Final EP. Convenience Store



The deal didn’t go through. However, the stakes got higher.

I brought her share of ramen, and she bought another bottle of soju for me.

Who would have known I’d meet a stranger and have drinks with them?

I keep doing things I haven’t done lately, and it makes me think I really did have brain surgery at the hospital, as my senior said.

Maybe…

“Why are you staring?”

“Oh, no reason. Just…”

Maybe it’s because the woman in front of me is so beautiful it’s hard to put into words.

She blew on the spicy ramen before putting it in her mouth and chewing, then raised her glass.

I thought she wanted to toast, so I picked up my paper cup, but her eyes were looking higher.

The soju glass and the moon overlapped. Bathed in the moonlight, the soju glass glowed with a subtle blue light.

When the moonlight had sufficiently permeated the glass, she looked at me.

As if demonstrating and telling me to follow, she gestured with her eyes.

I raised the plastic cup high.

The moonlight pierced the translucent plastic cup and tickled my eyes.

I had to hold the cup up long enough for her to be satisfied.

She slightly extended her glass forward and touched my cup.

It didn’t make a clear sound, but it was a sufficient signal for a toast.

Transparent liquid flowed like a stream through the space between her reddish lips.

I followed her and brought the glass to my lips.

Of course, the soju was bitter.

Without anyone telling me to, I instinctively poured ramen broth into my mouth.

“How is it?”

She asked, giving me a crooked smile as I grimaced.

Her ruby-like eyes reflected the moonlight and shone even brighter.

“Just tastes like alcohol. Bitter, makes you frown.”

“You have no romance.”

That’s strange, I thought I heard someone say I had romance during the day.

I’ve become a different person in just a few hours.

She said regretfully and picked up a mouthful of ramen with her chopsticks.

“Is the free ramen delicious?”

As I watched her munching on it, the words popped out of my mouth without me realizing it.

Her shoulders twitched slightly.

“Then how about the free soju?”

After finishing the curly noodles and even drinking the broth as a palate cleanser, she opened her mouth only after wiping her lips with a tissue.

“I told you, it tastes like alcohol.”

Was I the type of person who could talk so easily to someone I just met?

But the words flowed smoothly, as if I had oiled my tongue.

I wanted to say something more to this woman, even just one more word.

It wasn’t so much that I wanted to get her attention, but rather that I wanted to pick a fight and see her flustered.

“Hmph, you’re still annoyingly talkative.”

She says something incomprehensible, I don’t know if she’s already drunk.

I avoided answering while pouring the soju.

She held out her glass to me.

[Pour.]

Although she didn’t say the words out loud, I was sure that’s what she meant.

I skillfully poured the soju into the glass.

Drip, drip, drip, the transparent liquid from the green spout slowly filled the glass.

She skipped the toast and emptied the glass into her mouth alone, then smacked her lips as if she was disappointed.

“The soju is bland.”

“Are you bragging about how strong you are?”

Her eyes turned into daggers at my words.

Ah, this is fun. I can control this woman’s emotions. I can do whatever I want.

“I’m just saying it doesn’t taste good. It’s like it was made just to get you drunk.”

“That’s what soju is. It’s a friend of the common people.”

“Are you saying that common people don’t even deserve to drink good alcohol?”

“That’s not what I meant. I just meant that good alcohol is expensive.”

She snorted, as if she wasn’t convinced by my words.

I guess she’s pretty serious about alcohol.

She’s a truly mysterious person. She suddenly suggests joining me, and then asks me to drink with her.

She’s completely selfish and not very considerate.

But somehow she feels familiar and not bad.

Jewel-like, shining red eyes, carelessly tied-up hair, a confident face, simple but not shabby clothes.

She’s a beautiful woman that anyone would turn around to look at on the street.

“You’re staring. Is there something on my face?”

As I watched her wipe her face again with a tissue, something caught my eye.

“Your ear…”

“Ear?”

She tilted her head.

“Do you wear earrings? There’s a mark on one side.”

“You have a good eye.”

She smiled, touching her earlobe.

She put her hand in her pocket and rummaged around for a few moments before taking something out.

“This is…”

“Why are you asking when you already know?”

It was a rather antique-looking earring.

Is this kind of dangly thing in fashion these days? I don’t know because I don’t pay much attention.

“Do you usually wear this?”

“Yes. I wear it every day.”

“You said you wear it every day, so why aren’t you wearing it now?”

I instinctively challenged her words.

She chuckled at my words and stood up.

As she took a step, the distance of just over 30cm, with the table in the center, was quickly closed.

A very sweet smell of alcohol wafted over me.

It was a fragrance that made my head spin.

Her snow-white hand took my hand and turned it over.

The cold, heavy earring was placed on my upturned palm.

“Why don’t you put it on for me?”

Her red eyes closed, drawing a crescent moon shape.