TMWCL Ch 4 part 1

Yeoreum returned the lunch box to the barbecue restaurant owner and lied, telling her that the food was delicious. Then she told her that she would be quitting her part-time job. The owner was surprised and asked back.

“Did someone tell you to do something dangerous? Is it because you need money urgently?”

“No, I’m just going to work part-time at a cafe for a short while and focus on my studies. I’m preparing to retake the college entrance exams.”

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Yeoreum explained as she cleaned the spoons and chopsticks. Just like she said, Yeoreum was preparing to retake the college entrance exams. Her grades were okay, and she did well on the college entrance exams before, so she somehow managed to get into Gawoon University as a scholarship student, but the problem began after she got there. She didn’t have the confidence to study for four years in a field she had neither talent nor passion for. Even if she did her best, it was impossible for her to do as well as her classmates who had a passion and interest in this field. Her part-time job might also have an impact on her future prospects in that field as well.

Actually, there was an even bigger problem.

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“I see. But getting a scholarship from Gawoon University is such an amazing feat. Are you trying to go somewhere else? Is there something else you want to study?”

“The major doesn’t fit me… And even if I transfer to another department, I don’t know where I’d go. I’m thinking of just leaving this area. I think it will all come to me as I study.”

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Her motivation to study had disappeared. She could have solved the problem by working right away instead of going to college. However, her mother’s wish was for her to go to college, so she managed to do it somehow… But what she really wanted was nowhere to be found. After she was accepted, she grew fearful. She was left with nothing to do, nothing she wanted to do. Even her family, which had been her motivation, was now gone.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Come and visit me often.”

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“Yes, ma’am.”

The owner quickly found another part-timer to replace her. Of course, Yeoreum also found another part-time job relatively quickly for the summertime. She only needed to work part-time for three hours a day during peak lunch hours, four days a week, Monday through Thursday. She didn’t make much, but since she no longer had to pay for living expenses, it was enough.

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「Ahjussi, I’m quitting my job next week. My new part-time job starts on the first day of next month. Starting August 1st, I’ll be working at the Media Cafe in the building right next to the officetel.」

The number ‘1’ floating next to her message disappeared the next day.

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「That’s good.」

It was July 22nd, the day after her last part-time job. She had a small farewell party with her boss and arrived back home. Haegun hadn’t contacted her once since his last message.

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“He was serious.”

Lying on the living room sofa, Yeoreum took out her cell phone and held it up. She was curious about him, but she couldn’t find an excuse to send him a message, so she ended up falling asleep instead.

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* * *

Sungha Construction was slowly finding its footing after the recent internal power struggle. The vice-chairman and his followers who had been opposed to Haegun had all died, and many people who had been under him had been replaced. There was some loss on Haegun’s side as well, but it wouldn’t cause any major problems.

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It was secretly rumored that the chairman’s most beloved subordinate was Haegun. The story went that ever since Sungha became Sungha Construction, the chairman had always cherished Haegun. Not long ago, the chairman had officially selected Haegun as his successor. The chairman was unable to have an heir. Therefore, he wanted someone who would grow the company and organization in his stead to satisfy his lust for power, and that person was Haegun. The old man who had been by the chairman’s side, the vice-chairman, was displeased with Haegun. Since he had a child of his own, he wanted to put his incompetent son in that position at all costs.

After the power struggle, Haegun placed puppets in the empty seats that remained. They were weak men who could be immediately taken down if they showed even the slightest hint of trying something stupid.

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“Hyung-nim, you haven’t seen Yeoreum in a while.”

Taehyuk said with a bored face.

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“Because I’m busy.”

“I’m only telling you this because you haven’t been asking about her lately, but according to the guy who’s keeping watch, she just goes back and forth between her part-time work, home, part-time work, home. Yesterday was her last day at work. I wonder why she hasn’t been going to the library lately, but since the lights are on late at night, I guess she studies at home now.”

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“It’s a good thing we moved her to the new place.”

For someone who seemed to be proud of this accomplishment, his face was void of emotion. For several days, Haegun devoted himself to work without even mentioning Yeoreum. Actually, he was busy with work, but it wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t have a moment of free time.

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“What a shame. After seeing her nearly every day, not seeing her at all makes me feel empty.”

“Seems like you’ve taken to her.”

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“Whenever you look at her, you can’t help but feel like she’s cute and tiny. I thought she didn’t look like Kiju-hyung at all, but the more I see her, the more I realize she does. It’s sad that she pretends to be an adult even though she’s just a kid, but I feel even prouder because of that. How good is she at studying to have earned a scholarship? I guess it’s all thanks to Sister-in-law’s genes. You’re the only one among us who’s smart, hyung-nim. So I find it a bit fascinating. It’s not easy to live diligently without going down the wrong path. Huh? Why aren’t you interrupting my rambling, hyung-nim…”

Taehyuk looked at Haegun with a puzzled expression. He was looking at the documents in front of him without any shift in expression.

