14 – Assisted by Alcohol
Before I knew it, it was just before 6 PM, the end of the workday.
I had just saved the last page of the Blaze Damage Report, which needed only the manager’s final approval to be complete, and gave a long, satisfying stretch.
“Really appreciate it, Kyeong-tae.”
“How could I not help when the diligent Jo Seong-hun himself comes begging for help on his own two feet?”
As I spoke over the partition, Kyeong-tae’s snickering response came back.
“I’ll definitely get you something when I get my paycheck next time.”
“There’s nothing worse than getting gifts from guys, you know? Just treat me to a meal sometime, man.”
“Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”
I nodded repeatedly.
After all, Kyeong-tae had managed to maintain both Luina’s mood and my health.
“Anyway, you’re leaving right at 6 because of Yu-ri, right?”
“Ah… Um, roughly that’s why.”
More precisely, it was due to the fear of the butterfly effect of overtime potentially leading to my confinement somewhere.
“This guy… I shouldn’t have just helped…”
Kyeong-tae gnashed his lower lip in frustration, his contorted face peeking out from the side of the partition.
Until just the day before, he had been a fellow single comrade-in-arms.
I felt sorry for Kyeong-tae, but I knew all too well that feeling.
“Alright, everyone, let’s start heading out! Great work today, as always!”
The manager’s standard 6 o’clock announcement rang through the office, and with it, all the employees efficiently gathered their things in unison.
I also managed to extract myself from the mire of overtime work thanks to Kyung-Tae’s help and rose from my seat.
There was no need to even shut down the computer separately.
These days, the automatic control system even goes as far as to automatically shut down to prevent unauthorized overtime.
“By the way, are you by any chance living with Yoori?”
“Huh!?”
On a busy roadside during the commute home.
A sudden attack came from Kyung-Tae, who had been going the same direction up to a certain point.
I almost tripped over my own feet.
“Why, why’re you asking that all of a sudden?”
“Didn’t you make me insanely jealous by having a lunch date earlier during the lunch break? You traitor!”
“Well, that’s true…”
Kyung-Tae, that guy.
Is he unaware that his inner voice is interrupting at various places in his speech?
“But are you meeting her again right after work? How much must you love your girlfriend to meet her that often? If not, the only explanation is that you are living together. I, being a forever-single, don’t quite understand!”
Kyung-Tae starts jabbering with his conjectures and raises his voice on his own.
I, too, have somehow escaped from being single nevertheless, still an innocent…
I have no physical experience, just like him.
“So, how is it?”
“How’s what?”
“Surely, you two must have been all lovey-dovey, right!? I hope you’re not planning on playing dumb after pouring salt in my wounds right in front of me!? Huh!?”
Kyungtae clenches my collar and tugs, frustration seeping into his face.
This was supposed to be lovey-dovey, as they say.
We’ve just spent a day together since we met Luina.
All we’ve done so far is hold hands, hug, kiss, and sleep in the same bed…
“……..”
It’s probably better not to tell it as it is.
Although there was only a slight spicy sense in past actions, anything would sound X-rated to Kyungtae right now.
“Sorry, no comment here.”
“Argh! I thought you were my soul partner because you’re a fellow struggler from the same phase of life”
“Can you not gamble with my soul in strange ways!?”
“I get it, Secretary Cho! Unless you introduce me to a friend of Ms. Yuri, I won’t be able to suppress this rage!”
“So, that’s your objective…..”
But does Luina have any friends?
Come to think of it, even her identity as Yuri…
I know absolutely nothing about her other than that she’s the villain, Luina.
The affair initially started by force.
But now, I have truly come to like her.
And yet, I still only know her from her villainous persona.
Our relationship rapidly escalated only because Luina liked me so much.
As she and I grew closer,
It seemed necessary to have a more sincere conversation.
“…We should stop by the convenience store today.”
“Hey, teacher. Are you dodging my question?”
“But, earlier, you looked like you were getting along with Blaze. How did you manage that?”
“Huh? Ah, that… well… we did exchange numbers. Somehow.”
Thrown off by his curt response, Kyungtae began to fidget, showing signs of embarrassment.
