Chapter 15: Nothing Happened

Sunday was a decent day.

Despite the issues with Euigeon and the hangover, Chaewoo used his free time to visit the nursing hospital for the first time in a while.

His father believed that the source of the paid-up hospital fees and surgery costs was his uncle’s business resuming.

He seemed to be in high spirits, believing that things were going better than before.

Chaewoo didn’t feel entirely comfortable lying to his father.

However, he couldn’t tell him the truth.

If his father found out he had received money through such an unconventional method, he would do more than just disapprove; he would surely fly into a rage and demand it be canceled immediately.

Since the progress after the surgery was good, there was no need to create unnecessary problems.

Chaewoo had coordinated his story with his uncle beforehand and explained it exactly that way.

After catching up on long-overdue conversations with his father, it was late at night when he finally returned to his studio apartment.

As luck would have it, the shop decided to stay closed until Sunday due to the accident that had occurred, so he was able to take a break from his evening part-time job as well.

It was the first time he had felt such complete rest in a long while.

It was a good enough day to make him forget, if only for a moment, what had happened with Euigeon at the opera after-party.

“Money really is great.”

Chaewoo muttered to himself as he pulled up his blanket before falling asleep.

Even though the fact that he had to balance school and work again starting tomorrow hadn’t changed, this peaceful day wouldn’t have existed if he hadn’t received the down payment.

Even though he had broken the condition about not having contact with Euigeon, that incident was a sort of mutual mistake.

‘I can just talk to him about that when we meet tomorrow.’

Yawning deeply, Chaewoo sought sleep with a sense of serenity he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

When Monday morning dawned, he decided to first settle the matter of what had happened with Euigeon, just as he had vowed the night before.

Seeing as there had been no contact so far, it seemed the other side also wanted to move past it without giving it much weight.

Chaewoo also wanted to pretend he didn’t remember, but a corner of his heart felt uneasy.

He judged it better to have a proper conversation and agree to act as if it never happened, rather than being ambiguous about it.

“Hello, Senior.”

“Oh, hey.”

A junior passing by greeted Chaewoo as he walked into the hallway after a lecture.

“You got home okay last week, right? Everyone was worried because you disappeared so suddenly.”

“Something urgent came up suddenly. Sorry I couldn’t say anything beforehand. It’s not like you guys had a hard time looking for me, right?”

“Not at all. Honestly, if you were an Omega, it might have been a big deal and we would have called everyone to look for you, but since you’re a Beta, Senior, well. Everyone just assumed that was the case.”

“That’s a relief. Uh… do you want a drink?”

Pushed by the awkward atmosphere, Chaewoo asked as he stood in front of a vending machine.

“Oh, no thank you. I just had coffee earlier.”

“Really? Ah, but by any chance, do you…”

‘Know where Beom Euigeon is?’ Chaewoo was about to ask, but quickly changed his mind.

“Yes?”

“No, nothing. Don’t you have another lecture? Go on.”

“Okay!”

He didn’t want to give the class members or the entire vocal department any reason to think that there was a connection between him and Euigeon.

Chaewoo put coins into the vending machine and pulled out a canned coffee, wondering where Euigeon might be at this hour.

Since he had seen his car in the parking lot earlier, it was certain he was on campus.

“It’s not lunchtime yet.”

It didn’t seem to be a practice day either.

Chaewoo fiddled with the back of his hair and contemplated.

‘He seems to be taking mostly theory and general education classes this semester.’

He wondered if he was in the department room or the library.

Holding the drink from the vending machine, he decided to stop by the nearest library first.

In the meantime, the cold drink in his hand felt like a luxury.

How long had it been since he had bought coffee for himself?

For months, he hadn’t even been able to pull a single drink from a machine because he lacked that measly thousand won.

It was pathetic, but it felt like a waste to drink it all at once.

‘I should save it and drink it slowly.’

Chaewoo rolled the can in his hands, swiped his student ID, and entered the library.

Perhaps because it wasn’t exam period, the interior was quiet.

As he wandered around the art books, he luckily managed to find Euigeon right away.

‘Is he alone?’

Glancing at Euigeon, who was looking at a book on vocal techniques, Chaewoo organized what he wanted to say to him.

First, as seen in the group chat, Jeong Taehyun had mixed soju into his drink and he had inadvertently become too drunk.

He would say it wasn’t intentional overdrinking, so why don’t they just agree that the incident never happened?

He would say he’d be careful not to make a mistake next time, and besides, drinking itself wasn’t a breach of contract….

“Do you have something to say?”

While he was deep in thought, Euigeon’s voice suddenly cut in.

Startled, Chaewoo looked up to find Euigeon looking directly at him.

“You’ve been hovering around for a while.”

‘Since it’s come to this, let’s just say it.’

“Um. Well, about the after-party on Saturday…”

“Ah, the after-party.”

“Yeah. I think I was a bit drunk that day.”

“You did drink a lot.”

“I didn’t drink that much, but I won’t drink anymore.”

“You got home okay, right?”

“Home? I left the pub that day and got in your car…”

“You got in my car, Senior Seol?”

‘What is this jerk talking about?’

Chaewoo frowned at the conversation that didn’t seem to align.

