140 – 140. The Crazy Dinner
A premium Korean beef restaurant located in downtown Sokcho. Baekwa Palace.
As its name suggests, beyond the wall decorated with white tiles was a beautifully decorated landscape garden. In the middle stood a magnificent hanok with white roof tiles like a fence.
A visual that makes you say, “This is a very expensive store” Just by looking at it.
It was a restaurant more suitable for entertaining high-ranking officials than for work dinners, but Min Chaeryeong deliberately chose this place. Min Chae-ryeong received a bonus in the name of dinner expenses from the academy president this time, but he reserved an expensive store like this to spend it all at once, rather than leaving a halfway amount.
‘100,000 Won per person would be ridiculous.’
Ahn Su-ho, who was originally from a poor college student and had no ties to a store like this, couldn’t help but admire the magnificent building. Other members of the team had similar reactions, albeit with differences.
“Let’s go in.”
On the other hand, Chaeryeong Min, who had reserved the store, seemed unconcerned. Rather, her face showed even her annoyance that she wanted to finish her dinner and go home. She strode into her shop, followed by her team members, including Chae-yeon.
“An Su-ho.”
Ahn Soo-ho also tried to follow him, but Lee Tae-ho held him for a while.
“Why is that?”
“Before we go in, I want to ask you one thing. Can you mark the vegetable kite for dinner today?”
“Yes…… ?”
Ahn Suho’s expression rotted at those words. It was a great disrespect for him to openly show disapproval because he didn’t even respond to his superior’s instructions, but Lee Tae-ho understood Ahn Su-ho’s feelings better than anyone else, so he didn’t bother to criticize him.
“I know it’s a tough request. Alcohol can make even the average person do crazy things. How much more so if it’s vegetable smoke. But someone has to do it. Until now, I was the partner, but now you are the partner of So-Yeon. So now it’s your role. Do you know what I mean?”
“…… Yes. All right.”
Ahn Su-ho quickly agreed to his situation. I wondered who would do it if he, the partner, was not in charge of the vegetable research.
“So. What can I do specifically?”
“Usually, I stick close to you and prevent you from drinking too much, but… …. Today’s dinner party is dominated by Chae-yeon, so it must be difficult to stop her from drinking. It would be better to get him drunk quickly and put him to sleep. In the meantime, make sure to block unexpected actions from the side.”
“Ah… ….”
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Literally, she was telling her to mark her drunken rampage, Chae-yeon. Lee Tae-ho sighs as he sees Ahn Su-ho, who is already at a loss.
“Get used to it. In a place like this, people with good common sense like you and me are tired. As I said before, there are many members who have personality problems because our 2 teams are selected based on their abilities.”
“Would you like to eat only vegetables?”
“Vegetable smoke is unrivaled only in normal times. But once you start drinking, that impression will probably change. Even if it’s not as much as Chae-yeon, Yuri and the other two are pretty tired people at a drinking party.”
At those words, Ahn Suho remembered what Lee Taeho said about the other two team members. Bae Young-woong and Kim Yong-bin. Ahn Su-ho had no significant exchanges with the two. But normally, both of them felt like ordinary office workers, but I wonder if alcohol changes people 180 degrees.
“Still, you don’t have to worry too much. Our team dinner always ends at the first round. It will be broken by 10 o’clock at the latest. It only takes three hours.”
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Lee Tae-ho tapped Ahn Su-ho on the shoulder as if wishing him luck. He entered the store first, and Ahn Su-ho, who followed him, sighed.
‘…… I tried to grease my stomach with high-quality Korean beef, but it seems like I’m going to go back after doing a lot of emotional labor.’
When he entered the store, he was greeted by a modern interior that was different from his appearance. Ahn Su-ho headed to the private room they had reserved.
“Wherever you go, come now! Anyway, the youngest is left out!”
As soon as he entered the room, Chae-yeon scolded him. Ahn Soo-ho sits next to her, staring at her with a lot of tension already.
The side dishes were already set on the table, and after a while, the meat and alcohol ordered in advance arrived. As for the meat, the inside skirt and rib end meat are said to be expensive. On the other hand, the alcohol was plain soju.
“For now, fill each cup by yourself.”
At Chaeryeong Min’s words, the team members filled their glasses. When all the team members filled their glasses, Min Chaeryeong lifted her glass. The atmosphere is like a toast.
However, an annoyance was evident on Min Chaeryeong’s face. She took one look around her teammates and she said softly.
“It’s a dinner party for everyone, and I’m sorry for taking up your personal time. I didn’t really want to do it either, but the president noticed so much.”
“No, boss! At a time like this or when else will we all get together? I’m good!”
