Carelessness (2)
For a split second, I hesitated.
What could I do for this friend? She had no idea, but the common sense alteration I triggered had made everyone treat her like a weirdo. Yet, she was always the grateful, kind soul who reached out to help whenever I was in trouble. There was only one way! Pull out my hypnosis pendulum right here in the middle of the cafe and rewrite everyone's common sense to match. —For a brief moment, that insane thought actually crossed my mind. But there was no way in hell I could just whip my pants off in a crowded cafe.
My hesitation naturally brought up a fundamental question. The idea that my dick was a hypnosis pendulum was just a wild theory I'd made up in my head. I couldn't risk exposing my dick on an unproven hypothesis, even if it was to save her.
'I'm sorry... I guess my feelings for you only go this far...'
This sheer helplessness of being unable to save my buddy. It was truly frustrating.
"Let's go." In the end, I fled.
Leaving behind the two of them, who looked utterly bewildered by my sudden departure, I rushed out of the cafe alone, unable to bear the embarrassment.
Ji Su-ah was the first to follow me out. "What's wrong all of a sudden?"
Glancing back inside the cafe, I saw Taehyun calmly cleaning up the table.
"Are you mad? Because I said you get hard so easily..."
"N-no, it's not that...! I'm sorry..."
Ji Su-ah tilted her head. How on earth do I shut this girl's mouth?
"Do you... usually talk about guys' dicks so casually?"
"Hmm... I guess? I mean, why wouldn't I?"
Right. It was such a mundane, everyday expression to Ji Su-ah that she didn't even register it. With her sharp intuition, she definitely should have felt something was off.
"Don't you ever notice people giving you weird looks when you say things like that?"
I had already witnessed Taehyun's common sense warp instantly just from Ji Su-ah's persuasion. That meant the trigger for the common sense alteration wasn't strictly limited to my hypnosis pendulum, though even then, it had only happened after they exchanged a few words.
"What was that about, leaving so suddenly?" Taehyun walked out.
"Taehyun, do I usually talk about dicks?"
"Uh... not that I can remember."
Hey, stop shouting 'dick' in the middle of the street! Keep that stuff between yourselves. The more I tried to stop them, the more it kept slipping out. This was a disaster.
"I wish we had a quiet place where just the three of us could hang out."
"Then let's go to Taehyun's house!"
"Huh?" Taehyun and I blurted out in unison.
"A quiet place for just the three of us. It's perfect. Didn't you say your parents went up to Seoul yesterday?"
As it happened, my bags were already at Taehyun's house. I had planned to sleep over at his house and head straight to school tomorrow morning.
But Taehyun, the actual homeowner, seemed hesitant.
"Why? You don't want your girlfriend visiting your house?"
"No... it's not that... I wanted to prepare properly before inviting you."
An invitation? How unexpected. Had Ji Su-ah never been to Taehyun's house before? Since he was often home alone, I assumed she visited all the time.
"Oh, come on. You know I actually find stuff like that burdensome."
Once again, Taehyun couldn't muster any resistance and yielded to Ji Su-ah's wishes. As we walked toward his apartment, I quietly fell back to give them some space, wanting to reply to Kwon Ju-ran's message.
We were out on the street. Just as Ji Su-ah said, I couldn't afford to become a guy whose dick got hard at the drop of a hat! Not knowing what other dirty words Kwon Ju-ran might use to stoke my lust, I quickly wrapped up the conversation.
The fluttering excitement made it feel like we were in a secret relationship. Even though I was the one constantly rejecting her advances, there was no harm in enjoying the thrill of it.
As soon as I locked my screen, Ji Su-ah asked, "I heard you're sleeping over at Taehyun's tonight?"
"Yeah."
"So we're stopping by my place first."
"Huh? Why?"
"You two were planning to play all night without me, huh? I can't let myself get left out! So I'm gonna grab my stuff first."
Since Taehyun, the host, had apparently agreed to it, it wasn't my place to object. But there was no way he was happy about this turn of events...
"My darling ♡ I'm happy you think of me as special. But I don't need any of that. You're my man, Taehyun, so why do we need invitations or preparations? Every single day is special."
"Ehehe... is that so?"
He was already completely wrapped around her finger. After Ji Su-ah disappeared into her apartment lobby, Taehyun and I sat on a bench to wait for her.
"I'm sorry... things turned out like this. I didn't know it was Ji Su-ah's first time visiting your place. It must have been a pretty special event for you."
At my apology, Taehyun brushed it off casually.
"When it comes to Ji Su-ah... you don't have to feel sorry to me. Right?"
Well, that's true. If it weren't for me, how could a pathetic guy like you ever land a girlfriend that pretty?
"But..." He leaned in, his face looming threateningly close to mine.
"You should feel guilty for the rest of your life for that shameless play of yours earlier."
Taking advantage of Ji Su-ah's absence, his nagging started right back up.
Taehyun and I had a lot in common, but what really brought us close was alcohol.
Our first year at the Upper School. We had just turned eighteen, the age when kids become wild, unbridled colts the moment they step outside school grounds.
Of course, we had only just reached the legal age, but in reality, almost everyone had already dabbled in it.
