UCCU | Chapter 1

Loud laughter kept bursting out nonstop. The decibel level was enough to make his ears ring, and it wasn’t exactly pleasant, but Seonwoo laughed along, just to keep up with the mood.

“So, what did you do then?”

“I ran straight to the professor and started acting cute.”

Aaaaang, Professor-nim! Please, just this once, just once!

Seojun twisted his whole body, putting on an exaggerated display of aegyo, and a few people pretended to gag.

Still, their faces, flushed from the alcohol, were clearly having a good time. Thanks to the mood maker, the party was in full swing.

“Ha… I really begged, but it didn’t work at all.”

“That professor is strict as a knife.”

“Yeah, seriously. He doesn’t let anything slide. That’s why I had to retake the class.”

Seonwoo, hiding his tiredness, nodded along with a smile. Maybe he’d been drinking too much, because his stomach started to burn, so he picked at some food.

The spicy seasoning tasted good, but he knew for sure he’d regret it the next day. Still, Seonwoo knew he had to fill his stomach with something like this in advance.

‘If I eat this, I probably won’t need dinner tonight… Maybe I’ll stop by the mart on the way home and buy some tofu… Do I have any green onions at home?’

Thinking that, he popped a macaroni puff into his mouth, when suddenly a hoobae looked at him with envy and said,

“Hyung, you’re lucky. The professor likes you.”

“Likes me? Come on.”

He chuckled, took his hand off the macaroni puffs, and went back to drinking. The alcohol was going down too easily, making it hard to control himself. He knew tomorrow would be rough, but for some reason, the drinks tasted extra sweet tonight.

“If it wasn’t a required course, I seriously wouldn’t have taken that professor’s class. But you always get good grades, hyung.”

“Yeah. I saw the way the professor looks at Seonwoo—his eyes are practically dripping honey. Seonwoo, did you go and act cute for the professor like Seojun did? Must’ve been easy with that face.”

Seonwoo, who’d been quietly listening, set down his glass when he heard the half-jealous, half-complimentary tone.

“Want me to tell you how to get on the professor’s good side?”

“What is it?”

His friends looked at him, curiosity written all over their faces. Seonwoo grinned and said,

“Just write three extra pages for every report. Fill every line, right to the end.”

“Whoa, what? You wrote three extra pages? Every time?”

He nodded, and the group erupted in shock. Yeah, it really wasn’t something a normal person would do.

With assignments coming every two weeks, Seonwoo had to cut his already short sleep by another thirty minutes just to write those extra pages. But if he wanted good grades, he had no choice. The academic excellence scholarship was a big deal for him.

“Man, only someone like Seonwoo could pull that off.”

At this point, Seonwoo wanted to change the subject away from himself, so he looked at his friend and said, as if he’d just remembered,

“By the way, Yoonhye, what’s going on with you and Jooyoung?”

“Ugh, don’t even ask. I’ve called him like a dozen times in the past few days, but that jerk keeps dodging my calls.”

As his friend downed his drink in one go, all the curious eyes shifted from Seonwoo to him.

“Why? Did something happen between Yoonhye and Jooyoung?”

“No, listen. Last week, I brought chicken to the club room, and…”

While the conversation, full of curiosity, fun, and drunkenness, continued, Seonwoo finally managed to close his mouth and focus on his food. But the break didn’t last long.

Seonwoo hyung, Seonwoo oppa, Seonwoo-ya.

Seniors, juniors, and classmates kept tapping his arm or back, calling his name every minute. Can’t they just call someone else for once? He thought that to himself, but Seonwoo still answered each call with care, not letting his annoyance show.

Maybe it was because it was the end of the semester, but no one seemed eager to go home.

The drinking and partying just kept going. Even though he’d tried to pace himself, Seonwoo was already tipsy, the warmth rising up to his throat.

Deciding he needed to sober up, he quietly got up from his seat. He was so drunk that his vision spun and he could barely catch his breath.

“Hyung, where are you going?”

“Just to the bathroom for a sec.”

Even just going to the bathroom, people playfully tried to stop him, telling him to hurry back or not to go. He took care of business and then staggered out, trying to remember what he needed to do once he got home.

‘Do the laundry… Look for some tutoring gigs… And, um… Did I apply for that contest? I think I did? I’ll just do a quick search before bed…’

A notification sound from his phone interrupted his thoughts. Thinking it was a message from a friend looking for him, Seonwoo checked his phone—and his face hardened.

[Detective Noh text message (Friday) 1:22 AM]
[Seonwoo-ya, how have you been lately?]
[An Hyungtae is getting out tomorrow, and I heard he’s looking for you.]
[Be careful, and if anything happens, contact me right away.]

Seonwoo stood frozen, staring at the message, his expression darkening. His eyes grew distant as he remembered the past, and a flicker of fear crossed his face.

