Chapter 12: The Perfect Timing

“No one here abstains from alcohol, do they?” Jae-hyun asked, holding up a wine bottle.

When no one objected, he began pouring. Lee Dohwa, holding his glass, suddenly realized the seating arrangement was divided into alphas and omegas.

‘I thought I was just sitting in an empty spot,’ he mused.

Ma Won-ho was seated opposite him, Kang Hae-il in the center, and Jae-hyun beside him.

“The flavor might fade if we wait,” Jae-hyun explained. “The wine I just poured is the most expensive one we bought today.”

“Let’s all toast!” Woo Sori exclaimed, extending his arm first. Everyone rose to clink glasses.

The clear chime of glasses echoed through the room. Thirsty, Dohwa took a deep sip, feeling a tartness and a heavy swallow that tingled to the tip of his nose.

‘This wine is strong,’ he thought.

Dohwa blinked, gazing at the blood-red liquid shimmering in his glass. When was the last time he had red wine?

It had been at least over a year.

“Wow, this is absolutely delicious. Dohwa, what’s this called?”

“Ah, that’s Egg in Hell.”

Yet, when it came to actually eating, his appetite had vanished.

Perhaps it was because he had already eaten earlier with Shu, but he didn’t feel particularly hungry. His fork movements slowed drastically, and he began to simply sip his wine.

“You worked hard on the cooking,” someone commented.

“Thanks to your help… I was able to manage it easily. Thank you.”

Just as Dohwa managed to finish one glass of wine, Ma Won-ho, seated opposite, refilled his glass.

‘Now I’ll have to drink this one too,’ Dohwa thought.

Dohwa had intended to pour some of the white wine Chaeyeon-woo was drinking beside him, but once again, a brighter shade of crimson filled his glass.

As people served themselves food, Dohwa’s hands idly toyed with his glass, not his cutlery.

Checking the time, he saw it was almost midnight.

‘Is this what it feels like to be full just from watching?’ he wondered.

Even though this was his first proper meal of the day, Dohwa simply watched the others continuously moving their hands, engrossed in eating.

He had worried the food wouldn’t suit everyone’s tastes, but his concerns had been unfounded.

During the meal, the dominant sound was the clinking of cutlery. Whenever eyes met, Dohwa would naturally pretend to look elsewhere, taking a sip of wine.

“Does everyone usually eat breakfast?” Chaeyeon-woo’s voice broke the quiet, coming from beside Dohwa, cutting through the faint sounds.

“Do you tend to eat something light?”

“I’m usually too busy to eat, but I think I could here.”

“…I only drink coffee in the mornings.”

Ma Won-ho, Woo Sori, and Kang Hae-il answered in turn.

‘When was the last time I ate breakfast?’ Dohwa mused.

If counting before bed rather than after waking, it might be easier to recall, but Dohwa typically had no appetite for several hours after waking.

“I don’t really eat breakfast,” Dohwa stated plainly.

“Oh really? I feel like I have no energy if I don’t eat,” Jae-hyun countered with a friendly smile. Chaeyeon-woo joined in, suggesting they make something simple for breakfast tomorrow.

‘It’s a relief it’s not mandatory,’ Dohwa thought.

The idea of lounging in bed in the morning, rather than moving, brought a sense of ease.

As the gathering matured, small talk flowed, covering topics like their grocery shopping experiences and various conversations. The relaxed atmosphere brought smiles to everyone’s faces.

At some point, Dohwa found himself staring blankly not at the people, but at the red wine in his glass.

“I bought a lot, indulging my own preferences, but with so many people, it’s being drunk quickly,” Woo Sori’s proud voice drifted faintly to Dohwa.

Each time Dohwa’s glass emptied, Ma Won-ho, sitting opposite, refilled it, so the amount never seemed to decrease.

Dohwa had wanted white wine, but it was always red that was poured. Unable to voice his request, Dohwa reciprocated, pouring wine for Ma Won-ho several times.

However, unlike Dohwa’s perpetually full glass, Ma Won-ho’s kept emptying, prompting Dohwa to eventually give up on refilling it.

Just as the suggestion to start cleaning up was about to be made.

Jingle, jingle—

‘A bell ringing now?’ Dohwa thought.

The sound of the bell, heard just a few hours prior, echoed once more, causing everyone to turn towards the entrance.

Several people sprang to their feet, and Dohwa, momentarily following suit, stumbled slightly.

‘No one saw that, right?’ he hoped.

Quickly regaining his balance, Dohwa pretended as if nothing had happened, remaining still. He couldn’t gauge his alcohol tolerance with wine; he felt fine while seated, but standing up made his head spin.

“I’ll get it!”

“I’ll go too!”

Hearing that others would retrieve it, Dohwa settled back into his seat.

Frankly, he hadn’t intended to move in the first place.

While the two people beside him left, Dohwa drank cold water and pressed on his temples, trying to clear his head.

“Are you drunk?”

“No.”

‘Not drunk, but I feel hot,’ he mused.

Fortunately, no outward signs betrayed him, so even after the two who had gone for the directive returned, Dohwa continued to gulp down water.

Once he thought he was hot, the heat simply wouldn’t subside.

Chaeyeon-woo and Woo Sori bustled back to their seats, shaking the envelopes they held.

‘It’s the same as what I saw earlier,’ Dohwa noted.

Turning his body to look right, Dohwa propped his head with one hand, chin resting on it. The moment he got comfortable, his eyes met Chaeyeon-woo’s, who was pulling out a piece of paper.

