.

Ever since I became to use the so-called smartphone, I was able to grasp the idea of ‘data.’ Anyway, the emerge of ChocolateTalk messenger made my life way easier too.

Once I scrolled down the chat room list and found the one titled, ‘Ban Yeo Ryung & the Boyz,’ I found that there was a pile of approximately three hundred unread messages.

Reading every one of them was hardly thinkable, so I just typed what I needed to say.

Ham Donnie: Which chicken do you want to have?

Ham Donnie: Geez, why is it so hard to choose the same menu?

Woo Jooin: You know, I’m not picky. I eat everything

Eun Jiho: Unless it’s boneless, any chicken is fine

Ban Yeo Ryung: Eun Jiho, can’t believe you said that

Eun Jiho: They say boneless chickens use meat glue

Eun Jiho: It isn’t a good choice for our health

Ban Yeo Ryung: If you’re trying to stay healthy, why would you eat fried chicken in the first place?

Woo Jooin: I agree

Eun Jiho: ;;;

Eun Jiho: Do as you please

Ham Donnie: Ugh, don’t complain later, Eun Jiho

Ham Donnie: Then I’ll order one original and two boneless––everyone, cool?

Eun Jiho: Thumbs up

Eun Jiho: Up to you

Kwon Eun Hyung: Sorry, I was taking a bath

Kwon Eun Hyung: I also don’t care

Ham Donnie: Yoo Chun Young isn’t coming today, right?

Ham Donnie: The little ‘1’ over here—it indicates that Yoo Chun Young hasn’t read it yet, right?

Kwon Eun Hyung: Correct

Kwon Eun Hyung: He’s at his agency building

Reading the messages to that point, I dropped my gaze at the floor for a second. Indeed, Yoo Chun Young was watching the premiere with the people in his agency. That was very natural.

However, every time we gathered for a hangout, Yoo Chun Young wasn’t able to join us. As it became quite normal, I felt bitter about myself getting used to not having him together. It made me realize the flow of time.

Putting a stop to those thoughts, I entered the rest of my message.

Ham Donnie: So, are three whole fried chickens enough? Since you’re all having dinner beforehand?

Eun Jiho: Yup

Eun Jiho: Just order them ASAP

Eun Jiho: Wow, it’s already 7:46 pm! Look at the time

Eun Jiho: Now I’m here at your parking lot

After his response, I threw a glance at the enclosed balcony.

Looking at the fancy black sedan, our neighbors in this apartment might be having a heated debate about who’s car it belonged to. Shortly after, Eun Hyung and Jooin also notified me of their arrivals one after another.

Once I finished ordering foods from the chicken place, I heaved a deep sigh of relief, thinking that now I barely got one thing done.

If we didn’t use ChocolateTalk, it would have taken a long time for me to decide on individual text messages. How thankful it was to enjoy the advance of technology!

Disheveling my hair, I quickly raised my head as the doorbell rang.

My mom shouted from the kitchen, “Donnie, go open the door!”

“Okay,” I replied, but before I put my feet on the entrance, the door opened all of a sudden.

Both Ban Yeo Ryung and Eun Jiho were stepping inside our house together. Since Ban Yeo Ryung knew the passcode of our door lock, ringing the doorbell was like a notification that they were coming in.

There was also someone unexpected to come today.

Blinking swiftly, I asked, “Yeo Dan oppa? How is it possible…?”

Maybe because it was a school for boys, Nam Gye High School let their students wear summer uniforms earlier than other schools. Looking fresh and cool with a light, short sleeve shirt on his top, Yeo Dan oppa approached me and patted my head, showing a faint smile.

Closing the door, he stood right in front of me and replied, “I skipped the evening self-study session today.”

“Oppa, does your mother also know about this?” I asked him back.

“No,” he replied confidently, then averted his eyes from mine.

