“What is this!?” Heechul bellowed, springing to life. “My dear freshman! Your glass is empty! It breaks my heart to see your glass empty!”
Angel froze in horror. If she didn’t sit down somewhere immediately, he was going to drag her straight to his table.
Too late.
“Angel, Jiyoon!” Heechul shouted, waving his arm like a fisherman reeling in a catch. “Come over here quick!”
Angel’s stomach sank. she don’t have time to think!
Heechul’s booming voice rattled through the bar as he shouted their names again, loud enough for half the room to hear.
“Ha… I just wanted to drink with my friends today, but…” Angel muttered under her breath.
“Let’s go,” Jiyoon sighed. “He’ll just keep yelling until we sit there.”
“Ugh.” Angel dragged her feet like a prisoner to the gallows.
“Yeah, sit, sit!” Heechul greeted them with a triumphant grin. On the table, two empty soju bottles already stood like trophies.
Angel’s eyes widened. “Two?! Already?!”
Heechul ignored her horror, leaning forward with a conspiratorial smile. “I heard that Angel started living alone!”
“Huh? Yes…! How did you know that?” Angel blinked in surprise.
“I heard you had a crazy party near the campus. Everyone knows about it.”
Angel’s soul quietly left her body. Be damned if she ever throw another party near campus again…
“This is my congratulatory drink!” Heechul declared, snatching a fresh bottle.
“Hahaha… yes,” Angel laughed nervously, the sound as stiff as her smile. She held out her cup with both hands, lips curled up in the most unconvincing grin.
"Stop pouring, you jerk!" she screamed silently, watching the clear liquid rise higher and higher in her glass.
Angel and Jiyoon grimaced at the rims of their glasses, the soju sloshing dangerously close to spilling over.
“And the first glass is always—bottoms up!” Heechul roared.
Why, every glass is bottoms up for him! Angel thought desperately. If she keep this up, she'll be knocked out in no time…she should’ve taken literally any other empty seat earlier. Too late now… no use crying over spilled soju.
Two hours later, their survival instincts had kicked in. Through sly glass-switching, tossing drinks into potted plants, and topping off with plain water, the two managed to stay upright—though their senses wobbled like a loose ceiling fan.
“Angel,” Jiyoon whispered, clutching her bag. “Shall we go out? I think everyone’s about done drinking. Heechul’s already moved to another table, so we could leave without worrying about him.”
“Shall we?” Angel nodded eagerly, swinging her bag onto her shoulder.
But just as she stood, a harsh shout cracked through the air from a nearby table.
“You rude little b*stard!” someone barked.
“Huh? What’s that?” Jiyoon blinked.
Another voice fired back, dripping with curses.
“Why all the cuss words?”
Angel froze, head whipping toward the commotion. “What’s going on…?”
A guy at a nearby table was yelling at the top of his lungs, voice cutting through the din of the bar like a knife.
“Who the heck is that? Do you know who that is?” Angel whispered, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the crowd.
“No idea,” Jiyoon replied, equally tense. “I’ve never seen him before… maybe he’s a senior?”
Even as a few students tried to calm him down, the man refused to stop. His voice was raw, laced with anger.
“What’re you looking at? Huh? Pissed off? Then go ahead and hit me again! You beat up people easily, don’t you?”
Angel froze mid-step, her stomach dropping. Her gaze traveled through the chaos—and there, at the center of the commotion, was someone she hadn’t expected.
“Joowon…?” she breathed.
Angel frowned, her eyes narrowing toward the commotion. "Who is that…? And why is he yelling at Joowon?"
Before she could move closer, the whispers around her carried the answer. A group of seniors stood nearby, their voices sharp with gossip.
“I heard Giho came back to school,” one said.
Angel’s breath caught. "Giho…? That name… where have I heard it before?"
Another student scoffed. “Yeah, I heard he failed to transfer to Eunji’s college.”
“Right,” someone else added, “he wasted a whole year.”
The voices grew more biting, dripping with disdain.
“He’s so thick-skinned. Why show up here and cause a scene? And when Eunji cheated on Joowon, Giho just acted like it was nothing. Can you believe that?”
Angel’s eyes widened. Ah—!
The moment the word cheated hit her ears, a memory rushed back. That rumor. The one Jiyoon had whispered last year, almost gleefully.
“They say Joowon beat up a senior in our college…”
Angel’s stomach tightened.
So it’s true… Joowon’s ex cheated on him with Giho. And that person—right there—is Giho Song.
