Chapter 8: This is really the last one

“…Why did you pay my share?”
“Oh, I just covered it! You don’t have to pay me back!”

Yuna waved her hands, laughing.
There wasn’t a hint of awkwardness in her.

[Lmao, thought you could escape? No way.]
[Yuna saw this coming from a mile away, damn.]
[She’s one—no, two steps behind lol. How’s our airhead gallery owner supposed to take the lead?]

The crowd noisily shuffled out.
Yuna brushed off a few classmates who wanted to go together and stayed by my side.
As we quietly left the lecture hall, she followed me.

Maybe because summer’s over.
Even though it’s still early evening, the campus was slowly darkening under the sunset.
It’s my favorite scene from school life.
Yuna was still beaming.

For some reason, my stomach twisted.
Nothing’s going my way.
Sure, it’s a small thing.
Going to an after-party, drinking a bit, and forcing myself to socialize isn’t that hard.
Compared to turning into a girl overnight or having thousands watch my every move, it’s nothing.

But… this is something I should at least have control over.
Whether I participate or not should be my choice.

It feels like Yuna’s doing this on purpose, even though she might know how I feel.
I know people don’t care about me, but maybe I just needed someone to take my frustration out on.

“Give me your account number. I’ll pay you back.”
“Huh?”
“You paying my share without asking—it’s uncomfortable.”

What’s she thinking?

You’re so narrow-minded.
It was just a kind gesture.

That’s probably what she’s thinking.
The people watching me probably think the same.

For the first time, Yuna’s smile faded.

“Sorry. Was that too much?”

Then she gave an embarrassed smile.

I didn’t expect this reaction.
I thought she’d brush it off playfully and ignore me after.

“Back in May, after midterms, we drank with our group, remember?”
“I remember…”

She suddenly brought up the past.
How could I forget?
That was the last drinking session I went to.
It’s when I started feeling skeptical about forcing myself to fit in.
After that, I openly avoided department activities and distanced myself from classmates.

“I said I lost my keyring, right?”
“Yeah?”
“We’d already left the place, and everyone was too drunk to care. But you said you thought you saw it under the table and went back to look for it.”
“Oh… yeah, I did.”

I just mentioned I saw it because I did.
Everyone was busy planning third and fourth rounds, and I wanted an excuse to leave, so I went back alone.
I found it, gave it to Yuna, and went home.

Honestly, I thought she was too drunk to remember.
It’s just a keyring—not even expensive.

“That was important to me.”
“….”
“I felt bad thinking you couldn’t hang out because of me, and I was so grateful you found it. I wanted to thank you so many times, but it was harder than I thought. I’m not good at expressing myself either… So after months of worrying, I guess I made things awkward for you. Sorry.”

Yuna mumbled calmly.

I thought her sudden behavior was because I turned into a girl.
Maybe that’s why I felt more resistant.
I’m the same, but the way people look at me has completely changed.

But maybe, even if I hadn’t changed, Yuna would’ve approached me the same way.
She seems to think she’s part of why I distanced myself from department life.
That night was one of the triggers, sure.

But it’s just a misunderstanding.
Even without that, I’d been feeling uncomfortable in those settings for a long time.

“I don’t like drinking parties.”
“Oh, I see…”
“I’m not into department stuff either. I’m not sociable and don’t fit in well. So it’s not really about that night.”

Honestly, it’s embarrassing to say.
Even if it’s to clear up a misunderstanding, it’s basically admitting I’m a natural-born shut-in.
Nothing to brag about or say proudly.

But isn’t it uncomfortable to leave a misunderstanding hanging?
Once someone harbors a doubt, whether true or not, it grows out of proportion.
Blaming yourself for something you don’t need to is painful.

“Thanks, Yeseung. You’re kind. You seem like a really good person. Honestly, I just wanted to get closer…”

Who’s calling who kind…?

“Ugh, I’ll go just for today.”
“No, you don’t have to force yourself…”
“You already paid my share. Can’t waste money.”
“…Thanks, Yeseung! I’ll stick to you like glue!”

