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"Huh!!!"
The next morning, Yu-ri Lee woke up with a jolt, as if something were chasing her. As soon as her mind cleared, a strange, pounding sensation started in her head, making her feel dizzy, as if something were inside.
"Ugh…"
The moment she recognized the feeling, something rose inside Yu-ri Lee. She immediately covered her mouth, ran to the bathroom, and started emptying her stomach.
"Woooee!"
At the sound of Yu-ri Lee's loud retching, her older sister, Yu-min Lee, came out of her room and clicked her tongue.
"What did that girl do yesterday to come home smelling like alcohol and throwing up?"
"Ugh… don't talk to me…"
Finally, Yu-ri rinsed her mouth and walked out of the bathroom.
"Hey, wash your face. You had your makeup on and didn't even wash it off. You just fell asleep like that, and look at your face now."
"Sis… What time did I come home yesterday?"
"I think it was a little before 10 p.m."
Yu-ri Lee looked at the clock on the wall. It was 10:30 in the morning. She had been passed out for over twelve hours.
"You said you wouldn't even drink, but you came in really upset? What did you do all day yesterday? Did you really meet a guy?"
"Oh, something like that—"
Yu-ri Lee, about to say no, paused. Her mind replayed yesterday's "not-a-date" with Han Seong-jin: the arcade, the escape room cafe, the DVD room.
"…Well, it was similar to that."
"Wow, you were so relaxed on the first day you met a guy that you ended up drinking alcohol, which you never do, and came home like that? It's a miracle you didn't stay out all night. Was that because of how much you drank?"
"I don't want to hear things like that from a girl who has been spreading her legs since the first day she met a guy. And I really only had a few drinks…"
"There's nothing this girl won't say to her! And she's much more noble and gentle than you think!"
"Ha, does she have an older sister, Ji-sun? I believe what she said was that she got accepted to Seoul National University from Eunbong Public School."
"Ms. Lee…"
The sisters immediately started bickering. The argument only stopped after Yu-ri Lee finished washing her face.
"So who is the guy? He must be really handsome, seeing as you hung out and drank with him. Do you have a picture?"
"It's not like that. And alcohol… alcohol…"
Yu-ri Lee, who was retracing her memories, suddenly stopped speaking. How did she end up drinking alcohol that she said she would never drink again? First, it was out of curiosity, and second, to relieve stress. She was extremely weak to alcohol and started to get drunk after just one drink. She relieved her stress by swearing about Gong Young-bae.
Surprisingly, Han Seong-jin listened to her complaints, and feeling better, she drank her second drink. Yu-ri Lee, whose mind was going back and forth, expressed all the disappointment she had felt towards Gong Young-bae. She asked for Han Seong-jin's understanding, and he sympathized with her and comforted her. With her inhibitions loosened, she drank her third glass and even with her tongue slurred, she asked Han Seong-jin why he treated her so well.
"Uh… uh, uh…"
At that time, Yu-ri Lee was so drunk that she became unimaginably disheveled, but her brain did not stop, or so she thought. The only thing Han Seong-jin didn't know was that Yu-ri Lee was the type of person who remembered everything clearly, even when she was drunk. Unfortunately, even though Yu-ri Lee was drunk from only three glasses of soju, she was able to remember what Han Seong-jin had responded, her own words after hearing his, and her entire journey until she returned home.
Yu-ri Lee, who remembered everything…
"Ugh, wow!!!"
She ran into her room screaming, her face redder than it had ever been. Yu-min Lee grinned as she saw her younger sister screaming wildly.
"What, you pretended to be a normal person, but you really went wild while you were drunk, didn't you?"
Yu-ri Lee pulled the blanket over her head and tore at her hair.
'Oh, I must be crazy! I must be really crazy! What on earth have I done…'
She remembered everything, so clearly it was damning.
—Because I like you.
—Hmm? Better? You like me?
—Yeah.
—Okay, pretty boy. Are you confessing? Yesterday… Do you know what happened to me?
—I know. That's why I want to be next to you instead of that bastard. Don't you like it?
—Hehe… Is it cold…? I guess you don't understand?
—Well, I knew that. For now.
—But… Today…
Yu-ri Lee answered with a bright smile, resting her chin on both hands.
—Today… take care of me.
'Aaaahhh!!! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! If you do this, you're really flirting!'
Yu-ri Lee kicked the blanket away. However, much to her chagrin, her smart brain was able to clearly play a video of the following events in her head.
Yu-ri Lee held Han Seong-jin's hand tightly and walked to her house, humming a song. And not just holding hands, but clasping hands like lovers would. From the moment they left the meat buffet until they arrived at the apartment, the two did not separate their hands for even a moment. Yu-ri Lee waved their joined hands back and forth exaggeratedly like a child.
'It doesn't make sense… What on earth did I do…'
Yu-ri Lee, who remembered everything until the very last moment, fell onto the bed, trembling and shedding tears. Although they barely avoided a catastrophe that could have led to a kiss or something worse, this was already a shock for Yu-ri Lee, who had never even held a man's hand before.
"Stupid… Stupid, stupid, stupid…"
Knock!
