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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Already Drunk?
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An Do-hyun placed both arms on the table as if to concentrate on Yi Yeon's words, interlocking his fingers.
“Most men, regardless of age, seem to flip out like dogs in heat the second they see a woman.”
“What does that have to do with Secretary Yu?”
She could be so blunt sometimes.
Because An Do-hyun had straightforwardly asked if it applied to her, a surge of irritation rose in Yi Yeon, fueled by the alcohol. She nearly yanked off her wig but carefully lowered her hand.
Can't mess up just because of booze. Gotta hold back.
Yi Yeon let out an awkward laugh.
“The front might not matter, but doesn't the back seem relevant enough?”
Yi Yeon turned her body around.
She wanted to show An Do-hyun her back. Of course, she knew no compliments were coming.
“Hmm.”
Yi Yeon clamped her mouth shut at An Do-hyun's response.
Right, him saying that means the disguise is perfect. That's high praise.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Yi Yeon flashed a bright smile.
An Do-hyun's eyebrows twitched at her grin.
“It's not a compliment.”
“It totally is. And Vice President wouldn't know, but I've got a pretty slim waist.”
Stop. Yi Yeon clamped her mouth shut to rein in her runaway lips.
What the hell do you want to hear?
Why even bring up bragging about her slim waist to An Do-hyun?
Her booze-soaked brain couldn't make a rational call.
He'd asked why she dressed so baggy, so to explain, she figured she needed to convince him first.
Can't ditch the glasses, so maybe sell the back view at least—she was flailing.
As she mentioned her slim waist, An Do-hyun's gaze drifted down to it. Watching him, Yi Yeon startled at his descending eyes and clutched her chest.
“Hey! Watch it!”
An Do-hyun's eyebrows twitched again at her words.
An Do-hyun felt utterly absurd and wronged.
She'd practically invited him to look, then treated him like a creep.
Plus, around the time she'd downed a bottle and a half of soju earlier, she'd swapped into a long hoodie dress because her clothes felt uncomfortable—her waist was impossible to spot.
“Nothing threatening about it at all? And aren't you hot all bundled up like that?”
Yi Yeon could guess why An Do-hyun was asking if she wasn't sweltering.
It was summer-weight fabric, but long-sleeved and down to her ankles.
Most of her clothes covered her skin like that. In this heat, they looked suffocating just to see.
“The AC... the AC air's too chilly! That's why I cranked the temp up earlier.”
An Do-hyun nodded like he got it.
Silence settled in.
An Do-hyun broke it again.
“I've noticed it before.”
Yi Yeon flinched at the low, rumbling midrange of his voice and slowly lifted her eyelids.
“Secretary Yu gets chatty when she drinks.”
“I do get a bit talkative, huh?”
Strangely, the usual intimidating aura from An Do-hyun was gone.
Since when?
“It's kinda fun.”
Seeing An Do-hyun's eyes crinkle as he chuckled, her heart tickled and thudded low again.
“Like right now—it's hilarious.”
No wonder everyone fawns over An Do-hyun.
Eye smiles like that were cheating.
Yi Yeon stared blankly at An Do-hyun's crinkled eyes.
“Also.”
Also?
“Were your eyes always that big?”
Crap. All the effort to make them look smaller, undone by booze how many times now?
Yi Yeon panicked and rolled her eyes.
“Nah, keep going with that story from before.”
“What story from before...?”
Yi Yeon realized she'd been in the middle of answering why she wore such oversized clothes.
“Well, my dad's got a Chinese restaurant, and there was this one regular uncle who came all the time. He messed up with me.”
“Mess up?”
Seeming to guess what she meant by "mess up," An Do-hyun's brows furrowed.
Yi Yeon explained the incident from that day to An Do-hyun.
It was the first time spilling it to anyone but Ha Yul, yet the words poured out without hesitation.
“Well, that's how it went.”
“What a pathetic asshole, ruining manhood for everyone.”
Yi Yeon was startled inside at An Do-hyun's harsh words.
Given his personality, yeah—a guy who couldn't control base urges like that deserved the trash talk.
Still, him ripping into the guy on her behalf felt damn satisfying.
A faint smile tugged at Yi Yeon's lips.
“And not long after, this male friend I'd been tight with for years confessed to me. Total shock. Had no idea he liked me like that—I thought we were just buds.”
She had no clue why the stories kept flowing so easily, but before she knew it, Yi Yeon was laying out her past to An Do-hyun.
“Didn't realize. You're overflowing with charm, huh.”
They say when guys call you "charming," it's code for "you're ugly."
“What...”
Guess so. Yi Yeon swallowed her last words.
An Do-hyun tossed back the rest of his drink. Yi Yeon followed suit, draining her glass.
Their conversation dragged on with back-and-forth shots, and somehow they'd polished off all the soju they'd bought.