As if she was never down, Yuna beamed again.
Stick to me? What?
I’m already regretting not saying I’d go home, but if a day of enduring clears things up, that’s enough.

[So sweet, so sweet lol.]
[Did the genre just change?]
[She’s pretending not to check the gallery lol, we know you’re watching.]
[Why not confess to Angel Yuna? Why not confess to Angel Yuna? Why not confess to Angel Yuna?]
[She already planted a flag ages ago lol.]
[Sniff sniff, I smell yuri vibes.]

Are these people insane?
I wanna die. This is why I didn’t want to say anything embarrassing with everyone watching.

Oblivious to my feelings, Yuna hurried me along with a smile, making my mood even heavier.

[She’s got some crazy charm lol.]
[Picked up a keyring and got this? When I returned something, I got a dirty look, damn lol.]
[So what’s the incident that made her a shut-in? It can’t just be missing drinking parties.]
[Don’t let Angel Yuna slip away, she’s the real deal.]

“Shut up…”
“Huh?”
“Nothing… let’s go.”

Muttering quietly, I realized controlling these teasing idiots was impossible.
The after-party was at a pub near school.
They call it a pub, but it’s basically a chicken joint.

‘It’s packed as hell.’

Even for a decent-sized place, with one section crammed in, it was overflowing.
This is with most upperclassmen skipping department stuff.
Just freshmen and some sophomores and juniors make it this crowded—I’m already exhausted.

“Yuna, over here!”
“Unnie! Sorry, did you wait long?”
“No, we just got here.”

Someone waved us over from a table.
I recognized both of them—Hyunseok hyung and Seoyoung unnie.
Both are a year older, retook the entrance exam, and were in our group.
They must’ve saved two seats on purpose.

“Yeseung’s here too? Nice!”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Wow, so formal. Love’s gone cold, huh?”
“What are you saying to someone who rarely shows up?”

Ignoring Hyunseok’s comment, Seoyoung unnie pulled me to sit next to her.
Maybe I was closer to unnie in the girl world.

‘I wasn’t exactly close with hyung either…’

I called him hyung but kept using formal speech.
He told me to drop it, but I never did. No wonder people call me rigid.
Still, those two were the ones I was most comfortable with.
Maybe Yuna knew that and got us this table.

“Did you order, oppa?”
“Not yet.”
“Yeseung, what do you want? Anything you’re craving?”
“Uh, I’m fine with anything.”
“Really? Hmm, what would Yeseung like~?”

Seoyoung unnie hummed, looking at the menu.
Picking something felt so burdensome, I answered without thinking.

[‘Anything’ card played lol.]
[Just pick something, gallery owner!]
[Open the menu and choose the third item, please stop saying ‘anything’!!]

They were making such a fuss, I reluctantly opened the menu.

“Uh, how about white garlic chicken?”
“Nice! Love it!”
“Okay, let’s order that.”
“But… looks like we need to decide dipped or drizzled? Yeseung, drizzled? Dipped?”

Oh, come on.

Isn’t drizzled the default for chicken?
It’s not like it makes a difference…

“It’s not tangsuyuk, it’s chicken. Just drizzled, right?”
“So you’d dip tangsuyuk?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeseung, you’ve got no taste…”

Unnie muttered quietly.
I can hear you, unnie!

[Unnie’s a taste connoisseur.]
[Look at the drizzled gang crawling out lol.]
[You picked drizzled?]
[Chicken’s gotta be drizzled lol.]
[Tangsuyuk and chicken, what’s the difference? Both fried. Discriminating between chicken and pork?]
[Just eat and stop arguing over nonsense.]

Props to the guy who shut it down.
I gave unnie a dumbfounded look as Hyunseok hyung placed the order.

“White garlic chicken and spicy fried chicken, one each. Four 500cc draft beers, four bottled beers, and four soju bottles.”
“Hey! What kind of alcohol order is that?!”
“Uh… I ordered for the table? It’s fine. We can order more if we run out.”

Seoyoung unnie snapped, but Hyunseok hyung just smiled kindly and nodded at the server.

Hyung… is that right?