Chapter 40: The Card on the Console

Chaewoo stared at the credit card in front of him with a serious face.

The name of the card owner, ‘Beom Euigeon,’ was written in English at the bottom.

On the day he received the new laptop half-forcefully, they had finished shopping and ended up tumbling together again.

When he woke up in the motel, Chaewoo was alone.

Instead of Euigeon, only his credit card and the laptop were left on the bedside console.

The meaning couldn’t be clearer.

It was likely a sign to quit the useless part-time job and focus only on his role as a partner.

With a troubled face, Chaewoo pushed what Euigeon had left behind to the corner of his desk.

Even though several days had passed until today, he hadn’t used the card and had no intention of using it in the future.

“It’s about time for him to contact me.”
Chaewoo muttered while looking at the digital clock on the studio desk.

Living physically close to Euigeon, he had unintentionally come to understand his patterns to some extent.

Although Euigeon was faithful to his instincts, he wasn’t so arrogant as to neglect his school life and practice.

Rather, he managed his schedule perfectly and sought Chaewoo in his remaining time.

So, from his perspective, it would be undesirable for Chaewoo to disrupt the schedule Euigeon had set by working part-time.

Should he really quit his part-time job like this?

Solely for the sake of having s*x with Beom Euigeon, a junior in the same department….

“Sigh.”
Simultaneously with the sigh, his phone vibrated.

Speak of the devil.

– Beom Euigeon (3rd Year): [Come to my studio apartment on Saturday afternoon.]

It was fortunate that Saturday afternoon wouldn’t overlap with his evening part-time job.

While replying that he would, another chat notification came in.

– 9292♥ has entered.

– Seol Chaewoo, Beom Euigeon (3rd Year), English Shin Minbyeong, Kim Seoko have been invited.

– 9292♥: [Hello! 🙂 This is Gu Isol, the leader of Team 3 for the general education class <Western European Humanities and Multimedia>. We greeted each other when the groups met last time, remember? ㅇㅅㅇ The reason I suddenly made this group chat is none other than]

– 9292♥: [(Link to the screening schedule of the movie ‘Paradox of a Poetic Society’)]

– 9292♥: [I heard a movie very closely related to the subject of our general education assignment has been released~ Since there’s so much to research… I thought it would be a good idea to watch the movie together before we each research our assigned parts lol]

– Kim Seoko: [Oh, 9292 lol]

– Kim Seoko: [I heard about this too]

– Kim Seoko: [This movie was also released at the theater in front of our school]

– English Shin Minbyeong: [Hello ^^?]

– English Shin Minbyeong: [I think it’s a good idea. But my schedule is full with tutoring jobs on weekdays,,]

– 9292♥: [Ah, really? ㅠㅠ]

– English Shin Minbyeong: [Yes,,]

– English Shin Minbyeong: [So I think only Saturday morning will work ㅜ]

– Kim Seoko: [I’m only free on Saturday for the weekend lol!]

– 9292♥: [Saturday is good :)]

– English Shin Minbyeong: [Oh, that’s good ^^]

– 9292♥: [What about Euigeon-oppa and Chaewoo-oppa? ㅇㅅㅇ]

Chaewoo, who was only reading the chat, switched to his personal chat with Euigeon.

– Me: [They want to watch a movie with the general education group members on Saturday…?]

– Beom Euigeon (3rd Year): [Doesn’t matter, does it?]

– Beom Euigeon (3rd Year): [We can just leave together after watching the movie.]

…Is that so.

The thought of having to pull off a triple header of movie, s*x, and work on Saturday already drained him.

He’d have to spend all of Sunday lying down as if dead.

– Me: [Hello. I’ll see you Saturday morning then]

– Beom Euigeon (3rd Year): [I’m fine with that too.]

– 9292♥: [Whoa, whoa~ That’s perfect XD!!]

– 9292♥: [Then I’ll book the movie tickets for the morning on behalf of the group!11]

– English Shin Minbyeong: [Please let us know the ticket price and account number after booking ^^]

– Kim Seoko: [Let us know when you book, 9292~ lol]

– 9292♥: [Okey-dokey :)]

Once the appointment was confirmed, Chaewoo personally looked up what the movie Gu Isol mentioned was about.

As he was still in a position where his living expenses were tight, sudden expenditures, even if related to assignments, were not welcome.

“Weekend tickets are over ten thousand won….”

When did they become so expensive?

While on the movie site, Chaewoo skimmed through the trailer and reviews written by critics.

As Gu Isol said, it wasn’t just empty talk; there were definitely many parts that overlapped with the general education subject.

While reading through the audience reviews, a chat notification saying the booking was complete arrived.

After checking the confirmed location and time of the appointment, Chaewoo closed the laptop.

****

“Hyung, hello. You’re early.”
Kim Seoko, a management major like Gu Isol, greeted Chaewoo who was standing in front of the cinema.

“Yes, somehow….”

“Oh, there come Minbyeong-hyung and 9292. Is that Euigeon-hyung behind them?”
Where Kim Seoko pointed, the group members were indeed flocking together all at once.

Euigeon, the tallest of the three, was the first to catch his eye.

He was dressed lightly in a beige sweatshirt and straight-leg jeans.