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“Keep talking.”

“Huh? Ah, okay… Anyway, since she’s pretty and has good looks, I think a lot of guys will try to fool her. So we have to make sure she marries well. Since Kiju-hyung-nim passed away, we’re now Yeoreum’s father and uncle. They say time flies when a child grows up, but I wonder if she’ll bring home some anchovy-looking guy and start making a fuss about getting married. It seems like she hasn’t dated anyone yet.”

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“Yeoreum won’t meet just anyone. She has high standards.”

Haegun spoke with confidence. For some reason, the corners of his mouth curled slightly.

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“How would you… Well, I guess you did nurse her and stay with her all day that one time. Honestly, I was surprised. I knew that you cared for Yeoreum, but I didn’t know it was to that extent. You bought the officetel right after you finished looking into Yeoreum, right? I wondered why you bought it, but did you do it to give it to Yeoreum all along?”

“I haven’t given it to her yet. She needs to be open to receiving it in order for me to give it to her.”

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Haegun finished the last of the paperwork and finally put the file down. He put his pen aside and looked at Taehyuk.

“Kiju-hyung-nim didn’t have much money. Most of it was sent to Yeoreum’s mom or put away in a separate account. You remember what I gave you back then, right?”

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There was no way Haegun wouldn’t remember. The bankbook was still in Haegun’s drawer along with the seal. A small, old bankbook where three entries were stamped three times a year. Yeoreum’s birthday, Yeoreum’s mother’s birthday, and another date, June 30th. He heard from Kiju that they had never gotten married, but they decided to celebrate their ‘wedding anniversary’ in the summertime because they first met in the summer. It seemed like he had made an entry into the account on that day because he considered it their wedding anniversary.

“But, hyung-nim, when are you going to tell her that Kiju-hyung-nim has passed away? After Yeoreum was born, I heard there were some issues within the family, so she didn’t end up being registered in Kiju-hyung-nim’s family registry and was only registered on her mother’s side. So even if his death is reported, Yeoreum won’t be contacted.”

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Because Haegun hadn’t interrupted him yet, Taehyuk continued to ramble on. Haegun tapped his desk with his index finger.

”When she’s finished studying.”

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“When she graduates from college?”

”No. She’s preparing for the college entrance exam.”

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Haegun recalled the pile of college entrance exam reference books that had been piled up in the corner of Yeoreum’s room. She wasn’t tutoring any high school seniors, but there were various textbooks piled up by subject for this year’s college entrance exam, not the year before. They looked worn as if she had already gone through them multiple times.

“Huh? Why is she taking the college entrance exams again?”

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”I guess she wants to go to a different school.”

”What? Why would she do that when she has a scholarship at a great university?”

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”Maybe she doesn’t like the school.”

“That could be true. Is there something else she wants to do?”

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”…Whatever it is, I’m sure she’ll figure it out.”

He replied and stood up with a blank face. It was almost time to leave work. As he reached towards his desk to grab his phone, the screen lit up.

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「Ahjussi, you said that I should learn to drink from adults.」

”……”

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「Then can you please teach me how to drink?」

The three characters ‘Han Yeoreum’ flashed on the caller ID section of the notification and then quickly disappeared.

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Haegun stared at the black screen of his phone for a long time. Then he left his office.

* * *

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The excuse she eventually ended up using after mulling it over and over again was, ‘Please teach me how to drink.’

Even though she could see that he had read her message, he did not reply right away. Yeoreum headed to the kitchen to calm her nerves and her pounding heart. This place even had a water purifier that made ice, so she could drink water that was so cold that it made her scalp tingle. Gulp. Yeoreum filled a cup with ice and cold water and drank it in one gulp. After a few more sips, her head started to throb.

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Since she quit her job yesterday, she had to study diligently every day, from today until she started her new job. She felt that it would be better to just lock her phone away and study. Yeoreum put down her cup and picked up her phone to turn it off.

「I’m on my way.」

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Yeoreum almost dropped her phone because she was so shocked by the message that appeared on her screen. She barely managed to grab ahold of her phone and her sanity.

”Really?”

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She hurried to the closet. It had been a long time since they’d last met, and at the very least, she didn’t want to be wearing a stretched-out t-shirt. She put on a gray t-shirt that didn’t have a stretched-out neckline and a pair of black shorts.

After getting changed, she anxiously walked back and forth in the living room.

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As soon as the doorbell rang, the screen that showed her the area outside her door turned on.

She could see Haegun standing outside.

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[Open the door.]

