The final week leading up to New Year's Eve flew by.
Since Ji-hoon had been forcefully ordered onto administrative leave by his senior law partner, he made it his personal mission to drag me to the fitness center every single afternoon. Having a dedicated workout partner with an aggressive legal work ethic meant my training hit a whole new level of intensity.
My favorite part of the entire routine, however, came after the heavy squat sets: the traditional Korean bathhouse and sauna.
At first, sitting naked in a boiling, mineral-rich pool surrounded by middle-aged businessmen had felt utterly bizarre to my Ukrainian sensibilities. But by day four, I was completely converted. Stepping out of a dry pine sauna into a cold plunge pool was pure bliss—it melted the lingering soreness straight out of my muscles and left my skin glowing.
Passing by the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the locker room on Thursday, I paused to inspect my reflection. The relentless cardio, gym sessions, and strict home cooking had paid off. I had grown noticeably slimmer around the waist, my posture was sharper, and my shoulder and abdominal muscles were far more defined beneath my skin.
There was just one major problem consuming my brain every time I sat down to rest.
'What on earth was I supposed to buy Lee Myung-dae for New Year's Eve?!'
I leaned against my locker, running a hand through my hair.
"A new basketball? No, way too generic. A trendy streetwear hoodie? I have no idea what his specific aesthetic sizes or brand preferences are."
I stroked my chin, mentally sifting through everything I knew about our brooding bassist.
'Wait... Myung-dae loves K-pop.'
It was so obvious! He spent half his free time hanging out with the rebel crew from the street dance club. He knew full choreographies by heart, and during our rehearsals, he had listened to EXO a lot in his headphones!
Still, was EXO actually his ultimate favorite group, or just a casual playlist choice? I couldn't risk buying expensive limited-edition merchandise or vinyl records without 100% bulletproof confirmation.
'Who knew Myung-dae well enough to confirm his inner fanboy secrets? Ha-neul was his childhood friend, but if I asked her directly, she'd immediately get suspicious, tease me endlessly, and refuse to give me a straight answer.'
Then, a brilliant, devious spark ignited in my mind.
'I can kill two birds with one stone,' I thought, a mischievous grin spreading across my face. 'Or rather... two lovebirds.'
I pulled out my phone in the locker room, opened KakaoTalk, and initiated Phase One of my tactical setup.
First, I texted Park Jun-seo. Then, after scrolling through my contact list, I dug up the numbers of a few mutual childhood friends from their music academy days who now attended other Seoul high schools. I met them once or twice when hanging out with Jun-seo and Ha-neul
I pitched a casual end-of-year group hangout. And to guarantee attendance, I employed a classic Ukrainian social maneuver: I lied relentlessly to both sides.
To Jun-seo, I claimed: "The old academy crew already confirmed they're free, so you should definitely come!"
To the academy friends, I claimed: "Jun-seo and Ha-neul already cleared their schedule, so you guys better not bail!"
The peer pressure worked like a charm. Everyone agreed within ten minutes.
Next, I invited Jin-hyun and Leo to round out our circle, which they accepted instantly. Finally, I walked into the living room back home and casually asked Ha-neul if she wanted to go out for a quick evening walk and coffee to refresh her brain. Exhausted from studying, she eagerly accepted without a second thought.
'Oh man,' I chuckled internally as we boarded the subway toward Hongdae. 'She is going to murder me in my sleep when we reach the venue... but as we say back home in Ukraine, the game is worth the matches.'
The look on Ha-neul's face when we walked into the private lounge in Hongdae and she spotted Park Jun-seo sitting at the corner table was worth every single impending threat to my life.
She froze mid-step, her eyes widening behind her glasses, shooting me a glare so lethal it could have melted steel. But because we were in public surrounded by childhood friends, she couldn't start an actual physical brawl. She simply gritted her teeth, sat on the far side of the booth, and pulled her coat tight around her shoulders.
The dynamic between those two throughout the entire evening was a masterclass in hilarious tension.
Whenever Jun-seo and Ha-neul had to address each other, they flat-out refused to make direct eye contact. They would speak into the open air or address a third person while referring to the other—"Can someone ask the Student Council President to pass the napkin box?" or "Tell the person beside you that her tea is getting cold."
Their friends were a little confused and questioned what happened to them, which amused me even more!
I sat back, sipping my iced iced Americano, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.
What surprised me slightly, however, was the initial reaction of Jun-seo and Ha-neul's friends toward Park Jin-hyun. The moment the silver-haired drummer sat down, the external academy friends grew stiff and noticeably polite, using formal honorifics and treading very carefully around him.
I blinked, suddenly remembering a basic reality.
'Right... Jin-hyun is a chaebol heir from the 'Golden Generation.' Normal high schoolers aren't used to casually eating snacks next to multi-millionaires. I had been around Kirin's elite for so long that I completely forgot normal people found their presence terrifying.'
Fortunately, Jin-hyun's completely unhinged, laid-back personality broke the ice within twenty minutes.
We moved the party to a noraebang (singing room), belting out classic rock tracks and 2000s K-pop hits until our throats were raw. Afterward, we crowded into a neon-lit photo booth arcade.
I managed to snag another brilliant printed photo strip to add to the growing corkboard collection above my bedroom desk—a high-energy shot of me, Jin-hyun, and Leo making ridiculous, overly dramatic rock-star poses holding plastic props.
Near the end of the night, while the rest of the group was busy selecting songs near the noraebang machine, I slid into the seat beside Jun-seo.
"Hey, Jun-seo-ya," I said casually, leaning in. "I need some confidential intel."
Jun-seo shot me a glance and adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses, looking at me skeptically.
"About what?"
"Myung-dae," I whispered. "I need to pick his New Year's present. Is his absolute favorite K-pop group actually EXO, or am I misreading him?"
Jun-seo went silent for two long seconds. He let out a quiet, suffering sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if admitting this fact physically pained him.
"...It's EXO indeed," Jun-seo confessed reluctantly, keeping his voice low. "Specifically, their EXODUS album era. He knows every single line of choreography for Call Me Baby."
I stared at Jun-seo, a massive, victorious smile spreading across my face.
'I knew it!'
It was a universal truth of human nature: nobody understands you better than your ultimate rival.
I looked back and forth between Jun-seo's sharp profile and the memory of Myung-dae's dark, brooding face.
'They really are like Batman and the Joker... no, scratch that. They are literally Sasuke and Naruto! Two former best friends who ended up on opposite sides of a giant wall because of sheer, stubborn pride.'
I patted Jun-seo firmly on the shoulder, my eyes gleaming with unshakeable determination.
'Don't worry, boys,' I declared silently in my head. 'I am going to fix this. Everything in this world can be saved with the power of friendship—especially a petty, stubborn misunderstanding between two idiots who secretly miss playing music together.'