Chapter 92
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92
Dokyun instinctively shut his eyes at the carnage unfolding before him.
The clinking of glasses. The tangle of laughter.
His father and Eun-seol were going shot for shot.
How did it come to this?
Embarrassment, followed by a wave of despair, made him tremble. Dokyun replayed the dinner from just moments before.
Everything had been fine up to that point.
In front of his parents, Eun-seol had maintained her characteristically sweet and gentle demeanor, which had allowed Dokyun to relax and continue eating.
He was just starting to think that if things kept up like this, the next two days would pass without incident. He was enjoying a home-cooked meal, his guard finally down, when—
“Ah, right.”
His father, in the middle of the meal, suddenly remembered the alcohol they’d brought as a gift and went to fetch it.
“Still, it’s a gift. We should drink it right away.”
“Oh my goodness, this man and his drinking again.”
“Hey! It’s only polite to the gift-giver to drink it promptly!”
“Ugh, I swear, I can’t live with you!”
After his parents’ brief squabble, his father opened the bottle and offered a glass to Eun-seol.
“How about it? A glass for our new daughter?”
“I’d love one.”
Dokyun had desperately hoped she would refuse, but Eun-seol accepted the offer without a second’s hesitation. And this was the result.
His father, already tipsy, was roaring with laughter, urging Eun-seol to drink up.
Dokyun felt a throbbing headache coming on.
His father was a kind and gentle man, but the moment alcohol touched his lips, his energy would skyrocket to an insane level and wouldn't stop. A drinking session with his father only ended when one person collapsed.
For Eun-seol, who was still technically a patient, this was a potentially dangerous situation.
Dokyun had vehemently objected, but the glass had already been passed.
How many bottles is that?
Dokyun’s eyes drifted to the empty bottles strewn beside the table.
One, two…
Five bottles.
The Western liquor Eun-seol had brought as a gift was long empty. Next to it were bottles of soju, raspberry wine, and even snake wine.
Is he seriously opening that now?
He had already uncorked the snake wine he’d been cherishing, saving it for the day he saw a grandchild.
Dokyun felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.
There was no stopping this with ordinary methods. He had to find a way.
Eun-seol’s tolerance for alcohol was on par with his father’s, so there wouldn’t be a problem for now, but if one of them actually got sick from drinking, it would be a disaster of epic proportions.
Furthermore…
If she makes a slip of the tongue…!
That was the biggest problem.
Dokyun had never seen Eun-seol completely drunk before. He was on pins and needles, terrified she might let something slip.
He had to stop this.
With that thought, Dokyun leaned forward and spoke to his father.
“Don’t you think that’s enough for tonight? We have relatives coming over tomorrow.”
He’d said it in a subtle tone, but the response he got was a firm rejection.
“Why are you talking so much when you’re not even drinking?”
So you only get the right to speak if you’re drinking? It was a ridiculous notion, but seeing his father’s already flushed face, Dokyun knew his words wouldn’t even register.
Another deep sigh escaped him. Glaring at the two of them, Dokyun clutched his throbbing head.
At this point, all he could do was pray that nothing went wrong.
Please, just let this pass without any trouble…!
He squeezed his eyes shut and sent up a desperate plea.
But it seemed the cruel gods had no intention of granting his request.
The moment Dokyun’s silent prayer began, a question popped out of his father’s mouth as he slammed back another shot.
“So, what do our new daughter’s parents do?”
Thump.
Dokyun’s body froze at the question.
His head turned, creaking like a rusty hinge, toward Eun-seol.
It was a question he himself had never asked.
In truth, based on what he’d already found out, it seemed certain they were already dead, so he hadn’t seen the need to bring it up.
A cold sweat trickled down Dokyun’s back. After a moment of hesitation, Eun-seol replied with a bitter smile.
“They passed away. There was an accident.”
It was the final nail in the coffin.
The atmosphere in the room turned icy.
Drip, drip, drip—.
His father, who had been pouring a drink, didn’t even notice the glass overflowing as he continued to pour.
“Oh, honestly, why would you ask something like that…”
His mother, who had been quiet until then, shot daggers at his father.
Dokyun squeezed his eyes shut again.
Fucking god.
How could things go wrong the very instant he started praying?
The mood became too heavy for anyone to speak. His father, finally noticing the overflowing glass, put the bottle down with a jolt. His mother began wiping up the spilled liquor.
I have to change the subject. Somehow.
Just as Dokyun opened his mouth to do so…
“That…”
“So my grandfather raised me. He’s in business.”
Eun-seol continued her explanation.
At her words, Dokyun’s body jolted for an entirely different reason.
A new keyword.
Grandfather.
The family she had left. A person who had never been mentioned until now. Dokyun stared at Eun-seol, his face hardening.
A new piece of information, obtained at an unexpected moment. Dokyun’s mind began to race, trying to connect this to his existing knowledge, when—
Squeeze—.
Beneath the table, Eun-seol’s hand pinched her own thigh. The sight scattered Dokyun’s thoughts, and he quickly schooled his expression.
At her silent signal, Dokyun forced an awkward smile and pushed the burgeoning thoughts back into a corner.
Later.
Now was not the time.
As he was thinking this, she spoke again.
“It was a long time ago, so I’m okay with it. And… now I have Dokyun.”
A bald-faced lie.
But it was enough to melt the frozen atmosphere.
“Oh, my! Yes! Our son may look like that, but he’s a good kid!”
“Th-that’s right! What do parents matter anyway! The person you live with is the one you marry!”
“Would you just shut your mouth!”
Smack—!
“Oof…!”
His father’s pained groan filled the room, and a laugh escaped Eun-seol’s lips once more.
