episode_0098

[Bing! Bing! Bbangbbang! Bingbarabambam! Bingbingbing! Bingbingbing, bingbingbing! Bingbarabambam…]

“Ugh…”

As I slowly opened my eyes to the relentless and vicious sound of the alarm, I began to feel the intense hangover creeping in.

It seemed too difficult to get up right away, so I leaned against the wall and let out a quiet groan.

“Ughhh…”

How much did I drink at the food cart yesterday?

Why is my memory so fuzzy again?

I tried to recall what happened after getting drunk, but the pounding headache intensified whenever I forced myself to think.

Deciding to ask Jaehyuk about it later, I slowly got up from the bed.

Thud –

As I weakly opened the door, a spicy aroma wafted past my nose.

Realizing it wasn’t the usual smell I was accustomed to, I ruled out ramen for now.

Curious about what soup was being cooked, I walked slowly towards the direction of the smell, and soon spotted a hearty looking spicy soup.

“Oh, just by the smell and appearance, a spoonful of this soup might cure the hangover.”

“Really? Hehe, I must have cooked it really well. Oh, please bring some utensils to the table, it’s ready now.”

After placing the bubbling soup in the center, Jaehyuk scooped up some steaming white rice with visible steam rising from it onto plates on the table.

Taking out utensils and plates from the shelf and heading towards the table, the warm and cozy atmosphere set the stage for the dinner to begin.

“Bon appétit…”

“Enjoy your meal. I deliberately prepared spicy soup to cure your hangover.”

“You must have had a hard time while I was asleep. As a token of appreciation, I’ll treat you to tonight’s late-night snack.”

“Haha, sure.”

Engaging in conversation in a groggy state, I spooned some soup into my mouth first, feeling the rising hunger.

As soon as it entered my mouth, the spicy taste began to stimulate my taste buds.

Without even fully savoring it, I quickly swallowed the warm broth.

“Ah…”

As the heat spread through my stomach, a warm sensation enveloped my entire body.

Feeling momentarily dizzy from the peculiar and thrilling sensation, I couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

“Nice, really nice.”

“Spicy and warm is the best for hangovers. Take your time eating, or you might throw up.”

“Forgetting that a corpse without a sturdy stomach is just a body? It’s okay to eat a bit quickly, hehe.”

The harmonious blend of white rice and spicy broth created a fantastic taste.

After thoroughly enjoying the taste that would make any Korean go crazy, I felt the hangover dissipating and asked him.

“Did anything happen yesterday?”

“How much do you remember?”

“Well, I don’t remember much, but judging by the fact that I was wearing a cosplay costume…”

Perhaps, something did happen after all?

As I shrugged and added, Jaehyuk regretfully told me the truth.

“When we finished about two and a half bottles of soju, you suddenly passed out like a broken puppet. Thanks to that, I have no idea how hard it was to bring you back to your place.”

“…Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. You also helped me out when I was in a tough spot before, right? I consider it payback.”

Smiling broadly and reassuring me, he then took out some ice cream from the fridge as a dessert.

Was he enjoying the vanilla ice cream as a treat?

After a long silence, Jaehyuk stared at me intently and quietly spoke up.

“By the way, do you know?”

“Know what?”

“You’ve become incredibly famous. You’ve gained so much popularity to the point where even celebrities would envy you, right?”

“What nonsense is this again?”

With a dumbfounded expression, I hesitated for a moment, then finally regained my composure and started typing various things into the search bar.

If I had become famous overnight, it must have been because of something that happened in the comics.

When I searched for ‘vampires’, ‘comics’, and ‘bomb terror’, all sorts of articles poured out.

[Excessive violence of different species! Is this okay?]

[A crudely made bomb, how powerful is it really?]

[The special law for different species was completely ineffective!?]

…

“What is all this?”

Wasn’t it supposed to be a good thing? Why am I being treated like a terrorist?

A sinking feeling in my chest.

I looked at my phone with a serious expression, and Jaehyuk sighed and handed me his phone.

“I don’t know what article you’re looking at, but it’s confirmed that you’re not a terrorist. Look at this. This article that just came out is portraying you as a hero.”

“R-really? W-what on earth happened while I was asleep?”

“The CCTV footage was released, there are testimonies from security guards, and the real culprit has been caught… honestly, it’s more strange that you’re being treated like a terrorist.”

“The real culprit has already been caught? They caught them so quickly?”

As Jaehyuk listened to me, he continued to search for other articles, and suddenly a thought came to my mind.

I logged into the community site and clicked on the concept post, as expected, there were more praises for the vampires.

