Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 130

It was obvious what he was thinking. Of course, Go Yohan was a particularly noticeable guy. His striking looks played a part, but the presence of his physique, which seemed twice as large as others, was overwhelming. Even though he was just wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans. It might be unfair that Go Yohan stood out more than the meticulously dressed Kang Soohyun, but humans are born and live unequally, after all.

“Friend, do you perhaps have no thoughts?”

“You said to bring a decent kid.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Kang Soohyun fell into a deep sigh. He even clutched his face and groaned.

“What kind of bait brought a strobe light with him? It’s insane.”

“Then should we go back? I can just leave, you know.”

“No? Where are you going?”

Just as I was about to turn, as if I’d been waiting, this damn team leader grabbed my clothes.

“This blind date barely happened because of your picture. If you don’t come, I’ll get all the blame.”

“What? Hey, where did you get my picture?”

“Where did I get it? Your ridiculously expensive number, huh? I saw it on that number I got in a hurry because I was afraid you’d bail again. What are you going to do about it?”

I shut my mouth at Kang Soohyun’s words that he saw it on my profile picture. Anyway, I was a traitor for having ghosted the group project.

“Ahem, right. I see.”

Ha, damn it. I subtly turned my face so Kang Soohyun couldn’t see and silently cursed. Why was Go Yohan so quiet at times like this? It was also astonishing that this guy, who used to tremble and sneer whenever girls were mentioned just a few years ago, had followed me to a blind date. What is it? Is he suddenly curious now? Or does he want to experience a new world?

Whatever his thoughts, the fact that this situation was unpleasant remained unchanged.

I looked at Go Yohan with a face full of malice. Honestly, it was a bit blatant. But that damn Go Yohan just watched the situation calmly, slowly stroking his chin with his index finger.

That unlucky bastard, that annoying bastard. As expected, everything Go Yohan said was a lie. What? Does he listen to me well? Am I a religion? I was a fool for being swayed by that and having foolish thoughts. Son of a bitch.

“Hey, friend?”

“Huh? Me? Did you call me?”

“Yes.”

While I bit my lip and glared at Go Yohan, Go Yohan, who had merely glanced at me and then immediately looked away, said this to Kang Soohyun. Honestly, I had a little hope there. A firework of hope had exploded amidst my rising anger.

Yeah, even now, just express that you’re going to stop this pathetic behavior. Act like you usually do, make a scene, and leave. But contrary to my expectations, Go Yohan’s gaze slowly traced down Kang Soohyun’s arm to the grabbed piece of clothing.

“You’re going to wrinkle my friend’s clothes.”

“Really?”

“Don’t you think?”

Damn it, of course. The flame of hope faded into the distance.

Kang Soohyun, perhaps noticing Go Yohan’s suddenly subdued mood, subtly looked around and slowly spread his fingers. Then, smoothing out my wrinkled clothes, he said,

“Oh, right… Jun? I seem to have wrinkled your clothes a bit. Your friend seems quite angry.”

It was time to realize my learning ability once again. Go Yohan always did things beyond or below my expectations. There was no middle ground. In fact, I didn’t even care about the hem of my clothes.

“Hey, your friend’s a bit unsettling.”

But this mechanical engineering guy isn’t sane either. Definitely.

Judging by how he’s sticking close to me and whispering loud enough for everyone to hear. At this distance, and this volume, Go Yohan must have heard Kang Soohyun calling him strange, but Go Yohan didn’t seem to care. He just stood there with his arms crossed, watching. Seeing his calm reaction, Kang Soohyun settled in and continued whispering.

“Is he the type whose first impression is usually bad?”

“…I guess so.”

The problem was that he was right. It was the moment when the concept of a strange guy changed to a slightly less strange guy. Let’s forget the warm breath that touched my ear. It was a dirty sensation I didn’t even want to remember.

“Why is his voice so low? Wow, this is really charming…”

“What’s the point of that? His personality is tiring.”

I answered ambiguously, with a subtly roundabout, critical tone. I agreed as if I didn’t. And I had no intention of whispering. I was making Kang Soohyun, who was openly badmouthing him, uncomfortable, and at the same time taking out my frustration on Go Yohan. When I shouted it out loud, Kang Soohyun gasped and tried to cover my mouth, but then realized we weren’t that close and immediately twisted his hand, waving it in the air. “There’s a lot of fine dust in the sky…” A wistful murmur lingered in the evening glow.

But Go Yohan, who had been unresponsive all this time, arched one eyebrow.

“Tiring?”

“Yeah. Very.”

I openly stepped on his subtly thorny words. Go Yohan forcibly pulled up his cheek with his finger. His pressed cheek rose, forming a twisted smile. This would make things awkward for a few days again. I knew it, but I kept doing it anyway. I didn’t want to say anything more, so I looked down at the floor.

