Cursed Mornings
"Line, would you shut up for a sec."
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The chirping of a sparrow stirred me awake.
"Am I home...?"
Yesterday's a blur.
I turned my head left and right, scanning the room.
"This is the bathroom... why am I sprawled out in here? Did I drink last night?"
As I muttered to myself, I felt something soft against my left hand.
"The hell is this."
I peeled back the blanket draped over me and discovered the source of the softness.
"Line?"
"Mmh...?"
"What are you doing here?"
"You brought me back last night, sir... said you were gonna wash me up..."
Hmm... yeah, that does ring a bell...
"Then where'd the blanket come from?"
"You passed out cold, so I thought you might get cold... I grabbed it off the bed..."
"Good girl, Line."
"Hehe..."
I tried to retrace my memory before I'd collapsed.
"I remember talking to the boss on the phone, at least..."
Leaving the clinging Line aside for a moment, I checked my phone.
Several missed calls from the boss stared back at me.
"Oh, right. Picking up the girls..."
Once the first thread came loose, the rest followed.
"Ah...?"
The call itself was a blank, but I was sure there'd been a text.
I checked the message the boss had sent.
Ha. Fuck.
"Line."
"Yes?"
"I'm not the manager anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"As of yesterday, I got canned for 'unsatisfactory work attitude.' We're complete strangers now."
"It's because of me, isn't it!? Because I was being clingy...!"
"Nah, it's just my own fault."
I kept my voice level so Line wouldn't blame herself.
Inside, though, all I could think was: what the hell do I do now?
"Line, you should head home for now. I'll walk you back."
"Home?"
She hesitated for a beat after the word.
Then she opened her mouth again.
"I don't have one."
"What?"
"Can I live here, starting today?"
An outrageous request.
"Living here... I mean, I don't really mind, but..."
I couldn't give her a straight answer.
Suddenly curious about her past, I launched into a barrage of questions.
"Then where've you been living all this time!? You got money? Have you been eating?"
"..."
"What kind of work have you—"
Her finger pressed against my lips.
"Shh."
"Wha—"
"It's a secret."
A faint spark flickered behind Line's eyes.
Not the half-lidded daze from yesterday.
There was a quiet seriousness there, so I decided to drop it.
"Hmm... alright. You can stay here. But on one condition."
"What condition?"
"We split living costs. I can't carry the whole household on one income."
"Oh... if that's all..."
She trailed off for a moment, then smiled.
And kissed me on the cheek.
Smooch.
"Wh—!?"
"It's okay. Or would you rather I be the one earning?"
"What? You're gonna bring in the money? You do that kind of work, your body's gonna fall apart."
I let out an incredulous laugh and pushed back, but she seemed to enjoy my concern.
"I never said I'd work as a hostess, did I~? Or how about this — I only do after with you, sir. How's that sound?"
"Wha—!?"
This forward side of Line was new, and it threw me completely off-balance.
Ha. Sneaky little minx.
Morning sex was starting to sound very appealing.
"You don't want to...?"
"No, no! How do I even put this?"
The way she suddenly turned bashful was such a sharp contrast to the moment before that it was unbearably cute.
No — fucking irresistible.
Knock knock.
Just then, someone rapped on the door.
I forced down the tent in my pants and pulled myself together.
"Line, hold on a sec."
"Mmnh~"
She kept clinging to me.
Alright, that's enough... ease up.
"Someone's at the door. I need to go check."
"Okay..."
I pulled the most comfortable thing off the rack and threw it on.
Then I tucked Line back under the blanket and headed for the entrance.
"Who is it~?"
"It's me, me!"
"And who is 'me'?"
"Leon!!"
Whoever was at the door called me by my work name.
That's not something anyone outside the industry would know.
I opened the door and looked straight ahead.
"Are you okay!?"
"Oh — Yuna!? What are you doing here?"
"I heard last night. You're stepping down as manager effective today, right?"
"Uh, well..."
I never said I was quitting, but apparently that was the version going around.
So I didn't bother correcting her.
Wouldn't change anything anyway.
"Yeah, yeah! I've been so dead-tired lately I felt like I was gonna drop. My health's been shot, so I figured I'd take some time off."
"Really? You sure you're okay?"
"Got some sleep, feeling better. You make decent money last night?"
"I made a lot~"
Then pay back your maiking.
I wanted to say it, but I bit my tongue.
It didn't feel right to throw at someone who was — even if just out of politeness — checking in on me.
But as if she'd peeked into my head, she brought it up first.
"So, listen — about that money I borrowed before? I'm here to pay it back!"
