"Dae!"
The mysterious visitor turned out to be none other than Dae-jung, donning a bag of ramen, a pack of six beers, and a concerned look on his face.
"You skipped college today, which is so unlike you. Thought I'd drop by and see if you were okay." He explained with a sheepish smile, holding his hands up to show what he brought along.
Ananya chuckled at his sweet gesture. "Thanks, Dae. I'm fine, just needed a day off," she reassured him, shifting to her left to let him in, "Welcome to my humble abode."
"Thank- oh, I didn't realise you had company."
Dae-jung remarked, a hint of surprise colouring his voice as he spotted Jung-wook. Jung-wook looked up with a polite nod, his expressions unreadable, before resuming their dinner preparations. Ananya paused for a brief moment, wondering how to introduce him.
"Yeah, this is my coworker… and neighbour, Jung-wook. We were just cooking some dinner."
"Oh?" Dae-jung raised a brow, his eyes shifting to the brown-haired man, an odd sense of familiarity seeping in. "Do we know each-other from somewhere?"
"Don't think so." Jung-wook replied without even looking up.
Dae-jung lingered momentarily, trying to place him, before shrugging it off and turning back to Ananya. "I brought some ramen. Figured we could have a chill night in!"
Jung-wook cleared his throat, glancing at the ramen, then at Dae-jung, and finally at Ananya. "I think we should finish what we started," he walked over, pulling Ananya back towards the kitchen, holding on to her arm longer than necessary. She wriggled out of his grip with a frown, leaning her back against the counter to help her interact with both the men.
"Eyes on here." Jung-wook put his hand on top of her head, gently turning it to face him first, and then wrapped an arm loosely around her waist to turn her entirely towards the counter, letting go of her once she was facing the stove.
"Hello?" She protested, "I've been learning!"
Dae-jung watched them from a distance through narrowed eyes, slightly envious of the easy rapport between the two. Determined not to be left out, he joined them in the kitchen, his eyes scanning the ingredients Jung-wook was working with.
"You know, you're not supposed to add that much soy sauce," he commented, trying his best not to sound nitpicky. Jung-wook let out a breathy snort, clearly not appreciating the unsolicited advice. "It's a family recipe. I know what I'm doing."
Seeing the odd, unnecessary tension brewing between them, Ananya intervened. "Dae, why don't you help me set up the drinks in the hall till then?"
"Of course, princess." Dae-jung smiled at her. No, she cannot let her heart flutter at that anymore.
She rolled her eyes at him, picking the unopened soju bottles that Jung-wook had left at her place the previous day and leading him towards the hall. After setting the bottles down next to the pack of beer, she looked around, visibly deep in thoughts.
"Are we looking for something?" Dae-jung read her expressions. "Ah yes. A close friend gifted me a deck of one of those drinking game cards when I was moving to Korea. I'm trying to recall where I kept it, we could maybe finally open them today!"
"Maybe it's in your bedroom? Shall we look for it there?" Dae-jung suggested, motioning towards the door to their left. "Guess we can try." Ananya shrugged, taking the lead with Dae-jung right behind her. Jung-wook looked up, his eyes following the two as he was left to cook begrudgingly on his own.
As they rummaged through her things to find the cards, Dae-jung couldn't help but ask. "So, since how long has this coworker guy been coming over?"
"Yesterday, actually." Ananya replied nonchalantly, her eyes and hands busy. "That's when I found out that he's my neighbour." Dae-jung held her by her shoulders, turning her towards him, "Are you sure he is safe enough to be let over at your place this late?"
The question made her stop in her tracks for a moment. Was Jung-wook really someone she could so easily trust? He has been a reliable support at work lately, and is fun to be around – but there was still absolutely nothing that she knew about him, or his claims that made little to no sense. She had never really been the kind to easily trust, but something about Jung-wook just felt reassuring.
"You're here pretty late too, sir." She smiled, trying to maintain a light tone. "I mean - I can be here!" Dae-jung retorted. "And why is that?" She nudged him playfully, resuming the search for the cards – finally finding the deck tucked beneath some books. "There it is-"
"Dinner's ready." Jung-wook's voice echoed from across the hall, sounding more like a declaration than an invitation. "The timing couldn't be anymore perfect, eh?" She chuckled, leaning over to pull the unopened deck of cards out.
"I guess." Dae-jung grunted under his breath as they made their way back to the hall where Jung-wook had neatly placed the pan in-between the drinks on the table. The aroma was absolutely tempting as Ananya sprinted over in excitement, kneeling down and reaching out for a pair of chopsticks right away.
Her reaction brought Jung-wook's usual haughty smile back on his face, as he motioned Dae-jung to settle down as well, "Come, have a taste."