“Just so you don’t misunderstand, I’m not.”

Surprisingly, it was Kang Soohyun who instantly broke the atmosphere that would have lasted for days.

“I said he was charming.”

His obsequious smile twisted his body as he pressed his palms together. That wasn’t truly obsequious. It was written all over his face: ‘Why are these bastards fighting again?’ The guy, who kept looking back and forth between me and Go Yohan, suddenly turned serious and said,

“If you’re going to fight, fight after the blind date. When I’m not around! We need to achieve our primary objective. This is a high-class blind date, after all. It’s a dance department, a dance department. Oh, my friend’s coming!”

Kang Soohyun’s thick eyebrows gathered in the middle. His greasy, heavily-waxed hair glistened under the streetlamp. The person who had just thrown a pebble into the sinking atmosphere greeted his friend as if he were a savior.

Go Yohan and I, on the other hand, just looked at each other and scratched our necks in embarrassment. We looked just like people who had childishly fought.

What was even more infuriating was that Go Yohan was ridiculously bad at drinking games.

“What is he, he got caught again this time.”

“Wow, Yohan is really bad at games.”

Soju and beer mixed in the beer glass, which had white stains on it. Go Yohan quickly drank the cloudy liquid. This was his ninth glass already. Moreover, since Go Yohan got caught with every single penalty, I, sitting right next to him, couldn’t even touch a single drop of alcohol.

“You guys are too much. I’ve never played these kinds of games before.”

His words, said with a slight smile, were ridiculous. He gulped down so much alcohol in one go that it even ran down his chin. Go Yohan put down his glass and pointed at the four guys with his thumb.

“We’re just nerds who only know how to study, Korea University.”

“Nah, I don’t think so? At least you seem like you used to party a bit.”

The girl with short hair, was it Soyeon? I don’t quite remember her last name. The girl who had been looking at Go Yohan with sparkling eyes since I first saw her, leaned forward abruptly and asked. Go Yohan, holding his cup with his right hand that barely moved, tilted his head slightly.

“No, I was a loser.”

Lies.

Who would have thought that the guy who held an entire high school in the palm of his hand would go around saying he was a lowlife in college?

Every gesture, like slowly blinking his eyes as if slightly drunk, was shameless and nonchalant. Kang Soohyun, who had been subtly excluded from the conversation, secretly looked at me while Go Yohan was half-lying on the table, resting his chin. His mouth moved widely.

‘Is it true?’

As if. I couldn’t bring myself to say no there, as Kang Soohyun and I weren’t that close, so I just managed a twisted smile.

‘From what I saw, he ruled the world.’

I completely ignored his disbelief-filled rebuttal.

“How much of a loser I was…”

Go Yohan’s drawn-out words suddenly turned to me. I was a bit flustered by the sudden encounter. Why are you looking at me? Feeling strange, I leaned back slightly, and Go Yohan’s hand, stretched out quickly, grabbed my shoulder and said,

“This guy here is my high school classmate. And he had so much power that if he said he didn’t want to be my friend, I had to prostrate myself and beg.”

A total of six gazes followed me. They were round with curiosity. My hand automatically went up. My hand, raised in vain, moved weakly from side to side.

“Ah, no.”

“The kids would tremble just hearing his name, you know? His personality is really bad.”

“No, no. He’s just joking.”

“Do you know how much I begged him to be my friend? I really prostrated myself on the ground and begged. I even kissed his feet, you know? So spread the word. Got it? That Kang Jun from Korea University, he might have a pretty face, but his past is dirty and his personality is bad.”

“Ah! What! Is he lying again? Stop joking around!”

The girl named Soyeon burst out laughing and slapped the table with her palm. The heavy sound interrupted Go Yohan’s words, and a noisy laughter spread among the group. Everyone had read the lie in his exaggerated sentences.

However, there’s something they don’t know. Among the many lies Go Yohan had told before the drinking party started and the atmosphere warmed up, what he just said was the only truth.

That damn bastard really did prostrate himself on the ground and kiss my feet. I, who had been denying it all along, shut my mouth. It was because my head suddenly turned red.

Why did he have to bring that up now…?

I rolled my tongue in my mouth and grabbed my hot neck with my cold hands. I didn’t know where to look and just stared into space. Just thinking about that time made my hands and feet cold, and my body uncontrollably hot.

“You really do have a bad personality. What’s with trashing a friend you came to college with just to score points with girls? Look at your character. You’re just for friends. A friend.”

