A Night You Can't Escape (2)
From beyond the intercom, Eunyoung unnie replied in a slightly flustered voice. Perhaps she hadn't expected a visitor at this late hour, well past dinner time, as her response came a beat late.
"What brings you here so late? Hyeun isn't back from work yet…."
Of course not—Hyeun was at my place right now. And unless I called her, she'd probably stay there a while longer.
I lifted the plastic bag full of soju and snacks from the convenience store just enough to show it on the intercom camera.
"Nothing much. Just thought we'd have a drink after so long."
"That doesn't look like a 'one drink' amount."
"Hyeun might come home from work and join us, so I bought extra."
"……."
"You gonna open the door or not?"
I could always use the spare key Hyeun had given me if needed, but it meant something for Eunyoung unnie to open the front door herself. I locked eyes with her through the intercom and waited for her reply.
Click.
The sound of the gate unlocking served as her answer.
As I pushed open the gate and stepped into Eunyoung unnie's yard, her front door swung open from the inside.
There stood Eunyoung unnie, whom I hadn't seen in three days.
"C-come on in, son…."
A red heart marked "90" still floated beside her face.
Stepping into Eunyoung unnie's impeccably tidy home, I headed straight to the living room's low table and unpacked the bag I'd brought.
I lined up the soju bottles from the black bag on the floor in a neat row.
As I moved to the kitchen to grab soju glasses, chopsticks, and plates to set up for drinking, I found Eunyoung unnie stir-frying something in a pan on the stove.
"I don't have much at home for snacks, so it'll just be stir-fried sausage and steamed eggs. That okay?"
"That's plenty. I brought chips and stuff too, so we're good."
"Alright, just wait a sec~. I'll finish this up and plate it right away~."
The flustered Eunyoung unnie who'd shooed me out of the house a few days ago was nowhere to be seen. The one in the kitchen now wore a delighted expression as she vigorously stirred the ingredients in the pan.
It was clear she was excited for a long-overdue drinking session with her "son."
"Quietly closing my eyes~. Imagining you~♪."
Seeing her humming a tune and swaying her hips, I instinctively wanted to grab that ass. But I couldn't ruin the big plan right before the main event, so I held back, grabbing only the utensils from the kitchen.
Anyway, in a few hours, that ass and everything else would be mine.
Ding.
The microwave beeped, signaling it was done.
"Unnie, the steamed eggs look ready. Should I grab those too?"
"Yeah~. I'll… uh, Auntie will bring this out once it's done~."
After setting the table with glasses, chopsticks, plates, and snacks, Eunyoung unnie soon emerged from the kitchen carrying a heaping plate of stir-fried sausage.
We settled diagonally across from each other at the table's corners, using the sofas behind us as backrests.
"Here, have a drink, Eunyoung unnie."
"…Aren't you waiting for Hyeun?"
"She'll come when the time's right."
Probably after everything was said and done. Eunyoung unnie hesitated at my calm response, but the soju right in front of her was too tempting to refuse.
With a resigned look, she took the glass from me and filled it to the brim.
"You too, Taekyung. Have one."
"Sure thing, unnie."
"I-I'm not 'unnie'…."
She still seemed a bit awkward with the term, but it was much softer than the first time I'd called her that. She only objected half the time now—she was getting used to it.
Progress was going smoothly, so I smiled inwardly.
We tilted our glasses just enough not to spill and clinked them together before downing our first shots in one go.
As soon as her glass was empty, I casually refilled it. She filled mine, and we emptied them again, repeating the cycle.
After a few rounds, with some idle chit-chat keeping the mood light, she was the first to bring up my awakening ability.
"So, have you been practicing with your inner energy?"
She was referring to the training method she'd taught me a few days ago, so I nodded.
"It felt way more powerful against monsters than just swinging wildly. Before, it was like just moving the blade fast, but now it's like the sword itself is stronger."
"You're a quick learner, Taekyung. Most people take about half a year from sensing their energy to first using a technique with it."
"That long?"
"Might sound like bragging about my daughter, but even our prodigy Hyeun took two months."
Even counting from right after awakening, it'd taken me barely a month and a half to handle it. In a way, I was faster than Hyeun.
Of course, she'd said my inner energy was a strange mix of qi and mana, so maybe my prior magic use had helped me sense it sooner. But Hyeun had awakened way before me, so it was a meaningless comparison anyway.
"Must be thanks to your great teaching, unnie."
"…I said I'm not 'unnie.'"
"I'm calling you unnie anyway."
"…Fine, whatever."
With an "I don't care" expression, Eunyoung unnie silently downed the shot in front of her. I refilled her empty glass right away.
"……."
She stared at the refilled glass, lost in thought. Still silent, she picked up a piece of sausage from the plate and quickly emptied her glass again.
"…Aren't you drinking too fast?"
"What's it matter? We're already home…."
"Drink with me. Don't keep going solo."
"…Okay."
My goal was to get her buzzed enough to let emotions override reason, but having her pass out drunk would make sex no different from rape. I didn't want that, so I needed to pace her.
"Don't forget what I taught you. Use it well…."
"Huh?"
"Never forget. Got it…?"
I clinked her glass as she tried to down another alone, her words heavy with meaning. Her face flushed—whether from the alcohol or something else—as she emptied it and met my eyes.
Something uneasy stirred in me at her expression, so I looked her in the eye and asked seriously.
"You'll still teach me swordsmanship this Wednesday, right?"
"……."
"You promised, unnie."
"…The snacks are getting cold, Taekyung."
Her evasive gaze and topic change confirmed my suspicions about this urgent task. If I didn't satisfy her as a man tonight, she might make some extreme choice I didn't know about.
It must have been a long time coming. Losing her husband, raising Hyeun alone, and caring for her adopted son—me—until I could fend for myself. Nearly twenty years.
Her limits might have been reached long ago, held back only by her sense of responsibility to raise me and Hyeun.
Once Hyeun became an A-rank hunter fully realizing her potential, and I became her husband, taking responsibility for both their lives—what was her plan for the rest of her life then?
Imagining that made my chest ache.
"Promise me, unnie."
"…Promise what?"
"I'm still not comfortable with my inner energy, so promise you'll keep teaching me."
"…You're smart, Taekyung. You don't need me—you'll figure it out."
"At least do the next week's lesson we talked about."
"……."
She closed her eyes, deep in thought, then opened them with a weary voice.
"…Alright, just up to next week's lesson."
I wondered if that promise even held weight, but a system window appeared before my eyes, confirming it.
The conditions of the urgent task have changed, so the remaining time is being adjusted.
Remaining Time: 119:59:57
The remaining time, just over 50 hours, had more than doubled in an instant. But that only made me more urgent.
The new deadline was exactly five days from now—Thursday at this time. The day after my lesson on Wednesday.
That alone convinced me the only way to save her was to clear this urgent task.
The alcohol I'd shared with her gave me a bit more courage too.
"Eunyoung unnie."
"…What is it, Taekyung?"
Emboldened, I conveyed the honest feelings in my heart more directly.
"Can't we… at least kiss once?"