“Let’s go now.”

“Eh? I can drink more…”

“You’re drunk. And it’s already late.”

“Really?”

Lee Cheolwoo sniffled and slowly rose to his feet. After paying the bills, I grabbed Lee Cheolwoo, who faltered in his steps, by his arm and led him outside. He smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I shook him off because he was heavy, but he didn’t care and did it again.

“Jiho! Now I remember it.”

“What?”

“Let’s join a meeting.”

“What is it this time?”

“It’s with the girls from the hair design class. You’ll come right, Jiho? Hmm? Come on.”

The talk about the meeting had been going on since the beginning of the semester. I always got annoyed when other guys about my age started mentioning it, but now Lee Cheolwoo was doing it. It hadn’t been that long since he got dumped by his girlfriend, though.

“Do it without me.”

“They said to bring you along. It may not work if you aren’t there.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Argh, Jiho.”

What a disgusting guy. I looked at my watch. I wanted to quickly send Lee Cheolwoo home and go back. Seeing that Yeon Woojeong had sent me a message, he must have already gotten off work, so—

“Jiho, you don’t even have a girlfriend.”

“…”

“Can’t you go with me just once? Hmm? It’s my wish. I really want to forget Soyeon.”

Nonsense. It’d be a relief if he didn’t cry about missing his ex after the meeting. I removed Lee Cheolwoo’s arm. He made a sad face and pouted.

“Hey, let’s help each other out as fellow solos.”

“We’re not fellow solos.”

At first, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think it was necessary and it would be annoying, but considering that he would continue to bother me like this, I thought it was better to just tell him the truth. Lee Cheolwoo stopped walking. He looked back at me with a shocked expression on his face.

“You have a girlfriend?”

“…”

“How could you, Kim Jiho! Why didn’t you tell me? Traitor!”

“I’m telling you now.”

Lee Cheolwoo sniffled, looking speechless. I’m sorry. I didn’t feel sorry at all, but after I added that, he relaxed a bit.

“… Is she pretty?”

“Yeah.”

“She must be very pretty, right?”

“Yeah, incredibly pretty.”

So let’s go, can’t we? I grabbed Lee Cheolwoo’s arm and was about to drag him along.

“Hello.”

A familiar voice behind me made me retract my steps. Even with the noise of the street around me, the distinct voice cutting through it tugged at the back of my head. I turned my head slowly, and there was Yeon Woojeong, looking at me with one hand in his pocket.

“Uh? Who’s he?”

Lee Cheolwoo whispered after glancing back and forth between me and Yeon Woojeong. His voice was small, but it seemed that Yeon Woojeong heard him.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Yeon Woojeong.”

“Oh, yes. I’m Lee Cheolwoo.”

“Did you have fun? Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”

“What? Oh, no, thanks. It’s fine!”

Yeah, it’s fine. I said that internally and then pushed Lee Cheolwoo away from me. Yeon Woojeong smirked and came closer.

“You’re Jiho’s friend, so I’ll take you home. It’s getting late, and my car is right there.”

“Uhh… Then may I ask you a favor?”

“Sure.”

Yeon Woojeong smiled kindly and turned to lead the way. I wanted to just hail a cab and send Le Cheolwoo away, but he insisted, so I had no choice.

“Is he your brother?”

Lee Cheolwoo asked quietly. Brother? I didn’t really like the title, but I didn’t know what else to call him, so I nodded.

“Wow. Your brother is really handsome.”

I didn’t know if he said it because he was drunk or because he didn’t hear it, Lee Cheolwoo didn’t seem to care about our different surnames. He kept on muttering that Yeon Woojeong was cool. I wasn’t really impressed as I knew it better than anyone.

Yeon Woojeong, who arrived at the car first, opened the back door for him. Lee Cheolwoo’s eyes widened at the sight of the Benz.

“Hyungnim, you have a nice car.”

“Thank you.”

“Is it okay for me to sit in…”

“You can lie down if you wish.”

Lee Cheolwoo laughed at Yeon Woojeong’s joke and climbed into the back seat. I got into the passenger seat, and the car took off.

“You must have been drinking a lot.”

“Oh, yes. I… I broke up with my girlfriend.”

“Oh no.”

“But it’s okay! I’ll get busy, go to meetings and MT. Oh! MT! Hyungnim, Jiho said he doesn’t want to go. Can’t you please persuade him to go? I have no friends except Jiho.”