[“Hey Jesus! Why aren’t you starting the meeting?”]

[I knew this would happen, you idiot reporters ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[If you’re sorry, give me a thumbs up ㅋㅋㅋ]

[The reason why Mamangi is innocent Fact.]

…

“Wow, there are so many.”

My mouth kept twitching upwards despite my efforts to control it.

I watched the feast of posts that I could roughly guess the content of without even reading them, and with an excited heart, I started writing a post.

Concept posts were a big deal.

Let’s see.

The title… yeah, this should be good.

I’ll just take what was posted on the community site and articles.

Ignoring Jaehyuk’s ridiculous expression, I started writing.

Not long after finishing, the post was approved as a concept post with crazy amounts of likes.

“Wow… this feels great.”

Why do I feel like I’m on drugs just from writing one post?

I happily laughed while reading the enthusiastic comments on the post, when suddenly a notification popped up at the top of the screen.

Perplexed, I checked the message, and there it was.

[(Photo of people lining up in front of a cocktail bar)]

[Jiwoo?]

[Can you explain what you did on your day off? Why are so many people coming in even though we’ve never advertised?]

[(Gif of a black-haired man with tears streaming down his face)]

[Damn it, my precious cocktail bar!!!!!]_5:15 PM

“Well, that’s just Jiwoo being Jiwoo.”

“It’s going to be really noisy for a while…..”_6:00 PM

“This won’t do.”

“It’s already noisy enough.”

“It’s going to get even noisier when Jiwoo shows up.”

“Han Jiwoo”

“You haven’t left home yet, have you?”

“If you have, come back immediately.”

“If you haven’t left, stay at home.”

“And”

“You’re on vacation for a week.”

“Don’t think about coming to work, just stay at home.”

“If you come to work, I’ll fire you, seriously.”_6:21 PM

…The boss’s rant about the angry customers who came in too many was written.

It had only been 2 weeks since I returned from vacation, and now I have to take another week off.

Should I be happy about this or not?

I reread the message with a awkward expression, while silently observing Jaehyuk’s reaction.

Did I look pitiful like that? The guy threw a mischievous joke with a forced smile.

“Huh, really making a lot of people suffer. Useless like a fly.”

“…I didn’t know it would turn out like this, really.”

“It’s a joke, man. If you react like that, I’ll look like trash.”

“I wasn’t trash?”

“Is that so?”

Jaehyuk, who playfully responded, got up from his seat and headed straight for the front door.

After informing me of the household chores to be done, he opened the door and bid farewell with a determined expression.

“…I’ll come back alive.”

“I’ll have food ready, so come back safely.”

“Hey, didn’t we just look like a real couple?”

“Shut up.”

The guy closed the door regretfully, blocking out the nonsense.

Alone in my apartment after a long time, I glanced around for a moment and then grabbed a mop.

“…He always says weird things for no reason.”

A strange feeling suddenly arose as I started to do the household chores.

After shaking my head vigorously to dispel it, I hummed a tune and began to dust off the dust.

If I don’t do anything.

It feels like his absence keeps lingering.

—–

Meanwhile, at the cocktail bar where it was time to change the store sign.

The man who looked like the owner of the store gazed outside with a bored expression, then let out a deep sigh.

“Jaehyuk.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Why do people like pretty and beautiful things so much?”

“Are you asking sincerely?”

“No, I just feel overwhelmed when I see that.”

“Indeed, looking at that crowd could make you feel that way.”

Endless lines in a secluded alleyway.

Jaehyuk replied with a wry smile at this sight, and the boss began to seriously consider abolishing holidays.

“I gave them holidays to take care of their work-life balance, but if they cause major accidents on holidays and make work difficult… maybe we should get rid of holidays again?”

“Wow, that’s a typical evil boss mindset.”

“I always said that, right? What if they complain?”

“Ooh, bad boss. Being so strict is really too much.”

“If you don’t like a bad boss, then quit.”

“Aw…”

As the female employee joked, the boss playfully retorted.

However, the brief relaxation of the bartenders disappeared when the dragon shifter announced the opening with a thunderous voice.

“I’m changing the sign!”

As the sign was changed and the lock was released, people streamed into the store.

Watching them wander around looking for vampires, the boss took a sip of cold water and expressed his concerns.

“How long will this last?”

“Well, maybe not more than a week?”

“Don’t say unlucky things.”

“I’m just stating the facts.”

A dizzying feeling was already setting in.

And so, with the weak greetings of the bartenders.

The war began at the cocktail bar.