The bar, once buzzing with music and chatter, fell silent as all eyes locked on the two.
“Shouldn’t we stop them? They might fight,” one of the students near her whispered.
“Yeah, I think we need to—oh, wait!” another hissed, as chairs scraped the floor.
A sharp, heavy thud echoed as Giho shoved his seat back, springing to his feet. His hand shot out, grabbing Joowon by the collar.
Gasps rippled through the room.
“Ohhh!!”
“Oh dear…”
Angel’s pulse spiked. He’s really going to hit him…!
Giho’s voice, raw and trembling with anger, cut through the hush.
“Are you glad now?” His fist clenched tighter in Joowon’s shirt. “Glad that we broke up, huh? You won’t apologize to me, right?”
Joowon said nothing. His silence made the air feel heavier, thicker.
“Ha, that brat…! How shameless!” one of the students at Angel’s table spat. “He’s not in the position to say that!”
Another of Joowon’s friends shoved his chair back and stood up, his voice trembling with rage.
“You know why Joowon broke up with Eunji? It was because of you!!”
The bar stirred, whispers overlapping, but Giho only sneered, his words dripping with sarcasm.
“If you hadn’t created that scene, Eunji wouldn’t have transferred to another college!”
Joowon finally lifted his head, his voice low but firm.
“…What do you exactly know about her?”
Giho blinked. “What?”
“She was preparing to go to another college since the first day of school,” Joowon said, eyes cold. “Didn’t you know?”
A hush fell. Giho’s smirk faltered. “What..!? That’s—”
But he quickly snapped back, trying to mask his slip.
“You still hate me because Eunji dumped you for me, don’t you? But still—how can you beat up your senior, you bastard! That’s why she dumped you!”
Angel’s chest tightened. "Geez, that’s not it! Everyone knows who cheated first. How can he twist it like this?"
Joowon’s gaze dropped, fixing on the hand still gripping his collar. His tone was calm, almost detached, but it carried a sharp edge.
“You seem to only remember the fact that you got hit.”
The whole bar held its breath.
Joowon’s voice cut through the tense air.
“You don’t remember what you said, do you?”
Giho froze. “What..!?” His grip slackened for the first time.
Joowon’s eyes narrowed. “If you liked her that much, you shouldn’t have talked about her in that way.”
Giho stammered, “W–What did I do?!”
“Do you really want me to say it out loud?” Joowon’s tone was icy, dangerous. “Does Eunji know how you talked about her behind her back?”
Giho’s face drained of color. He looked cornered, exposed.
“You’re awful… as always.” With that, Joowon brushed off Giho’s hand like it was dirt and walked straight out of the bar.
“Y–You bastard! How dare you…! You come back here!” Giho shouted after him, his voice cracking with anger. He tried to push past the crowd, but a couple of seniors stepped in, blocking his way.
The entire bar buzzed at once, voices rising in gossip and speculation. If Joowon said it like that… Giho must’ve said something really nasty about Eunji.
Angel’s eyes wandered to Joowon’s table. His bag and phone still sat there, untouched, as if he had stormed out in too much of a rush to care.
“Ugh… this is so weird,” Jiyoon muttered, grabbing her arm. “Let’s go, Angel.”
“…Yes.” Angel followed, her thoughts still circling Joowon’s cold, heavy words.
Joowon’s bag. His phone.
Angel’s eyes couldn’t peel away from them, sitting forgotten on the desk as if they carried some part of him with them.
“Angel!”
Her head snapped up at the sound of her name. One of Joowon’s friends jogged toward her, slightly out of breath.
“I’m so sorry, but could you pass this to Joowon, please? I heard you live next door.”
Angel blinked, caught off guard, but managed a quick nod. “Ah, okay… yes. I’ll pass it to him.”
“Thank you! Whoa, he really shouldn’t have left his phone here,” the boy muttered, half-grumbling as he placed Joowon’s belongings into her arms.
The weight of the bag pressed against her shoulder, heavier than she expected, almost as though carrying it tied her to him in some invisible way.
Half an hour later, Angel found herself standing in front of Joowon’s door. The hall was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that deepened the sound of her own heartbeat.
“…Should I press the bell?” she whispered to no one.
The strap of his bag dug into her shoulder, reminding her why she was here. She lived next door; it was convenient, almost natural, that she’d be the one to return his things. But still—
“But isn’t it too late now…?” she murmured again, glancing at the clock on her phone. Almost midnight. Her hand hovered uncertainly near the doorbell.
