Chapter 41
A dark room with the lights off.
In a space where the mood rose all by itself even when we did nothing, the game being played by a drunk woman and a sober man was-
[Inkling WIN!!]
“Ugh…. I lost again….”
“......”
The game Seolhwa had mentioned was, of course, a video game.
Seolhwa seemed to have deluded herself into thinking she'd beaten me, and now seemed to think that, this time, she could beat me at a game.
Of course, Seolhwa never won.
I was going easy on her for now, but it was only natural that someone who lost every time even when sober had no chance of beating me while completely drunk.
Even while merely sitting still, she'd botch a command and fall into a hole, or suddenly defend in the middle of a combo; “pathetic” didn't even begin to describe her gaming skills.
“This is boring! I'm not playing anymore!”
In the end, perhaps annoyed by her ongoing losing streak, Seolhwa threw down the controller and turned her back with a pout.
“What are you, a child….”
My friend, who had seemed to grow mentally younger after transforming, apparently regressed into a child after getting drunk.
Well…. Given her appearance, maybe she was simply acting in keeping with it….
“Chickeeen….”
Seolhwa, who had turned over in a huff, had somehow crawled over to the chicken and was now daintily eating it.
“Heehee….”
Miss Seolhwa was holding a piece of chicken as big as her hand in both hands and nibbling away at it with her tiny mouth.
The child who had been sulking just moments ago was gone; now she was eating chicken and smiling happily.
“Hahaha….”
And as I watched Seolhwa like that, I gave her an awkward smile.
For some reason, I felt the alcohol going to my head too.
Maybe it was because my friend in front of me looked cute and, somehow, endearing-
"I really shouldn't keep doing this…."
I knew I shouldn't be thinking this way about a friend, but….
Ever since the amusement park, I'd occasionally started seeing Seolhwa as someone other than a friend.
That time when she'd felt like a woman, not a friend.
That instant when I'd perceived her as a woman, despite knowing perfectly well she'd been a man.
Because of that memory, it was honestly too difficult to see Seolhwa as completely the same sex as me.
Especially when she clung to me unconsciously….
At least lately, I'd grown somewhat used to it and could keep my composure, but….
For some reason, Seolhwa kept breaking through my guard with increasingly powerful attacks.
This is driving me crazy, seriously….
“What're you thinking so hard about!”
“W-what?!”
Just as I was sitting with my eyes closed, calmly thinking,
Seolhwa suddenly pounced on me and knocked me down.
She crawled between my legs and started hitting me.
As her face drew incredibly close to mine, I began to feel every detail of her cold breath and the chill from her body.
May the East Sea dry up and Mount Baekdu wear away, may God protect our nation forever….
“I've been calling and calling, but you wouldn't answer…. What are you thinking so hard about!”
“Ah, no…. It's nothing….”
“When someone talks to you, you should answer!”
Seolhwa must have really hated being ignored, because she angrily tapped my chest with her fists.
Her physical attacks didn't have much force, but every time I felt her cold, soft skin, my mental fortitude took damage.
“...You didn't pay attention to me last time, either….”
“Last time…?”
“Hmph!”
When I responded as if asking what she meant, Seolhwa abruptly turned her head away like she was sulking.
What a pain….
I'd never had a girlfriend, but this situation was so much like dealing with an angry girlfriend that “difficult” was the only way to describe it.
Could this really be the same person who used to be a man…?
Even as I began to wonder about my friend's identity, I tried to move slightly to escape this dangerous position, but-
“U-um, Ms. Seolhwa…? If you keep holding onto my clothes and don't let go, I can't move….”
“......”
Because Seolhwa was clinging to me while gripping my clothes, I couldn't easily pry her off.
“U-um…. If we stay like this, something you're very familiar with might turn into something else and become something I can't talk about easily, so could you move aside…?”
“......”
I hurriedly explained to Seolhwa why she needed to move aside, but she said nothing, simply pressed her head against me and stayed still.
D-did she fall asleep…?
"Hyeonwoo…."
“Oh, yeah… yeah….”
No, she was still awake.
What a shame. If she'd just fallen asleep like this, I would've carried her over to the bed.
Whether she knew how I felt or not, Seolhwa buried her face in my T-shirt for a moment, then quietly mumbled.
“You…. Smell….”
“Eek.”
