episode_0129

Due to having more to tidy up than usual, I ended up leaving work late.

As soon as Jaehyuk and I arrived at my place, we didn’t want to waste any time, so we immediately started preparing to drink.

Thanks to pre-ordering on the way, the spicy stir-fried chicken arrived just in time after we finished preparing.

Feeling hungry at the sight of the delicious red hue, I quickly unpacked the delivery food.

“… Whiskey instead of beer? How tough was your day today?”

“I’ve already endured a month’s worth of insults, even showered with a dirty martini. I think I need this to unwind, don’t you think?”

“You’ve been through a lot, really.”

“Hmph, comforting words work even better after pouring alcohol into your stomach. Now, shall we start with a shot first?”

“…Sure, a shot.”

Instead of beer, I poured a strong liquor I received as a gift from the boss. Jaehyuk looked puzzled with wide eyes.

But after listening to me, he seemed to understand, and after offering a word of comfort, he clinked glasses with me.

Cheers –

After toasting, I cautiously took a sip.

Even though the first shot is usually a one-shot deal, there was nothing as foolish and ignorant as the things said under the influence of this liquor.

I sipped quietly, trying to erase the strong sensation and then grabbed a piece of spicy stir-fried chicken to eat.

“…Ugh, I should have just ordered regular chicken skewers.”

Already struggling with the strong whiskey burning my tongue, adding the spiciness of the stir-fried chicken made it truly unbearable.

At this rate, before Jaehyuk could handcuff my wrists, my tongue might give up first?

I couldn’t withstand the spiciness without drinking milk. I hurriedly grabbed a pack of milk from the fridge and gulped it down, causing Jaehyuk to chuckle and scratch his head.

“I thought we were going to drink beer and eat chicken skewers. If it’s too much, should I order something else now?”

“Oh, no, it’s fine! Just eat the cheese in the fridge as a side dish! You can eat the stir-fried chicken occasionally when you feel like it.”

“No need to push yourself.”

“You know me, I hate suffering for something I bought.”

“That’s true.”

Jaehyuk nodded with a faint smile, as if reminiscing about the past.

Seeing him laugh so carelessly, I suddenly recalled old memories and took another sip of whiskey, savoring the nostalgia.

“Jaehyuk, you’ve definitely changed a lot compared to before. In high school… no, even just six months ago, I couldn’t imagine you like this.”

“Well, I have changed quite a bit… Even I think so. But well, isn’t it good to change for the better?”

“I do miss the sense of impact. It used to be fun to tease you, but now you’ve become too nonchalant, and that fun is gone.”

“Even though you say that, you still seem to enjoy teasing me.”

“Do you not like it?”

“Hey, reacting like that is cheating! If you do that, I have no choice but to allow it!”

“Haha!”

With a sullen expression and shrugging his shoulders, Jaehyuk pretended to grab the back of my neck as if to tickle me.

That’s why I can’t stop teasing Jaehyuk.

With such a delightful reaction, how can I stop?

I burst into laughter and took another sip of whiskey, using Jaehyuk’s reaction as a side dish.

“Haah…”

Just after three sips, the slightly bitter feeling began to rise slowly.

I could feel a strong sense of danger creeping up on me.

Our boss, how strong was the alcohol you gave me? Even though I can hold my liquor, how did I end up like this after just three drinks?

At this rate, I might lose consciousness and pass out before even finishing the second drink.

I couldn’t afford to waste this golden opportunity, so I firmly held onto my senses and waited for the upcoming chance.

“…Are you okay? You seem already drunk.”

“I think I drank too quickly. Feeling a bit… dizzy.”

“If you’re tired, don’t push yourself and rest. If you can’t move, should I help you to bed?”

“If it gets too hard, I’ll quietly go to the room by myself. So, don’t worry too much.”

As I tried to reassure him that I was fine, Jaehyuk finally eased his worried expression.

He seemed to be focusing on the snacks, so he asked me a question after pondering for a moment.

“You know? If, hypothetically speaking… if I hadn’t changed, would you have liked me?”

“…That’s a difficult question. But why do you ask?”

“Just, after drinking, I suddenly got curious.”

“That could happen.”

Immersed in the sweet moment, I had never considered such a question.

But once I heard it, I found myself intrigued, recalling Jaehyuk from six months ago and asking myself.

Could I have loved ‘Tudori’ instead of the current Jaehyuk?

I thought I would ponder for a long time, but my brain unexpectedly came up with an answer quickly.