It would be such a hassle for him without his phone. With a long, reluctant sigh, Angel finally pressed the button. The shrill chime rang through the corridor, echoing against the walls.
No answer.
Her stomach tightened. Is he not home yet? Maybe he’s still out… because he’s sad? Upset?
“What are you doing there?”
The voice came out of nowhere.
“Gosh!” Angel yelped, jumping nearly out of her skin. She spun around, eyes wide.
Joowon stood at the far end of the corridor, his expression unreadable beneath the dim hallway light.
“Hey,” he said quietly, lifting a finger to his lips, “shhh.”
“Why would you suddenly appear like that?” Angel asked, still trying to calm her racing heart.
“I just came back from the convenience store.” Joowon lifted a small plastic bag in his hand as proof, the faint crinkle of it echoing in the corridor.
“Anyway,” his eyes flicked to her, curious, “what are you doing here… in front of my house? Did you perhaps mistake it for your place again?”
Angel frowned. “Stop teasing me. I came to give you these.”
She held out his bag and phone. Joowon blinked in mild surprise before taking them from her hands.
“Ah, I didn’t know I left my phone there.”
“You didn’t know you lost your phone?” Angel asked, disbelief lacing her voice.
“No,” he answered simply, his tone almost too steady, too casual. “Thank you for bringing them.”
That calmness—so natural for him—unsettled her. After everything that happened earlier, after what she had seen in his expression at the bar, how could he be this composed? Angel bit her lip, summoning the courage she wasn’t sure she had.
“…Joowon.”
He looked up, bag hanging loosely in his hand. “Hmm?”
“Are you all right?”
His brows knitted faintly. “What? Why?”
“Earlier at the bar…” The words slipped out before she could stop them.
He froze. The shift was subtle, but Angel caught it—the slight widening of his eyes, the flicker of awareness that passed over his face. Why did I say that? She wanted to bite her tongue. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about it. They weren’t even that close. Still, the silence between them stretched, pressing against her chest. She waited nervously, fingers twisting together, ready to retreat if he brushed her off.
Finally, he spoke.
“Angel.”
Her name in his voice—low, deliberate—made her heart stumble.
And then, the most unexpected thing left his lips.
“Shall we drink some beer?”
“Huh? Beer…?” Angel blinked at him, not sure if he was joking.
But before she knew it, they were walking side by side, the faint glow of the streetlamps guiding them toward the park.
The night air was cool, brushing gently against Angel’s skin as she sat down on the bench. Joowon lowered himself beside her, handing her a can. The crisp hiss of the tab opening broke the quiet.
“Well,” Angel said, gazing up at the faint stars, “it’s quite breezy now. Hard to believe it was so hot in the day.”
“Yeah,” Joowon murmured, taking a sip from his can.
They sat there, shoulder to shoulder yet not touching, the silence between them neither awkward nor comfortable—something fragile in between. Angel glanced at him, at the way his profile softened under the dim park light.
“You can never tell what life is going to bring you,” she said, her words half to him, half to herself.
And there they were—Angel and Joowon, drinking beer together at night. A scene she would never have dared to imagine even a few hours ago.
She raised the can to her lips, the cool bitterness washing over her tongue. But then, mid-sip, a sudden realization hit her.
“Gosh!” Angel gasped, nearly spilling the drink. “I forgot!”
Joowon turned, startled. “What is it?”
“It’s already late, but—oh no—” she fumbled for her phone, panic rising. “Joowon, I’ll just make one call.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
He leaned back casually, but his gaze lingered on her as she pressed the phone to her ear.
“Hello? Mom?”
The voice on the other end came sharp and concerned. "Why did you call me so late?"
Angel tried to keep her tone light. “I had a beginning-of-semester party with colleagues… I came home earlier, and already took a shower! I’m going to bed now.”
“Angel,” her mother’s voice dropped, firm. "You know I didn’t allow you to live alone so that you could drink till late, right?"
“…Yes.”
"You must be more careful when you live alone. You have to get home early."
“Okay. I’m going to sleep now… I’m sooo sleepy. I’ll call you again tomorrow,” Angel said, forcing a yawn into her voice.
“Did you check the door lock?” her mother pressed.
“Yes, yes. You sleep, too. You have to go to the office tomorrow.”
“Yes. Good night. Call me again tomorrow.”
The line clicked off. Angel stared at her screen for a second longer before letting out a long sigh. “Ha… This is sick.”
