A party celebrating their first music show win filled the dorm. Hajun’s eyes sparked when he spotted alcohol for the first time in forever.
“Oh.”
“Since it’s our first win, I thought some beer would be fine. Just don’t get drunk…”
Before the leader finished his sentence, Hajun popped open a can and chugged it down. Park Moondae stared with his signature Tibetan sand fox face. Ryu Cheongwoo just laughed like a grandfather spoiling his grandson. Moondae swallowed that exact thought and took a beer from him.
The members laughed and cringed at their encore stage playing on the TV—which was a parade of dark history. Meanwhile, Hajun watched Cheongwoo down his beer. Bae Sejin sat in the corner, sipping his drink in silence. Cheongwoo, on the other hand, drank like a pro.
“You drink well,” Hajun noted.
“Haha, yeah. I can hold my liquor.”
“How much?”
“About five bottles of soju?”
Approved. Hajun clinked his can against Cheongwoo’s.
The older guys enjoyed their drinks while the two minors got soda. Seon Ahyun said, “Next year, we must drink together!”
“I can’t drink…” Cha Eugene mumbled, chewing his paper cup with a sad face.
Kim Raebin chimed in. “He is Korean-American, so the law says he can drink only after twenty-one.”
“Aw, who cares! We’re drinking in Korea anyway!”
“Yeah, what does it matter? I drank in America before twenty-one too.”
“What?” Bae Sejin shrieked, shocked by another American admitting to breaking the law.
Hajun muttered in a flat, indifferent voice, “Whoa, you scared me.”
“How old were you when you drank!”
“Honestly, US laws make no sense. You get a driver’s license at sixteen and buy a gun at eighteen.”
He skipped the answer, Moondae thought with a squint. Plus, Hajun was talking way more than usual. Moondae stared with sheer judgment. In truth, Hajun felt wronged. He had waited until twenty-one for his actual first drink! It wasn’t his fault his soul kept returning to a teenager’s body after knowing the sweet taste of alcohol. Still, he had tried his best to hold back before high school graduation to protect his growing body. He only raided the wine cellar once in a while and got yelled at by his dad, or stole a sip or two of David’s hidden whiskey. Thinking about it made him mad, so he resolved to add more thumbtacks to his plush doll later.
Hajun kept complaining about how crazy American liquor laws are. Cheongwoo calmed down Bae Sejin, who was still demanding an answer from Hajun. Looking a bit awkward, Cheongwoo said, “Let’s keep this between us.”
“I won’t.”
“You… didn’t do anything else illegal in America, right?” Bae Sejin asked, gulping with a serious face. As a teammate, this was a massive deal. Moondae and the others pricked up their ears to listen closely.
“You mean like weed? No. Why would I do drugs? My brain runs fast enough without that crap.”
Hajun frowned, adding that weed and cigarettes smelled disgusting. Bae Sejin grilled him at once on how he knew the smell of weed, prompting a brief lecture on the dark side of American high schools. Eugene nodded, confirming the bleak reality. Moondae still looked suspicious, but Hajun, having proven his innocence, scoffed and moved away from Bae Sejin.
“I gave you the wrong nickname. Why do you love the law so much? You act like a judge. I should name you Judy instead.”
“Ju… Judy?”
With his cute new nickname, Bae Sejin lost his words. He popped his mouth open and closed like a fish before chugging his beer. Ahyun tried to stop him, but it was too late.
“S-S-Slow…”
“Hey!”
“I think he’s drunk.”
“Yeah.”
What a mess.
Just then, the TV played the next video in the autoplay loop—the second episode of Working Humans. Screams echoed through the living room. On screen, Hajun helped a fallen crew member dressed as a giant bird stand back up, set to warm, wholesome background music.
The drunk Bae Sejin pointed at the screen and yelled, “This! This is what drives me crazy!”
“Is that so?” Hajun marvelled at Bae Sejin’s weak tolerance, getting wasted on a couple of beers. Ignoring the rambling drunk, Hajun watched Bae Sejin flail around with a red face. Worried a fight might break out, Cheongwoo tried to soothe him.
“Hey, Sejin? Want some water?”
“Just pick one! Be nice or be a jerk! Stop acting like a brat then doing nice things!”
[Thia, record this.]
“No, you don’t,” Moondae intervened, fast. He shut down Hajun’s attempt to record Sejin’s embarrassing moment. If this leaked, it would scream “group discord” in a heartbeat.
“Don’t make people confused!”
Wait, was this a K-drama now? What was this drunk guy even talking about? Keun Sejin tried to exchange looks with Moondae, but Moondae ignored him and turned to Cheongwoo.
“Shouldn’t we stop him?”
