CHAPTER 2.1: LAUGHTER BEFORE MIDNIGHT
FROM CHAPTER 2: THE WEEPING WOMAN
It has been years since Yonsei.
The seven of them were no longer boys sneaking ramen into their dorm rooms or fighting over who stole whose charger. Life had scattered them like pages torn from the same book - different cities, different dreams.
But friendship had a funny way of haunting you.
So when Jiho's birthday rolled around, the group chat that had been silent for months suddenly came alive again.
"Bro, you're not turning 21 without us."
"I'm bringing cake. And trauma."
"Minho, no one asked for trauma."
And just like that, the seven were coming home - not to Yonsei, but to each other.
Music, lights, laughter - it felt like the good old days again.
Except for Eunwoo.
Because even after all these years, he still sometimes woke up to the sound of someone whispering their name.
The café door chimed softly, and Jiho looked up from his phone just in time to see a familiar figure stumble in, hair dripping from the evening drizzle.
"Doyun!" Jiho stood, half laughing. "Still allergic to umbrellas?"
"Umbrellas slow me down." Doyun replied, shaking his head like a golden retriever.
"Bro, you literally look like a wet mop."
Before Doyun could respond, another voice came from the doorway.
"Some things never change."
It was Minho, carrying two cups of Iced Americano.
"I bought one for you before realizing you're probably still addicted to strawberry lattes."
Jiho grinned, "Guess old habits die hard."
The door chimed again.
"Wait, is this the loser convention?" Rian called out, walking in with Yoonha beside him.
"Correction," Yoonha said coolly. "Future Millionaires Reunion."
"Yeah right," Minho muttered. "You still owe me from that pizza in 2022."
Laughter echoed through the café, one by one, they filled the table - the same chaotic energy that once filled Yonsei's dorm halls came flooding back.
And then the final two arrived - Eunwoo and Taehyun, late as always, bickering as usual.
"Bro you said left!"
"I did say left - your other left!"
Jiho stood up, exasperated but smiling. "You two still argue like you're auditioning for a variety show."
Within seconds, it turned into a noisy, overlapping mess of greetings, slap on the back, and mock insults. Someone tripped over a chair, someone else spilled a drink, and by the time they all finally sat, the café owner gave them the kind of tired look only seven college boys earn.
"Okay," Doyun said, lifting his cup dramatically. "To Jiho, the birthday boy, and to surviving adulthood without being disowned!"
"Cheers!" Everyone shouted.
Glasses clinked. Phones clicked. Music played low in the background.
"Man," Minho sighed, glancing around. "It's actually crazy seeing everyone together again. Feels like —"
"—like we never left." Jiho finished softly.
There was a beat of quiet. Then Doyun grinned, ruining the moment like always.
"Except now we're broke and tired. Character Development Baby."
Everyone laughed again.
"Do you guys remember," Yoonha started between giggles, "How Doyun once tried to sneak fried chicken into the dorms?"
"Don't you dare—"
"And the warden found it because you were singing 'Hot Sauce' while hiding it in your hoodie!"
The entire table erupted.
Even Doyun was laughing, trying and failing to defend himself.
"Or the night Yoonha fell asleep during detention?" Minho added.
"That was meditation, thank you very much."
Jiho shook his head, grinning so wide it almost hurt.
"God, I missed this."
They all did.
For a moment, they weren't scattered college students, or people carrying secrets - they were just them, the same seven boys who once owned the hallways of Yonsei with their noise and their friendship.
Then someone - maybe Rian - muttered. "Feels like Yonsei wasn't even real sometimes, doesn't it?"
Silence hovered for a heartbeat.
And then Jiho said softly, "It was real. Too real."
The air changed, just a little.
But Doyun clapped his hands suddenly, forcing the mood back up.
"Okay, enough emo talk! Group hug before Jiho cries again!"
"I don't cry!" Jiho yelled, already getting dragged into a bear hug.
