The sunlight gleamed on the glass walls of the cafeteria.
Brightly reflecting off rays as it fell across rows of empty tables and chairs.
Minjae slid his tray roughly across the table and dropped into the chair with a scowl.
"Lee Sangmin, you shithead. You better have a damn good reason for dragging me here."
Across from him, Gunwoo leaned forward in his chair, lifting a suspicious piece of kimchi with his chopsticks and sniffing it.
Ugh...
"Hyung... are you sure this isn't expired? I didn't even know this cafeteria existed."
Lee Sangmin, with his signature curly orange hair, slung an arm around Gunwoo's shoulder and grinned like a salesman.
"That's the charm, my friend. I've been scouting this place for a while now."
He then motioned everyone in closer, lowering his voice like he was sharing confidential information.
"Do you know the secret of this place?"
Minjae scoffed.
"Yeah. Even losers don't bother eating here. You trying to kill our stomachs?"
Pfft.
A junior next to Minjae choked on laughter, pointing his finger at a questionable dish.
"Seriously, though. Sangmin-sunbae, do you dare eat that thing? It looks like baby vomit!"
"Hey, Kim Hyunsuk! Show some respect to the food." Sangmin shot back, but his confidence wavered as he stared at the mystery dish.
"Um...That's called minced chicken mushroom soup. Probably."
Now that he looked at it…
Why couldn't he unsee it now?
For a moment, they all just stared in silence at the murky liquid sitting in the bowl like some kind of cursed potion.
Kim Hyunsuk, for one, had no interest in confronting it.
He dove into his bag and triumphantly pulled out a bottle of the iconic banana milk.
"Hyung, you can drink this instead. Don't just eat anything, your stomach can't handle it."
He carefully poked the straw in and offered it to Minjae dutifully like his faithful minion.
That's right.
He was Seo Minjae's number one fanboy.
That pretentious guy, Park Gunwoo, could take a number and wait his turn at the end of the line.
Minjae took a sipped from the straw but his face still looked like displeased, clearly revealing his foul mood at the moment.
"Really? This is the best you could do?" He said with his eyes locked onto Lee Sangmin.
Yes, he was talking to this disloyal bastard right there.
Sangmin flinched, already raising both hands in defense. "Wait! How is this my fault? Eun Dami was hella persistent! She practically stalked me, okay? So I just… talked to her for a bit. That's all."
At the end, his voice dropped into something sheepish.
"I mean, why don't you just try and get back together with her? That way, you won't have to keep hiding from her."
Oh.
"Is that so?" Minjae clenched his jaw and nodded. "So you told her my schedule. My class location too?"
Who needs an enemy when he has friends like this?!
He drowned the last of the banana milk dry, crushed the empty bottle in one hand, and slammed it flat on the table.
Thud!
Sangmin stole a glance at the flattened banana milk bottle and nervously swallowed.
"I...just made a simple suggestion."
Though even before finishing, he was already on his feet and bolting like a ninja.
It couldn't be helped.
He knew what was coming.
That's the benefit of knowing the other party inside out.
Seo Minjae raised his arm and accurately swung the crushed bottle like a boomerang, smacking Sangmin square on the back of his head.
And then he got up from his seat.
Sangmin clutched his head dramatically and didn't forget to accuse, "Seo Minjae, you emotionless bastard! How can you really hit your best friend? You've got no soul!"
Minjae didn't even pause. "You're dead meat when I catch you."
Sangmin laughed wildly and darted through the cafeteria. His face lit up when he saw Kyungho walk in, blissfully unaware.
"Oh, kid! You're finally here!" Sangmin beamed, grabbing Kyungho and yanking him into the crossfire. "Come help me! This devil wants to obliterate me!"
Then he made a smug face from behind Kyungho's shoulder.
Kyungho was confused, caught in the middle like an innocent bystander he was.
Seo Minjae sneered.
"Stop hiding behind a kid if you've got the guts. Come out or I'll delete all the videos in your 'little' secret file... What was it again? Pink Stockings?"
Pink stockings–?
Everyone recoiled at the name.
Gunwoo looked like he'd lost faith in humanity. "Sangmin-sunbae... can you be any brighter?"
Sangmin puffed out his chest. "You don't get it. That's called strategic naming. No one dares click on something that weird-looking. But wait—"
He turned to Minjae, feeling betrayed. "When did you hack into my computer?! I even had two layers of encryption!"
Seo Minjae exhaled with a straight face.
"You should really use that motivation for something useful."
Minjae returned to his seat, leaning back lazily.
"Look how you scared your poor brother-in-law. I actually feel bad for him."
Sangmin huffed and followed.
"You're just jealous 'cause you don't have a brother-in-law."
Kyungho laughed awkwardly and sat down with his food.
Sangmin threw an arm around him like a proud dad. "Come on, kid. Let me introduce you guys. This here is my dear brother-in-law. Be nice."
Then he clapped like a campaign politician with a wide grin on his face.
Gunwoo could bury his face in his hands. "Sunbae, can you please just sit down..."
Kyungho nodded weakly to everyone and then he paused when he caught sight of a familiar figure stepping into the cafeteria.
My dear Jiho.
Finally, he wasn't going to be the only lost soul here.
"Jiho-ya~, sit with us!"
Minjae also turned at the sound.
Jiho looked... softer today. Maybe it was the puffy eyes or the lazily combed hair.
But holy hell, what was that enormous eye bag? Yikes.
Still, to think they'd even meet in such a remote place.
They must be destined—
Minjae came to his senses and blinked.
Destined for shit.
It's just a coincidence. Definitely.