Practical Training (2)
Clatter. Clink. While Seo Woojin was busy making all sorts of noises in the kitchen, I emerged into the living room, hesitantly fidgeting with my hair. My first order of business was to move Yozora, who had turned the sofa into her bed and drifted off to dreamland, into the bedroom. Just because she was asleep didn't mean I could just sit there and crush her with my rear end. Besides, there was a chance she might wake up mid-nap and recreate the scene that had just unfolded.
It was my first time carrying a person, but she was small and light, so it wasn't difficult at all. I scooped Yozora up in a princess carry just as she was and delivered her to the bed. Watching her cling to my clothes and whine like a baby, I briefly wondered, "Does she think I'm Seo Woojin?" I gently brushed her hair aside so it wouldn't be uncomfortable pressed against her back, then closed the bedroom door.
"...Ah."
I ran straight into Seo Woojin, who was walking toward me. He had that same smiling expression he’d worn since earlier, looking as if he were having the time of his life. It was enough to make me, who had been watching him, unconsciously offer a light smile of my own.
"What's up? You moved Yozora?"
"I didn't know what might happen if she woke up... A disaster was definitely on the horizon."
"Fair point. She might have just lunged at us, saying, 'Let's just eat and die today.'"
Had he been on the receiving end of that before? Come to think of it, Yozora couldn't have been the only one drinking yesterday, so why was Seo Woojin so perfectly fine? I buried those sudden questions in the back of my mind for now. I’d save them for when the conversation died down and the atmosphere got awkward. Yeah.
Seo Woojin walked past me to the table in front of the sofa and began setting down the things he’d brought. He only had two hands, so it wasn't a huge amount, but among the items was the same orange juice I’d seen earlier.
"Sit down for a bit. This is enough for snacks... I'll go find some soju glasses."
"...Okay."
"Does he really not have soju glasses at home? If not, I'll have to drink it straight."
Seo Woojin headed back toward the kitchen, which was visible through the half-open wall. I stared at his back, fidgeting with my fingers as I sat on the sofa. He told me to rest, so it should be fine to just sit, right? In manga, this is usually when the heroine helps the hero prepare something... and then there’s some light skinship... No, no. That feels less like close friends and more like... taking it a step further. Like a couple.
Come to think of it, in romance manga, the protagonist and heroine usually become a couple in all but name long before they actually say "let's date," so it’s hard to view them as just ordinary guy-girl friends. That’s just how manga with romance elements—whether it’s pure love or a harem—usually go. Haaa... I don't know. I had no choice but to do as I was told and sip the orange juice while waiting for Seo Woojin.
I heard the creak, creak of the cupboard opening in the distance and carefully tilted the transparent glass, which was filled with a beautiful orange glow. And then, gulp, gulp. It tasted almost exactly like the orange juice from before.
"...Hmm...?"
The aftertaste was... somehow a little more mysterious than before. It flowed down my throat.
The more I chewed on it, the stranger it felt. I had swallowed all sorts of insults watching Yozora try to do weird things to me, but strangely enough, the results had been quite decent. Holding hands between friends was natural, right? People even hug these days. Even anal sex happens between people who aren't lovers. It’s not like it’s vaginal sex. Well, I had been trying to slowly tame Han Su-a to my tastes, but the paizuri and fellatio Yozora had shown me were far more effective. Should I stop trying to break Han Su-a’s common sense step-by-step and just put on a thick face, saying crazy things like, "It's trendy for friends to have three days of sweaty, beastly sex these days"?
"Phew..."
I could never do that. About 30 minutes passed with that thought in mind.
"..."
"..."
Nothing happened. Naturally, there was no paizuri, no fellatio, and no sex. Instead, we talked a lot. Looking back, I couldn't remember any particularly memorable conversations. Maybe he liked that I’d humored his talk about pure romance manga last time, so he kept bringing up stories about healer-type transcendents... Other than that, it was just light, everyday chatter, since Han Su-a kept ending things with one-word answers, making it hard to keep a conversation going. Ah, there was one thing I remembered. "Weren't you drinking with Yozora yesterday?" That was it. "It's because she drank nearly five bottles by herself while I only had half a bottle." "Ah~." And then, as always, the conversation cut off for over 30 seconds. I only remembered that because I had to quickly make up an excuse to avoid any major errors, but it wasn't anything special. If I really couldn't be bothered, I could just reveal that Yozora and I were sex partners, and it wouldn't matter much.
The only reason I insisted on claiming I was dating Yozora and kept projecting a kind image was simple. Han Su-a was the type of girl who didn't need the rod; she only needed plenty of carrots. A girl who had lived for 20 years buried in massive amounts of money suddenly trying to make a commoner friend at the Academy? The reason was obvious. Han Su-a was suffering from an affection deficit. In my opinion, there was a 99% chance of that. The easiest thing to gouge into wasn't a sharp blade, but warm sunlight—something that could easily slip into even the smallest crack. I was just wearing a mask of kindness, acting thoroughly.
"..."
Anyway, if we were still in this state after 30 minutes, it might be hard to have sex with Han Su-a today... Should I just be satisfied with having seen her climax earlier? Seeing her lion ears and tail twitching while she climaxed was damn cute, after all.
"Eat this while you wait. I'll go get the juice."
"Okay..."
