BHB 95

“My friend’s club.”

“Oh, that friend from before?” This time it was Do Yeongjae who asked. Walking side by side, Yeongjae also entered with his neck stretched out, looking inside admiringly. 

Since Yeowon had contacted them ahead of time, the guards let them in readily when he gave his name. Despite being pre-opening, the interior was quite lavish and crowded with people. Unlike other clubs, it wasn’t too dark or excessively noisy. There were more tables than general stage areas, and more people politely holding drinks and conversing.

“Wait. Isn’t that person a celebrity?” Jo Suchan, who had been carefully looking around, asked with surprised eyes. 

Not knowing anything about celebrities, Yeowon just shrugged with a clueless expression. Since there were likely many celebrities and influencers among the VIPs, Suchan probably wasn’t mistaken.

“Wow, what? There are idols too. That one, you know him. The guy Yoona has as her phone background.”

“Really? Should we have brought Lim Yoona?”

“Better not tell her. She’ll definitely get mad about why we didn’t bring her.”

“Right. Don’t tell her. I’ll have to buy her something delicious next time.”

“Oh my god! Lee Haeryeon is here too!”

“What? Really?”

They excitedly moved around as if they had spotted someone famous. Seeing how happy they were, Yeowon felt satisfied that he had made a good decision bringing them here. As Yeowon was looking for a place to sit, he found Kim Myungjoo engaged in light conversation with someone else. 

Soon after, Kim Myungjoo noticed Yeowon and quickly approached with a bright face. “You came?”

“Yeah. Where should we sit?”

“I’ve saved a good spot for you.”

Kim Myungjoo proudly smiled and guided them to their seats. It was a spot where they could clearly see people gathered in small groups at tables that stretched horizontally.

“Congratulations.” Yeowon said calmly, taking out a white envelope he had prepared from his coat pocket and tossing it in front of Kim Myungjoo.

“What’s this?” Kim Myungjoo’s already large eyes grew even larger after checking the envelope. “You crazy bastard! How much is this?!”

Instead of answering, Yeowon just waved his hand, telling him to count it himself. 

Kim Myungjoo checked the amount with dazed eyes and raised his voice in surprise, “Y-you crazy bastard. Are you insane?”

“Just take it.”

“Look, even so, this is a bit…”

“You said it’s your first store as manager. Do well.”

“Ha, you’re really splashing money around.”

“It’s not my money anyway.”

“Then whose money is it?”

“My parents’ money.”

“Wow, you ungrateful son.”

“Don’t worry. They’re not the type who want a filial son anyway.”

Thinking about it, Yeowon didn’t have many friends left around him. Of all hIs high school friends, only Kim Myungjoo and Jin Youngchae remained. Especially Kim Myungjoo, who had been as close to him as Taegang during those days. After hearing about what happened with Baek Seungha, the few people left around him suddenly felt precious. Yeowon realized that he had been acting as if it didn’t matter who was by his side, and he had unintentionally hurt many people. If Taegang felt that way, how must the others have felt?

Yeowon also realized how dangerous it was to have a world where only Taegang existed. When he tried to separate himself from Taegang, he found he had nowhere to go. Even if he managed to leave, he’d end up at Do Yeongjae’s place, which was still in Taegang’s grasp.

Yeowon still didn’t want to lose Taegang, but he felt he needed to keep some distance for a while. It seemed like all the current situations were pushing him toward that. It wasn’t entirely a bad thing, since facing Taegang wasn’t easy for him either.

“Anyway, thanks. Having a rich friend is really great. Damn, even getting an allowance.” Kim Myungjoo shrugged his shoulders and beamed with a broad smile. “Hey, just wait a bit. I’ll be super successful too and treat you well.”

He patted Yeowon’s shoulder and rubbed the tip of his nose as if embarrassed. He seemed so moved that he could see him getting teary-eyed even in the dim lighting.

“Are you crying?”

“I’m not crying!”

“Gross. A grown man sniveling.”

“I’m not!”

When Yeowon twisted his face in disgust, Kim Myungjoo huffed and left the seat, saying he’d bring some drinks. He let out a hollow laugh seeing his shoulders shake as he walked away. It was quite funny seeing someone with facial tattoos getting all teary.

As his empty laughter subsided, a large figure naturally took a seat at his table. Yeowon was startled by the bear-like physique before recognizing it was Jin Youngchae, and he casually greeted him.

“You came.”

“Yeah. Damn, I thought I was going to die trying to shake off all the guys who wanted to follow me.”

“Who? The guys working under you?”

“Yeah. They wanted free drinks, those bastards.”

“You should have brought them.”

“Hey. I’d go broke.”

