Chapter 89: I’m Not Drunk
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 89: I’m Not Drunk
Oppa looked at me with a serious face and said he was going to have lewd thoughts about me.
I couldn't bring myself to say anything.
I mean, come on. It was an awkward situation. I couldn't just agree to it, but I couldn't act all offended and ask if he was crazy either.
Instead of answering, I just got up from his lap.
"Phew. It's hot in here, isn't it?"
His face was as red as a ripe persimmon, so I tried to play it cool as I walked over to the wardrobe.
It was cold enough outside that the snow from a couple of days ago hadn't melted, but I threw the window wide open.
I could feel my face gradually cooling in the chilly breeze.
What on earth was this feeling?
It felt good, but also a little wrong, yet I was still looking forward to... something.
I ignored him for a moment, leaning against the window, when a question popped into my head.
"Um... Oppa."
It was starting to feel a little cold, so I closed and locked the window again.
"Yeah?"
Oppa put down his phone and looked at me.
"Since we're on the topic..."
"Yeah."
"Well... you..."
My boyfriend.
I wondered how Taemin Oppa usually... relieved his urges.
"Go on."
I hesitated, dragging out my words, and he seemed to notice, urging me on.
"What is it?"
"Do you... watch porn?"
I mean, we're not kids. I told myself this was a perfectly normal conversation for an adult couple to have, but why was I so embarrassed?
"Uh..."
He clearly hadn't expected a question like that, because his eyes went wide.
"Well, I'm not saying I don't..."
A strange sense of relief washed over me. At least he wasn't impotent.
"Th-then."
There's a saying about striking while the iron is hot. Mustering my courage, I decided to use this opportunity to learn a little more about him.
"Do you have... a type? Or anything like that?"
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to satisfy his tastes, but I figured it couldn't hurt to know.
But what if it's something really weird or perverted?
I cautiously went and sat next to him. He looked down at me, his expression incredibly troubled.
"Well, there is something..." My boyfriend trailed off.
Is it something he can't bring himself to say?
I was a little scared, but I asked again.
"Is it... that bad? Something you can't talk about?"
"It's not that."
Oppa ran a hand through his hair, let out a short sigh, and opened his mouth.
"I don't really watch 3D."
For a second, I had no idea what he meant. But then it clicked, and I stared at him with utter contempt.
"...It's not Luka, is it?"
Please don't let it be this.
"Nah. It's not you."
His answer was strangely upsetting. Seriously, I felt like being with Oppa was making me the weird one.
*
"Wow, this place is empty."
It was four in the afternoon, our meeting time. Even though it was the end of the semester, the bar was practically deserted.
"Well, of course! Who starts drinking at four in the afternoon?" Minji said with an incredulous laugh as she opened the menu.
"Doah, you're getting food, right?"
"Ah, yeah. We haven't had lunch. Did you eat?"
"I'm good. I was hungry before class earlier, so I grabbed a sandwich. What about you, Junseok oppa?"
"I'm getting food, too."
We ordered spicy stir-fried webfoot octopus and an old-school lunch box for each of us. While we waited for the food, we reminisced about our group project.
"You can't have this kind of conversation without a drink, right?" Junseok suggested, and Minji, sitting next to him, nodded enthusiastically as if she'd been waiting for it.
"Exactly. It's the unwritten rule to air your grievances over a nice, cold drink."
But Doah has to stream later...
"You okay with that?" I asked, glancing at her. Doah nodded.
"A little should be fine."
When the server brought the alcohol, Minji opened the soju bottle with the flashy hand-flick typical of a social butterfly.
"Alright, I'll mix you all a nice, refreshing drink!"
The drink of choice was somaek. Minji expertly poured soju into each glass.
"Damn, look at you, Minji."
Junseok let out a hearty laugh, and Minji giggled in response.
"Hey, this isn't a skill I picked up in a day or two."
"Cheers!"
Junseok raised his glass high, and we all clinked ours together.
With a refreshing clink, the others downed their drinks in one go. Feeling the pressure, I chugged mine as well.
"Ahhh! Man, this tastes amazing now that the semester's over." Junseok wiped the foam from his lips, expertly lifting the mood.
"Doah."
"Yes?"
Doah's eyes widened as Junseok called her name.
"I know I'm saying this now, but honestly, I was pretty pissed when you bailed on us at the beginning!"
"Oh, I agree! I was a little annoyed too when you just left like that," Minji chimed in.
Knowing the full story, I could only let out an awkward laugh.
You guys don't know this, but Doah was in the middle of becoming an idol. I saw it as a life-changing process for her, so I couldn't take their side.