Euigeon, with an unbothered face even at the mention of that day, continued with something else.

“I have no memory of putting you in my car the day before yesterday.”

“…….”

‘Did he really drunk-drive that day?’

Staring at Euigeon as if he were a madman, Chaewoo realized one thing.

He was suggesting they act as if it never happened at all.

Without even needing to have a conversation about it.

“…Ah. I must have been mistaken because I was drunk. I never got in your car.”

“Right? I hope nothing happened.”

Euigeon smiled faintly.

Even though the method was different, the conclusion was the same as what Chaewoo had wanted.

Still, instead of feeling relieved, he felt somehow wronged.

‘Shit, I was planning to say we should ignore it in the first place!’

‘I was going to say let’s just cover it up. If someone saw this, they’d think I was dying to act close to him using that as an excuse.’

“Right. You also… got back okay?”

“Of course.”

Euigeon’s gaze, which was returning to the book, briefly lingered on the canned drink in Chaewoo’s hand.

Chaewoo hid it behind his back without even realizing it.

He didn’t know why, but it was an incredibly unsettling gaze.

“Euigeon, I found this material.”

Someone called out to Euigeon and approached, perhaps a companion.

To get out of there as quickly as Euigeon’s blatant wish suggested, Chaewoo left the library without looking back and popped open the drink, gulping it down.

“What is up with his personality?”

In conclusion, it wasn’t bad for him, but the guy was consistently as unpleasant as his first impression suggested.

“Chaewoo?”

The professor stopped the accompaniment and called out to him.

Chaewoo, who was preparing the next set of lyrics, froze in place.

The professor pressed a pen against her forehead and closed her eyes.

“Lately, your practice has been… how should I put it? Lacking compared to before. It’s a weekly private lesson, but the level of completion is just…”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy with personal matters lately.”

“Of course, that can happen, Chaewoo. But, I don’t see the passion you showed me in your freshman and sophomore years. It’s like the passion that used to boil from your heart has disappeared. Is something wrong?”

“It’s not that…”

Chaewoo denied it mechanically.

“Usually, when it comes time to graduate, many students wander and attend school half-heartedly like you. But the Chaewoo I saw before had something different from other students, something. Do you know what I mean?”

It felt strange hearing that from a professor who usually only openly looked after her most successful students.

He had thought he’d been kicked out of the ‘favorite student’ category, so he was even grateful that she hadn’t completely stopped paying attention to him.

“I’ll work harder until graduation.”

He might take a leave of absence if he became pregnant in the meantime… but since his situation was better than before, he should attend school with more focus until then.

“I still remember those sparkling eyes. You’re my student, but you were truly shiny back then, Chaewoo.”

Having received nothing but a barrage of harsh words lately, receiving such encouragement made him feel emotional.

Chaewoo bit his lower lip.

It was only because of his circumstances that things had changed; he still loved vocal music.

If he had the chance, he wanted to be active in the department just like before.

“Chaewoo, what do you plan to do after graduation? I heard you just sit in the back during general education classes and then leave. You’ve been totally indifferent toward department events lately. Do you hate music now? Give up?”

“No, I don’t hate it. I have to keep doing it, music…”

The professor finally beamed, as if she liked Chaewoo’s answer.

“Right? Then can I recommend a useful activity to you? I think it would be helpful for you, too.”

I’ve been had.

Chaewoo clutched his head as he sat in the back of the lecture hall in despair.

He looked like a defeated soldier.

A moment later, Kim Yunso came over and patted him on the back.

“What’s this? I heard you’re doing the creative opera?”

It was a question laden with the implication of why he would do something so troublesome.

How did Kim Yunso know about something he had just agreed to in the lesson room an hour ago?

“Where did you hear that?”

“I overheard the TA talking while I was passing by the department office. Is that the one after exams? Well, you have plenty of time.”

“This department really has no secrets.”

“The preparation time is long, there are lots of extra practices, and it’s practically unpaid. Why did you say you’d do it?”

It was certainly a hassle.

If it were a large-scale opera at the Seoul Arts Center, it would be a great experience that shouldn’t be missed, but this was a small-scale creative opera staged in a rented small theater.

To be blunt, it wasn’t worth the effort while balancing school and a part-time job.

If he were given a significant role, it might be different, but unfortunately, he didn’t think he’d be given such a role.

“I couldn’t refuse. What am I going to do, Yunso-saurus?”

“You should have been suspicious the moment the professor was nice to you. To think you have so little Cretaceous-era experience.”

Kim Yunso clicked her tongue as if she understood.

However, it wasn’t as if Chaewoo had accepted like a total pushover.

“…Still, she said minor roles only practice twice a week and can skip the morning classes the professor teaches during the practice period.”

“In the end, she’s just grinding down the students to save face in front of her acquaintances. Is there really a need to go along with it? Anyway, good luck.”

Kim Yunso, who only ever spoke the blunt truth, felt particularly annoying today.

He was a fool for getting caught up in the professor’s emotional appeal and failing to refuse firmly.

“When is the first practice?”

Chaewoo pulled a book from his bag gloomily.

“Tomorrow.”

“Good grief, you total sucker.”

This was a situation where anyone could see Chaewoo had been shoved in just to fill a hole in the numbers.