Chapter 2: Drinks with Friends and a Call from Noona
The sound of sizzling meat and laughter filled the air in the small BBQ place. It was the kind of casual spot where you didn't have to think about anything—just eat, drink, and enjoy the night with friends. Jae-min sat at the table, a bottle of soju in hand, while the familiar faces of his closest friends surrounded him.
Kang Dae-sung leaned back in his chair, throwing a piece of pork belly onto the grill. "So, Jae-min, when are you gonna stop slacking and actually do something with that pretty face of yours?" Dae-sung grinned, his words half-serious, half-teasing.
"Here we go," Jae-min sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically as he took a sip of his drink.
Across the table, Yoo Mi-rae snorted, shaking her head. "He's not wrong, you know. It's a crime for someone like you to waste your life away, eating takeout and letting Noona boss you around all the time."
"Exactly!" Dae-sung pointed his chopsticks at Mi-rae. "Even Mi-rae thinks so, and she doesn't compliment anyone."
Mi-rae smirked, crossing her arms. "I didn't say it was a compliment."
Park Ji-hoon, who had been quietly sipping his drink for most of the evening, adjusted his glasses and chimed in, his voice calm but laced with that usual competitive edge. "Honestly, with your looks, you could probably get by doing the bare minimum. But maybe it's time to aim a little higher. You might surprise yourself."
Ji-hoon was always the logical, driven one—the kind of guy who thrived on structure, deadlines, and five-year plans. Already climbing the corporate ladder at a top firm, he rarely missed a chance to subtly challenge Jae-min's more laid-back approach to life.
Jae-min shrugged, not letting Ji-hoon's thinly veiled jab get under his skin. "I'll leave the overachieving to you, Ji-hoon. Someone's got to carry the weight of being perfect."
Sitting beside him, Lee Soo-bin leaned over, her arm brushing against Jae-min's casually. "Who says perfection is the goal?" she teased, her eyes glinting mischievously. "Some of us prefer things a little more... fun." She raised her glass toward him, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
Jae-min chuckled, clinking his glass against hers before downing his drink. There was always a certain tension between them—unspoken, but undeniable. Soo-bin's playful glances and the way her arm brushed against his weren't lost on him, but as far as the rest of the group was concerned, it was just their usual banter.
The conversation carried on, with Dae-sung cracking jokes and Mi-rae throwing in her sarcastic remarks, but there was a comfortable familiarity to it all. This was Jae-min's safe space—the place where he didn't have to think about anything beyond the next drink or the next laugh.
As the drinks kept coming, Dae-sung's grin widened. "Remember that time in high school when Jae-min tried to sing at the talent show?"
Jae-min groaned. "Can we not talk about that?"
Mi-rae burst out laughing, almost spilling her drink. "Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad. You actually managed to hit a few notes... after the fourth attempt."
Ji-hoon smirked, adjusting his glasses. "It was impressive how many times you convinced yourself that you could actually sing in front of the whole school."
"I was forced into that," Jae-min replied, rolling his eyes. "You know the school president begged me to do it."
"And you enjoyed every second of the attention," Soo-bin teased, nudging him. "Admit it, you loved it. You're just playing coy now."
Jae-min shrugged, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Maybe I just wanted an excuse to humiliate myself."
As the laughter continued, Jae-min's mind wandered for a moment, the noise of the BBQ place fading into the background. He remembered a conversation with Jin-ah a few months ago, sitting on her sleek office couch while she poured him a glass of whiskey. She had looked at him with that same determined gleam in her eyes as she said, "You could be someone, Jae-min. Stop acting like you're content with just drifting."
"I'm fine," he had replied, shrugging her off as usual. "It's not like I'm trying to become some superstar."
Jin-ah had shaken her head, leaning back with a confident smirk. "You don't have to try, Jae-min. You already are—you just don't realize it yet."
That conversation had ended the same way all their talks about his potential did, with Jae-min giving her an indifferent response and Jin-ah letting out an exasperated sigh. But now, as he sat in the BBQ place with his friends, something about that memory lingered. Maybe she had seen something in him that he hadn't allowed himself to acknowledge.
