Despite my bold words earlier, the inside of the restaurant was hot.
No, "hot" didn't quite cover it.
It was scorching.
I considered turning right back around, but the rich, savory smell of oil filling the air pulled Park A-young in first.
We followed her inside and quickly took our seats to order.
The only thing on the menu was grilled meat.
"1 kg is too much, right?"
"If you think you can finish it, then go ahead and order that."
"Hmm…"
A-young let out a small groan.
It seemed like she was debating in her head.
"Or we could start with 600g and order more if it's not enough."
"…Should we?"
"Do you want drinks?"
"Yes! Soju, please~ Three glasses!"
The worker, who looked like a part-timer, had exhaustion written all over his face.
He wasn't outright rude, but he didn't bother hiding his annoyance.
I understood.
The place was so hot even the air conditioning couldn't do its job properly.
"You grill the meat for us here, right?"
"Yes."
"Ugh… I'm so hungry."
Even though it was still early evening, the tables were already lively with people drinking and making noise.
"Ugh…"
The constant noise made my ears ring.
Soon, the charcoal arrived.
The heat radiating from it was incomparably more intense than before, searing our faces.
Thankfully, the staff grilled the meat for us—if I had to move the tongs myself, sweat would've been dripping down my forehead in no time.
And in the packed restaurant, our table was oddly quiet.
With the worker grilling right in front of us, it felt awkward to start a conversation.
Plus, we didn't really have much to say to each other anymore.
So everyone's eyes turned to the meat sizzling on the grill, fidgeting with their chopsticks as they waited.
Even then, I could feel Park Eun-ji's sharp gaze, but I forced myself to stay composed, reacting indifferently.
No—more like, I was deliberately not reacting.
"…The meat's ready to eat. You can dip it in salt or sauce, whatever you prefer. Let me know if you need anything else."
"Ah, okay."
His voice was flat.
The part-timer gave a slight nod and left, his expression still blank.
Leaving just the three of us again.
"Let's start with drinks first~"
A-young was the first to move, quickly pouring soju into each of our glasses.
"I'll go first—"
"Ah, forget it~ Just raise your glass already."
I tried to take the soju bottle from her as she was opening it, but she swiftly pulled her hand away.
I awkwardly picked up my glass instead.
"…This is our first time drinking together, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
"How much can you handle?"
"…Not sure. I've never been drunk before."
"Pfft! Who are you trying to impress? Then we're drinking till you drop today!"
A-young winked at me.
It felt like she was sending me some kind of signal—or maybe it was just meaningless.
"Sure."
It wasn't a lie that I'd never been drunk before.
The only alcohol I'd ever had was a few sips of makgeolli during ancestral rites.
"Hngh… Hnguh…"
***********************************************
Empty bottles piled up on the table one by one.
Up until we finished the third bottle, I was feeling good.
Park Eun-ji, who claimed to be a lightweight, slowly started refusing refills.
And teasing her about it was its own kind of fun.
Her face flushed red, and she glared at me with all her might.
But her shaky hands still couldn't hold the glass steady, so in the end, she scrunched up her face and drank it herself.
The bottles kept increasing.
As expected, A-young's alcohol tolerance was above average.
Luckily, I could keep up with her, at least enough to pour soju down my throat.
"…Ah, my head…"
And then, the inevitable happened—I blacked out.
Fragmented memories of moving to a second round of drinks, arguing over who would pay, bits and pieces of conversation—all jumbled together in my head.
Nothing was clear.
I only vaguely remembered A-young paying… and then leaving the restaurant.
"…Where… am I?"
It was dark.
The bed I was lying on felt unfamiliar.
A strange scent tickled my nose.
"Haa…"
My mouth reeked of alcohol.
My head throbbed like it was about to split.
"Ugh… ugh…"
Thirst.
My mouth was bone-dry.
Not a drop of saliva left.
I tried sitting up.
My vision was still hazy, the surroundings pitch black.
"Ah…"
And then I realized it instinctively.
I wasn't wearing my pants—or my underwear.
For a second, I worried if I'd done something stupid while drunk.
