Chapter 44

“Sang-deok… Life isn’t easy, huh?”

Haon murmured as he held the cait-sith in his arms. The cait-sith struggled to escape from Haon’s embrace, exerting all its effort. After several attempts, the cait-sith finally managed to wriggle out of Haon’s arms and gracefully made its way across the living room to climb onto the cat tower by the window.

“Kim Sang-deok, you’re too much…”

The cait-sith’s name became Kim Sang-deok. The reason was simple. After days of struggling to come up with a name for the cait-sith, Haon, who was on the brink of losing all his hair, randomly chose the name from an entertainment program where Kim Sang-deok went to Alaska as a dining companion without much thought.

If the person he had to find on the program was named Kim Sang-don or Kim Sang-dong, he wouldn’t have named the cait-sith that way.

Thanks to that, Haon remained Park but Sang-deok became Kim. Haon was very satisfied with the name he chose, but Sang-deok’s opinion remained unknown. Therefore, with one vote in favor and one abstention, the cait-sith’s name became Kim Sang-deok.

“Why is the name Kim Sang-deok? Kim Sang-deok.”

“It kind of suits him, doesn’t it? If you look closely, he even looks like a Sang-deok.”

“If you say so… but…”

Siyun and Kim Jeongwon chatted while chewing on Postick with Sang-deok’s name as the topic. Although Haon understood why Siyun was there, he couldn’t comprehend why Kim Jeongwon was there.

“Why are you two here in my room?”

Haon asked discontentedly, and Siyun rolled over to Haon’s side, snuggling up close. Haon subtly moved backward to keep Siyun from getting any closer.

“Because we were bored.”

Although there was no grand reason, Haon didn’t expect such a frivolous answer, so he struggled to contain his deep annoyance.

“When did you two become friends?”

“We’ve always been friends. But since you became friends with Jeongwon, he came along. It’s more fun to hang out with more people, right?”

At Siyun’s answer, Haon glanced at Kim Jeongwon with a murky gaze. Although Haon had saved Kim Jeongwon’s life, that was it. There were several corners where it didn’t make sense to say they were friends, and how it had developed like this was a mystery.

“Well, good things are good, right?”

Haon had no intention of responding to Kim Jeongwon’s words and remained silent. Then Siyun and Jeongwon continued their conversation as if nothing had happened.

“Jeongwon, do you have to use honorifics with Haon? Just talk normally. We’re the same age as him.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s fine. It’s weirder to use honorifics only with him while talking informally with me.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Haon, I’ll just speak casually from now on.”

Why the two of them agreed to speak casually in front of him was beyond Haon’s comprehension. In front of the two of them, Haon’s common sense didn’t seem to apply.

“Let’s go out.”

“Where are we going?”

At Siyun’s sudden suggestion, Haon narrowed his eyes. He had a bad feeling about this. Whether Siyun knew how he felt or not, Siyun cheerfully opened his mouth.

“Well, obviously, to drink!”

“Oh, you crazy fool. I’m not going.”

Haon grimaced with narrowed eyes. That was because if he went drinking with Siyun, he wouldn’t come back in one piece. In fact, the last time he drank with Siyun, he ended up making Cha Yugeon’s… di*k disappear due to his drunken stupor. It was something he couldn’t help at that time, but it was all because of Siyun’s influence.

“It’s Jeongwon’s birthday today. It’s only right to celebrate on a day like this, isn’t it?”

“When did I become your friend…”

“If you saved someone’s life, you should be prepared for this much. Stop complaining and get up.”

Kim Jeongwon didn’t see it that way, but it was Siyun’s opinion. In short, it meant he was a complete lunatic. Haon tried to protest a few times, but he was ultimately led out by the two of them.

* * *

“I really won’t drink today.”

“Don’t worry, buddy. You’ll make it to the fourth round today.”

“What are you saying? I said I won’t drink.”

“It’s okay, just make it to the fourth round.”

Dragged by Siyun and Jeongwon, who insisted on having pork belly and soju for the first round, Haon firmly stated as they arrived in front of the pork belly restaurant. However, as always, Siyun had no reason or mercy when it came to alcohol.

