The Aftermath of the Alcohol Catastrophe

"Manager, are you mad?"

"I'm not mad."

"Aww, you are mad. Right~?"

"...Right now, because of you, I'm about to get mad even though I wasn't."

The next day. Clutching a head that felt like it would split apart from the hangover, I returned to the dorm. The moment I collapsed onto the soft sofa like a limp doll, the events of the previous night that I had desperately tried to forget began replaying hazily in my mind once again.

I'm going insane. What the hell did I do last night?

When Calathea climbed on top of me and kissed me, I should have bitten her tongue and shoved her away. No matter that it was the alcohol talking, how could I have willingly tangled my tongue with hers? Somehow I regained my senses midway and stopped it from going all the way, but in the end Calathea slid down my body and eventually….

"Ahaha, Manager’s face is turning all red♬"

"……..."

"Did my mouth and tongue feel that good last night? It was amazing, right? Like this… and like thaaat♡"

As if to demonstrate exactly what had happened to my lower body the night before, Calathea opened her mouth wide right in front of me and began moving her tongue in an obscene, dazzling display.

Her pink tongue moved with such unnatural flexibility and freedom that it seemed like a completely separate creature. It writhed like a wriggling snake, rippling and undulating left and right without pause. Then it spun in rhythmic circles like a propeller licking a thick cylinder, before she stretched it all the way out, opened her throat wide, and repeated suppressed, wet gulping sounds as if something large were being thrust deep inside. Finally, with a lewd smile, she closed her mouth, made an audible gulp, and slowly licked her glistening red lips.

"How was it, Manager?"

"…I don’t know. I don’t know, so can you please just let me forget it already?"

"Hmm, absolutely not! I did it specifically to see this reaction♪"

Damn it. I never should have drunk in the first place. At the very least, I shouldn’t have kept accepting every single drink those walking disasters kept pouring for me….

I did my best to ignore Calathea, who was practically savoring my embarrassed face like she wanted to lick it, and turned my gaze toward Audrey. She was hanging my suit jacket on the sofa.

"Calathea I can understand, but why did you do that, Audrey?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You deliberately kept feeding me alcohol…!"

"Because the Manager wouldn’t let me drink in front of such a delicacy."

Watching Audrey answer so confidently, I clutched my throbbing forehead. So that was it—remove anything that interferes with her aesthetics?

"Fine, whatever… let’s move on. But at the very least, you should have stopped it at the hotel. Why were you in the next room?"

"I didn’t want to share a room with Calathea."

Of course she didn’t….

"Even so, you had to know that leaving a drunk me alone in a room with Calathea would lead to something happening."

"Of course I considered it. The possibility that the Manager might get raped by Calathea."

"R-raped…."

"In other words, sexual assault! Or non-consensual—"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Just don’t say it right next to my ear…."

The raw vocabulary coming from a woman’s mouth made me cover my face and let out a heavy sigh. No matter how weakened they were, their physical strength was still upper A-class. Without my special ability, I was just an ordinary A-class. In theory, if anyone was going to be on the receiving end, it would be me. Still… hearing them casually discuss raping me like it was the most natural thing in the world felt incredibly strange.

"…Audrey, don’t you usually scold Calathea harshly whenever she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tries to do weird things to me, calling it an unaesthetic act?"

"Manager."

Audrey blinked at me with a perfectly calm expression.

"In the end, you didn’t get victimized, did you? I knew it would turn out that way."

"……Was yesterday’s movie reservation mistake your revenge after all?"

"There’s a little of that too…."

She wasn’t even denying it.

"…More than that, I needed some time alone to think."

"What could you possibly need to think about that was more important than leaving me in a room with that beast—Hey, Audrey!"

She shrugged shamelessly as if she had nothing more to say and disappeared into the kitchen.

Even with Audrey’s personality, she wouldn’t have simply abandoned the scene if she truly thought Calathea might assault me. So whatever she needed to think about was more important to her than preventing that potential danger?

"You know, I said something to Madness while I was drinking yesterday. Maybe that’s why."

"What did you say?"

"That’s a secret♡"

"…If you’re not going to tell me, then don’t bring it up at all."

"Eek—!"

