episode_0099

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Clink.

Clack.

While Seo Woojin busied himself in the kitchen, making all sorts of noises, I hesitantly ran my fingers through my hair and stepped into the living room. First, I moved Yorha—who had turned the sofa into a bed and drifted off to dreamland—back to the bedroom.

I couldn’t just sit on her butt while she was sleeping, could I?

Who knows, she might wake up and create another situation like earlier.

Though it was my first time carrying someone, she was so tiny and light that it wasn’t much of a challenge. I lifted her in a princess carry, keeping her in the same position she’d been lying in, and delivered her to the bed.

As I watched Yorha cling to my clothes and whimper like a child, I briefly wondered, Does she think I’m Woojin?

I gently brushed her hair to the side so it wouldn’t press uncomfortably against her back, then closed the bedroom door behind me.

“…Ah.”

Right then, I ran straight into Woojin, who was walking toward me.

For some reason, he’d been smiling nonstop since earlier.

…Watching him, I unconsciously let out a light smile too.

“What’s up? You moved Yorha?”

“Yeah. Who knows what’ll happen if she wakes up… It’s pretty much guaranteed disaster at this point.”

“True… She might just pounce on us and say, Let’s just eat and die today.”

Had he experienced that before?

Now that I thought about it, Yorha wasn’t the only one drinking last night. So why was Woojin so perfectly fine?

I buried the sudden flood of questions in my mind for now.

…I’ll save them for later, when the conversation dies and things get awkward. Yeah.

Woojin walked past me and approached the table in front of the sofa, setting down the various things he’d brought from the kitchen one by one.

Even so, with only two hands, he couldn’t carry much—but among the items was the same orange juice I’d seen earlier.

“Go ahead and sit. This should be enough for snacks… I’ll go grab some soju glasses.”

“…Mhm.”

“Don’t tell me she doesn’t have soju glasses here. If not, we’ll just have to drink straight from the bottle.”

Woojin headed back toward the half-destroyed kitchen wall.

I stared at his retreating figure for a moment before hesitantly fidgeting with my fingers and sitting on the sofa.

He told me to rest, so it’s fine if I do, right?

In manga, this is when the female lead would help the male lead prepare something… and then they’d have some light skinship…

No, no.

That’s not just close friends—that’s already a step beyond.

…Which means…

It’s more like… a couple.

Come to think of it, by the time romance manga protagonists and heroines pass the midpoint, they’re practically a couple even if they haven’t officially confessed yet. So it’s not really the same as just regular guy-girl friends.

Whether the subgenre is pure love or harem, romance manga tends to follow that pattern.

Sigh… I don’t know.

For now, I’ll just do as told and sip my orange juice while waiting for Woojin.

Listening to the distant sounds of cabinets opening—creak, clatter—I carefully tilted the beautiful, orange-filled glass to my lips.

And then—

Gulp.

Gulp.

The same orange flavor as before.

“…Mmm…?”

…But the aftertaste was slightly more intricate this time.

It slid smoothly down my throat.

99

The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Even though I’d been swallowing curses watching Yorha try all sorts of weird things…

Strangely enough, the end result wasn’t half bad.

Holding hands between friends? Totally normal.

These days, people even hug, right?

And anal sex—even if you’re not dating, it’s fine. It’s not like it’s vaginal.

Well, I had been planning to slowly mold Hansua to my tastes this way…

But Yorha’s actions—the blowjobs, the frottage—turned out to be way more effective.

…Maybe instead of gradually breaking down Hansua’s common sense, I should just shamelessly declare, These days, friends go on three-day beastly sex marathons—it’s the trend!

“Huu…”

But I could never do that.

With that thought,

about 30 minutes passed.

“……”

“……”

Nothing happened.

Naturally, there was no frottage, no blowjobs, no sex—nothing.

Instead, we just talked. A lot.

Looking back now, I don’t remember much of the conversation.

Maybe because he liked how I humored him during that shoujo manga talk last time, he kept bringing up stories about some healing transcendent…

Other than that, it was just light, everyday chatter—nothing substantial, since Hansua kept giving short replies.

…Ah, there is one thing I remember.

Didn’t you drink with Yorha last night?

That one.

‘While I drank half a bottle, she downed nearly five on her own. That’s why.’

‘Ah~’

And then, like always, the conversation died for over 30 seconds.

I only remember it because I had to scramble for an excuse that wouldn’t sound weird. Really, it wasn’t anything major.

If I got tired of it all, I could just admit that Yorha and I are sex partners—it wouldn’t be a big deal.

The only reason I insist on presenting us as a couple and maintaining a kind facade is simple:

Hansua is the type who only needs carrots, not sticks.

A girl who’s lived buried in wealth for 20 years suddenly trying to make commoner friends at the academy?

The reason is obvious.

Hansua suffers from emotional deprivation.

At least, that’s my 99% confident guess.

The easiest way to dig into someone’s heart isn’t with a sharp blade.

It’s through the smallest crack—warm sunlight slipping in unnoticed.

All I have to do is wear the mask of kindness thoroughly.

“……”

That said, if 30 minutes have passed and we’re still like this, having sex with Hansua today might be tough…

Maybe I should just be satisfied with seeing her climax earlier.

The way her lion ears and tail twitched when she came was damn cute, after all.

“Keep snacking while you wait. I’ll get more juice.”