Ananya gobbled down the first few bites in a single go, "Can I hire you as my cook?"
"Only 100K won for a meal. I'll be a little generous because it's you." Jung-wook retorted playfully. "Eh, I guess I'll just stick to my ramen meals." She scowled, choosing to focus on the delicious dish in front of her instead of engaging in yet another banter with him.
Ananya's voice, expressions, and way of carrying herself seemed a lot livelier than usual. Dae-jung hadn't really seen her like that ever before. This was new, and he wanted to see more of that. But that energy seemed to only come in her exchanges with Jung-wook.
"Shall we open the drinks too?" He offered, not wanting to be left out. "Yes please!" Ananya chimed in, passing over the glasses. He skillfully poured soju in all three of them, followed by beer to the brim – without letting a single drop of either go to waste. "It's somaek time."
"Whoa!" This earned a gasp from Ananya in response (and a scowl from Jung-wook, of course), making Dae-jung beam in pride. They clinked their glasses together, gulping their drinks down in one go. Ananya pulled the cards out from under her with a sheepish smile, "I am not really sure how we play these, though. Let me just take a look at the instructions."
"Oh, this is one of those," Jung-wook leaned in to snatch the deck from her hand, making her frown. "You have to answer the question on the card or take down a one-shot if you cannot – right?"
"I guess?" She shrugged, reaching out to grab the cards back, only to lose her balance a little. Jung-wook held her in place by the tip of his finger on her forehead, adding with a smirk, "Not on my drink, you can drop on yours or his' all night long."
With a gentle push of his finger, he made Ananya drop back in her spot, "Easy, goddess of impatience. I'll draw them out for you right away."
"That reminded me of the other day." Dae-jung interjected, casting a side-eye towards Jung-wook before turning to face Ananya. "Remember when Ji-yeon was frantically trying to get her credit card froze? Turns out she kept entering the right PIN numbers but in the wrong order confidently – thrice."
Ananya let out a soft chuckle, Ji-yeon's mention making her mind wander back to her supposed best friend.
After Ji-yeon's initial confession, Ananya had resolved not to cross any more boundaries with Dae-jung – and yet, here he was, seated mere inches away at her home, with her inviting him in for a late night drinking spree. Thankfully, it wasn't just the two of them; not that it would have mattered to her because she was hellbent on getting rid of her teeny crush on Dae-jung now. But was this still okay? Should she have let Ji-yeon know or invite her over too? Her last interaction with her hadn't been the best, and she couldn't keep avoiding it forever. But-
"Hello?" Jung-wook's snap brought Ananya back to reality, as she found both the men looking at her with a little concern and curiosity.
- "Out in one drink, are we?"
- "Are you okay, Annie?"
They both remarked in unison, scowls thrown each-other's way at the needlessly perfect timing. Ananya chuckled, pushing away her thoughts for the moment, her eyes moving to the table where the cards were neatly laid out in three sets, all facing down. "I'm perfectly okay! Shall we?"
The drinking game began with simple questions, with each one of them taking turns to draw a card to either answer or take a drink. "What's your most embarrassing moment?" She read aloud for Dae-jung. "Too many to count," he grinned and took a sip of his drink, making her roll her eyes. "So vague!"
Jung-wook picked a card next, for Ananya. "What's your guilty pleasure?" He read, raising a brow. "Uhh.. binge-watching cheesy 2000s Bollywood flicks, maybe?" She fidgeted in her spot, a cheeky little smile appearing on her lips. "Moving on – Dae?"
"Who was your first kiss?" Dae-jung read from his card, looking pointedly at Jung-wook.
Gulping his drink down in one go, Jung-wook leaned back on his palms and answered coolly, "Gentlemen never reveal a lady's secret, and I made that promise to her."
"Not you and your secrets again!" Ananya exclaimed, "Guess I'll have to take this drink just to digest yet another of his darned mysteries." Jung-wook sneered at her actions, taking the empty glass from her hand to refill it right away.
As the game and their reckless rounds of drinking progressed, the questions kept becoming more personal, more intimate.
"What's something you've never told anyone?" Ananya asked Dae-jung, unable to hide her curiosity. He motioned her to lean in, reaching out to whisper in her ear. "Probably the fact that I'm a serial killer? But now that you know, I guess I'll have to kill you too now."
"Dae!" She playfully pushed him away, making him clutch his tummy to hold in his laughter. "Okay, okay." He breathed out, pausing to face her again, his gaze more intent this time. "Maybe… the things I told you the other day? You're the only one who knows."
Ananya nodded with a smile, giving his hand a little squeeze. Jung-wook cleared his throat, "Next?"