“…Honestly, impossible. I think we would have remained just friends till the end.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, even if we somehow ended up dating, it would have ended within a week.”

Even with all the points in favor of Tudori, it would be unreasonable to like the Jaehyuk from that time.

How could I handle his annoying personality, always complaining about everything, getting irritated over small things, and being stubborn?

No wonder he didn’t have a girlfriend with that dirty personality.

A truly rational and objective evaluation.

I looked at him with a gaze filled with concern, fearing that my words might have hurt him.

But Jaehyuk seemed rather satisfied with the answer, happily praising himself.

“You did well to make an effort. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be by my side now.”

“Haha, it’s a bit cheesy, but it’s a positive interpretation. Hearing this, I can really feel that you’ve changed.”

The playful Jaehyuk and the complaining Jaehyuk… even though the latter lacked impact, the former was much better.

I followed Jaehyuk’s lead with a smile and gulped down the remaining whiskey.

Surrendering to the intoxication that was creeping in, I asked Jaehyuk with a slightly excited voice.

“You know, Jaehyuk.”

“Yeah?”

“If we went back to our past six months ago and told each other that we would start dating… how do you think our past selves would react?”

“Well, they’d probably freak out and start ranting, I guess?”

“Hey, aren’t you being too blunt?”

“But it’s the truth.”

“Fair enough.”

Thinking about it again, it’s honestly quite fascinating.

The Jaehyuk who swore he wouldn’t develop strange feelings for me, falling for me in the end.

And me, who vowed that even if I fell in love with a man, it would never be you, falling for Jaehyuk.

…Was I too confident that I wouldn’t fall for him?

Or did my mind adapt to the physical attraction, as in novels or comics?

I don’t know.

Honestly, I was too lazy to entertain these questions any further.

My heart had already been captured, and thinking about how we started dating seemed too distant.

We had done everything except for the intimate part… no, to be precise, we were on the verge of taking each other’s firsts soon.

Now, let’s see where this process will lead us.

Just like that –

As we continued our light conversation, the atmosphere suddenly became more lively.

Feeling that it was now a good time to proceed with the plan, I carefully took out handcuffs from my bag.

“…Why do you suddenly have handcuffs?”

Jaehyuk started to panic and become defensive at the unexpected appearance of the handcuffs.

Of course, I had already anticipated this reaction.

For an item created for the specific purpose of ‘restraint,’ it was inevitable for someone to be on guard. After all, who wouldn’t be cautious about what someone might do with handcuffs?

So, instead of trying to avoid raising suspicion, I chose to make him cautious from the beginning and then gradually ease his guard.

“Oh, these? I went to the workshop today to pick up a nail clipper.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah… It’s only been a day, but there were quite a few things that were made. I was curious and looking around, and these caught my eye.”

“But?”

“I’ve never seen proper handcuffs before in my life. I was curious about how they would feel, so I was just touching them… And the craftsman said it was a defective product with a broken lock and no value, so if I wanted it, I could just take it.”

“…So you brought it here?”

“Yeah, I thought it would be quite fun to play with! Look!”

Fortunately, the method I had pondered over for a long time at the cocktail bar seemed to be working well. Right now, I was skillfully dismantling Jaehyuk’s guard.

“…Kuh, kill me!”

“…”

“Hmm, is this not to your liking? Let’s see… Well then, Master? Please have mercy…?”

“You, really, sigh…”

Putting on a pitiful expression, he tightly closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

Seeing him almost give in, I effortlessly unlocked the handcuffs and handed them to Jaehyuk.

“Why don’t you try wearing them too? I’m really curious to see how you’ll look!”

“…Do I really have to do this?”

“Yes! I really want to see! No, I’ll use a wish ticket here! Hurry up and put them on!”

“If it’s a wish…”

With a hesitant expression, Jaehyuk put the handcuffs on his own wrists.

And then.

When the sound of the handcuffs locking completely was heard.

“Okay, done? Now let’s unlock… Wait, why won’t this come off? Hey, is this broken… Jiwoo?”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“You… No way?”

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing a bewildered Jaehyuk, I quickly lifted him onto the bed.

And after lightly subduing the struggling prey, I climbed on top of him, unbuttoning his shirt as if unbuttoning a wish.

“…You’re a bad person.”

I had signaled for him to cover me, but since he didn’t cover me, I couldn’t help but cover him in the end.

Adding a few words.

I mercilessly sank my fangs into the bewildered prey’s neck.