Jiyeon held her head upon seeing her friend rolling around on the floor.
Though the situation differed, there was a striking resemblance between middle-school Seoyeon Joo and the Seoyeon Joo of now.
Take, for example, the unpredictability of their actions.
And, the fact that Seoyeon after just waking up from sleep looked eerily similar to the state she was in now.
“Is Seoyeon this strong?”
“Shhh.”
When Seohui Jo inquired, startled by the sight of a beer can exploding, Jiyeon placed her index finger to her lips, signaling for quietness.
Cautiously shifting her gaze, she noted with relief that Seoyeon was still rolling around on top of the spilled beer.
Although she mumbled something inaudible while rolling around, it was of little importance.
‘How is Joo Seoyeon handling her drunken state?’
In truth, even Jiyeon did not have an answer.
Who could accurately predict the drinking habits of someone in their first encounter with drunkenness?
It would be ideal if she easily fell into a deep sleep, but the evidence seemed to point otherwise.
There are various types of drunken states—people who become violent, those who talk excessively, and others who become overly affectionate with those around them.
Among these, Jiyeon’s prediction leaned toward either the former or the latter.
“Years ago, I played a game with Seoyeon.”
“Game?”
“It was a monster-hunting game, similar to the one about dinosaurs… There were traps laid out and all that.”
Jiyeon collected a few discarded empty cans nearby.
“For some reason, this situation feels eerily similar.”
Joo Seoyeon had acute hearing.
Not just acute—exceptionally sharp.
Ordinarily, even in her usual state, she would have been able to pick up every muttered word in this place.
Yet, given her lack of reaction now, it was evident that the alcohol had somewhat dulled her senses.
“Still, she looks kind of cute, like a cat.”
Seohui observed as Seoyeon earnestly tried to wipe the floor with the hem of her skirt.
It was slightly frustrating not being able to fully understand the indistinct sounds she made from a distance.
‘Should I get a bit closer?’
As Seohui moved stealthily, Jiyeon raised her hand to halt her.
“Hold on. Let’s test her reaction first with this.”
“Huh? The can? What for?”
“Just stay quiet for a moment.”
Since she was drunk, it was necessary to observe her reflexive actions. Feeling like a wild animal trainer taming a beast, Jiyeon picked up a can from far and rolled it quietly toward Seoyeon.
To check the radius of her awareness.
The can rolled smoothly for three meters.
Then, as it approached within two meters.
KONG!
“Uh?”
Seoyeon’s palm struck the can behind her back without warning, leaving it crushed in her hand.
Seohui gulped audibly at the sound that reverberated through the room.
That sound was something a mere human hand couldn’t produce.
It was like the sound of hammering a nail into the ground. Worse yet, there was even the sound of some wild creature moving.
“About two meters.”
“So, practically the whole room?”
“No, she wouldn’t react as much if we stayed near the corners.”
The fortunate part was that her control over force wasn’t entirely lost. Thinking back to middle school, this reaction was normal enough.
Anyway, moving cautiously from a distance meant Seoyeon merely mumbled instead of reacting violently. Speaking of which, Jiyeon noticed Seoyeon was idly folding the flattened can into some paper craft.
“Well, tigers are part of the cat family too.”
Muttering such thoughts, Jiyeon found herself lost in contemplation. She couldn’t leave things as they were. They certainly needed to clear up the mess, but several problems arose.
First, Joo Seoyeon was heavy. Admittedly, if she heard that, she would be angry, but it was the truth.
Even if two people tried, it wasn’t guaranteed to work, and with no assurance she would behave calmly, lifting her was out of the question from the start.
“Should we just leave her like that?”
“Well, she needs to be moved. Her clothes are soaking wet; she might catch a cold.”
With a nonchalant attitude, Jiyeon muttered, but Seohui quickly countered with a puzzled expression.
To Jiyeon’s surprise, Seohui’s expression was filled with bewilderment. Did she really think that someone like Seoyeon could catch a cold?
Jiyeon had never seen Seoyeon fall sick, neither at the hospital nor sustaining any injuries.
However, Joo Seoyeon lying in a puddle of beer, looked distinctly more human.
‘Then how should we move her…?’
As she pondered this, Jiyeon’s gaze fell upon Seohui’s face. What a beautiful countenance.
Perhaps it was because she was an actress, but everyone in Jiyeon’s circle was invariably pretty. Specifically, both Seohui and Seoyeon had an aura that commanded presence.