Soyeon pointed at Go Yohan with her finger and laughed. It was a hearty laugh that clearly showed she had no intention of looking good. It was truly pleasant. It was uncomfortable when she lightly hit Go Yohan’s arm, which was resting on the table, while laughing, but because of that laugh, the tightness in my chest, which had been building up for days, instantly subsided.

I unconsciously rubbed my chest with my palm. The crazy Kang Jun felt relieved. Damn it, my lips felt subtly twitchy.

“I need to go to the restroom for a bit.”

I stood up, thinking of getting some fresh air, but all eyes were still focused on Go Yohan. Good grief, they really like their friend in a noisy way. Sarcastic thoughts surged within me. It seemed no one cared about my absence anyway. Of course.

Familiar with the situation by now, I shrugged my shoulders and left.

The second time I met Kang Soohyun alone was inside the restroom. And it was the restroom outside the store. In fact, I hesitated a thousand times in front of the restroom outside the store. Should I go in or not? It was such a disgusting and dirty place that I didn’t even want to step foot in it.

But I had no choice. You have to get used to everything. Honestly, wasn’t the high school restroom no different from here? They’re all the same. After reassuring myself like that, I was washing my hands after doing my business when the door opened, and the person who walked in was Kang Soohyun.

Kang Soohyun, whose eyes met mine in the mirror, lightly raised his hand and clicked his tongue.

“This blind date is completely ruined because of your friend.”

“Well, that’s how it usually is.”

It’s nothing new. I, who had been closest to Go Yohan for three years, knew it best.

“He always monopolizes everyone’s attention.”

“What? Why would you say that? Aren’t you two close?”

“…Not really.”

“Not friends?”

To say so would be a bit strange for our relationship. I shook my hands, hesitated, then continued to answer.

“No, it’s just like that.”

“No wonder, so you didn’t play fair.”

“Fair play?”

“Does that look like a fair situation? That guy is going to get at least three numbers. You, hey! You really shouldn’t have done that. I told you to bring someone good, why did you act so clueless?!”

“No, the girls said Go Yohan is just for friends?”

“Do you believe that? Do you know how many times I’ve experienced this situation? They’re all just testing the waters.”

“…”

My expression gradually twisted into a grimace. The tightness in my chest, which had subsided, returned.

“Ah, I see.”

Damn it. The illness that had plagued me throughout my school days had suddenly flared up again. The suffocating feeling tormented me once more. My mood slowly sank. Why did I even come here?

“So why did you bring him here? You should have stopped him somehow, even if he wanted to come.”

His complaining resentment went unheard. I was lost in my own emotions. Why did I bring him? As I thought that, Go Yohan’s clumsy chopstick skills were etched into my mind like a tattoo. The reason I was weak to Go Yohan was chewed over a hundred times.

“I guess so.”

“Ah, I need to go, go to the bathroom for a bit.”

Kang Soohyun, who had been grumbling about his dissatisfaction, quickly hunched his body. His walk, with his legs pressed together in the middle, looked a bit pathetic. I shook my head at the unsightly sight I no longer wanted to see and opened the restroom door. And there, I saw a familiar face.

“Uh… Oh, hi.”

One of the four people who came to the blind date. She was the girl who had been the most reserved. Her voice was so small when she introduced herself that I couldn’t quite catch her name. Was it Lee Gahee? Or Yoon? It sounded something like that.

‘Gahee,’ as I’ll call her, was suspiciously not entering the restroom, but just standing in the small alley leading to the restroom with a troubled expression. Since we had been face-to-face for at least a few hours, it felt rude to ignore her and pass by, but it was awkward to suddenly strike up a conversation. So, I just stood there with the door open and looked around.

“Ah.”

I rolled my eyes a few times and immediately understood. In the narrow, dark alley, right next to a dilapidated men’s restroom, there was a loosely closing women’s restroom door. The gap was wide enough to see inside with just a slight glance.

“I’ll wait out here.”

“Huh?”

She leaned against the door with a blank expression, took out earphones from somewhere in her pocket, and put them in her ears. Then she subtly gestured with her chin and fixed her eyes on her phone. Only then did Lee Gahee grasped my intention and said in a voice barely audible,

“…Thank you.”

I didn’t reply. Because I thought she’d prefer that. It’s also a bit suspicious and creepy to stare intently at someone entering the restroom.

The girl named Gahee came out after about three songs had played. A small rustle poked my back, so I turned off the music and turned around, and her timid face, with her head slightly bowed, said,

“You waited a long time, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.”

And just in time, Kang Soohyun also came out. What was he doing that made him so late?

I could probably guess with a little thought, but I didn’t feel like knowing. It just upset my stomach. I lightly patted my chest, which was tightening again, and shook my head. Kang Soohyun, who had been looking back and forth between me and the girl, suddenly approached. His heavily wrinkled face held deep sorrow.

