episode_0011

Gumiho.

The bar Mina talked about was in the middle of the university district. It boasts foot traffic comparable to any metropolitan area’s bustling district, though not quite as much as Hongdae. Meaning, it was a place I rarely had anything to do with. Amidst the incredibly bustling street, a neon sign stood out at a glance, seemingly depicting a fox’s tail. After double-checking the map to confirm it was the right place, I opened the translucent glass door and stepped inside.

Chime-

“Welcome.”

As I entered the bar, the sound of a bell and the bartender’s suave voice greeted me in turn. The clamor of the street outside was muted by a subtle jazz-style music. Under the refined and dreamy lighting, the conversations of the earlier customers filled the bar. It was as if I had stepped into a different world just by crossing through a door.

“Please take any seat you like.”

“Ah, yes.”

It was the bartender’s voice, just like before, that woke me from being momentarily captivated by the bar’s atmosphere. Coming to my senses, I looked around; Mina didn’t seem to have arrived yet. Well, I did come straight from work. I alternately looked at the bar seats and the general tables, then after some thought, I went and sat at a secluded corner seat.

“You can order using the screen next to you.”

As I sat down and took off my bag and outer jacket, the bartender approached as if he had been waiting, placing a plate of complimentary snacks on the table. After setting down the plate, he gestured towards the ordering monitor attached to the corner of the table.

“Thank you.”

After the bartender left, I inspected the composition of the complimentary snacks on the plate.

“Oh.”

Crackers with tomato and blueberry cream cheese. The selection of snacks itself didn’t look bad. Though I wouldn’t know, never having been to a place like this.

Buzz-

The moment I picked up a piece of cracker, my phone, which was in my pocket, vibrated. I took it out and opened it, revealing a text message from Mina.

-Sunbae, have you arrived?

-Yeah. Just now.

-(An emoticon of a bear sweating profusely and running)

-I’m almost there too.

-Take your time^^.

Hearing that she was almost here, my heart, which I thought had settled down, started pounding again. Regret, wondering if I came for nothing. Worry, wondering if I’d make a mistake. Expectation, thinking ‘no way’. A swirl of complex emotions churned in my mind. On one hand, Ms. Lizetta, whom I’d left at home, kept weighing on my mind. To divert my attention from those thoughts, I operated the monitor to check what was on the menu. From the cheapest beer to cocktails and whiskey.

“Oh, Godfather.”

Especially for cocktails, even if I didn’t know what they were, many of the names were familiar, which was somewhat welcome.

Just then.

With a jingle, the bar entrance opened, and a familiar silhouette walked inside.

“Oppa~ Long time no see~.”

The woman’s orange eyes, which had exchanged friendly greetings with the bartender as if accustomed to it, busily scanned around as if searching for something. When I subtly raised my hand, the woman, finally spotting me, beamed and approached my seat. As she got closer, the unfamiliar sound of her heels clicking grew louder.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit late, aren’t I?”

“You’re early enough for this. But…”

I stopped speaking and only moved my eyes, scanning Mina’s outfit. A thin white knit top slightly revealing her cleavage, and a light blue cardigan draped over it. In addition, instead of the hot pants she often wore at work, she wore a black tennis skirt that reached above her knees and low-heeled shoes. It was an outfit that didn’t differ much from her usual style but somehow gave off a mature feeling.

“Sunbae~, aren’t you staring a bit too hard?”

“Huh? Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

At Mina’s teasing remark, I scratched the back of my head and looked away.

“Well, if it’s Sunbae, it’s okay to stare a little. How is it? Does it suit me?”

As if granting a favor, Mina spread her arms and slowly spun around in place. Her black tennis skirt naturally fluttered brightly.

“Yeah, it suits you well.”

“Where and how does it suit me well?”

The fact that she came with bare legs, without stockings, just like at work. I could never say that. If it were between lovers, maybe, but if something like that came out between a senior and junior, no matter how close, I’d get handcuffed immediately.

“It just suits your vibe.”

“Aw. I went to all this trouble to dress up, and that’s your reaction? Hehe. Though that’s certainly typical of Sunbae, I guess.”

While feeling a sense of relief at her appearance, which was not much different from how she was at work. My gaze kept drifting towards the bag where I’d put the condom.

“This place is nice, isn’t it?”

Mina, who had somehow sat across from me, asked. As she took off the cardigan she was wearing, the line of her delicate arm, which had been hidden, was clearly revealed from her shoulder.

“Yeah. It’s nice. The atmosphere is calm, and it’s not chaotic either.”

“Right? It’s not too far from my place, so I come here to drink sometimes.”

“Alone?”

“I used to come with other people, but these days I come alone.”

Mina answered my question while picking up a cracker from the plate. Other people, huh. She glossed over it, but… Nine times out of ten, it was a guy, right? How could someone so friendly and stylish not have had a boyfriend by now?

“It’s been a really long time since I came with someone like you, Sunbae.”

Ironically, at those words, the jealousy that had been subtly creeping up vanished like dust.

“Should we talk about the order first? What would you like to drink, Sunbae?”

“Well. I’ve only ever popped open canned beer or soju at home, so this is my first time at a place like this.”

“But you’d probably be familiar with the names, right? Like Martini or Mojito.”

“I took a quick look earlier, and more than half of them were names I’d heard somewhere.”

“Giggle, I was like that too when I first came here. There are drinks called Sex on the Beach, and Orgasm, you know?”

“There’s all sorts of things, huh.”

Just hearing the names, I can’t even imagine what they taste like. Is it so delicious it makes you ‘go’?

“I can’t drink much, though.”

“Come to think of it, you weren’t good at drinking, were you?”

“No~. I really love drinking, but sadly my body just can’t handle it.”

