Dead Drunk (1)
Heewon stopped by our place around five o'clock.
"Here's the gift I mentioned. Enjoy it."
"Ah, thank yo—whoa, that's heavy?!"
The moment I took the bag from her at the front door, I nearly toppled over and only barely managed to stay upright on sheer leg strength.
I peered inside.
Inside the fine paper bag, four glass bottles gleamed in elegant colors.
"…Isn't this a bit much? These are gifts you received? All of them??"
"Well, yeah. Pretty much."
Something about her halfhearted answer made me look up at her face. She gave an awkward little "Haha…" and then, looking faintly embarrassed, went on.
"Mmm, some annoying rumors started circulating at work. I'm thinking of transferring soon. …My motives aren't entirely pure, but I figured I'd clean house and bring over everything I've been given…."
"Well, pure motives or not, we're happy to take them. Cecilia won't mind either. But annoying rumors? You okay?"
"Of course. I even got Jaeseop's number."
She pulled her phone from her pocket, gave it a little shake, and beamed.
"I was thinking of calling him later. Catch up on how we've both been."
"…Your mental fortitude is something else."
I said it with genuine admiration. I didn't know the full story, but if coworkers kept gifting me booze like this, I'd be terrified. All I could do was hope she and Jaeseop hyung worked things out sooner rather than later.
"Thanks for the compliment. Ah! Cecilia~!"
Heewon called toward the bedroom. Cecilia, who'd been nodding off drowsily, stirred and padded out toward the entryway with soft little steps.
"Mm. Hii, Unnie~…."
"Aww, were you sleeping?"
"A little…."
"I see…. Sleeping okay at night? Nothing bothering you?"
"Mhm."
Cecilia rubbed her eyes and flicked her ears as she answered. Heewon watched her with open fondness, then turned back to me.
"I'll be heading out, then. Enjoy yourselves."
"Thanks for the drinks."
"Bye, Unnie…."
At Cecilia's dreamy farewell, Heewon smiled. Then she stepped closer and whispered under her breath.
"…Don't get drunk and do anything stupid."
"I won't."
"And don't just jump her or anything."
"I already said I won't."
I shot her a look, half exasperated. What did she take me for? From Heewon's perspective, of course, tiny adorable Cecilia might be a worry—but things had been fine so far, and today would be fine too.
"Well, then."
She took a step back and, in a bright voice, called out,
"See you next time, Cecilia~."
She gave a little bow. I watched her slip quietly toward the stairs for a moment, then turned to Cecilia.
"You really conked out, huh. Tired?"
"Mm. Not so much tired as… I worked hard at school all week. That catch-up…?"
"Look at you, becoming a proper modern person."
I shut the door with a click and carried the heavy paper bag inside, setting it down on the table with a solid thud.
"Whew. These bottles are huge."
"What kind of alcohol?"
Cecilia had trotted after me and peered into the bag. Her still-hazy eyes slowly widened.
"…Ooh."
"A lot, right?"
"A lot."
I glanced at her nodding and started pulling the bottles free.
"All four are wine. Two white, two red."
"I think I've seen this one before."
"Yeah. The two whites are the same as what we drank last time. Sparkling white wine. The expensive-looking kind."
I set all four bottles out and folded up the paper bag. I'd been thinking of a light drink, but this was turning into quite the production.
"We should get some snacks ready. Cecilia?"
"Hm?"
"You awake now?"
"Yep!"
She stretched both arms high over her head and answered with full energy. I smiled at her, pleased, and pulled a coat from the closet.
"Want to go shopping with me?"
"Of course!"
No hesitation at all. I gave my smiling catgirl a quick pet, and we set about preparing for dinner.
Time drifted on, and before we knew it it was about seven.
"Cheers."
"Cheers~!"
With an assortment of dishes spread before us, we clinked our glasses side by side.
Tonight's dinner, prepared as drinking fare, was meat. A simple but carefully made home-style steak. Alongside it, a little seafood—clams, leftover shrimp from lunch, a light white fish. Cheese for dessert snacking. Nuts, more or less as a nibble.
…By the time we'd finished prepping, the spread had gotten a bit excessive. With this much wine, the idea had been: if we're drinking, we might as well try a little of everything! Looking at the table, I felt almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount. Could we finish it all? Even so, neither Cecilia nor I could hide the flutter of anticipation.
"Aum."
"Mmm."
We both took a sip of the red wine I'd poured in advance. A heavier taste and aroma than expected; we tilted our glasses slowly….
"Pwah~…."
