106. Cute, Lovely, and Slightly s*xy…. Aki’s Drunken Behavior…! (1)

There’s a certain…atmosphere to these drinking sessions.

You might arrive with the best intentions – just one drink, you tell yourself – but… if everyone else is having more, then you’ve got to join in, or you’ll kill the vibe.

So, I ended up downing a bottle of soju I hadn’t planned on.

It wasn’t like I *wanted* to, mind you. It was just…the atmosphere took over. Aki’s friends kept offering, and I kept accepting. Before I knew it, I was eight shots in. A bottle of soju usually yields seven and a half shots, so eight means I’d finished a whole bottle.

Well, more than a bottle, technically. But that’s not the important thing. Right now, what matters is Aki’s condition. Not that I’m surprised, but she tossed back two more shots right in front of me.

Before I even arrived, she’d already downed two mugfuls of beer, meaning she’d easily had more than a can. Needless to say, Aki was pretty plastered, her tongue twisted up in knots, spitting out the strangest things.

“M’lord… M’looord…!”

“What is it…?”

“Does M’lord… love me…?”

“Of course I do….”

“…Then why do you keep talking to other girls?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you keep talking to other girls? Leaving me…!”

“But they’re not… They’re your friends, Aki?”

“…Mmm!”

As if daring me to argue, she puffed out her cheeks and tapped my chest playfully.

She was too drunk to put any force behind it, so it didn’t hurt at all, but Aki’s friends were watching us, these… affections, with amusement, and it was making me squirm. This is exactly why I wanted to get her home!

“Say you love me, right now…!”

“I already did.”

“I didn’t hear you. Again…!”

“I love you. Happy now?”

“No heart, do it again…!”

“…I love you.”

“Heehee… See…?!”

Aki grinned triumphantly at her friends.

She wanted to show off, or brag, something like that. But the more she did, the more Aki’s friends just giggled amongst themselves, finding her even cuter. It’s a good thing they’re so understanding…

“Aki is *so* cute…. Uchu, dating her must be so much fun. Right?”

“Yeah, it’s… fun….”

So much fun, in fact, that sometimes I wish it was a little less fun.

That seemed to amuse them even more. They burst out laughing again. And here I was, being perfectly serious.

“Ah, again! Darling, talking to another woman without me…!”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t even speak to anyone?”

“That’s not it… You should get my permission first…!”

“What permission…? So, every time Aki you talk to another boy, I have to give you permission too?”

“Yep, you will…?”

“……”

Saying it like that, I have no retort.

For a moment, speechless, I faltered, and Aki, seizing the opportunity, embraced me in front of everyone.

“From now on, get my permission before you talk, got it…?”

“……Hey, what are you going to do starting next week?”

These girls, I’ll probably never see again after today. But Aki will have to see these girls’ faces in every class. I’m starting to worry about how she’ll handle the awkwardness each time.

So, I asked tentatively, but Aki, as if telling me not to change the subject, gently pinched my cheek, muttering, ‘Answer…!’ Helpless, I nodded and said I understood.

“Darling, who does Darling belong to…?”

“……I belong to myself.”

“Wrong, wrong, wrong…! Darling belongs to Aki…!”

“What are you saying….”

“……Hehe! Ah, sorry. No, never mind. …Hehe!”

“…….”

I’m just the clown of this gathering.

The girls, perhaps because of the alcohol, don’t hesitate to laugh. Everyone is laughing except me, so it’s absurd, but honestly, it’s a little funny to me too, so I chuckled a bit.

“So Aki’s the slightly possessive type, huh…?”

“Yeah. A little….”

“Oh my…!”

“……No, not a little, a lot.”

“Uh-huh, it seems like it….”

“Was she always like this? Or did she become like this after dating you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think she was like this before….”

‘……Ah. No, that’s not right.’

She was always like this.

Even before we dated, the old Aki said she didn’t need any other friends as long as she had me. That thought reaching me, my words trailed off, and the girls, sensing what I was trying to say, whispered amongst themselves.

“Y’know, honestly, truly honestly. Between you two, who do you think likes the other more? From Woo-joo’s perspective?”

