Chapter 6 : Unreasonable

There wasn’t any food prepared to go with the drinks.If I wanted her to get drunk quickly, it was better without snacks.

Plus, there wasn’t time to make anything.Kyunghee would probably overthink while I was preparing food.So, quick and decisive—get her to drink and get drunk fast.
I set up the table and brought out the alcohol.As expected, Kyunghee’s eyes locked onto the bottles.But strangely, her ears didn’t perk up like before.I thought she’d be excited about the expensive whiskey, but it was surprising.She was staring intently at the bottles, so I asked her, puzzled.
“Why are you staring at the bottles?”“………………”“Trying to decide what to drink?”
Kyunghee froze stiffly for a moment before awkwardly nodding.There was definitely a reason behind it.
“Is the bottle material important?”“N-no, it’s fine. Anything’s fine.”“But your reaction says it’s not fine.”
Just in case, I picked up a plastic beer bottle, and I saw her react.That same posture—eyes closed, holding her breath, sitting upright.
“…Did you get hit with a bottle or something?”“N-no! I wasn’t hit. I wasn’t…”“Then why’d you flinch when I picked up the plastic bottle?”“………………”
Kyunghee avoided my gaze.Pressing her further didn’t seem like it’d get a meaningful answer, so I grabbed two glasses from the kitchen.Pretending it was no big deal, I set the larger glass in front of her and casually opened a bottle.
“Here, let’s drink.”“Uh, okay.”
I planned to start light with soju.But something was off.Even after I drank first, Kyunghee didn’t touch her glass.
Instead, she stayed kneeling, serving me like she’d been strictly trained.Every time my glass emptied, she refilled it with precision.I was starting to feel uneasy.But I kept drinking, pretending not to notice, to see what she’d do.By the third glass, she was still serving me without a single movement of her own.Mechanically refilling my glass when it emptied—says it all.It was strange that someone who’d been so excited about alcohol was now frozen.I’d end up drunk first at this rate, so I spoke up, acting unaware.
“Drink too.”“Y-yes…!”
Flustered, Kyunghee poured soju into her glass.She turned her head to the right, cautiously sipped, and set the glass down.Her constant checking to see if she’d done something wrong made me sigh.I’m not some high-status person.I’m just a guy her age, showing a bit of kindness.There was no need for her to overreact like this, so I sighed and said,
“Sit comfortably and drink.”“S-sorry…!”
I wondered if I hadn’t given her permission, but that wasn’t it.The moment I told her to drink comfortably, she sat up even straighter.She placed her hands neatly on her knees.Anyone would think she was drinking with a strict elder.But as I said, that wasn’t needed here. It was starting to get annoying.What kind of life had she lived to have these habits ingrained?I set my glass down a bit roughly, and her eyes shook wildly.
Now, she wasn’t even trying to brace herself.It was like she was debating whether to take a hit or not.I had no intention of hitting her in the first place.She seemed to be thinking about how to get hit in a way that’d please me.My reckless, stupid decision to get her drunk didn’t feel like a mistake right now.If I didn’t get her mind hazy, she’d probably never open up.
“Here.”“Hic!”
To make my move, I set a new soju bottle in front of her, and she made a strange noise while straightening her posture.Since telling her to relax didn’t seem to work, I’d just make her do it.Get her drunk enough to spill her true thoughts—that should do it.
“Chug it.”“Y-yeah, okay…”
I gave Kyunghee a new soju bottle and naturally picked up the half-empty one for myself.Anyone could see it was unfair, but she didn’t seem to care.She was too busy worrying about how to chug it properly.It looked like she was debating whether to down it all at once like it was nothing.Normally, I’d have said it’s fine to take it slow, but not now.So I said, pretending not to notice,
“What are you doing?”“I-I’ll do it. Sorry.”
With trembling hands, Kyunghee opened the soju bottle and chugged it.Like someone in a desert finding an oasis and guzzling water.I wondered if she’d choke at that pace.But, well, it was good for me.If she’d be anxious no matter how kindly I treated her and feel relieved if I treated her badly,maybe I didn’t need to care as much.
…No, better put that thought aside.If I got used to treating Kyunghee like this, she’d never change her mindset.She’d keep living this kind of life.I didn’t know how long I could take responsibility for her, but while I did, I had a duty to help her change.Or maybe I was just deluded into thinking it was my duty.Anyway, I pointed to another soju bottle, pretending not to notice.
“Chug another.”“Ugh, y-yes… okay…”
Her eyes slightly glazed, Kyunghee picked up the new bottle.With trembling hands, she opened it and gulped it down.It went beyond surprising to pitiful.She must’ve thought she’d get hit if she spilled any, so she drank it all without a drop wasted.Her desperate effort not to upset me was clear.It was like she was living proof that you can survive a tiger’s den if you stay sharp.