It was a bit unfamiliar to see him among students from other departments instead of the familiar vocal majors.

“Our group is insane. Not a single person took the bus. Is it for real that everyone arrived earlier than the appointment time?”

“Oh, when did you arrive?”

“Hello.”

“Everyone came early.”

“Since all five of us are here, shall we go in?”

“I have a feeling this team is destined for an A+.”

The group members entered the cinema with brief greetings.

While Gu Isol was getting the tickets, the other members picked out snacks at the concession stand.

“By the way, it seems quite a few people in other departments know you guys. You know that, right?”

While waiting in line at the snack bar, Kim Seoko struck up a conversation.

“Really?”

“When I said we were in the same group and gave your names, everyone knew who you were.”

“Maybe it’s because I performed at school events a few times….”

While Chaewoo was answering, Euigeon just stood at a distance as if listening to someone else’s story.

He didn’t seem interested in the conversation.

When it was time to order, he ordered popcorn and a drink.

Then he turned to the group members and asked.

“Don’t you want anything?”

“Oh. I’ll order too.”

“Is there a nacho and ade set here?”

Everyone was ordering what they wanted at the counter, but only Chaewoo stepped aside.

Noticing him, Euigeon gestured with his head.

“What about you, Senior Seol?”

“I don’t eat anything while watching a movie.”

“Fine, then.”

Euigeon, who had ended up paying for everyone’s snacks at once, threw away the receipt and put his card in his wallet.

Then, Shin Minbyeong from the English department hurriedly picked up the receipt.

“How much were the ade and nachos? Ah, six thousand won. I’ll give you the money now.”

“Yeah, well.”

“I have cash, so I can give it to you right away. Hold on a second.”

Watching Shin Minbyeong rummaging through his wallet to take out bills, Euigeon’s eyebrows twitched.

Chaewoo was sure he was displeased.

“Forget it. I don’t really use cash.”

“Huh? But I should pay. Then later via bank transfer….”

“It’s really fine. It’s not like it’s a lot.”

“…Uh, well. If you say so….”

‘Wow, he’s as arrogant as ever.’

It’s not easy to look that annoying even after paying for everything.

Chaewoo clicked his tongue inwardly.

ure enough, the other group members also seemed taken aback by Euigeon’s attitude of not accepting cash.

Still, they moved on without much word, perhaps liking that they were eating for free.

When the ordered snacks and drinks came out, Gu Isol, who had gone to get the tickets, arrived just in time.

“9292. Euigeon-hyung bought this.”

“Wait, really? Why? I have cash, I’ll give it to you!”

“He said he won’t take it because he hates cash.”

“Whoa, for real. Then I’ll enjoy it, oppa.”

“I’ll enjoy it too. Shall we head up? I think the theater is open.”

Chaewoo followed as the group members moved.

Euigeon had ordered the largest size of cola and popcorn, which seemed like too much for one person to eat.

But Euigeon was not an ordinary person.

Instead of picking it up with his hands, he was finishing the popcorn by tilting the container into his mouth every now and then.

“Senior Seol must really have picky taste. I haven’t seen you eat anything.”

“I just prefer to focus on the movie.”

“I see.”
Euigeon looked down at Chaewoo as if he were peculiar.

On the contrary, Chaewoo thought Euigeon was the strange one.
Given his height, it seemed right that he ate like that, though….

“Checking tickets for ‘Paradox of a Poetic Society.’”

After showing the ticket to the staff, Chaewoo went inside and checked his seat.

It was the very last seat among the five seats booked in a single row.

Since audience members were just starting to enter the theater where advertisements had begun, the surroundings were still empty.

Having found his seat and sat down, Chaewoo blinked slowly.

He had come out as soon as he woke up, so honestly, he still hadn’t fully woken up.

‘What should I do after this?’

After the movie, he’d go to Euigeon’s studio, stay there for a few hours, and then after dinner, it would be just in time to go to work.

He didn’t know if he’d have time to do his assignment in between.

While diligently planning his schedule for today, he felt a presence in the empty seat next to him.

He thought it would be one of the group members, but somehow a familiar pheromone spread through the air.

“Why are you sitting here?”

“Because this is my seat.”

“Show me the ticket.”
Chaewoo snatched the ticket from Euigeon’s pocket as if he couldn’t believe it.

It really was the seat next to him.

There were three other group members to sit with besides this guy, so why of all people?

Looking beside Euigeon, Gu Isol, Kim Seoko, and Shin Minbyeong were sitting in order.

“Senior Seol, do you usually stay still even when another Alpha leaves their pheromones on you and passes by?”

Euigeon whispered to Chaewoo, who was focused on the screen showing advertisements.

He wondered what he was talking about.

He seemed to be referring to a delinquent Alpha who had passed by and marked him on the way to the downtown area, as if picking a fight for no reason.

He was a worthless Alpha anyway, and Chaewoo wasn’t swayed by such an Alpha in the least.

“There’s no helping it when I’m pretending to be a Beta.”

Chaewoo said while watching the trailer for a movie releasing next month.

“What are you going to do if you go into heat like before?”

“That was only then… it only happens like that in front of you.”
Chaewoo murmured tiredly.

He was worried Euigeon would bother him more, but fortunately, the movie started.

It was very appropriate timing.