Riser
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🕑 Added 2025-04-20 00:20:52 +0000 UTCChapter 72: First... at the Freshman Welcome Party
"You shouldn't drink alcohol at the freshman welcome party either. Understand? Alcohol is Satan's beverage."
"How can I not even have one drink? Besides, I'm an adult now."
"No! When I say it's not allowed, it's not allowed. And you know what? All adults except your father are wolves."
"...Okay, I got it."
Lim So-hye recalled her morning conversation with her father.
He had clearly said alcohol was the root of all evil. He had earnestly advised her to decline any offers of alcohol.
"Everyone, just as we've gotten to know each other a bit through today's orientation, this gathering is the first step in the university life we'll create together. Let's all become one proud K University family, supporting each other's dreams and passions. On this meaningful day, let's toast to our health and friendship!"
"Ch-cheers..."
But for Lim So-hye, who was naturally shy and worse at refusing than others, declining alcohol in this atmosphere was harder than dying.
'What if I get blacklisted from day one for not drinking?'
So she took her first-ever sip of soju.
"Ugh?!"
Sweet, bitter, and intoxicating.
Just one glass made Lim So-hye's mind go soft.
Unfortunately, she was a lightweight.
After the orientation came the scheduled freshman welcome party.
Held at a resort in Gapyeong, this was all a new world to Lim So-hye, who was experiencing a drinking gathering for the first time.
The drinking culture of university that she'd never experienced before.
Too many new people.
Too much noise.
Too much information.
While "newness" might be enjoyable for some, it was too much stimulation for the introverted So-hye.
'I want to go home... Dad!'
If she had been a school bully like Kang Mi-hyun, she might have been familiar with drinking gatherings, but having grown up under an extremely strict patriarchal father with overprotection, plus being a capital "I" introvert by nature, her energy was being drained in real-time.
It was worlds apart from high school, where you just had to follow a set orbit and schedule.
Moreover, the bigger problem was So-hye's pretty and cute appearance.
Though not sexy, her adorable and pretty face attracted male seniors who came by one by one to greet her and offer drinks.
Being short made her seem even more approachable, and with her actually shy personality, she couldn't firmly refuse the drinks being passed around.
"Ah... I'm not good at drinking."
"It's okay! Everyone's tolerance increases as they drink!"
"Chug! Chug! Chug! How long will you make us dance?"
Aaaah!
It was hard to keep her wits about her in a place surrounded by strangers, especially overly extroverted ones.
In times like these, the comfort comes from having at least one familiar face, but...
'Hyun-seong is over there...'
Unfortunately, Hyun-seong, who felt comfortable to her as they were from the same high school, was sitting on the opposite side of the drinking gathering.
"I'm telling you! So I said to Gyu-tae..."
"Hahaha! This guy is really funny"
Though she couldn't hear exactly what he was saying, the constant laughter suggested he was adapting much better than she was, like a clownfish tucked among anemones.
'I'm jealous'
Forming new relationships is always difficult for introverts, even those with good looks and popularity.
For So-hye, who had never been allowed to have relationships with the opposite sex as the daughter of a strict religious family, the current situation where new boys kept introducing themselves and striking up conversations was too burdensome.
Moreover... the real burden began when a returning student appeared.
"Can I sit here?"
"Ah, senior."
"Yeah. Just going to greet our freshman for a moment."
"Ah, yes..."
The returning student senior forced his way into the seat next to Lim So-hye, raising the level of discomfort to an unbelievable degree.
"Let's go somewhere else..."
"Yeah..."
The returning student was too blatantly occupying the seat next to So-hye and hitting on her.
Even the seniors who had been happily hanging around So-hye earlier were now leaving after reading the atmosphere. How could a timid Lim So-hye, new to university life, flatly refuse someone whose reputation she might know?
"What's your name?"
"Lim... Lim So-hye! Senior..."
"Wow. Even your name is pretty. Call me oppa."
"O-oppa?"
"Yeah. Why so formal with 'senior'?"
"..."
"Here. I'll pour you a drink. You pour one for me too."
"Yes..."
So one glass, two glasses, the drinks were poured.
"Hiccup! Hic!"
Already weak to alcohol, So-hye's face turned red like a carrot from drinking too much, and the heated returning student began to make his move.
"Our So-hye is really cute. I want to protect you like a little sister. Can I have your number?"
"Ah... haha... well..."
"Why? Hey, I don't mean anything by it~ I just feel like you're my little sister. I'll even buy you meals often, okay?"
His sleazy lines were too burdensome, but...
Due to her kind and shy personality, she responded with a smile, which was a mistake as it gave him the wrong impression.
'Okay, it's working!'
The increasingly shameless returning student continued to hit on So-hye, who couldn't refuse.
"Ugh, that senior is doing it to freshmen again."
"Ugh. Tell him not to come next time."