“Look, look. Birds of a feather. As expected, there’s no such thing as friendship between guys.”

What nonsense is that? I narrowed my eyes, wondering what pathetic thing he was going to say now.

“You’ve got the concept down well… I should have done that too.”

I ignored Kang Soohyun, who was trembling with a serious expression.

Just as I took out my earphones and was about to enter the store, I almost bumped into a figure next to me. I instinctively recoiled. It was her again. She was mumbling something, as if to say something, but her voice was too small to hear clearly.

It strangely felt like someone else. Then I suddenly realized. The reason this girl was hesitating here. Well, it is a bit like that. The alley between the buildings, full of drunk people and without streetlights, was a bit gloomy. But she’s a girl. I thought it was natural to be considerate, so I hesitated a bit before speaking first.

“Want to go in together?”

“Ugh… Finally.”

But Kang Soohyun kept looking at me with a disgusted expression. He even covered his mouth and made a grotesque face when I opened the door and waited.

“What, what do you want?”

I glared at him fiercely and followed him in, but the table, which had been noisy just moments ago, was quiet. The unfamiliar atmosphere was unsettling, and the moment I quietly approached, I knew.

“Why is he suddenly lying face down?”

Kang Soohyun asked seriously. It was obvious, the protagonist had fallen asleep. The four people who had been awkwardly looking at the collapsed Go Yohan said in unison,

“I think he’s drunk.”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

Kang Soohyun placed his hand on his chin and nodded. The girl named Soyeon suddenly looked tearful.

“Did I make him drink too much earlier? What should I do? Was I a bit much earlier?”

“A bit much?”

“No, he kept dropping his chopsticks like a child, so I teased him about it…”

“I saw his chopstick skills were weird earlier.”

“…”

I flinched. I didn’t mean to, but I looked at the back of Kang Soohyun’s head with sharp eyes. Kang Soohyun subtly taking Soyeon’s side bothered me a little.

“No, I think I was wrong. After that, he didn’t say anything, and even when I talked to him, he didn’t answer.”

“And then he just lay down and slept? In the middle of a conversation? Really?”

“No, we were looking at each other, wondering why the atmosphere was like this, and when I came back after smoking, he was like this.”

The girl named Soyeon looked at me, glancing nervously. I pushed past Kang Soohyun and the girl, quickly burrowing into the space between them.

“…Let me see.”

I was repeating what I did at seventeen, now that I was twenty. To put it somewhat self-deprecatingly, I was experienced. I had a bit of know-how in these kinds of things. Yes, I knew. I was also a little irritated at how pathetic I was.

“Hey, Go Yohan. Wake up.”

“…”

Go Yohan twisted his body to avoid the hand shaking his back. A faint mumble was heard. “I feel nauseous… Don’t.” His large back hunched over the table. What, is he a caterpillar? Only then did I feel certain. He was definitely drunk. A drunk Go Yohan was subtly timid.

“I think he’s really drunk.”

“See, I told you? Was that why the atmosphere was like that earlier?”

The girl named Soyeon was flustered and fussed about alone.

“What do we do? Should we send him home?”

“Really? Do you know his house?”

The next person to ask was Kang Soohyun. He was too transparent. Why did he suddenly blurt that out at that moment? His face, full of anticipation, looked so bright and cheerful as he looked at me.

“Uh, I do know…”

“Then you can take him home! Alright, Jun, you take Yohan home, and the rest of us who are still sober, let’s keep going!”

He suddenly cut me off and blurted that out. Wow, his intentions were so obvious. His motives, clear as first-grade water, made me shut my mouth. What a transparent guy. As much as I wanted to sneer and say no, if the reason was Go Yohan, then it was a different story.

“Before you play, call a taxi.”

“Huh? Going by taxi? Isn’t it a surcharge time?”

“I can’t carry him on my back, can I?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Seven pairs of eyes, including mine, fell on his vast back. Kang Soohyun’s friend spread his hands wide from a distance and measured the width of Go Yohan’s shoulders, which anyone could tell were broad. And he groaned.

“Hey. Take a taxi. Definitely.”

“…”

“Right, anyway, your friend’s card will pay for it.”

What an absurd guy. I sighed deeply and grabbed Go Yohan’s shoulders with both hands. Horribly, he didn’t budge. Why is he so heavy? He looked thin, but perhaps because of his large frame, his body was solid. I wondered if I could even carry this huge body to a taxi, and concluded it was impossible. This bastard, if he thought about his size, he should have drunk less. Didn’t he think about the size of the guys who would have to take responsibility? What an irresponsible bastard. What was so enjoyable that he drank like water, drank and drank. I almost choked him out of sheer anger.