EPISODE 71 – The Price of a Party
The CHIPER HQ, usually a bastion of quiet focus, had been transformed into a celebratory battlefield. Empty pizza boxes, crumpled chicken cartons, and a small mountain of Soju and beer bottles littered the meeting room. Confetti still clung to the ceiling, a testament to the night's revelry. Everyone had started with good intentions, but the celebratory mood, fueled by their success in catching Shin Hyo-jin, quickly spiraled into joyful chaos.
Dohee, who had initially refused to drink, was eventually cajoled by a persuasive Micha. "Come on, Dohee!" Micha had slurred, her cheeks flushed with Soju. "Don't be a party pooper! We have drivers! Even if you go... out of control," she said, winking and giggling, "someone is here to handle you!" Her gaze, along with a devilish smirk from Minjae, landed squarely on Alex. Alex, flustered, had protested, "Hey! Why are you looking at me?" but the teasing had already done its work. Dohee, laughing, finally gave in, and soon a chorus of cheers erupted as she took her first shot.
The night unfolded in a series of hilarious, drunken vignettes. Kevin and Guen were locked in a constant state of a drunken, passionate argument over something trivial, both of them too inebriated to make any sense. Micha, the "experienced" drinker of the group, was now a boisterous, fearless version of herself, trying to teach everyone a complicated drinking game she had invented. Minjae, however, remained a calm island in the sea of inebriation. He drank sparingly, a smirk on his face as he played the role of an amused observer. At one point, Micha, fueled by bravado and Soju, declared, "Minjae, you are a meanie! A criminal meanie!" and tried to hit him with a pillow. She missed spectacularly, stumbling forward and landing right on his chest. Minjae simply laughed, gently prying her off him.
Seeing that everyone had reached their limit, Minjae took control. He recorded several moments on his phone: Kevin and Guen in a loud, nonsensical debate, Alex trying to get Dohee to drink a cup of water, and Micha singing a surprisingly off-key pop song while balancing a half-eaten pizza on her head. The night had reached its messy, chaotic end.
A Night of Choices
Minjae, ever the pragmatist, was the last one standing, helping the others to their cars. He guided a completely out-of-it Micha to the backseat of his car. "Take them home safely," Minjae instructed the drivers for Kevin and Guen, who were also in various stages of inebriation.
He got into the driver's seat with Micha slumped beside him. "Okay, let's get you home, little chemical girl," he murmured, his voice softening slightly. "What's your door password?" he asked, trying to get an address. Micha just mumbled incoherently, her head lolling against the window. He tried again, "Micha, come on, the password. Remember?" She just giggled, then fell silent. Minjae sighed, shaking his head. There was no way he could get her to her apartment in this state. He made a decision. "Fine," he said to himself, turning the ignition. "Driver, to my flat."
At his sleek, minimalist apartment, he lifted her easily and carried her inside, laying her gently on his bed. He watched her for a moment, the small, silly smile on her face in stark contrast to her usual guarded expression. "Little chemical girl," he whispered, a rare fondness in his tone. "You look cute." He leaned in, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes, his gaze lingering on her lips. He held his breath for a long, silent moment, then pulled back, a soft, self-admonishing smile on his face. He shook his head and left her, going to the living room to sleep on the sofa instead.
A Fateful Mistake
Back at the HQ, Alex was struggling with a very different kind of problem. Dohee, a mix of a weeping child and a disco dancer, was clinging to him, refusing to leave. "Nooo, I don't want to go!" she cried, then burst into a fit of giggles. The more he tried to get her into the car, the more stubborn she became. He was exhausted, and had also had more to drink than he was used to.
Suddenly, she stumbled towards him, grabbed his face, and kissed him. Alex froze, a jolt of electricity coursing through him, the moment he had only dreamed of now a messy, chaotic reality. Dohee pulled away, giggling, but Alex, in a moment of drunken, overwhelming impulse, pulled her back, and started kissing her back. The world melted away, the chaotic room, the empty bottles, all fading into a silent, intimate bubble. Their hands found each other, their movements fumbling but filled with an unspoken urgency. They stumbled towards a sofa, and as their clothes came off and they fell into each other's arms, the party room became a private, secluded world of two.
The Morning After: Regret and Shame
The next morning, the city was a quiet canvas of gray. At Minjae's sleek, minimalist apartment, Micha's eyes fluttered open. She was lying on a ridiculously soft bed in a room that was not hers. Panic, cold and sharp, seized her. She immediately checked her clothes. A wave of immense relief washed over her as she found she was still in the clothes she had worn to the HQ. Her clothes were a bit crumpled, but they were her own.
She crept out of the bedroom, her heart pounding. The apartment was vast, its high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the city. Then she saw him. Minjae was in the living room, a white towel draped around his neck, nothing but a pair of basketball shorts on his body.
Micha let out a piercing scream. "AAAAAAAH!"
