"You're lacking resolve."
"You used to be so much more desperate… Is it because of that incident?"
"I understand your turmoil. But it can't be helped."
"Don't lose heart. How can the future leader of the Jinmok Group be unable to tame just one superior spirit?"
She was exhausted.
Rubbing her stiff shoulders, she entered her dorm room.
Thunk.
A hiking bag lifelessly dropped at the entrance. Jin Dallae, who looked half-dead, yawned deeply and opened the refrigerator.
"Chocolate…"
She took out a piece of chocolate from the fridge and popped it into her mouth. A sweet satisfaction overwhelmed her.
As she savored the taste of the chocolate, she carelessly removed her damp clothes and sprawled out on her bed. The blanket, which usually felt ordinary, felt heavenly at that moment.
"Phew…"
During her recent mentorship class, she had to undergo a brutal schedule in the Spirit Mountain. Strength training was the basics, and she repeatedly underwent magic amplification training, which forced her magic circuits into overdrive.
On top of that, woodification adaptation training…
With heavy eyelids, Jin Dallae closed her eyes.
'I need to shower.'
She felt sleepy, but there was no avoiding it. The grueling schedule and long flight left her too tired to move even a finger.
'… I'll shower tomorrow. It's a day off anyway.'
Today was Friday. While the Jungjin Class might summon the students at any time, they usually don't on weekends. Missing once or twice wouldn't be a big deal.
With such thoughts, she began to drift into sleep.
Then,
Ring~
The sudden bell sound startled her, causing her body to shiver.
"Ugh. Who could it be at this hour?"
Rubbing her half-closed eyes, she checked her smartphone screen.
[Siwoo]
…Jung Siwoo.
"Oh."
A soft sigh escaped her lips.
Having completed her revenge, all that remained in her now was guilt from using a friend's goodwill. Of course, that didn't mean Siwoo was bad. By anyone's standards, Siwoo was a good person.
But the Siwoo she knew was someone who could easily offer kindness to anyone, and she couldn't face him as she did before.
Because, after all, she had tried to exploit the honor and power of someone named Jung Siwoo. In her opinion, her guilt was quite terrible. Thus, out of that guilt, she couldn't genuinely face him.
So, she once again put on a facade.
She forced herself to use informal language or to jest. Jin Dallae wasn't one to easily jest or use informal language with others. She preferred to be respectful and get to know people slowly.
In short, her playful attitude towards Siwoo had all been an act.
A weapon essential in human relations. Acting. However, a weapon doesn't always work in one's favor.
Thud.
[Hey, Dallae! Did you get back safely?]
A familiar voice echoed through the phone. Jin Dallae pulled her phone away from her ear, cleared her throat, and replied in a playful tone as if speaking to an old friend.
"Yeah, what's up?"
[Nothing much, we're going for round two drinks. Wanna join?]
Drinking… She would've had it been tomorrow. She was too tired now. This time, she spoke sincerely.
"…I just got back, jerk."
[Really? It's so fun here.]
"Ugh, I wanna sleep."
She closed her eyes with her phone between her ear and shoulder, planning to hang up and sleep.
[Even Shiheon came. Ah…]
A name reached Dallae's ears.
'Lee Shiheon?'
A name she'd never forget, even in death.
The man who approached her when she was skeptical about relationships. A crazy person who entered the fray just to be friends. And… recently, the person she thought of the most.
Ah, she was wide awake now. Jin Dallae licked her dry lips and replied in a mischievous tone.
"Where are you?"
Did she have a pretty dress for today?
The karaoke room we arrived at for the second round had a very familiar atmosphere.
It was just like a karaoke room straight out of modern Korea. In fact, calling it a "karaoke" wasn't exactly fitting. It was more akin to a "karaoke bar" or a "room bar."
A reasonably spacious room with sofas and tables arranged around a dedicated kiosk. There were no windows, and the soundproofing seemed perfect, so there seemed to be no worries about the sound leaking out.
