A Glass of Whiskey
My father had never been in the picture from the very beginning. It seemed he had simply gotten my mother pregnant and run off. She never abandoned me and raised me, but that was the extent of it.
I received only the bare necessities required for survival, but never any affection or attention. The refrigerator was always stocked with food, yet my mother had never once cooked a meal for me.
There was a time I tried to get her attention by refusing both water and food. The day I finally collapsed, she did nothing. It was as if she truly did not care whether I lived or died.
That was the day I gave up all hope. This person had no intention of killing me or throwing me away herself, but beyond that, my life held no value in her eyes—not even worth a single glance.
So when I suddenly collapsed and woke up in this new world, I felt nothing at all. After all, in that previous life, I had never been loved by anyone. Not by my mother. Not even by myself.
Time passed, and the day midterms finally ended arrived. For first-years in their first semester, exams only covered regular classes, so everything wrapped up in just two days. The density of the tests was brutal, though.
“Kyaaaa!!! My life! My GPA!”
“Calm down a little…”
Kim Chae-eun wailed. She wasn’t exactly the strongest drinker, either.
“Aaaah… My chances of getting into a major guild…”
Not every awakened person became a hunter, but every academy student aimed to become one. Otherwise, they would have just gone to a regular university.
“How about you, unnie? Did you do well?”
“They were… all problems I knew…”
“Haha… That’s enough! Let’s go drink like we promised!”
“You bounce back fast…”
“But where are we drinking?”
“Just a bar nearby. Drinking at a guy’s place feels a bit much.”
It was definitely awkward for one guy and three girls to drink at a man’s studio apartment. Even if I was fine with it, Kim Chae-eun and Heo Yeon-hwa unnie would probably feel uncomfortable.
“I know a few places nearby that are famous for being good! Let’s go there!”
“Sure. Don’t worry about the price. I’m treating.”
“Is that okay…? Even so…”
“It’s fine. Buying drinks once isn’t going to hurt me.”
In truth, I had enough money in my account to buy the entire bar without feeling a thing, but the place we arrived at was an ordinary hop house. They could have gone somewhere more expensive, but it seemed they were being considerate.
“Customers~”
We ordered one seasoned chicken and one fried chicken, along with a dumpling hot pot, one spicy sea snail cold noodle dish, and four 500cc beers. Would we even be able to finish all this?
“Alright, everyone raise your glasses! To success! To growth!”
“…You do know what that implies, right?”
“What?”
“Never mind. If we need more, just order it.”
“Whoa~. Unnie’s the best!!”
After that rather suspicious toast, a genuinely enjoyable time followed. It was fortunate that the four of us—who had met by pure coincidence—got along so well. I thought moments like this would continue.
“Uuuup! Uup!”
“Hehehe…”
“…What the hell is wrong with these lightweights?”
After they had each drunk about half of their 500cc beers, Kim Chae-eun and Heo Yeon-hwa unnie started to crumble. Unnie, whose expression had simply gone soft, was still manageable, but…
“If you were going to be like this, why did you suggest drinking?”
“Ah, I can still… uup!”
“Hey? Hey! Wait!”
Before Kim Chae-eun could reintroduce her pancake to the world, I quickly dragged her into the bathroom. Patting her back, I hid my exasperation as best I could and said,
“Stop drinking. At least switch to soda.”
“Ugh… I haven’t lost yet…”
“You’ve been completely defeated. Already.”
The moment I finally calmed Kim Chae-eun down and returned to our seats, I saw Heo Yeon-hwa unnie face-down on the table and a flustered Cheon Ma-ru who had no idea what to do.
“Oh, you’re back. Can you do something about my sister? It feels weird if I touch her.”
“…Sigh.”
Seeing unnie who looked fast asleep and Ma-ru fidgeting helplessly, a sigh escaped me. Please, let today pass without any major incidents.
In the end, we forced a cider into Kim Chae-eun’s hand and restarted the drinking session. Fortunately, unnie managed to pull herself together on her own. Naturally, I handed her a cider too. From then on, only Ma-ru and I drank the beer.
“What’s that?”
Cheon Ma-ru’s eyes landed on one of the bottles displayed on the shelf. It was indeed a bottle that caught the eye. It somehow didn’t match the casual atmosphere of the hop house.
“That? Probably Blue Label?”
“What’s that?”
“Johnnie Walker Blue Label. It’s one of the most famous and expensive whiskeys. That one… probably costs around four hundred thousand won per bottle?”
“Hieeek… Four hundred thousand…”
Now that I heard it, the memory came back faintly. Walker as in Johnnie Walker, right. And I had seen someone on YouTube secretly drinking Blue Label. So…
“Wasn’t it something you drink with cola?”
“No way!!!”
Kim Chae-eun’s sudden shout drew every customer’s eyes in the place.
“W-what’s wrong?”
“Who mixes cola with Blue Label— mmph!!”
I swiftly grabbed a chicken drumstick and stuffed it into Kim Chae-eun’s mouth. I was sure I had seen someone drink it that way in a video?
“I don’t… really know, but… I don’t think that’s how you drink it…”
“Really? I’m not that familiar with alcohol.”
So that wasn’t it. Then why had that person drunk it like that?
“Then shall we try some?”
“Huh…?”
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear me? That bottle costs nearly four hundred thousand won?”