“Me too! It’s nice to be able to eat beef with the president’s money too!”
“So what? Good luck then.”
At the words of Bae Young-woong and Chae-yeon, Min Chaeryeong laughed. As she raised her glass, others followed her.
“Still, I’m sorry for wasting too much time on Friday. Eat and drink comfortably in moderation. Let’s dig early before it’s too late. Now, let’s salt, salt.”
-Chang.
The seven glasses clashed modestly. For a drinking party, there were no toasts or cheers slogans. There was nothing strange about it. Up until now, the two teams’ dinner parties have always been like this.
Min Chaeryeong herself wasn’t the type to enjoy loud drinking parties, so the two teams’ get-togethers were just a place to eat expensive food with other people’s money and part ways whenever a cause arose. In the first place, she is a toast, a good word, aspirations, and the things she says don’t match Min Chae-ryeong’s personality.
However.
“Chief!! Say a toast, say a toast!!”
If there is a difference from any other dinner party, the star of today’s dinner party is Chae-yeon. And because of that, the tension of vegetable smoke was abnormally high. At her cry, the movement of the team members who were about to drink from her glass stopped abruptly.
“Thanks to me, you are having a dinner today! So, what a compliment! Or say thanks! Cheers to Soyeon who worked hard!! Can’t you do the same?”
“Haa… ….”
A deep sigh escapes from Min Chaeryeong. But as she lifted the glass she was about to drink, it seemed that she really wanted to give her a toast.
Her teammates looked at her with her trembling face, and Chae-yeon Chae-yeon looked at her with anticipation on her face. Min Chae-ryeong, who was making eye contact with such a vegetable-yeon, smiled weakly and said.
“Yes. Our Soyeon suffered a lot this time. From now on…… I wish I could be a little more dignified, think first before acting, and be a little more discreet. Now, cheers.”
“Uh hee hee…… Yes?”
“Cheers!”
-Jjaeng.
Once again, the glasses collided, and this time the team members drank their glasses. On the other hand, only Chae-yeon did not participate in the toast, and she chewed on Min Chae-ryeong’s words a moment ago and made an unfair expression.
“Chief…… ? Is that a compliment? I don’t think it’s a compliment…… ?”
“So what are you doing? We made a toast and passed the drinks, so hurry up and grill the meat.”
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Leaving behind such a vegetable relationship, her team members each started a dinner party.
“Team leader, I will cook the meat deliciously! Suho! Can you do that table?”
“Yes. Seniors. Leave it to me.”
Bae Young-woong and Ahn Soo-ho each grabbed tongs from the table.
“Cho Yu-ri. You’re on duty tomorrow, so don’t drink too much today.”
“Oh, it’s a 4pm shift, it doesn’t matter… ….”
“It doesn’t matter. Everyone on our team knows that if you drink once, you will suffer from a hangover until the next evening. That’s why I deliberately scheduled work on the weekend, so drink moderately and go home.”
“You are too much… ….”
On the other hand, Lee Tae-ho said that and removed the bottle in front of Cho Yu-ri.
“That’s right, Yongbin. Have you finished organizing the data requested during the day?”
“Team manager. I think it’s unfair to talk about work even at a dinner party after work, strictly speaking-“
“I don’t know. I’m on duty tomorrow, can I get the data over the weekend? Sunday morning until I get off work.”
“………… I’ll give it to you by Saturday night.”
“Yes. Thank you. Come on, get yourself a drink.”
On the other side, Kim Yong-bin, who is in charge of computer-related tasks within the team, was drinking from Min Chae-ryeong with a distressed face.
“T, team leader…… ?”
Chae-yeon spoke once again with her sorrow, but no one paid attention to her. She half-raised, sat down in her seat, raised her chopsticks with her lips pouting against her weeping face.
“…… Ahn Soo-ho. Give me the meat.”
“It’s not ripe yet.”
“Then pour me a drink.”
“I’m busy grilling meat. Fill the cup yourself.”
“…… Heeing.”
Chae-yeon hiccupped at his cold attitude and filled her glass alone. Lonely emptying the glass with tears in it, Chae-yeon brought her golden-brown fried tofu to her mouth and chewed on it.
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Looking at such a vegetable kite, Ahn Su-ho thought.
‘It’s more ordinary than I thought…… ?’
I would say it was normal, but it was quiet for a dinner party. Ahn Su-ho, who was originally a college student, did not have the opportunity to experience the company dinner culture, but the dinner party he knew was not like this.
He thinks of a get-together, for example, that there is a lot of chatter and chatter from beginning to end. The boss continues to offer his men drinks. The youngest climbs up on the table and stirs up the excitement, whether it’s a song or a talent show. It was an occasional event where s*xual harassment with authority took place.