"Who's drinking?"
As soon as they sat down, Siwoo cheerfully called for drinks. Admiring his enthusiasm, I raised my hand.
"Me."
"Okay. Next."
"I want chocolate milk."
"Me too."
Guseul excitedly shouted for chocolate milk, and the girl named Sooyoung, sitting next to me, echoed her. Most of the men who came hearing that Jin Dallae was joining seemed to be in the mood for alcohol.
Not long after ordering, the drinks and snacks we ordered came out in abundance.
Now, the question was… who would grab the microphone first?
"Who's singing?"
Siwoo raised the question. I remained silent. If this were Earth, I might have sung a familiar ballad, but I didn't know any songs in this world.
I did know a few songs I learned from diligently watching YouTube. But whether I could sing them or not… well, even if I tried, I was sure I wouldn't be good.
"Me, me!"
Fortunately, it seemed that the others were interested in singing.
"Then, let's start with Guseul and go around?"
Ah.
I fiddled with my smartphone with my left hand and adjusted the status window with my right. I wondered if, by doing a gacha pull now, I might get a singing-related trait? Like a bewitching voice.
While I was busy looking for songs, Guseul's song began.
[IceStar - Guseul's Rain.]
A melody and song I didn't recognize. As I was bewildered and made a stiff face, Siwoo handed me a glass.
"Cheers."
… Let's drink for now.
-Clink!
One shot of soju. I picked up a fish cake and ate it. Soon, the lively voice of Guseul began tickling my ears.
"Shout it out!!!"
"Woah!"
Siwoo cheered with both hands, showing the enthusiasm of an extrovert. Seeing that, I did the same. After confirming our enthusiastic reaction, Guseul giggled and then began singing earnestly.
"The world has you…"
A beautiful voice filled the room.
I intermittently clapped along and sipped from my drink.
The usually cheerful Guseul looked quite serious, which caught the attention of the men in the room.
"You're not singing?"
Sooyoung poked my shoulder with her index finger. When I looked, she was biting a straw and offering me the karaoke remote. Knowing that I couldn't choose a song I couldn't sing, I spoke frankly.
"I can't sing."
"Ah, it's fine. Just pick one song."
Sometimes, a kind word could feel so pressuring. I pressed my lips together in determination, making her laugh.
"Pfft, what's with that face? Just drink."
Sooyoung lifted her glass.
"Cheers, come on."
-Clink!
Since I was drinking continuously, I soon began to feel light-headed. Laughing and drinking, blending in with the guys, maybe the alcohol in this world was stronger because I felt more intoxicated.
After drinking for a while and once Guseul's second song ended, a bulky man took the stage. Guseul, who had approached me, made a 'V' sign with her hand.
"Hey, hey, how was I?"
"You sang well."
"Hehehe."
Behind the laughing Guseul, a refreshing melody began to play. That unique sensibility was recognizable from years of experience. As I conversed with Guseul, I was drawn to the man singing before us.
[Atsuka Ai - Sakuranbo]
Oh Deokha.
'Crazy.'
"Shh-"
He took a deep breath and-
"AI SHI AOU!!!!!!!!!!"
He belted out with all his might, showcasing his impressive vocal range.
Makeup. A beautiful dress! The most important thing for tonight with him was…
'Drinks with friends!'
Despite the fatigue, Dallae, dressed up, confidently opened the door to the karaoke room they had agreed to meet at.
-Squeak!
If one were to describe it, what greeted her was the pit of despair.
"Adashi Sakuranbo!"
First, she saw Oh Deokha, robust and fully immersed in singing a passionate Japanese song, followed by men bursting into laughter. Behind them were Siwoo and Sooyoung, bearing amused smiles.
Guseul cheerfully shook a tambourine, and Shiheon chuckled as if finding something hilariously absurd.
Dallae, with a stiff face, lit up when she saw Shiheon's mask.
