Coming of Age. (3)
“Ugh…”
Bruna’s eyes fluttered open at the rustling sound, her throat burning with thirst. She reached for the cup in front of her.
“Hey.”
But her attempt was cut short by a hand that snatched the cup away. Bruna, barely grasping her spinning thoughts, looked up at the owner of that hand. The person had to be Valentina—she was so tall.
“That’s alcohol.”
“Alcohol…? Oh, right.”
“Drink this.”
Bruna took the cup Valentina offered and gulped down the cool water inside. Only then did the situation finally sink in.
Today had been Ha-neul’s birthday party, and they’d been drinking there. But what about the others?
Bruna cleared her head and glanced sideways. On the table lay her friends sprawled out: Ha-neul, Camilla, and Yu-ri. Two empty bottles sat beside them, and Valentina was busy clearing things away.
Damn. I wasn’t weak to alcohol. I just downed the first shot and got like this.
Seeing her friends passed out, Bruna let out a sigh of relief in her mind. She hadn’t been the only weak one.
Click, click, click.
She snapped photos of the friends sprawled out on the table.
“What are you doing? Wake up already.”
“Ah. Tina.”
“Huh?”
“Later, tell them I woke up right after they passed out. And that I stayed up with you until the end, okay?”
Bruna wasn’t particularly interested in football, but she didn’t want to be teased by her friends for being weak to alcohol. So she winked at Valentina and demanded she back her up.
Valentina’s expression soured at the wink.
“Ugh, fine. Back me up.”
“Haa… Sure. Let’s go with that.”
But when Valentina saw Bruna about to wink again, she let out a light laugh and nodded.
“Okay, thanks.”
“In return.”
“In return?”
“Help clean up.”
“Ehh, of course.”
Bruna shot up. But the moment she stood, the room spun. She grabbed the table for support. Valentina, seeing this, clutched her head and said,
“Hey, just rest. You’ll break something.”
“No, no. I’ll help.”
“…Then help move the others too?”
“Of course I can.”
“First, Yu-ri. She’s stripping off her clothes like crazy.”
At Valentina’s words, Bruna looked closely at Yu-ri sprawled on the table. It was December, after all—cold weather. And Yu-ri’s gym shorts lay discarded right under her feet.
They’d shared a room for years, so moving Yu-ri wouldn’t be hard.
“Okay. Yu-ri, let’s go home.”
“Uuu… Dad…”
“Aigoo, you miss your dad?”
Bruna draped Yu-ri’s outer layer over her shoulders and helped her up. Fortunately, Yu-ri wasn’t fully passed out; she moved along with Bruna’s support.
“Then I’ll take the others.”
“Okay.”
Valentina, who had been cleaning, nodded. Bruna carried Yu-ri to the room they’d shared for years and laid her on the bed.
“Uuuu…”
Yu-ri, groaning, started stripping the moment she hit the bed. In one breath she was down to her underwear, then pulled the blanket over herself, shivering.
Showering together after training or games was routine, but Bruna had no interest in seeing a woman’s naked body. So she was glad Yu-ri had covered herself.
If that’s the case, why not just not take her clothes off in the first place…? Still, it’s good she didn’t in front of Ha-neul.
Is a drunk person this gross?
I don’t think I was like that. Since Tina didn’t say anything, maybe nothing happened?
Still, at least she didn’t puke, right? From what the others said, Ha-neul had thrown up a lot when he was drunk… The thought made Bruna’s stomach churn. She rushed to the bathroom attached to the room, vomited everything out, and rinsed her mouth.
Whether from puking or carrying Yu-ri from the elevator, she was sweating.
Time to head back.
She was uncomfortable and wanted a shower, but she had to return to the party since Valentina was still cleaning.
Back at the party, Valentina had finished cleaning and was sitting in her spot.
“You’re done already?”
“…You came early?”
“I rushed over to help.”
“Then let’s move the others too.”
Valentina gestured toward Ha-neul and Camilla, who were passed out beside her. Bruna followed the gesture with her eyes.
Ha-neul, taller than her at over 170 centimeters, and Camilla, just under 170.
Sorry…
Bruna, who had already carried Yu-ri to their room, felt guilty as she spoke to Valentina.
“Then I’ll take Camilla.”
Of course Camilla shared a room with Valentina, but Valentina was taller, so it made sense for her to carry Ha-neul.
It was a bit awkward to ask Valentina, who had already cleaned, to carry the tall Ha-neul, but Bruna figured she’d understand since she was the one who might trip while carrying him.
Valentina’s speech was rough but had a subtle care to it; she wouldn’t refuse.
And sure enough, Valentina nodded.
“Sure, go ahead. Do you know where our room is?”
“Yeah. Then I’ll wake them first?”
