Chapter 36: A Moment of Solitude and the Black Knight’s Call

“Shall we start preparing for the second round now?”

“Before that, you two go quickly. Let’s talk about it while we drink.”

“Can’t we just take one group photo?”

‘So much to do.’

Leaning back into the sofa, Dohwa quietly listened to their conversation. Ultimately, they decided to take a group photo first.

The film camera had apparently found its way to Chaeyeon-woo, as everyone gathered around him. Though it was a nuisance, Dohwa also rose from his seat, positioning his face at the very edge of the group.

“This time, a heart!”

What Dohwa had expected to be a single shot turned into a prolonged session. Chaeyeon-woo kept suggesting new poses, and it wasn’t until several more pictures were taken that the photography finally concluded.

‘Why does taking just one photo drain me so much?’

Instead of returning to his original spot, Dohwa plopped onto a nearby sofa.

“What snacks should we get?”

“Should we buy some cookies or chips from the convenience store?”

Outside, a light rain was still falling.

“Oh, perfect. We can just pick them up while we’re out.”

“Trying to sneak out of it, are we?”

“Caught me? But we’ve already changed our clothes.”

Ma Won-ho playfully stuck out his tongue for a moment, then offered a reasonable excuse. Woo Sori nodded in agreement beside him.

‘Considering the approximate distance to the convenience store from here… not all of us need to go, right?’

In that brief moment, Dohwa quickly calculated the conditions and decided against going. He swiftly followed up on Woo Sori’s comment.

“I’ll stay behind and set things up.”

“Really? Then let’s the three of us go.”

“Can’t just two of us go?”

“It’s raining outside. If we carry umbrellas, we won’t have enough hands, so three of us should go.”

Chaeyeon-woo stated firmly.

Having spoken first and thus not being included in the trio, Dohwa couldn’t hide the upward curve of his lips.

The thought of securing the single spot to remain behind brightened Dohwa’s expression.

‘Being alone was better than being with just one other person; he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else.’

“I want ice cream.”

“Me too!”

“Me too.”

“Don’t you want any snacks?”

As everyone joined the ice cream bandwagon, Jae-hyun looked at them with a bewildered expression, but no one paid him any mind.

‘Perhaps the snacks were just an excuse, and ice cream was the real goal.’

After listing the items to buy in his phone’s memo app, everyone stood up. Dohwa, rising somewhat awkwardly, followed the three towards the front door.

“We’re off!”

“Watch out for puddles.”

Chaeyeon-woo was humming a tune, clearly thrilled about the convenience store trip. Worried, Dohwa offered a word of caution.

As Dohwa waved them off with a brighter smile than ever, Kang Hae-il gazed intently at him.

Interpreting Jae-hyun’s mouthed promise to return quickly, Dohwa nodded, and the three, armed with umbrellas, departed.

Ma Won-ho and Woo Sori seemed to have retreated into their respective ‘secret rooms.’ Dohwa surveyed the living room, then moved, drawn by instinct.

“Freedom.”

‘I’ll just lie down for ten minutes.’

He rested his head on a cushion, lay on the sofa, and adjusted the blanket draped over his shoulders. Noticing Chaeyeon-woo’s forgotten blanket nearby, he pulled it over himself like a duvet.

‘Truth be told, he’d wanted to lie down earlier, but everyone else had been sitting.’

With a contented expression, he pulled out his phone, set a timer, and began to read the e-book novel he’d been leisurely perusing.

Little did he dream that the production team would later highlight this very moment, zooming in on Dohwa’s face and emphasizing it with subtitles.

“What are you doing?”

When Ma Won-ho’s voice, devoid of any footsteps, sounded from behind him, Dohwa startled and dropped his phone. He stiffly turned his head to look at him, noticing the corners of Ma Won-ho’s lips twitching, as if he were trying to suppress a laugh.

Awkwardly, Dohwa pushed the blanket aside and sat upright on the sofa.

“Pfft, I’ll fix your hair.”

“…Thank you.”

Ma Won-ho, finally letting out the laugh he’d been holding back, ruffled Dohwa’s hair.

‘His hair was messy from lying down.’

He picked up his dropped phone and checked the time; roughly thirteen minutes had passed. He had set the timer for ten.

‘I didn’t press start.’

Having identified the cause of the problem, Dohwa opened his mouth. He still felt the hand stroking his hair.

“Are you okay now?”

“Ah, yeah. This is quite addictive.”

Watching Ma Won-ho casually withdraw his hand, Dohwa felt a strange, subtle aversion.

Dohwa, who had done nothing but lie down, hurriedly got up and headed to the kitchen. Ma Won-ho followed close behind.

“I’ll carry them.”

As Dohwa took out glasses and cups for everyone, Ma Won-ho, holding three glasses in one hand, moved towards the living room.

Anxiously peeking his head out to watch, Dohwa breathed a sigh of relief when Ma Won-ho safely placed them on the table. He then resumed taking out cutlery.

When Dohwa brought out the remaining alcohol and bottled drinks, Ma Won-ho once again grabbed two or three in one hand and left without looking back.

‘He’s surprisingly good at not dropping them.’

Carrying them one by one would have been fine, but holding multiple items at once naturally made Dohwa worry.

