“I, I’m stepping out for a moment.”
It was Lee Yena, who had been distributing food here and there with an indifferent expression.
As she finished speaking, Lee Yena stood up gracefully, opened the sliding door with a grating sound, and walked out of the room. She seemed to not expect any responses or reactions.
She was about to offer to go with her if it was for the restroom. But Ark, having lost the timing due to the sudden appearance of meat on his small plate, could only stare blankly at the closing door.
For some reason, silence enveloped the small room after Lee Yena left. Even though she wasn’t leading the conversation.
“Will Yena be alright by herself? She seemed to have drunk a lot.”
It was Revan who broke the inexplicable silence first. His words, filled with concern, also carried a hint of frustration, as he couldn’t act on it. Any man following her would obviously be mistaken for a flirt.
Ark nodded and stood up. There wasn’t anyone else to go.
‘Ahri… is completely asleep.’
StarPork, who had been excitedly snapping pictures with her Polaroid camera, was now curled up and asleep in one corner, as if she had spent her last ounce of energy.
‘She seems really drunk.’
“I’ll go after her.”
Lee Yena should not be in such a drunken state… Hopefully, she wasn’t. There were no signs of her being drunk just a moment ago. Yet, it wouldn’t be surprising if she was completely wasted after not eating anything except for a few bites of grilled mero, while chugging beer.
How much did she drink?
Ark first checked the restroom but couldn’t find any trace of Lee Yena. He even raised his voice, calling her name, and checked every open stall, but she was nowhere to be found.
‘Did she go outside?’
A sudden surge of worry grew within him. Given her diminished sense of caution and her natural provocation, the thought of Lee Yena wandering the streets alone in a drunken state was alarming. If someone was hitting on her right now… Would she be able to handle it properly? Unfavorable scenarios floated in and out of Ark’s mind.
He put on his shoes and stepped out of the shop. In front of the store, located three alleys away from the bustling main street, only dim streetlights stood sparsely.
‘She shouldn’t have had enough time to go far.’
Under the dim light, a few drunkards were wandering around, but Lee Yena was nowhere to be seen.
Ark tried to calm his growing anxiety as he rummaged through his handbag for his phone. Perhaps because of his frantic state, the phone that was always so easy to grab seemed elusive this time.
After what felt like an eternity, she was finally able to take out her cellphone. Did she have her number—her phone number? She should have asked beforehand. Swallowing her regrets, she pressed the voice call button.
‘What should I do if she doesn’t pick up? I should go back and tell everyone, then start searching nearby—’
-Dling dling ding.
Her concerns were rendered pointless as the ringtone came from right beside her. Turning her head, she saw Lee Yena staring at her with the same indifferent expression.
“……Yena-nim, where did you go?”
“I had something to buy. How about you, Jinhee?”
“……I was worried about where you went, so I stepped out to look for you.”
Explaining it felt somewhat awkward. Why would a fully-grown adult worry so much about someone leaving a party for a brief moment? It was puzzling why she had been so frightened in that instant.
Unable to bear Lee Yena’s puzzled gaze, Ark made an effort to change the subject.
“What did you buy? Ice cream?”
“Oh. I bought some paper and a pen. The convenience store didn’t sell the right paper, though.”
Blink, blink—the light of the streetlamp above flickered gently. It was an old, aging streetlight on an ancient street.
In the dusky night, her eyes, accustomed to the bright light of the store, made it seem as if Lee Yena and everything around her disappeared and reappeared momentarily. Blink, blink—like something that could vanish with a flicker of light… and it wouldn’t be strange at all, such a person.
“Jinhee-nim.”
Blink.
Under the light that had returned, Lee Yena held out a small notebook and a pen.
“Yes, yes?”
“I was wondering if I could get your autograph.”
“My… autograph?”
“Yes.”
“But… why my autograph…?”
“I told you.”
A slight smile. The corners of her mouth lifted, and her eyes softened gently. Someone who always seemed so indifferent could light up with such warmth. Startled, Ark stretched out her hand unconsciously to accept the notebook.
Blink, blink.
“FanTube, let’s start with that.”
The shaking letters must have been due to the poor lighting.