Haon resisted vehemently about ten times, but due to Siyun’s relentless pressure, he eventually started drinking. Moreover, today, it wasn’t just Siyun but also Kim Jeongwon. With both of them aggressively pushing him to drink, there was no escaping it.

Thanks to the two of them starting with somaek (soju mixed with beer), Haon already felt tipsy by the time they left the pork belly restaurant. By the second round, when they had haiboru (highball) with clam stew, he was halfway to giving up. Once again, he ended up going home in a less than perfect state…

After emptying his mind, he felt more at ease. Of course, tomorrow he would curse his current self while suffering from a hangover, but well, that was his future problem. He just needed to enjoy today. With that thought in mind, Haon gulped down the vitamin-flavored soju as they left the third round, a hof (beer hall).

These days, each table at the drinking establishments had a tablet for easy ordering. Moreover, there were periodic auctions for snacks and alcohol prices through the tablets. At first, Haon paid no attention to it, but as the alcohol slowly kicked in and his rationality flew out the window, he became obsessed with the auctions.

When he bid twenty thousand won for a two-thousand-won fish cake stew to win against another table, Haon’s sanity was completely gone.

“Ugh… I feel like I’m gonna die…”

Before long, Haon experienced the world spinning around him. Since he didn’t usually drink much and had a small stomach, he couldn’t handle much alcohol. Even though he was weaker than the alcohol, Siyun, and Kim Jeongwon, who drank alcohol twice as fast, were also not in their right minds. The three of them staggered out of the pub and headed to a nearby club.

As the three men staggered down the street, people naturally moved out of their way. It was because everyone knew there was nothing good about colliding with a drunk person.

“Wait, I feel like I’m going to die…”

Although Haon called out to his friends due to a sudden headache, the two turned into koalas paid no attention and walked ahead. Haon tried to soothe his dizzy mind and urged himself to walk faster.

“You’re good at this.”

A familiar voice sounded right in front of him. Haon struggled to open his bleary eyes to see who was blocking his path.

“How much do you have to drink to end up like this?”

“Cha Yugeon…”

“Why are you calling me?”

Even with blurred vision, it was clear. The person in front of him was Cha Yugeon. Although he had no reason to be pleased to see him, perhaps due to the alcohol, he felt strangely happy to see him. Haon chuckled.

“Ugh…”

“Oh, this is a complete mess.”

As Cha Yugeon muttered, he grabbed Haon’s shoulders and leaned him against his chest when Haon tried to stumble forward. Finding a place to lean on in his dizzy state, Haon unwittingly leaned comfortably against Cha Yugeon, trusting him with his body.

“Can you make it to your dorm?”

“…No.”

“Can you take me there?”

“…No.”

“You can’t go, but won’t take me there? You’re just going to sleep on the street?”

“…No, not really.”

Even in his intoxicated state, Haon sensed Cha Yugeon’s sarcasm and retorted with annoyance. Cha Yugeon burst into a baffled laughter. Regardless of whether Haon said anything or not, he leaned his face against Cha Yugeon’s chest.

It was all because of the alcohol. Although Haon thought Cha Yugeon was annoying, he couldn’t deny that the person supporting him now was the same guy.

“Seriously, Park Haon, you’re so much trouble.”

“I said no.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

With his arm around Haon’s shoulders, Cha Yugeon walked. Haon staggered along like a limp doll. If it weren’t for Cha Yugeon, he would have fallen flat on the ground by now, maybe ten times over.

Fortunately, Cha Yugeon didn’t ignore Haon’s occasional protests and successfully brought him to the dorm. Arriving at the door, Cha Yugeon scanned his watch and pushed Haon into the room. That seemed to be the end of Cha Yugeon’s duty. Or so he thought.

“Cha Yugeon…”

“What now?”

“Come here.”

“Why?”

“Just come here…”

Struggling to sit up on the sofa, Haon called out to him. Cha Yugeon approached, wearing a hesitant expression.

Haon looked at Cha Yugeon with a face flushed from alcohol. Slowly, he reached out his hand toward Cha Yugeon. Caught off guard by Haon’s sudden action, Cha Yugeon froze for a moment as Haon’s hand touched his body. Haon’s hand, which had been wandering around his firm abdomen, gradually slid down.