It was a chat alert that woke Yu-ri Lee, who had fallen into an endless abyss of self-destruction. Yu-ri Lee, who checked the chat, was startled and jumped out from under the blanket.
[Han Seong-jin]: Are you awake? Have you sobered up?
"Ugh, what should I do? What should I do?! Now, I'll pretend to sleep… No, I already read the text…"
Since she couldn't pretend she hadn't seen it, and it was difficult to say anything, Yu-ri Lee just held her phone. Fortunately, before she could think of a reply, Han Seong-jin messaged her again.
[Han Seong-jin]: If you haven't eaten, come out for a moment and sober up.
[Me]: Again? I don't want to go anywhere today
[Han Seong-jin]: You're not going to have fun like yesterday. You were a mess, so you should rest.
[Han Seong-jin]: There's a good hangover soup restaurant nearby. We can go eat and you can have a drink.
Yu-ri Lee held her phone and thought for a while before finally replying.
[Me]: Okay
And then she fell on the bed again and tore at her hair.
"What was I thinking? I did that yesterday and I'm going again a day later! Seriously, why am I doing this!"
Meanwhile, Yu-ri Lee ran to the bathroom and started doing her simple makeup.
A Hungover Confession
After contacting Yu-ri Lee, I once again faced the reality of my financial situation after our weekend date.
[Web Transfer]
[XX Check Approval] Han*Jin (xxxx) 03/20 21:01
(Amount) ₩49,800 Sizzling XX Points
Balance ₩76,442
"I'm screwed."
From arcades to all kinds of arcade machines, including DDR, coin karaoke rooms, escape room cafes, and even DVD rooms. Even though it was all "Dutch" (paying separately), it wasn't a small amount of money for me. Yu-ri had said she would buy the meat buffet, but in the end, I had bought her three glasses of soju, so I had paid for everything myself.
There were three weeks left until my first part-time salary would be paid, and I had less than ₩80,000 left. This was a serious survival crisis. Should I buy cornmeal or dried seaweed? If I added the cost of the hangover soup we were about to eat… More than half of my entire wealth had been spent in less than twenty-four hours.
"Wow… Yu-ri, I love you so much."
Still, yesterday's date was very good. Even though she was still very wary of me, thanks to Yu-ri Lee becoming an idiot while drunk, we were able to go home together, holding hands like a couple.
I grabbed my wallet, which felt almost empty, and headed back toward Yu-ri Lee's apartment. Unlike yesterday, when Yu-ri looked as stylish as she could, today she came out in a much more casual sweater and jeans. When I saw her, I waved happily.
"Does your head hurt? I've never seen someone get so drunk after drinking three glasses of soju in my life."
"Ugh… don't talk about that…"
"Do you remember what you did while you were drunk yesterday?"
Yu-ri Lee's pupils shook violently at my question, and she shook her head. Well, even though she was that drunk, she didn't seem to be in a state to remember anything.
"It's a shame. It would have been funny if you had remembered. Or at least I should have taken a video."
"Ha, don't do that! I hate feeling like this! Never again! I'll never drink again!"
"Okay, okay. I won't offer you alcohol from now on, so don't worry. The hangover soup restaurant isn't that far away. Let's go."
Yu-ri wiggled her fingers, then walked next to me. The hangover soup restaurant on a Sunday morning was quite crowded, but fortunately, we found a table for two.
"Aunt, please give me a bowl of bone hangover soup here!"
"Huh? Just one bowl? Aren't you eating?"
"I'm not drunk enough to need a hangover cure. And…"
I answered with a slightly exaggerated sigh. "I don't have any money left."
At that moment, Yu-ri Lee gasped. She was someone who roughly knew what my situation was.
"That's right, now that I think about it, your personal circumstances… Wait a minute, didn't you go overboard yesterday? Huh? Come to think of it, the meat buffet yesterday was…"
"I paid for it."
At those words, Yu-ri screamed, said she was sorry repeatedly, and hit her forehead on the table. Only after she calmed down a bit was I able to continue the conversation.
"But it's not serious yet."
"Isn't it serious enough that you can't even buy a bowl of hangover soup? This can't happen. If you go to the academy tomorrow, I'll immediately tell them about your personal situation and ask them to discuss tuition support at the faculty meeting."
"Hey, I started working a part-time job a while ago. As long as the salary comes in…"
"When do you get your salary?"
"Three weeks from now."
"How much money is left?"
"…"
"Tell me."
Unlike yesterday, when I was fidgeting and avoiding her gaze, her eyes were wide open, and she was glaring at me. I had no choice but to reveal the truth.
"₩76,000."
"…"
"…"
"Are you really crazy?! How can you survive for three weeks on that? You can't. Stop spending money on unnecessary things starting tomorrow! I'll even buy the hangover soup, so just eat it! And… I also bought some of it yesterday. And I'll prepare you a lunch box in the morning, so don't buy a lunch box from the convenience store! I'll give it to you when you get to school in the morning, so come out earlier than usual and meet me, so we can go together!"
"Oh, are you providing breakfast? You look like a pair of newlyweds."
"!!!!!"
Yu-ri Lee, who was talking excitedly, understood the meaning of what she said, blushed again, and avoided eye contact.
"…I really hate you."
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