episode_0026

My heart is pounding.

I tried to calm the thumping sound while clutching my chest.

However, my body seems to want to follow Jaehui’s orders instead of mine, and it starts to thrash even more.

The idol girl casually walks in behind the counter.

Seizing the opportunity while I’m trembling, she carefully surveys the shelves.

She takes out a crumpled note and compares the name written inside with the bottles.

The note reads “Bucket List” in a hushed tone.

“Unnie, which alcohol here is the strongest?”

…

I remain silent in response to her question.

I merely lean on the table, barely able to support myself.

Jaehui glances at my state, shrugs her shoulders, and picks the bottle with the highest alcohol content.

It’s Bacardi 151, 70 proof.

She gazes at me while holding the bottle.

“Are you still trying to resist? What will happen if I intensify the fragrance here?”

Her soft hair brushes against my shoulder.

A strange scent emanates from her hair, tickling my nose.

Thanks to that, my nose turns as red as a peach.

It’s okay…

I can endure a little longer.

I haven’t just been intoxicated by pheromones all this time.

I’ve been resisting in my own way using Angelic Hand.

Thanks to the upgraded skill, I can maintain some semblance of sobriety.

But…

It’s just resistance.

Can I really block the abilities of an A-rank Hunter completely?

“You’re quite resilient, aren’t you? Normally, people collapse in front of me and try to lick the floor.”

She smirks as she tousles her hair.

Suddenly, a vivid red gas begins to float in the air.

The intense color makes my throat feel warm.

Drinking that might actually make me pass out.

I stagger, trying to escape the counter somehow.

But it’s futile.

Jaehui gracefully blocks my path like dancing.

Then, she smiles slyly and asks, “Feeling tormented?”

I can’t comprehend Jaehui’s actions.

Is this what celebrities do on TV?

It’s reckless, as if there’s no tomorrow.

“Have your thoughts changed now?”

…

She pinches the strap of my apron delicately with her well-groomed nails.

“Is the issue the fine or your life right now?”

“My life…?”

Can mere pheromones drive someone to kill in excitement?

As I inquire, she extends her palm as if inflating a balloon.

“My pheromones usually give a strange feeling, but when I raise the concentration to the maximum, they can make hearts burst.”

As if she has burst someone’s heart before, Jaehui says.

Her words completely trample the plans I had painstakingly crafted while suppressing my excitement.

In the end, is there nothing I can do…

I sigh deeply in resignation.

“Fine… I’ll do it.”

“Really? Thank you so much.”

She hands me the Bacardi with a shameless smile.

I barely manage to grab the bottle with trembling hands.

“I looked it up, and apparently, this liquor is 70 proof. I’d like to make a cocktail with it.”

I nod weakly, relying on the bottle placed on the table.

The idol girl, satisfied with my reaction, elegantly sits back at the guest seat.

“Let’s begin.”

Jaehui brandishes her phone.

“It seems like it would be easier to handle if we eliminate the pheromones.”

“That won’t work. If you restore Unnie to normal, she might run away. Please keep her excited like this.”

The idol girl chuckles and continues speaking to her phone as if addressing someone.

“Alright, fans. Today is my final broadcast. So, to celebrate, I’ve come to Moment, the hottest bar in Sindorim lately.”

She points the phone camera at me.

On the screen, a bartender breathes heavily, his shirt completely undone.

“Here is my dearest bartender friend, Siho! She will make a delicious cocktail for Jaehui today.”

The idol girl boldly conducts a live broadcast.

To capture an underage idol openly drinking alcohol.

Strange.

Is this really something she does sober?

“Why are you looking at me like that, unnie? Ah, I was out with my boyfriend.”

She chuckles and whispers into her phone.

“Isn’t it touching? He gave up their happy time just for me…”

I couldn’t retort to her dirty jokes.

Because the air was still filled with a pink hue.

“Must be nice. Being able to date someone you like. Right?”

She delved into her own fantasies without knowing anything about me.

It’s truly absurd.

I took a deep breath.

I could see pink air escaping from my mouth.

Have I unwittingly absorbed pheromones?

Pull yourself together.

I open my eyes wide and place the liquor glass on the table.

Let’s show him the bitterness of adulthood.

The ‘strong cocktail’ he so desired.

I put transparent, angular ice cubes in a glass.

Then gently stir with a bar spoon to chill the glass.

Next, 2 ounces of golden rum. (60ml)

Sweet almond-scented amaretto, 1 ounce.

And sprinkle 1 ounce of fresh lime juice.

Stir everything lightly with a spoon.

Finally, ignite the prepared cinnamon.

Let the smoky fumes from the cinnamon flow over the cocktail surface.

Complete.

Rating: ★★★☆ (Epic)

Effect: Removes all abnormal conditions. Instead, puts the user in a state of intoxication.

Information: By witnessing the tragedy and suffering of others, it relieves accumulated depression and anxiety.

