I was flustered but happily accepted her offer to have a drink together.
I poured whiskey into her glass and mine, then listened.
*Drip.*
“Cheers.”
“……”
*Clink.*
Emma, who usually acted all high and mighty, surprisingly clinked glasses with me and seemed unusually gentle.
But…
“Huh? Not drinking?”
“……”
Unlike me, who downed the whiskey in one go after the toast, Emma hesitated for a while.
“If you’re not gonna drink…”
“…No, I’ll drink.”
When I tilted my head in confusion, Emma finally forced herself to swallow the whiskey.
And then…
“Ugh…”
She grabbed her throat, as if the whiskey was too hot.
‘Huh…? What’s this?’
I could tell right away from that scene.
Emma wasn’t used to alcohol, or maybe this was her first time drinking.
Seeing the usually proud and perfect Emma show such a weak side was oddly cute.
So I…
“Wow, you drink well. Here, another one!”
“……”
“What? You can’t handle more than one drink?”
“…No.”
I teased her pride and kept offering her drinks.
Emma, clearly struggling, gulped down the drinks I poured for her.
And then…
“…Huuu.”
“……”
By the fourth glass, her posture, which had been so upright, started to slump.
‘Why is she such a lightweight…?’
At first, I wanted to see Emma’s weak side, but her getting drunk so quickly kind of killed the mood.
So instead of offering more drinks, I asked her:
“What’s up?”
“……”
“What do you want to say?”
It’s already been three years since Emma and I started working together.
We weren’t romantically involved or anything, but after sharing our daily lives, we knew each other almost as well as a married couple.
Whenever Emma had something to say or ask, she’d act differently than usual.
She must’ve had a reason for staying late tonight to drink with me.
“……”
Emma held her empty glass, hesitated for a moment, and then finally spoke.
Her face, flushed from the alcohol, looked up at me.
“…About the request you received today, Boss…”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Are you… going to take it?”
“……?”
…Why is Emma curious about that?
I tilted my head but answered honestly.
“I’m still thinking about it. But why do you ask?”
“……”
At my words, Emma looked dazed for a moment, then…
*Drip.*
“Should we stop drinking?”
“…I’m fine.”
*Gulp.*
She poured herself another glass of whiskey, like someone who needed courage, and said to me:
“I hope you’ll take that request, Boss…”
“Huh?”
“And also…”
“……”
What on earth is she trying to say, dragging it out like this?
I held my breath, waiting in the unusual atmosphere Emma was creating.
Finally, Emma hiccuped softly and spoke.
What she said left me utterly baffled.
“…I want to go to San Francisco too.”
“……Huh?”
I couldn’t quite understand what she meant right away.
‘So… the reason she wants me to take this request is because she wants to go to San Francisco too…?’
…It’s not like she’s some country girl wanting to tag along to Seoul with her cousin.
‘Ah… is that it?’
Come to think of it, I heard Emma was born and raised in Justice Town and never left.
Especially for someone unmarried like Emma, traveling alone through the harsh West would’ve been tough.
‘If she’s lived in this small town for over 20 years, it makes sense she’d want to see a big city like San Francisco.’
Finally understanding her feelings, I met her gaze, and her face looked so earnest.
It would’ve been nice to just agree, but my mischievous side kicked in.
“If I take the request and take you to San Francisco, what will you do for me?”
“……”
If it were the usual Emma, she wouldn’t have entertained my teasing and would’ve coldly shut me down.
But drunk Emma was different.
“…I’ll do anything I can…”
“……”
“Ugh… please, just once to San Francisco…”
She begged with pleading eyes, saying she’d do anything, and then…
*Thud.*
She face-planted onto the table.
She had passed out drunk.
“…Her drinking habits are no joke.”
Out of all the Emma moments I’ve seen over the past three years, today was the most shocking.
…And also the most fun and refreshing.
I smiled, poured myself a full glass of whiskey, and downed it in one go.
*Gulp.*
Now the alcohol was finally hitting me.
With a tipsy feeling, I fell into my final dilemma.
‘Swear you’ll never return to San Francisco… no, to California.’
Going back to San Francisco was indeed dangerous.
But…
“I hope you’ll take that request, Boss…”
“And also…”
“…I want to go to San Francisco too.”
Well, it’s not like I’ll die or anything.
Having made my decision, I poured the last drink and downed every drop.
And then…
“Up we go.”
I picked up Emma, who was sprawled on the table, and carried her to the bed.
“Ugh…”
Whether it was her drinking habits or the cold, Emma clung to my hand as I laid her down.
Her usually cold, stiff face softened, and she looked quite pretty.
“……”
When I hired Emma as my secretary three years ago, 90% of the reason was her looks.
In this godforsaken West where the harsh sun and tough work ruined everyone’s appearance, Emma was like someone from another world, beautiful.
Like soldiers who idolize celebrities as their escape, I too found solace in this hellish Western life by looking at a pretty woman like Emma.
*Swoosh*, *swoosh.*
As I looked at Emma, I gently fixed her disheveled hair.
And then…
*Thud.*
I got up from my seat.
