A Pleasant Weekend with Lee Yu-ri (5)

"Huk!!!"

The next morning, Lee Yu-ri shot upright as if something were chasing her. The moment she regained her senses, a sharp ringing exploded through her skull. Everything felt dizzy, like her insides were packed full of something heavy and strange.

"Heup..."

The moment she registered the feeling, something surged up from within her. Lee Yu-ri clapped a hand over her mouth and bolted for the bathroom, where she began violently emptying her already hollow stomach.

"Uweeeeeeeck!!"

The sound of her dramatic retching brought her older sister, Lee Yu-min, out of her room. She clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"What the hell did this girl do yesterday? She stumbles in reeking of booze and now she's puking her guts out?"

"Ugh... shut up..."

Lee Yu-ri finally steadied herself, rinsed her mouth, and staggered out of the bathroom.

"Hey, at least wash your face. You passed out with all that makeup still on. Just look at the state of you."

"Dammit... what time did I get home last night?"

"Probably a little before ten, I think?"

Lee Yu-ri glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already 10:30 a.m. She'd been out cold for over twelve hours.

"You swore you'd never touch alcohol, yet you came home completely wasted? What exactly did you do all day yesterday? Did you really meet a guy?"

"Ah, that's not—"

Lee Yu-ri started to deny it, then stopped. Yesterday's not-quite-a-date with Han Seong-jin flashed through her mind—the arcade, the escape room café, the DVD bang. All of it.

"...Something like that, I guess."

"Wow. First day meeting a guy and you completely let loose? You drank when you swore you never would, and came home looking like that? It's a miracle you didn't stay out all night. How much did you even drink?"

"I don't want to hear that from my sister who spreads her legs on the first date. And I really didn't drink that much..."

"This bitch has no respect for her unni! For your information, this unni is far more pure and innocent than you think."

"Ha, you? Pure and innocent? I'd sooner believe someone from Eunbong High actually got into Seoul ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠National University."

"You little—"

The sisters immediately started bickering. Their fight only ended after Lee Yu-ri finished washing her face.

"So who is this guy? You got drunk with him, so he must be ridiculously handsome, right? Got any pictures?"

"It's not like that. And the alcohol... the alcohol..."

As she dug through her memories, Lee Yu-ri suddenly froze.

She remembered exactly how she'd ended up drinking the alcohol she'd sworn she'd never touch in her life. The first glass had been out of curiosity. The second, to relieve stress.

She was extremely weak to alcohol. One glass and the buzz had hit her immediately. She'd relieved her stress by thoroughly cursing out Gong Yeong-bae. Han Seong-jin had listened to her complaints with surprising patience. Feeling better, she'd had a second glass.

With her mind growing hazy, she'd poured out every grievance she'd ever felt toward Gong Yeong-bae and sought his understanding. He'd empathized and comforted her. With her inhibitions gone, she'd had a third glass, her tongue slurring as she asked him why he was being so good to her.

"Uh... uhhh..."

Even drunk, Lee Yu-ri hadn't blacked out or lost consciousness completely. What Han Seong-jin didn't know was that she was the type who remembered everything clearly even while intoxicated.

Unfortunately for her, even after downing just three glasses of soju, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could recall every word he'd said, every word she'd said in return, and the entire journey home.

After remembering it all, Lee Yu-ri...

"Euu, uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

Her face flushed redder than it had ever been in her entire life as she screamed and bolted back into her room.

Lee Yu-min watched her sister's retreating, hysterically screaming form and smirked.

"What the hell? She acts like such a model student, but it turns out she was the one who got drunk and spread her legs, huh?"

......

......

Lee Yu-ri pulled the blanket over her head and tore at her hair.

'I'm crazy. I must be crazy! What the hell did I do...'

Everything replayed with cruel, perfect clarity.

'Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! You crazy bitch! You absolute crazy bitch! That's straight-up flirting!'

Lee Yu-ri kicked her legs wildly, thrashing the blanket away. But her annoyingly brilliant mind continued to play the rest of the night in vivid detail.

She remembered walking home with Han Seong-jin, holding his hand tightly and humming cheerfully. Not just holding hands—interlocking fingers like actual lovers. From the moment they left the meat buffet until they reached her apartment, they never once let go. She'd swung their joined hands back and forth like an excited child.

'This can't be happening... What the hell did I do...'