“Good job.”“Th-thank you…”“You don’t need to be so formal.”“S-sorry, I messed up…”“No, let’s keep drinking.”
If I kept making her chug, she’d probably get scared in her own way.I decided to pace it, so after we each drank another bottle of soju, we switched to beer.When I deliberately poured beer only into her glass, her face went pale.Drinking without snacks was daunting, but she couldn’t refuse out of fear of consequences.
“Don’t like it?”“N-no! I like it! I love alcohol. Th-thanks.”
No one would call that normal.Her eyes were shaking wildly, her face flushed with drunkenness.The forced smile and steady hands despite the situation—it was a chaotic mix.But she was almost at the state I wanted.At this point, she’d probably answer questions, so I threw one out to test the waters.
“What did you do at home?”“Studied. Retaking exams. I wasn’t well, but I did it all day. I guess I didn’t try hard enough.”“Yeah?”“Yeah, going to a prep school… ugh… to get into a good university.”“I see.”
When her glass emptied, I poured more beer.She made a miserable face but chose to drink desperately instead of talking to me.In the meantime, I threw another question, this time more direct—about her family.
“How’s your relationship with your dad?”“N-not great, honestly. He’d yell at me every time he saw me…”“What kind of yelling?”“Useless daughter, future ace prostitute, stuff like that…?”“Why do you think he said that?”
It seemed like we were getting somewhere, so I looked at her with a kind smile.Flustered, Kyunghee slowly opened her mouth.
“Because I’m a halfwit who can’t even pay back his investment…? Because I can’t do what I’m supposed to?”“Yeah?”“Y-yeah… I’m bad at studying, and I can’t do anything…”“That must’ve been tough. Here, drink more.”“Th-thanks…”
I wished she’d keep talking like this, but she was hesitating, worried she’d said something wrong.Thinking she needed more, I emptied my glass and poured more beer into hers.She’d even forgotten to pour for me now.But she instinctively kept her posture straight, like she was in front of a superior.
“Drink.”“Y-yeah… tastes… good…”
How many glasses had she had? Her reaction was getting odd.Clenching her teeth, holding something back—she looked like she needed the bathroom.
“Need to pee?”“N-no! I’m fine! I don’t need to. I can hold it. It’s fine.”“Doesn’t look fine at all.”“Sorry… b-but, it’s fine, really…”
She gave a twisted smile.I’d been watching her squirm for minutes, yet she was desperately lying.Sighing heavily, I told her to go with a hint of irritation, and only then did she rush to the bathroom.When she came back, she hurriedly knelt again.She seemed a bit better, but not by much.She still wasn’t drunk enough to spill her true thoughts.Or maybe she sobered up instantly whenever a crisis hit.Just in case, I poked her to test her reaction, and she held her breath and closed her eyes.
“Want some makgeolli?”“Y-yeah! I’ll drink if you give it…”“How about whiskey? This is vodka.”“Oh…”
After that, she gulped down every glass I poured.Her kneeling posture didn’t change, but her expression was loosening.Her ears were pointing skyward.She wasn’t even trying to pull them down anymore, giggling drunkenly.Then she put her hands by her ears, mimicking a rabbit and making noises.
“Uuuu…”“Drunk, huh?”“N-nooo…”
She didn’t even react when I poked her cheek, so she seemed ready.Just to be sure, I poured the rest of the vodka into her glass and handed it to her. She drank it mechanically.
“Ugh… more…?”“Don’t want to?”“N-no, that’s not it…”“Kyunghee.”
I held up two fingers in front of her eyes and waved them.
“How many is this?”“How many…? Three…? No… four…?”“Correct.”“Really…?”
She was too drunk to even kneel properly now.She was trying to sit up straight, but it was futile.She looked like she’d collapse with a nudge, so I figured she was ready.Just in case she sobered up, I opened a new bottle and asked the question I most wanted to know.
“What do you want me to do for you?”“Uh… something for me…?”
She tilted her head, then smiled brightly.She spoke innocently, as if she didn’t know anything.But what came out of her mouth was far from light.
“Take me. Right now. Give me a role, some use.”“Why do you want that?”“I told you. I need to be useful. To a burden like me. Useful.”“Why do you need to be useful?”“I can’t do anything, so I’m just baggage. But I can’t just die either…”“Can’t you repay in other ways?”“My dad always said… I’m stupid and don’t try, so I’d end up selling my body to survive…”“………………”“So I’m just making that come true now… It doesn’t matter anyway…”
Giggling, Kyunghee lifted her shirt.She asked if I wanted to touch her chest, so I forced a smile.She was in a worse state than I’d thought.Anger surged, and I wanted to punch her father in the face.But I held it in, acting calm while preparing the next questions.