My friend, who had suddenly clung to me, had just dissed me for smelling.
I thought I washed properly every day, but I smelled…?
I was a little shocked.
“But….”
Seolhwa apparently still had something left to say, because she continued in a tiny voice.
“A comforting smell….”
With those words, Seolhwa's consciousness cut out.
“Kuu….”
“Haa….”
Still drooling cold saliva, she slowly slumped over onto the floor; anyone could see she was completely out cold.
“I can finally breathe….”
Worn out by an inexplicable fatigue, I climbed onto the sofa and passed out there too.
Then I happened to notice the clock: 10:11 p.m.
It had been only an hour since Seolhwa started drinking.
“That was an hour in hell….”
They say there's nothing as exhausting as taking care of a drunk person.
I could honestly say this hour had been more difficult than any other hour I'd ever experienced.
“Hweh….”
“Haa…. I need to move Seolhwa.”
But my work wasn't over yet.
I had to put sleeping Seolhwa to bed and clean up the place where we'd eaten chicken.
I looked around the room Seolhwa had turned into a disaster area while drunk.
Fortunately, the house hadn't frozen over, but our home had still been turned upside down.
I etched this scene into my memory and made a vow:
Never again…. I would never give Seolhwa alcohol again….
======
“Aah…. My head hurts….”
The moment I opened my eyes, an intense headache assailed me all at once.
I clutched my aching head and looked around; the chicken we'd been eating was gone without a trace, and I was lying on the bed.
Judging by the sunlight streaming through the window, many hours had passed; morning was already over, and it must have been lunchtime.
Since I couldn't remember a thing, I must have gotten completely drunk and blacked out.
To think one can of alcohol could do this to me…. I won't even be able to dream of drinking again….
Fwoooosh-
I waved my hand, gathered cold air, made small chunks of ice, and put them into my mouth.
Crunch, crunch-
When I chewed the ice in my mouth, it cooled me down, and my headache seemed to ease a little.
A little better….
Riiing-
“...A call?”
Just as I was cooling my head, the smartphone on the bookshelf beside me suddenly began to ring.
Because of my hangover, I couldn't even be bothered to move, so I sluggishly crawled across the bed and looked at the smartphone screen.
Alongside the call indicator was a single label: [Hyung].
My older brother, whom I hadn't spoken to—or even exchanged a message with—in a long time, was calling me.
“Ugh….”
Of all times, my brother had to call now. Talk about bad luck….
My head already hurt like hell, and if I talked to my brother in this state, we'd definitely end up fighting again.
So I decided to ignore him.
I stared at the screen and waited until the call ended on its own.
After I waited like that, the screen soon went dark, and the call disconnected.
“Good, I won.”
...or so I thought, when the screen lit up again, indicating that a text message had arrived.
My brother normally just gave up when I didn't answer, so why was he texting me…. Had something happened?
He'd even left a message, so ignoring it seemed rude; much as I hated to, I checked it.
[Hyung]:Hey, Seolhwa, Mom told me to bring you some side dishes, but why aren't you at your house?
It turned out to be something trivial.
Side dishes…. He could have just taken them back home….
“Whew….”
[Seolhwa]:I have a problem, so I'm staying at Hyeonwoo's house for now.
[Hyung]:Did you get kicked out?
[Seolhwa]:No.
[Hyung]:I told you not to play porn so loudly.
[Seolhwa]:It's not that, so shut up.
I couldn't help sighing at my brother for making such a ridiculous guess about why I couldn't stay at home for a while….
My older brother, Nun Minjun, looked blunt and cold, but inside he was a prankster who outdid even Haru and Juhyeok.
His perpetually blank expression and sudden pranks were enough to make even me, who was used to my friends' antics, shudder.
“Haa….”
I tossed the smartphone aside and lay back down on the bed.
My brother would probably bring the side dishes all the way to Hyeonwoo's house.
If so, all I had to do was sleep for a while until he arrived and recover from my hangover.
After drawing the curtains, covering myself with a blanket, and trying to go back to sleep,
a thought suddenly began circling in my head.
Come to think of it, why hadn't I really talked to my brother lately…?
I began carefully retracing the reason I'd suddenly lost contact with my family.
And soon, the reason came back to me.
“Ah…. I still haven't told him I became a Snow Woman…!”
This might be a big problem.