She wanted to sit beside him. She wanted to grumble with her friend and drink. And as the atmosphere got warmer, they'd just transition from friends to close friends! It was with this sole desire that Jin Dallae came to this place.
However, another woman had already taken the seat beside him. And she seemed to be cozily clinging to him.
"Dallae, you're here?"
"Uh? Yeah."
In response to Siwoo's question, Dallae looked towards Shiheon with wide eyes.
That girl… was she Kim Sooyoung?
But why was she acting so close to Shiheon?
'It's their first time meeting today, isn't it?'
Shiheon was looking at a distant part of the karaoke room where Oh Deokha was standing with a slight smile on his face. She didn't know he could smile like that. On the one hand, she noticed that Sooyoung seemed too close to him, which was surprising given that Guseul, being a long-time friend, would be more likely. But seeing Sooyoung so close was truly shocking.
Dallae compared the distance between herself and Shiheon to that of Sooyoung.
Feeling a momentary gloom, she quickly shook off the feeling.
She needed to get closer to him, too.
Wasn't that why she came to this drinking session?
"Dallae, why are you standing there spacing out?"
Startled by Siwoo's voice, Dallae's eyes widened.
The boys sitting next to him pointed to a seat, beckoning her.
"Come over here. Here."
A seat on the opposite side from Shiheon.
She didn't like it but couldn't refuse.
"Yeah, okay."
In the end, she sat beside a boy whose name she didn't even know. She felt their glances, but she didn't care.
She came here to get closer to him but felt exiled instead.
-Clink!
Sooyoung and Shiheon clinked their glasses together. Guseul and Siwoo joined, but in Dallae's eyes, only the two of them were visible.
Something felt… off.
"You drinking? Can I speak informally?"
"Do it."
"Oh, you're cool."
"Let's drink."
She needed something to calm the burning inside her.
Without even looking, she clinked her glass with the offered one and downed it in one shot.
One glass, two, three.
It wasn't just her mouth but her heart that was also being drowned.
"Wow, why are you drinking so well?"
"Do I?"
The guys beside her spoke in a half-surprised, half-shocked tone. Dallae slightly grabbed her forehead and extended her glass.
"One more."
"Hey, are you okay? You said you were tired."
"Forget it."
Despite Siwoo's protests, she continued drinking. A slight drunkenness crept up on her, but her well-practiced tone remained.
She just drank.
"Dallae?"
"Fill it up."
Had she downed two whole bottles?
Her vision started to blur from fatigue.
'…Ugh.'
By the time she realized she was drunk, it was already too late, and her view slightly tilted. A whispering voice reached her ears.
-Dallae? Why's she suddenly like this?
-She must have been really stressed. Then again, she must've had a hard time. We shouldn't have forced her to drink.
-So that's why… Sigh, I feel so sorry.
Shiheon was defending her. He was still the same gullible guy.
'He's a good person.'
Considering the previous day's regrettable incident, he was a patient person. Despite his tendency to use people for his gain, she still wanted to get closer to him.
She's genuinely selfish. In her drunken haze, she had such thoughts and closed her eyes.
.
.
-Shiheon?
-…Huh…?
-…Cold…so cold…
.
.
.
.
A large hand wrapped around her waist.
The broad back brushed against her chin, and she instinctively nuzzled against it.
Her body moved up and down at regular intervals. Struggling to open her heavy eyelids, her vision swayed.
She could see the pavement blocks.
The cold morning air snapped her back to reality.
Was she being carried by someone?
"Uh."
When she moaned due to her headache, the man carrying her spoke.
"Woke up?"
"…..What?"
Recognizing that voice even in her intoxicated state, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Shiheon, is that you?"
"You're still using formal speech with me."
The slightly drunk Shiheon sounded brighter, as if he had thrown away his concerns, resembling someone who had shaken off their worries with alcohol.
"Are you feeling better now?"