However, the dinner party of the 2 teams was 180 degrees different from that image, and it was a quiet and calm atmosphere. It could have been because he was just starting out, but Ahn Su-ho grew more and more suspicious of Lee Tae-ho’s warning.
At first, Lee Tae-ho talked about the members of Team 2 except for him as if they were going crazy at a drinking party like the Bremen Musicians, but in reality, they seemed no different from ordinary office workers attending a dinner party.
“Are you done now?”
“Uh. Now, here.”
“Oh yeah!”
‘If I take good care of the vegetable garden, everything will be fine?’
He thought as he watched the vegetable kite inflate his cheeks and inhale the rice and meat. Maybe Lee Tae-ho’s warning was just an exaggeration, or maybe it was just an excuse to beat Chae-yeon to him.
However.
Ahn Soo-ho soon realized that Lee Tae-ho, who prides himself on being the only common sense person of the Special Countermeasures Division and Team 2, warned him that there must be a reason.
“Uh heh heh heh. Hey Ahn Soo-ho. Do you know I. I’m a super hero right now in America! I have a fan site too? Isn’t that great? Huh? Isn’t this great?”
“Yes. Great, great.”
“If it’s great, let’s do it, let’s do it! Awesome!”
With faltering hands, Chae-yeon picked up the glass, and An Su-ho filled it to the point that it glided over the glass. Rather than halfway limiting his drinking as advised by Lee Tae-ho, he intended to put him to bed early because he was full of fat.
Still, until about 30 minutes ago, she tried to stop her from drinking somehow, but she had no choice but to give up in the end as she tried to transform into her dragon form in return for not giving her alcohol. .
“aaa!!”
-Chang.
After toasting with Ahn Su-ho, Chae-yeon drank half of the alcohol she had poured into her glass. Immediately after, she imprisoned her and leaned her head on Ahn Su-ho’s arm. Creepy goose bumps run across Ahn Su-ho’s shoulders.
“Get away from me when I say nice things.”
“Hee hee hee hee. Ahn Soo-ho. This cute, my cute junior. Hee hee. Hey. When I get promoted this time, you know you have to use respectful words for me, right?”
“Don’t drink kimchi soup because that will never happen.”
“Why! Why can’t that happen? Why!”
“There is no one in the human resources department stupid enough to put you in the position of assistant manager.”
“Are you saying I’m stupid?!”
“Not very smart.”
“Hey! Aren’t I stupid?! I’m smarter than you?! Anshaw You’re a high school graduate, but I also graduated from the academy!”
“It’s amazing that he graduated with that hairdo.”
“Isn’t it? Aren’t I great?”
“Yes. It’s great, so get another drink.”
“Oh yeah. Come on…… Hide!”
The eyes of Vegetable Yeon, who had been drinking Jokjok as Ahn Su-ho followed him, were half-opened. Her head swayed helplessly from side to side, then fell backwards.
“Ughhhhh. I’m great……. The invincible beautiful girl warrior Yongyongi Soyeoni…….”
With the cute sound of beans, Vegetable Yeon, who was lying down, began to doze off like a cat. An Su-ho’s patience and efforts, which had been suffering from Chae-yeon for two hours, finally bore fruit.
“Suhoya♡”
However, the hardships in front of Ahn Su-ho did not end with the vegetable kite. Cho Yu-ri, who had come to his side before he knew it, stuck close to him and held out her drinking glass.
“Would you like to have a drink with my juniors?”
“I think you’d better stop eating now-“
“Will you follow me? Huh? Will you follow me? Will you follow me? Will you follow me?”
“…… Have a drink.”
Ahn Soo-ho pours his drink without hesitation, feeling the soft pressure on his left arm. He turns his gaze to Lee Tae-ho, who was sitting across from him.
“Ha ha ha! Taeho You’re still so damn weak! How can a superman not endure three bottles of soju!”
“………… Ok.”
Bae Young-woong said, patting Lee Tae-ho on the back. On the other hand, Lee Tae-ho was washing his face dry with both hands and groaning with his head bowed.
“Still, the more you drink, the better you get! Come on, take a drink!”
“…… Seniors. I want to stop drinking now-“
“Ugh! What if the vice-team leader can’t drink? If you beat your seniors and wear an armband, you must have aspirations! Uhh!? Now take it!”
“Please… ….”
Was Lee Tae-ho originally the role of marking Jo Yu-ri so that he could not drink too much? Until the beginning of the dinner party, he played the role well, but the problem started when Bae Young-woong, who had grilled the meat to some extent, started drinking in earnest.
