Alcohol bottles he’d truly never heard of or seen came pouring out.
When he thought it might be a familiar brand, the bottle was so dazzlingly splendid it made him gasp. There was wine and champagne in what he could barely identify as French and Italian.
There were seven bottles total. Four bottles of strong liquor, two wines, and one enormously large champagne. There was even a bottle opener and glasses.
“Is this the food?”
From another paper bag came two three-tier lunch box sets. One contained all kinds of fruit and various cheeses cut into bite-sized pieces. The other contained artisan sliced ham, lightly grilled fish, and steak.
There was also tableware, with thick napkins stamped with the logo of Korea’s most luxurious hotel.
“Money is amazing. To deliver something like this within 30 minutes. I didn’t know hotels did delivery.”
“Don’t you have a portable table? You know, the kind used for camping?”
Sitting on the sofa, Kyungwoo looked at the food and alcohol spread out on the floor and asked again.
“I don’t, and even if I did, I wouldn’t bother bringing it out for you, so just sit on the floor.”
“I can’t sit cross-legged.”
“You’re really something.”
Kyungwoo, who had been frowning, eventually slid down and sat leaning against the sofa like Jaeha. Instead, he stretched his legs straight out in front.
“Whiskey first.”
“It’d be better to start with something lower proof and less heavy.”
“I need to wash out the taste ruined by cheap whiskey first.”
Anyway, he had an amazing talent for being annoying even when he spoke.
In any case, they started with whiskey. Jaeha, who had half-dismissed it thinking that distilled liquor couldn’t be that different no matter the price, realized the moment he swallowed a sip.
‘Ah, this is the true taste of capitalism.’
My God. Who knew it would be this smooth and wonderfully flavorful? Without realizing it, he held up the glass with surprised eyes and observed the liquid.
Kyungwoo chuckled from beside him.
“Different, right?”
“Well, it’s decent.”
Instead of showing his impressed feelings, he deliberately reacted as if it wasn’t bad. However, it was insufficient acting skill to deceive the other.
“That one bottle is more expensive than Prosecutor Seo’s monthly salary, you know? Drink up while you have the chance.”
While saying that, Kyungwoo poured a week’s worth of salary into Jaeha’s glass with a splash. It was infuriating, but the alcohol was innocent. At the same time, Kyungwoo poured generously into his own glass and held it out ostentatiously, and Jaeha lightly clinked his glass against it.
Thunk.
The resonance of the glass full of alcohol was dull. Afraid the delicious alcohol would spill, Jaeha quickly let the whiskey flow into his mouth. Kyungwoo closed his eyes and smiled.
“Ugh.”
His head felt like it would split. His throat was parched too. Jaeha, stretched out along the sofa, fumbled around without being able to open his stuck eyelids.
He definitely remembered taking out a water bottle.
Tap.
Cold glass touched his fingertips. He fumbled while slightly lifting his head. It was heavy but an empty bottle.
“What… hey?”
He barely opened one eye and examined the bottle. What appeared in his hazy vision was an empty whiskey bottle. Next to it rolled completely drained wine and champagne bottles.
“Wa-ter… ugh.”
His voice cracked. When he flailed his hand, the bottles rolled and clinked together. His outstretched hand went into a sticky lunch box.
“Ah… damn…”
Annoyed, he only slightly lifted his head and roughly rubbed his wet hand on the floor. Only after searching for a long while did he catch a familiar water bottle.
The cap was already open, having gone somewhere. He lifted his head to bring the water bottle to his mouth. Since less than half remained, it was quite difficult to drink while lying down. When he tilted it slightly more, it almost spilled out suddenly.
“Ah, seriously.”
Irritated for no reason, he set down the water bottle with a thud. His throat was too parched to just go back to sleep like this. He wanted to go to the bathroom too. He had no choice but to get up, but strangely the side of his body touching the sofa wouldn’t move.
‘Did I lose sensation from suddenly drinking too much? Acute paralysis? I heard people in their 30s get strokes these days too.’
Even while gauging the quite critical situation, he was somehow relaxed.
Even when he tried to wet his burning throat with saliva, his mouth was so dry it wasn’t working. At the same time, the urge to use the bathroom surged again.
“Ah… shi…”
A curse came out automatically. He tried to force his body up. But his body really wouldn’t move.
‘What is this?’
Only then did Jaeha, slightly alarmed, jerk his head up.
He’d thought the stuffy and shadowy side was pressed close under the sofa, but actually the distance from the sofa was quite far. However, his sensation wasn’t wrong.
Along with alcohol, the smell of luxurious cologne tickled his nose. Half of his hazy vision was dark. It wasn’t retinal detachment or optic nerve paralysis. It was just that Kyungwoo’s crown was positioned between his chest and shoulder.
“Wha… what?”
Startled, he pulled his body to the opposite side. Then Kyungwoo smoothly followed. He felt a heavy weight on his waist too. An arm wrapped in a luxury dress shirt was embracing his torso.
“Huh.”
Letting out an empty breath, he slowly turned his body sideways. As it turned out, Kyungwoo was clinging to him like some woman while sleeping. It was the reason one side had been stuffy and shadowy.
“Hey.”
He called out in a cracked voice. But the guy using Jaeha’s shoulder as a pillow was completely knocked out. Wondering if something was wrong, he quickly put his hand under his nose.
