The night waned as they laughed, chatted, and drank. The lights of the Main Building stayed bright well past ten o’clock, and the long-lost classmates endlessly unearthed stories of the past.
“Remember? Yeonwoo was at the very front during the sports day dance. The cheer captain.”
“That’s right. Hey, our Ji Yeonwoo, you were such a good dancer.”
“Stop it! W-why are you suddenly saying things like that!”
Yeonwoo’s voice was uncharacteristically loud. Spending time with classmates who mischievously dug up her dark past from school made her slip back into being a fifteen-year-old girl before she knew it.
Honestly, she hadn’t wanted to go. She had expected it to be awkward and wasn’t confident she could mingle naturally. Fearing her classmates would see the woman worn thin by life, she had tried her best to avoid it.
But Manager Moon had pushed her. Even as she insisted she was fine staying behind to work, Manager Moon had forced her toward the Main Building with unreasonable persistence.
She had hovered hesitantly before finally showing her face. She had expected it to be intensely uncomfortable, but the awkwardness lasted only a moment. As they treated her with such ease—as if they had met just yesterday—her memories revived. Swept away by nostalgia, she became that girl from back then.
Her classmates all said the same thing: the Ji Yeonwoo of that time smiled often, was cheerful, and was optimistic about everything.
“By the way, Yeonwoo, you haven’t changed a bit.”
And that she still possessed that same spirit.
At the comment, Yeonwoo offered a soft, rounded smile.
No, that couldn’t be true. I have changed so much; the Ji Yeonwoo who smiled easily doesn’t actually exist here anymore.
Swallowing the words she couldn’t say, she simply gave a faint smile. Could I go back to who I was then? Would a day like that ever come? If only I could, I would run with all my might toward that version of myself.
“Alright, alright, there’s not much liquor left. Who wants more?”
“Me, me!”
“Me! Serve me first, you golden spoon!”
“Me, me!”
As Hyun-wook waved the bottle, everyone raised their glasses. Although Yeonwoo wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, she was swept up in the atmosphere and held her glass out.
To crave alcohol she didn’t even like—crowd mentality was truly a dangerous thing.
“Then me too…….”
“You too? Hey, Ji Yeonwoo, you can’t read the room? There’s not much left!”
“Give me some, too. Serve me first. Give me a lot.”
Joining in the pitiful begging, Yeonwoo burst into laughter at her own behavior. When Hyun-wook acted pretentious, filling her glass as if bestowing royal wine, Yeonwoo bowed obsequiously, and Hyun-wook laughed along.
The conversation flowed without a single interruption.
Like thousands of tiny bells ringing in unison, the sound of insects filled the space outside the Main Building. Youth had gathered there, and their untarnished memories remained crisp and pristine.
It was a night in Domyeongjae as beautiful as it was blue.
*
The reunion ended when it was nearly twelve o’clock, only after the liquor they had prepared in abundance finally hit the bottom.
After promising to meet again, the classmates stepped out of Domyeongjae, with Hyun-wook following to see them off. Only after they had hooked pinky fingers and made the promise to see each other again did Yeonwoo turn her steps toward the dormitory.
“Ah, I’m exhausted…….”
Walking, she realized she had drunk quite a bit. She hadn’t noticed while tipsy on the atmosphere, but now her stomach felt unsettled, and she felt a wave of dizziness, as if the ground were rising to meet her.
She walked slowly, exhaling a sigh with a faint smile. Was she drunk? She laughed for no reason. Having held a long, un-tense conversation with others seemed to have boosted her confidence.
One step, she felt melancholy; the next, a positive thought clung to her.
One step, her mood plummeted; the next, it soared.
“Drunk, I’m definitely drunk.”
Yeonwoo muttered, continuing her slow, sluggish pace. Her liquor-soaked body felt absurdly sleepy; she just wanted to hurry to the dormitory and collapse.
“I can’t seem to figure out your destination at all.”
At the voice from behind, Yeonwoo turned. She stared at the silhouette in her blurry vision and forced her eyelids to stay open.
Seongheon, who had approached, scanned her up and down as if checking her condition.
“Are you going on a midnight stroll instead of to your lodging?”
“Hello, Managing Director Nam.”
Yeonwoo’s body swayed slightly as she stopped.
“Are you on your way to work now?”
She blurted out nonsense at twelve in the morning.
As she stood there swaying, Seongheon wore a look of speechlessness. Scanning her again, he leaned his face close to her shoulder and took a long, deep breath.
Whew, the smell of alcohol.
“I said, where are you going?”
“I’m going to sleep.”
“I’m heading to work at this hour, and you’re going to sleep. A time difference as beautiful as it is tear-jerking.”
“I’m just so sleepy. I’m just so tired.”
“Of course you’re sleepy. It looks like you didn’t just drink from a glass, but fell into a vat of alcohol and crawled back out.”
……Heh. Yeonwoo giggled pointlessly. Seongheon looked at her, his expression beyond disbelief.
“It’s problematic if you laugh like that. Is it like, ‘I only smile generously if I’m drunk,’ or something?”
“I think I have to go. I’m incredibly sleepy.”
The moment she stopped, the intoxication surged. As Yeonwoo repeated herself, Seongheon heaved a long sigh and swallowed dryly.
