episode_0082

After the short incident, both the guy and I agreed to take a nap due to a combination of intoxication and fatigue.

I fell asleep around 5 AM, setting my alarm for 8 AM with the intention of getting some rest before heading out.

– Buzz, buzz.

The vibration next to my head tickled my ear. In a dazed state, I reached out to grab it.

I brought the vibrating device in front of my eyes, forcing my heavy eyelids open to see that it was my phone. Without bothering to check who it was, I instinctively swiped my thumb across the screen and brought it to my ear.

“Hello….”

A voice lower than usual, as if two tones down, escaped my lips and entered my ears.

“Mom? Where are you right now!”

A sudden shout. Thanks to it, my slightly clearer mind began to slowly process the situation.

“Da-young…?”

“What, did you just wake up? Do you have any idea how many times I’ve called you? I told you to come home early yesterday!”

“Ugh… sorry… something came up… ugh.”

“Oh, really! Wake up quickly! Do you know how worried we all were? I’ve been calling you dozens of times since morning, why aren’t you picking up!”

Still lying down, I removed the phone from my ear and checked the time.

10:30 AM.

It had been two and a half hours since the alarm was set.

In an instant, I fully woke up and sat up in bed.

“Wait, why is it… I set the alarm and slept, didn’t I?!”

“Mom, mom?!”

“Oh, yeah. Da-young, I’m listening. Ugh, sorry. I stayed up late due to some things. I set the alarm for 8 AM, but I slept through until now.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll pass the phone to grandma.”

And a moment later.

“If a child doesn’t come home at night, they don’t come home. If you stay up all night and come back, what time do you think you’ll come home? Why didn’t you say anything?! Do you know how worried we all were! Your father was about to report you missing to the police because he couldn’t reach you!”

Oh, originally, the plan was to have a drink with Chul-soo and head home lightly, who knew it would turn into such a mess? And what’s wrong with dad?

“Oh, I’m sorry. Please tell dad I didn’t mean to… drink a bit too much yesterday…”

“You, how can you drink so much when you’re on a diet? How much money do you have!”

“Oh, it just happened. Mom. I’ll go in to see him as soon as possible. Within an hour. Okay.”

“Ugh. Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with your body, right?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Okay. Be careful coming in.”

“Okay.”

I hung up the phone and tried to get up from bed.

“Ugh!”

I felt a strong pressure on my abdomen, and looking down, I saw two arms wrapped around my waist. It was obvious whose arms they were.

I tried to grab Chul-soo’s arms around my waist and loosen them, but they were stronger and tighter than I expected.

“Ugh!”

Unable to free myself, I turned around to wake him up, but…

– Bang!

Suddenly, his arms tightened around me, not letting go.

“You crazy bastard!”

Even though he had received a blow before going to sleep, he couldn’t come to his senses and continued to cling to me.

Since his position seemed precarious and it didn’t seem like there was too much pressure on his arms, I adjusted the strength on my legs and kicked towards his groin.

“Wake up, you idiot! Who sleeps and gropes someone?!”

– Ouch!

“Ow!”

In an instant, the intense pain caused him to wake up and roll around on the bed. In the meantime, I got up and quickly grabbed the clothes I had washed yesterday and the underwear I bought from the convenience store, then headed to the bathroom.

Yesterday, I couldn’t even take a shower and felt a bit sticky because of the sweat. Although I didn’t sweat a lot, washing off the slightly sticky skin definitely made me feel refreshed.

Since I didn’t have much time, I quickly finished showering, dried off, and put on my underwear. Then, I wrapped my hair in a towel, put on clothes, and headed to the bathroom.

Looking at the bed, Cheolsu was lying face down, motionless, as if he were dead.

“Hey, are you dead?”

“Mm, don’t even talk to me. Ah, damn. It hurts like hell. How can you wake me up like that, you cruel bastard? You used to be a man, but now you’re acting like this, seriously.”

Seeing that he was still talking, he must be alive. Phew…

“You crazy bastard. You were the one who hugged my waist and slept first. Am I a corpse to you? Anyway, I’m not a horny bastard… no, I am a horny bastard. If you were a woman, you’d be happy just wearing a skirt.”

“Stop it. I have high standards. Can’t you tell from the fact that I’m still not married at this age?”

