Punching the Truth-or-Lie Bracelet and Taking the Beer Bill Straight to My Wallet
I scanned the truth-or-lie bracelet and picked up the beer that would come as a bill straight to my wallet. I went back and passed it out to everyone. Toasts and all that crap? Nah, skip the formalities. We just quietly munched on the remaining snacks while chugging our drinks, and before long, the chicken we'd just ordered arrived again. The delivery guy looked flustered by the total mess of the vibe.
...Man, I'm being a real pain in the ass to all the workers today.
I slathered cheese thick on a chunk of bread and some chicken and shoved it into my mouth. Even in this shitshow of a situation, I realized something tasted good wouldn't suddenly turn bad. We all crammed food and booze like that, and when the beer was about half gone, the team leader started another round of the game. This time, counterclockwise. And again, only hitting questions that trapped just us siblings.
Gyeo-ul nailed it once more... throwing questions no one else could fold a finger on but us. And I hit my own self-destruct switch too, leaving me with just two lives left. The wheel spun full circle back to my classmate. Fuck. Dead.
"...Ah, we lost again. What now."
...Hmm. We're definitely screwed. No matter what the other three asked, we'd be the first to fold all our fingers.
"You two go buy more booze quick. Rules are rules."
Rules, huh... We hadn't set them explicitly, but wasn't buying drinks the standard when you lost a drinking game? No one had the balls to run off after guzzling booze bought by their seniors.
"Tomorrow's Sunday, so we can all drink a bit more, right?"
"...Ah, uh..."
Even the team leader wouldn't let anyone bail, pounding away endlessly at the booze we kept buying. And so the other three, lacking the team leader's iron guts...
...got totally wasted.
...But seriously, what's her deal? This isn't just nosy anymore.
Bo booze is amazing stuff. It turns people half-stupid. The vibe, which had been so stuffy it felt downright solemn, didn't loosen up or anything. Instead, the zombies were suffering.
"Haneul unniii... can I have some waterrr..."
"You already drank your glass? Already?"
"I actually suck at booze... head's spinninggg..."
"Got it. I'll grab some hangover meds from the convenience store. Hang in there."
"Yeeesss..."
...Poor juniors. Seeing them tortured by these asshole seniors tugs at my heartstrings. And now the main culprit who'd force-fed them was playing nurse. As her accomplice, my conscience stabbed sharp and painful.
What could I do? Their fault was not having the guts to leave.
I'd tried to cut ties... but it wasn't happening.
How many meals would it take to make up for it? ...Though they might refuse anyway.
"Gyeo-ul."
"...I don't know."
"...How'd it end up like this?"
"I said I don't know."
Truth was, I hadn't planned to stick around at all. But Gyeo-ul was begging me to handle it somehow, so how could I say no? I barely held back the embarrassment and nausea, spouting whatever bullshit, never thinking it'd snowball this far.
Still... fuck. My stomach felt a bit better than before.
"...Hyung."
"What."
The junior clinging to some male pride, holding onto his wits. His speech was a little slurred, but he looked decent enough on the surface.
"...For real?"
Wasn't he? Denying it even now, in this state? Yeah, he was pretty drunk. His girlfriend was dozing off quietly next to him.
"Speak clearly or shut up. You're Korean lit major, right?"
"For real... with your little sister next to you..."
"Yeah. ...Me and my bro, that's the deal."
The doubt he'd nursed till the end froze solid into certainty at Gyeo-ul's blunt answer. The junior covered his mouth like it was some huge shock now, but he didn't stop talking to me.
"For real... huh... actually like that..."
"...We don't look repulsive to you?"
"No, that's not..."
"I'm drunk anyway, won't remember shit, so be honest. ...Are we gross?"
"...No."
The nice guy junior, refusing to show disgust to the end. ...Even I think we're gross; no way he doesn't. We're the ones who wrecked the drinking party into this mess—plenty repulsive right there.
"Not gross... exactly... just, I dunno..."
"You dunno?"
"Just, never thought... about people like that existing in real life..."
"...Me neither."
The forbidden love between brother and sister... Who seriously ponders that shit on the regular? Even after discharge, when I started feeling weird about Gyeo-ul and couldn't hide my possessiveness anymore, I never really thought about it for real.