“You’re not dead, right?”
With fingertips full of alcohol, he couldn’t properly tell whether he was breathing or not. Though his body temperature was toasty warm.
“Hey, Jung Kyungwoo.”
Calling out once more, he observed him. Since he didn’t have the energy to get up right away, he craned his neck to tilt one ear toward the other’s nose and mouth.
He felt very weak breaths. Fortunately, they were regular.
“When did you pass out?”
Jaeha, lying spread-eagle again, placed the back of his free hand on his forehead. Then, after catching his breath several times, he really tried to get up by putting strength into his body.
The arm that had been trapped under the heavy body came free. The first thing that rushed in was a bone-chilling cold. His dazed mind slightly returned. Following that, his arm began to tingle unbearably.
“How long was I trapped under?”
Swallowing a curse, he glared at Kyungwoo. The son of a bitch slept obediently with his refined upbringing dripping all over. He was so demure he was like a proper young lady from a noble family.
Piling up and sleeping together in a drunken stupor was common between men. Still, he hadn’t expected to sleep embracing Jung Kyungwoo like this.
“This is absurd.”
After grabbing the water bottle and drinking water, he tried to stand up to go to the bathroom.
Perhaps because he was more drunk than he thought, his body swayed. Reflexively, he supported himself on the floor with his hand, but it happened to be the numb arm.
“Ugh.”
His weakened elbow buckled deeply and his body fell toward Kyungwoo. Fortunately, he supported himself on the edge of the sofa with his good arm and avoided making a full-body tackle on the sleeping person.
“Damn.”
Twisting his lips, he slowly steadied himself. While slowly lowering his center of gravity to release the posture he couldn’t properly support, his body slipped again.
Thud.
This time he quickly bent his knee to prevent his body from pitching forward. But his long torso dropped down enough.
Thanks to Jaeha making a fuss, Jung Kyungwoo finally woke from sleep and turned his head while frowning, causing the two people’s lips to draw near.
Close enough for the dry lips smelling of whiskey to brush against Jaeha’s lips.
Since he originally didn’t sleep well, Kyungwoo didn’t like people touching him when he slept.
He’d fallen deeply asleep in the warmth and coziness, but the warmth suddenly disappeared and the hard floor stole his body heat.
The surroundings were bustling, breaking his deep sleep rhythm, and consciousness gradually returned. He felt very unpleasant.
‘What is it?’
Something brushed his lips. Before he could realize what it was, the smell of men’s cologne entered his nose first. Along with the whiskey scent, of course.
“…Damn.”
Someone muttered a cheap curse. The voice was so hoarse it was like the low-muttered curse of a lead actor in the opening of a thriller movie who’d been sleeping embracing his lover or wife naked, receiving a phone call that a murder case had broken out, rubbing his stubbly chin.
At the quite specific scene imagination, Kyungwoo sneered inwardly. It was an absurd imagination.
Not only was it reality, not a movie, but anyone would look unsightly when they passed out from drinking. Moreover, the place where Kyungwoo was now was none other than the home of the violent pervert prosecutor Seo Jaeha.
‘Ah.’
Only then did he realize he’d been sleeping too defenseless.
He tried to raise his body. But his whole body hurt as if he’d been beaten.
“Ugh.”
A groan came out automatically. Wondering what that son of a bitch had done again while he was sleeping, he felt around his body.
Fortunately, his clothes were intact. So intact that his vest and belt were squeezing his body tightly.
“Seo… Jaeha.”
He called the other in a voice that cracked throughout. But he wasn’t nearby, and instead there were signs of someone in the bathroom.
“Ah, I’m dying.”
He really felt like he was dying. It was the first time he’d ever drunk alcohol so heavily like that. He’d thought Seo Jaeha wouldn’t pass out so quickly though.
‘Crazy alcoholic bastard.’
Kyungwoo recalled the earlier situation.
More than 70 percent of the rolling alcohol had gone into Seo Jaeha’s mouth. He hadn’t drunk it over time while breaking down the alcohol, but poured it down in one go.
“This is really delicious, right? From now on, it’d be good to meet at this hotel.”
Seo Jaeha talked about the meeting place two weeks from now while also quickly devouring the food. His appetite was as impressive as his build.
Kyungwoo, who’d deliberately only pretended to drink, ended up overdrinking, swept up in the pace. When Seo Jaeha collapsed first by a hair’s breadth, Kyungwoo was also almost on the verge of passing out. But his obsession with the phone held onto his reason.
When Seo Jaeha lay sprawled on the floor, Kyungwoo stood up while steadying his swaying body. First, he searched through his clothes near the table. The top didn’t have a phone.
‘His pants then.’
He went next to Seo Jaeha and searched through his pockets. He confirmed the back pockets by feeling his butt several times. There was nothing but iron-plate-like hip muscles.
The front pant pockets.
He checked the closer side first. This was empty too. He had to check the other side. But the silhouette itself wasn’t that hopeful. It didn’t look like it contained a phone. Still, it was better to check.
When he reached out his hand, Seo Jaeha stirred. The arm that had been rolling on the floor suddenly shot up into the air and grabbed Kyungwoo’s lower back.
“Wha… huk.”
A strong force pulled Kyungwoo in.