“It’s not that you haven’t married, it’s that you can’t. That’s what I see.”

“Hmm… hey, come here and massage my waist.”

“Sigh, I’ll do it since I’ve committed a sin.”

Well, I thought I might have been a bit harsh while showering, so I decided to comply with his request and massage his waist.

-Tap tap tap

I clenched my fist and playfully tapped around Cheolsu’s tailbone.

“Feeling better?”

“Ow, a little? By the way, aren’t you supposed to leave soon?”

“Oh… right. Will you give me a ride?”

“Mm, sure. Just wait a bit. Let’s leave in about 10 minutes. I might feel better by then.”

Since I was going to ride in Cheolsu’s car anyway, it was beneficial for me if he recovered quickly, so I continued to massage his waist obediently.

“Wait. But were you awake when I was on the phone?”

“Uh, what? No. I just heard it in my sleep.”

Hmm, suspicious.

“But you know.”

“What?”

“Definitely, your chest is big, so the touch is deadly, hey.”

“You bastard! You were awake after all!”

-Slap!

“Ow!”

I couldn’t hold back my momentary anger and… no, I didn’t hold back. I immediately slapped his waist with both hands.

“You deserve a beating!”

“Hehehe. Thanks for fulfilling one item on my bucket list before I go, hey.”

Oh, that rascal. Seriously. I should gather the guys and teach him a lesson.

I thought that, but even if Hyunsoo, Kangsoo, and I gathered, I wondered if we could beat him alone. Anyway, in terms of physical strength, I was the best among us.

-Whoosh!

“Shall we start heading out now?”

Cheolsu suddenly got up from the bed, went to the suitcase, and packed his things. While he was packing, I sat in front of the vanity and started drying my hair.

Ten minutes later, we left the motel and got into his car.

“Are you sober now?”

I asked, worried that he might still have alcohol in his system the morning after drinking.

“Yeah, I’m sober now.”

Then Cheolsu fastened his seatbelt and started the car.

I opened the window, feeling the wind blowing in and looked at the scenery.

“The scenery looks different from last night.”

“Well, of course it would. But still, it was fun after a long time.”

“Yeah… no. I didn’t have fun, did I? You pervert.”

“Haha, as long as I had fun, it’s fine, right?”

“Wow… that sounds like something really trashy boyfriends in dramas say.”

With the obligation to watch dramas and movies every week, I sometimes find myself relating everyday conversations to them.

“So what? You should have that kind of mindset too.”

“Fine. You can think that way. I believe that I should enjoy being with the people within my boundaries.”

“Oh really? Then what about me? Am I one of the people within your boundaries?”

Well, of course, I’ve known this guy for 30 years, through thick and thin. So naturally, he was one of the people within my boundaries.

“Well, it could be, or it could not be?”

“Hmph, what’s with that? Include me too!”

He says this while poking my side deeply.

“Eek! Ah, focus on driving!”

“Oh, just include me!”

Now he starts tickling my side.

“Hehe, stop it! Stop it! Okay, okay, I got it!”

“Haha, I knew you’d react like that.”

“Ugh, seriously. Anyway, since there’s no one else, right?”

“Why do you always get sassy with me?”

“Look at your behavior, man! Did I do something to deserve this sassiness?”

I usually don’t get this heated or rough, but strangely, I seem to with this guy?

No, it’s more like he brings it out of me.

Anyway, my speech gets rougher and my actions become more carefree? I don’t act like this with Hyunsoo or Kangsoo, but only with Cheolsu. Is it because I feel comfortable around him?

“By the way, when you get home, are you going to come up right away?”

Looking at the clock, it was close to 12 o’clock.

“I’ll probably come up around 3 or 4? Sooyeon and Maebu have to work tomorrow, our kids have to go to school, and I have to go to work tomorrow… Ugh, I don’t want to go.”

The thought of having to go to work tomorrow already makes me tired.

If I were to describe my current mood, it’s like listening to the outro song that plays after finishing watching an old 2 Days 1 Night episode or a comedy concert.

“If you keep talking like that, you’ll sound like an old man.”

“Well, what can I do? I am getting old. I have less than 4 months until I turn 40.”

“That’s… true.”

At my words, Cheolsu drove quietly with a melancholic expression until he reached home.