Chapter 6
- Don't Drink That Alcohol
2023.05.06.
So-eun stuttered, flustered by Tae-joon's question.
"Uh... yes, yes. Of course. I can go alone."
"Okay. See you tomorrow. (Get out quickly.)"
Again, the language in parentheses was detected. So-eun quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door.
"Thank you for the ride."
It was absurd to have to say thank you in such a flustered state, but gratitude was gratitude, so So-eun bowed deeply. As soon as the car door closed, the black car sped away.
Our new director has a knack for making people uncomfortable.
It seemed difficult to catch a taxi from this ambiguous spot. But going back to the bus stop and waiting for the bus would take even more time.
So-eun was left with no choice but to walk the awkward distance.
Even though it was past 7 PM, the day was still hot and humid. As she walked briskly, sweat formed on her forehead and trickled down her cheeks. Still, she was fortunate that the distance wasn't too far. So-eun arrived at the bar without being late. Hee-wook was waiting in front of the bar's steps.
"Oppa!"
She ran to him, delighted.
"Oppa, were you waiting for me?"
"Why did you come here?"
But Hee-wook didn't welcome So-eun. The flush on So-eun's face quickly faded.
"Should I just go, then?"
"No, you must have had a hard time coming all the way here. That's why I'm saying this. Ugh. Look at all that sweat."
Hee-wook took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the sweat from So-eun's face. The girlish floral pattern caught So-eun's eye.
"That's a pretty handkerchief. Did you get it as a gift?"
"So-eun. I have a favor to ask you."
Whether he didn't hear So-eun's question or not, Hee-wook didn't answer and changed the subject. The corners of his eyebrows drooped. It meant he was going to say something serious.
"Actually, I didn't tell my mom that you donated part of your liver. No one at the company knows."
"...Huh?"
"We're just grateful to you, but we don't know what others might think. Once it's known, it's bound to become a big topic, and since the world is small, we don't know how it might spread. I thought it wouldn't be good for you either, so I did that."
"..."
"You didn't tell the company either, did you? You said you went on a trip."
That was because she was worried the company would give her disadvantages under the excuse of health.
She felt wronged, but So-eun couldn't argue. She was speechless and didn't know what to say.
"When we get married, it would be troublesome if people said Lawyer Yang Hee-wook was marrying because he was being blackmailed. You'd be bothered by that too, right? Do you understand?"
It felt like he was urging her to understand. But she couldn't show any displeasure.
Because love isn't about showing off.
It's not about expecting something in return after giving.
"...Okay. I guess I have to understand."
"Thank you. Then I'm counting on you."
Hee-wook, pleased with So-eun's answer, which had calmed her own heart, hugged her and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Let's go up now."
The two climbed the stairs, looking like a loving couple.
"So-eun!"
As soon as they opened the door to the bar, a woman called out So-eun's name and ran to the entrance.
"I'm Choi Hyun-ji! Nice to meet you!"
It was Lawyer Choi Hyunji, whom she had seen in photos. Hyun-ji grabbed one of So-eun's hands and shook it up and down. She seemed a little tipsy, but even that made her seem lovely.
"Hello, Lawyer Choi."
So-eun bowed politely. Hyun-ji held So-eun's hand tightly and teased Hee-wook as they moved.
"Lawyer Yang was so insistent that he had to go pick up his girlfriend."
Hyun-ji's tone was friendly. Hee-wook smiled awkwardly without saying anything else.
So-eun, who knew why Hee-wook had waited for her in front of the bar, felt a little heavy-hearted.
"Everyone! I've brought Lawyer Yang Hee-wook's girlfriend, Han So-eun!"
Hyun-ji shouted loudly as they reached their seats. Three men cheered and applauded. Hee-wook introduced each of the men.
So-eun greeted each person and sat next to Hee-wook. Hyun-ji sat on Hee-wook's other side.
After a while, Hyun-ji spoke to So-eun, who was sitting demurely.
"So-eun, what kind of work do you do?"
Hyun-ji leaned towards So-eun to talk to her, naturally leaning against Hee-wook.
So-eun handed Hyun-ji her business card and replied.
"I work at K Electronic Service."
"So, are you an A/S technician?"
"Yes."
"Then you can fix anything?"
"My specialty is mobile phones, but I know a bit about other machines too."
"Wow! That's amazing! Our refrigerator at home is a K Electronics one, and it's acting up. Could you visit our house sometime?"
At Hyun-ji's request, So-eun nodded, feeling somewhat swept away.
"If you invite me sometime, I'll take a look."
"Yay! We should set a date right away!"
Hyun-ji, excited, raised her voice and staggered. She was leaning on Hee-wook for support, so Hee-wook steadied her.
"Lawyer Choi, aren't you too drunk?"
Hee-wook asked, righting Hyun-ji with a smile.
"I guess so. Oh, I'm tired. Oh, I'm tired."
Hyun-ji admitted her drunkenness with a smiling face, making groaning sounds.
"Lawyer Yang. I've had a really hard time lately. You know that."
"I know. I know everything."
"Because Lawyer Yang's mother had surgery, I showed you a lot of consideration."
"That's right. I'm really grateful, I am."
"Then you should repay me! Huh?"
Hyun-ji filled Hee-wook's glass with alcohol in a coquettish voice.
They looked like friendly siblings, and they also looked like real lovers.
So-eun quietly watched Hee-wook empty his glass in one gulp.
She had been invited, but that was it. It seemed like there was no place for So-eun. The conversation continued to be about legal cases, and So-eun sat there like a bump on a log.
