Chapter 50. 20 Years Old, First Drink
Haeyoung and Taeseong found themselves at a location where the New Year’s countdown event was in full swing.
The two of them watched the fireworks, wishing for good luck in the new year.
Before long, it was already 11:59 PM.
With just 30 seconds remaining until midnight, the host on a nearby makeshift stage called out loudly:
“Alright, the new year is almost here! Let’s do the countdown together!”
“10, 9, 8, 7, 6—”
The host’s voice amplified through the speakers, blending with the excited voices of the crowd.
“6, 5, 4, 3, 2—”
And then, over the growing excitement, a sweet voice added another layer.
“Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year.”
Haeyoung smiled softly as she replied.
As if celebrating the arrival of 2016, the fireworks lit up the dark sky in an even more dazzling display.
And just like that, with the passing of a single second, they both became twenty years old.
As January 1st arrived, the streets grew even noisier.
People who would usually be deep in sleep were now wide-eyed for different reasons.
After the countdown show, Haeyoung and Taeseong wandered aimlessly through the streets.
They had nothing in particular to do but didn’t want to go home yet.
Neither of them spoke of returning until their cheeks were frozen with the cold.
As they passed by a crowd of people, a group of people around their age brushed by them.
“Ah damn, where should we go? I wanted to try drinking draft beer at ‘Oppa’s Grilled Chicken’.”
“Yeah, let’s go there. They said it’s easy to get in. Everyone got their ID, right?”
“Yeah, I almost died waiting till midnight.”
After the group passed by and the conversation faded, Haeyoung, who had been lost in thought, suddenly stopped as if making a decision.
Taeseong, who was following her, stopped as well, his frozen feet unable to take another step.
“What’s wrong? Is it cold?”
Taeseong looked at Haeyoung’s slightly flushed cheeks and asked with concern.
But Haeyoung, with a serious expression, gave an unexpected reply.
“Let’s drink.”
“Huh?”
Taeseong, surprised, repeated her words, and Haeyoung, now more determined, looked at him firmly.
“Let’s drink, Ju Taeseong.”
Haeyoung, who was familiar with the area, led Taeseong to a small bar that gave off a strong pojangmacha vibe.
The year before, when she had come with friends to watch the first sunrise, they had passed by this place, enchanted by the delicious smells coming from it.
In the moment, Haeyoung had forgotten that it was a bar and tried to enter, only to be turned away with a request to come back next year.
Now, ready to drink, the memory of that event had brought them back here.
The decision to drink had been somewhat impulsive, but it was a good choice nonetheless.
For Taeseong, all his firsts belonged to Minju, that older sister. But his first drink would belong to him.
Haeyoung, confidently presenting her ID for verification, made the order with a mischievous smile.
“One bottle of soju, one bottle of beer, and one order of duck bulgogi fried rice and fish cake soup!”
Taeseong shook his head at her expert ordering.
“Is this really your first time drinking?”
“Of course. I was such a model teenager.”
Haeyoung’s fiery gaze made Taeseong look away to another table.
“Looks good.”
Haeyoung called out to Taeseong, who was avoiding eye contact.
“Ju Taeseong, have you ever drunk before?”
“Just for ceremonial offerings at the family shrine.”
Taeseong answered as he turned his head back to face her. A slight sense of satisfaction spread across Haeyoung’s face.
“So… this is your first time at a drinking session like this?”
“I guess so.”
After Taeseong’s confirmation, the server brought their drinks.
“Here are your soju and beer.”
Taeseong flinched slightly when he saw the bottles — one a green soju bottle, the other a dark beer bottle.
“For your first drink, soju might be a bit…”
“What, are you scared? Worried you’ll lose to me in terms of tolerance?”
Haeyoung flashed her neatly arranged teeth and teased him.
And Taeseong, simply put, fell right into her challenge.
“No way.”
And so, the first drink of their twenty years began.
With Haeyoung expertly mixing the soju and beer, Taeseong raised an eyebrow.
“Where did you learn this?”
“I know a thing or two.”
“Who taught you?”
Taeseong persisted, asking, but Haeyoung just let out a small laugh and answered.