If he was about to avoid my gaze, why did he skip the evening class in the first place? Cute, I thought. Stretching my hand out to him, I gently touched his cheek.

“Your school won’t call you tomorrow for your absence, right?” I narrowed my eyes.

“I believe… they won’t…”

“Come on, I’m just worried about you.”

Less than only half a year was left until the College Scholastic Ability Test. Thus, it was time for the school to get their students fully prepared for the life-changing exam. Yeo Dan oppa, of course, had great test scores in the mock exams, but that could be the reason for his school to take extra care of his academic performance.

I glanced back. A huge fiesta was taking place at the table. It was being filled with fruits, marinated noodles, and all kinds of party platters.

Both families were thrilled to watch Yoo Chun Young’s first TV drama together just as we did during the World Cup, so excluding Yeo Dan oppa from this event would make us feel uncomfortable and sorry for him.

Having checked that no adults were in the living room, I gave a soft hug to Yeo Dan oppa, then quickly took myself off of him. That was when I noticed that Eun Jiho was trapped inside our small entrance because of our couple.

Leaning his back closely against the door, Eun Jiho grumbled, “Ham Donnie, I’m invisible to you, huh? How can’t you even say hi to me?”

“Ah… no, sorry. Glad you came.”

Come on in, I let Eun Jiho into our house, then arranged his shoes to put them in the shoe rack. Thinking about the number of people soon to arrive, I felt that this shoe rack was too compact to fit every shoe inside.

A few minutes later, Jooin and Eun Hyung also knocked on the door. When I opened the window, Jooin had a box of roll cake from a famous hotel bakery on his side; Eun Hyung was holding a bottle of champagne.

Ban Yeo Ryung and Eun Jiho, who were already sitting on the living room couch, also dashed to us. There was soon a fuss at the entrance. While Eun Jiho murmured, ‘This one’s really good,’ checking the logo on the roll cake box, Yeo Ryung held Eun Hyung’s champagne bottle high up in the air, then looked it around in the sensor light.

Eun Hyung took out another bottle of champagne that he was hiding behind his back. Smiling, he uttered, “That one’s for the adults; this is for us. It’s alcohol-free.”

“Oh, God, that’s awesome! It’s like a Christmas in July party!” shouted Yeo Ryung, flaunting a rich grin on her face. She quickly took the bottle from Eun Hyung, then said she would try juggling it like the circus show she had seen on the TV lately.

Eh? Hold on, though she had great athletic abilities, I was afraid she would miss the glass bottle and drop it on the floor. While she started juggling it, Eun Hyung and I, standing beside her, quickly stopped her from doing it.

“Yeo Ryung, that looks quite dangerous.”

“Isn’t it carbonated?!” I asked urgently.

Looking surprised, Yeo Ryung seemed to have realized the risk of her action. “That’s right,” she replied, then asked, “Would it explode if we open it? Oh my God, what should I do?”

“L…et’s first bring it to the sink.”

Eun Hyung and Yeo Ryung headed to the kitchen, carefully clutching the champagne bottle as if they were holding a baby. Jooin also walked after them, swaying the roll cake box. There was soon my mom’s exclamation from the kitchen.

“Aww, you’re always welcome without these. Thank you anyway…”

“I also brought you something, but before that… Would you please… um, this is carbonated, but we shook it, so…”

“Oh really? Just leave it there for a minute. It’ll be fine to open then.”

Listening to their chats, I heard the doorbell ringing, which made me head back to the front door. Yeo Ryung’s parents arrived. They were the last guests for us to welcome today.

‘Let’s see. How many crowds are here in this small apartment tonight? My parents, Yeo Ryung’s, me, Yeo Dan oppa, Yeo Ryung, and the Four Heavenly Kings without Yoo Chun Young… Geez, the air is indeed more heated than the time we watched the World Cup or Olympics,’ I thought.

Then I checked the time and shrieked, “It’s already five past nine! Oh my God, we must have missed the opening!”