She took a deep breath and walked to the front door. When she opened the door, the first thing she smelled was the familiar scent of his aftershave. Maybe it was because it had been a long time since she’d last seen him. He seemed more handsome than usual.

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“…You really came.”

“Did you think I was lying?”

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Haegun held up a plastic bag with a convenience store logo on it. There were five bottles of soju, three bottles of beer, and some snacks, including some shrimp chips. He didn’t forget to bring a hangover cure as well.

“It’s very important to learn how to drink properly.”

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Yeoreum nodded with a bewildered expression on her face as she looked at all the bottles of liquor.

* * *

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Even though it was only Haegun, Yeoreum still lived alone in this officetel. She was an adult female, and he was an adult male. On top of that, it was 10 PM right now, and they were planning on drinking. When it came to drinking liquor at night, there was no such thing as friendship between men and women. Yeoreum anxiously picked up the shrimp chips and poured it out in a line on a large plate. Haegun stared at the line of shrimp chips with a blank face.

“What is this?”

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“I think we’ll still need to place some minimum safety measures.”

Haegun lifted a brow.

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“Safety measures?”

“It’s good that you’re teaching me how to drink, but please do not cross this line.”

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“What if I do?”

His gaze slowly turned to Yeoreum. When their eyes met, she couldn’t help but tremble.

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“Ahjussi, I made it clear that you shouldn’t cross the line. 1,000 won for every time you cross it.”

“What, so if I cross it, you want me to give you 1,000 won?”

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Haegun chuckled and pulled out his wallet. He took out a bank note and mischievously waved it in the air.

“What should I do, Yeoreum? Looks like I’ll be crossing it more than ten-thousand times with this.”

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“You plan on giving that to me?”

“Here.”

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Haegun nonchalantly held out the bank note. Yeoreum put her hands up to express her refusal.

“Never mind. You know what I mean.”

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“Let’s just say I do. You said you’ve drunk liquor before.”

“Yes, about three times.”

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“How much did you drink?”

“A couple of glasses? I only drank what I needed to drink, and then I didn’t have to drink anymore because I won all the drinking games.”

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“Then you must not know what your tolerance is.”

“The couple of drinks I had were soju and beer. But alcohol tolerance is usually measured in soju, right?”

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“Usually.”

“Then we can drink soju today and then do soju-beer next time. I noticed that if I drink soju-beer slowly, I start feeling good, so I don’t really know what my tolerance is.”

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“Whatever you want.”

Nice. She nonchalantly managed to make plans for a next time. Yeoreum felt proud of herself.

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She reached for the soju bottle. She put the rest in the fridge to drink it cold later. She only left one bottle of soju and one bottle of beer on the table. Yeoreum shook the soju bottle like she’d learned at school. Other people were good at making whirls, but she couldn’t make a proper one because she didn’t know how.

“It’s not working.”

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“Just open it.”

“But then it’s boring.”

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Haegun couldn’t stand to watch any longer and took the bottle. Then he briefly shook it, and an elaborate whirlpool of bubbles started to form inside.

“How did you do that?”

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“You can get the gist of it just by seeing it. After I leave, buy a new bottle of soju and practice on your own.”

“But you came here to teach me about liquor.”

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“I didn’t say I’d teach you party tricks.”

“…That’s true.”

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Haegun opened his mouth and spoke in a low voice.

“When drinking with adults, you need to ask if you can pour them a drink after opening the bottle. Pour the glasses from highest-ranking to lowest. If you’ve drunk the liquor before, you’ll know how much you need to pour. When holding a bottle of liquor, hold it with your right hand and support the bottom of the bottle or your wrist with the other hand.”

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Haegun was teaching her drinking etiquette more thoroughly than she’d expected. From the order of seating to how to order food, Yeoreum grew nervous as she listened. She thought they’d just have a casual drink before he left, but the content was more detailed than she’d expected.

Also, the officetel included various drinking glasses. As expected of a place that was decorated by gangsters, there were soju glasses, beer glasses, wine glasses, and even whiskey glasses in the cupboard.

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“Can we clink our glasses?”

“Yeah.”

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Clink.

After the sound of the glasses clinking together rang in the room, Yeoreum turned her head to the side and raised her glass. Suddenly, she was curious to see Haegun’s reaction, so she turned her head to the side to look at him, only moving her eyes. Their gazes met. Haegun calmly poured the soju into his mouth and put his glass down.

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“Your eyes are about to roll out of its sockets. Don’t bother looking at the other person when you drink.”

“Like this?”

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Yeoreum turned her gaze back and emptied her glass. The tasteless drink flowed down her throat. The smell of alcohol spread throughout her throat and mouth. It was bitter. She squeezed her eyes shut and hurriedly reached for the snacks on the plate.

“Open your mouth.”

