Campus Log - Chapter 34

Song Hyuk-jun poked the girl next to him mischievously, seeking confirmation. Kwon Ga-ram grimaced and muttered through her teeth to stop bothering her.

Meanwhile, Ryu Eun-seok’s gaze shifted between Song Hyuk-jun’s glass and mine. With one hand, he nudged the fully cooked meat to the side, while the calm eyes beneath his straight bangs remained deep in thought.

“Eat up, everyone. The meat’s going to burn.”

Snapping back to reality, the man set down the tongs and scissors for the first time. Instead, he picked up an untouched clean glass and placed it right next to mine. Then, the mouth of the beer bottle tilted over both glasses in turn.

“Ah, Hyung. Are you drinking? I should’ve poured for you.”

Song Hyuk-jun quickly supported the bottom of the beer bottle, showing proper etiquette.

“You said earlier you were only here to eat the meat, though.”

“Seeing you guys drink made me want a little too.”

Ryu Eun-seok filled my glass about two-thirds full. Coincidentally, the glass placed in front of me was filled mostly with white foam. Meanwhile, his own glass was properly filled, and he showed no sign of apology.

“Cheers.”

Ryu Eun-seok lightly tapped his glass against mine and then downed it refreshingly. The sharp line of his jaw tilted upward and the sound of his thick Adam’s apple gulping made him look like a model filming a beer commercial.

Was it a mistake, or was it intentional?

I leaned toward the latter because I was aware that I hadn’t been very responsive in conversation with Ryu Eun-seok today. I hadn’t cheered for him much during the sports event, and even now at the drinking table, I maintained a rather indifferent attitude.

But I had plenty of reasons to excuse myself. Even during my freshman year when we shared first-year classes, we hardly exchanged more than a few words. I felt uncomfortable being squeezed among crowds, and he was always surrounded by people, so our paths rarely crossed.

If we hadn’t met under the acacia tree, he probably would have never thought of my name until graduation.

But the man, who had abruptly formed a sense of camaraderie with me, kept poking his face inside the line I’d drawn. Pressing his flushed skin against mine, flaunting our closeness in front of others—none of this was familiar to me.

Given how smoothly Ryu Eun-seok handled this process, it was almost suspicious—as if he had a pattern of suddenly getting close to girls only to drift apart just as quickly, leaving them disoriented.

So, from an outsider’s perspective, I needed to stay guarded. If a fleeting connection disrupted the balance of my daily life, only I would lose out.

Just participating in the relay and now sipping alcohol at this pork belly restaurant meant I had already lowered several of my own standards.

As they say, when you do things you’re not used to, trouble follows.

Kwon Ga-ram, who had fallen silent a while ago, was just picking at a few pieces of pork belly. At our table, only Ryu Eun-seok and the student council members kept the conversation going.

One-on-one might be different, but in a crowded setting like this, I also didn’t talk much there was no need to. Even if I spoke up under the influence of alcohol, it would only increase the chance of being called out later.

“Hey, Eun-seok. Have a drink.”

People gradually began moving around with their own glasses, changing seats. Their target was mostly Ryu Eun-seok.

“You worked hard today, man.”

“The Economics kids will keep their mouths shut for a while now.”

The seats where Song Hyuk-jun and the student council had been sitting were taken by seniors whose names I didn’t know. Ryu Eun-seok’s glass was about to overflow with fresh beer.

“Sang-hee practically set the whole table. I just put the spoon on it.”

The seniors’ gazes shot toward me in unison. Regret washed over me. Around the time seats started shifting, it would have been the perfect moment to slip away quietly. Why was I still sticking next to Ryu Eun-seok? What did I even want?

“Sang-hee caught up all the way to second place. If I couldn’t overtake that, I wouldn’t deserve to be the anchor leg.”

“See, I was right.”

A voice boasting from behind drew closer. Kim Do-wan, holding a soju bottle, dragged another chair to my side. Because of that, I had to sit so close to Ryu Eun-seok that our arms brushed.

“I told you to recommend her, but you kept yapping about playing school bully. F**k, hey, what would you have done if Hong Sang-hee hadn’t run?”