Chapter 27: Pink, But Not a Slut (13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27: Pink, But Not a Slut (13)
Showering at someone else’s house—especially a woman’s—was a first for me. I’d visited the guys’ places back on the homeworld a few times to hang out and had frequently spent the night drinking, but both back then and after leaving, an experience like this was a first.
The tipsiness that had cooled off seemed to return as the warm streams of water hit me. I couldn't tell if my face was flushing because of the alcohol or the heat of the water.
"Whew."
With a sigh, I turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to wipe the moisture from my body and hair. Once I was finished, the dilemma of what to wear returned. I slowly opened the bathroom door and poked only my head out.
A set consisting of a white T-shirt and shorts was laid out in front of the bathroom, but no matter how I looked at them, they didn't seem like they would fit.
"Are you out? I left some clothes there. The only big ones I have are winter clothes, so I picked the biggest ones out of my thin clothes. Do you think they'll fit?"
Hearing Yura’s voice from the master bedroom, I checked the clothes on the floor once more. I didn't even need to try them on.
"I don't think they'll fit."
I might be able to squeeze into the T-shirt if I really tried, but they weren't my clothes, and I didn't want to ruin them for no reason. There was no point in being a nuisance.
"Really? What should we do then..."
Her voice, laced with worry, drifted from the bedroom. I turned my gaze back to the clothes I had taken off inside the bathroom. Should I just wear those? But I was reluctant to put damp, rain-soaked clothes back onto a body that had just been refreshed by a shower.
"For now, take this."
The voice from the bedroom felt closer now. When I poked my head out again, I saw Yura setting down her own duvet.
"A duvet?"
"Yeah. It's for sleeping, but I thought it might be better than nothing if you wrap it around yourself."
It wasn't a bad idea—provided I could dry my clothes in the meantime. Unfortunately, it was pouring outside, and I couldn't expect my clothes to dry quickly on a day like this.
"Alright."
Since there was no other choice, I decided to do as she suggested. When she turned around after hearing my answer, I stepped out of the bathroom and wrapped the duvet she’d brought around my body. It felt as if the scent from her bedroom was enveloping my entire being.
"Let's wash your clothes and hang them up. Then you can wear them tomorrow."
"Sure."
Yura went into the bathroom, gathered my clothes, and tossed them into the washing machine. For a moment, silence fell between us.
"So, what now?"
I broke the silence first. Yura, who had been standing still, suddenly spun around to look at me as if she’d remembered something. Our eyes met.
"How about a second round?"
I had forgotten for a moment, but we had been drinking until just recently. For Yura, today was a momentous occasion—her first time drinking with a friend. If we had parted ways and gone to our respective homes, it would have ended there, but since things had turned out like this, having one more drink wasn't a bad suggestion.
"Do you have alcohol at home?"
"A little in the fridge."
Since she was used to drinking alone at home, her fridge was already stocked. Instead of a verbal answer, I made an 'OK' sign with my hand.
While I was using a towel to wipe the remaining moisture off the living room sofa, Yura brought out soju and snacks, placing them all on the table in front of the sofa. The "soju glasses" she brought along were just large water cups.
"We're drinking out of these?"
"I don't have separate soju glasses at home. Just pour it in and drink at your own pace."
The woman who had been sobbing sorrowfully was nowhere to be seen; excited at the prospect of drinking again, she shook the soju bottle, popped the cap, and filled the glasses to the brim.
"Don't overdo it. If you lose consciousness, I'm just going to leave you right here."
"Don't worry. Even if you told me to go all out starting now, I couldn't drink that much anyway."
She made the boast with a laugh, but there was one fact I had overlooked.
Until now, Yura had always drunk alone. I didn't know exactly how much she drank when she was by herself, but given her high tolerance, I doubted she stopped at a "reasonable" limit.
And this was the first time Yura, who usually drank like that, was drinking with a friend at home. Why did I think she would be able to pace herself?
"Hehehe~"
As we talked and drank continuously, Yura couldn't handle her rising spirits and just kept laughing with a flushed face. The problem was that since there were only two of us, if one person started racing, it was difficult for the other—meaning me—to stay in control.
"What's so funny?"
Dazed from the alcohol, I must have been infected by her laughter, as I found myself looking at her with a grin.
"I just like drinking with a friend."
Though she had started drinking to relieve stress, alcohol had now become one of her favorite hobbies. Having someone to enjoy it with was the best possible situation for her.
"Yeah. I like it too. I really do."
Since coming to Earth, I had attended staff dinners with colleagues, but I had never drunk with someone I could truly call a friend. Caught up in the atmosphere of drinking with a friend for the first time in twenty years, my own spirits soared. Listening to the sound of the rain, we toasted once more and downed the soju in our glasses.
"Kaaaah!!"
Even the bitterness of the soju felt good now that I was drunk.
"I've been thinking."
"Yeah?"
The drunken Yura spoke up, her voice still full of laughter. I focused on what she was saying while munching on a snack.
"I think I'm going to go in the day after tomorrow and tell them I'm quitting."
"..."
She said it with a smile, but because her mind was clearly made up, I couldn't bring myself to laugh. I couldn't say anything. Even in this drunken state, the only thought in my head was that if Yura wasn't at the cafe, I should quit too.
"Are you okay with that?"
"...It can't be helped. I feel bad for the Boss, though."
She hadn't heard anything directly from the Boss, but Yura seemed to feel that the Boss didn't think very highly of her either. It might have been a hasty conclusion, but having overheard that gossip, her negative feelings were likely directed not just at the two people talking behind her back, but at the cafe itself.
It wasn't my place to tell her what to do. It was her judgment, and if that was what she decided, I would simply watch her follow through.
