Not Sober - Chapter 2.Part 5

Chapter 2. Part 5

-” It is either that or you are interested in a junior in the class.”

“It’s not like that?”

Sung-chan swallowed hard and clicked his tongue in a small way.

“Wait. You don’t know anything else about her, like her personality or…?”

-” No, she’s just a volunteer in the department. I have only spoken to her a few times, so I do not know. You should go to Professor Kim’s class, he’ll give you an F if you’re absent again.”

Jihwan said more. However, Sung-chan did not hear it. He only half-listened to Jihwan’s concerns about his grades, focusing instead on Jenna. He remembered details about her, like her spontaneity and strict family.

-” Are you really in Professor Kim’s class, Baek Sung-chan?”

“Uh, okay. Thank you. Bye.”

Sung-chan abruptly ended the call, cutting off Jihwan’s last words. Lost in thought, he sat motionless on the sofa.

Curfew at 8 pm. Strict family. Spontaneous stomach aches. It is unclear why she would suddenly get drunk and ask to have s*x with him.

She didn’t have to think too hard. The answer was simple.

“Oh, abnormal?”

It made sense. However, it was an anomaly, and all the pieces fit together. But once he concluded that it was an anomaly, his irritation only increased.

“No, then what is she doing? Is she using me for her abnormal behavior?”

He wasn’t rude to begin with, but that doesn’t matter to Sung-chan now.

He realized from their first meeting that she was not interested in playing games. Her eyes darted around as if she had never been in a place like that before, as if she were a 20-year-old who had never been in a club before.

He went in for a quick drink and was excited to see her. He bought her a drink and left.

“But what the f*ck, why is she taking advantage of people like this?”

When he realized he was being used as fodder for deviations, his mood worsened.

“Huh…….”

Just one more run-in.

Sung-chan thought that, too, and took out his frustration on Jenna in his head.

“One more time. Then, I’ll be real.”

‘Real… real… What will I do?’

‘I know. If I run into her, what should I do?’

He couldn’t be angry at her behavior. There was no justification. Sung-chan had no grounds to complain about being slapped by women in the past.

It was as confusing as a maze. His inability to resolve these conflicting emotions was even more frustrating.

He remained lying on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling. His eyes gradually closed, resembling those of a monk in deep meditation.

As time passed, he eventually stood up as if he had made a decision.

“What the heck.”

“We should have dinner together.”

For some reason, that’s what he chose. It was a decision that instantly eased all his frustrating feelings.

‘If we happen to run into each other, I’ll ask her out for a meal’

Sung-chan messaged Ji-hwan and promised to treat Jenna to a meal if they kept running into each other.

[Baek Sung-chan: Ask them if they are studying folk art or a related subject].

While texting, Sung-chan’s imagination ran wild.

He imagined Jenna running into him at school and feeling happy to see him.

“Wouldn’t she be happy if I invited her for dinner together?”

He smiled as he lost himself in his fantasies. He was unaware of the foolishness of his daydreams.

*

After enduring a dull lecture, Sung-chan scanned the campus for Jenna. He couldn’t find her despite attending consistently over the past few days.

‘Frustrating, she seems to be avoiding me.’

He left the room feeling irritated. He barely recalled the names of the acquaintances he left behind. He was alone and overwhelmed by a sense of emptiness, a feeling he often experienced even in crowded places.

Sometimes he felt drawn closer to her by this new feeling. He sat down absentmindedly on a nearby bench and checked his phone.

His messenger was overflowing with messages—inquiries about his schedule, invitations for the weekend, and expressions of concern about his recent silence.

His inbox was filled not only with messages from women but also from men seeking his presence, eager for a drink or a ride in his luxurious car.

Sung-chan knew he had advantages in terms of looks and wealth compared to others.

Despite his apparent advantages, Sung-chan couldn’t shake off feelings of emptiness and loneliness. He looked at the messages on his phone.

He scrolled through social media and messaging apps, trying to distract himself. However, he soon lost interest and closed the screen.

He was about to put his phone away when it vibrated, displaying the name of someone he didn’t want to hear from.

[His stepmother.]

“F*ck, I’m leaving.”

‘Bad day, man.’ He muttered to himself before hesitating and then pressing the answer button.

“Come on, I sent you all the tests. Please check them.”

-” Confirmed. The law firm will contact me soon regarding the inheritance disclaimer. Once the inheritance disclaimer is finalized, I won’t need to hear from you anymore.”

“Okay, now get on with the name transfer. The ugly duckling will take it and get out of here.”

-Well, that’s true enough. Do it in moderation. Even if you are exceptionally talented, your actions can still ruin your father’s name if something happens to you.

He ended the call after a sarcastic remark and a barrage of nagging questions, seemingly unwilling to continue the conversation.

‘What type of father is he?’ Sung-chan suppressed his laughter, trying not to show his amusement.

He walked irritably, his small head in the distance looking vaguely familiar.

“Min Jenna?”

Jenna has persistently bothered him over the past few days. He had s*x with the girl he thought was unusual, and then she disappeared.

He finally found her.

The moment he saw Jenna’s face, all his annoyance vanished. Like a dog finding its owner, joy filled him.

“Min Jenna!” he called out, his voice unusually loud. His heart raced, and his heartbeat quickened.

He reassured himself that he was attractive and would not bother her for s*x.

He coughed, trying to remain calm. He didn’t want her to notice that he was looking for her. However, he failed to realize that his attempt at subtlety didn’t work. It made his cheeks flush.

For some reason, his steps were very light and eager as he approached Jenna. His heart was beating wildly as he got closer.

With his excitement, he approached Jenna. His facial expression was no longer under his control, and he forgot the pounding in his head.

‘Well, after all this time, would it be a good idea for us to have another drink together and then go to bed? ’

Upon seeing Jenna’s slender figure, he decided to switch from drinking to eating. He wondered about her food preferences, whether she preferred Korean or Western cuisine. He also pondered why she was so thin, perhaps due to her diet of rice.

The unpleasant feeling that had been bothering him for days disappeared. He imagined himself eating a meal with her at a fancy hotel restaurant.

In the brief moment, he greeted Jenna, countless thoughts raced through his mind.

In his mind, he imagined dining with her at the hotel restaurant. Jenna has not spoken yet.

‘Would she prefer something like beef?’

Yeah, beef omakase is popular again these days.

Sung-chan drank a lot of kimchi soup alone. He was deciding whether to go to Hannam-dong or Apgujeong-dong.

Naturally, he was not considering Jenna’s rejection.

Sung-chan always acted that way. He didn’t need to tally the rejections of his proposal.

Now that he had found Jenna, all he had to do was take her to the most expensive and delicious Korean beef restaurant in Hannam-dong or Apgujeong-dong and feed her a lot of meat.

‘Are you not impressed?’

He thought he would never see her again. Now all he could think about was Jenna’s blushing face and the joy in her voice.