Last Drinking Party with the Iljins? (2)
"Alright, alright! Dig in and enjoy! Cheers!"
I raised my soju glass over the nakgopsae bubbling away on the gas burner right in the middle of the table. Hot steam rose from below, warming my hand.
"Cheers!"
Seo Daon lifted her can of Bang-ul Toktok.
"……."
Do Yeon, as always, raised her beer mug filled to the brim with soju. We clinked glasses.
"Gulp. Ahh……."
I drained one soju glass and let out a sigh. The bitter bite of the alcohol still refused to settle right. Maybe it was because life still felt worth living. If that was the case, I was fine staying exactly like this.
"Kyaa! So good."
Seo Daon took a single sip as she spoke. The Bang-ul Toktok was 355 ml, but she barely touched her lips to it, like she was just tasting the food. She clearly wanted to stick around a long time tonight. Last week, every time we drank after turning twenty, she had gone all out with zero restraint. She would get so wasted she ended up crashing at my place, and even when I told her to slow down she never listened. Maybe because today was the last time—she was actually showing a mature side.
"Gulp gulp gulp."
The cheerful sound of someone chugging came from beside me. Do Yeon had finished off the soju that filled her beer mug. Without a single sound of appreciation she set the glass down and tilted the red-label soju bottle next to her like she was pouring water. The soju sloshed just a centimeter below the rim. Now that was a real drinker. I had never seen anyone who could outdrink her. She only stuck to soju when she drank with us. According to her, when she drank alone she knocked back vodka the same way. That was no lie—I had watched her do exactly that right in front of me the last time I visited her place. From that day on I decided never to get prideful about anything physical in front of Do Yeon. Every time I bragged that I could throw a better low kick, hold my liquor better, or run faster, she would just snort and look at me like I was adorable. There was a reason for that. Do Yeon was probably the first woman in human history who could beat any man.
"Delicious. Every time I eat the nakgopsae here I think the same thing—they really know what they're doing."
Seo Daon scooped another ladleful onto her empty plate as she spoke.
"Maeum Nakgopsae. It's on the third floor of this building."
"Ah~ Right! I think I've seen it!"
Seo Daon clapped her hands. Then she turned a radiant smile on me…… and yeah, there was a reason she had been chosen as the most beautiful woman in Korea. If she weren't one of my iljins, I probably would have already picked out names for our grandkids. I hummed under my breath, trying to calm my racing heart.
"Haerin."
Do Yeon called my name. ……She was early today. As always I slid over to the seat beside her and leaned against the bed, ready to become her human body pillow. Whoosh. Do Yeon draped her right arm over my shoulder and pulled me in. The grip was a little strong. My whole body tilted.
"……Yeon?"
I was sitting at a crooked angle, one second away from burying my face in her chest. No answer came. I pushed my neck muscles to their absolute limit and just barely kept from making contact. She couldn't have been doing it on purpose as a reward. Once before I had been caught completely off guard and face-planted straight into her full, soft breasts. Seo Daon had gotten so furious that day I thought she was going to ask, "What the hell is wrong with this kid?" Even after that, Do Yeon still pulled these mischievous stunts. Ever since then my neck stayed permanently tense around her. Do Yeon hauled me upright.
"Been on the computer a lot lately?"
She jerked her chin toward the desk.
"No……."
"Phone, then?"
"I guess I just kept my head down too long while working at the café."
I gave a plausible answer. It was true enough. Making coffee meant constantly looking down, and I greeted over a hundred customers a day. That was probably what was wrecking my neck.
"……Work going okay there?"
"Yeah."
Half of my million-won monthly cut came from the café salary, after all.
"Hold still."
"Huh?"
Goosebumps rose on my back as I asked again. Squeeze! Do Yeon dug her fingers into the muscles of my neck.
"Gyaah! W-wait, wait a sec. Yeon!"
About a minute passed.
"Done."
Do Yeon ended the torture.
"Hah. Haaah……. Are you trying to kill me?"
I rubbed the back of my neck as I spoke. Still, my neck did feel better. How the hell did she do that?
"Drink."
Do Yeon poured from the soju bottle she had been drinking. I held out my glass on pure reflex.
"Cheers."
She raised her glass. I followed suit. Seo Daon was twitching her lips and glaring at us, wasn't she? ……If this kept up they were going to fight again.
"Daon! The nakgopsae's good, right? When you wrap filming later, stop by here for the wrap party. The place is pretty spacious, so it should be fine!"
Seo Daon's expression only grew darker.
"Congratulations! The whole point of tonight's drinking party was to celebrate you and Yeon, remember? I figured you'd get cast by that director—whatever his name was."
I set my glass down and waved my hands and feet, doing everything I could to calm Seo Daon.
"These days the criminals are more popular than the protagonists, right? If you really hit it big this time you could even win awards, yeah? That movie last year blew up worldwide!"
"Heh. That so?"