"Just... dunno. When I see you at work or group projects, you're just the hardworking hyung..."
"..."
"I know it's wrong and all. But... we haven't known each other that long... just... not sure if it creeps me out or whatever..."
"...Got it. Sorry, my bad. Bad question. You can stop."
"No, it's not that... Haah..."
We were the ones at fault, yet here was the innocent victim sounding like he was making excuses. Staring at the table, not meeting eyes, repeating "I dunno" over and over—nothing I could do for him.
...Fuck, I feel like shit. This wasn't what I wanted.
"Gyeo-uulll..."
"...What. Na-el."
"What're we gonna do with our Gyeo-ulll..."
Gyeo-ul's friend, swimming in booze, spotted my sister amid her flailing and started sniffling her name.
...I'm gonna lose it.
"What're we gonna do, for realll..."
"What do you mean? I'm fine."
"Sorry to youuu..."
"...What're you sorry for."
"I didn't even know about youuu... sorryyy..."
We were the guilty ones... so why were we getting apologies from the fine ones making excuses? Guilt really... haah...
"...Ah, what? They're all out cold?"
Finally, as all three flopped between consciousness and blackout, my classmate returned from the convenience store loaded with hangover meds.
"Time to wrap it up. They all look beat."
"...Yeah."
"...Let's go, Na-el."
"Uuuung..."
The team leader finally gave the okay to disband. We dosed the slumped bodies with their miracle cures and started cleaning up. Min-seop was a bit more sober but heavy, so I supported him. Gyeo-ul took her friend. The last junior went with his classmate to the counter.
We collected all the bracelets, paid with my card for now, and headed out.
"I said I'd cover the chicken, so I'll send you the money later. You got the booze."
"...Okay."
...Whew. The booze tab was steep, but I didn't regret it. To smooth over this disaster? I'd buy it a hundred, a thousand times over.
While waiting for taxis to send off the staggering crew, a new face showed up.
"...Nara?"
"Gyeo-ul... ah, oppa too..."
"My sister's here? Mind taking your friend?"
Everyday casual clothes just like Gyeo-ul's. Looked like she'd rushed over the second her sister called.
"Unni said Na-el was in bad shape and to come quick..."
"She's in bad shape, yeah. Take her home—ours or hers."
"Then why not bring her yourself?"
"I'm going to round two. Hurry up."
"Hah, seriously. Unni..."
"Then can I go to round two with Na-el?"
"...No. Gimme my friend."
...Round two? In this vibe?
"Ah, taxi's here. Min-seop. Can you walk?"
"...Yeeah..."
"Good good, go on. Take Min-ji and head home."
We crammed the couples into the arriving taxis set-style. My classmate waved off his sister and got the last junior out too.
...These three going to round two? Nah, none were that trashed, but still...
"...Everyone's gone, so let's call it. I'm beat from all the booze too. Ah, you two want some of these?"
Contrary to her earlier words, she ordered disband while handing us hangover meds.
...Me, I thought I was the hardest person for myself to understand... but damn, what the hell's she thinking? Nothing like her usual image.
"...Haneul unni."
"What? Gyeo-ul?"
"When I asked if I could leave earlier... why didn't you fold?"
Almost forgot about that. She was at least 30% responsible for this mess. She'd helped... right? Why? What did we ever do?
"Watching you two siblings was frustrating as hell."
The answer to "why?" came out rougher than expected.
"...Huh?"
"What?"
We siblings couldn't help but be thrown by the off-script reply.
"Makes me mad when you go around telling people shit you shouldn't. Why say it? You idiots? That's something you hide..."
Now her word choice turned outright aggressive. Engineering major thing? Key details missing—who, when, where.
"I get pretending otherwise is hard..."
"Unni..."
"I could handle it fine... but you two are hopeless..."
Clues to fill the gaps. My brain spun to piece it together. No way... Was this how others felt hearing our story?
"Seeing you makes me think I'll explode someday too, so I blocked it. Happy?"
"..."
"...I'm done talking here."
I couldn't be sure what story. Not till she said it outright.
"Unni..."
"...Wanna hear more? Come to the cafe together. Not too late yet."
But... with Gyeo-ul gripping my hand, it felt like we had to hear it. Just our story would be unfair. We weren't the only ones off the path in this world... maybe.