The crunch of frozen gravel under our boots echoed through the quiet night air as the three of us navigated the winding wooden walkways toward the far edge of the resort complex.
I pulled my long winter jacket tighter over my warm flannel pajamas, shoving my hands deep into my pockets. Beside me, Bo-min was shivering slightly in his oversized sweatpants, while Myung-dae strolled ahead with his hood pulled up, totally unbothered by the sub-zero temperature.
"How did you even know I was awake?" I asked, looking over at Myung-dae's dark profile.
Myung-dae let out a quiet scoff, not even turning his head.
"First of all, your KakaoTalk status went from 'Away' to 'Online' three minutes ago. Second of all, you read the group chat messages the second they dropped."
"Fair enough," I muttered.
The chat in the [VISUAL AND MUSIC ARTS TRIP 2015] group had been brief and chaotic: Party at House No. 19 right now. Everyone welcome. Entry fee: 5,000 won.
"Why aren't you sleeping anyway?" I asked after a beat, glancing back down the path. "Where's the rest of your rebel crew?"
"I knew about the party hours ago from the girls," Myung-dae rasped smoothly. "The rest of those weaklings decided to stay behind in the room. They're not asleep either, but they lack ambition. I just thought coming out here would be... slightly less boring than watching them play mobile games. Didn't your sister tell you about it in advance?"
I paused mid-stride. "Ha-neul?"
Myung-dae chuckled, a low, mocking sound in his throat.
"Looks like not. You live under the exact same roof, and she didn't even bother mentioning it to her brother."
A sharp prickle of bitterness bloomed behind my ribs.
She didn't say a single word.
'Sure, I hadn't explicitly asked her what her plans were for the night, but still—why wouldn't she mention a full-scale inter-class gathering? We had literally sat right next to each other on the bus for three hours!' A wave of quiet annoyance stirred in my chest.
After a five-minute walk, House No. 19 came into view near the edge of the pine forest. From the outside, the detached wooden villa looked completely dark and dormant; the thick curtains were drawn tight across every window, obscuring any glowing lights within. But as we stepped onto the front porch, the low, vibrating bass of the sound system thrummed through the floorboards under our feet.
Bo-min stepped forward and gave three quick, polite knocks against the heavy oak door.
CLICK.
A tiny brass peephole slot near the middle of the door slid open a crack. A sharp female voice whispered out from the dark gap: "Password."
Bo-min and I exchanged a quick glance.
Before Bo-min could utter a word, Myung-dae stepped up, grabbed Bo-min by the shoulder, and casually shoved him two feet out of the way. He leaned his face right up to the brass slot, his dark eyes narrowing into a dangerous glare.
"Ji-min-ah," Myung-dae hissed, his low voice dripping with pure threat. "If you don't unlock this door in three seconds, I am going to kick it clean off its hinges."
Silence hung in the air for a microsecond.
CLACK-CLACK-CLICK!
The deadbolts instantly twisted in rapid succession, and the heavy door swung wide open.
A second-year girl from Class 2-B named Ji-min stood in the entry hall, holding a flashlight and glaring up at Myung-dae with deep frustration.
"Yah! Lee Myung-dae! You are completely incapable of following basic safety and secrecy protocols!"
Myung-dae raised a single, indifferent eyebrow, stepping right past her into the warm hall.
"I don't follow the basics of idiocy."
He pulled a crumpled 5,000 won bill out of his hoodie pocket, slapped it into her palm, and shot a quick glance over his shoulder at me.
"Don't fall back, Mountain, Bo-min" he grunted, vanishing around the corner toward the interior lights.
Ji-min let out a long, long-suffering sigh, turning her glare toward Bo-min and me.
"So? Are you two actually coming in, or do you want to freeze to death out there in your pajamas?"
"We're coming in," I said quickly.
We both pulled out 5,000 won bills, handed them over, and stepped into the heated hallway while Ji-min muttered under her breath about "that cocky, uncooperative black cat Myung-dae."
The moment we stepped past the entryway, the muffled bass exploded into a full-fledged mini-club atmosphere. Bluetooth speakers were pumping rhythmic K-pop tracks through the house.
As Bo-min and I walked down the main corridor, we glanced through the half-open bedroom doors lining the hall. Some rooms had small, cozy circles of students sitting on floor cushions, whispering and sharing snacks; other rooms had their doors pulled nearly shut, clearly reserved for more private, quiet... conversations.
Then, the corridor opened up into the sprawling, two-story main living room.
The space was packed.
At least fifteen students from Class 2-A and 2-B were lounging on sofas, sitting cross-legged on the rug, and laughing under the low lights.
Right in the absolute center of the low marble coffee table, sitting like a sacred, revered monument, was a massive, familiar dark leather handbag.
My jaw practically hit the floor.
It was the exact same bag I had hauled off the bus ten hours ago—the bag that had nearly dislocated my shoulder and made me wonder if Lee Ha-neul was secretly packing heavy math encyclopedias for a weekend retreat. I hadn't bothered opening or snooping inside it earlier out of respect for her personal space, assuming it just contained standard female cosmetics or spare clothes.
'I should have opened it,' my brain screamed in absolute, stunned realization.
The heavy leather bag was unzipped wide, its interior practically bursting at the seams with dozens of chilled cans of Cass beer, frosted bottles of green Soju, and plastic jugs of Makgeolli.
I stared at the sparkling mountain of contraband, then across the room where Ha-neul was sitting calmly on a sofa cushion, sipping a cup with a satisfied smirk on her face.