The second-year female students who saw this were gossiping loudly enough to be heard, but thick-skinned as he was, he ignored them and kept making So-hye drink.
"Ugh... I can't, can't drink anymore."
"Hey, just one more glass. Okay?"
"..."
The awkward situation continued, but no white knight stepped forward to help.
'Damn, she's really weak to alcohol. Maybe...?'
The returning student looked over Lim So-hye's body with lustful eyes, licking his lips.
Though small and petite, her face was naturally small with long limbs, giving her good proportions... and above all, for her height, she had considerable breasts and developed hips and pelvis that seemed quite delicious.
"I... I really can't drink anymore..."
"Come on. It's a drink from oppa. Last one."
"But you said the last one earlier too..."
"Final! Just one more drink and let's go get some fresh air. How about it?"
'Why should I go get fresh air with you?'
That thought was evident on her face, but the returning student was thick-skinned.
"Here we go with the last drink~ Now that you're in university, you should get used to soju bombs."
Lim So-hye held the glass the senior gave her, looking troubled.
It was clearly a beer glass mixed with soju that would exceed her tolerance.
She had a feeling that if she drank this one, her consciousness would become completely blurred.
But that's when the white knight arrived.
"Senior. May I drink this instead?"
"Huh?"
It was the boy from the same high school she had met today.
Kang Hyun-seong.
"Here. Give it to me."
"Huh? Oh..."
Without even asking for permission, Hyun-seong took the glass from So-hye's hand and drank it down in one go.
So-hye stared blankly at that boy with her mouth open.
Her heart was strangely pounding.
"What's this? Do you know each other?"
The returning student senior, who was obviously hitting on her, frowned and asked when I intervened.
"Ah, yes. We're 'friends' from the same high school."
"Oh... really?"
"Yes. Oh, So-hye, your father called. He was furious asking why you haven't contacted him."
"Huh? What? Ah, did my dad really?"
It was worth listening to So-hye's chattering when we sat next to each other at the orientation.
She had clearly said her father was a strict church pastor.
I made it sound like I knew her father.
"It's too noisy here, let's go outside to call. Your phone battery is dead, right?"
"Huh? Umm..."
"Use my phone instead. Senior, I'm sorry. This friend's father is a pastor and he's strict. He told her to contact him periodically, and if there's no news until now, he'll probably make a fuss."
The returning student senior looked like he had downed Chinese tofu in one shot, but I wasn't particularly scared.
From what I'd heard at the drinking gathering, he was known among other seniors for hitting on female juniors and wasn't properly treated as a senior.
So I ignored him and grabbed So-hye's thin wrist—not metaphorically thin, but literally thin like a reed, so fragile I was afraid it might break—and pulled her forcibly.
"Let's go! I'm scared of getting scolded by your father too!"
Deliberately emphasizing "father," I rescued So-hye, who was visibly struggling in the alcohol-reeking pit.
Damn.
Even I think I'm fucking cool.
With a bit of self-satisfaction, I grabbed So-hye's wrist and took her out of the resort to a quiet, secluded place to get some fresh air.
"...W-wait a moment..."
When I looked back, So-hye's face was completely red from the alcohol.
So was the wrist I was tightly holding.
"Ah, your wrist, sorry."
"No! No! I'm grateful actually..."
Suddenly, an awkward silence.
Lim So-hye bowed her head deeply, embarrassed about something.
'She really is cute'
Thinking that, I waited for her, and finally, after catching her breath, So-hye spoke in a tiny voice.
"Th-thank you. It was a bit burdensome, so thanks for pulling me out on purpose."
"We're high school alumni, we should help each other. That guy was making everyone uncomfortable even from a distance. Making jokes from the 80s and all."
"Hehehe... jokes from the 80s, he says, hehe."
I don't know what was so funny, but she burst out laughing for no apparent reason.
"But how did you know my dad told me to contact him periodically?"
"What? Is that true? I was just making an excuse."
"Wow. That's hilarious, hehehe."
She must really be from a strict family.
"Hurry and call home. You need to report in, right?"
"Mmm... okay, damn it... I don't want to call."
"Why?"
"He'll scold me so much for drinking..."
Then So-hye finally took out her phone.
"Huh? My battery really is dead!"
"What? Then do you want to use my phone to contact him?"
"No, no! He'll scold me again for having a boy contact me..."
What is this, the 19th century?
"I'll have to tell Dad later that my battery died. Ah, it's cold. Let's go back inside."
It was very cold as it was still February.
I was about to go back to the drinking gathering because of the cold, but—
"Can we... go back a bit later?"
"Huh?"
So-hye shyly grabbed my arm first.
It could be the alcohol, but... her face was bright red not just from the alcohol but from embarrassment.
"..."
"..."
Our eyes suddenly met.
Perhaps because of the tipsy feeling from the alcohol,
feeling like she wouldn't refuse even like this, I felt a strange courage rise up and
impulsively kissed So-hye.