Though, at present, that wasn’t the pressing point.
“Seohui Jo, come here. This will work.”
“Uh? What is it?”
The innocent response wasn’t what Jiyeon was looking for. Normally haughty around other people, Seohui was peculiarly meek in front of them.
Jiyeon gently swept Seohui’s hair forward over her face. Then she turned off all the lights in the surrounding rooms.
Finally, she positioned her phone’s dim light beneath Seohui’s chin.
“This.”
“What is this?”
“Just walk toward Seoyeon like this.”
“?”
What exactly was she being asked to do?
Seohui instinctively turned around, meeting Jiyeon’s eyes. That face, in response, made Jiyeon involuntarily flinch.
‘Good lord, this girl can look terrifying.’
It was incredible how someone with such intimidating features could be so social. Her face made it hard to imagine her easily making friends.
“Not leaving her like this, right? You’ll be safe like this. Aah, bend your waist a bit.”
“Huh? Why the waist?”
“Well, there’s a reason. Just make sure to tilt your hair forward.”
Although unclear about the logic, Seohui decided to follow Jiyeon’s instructions. After all, Seoyeon couldn’t be left in her current state, and it seemed necessary to move her to another room.
Perhaps change her clothes too, tidy up the chaotic room, and so forth.
With these thoughts, Seohui advanced towards Seoyeon.
As she entered the reactive radius, roughly the two-meter limit, Seoyeon’s head swiftly swung around.
Seohui involuntarily tensed, recalling the earlier incident where Jiyeon rolled the beer can.
Is this what will happen to me as well?
In response,
“…….”
Seoyeon began to slowly retreat.
‘Huh?’
Why was she doing this?
As Seohui pondered, moving cautiously toward Seoyeon, she instinctively took off, darting backward in response.
It was like the paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise.
Getting closer seemed impossible.
Realizing her strategy was correct, Jiyeon silently celebrated this confirmation.
‘As expected, Joo Seoyeon gets completely frozen in fear.’
Even Jiyeon felt a bit intimidated. The sight of Seohui with her hair dangling forward illuminated from beneath the dim glow of her phone was frightening enough to send any ghost running.
It was finally understandable why Seoyeon had been compared to a horror comic book character.
Jiyeon had recently learned how weak Seoyeon was against ghost stories, merely from observing her during a variety show.
‘Guide her all the way to Seoyeon’s room.’
Jiyeon enthusiastically signaled this plan to Seohui. Simply put, circle around while pretending to escape, thus luring Seoyeon into a different room.
‘What exactly is she saying?’
Unfortunately, Seohui lacked telepathic abilities. Though she roughly understood she was being asked to guide Seoyeon in a loop out of the current room …
‘So I’m supposed to bring her over like this?’
Initially shocked to see Seoyeon running from her, Seohui soon found the scenario amusing.
‘Cough, ahem.’
Seeing Seoyeon’s usually stoic face contort with fear while slowly retreating was an odd mix of feelings.
It tickled her funny bone just a little.
Perhaps because her mood was lightened, Seohui made a sudden large step toward Seoyeon.
“GYAA!!”
She let out a light scream, causing Seoyeon to leap, then bolt straight out of the door.
“Wha-?”
Jiyeon was startled as she saw Seoyeon rushing towards her, standing right by the door.
Seriously, Seohui Jo, just bring her out gently. Why did she scare her?!
“Ramiel, help me!!”
“Wait, I’m not…”
Jiyeon’s protest was cut short as Seoyeon crashed into her.
*
“Hey, Seohui. Aren’t you going to stop this anytime soon?”
Jiyeon sighed deeply while looking at the clinging Seoyeon sprawled across her body.
Despite Seoyeon throwing herself, Jiyeon thankfully hadn’t experienced any serious trouble.
Judging by her earlier test, Seoyeon seemed able to control her strength, as she merely clung quietly to Jiyeon.
That said, it wasn’t exactly comfortable.
“Huh.”
Seoyeon’s peculiar sniffles and incessant wriggling felt like an octopus or squid and were extremely bothersome.
“Have you tried practicing any recent romance roles? Maybe I can see one?”
“That’s enough.”
“Too much.”
Nonetheless, they managed to carefully transfer Seohui’s unconscious form onto the cart she had brought, then moved her safely to another room.
Jiyeon wondered what exactly had transpired this whole time.