She tipped the can back and gulped down the beer with a heavy heart, letting the bitterness wash away her restlessness. Wiping her lips, she exhaled. “Phew—! I prefer drinking beer to soju.”
From beside her came the sudden sound of stifled laughter.
“Pfft…”
Her eyes narrowed. “…Why’re you laughing?”
Joowon tilted his can, grinning faintly. “You lied.”
“Huh?”
“‘I’m soooo sleepy, I’m going to bed now?’” he mimicked, his voice deliberately dragging the words with a teasing tone.
“Oh… that.” Angel’s face warmed.
“Will she scold you if you don’t tell her that?”
“Yes. My mom is quite strict. It’s not even ‘quite’… she is strict.” Angel lowered her gaze, fingers tracing the rim of her can. “But…”
Joowon leaned slightly toward her, waiting. “But?”
“At least she let me live alone,” she admitted.
He raised a brow. “She agreed that easily?”
“I got her permission after pleading for months.” A small smile tugged at Angel’s lips despite herself. “And I called her just now because… it’s one of the conditions for moving out.”
“Conditions?”
“Yes.” She gave a half-shrug. “I have to call my mom before I go to bed every night.”
“Oh, wow…” Joowon muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.
“But thankfully, I don’t have to Facetime her,” Angel added quickly, a weak laugh escaping her.
“She’s very strict.”
“Right? She’s my mom, but—it’s too much.”
The words slipped out more easily than she intended. Maybe it was the beer, mixing with the soju she’d had earlier. Maybe it was just Joowon—sitting beside her, quiet yet steady, someone she somehow didn’t feel the need to guard herself against. Angel wasn’t sure why she was telling him all this. She only knew she didn’t want to stop.
Joowon tilted his head, studying her. “What are the other conditions?”
“Huh?”
“The conditions for living alone.”
Angel fumbled with her can, cheeks warming. “…Um, I have to move back into her house if my grades fall below an A this semester.”
Joowon’s brows shot up. “That’s really hard core.”
“Tell me about it.” She puffed her cheeks, leaning back against the bench.
“You said it’s your first time living alone, so… she must be worried.”
Angel’s lips pressed into a thin line. “But still, she’s carrying it too far. I’ve never even been on an overnight trip, and this was my first time staying late at a party.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Angel gave a small, almost embarrassed laugh. “My curfew was always eight o’clock, so I’d leave gatherings by six. Two hours early. Every time.”
“If your curfew was at eight, you couldn’t go anywhere except school and home,” Joowon said flatly, as though summing up her entire life.
“I lived like that till last semester,” Angel admitted with a weak smile.
He gave her a quizzical look. “But you came to the freshman orientation last year.”
“I cried and begged for three whole days,” Angel confessed, her voice half a laugh, half a sigh. “I told Mom that everyone makes friends there, and if I didn’t go, I wouldn’t have any. She gave in, but after that… I couldn’t join any other overnight programs, ever.”
Her smile faded as she lowered her gaze to the ground. “I just accepted her way until I graduated high school. But now… it’s so stressful.”
“It should be,” Joowon said, his tone quieter this time.
He nodded once, firm but thoughtful. “She must be worried, but you’re already a grown-up now.”
Angel blinked at him. For a moment, she simply stared. Then, with a soft laugh, she murmured, “…I never expected to hear that from you.”
His brow furrowed slightly. “Why’s that?”
“I thought you were a little cold.” She tilted her head, studying him openly, the faint glow of the streetlamp catching the edge of her smile. “I didn’t know you’d comfort me. You’re so different from what I thought you’d be like.”
Her fingers tightened around her can. “And honestly, I didn’t know anything about you… except for that rumor that goes around our college.”
Joowon didn’t reply right away. Instead, he fiddled with the rim of his beer can, his thumb tracing the metal as if weighing his next words. Finally, he glanced at her, his expression unreadable.
“You were surprised earlier, right? At the bar.”
Angel’s breath caught. “Oh…”
“Did he keep making a scene after I left?” Joowon asked, his voice low.
Angel shook her head. “No… some guys managed to calm him down. Then they took him outside.”
“…Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to the gathering,” Joowon muttered, almost to himself.
Angel hesitated, her fingers tightening around her can. “That guy’s name is… Giho Song, right?”
She didn’t dare meet his eyes as she asked.
Joowon’s gaze lingered on her, sharp but unreadable. “How come you know him?”
“I heard the rumor…”
“…You must know him from the rumor,” he said, his tone flat.