I jabbed Calathea in the side with my elbow as she leaned in looking for another chance to tease me, then stretched out my hangover-heavy body across the sofa. I just wanted to sleep a little more like this….

"Manager, here’s some honey water."

"…Thanks."

"And here’s your phone."

When Audrey handed me the honey water along with my phone, I saw that messages from Baek Soyun had flooded the lock screen.

…A whole string of them.

Thinking it might be urgent, I decided to call her instead of reading through them one by one.

Baek Soyun suddenly went quiet, mumbling something to herself, before answering.

"Yeah, I underst—."

The call ended before I could even finish my sentence.

Was she… angry? Well, she had been sending urgent messages since morning, only for her boss to say he had been leisurely drinking and just got home. Even someone as kind as her would have every right to be upset.

I sat up, drank the honey water, and opened the messages Baek Soyun had sent.

And then.

"Pffft—!"

I spat out the honey water I had been drinking.

The screen switched to the interior of a familiar barbecue restaurant. And there, of course, were the two insane women.

[Stop bothering me, you fucker. I don’t want to cause a scene where the Manager is.]

[Is that any way to speak to someone?]

[It seems you’re severely lacking in aesthetics up there. If you keep annoying me, shall I put a hole in your forehead to fill it with some aesthetics?]

The moment Audrey pulled a pistol from her coat, I couldn’t take it anymore and turned off the TV.

"Well? Any excuses?"

"…First, I’d like to ask something. How was that video obtained?"

"One of the victim’s companions recorded it on their phone."

"If you look closely at that footage, not only is the beginning cut, but there are many edited sections throughout—especially the parts where the so-called victims are speaking."

"So?"

"In other words, there’s a possibility they recognized Calathea and Audrey and deliberately trolled them. Even without that, the fact that the video was edited to suit their narrative…."

"Suggests someone is intentionally trying to discredit you?"

"Yes."

"Does knowing that change anything? The news is already out. The prisoner unit has become a group of uncontrollable maniacs threatening citizens, and you’re now in a position where you must explain yourself to the public. This is reality."

Shit.

I barely held back the curse that nearly flew out of my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut.

"The prisoner unit that will save Korea from crisis… were we too arrogant? The public never believed the country was in crisis to begin with. Just like they shrug off North Korean missiles, they assume the Incheon Gate will be cleared without incident like always. In today’s world, that’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what Gates mean to people."

"…I’m aware."

"If you’re aware, then you should have acted accordingly! How long has it been since the prisoner unit was revealed to the world, and we’re already dealing with this? I trusted you with such an important task…!"

Trusted me? These old bastards only dumped the difficult job on me to protect themselves. They told me to save the country and do my best when they pushed it onto me, but now their attitude changes the moment things get messy?

My head already hurt from the hangover, and listening to this lecture only made my mood worse.

…Wait a minute.

I had been nodding along so naturally, but why the hell should I just sit here and take it? I knew the other party was the Hunter Association President, the man with absolute power in Korea’s hunter industry. But right now, I was the one in charge of solving the absence of S-class hunters in Korea. No matter what Plan B this old raccoon might have prepared, at this moment, I held the upper hand.

Of course, the problem was that acting too cocky and making a powerful enemy wasn’t wise. My usefulness wasn’t infinite, and once this situation calmed down….

"And honestly, that’s not the only thing I want to say to you. What on earth were those two thinking?"

"………."

"They should be grateful just to have been allowed back into society. For such heinous criminals to act so brazenly—"

"I will resign."

The words left my mouth before I could stop them, driven by a sudden surge of irritation. Surprisingly, I didn’t regret it.

"…What did you say?"

"I said I will step down."

I continued, barely suppressing the boiling anger.

"After listening to you, it seems I was too incompetent to hold such a heavy position. Please appoint a more capable successor who can properly control those S-class criminals."

"No, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that’s not what I meant…."

"If a small argument at a barbecue restaurant is enough to make someone resign, I’m not sure who would want this job. Even if you can’t find a replacement, the worst that could happen is being called in by the President for a scolding. Isn’t that right?"

At that, the dignified, gentlemanly Association President suddenly began to sweat.