I turned my head and glared at Lee Cheolwoo. He, the drunk, whined as he clutched at his seatbelt.

“MT?”

Yeon Woojeong glanced at me. Lee Cheolwoo went on rambling that we were going to go on Friday and come back on Saturday and that it was a chance to get to know people in the class.

“Don’t you think it’ll be fun?”

“I think so.”

“Right! You heard it! That’s what your brother said.”

Even though Lee Cheolwoo was an outgoing guy, it was weird to see him act so casually with Yeon Woojeong. What does he mean by “I think so”?

I closed my mouth and leaned my head against the window. When I didn’t respond, Lee Cheolwoo changed the subject as if he had given up.

“I came in late, and there was only one seat left in the back. I sat there and greeted the person next to me, and I was like, ‘Wow!’ There was Jiho sitting there.”

“You must be shocked.”

“Yes. There was an idol sitting there, and I was like, ‘Huh? Am I in the wrong place?’ and then I walked out of the class and came back in.”

Yeon Woojeong chuckled. I liked his laugh. Apparently thrilled by the response, Lee Cheolwoo exaggerated his impressions when he first saw me.

I could see Yeon Woojeong drawing a line by continuing to speak formally even though Lee Cheolwoo told him to speak casually with him. He would respond, trying to lead the conversation, but rarely talking about himself. Watching the conversation from a step away, it was interesting to see how Yeon Woojeong communicated.

I chimed in moderately. After all, Lee Cheolwoo was my friend, and this was Yeon Woojeong’s first time seeing him, so I felt a responsibility not to make him uncomfortable. However, I wasn’t yet as good at leading a conversation as Yeon Woojeong, and Lee Cheolwoo did most of the talking.

“You can stop here!”

We arrived in front of Lee Cheolwoo’s house. The car stopped at the entrance to the apartment complex.

“Thank you for the ride.”

“Go in carefully.”

“Yes! Jiho, see you tomorrow. Thanks.”

Lee Cheolwoo waved his hand vigorously and closed the car door. He stood there as if he had no intention of leaving until we left. Yeon Woojeong drove off.

“What a cheerful fella.”

“Mhm.”

“So.”

The car stopped at the light. He looked back at me and opened his mouth.

“How does it feel to have a super pretty lover?”

My lips parted reflexively to answer and I closed them again. I didn’t expect he would hear that. I blinked stupidly. My ears grew hot. I purposely averted my eyes from him, but his gaze was insistent. When I finally gave him a sideways glance, I met his curved eyes. I wondered how much he had endured the desire to tease me while Lee Cheolwoo was here.

“… What?”

“Well. I’m just wondering if you like it.”

“…”

“Are you going to the meeting?”

Since when did he start listening? As I frowned, the light changed and the car moved.

“I’m not going.”

“Kim Jiho, getting all the attention, I see.”

“He always exaggerates.”

Yeon Woojeong smirked. Fortunately, he seemed to be in a good mood. I made it clear that I wasn’t going to the meeting so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

“What about the MT? Are you going with another class?”

“No. Just my class. But I’m not going.”

“Why?”

“Well, I’ll have to stay overnight if I go, and you’ll be alone at home.”

Yeon Woojeong raised an eyebrow.

“Now that’s a novel excuse.”

“It’s not an excuse.”

“You don’t have to if it’s because of me.”

“Do you want me to go?”

“You don’t need my opinion in this matter.”

Suddenly, I remembered a conversation I had with Yeon Woojeong when I had just gotten to know him. Even though I knew what he was saying and understood his way of speaking, there were times when I couldn’t quite get used to it.

I banged my head against the car window and looked out. As I watched the street painted by crimson streetlights, Yeon Woojeong reached out and touched my cheek with the back of his hand.

“Although it’s best not to go if you don’t want to go,”

“…”

“I think it’s one thing to try it once and decide you’ll never go back, and another to assume it’s not for you from the start.”

His fingertips tickled my cheek. I removed my head from the window and squeezed his hand.

“Oops. I’m talking like a boomer.”

Yeon Woojeong lamented, and I kissed his palm. He looked at me and smiled briefly. I liked it when he gave me advice, when he poked his nose in my business. I wanted to show Yeon Woojeong all the things I did.

I suddenly felt mushy in my heart. I sometimes felt it for no reason when I was with Yeon Woojeong.