Chapter 5.1

Chapter 5.1

Seunghyuk lived in a mansion in Cheongdam-dong—a neighborhood known for its wealthy residents among the eight districts of Gangnam—and never flaunted his wealth.

Nevertheless, his entire being exuded the refined ease characteristic of someone who grew up without any deprivation. Miran could vaguely understand what people meant by “class” when she looked at him.

Seunghyuk was reasonably kind to everyone. When he showed up late to the MT* with a cooler full of alcohol and meat loaded into the trunk of his white foreign car, a fierce competition broke out among the women the next morning about who could get a ride back in his car.

*Membership training. A culture in South Korea where people in universities or workplaces gather to ‘build friendship’ among members through drinking. Juniors are usually required to go. In the workplace, this is more known as Hoesik (회식).

More than half of the girls in the United Circle had a crush on him, and Seunghyuk had once dated the prettiest queen card in the circle. The girl who was rumored to have been dumped by Seunghyuk was now making a name for herself as a CF* model.

*Commercial Film

Seunghyuk, who loved to wear neat pique shirts and looked even more stylish than usual, smiled awkwardly and gestured towards her. The sleeves of his Armani suit were rolled up to his elbows, and an expensive-looking watch flashed on his wrist.

“Long time no see, Kang-gun! Come in, have a drink.”

People around them whispered curiously, “Who’s that?” “Do you know her?” as they eyed her with curiosity. Seunghyuk gave his friends a warning look.

“She’s a junior from the United Circle.”

With her face flushed red, Miran timidly closed the door and hesitated, but Seunghyuk’s friends made room for her to enter. When she sat next to him, Seunghyuk filled a small shot glass with liquor and offered it to her. She bowed her head and accepted the glass.

She said, “I heard you were going abroad…”

“Haha, they’re sending me off already. I’m leaving the day after tomorrow. I gathered my neighborhood friends for a farewell party and didn’t expect to meet you here. Kang-gun, do you go to nightclubs too?”

When Miran was a freshman, he was a returning student who had already completed his military service. He had given her the nickname “Kang-gun*” because, after graduating high school, she looked like a tomboy with her short-cropped hair.

*-gun is an honorific expression attached to the name of a minor or young man, usually used in the military.

Not wanting to be remembered as a club girl in front of the senior she admired, Miran mumbled an excuse about Jieun.

“Jieun unni wanted me to come today…”

“Ohh, so the club girl in Julia followed you.”

“Yes? Yes…”

He chuckled and poured a drink into his own glass. He never forced his female juniors to pour drinks for him, nor did he try to assert any authority, which made him even more popular. He was the one who abolished the term “senior” in the circle, calling it a remnant of Japanese militarism.

“Kang-gun, are you still growing? You seem taller than the last time I saw you. You’ll soon catch up to my height.”

When Seunghyuk teased her, Miran responded seriously, denying it.

“No, I’m still 168 centimeters!”

In reality, she was 170 centimeters. She had gotten into the habit of saying she was shorter because she was tired of comments like “Men will feel intimidated,” “It’ll be hard to get married,” and “You shouldn’t wear heels.” Sometimes, it was also a complex for her when she appeared bigger than her male co-stars.

Just then, her pocket buzzed loudly. Startled, Miran pulled out the pager clipped to the belt loop of her vintage Levi’s 501 jeans. The unknown number displayed on the screen was familiar.

‘Whose number is this?’

Seunghyuk suddenly held something out in front of her nose. It was a mobile phone.

“Use this.”

“Oh, you don’t have to… Thank you very much!”

Miran bravely accepted the heavy phone with both hands. The idea of being able to make a call anywhere was still fascinating to her.

As she checked the voicemail left on the pager using Seunghyuk’s mobile phone, the color drained from Miran’s face. She covered her mouth with her hand.

“What is it? Did something happen?”

Seunghyuk asked in a faintly worried tone. Miran, who had listened to the message again to make sure she hadn’t heard wrong, pressed the end call button. She blinked in a daze and handed the phone back to Seunghyuk.

She wanted to run to that quack fortune teller and shout in triumph right then. Her lips spread into a wide smile, revealing her gums.

“Oppa! I passed the audition!”

“Oh, congratulations. We need to toast!”