“You really cook ramyeon well.”
“Yeah, no. Next time you’re making it.”
When I firmly refused the deliberately sparkling-eyed compliment after one bite of ramyeon, Kim Sekyung clicked his tongue.
“Perceptive bastard.”
It was vaguely dinnertime. The ramyeon and snacks went down just fine.
We roughly cleared the table, played a few rounds of the Jenga we’d bought earlier, and eventually took out The Game of Life at Park Hyeonho’s persistent whining to play it.
Park Hyeonho had been obsessed with The Game of Life since high school. We all preferred Blue Marble where you buy and sell world cities, but we got used to The Game of Life because of Park Hyeonho.
Of course, since the night is long, we’d probably play Blue Marble later too, no matter how many rounds in.
We giggled looking at Kim Sekyung’s game piece in The Game of Life, which had a full car with the first expanded family. At our teasing asking how many more accidents he planned to get into, Kim Sekyung huffed and spun the spinner hard enough to pull it off.
While concentrating on the game for a while, as I stretched, my hand on the floor caught my eye. Won Dogyeong sitting next to me was giggling while watching Nam Seongwoo on the verge of bankruptcy. The bright face that had smiled with his eyes in the car saying he wanted to hold hands flashed through my mind.
There’s a table, and it probably won’t be visible.
I carefully checked the other three’s attention, then secretly slipped my hand under Won Dogyeong’s, threading my fingers between his. Startled by the sudden contact, he was about to turn his head, so I straightened my posture and quietly hinted, “Don’t look.”
“Okay.”
Won Dogyeong let his gaze flow over the board while squeezing our clasped hands tightly. It felt exactly like being high schoolers in a secret relationship. Feeling my face heat up, I pressed my cheek hard with the back of my hand.
I didn’t drink, so I shouldn’t be getting red.
The guys who seemed to have sobered up from wandering around the Han River and the mart gradually appeared to be getting drunk again. By the time we took out Jenga after several rounds of The Game of Life, they were already getting loud and boisterous.
“Ah, don’t pull that one! Ah shit, I’m next.”
“Fall over, fall over.”
We surrounded Kim Sekyung who was carefully and gently touching the bottom two remaining blocks, launching all kinds of interference. Nam Seongwoo, who would have to touch the Jenga precariously standing on one remaining block if this succeeded, looked the most anxious.
“Fuck, you see that?”
“Ah!”
Kim Sekyung held up the block he’d pulled out and laughed triumphantly while Nam Seongwoo let out a short scream.
“Can’t believe that worked.”
“You see that?”
Surprisingly, Nam Seongwoo safely passed his turn even in that state. Unfortunately, the next turn was Won Dogyeong who was the most drunk among us. Already drunk and half-leaning on the sofa, there was no way he’d succeed, and the Jenga fell mercilessly with a loud crash.
Thinking this was their chance, the other three pointed fingers and excitedly teased Won Dogyeong.
“You really suck at this.”
“Total butter fingeeeers.”
“How do you even act with those hands?”
I don’t know what the last one has to do with anything.
Won Dogyeong threw blocks at the guys with a blank expression, then leaned on my shoulder whining.
“They’re bullying me.”
“Are you tattling? Fuck, then I’ll tattle to Jia too.”
“What did my daughter do wrong?”
“The crime of having a childish dad~.”
“Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and rebuild it.”
Hair touched the nape of my neck, tickling. Won Dogyeong seemed quite drunk, squeezing and releasing our clasped hands, fidgeting with them. It seemed like an unconscious movement. His breathing near my ear made my shoulders tense.
“Want some water?”
While the guys were rebuilding the Jenga, I looked at Won Dogyeong and asked quietly. He lifted his face slightly to meet my eyes, then shook his head side to side. His hair brushing against my clothes made a rustling sound.
“Ice cream?”
“…Should I eat some?”
This time tempted, he lifted the corners of his mouth, grinning foolishly.
“Wait here.”
I gently pushed Won Dogyeong away and stood up. My palm, sweaty from holding hands for so long, felt cool as the air conditioner air hit it.
I went to the refrigerator and took out the ice cream we’d bought at the mart. I threw one each to the three guys who brightened up when I brought it over, and peeled one to put in Won Dogyeong’s hand.
As soon as I sat back down, he grabbed my hand and leaned his body against me in the same position as before. I bit into my ice cream and snapped at them to hurry up and decide the Jenga order. Otherwise, I felt like I couldn’t stand the tickling in my chest.
No, I mean, why is he so cute today…?
Won Dogyeong drank the alcohol but I was the one with diminished mental capacity.
“Hey, remember when we always played Halli Galli in high school?”