Dae-jung scowled at Jung-wook for ruining the moment, drawing out a card at random. He looked at the card a few seconds longer, as if he was second-guessing whether he should ask it or not. His eyes finally moved from the card to face the other man.
"What's your biggest regret?"
Jung-wook let out a soft sigh, looking up at Ananya. Instead of uttering a word, he simply gulped his drink down, his tone a lot lower this time. "Moving on again."
Ananya tried focusing on Jung-wook and his actions, albeit through her slightly blurred vision. She was hoping for even a vague answer to decode, but guess she had to keep waiting. "My turn?"
"Mhm, guess we have a mood-changer here." Jung-wook drew out a card, finally breaking into his usual cheeky smile, "If you were to date someone in this room, who would it be?"
Ananya blushed crimson, shaking her head vigorously and reluctantly reaching out to grab her drink. Dae-jung noticed her hesitation and immediately offered, "I'll drink for you."
But before he could, Jung-wook quickly swooped in to take her drink and down it, adding with a nonchalant shrug. "I was about to do that anyway."
The odd banter and subtle jabs continued, with the two drunk men constantly trying to outdo each other. Ananya watched them, initially amused but increasingly annoyed by their antics as she kept chugging her own drinks. At one point, she threw her hands up in exasperation. "You two can keep playing without me. Clearly, you're more interested in competing than having a fun time."
Dae-jung quickly apologised, "Sorry, Annie, I got carried away. We will stop."
"Oh, really?" Jung-wook, ever the provocateur, added casually, "So, are you both giving up?" This irked Dae-jung, who sat back down, determined to continue. The two men continued their undeclared drinking competition, trying to prove their tolerance. Ananya sighed, stretching her legs and resting her head back against the couch's bottom. Before she knew it, she had dozed off, the sounds of their persistent bickering fading into the background.
*****
It was past 4 in the morning when Ananya woke up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, groggy and disoriented. Dae-jung was sprawled out on the floor next to the table, his head right next to her feet. She immediately pulled her legs in reflex upon realising that, her eyes trying to place Jung-wook next – a gasp escaping her throat when she turned to her other side and saw his face mere inches away from her, his head resting on the same couch's bottom, facing her as he slept soundly.
She leaned back, nudging him to wake him up. He groaned and shifted, opening his eyes partly and muttered, "What time is it?"
"4:17 AM. We should move you two to your place," She whispered. "Mhm. 5 mins." He hummed and stirred, catching hold of her arm and using it as a headrest. She frowned, sitting back in place right next to him, a faint smile appearing on her lips against her will. "Okay. Only 5 though."
After what was definitely a lot more than 5 minutes, and with considerable effort, Ananya finally managed to help Jung-wook to his feet. They had tried waking Dae-jung up too but their efforts seemed futile. Taking his limp, passed out stature in their arms, Ananya and Jung-wook somehow trudged down the hallway, finally reaching the apartment next door.
They dropped Dae-jung on the bed and Jung-wook plopped down right beside him. Ananya chuckled at them, looking around, taking in the sparse furnishings and scattered belongings. It almost felt like a house that was set up with the intent of absconding without a trace whenever needed. Perhaps some new wave of minimalism?
The bedside table had nothing but a notepad, with a receipt poking out it, catching her eye. But before she could check it out, Jung-wook's incoherent mumbling took her attention away. "Do you need water?" She sat beside him, leaning in to hear him more clearly – when he suddenly reached out to pin her down on top of him, her head resting right beneath his chin. His grip was firm yet tender, and he mumbled, "I'll protect you this time, I promise."
Ananya's heart skipped a beat at his words, even though she couldn't fully comprehend what he meant. She stayed there for a moment, letting him hold her, a strange mix of confusion and warmth seeping in. What did he mean by 'this time'? What was his drunk, possibly honest self trying to insinuate? Did this have anything to do with those ridiculous claims he made when they met first, about her life in danger?
She lifted his arm gently off of her, sitting up and placing it back on his chest, his hand still gently held in hers. "You really are an enigma, you know."
*****
3:23 AM
Dae-jung had found a rather comfortable spot in his drunken state – Ananya's lap. He lay there, his murmurs way beyond comprehension at that point, having passed out within seconds of resting his head. Jung-wook looked at him with narrowed eyes, letting out a grunt as he crawled next to Ananya, pushing Dae-jung's head off of her lap – albeit ever-so-gently.
Shifting his focus back to Ananya, he reached out to tuck those few loose strands of her hair behind her ears. He let his fingers linger on her ears for a moment, gently tracing his thumbs down her jaw to cup her face fully, a soft smile forming on his lips.
Giving a soft peck on her forehead, he stayed, his lips still pressed against her temple as he whispered, "My biggest regret was not being able to save you."
"I won't let that happen again. I just cannot."