I decided to watch the situation for up to an hour. After munching on the snacks he’d brought, I checked that Han Su-a’s glass was empty and stood up. My footsteps, which had been moving away from the crunching sound of shrimp crackers, stopped in front of the refrigerator. Checking once more that Han Su-a couldn't see me, I opened the freezer and pulled out a bottle of vodka. Smirnoff Red. I didn't like it much because it tasted like industrial alcohol, but Yozora had raved about it before she regressed, saying it was amazing if you drank it straight from the freezer. Unlike flavored vodkas like espresso or blueberry, it was colorless and odorless—the authentic stuff. That was why it went well with any drink. If you mixed it with a sweet beverage, it became so hard to notice the alcohol if you weren't paying attention. Mix it with tonic water, and it’s a vodka tonic. Tomato juice, and it’s a Bloody Mary. Add Kahlua, and it’s a Black Russian. ...And if you mixed it with orange juice, you’d get a Screwdriver—a drink Yozora loved, and one I guessed she’d been drinking just now.
The first one I gave her was a 10% vodka, 90% orange juice ratio, just in case. The second one, and every one since, had been 15% vodka and 85% orange juice. The one I was about to serve was a Screwdriver with a 20% vodka, 80% orange juice ratio. It had more alcohol than before, so she should start tasting it soon.
I stirred it with a spoon and tasted it, but it still tasted unmistakably like orange juice. Of course, since I knew it was alcohol, I could feel the cold, subtle burn at the base of the flavor...
"Here."
"Thank you..."
"It's just pouring a drink, no need to thank me."
"Still... I have to say thank you..."
Seeing Han Su-a accept it without a hint of suspicion, she hadn't realized the true nature of the orange juice yet.
"...Phew..."
...That was a separate matter, but unfortunately, she didn't seem to have a low tolerance for alcohol. It meant she wasn't the type to collapse and become an onahole after just one can of beer like Lee Hayoon or Lee Jiyoon. I wasn't sure, but since the glass was large, the total alcohol she’d consumed so far was probably just under a bottle of soju. She was just laughing more than usual and her pronunciation was starting to slur like Yozora’s, so she must have finally reached a pleasant level of intoxication.
"The juice... is delicious..."
"Is it?"
"Yeah... At first, I didn't understand why people said it was expensive... but now I think I get it..."
"I still don't really get it."
"Really...? Ah, no. I guess you might not... I started feeling it after about four glasses... like, 'Oh, this is expensive juice'..."
"..."
Until a moment ago, she was talking about how to smile naturally or how to speak clearly to people she wasn't close to, and now she was talking about juice? I wanted to have a dirty conversation with her... but since she was on the topic of juice, if I played my cards right, I might be able to induce her to drink more. Then, with the help of the alcohol, we might become a little closer.
"Do you want to try some...? You've just been pouring for me and haven't had any yourself..."
"...Sure. Just one sip, then."
That was when Han Su-a lifted the glass and held it out to me.
"...Eh."
Most cold glasses are slippery because of the condensation—a fact anyone with elementary-level science knowledge would know. Because of that, I should have held it firmly, but her grip looked precarious from the start.
"...What do I..."
She spilled it all. All over me. Specifically, all over my crotch.
The orange juice soaked through the pants, drenching the crotch area.
*****
"S-sorry... Are you okay...? The cup was slippery..."
"...Don't worry about it. It's not like it's hot. More importantly, are there any wet wipes or tissues nearby?"
"W-wait a second... Tissues... Tissues..."
Han Su-a, you idiot. What kind of disgrace is this in front of a friend? She wasn't even as drunk as Yozora; she was just in a good mood from talking to Woojin, acting like she was drunk... The one who actually drank the alcohol was Woojin right next to her... Aaaaaah. Why did I do that? Seriously... If I had just held the cup a little closer to my palm, this wouldn't have happened.
"...If you can't find tissues, you don't have to. I can just take a shower."
"B-but... Ah, I found them! Wet wipes!"
I stopped Seo Woojin, who said he’d take a shower, and approached him with the wet wipes. ...I thought he was smiling, but he was looking down, so maybe I saw wrong.
"It's fine. I'll shower, I'll shower."
"My conscience isn't fine...!"
"Or, just give them to me. I'll wipe it myself."
"No. I have to wipe it myself to feel better..."
"I'm really okay..."
"You just stay still..."
We bickered as I knelt in front of Seo Woojin’s legs. Unlike when I received paizuri from Yozora earlier, he was tightly closed, as if trying not to show me anything. Why was he acting like this? I... I just saw his penis, so he shouldn't be that embarrassed. Is it because Yozora isn't here right now...? I pulled out several wet wipes, lifted his thighs slightly, and began diligently unbuckling Seo Woojin’s belt.
"..."
"..."
Click, tick, zip, clatter. I unbuckled Seo Woojin’s belt, which offered a strange resistance—as if he were trying to stop me, but not really—and answered, "I understand," to Seo Woojin, who said he’d asked for tissues, as I struggled to pull off his pants. ...Eventually, until Seo Woojin gave up and lifted his hips slightly.
"...Ah...?"
"..."
And so, because I’d even taken off his underwear, which had been soaked in orange juice,
"Hey, why is this..."
...Just like when it was being sucked by Yozora earlier, just like when it was being licked by me, his stiffly erect penis... was now right in front of my eyes.
"...I was embarrassed because I thought you’d touch it."
"...Ah, th-that, um..."
...Because he hadn't washed yet, the male scent was much stronger than before. Now, without Yozora, while we were all alone,
"I'll wipe it. Give me the tissues."
"N-no...! I already saw it earlier... It's fine... It's fine... ...Haaaa..."
...It was right in front of my eyes.