A small sting pricked at Angel’s chest. Of course he knew. Of course he carried the weight of what people whispered about him.
Joowon’s voice cut into her thoughts, quiet but direct. “Do your friends think I’m a person to be avoided?”
Angel swallowed. “…Umm. We heard the gossip about you on the first day of school. So… I was quite afraid of you as well.”
“I thought so.”
He lifted the can to his lips, drinking calmly, as if the words didn’t touch him at all. As though he’d already grown used to it.
But Angel’s chest tightened. Watching him like that—so unaffected, so detached—made something inside her ache.
“I don’t get why I was afraid of you…” she said softly, almost without realizing it.
Joowon lowered the can, his brows lifting faintly. “What?”
“Well, after talking with you, I realized… you’re not as scary as your rumor goes,” Angel said, her voice softer than she intended.
She felt her chest tighten, but the words kept spilling out. “I only paid attention to that bad rumor. I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have done that.”
She hadn’t expected herself to be this honest—especially not with Joowon. Yet here she was, admitting it aloud, her eyes fixed on the can in her hands.
“Gossips spread like wildfire,” she continued, almost to herself. “Especially when they’re ugly and provocative. I shouldn’t have judged someone by what others say. I should have learned that myself.”
For a moment, silence hung between them, and Angel wondered if she’d said too much.
“…Thank you,” Joowon finally said.
Angel blinked, startled. “It’s my first time hearing a thank you when I make an apology.”
“Well,” Joowon’s lips curved faintly, “it’s my first time hearing an apology from someone in our college.”
Something in her chest fluttered at that, but before she could respond, her phone buzzed in her hand.
Angel glanced at the screen. “Oh, it’s Chanwoo.” She looked up at Joowon. “May I…?”
“Go ahead.”
She pressed the call. “Hello? Chanwoo?”
“Oh, that was quick,” his voice came, warm with concern. “Is the party over?”
“Yeah, quite a long time ago.”
“I was worried you were totally drunk again.”
Angel winced, glancing at her half-empty can. “I’m never going to drink like that again. I’m at the park near my apartment.”
“At the park? At this time of the day?”
“Yeah, I’m drinking beer with my… neighbor.” Her words stumbled for a second, but she managed to get them out.
There was a pause on the line. “…When are you going to go home?”
“I’m going soon. Don’t worry about me.”
She tilted her screen slightly, just enough to see the time glowing back at her—almost 1 a.m. Her stomach tightened.
“Looks like you’re already close with your neighbor,” Chanwoo said after a beat.
“Yeah, I think so,” Angel replied into the phone, her voice careful.
“I see… By the way, don’t you have class tomorrow?” Chanwoo asked.
“Yes, I have a morning lecture.”
“Don’t stay up too late. You might oversleep. And don’t pass out, either. Anyway, text me when you get home.”
“Right. I’ll text you later. Bye!”
She hung up, the screen fading to black.
“Is it a friend?” Joowon’s voice came quietly.
“Yes. I think you saw him. When I was drunk the other day—”
“Ah, that guy with yellow hair?”
“Yes!” Angel nodded quickly, her eyes brightening.
“He apologized for you that night.”
Angel blinked. “…Chanwoo did that?”
“Yes. After getting you home, he came out again. Then he said you’re his friend, and he was so sorry for everything.”
“Oh…” Angel’s chest tightened, warmth swelling inside her. “Really… Chanwoo… what an angel!”
Joowon watched her reaction, his tone unreadable. “Looks like you two are really close.”
“Yes. We’ve been friends since kindergarten.”
“Kindergarten? Wow, that’s a long time ago.”
“Yes. He’s like family,” Angel said softly, her lips curving into a small smile.
“He seemed like a nice guy,” Joowon murmured.
The silence stretched for a moment, broken only by the faint rustle of the trees overhead. Then, Joowon bent down, picked up his empty can, and straightened.
“Shall we get going? It’s already 1 a.m.”
“Yes… Ah, I have a morning lecture tomorrow. How am I supposed to get up early?” Angel groaned, rubbing her temple.
Joowon’s tone softened. “I shouldn’t have called you out. You must be tired after the party.”
“No, it was good,” she replied quickly, though a small pang of regret tugged at her. When else would she get a chance to drink like this—with him? Talking with Joowon had been unexpectedly fun, the conversation flowing naturally, laughter and quiet confessions mingling with the night air.
As if reading her thoughts, Joowon’s voice came, calm but teasing. “Let’s drink again sometime… and not at a late hour like this.”