The tension had completely dissipated. Dokyun let out a silent sigh of relief.
*
Dokyun tilted his head back and looked up at the night sky.
The sky of a countryside village in Gangwon Province, slightly removed from the flow of the world.
Unlike in Seoul, where the sky’s light was obscured by all sorts of artificial glare, this sky was embroidered with a vast expanse of faintly scattered starlight.
Each star shone with its own light.
Shifting his gaze slightly, he found a large moon somewhere among them.
Using the moon as a reference point, he looked around the sky again. The shimmering dust of stars surrounding the massive moon seemed to comfort it in its lonely vigil. When he connected the brightest of them, familiar constellations filled the canvas above.
“Hoo…”
He let out a long breath after staring for a while. The puff of white vapor obscured his vision, and when it cleared, the individual stars were shining again in place of the pictures he’d imagined.
He took a deep breath, and the distinct, earthy smell of the countryside filled his lungs along with the chilly air.
A shiver ran through his body. Feeling it, Dokyun looked ahead at the bumpy dirt path stretching out before him.
Feeling the weight of the person on his back, he walked slowly along the path. After a while, he spoke to the woman who had been silent until now.
“Are you feeling a little better now?”
“I’ve been fine the whole time.”
The reply came.
A laugh, accompanied by a puff of white breath, escaped Dokyun’s lips.
Her drunken habit had finally been revealed.
Even when she was so drunk she was swaying, she had a habit of insisting, “I’m fine.”
Back at the table, as the drinking session had dragged on, Dokyun had watched her keep saying she was fine while drinking more and more, only belatedly realizing it was her drunken habit before bringing her outside.
Hoping the cold air would sober her up a little, Dokyun had carried her out. Feeling her hot breath on the nape of his neck, he spoke to her again.
“Is the alcohol wearing off? Is your stomach okay? Are you cold?”
“I’m fine.”
The same answer came back.
Dokyun let out another chuckle and kept walking.
Should I ask now?
His mind was filled with thoughts of her grandfather. As he mulled it over…
“Don’t worry about my grandfather.”
She spoke first.
Even this drunk, Go Eun-seol is still Go Eun-seol, huh?
As always, she spoke as if she had read his mind.
“He’s someone you’ll never meet in your life, so forget about him.”
Her tone was slightly slurred.
Hearing that, Dokyun swallowed the question he was about to ask.
It made sense, in a way.
If this grandfather had any interest in Eun-ah, she wouldn’t have been cooped up all alone in that house.
She said he’s in business.
Considering her house, it couldn’t be a small one.
The interior design and expensive-looking objects scattered throughout the house, which clearly didn’t match her taste, made that obvious.
The house was probably provided by her grandfather’s wealth.
One thing was now certain.
So she really was a third-generation chaebol.
Something he had once said as a joke turned out to be true.
A third-generation chaebol suffering from a mental illness.
The thought made Dokyun let out a hollow laugh as he walked.
He had no idea how things had ended up like this. This relationship, which had started with his own peculiar obsession, was now continuing in a form he could never have imagined.
“You never know where life will take you, do you?”
Dokyun remarked, voicing his thoughts.
“I’m fine.”
The same answer came back again.
She’s completely gone.
The fact that she was answering like that without even knowing what he’d said scattered his complicated thoughts.
Chuckling and clicking his tongue internally, Dokyun felt the cold seep into his clothes. He turned around and started back the way they came.
“Let’s head back in. We’re going to catch a cold out here.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yes, yes.”
She was wearing several layers, but she was sensitive to the cold, so it was better to get inside quickly.
With that thought, Dokyun walked steadily back toward the house.
“Ugh…”
He felt her body heave on his back.
An ominous rumble.
“…Eun-seol-ssi?”
“I’m f— uweck…”
The sound of retching made a cold sweat break out on Dokyun’s back.
The prelude to regurgitation. This position was dangerous.
“H-hold on! I’ll go faster, just hold on a little longer!”
On the verge of having a torrent of vomit cascade down his back, Dokyun shouted and broke into a run.
*
The sound of birds chirping, roosters crowing, and dogs barking drifted in from outside the window.
For the first time in a long while, Dokyun opened his eyes to those sounds.
The unfamiliar ceiling made him realize a moment later that he was at his parents’ house. As he blinked, the urgent situation from last night came flooding back.
That was a fucking close call.
Thankfully, she had managed to hold it in until they got home, and his coat had been spared from being soiled with vomit.
It was a dizzying moment to recall. As Dokyun let out a breath…
“Nngghh…”
A groan came from beside him.
Thinking she had woken up, Dokyun turned his head. He saw her curled up, clutching her stomach in agony, and a smile spread across his face.
“Who told you to drink so much?”
It was one thing to enjoy a drink, but she had gone way too far last night.
Fortunately, his father was also half-dead, so a repeat performance was unlikely during their stay. But today’s hangover was a consequence of her own choosing, and she would have to suffer the punishment.
“Let me see.”
Dokyun sat up and reached a hand toward her face to check on her.
“Attendant…”
And then, a word that should never have come out of her mouth slipped out.
Freeze.
For an instant, Dokyun’s body went still.
“Attendaaant…”
The word came again.
Did I hear that wrong? Am I still half-asleep? A word that absolutely should not be heard at this moment kept stabbing at his ears.
His pupils began to tremble. His heart pounded.
No… I’m just not fully awake yet, I must have misheard…
As Dokyun tried to steady his trembling fingertips and deny reality…
She opened her mouth one more time.
“Princess… water…!”
The words that came out were the final, damning proof.
A single bead of sweat trickled down Dokyun’s forehead.
Shit.
I’m fucked.