A Thrilling Tension
For a while, we sat in silence, waiting. Then, in the distance, I spotted Sua hurrying toward us without an umbrella. She had borrowed one from a friend halfway here, but the moment she saw my car, she broke into a run. She was heading for the passenger seat until she noticed Cha Yeri sitting there. Instead, she quickly climbed into the back seat to escape the rain. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Yeri.
I flashed her a sly grin and said, “The president asked if I could give her a ride home. I figured we’d stop by her place first. That okay with you?”
Sua gave a slow nod. She brushed the water off her clothes, then turned to Cha Yeri with a polite greeting.
“Hello, President. This is the first time I’ve seen you outside the student council room. Hehe.”
“Nice to meet you, Sua. I’ll be in your care today. Please look after me.”
“I’m the one getting a free ride, so you should say that to Ijin oppa, not me.”
“Kang Ijin. I’ll be counting on you today.”
“Got it. We’re heading out, so both of you buckle up.”
Both of them had such gentle personalities that they exchanged warm greetings the moment they met. I finally had both of them in my car at the same time. With the two most beautiful women in the world sitting in my vehicle, I felt like a successful man living the dream. I stepped on the accelerator with a satisfied smile.
“Thanks, Kang Ijin. I got home comfortably because of you. Drive safe.”
When the car stopped in front of the gate to the luxurious detached house, Cha Yeri leaned forward. I reached into the back seat, grabbed the umbrella from under it, and handed it to her.
“President. Take the umbrella.”
“It’s right in front, so I’ll be fine.”
“You still have to open the gate and cross the yard to actually get inside. Seriously, I don’t get why rich people love these inconvenient yards.”
“Pfft. True. Then I won’t refuse.”
Cha Yeri let out a small laugh at my sarcastic tone and accepted the umbrella. Then she turned toward the back seat.
“You take care too, Sua. I enjoyed our short conversation. It was nice.”
At the neat, polite farewell, Sua’s face brightened.
“I enjoyed talking with you too, President. I’ll do my best not to be a burden to you as a student council member on the festival day!”
“Don’t worry. I’m truly grateful that someone as diligent as you has joined the council.”
The first time these two had ever sat together seemed to end on a warm, pleasant note.
At least until Cha Yeri said what she said next.
“Sua, you have my phone number, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“If Kang Ijin ever plays too many pranks or bothers you, contact me. I’ll take care of it.”
“…Pardon?”
A shadow fell across Sua’s face at Cha Yeri’s words. Her mouth kept opening and closing as if she wanted to say something. But once she realized it was just a kind offer, she forced an awkward smile.
“Ah… yes! I will!”
Satisfied with the energetic reply, Cha Yeri smiled, opened the umbrella, and gave us one last polite bow before heading through the gate.
As soon as her back disappeared, Sua climbed over the gap between the driver’s and passenger seats to sit up front.
“Didn’t I tell you not to climb over like that?”
“We haven’t started moving yet, so it’s fine.”
Fine? Every time you climb over, your skirt rides up and I can see everything, you idiot. Or are you doing it on purpose? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t mind at all.
Like a puppy claiming her designated spot, Sua settled into the seat beside me. The moment the car started moving, she turned to look at me. Her expression had grown slightly gloomy.
“You said that without realizing, right?”
Her voice carried a faint chill.
“What the president just said?”
When I quickly caught on to the meaning, her expression softened a little. It meant that in front of his girlfriend, Cha Yeri had spoken as if she shared a more special relationship with me.
I had noticed her face darken instantly and understood right away. Damn, I really am the perfect boyfriend.
“Yeah…”
Sua’s voice was subdued. She seemed to know there was no malice behind the words, which was why she had forced herself to smile in response. Still, any normal person would feel upset if someone acted like they were closer to their boyfriend than they were—especially right in front of them.
“That makes sense. The president doesn’t know we’re dating. She was just showing you some goodwill. She’s not the type to say things with bad intentions.”
“I know… I know she didn’t mean it that way. That’s why I smiled and answered.”
“You did well. Our little one has grown up. You even know how to hold it in.”
I gently pinched her cheek and wiggled it. Her skin was so soft and squishy that I felt a strong urge to keep pulling. Unfortunately, Sua pulled her face away, ruining the fun.
“Ah! I told you not to treat me like a kid. Seriously…”
“It’s because I’m proud of you.”
“There’s only a one-year difference, but you always treat me like a child… It’s annoying…”
She grumbled while rubbing her pinched cheek, but her mood seemed to have lifted. She reached out and took my hand.