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She opened her mouth as he told her, and a long piece of squid entered her mouth. Yeoreum opened her eyes and chewed on the squid. It was a snack that she never bought with her own money since spicy squid was popular these days. The more she chewed, the more delicious it tasted.

“I really don’t know why people drink soju.”

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“There’s no need to know.”

“But putting food in someone’s mouth when you’re drinking together isn’t proper etiquette, right?”

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“It’s definitely inappropriate. Always reject any kid who does that on your first meeting. Same goes for any kid you already know.”

“What about you, Ahjussi?”

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“You already know. I’m a gangster.”

“…And not my dad’s friend?”

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“Both.”

Yeoreum nodded. That’s right. Haegun was a gangster and a friend of her father’s. And he was handsome, tall, and had a nice voice.

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“Then why did you give it to me like that, Ahjussi?”

“Because I felt that you’d knock over the liquor from the way you were looking for the plate with your eyes closed.”

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“……”

Yeoreum slowly looked down at her arm, which was just barely touching the liquor. He had a point.

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“Eat the snacks with your eyes open.”

“Okay.”

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The drinking etiquette lesson was over quickly. Next, they began to share some casual conversation. But Haegun wasn’t the type of person to talk much, and Yeoreum wasn’t used to coming up with creative questions. Their conversations usually consisted of Haegun giving short answers to Yeoreum’s short questions or Yeoreum telling him about her recent activities.

“What have you been up to lately?”

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“Working.”

“Seems like you’ve been busy.”

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“More or less.”

“I quit my part-time job just like I told you. My boss even gave me some severance pay even though she didn’t have to. I was planning on having Soojin and Seungwoo come over for a housewarming party, but since my new place suddenly became so nice, I found it difficult to invite them.”

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“Why?”

“I was afraid they’d think I was some kind of fourth-generation chaebol and the rumors would spread.”

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Haegun laughed.

Yeoreum suddenly remembered the night she was sick. The sound of his laughter while he held her in his arms. The way his firm chest shook with the low, pleasant sound. Even the way his arms wrapped around her.

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“Let’s have another glass.”

“Don’t be so hasty. We have plenty of time.”

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They clinked their glasses.

* * *

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After they finished one bottle, she felt better and more relaxed. On the way to the fridge to get the second bottle, a smile appeared on her lips for some reason. But this was good. After finishing both bottles, Yeoreum got up from her seat again.

Stumble.

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“Huh?”

Tsk. She heard Haegun click his tongue.

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“Looks like your tolerance is one bottle.”

“No, it’s not.”

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Yeoreum tried to walk steadily and took a new bottle out of the fridge. The two of them finished the third bottle.

“Feel good?”

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“Of course.”

Yeoreum’s body tilted to the side as she stood up to get the fourth bottle. Her eyes were half-open. Yeoreum didn’t think her body was acting strange because she was drunk. She just thought her body tilted to the side for a moment as she got up from her seat. People with posture-dependent low blood pressure often felt this way, so it wasn’t anything abnormal. She grabbed the table and found her balance.

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“I’ll… bring it.”

“…Try walking.”

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“Go… to the fridge?”

“Yeah.”

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“Go.”

As she took a step, Haegun’s gaze followed her. Stumble, stumble. She thought she was walking straight, but her body did not move as she thought. Yeoreum opened the fridge door with all her strength and took out a bottle of soju. She held it up as if she’d won something, and her body immediately collapsed.

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“Uh.”

Yeoreum muttered in a small voice as she felt her body slowly fall backwards.

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“You’re drunk.”

When she turned her head, she saw Haegun staring at her. Thanks to the strong forearm supporting her back, she hadn’t fallen to the floor. But this time, her legs gave out. She sank in her spot. She put the soju bottle next to her. Bang. The fridge door closed shut.

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Yeoreum, who was sitting on the floor with a dazed expression, suddenly turned around and tapped Haegun’s foot with her palm. The counter and kitchen utensil drawer that separated the living room and the kitchen was behind her.

“Ahjussi, sit here for a sec.”

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“Right now?”

“Come on. I’m embarrassed that I’m the only one whose legs gave out. You should have yours give out too.”

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Haegun chuckled and sat down and leaned against the counter.

“Is that all?”

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“No, there’s more.”

“What else?”

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“…I’m going to appreciate it.”

“Appreciate what?”

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“Ahjussi’s handsome face. And your body too.”

“……”

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“I missed you while you were gone.”

Yeoreum crawled halfway up to him and sat down. Since he was sitting with his knees up and legs slightly apart, it was easy to burrow in between them. As she approached, Haegun made more room for her. Yeoreum sat between his legs with a satisfied look on her face.

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“Can I touch it?”

“…Do whatever you want.”

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