Bae Young-woong was almost 2 meters tall and his whole body was wrapped in thick muscles. He was a good drinker as well as his appearance, and he was sitting between Min Chaeryeong and Lee Taeho. Perhaps it was difficult to deal with Min Chaeryeong.
As a result, Lee Tae-ho, who was supposed to be in charge of Cho Yu-ri, stretched out first, and the unrestrained Cho Yu-ri drank to his heart’s content and got drunk. That was the part Ahn Suho couldn’t understand.
“Me, Senior Yuri. I don’t understand, but why are you drunk?”
“Why are you drunk? Are you drunk because you drink?”
The usual trembling due to male phobia was nowhere to be found. That’s what you can think of because she was drunk, but An Su-ho couldn’t understand the fact that she was drunk on her own.
“Your superpower is metabolism control. With that psychic power, even alcohol and the like can be broken down right away. Shouldn’t you, in theory, never get drunk?”
As the saying goes, Cho Yu-ri’s superpower is metabolism control. It was the ability to control all the chemical processes that take place in the body. Thanks to this, she could theoretically never, never get drunk no matter how much she drank.
“That’s right! But I promised not to use my superpowers when I was drinking! With who? With myself!”
“…… Yes?”
However, what Ahn Su-ho overlooked was that Cho Yu-ri was an unrivaled favorite among the two teams. He was a drinker who liked the feeling of being drunk, not the taste or smell of alcohol.
“I don’t understand. If you have the skills of a senior, you can get drunk as much as you want without drinking a sip…….”
“………… Because there is no answer if she becomes addicted to the pleasure of her own ability. If it’s Yuri’s ability, she can produce a lot of dopamine and endorphins like taking drugs 24 hours a day. So Yuri decided on her own. Instead of using her abilities for her own pleasure, let’s be sure to release them when they are released.”
It was Lee Tae-ho, not Cho Yu-ri, who answered. Bae Yeong-woong repeatedly refused to drink alcohol, and he answered Ahn Su-ho’s curiosity.
“Right! That’s why, when I’m depressed, I don’t use my abilities and end up drinking alone at home. Isn’t that very wholesome? With my skills, I can make a natural drug in my head.”
So give me another drink! Cho Yu-ri offered a glass.
As Ahn Soo-ho looked at Lee Tae-ho, he silently shook his head.
“I can’t give you any more. Senior Taeho told me not to give more to senior Yuri.”
“Hey Taeho Lee! Who are you to interfere with my drinking!? Can you be my mother uh?!”
“…… I would have said it clearly. I have work tomorrow, so drink in moderation.”
“You don’t have to worry? I can erase any hangover with my power!”
“After saying that, you always say ‘a hangover is part of the way you enjoy drinking,’ so you don’t go through it on purpose. I won’t be fooled anymore.”
“Only on days off! I also clearly differentiate between public and private life. So it’s Suho. Give me one more drink♡ Huh?”
Cho Yu-ri rubbed his cheek against Ahn Su-ho’s shoulder as if he was kicking himself. Just as Lee Tae-ho sighed and was about to say something, Bae Young-woong, who was standing next to him, forcibly pushed a glass full of alcohol to him. Cho Yu-ri, exhausted from waiting for her, also forcibly snatched the bottle from Ahn Su-ho’s hand and poured it into her glass.
“Come on, everyone! Taeho is also salty! Suho is also woven! The hero sunbaenim is also salty! Senior Yongbin…… It’s already stretched out. Salty anyway! Braided! Awesome!!”
“Huh?”
At that time, Suho Ahn suddenly realized that one person was missing from his seat. He looked around and asked Lee Tae-ho indirectly.
“Senior. Where has the team leader gone?”
“………… Come to think of it, it’s already been over 30 minutes since you said you were going out to smoke.”
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Looking like he was struggling, he checked his watch and looked outside. Of course, since it was an indoor private room, there was no way Min Chae-ryeong could be seen smoking outside the building.
“Shall I go out? I was about to smoke one too.”
Ahn Suho said so. In fact, both Min Chaeryeong and cigarettes were just excuses, and she only expressed her desire to avoid this chaotic place for a while. Lee Tae-ho also noticed the psychology, but he deliberately pretended not to know.
“Yes. Go out and ask what’s going on. We have to finish the dinner party soon.”
“Let’s go quickly.”
He stood up from his seat as he gently moved Yuri Cho, who was clinging to him, to the side. When I left the private room and looked around, Lee Tae-ho, who had been suffering from Bae Young-woong and Cho Yu-ri, was receiving a drink with a philosophical expression.
‘Now then… ….’
What the hell has Min Chae-ryeong been doing, chain-smoking for 30 minutes? Ahn Soo-ho walked out of the building with quick steps.