“I’ll say it again, Ji Yeonwoo-ssi, you’ve taken the wrong path. This is not the way to your dormitory.”
“Oh, really? Then where did my dormitory go?”
“It’s exactly where it’s always been.”
Yeonwoo swayed and looked around. The dark scenery was similar everywhere, making it hard to tell where she was. Running a hand through her hair, she opened her lips again.
“I think I drank a lot. I have no strength left in my body.”
As she stumbled and stepped backward, Seongheon hurriedly caught her.
“I thought you only caused anxiety, but this woman is wrecking my nerves, too.”
“Wow…… I’m so tired…….”
“Ha…….”
The conversation wasn’t going anywhere. As if he had given up, Seongheon carefully pulled her arm, and Yeonwoo was dragged along listlessly.
“I’ll take you to the dormitory, so follow me.”
“Where did the dormitory go?”
“Yes. It went. If I had my way, I’d make that dormitory disappear entirely.”
Seongheon muttered, pulling her along.
“Lean on me. Don’t go falling over like that.”
“Yes…… I’m sorry…….”
“If you’re sorry, don’t drain me of my strength, just lean properly. Before I have to carry you on my back.”
Yeonwoo’s eyes gradually drifted shut. Like an astrologer entrusting her path to a single star, she continued her weakened steps, leaning on Seongheon.
A black world where there was nothing to be seen whether her eyes were open or closed. Entrusting her destination to Seongheon, she thought it was a little strange.
It was an absurd situation to let pass so docilely, considering her heart neither guarded against him nor felt he was a danger.
……To entrust my path on a dark night without a single suspicion.
I thought I couldn’t trust anyone. When, and from where, did I start following this man?
Just when?
“Walk slowly. Take deep breaths, too.”
“Yes…… I’m sorry…….”
It must be the liquor. It must be a drunken act I will regret tomorrow.
Yeonwoo let go of the thoughts that refused to form a line and moved her heavy feet. Her loosened heart had found a place to lean.
*
Having reached the front of the dormitory while exhaling deep breaths, Yeonwoo felt she needed to be a bit more alert to climb the stairs, which lacked hallway lights.
“I’ll just sit here for a moment before I go in. Thank you, Managing Director.”
“Are you feeling a bit clearer?”
“Yes. A little better than before. I’m sorry, and thank you.”
The intoxication reached its peak and seemed to be settling down. Managing to face reality, Yeonwoo pulled away and sat on the bench.
Seongheon sat down heavily beside her. Having waited for her until nearly twelve, he had no intention of leaving.
“Aren’t you going in, Managing Director?”
“I was out for a walk. I’d like to finish it.”
“Oh, I see. The night air is very refreshing.”
As Yeonwoo muttered, looking up at the sky, Seongheon, feeling uneasy about the backless bench, reached out his arm to support her back.
When she lowered her gaze from the sky without tipping backward, he pulled his arm back.
“You must like alcohol.”
“No. I don’t think I’ve even had a drink in over a year, but today, I just wanted to.”
Yeonwoo, who was caught in thoughts—wondering if today’s events were a dream, or if the life she had led until now was the dream—spoke up.
“I met my classmates today, and it felt a little strange.”
“…….”
“They said I used to smile often and was very optimistic. But I couldn’t just let those words pass by.”
At the end of her sentence, Yeonwoo gave a weak laugh.
“Those thoughts just kept circling. I want to go back to who I was then…….”
I wanted to meet the version of myself that hadn’t been hurt. If only I could.
“I think I gained a little courage from what you said to me yesterday, Managing Director. And meeting my friends while in that state seemed to give me even more. Anyway, thank you. Since yesterday, I’ve had, well, a lot on my mind.”
“…….”
“I want to live well. I really do.”
As Yeonwoo spoke in a small voice, Seongheon lifted his gaze. He, too, looked at the sky. The stars covering the firmament entered his view, and after watching them silently, he parted his lips.
“Continue to talk to yourself as you do now, and listen to the words you speak to yourself. Because the only one who can forge Ji Yeonwoo-ssi’s life is Ji Yeonwoo-ssi herself.”
“……Yes.”
Yeonwoo replied a beat late, casting her gaze to the ground. His words struck her heart with a thud, as if reviving emotions she had forgotten how to feel.
“And Ji Yeonwoo-ssi, you are trying hard enough, and you are doing well.”
*The you who has the desire to live well is already in the midst of living well.*
“Even so, if things don’t go well, lean on me.”
“…….”
“Don’t hang onto Domyeongjae; hang onto me. I will be the one to bring you out into the world.”
Yeonwoo turned her head slowly. She wanted to interpret his words with difficulty, but even in her drunken state, they were understood all too easily, leaving her with a vacant expression.
“In fact, I waited for Ji Yeonwoo-ssi today. I thought that a Ji Yeonwoo who had perhaps had a drink or two might be a little braver than usual.”
“…….”
“I wanted you not to be surprised by whatever I said.”
A day in spring, where the night air was dense with the scent of pure magnolia blossoms.
“I’m going to say it quickly because, either way, you’ll be surprised. No matter how much I think about it, it seems I like you, Ji Yeonwoo-ssi.”
The sky was a heaven of stars.
“Shall we try a one-sided love?”
“…….”
“Or, shall we try dating.”
Beneath her feet was a world of flowers.