Seohui, meanwhile, busily took pictures with her smartphone.
“Why are you taking pictures?”
“It’s for showing her when she wakes up.”
“What?”
After being tackled by Seoyeon, many events unfolded.
Her mumbled complaints and ramblings about Ramiel were certainly adorable—but also terrifying, like being embraced by a tiger.
“Actually, this seems like half-delirium.”
“Looks like being drunk makes her fall asleep.”
“…At least it’s a stroke of luck.”
The worry about her continuing her drunken antics vanished when, upon being placed on the cart, Seoyeon promptly fell into a deep sleep. Jiyeon sighed deeply as the room was filled with the soft snoring of sleeping Seoyeon.
Really, it was quite alarming.
I would love it if she lets go.
She tried to release her grip with force, but it was fruitless, which was genuinely frightening.
Would she accidentally break her arm if she twisted in her sleep?
“…Mom.”
At that moment, a soft whisper emerged from Seoyeon’s lips.
Seohui too flinched upon hearing the word. The tone in which Seoyeon said “Mom” carried a mysteriously somber undertone.
“…Next time… I’ll… do better.”
It carried a peculiar nuance.
As Jo Seohui’s eyes narrowed in thought, Jiyeon waved her somewhat mobile left hand.
“It’s not what you think. Don’t overthink it.”
“Huh? Oh, no, I just find it unsettling.”
Naturally, it was unsettling for Jiyeon too.
This marked only the second time Jiyeon had seen this side of Joo Seoyeon—exactly, mumbling words like this while asleep.
Back then too, Jiyeon had mistakenly assumed like Jo Seohui now.
‘Oh, it must have been that night during the sleepover when we lit candles and did something strange.’
That practice, so common back then, is now largely non-existent.
Regardless, that night, too, Joo Seoyeon muttered during her sleep.
‘And I made a major mistake in judgment from that.’
Until then, Jiyeon hadn’t directly met Seoyeon’s mother, Sua, which led to some wild theories.
Thus, Jiyeon unknowingly committed a somewhat rude act, leading to the expected outcome—she was now thoroughly overpowered by Sua.
“It’s just sleep talking.”
Ultimately, Jiyeon gave up on detaching Seoyeon and instead patted her back gently. She observed Seoyeon’s melancholic expression relax gradually.
“Phew.”
What to do with this one?
Jiyeon sighed deeply while gently patting Seoyeon throughout the night.
Seohui, who had been snapping pictures, eventually succumbed to sleep naturally. Of course, during slumber, Seoyeon had squeezed her so hard that Seohui almost blacked out, but that was another story.
The next morning.
“…Huh?”
Seoyeon was startled when she woke up to a completely different scenery.
When exactly did I end up in a different room?
No, putting that aside.
‘Why are everyone sleeping on either side of me?’
Worse, Seoyeon noticed she was tightly hugging Jiyeon.
What exactly has been going on?
Seoyeon gasped, stealthily detaching herself from the slumbering duo.
‘I clearly remember drinking beer, but…’
Was I drunk enough to lose consciousness?
Ah, so this is what they mean by “blanking out”?
Seoyeon was equally fascinated and alarmed by this phenomenon.
Cold sweat trickled down her spine.
‘…Could I have caused any trouble?’
She began to worry what misdeeds she might have committed while drunk.
Wasn’t I treating Jiyeon like a pillow just now?
‘I’ll have to ask when everyone wakes up.’
If I had really caused some trouble, would they be sleeping soundly beside me?
They would be in a jail cell by now.
Uuung.
While lost in thought, a ringing phone caught her attention upon returning to the original room where they had been partying last night.
She must have left her phone there when moving to another room.
Glancing at the screen, Seoyeon flustered momentarily. It was her manager, Eun-ha.
Judging by the number of missed calls, she had tried reaching her at least ten or more times.
“Hello?”
“Seoyeon, what happened? Why didn’t you pick up?”
“Oh, I was too deeply asleep…”
“Ah, well, I guess that’s understandable. I wasn’t upset or anything. I just have some breaking news.”
“Breaking news?”
“Ah, so…”
After a brief pause, Eun-ha spoke calmly.
“Seoyeon, do you know Ash Baldwin?”
At the mention of this name, Seoyeon was taken aback.
The legendary director with two Academy Awards for best director.
She wasn’t expecting her name to come up so suddenly.