Minjae, startled, spun around, drying his hair. "What happened? Why are you screaming? Do I look like a ghost to you, or an animal?"
"You're more dangerous than both!" Micha shrieked, her hands covering her eyes. "Why am I here?! What are you doing here?! And why are you... naked?!"
Minjae, a smirk playing on his lips, strolled towards her. "This is my place, obviously. And you were a mess last night. You couldn't even remember your own door password, so I had to bring you here." He came to a stop in front of her.
Micha peeked through her fingers, then grabbed the edge of his basketball shorts, her voice trembling. "Did... did something happen between us?"
Minjae's smile widened, taking on a devilish glint. "What kind of something are you talking about? Something fun?"
Micha's eyes shot open. "You jerk!" she screamed, snatching a nearby pillow and flinging it at him. "How dare you?! I'll kill you, Minjae! I'll kill you for saying that!"
Minjae expertly caught the pillow, his laughter filling the room. He dropped it, and in a flash, his hand was on her waist, pulling her close. "You're all talk, chemical girl."
Micha struggled, a furious blush coloring her cheeks. "Let me go! Don't touch me! I'm warning you!"
Minjae, however, was much stronger. He effortlessly lifted her off her feet, ignoring her protests. "Hey! Put me down! You are so shameless, so mean!"
He carried her over to a closed door. "Take a shower," he said, pushing her into the bathroom. "And wear these clothes. I ordered them for you. We're having breakfast after."
Micha, still sputtering, tried to run out of the bathroom, but Minjae blocked the door. "If you try to come out again, I'll stay inside this bathroom with you," he warned, a playful threat in his voice.
Micha, defeated, finally agreed. "Fine! Just go out!"
A while later, Micha emerged, dressed in a new, stylish outfit Minjae had ordered. She looked surprisingly elegant, the clothes fitting her perfectly. Minjae, who was now dressed, watched her walk out. He had to admit, she looked good.
"You look ugly," he said immediately, teasing her.
Micha was about to react, but her phone buzzed. It was her senior at work. "I have to go," she told Minjae, gathering her things. "My senior called me in."
Minjae handed her a paper bag. "Sandwiches. You need to eat something."
"Thanks," she said, giving him a quick, awkward nod. "You know, this apartment is great. It's so cool and big. But you're not." She smiled to herself and ran out the door.
Minjae just shook his head, a genuine smile on his face. "Bye, you ugly chemical girl."
A Sordid Awakening
At the same time, in the still-trashed HQ meeting room, Dohee and Alex lay tangled in a mess of blankets on the floor. Dohee's eyes fluttered open, the cold, harsh light of morning seeping through the windows. The room was a mess, and so was she. A wave of cold, dawning horror washed over her as she realized she was naked. Her back was bare, exposed to the cold floor, and when she turned, she saw him. Alex, sleeping peacefully beside her, also naked. The blanket was barely enough to cover them both.
Panic seized her. This was not a dream. She was in a bed—no, on a floor—with a man, completely exposed. Her mind, still groggy from the alcohol, desperately pieced together the fragments of the night. The party, the drinking, the laughter, and then... the kiss. She remembered the kiss, and then a rush of blurred images: hands, clothes, a feeling of being out of control. Hot tears welled in her eyes, a mixture of shame, regret, and fear. She had lost her virginity, and she hadn't even been fully conscious. She started to sob, the quiet, mournful cries of someone who had just lost something precious.
Her crying woke Alex. He groaned, a searing headache gripping him, and looked around, confused. He saw the empty bottles, the messy room, and then his eyes landed on Dohee. He saw her tears, her nakedness, and the reality of the situation hit him like a punch to the gut. "Dohee," he whispered, his voice full of shock. "I... I'm so sorry. I was so drunk, I didn't know what I was doing. When you... when you kissed me..."
Dohee flinched, her body tensing up. "I'll send you to jail," she sobbed, her voice trembling with anger and pain. "I'll file a case against you. How could you?!" She was trying to cover herself with the blanket, but it was too small, leaving her back and sides exposed.
"Dohee, please, don't cry," Alex pleaded, his voice full of panic. He saw her desperate attempt to cover herself and knew he had to give her space. He turned his head, looking away from her, tears of his own starting to well up in his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to... this should have never happened."
Dohee, now fully dressed and with her back to him, collected her things. She didn't look at him, didn't say another word, and just walked out of the room, leaving Alex alone with the mess and the crushing weight of his mistake. He sat there for a long time, the silence of the room deafening. He knew he had to clean up the room, both literally and figuratively, but he had no idea how to even begin.
The Unspoken Truth
The new day had begun, and with it, new secrets, new awkwardness, and new relationships, all waiting to unfold. As Micha went to her job and Alex to his office, the CHIPER team was now split, with two members carrying a secret of shame and regret, and another two oblivious to the storm brewing beneath the surface.