Having remembered everything right up to the final moment, Lee Yu-ri trembled as she collapsed face-first onto the bed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She had barely avoided disaster—a kiss or anything further—but for Lee Yu-ri, who had never even held a man's hand before, this was more than enough of a shock.

"Idiot... idiot, idiot, idiot..."

Ding!

The KakaoTalk notification pulled Lee Yu-ri out of the endless pit of self-loathing. She checked it and jumped out from under the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blanket in alarm.

She flopped back onto the bed and tore at her hair again.

"Why did I say okay?! After what I did yesterday, meeting up again the very next day! Why do I keep doing this to myself?!"

Even as she complained, Lee Yu-ri ran back to the bathroom and began putting on light makeup.

#####

After calling Lee Yu-ri out, I took another look at the harsh reality that remained after yesterday's weekend date.

"I'm fucked."

The arcade with DDR and every other game, the coin karaoke, the escape room café, the DVD bang. Even though we'd gone dutch on most of it, it still wasn't a small amount for me. And because Lee Yu-ri had insisted on paying for the meat buffet but then gotten completely wasted after three glasses of soju, I'd ended up covering that too.

There were still three weeks until my part-time paycheck came in, and I had less than eighty thousand won left. This was a serious survival crisis. Should I buy corn powder or dried seaweed? And adding the cost of the hangover soup we were about to eat...

I'd blown through more than half my entire fortune in less than twenty-four hours.

"Khhk... Yu-ri, this is how much I love you."

Still, yesterday's date had been really good. Even though she still had plenty of wariness toward me, because she'd gotten so drunk, we'd been able to walk home hand-in-hand like an actual couple.

I picked up my nearly starving wallet and headed back toward Lee Yu-ri's apartment complex.

Unlike yesterday when she'd dressed to the nines, today Lee Yu-ri came out in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠casual sweater and jeans. I waved at her cheerfully.

"Head not hurting? In all my life, I've never seen someone get that drunk off just three glasses of soju."

"Ughhh... don't talk about it..."

"Do you remember what you did while you were drunk yesterday?"

"!!!"

Lee Yu-ri's pupils shook violently at my question before she shook her head. Well, she'd been that drunk. It made sense she wouldn't remember.

"Too bad. If you did, it would've been hilarious. I should've at least taken a video."

"D-don't! I really hate feeling like this! Never again! I'm never drinking again!"

"Yeah, yeah. I won't offer you alcohol anymore, so don't worry. The hangover soup place isn't far. Let's go."

Lee Yu-ri fidgeted with her fingers before walking beside me.

The hangover soup restaurant was quite crowded on Sunday morning, but we managed to find seats for the two of us.

"Auntie, one bone hangover soup please!"

"Huh? Just one? You're not eating?"

"I wasn't drunk enough to need it. And..."

I answered with an exaggeratedly pitiful expression.

"I don't have any money left."

At that moment, Lee Yu-ri's face filled with shock. She roughly understood my situation, after all.

"That's right, your personal circumstances... Wait, did you overdo it yesterday too? Now that I think about it, who paid at the meat buffet yesterday..."

"I did."

At those words, Lee Yu-ri let out a small scream and repeatedly banged her forehead against the table, apologizing nonstop. Only after she calmed down a bit could I continue the conversation.

"It's not that serious yet."

"You can't even afford a bowl of hangover soup and you're saying it's not serious! No way. Tomorrow at the academy, I'm going to explain your situation immediately and put it on the agenda for the faculty meeting about scholarship support—"

"Hey, I started a part-time job not long ago. Once the paycheck comes in..."

"When do you get paid?"

"In three weeks."

"How much do you have left?"

"......"

"Tell me."

Unlike yesterday or even a moment ago when she'd avoided eye contact and fidgeted, Lee Yu-ri was now staring straight at me with clear eyes. With no choice, I revealed the truth.

"Seventy-six thousand won."

"......"

"......"

"Are you actually insane?! How are you supposed to live for three weeks on that?! No way. Starting tomorrow, don't spend money on useless things! I'll buy the hangover soup, so just eat! Also... it's partly my fault for saying I'd pay yesterday and then passing out. And I'll pack you a lunchbox in the morning, so don't buy convenience store ones! Come out earlier than usual when you go to school, meet me, and we'll go together!"

"Oh, you're going to pack breakfast for me? It's like we're newlyweds or something."

"!!!!!"

Lee Yu-ri, who had been excitedly talking, finally realized what she'd said. Her face flushed red again as she averted her gaze.

"...I really hate you."