We exhaled at the same time. Yeah. As an opening pour, this was pretty satisfying.
"Mmm, it's good."
"You like it?"
"Yeah."
Cecilia nodded with a mild, unbothered expression. Watching her, I felt a little surprised. To me it was just a wine I liked, but being red, it was a touch astringent and overall quite heavy. I'd figured it wouldn't suit Cecilia, who preferred sweet things—but apparently that wasn't the case.
"Hey, remember when we tried all kinds of stuff before? Soju, beer, some weird other liquors, wine…."
"Ah~. That did happen. We wanted to try something new, so we bought a bunch of random bottles at the mart. That was probably your first time drinking, right?"
"Yeah. It was."
She nodded lightly and picked up her fork, then popped a pre-sliced piece of steak into her mouth. "Hot—" she mumbled, chewing carefully.
"Mmm. Back then I was like, um, gulp, this is kinda not great?"
"Yeah, your reaction wasn't great. Looking back, the wine itself wasn't that good either."
"Yeah, yeah! Exactly!"
I nodded along as I put a piece of meat in my own mouth. Cecilia agreed with fierce enthusiasm and kept going.
"Sour and bitter. Not completely awful, though."
"True."
"And then after I drank the one Unnie gave me, I figured, oh, red just isn't for me~…."
She lifted her glass a little, tracing a small circle with it, and smiled sweetly.
"…It smells so good."
Her nose twitched. Her ears relaxed into a comfortable droop, and a happy smile settled on her face.
"Same sour and bitter, but at the same time it's so deep. Mmm, fragrant, maybe?"
"You like it?"
"Yeah♪"
She slowly swirled her glass, a quiet smile on her lips. Framed against the night sky outside the window, a sudden, deeply alluring air seemed to wrap around her. My heart kicked, and a faint heat rose to my face. We weren't even properly drunk yet.
…What day was this supposed to be?
"It does feel a little strong, though."
"Well, compared to sparkling, yeah."
I set aside the allure I'd just felt and answered with a smile of my own as Cecilia grinned back. Then we both busied our chopsticks toward whichever dishes we liked best.
"Eunhyuk, Eunhyuk!"
"Hm?"
"Cheers~!"
We clinked glasses in between bites, too. Every time a glass ran low, Cecilia took the lead and refilled it. Watching the red liquid pour, I said happily,
"Thanks, Cecilia."
"Don't mention it~."
Her voice was bright and clear. I was about to tip my glass again when she continued, softer,
"…If Eunhyuk's happy, I'm happy♪"
"Whoa. Are you flirting with me right now?"
"Hmm? That's for you to decide, isn't it?"
She laughed with a little aegyo, a sparkling kyaruru. Once again: we weren't even properly drunk yet.
"Aum. …♬"
She popped a clam into her mouth and shivered with happiness. Her ears perked; her tail swayed.
"Mmm…."
"My turn to pour."
"Ah, thank you, Eunhyuk~."
I filled her slightly empty glass with a thin stream of red, then lifted mine.
"Cheers."
"…! Cheers!"
I held my glass out first, and they met with a bright ching. The clear ring of glass filled the room.
"Heh. Eunhyuk, Eunhyuk! This is so good!"
"Yeah~? You like it?"
"Yeah!"
"Haha. Look at you, all energetic. Makes the effort worth it. I've never even grilled steak before."
"Ehehe. Will you feed me~?"
"Hm?"
"Here, aah~."
Out of nowhere she picked up a piece of meat with her own chopsticks and held it out to me. We hadn't drunk that much yet, but her face was flushed and her behavior bold.
"Uh…."
"Hurry~! I'm giving it to you myself—you're not gonna take it~?"
"…Nom."
Embarrassing as it was, there was no world in which I could refuse Cecilia's pleading. I took the meat right off the chopsticks she'd been using. Heat rose in my cheeks even as the taste of expensive beef filled my mouth.
"Hehe♪ Good boy~♬"
Her praise followed immediately. It felt oddly like being treated like a child… and the fact that I didn't mind said a lot about how thoroughly she'd got me wrapped around her finger.
"…Want me to feed you this time~?"
"Eh, uh, that's…?!"
"Here, aah~."
I'd been on the receiving end once—now it was time for payback. I'd show her the shame of an indirect kiss!
"…Mmm. Nom!"
"That's it, good girl~."
Cecilia's face went red. Mine did too, even as satisfaction bloomed in my chest. Like a pair of idiots, we kept up the teasing and carried on with the meal.
There was still plenty of wine left.
And the night stretched even longer ahead of us.