“I’ll pay for them.”

“Then you’d go broke.”

Jin Youngchae flatly refused with a serious face. Yeowon smiled faintly. 

Soon after, the staff brought out a series of liquors selected by Kim Myungjoo. From the younger Valentino to the hundreds-year-old Dom Pérignon and even the Glenfiddich that had been auctioned off. Yeowon clicked hIs tongue, thinking he had really gone all out. Kim Myungjoo was known for overdoing things.

“This guy must be crazy. This is the Y whisky that’s in our chairman’s liquor collection.” Jin Youngchae, who immediately recognized the expensive alcohol, made a fuss in surprise. 

Perhaps because of their unconventional school days, Kim Myungjoo, Jin Youngchae, and Yeowon all had a weakness for alcohol.

Even before the appetizers arrived, Youngchae carefully opened the bottle and poured a glass with great care, savoring the aroma first. Though Yeowon laughed absently at his exaggerated behavior, he couldn’t erase the troubled expression from his face. Despite spending money all day and trying to change his mood, it was actually useless. No matter how hard he tried to escape the suffocating feeling, the same knot remained inside him.

Yeowon had tried to forget about Taegang for the day, but he suddenly wondered what Taegang was doing. While Yeowon was at least meeting friends, drinking and chatting, he kept wondering what Taegang was up to, repeatedly picking up and putting down his phone.

“Are you waiting for a call from someone?” Jin Youngchae, who had carefully poured a drink into his glass, casually asked when he noticed Yeowon holding his phone. 

Realizing he was still clutching his phone, Yeowon put it down with a bitter expression.

“No.”

“But where’s Taegang?”

“… I didn’t come with him. Just some college friends.”

“Oh, really? That’s unusual.” Youngchae laughed as if surprised and downed his drink in one go. Despite wincing at the bitter taste, he sighed in delight. 

Yeowon followed his lead and took a drink, putting the phone behind him. It was like a poison that would numb his entire body, the sensation spreading to his fingertips. But there was always something enticing about the bad things. The bitter taste flowing through his veins ended with a sweet finish. Understanding why Youngchae had made such a fuss, Yeowon immediately poured more whiskey into his glass. There was no better escape than alcohol.

The advantage of hard liquor was its addictive quality that let everyone keep enjoying it, but the disadvantage was getting drunk faster than with other alcohols.

As they passed drinks back and forth, they’d already emptied a bottle and a half. Jin Youngchae seemed perfectly fine, as if he’d lived on alcohol all along, while Yeowon’s college classmates were already swaying. Naturally, Yeowon wasn’t completely sober either, having not had hard liquor in a while.

Do Yeongjae and Jo Suchan were initially startled by Youngchae’s size and aura at the table, but his unexpectedly cheerful and easygoing personality quickly dispelled any awkwardness. There was no need for discomfort anyway—it wasn’t a blind date or a meeting with women, just a gathering of men. After a few drinks, Youngchae already felt like a college classmate.

“Wow, but your body is seriously impressive. Did you build all that?”

Jo Suchan, whose eyes were already glazed over after a few drinks, asked in slurred speech, fascinated by Youngchae’s mountain-like physique.

“He was a skinny kid in high school,” Yeowon casually remarked.

Youngchae bristled at that. “What do you mean skinny? It wasn’t that bad. You and Taegang were just big for your age.”

“Oh, right. Taegang. He’s huge too. What did he eat to grow like that?”

The clearly intoxicated Suchan immediately changed the subject. When Taegang’s name came up, Yeowon’s smile faded and he fell silent.

“That bastard was big from the moment he entered high school. Come to think of it, he’s gotten even bigger recently? If our chairman saw him, he’d have pressured me to scout him for sure.”

Youngchae swallowed a piece of fruit in one go and cackled. The others seemed to agree, each letting out a small laugh.

“That’s true. When I first saw him, I was totally intimidated. And then seeing his tattoos, I thought he was really a gangster.”

“That suits him better than being a college student. Oh, by the way, have you two made up?”

Do Yeongjae, agreeing with Suchan’s comment, suddenly brought up a topic Yeowon wanted to avoid.

“I got so many calls from Taegang that day, I finally answered. He seemed worried.”

‘Worried, my ass.’ 

Remembering how Taegang had interrogated him about being with Baek Seungha as soon as he arrived, Yeowon felt resentful and stood up instead of answering. Though his steps were heavy from the alcohol, he wasn’t too drunk to walk.

“Hey, where are you suddenly going?”

“Bathroom.”

It wasn’t necessarily that he wanted to avoid this conversation. Yeowon wanted to cool down with cold water to avoid saying something stupid while drunk.