“Remember Uncle Cheolsu, who hosted our wedding?”
Haeyoung added the soju and beer into the glass in a precise ratio, then stirred it with a spoon.
“He taught me…”
She stopped mid-sentence and flicked her spoon with her chopsticks.
Clink!
The bubbles rose, mixing the soju and beer.
“To me, he’s like a real uncle.”
Haeyoung handed the glass to Taeseong with a smile, her explanation continuing as she held her own glass of the mix.
“Let’s toast.”
“…”
“To our bright and shining twenties.”
With a toast that was a little awkward but still full of spirit.
“Cheers.”
The sound of their glasses clinking echoed, sharp and clear, through the hot air of the bar.
Before long, three bottles of soju and five bottles of beer had piled up on the table.
Haeyoung grabbed a handful of popcorn that came as a side snack and popped it into her mouth.
Then she frowned as she chewed something hard.
“Ugh.”
Drunk now, Haeyoung’s playful side came out, and Taeseong watched in quiet amusement.
It seemed like Haeyoung noticed his gaze, and she tilted her head slightly.
“What are you looking at?”
“Your drunk face.”
“Ugh, stop looking.”
“Why?”
“It’s embarrassing. My face.”
Haeyoung buried her face in her arms, making a little cave with them.
“Hey, Cha Haeyoung.”
“…”
“Cha Haeyoung.”
“…”
“Haeyoung.”
Taeseong called her name several times, but she remained motionless.
“…Are you, by chance, asleep?”
Taeseong, with a touch of disbelief, asked, but there was no response from Haeyoung, who had laid her head down.
He sighed, clicking his tongue softly.
“You were so confident about drinking earlier…”
Muttering to himself, Taeseong moved to sit on the other side of the table.
Despite drinking the same amount, Taeseong seemed completely fine.
His family was known for having a high tolerance for alcohol. Both his grandfather, Chairman Ju, and his father were heavy drinkers.
So it was no surprise that Taeseong, having just turned twenty, wasn’t anywhere near drunk.
Except for the faint smell of alcohol that lingered on his lips, no one could tell he had been drinking.
As he watched Haeyoung sleeping peacefully, a lazy smile curled on Taeseong’s lips.
He gently reached out to push the stray hair from Haeyoung’s face, his fingers brushing her soft, warm skin.
He froze for a moment, feeling the warmth on his fingertips.
The atmosphere around him, despite the loud bar, felt eerily still.
Thump, thump, thump.
His heart pounded, as if recalling the time he had kissed Haeyoung by accident.
Just then, Haeyoung, with her face buried in her arms, slowly turned her head toward him.
“Ju Taeseong.”
“Hmm?”
“Ju Taeseong.”
Her voice was slurred, almost like mumbling in her sleep.
“I’m here. Stop calling me.”
“Don’t go…”
Haeyoung’s drunken words made Taeseong frown.
“What?”
“Don’t… go.”
Haeyoung repeated the same phrase, and Taeseong, narrowing his eyes, gave her a soft teasing reply.
“Who was the one who ran away first?”
But his voice was tender.
“That’s a conversation you should have with me.”
As he said this, Taeseong reached out again, his hand hovering near her cheek, almost touching it.
Just as he was about to, his phone began to vibrate.
Zing— zing—
The reality of the situation hit him.
He pulled his hand back and fished out his phone from his pocket.
Minju Noona
The name that had been appearing since the afternoon.
With a quiet sigh, Taeseong stood up, casting a brief glance at Haeyoung, still fast asleep, before heading outside.
The cold air slapped against his cheek as he stepped out into the night.
Though he wasn’t drunk, the winter air felt refreshingly cool, perhaps because he’d gotten a little overheated from the alcohol.
The phone rang again after a short pause, vibrating persistently.
Taeseong’s eyes narrowed as he lightly tapped the green button.
“Hello?”
[Taeseong, is that you?]
A slurred voice came through the receiver.
“Noona.”
[Taeseong, I miss you.]
The voice was thick with emotion, and Taeseong squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a sense of discomfort at hearing those words he used to hate.