“Are you drunk?”

“No, I’m perfectly fine. More importantly, I’m curious what’s written there.”

Dohwa chuckled faintly, observing Chaeyeon-woo’s narrowing eyes.

Chaeyeon-woo, dropping their suspicious gaze, scanned the paper with their eyes before speaking immediately.

“Please watch the video together in the 2nd-floor screening room. Was there a screening room here?”

“They probably mean where the beam projector was.”

“What could we all watch together? A horror movie?” Woo Sori asked, laughing playfully.

Dohwa’s face instantly stiffened at Woo Sori’s words. ‘That can’t be it,’ he thought.

For a moment, Dohwa hadn’t known where the screening room was, but the mention of a “beam projector” reminded him of the room with the laptop.

‘Watching a horror movie would be a copyright infringement,’ he reasoned.

So, there was no way they would be watching something like that.

“Then let’s clean everything up before we go,” someone suggested.

“Like we’re having a second round upstairs?”

“Great!”

Jae-hyun looked at those who had cooked earlier and said, “We’ll clean up, so you all can rest in the living room.” Chaeyeon-woo, however, stayed behind, offering to help with the cleanup.

The advantage of a large group was the ability to blend in and let others handle things.

Leaving only his used dishes in the sink, Dohwa walked out to the living room without a backward glance.

Though he stumbled briefly on his way out, fortunately, he didn’t fall. He had already expended all his energy for the day and was moderately tipsy.

‘I just want to lie down,’ Dohwa yearned.

Ma Won-ho and Kang Hae-il, who had also helped prepare dinner, came into the living room, exerting their last bit of patience not to lie down on the plush sofa.

They merely slumped onto it, their bodies seeming to melt into the cushions.

“You didn’t seem to eat much earlier; are you alright?”

“…I’m fine. I’m just full,” Dohwa replied belatedly, having zoned out and not realizing Kang Hae-il was speaking to him.

Everything served was quite filling, so even eating a little had quickly made him feel satiated.

Not long after waiting in the living room, the three who had finished cleaning the dining room emerged. Dohwa felt as though he had intended to get up, but his body remained glued to the sofa.

“Shall we change into something more comfortable and then gather?”

“Sounds good!” Woo Sori nodded vigorously at Ma Won-ho’s suggestion.

Indeed, most were dressed in suits or similar formal attire, far from comfortable wear.

‘Now I understand why people say not to live in a duplex,’ Dohwa mused.

The realization that he had to go upstairs again made the constant ascent and descent of stairs feel tiresome, despite the spaciousness of the place.

‘Once I go up this time, I’m not coming back down,’ he vowed.

With that resolution, Dohwa slowly followed the others upstairs.

Entering his room, Dohwa rummaged through his suitcase, pulling out some loungewear, then headed to the bathroom to change.

“…My hair looks fine,” he murmured.

Though he felt anything but, his reflection in the mirror showed his hair perfectly maintained, just as the salon had styled it.

Having always kept his hair straight, even this minor styling felt a bit awkward.

‘But looking at it, it seems alright,’ he thought.

Unlike the two who had arrived early, quickly changed, and touched up their makeup, Dohwa had moved slowly, walking and changing at a leisurely pace. By the time he returned to his room, it was empty.

Grabbing his phone, Dohwa headed to the room with the beam projector, finding everyone else already gathered there, save for him.

Receiving the now-familiar gazes, Dohwa found an empty seat and settled down.

‘It seems everyone else just changed from one set of going-out clothes to another,’ Dohwa mused.

Compared to them, his own long-sleeved white summer pajamas felt perhaps too comfortable, but the thought of changing again was too bothersome.

Ordinarily, Dohwa would have hesitated, but with the lingering effects of the alcohol, he fully relaxed into the sofa. He pulled a cushion under his chin, settling into perfect comfort.

“I’ll turn off the lights,” someone announced.

The faint remaining lights were extinguished completely as the beam projector was switched on.

In the deep darkness, Ma Won-ho skillfully operated the projector and laptop, then came to sit in the empty seat beside Dohwa.

“Haven’t we met before?” they whispered.

Dohwa turned his head towards Ma Won-ho, whose eyes, catching the light in the darkness, shone with peculiar intensity.

‘Well now, that’s a classic pick-up line,’ Dohwa thought.

Just as when they first met, a faint smile played on Ma Won-ho’s lips, but their eyes held no mirth.

“…I believe we’ve only just met today?” Dohwa replied, blinking, after a moment of careful thought revealed nothing.

Their smile deepened, and they shrugged.

“Is that so?”

“Oh, it’s starting.”

As a video suddenly began playing on the blank screen, their conversation fizzled out.

[What’s most important when dating?]

[Looks? Wealth? Love?]

[Things that can’t be achieved if paths cross, even when everything else is fulfilled.]

[In romance, the most crucial element is perfect timing.]

After a scene resembling a trailer, edited clips flashed by, showing people’s backs.

Then, the pre-interviews of six individuals appeared abruptly, like a fuse blowing, before simultaneously transitioning to a different scene.

“Wait, that’s me?”

Seeing the screen display his own familiar appearance entering a cafe on the day of the pre-interview, Dohwa’s eyes widened, and his leaning body shot upright.

The alcohol, it certainly sobered him up.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Empress’s Pampering, I Secretly Hoarded Divine Weapons and Became Invincible

ComedyFantasyRomance

Read Now →
Not interested