After a long moment, he muttered quietly, trying to comfort himself, “It’ll probably be nothing.” He sent a thank you message to Detective Noh for looking out for him, then started walking again. But when he reached the vending machine, he let out a big sigh.

“Man, I drank too much.”

His chest felt so tight from stress that his throat was parched with thirst. Seonwoo craved a cold, sweet sports drink, so he slowly fished his wallet out of his pocket. But as he pulled out a 1,000 won bill, he hesitated.

“Should I just buy tofu with this instead…?”

Side dish for two days, or just quench his thirst. Sighing, Seonwoo fiddled with his empty wallet, feeling poor for no reason. In the end, he put his wallet away and leaned his head against the vending machine with a thud, letting the cool metal soothe his thirst. That’s when someone called out to him.

“Seonwoo hyung, want something to drink?”

“Oh, thanks.”

Too drunk to even check who it was, Seonwoo accepted the drink with a smile. The bottle, already opened for him, was icy cold in his hand. He tilted his head back and gulped it down in one go, then stared at the empty bottle, a bit confused.

“…?”

Did I drink too much? This drink tastes like alcohol. Anyway, wanting to thank whoever it was, Seonwoo turned his head and blinked slowly.

“Uh…”

The person standing next to him was unexpected. As the person with the indifferent expression stepped closer, Seonwoo unconsciously muttered his name.

“Choi Ihyun…”

“Yes, Seonwoo hyung. Could you step aside for a moment?”

His voice was as chilly as his expression. Only then did Seonwoo realize he was blocking the vending machine and stumbled back.

Choi Ihyun. He was a couple years younger than Seonwoo, a hoobae who was pretty famous in their department for his good looks. Even when Seonwoo had only seen him in passing, he’d thought to himself, “Wow, he’s really handsome.” Up close, he looked even better.

He remembered the rumors that floated around among his classmates. Choi Ihyun was supposedly from a chaebol family. Even if that wasn’t true, it was obvious he had money—everything he wore was designer from head to toe. People said he changed cars every month, and there were even rumors he’d bought his way out of military service.

With looks and money like that, you’d think he’d be popular, but Choi Ihyun wasn’t. He was the most famous outsider in the department. Not just any outsider, but one with such poor social skills that people called him a jerk. He never attended any department events, barely nodded when greeted, and always coldly rejected anyone who tried to get his number. If he didn’t feel like talking, he’d just ignore you, no matter how much you tried.

Seonwoo remembered a time when a friend, after being ignored a few times, grumbled, “Guess the chaebol prince doesn’t bother with poor folks like us.” Plenty of people had been rubbed the wrong way by Choi Ihyun, so most of the rumors about him weren’t good.

His looks didn’t help, either. He was handsome, but he didn’t give off a vibe that was easy to approach. His face was always expressionless, his sharp eyes intense and gloomy. He looked like he could be a model. Even now, his black cashmere coat and silver watch looked like something out of a magazine.

“You actually show up to department events, huh.”

Seonwoo, a little dazed from the streetlight casting cool shadows on Ihyun’s jaw and nose, joked lightly. He didn’t really expect an answer; he was just grateful for the drink.

Choi Ihyun glanced at Seonwoo as he pressed the vending machine button, bent down to pick up the drink with a clunk, and then, seeing Seonwoo rubbing his hot eyes from the sudden rush of drunkenness, handed him the drink.

“You look really thirsty… Here, drink this.”

“Huh? Oh… thanks.”

Seonwoo took the drink, a bit flustered. Wait, didn’t he just get one drink? But now both he and Choi Ihyun were holding drinks. Still thirsty, Seonwoo gulped down the one Ihyun handed him. Coincidentally, it was his favorite kind. He finished it in one go and laughed.

“I must be really drunk. Even the drinks taste like alcohol…”

“Yeah. Looks like you’ve had a lot.”

Choi Ihyun wasn’t as much of a jerk as the rumors said. Guess you really can’t trust gossip, Seonwoo thought, crushing the can. Now his insides felt hot and his head was spinning. They say drinking soda with alcohol gets you drunk faster—maybe it was true. He regretted not just drinking water as he staggered over to a bench and plopped down.

Well, he thought he sat down, but his drunken body wouldn’t cooperate. He started to tip over, but someone caught him. Choi Ihyun, who’d been watching, reached out and steadied him by holding his cheek.

The way Ihyun looked at him, and the hand holding his face, gave Seonwoo a weird feeling. Even in the backlight of the streetlamp, Ihyun’s gaze was piercing. Seonwoo tried to say something, but only a puff of white breath came out.

Wow, how do you pull off that face with a black coat and black gloves… Are you a gangster, a mafia boss, or the male lead in a drama…? You really live in a different world. I’m so jealous. That was Seonwoo’s last thought before his memory cut out.