Chapter 165: Christmas (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165: Christmas (3)
"Unnie, you should have woken up earlier. How could you oversleep when we had plans today?"
Ha Seo-rim sat Ji Nuri down and began to nag her.
Ji Nuri had finally emerged from her room after changing, but in her haste, she had only managed to throw on a simple gray zip-up hoodie.
"I'm sowwy..."
She kept her head bowed low, unable to even offer an excuse. The corners of her eyes were slumped in dejection.
"And what is with those clothes? I know you just woke up, but still..."
Ha Seo-rim stared at Ji Nuri’s outfit. She seemed to be recalling the situation from a moment ago. Looking embarrassed on Nuri's behalf, she fanned herself with her hand.
"...It’s a bit... indecent."
"Ugh."
Ji Nuri’s eyes trembled as if she’d been stabbed in the heart.
— "...A-Am I indecent?"
Ji Nuri’s Mini-Me froze like a stone statue, looking profoundly shocked.
— "...I’m telling you, Nuri is the biggest pervert of them all."
Shin A-young’s Mini-Me watched the scene and let out a snort.
— "Seung-ho... help meee..."
Ji Nuri’s Mini-Me turned to look at me. Her whimpering grew more intense; she was clearly dying of embarrassment.
Sigh.
She probably won't do that again. She likely knows better than anyone else how careless she was being. I should help her out a bit.
I stole a glance at the clock.
"...Should we eat first? It’s almost noon."
The current time was 11:39 AM. There were still about twenty minutes left until twelve, but I intentionally nudged the time forward.
"......."
Ha Seo-rim blinked slowly in silence.
"...Fine."
She nodded. It looked like she still had plenty to say, but she decided to drop it for now and stood up. Only then did Ji Nuri’s face brighten.
"Should we order something?"
"I think it’ll take forever if we order now."
It was a holiday, after all. If we ordered now, the food probably wouldn't arrive for over an hour.
"Let’s just make something. Nuri Unnie, can I look in the fridge?"
"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead."
"Excuse me."
Ha Seo-rim opened the refrigerator door.
"Something we can make quickly..."
Ha Seo-rim quickly scanned the contents of the fridge and the shelves where room-temperature ingredients were kept.
— "We have noodles and sauce, and there's shrimp and clams... we have everything we need."
Ha Seo-rim’s Mini-Me hopped around between the ingredients.
"How about pasta?" she asked, pulling out ingredients and lining them up.
"Seafood pasta?"
"That, and some oil-based pasta."
It was a safe menu that most people enjoyed.
"What about you guys?"
"We don't mind."
"Yeah, sounds good."
The others nodded. No one had any objections.
With the menu decided, meal prep began immediately. I washed my hands and stood next to Ha Seo-rim as she pulled out a pot.
"I'll help too."
"Then, could you prep the ingredients for me?"
"Sure."
Tak-tak-tak-tak—
I placed the vegetables on the cutting board and sliced them into uniform, bite-sized pieces. I wasn't a master chef, but my knife skills were decent enough.
As I was acting as her assistant...
"...Oh."
I noticed the other three standing around awkwardly.
— "...Is there nothing for me to help with? It feels weird for the host to just stand here."
Ji Nuri’s Mini-Me flustered about, pacing around the kitchen.
"Should we help too?"
"It’s fine, just sit in the living room. It’ll just get crowded if there are too many people in the kitchen."
Answering in a calm tone, Ha Seo-rim rolled up her sleeves and filled the pot with water.
"Oh, then..."
I gave the three idle people something appropriate to do.
"Could you guys set the table and get the utensils ready?"
"O-Okay."
Lee Sol nodded vigorously. Her body language said, Leave it to me.
I placed the prepped ingredients next to Ha Seo-rim, who was moving busily.
"I'll leave these here."
"Okay."
It had been a while since we worked together like this. It reminded me of when we worked part-time together.
"Let's see..."
I checked the shelves. Butter, garlic, parsley flakes—everything we needed was there.
...Since we have bread, too.
I thought about making some garlic bread while the noodles were boiling. Eating just pasta felt a bit lacking. When there are a lot of people, you need a side dish like that. I used to make it as a snack for Lee Seung-ah sometimes, so it wasn't difficult.
