Blackout
"Ah…♥"
A sweet voice reached me.
The skin I had brushed so lightly was soft enough that I could have spent a lifetime touching it and never grown tired.
Flushed skin. Hazy eyes.
Looking down at her — so far gone I couldn't tell if she was asleep or still awake — I slowly opened my mouth.
"—, —…?"
And asked her something.
At least, that was how it felt.
"—…♬ ——……."
An answer came back.
Likewise, that was how it felt.
"—, ——?"
"…—…."
"—, ——…♬"
….
"————…♥"
I had definitely heard something.
I had. I was sure of it.
A throbbing started up behind my eyes.
Hot air. A scene that was anything but innocent. Consciousness swimming in a haze.
In those fog-blurred memories, her voice alone refused to come into focus.
Cecilia.
I had talked with her — the girl who had giggled with that clingy little laugh of hers — about something….
The fact that we had talked at all, I remembered.
But nothing beyond that would come back.
…My head hurt.
A hangover, maybe.
"Nngh…."
It wasn't severe, but a dull ache pressed at my temples. More precisely, "dizzy" felt like a better word for it than "headache."
I opened my eyes slowly. A bright ceiling came into view.
The sunlight was clear and warm, and the mattress beneath me was soft.
"Nngh…?"
"Hff—…."
And right beside me.
On the bed, right next to me.
Cecilia was asleep, breathing in soft, pretty little sighs.
"…."
"Mmnya—…."
….
Uh………….
That is. I mean.
"—Hff……."
"…Uh!?!"
I sat bolt upright in a single motion.
The mattress bounced hard from the jolt, but this sleepy little cat didn't so much as twitch — she just kept snoring away.
"Mmnya—…."
A sleep-mumble drifted up.
I stared at her blankly for a moment, then slowly covered my face with both hands.
"…Ugh."
Only one thought occupied my head.
Did we?
Did I actually do it…?
…Did I?
With a girl who'd been completely wasted after drinking that much wine?
For real?!
"…Uwaaah……."
Still covering my face, I flopped sideways onto the bed.
I'd finally gone and done it.
Jumping a girl while she was blackout drunk.
Eunhyuk, are you even human anymore….
And I didn't even remember it.
Not completely blank — scraps of memory remained, fogged over like everything was underwater — but the important parts were entirely—
"…Huh?"
A sudden doubt surfaced.
Had I really gone through with it?
"…."
"Hrmnya—…."
I glanced at Cecilia, still fast asleep, then gave myself a once-over.
…My clothes were fine.
I lifted the waistband and checked. My underwear was on, perfectly ordinary, nothing out of place.
……Did we not??
Wait. Hold on?
Something felt off.
Faced with this confusing situation, I sat on the bed clutching my head and groaned to myself.
"…Memories. Right. Let's try walking back through the memories."
The conclusion I eventually dragged out was fairly ordinary.
I rubbed my forehead, trying to resurrect the night before.
First.
The two of us had polished off the gifted wine like it was water.
"…."
I turned my head and looked at the table.
Four empty wine bottles stared back at me.
…We drank all of that.
No wonder we got hammered.
And yet, for having put away that much, the hangover was surprisingly mild. Almost nonexistent, really.
A somewhat ridiculous thought crossed my mind: Guess expensive wine really does earn its price tag~
"Anyway. Moving on."
Second.
We ate, we drank, we got drunk.
The menu had been meat, nuts, uh, seafood, and so on. A lot of it, at any rate.
Judging by the table, we'd cleaned every last plate.
Third.
I jumped her.
"Ah—…."
The memories started blooming back one by one.
The smell of alcohol. A faint fragrance.
The heat of her fingers against my cheek, and that soft texture.
A hazy buzz. Excitement.
The sound of a kiss.
A small body twitching in my arms.
The feel of her nape.
"Ugh…."
Just recalling it was enough to send heat flooding into my face.
I covered my face again and collapsed back onto the bed.
Right. That was what happened.
I had jumped her.
Unable to hold back the desire, I'd pulled Cecilia into my arms and kissed her nape over and over.
Then I'd laid her down on the bed and gently pressed her shoulders.
And then….
"…I don't remember what came after that."
I muttered it under my breath and sat up again.
Then I looked at Cecilia once more.
"Mmnya—…."
"Sleeping like a rock, huh."
Silver-white hair scattered across the white sheets.
Twitching ears. A tail sticking peacefully out from her back.
Bathed in the pouring sunlight, Cecilia slept with nothing but a peaceful expression on her face.
…Cute.
Well, cute was cute, but that wasn't the point right now.
"…Did we, or didn't we."
Watching the slow rise and fall of her chest, I said it quietly.
Honestly, I had no idea.
Had we? Hadn't we?
My clothes were intact, for one thing.
Cecilia was dressed the same as always, too — fully clothed, nothing unusual.
It wasn't like either of us had been naked under the blanket or anything like that.
It seemed like we… hadn't.
Probably.
"Mmnya…."
"…Ah."
While I was still tilting my head over it, Cecilia shifted in her sleep.
