Chapter Text
Gi-hun hadn’t planned on ending up at a bar the night after orientation, though nerves had a way of pulling him into bad decisions.
The bar wasn’t anything special, a small bar tucked off a back street in downtown Seoul. Dim lights, wood paneled walls, faint scent of whiskey and soju. It was quiet enough to think and cheap enough to justify a second can of beer. So here he was, sat hunched over the counter, thumbs tracing the edge of his brand new student ID.
He tried to ignore the way his stomach twisted every time he thought about tomorrow. New campus. New classmates. A Philosophy class he barely remembered registering for. His friend, Sang-woo, had coaxed him into applying to university after getting into SNU himself. Gi-hun remembered laughing, waving him off with dramatic flair, insisting he wasn’t smart enough for university–let alone a Philosophy program at Yonsei University.
He was so wrapped in the rhythm of his own anxiety, he didn’t notice the man until he was sliding into the bar stool beside him gracefully, like he had done this a thousand times. He was older, sharply dressed, and watching him like a paradox in need of unraveling.
“Mind if I sit?” said the man, deadpanning Gi-hun.
Gi-hun looked startled, almost as though he didn’t expect this man to pay attention to him. Let alone ask if it's okay to sit beside him.
“Um…yeah sure.” He said, slightly stumbling over his words.
The man let out a quiet, satisfied hum as he settled onto the stool. He extended a hand toward Gi-hun, calm and deliberate.
“Hwang In-ho.”
Gi-hun hesitated for half a second before reaching out to shake it.
“Ah–Seong Gi-hun.”
In-ho’s lips curved into something dangerously close to amusement. His grip was steady, just a little too firm, and lingered a moment longer than necessary. Gi-hun didn’t think much of it, just chalked it up to awkward timing and a weird first impression.
In-ho’s gaze dropped to Gi-hun’s hands, still fiddling with the edge of his student ID.
“First day tomorrow?” he asked, eyes trailing slowly back up.
Gi-hun could feel the weight of his stare like a heat lamp.
“Is it that obvious?” he replied, letting out something between a nervous laugh and a sigh. He cleared his throat, suddenly aware of how small his voice sounded. “But, uh… yeah. First day. Kinda feels like showing up to a test I didn’t study for.”
In-ho didn’t respond right away. He just tilted his head, studying him with a faint smirk.
“Hm.”
Gi-hun had a light buzz from the two beers he’d downed earlier, just enough to warm his chest, not enough to count as courage.
“I’m—uh, I’m gonna get another drink,” Gi-hun mumbled, already half-standing. “You want anything?”
In-ho tilted his head, clearly amused. “Offering to buy a stranger a drink? Bold move.”
Gi-hun shrugged, suddenly unsure if it was stupid. “I mean… it’s just beer.”
In-ho let out a soft hum of approval, lips curving into something almost kind.
“Sounds good.”
Gi-hun nodded quickly, nearly bumping into the edge of the bar as he turned away.
Gi-hun came back with 2 cans of beer, setting one down in front of In-ho, and one in front of himself.
“To what?” Gi-hun asks, raising his own can.
In-ho clinks it lightly.
“To uncertainty.”
Gi-hun scoffed. “You sound like a professor trying to sound deep.”
In-ho smiles. Doesn’t confirm.
They talk for a while. The details blur in the soft buzz of alcohol and whatever this strange, not-quite-flirty connection is. At some point, they end up talking about people, how they act, why they lie, whether anyone really changes. In-ho says, almost absentmindedly, but it sticks with Gi-hun the whole night.
“Most people just want to feel like they’ve made the right choice, even if they haven’t.”
It sounds like something from a textbook, but he says it like it’s just a thought he had. Gi-hun hums in response, not sure how to reply, but it sticks with him anyway.
He doesn't notice how late it’s gotten until the lights start to dim and a staff member yawns near the end of the bar.
Eventually, In-ho checked the time and stood up, smooth and unhurried, smoothing his black dress shirt down. He reached for his coat, folding it over his arm with practiced ease.
“I should go,” he said, tone casual, as usual. But there was something unreadable behind his eyes, like he’d already decided this was far from the start.
Gi-hun blinked, a little slower now with the alcohol in his system. “Oh. Yeah, right.”
In-ho glanced at him once more, that same half-smile on his lips.
“Thanks for the drink.”
He turns halfway toward the door, adjusting his coat on his shoulders.
“Buy me a soju sometime.”
It's almost as though he knows they’ll cross paths again. Gi-hun didn’t think anything of it, just nodded and smiled as he walked through the door, disappearing into the night.
He picked up his phone, called a cab, and left some cash on the counter as he stumbled out the door.
Eventually, the cab pulled up beside him. He climbed in and began the quiet ride back to his lonely apartment.
He unlocked his phone and, without much thought, opened his messages.
[Gi-hun]
sangwoo
[Gi-hun]
hey
[Gi-hun]
i just met the weirdest guy
[Gi-hun]
like he just came up to me and started talking
The dots blinked for a long time before Sang-woo responded.
[Sang-woo]
It is 2:07 AM.
[Sang-woo]
Are you safe?
[Sang-woo]
Are you intoxicated?
[Gi-hun]
no
[Gi-hun]
a little
[Sang-woo]
Go home. Don’t you have class tomorrow?
[Gi-hun]
i am going home and yes i do have class tmw
[Sang-woo]
Go to sleep, Gi-hun. I'll talk to you tomorrow.
[Gi-hun]
do you think i made a mistake talking to him
[Gi-hun]
sangwoo
[Gi-hun]
?!?!
He was left on read.
His apartment was cold when he walked in. Not freezing, just still. The kind of quiet that felt too aware of itself. He kicked off his shoes lazily by the door, one landing upright, the other falling on its side like it had given up too.
His One-room apartment was full of packed boxes stacked on top of each other. It was simple really; a bed, desk, microwave, everything stacked together like one underwhelming corner of adulthood.
He didn’t turn on the lights. The dim glow from the open windows was enough to guide him through the apartment. His bag hit the floor with a soft thud, and he managed to tug off his coat with one arm while checking his phone with the other. No messages.
His bed looked like it hadn’t been made in a week, which to be fair, it hadn’t. He didn’t bother changing out of his clothes, he just flopped onto the bed sideways, one arm flung over his eyes. His head buzzed faintly, a bit from the alcohol, but mostly from that stranger, more specifically, In-hos voice.
Buy me a soju sometime.
Gi-hun mumbled something incoherent into the mattress and passed out fully clothed, utterly unprepared for what tomorrow will bring.