"Then I should quit too."
"Why you?"
There was no reason for me to be at a cafe without Yura. Having no way of knowing that, Yura simply tilted her head at my words.
"What's the point of working there if you're not there?"
Startled, Yura looked at me with wide eyes before lowering her head.
"...Is that so?"
Seeing her give such a small response made me feel like the atmosphere was getting awkward, so I held out my glass for a toast.
Yura toasted back immediately upon seeing my glass, and we once again emptied the soju into our mouths. After finishing the half-cup of soju in one go, Yura looked at me with unfocused eyes, then stood up and came to sit right next to me.
"It's cold."
"It's summer."
It was pouring so hard it felt like a hole had been poked in the sky, but I wondered what kind of nonsense she was talking about, claiming it was cold in the middle of summer.
"You're the one wrapped in a duvet!"
With a flushed face, Yura raised her voice and pointed at the air conditioner running in a corner of the living room. Because it was hot and the rain had made it humid, we had turned it on. Just as she said, I was wrapped in the duvet and couldn't feel the cold air at all.
"No wonder the temperature felt perfect."
Pressing close to my side, Yura tucked her feet into the duvet spread out on the floor and picked up her glass again.
"If you're cold, you can just turn off the AC. Or wrap yourself in a blanket."
"If I turn off the AC, it's hot. And I only have one summer duvet in my house."
I was about to suggest just raising the temperature a bit, but I figured I'd only get nagged if I said more, so I swallowed my words.
"Well, nothing we can do then. But we've drunk quite a bit, haven't we?"
Before we knew it, it was 3:00 AM, and the two of us were on our fifth bottle of soju. If you included what we drank at the pub earlier, it was our ninth.
"Why? Should we stop?"
"Let's just finish this one. It's late, we should sleep."
"Okay!"
In the end, we drank three more bottles after that. Both Yura and I were completely drunk, sitting on the floor with our backs against the sofa.
The table was covered with empty bottles and leftover snacks.
"Let's clean this up tomorrow and sleep now."
"Let's do that."
I stood up to go to sleep, putting off the cleaning, and sat on the sofa for a moment. Suddenly, Yura lunged forward and hugged me tightly while I was still bundled in the duvet.
"Let's go sleep in the room!"
Her bombshell statement was enough to momentarily sober me up from the shock. However, my mind quickly went hazy again, and I spoke calmly without showing my fluster.
"I'll sleep here."
Yura, still holding me, stared at me with glazed eyes.
"Then what am I supposed to use for a blanket?"
"Huh?"
"Let's go inside and sleep~ I can't sleep without a duvet. We're just going to sleep anyway, so what does it matter?"
I could feel the strength in the arms hugging me. If I had been sober, I obviously would have refused, but since we were "just going to sleep" as she said, I figured it didn't really matter and nodded.
"Alright. Let's go in."
"Mm-hmm."
We stood up from the sofa together. Even as we walked into the bedroom, Yura didn't let go of my arm. It made moving difficult, but it wasn't impossible, and considering her mood today, I decided to just go along with it.
Once inside the bedroom, we sat side-by-side on her bed.
"I'm not wearing anything under this, so don't be surprised if you accidentally touch me, okay?"
"Yes! Understood."
Hearing Yura’s confident reply, I lay down first and spread out the duvet, and Yura climbed in after me. The rustling sound of the bedding mixed with the sound of the rain outside. Once under the covers, Yura spoke with a smile.
"This is nice. Having the AC on and being under a duvet is the best."
That feeling of finding the perfect temperature that some people just don't understand—I knew exactly what she meant. Since I had drunk a lot and was now lying down in a comfortable state, I felt myself growing drowsy, slowly letting go of my grip on consciousness.
"We really drank a lot."
"We did. I drank more than usual too."
Lying side-by-side and staring at the ceiling, the situation suddenly felt funny, and I let out a laugh. Yura seemed to find it funny and amusing too, as she laughed along with me. Then, silence fell.
We turned our heads at the same time, and our eyes met.
"Goodnight."
"Yeah."
After exchanging greetings, I looked back at the ceiling and closed my eyes to sleep. A lot had happened today. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say a major incident had occurred.
Becoming closer to Yura through our first drink together was a truly good event, but what happened at the cafe... though the drunken Yura had become cheerful and stopped thinking about it for a moment, it was an experience I never wanted to go through again.
I wondered what Yura was thinking right now. It would be best if she fell asleep immediately because of the alcohol, but if not, she was surely dwelling on what happened earlier. Or maybe she was thinking about something else entirely.
It would be best for her right now to just fall asleep without a single thought.
I thought I would pass out quickly because of the booze, but sleep didn't come immediately. With my mind cluttered, I just kept my eyes closed in the silence. Just as I felt myself finally drifting off to the repetitive sound of the rain...
"Are you asleep?"
At Yura’s soft voice from beside me, I opened my eyes and turned my head. Yura, who had rolled onto her side to face me, was staring intently at my face. We gazed into each other's eyes.
Seeing her looking at me with those hazy eyes, I turned onto my side as well. Without thinking, a single word escaped my lips.
"You're pretty."
It was something I had genuinely felt whenever I looked at her. Anyone would find her beautiful, and I was no exception. Was it only because I was drunk that I said it at this moment? I didn't know why I had suddenly blurted that out.
"..."
Yura’s face flushed as she continued to stare at me. Before I knew it, she had closed the distance and pressed her lips against mine. Soon, I was pulling her by the waist, and we were sharing a deep kiss, pressed tightly together under the same duvet.
I believed I was maintaining my sanity, but in that moment, it seemed I was anything but sane.