I could’ve taken advantage of Emma sleeping soundly here, but I didn’t want to.
When this long Western life ends and I return home…
I want to go back as a normal human being, not some beast who can’t control their desires.
I wanted to go.
Thud, thud.
I got up from my seat and walked to the window to gaze at the night sky.
The moon was shining brightly, and the stars around it seemed countless, as if they were about to pour down.
Even though it’s just game graphics, it feels ridiculously real.
“Ah… I want more alcohol.”
Looking at the sparkling night sky made me crave more alcohol.
I rummaged through the warehouse and finally found a bottle of whiskey that had been there who knows how long, and drank it.
At that time, I was too busy finishing the drink to notice.
Flicker.
The fact that in the dark office, another pair of eyes was quietly watching me.
**
A few days later.
Clack.
“Here, Emma. We’ve arrived. That’s Salt Lake City.”
“……”
In the end, after accepting the request, I arrived in Salt Lake City, which has a train station, after several days of travel with Emma to go to San Francisco.
“How is it? What does a country girl who’s lived her whole life in Justice Town think of her first visit to the city?”
Salt Lake City was the most developed place in the backwater state of Utah.
But honestly, from a modern person’s perspective, even Salt Lake City was just a small provincial town…
“It’s a bit surprising.”
It must have looked different to Emma, who had lived her whole life in Justice Town.
“…There are so many buildings.”
“……”
Emma’s eyes widened as she looked around Middle Street in Salt Lake City, seemingly amazed.
Her expression was like a child visiting an amusement park for the first time, so I couldn’t bring myself to tease her.
I cleared my throat and said to her,
“Sorry, Emma. We have to go now to catch the train.”
“Ah…”
Emma’s disappointment was painfully obvious.
She looked like a deflated rabbit, but there was nothing we could do.
Our destination wasn’t Salt Lake City but San Francisco.
“William, that rich guy, even got us first-class train tickets. It’d be a shame to miss it.”
Even now, many immigrants heading to California travel by stagecoach.
In this era, trains were a means of transportation for the wealthy.
But William used his own money to get us direct first-class tickets to San Francisco.
Now, all we had to do was go to the train station, mention my name and William’s, and the station staff would guide us to the first-class seats on the direct train to San Francisco.
But when we got to the train station, a problem arose.
“…What do you mean you can’t take my horse?”
“I’m sorry, sir. Your ticket doesn’t include horse transport, so you’ll need to pay an additional fee.”
The issue was that we couldn’t take No Name, the horse we rode to Salt Lake City, with us.
There was a stable car, but we had to pay extra to use it.
“Sigh… How much is the additional fee?”
I couldn’t just leave No Name here, so I was ready to pay the extra fee, but…
“It’s $70 per horse.”
“…That’s insane.”
It was ridiculously expensive.
$70 for an animal, not even a person…
“…Do you have a service to leave the horse at the station?”
“We don’t offer that service.”
“Damn…”
This was quite a predicament.
The train was about to leave, and there was no time to go out and find a stable for No Name.
“…Boss, what should we do? Should we just let this train go and take the next one…”
“…There aren’t many direct trains to San Francisco.”
It’s an era with not many train passengers.
If we missed this train, we’d have to wait at least a few days, maybe even a week, for the next direct train to San Francisco.
Most importantly, I couldn’t give up this free first-class ticket.
‘…No choice.’
So, I took drastic measures.
Swish, swish.
“…Boss? What are you doing…”
I loosened the reins, saddle, and straps to let No Name move more freely.
Ignoring Emma’s confusion, I whispered into No Name’s ear.
“No Name. I’m setting you free now, so don’t wander off and make your way back home, okay?”
“Hehe.”
“…Wait, Boss…! What are you saying!”
Emma, who overheard my whisper, turned pale and asked.
“…You’re just letting No Name go? Here, miles away from Justice Town?”
“Yeah, No Name’s smart. He’ll find his way back.”
“What the…!”
Emma looked utterly baffled, as if I was spouting nonsense, but I truly believed in No Name.
“Emma, I’ve spent more time with No Name than with you. Don’t underestimate my trust in him.”
“This isn’t about trust or anything…!”
“Alright, No Name! Go on home!”
“Hehehe!!”
Ignoring Emma, I let No Name go.
No Name nodded at me as if to say he understood, and then…
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
He started running away from the station.
“……”
Emma watched No Name’s retreating figure, unable to believe what she was seeing, and said in disbelief.
“Wait… Is this really possible? No Name will find his way home on his own?”
“Have you been living under a rock? No Name’s really smart. Sometimes I think he’s smarter than me.”
“…What if someone catches him thinking he’s a stray, or wild animals get him?”
“Then…”
I coolly turned around and muttered.
“…We’ll just get a new one.”
“Damn it…!”
“Just kidding.”
Of course, I was joking.
I grabbed Emma’s shoulder, who was about to get worked up, and headed into the station.
“No Name will be fine. Let’s not worry and get going.”
To carry out a request to disrupt a couple’s elopement…
We were off to San Francisco.