I was no exception. That was how I knew my limit.
My body simply didn't agree with alcohol; a single glass was enough to get me tipsy, and anything more would leave me violently throwing up over and over again.
During our first class get-together, feeling alienated by the rowdy, heavy-drinking atmosphere, I quietly slipped away. That was when I ran into Taehyun, who was sitting alone on the stairs looking just as lonely.
Realizing we were both lightweight drinkers, we immediately decided to ditch the party and head straight to a PC bang. That was how we became friends.
Yet, here Taehyun was, already sipping on his third can of beer.
"Seriously... how could you guys even think of playing all night without any alcohol?"
He must have built up his tolerance by trying to keep pace with Ji Su-ah, who was quite the drinker.
"I didn't plan on coming back this early," Taehyun grumbled.
Our original plan was to play games at the PC bang until we were exhausted, then crash. For me, the whole point of this sleepover was to find a safe haven.
"By the way, Ji Su-ah."
Not too long ago, right here in this very spot, I had tried to restore Taehyun's common sense to normal. It had only resulted in me being treated like a lunatic. So, I decided to try a different approach.
The key was simply to prevent her from looking like a crazy woman to others.
"It's not that your common sense is wrong... but just like Taehyun and me, there are plenty of people who are slow to catch up on trends."
"Hmm... I guess so."
"Setting aside who's right or wrong, shouldn't we be considerate of those people too? Don't you think some might find it uncomfortable?"
"Huh?" She wore a blank, stunned expression.
"You're right. Why didn't I think of that? Me, Ji Su-ah, the icon of consideration..."
I cheered inwardly. Appealing to Ji Su-ah's social awareness had definitely been the right move. While the root of the problem remained completely untouched, at least I could stop her from being branded as a weirdo.
"Yeah. So, uh... don't talk about sexual stuff."
"Hmm... then I'll only talk about it when it's just us."
No, leave me out of it. But for now, I backed down. I had achieved my goal for today. From here on, I had no plan. Pushing the conversation any further might just stir up unnecessary trouble.
"Anyway..." I looked over at Taehyun. "Still, how did you... get this guy to drink so quietly?"
The reason Taehyun usually avoided alcohol was simple. If I was a vomit dispenser, this guy turned into a literal beast. A few sips, and he'd lose his mind and start causing a ruckus.
I had never seen it firsthand, but judging by how he became an entirely different person when gaming, I could easily picture it. He'd probably act like a total dog, not just with his mouth, but with his entire body.
"Heh, it's the power of love..."
What a dog. To think he could utter such embarrassing words so casually just because he was drunk.
Those were his final words. "Zzz..." He drifted off to sleep.
"Then I should go sleep in the other room."
"What? Hang out with me more!"
"I can't even drink."
"Do you have to drink to be good company? My tolerance used to be weak too, so I know how to have fun with people who don't drink."
I knew that. Ji Su-ah was the type who had practically ground her own body down to build up her tolerance. She was a social butterfly who loved people, so she must have trained herself just to fit in with everyone.
"Well, I don't know how to have fun around alcohol. If you planned on crashing our hangout in the first place, shouldn't you have looked up the details beforehand, guest?"
"Hmph, you're a guest too."
"Heh, I'm a reserved guest." I stood up without any lingering regrets.
"You... if you leave this room and abandon me, you'll regret it."
She's drunk. But a non-virgin's threat didn't scare me at all. It wasn't like she was going to ravish me.
...This is seriously bad. A woman threatens me, and my first worry is getting raped.
"Just tuck Taehyun into bed and sleep together. See you tomorrow morning."
Still, Ji Su-ah would be safe, so I gave her a cool farewell and turned my back.
"You jerk..." Leaving Ji Su-ah's drunken grumbling behind, I went into the adjacent room. The first thing I did was...
Her reply came instantly. Since my voice might carry, a video call was out of the question. I beat her to the punch and dialed her number instead.
"Heh, I was actually missing you. Are you home?"
"No, a friend's house."
"Still not home? It's not a girl's place, is it?"
"Would I have called you if I were with a girl? I'd get in trouble."
"So you're saying there are times you are with a girl at this hour? If you were home, something you'd hate would probably be happening right now."
"That's not it. I don't usually sleep over at other places. This is only the second time this year. Though it is two sleepovers in a row."
"Then I was the first. Not bad."
Kwon Ju-ran's voice sounded sleepy. She must have been exhausted after filming out of town for two days.
"What time did you get home?"
"I think it was a bit after seven."
"You must be tired. Go to sleep."
"Can't we talk a bit longer?"
We talked a bit longer. It wasn't a long conversation, lasting only until I could hear her even breathing through the silence of the receiver.
Only after hanging up did I realize the door was slightly ajar. And that a shadow was looming behind it.
The door slowly creaked open further, fully revealing a human figure.
"You sound so sweet. Who is it?" It was Ji Su-ah.
Why? The look in her eyes, so different from usual, felt strangely familiar. No way... but surely not...
The same chilling, eerie gleam I had felt from Kwon Ju-ran and Seong Ha-yeon was now swirling in her eyes as she smiled suggestively.