“Well, just looking at it, I’d put my money on Aki.”

“Yeah, me too. Seems like Aki likes you more.”

“Really? Why?”

I barely knew either Nana or Aki, so what was the reason for thinking that? A sudden curiosity struck me, and I looked at the girls and asked. Dong-hee, one of the girls, took a sip of her beer and chuckled.

“Aki said earlier, she absolutely never drinks alcohol when her boyfriend isn’t there, and she won’t play drinking games either.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, really. So she didn’t play any drinking games. But you know what’s funny? She iron-walled every drink other people offered, but then she drank the beer I poured into a juice glass, thinking it was juice? Guess because it was a sweet beer, she thought it was juice and drank it all up.”

“……”

For a moment, I was speechless.

Even in high school, she mistook a canned beer for grape juice and got drunk, and now as a college student, she’s making the same mistake?

The fact that she tried not to drink without me is certainly commendable, though. I guess it’s just a very Aki thing to do…

Having learned the full story of Aki’s imbibing, I found it both funny and endearing, and I quietly laughed. Aki, even when she seems so put-together, is always a little bit of a goofball, isn’t she?

“Is Aki not usually good with alcohol?”

Dong-hee, glancing at me, asked. I tapped the handle of my empty beer glass and nodded.

“No. She’s not good with it. In high school, she’d get drunk after just one can of beer.”

“Ah, really? No wonder, she seemed to go down hard after like, two beers.”

“Aki’s totally a lightweight then? Huh?”

“…No, she’s not. She can hold her liquor just fine.”

“Heheh. Cute….”

“Anyway, so what about you? Who do *you* think likes the other more?”

“Hmm. I think….”

Me and Aki. Who likes the other more… I see.

Truth be told, just looking at the surface of things, it does seem like Aki likes me more. Because whether she’s drunk or sober, Aki’s the one who openly expresses her affection. Even just looking at things now.

But in my opinion. I think I like Aki just a little bit more. I just haven’t said it, but I’m always thinking about Aki. When she said she wouldn’t drink, then did, it bothered me a little bit, you know.

“In my opinion, me.”

But knowing she didn’t drink it on purpose makes me feel a little better. The reason she drank it is a little ridiculous, but…. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, right? And honestly, the fact that she mistook it for juice is a little cute.

“Oh? Really? That’s unexpected… Why?”

“That’s a secret.”

“Ehhh, a secret? Why?”

“Well, it’s…a little embarrassing to say?”

“Ah, come on. Now I’m even *more* curious…!”

Jiyoung, that girl, was pressing me like I’d better tell her already. I just smiled, refusing to say.

It wasn’t the kind of thing you’d tell a girl you just met, you know? And it *was* a little embarrassing.

“You really won’t tell me? Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Ugh, fine. I’ll ask Aki later…?”

“Go ahead, ask her. But I doubt Aki knows either?”

“…Huh? Knows what?”

Aki tilted her head up slightly. Her gaze was a little unfocused as she looked at me, the effect of two shots of soju, perhaps.

“Nn. It’s nothing.”

I gave Aki a pat, glancing around. Some tables were still lively, full of laughter and chatter, while others were starting to wind down. The ratio was roughly fifty-fifty.

Well, we’ve had enough fun for tonight. I whispered into Aki’s ear.

“Aki, let’s go.”

“Hm? Already?”

“It’s not ‘already.’ Half the people have already left.”

“Ah, you’re right…?”

Aki looked around, then stood up. Or, rather, tried to stand up, stumbling a little. She must have been having trouble keeping her balance because of the alcohol. I quickly wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close.

“Nn….”

But, Aki seized the opportunity and buried her face in my chest.

Not just burying her face, she was sniffing at the scent of my neck. The other girls were watching us with avid interest, then loudly said, as if for our benefit:

“See? I told you, Aki likes him more, right?”

“No way. Woo-joo is completely stuck on her. I think Woo-joo likes Aki more~?”

“……”

Aki’s the one clinging to me, so why am *I* the one who’s embarrassed?