Try drinking this and see.

You might be able to smile brightly while watching friends suffer because of your injections.

“Allow me to offer you Catharsis.”

I present the cocktail with my extended sleeve.

A golden mist veils the dawn on the lake.

I gaze silently at the beautiful sight in the glass.

“What’s the name of the drink?”

“Catharsis…”

Hearing my response, Jaehui’s lips curl up.

She seems to like the name of the cocktail as she laughs out loud.

“Our current situation fits too perfectly, doesn’t it?”

But I couldn’t laugh like her.

I just wonder if this girl dancing so wildly might have hurt her head.

“Then shall we drink while watching the tragedies that befall you, unnie?”

Jaehui hums as she grips the glass.

With confidence, she gulps down the drink.

I quietly chuckled at her determination.

Because…

“—!”

Jaehui coughs out the drink.

Unbelievably reckless for an idol.

The table is now filled with the Catharsis she spat out.

Jaehui, drooling, looks dazed as if she’s been hit hard on the head.

It’s no surprise.

Even if mixed with other drinks, Catharsis has an alcohol content exceeding 50 degrees.

It’s a miracle she didn’t get a burn in her throat.

I start to chuckle with a twisted face.

Seeing her completely distorted from maintaining the acting tone all this time is quite satisfying.

“It seems like Catharsis was felt by me rather than you, huh?”

Jaehui bows her head deeply.

Her face is obscured by long hair.

But one thing is certain.

It’s so distorted that it’s hard to show.

Only now do I start to worry about what I just laughed at.

Maybe needlessly provoking and escalating the situation wasn’t a good idea.

Jaehui says nothing.

Instead, she abruptly turns off the lively broadcast button she had on earlier.

The idol girl rises abruptly from her seat.

Then dashes towards the counter.

In one swift motion, she leaps over the table.

Grabbing my collar abruptly, Jaehui’s face is no longer that of an idol dancer.

“Why is this alcohol so strong?”

Her voice lowers as if she just smoked a cigarette.

She glared at me as if she would light a cigarette for me right away.

“Well… You asked for the strongest one…”

I mumbled, avoiding her gaze deliberately.

Then Jaehui grabbed my chin and fixed her eyes on me abruptly.

“Still, it’s too strong… It tastes completely different from what I expected.”

She grumbled.

Yet, perhaps the alcohol went down her throat a bit, as the girl’s face turned slightly red.

Because of her pressing against me, my head was spinning too.

I tried to push Jaehui away somehow.

But I couldn’t.

Suddenly, she firmly held onto me, tilting my face up.

“Just a moment…”

The vitality in Jaehui’s black pupils vanished.

Her cold pupils stared at me intently like a deep cliff.

“This soap scent. It’s the same as Anna’s, isn’t it?”

Her words cooled down my heated body.

It felt like all the blood in my body was rushing to my feet.

“What’s your relationship with Anna?”

At the mention of Anna, Jaehui’s eyes sparkled as if enchanted by magic.

If I didn’t speak immediately, she might kill me.

“No relationship… at all.”

Upon hearing this, Jaehui subtly smiled.

It wasn’t a smile born out of an amusing situation.

Nor was it a smile of trust based on what I said.

It was a smile of pleasure in imagining how to kill the person in front of her.

“No relationship at all?”

She looks at my sweat-soaked shirt and asks.

However, I couldn’t bring myself to answer that question.

I just adjusted my arms, bothered by the bra straps visible through the white clothes.

In reality, all I did was save her from Rankers who were chasing her…

Of course, it bothers me that we slept together yesterday.

But since it was just sleep, it doesn’t mean anything.

While thinking this, Jaehui put her arms around my waist.

With a strong force, she pulled me back gradually.

In the end, I was pushed all the way to the shelf and collided forcefully.

A lime from the shelf fell to the ground.

“Don’t lie. Tell me everything you know about Anna, everything-.”

Jaehui starts emitting a thick, sticky pheromone while hugging me tightly.

She presses her nose against my collarbone, taking a deep breath.

The warm breath of an idol girl envelops my chest.

Feeling a sensation I’ve never experienced before, my whole body trembles.

The intense stimulation transforms my body.

For the first time since possessing this body, a soft moan escapes my lips.

But that’s just the beginning.

Saliva flows incessantly from my mouth.

My body becomes so numb and foggy that I can hardly feel anything.

I collapse to the floor, legs devoid of strength.

Following me, Jaehui bends her knees and lies down on the counter floor beside me.

Her long hair spreads across the floor.

“An idol… What will happen to her activities if I die…”

I managed to muster some strength and muttered.

But Jaehui paid no attention.

She simply buried her face in my chest and took a deep breath.

As if licking off the remnants of Anna left on my body.

“It’s okay.”

The girl, now blushing, half-opens her eyes as if drugged.

With my sweat moistening her lips, she says,

“I’m planning to die today anyway.”