As my eyes adjusted to the dark, things became clearer.
I was—no, we were—on a wide bed.
Pushed up against the wall was unmistakably Park Eun-ji.
I was on the opposite end.
And lying in the middle was A-young.
Even without her bright blonde hair, her petite frame gave her away.
"Hnguh…"
Maybe it was the alcohol, but my head felt stiff.
Thinking was exhausting.
All I wanted was water. I needed water, so I got out of bed.
"Haa…"
I hadn't completely taken off my pants and underwear—they were just tangled around my ankles, making it hard to walk.
"Ah, where…?"
This wasn't home.
Which left only one conclusion.
"…I don't remember anything…"
Who, why, how—I had no idea how we ended up in a place like this.
But where the three of us were now was most likely a motel.
I clumsily pulled up my underwear and pants.
"…Hmm."
Maybe because I'd just woken up, but there was a faint tightness in my lower half.
I absentmindedly touched myself, then immediately felt gross.
"W-What the hell?"
There was no way there'd be liquid on my dick unless I'd wet myself in my sleep.
The scariest part was that I had no memory of it.
"Ah… Water first…"
The thirst was unbearable.
I opened the small fridge, barely reaching my knees.
The sudden light blinded me for a second.
I grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp… Haaa…"
It was so cold it felt like it reached my bones.
I let out a sigh of relief, feeling like I'd been brought back to life.
Rustle, rustle—the bed creaked.
I pricked up my ears and glanced over.
Was she tossing and turning? A-young was squirming.
Still drunk, I quickly stopped thinking about it.
"…Sleep."
There was no point in overanalyzing things.
No—I didn't want to think at all.
I just wanted to sleep.
The alcohol and exhaustion hit me like a wave, and I had no strength to resist.
Creak… creak…
Thanks to the AC, the room was cool now.
Now used to the dark, I made my way back to bed without trouble.
Thud.
I plopped down at the edge of the bed.
Thoughts swirled in my head.
Was it okay to sleep like this together? Did anyone call home? Where was my phone? Ah, my head…
I lay back down.
I shifted around, trying to get comfortable.
"Nngh… Nngh…!"
"...."
A-young had her back to me.
"…Haa, ha… Hoo…"
She let out small whimpers before her breathing grew rough, like she'd been holding it in.
For a second, I wondered if she was feeling sick.
But right now, I was too tired to care about anyone else.
"Hoo…"
I closed my eyes.
Maybe because of the alcohol, I felt like I was floating on a cloud.
It wasn't bad.
So this was what being drunk felt like.
Just as I was teetering on the edge of sleep—
A tiny voice echoed softly in the small room.
"…Asleep?"
A-young.
It was A-young's voice.
I wanted to answer, but my drunk body wouldn't even let me open my mouth.
"...You're asleep, right?"
Swish… swish… swish…
Something drew closer.
Through my heavy eyelids, I could sense something approaching.
"…You're sleeping, right?"
Her voice trembled.
Then—swish—something moved in front of me.
"Hoo…"
Her breath, reeking of alcohol, tickled my nose.
Swish… swish… swish…
She moved again.
Tap.
Tap.
Her hands were cautious.
A-young's fingers brushed against my pants.
It took me a while to process what was happening.
And by the time I did, my pants were already being pulled down again.
"Nngh… Nngh…!"
With a snap, my pants were dragged down to my thighs.
Then, as if it were the most natural thing, her hands grabbed my underwear and yanked them down too.
"Hoo…"
A-young let out a small sigh.
She took a moment to steady her breathing before poking at my lower half.
Poke. Poke.
"...Not getting hard anymore…?"
Who was she even asking?
Maybe it didn't matter.
And as if in response to her question, my dick slowly stiffened, filling with blood.
"Ah… It's getting big again…"
Her surprise was short-lived.
A small hand—blunter and more delicate than Eun-ji's—wrapped around my dick.
"Nngh… It's moving on its own… You're really asleep, right? D-Don't wake up suddenly…?"
She muttered to herself.
Muttering, she clumsily began stroking.