[ 27th Chapter ]
It was the first time for me to experience taking a shower at someone else’s house, especially at a house of the opposite sex. I had visited male friends’ places during my college days and stayed up all night drinking on many occasions, but even during that time or after leaving, I never had such an experience.
The coldness from the alcohol seemed to return as the warm water hit me. I couldn’t tell if my face was flushing due to the alcohol or the warmth of the water.
“Huuu.”
I sighed, turned off the shower, and took out a towel to dry myself. Only after finishing did I start to think about what to do with my clothes. I slowly opened the bathroom door and peeked out.
A white T-shirt and shorts were laid out in front of the bathroom, but they didn’t seem to fit at all.
“Are you out? I left some clothes in front. The only thick ones I have are winter clothes, so I put on the thickest among them. Do you think they’ll fit?”
Listening to Yura’s voice from the bedroom, I checked the clothes on the floor again. There was no need to check.
“They don’t look like they’ll fit.”
While I could tuck the T-shirt in somehow, they weren’t my clothes, so I decided not to mess them up unnecessarily.
“Oh? What should we do then…”
A worried voice came from the bedroom, and I looked at my clothes that I had taken off in the bathroom. Should I wear these? But putting on wet clothes after a refreshing shower felt a bit unpleasant.
“Let’s use this for now.”
The voice coming from the bedroom sounded closer, and when I peeked out again, I saw Yura laying down her blanket.
“A blanket?”
“Yeah. It’s meant for sleeping, but I thought it might be good to wrap yourself in it.”
It wasn’t a bad idea, especially if you could dry your clothes in between. It was raining outside, and there was no hope of the clothes drying quickly on such a day.
“Okay.”
Since there was no other option, I decided to follow Yura’s suggestion. After she turned around, I stepped out of the bathroom and wrapped myself in the blanket she had brought. It felt like the scent from the bedroom was spreading all over me.
“We can wash the clothes and hang them up. Then they should be ready to wear tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
Yura went into the bathroom and brought out my clothes, putting them in the washing machine. For a while, neither of us said anything.
“What should we do now?”
I broke the silence and spoke to Yura, who had been standing still. She turned abruptly, looking at me, and our eyes met.
“How about a second round?”
I had forgotten momentarily that we had been drinking earlier. Today was a special occasion for Yura, as she was celebrating her first drink with a friend. If we had gone home separately, it would have ended there, but having another drink wasn’t a bad idea.
“Do you have any alcohol at home?”
“A little in the fridge.”
She had gotten used to drinking alone at home, so there was already some alcohol in the fridge. Instead of answering verbally, I made a circle with my hand to indicate “okay.”
While drying the remaining moisture on the living room sofa with a towel, Yura came back with some soju and snacks, placing everything on the coffee table. The cups they brought were just large water glasses.
“Should we use these?”
“There’s no proper soju cups at home. Just pour and drink as much as you want.”
After crying her heart out for a long time, she suddenly became excited at the thought of drinking. She shook the soju bottle, opened it, and filled the glass to the brim.
“Don’t drink too much. If you lose control, I’ll just throw it away.”
“Don’t worry. Even if you make me run continuously, I won’t be able to drink much.”
She laughed confidently, but I overlooked one fact.
Yura had always drunk alone. While she might know how much to drink by herself, given her tolerance, she probably didn’t hold back.
And this was Yura’s first time drinking with a friend at home. Why did I think she would be able to control her drinking well?
“Hehehe~”
Yura, who had been constantly drinking while talking, couldn’t handle the high spirits and kept laughing with a red face. The problem was that since it was just the two of us, if one got carried away, the other would too. So controlling the situation was difficult.
“What’s so funny?”
Even though I was somewhat dazed from the alcohol, I found myself smiling along with Yura.
“I enjoy drinking with friends.”
Although she started drinking to relieve stress, alcohol had become one of her favorite things, and having someone to share that with was great for her.
“Yeah, I like it too. I like it.”
Since coming to Earth, I had gone out for dinners with colleagues, but I had never had a drink with a friend. This was the first time in twenty years that I was drinking with a friend, and the excitement was high. We toasted again, listening to the rain, and drank the soju in our glasses.
“Krrr~!!”
The bitter taste of the soju, which had become pleasant in my drunken state, added to the joy.
“Thinking about it…”
“Yeah?”
Despite being drunk, Yura continued to speak with a smile in her voice, and I focused on what she was saying.
“I might quit my job tomorrow.”
“…”
Her determined tone made me unable to laugh. I couldn’t think of anything to say. Even in this drunken state, the thought of quitting if Yura wasn’t there crossed my mind.
“Are you okay?”
“…There’s no choice. I’m sorry to the boss.”
Although I hadn’t heard it directly, Yura felt that the boss didn’t like her much. This negative thought seemed to extend beyond just the two of them to the cafe itself.