Thanks to Ma Won-ho’s help, the setup was completed quickly.

“The others aren’t back yet, are they?”

“No. They should be back soon, though.”

“This is already fun. We absolutely have to play drinking games today.”

Woo Sori, emerging from a room at just the right moment, placed the cup he was holding into the sink and spoke with an excited voice.

‘He seemed even more excited coming out than he had going in.’

Not long after, the sound of the front door’s keypad was heard, and three people entered, carrying five large convenience store bags.

‘Good thing I didn’t go.’

Seeing the three, whose pant hems were wet as if it had rained heavily, Dohwa took the convenience store bags from them.

“We’ll just change our clothes and wash our hands!”

“This is heavy.”

When Dohwa reached for the bag Jae-hyun was carrying, Jae-hyun didn’t give it to Dohwa but passed it to Ma Won-ho, who was standing nearby.

As all three went upstairs, the remaining people started to organize things.

“You don’t need to change your clothes?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Dohwa shook his head at Woo Sori’s question.

He wasn’t wearing jeans but comfortable slacks, and it was more convenient to stay on the first floor than to go up to the second and come back down.

‘I’ll do it all at once later.’

Chaeyeon-woo’s bag seemed to contain only snacks, making it relatively light.

While organizing the contents alongside Woo Sori and Ma Won-ho, Dohwa spotted the chocolate snack he had specifically requested and secretly set it aside.

“When drinking, ice cream is a must, of course.”

“Even so, this seems like an awful lot.”

It was as if they had raided the entire convenience store; there were all sorts of ice cream.

They put all the ice cream in the refrigerator to prevent it from melting. While waiting for the others to come down, Woo Sori sat on the sofa, engrossed in his phone.

Dohwa then made his way to the kitchen, where Ma Won-ho had disappeared.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, you startled me.”

Since Ma Won-ho had his back turned, Dohwa had approached silently, successfully startling him. A proud smile involuntarily spread across Dohwa’s face.

“You shouldn’t joke around when someone’s holding a knife, should you?”

“…Sorry. Are you hurt?”

However, that moment of triumph was fleeting. The tables quickly turned, and Dohwa found himself being scolded.

Seeing Ma Won-ho holding the knife so menacingly, Dohwa immediately cowered. He knew he could have been seriously hurt.

After finishing cutting the watermelon and taking the prepared plate to the living room, Dohwa returned to find Ma Won-ho peeling peaches.

“Here, have a bite.”

As Dohwa watched him, Ma Won-ho held a slice of the peeled peach to Dohwa’s mouth.

Dohwa instinctively opened his mouth and took a bite. The slice was so large he had to tilt his head back slightly.

He diligently chewed the peach, moving both cheeks. Just as one piece was swallowed, another would appear, and he would eat it with equal gusto.

‘Half peeling, half eating.’

Ma Won-ho, taking bites himself in between, offered Dohwa slightly smaller peach slices than the first.

“Go wash your hands.”

While Ma Won-ho tidied up, Dohwa washed his hands. They each took a plate of peaches and returned to the living room.

‘It seems like he always eats what others prepare for him here. But he might already be full.’

“What were you two doing in the kitchen?”

“We were just peeling fruit, weren’t we?”

“Hmm. For that, though… well, I’ll let it slide.”

Woo Sori said, taking a bite of peach with his fork and a meaningful tone.

‘Even though he’d been on his phone the whole time.’

Once everyone who had gone upstairs came back down, the lights were switched to indirect lighting. Each person poured their preferred drink into their glass and sipped while engaging in casual conversation.

The snacks included chips, ice cream, and fruit.

There was enough food to make the table legs buckle, yet Dohwa found himself barely touching it, already full from the peaches he’d eaten earlier.

‘It felt like they had gathered in a circle upstairs to drink last week too.’

Noticing that Dohwa hadn’t touched his snacks and, consequently, hadn’t drunk any alcohol, his glass still full from the initial pour, Woo Sori shook his head dramatically.

“Hah, this just won’t do, won’t do at all.”

Capturing everyone’s attention instantly, he looked at Dohwa and spoke in a low voice.

“Dohwa doesn’t like drinking, so we’ll have to play a drinking game.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“When you drink through games, it’s fun, and you’ll want to drink.”

Ma Won-ho and Chaeyeon-woo, hearing this ‘miraculous logic,’ expressed their admiration from either side.

‘That’s not it.’

Dohwa shook his head, but under Woo Sori’s gaze, he settled back down quietly.

Dohwa knew that Woo Sori, upon emerging from his room earlier, had been itching to play drinking games from the start.

Under Woo Sori’s leadership, they began preparing for the drinking game. After setting up the penalty drinks, they tried a practice round.

The warm atmosphere vanished, replaced by a practice round filled with both tension and savagery. Thanks to Ma Won-ho’s mistake, it finally came to a long, drawn-out end.

“If someone asks for a Black Knight, you grant them one wish.”

“Yeah, great!”

Chaeyeon-woo agreed, his face full of anticipation.

‘It’s my first time being a Black Knight, but if I drink for someone and get a wish in return, that’s a total win.’

‘I could even ask them to do my dishwashing duty later.’

Just like anyone anticipating a rosy future, Dohwa entered the game fully intending to be someone’s Black Knight.