I quickly whipped up some garlic bread sauce, spread it on the slices of bread, and put them in the oven. Now, all I had to do was wait.
Ha Seo-rim, who was watching the pot, fished out a strand of pasta with her chopsticks.
Slurp.
She took a bite, presumably to check if it was cooked. The Mini-Me’s eyes closed as her cheeks puffed out while chewing.
— "...I think it's cooked, but..."
She still seemed a bit unsure.
Hoo, hoo—
She blew on a few strands of noodles resting on a spoon and held it out to me.
"Senior, do you want to try a bite and see?"
"Huh?"
"Go on."
"......."
I glanced back. The others were struggling to set up the folding table. The situation felt a bit strange, but she was just asking me to check the noodles.
I took the bite.
"Oh, it's good."
It wasn't too soggy or too firm. It was just right.
Ha Seo-rim nodded and strained the noodles from the pot. She tossed them into the sauce she had been sautéing on the side. With a sizzling sound, two types of pasta were completed.
"Here."
The dishes were placed on the table one by one: seafood tomato pasta, oil pasta, and the garlic bread made from sliced bread. It was a feast that exceeded expectations.
"Phew..."
Ha Seo-rim wiped the sweat from her forehead with a satisfied expression.
"I'll enjoy the meal."
I gave a short greeting as I sat down. Even though I helped, the cooking was almost entirely Ha Seo-rim’s work.
"Ah. Oh... Y-Yes."
Startled by my comment, Ha Seo-rim nodded and replied.
"...I'll enjoy it too."
* * *
After lunch, we went outside to look at the Christmas trees. We couldn't just stay inside all day.
We took photos in front of the trees and bought some warm coffee. After wandering around for a while, we returned home.
"Haaa! It's so cold...!"
Ji Nuri quickly opened the front door and rushed inside. Someone might have called her dramatic, but it really was freezing. It wasn't just the temperature; the icy wind pierced right through our clothes.
Once inside, everyone rubbed their hands together.
"Wow, if we hadn't brought hot packs..."
While everyone was putting away their coats...
"But, is it really okay for me to accept this...?"
Ha Seo-rim was fidgeting with a box in her arms. It was a gift beautifully wrapped in green paper. It wasn't just her; we each had a box in our hands. They were Christmas gifts Shin A-young had bought for us.
"It's fine. I bought them because I wanted to."
She waved her hand dismissively, looking a bit embarrassed as if it were no big deal.
"I'll use it well, A-young."
"...Thanks."
Ji Nuri and Lee Sol also expressed their gratitude in their own ways. I had also received a gift from her—a perfume with a modern design.
"I'll use it well."
"Yeah."
Shin A-young smiled brightly.
— "Ehehe. I'm going to wear the same perfume."
The Mini-Me’s lips curled into a smirk. No wonder she bought two. Perhaps she realized her own thought was a bit creepy, as the tips of the Mini-Me’s ears turned slightly red.
"Hmm."
It was still too early for bed. And since we had nothing else to do...
"Should we watch a movie?"
"Should we?"
As everyone seemed to agree, Ji Nuri turned on the TV. In truth, there weren't many movies to choose from on Christmas.
"I'll go grab some snacks to eat while we watch."
Ji Nuri disappeared into the kitchen.
"Huh?"
With a curious sound, she poked her head back into the living room.
"What's this?"
Ji Nuri held up a glass jar. Ha Seo-rim answered.
"It's tangerine syrup. I didn't want to come empty-handed, so I brought something..."
Ha Seo-rim’s voice trailed off. She must have forgotten to mention it because of everything that happened as soon as she arrived.
"Oh, that's perfect. Everyone wants a glass, right? I'll make it into ade."
"Yeah."
"Please."
Ji Nuri went back into the kitchen with the tangerine syrup.
Slurp—
"Mmm?"
Ji Nuri’s eyebrows shot up strangely as she tasted her tangerine ade. She smacked her lips.
— "...The taste is a bit weird."
Gulp, gulp.
The Mini-Me muttered and took another taste.
"...Hmm."
Her confusion didn't go away.
— "Can tangerine syrup go bad?"
Ji Nuri tilted her head and set the tangerine ade down.
"Ughhh..."