Before Valentina could change her mind, Bruna quickly carried Camilla away. Her heart was heavy after dropping off Ha-neul, but Camilla was lighter than Yu-ri, so her body felt light.
As Bruna left with Camilla in her arms, Valentina let out a soft laugh.
“That counts as fair play?”
She then spoke to Camilla and Yu-ri, who were already back in the room and couldn’t hear.
After cleaning, Bruna sat in front of Ha-neul, arms crossed, watching him drool on the table. When Bruna returned and let out a small sigh, Camilla quickly noticed and left. It made Bruna think she could ask for some passes from Bruna during tomorrow’s training.
Valentina, having had that pointless thought, approached Ha-neul.
“Hey. Hey.”
“Uuu…”
Shaking Ha-neul’s shoulder, she opened her eyes groggily and looked at Valentina.
“Time to go inside.”
“Eh? Eh…”
With a firm grip, Ha-neul stood. But the moment he took a step, his body swayed. Valentina quickly wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him from falling. She could feel the hardness of his body through his clothes.
She wanted to adjust her hand position, but she forced herself to resist the urge.
…No indecent stuff.
Feeling up a drunk Ha-neul here was something she couldn’t do to him or his friends.
But carrying him up the stairs felt like trouble. So maybe just carrying him was fine.
“Ha-neul?”
“Uhn?”
“I’ll carry you. I’ll take you home.”
She lowered her stance, and Ha-neul climbed on. He still seemed mostly conscious. Then she felt something strange on her back—actually, her waist.
…It’s big.
The moment she realized what it was, she debated whether to set him down. She had an idea during his usual ceremonies, but it seemed pretty large.
Should I stop it? Does he know?
She thought it was cool, but…
Well, the feeling wasn’t bad. It was even a bit thrilling. But if she kept thinking about it, she might cross a line. So Valentina stood up with Ha-neul still on her back.
Even in this state, she could feel the hardness of his thighs from all the training. She didn’t know how much effort it took for women to develop such muscles, but she knew one thing: Ha-neul trained harder than most of his teammates.
While he trained that hard, she was thinking about this. It felt like garbage. But since she had no choice but to carry him, it was fine.
Thinking this, she walked out of the room and saw the elevator. Stairs or elevator. But since all players were asleep, would the ones with sharp hearing wake up at the elevator sound?
Of course, Valentina had never heard an elevator at night, but she figured people with sharp hearing might wake. So she chose the stairs—not because she wanted to carry Ha-neul higher, but as consideration for the other players.
“You think the same, Ha-neul?”
“Uhn…”
Since Ha-neul agreed, climbing the stairs was right.
After drinking, wasn’t removing the alcohol through exercise the proper choice for a pro? And stairs were a proven way to burn it off.
Reaching the top of the stairs, she saw the men’s dormitory. But her steps didn’t falter. Entering the men’s dorm felt a bit scary, and she didn’t want this night to end.
Quickly checking, fortunately the night watchman guarding the men’s floor was asleep.
Ha-neul’s room was on our floor, right?
And it was fortunate that Ha-neul had his own room. No matter how close they were, entering another guy’s room felt a bit guilty.
Time to hurry inside.
If she got caught carrying Ha-neul here, it would be chaos. So before the sleeping night watchman woke, Valentina moved her feet.
She opened Ha-neul’s door. The moment it opened, a pleasant scent greeted her. And there was the bed. Ha-neul, who was talkative, should have at least made the bed, but the blanket was just lying there.
Seeing that, she let out a soft laugh.
“Ha-neul. We’re here.”
“Eh? Eh…”
She sat Ha-neul on the bed, and his eyes blinked slowly. Then his mouth opened.
“Eh? A girl.”
“Yeah, a girl.”
“Come here.”
Ha-neul patted the bed and called her. He clearly wanted her to sit beside him right away, but Bruna forced herself to hold back.
“Haa… Don’t drink in front of other girls.”
After sighing, she pushed Ha-neul’s forehead. He immediately lay down on the bed. Soon, his breathing became regular.
If her eyes had adjusted more to the darkness, she could have seen the details better…
She felt a pang of regret but didn’t want to get any closer. Her patience was at its limit.
Valentina, having endured the urge to climb onto that bed, left the room and entered her own. Fortunately, no one crossed paths on the way.
Once inside, she saw Camilla sleeping on the bed, having completed her mission.
Seeing a friend she’d known since childhood, Bruna thought she’d done well to leave the room. Love was important, but so was friendship.
But her heart still raced. She felt she had to release this desire somehow. The patience she had left after leaving Ha-neul’s room was at its limit.
So Valentina memorized the sensations on her hands and back, along with the scent from Ha-neul’s room, and headed to the bathroom attached to her room.