Seo Daon let out a short laugh. Yes!
"Honestly I'd rather you were the lead, but the plot's basically that, right? Getting clues from an imprisoned serial killer to solve cold cases or something!"
"Right, right."
Seo Daon crossed her arms and nodded.
"Honestly, in movies like that, no matter how cool the protagonist is, the killer who only shows up once in a while hits way harder."
"You know your stuff~ Haerin?"
"Of course! Back when you were a trainee we practiced together, remember? I picked up a few things then too."
"That's my Haerin. Alright, let's just drink easy tonight."
This time Seo Daon raised her can first. Do Yeon had already set hers down long ago.
"Great, great! The mood's heating up! Let's eat well tonight and pray Daon and Yeon both crush it!"
I raised my glass right after Seo Daon. But this time Do Yeon just sat there holding her glass with a sullen look. Was she going to crush it? Good thing I had prepared an extra-sturdy beer mug. A light squeeze wouldn't break it. Do Yeon let out one long breath before finally lifting her glass.
"Yeah! Today's the last one. It's gonna be hard to see me from now on."
For a second their expressions seemed to turn bitter. ……I must have imagined it.
"And you two won't see each other much either. You've both got your own paths now. Daon and Yeon are both chasing the dreams they wanted."
I kept going.
"Congrats to you too, Yeon. Youngest woman in the world to make it into the UFC. I think that's seriously amazing. No—I think you're gonna clean up the women's rankings real quick and then start knocking out the guys too."
Every word was pure, unfiltered sincerity. When we were kids Do Yeon had gone toe-to-toe with a stray dog and won, and once on an insect-collecting trip I watched her smash tree bark with her bare fist. At 165 cm and 52 kg (55 on fight day) she had entered the UFC strawweight division after scoring a first-round KO against a foreign transgender fighter. Her looks were absurdly beautiful, so she already had a huge fanbase before the world even knew her name. I heard her popularity was already on par with the male UFC stars. Whether my sincerity got through or not, Do Yeon gave a dry laugh.
"It's not that big a deal."
Then she turned her head the other way. Getting shy, huh. Cute. I looked at Seo Daon. She was radiating that mysterious charm only a silver-haired beauty could pull off.
"I saw the commercial you shot recently too. Looked great. People were saying you made eight billion in ad fees after last year's historical drama blew up, right? There's not a single person in Korea who doesn't know you now. All that's left is the prestige."
No kidding. Was it even okay for Seo Daon to be sitting here right now? Anyway.
"That historical drama was really fun too. When I heard that Daon, who had just debuted, was cast as Queen Seondeok, I thought the director had lost his mind. But you just crushed it with pure acting skill. Looks were a bonus. The black hair suited you really well back then."
I spoke honestly and gave her a thumbs-up. I expected Seo Daon to puff up her shoulders at the flattery and flash a confident smile, but instead she gave a bitter little smile. ……Why were they both acting like this today?
I kept doing everything I could to keep the mood alive as the night grew deeper.
"Eat."
"……What? Yeon? I really can't take any more……."
Do Yeon made me alternate one sip of soju and one bite of anju without a single break for a solid thirty minutes.
"Haerin's so cute!"
Seo Daon slid over and started spoon-feeding me nakgopsae. I had two of the most famous beauties in Korea—no, the entire world—pressed against either side of me. Haa…… but I couldn't keep my head straight. I was not getting drunk on this feeling!
I drained another soju glass. Already ten empty bottles were stacked up. Do Yeon had drunk seven of them, but I was still setting a new personal record for the most I had ever drunk in my life.
"Eat."
It came from the left. I was sure Do Yeon had said it, but the words never quite reached my ears.
"Yeon. Stop pouring already. He's pretty much done."
This time from the right. Had Seo Daon, who had finished her Bang-ul Toktok, ever spoken that clearly before? My ears were ringing…… my eyes were closing…… and I was sinking deeper into the pull of sleep.
"Who's going first?"
"Me first."
"……Fine. But no jumping the gun."
What were they talking about? I couldn't follow the iljins' conversation. I couldn't even hear it properly.
"You just worry about yourself. Don't go into heat and jump him."
"Ha? This bitch for real. Just 'cause you can fight a little you think nothing can touch you!"
A thud sounded. I was too sleepy to do anything…….
"Heh. Is being first that important?"
"What are you talking about? Look after yourself. You get wet like a bitch in heat the second you see my Haerin and still pretend otherwise. And you didn't even have the guts to go further than that. Total coward. All you know how to do is throw punches."
"Hey."
Hey, girls, don't…….
"What? Gonna hit me? Go ahead. Timing-wise I had no choice but to yield. The second Haerin comes to me, he won't even have you in his eyes."
"That so? Too bad. Since I'm first, you can just do the dishes."
"You fucking bitch!"
Th…… that…… can't…….
My consciousness cut out.
(Do Yeon AI Illustration)
(Seo Daon AI Illustration)