Lee Sol’s face crumpled the moment she tasted the ade. She couldn't even swallow a single sip, and the drink dribbled out from between her lips.
Seeing their strange reactions, I quickly took a sip.
"...Oh."
It was sweet, but there was a strange bitterness to it. It was a taste that made my stomach churn a bit. As soon as I took a sip, the scent that wafted up was familiar. It was a scent I sometimes smelled from my parents when they came home from work.
"Wait a second."
I grabbed Ha Seo-rim’s arm as she was about to drink.
"Uh... why?"
Sniff, sniff. I smelled the drink.
"...Hey, this is alcohol."
"W-What?"
Startled, Ha Seo-rim brought her nose to her cup. The faint scent of alcohol rose up. After catching it, she hurriedly put the cup down in a panic. She flustered about, not knowing what to do.
"...I-I'm so sorry. I brought it thinking it was tangerine syrup."
We couldn't drink this. If people found out we were drinking at a friend's house, it would be a headache in many ways. Especially since I was the only guy there, it would be even harder to explain.
I put the cup down and asked Ji Nuri.
"Is there any other drink besides this?"
"I think we have Cola?"
"Then let's have that."
"Wait a sec!"
Ji Nuri scurried off and returned with the Cola. Various snacks, including chips, were spread out on the table.
'Ji Nuri seems fine, at least.'
She looked like she’d drunk almost a third of it. Fortunately, she didn't seem drunk. It was just a minor mishap. Drinking it knowing what it was would be one thing, but it was an accident, so what could we do?
"...Anyway, let's just watch the movie."
I changed the awkward atmosphere and started the movie.
.......
Not long after the movie started...
The unsettled atmosphere thinned out and soon vanished. The girls were quickly absorbed in the film. The minor commotion died down.
The living room lights were off. We were sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa.
— Aaaaah!
The boisterous sounds from the TV filled the room. Movies watched on Christmas had their own special vibe. A movie about a child left home alone who fends off burglars. It was a movie I’d seen countless times during this season, but there was a certain flavor to revisiting it.
Especially the scenes where the burglars get punished by the protagonist; even now, they made me chuckle—
— "Hehe. Hehehe."
...Huh?
A strange laughing sound came from beside me.
— "Hahaha."
Ji Nuri’s Mini-Me was giggling while watching the movie. The way she was laughing was a bit off.
"Hey, Ji Nuri?"
"Mmm? Whayyy?"
Ji Nuri replied in a cutesy tone, pulling her knees to her chest. That tone was so distinctly different from the usual Ji Nuri that...
"““.......?””"
It was enough to capture the attention of everyone, including myself, all at once.
"The light. Turn on the living room light."
"Okay."
Lee Sol hurriedly stood up and flipped the switch.
Click—
With the living room brightened, Ji Nuri’s clearly flushed face was revealed.
"Hooooo—"
The sound of a deep exhale. Ji Nuri leaned her back against the sofa and stared blankly at the ceiling.
— "Is she... drunk right now?"
Shin A-young’s Mini-Me looked at Ji Nuri with a bewildered expression. No matter how I looked at it, she was.
"Hey."
I carefully grabbed Ji Nuri’s swaying shoulders.
"Are you drunk?"
"Mmm? That tangerine wine? Psh— I wouldn't get drunk off just a little bit of that, right?"
Ji Nuri chuckled and patted my shoulder. She giggled, as if it were a funny joke.
......Then, what on earth...
'Oh.'
I hurriedly picked up the box Ji Nuri was holding. It seemed to be an imported item, as the text was in English. I scanned the description until I found the name of the product.
"...Whiskey Bonbons."
Chocolates with alcohol in them. And these had a fairly high alcohol content.
"Ah, those chocolates were so tasty~"
Ji Nuri giggled and pulled out a chocolate.
"Do you wanna try one too? I'll give you one, here~ Say ahhh~"
She grabbed me and shoved the chocolate toward me.
"Mmph."
Ji Nuri pressed the chocolate against my lips. As she tried to force it through my closed lips, I gently caught her wrist.
"Huh? Why? You don't wanna eat it?"
Ji Nuri’s face crumpled into a pout.
— "Hwaaaaa..."
The Mini-Me’s whimpering intensified.
I'm the one who wants to cry.
"...You're going to be the death of me. Seriously."
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