I couldn’t say anything more. It was her decision, and if she chose to do so, I would only watch.
“Then I guess I’ll quit too.”
“Why?”
There was no reason for me to stay at the cafe without Yura. Unaware of this, Yura tilted her head slightly at my statement.
“Without you, what’s the point of working there?”
Surprised, Yura widened her eyes and lowered her head.
“…Really?”
Seeing her small response, I felt the atmosphere turn awkward and suggested a toast by offering my glass.
Yura immediately accepted the toast, and we both drank the soju in our glasses. Having finished most of the soju in her cup, Yura looked at me with unfocused eyes before getting up and sitting next to me.
“It’s cold.”
“It’s summer.”
Despite the heavy rain, it was impossible to feel cold in the middle of summer. Her comment seemed absurd.
“You’re under the blanket!”
With a flushed face, Yura loudly pointed at the air conditioner in the corner of the living room. Due to the heat and rain, the air conditioner had been on, but since I was covered with a blanket, I didn’t feel the cold air.
“It feels just right.”
Yura, who was close to me, put her feet in the spread-out blanket and picked up the glass in front of her.
“If you’re cold, just turn off the air conditioner. Or cover yourself with a blanket.”
“If I turn it off, it’ll get hotter. And I only have one summer blanket at home.”
Realizing further explanation would be futile, I swallowed my words.
“Then there’s no choice. But we’ve had quite a lot to drink, haven’t we?”
By now, it was already 3 AM, and we had been drinking our fifth bottle of soju. Including what we had at the bar, we were on our ninth bottle.
“Why? Should we stop?”
“Just one more. It’s late, so let’s go to bed.”
“Great!”
We ended up drinking three more bottles, and both of us, drunk, sat on the floor leaning against the sofa.
The table was filled with empty bottles, and there were leftover snacks from the snacks we ate as side dishes.
“Let’s clean this up tomorrow and go to bed now.”
“Okay.”
We got up from the sofa and headed to bed without cleaning, and Yura suddenly hugged me tightly, wrapping herself in a blanket.
“Let’s go to bed in the bedroom!”
Surprised by her sudden declaration, I was momentarily sober. But then I calmed down and replied indifferently.
“I’ll sleep here.”
Yura, who was holding me, looked at me with her unfocused eyes.
“What will you cover yourself with?”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go to bed. I can’t sleep without a blanket. Anyway, we’re just going to sleep, so what does it matter?”
I could feel her hugging me tighter. If I were fully sober, I would have refused this situation, but considering she was just going to sleep, I nodded.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
We got up from the sofa, and even as we entered the bedroom, Yura didn’t let go of me. Although it was inconvenient, I could still move. Considering her mood, I decided to go along.
In the bedroom, we sat side by side on her bed.
“I’m not wearing anything, so don’t touch me and get startled, okay?”
“Yes! I understand.”
Hearing her confident response, I lay down first and spread the blanket. Yura followed, crawling into the blanket. The rustling sound mixed with the sound of the rain outside. Wrapped in the blanket, Yura laughed.
“That’s nice. Turning on the air conditioner and covering with a blanket is the best.”
Somehow, the temperature felt just right. Lying down comfortably after drinking a lot, I felt myself gradually letting go of my consciousness.
“You drank a lot of soju.”
“Yeah. I drank more than usual.”
Lying side by side, looking at the ceiling, I found the current situation amusing and laughed. Yura also found it funny and laughed along, creating a moment of silence.
At the same time, we turned our heads to each other and our eyes met.
“Good night.”
“Yeah.”
After exchanging greetings, I closed my eyes to sleep. Many things had happened in a single day. Saying it was a series of big events would be more accurate.
Becoming closer with Yura through drinking was truly a wonderful event, but the incident at the cafe… While Yura’s mood improved after drinking, it was something I definitely didn’t want to experience again.
I wonder what Yura is thinking now. If she falls asleep right away after drinking, that would be great, but if not, she might be thinking about what happened earlier. Or maybe she’s thinking about something else.
Perhaps it would be best for her to fall asleep without any thoughts.
I thought I would fall asleep quickly due to the alcohol, but I couldn’t. With a jumbled mind, I just lay there with my eyes closed, feeling the recurring sound of the rain as I drifted into sleep.
“Asleep?”
Opening my eyes and turning my head, I saw Yura lying on her side, looking directly at me. Our eyes met.
“You’re beautiful.”
This was something I genuinely felt about Yura. Anyone could see how beautiful she was. Perhaps I said it because I was drunk at that moment. I wondered why I said such a thing.
“……”
Yura blushed and continued to stare at me intensely. As she moved closer, she kissed me. Wrapping her arms around my waist, we shared a kiss under the same blanket.
I believed I was maintaining my composure, but in that moment, I wasn’t in my right mind.
