episode_0035

“Sir… you can open your eyes now, it’s okay.”

As I lifted the black cloth covering the man’s eyes, his bright red face was revealed, eyes tightly shut.

Facing this man, my own face flushed as well, but as we distanced ourselves, I began to feel a sense of calm.

But it was all just temporary. Meeting the gaze of the man with his eyes open, I felt a stronger sense of unease and a tingling sensation in my chest.

“You said it’s okay to open your eyes, but don’t stare so intently.”

“S-Sorry!”

Glancing at him with folded arms, the man quickly lowered his head. While I was more at fault for playing such a naughty prank, seeing his face made me unreasonably angry.

“…”

“…”

If I had known something like this would happen, I wouldn’t have even stepped out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around me.

No, come to think of it, I don’t even understand why I tried to play such a prank in the first place.

What did I gain from embarrassing the man? In the end, it was my own embarrassment that was on display, not his.

And it wasn’t even my body, but that guy’s nakedness… Well, at least I was wearing underwear, so maybe it’s not so bad? Ha, hahaha… If he had seen everything in that situation, I might have really lost it…

“75… 75D…”

The man kept muttering strange things… Oh no, this won’t do. I need a drink. I can’t handle this sober.

“Sir, where did you put the alcohol we brought from the car?”

“75… w-what did you say?”

“The alcohol! Stop muttering to yourself like an idiot and bring it out!”

— Smack!

As I hit him with the black cloth in my hand, the man suddenly snapped out of it and quickly got up from his seat.

If I were truly angry, I would have hit him with my bare hands, but I decided to endure it to avoid feeling guilty.

But what is this? I didn’t even check what I grabbed in my confusion, but how could hitting him feel so… unsatisfying?

“I… I brought it. But it’s a bit strong, is that okay?”

“It’s fine, just pour it. Remember, we drank together before and nothing happened, right?”

“Just judging by one beer… Fine, I’ll do it.”

Letting out a sigh, the man, who had been glancing at me, approached with a fancy bottle of alcohol in hand.

I didn’t know much about alcohol, but the blue bottle with a golden label seemed to boast its expensive quality. Especially the word “CASK” in the middle kept catching my eye.

“Alright, just try a sip first. If you’re okay with it, then you can ask for more. Got it?”

“Come on, it’s just alcohol, even if it’s strong.”

I had only tried alcohol once before, but I didn’t even feel tipsy, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.

Oh… the scent is strong, but it’s not as repulsive as I thought. Rather, I feel a stimulating desire to taste it quickly.

Alright, here goes nothing!

…Ugh, it’s strong.

But the clean feeling as it goes down my throat, and the taste being sweeter and better than expected?

So this is how it tastes when you drink alcohol. I’m starting to understand why people who like alcohol enjoy it little by little.

“Sir, give me another glass!”

Was alcohol the answer after all? Just after one glass, my muddled emotions disappeared, and my mood improved significantly.

“Not too bad, huh? Good, but you haven’t even eaten yet, so don’t drink too much, okay?”

“Don’t worry, mister, I’ll take care of it all~”

Handing over the glass of alcohol, the man readily poured the drink for her. She seemed a bit dissatisfied with the small glass, but she didn’t say anything because chugging it down like a soft drink wouldn’t look cool.

Hmm~ This scent is so nice…

…

— Spin~

Huh… Why does my head suddenly feel heavy…

“Are you drunk, Eunhye?”

“…What are you talking about? Do you think I’d get drunk after just two drinks? Stop talking nonsense and pour me another drink.”

Although the man seemed a bit blurry, he was fine, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to get drunk first. I don’t even know what getting drunk feels like, to be honest…

…Hehe~

#

“Hehe… Hehe~”

Shaking her head back and forth, Eunhye reached out her hand with the glass towards me. Just a while ago, she was full of attitude, but after a few drinks, her face completely relaxed into a silly smile.

I brought the wine cellar to pay attention to it, but I never imagined drinking with Eunhye like this. And unintentionally sharing the cask I received as a bribe with this guy…

“Hehehe~ Acting all blurry~ Hehe~”

Pointing at the ceiling with her index finger, Eunhye giggled.

I’ve dealt with many people and seen countless patients, but I’ve never seen someone just making jokes and laughing without a care like this before.

She can still laugh like this. Her smile may look ridiculous with the corners of her mouth upturned, but it’s cute in its own way. If it were me in the past, I would have watched Eunhye’s silly antics with a smile, but…

[…Why are you staring at me like that? Did I spill something on myself?]

Eunhye’s upper body, still untouched by a single drop, and the feeling of her apricot-colored underwear covering her chest linger in my mind.

Because of that, what’s engraved in my mind is the large, soft curves of her upper body and the letters “75D” written on her underwear.

Why did she ask me to put on her underwear? At first, I thought she was trying to tease me, but looking into her eyes, I couldn’t refuse her unreasonable request.

…Maybe it was because of that incident that Eunhye’s offer of alcohol was so welcome in my still-excited state.

“Hehehe~ That naughty child~ Suddenly disappearing…”

Even though she changed into pajamas, every time she twisted her body, my eyes were drawn to Eunhye’s collarbone.

What’s even more maddening is the black stockings she’s holding in her hand… It definitely looks like it came from that problematic wardrobe, was she trying to cover my eyes with that?

“Ah… Ah~? Mister~ I found you~!”

“Huh!?”

Trying to calm down my excitement, I focused on the alcohol, but Eunhye, with a mischievous laugh as if she had found something interesting, approached me.

“Hehehe~ Mister~”

Crawling towards me, Eunhye grabbed my face with both hands, and her completely relaxed expression due to alcohol was right in front of my eyes.

“Oh my~? Why is your face like this… all blurry and weird~ This isn’t like you, mister…”

Isn’t that because you’re drunk… If you couldn’t even recognize something right in front of your nose, maybe I shouldn’t have given you alcohol…

“But this smell… it’s our uncle’s smell, right~ Hehe~ You know, uncle~”

You realized that just from a smell, not even being a dog? Hoo… I want to tackle more than just this, but what’s the use of talking to a drunk guy.

“Why… are you calling me?”

For now, it’s better to just play along. He’ll probably fall asleep on his own soon.

“Yeah~ Remember the contract we had~ How long is that valid for~?”

“Contract? Oh… you mean that…”

I didn’t understand what the contract meant until later, when I remembered the contract we wrote on the day we first met.

To be honest, I had forgotten about the contract we made on a whim. It probably wasn’t that important.

“You’re not going to say anything…? When are you going to abandon me…?”

“Abandon, abandon what are you talking about!”

I saw sadness creeping into her face, which was previously full of laughter. I couldn’t help but be surprised, so I let go of the glass in my hand and grabbed her hands.

“You’re going to abandon me too~ and run away~? Oh~ Like that bad woman who abandoned me and ran away~”

“…What?”

“It’s all the same~ Adults are all liars… She said she’d come back soon, but I waited for over 10 years and she never showed up…”

As Eunhye spat out those words, she bit her lip. Eventually, tears began to well up in her eyes, and I realized she was on the verge of crying, so I embraced her tear-streaked face against my chest.

“How much… how much did I wait… Huhu, hoo…”

Eunhye, crying endlessly in my arms. All I could do was stroke her head and comfort her until her tears stopped.

I don’t know anything about the woman Eunhye is right now.

I don’t want to comfort her beyond what I know, and end up hurting her.

Hey, Eunhye. I can’t tell you this now, but I will never abandon you.

So… please don’t say that I will abandon you.