“Mhm…”

I’ll give it another 30 minutes.

As I munched on the snacks he’d brought, I noticed Hansua’s glass was empty and stood up.

The sound of crunch-crunch shrimp crackers faded as I walked to the fridge.

Making sure Hansua couldn’t see, I opened the freezer and pulled out a bottle of vodka.

Smirnoff Red.

Personally, I think it tastes like industrial alcohol, but pre-regression Yorha swore that drinking it straight from the freezer was amazing—or something. She ranted about it passionately.

Unlike flavored vodkas—espresso, blueberry, etc.—this is the real deal: colorless, odorless.

That’s why it pairs well with any drink.

Mix it with something sweet, and you’d hardly notice the alcohol.

Add tonic water, and it becomes a vodka tonic.

Tomato juice? A Bloody Mary.

If you mix it with Kahlúa like Yorha loves to do, you get a Black Russian.

…And if you mix it with orange juice?

You get a Screwdriver—Yorha’s favorite.

And if I had to guess, she’d probably been drinking this earlier too.

The first glass I gave Hansua was 10% vodka, 90% orange juice—just in case.

From the second glass onward, over the past 30 minutes, it’s been 15% vodka, 85% orange juice.

This time, I’m making a Screwdriver with 20% vodka, 80% orange juice.

There’s more alcohol in it than you’d think—she should start noticing the taste soon.

I stirred it with a spoon and took a sip, but it still just tasted like orange juice.

Of course, I can detect the cold, subtle alcohol underneath since I know it’s there…

“Here.”

“Thanksss…”

“It’s just pouring juice. No need.”

“Stillll… gotta say thank youuu…”

Seeing her gulp-gulp it down without suspicion, it seems she still hasn’t realized.

“…Phaa…”

…On a separate note, it’s a shame she’s not that weak to alcohol.

She’s not like Hayoon or Jiyoon, who’d collapse after a single can of beer.

It’s hard to say exactly, but given the cup size, the total alcohol she’s had so far is just under a bottle of soju…

But the only signs are some random giggles and slightly slurred speech—seems she’s just pleasantly tipsy now.

“The juice… is goood…”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm… At first, I didn’t get why it was expensive… but now I kinda do…”

“I still don’t.”

“Reallyyy…? Ah, no. Maybe you wouldn’t… I only started feeling it after like four glassesss… This is fancy juice…”

“……”

Just earlier, she was talking about how to smile naturally, how to speak clearly to someone you’re not close with…

And now it’s juice talk?

I want to have dirty conversations with her…

But since it’s still about juice…

Maybe I can steer this into getting her to drink more.

If she gets drunk enough, we might become even closer.

“Wanna tryyy…? You’ve only been pouring for me, not drinking any yourself…”

“…Sure. Just a sip.”

As Hansua held out the glass to me—

“…Eh?”

Most cold glasses are slippery from condensation.

Basic elementary science—water vapor liquefies on the surface.

So you have to grip it firmly, but her hold looked shaky, and—

“…Oops…”

She spilled it.

All over me.

Specifically, my crotch.

“S-Sorry… You okay…? The glass slipped…”

“…Don’t worry. It’s not hot. Do you have wet wipes or tissues nearby?”

“J-Just a sec… Tissues… tissuesss…”

Hansua, you idiot.

What kind of mess is this in front of a friend?

You’re not even as drunk as Yorha—just tipsy from talking with Woojin…

He’s the one who’s actually been drinking…

Ughhh.

Why did I do that? Seriously…

If I’d just held the glass a little closer to my palm, this wouldn’t have happened.

“…If you can’t find any, it’s fine. I’ll just shower.”

“N-No…! Ah, found it! Wet wipes!”

I stopped Woojin from heading to the shower and brought the wipes over to him.

…For some reason, he seemed to be smiling faintly, but with his head slightly lowered, maybe I imagined it.

“It’s fine. I’ll shower.”

“I’m not fine…!”

“Then just hand them to me. I’ll wipe it myself.”

“No. I need to do it myself… or I won’t feel better…”

“I’m really okay…”

“Just stay still…”

We bickered as I knelt between his legs.

Unlike when Yorha gave him a blowjob earlier, he was tightly closed off, as if determined not to show anything.

Why is he like this?

I already saw his dick earlier—it’s not like he should be this embarrassed.

Is it because Yorha isn’t here now…?

Pulling out several wipes, I lifted his thigh slightly and started undoing his belt.

“……”

“……”

Click.

Tik.

Squeak.

Clack.

Woojin’s belt resisted in a weird, half-hearted way as I unfastened it.

When he muttered, I just asked for tissues, I said I know and kept struggling to pull his pants down.

…Until finally, Woojin gave in and lifted his hips slightly.

“…Ah…?”

“……”

And then—

Because I’d stripped him down to his orange juice-soaked underwear—

“Uh… why is this…”

…Just like when Yorha was sucking him earlier,

just like when she was licking him eagerly,

his fully erect dick—

was right in front of me.

“…I’m embarrassed knowing you’ll touch it.”

“…Ah, well, uh…”

…Since it hadn’t been washed yet, the masculine scent was even stronger than before.

This time, without Yorha here.

Just the two of us.

“Let me wipe it. Give me the tissues.”

“N-No…! You already saw it earlierrr… so it’s fine… it’s fiii… …Haaa…”

Right in front of me.