Broken Film
When he came to, there was some woman lying next to him. Her breathing was faint—was she asleep? Seoek… Seoek… Seo Joo-hwan carefully checked her face, trying not to wake her. The lights were off, so it was dark, but she was right beside him, close enough to make out her features.
Su-hee noona…?
The woman lying next to him was none other than Im Su-hee. Why the hell was Im Su-hee in the same bed? This looked like a motel room.
No way… did we…?
There was only one reason he could think of for a man and woman to end up in the same bed. He briefly wondered if she'd just brought him here after he blacked out, but that didn't explain why his clothes were off.
My clothes… they're on the floor.
His clothes were scattered on the floor, but there were no stains from vomit or anything gross like that. The chill between his legs suggested they'd really done it.
Damn. This is so frustrating.
Sleeping with Im Su-hee wasn't a problem in itself. Consenting adults could get drunk and hook up if the vibe was right. He'd grown surprisingly open-minded about that lately. The issue was he remembered nothing about how it happened.
All he could recall was pounding gamjatang shots like there was no tomorrow. What led to this? What did they even talk about? Seo Joo-hwan clutched his head, trying to dredge up the memories.
I definitely drank yesterday and…
Right up until he nearly passed out. Back in his army days, when it came out that he'd caught a murderer, he became the center of attention and broke his personal drinking record for the first time.
First time blacking out like this… We kept drinking there and then moved somewhere else.
Fragments started coming back. They drank till dawn, then the Ribbon Fitness guys got calls from their wives, made sour faces, and headed home. Baek Kang-ho took care of his flushed-faced Lee Hye-ri and left too, leaving just him and Im Su-hee.
I was gonna head out too, but…
Im Su-hee, her face red, suggested one more round, just the two of them. She'd been the strongest drinker there—not him, not any of the members. He followed her lead to a nearby room bar. They drank and talked, but he'd already exceeded his limit, so the details were fuzzy.
Everything after entering the room was like a fog. Scattered scenes floated up, but they didn't connect.
Ugh. This feels so gross.
Not remembering his own actions felt worse than he'd imagined—dirty and anxious. He couldn't just wake her up and ask.
Oh, Lucy!
He'd stupidly forgotten about Lucy. He always had his trusty companion with him. Even if he'd passed out, Lucy would've seen and remembered everything.
He called her mentally, and she replied right away.
I don't know everything, Master. When you fall asleep, I switch to sleep mode too.
News to him. At least the blackout part was something Lucy remembered.
Tell me what you do know, then.
Understood.
Why am I in bed with Su-hee noona?
Because while drinking in the room, you told Im Su-hee, "Noona, I'm really good at sex?"
Lucy just blurted out the conclusion.
…What?
His brain froze. For a second, he thought his ears were busted. Or maybe he was still drunk. Or Lucy had glitched. But she repeated it clearly.
Didn't you hear? You told Im Su-hee, "Noona, I'm—"
S-Stop!
He cut her off before she could say it again. What the hell happened at dawn? He screamed internally.
Did I really say that shit out loud?
Yes. And you actively appealed about your sex skills too.
Me? For real?
Lucy's word was law, but the absurdity was too much to accept right away. He knew his own timid personality—how could he say something so bold? But denial wasn't an option either. Im Su-hee was right there beside him.
Tell me more. From the beginning.
Sure. In the room, you and Im Su-hee…
Just then, Lucy's words were cut off by a familiar voice.
"Mm. Joo-hwan, you're awake?"
He flinched and turned. Im Su-hee was looking at him with half-lidded eyes. She grinned, dimples flashing on her cheeks.
"How's your stomach? You were totally wasted after chugging so much."
"Yeah, I'm… fine. You okay, noona?"
Her face soured at his polite speech. He realized his mistake and switched.
"You good, noona?"
"Hng. At least you catch on quick."
"Haha…"
Figures—it was the formal talk. Ever since he turned a year older, she was obsessed with banmal.
Time to drop the formalities for real.
His actual age was thirty-two anyway—no big deal.
Im Su-hee grabbed the water bottle by the bed without sitting up. As she gulped it down, a droplet escaped her lips, trailing down her neck to her shoulder. She was naked too—bare skin gleaming. Yeah, they'd definitely done it.
She glanced at him, then giggled, dimples deepening.
"You don't remember what happened at dawn, do you, Joo-hwan?"
Women's intuition? Busted. No woman wants a guy who blacks out on sex, even if it's the booze's fault. He played it cool.
"…What're you talking about? Of course I remember."
"Hng. Then how many times did we do it last night?"
As if. But judging by his usual output, at least three. He bluffed.
"Too many to keep track… Ow, hot damn!"
Before he finished, her hand smacked his back with a sharp crack. Gym hands hit hard—his back burned.
"Aigoo. You seduce noona, drag her here, and can't even remember?"
"…Sorry."
What else could he say? He felt a bit wronged since he couldn't remember, but he had enough shame not to show it.
Then Im Su-hee started laughing, slapping the bed.
"Pffft! You really remember nothing? Not even our little bet?"
"Bet? What… Oh!"
"Huh? You remember now?"
"Yeah. Kinda."
Seo Joo-hwan scratched his eyebrow awkwardly. "Bet" jogged a fragment loose.