“Feeling better now?”
“I wasn’t even upset in the first—”
She flinched. Her words trailed off as she clamped her mouth shut and her body jerked like she was hiccupping. It was because I had grabbed her wrist firmly after she tried to pull her hand away.
I stared at her, one corner of my mouth lifted, and pulled her hand toward me with force. Her body slid closer.
“Really? I think what she said was plenty upsetting.”
“What… do you mean…?”
Playing dumb, huh? You really wanted to say it when Yeri spoke like that. That you know me better than she does. That you’re my girlfriend, so there’s no need for her to worry. You wanted to scream it at her so badly—don’t pretend otherwise.
With the corner of my mouth still raised, I answered by neatly placing her hand on her own thigh. Then I lightly scratched her thigh with my fingers and changed the subject.
“It’s raining today. Want to go to my place and have some pajeon with makgeolli?”
“…I don’t know…”
“Should I just buy any makgeolli at the mart?”
“I want to pick it…”
She was pretending to be sulky because of my cheeky attitude, but the corners of her mouth kept twitching. It was clear she liked the light but subtly erotic skinship. If just touching her thigh a little made her this happy, I was curious what kind of reaction she’d show after drinking.
I glanced at her and asked, “By the way, can you hold your liquor?”
“My dad gave me one glass when I became an adult, but I’ve never drunk any other time.”
“What?! Not even with your friends?”
“No… Alcohol seems bad for your health… and I was a little scared of getting drunk…”
It had already been five months since Sua became an adult. And she hadn’t touched alcohol once in that time? Was that even possible? I had been drinking long before I was legal, but usually when someone turns twenty, they go out drinking with friends. Besides, even though Sua was a bit introverted, she was kind and pretty, so she had plenty of friends. The fact that she had turned down every single invitation to drink was so pure it gave me chills.
“Is that really so surprising?”
“You said you’d pick the makgeolli, so I assumed you’d tried it before. Tsk… Too bad, but I guess we can’t. Let’s pretend the pajeon and makgeolli idea never happened.”
“…Huh? Why? Let’s just do it. I don’t mind…”
“No matter what, how can I give alcohol to a girl who’s never had a drink before in a house where two guys live? We’ll do it later once you’re more used to it.”
Normally, saying this much would have made Sua back down. After all, she didn’t seem to like alcohol that much anyway. It was a shame I wouldn’t get to share rainy-day pajeon and makgeolli with her, but I could find something else to replace it.
However—
“Oppa can just control it for me! It’ll be good for you since you get to drink with me, and I get to learn how to drink from you. It’s a win-win! …Wait, is it not…?”
Sua had already latched onto the idea of drinking with me and refused to let it go. She really seemed desperate to drink with me no matter what…
“Didn’t you say it’s bad for your health?”
“People can’t only eat things that are good for them…”
“You said getting drunk was scary…”
“That was if I drank with friends… I’m not scared of getting drunk in front of you, oppa.”
“So you’re saying you want to drink until you can’t even stand in front of me?”
“T-that’s not what I meant! Even if I get drunk, you’ll be right there beside me… so I can trust you and drink…”
Aren’t you trusting me a little too much? I’m a man too. You think I won’t have dirty thoughts when I see a drunk woman? Getting a drunk girl wasted, taking advantage of her, and then watching her wake up the next day in despair after realizing she was violated—that’s a classic plot in adult comics. There isn’t a single man who wouldn’t have lewd thoughts seeing a woman that drunk.
No matter how clumsy she was with relationships, she couldn’t possibly be unaware of the dangers of a woman drinking with a man. The fact that she was suggesting it anyway meant… she wouldn’t mind even if something like that happened.
What a filthy thought. I told her I wouldn’t do it until the festival, yet here we are.
“If it looks like you’re getting too drunk, I’ll take the alcohol away by force.”
“Yes! Then we’re going straight to the mart?”
“That’s right. Let’s buy enough for all of us—including that Kang Suho guy. And get the ingredients for the pajeon too.”
“You’re going to make it yourself?”
“Yeah. It’s not that hard.”
“Wow, that sounds delicious. It’s going to be so much fun.”
She looked incredibly happy at the thought of trying alcohol for the first time with my cooking as the side dish. By the way, she didn’t seem to realize that if she drank, she wouldn’t be able to drive… The distance from my house to hers wasn’t too far to walk, but… maybe I could use that as an excuse to get her to sleep over?
Tomorrow was Saturday anyway. Depending on how things went, I’d have to steer the situation so that Sua ended up spending the night at my place.