"Sure, sure," Taehyun teased. "The cake video will say otherwise."
They laughed so hard the café owner sighed audibly, but no one cared.
Because when they pulled apart - still grinning, still loud - it felt like they'd stitched something back together.
For the first time in a long time, the world felt right.
Warm. Loud. Familiar.
Minho returned from the counter with a ridiculous grin and a cake that looked way too fancy for their group.
"Ta-da!" He announced proudly, setting it down in front of Jiho. "Triple-choco fudge with strawberry drizzle - because our birthday boy still acts five."
"Hey!" Jiho protested, though his smile betrayed him.
"You're Welcome," Minho said, tossing confetti he'd apparently hidden in his hoodie. Half of it stuck to his hair.
"Bro, where did you even get confetti?" Doyun asked, coughing as a piece landed in his drink.
"Don't question the magic." Minho replied solemnly.
Eunwoo started the countdown. "Three-two-one—" And suddenly the entire café erupted in off-key chaos:
~HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU~
Minho's voice cracked halfway through.
Taehyun someone turned it into a rap.
Eunwoo harmonized dramatically like he was auditioning for a K-pop Group.
Yoonha clapped too loudly, nearly tipping over a cup.
By the time they finished, even the café owner was smiling from the counter.
Jiho looked around the table - at the faces, the noise, the laughter - and his throat tightened. "You guys are idiots," he said softly.
"Say that after you blow the candles, drama king." Yoonha teased.
Jiho leaned forward, hands clasped. "Alright," he whispered, closing his eyes.
The candlelight flickered over their faces - warm, golden, alive.
"Make a wish," Taehyun said.
For a second, Jiho hesitated.
Then he smiled and exhaled. The flames vanished, smoke curling into the air.
Confetti burst again. Everyone cheered.
Minho yelled, "SPEECH!"
Jiho groaned, laughing. "Fine. Fine. Uh-thanks for still being around. I didn't expect a grand surprise like this, honestly."
He paused, glancing at them one by one. "You guys....this means a lot."
Yoonha grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "You're not turning twenty-one without us, bro. Not happening."
"Aww, he's getting sentimental," Rian teased.
"I'll kill you with frosting," Jiho shot back, already swiping cream on Rian's cheek.
"OH IT'S WAR!" minho yelled, immediately grabbing a handful of cake.
Screams. Laughter. Frosting chaos.
Within seconds, the table turned into a dessert battlefield.
Yoonha tried to stop them - failed miserably. "Guys- guys, please - oh my god, Eunwoo, not my shirt!"
Doyun filmed everything, cackling. "This is definitely going on the group chat."
When the sugar storm finally settled, the seven of them were breathless, faces smeared with frosting, the café a complete disaster.
Jiho leaned back in his chair, laughing so hard his eyes watered. "We're gonna get banned from here, aren't we?"
"Worth it," Yoonha said, tossing a napkin at him.
The laughter faded slowly into quiet.
The cake sat half-destroyed, candles still faintly smoking.
Eunwoo glanced at the little trail of smoke curling upward - and for just a moment, he swore he heard it again.
That whisper.
Soft. Faint.
Almost like the wind through old corridors.
"Seven."
He froze. Looked around.
The others were still laughing, arguing about cleaning up.
Eunwoo blinked, forcing a smile.
Must've been the wind.
The streets were still glowing with late afternoon light when they stepped out of the café - seven shadows stretching across the pavement, laughter echoing between tall buildings.
"Okay, what now?" Minho asked, already bouncing on the street. "We can't just end Jiho's birthday with diabetes and chaos."
"Agreed," Doyun said, adjusting his glasses. "Let's do something memorable. Something....less edible."
"Like what?" Jiho asked.
"An amusement park!" Yoonha yelled, as if the idea had just struck him like lightening.
"Bro, you just want an excuse to scream publicly." Taehyun said, smirking.
"Exactly."