Park Hyeonho had brought it—it was a game where you put a bell in the center and take turns laying down cards one by one, and when certain conditions are met, you need to hit the bell faster than others to have an advantage. We played it so much that the bell broke by graduation. Especially after the college entrance exam, we gathered in the hallway all day playing Halli Galli. When we did that, kids passing by would join one by one and the members kept changing. It was fun.
“I remember. Kids cursed us out behind our backs, saying we were loud.”
“Fuck, were we the only ones who did it?”
“We must have been the loudest. From what I saw, it’s all because of you, you foul-mouthed bastard.”
“Total nostalgia. Let’s play Halli Galli.”
Park Hyeonho, who’d been listening with giggles, rummaged through the board games piled up behind him and pulled out Halli Galli.
“Let’s bet a penalty drink.”
Kim Sekyung placed a rolling mug cup in the center and poured soju glug-glug.
It was obvious who would end up drinking that, so I glanced at Won Dogyeong, but he seemed oblivious, laughing excitedly along with them. Won Dogyeong had always been terrible at Halli Galli anyway. Since he was drunk, there was nothing to see.
Yeah, just drink it quickly and pass out.
“Was it press when there’s five of the same?”
“Yeah.”
The frenzied Halli Galli began.
“Ah! Wait, I saw wrong. Ah! They look similar!”
“Not at all.”
“No excuses~.”
I was mostly first place and Won Dogyeong was obviously last place. He drank the penalty drink four rounds in a row. Just what he drank now was probably close to a bottle of soju.
Because it was boring having the same person keep drinking, from the middle we played the game excluding Won Dogyeong who was just blinking blankly. After playing like that for a while, everyone seemed to run out of energy so we put away the board games and calmly had a conversation.
Around when Nam Seongwoo started talking about changing jobs, my shoulder felt heavy, and when I looked to the side, Won Dogyeong had fallen asleep. I decided to take him to the room later and let him sleep.
“Will you remarry?”
When the topic flowed to marriage talk and I asked Kim Sekyung, he chewed squid and answered with slurred pronunciation.
“I’m not completely against the idea, but since I have Jia. If it happens, it happens; if not, whatever.”
“Is it really different when you have a kid?”
“It’s different…. But why do you keep asking about Jia since earlier?”
“What do you mean. I’ve always been interested in Jia.”
“No, not this kind of interest. Are you seeing someone, these days? Like, you really want to get married or something?”
Kim Sekyung narrowed his eyes and scrutinized my complexion thoroughly. I shrugged and mumbled vaguely.
“It’s not like that.”
Then Park Hyeonho, who’d been lying on the floor looking at his phone, suddenly sat up and shouted.
“Someone you’re seeing! Tell us about that!”
That unhelpful bastard… Usually he has no interest, but did getting drunk make him suddenly curious?
“Hooo~.”
Kim Sekyung let out an exclamation in a suggestive tone. If I got caught here, I’d have to fully make up a girlfriend story, so I waved my hands saying no, but Nam Seongwoo, who’d just been listening, muttered dryly.
“I’m not even curious anymore. Look at how he acts when dating, that bastard can’t get married.”
“That’s true. Won Dogyeong probably can’t get married with that attitude either, so just live like this together, you two.”
Park Hyeonho sprawled out again while agreeing. These guys, really.
“I seriously think it’s also a method for you guys to just have a kid and live together. What’s so special about family?”
“Oh, Solomon~.”
“Don’t you know co-parenting? Do that, you two.”
“Mm, trendy~.”
Nam Seongwoo spat out half-hearted advice that wasn’t really advice while keeping a deliberately serious face, and Park Hyeonho clapped his hands in agreement.
If we’d continued just being friends, it would be absurd talk, but feeling guilty, I pretended not to hear and threw peanuts into my mouth.
What would these guys say if they knew there really was Won Dogyeong’s baby in my belly right now?
They’d probably make a fuss, so I should tell them as late as possible.
Kim Sekyung, who would normally have been the most persistent, was strangely quiet.
I thought I should change the topic and take Won Dogyeong to put him in the room. When I shook him lightly to wake him, he sluggishly opened his eyes.
“Go inside and sleep.”
“Okay….”
“Let’s go.”
He didn’t seem to have any intention of getting up by himself, so I pulled his arm and stood up. Won Dogyeong looked sleepy but obediently got up while swaying.
The target had already shifted to Park Hyeonho apparently, as Kim Sekyung and Nam Seongwoo were persistently interrogating him about his girlfriend. It seemed he’d gotten a girlfriend five years younger. That thief. I should ask Kim Sekyung to tell me about it later.
I supported the staggering Won Dogyeong and opened the room door. There didn’t seem to be any need to turn on the light, so I left the door open and relied on the living room light to lay him on the bed. I was about to leave when Won Dogyeong grabbed my clothes and mumbled.
“Close the door….”
“Okay.”
“No… don’t leave….”