Four hundred thousand won?
“That’s enough of a reason to try it once. I’ll buy it.”
“Whoa. Is this the spirit of an A-rank?”
“I haven’t joined a guild yet, you know?”
And I had no intention of joining one. There was no reason to.
“Boss~? Are you selling that?”
“Yes. It’s for sale.”
I accepted the Blue Label the owner brought over. I could see Kim Chae-eun openly drooling.
“You stick to your cider.”
“Why! Please, just one sip!!”
Someone who couldn’t even finish a 500cc beer—why did she like alcohol so much? Still, it would look strange if everyone drank except her, so I decided to let her have one glass.
“I never thought the day would come when I’d drink this…”
“You’ve never tried it before?”
“How could I buy something like this? Spending four hundred thousand on one bottle of liquor makes my hands shake.”
“So, how do you drink it?”
“Wait, give me the bottle. Boss~? Can we get some glasses and ice?”
The owner brought over glasses different from the beer mugs. Kim Chae-eun carefully poured the whiskey into the elegant, clearly high-end glasses.
“Beginners should drink it on the rocks. This stuff is pretty strong.”
She added a large ice cube—different from ordinary ones—and handed me a glass. The aroma alone felt distinctly different. It was like smoke? Or something similar. As I was savoring the scent, Kim Chae-eun finished pouring for all four of us and shouted,
“Then this time, our generous sponsor will give the toast!”
“Huh? A toast?”
What should I even say? This was my first time at a drinking party like this. The only thing I had done to prepare was drink alone while looking up drinking etiquette.
“Um… To success and happiness…?”
“Hey! That’s the same as mine!”
It was the only thing I had seen on YouTube. My apologies. Anyway, we clinked glasses and I took a small sip.
The first impression was sweeter than I expected. It wasn’t overly sweet, but since I had assumed it would burn like vodka, it was surprisingly pleasant. Then came the smoky aroma. It wasn’t like cigarettes; it was the scent of wet wood burning. And the subtle bitterness that all alcohol carried. How should I describe it…
“Heee…”
“It’s definitely worth the price.”
“Right? Among expensive whiskeys, this is probably the most famous and approachable.”
I wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, but I could genuinely say it tasted good.
“How is it?”
“…It’s nice. The flavor isn’t too overpowering.”
Cheon Ma-ru gave a small nod, seemingly pleased as well.
“But what do we do with the rest? It seems impossible to finish the whole bottle.”
“What else? Take it home.”
“Huh? Is that allowed?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? It would be weirder to finish this in one day.”
I didn’t think I would drink it even if I took it home… but I supposed I should bring it anyway. Who knows? Maybe guests would come over. Though there wasn’t anyone I was close enough with to drink at my house.
“Ughhh…”
“She’s dead. Looks like a necromancer is controlling her.”
“Haha…”
Kim Chae-eun had been slowly sipping the Blue Label before passing out again. Fortunately, she did not reopen the pancake restaurant.
“Then unnie, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ask you for this favor.”
“It’s fine… Thanks to you, I drank well…”
“Thank you.”
Unnie offered to walk Kim Chae-eun back to the dormitory. She seemed completely fine now. I wondered why she had collapsed so hard earlier.
“Shall we keep drinking then?”
“Yeah.”
We decided to drink just a little more. He didn’t enjoy alcohol much either, so he rarely drank unless it was an occasion like this.
“Now that I think about it, you handle alcohol well. You don’t look drunk at all.”
“I’m pretty good at it, I guess? I’ve never really been properly drunk before.”
“Same here. Do awakened people not get drunk easily?”
Then what was Kim Chae-eun? Some kind of irregular?
“In that case, want to go all the way tonight? I’ve been curious about what my drunk self is like too.”
Last time I tried drinking alone, I got too full to continue. That was with soju, though. This time it was whiskey, so I thought it might be possible.
“…Do you even know what I might do if I get drunk?”
“Try me. I’ll listen to the harmony between your bones and flesh.”
“…”
He kept disregarding me even though he knew my true identity. Even if the entire nation came at me, you wouldn’t be able to win, you know?
“Okay, whoever gets drunk first has to grant the other person’s wish. Cheers~!”
“Wait, I never agreed to—”
“Cheers~!”
He succeeded in obtaining my consent through silent pressure.
“Sigh… You seem way too defenseless. Or maybe it’s more like you lack any sense of tension?”
“I stay tense inside gates. Every single time.”
“Then bring some of that tension out here too.”
“Nooo~”
My tongue was starting to loosen. My face felt slightly flushed. Anyone would be able to tell I was beginning to get drunk.
“Here. Cheers~”
“You seem pretty drunk already.”
“No I’m not~? Aren’t you the one who’s already finished?”
We kept drinking while talking about all sorts of things. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt an atmosphere like this. Ever since my parents passed away, I had always lived with my guard up around others. This time spent laughing and chatting without any tension felt incredibly precious.
That said, I was starting to feel sleepy. Just one more glass and then…
“What the fuck.”
Early dawn, with the sun just beginning to rise. A house that wasn’t mine. Me, completely naked, glasses and all discarded. And…
“…”
Cheon Ma-ru, sleeping beside me in the same state of undress.
The moment I registered the situation, memories from last night came flooding back. How this had happened, and… what kind of insane things I had done.
