“Seems like you have some free time now.”
“It’s a regular thing, but we’ve been putting it off. The project wrapped up, and there are some things to celebrate in the meantime…”
“Things to celebrate?”
“I was appointed as an assistant professor this time.”
At the good news, Yu-shin flipped over to his side. His surprised expression was vivid even in the darkness.
“Park Jun-wan, you became a professor?”
“Just the appointment.”
“Why are you so calm about it? It’s an incredibly impressive thing.”
Yu-shin was excited as if it were his own achievement. The person in question maintained a composed attitude.
“It’s just moving up when the time comes. Nothing to make a fuss about.”
“Oh, so you’ll be doing things like university lectures too?”
“Yes. I’ll be busy.”
“A real professor. That’s amazing.”
Yu-shin’s eyes sparkled. Jun-wan disliked making a fuss, but he didn’t feel too bad about it. He pretended to rub his face while adjusting his rising lips.
“Let’s eat together soon too. Somewhere nice, like a celebration party.”
“All you think about is playing.”
“Ah, where should we go? I need to get you a congratulatory gift too.”
Yu-shin, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly moved closer as if something had occurred to him. Jun-wan momentarily hesitated at the body that clung to him without reserve.
“Since an assistant professor is still a professor, it’s okay to dress with dignity from now on, right?”
“Do I look like I go around dressed like a beggar? And wasn’t it Kim Yu-shin who hid all my new suits?”
Jun-wan lightly pushed Yu-shin’s forehead, sending him back to his original position.
“That… there was a good reason for that.”
“Don’t think about buying anything. I’d rather you fix your sleeping habits.”
“What’s wrong with my sleeping habits?”
His face was confident. Jun-wan sighed softly and covered his forehead with his palm. He wasn’t going to say anything, but this was a situation Kim Yu-shin brought upon himself.
“You don’t know that you steal all the blankets every night.”
“…Really?”
“Show some consideration for the person sleeping with you.”
Yu-shin pulled up the disheveled blanket. After covering Jun-wan up to his neck, he patted his chest as if handling a baby.
“What are you doing?”
“I really didn’t know. I would have had to sleep with someone to know.”
“That’s enough, just go to sleep.”
Regardless of the curt response, Yu-shin propped his head up and gently patted the top of the blanket.
“Professor Park, congratulations.”
His voice was as soft as the plush bed. Jun-wan ended up smiling. Both Yu-shin’s patting and the unexpected congratulations disarmed him.
The dinner location was decided to be a meat restaurant in front of the university district. Since there were many attendees, they rented the place for the entire day.
The gathering included the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Electronic Engineering collaborating with the Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, so the number roughly approached 50 people. The spacious restaurant was packed with customers.
Since everyone knew each other, they sat mixed together without dividing by department. But even within that, there was a certain order.
The supervising professors and postdoctoral researchers occupied the seats of honor, and the rest were positioned in order of seniority. The closer to the entrance, the fresher the faces.
Charcoal smoke filled the restaurant densely. The atmosphere was quite lively, fitting for a dinner after a long while. There were especially many things to celebrate. Enough that soju bottles kept circulating from the start.
“Wow. The smell of meat from this place reaches all the way to the Korea University main gate.”
“Professor, you’ve arrived!”
“Hello, Professor!”
Every time a professor entered, the graduate students promptly stood up and bowed 90 degrees. The professors lightly patted their shoulders before heading to the seats of honor.
“Huh? We have duplicate bottles?”
“Professor Kim, did you bring another one from duty-free?”
“Well, the more the better. We’ll have about ten bottles today, won’t we?”
As if by appointment, everyone brought whiskey. It was an unwritten rule of department dinners. They also generously gifted a bottle to the restaurant owner to ask for their understanding.
There were more than enough reasons to brighten the dinner: new people joining as postdoctoral researchers, graduate students who successfully finished their papers, a recently perfectly completed project, newly secured national research funding, and so on.
Among them, the most celebrated were Park Jun-wan and Choi Seon-jong, who were appointed as assistant professors this time. The two received concentrated attention from the professors, and along with words of congratulations, they were always given a glass of whiskey filled high like a rice bowl.
“I… I’m dying… urgh.”
An hour into the dinner, his comrade who should have shared the hardship collapsed with his head down. Due to Choi Seon-jong’s fainting, all the congratulatory drinks fell on Jun-wan’s shoulders.
“Jun-wan, congratulations.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
He couldn’t dare refuse drinks offered by professors. Jun-wan brought every glass to his lips without missing any. He showed no signs of intoxication at all. His face should have turned red, but his complexion only became paler.
