Become A Star

Chapter 16

Chae Woo-Jin looked cluelessly at Choi Yi-Geon in anticipation as he blinked. Looking at Woo-Jin's face, Choi Yi-Geon could not bear to tell him that they were going to eat pork ribs.

As he was grilling the meat, Woo-Jin told them that he had eaten beef while he was in the military, but had never had the chance to eat beef after being discharged. Little by little, meat began to pile up on the plate in front of him.

During the second round [1], they went to a Korean bar, and Woo-Jin looked very excited. He had mentioned that he and his friends were both not the greatest fans of alcohol, and so most of the time, they would hang out at cafes. He also said that when he was a freshman in college, he rarely went to drink with his classmates because he was busy with part-time tutoring and a bunch of other things.

"Are you a college student?"

"Yes, I am currently on a leave of absence as I had to complete my military service. I plan to return to school in my second semester."

"Which school?"

"Korea University." [2]

"...You're smart."

As Korea University was one of the best colleges in Korea, everyone was momentarily caught off guard. It was not that there weren't any celebrities who went to Korea University, but it was true that if one went to that school, they would get a huge advantage. Everybody was surprised by his academic proficiency. However, Woo-Jin pulled a long face after he took a few sips of beer.

"I am not good at academics."

They wanted to refute, but after seeing the depressed look on Woo-Jin's face, they decided to keep their mouths shut and wait for him to continue speaking.

"I have a few classmates who went to Ivy League schools in America. One of my relatives had passed the bar exam and is now a prosecutor, and another relative, who is the same age as me, had also passed the LEET and is now at law school."

Woo-Jin did not bother to mention that his grades were better than his friends who went to Ivy League schools. It didn't matter anyway, since it was a world where the ultimate outcome was everything. He glossed over his cousins Yi-Yeon and Hee-Yeon's identities and kept it vague by referring to them as his relatives. Even when he was drunk, he did not want to seem like he was bragging about his connections, and thus referred to his cousins as "relatives" to keep his distance from them.

"I feel so sorry towards my mother..."

After drinking a bottle of beer, Woo-Jin became slightly tipsy.. In order to comfort Woo-Jin, who mentally digressed from being a capable student of Korea University to being a son who caused distress to his parents for not being able to excel academically, they continued drinking. After drinking some more, Woo-Jin's mood changed once more.

"Wow~! So this is chimaek. It's just as delicious as the rumors make it out to be.. However, I heard that eating a lot of chimaek can cause gout. What would I do if I got it? I heard that it hurts a lot." [3]

Woo-Jin, tempted into eating chimaek, managed to overcome his fear of gout. His eyes sparkled as he set the mood of the drinking party, continuously smiling and talking to people. Whenever he saw an empty glass, he would sidle up to them and pour them a drink, telling them to consider their health and drink moderately. Despite saying that, whenever he saw an empty glass, he would steadily pour drinks into it.

At some point, somebody told him that they did not want a man to pour any drinks for them. When he heard this, Woo-Jin shook his head.

"I was told that women should not pour drinks for anyone," said Woo-Jin.