Chapter 77: The Drinking Ban
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 77: The Drinking Ban
“...You don’t like it?”
Still on his knees, Oppa slowly approached me.
His hands cupped my cheeks.
“...I like you, Doah.”
My heart was pounding so fast I thought it would burst.
His face drew closer and closer.
My own face, already hot from the alcohol, couldn't possibly get any hotter.
“...Ah.”
What would happen if I didn’t reject him right here, right now?
He pulled my face toward his, pressing his forehead against mine.
“Why aren’t you answering me?”
The distance between us was far too close.
When I froze and said nothing, he whined like a pouting child.
“Kim Doah. Are you ignoring me?”
“Ah, no! It’s… it’s not that…”
“Tch.”
He pulled his head back, frowned at me, and then—
“...Hngh!”
What followed was a strange, tingling pain I’d never felt before.
His lips began to ravage the nape of my neck without mercy.
In the haze of my alcohol-addled mind, a storm of emotions raged.
The dopamine rush from the fact that he desired me.
The fear of what lay beyond this moment.
And yet, the emptiness of knowing this all might just be a drunken illusion.
“Ahh…”
As his teeth gently bit into my skin, a strange, breathy sound I couldn’t believe was mine escaped my lips.
His lips explored my neck more passionately, and in time with his movements, my fingers clenched and unclenched repeatedly.
When the series of ecstatic moments ended and my boyfriend’s lips left my neck, a stinging mark and the dampness from his tongue remained.
“Haa… Kim Doah.”
He called my name again.
A flushed face and ragged breaths.
The lamplight, which we’d left on for ambiance, heightened the mood even more.
“Now, answer me.”
I could no longer defy his gaze.
“I… like you…”
They say the first time is the hardest for a reason.
Once the words were out, I felt like I could finally unleash all the dark desires I had been suppressing.
“...I like you, Oppa.”
Having lost all fear, I pulled him toward me by his shirt collar. He immediately swept me up in his arms and laid me down on the bed.
And then my boyfriend was looking down at me from above, as if he were about to devour me.
His bangs, succumbing to gravity, fell over his forehead, but even that couldn’t hide his handsome face.
His torso slowly descended toward me, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
“...Doah.”
It was the moment our bodies came together.
“Yes?”
“I’m so sleepy.”
Expecting the unknown, I opened my eyes again at his words.
Veering off the path I had imagined, Oppa rolled over to the side of the bed, pressing against the wall, his closed eyes showing no sign of opening.
“...Oppa?”
A wave of relief washed over me, but it was quickly followed by a surge of resentment. I poked his cheek.
He didn’t stir, and soon, he was breathing evenly. Left alone, all I could do was lie there and watch him.
“Hey. Han Taemin.”
I thought that if I spoke informally, he might wake up and scold me for being cheeky.
“Hey. Why are you actually sleeping?”
What does that make me?
I fell for it again.
Again. And again.
I’m so pissed. Seriously.
Staring daggers at him, I decided to unsheathe my sword.
That’s right. I’m not holding back anymore.
Slowly, I moved my face closer to his.
His lips.
I would claim those lips, which were far too red for a man.
This man, who always got my hopes up and then pretended not to know, deserved this.
I had made up my mind, but…
The moment the tips of our noses touched, I felt like I might die from trembling so much.
In the end, I compromised with myself.
I pressed my lips to his forehead.
This didn’t seem so hard, so I kissed his forehead again and again, making little smacking sounds.
“Tch…”
I wasn’t really satisfied, but I decided to let him off the hook for today.
Instead, I’m not going home tonight.
I’m sleeping here.
I snuggled under his arm and pressed myself against his chest, trying to fall asleep.
Surprisingly, his body was incredibly warm, and my eyes grew heavy so fast I don’t even remember when I fell asleep.
The first thing I felt was a splitting headache.
My body was screaming at me to go drink some water.
The moment I decided to get up and tried to rub my eyes…
“...Huh?”
I couldn’t move freely.
When I realized what the large obstacle restricting my movement was, I couldn’t help but jump in surprise.
