Chapter 6
If you ask what alcohol is best to drink with a woman, it's hard to give a definite answer.
But if you ask what's the worst, I'd say beer.
Beer fills you up before you get drunk.
The atmosphere is a little lacking, and it tastes like rubbing alcohol, but soju is better.
Of course, if you're willing to spend some money, sweet cocktails are the best.
“⋯Cosmopolitans and mojitos. And an assortment of cheese and French fries, please.”
“Yes.”
“Y-You must come here pretty often.”
“⋯I can't really drink soju.”
People get drunk on alcohol, but it's much easier to get drunk on the atmosphere.
The dark, dreamy lighting makes my intimidating face look almost like that of a movie star.
Of course, since the same backdrop is cast over her, her already attractive appearance feels even more sensual.
Especially the beauty mark beneath her eye, which looks almost as obscene as those enormous breasts.
“I⋯I've never been to a bar like this before, but I guess this is the atmosphere⋯.”
“It's similar to a pojangmacha. The alcohol is the only thing that's different.”
Why did she look so sexy just from pulling on a single hoodie?
Maybe those voluptuous breasts were the reason,
or maybe it was because I enjoyed watching the woman who had hated me so much start to feel threatened and fumble around.
“Haa⋯.”
“⋯Um, do you want to talk about what's bothering you?”
“It's not the sort of thing I'd talk to you about, Ms. Ha-eun. I'm sorry.”
“Ah⋯.”
I liked that awkward, guileless attitude too—the way she opened her mouth first because she couldn't stand the silence.
It had only been two weeks since we'd reunited, yet it was fascinating that she could worry about a man she disliked.
Of course, half of that was thanks to the trainer who had been hitting on her.
I could only be grateful to him.
“Your order is here.”
“Thank you.”
I set both drinks down in front of me and placed the snacks on her side of the table.
When I took a light sip of the refreshing mojito, Seo Ha-eun, flustered with nothing in her hands, stared at me with an expression that said she had no idea what to do.
“⋯Is something wrong?”
“Ah, well⋯.”
“⋯Ah. You didn't order a drink, Ms. Ha-eun. I'm sorry. I was a little out of it. Should I order you a nonalcoholic one?”
“No, no, no. It's fine. I'll just have a glass of that⋯.”
“This is pretty strong. Are you sure?”
“Still, it's a cocktail⋯.”
As though protesting that I had no intention of getting even her drunk, I kept up the act and casually held out my glass.
Unlike its cranberry-juice-like appearance, it was actually a cocktail with a higher alcohol content than soju.
But because it was sweet, tart, and delicious, anyone who gulped it down without knowing what it was would end up pretty loopy.
Seo Ha-eun accepted the glass with a dazed look, cautiously took a sip, then realized it was surprisingly drinkable and took a little more.
“⋯This is delicious.”
“I'm a kid at heart when it comes to food. I can't handle bitter things. I'm not much of a drinker, either.”
“You can't hold your liquor?”
“It doesn't sit well with me. After about a bottle of soju, I have trouble drinking any more.”
“Ah, I'm the same. My cheeks turn red after half a bottle, and I get drunk after a whole one.”
Even as she astonishingly volunteered her drinking capacity, I barely managed not to smile, accepting the buzz and naturally carrying on the conversation.
Neither too heavy nor too light.
I maintained exactly the sort of atmosphere that might exist between a man and woman who were just starting to date, tilting our glasses until her cheeks began to flush.
Of course, unless I downed a whole crate of soju, I wasn't actually going to get drunk.
It only gave me a pleasant buzz.
“Haa⋯. I do feel a little more at ease now that I've had some alcohol.”
“Are you already drunk?”
“I wish I were. Until a little while ago, I felt like throwing up.”
“⋯.”
Matching the tipsy atmosphere, I didn't get straight to the point, instead circling around it and tossing out topics she might want to hear about.
Not every woman is like that, but most women are interested in other people's love lives.
Besides, once she'd caught a whiff that something was going on, it wasn't easy for her not to be curious.
“⋯Ms. Ha-eun, how do you feel about receiving candy?”
“Pardon?”
“I was just wondering what it's like when you get candy or chocolate as a present.”
“A little⋯, ⋯Ah. It's nice. On White Day, anyway.”
Every time I let alcohol slide down my throat, I gave her something interesting to focus on, keeping her attention on me so she wouldn't notice that she'd already emptied more than half her glass.
“⋯I think it would be nice if I received some too. I've never gotten any.”
“What?”
“I only ever give it, but it never comes back to me. Sometimes it feels like people date me just for my body.”
“Y-Your body?”
“I don't know whether you've ever had an experience like that, but you know what I mean. I want an emotional connection, while the other person seems to be dating me just for my body. It feels like we're not really compatible.”
“Ah⋯.”
On top of that, I mixed in some plausible remarks and built a sense of common ground between us.
I didn't know exactly whether this woman had any dating experience, but there had been a man hitting on her for nothing but her body as recently as yesterday.
And he was right in front of her now.
“But when one person likes the other more, they end up at a disadvantage. I can't even say anything. Honestly, she's doing better than I am, and if I broke up with her, I don't know if I could find someone like her again. ⋯It's just frustrating.”
“⋯I see.”
“Dating is supposed to make you happy⋯, but it wears me out so much emotionally that I wonder what I'm even doing. These days, anyway.”
“I understand.”
“Phew⋯. Ah, my glass is empty. Would you like another?”
“Ah, I finished mine already⋯.”
“Let's have something weaker this time. It's called a Kahlúa milk. Have you heard of it?”
“Um⋯, I think I have.”
“Then I'll order two.”