“At the new employee welcome party, I thought you were a good drinker when I saw you chugging it down without a break.”

“Aargh!”

At my words, Mina let out a soft scream and covered her face with her hands.

“I was just barely, barely erasing that from my mind!”

It seemed I had brought up a sealed-away memory. The female employees had a tough time getting her into a taxi back then. Even if she didn’t remember because she was drunk, there would be testimonies from witnesses.

“Ugh. And, Sunbae, are you one to talk? We’re both equally bad at holding our liquor.”

“I don’t cause a scene in a restaurant like you do.”

“Aaaah! Stop it!”

This is unexpectedly fun. To see the one who used to tease me whenever they got the chance unable to even lift their head properly. I should use this trick often in the future.

“Hmph. So, what would you like to drink?”

Feeling better from the small revenge, I crossed my arms and replied.

“Since you’re a regular here, I’ll drink whatever you recommend. I don’t have a sophisticated palate to pick and choose my drinks, anyway.” Even if I get drunk, tomorrow is the weekend. Weekend. Before that invincible word, no hesitation was acceptable.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you regret it~. Then, first, a Long Island Iced Tea and a Blue Hawaii…”

Mina, who had quickly returned to her usual energy, moved her hands, skillfully selecting the drinks and snacks. After that, we killed time talking about various things until the ordered items arrived.

****

How long had it been since I last sat across from someone and drank? After living independently, all my drinking gatherings were company dinners or group meetings. Private meetings were virtually nonexistent. Was that why? Even though this was my first time in such a place, as I talked and drank with Mina, the alcohol went down smoothly. Before I knew it, when I came to my senses, five or six empty glasses were stacked beside me. What was surprising was that despite drinking so much, far from feeling tipsy, I didn’t even feel a hint of intoxication.

‘Is this also the effect of [Fiend]?’

My body must have become so healthy that it became resistant to alcohol. Even so, the fun of drinking is getting drunk, so this is a bit disappointing.

“Ugh~.”

Mina, on the other hand, was swaying like a roly-poly toy, even though she had drunk far less than me. Her face was beet red, and the pupils in her half-closed eyes weren’t properly focused.

“Mina, are you okay?”

“Huh? I’m fine~. I’m just happy drinking with Sunbae, that’s all.”

It seemed she was completely drunk; her tongue was twisted, and she slurred her words several times.

“That’s enough. If you drink any more, something bad will happen.”

“Sunbae~.”

It seems she’s not even listening to me.

“What.”

“Sunbae, why are you so nice to me?”

“What are you talking about now, all of a sudden?”

“No, it’s just…”

Mina drew out her words, holding the cocktail glass with a few sips left and gently swirling it.

“The men I’ve met, you know. They were all perverted bastards only after my body.”

Rough language spilled from her mouth, unlike her usual self.

“When we went to bars, they only tried to get me to drink high-proof alcohol and put me to sleep. I was utterly fed up.”

“…So?”

“But Sunbae, you’re not like that, are you? It’s a bit much for me to bring it up first, but I came here prepared to some extent.”

“Well, that’s…”

What man wouldn’t have expected something like that when a woman suggests meeting alone at a bar? Still.

“How could I do something like that to a precious junior colleague?”

“Pfft.”

“Hey… I’m talking seriously here.”

“Pffft. Sorry, sorry. Hahaha. Sunbae, your body may have become more masculine, but your mind is completely naive, isn’t it?”

Mina wiped away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes from laughing with a tissue.

“A pushover and naive. You’re completely an old-school rom-com protagonist. Though your face is *a little* lacking.”

“Do you have something to add to me being naive and a pushover?” I only lost out by worrying.

“Are you sulking, Sunbae? Sorry~ I was wrong.”

“That’s enough.”

It’s not like I’m begging for an apology.

“…Still, I don’t dislike it. A pushover man like Sunbae.”

My face grew hot, and I gulped down the remaining cocktail in the glass in one go, but Mina’s murmur brushed past my ears. The context was similar to what I’d heard on the rooftop that afternoon. But the impact was completely different.

As I looked forward, holding my glass, Mina was gazing at me with a deep expression. Her fingers, adorned with white nail polish, strangely caressed the rim of the glass. The jazz music was drowned out by the pounding of my heart. My gaze was nailed to Mina’s eyes, unable to fall away.

“You must really be drunk.”

“I’m perfectly sober, though? Hehe.”

A brief silence. A gaze that felt like it would choke me.

“Sunbae, do you dislike women like me?”

Then, with a subdued voice, Mina lowered her head.

“Sunbae, you know about it, right? The rumors about me spreading around the company.”

“I heard them… by chance, while passing by.”

It’s natural for people to envy those superior to them. But those rumors were especially widely spread among the male employees.

“Things like ‘she’s a girl who flirts with men’ or ‘she easily spreads her legs.’” As she spoke, the laugh she casually let out somehow sounded self-deprecating.

“Sunbae, do you believe those rumors?”

I didn’t know the truth of the rumors, nor did I try to find out. I don’t have a hobby of publicly slandering others anyway.

“I don’t believe them.”

At least, the person named Park Mina whom I had seen so far didn’t seem like the shameless person the rumors made her out to be.

“Ah…”

When I realized it, I had already taken her hand on the table. It was an impulsive action done without thinking, so I reflexively tried to pull my hand away. But this time, Mina grasped my hand as I tried to let go. A warmth like the spring sun spread through my fingertips.

“Sunbae, could you grant me one favor?”

Her orange eyes, moist with drunkenness, trembled. Her pink lips, slightly parted as if choosing her words, seemed anxious.

“Tonight, please stay with me.”

I couldn’t pull my hand away from Mina’s.