it’s perfect.”

“Okay, then.”

Seojun, who had been lounging on the sofa, also stood up from his seat.