I poured out all sorts of complaints to her, who by now was even humoring me with little responses, and ordered two weaker cocktails this time.
We each took one of the identical-colored cocktail glasses, took a sip without waiting for the other, and continued our conversation.
“Hmm⋯. It tastes like coffee milk.”
“It doesn't really taste like alcohol, does it? It's incredibly sweet too. That's why I used to drink it fairly often when I was a player; I never felt hungover.”
“⋯Do baseball players drink things like this too?”
“I have pretty unusual tastes. The players were split between the soju crowd and the beer crowd. But I hated both, so I usually drank alone.”
“Ahaha⋯.”
In the relaxed atmosphere, I slowly brought up a different subject, preparing to change the topic.
If I kept sighing about a nonexistent girlfriend, all that would remain was me pretending to feel relieved and Seo Ha-eun, who had listened to my troubles and now owed me one.
To get drunk enough to make a mistake, I also had to draw out whatever troubles she had, borrowing the atmosphere to do it.
No one can live without worries.
“After retiring, even coming somewhere like this started to feel burdensome. Dates alone cost a fortune, and if you drink too, the food gets expensive as well.”
“⋯I know what you mean.”
“I couldn't afford my car anymore, so I sold it. And since my body isn't exactly in perfect shape either, things have been difficult in all sorts of ways.”
“Is something wrong with your body?”
“My shoulder doesn't go up very well. Above here.”
In reality, it only hurt when I tried to throw a ball, so I stretched my perfectly functional left arm straight out in front of me, pretended I couldn't raise it, and aroused her sympathy as well.
Whatever the full story, it wasn't entirely unrelated to her.
I added her as a character to the love life she'd been merely watching from the sidelines until now.
“I should have taken better care of my body. When I was throwing well, I got so excited that I pushed it too hard without thinking, and this is how I ended up. ⋯It's all my fault.”
“⋯.”
“I had a pretty bad temper back then because I was competing, too. Looking back later, I wondered why I'd acted that way. Players on the other teams were colleagues, and so were the club employees. There was no reason to pick fights with anyone.”
“⋯Um, you didn't just pick a fight with me, did you?”
“You don't watch baseball, do you, Ms. Ha-eun?”
“What?”
“If you'd watched baseball back then, you couldn't have said that to me. I got cursed out a lot. ‘That rookie brat has no manners.’ ‘He's a psychopath.’ I even got hit with fried chicken on my way home once.”
“Really?”
“I'm kidding. It wasn't chicken; it was a bottle of water. It didn't hit me, but it almost did.”
“Ah⋯.”
I turned our past bad blood into the recklessness of youth as well, gradually melting away whatever malice she might still have held toward me.
“Ah, I finished this one quickly too. ⋯Would you like another?”
“⋯Yes.”
“Hmm⋯, something Ms. Ha-eun might know⋯.”
“Ah, you seemed to enjoy the mojito earlier⋯.”
“⋯Then we'll get a mojito and a Long Island iced tea.”
“Yes.”
I refilled the glasses that had been emptied by drinking with more alcohol,
and filled the malice that had melted away with alcohol as well,
“The mojito is really good. Sweeter than I expected, and incredibly refreshing.”
“It's good. But I like this one better. It's milder.”
“⋯Is that one good too?”
“This? This just tastes like iced tea. Want to try a sip?”
“Ah, sure. Hmm⋯. Wow. This really tastes like iced tea.”
“If you close your eyes while drinking it, it's just a soft drink. Except for the slight smell of alcohol.”
“It tastes like a soft drink even with my eyes open.”
“It seems to suit your taste. Shall we order another?”
“No, no. Let me finish this one first.”
With a slightly higher proof,
and a slightly sweeter flavor,
I lured her in and gradually clouded her judgment.
“Ah~, seriously. It's nice drinking with someone like this after so long. I'm not lying when I say it's been years since I got pleasantly drunk.”
“This is my first time having a cocktail, but it's surprisingly drinkable.”
“How am I supposed to repay this? Last time, I repaid you by buying lunch.”
“You don't need to repay me again. Just⋯.”
“But I want to. I'm grateful to you, Ms. Ha-eun.”
“⋯You're grateful?”
“Of course I am. We weren't even close, and you were worried about someone you disliked enough to listen to his troubles like this.”
“Ah, that was just⋯.”
“You don't dislike me anymore?”
I gradually burrowed deeper through her clouded judgment.
Questions she would never have answered under normal circumstances,
I forced out of her.
“What? ⋯Are you drunk, Mr. Kang Ju-hyeok?”
“Ah, I phrased that wrong. I mean⋯, you don't have any particular feelings toward me anymore, right? You don't dislike me, and you don't like me either. I'm just someone you know.”
“Ah⋯, yes. Just⋯ just someone I know.”
“Why did you hate me so much back then? Was it because you hated baseball players, so you hated me too? Then why did you hate baseball players?”
“I told you before. It's because I was stalked by a guy on the baseball team in high school.”
“If you hate baseball that much, why did you join our club? Someone like you could have done really well in another field.”
“⋯I was doing something, but it didn't work out.”
“Were you preparing to become a singer?”
“⋯How did you know that, Mr. Kang Ju-hyeok?”
The inner self of a woman who, a few years ago, had been nothing but a fortress—
I peeled back one layer and looked inside.
Smiling with a drunken face as though I knew nothing,
I turned the subject to her story.
“I heard a rumor that you appeared on an audition show. You did, didn't you?”
Whatever came out of her mouth didn't matter.
You're the best.
You didn't do anything wrong.
Things will work out.
Hang in there.
It happens.
As I answered her,
she would get drunk on her own.