And that's how they ended up at the Seoul Sky Amusement Park, a place glowing with neon lights and the sound of roller coasters roaring like wild animals.
"WE'RE TWENTY-ONE AND STILL KIDS!" Minho shouted as they entered, throwing his arms dramatically.
"Correction," Rian said, "You are twenty-one mentally, the rest of us are functional adults.
"You cried during Toy Story 3."
"Shut up."
They started with the roller coaster.
Jiho nearly lost his voice.
Eunwoo's hair looked like it had seen a typhoon.
Yoonha was laughing so hard he forgot to scream.
Then came bumper cars - complete chaos.
Minho kept slamming into Doyun just for revenge.
Yoonha was trying to drive calmly until Jiho crashed straight into him.
"You're dead, Park Jiho!"
"Catch me first!"
Even Doyun, who usually avoided this kind of madness, couldn't stop smiling.
"This is ridiculous." he muttered - right before Minho rammed his car into his.
As the sky dimmed to soft violet, they moved to the ferris wheel. The air grew quieter, calmer.
"Feels weird, huh?" Jiho said softly as their cabin rose.
"What does?" Taehyun asked.
"Being up here again. Together. After all this time."
Rian smiled faintly. "It's been years since Yonsei."
Eunwoo looked out at the skyline. "Still feels like yesterday."
The ferris wheel lights shimmered against their reflections in the glass - seven silhouettes, laughing again, alive and bright.
Afterwards, they found a small photo booth near the exit.
"ONE LAST MEMORY!" Minho announced, dragging everyone inside.
"Bro, there's no space—"
"WE'LL FIT!"
Seven grown men squeezed into a booth meant for three.
"Okay okay! Pose one!" Click.
"Peace signs! wait no, bunny ears!" Click.
"Eunwoo's not even in the frame—" Click.
"STOP BREATHING ON MY NECK!" Click.
The photos printed, slightly crooked, showing pure chaos - someone blinking, someone laughing mid-yell, frosting still on Jiho's cheek.
They stared at the strip of photos and burst out laughing.
"Keep this," Rian said, tucking one into Jiho's jacket pocket.
"For next time."
"There better be a next time." Jiho said, smiling softly.
The city lights blurred behind them as they walked, street lamps glowing golden against the dusk. For a moment - just a small, fleeting moment - life was perfect again.
But as they passed an empty alley near the old bridge, Eunwoo stopped walking.
He turned his head slightly.
Someone- something - whispered faintly through the cold night air.
"...seven..."
Location : Outskirts of Seoul, empty road, past mid-night - only the sound of tires on asphalt and low music from the radio.
The laughter had softened now.
The kind that fades not because the fun's over - but because silence feels warmer than noise. The car smelled faintly of churros and cheap perfume. Doyun's hands rested steady on the wheel, his eyes flicking between the road and the rearview mirror.
Minho leaned his head on the window, tracing foggy circles with his fingers.
"Remember when we used to fight over ramen at the dorms?" he mumbled.
Yoonha snorted. "Used to? You still eat like we're in a zombie apocalypse.'
Soft laughter again. Then quiet.
The radio hummed some old ballad - the kind that made everything feel heavier than it was. Eunwoo sat quietly in the backseat, fingers brushing the locket under his shirt. It had been years, but the weight of Yonsei's shadows still clung to him.
Yoonha leaned forward from the back.
"Hey, Doyun," he said. "You ever think....maybe we never really left that place?"
Doyun raised an eyebrow through the mirror. "You mean mentally, or spiritually cursed?"
"Both," Jiho muttered. "I still see that church in my dreams."
Everyone went silent for a moment. The song on the radio crackled.
Then, through the window - a flash.
A figure.
Doyun slammed the brakes. Tires screeched. The car jolted to a stop on the empty road.
Headlights cut through the dark - and in the middle of the road stood a boy, maybe 13 or 14, drenched, trembling, eyes wide as if he'd seen death itself.