Soon, Hee-wook got up to take a quick phone call, and Hyun-ji came over and offered So-eun a drink. The glass, filled with ice, was about half full of alcohol.
"So-eun, have a drink too."
"No, I'm okay."
"Come on, you came all the way here. Just one drink. Just one."
Hyun-ji brought the glass right up to So-eun's face, acting cute.
So-eun swallowed hard but stubbornly resisted.
Before the surgery, So-eun had been a person who enjoyed alcohol. She was enough of a drinker to enjoy beer alone after coming home from work. But now she was refusing all alcohol. It was for her health. She planned to abstain from alcohol for at least six months, until her liver recovered.
It would be nice if her boyfriend would stop her at times like this...
So-eun asked Hee-wook for help when he returned from his phone call.
"Oppa, can I drink this?"
Hee-wook raised his eyebrows, looking flustered at So-eun's question.
"Why are you asking me that?"
So-eun was also flustered by Hee-wook's reaction.
Was he worried that she would mention the liver donation?
"Yeah, why are you asking something like that?"
Hyun-ji chimed in, as if So-eun's question was ridiculous.
Her insides ached.
Inside her heart, there was a fragile woman desperately shouting, "Don't drink that alcohol!" but Hee-wook's indifferent reaction suddenly gave her courage.
'Just drink a little, being mindful of the situation. I can't ruin the mood by being serious.'
So-eun took the glass from Hyun-ji and took a sip.
Her esophagus instantly felt hot.
The alcohol she hadn't had in a long time tasted sweet. A warm energy spread throughout her body, making her feel secure.
Since there was no immediate strain on her body, courage kept inviting more courage. Sip, sip. What started as just wetting her lips soon turned into emptying the glass.
She had to stop here, but So-eun began to envy the glasses of others, which were filled to the brim with alcohol.
'I still have to hold back.'
Fortunately, just looking at the others' clinking glasses made her feel pleasantly tipsy. She was smiling gently like that when Hee-wook, who had left his seat for a moment and returned, suddenly grabbed So-eun's arm and pulled her up. So-eun was dragged without resistance by Hee-wook's grip to the front of the restroom.
"Are you crazy? How much did you drink!"
Hee-wook scolded in a low voice, his brow furrowed deeply. So-eun felt wronged.
"I only had one glass."
"It's high in alcohol. You have to think about your body."
"You didn't care earlier. Why are you doing this now?"
"Haa, So-eun. Do you know your voice is getting louder?"
As So-eun argued, Hee-wook lowered his voice even more and pointed out So-eun's tone.
What's wrong with her voice getting louder?
So-eun's eyes welled up slightly, feeling resentful towards her boyfriend.
Hee-wook had a dignified expression, as if he were scolding a childish younger sibling.
"I thought you'd know how to handle it skillfully. Do I have to take care of everything like that?"
The nagging continued.
"Why did you even come here? This is where I work. There's no talk here that you'd find interesting, and you can't even join the conversation, so why did you come here?"
"......"
"How could you eagerly take up a word that Hyun-ji threw out as a courtesy? You should have refused appropriately. Don't you know 'mind your own business'?"
Hyun-ji?
So-eun, who had been biting her lower lip tightly and looking resentfully at Hee-wook throughout the nagging, lost focus.
It felt like she had heard a lot of terrible things. The fact that Hee-wook had called Lawyer Choi Hyunji by her first name was so intense that the other words just flowed away.
"Go home now. I'll walk you downstairs."
As if he didn't even know what words he had said, Hee-wook quickly changed his expression without showing any guilt and took So-eun's hand.
Hee-wook pulled her hand, but So-eun closed her lips tightly in a straight line and didn't move. It was a silent protest that she would keep her place here.
I want to stay here longer. I have to stay.
"I'm worried. I'm afraid you'll collapse like this."
But Hee-wook also didn't back down and coaxed her.
"You have to leave at an appropriate point. The longer you stay, the more difficult it is for me."
So-eun bit her lip at Hee-wook's gentle but cold persuasion.
She can't speak well.
The reason she can't speak is because there are many calculations involved.
She can't make a mistake. The words she carelessly utters shouldn't hurt anyone.
It's more comfortable for her to be a little hurt than to hurt others.
So So-eun couldn't say anything.
In the end, she was going to back down like this.
Hee-wook, realizing So-eun's decision, smiled and took So-eun's hand again. Then he went back to their seats and made the first move.
"So-eun says she's going home."
Hyun-ji grabbed So-eun with a sweet voice.
"Oh my, why are you leaving already?"
"I'm sorry. I just came to see Oppa for a bit. I've been here too long."
So-eun answered, slowly letting go of Hyun-ji's hand. Hyun-ji quickly accepted So-eun's position.
"That's too bad. Still, So-eun, it was really nice to meet you. Thank you for coming."
"Thank you for inviting me, Lawyer Choi."
"You're welcome. See you again, we will."
"Yes."
"Please take good care of our Lawyer Yang. You know Lawyer Yang is a real gem, right? So-eun must have saved the country in her past life."
Hyun-ji's voice, praising Hee-wook until the end, was truly clear.
She wanted to laugh comfortably, but it was too much for So-eun to laugh.
Before the surgery, she used to lift dozens of kilograms at the gym. She couldn't understand why such a trivial thing as pulling the muscles of her lips upward was so difficult.
So-eun forced a refined smile at Hyun-ji's sincere joke, and Hee-wook smiled so broadly that his dimples, which were usually not visible, were deeply etched.
"Oh my. You have such a lovely way of speaking. Lawyer Choi could pay off a thousand-nyang debt with just one word."