“Well, uh…”
“I think it’s fun,” Hajun chimed in, though nobody asked.
You should be the one helping to stop him! But Hajun had zero intention of stopping. Instead, he egged Bae Sejin on.
“So, I make you confused? You can’t figure out if I’m a good guy or not?”
“Yes!”
“What parts of me do you like?”
Hajun started recording on his phone anyway. Moondae shook his head and stepped back. He tried his best, but Bae Sejin was walking straight into the devil’s jaws.
“…I don’t like you! It’s just… the things you say… the way you act… the teasing! It’s annoying and irritating! But then! You act like a good person sometimes!”
“So you can’t bring yourself to hate me?”
At this point, Cheongwoo smiled at his same-age friends. He had worried they would fight, but it was just their bickering. Bae Sejin was just a bit more dramatic under the influence.
“…Yeah!”
“Well, that’s my charm.”
“See! That! That’s what’s annoying!”
After throwing a small tantrum, Bae Sejin was calmed down by Cheongwoo and curled up in the corner of the sofa. He muttered to himself for a bit before his eyes grew heavy and he drifted off.
Hajun stopped the recording.
“I’m playing this for him tomorrow morning.”
“Uh…”
Cheongwoo wondered if he should stop him, but looking at Hajun’s smirk, he realized it was already out of his hands. Well, they were close anyway, so it should be fine.
After drinking for a while, the dorm grew quiet. Hajun upgraded his opinion of Park Moondae, who had managed to survive the night.
“Not bad, Moony.”
“…No.”
Moondae looked at the stack of empty beer cans next to Hajun with a horrified expression. Just how much had he drunk? The guy barely ate because of his tiny appetite, yet alcohol went down without end. No hint of drunkenness showed on him. Cheongwoo, who was also holding his liquor fine, checked on Moondae.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Good. So, how’s idol life treating you?”
“Whoa, you sounded like a school counselor just now,” Hajun teased, cracking open another beer. He half-listened as Cheongwoo and Moondae chatted.
Cheongwoo remarked, “Moondae, you’re always so calm. I wish I had a personality like yours.”
“…Hyung, you seem plenty calm to me.”
“No, I don’t think I have good judgment in crucial moments. Take today’s win—I couldn’t even deliver the speech. I don’t know if I’m cut out to be the leader.”
Whatever. Hajun, who was sober but reaching his stomach’s physical limit, set his can down and jumped into the conversation. “Did you not hear this guy cracking under pressure on stage today? I was definitely the calmest one.”
“…” Moondae shot him a silent glare. He had indeed messed up a bit, so he couldn’t even argue. Hajun ignored Moondae and turned to Cheongwoo.
“What’s with that look? Are you saying I’m not calm?”
“No, well. Hajun, you’re always… consistent.”
“Exactly. But you’ve changed a bit. You’re softer now than when we first met.”
“…Really?”
Hajun nodded. Cheongwoo was a former Olympic gold medalist, so Hajun had known his face from the news. Along with Bae Sejin, whom he recognized from old Korean movies, they were the only Idol Co-op contestants Hajun actually knew beforehand. This meant he paid more attention to them, except for Moondae, who dragged around a massive clump of curses. Especially since he had done several team missions with Cheongwoo. Back in the early days of Idol Co-op, Cheongwoo was more daring and aggressive. But he had to put on the brakes. Since Hajun was always stepping on the gas pedal next to him, Cheongwoo had no choice but to be the mature one.
“If you don’t do it, who will? Park Moondae can’t do it.”
“…” Moondae felt a bit annoyed hearing this from Hajun, regardless of his own lack of desire to lead. But Hajun’s explanation was spot-on.
“Think about it. Who are the oldest members here? Me, you, and that tiny, antisocial guy in the corner of the sofa.”
“Is that how you think of Sejin…?” Cheongwoo murmured. Hajun simply stated the facts and kept going.
“There’s no law saying the oldest must lead, but age hierarchy still matters in Korea. More importantly, if Moony becomes leader, he’ll clash with me.”
“Well…”
“Plus, would someone who gets awkward around the members even want to lead? For the same reason, Keun Sejin is out too.”
“…”
Moondae stared, dazed, at how easily Hajun dissected the group dynamics while finishing his beer. He didn’t expect Hajun to lay everything out so bluntly.
“…I’m not that awkward—”
“Work on your lying skills first.”
“Come on, let’s stop here. I get it.”
Ryu Cheongwoo gave an awkward laugh and cut Hajun off. Moondae shut his mouth, wanting to drop the subject. Hajun lightly nudged Cheongwoo’s chest with his fist.
“Anyway, that’s why you’re the leader.”