"Oh yeah, how much was it again? I don't remember exactly."
"3.1 million gold! I worked my ass off for that, so don't go blowing it~ got it?"
I worked my ass off for it too, you know.
"Was it 3.1 million..."
"Yep! I'll wire it to your account right now."
"Just send 3 million. Keep the rest."
Money math used to be my whole job — frankly, I just couldn't be bothered.
"Heh. Don't tell me you're playing the cool guy because I'm a girl?"
"Tch, fine. Take it yourself."
I checked the deposit hit my account and gave her a parting nod.
"Money's in. Don't know if we'll have reason to see each other from here on, but if you wanna catch up, hit me up. Take care."
I finished what I had to say and started to close the door.
But she yanked it back open from the outside.
"Wait...!!"
"What."
"To make up for the rest I couldn't pay back, let me buy you a meal...!"
"When."
"Right now...!"
"Not really hungry. And I told you to keep that money."
"Then I'll just treat you, no strings...! Call it a celebration for last night's haul!"
"Hmm. How fancy a meal are we talking?"
I played a little hard to get.
If she'd raked it in last night, we were talking serious cash.
She broke into an awkward smile and said —
"I drank a lot last night... so I was gonna get some hangover food... hehe."
The second I heard that, my grip on the doorknob tightened to a vise.
"Take care, Yuna."
"No, no, wait!!!"
"What now."
If you're not even buying something nice, why are you stalling me out here?
Business is done, go home and sleep.
"Okay, fine, let's go somewhere good, yeah?"
"Ugh, never mind. Let's just grab something quick."
"Aw, come on, we're going to cheer you up. Big sis is paying!"
"'Big sis' my ass."
Without much thought, I started to follow Yuna out in my ratty clothes.
Then a woman's voice came from behind me.
"Sir, where are you going?"
Hearing it, I turned around.
Line was standing in the doorway, naked except for a blanket draped over her shoulders.
And I wasn't the only one who heard her.
"...Who is that?"
"You don't know?"
"I think I saw her last night... but I don't know her name. More importantly — why isn't she wearing clothes? Don't tell me you... you did it!?"
"Huh? No, no! We didn't, alright!? Not yet, anyway..."
"You were just scheming to lure in some young thing and bang her? That's why you said you were quitting?"
"No, that's not it!! I was just gonna wash her up—"
"It's true."
Huh?
The fuck is true.
That wasn't even directed at you to begin with.
Inside I could only sigh, but I figured I'd just roll with it.
"Yeah, that's right! So what if I lure in some young thing and bang her? I'm an adult man, there's nothing wrong with that. She's not a minor."
My brazen attitude seemed to throw Yuna off her stride.
Or maybe the opposite.
"Ugh... you crazy piece of shit. Is this how you've been looking at the other girls at work too!?"
"Haaah..."
"I really misjudged you! I came over thinking you might be down and offered to buy you a meal... shouldn't have bothered, huh?"
Fuck, that's not it.
I was swallowing my anger.
And Line kept butting in to make it worse.
"Sir didn't do anything wrong! He was just washing me up!"
"He said he'd wash you up, then took you home and screwed you, you mean!?"
No, that's not what happened.
And Line.
Please. Stop. Talking.
Before this snowballed any further, I decided to cut the conversation off.
"Yuna, sorry, but... my head's all over the place right now, okay? You drank a lot last night too, didn't you? Just go grab some hangover food and head home to sleep...? Don't you have work tomorrow?"
"That's not the issue right now—"
"Fucking shut it already. Knock it off and get lost."
The cruel words slipped out in the heat of the moment.
I knew — I knew — those were words I should never have said.
"..."
Her lips trembled.
And then.
"Hic... hngh..."
Yuna started to cry.
"Sorry, I'm just tired, that came out—"
"Hngh... forget it...!! There won't be a next time anyway! I'll leave, that's what you want, right? I shouldn't come around anymore, right?"
"No, I'm sorry.. can we talk for a sec? Hey...!"
Yuna swiped at her tears and bolted.
The open door began to creak shut.
Click.
Silence settled over everything.
Bad things kept happening one after another, like I'd been fucking cursed.
Then Line's voice — comforting.
"Sir... are you okay...?"
"No... haaah... I'm just tired."
It wasn't Line's fault.
Well — it kind of was, a little.
I didn't have the energy to say anything more.
I just wanted to collapse onto the bed.
Trudge, trudge.
The walk to the bed felt impossibly long.
"Sir, let me help you...!"
Line slipped under my arm, propping me up.
And I looked down at her with smoldering eyes.
"It's you, isn't it? You're the one who put a curse on me."