Chapter 76: ...You don't like it?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 76: ...You don't like it?
No. Why is Doah the only one drinking?
Annoyed, I crunched furiously on the corn nuts.
Everyone else seemed to be having fun with the drinking games, but Doah’s name kept being called, forcing her to be the only one taking shots.
To be honest, Doah’s gaming skills were…
Of course, I couldn't say that drinking games were the same as video games, but it was a fact that Doah’s reflexes were slow.
I already knew she could hold her liquor better than me, so I wasn't too worried, but this situation…
I hated this whole situation—this lively, cheerful drinking party with guys and girls all mixed together.
And I especially couldn't stand that damn junior who had been overreacting every time Doah took a drink.
Finding myself craving the alcohol I couldn't even handle, I had already drunk about 80 percent of my limit.
Only when I saw Doah head to the restroom did I let out a sigh of relief and pick up my phone.
I’d sent her three messages, and she still hadn't checked them!
Out of spite, I was about to send another one.
Just then, the yellow number next to the message disappeared, signaling that she’d read it.
[I’m at that sapal pocha I mentioned earlier.]
[It’s a little too hectic, so I didn’t have a chance to text youㅠㅠ]
[Where are you, Oppa?]
At the table in the back, at your five o'clock.
That’s what I really wanted to send, but since I couldn't get caught, I wracked my brain and typed out the name of a bar I knew.
Just as I was looking around, wondering why that bastard Yoonje was taking so long on his smoke break…
“...This isn’t Hanseong Pocha.”
The voice was familiar, but my heart leaped in shock, and I was at a loss for words.
“...Hi?”
...When did she get here?
In the brief moment I’d looked away, Doah had arrived at our secret little base camp of a table.
A cold sweat trickled down my forehead in my panic.
“Why did you lie?”
“Huh? Me?”
“I wouldn’t have said anything if you just told me we were drinking at the same pocha. Why lie about it?”
A wave of misery washed over me at her accusatory tone.
Dammit. Maybe it was the alcohol, but a much more intense wave of emotion swept through my tipsy mind.
“I just wanted to see if you were having fun.”
“...What?”
Her tone suggested she didn't quite understand, so I decided to just lay it all out.
“I was worried those other kids would make you drink until you were wasted, so I came to check on you.”
“Oppa, I’m not a kid.”
“What do you mean you’re not a kid!”
I downed my soju shot in one gulp and yelled at Doah.
“Excuse me?”
“Kim Doah is…”
Luka-tan is…
“A baby!”
She needs to be protected!
Reaching out, I started squishing Doah’s soft cheeks, determined to explain to her exactly why she was a baby.
“Look! Look at these soft cheeks!”
“Hey! Oppa! What are you doing!”
They stretched just like rice cakes. Perfect.
As always, Doah’s cheeks were of excellent quality.
“How can they be this soft if you’re not a baby!”
“Wow. Han Taemin, this bastard is completely wasted.”
I turned my head to see Yoonje looking down at the two of us in utter disbelief.
“Hey. Doah.”
“Yes?”
When Yoonje called her name, I instinctively pulled Doah closer to me.
Who do you think you are, talking to Doah!
“Just take Taemin home.”
“What? Who are you to tell me to go home?”
“Look at you. You’re so wasted you can’t even talk straight.”
Yoonje grabbed his coat from under the chair and took out his wallet.
“Hey. I’ll get the bill. Pay me back later, okay?”
“Ah, Seo Yoonje. Why are you leaving?”
“If you were me, would you want to keep drinking with you? You kept shushing me and telling me to just drink quietly.”
Well, yeah. If you talk, I can't hear what Doah is doing or saying.
Isn't that obvious?
“Anyway, Doah. Take care of him for me.”
“Ah, yes. Get home safe, Oppa.”
“Hey! Where are you going!”
I yelled at Yoonje’s retreating back, and Doah bonked me on the head with her tiny fist.
“Aish, really. Get up. Let’s go home together.”
“Hey. Why’d you hit me?”
I felt so damn miserable I wanted to cry.
I came here because I like you, so why do you keep scolding me, Kim Doah?
With a look that said she couldn't deal with me, Doah grabbed my arm and helped me up.
She led me to the table in the middle of the room where she had been drinking.
Her juniors immediately bowed their heads when they saw me.
