"Cheers!" The voices of freshmen as well as sophomores cheered in the old barbecue diner.
It was bustling, hot, and cheerful.
"It's another new semester, let's make sure to make this work out great." Dong-cha said with a loud cheerful voice and wrapped her arms around Seoung-bo, whose face was already red from the countless shots she had downed.
Dong-cha still kept filling her glass, and they both downed the shots over and over while taking a little meat.
Chin-hwa was more concerned about the meat. They could have all the alcohol for all he cared, but he would gladly finish the meat on their behalf.
"I say this every time, Chin-hwa," Beom-Chim said and Chin-hwa lifted his gaze to look at him. "You eat a lot for someone your size."
As soon as he said this, everyone at the table fell silent. But the silence broke as Chin-hwa burst out laughing.
"Yeah, I think so too." He said, still laughing. It felt so funny to him and no matter how many times Beom would point it out, he would always end up cracking up. "I'm very fond of meat so I eat a lot. That's why I'm so healthy."
"And yet you never grow bigger than that." Yun-Tae said, drawing closer to Chin-hwa. "I envy you, little Hwa."
"Hey, now. You can't call me little when you and I share the same height and size." Chin-hwa said, causing them to laugh again.
Yun-Tae and Chin-hwa could be considered as the babies in their friend group. They were the only Omegas and had cute little frames even though they were males and were extremely cute.
It took a lot out of Chin-hwa to hide most of his cuteness as it would make him stand out but he couldn't exactly hide his face, so he often wore a beanie and had a nose mask pushed down underneath his chin.
One would think he was a superstar trying to hide his face most of the time but he just didn't want to stand out.
"Haha, what do you say we head for a karaoke room after this?" Seoung-bo suggested, her face red from the alcohol.
"I'm fine with that." Yun-Tae said and turned to Chin-hwa who downed a glass, stuck out his tongue at the harshness. "What about you, little Hwa? Will you be heading home early today?"
Chin-hwa shook his head. Usually, he followed his curfew of not staying out past 11, but this time, he took permission so he could stay out for as long as he wanted.
At first, he was surprised that his mom allowed him to stay out for as long as he wanted, but maybe they were finally letting him be responsible for himself. Or so he thought.
"Don't worry, I'll stay with you guys." He said with his teeth on display. He smiled heartily, "Let's sing till our vocal cords crack, haha."
"Oh, no way." Dong-cha laughed. "We can't have our cute little Hwa breaking his voice on his first time to a karaoke room with us. We gotta save some for next time." She said and they laughed.
"Besides, who knows if little Hwa's mother will let him stay out again if something like that happens." Yun-Tae said, downing one more glass. "Hah, they're always so protective of him because he's the last child."
"Little Hwa gets the premium treatment as a last child. I'm so jealous." Seoung-bo said, her hands waving in her little drunken state. "I'm also a last child but I don't see that premium treatment."
"It's because our little Hwa is always so cute." Yun-Tae said, grabbing his cheeks to squeeze and mold them. He looked into Chin-hwa's brown eyes, his little smile and slightly flushed expression, and gushed at him. "So cute."
"Hehe," Chin-hwa chuckled. "You're also so cute, Yun-Tae. You're cuter than me."
"Oh, we both know that's not true, hehe."
They were tipsy. Not exactly drunk but with a few more shots, they would be down like a rug. So, they would have to end the drinks there and head to the karaoke room if they still wanted to go ahead with that plan.
Chin-hwa felt alive, drinking, eating meat, and laughing with his friends with no one looking at him.
This has been his life for the past two years and though it was the most comfortable, he couldn't help but feel something was missing.
"So, Little Hwa, there's this friend of mine who wants to date you." Dong-cha suddenly said, causing Chin-hwa to spit out the drink in his mouth. He coughed.
"Are you okay?" Yun-Tae asked, taking up a napkin to clean him up. "Dong-cha, that was completely out of nowhere. You almost gave little Hwa a heart attack."
"Was it that surprising?" Dong-cha asked, putting her elbow on the table and resting her chin on her palm with a mischievous grin plastered on her face.
Dong-cha was a red-headed Alpha. Yes, her hair was red and so was her head, as in hot, because she was always doing crazy things.
She had the charisma and hotness of an Alpha but liked to play a lot. She flirted around a lot, too, but never pulled such a stunt on anyone in her friend circle.
She grinned at Chin-hwa and said,
"You know, you've never really dated anyone before." She said. "So, I've put it upon myself to help you find the perfect guy."
"I don't need it though." Chin-hwa said, cleaning his mouth with his sleeve.
"Hm? You don't need to date?" Dong-cha asked, tilting her head but Chin-hwa shook her head.
"No, not that. I can date when I want to but when I do want to, I'm not looking for a perfect guy." He said. "I don't need a perfect guy to be happy, do I? Besides, do they even exist? My mom usually told me that even the most perfect-looking guy has his flaws. So, there's no such thing as a perfect guy. I..." He blushed, looking away shyly. "Don't look for perfection."
They were stunned by his words. Not because of his choice but because of how level-headed he was.
For someone like Chin-hwa, who was cute, loveable, and kind, they thought the perfect guy would be the only great fit. But he didn't see that at all.
"Wow, I'm so proud of you." Beom-Chim suddenly said, breaking the silence and Dong-cha laughed.
"Even more reason for me to introduce different guys to you." She said and they all shook their heads. Didn't she understand the words? "So, tell me, little Hwa. What is it you'll look for if you want to finally date a guy?"
"Hm, I don't know." Chin-hwa said, lowering his head. "I've never really thought about it."