I pretended not to hear the girls and gently stroked Aki’s back. Supporting someone only works if they have the will to walk, and in this position, I couldn’t really help her.

“Stand up straight. We’re going home….”

“Nn, k*ss…!”

“……What k*ss? No k*ss.”

“If you don’t, I’m not going…!”

“Hey…”

“Darling, fighting!”

“Just give it to her and go~!”

“…If you don’t come, I’m dragging you in, got it?”

Intoxicated strength, it seemed, because she was half-forcing to move me, but my feet were planted firmly, making it impossible. Still, as I strained to budge, not only the girls, but even students at other tables stole glances at Aki and me. *What’s with them, clinging like that*, their stares seemed to say.

“Ungh, a quick k*ss…!”

“You, seriously…”

“It’ll be quicker if you just do it!”

“That’s right. Quicker to k*ss her and leave~!”

“k*ss, k*ss~!”

“…Ah.”

I let out a sigh, halfway giving up.

Alright, let’s just get it over with quickly.

I lowered my head and k*ssed her somewhere between her cheek and lips. A perfectly innocent peck on the cheek, but from the others’ angle it must have looked like a lip-to-lip k*ss, because the girls erupted in surprised cries.

They shrieked and giggled amongst themselves, then whispered and laughed, teasing me as if they’d witnessed something wonderful. A wave of embarrassment washed over me, and I nudged Aki’s waist.

“There, all done, right?”

“One more time, one more time!”

“If you’ve done it once, twice is easy, yeah~?”

“What do you mean, one more time…”

“Ungh. Give me another one, Darling…!”

“See, Aki wants it too~!”

“k*ss her, k*ss her!”

“…Haaah.”

Why is it that the saying, *nothing in this world is easy*, comes to mind…?

I don’t really know why. In any case, she asked for it, so I gave her another k*ss. The first time is always the hardest, the second is easy peasy. I touched my lips to her cheek and pulled away quickly, and the girls watching us erupted in cheers.

This is why I hate places crowded with girls….

“Now we’re really done, right…?”

“Hehe… Ungh, good job…!”

Only after receiving two k*sses was she satisfied, smiling prettily as she patted my head.

Reduced to some sort of kept pet, I let out a heavy sigh… but didn’t show it in front of the other girls. And slowly, I started walking.

“Bye-bye, Aki’s hubby~!”

“Come back to pick Aki up later!”

“If you have any handsome friends, bring them along~!”

“…….”

I can’t hear them. I can’t hear them. I just kept walking, chanting a mantra to myself.

Retracing my steps, turning once and following the path, I faintly caught the girls’ voices from behind.

—Wow, but… he really is handsome, just like Aki said, isn’t he?

—Didn’t Aki say she was mixed-race? Does that mean he’s mixed, too? What was his name again?

—Uju, it was Uju.

—I bet he has an Insta or something, let’s see if we can find it? It feels like he’d pop up pretty easily if we searched…

I heard all sorts of things while leaving… but I just kept pretending I couldn’t hear them. It wasn’t like people talking about me was anything new.

*Jingle*

“……Huff.”

I emerged from the food stall, Aki practically piggybacking on my back. The surroundings were bright, the sun still yet to set.

Judging by Aki’s condition, walking was out of the question; I’d have to call a taxi and ride home together. I held Aki close and asked,

“Aki, is your stomach feeling any better?”

“A little, maybe not….”

“Oh… really? Is it really bad?”

“Uhm. But, I think I’ll feel better if I rest a little…”

“Ah. Then let’s sit down somewhere for a bit…”

“Over there.”

Aki pointed somewhere with her finger.

Following the tip of her long index finger, I saw the exterior wall of a building. A sign hung there with something written in English.

[HOT]

“……What’s that?”

What kind of sign is that?

Looking closer, I saw that the original word was [HOTEL]. But the EL part wasn’t lit up, maybe because of a power issue or because it was daytime, leaving only the letters HOT visible.

“You want to rest there?”

“Ugh… I wanna lie down… Feeling queasy…”

“Tsk, really…?”

Well, nothing for it then.

Seemed like there wasn’t much else to do right then, so I started heading toward the hotel near the food stall.