Bowon looked at the building visible before his eyes, then lifted his phone to confirm this was the right place.
Only after checking three times that the name of the location sent via message matched the name on the sign installed at the entrance did he realize he’d come to the right place.
“They picked a more splendid place than I thought.”
Unlike the clean beige exterior walls, both sides of the entrance painted black had antique-style lights attached. The symbol shining in golden light was luxurious, and looking at the meticulously decorated hotel name, it strongly felt like a palace that might be in Europe.
“Let’s go in.”
“Yeah.”
When Seoheon, who had come together, took the first step, Bowon also came to his senses and followed behind. As he set foot on the stairs, an employee who had been waiting greeted them with a bright expression and opened the door.
He’d heard it was a hotel buffet, but he’d thought it would be a popularized famous hotel or something they’d reserved, yet he was speechless at the more majestic building than expected.
If it was Oh Seulbi who had inherited the president position following Lee Jinyoung, she wasn’t the type to look for such a place even if she’d exerted excessive effort… It must have been Kim Junwoo’s influence at work.
Perhaps because of what day it was, Bowon’s steps entering the hotel became unnecessarily heavy. Today was December 30th, the day right before the new year. The club after-party date kept getting pushed back, and it ended up being held on a day much later than expected.
Even in this tight timeframe, to have reserved such a place—whether there was luckily a remaining spot or they’d obtained it through ability, it was an impressive feat.
“Wow.”
The hotel interior was more antique and splendid than the exterior. The stucco embossed on the ceiling boasted gorgeous patterns, and artworks and sculptures were decorated here and there. The dark-colored carpet and curtains created a mood, showing a restrained beauty of sorts, making it seem like being in some art museum rather than a hotel.
Bowon and Seoheon headed to the dining area with an employee’s guidance. From the moment they entered the hotel, seeing the restaurant interior with a luxurious garden feel, Bowon smiled slightly as his workplace from his original world came to mind.
“Ah, over here!”
Oh Seulbi, who had spotted Bowon and Seoheon, raised her arm and waved it round and round. Kim Junwoo, sitting next to her, grabbed Seulbi’s arm as if embarrassed, then got hit on the forehead in return.
Fortunately they hadn’t arrived late, as the club members who’d said they’d participate hadn’t all arrived yet. Casually greeting the kids he was seeing for the first time in about a month, when he sat side by side with Seoheon in an empty seat, Kim Junwoo grinned slyly as if he’d been waiting.
“Ooh, looks like you dressed up. Is it because it’s not a uniform? You look older than usual.”
“Are you joking?”
When Bowon wrinkled his brow and shoved Kim Junwoo’s face away, laughter seemed to burst out as the guy’s shoulders shook finely.
When they’d decided on the hotel as the after-party location, he’d given up on the idea of dressing comfortably. It seemed like he should dress neatly yet presentably, so he’d just worn a knit and slacks pants with a coat over it, but finding the casual fashion unfamiliar since it was his first time seeing it, the guy was teasing playfully. Knowing this, Bowon naturally bantered back.
“Moon Seoheon was somewhat as expected, but you’re really unexpected.”
“Why me?”
“Clothes aside, you came fully done up.”
“I did?”
“You exposed your forehead, your forehead.”
At Seulbi’s finger pointing to her own forehead while emphasizing it once more, Bowon replied indifferently with understanding.
“Ah, this. Seoheon did it for me. Good skills, right?”
At Bowon’s words as he lifted a water glass and took a sip while asking, Seulbi, who had been preparing to playfully banter back, straightened her upper body. Even Kim Junwoo, who had been quietly listening beside her, opened his mouth wide, then made eye contact with Seulbi and turned his gaze to Seoheon just like that.
Staring intently at Seoheon, who boasted an appearance that shone even more today, for a moment, the gazes alternating between looking at Bowon were not ordinary.
“Hmm… so that’s how it is after all.”
“Just ask directly. Hey, are you two dating by any chance?”
Bowon stopped even putting down the water glass and blankly stared at Kim Junwoo and Oh Seulbi. The guys who hadn’t even properly attended school—their eyes sparkled as they asked how they knew to ask such a thing.
Bowon momentarily looked around, seeing the appearance of the 1st and 2nd year students who kept drinking only water while reading the mood. Seeing that reaction, he could tell they’d all heard despite speaking quietly.
When Bowon, with heat rushing to his face, shut his mouth tight, both embarrassed and flustered, Seoheon, who had been sitting obediently in his place, expressed affirmation in his stead.
“That’s right.”
“Whoa…”
Kim Junwoo, who dug in his ear as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have, looked at Bowon and Seoheon with a sour expression. Rather than actually feeling bad, it could be called the typical reaction of a solo person hearing news of a couple’s birth. Seulbi soon recalled the past with a serious expression, then clapped her hands with a face as if realizing something.
“No wonder you stuck together too much, calling each other friends. You didn’t at first, but it’s been strange since last year. …Wait, you even applied to the same school because of that?”