"I'm sorry."
Doah apologized again, looking genuinely remorseful. Junseok refilled her glass with soju.
"Nah, nah. It's fine. You carried us later on, and you worked really hard after that."
But it wasn't Junseok I was worried about. It was the look on Minji's face, sitting diagonally from me. It was ominous.
"But back then, when Taemin Oppa was all like, 'I'll do it!' like some drama protagonist, I really wondered what was going on."
Hearing her bring up a story from before Doah and I were even a thing made me desperately crave another drink.
...This is so embarrassing.
The whole drinking get-together was already a bit awkward, but now I was the topic of conversation. And not just any conversation—it was about how I looked like I was hitting on my girlfriend. I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
"Doah, did you know Taemin Oppa had a crush on you back then?" Minji asked playfully. Doah waved her hands back and forth.
"No! I really had no idea."
"Really? But it seemed so obvious that there was some kind of 'something' going on."
"That's because..." Doah started to say, then stopped. She would have had to mention that I'd rejected her once.
"Taemin Oppa is famous for being an iron wall, you know."
It was obviously a different answer than the one she'd been about to give.
"Exactly! I was skeptical at first, too. I was like, 'No way. The Taemin Oppa?'"
All eyes turned to me. It was a silent pressure, demanding I say something.
I downed the glass in front of me in one gulp, feeling a little surge of courage.
"Doah just seemed kind of cute to me."
I thought it was a perfectly bland, safe answer with no real substance, but Minji and Junseok went wild.
"Wow! Oh my god! A single person can't survive this kind of talk. And with Christmas right around the corner!"
"Han Taemin, you're a fucking shady bastard."
Junseok smirked and offered me another drink.
"You two must have had a great time at the VR experience center, then, huh?"
I couldn't answer, because we actually had.
"Minji, is this right? We were busting our asses looking for materials, and these two were having a secret romance behind our backs?"
"I know, right! Being all lovey-dovey behind everyone's backs. Why do you get to be the only happy one, Kim Doah, you little wench!"
Their teasing, tinged with envy, continued relentlessly, but Doah and I were nothing more than punching bags.
The two of us were too timid to fight back, so we just took the hits.
We finally got a break when Minji went to the restroom and Junseok stepped out for a smoke.
"Oppa, are you okay?" Doah asked, placing a hand on my thigh.
"Me? I'm fine."
The truth was, I'd been drinking instead of answering their teasing. I wasn't sure how I felt. I think I was a little tipsy.
"What about you, Doah?"
"I've been deliberately holding back."
"Really?"
Now that there was a lull, the alcohol seemed to be hitting me even harder.
"You should pace yourself, too, Oppa."
"I'm fine."
I felt like she was treating me like a kid again, and it hurt my pride.
She's younger than me. And so much smaller.
As a punishment, I reached out and pulled her toward me.
"Don't get cocky, Kim Doah."
"When was I being cocky?"
"You're being cocky right now."
Doah stared right at me. I didn't avoid her gaze, meeting it head-on.
"Well, well. What are you two doing?"
Junseok must have finished his cigarette, because he was back, clicking his tongue at the sight of us.
"What is it, punk?"
I'm in the middle of talking to my girlfriend. Who are you to butt in?
But he ignored me and just smiled at Doah.
"Your boyfriend's a lightweight, huh, Doah?"
"I guess so. We should probably get going."
...Why are they talking without me? Why are you ignoring me!
I shot Doah a look full of dissatisfaction, but she just shook her head and stood up.
"I'll get the bill. You guys can just pay me back later!"
"What, you're leaving already?" Minji asked as she returned. Doah brought my coat over and ordered me to put my arms in. I grumbled but buttoned it up.
"Alright! Great work, everyone! Have a fun break!"
"Call me, Doah!"
The two of them waved us off. I was in a good mood, so I waved back. Doah gave a quick bow and then started dragging me home.
The night sky was beginning to darken.
Why are the streetlights all crooked? That looks dangerous.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"I've figured out your alcohol tolerance."
"What is it?"
I can totally handle a whole bottle of soju.
"Half a bottle."
"What?"
This was unacceptable.
"From now on, your limit is exactly half a bottle, okay?"
Her attitude, stating something so untrue as if it were fact, made me feel the need to show her just how sober I was.
"Hey. Kim Doah."
I stopped and placed a hand on her cheek.
"What is it?"
"I'm not drunk."
"You are drunk."
"I said I'm not."
"I remember everything you said, too."
"What did I say, then?"
"You?"
What did Doah say today? What was it...
"You told me to pounce on you."
Doah's pupils began to tremble violently.