He must have had feelings for Shieun.
After all, if a man has exchanged numbers with a woman, he naturally begins to think such thoughts.
“I guess the hero, Blaze, is too high a hurdle for me…”
“Oh, come on.”
Well, at least he seems to know his place.
No. Before all that.
Shieun must have given out her number without giving it much thought.
While he was busy seeing the opposite s*x as stone, it was Shieun who had been just like that back in their academy days.
This was true of her remarks on the rooftop at lunchtime too.
This Han Shieun, she spawned a lot of misunderstandings because of her unique, idiosyncratic personality.
…In fact, I too was one of those people.
“Let’s get going. We should go out for a grand meal next time.”
“Sure, you traitor. Have fun with Yuri.”
We fist bumped in front of a crosswalk that was soon to split.
No matter how obstinate he was, he was essentially a good guy.
I was grateful that I had a colleague at work who resonated with this sentiment.
* * *
The commute on the subway took about 40 minutes.
Gritting my teeth against the swelling crowd, I felt fatigue that hadn’t existed before.
Still, it was better than yesterday’s heart-throbbing incident in many ways.
“Thank you.”
I had just stepped out of a convenience store near my house with a few items.
“It’s been a while since I last drank at home…”
The purchases were a can of beer and some snacks.
If I was going to have a slightly serious conversation with Luina, I would certainly need the assistance of alcohol.
“Come to think of it, I don’t even know if Luina is an adult.”
If she were underage…
Everything I’d done up to this point could potentially become quite risky.
I felt the need for dialogue again.
Before I knew it, I had arrived at our home where she was waiting – .
“Darliing~!!”
Whooosh!!
Thud!!
Suddenly, it seemed as if I could hear Luina’s voice from above my head.
A small silhouette landed on the ground from mid-air like a ninja, right in front of me.
“Did you… jump out of our house’s window?”
“Yes, yes. I was waiting for you there, for a loooooooong time.”
hehehehe. Luina, with her distinctive voice, acted shyly.
Jump landing on the ground from a height of four floors, it seems like that’s a basic feat for her.
“Even so, next time please wait inside the house. You could get hurt.”
“Ah… Yes. You’re always so kind. hehehe.”
I gently stroked her head as a warning.
While she might not really get hurt.
There’s always that off-chance.
More than anything, if anyone were to see a girl jumping off the fourth floor, it would cause a headache.
In fact, that’s a bit more of a reason.
Just like last night, we entered the front door side by side.
“Luina. Are you hungry? Just let me change clothes and I’ll make us some food.”
“Yes, yes. I’m sorry, darling. I’ve never tried cooking before so I can’t help……”
“It’s okay. Just wait for me.”
It was just an offhand remark, but her words left a rather bitter aftertaste.
When she said that she had never tried cooking, it meant more than just she had never made food before.
Her uncontrollable ability.
Given his power of destruction, he wouldn’t have been able to properly cook a meal until now.
“Yut tea.”
Having changed into my casual clothes, I put the beer cans and side dishes I had bought earlier in the refrigerator.
“What’s that?”
Louina, who had been watching me from behind, asked, craning her neck.
“We’ll eat it later when we take a break. Can you drink, Louina?”
From Noble mtl dot com
That was a roundabout way of asking whether she was an adult.
“Maybe?”
“Maybe…?”
But the answer that came back was incredibly vague.
Was she really a minor…?
Then, had I kissed a minor, even slept with one?
Wha-what?
“Of course, my age is legally an adult, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“Is, is that so?”
“This ID card, which the team leader made for me, clearly states that I’m 18!”
“……..”
Ah.
So ‘legally’ really meant ‘legally’ in the literal sense.
Staring at the new ID card that Louina confidently handed me, cold beads of sweat trickled down my spine.
“So do you know your real age…?”
“I’m not exactly sure when my birthday is. 20 years old or so? Yeah, it’s probably right.”
“I see…… Ha…… Ha……”
Wouldn’t it have been nicer if he said that earlier?
He was the only person on my villain list who kept his backstory a secret with just one word.