* * * *
“Karaoke- should we go to a karaoke room? The fourth round is usually karaoke.”
“… It’s 3 AM. You should head home before it gets too late.”
“Already? I wanted to hear KingGodBox’s live performance… a duet with Yena…”
“I’ll sing for you next time. You even fell asleep at the izakaya. Go home and sleep comfortably.”
“Then sing me a lullaby!”
“… No matter how I see it, it looks like we made a little GetDevoured. Anyway, everyone had too much to drink. Let’s get you into taxis and head home. Just tell me your direction.”
“Looking for a karaoke party. No nagging loggers allowed.”
“Seriously… Ah! Hey, what are you doing?”
“I tried to take your phone, but too bad.”
“I’m asking what you’re doing… Ah, seriously. Jinhee? Jinhee?”
“Yes? Yes, yes!”
“Can you help control Lee Yena and her group? I’ll handle the rest…”
“Oh, right! Polaroid! Let’s take more pictures!”
“Ahri, we already took plenty…”
“We still have film left! I brought extra…”
The drunkards were putting up a fierce resistance. If they had been rowdy men, he might have subdued them by force and crammed them into taxis. But how was he supposed to deal with a budding photographer who kept taking Polaroids and giving them out, or a drunk who, if you let your guard down for a moment, would whisper, “The karaoke room is this way” and try to disappear?
There was nothing suitable to hold onto for support. The fingers stretched long, the hands that looked slightly cold, and the thin wrists that seemed like they might break if held too tightly…
“I’m not drunk.”
“That’s what a very drunk person would say. I saw you drink a third of that bottle you called finishing sake all by yourself. How can you drink like that?”
“… The whisky had worn off. Do you know how hard it is when you sober up in the middle of a drink? It’s like having your buffs removed in the heat of battle.”
His face pouted.
Why he had to fight a war alone at a drinking party was beyond comprehension. Shihoon held back from uttering the familiar scolding that surfaced in his mind, feeling as though he already had an answer.
A momentary silence fell over the deserted night street.
Ark stood there, dazed and motionless, unable to do anything, while Gorabox blinked with a face soaked in fatigue and alcohol. Beside him, Yena finally gave up on their karaoke expedition, standing with her arms crossed, and behind her, StarPork was fiddling with her hair again.
StarPork, who, contrary to her image, was said to be the eldest daughter. She used to braid her younger sisters’ hair every morning until she became independent. True to that, she quickly crafted a neatly tied hairstyle for Yena, only to undo it and start braiding it once more in a more elaborate style.
It was quite a sight, especially with Yena’s distinctly annoyed expression.
“Then, how about we grab some ice cream at the convenience store and take a break?”
Yena’s voice sounded unusually weary. It was probably an excuse to escape the endless hairstyling. Nonetheless, there was no reason to object.
Finding a convenience store near the bustling streets wasn’t challenging. As is common on such pleasant evenings, the tables outside the store were strewn with remnants of someone’s drinking session.
While roughly clearing away snack wrappers and bottles, Yena returned from inside the store and smoothly handed something over.
“It’s not quite like a karaoke session, but it’s a close fourth-round treat. Here, since Revan is such a bore, he gets to eat a Bar BQ.”
What was she even talking about? To top it off, the ice cream she handed over wasn’t even a Bar BQ. He didn’t have the energy to argue, though.
-Crunch.
Peeling off the wrapper and biting into the ice cream, shihoon took a moment to observe the five people gathered around the convenience store table.
Perhaps it was because they had interacted quite a bit online beforehand. One drinking session had brought them considerably closer. Whether that would still hold true once sober, only time would tell.
‘Especially…’
His gaze naturally shifted to Yena, who had been a perfect replica of a drunken guest even before drinking. She slumped in an old plastic chair, almost on the verge of falling asleep.
Despite this being their first offline meeting, there wasn’t a trace of wariness or pretense in her demeanor.
While being somewhat glad about that, shihoon felt his forehead slightly furrowing.
Whether she knew this or not, Yena leaned back in her chair, tilting her head back as she whispered in a voice barely audible.
“It’s nice.”
She stared up at the Seoul sky, where stars were barely visible.
As if speaking to herself, quietly, “I’m glad I came out.”