“Haha… I guess I have no choice.”
“Don’t stress too much about the role. You don’t have to carry everything by yourself.”
Cheongwoo, who had been smiling a little bitterly, looked up in surprise. Hajun, busy stacking his empty beer cans into a tower, asked, “What?”
“No… I just didn’t expect you to say something like that…”
“Whoa, a bit of alcohol really brings out your soft side,” Hajun smirked. Moondae got up to head to his room, leaving the two to bond. But then Hajun remembered something and turned to Cheongwoo.
“By the way, I’ve been curious. Is that writer from Idol Co-op… Ryu-something… a woman? Is she related to you?”
“Writer Ryu Seorin? Yeah, she is. How did you know? Just because we have the same last name?”
“Is that why you ended up on the show? I could tell because you two look similar.”
Not in face, but in soul. Relatives shared a bloodline, giving them a subtle spiritual connection. It was like how identical twins could sometimes read each other’s minds even when apart because of their strong bond. For average relatives, though, feeling that connection was rare, almost impossible as the bloodline thinned.
Hajun glanced at Moondae (born Ryu Gunwoo). Moondae had a strange, unsure look, clearly clueless about any connection. Well, even if the Poongsan Ryu clan wasn’t huge, there were still over twenty thousand of them in the country. Once you got past eighth cousins, you were basically strangers. Seeing Moondae’s confusion, Hajun yawned. He had no plans to tell Moondae they were distant relatives; he was just glad his curiosity was satisfied.
But Moondae was not fine. Writer Ryu Seorin and Ryu Cheongwoo were relatives? That was a massive scandal waiting to happen. He felt like he had just been hit by a bomb right before going to bed.
“How close is your relation?”
“Oh, don’t worry. We’re very distant. I don’t even know the exact degree. We’ve never met before, and she only reached out through the clan association. It was a normal casting call.”
“…Please don’t tell anyone else about this.”
“This is the first time I’ve mentioned it, so don’t worry,” Cheongwoo smiled. Hajun caught Moondae’s intense stare and made a zipping motion over his lips. Moondae still looked tense.
“I don’t usually share these things with the younger ones… but for some reason, I find it easy to talk to you, Moondae. Haha.”
“…”
“Oh.”
“Hmm?”
“Nothing.”
Pretty sharp, Hajun thought with a quiet grin. To feel that Moondae was older than his outward appearance, Cheongwoo was something else. Moondae broke out in a cold sweat, too preoccupied to care about Hajun’s knowing smirk. He quickly changed the subject.
“So, getting scouted means you were already preparing to become a singer?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t keep doing archery.”
“Why?”
“I was in a car accident when I was a kid… I think it’s a delayed side effect. It was fine back then, but now that I’m fully grown, my hand starts shaking whenever I put force into it.”
“Oh, man.”
Cheongwoo smiled warmly at Hajun’s blunt, almost indifferent reaction. He explained that he had quit archery two years ago and chose this path instead, showing the peaceful ease of someone who had moved past their trauma.
Hajun asked him, “But is it okay for us to know this?”
“Of course. It’s in the past anyway.”
“No, I mean them.”
Hajun pointed toward the floor. Cheongwoo and Moondae flinched as two teary, runny-nosed faces popped up from behind the sofa.
“Sniff, we’re sorry… We heard everything…”
“We just woke up… we didn’t mean to eavesdrop! We’re so sorry…!”
“Ah… It’s my fault for talking in the middle of the living room. Don’t worry about it, go back to sleep.”
A flustered Cheongwoo ushered them back to their rooms. Before heading in, Kim Raebin and Cha Eugene offered their clumsy, heartfelt support. Eugene leaned in and whispered to Hajun, [How did you know we weren’t asleep?]
[I saw you.]
[But we were kept still.]
[My eyesight is just that good.]
Hajun brushed off Eugene’s amazed look and scanned the living room. Cheongwoo was still sober, Moondae looked exhausted, Keun Sejin and Seon Ahyun lay sprawled on the floor, and Bae Sejin was still curled up like a ball in the corner of the sofa. Surrounding them all was a mountain of trash.
“I’m going to bed now.”
“Shall we?”
“Goodnight, everyone.”
The three sober men left the messy living room. Hajun grabbed some blankets and threw them over the three passed out members, marking his good deed for the day. He felt quite good after having a proper drink for once.
New Terms
- 쥬디 – Judy (Bae Sejin’s nickname, evolved from “Shortcake”)
- 류서린 – Ryu Seorin (The writer from Idol Co-op)
- 풍산 류씨 – Poongsan Ryu clan (The clan family of Ryu Cheongwoo and Ryu Gunwoo/Park Moondae)