When Bowon only drank water at the correct answer, Seulbi soon sent a disgusted look. Honestly, if they’d complimented saying they suited each other well, he would have kicked his chair and stood up, but he was rather relieved at the looks saying it was annoying. He recalled the nonsense he’d spouted about them suiting each other well when he didn’t know the Principal and Teacher Jaewon were in a relationship. Even while expecting the reaction wouldn’t be that bad, his heart was pounding at the fact that someone actually knew about his and Moon Seoheon’s relationship.
Definitely seeing these reactions made Bowon aware he was living in a different world. Anyway, relieved at the situation that had proceeded smoothly, Bowon laughed lowly and changed the subject.
“Ah, congratulations on college acceptance.”
“Haha. Yeah, thanks! Since we all got to go where we wanted, let’s drink to death today!”
“You’re still a minor.”
“I’m just saying. And anyway, there’s only about one day left now.”
It was exactly one day plus several hours, but there was no need to hurt the feelings of those in a good mood, so Bowon cheerfully went along with it. As the conversation about recent situations continued, after some time passed, Kim Yuna and Lee Jinyoung entered together.
Bowon, who stood up from his seat, approached Jinyoung whom he was seeing for the first time in a year and lightly hugged her in greeting. Jinyoung, who first noticed that Seoheon’s expression as he watched this intently was not ordinary, gave a look. At that, Bowon’s face just awkwardly reddened as he realized everyone really had found out.
* * *
“Wow, so you made this yourself?”
“Yeah. It’s still a prototype, but it’s done once patent registration is just waiting. There’s no problem, so you can eat it.”
Around the time the meal was underway and the atmosphere was ripening, talk of gifts came up. Jinyoung said she had something to give first and placed shopping bags on the table one by one, distributing them to the 3rd years facing graduation.
The items she handed over as gifts for both finishing the college entrance exam and graduation were chocolates that supposedly tasted like chili pepper. Despite already being unusual food, at the mention that alcohol was included, Seulbi’s eyes sparkled as she looked over the chocolate this way and that.
The chocolate was food that Jinyoung had taken the lead in making. Bowon was quite impressed, as Jinyoung, who had already produced one developed product, seemed truly mature and cool, showing whether she was fully displaying her abilities at the company she’d confidently joined after finishing her practical exam.
“It’s fine now in a frozen pack, but put it straight in the refrigerator when you get home. It melts quite quickly.”
At the caring advice, the excited kids answered they understood like obedient children. In a state of looking forward to becoming adults soon, they seemed quite happy to receive a gift containing alcohol.
Since Bowon’s mood was lifted the same way, he expressed gratitude to Jinyoung and carefully put down the shopping bag.
Among the 3rd years, only Seoheon, who wasn’t a club member, was empty-handed, and seeing the face staring intently at the chocolate, Bowon wondered if he’d become curious and leaned his upper body to whisper quietly.
“Let’s eat it together when the new year comes.”
“…Okay.”
Somehow the answer seemed slow, so Bowon, feeling puzzled, raised his eyebrows, but soon as a gift offensive took place, he missed the time to continue speaking. Whether it had been provided by the hotel, they brought a small lottery machine, put in papers with names written on them, and began taking turns drawing one by one. By the time Bowon’s turn came, he’d already forgotten why Seoheon had acted that way.
The paper Bowon drew had a 1st year male student’s name written on it. Seoheon matched the face of the male student who occasionally acted friendly toward Bowon with the name, then with an expressionless face watched the two receive gifts.
At the male student’s behavior of acting awkwardly unlike before, Seoheon’s stiff lips slightly rose. Anyway, after graduation they weren’t kids he’d see again so there was no need to care, but he was satisfied that the guy who’d been acting irritatingly had become docile.
Bowon was quite popular with the underclassmen. If there was anything fortunate, it was that he himself didn’t know that well, but with only Seoheon anxiously worrying, he’d been frustrated, so he was grateful enough to Oh Seulbi for asking.
Since joining here had been purely from stubbornness, he’d worried whether Bowon might dislike it, but he didn’t particularly do so, and he was happier about the fact that Bowon hadn’t immediately denied when asked if they were dating.
There had been a time when they’d had a conversation about gradually revealing themselves to people around them someday. Today seemed to have become that starting point. From now on, they just needed to progress step by step like this.
“Is it fun? You kept being quiet the whole time, so I thought I might have brought you for nothing, but I’m relieved.”
Bowon approached with a gentle smile, seemingly pleased at Seoheon’s expression that was already smiling broadly. Seoheon realized he was unconsciously smiling and touched his lips before showing a sign of affirmation.
Of course it’s fun. Because soon the long-awaited finale is approaching.
Having heard the time and place from Seulbi in advance, Seoheon had immediately reserved an empty room at a nearby hotel. Since he’d also told his uncle in advance, he planned to stay here continuously for several days. While recalling exchanging light greetings with Lee Jaewon, who had conveyed words of encouragement in the morning, Seoheon tried hard to calm his lips that kept trying to rise.