“This guy… doesn’t get drunk at all.”
Professor Kim from the Department of Bioengineering, who had poured drinks for Jun-wan, was already tipsy after two glasses of whiskey. Finding it fascinating that Jun-wan, who must have drunk several times more than him, still maintained a respectful posture, he refilled the empty glass.
“Professor Kim wouldn’t know. Park Jun-wan’s drinking behavior is quite something.”
“You have to feed him moderately while watching. If he gets completely drunk, it’s big trouble.”
Several professors at the table spoke jokingly. Professor Kim, who was unfamiliar with Korea University affairs, opened his eyes wide, not understanding.
“What is it?”
The beginning went back to the first MT during his university days.
Jun-wan, who was a freshman at the time, had no sense of his alcohol tolerance. The first drink he had went in like water into a bottomless jar, and the seniors were impressed and endlessly filled his glass.
Around 2 AM, there were few people left in the common lounge. Even Jun-wan was quietly sleeping, leaning against the wall. Next to him were rows of empty soju bottles. It was no exaggeration to say he had drunk more than half of the alcohol brought in crates.
Among the seniors, there was a particularly malicious person. He had the nasty hobby of picking out freshmen and making them drink until they were drunk, so most of the freshmen who attended the MT that day had passed out before midnight.
‘Everyone’s so docile this year. How come there are only people throwing up?’
‘Stop it. What if there’s an accident?’
‘Hey, there needs to be someone like me to enforce discipline. These are all experiences and memories.’
When several seniors were drinking with snacks, Jun-wan, who had been quietly sleeping in the corner, slowly raised his body.
‘Jun-wan, you’re awake? Go inside and sleep.’
One female senior quickly ran over to take care of Jun-wan. Staggering and rubbing his face, he seemed quite drunk. Since he was the person who drank the most today, she had been watching him with concern. To be honest, she was interested and wanted to take care of him.
‘Do you want water? Or should I get you some soda?’
‘Hey, if you’re sober, you should play again. Park Jun-wan, you bastard, come here and receive a drink. Let’s drink with hyung until dawn.’
The two seniors bickered over who would take him. In that situation, Jun-wan observed the seniors with a pale face. His pupils were completely dilated and the brain organ controlling reason had been on strike for a long time, but befitting a yangban family’s son, he showed no disorder.
‘He looks fine, why do you keep trying to put him to bed!’
‘Jun-wan, ignore them and go in.’
The female senior grabbed Jun-wan’s arm and pulled. The man leaning quietly against the wall didn’t move at all. His relaxed pupils looked intently at the senior. Just as she tensed up, Jun-wan suddenly pulled the senior into an embrace.
What, what’s that, what’s he doing now, why is he like that? Why is he hugging her? Are they dating? Were Min-kyung and him always like that?
When everyone was surprised and rolling their eyes, Jun-wan’s target changed to someone else. This time, he grabbed the male senior standing next to her and kissed him on the cheek.
It was an even more affectionate skinship than before. Smooch— The sound of lips attaching to and detaching from dry flesh echoed in the quiet common lounge. The male senior, who had been out of it for a moment, jumped in place and hastily rubbed his cheek.
‘Ahhh! This bastard’s gone crazy!’
That was the beginning. Park Jun-wan, with his expression erased, went around to all the seniors in the common lounge and showed affection equally. He hugged someone so tight their waist nearly crushed, and rubbed his head against someone else. There were seniors whose cheeks were bitten or whose eyelids were sucked on. He didn’t deliberately target anyone. He just reflexively rushed at anyone who made eye contact.
Park Jun-wan’s drunken antics were fair to all, regardless of gender. Especially the senior who called himself the freshman discipline manager fiercely resisted but got his nose bitten by Jun-wan, paying the full price for his bullying.
The normal-looking guy had unimaginable drinking habits. Screams erupted in an instant, and especially the male seniors were disgusted by the skinship. Even when they cursed at him, Jun-wan didn’t bat an eye. Rather, he responded to those who cursed with even more intense affection.
The incident of that day is still talked about even now, more than 10 years later. It was the opportunity for Jun-wan to learn about his alcohol tolerance and drinking habits, and he never repeated the same mistake afterward.
“They said the kids were screaming and it was chaos back then. Of all things, there were plenty of guys with dicks too.”
“Ah, when Jun-wan gets drunk, it’s no joke.”
Just in time, an eyewitness was sitting at another table. An assistant professor from the same department waved his tongs and showed recognition.
“After that, for a while, my heart fluttered whenever I saw him.”
