Secretly, But Unable to Hide It

Late Night Ride

Hanni returns to the private karaoke room. Several people are already asleep. Some are drunk, while a few are still awake. She wants to leave the room but hesitates. Her roommate, Danielle, notices her and asks, "Hanni, what took you so long in the bathroom? Let's play cards."

Hanni sits beside her friend and asks, "When are we leaving?"

"They said at 1:00 a.m."

Hanni replies, "By then the metro will have stopped running."

"Then we could take a taxi."

Hanni can't endure the cigarette smoke in the room and feels unwell from drinking several glasses of beer. "I'll head home first. I can't stay out too late."

The birthday girl, Karina, approaches Hanni with a smile. "Hanni, are you leaving?"

"Yeah," Hanni replies.

"How could you go home alone? It's late," Karina says. "Let Jay drive you home."

Hanni asks, "Who's Jay?"

Karina holds Hanni's arm and points to a man. "He's from our department. Handsome, right? I think he's into you."

"Don't make assumptions, I've never even spoken to him." Hanni stands up, rubbing her tired eyes. "It's fine, the metro station is nearby. I'll head out. I'm so sleepy."

"Okay," Karina says.

"Don't stay out too late. It's not very safe."

"We're in a group. Why should we be scared?"

"Do you guys have the key?"

"Yeah, we've got it."

Hanni leaves the room. The karaoke bar is very crowded tonight. She exits the building and takes the elevator. Suddenly, a familiar voice says, "Hanni?"

Hanni turns her head stiffly.

"Let's go," Minji says firmly. "I'll take you back to the dorm."

Hanni doesn't move. "Minji unnie, where's your house?"

"Near the city library," Minji replies.

"That's in the opposite direction from my university." Hanni gestures toward the nearby metro station. "It's late. Let me just take the metro. Don't trouble yourself."

"Hanni," Minji smiles. "Unnie wants to settle things with you first and then drop you off. I'm not going out of my way just to take you home."

Hanni gets into the car. Minji quickly takes the driver's seat and starts driving. As she taps her fingers on the steering wheel, she suddenly asks, "How much did you drink?"

Hanni thinks for a moment. "Maybe two bottles."

Minji says, "You should take better care of yourself when you're out. Don't drink with strangers."

"I know most of them, and my roommates are there too."

"En, just a reminder."

"I know,"

Hanni expects Minji to say more, since she mentioned wanting to settle things, but Minji remains silent, focusing on driving.

The lack of conversation makes Hanni uneasy. Not wanting to disturb Minji, she plays with her phone. Just then, a notification from Line pops up. She opens it and notices a new friend request from Jay.

The name makes Hanni remember Karina's words. She wonders how Jay got her Line ID. She usually doesn't like adding people she doesn't know and would normally pretend she hadn't seen the request, then log out. But now, she just accepts Jay's request. Just let it be.