“Oh? Taemin-hyung! Hello!”
“Whoa! Taemin Oppa! When did you get here?”
“Kya! Did you come to pick Doah up?”
As a bunch of people I barely knew started talking to me, I felt myself instinctively shrink away.
The high-energy tension unique to drunk girls was like poison to me.
I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.
“Ah, Oppa was drinking somewhere else and texted me that he’s drunk. I think I’m gonna head out for today.”
Doah gave them an apologetic smile and waved her hand.
“Aw, really? Too bad. Let’s hang out again soon.”
“Get home safe, Doah~”
Surprisingly, they let her go without a fuss. Doah grabbed my arm and led me straight out of the pocha.
Trudge, trudge.
Once we left the main street lined with bars and turned a block inward, the unique quiet of a residential area settled over the asphalt.
“How much did you drink?”
I wanted to answer, but I couldn't quite remember.
“I don’t know. Just a little?”
“You should have just stayed home. I would have gotten home just fine on my own.”
“...I don’t know.”
The fact that I’d been caught following her suddenly felt incredibly embarrassing. I pulled her shoulder a little more firmly toward me.
“...Are you sure you don’t want to drink more?”
“You saw, didn’t you? I already drank a lot.”
“Still.”
The thought that I had cut her fun time short began to creep in, and now a sense of self-loathing started to torment me.
“Should we go home and drink some more?”
Honestly, I could feel myself nearing my limit, but my pride and bravado wouldn't let me collapse.
“You’re already drunk.”
“No! I can drink more!”
I removed my hand from her shoulder and stepped away, wanting to show her how well I could walk.
I think I ran for about three seconds.
Hot breath billowed out like smoke, turning into a white cloud in the cold air.
“See! I’m fine!”
Doah burst out laughing, finding something hilarious about the sight of me.
“What is wrong with you?”
Despite her words, Doah stepped in front of me and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back with all my might.
“See! I can even lift you!”
“No! No! Oppa! You’ll get hurt! Stop!”
As I staggered while holding her, Doah must have gotten scared because she scrambled out of my arms.
“So! What do you say! Still not gonna drink with me?”
Finally, shaking her head as if she couldn't win, Doah accepted my proposal.
We agreed to go to a convenience store and buy more alcohol.
“Okay, we’re getting exactly two bottles.”
Inside the convenience store.
I came back with potato chips and beef jerky for snacks, and Doah returned holding a bottle of soju in each hand.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
To be honest, I was already struggling, and the thought of drinking another one of those made me dread tomorrow.
“I’ll pay for this.”
I nodded, and Doah inserted her card into the reader. We grabbed a plastic bag and headed to my house.
Was it because I had been so on edge?
After being in a crowded place with strangers, coming home seemed to make the alcohol hit me all at once.
My memory after Doah brought out the glasses and we had our first drink…
It didn't return, not even the next morning.
I could tell Oppa was drunk with just one look.
He had insisted we buy more alcohol and drink a little more at his place, so I brought it.
But as we set up the table and he sat down, leaning against the bed frame, his eyes were completely glazed over.
It was obvious he’d be off to dreamland after one or two drinks, so I planned to just watch him fall asleep and then head home.
“Cheers.”
We didn't have any soju glasses, so I’d only poured a small amount into a water cup, but as soon as we clinked glasses, Oppa downed it all in one go.
“Huh? You should drink a little slower.”
I was pretty sure I had poured more than a standard soju shot.
I was holding my cup, wondering if I should drink all of mine too. That’s when it happened.
Screech.
Oppa pushed the table aside and used his right arm to prop himself up.
“...What are you doing?”
I thought he might be going to the bathroom and was about to move out of his way. In that instant…
-slurp-
A strange sensation on my ear.
His action was so sudden that my body froze solid like ice.
-slurrrp-
Did he take my lack of resistance as a sign that it was okay to continue?
His tongue once again traced a path down my earlobe, from top to bottom.
“What… What are you doing!”
When I finally came to my senses and pushed him away, I was met with a version of my boyfriend I had never seen before.
His half-lidded eyes held a seductive allure.
His hand, which I had tried to push away, reached out to caress my face again.
“...You don't like it?”
Why Oppa had tried so hard to avoid drinking too much…
Only today did I finally understand the reason.