The laughter and warmth of old friendships filled the restaurant as Hana poured another round of drinks, this time launching into college stories about Alexandra. She lost track of the amount of drinks she had poured.

“Okay, so one time, Alexandra had this insane idea to sneak into the professor’s office—”

“It was not sneaking! It was strategic visiting,” Alexandra interjected, in hopes of defending herself. 

“Hey! I’m telling this story, not you!” Hana continued, “She was convinced that our professor lost her final paper on purpose. After 3 bottles of wine she was completely convinced and decided she needed to check his desk. Just to be sure—Mind you, this was at midnight.”

Engaged in the story, Jae-yong said, “Let me guess—she got caught?”

Hana burst out laughing. “Oh, so much worse! She tripped on the rug, knocked over a globe, and panicked so hard she crawled under his desk when the janitor walked in.”

Hana let out a snort while Lexi tried to convince her not to say anything else because she was embarrassed by what came next.

“When the janitor left she threw up the 3 bottles of wine under the teachers desk, and to this day I bet you, it still smells like it!”

The whole table erupted in laughter, Alexandra groaning as she covered her face. “The janitor knows something. He still gives me side-eyes whenever I visit campus,” she muttered.

Jae-yong closed the gap between him and Lexi, smirking. “So, you’ve always been trouble, huh?”

“Excuse you, I am a respectable businesswoman now. Even then it's not my fault he lost my paper and tried to give me an F for it,” Alexandra quipped, taking another sip of her drink.

Hana turned to Seo, her eyes twinkling mischievously. She seemed to know everyone’s secrets. 

“Oh, and let’s not forget about you, mister soon to be CEO of LUNSEO. Should I tell them about middle school?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he feigned innocence. 

Despite his attempts to hide it, Lexi could see him trying to kick Hana under the table. She giggled at his childish behavior.

“Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Hana continued, grin widening. “Seo here used to write love letters. Mind you soooooo many love letters to a particular girl in our class.”

“That’s enough Hana,” Seo said sternly.

“Oh no, this is too good,” Alexandra said, resting her chin on her hand, eyes gleaming with amusement. “Tell me more,” she smiled, revealing her dimples.

He tried to reach out to cover Hana’s mouth but she swatted him away. 

She continued without hesitation, “He used to leave anonymous notes in her locker. And then, one day, he accidentally left his name on one.”

“It was a mistake.”

“Sure it was!” Lexi laughed. 

“She read it out loud in front of the entire class,” Hana added, giggling. “Poor Seo turned so red, I thought he was about to combust. Ah those were the good ole days when you were cute and sweet. Now look at you, always causing trouble.”

Alexandra was practically crying from laughter. “Wait, wait. I have to know! What did the letter say?”

Seo said, clenching his jaw, “We are not discussing this.”

“Oh, it was dramatic,” Hana said, holding back another laugh. “Something about how her ‘eyes shimmered like the morning dew’ and her ‘smile was like the sun breaking through a storm.’ He never asked another girl out after that cold rejection.”

Seo sighed, “I’m leaving.”

Alexandra wiped a tear from her eye, “No, no, stay. You can’t leave yet! I promise I won’t judge.”

“Yes, at least you had a major glow up in high school. Every girl nagged me trying to get closer to you,” Hana admitted.

Jae sat there soaking in the laughter. This was the first time in a long time he hung around someone other than the people in his kpop group. It was something he could get used to if it meant he got to see more of Alexandra.