“We gotta drink that wine you brought too, Vice President.”
Yi Yeon flicked her eyes to the shopping bag An Do-hyun had brought.
Booze begets booze—she wanted just a couple more, then crash upstairs.
Ending it like this felt regrettable. That brief buzz from chatting had worn off.
Missing the booze? Or missing the vibe?
Either way, she wanted to keep talking with An Do-hyun.
Yi Yeon eyed the display cabinet in the corner of the living room.
“What's that? The liquor cabinet's loaded with whiskey.”
So grab one.
“You already seem kinda tipsy. Whiskey's way stronger.”
Yi Yeon tensed her eyelids.
Didn't want to flash drunken eyes. Wanted to insist she was still good.
Just one or two more, then head up—that was the plan. Hoped he'd stick around till then.
“I'm still fine.”
“Last one,” An Do-hyun said as he brought over a glass with ice.
Then, for a side, he pulled out the tub of watermelon that his auntie had sliced and stashed in the fridge.
Nice—.
Yi Yeon clinked her glass against his the second he handed it over and downed it.
The whiskey hit hard—lips stung first from the fierce alcohol, throat scorching. Then heat surged up from her gullet, wrinkling her nose on instinct.
“Don't chug that much at once.”
Why not say so sooner?
She'd already slammed the whiskey he'd poured like it was soju.
The glass dangling from Yi Yeon's hand was transparently empty.
“No wonder my throat's on fire.”
An Do-hyun burst out laughing at her, clearly amused.
His low laugh tickled Yi Yeon's ears.
The ticklish voice felt so good her eyes wanted to shut.
Yi Yeon forced her drooping eyes wide.
In the ensuing silence, she quietly munched watermelon.
An Do-hyun, steadily sipping his whiskey, broke it.
“Not just horny dogs out there—plenty of kittens too.”
Kittens?
Maybe low on buzz, An Do-hyun poured way more whiskey this time.
Looks like An Do-hyun wants to get wasted too.
“Saw my mom—this woman called 'mom'—rolling around in bed with some other guy at home. Filthy scene.”
Yi Yeon was speechless at An Do-hyun's follow-up.
Bigger shock than the car crash story Su Jin had shared.
“Must've been brutal at that age.”
He'd said his mom passed when he was elementary school age, so he'd witnessed her affair before that.
How deep did that wound go? Right when a kid needs his mom's love most.
Just imagining the betrayal made Yi Yeon's heart ache.
She had no idea what to say to An Do-hyun. No words could soothe that kind of pain.
So that's why he hates marriage.
“Poor little Vice President...”
Her tongue was starting to slur.
The whiskey she'd gulped in one go hit hard—she couldn't fight off the crashing wave of intoxication anymore.
She wanted to hear more about his pain, but she couldn't keep her eyes open and slammed her face onto the table.
Thud.
“Secretary Yu?”
An Do-hyun shot up from his seat and grabbed her shoulder. Shaking her, patting her back—no dice, she showed zero signs of waking.
“No way—are you actually drunk?”
Staring at Yi Yeon, who refused to budge, An Do-hyun raked his hair in flustered panic.
Yi Yeon wasn't the type to get trashed easily. Must've been that final whiskey shot hitting her all at once.
Shouldn't have poured that last one. Regret flooded An Do-hyun belatedly.
Never imagined she'd pass out drunk.
Lately, Yi Yeon kept defying his expectations in all sorts of ways.
[Let's have dinner together tonight.]
At first, he'd thought it wasn't Yi Yeon from the phrasing.
Dinner together?
An Do-hyun pocketed his phone after the follow-up text suggesting they eat simply at home. He could feel Yi Yeon's effort.
The vibe of getting comfortable and casual with each other wasn't half bad.
After her message, he couldn't focus on the meeting at all.
Said it'd be simple, but they were still in the early stages of sharing info.
Pondering, An Do-hyun remembered the little grill at home—better grab some beef.
She likes wine.
Yi Yeon drinking wine like a pro at the restaurant came to mind.
Might as well swing by the department store and pick up some wine too. That'd make for a decent simple dinner.
And so An Do-hyun settled his solo dinner menu dilemma.
When he got home with the meat and wine, an unfamiliar smell made him pause.
His auntie knew he hated cooking smells lingering in the house, so she never made anything pungent.
She always aired the place out after cooking before heading home—it'd been ages since he'd smelled unfamiliar food like this.
Hearing An Do-hyun arrive, Yi Yeon came rushing out.
Seeing her getup, he couldn't hold back a laugh.
Ladle clutched in one hand, yellow apron slung on, a cheerful bear cartoon frolicking right in the middle, hair yanked back into a single tight ponytail.
Scanning her outfit top to bottom, something felt off from her usual look.
Tied-up hair—he'd never seen that before.
An Do-hyun's gaze kept lingering on her small, sharp jawline.