And the moment I saw that, I finally knew for certain whether we had or hadn't.
We hadn't.
Because….
"……I can see your underwear, you little tomboy."
"Unh…?"
Cecilia was small, and she hated tight clothes, so most of what she owned was oversized.
And right now, through the loose armhole of that baggy T-shirt, a gray bra strap peeked out.
Looking at the soft gray fabric of her underwear, the first thing I felt wasn't arousal — it was relief.
We hadn't.
At the very least, no one short of possessed would go through with something like that while blackout drunk and then carefully put the underwear back on afterward.
Only after arriving at that conclusion could I finally let out a long breath.
"Whew…!"
The tension snapped all at once.
Strength drained from my whole body, and a wave of ease settled over me.
I'd been so worried we'd actually gone all the way.
Of course, sharing a body with the girl I liked would have been happiness in its own right.
…But if we were going to do it, I wanted to do it sober.
Pouring out my heart and desire like I was running away under the cover of alcohol — my pride wouldn't allow that.
I wanted to love her seriously, with a clear conscience.
Because I liked her, I wanted to treat her with as much care as that liking deserved.
At the very least, I wanted our first time to be someday, sober.
"—, ——…♬"
"…Huh."
A scene suddenly floated up in my mind.
Cecilia lying flat on the bed.
Me looking down at her, almost as if I were pinning her.
A dazed, smiling Cecilia saying something to me.
But the sound of it was like fog — it scattered inside the memory and never quite reached my ears.
"…."
What had she said?
In that scene, Cecilia had worn an expression like she was proudly showing off a dream of hers.
"————…♥"
"Nngh."
No matter how hard I thought, it wouldn't come back.
It had felt like something important, but I couldn't remember it.
…Well. Forgetting was just how it went, I supposed.
With that thought, I lowered my head.
"…."
"…Oh."
And our eyes met.
With whom?
With Cecilia.
In what position?
Uh….
With her underwear showing through her T-shirt, and me in a position that looked an awful lot like I was peeking at it…?
"…Pervert."
"Urgh."
Eyes half-open, Cecilia sat up and hugged herself.
At that offhand little word, I flinched hard before I could stop myself.
P-pervert.
…Damn it. The problem was that too many things pointed in that direction.
Judging by my posture alone, there was zero room to dodge the misunderstanding.
"…Good morning."
Still, Cecilia covered her face with a pillow a moment later and offered the next words as well.
Whether it was because yesterday's memories had stuck with her the same way, or because she'd just realized her underwear was showing — she looked embarrassed.
"Good morning, …Cecilia."
"Mm…."
"…."
Silence settled over us.
For some reason, both of us ended up kneeling on the bed, stealing little glances at each other.
"…Do you remember anything?"
"A little…."
"How far?"
"The, um, my nape…."
"Ah — yeah. Stop. That's far enough."
I cut her off in a hurry as her voice started to wobble.
She fixed me with a steady look.
I met her eyes in return, and after a beat, I opened my mouth.
"…From now on, let's stick to our limits when we drink. You and me both."
"Mm…."
"Excessive skinship is banned. Head and ears only — and even if I ask, no nape or chest. Got it?"
"U-uh-huh. Okay."
Cecilia nodded rapidly, over and over.
I gazed for a moment at those still-sleepy sky-blue eyes, then reached out toward her head.
"Euang."
"…Sorry about last night. You weren't scared?"
"…Mm♪"
The instant my hand touched her, she made a happy little sound and lifted her face.
Then she went on in a soft voice.
"I know you're gentle, Eunhyuk."
"…."
That tender whisper brushed against my ear.
A faint guilt came with it, and a ticklish feeling that made me duck my head.
"…Thanks for seeing me that way, Cecilia."
"It's just true. …Mm! What should we do today, Eunhyuk?"
Saying that, Cecilia stretched and sat up fully.
She looked surprisingly energetic.
Watching her, I found myself smiling a little too.
What had Cecilia said to me last night?
She didn't seem to remember it either, and for now there was no way to find out.
A moment that had felt like a dream had passed.
And today, another day was beginning.
Cecilia hopped lightly down from the bed, then seemed to notice something and padded toward the front door with quick little steps.
…I was hardly one to talk, but even after everything that had happened last night, she looked remarkably healthy and full of energy.
Had her film cut even worse than mine?
That was entirely possible.
"…A package?"
"Ah~…. Now that you mention it, I completely forgot it came. I was going to check after we finished the wine, but, well."
Looking at the box sitting beside the front door, I answered her question.
If my memory was right, it had arrived sometime yesterday evening.
On the way back from grocery shopping, my hands had been full, so I'd just kicked it inside with my foot and then completely forgotten about it.
Come to think of it, though — yesterday was Saturday, and a package showed up. In the evening, no less.
Something urgent, maybe?
"There should be a label on top saying what it is. What's written on it?"
"Let's see…."
Cecilia tilted her head.
And while I was climbing down from the bed, she spoke.
"School… uniform?"
At the same time, I froze mid-step.
…That was a very familiar word.