My girlfriend.
It was because Doah was sound asleep right next to me.
…Why?
Why is she sleeping here?
No, before that.
I couldn’t even remember how we ended up sleeping in the first place.
I tried to twist my body to get up without waking her, but she tossed and turned along with my movements.
As she turned her head, my eyes caught sight of bright red marks that hadn’t been there yesterday.
Lip-shaped marks were scattered across the nape of her neck.
Countless question marks pinged in my head.
Why? How?
And then, a further question.
…Don’t tell me I did this?
I definitely remembered buying alcohol and coming home together.
I think we were running around at some point, too.
We got home, and then… and then…
My memory was a complete blank.
Anxiety quickly began to consume me.
Okay. Let’s say I might have done something weird while I was drunk.
But we’re both still in the clothes we were wearing yesterday, so we didn’t cross any lines, right?
I reached out and gently touched the marked area, and Doah’s brow furrowed.
It must sting.
I got up, went to the sink for a glass of water, and then rummaged through a drawer.
Ointment…
I think I put the one I bought somewhere around here.
After rustling around and searching all the way to the back, I finally found a small box.
I opened it, took out the ointment, and got a bandage ready for Doah.
I sat in my computer chair and watched my sleeping girlfriend.
I was sitting just like this on the day we played that Horror Game.
The only difference was the location; back then, I had fallen asleep with my head on the desk, holding her hand.
Feeling a bit better now, I started to clean up the evidence of a night I couldn’t remember.
A bag of potato chips that looked barely touched.
An unopened bottle of soju.
Meanwhile, the other bottle was nearly empty, with almost none of the clear liquid left inside.
As I folded the legs of the small table to put it away, I heard her voice from behind me.
“...Oppa.”
Her voice was hoarse, probably because she was just as thirsty as I was, so I set the table in the corner and brought her a cup of water.
“You’re awake?”
“...Yeah.”
Doah sat up, her hair a mess, looking utterly defenseless.
Her eyes were half-open.
Even after a long stretch, her eyes showed no sign of opening any wider.
“...Is your hangover okay?”
“Uh… my head hurts a little, but I think I’m getting better.”
“That’s a relief.”
Doah yawned and leaned her head back against the headboard.
“Ah… I’m dying…”
I had to ask.
But the words wouldn’t come out.
The red marks became clearer as she leaned forward.
Reminding myself that it’s better to rip the band-aid off, I took a breath and called her name.
“Doah.”
“Yes…”
“Honestly, about last night.”
“Yes…”
Ah. I was worried I might have done something unimaginably weird, but I squeezed my eyes shut and told her the truth.
“I don’t really remember it, you see.”
At my confession, life slowly started to return to her eyes.
“Really?”
“...Yeah.”
I couldn’t tell if it was because she was still sleepy or deep in thought, but Doah was silent for a while.
“From what point?”
“Huh?”
“From what point do you not remember?”
“From… after we got home.”
A hollow laugh escaped Doah’s lips.
“Ah… is that so…?”
“Ah. I’m so sorry. If I made a mistake—”
“Then I guess you don’t remember this either?”
She pointed to her once-pale neck.
Her cold eyes were filled with contempt.
“...Yeah.”
I had no intention of pretending to vaguely remember.
“Haa…”
My girlfriend touched her forehead as if she had a headache and let out a sigh deep enough to make the ground sink.
“First, come sit here.”
Doah patted the spot next to her, and I obediently moved.
“...Hold still.”
I was about to ask what she meant, but she explained with her actions instead of words.
“Mmph!”
Doah’s lips latched onto my neck, sucking hard.
As if imitating a squid’s suction cup, she bit down on my neck hard enough to hurt.
I held onto her in an awkward posture.
“Doah…?”
She pulled away, wiped her mouth with her arm, and glared at me fiercely.
“Oppa.”
What followed was, from my perspective, a rather mild request.
“From now on, you are absolutely forbidden from drinking with other people.”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that I don’t have any friends to drink with anyway.