He snapped back to the present as Mi-rae slammed her glass down, grinning as she glanced around the table. "Alright, let's play a game."
Jae-min groaned. "Mi-rae, every time we play a game, someone ends up regretting it."
"That's the point," Mi-rae smirked. "I say we go with 'Never Have I Ever.' You know the rules."
Soo-bin raised an eyebrow. "Are we seriously playing this? It's been years since we did."
Dae-sung chuckled, already pouring another round of drinks. "Why not? Besides, it'll be fun watching Jae-min try to keep up."
"Fine," Jae-min muttered, "but only if Ji-hoon participates. He's always the hardest one to crack."
Ji-hoon adjusted his glasses, sighing. "You know, I'm not exactly good at these games."
"That's the point," Mi-rae repeated with a grin. "Okay, I'll start. Never have I ever... skipped a class to sleep in."
Everyone immediately downed their drinks except Ji-hoon, who sat there with his glass untouched. The rest of them erupted in laughter.
"Never have I ever... kissed someone at this table," Dae-sung said with a sly grin, clearly aiming to stir things up.
Mi-rae shook her head, laughing as she reached for her glass, and the others quickly followed, downing their drinks in unison. Amid the lively clinking of glasses, no one seemed to notice Soo-bin's slight hesitation. Her fingers hovered over her drink for a fraction of a second too long, and she glanced at Jae-min, her eyes meeting his.
Jae-min shot her a subtle, silent glare, the kind that clearly said, Just drink and don't make this a thing.
Soo-bin smirked, almost imperceptibly, before finally picking up her glass and downing it without a word. The moment passed smoothly, unnoticed by the rest of the group, who were already gearing up for the next round of laughs and playful jabs.
Ji-hoon finally chimed in with a rare smirk. "Never have I ever... lost a bet to Jae-min."
Jae-min grinned as most of the table drank. Dae-sung groaned dramatically, waving his arms. "I hate you for being good at everything!"
Jae-min just laughed, downing his shot along with the others. "Not everything. I'm still a mess."
"That's true," Soo-bin said, her smile playful. "But we still love you."
The game was getting good, but just as Jae-min was about to throw in his next move, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced at the screen and saw Jin-ah's name flashing.
"Be right back," Jae-min muttered, standing up from the table and heading toward the quieter corner of the bar.
As he stepped outside, the cool evening air hit his face. He answered the call, his voice casual. "What's up, Noona?"
Jin-ah didn't waste any time. "You got the callback."
Jae-min paused, staring at the street for a second. His heart gave a little jump, but he played it off cool. "That was fast."
"They liked you," Jin-ah said, a hint of pride in her voice. "I told you. The audition was just the beginning."
"Yeah, yeah," Jae-min muttered, though inwardly, he could feel a small spark of excitement. It was weird. For years, he had brushed off the idea of acting, mostly to get Jin-ah off his back, but now... hearing her say it, knowing it was real, it stirred something in him. "I'll think about it."
"Don't think too hard," she teased. "Just show up."
Jae-min chuckled, ending the call and slipping his phone back into his pocket. He stood there for a moment, letting the news sink in. A callback. Part of him wanted to brush it off like it was no big deal, but another part of him—one he hadn't felt in a long time—was starting to wonder if maybe this was something he could actually do.
With a deep breath, he turned back toward the bar and rejoined his friends.
"What was that about?" Mi-rae asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously as she handed him a drink.
"Nothing," Jae-min said, shrugging as he took the glass from her. "Just Jin-ah being Jin-ah."
Soo-bin raised an eyebrow. "She's always got you running around, huh?"
Jae-min smirked. "You know how she is."
The night carried on, filled with more drinks and laughter, but as Jae-min sat there, listening to his friends bicker and joke, the thought of the callback lingered in the back of his mind. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it—not yet—but something about it made him feel... different. Like maybe, just maybe, Jin-ah had been right all along.