Chapter 7: Unreasonable(1)

“Phew…”

Despite her shocking words, Kyunghee still seemed out of it.
It was clear she wouldn’t answer any more questions coherently.
Up until now, she’d been somewhat mindful, but now she was just giggling, unaware of what she was saying.
If I wanted to ask more detailed questions, now was probably my only chance, so I handed her a full glass and asked,

“Kyunghee.”
“Yeah?”
“You were serving drinks earlier. Did you learn that?”
“I’d get hit if I didn’t.”
“Hit?”
“Yeah. Whenever my dad called me to drink, I had to serve.”
“I see…”

Kyunghee chugged the full glass, trembling violently.
She was trying desperately to stay upright, but it looked tough.
Well, after drinking that much, it’d be strange if she could keep herself together.
Worried she’d fall, I held her as she swayed and laid her across my lap.
She was definitely drunk.
The Kyunghee I’d seen so far would’ve trembled just being held, but now she was acting cute, rubbing her cheek against my lap.
As if she’d always wanted to act this way when drunk, she giggled and nuzzled closer.

“Is this you being a clingy drunk?”
“Yeah. But I couldn’t at home.”
“Why not?”
“If I passed out drunk, it meant my mind was weak.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! So I always knelt upright.”
“And now?”
“I’m not drunk!”

She tried to sit up quickly but lost her balance and fell.
Luckily, I caught her before she completely toppled over.
Looking at her lying on my lap, groaning, I thought about it.
It was definitely her parents’ influence.
That was a small relief.
If I could slowly show her that what she knew was different from the world, she’d eventually find her own way.
If she realized the world her parents forced on her wasn’t reality,
the first step would be tough, but she could break that world and face reality.

Still, I was uneasy. It was because of Kyunghee’s unique situation.
She was like a shattered porcelain piece.
Broken into fragments so fine that fixing it seemed impossible.
You’d have to melt it down and reshape it or make something new from the pieces.
Of course, I planned to help.
I’d be there while she melted the pieces or made something new from them.

But I couldn’t become everything to her in the process.
If that happened, she’d grow dependent on me.
I wanted her to live her life without worrying about me.
To move forward unbothered, overcoming the scars her parents gave her.
Not a life where she’s obsessed with me, constantly watching my reactions, desperate to stay by my side.
But that was a distant concern, not something to dwell on now.
For now, I patted her head as she looked at me with perked-up ears and asked,

“How much can you drink?”
“Dunno! Today, uh… maybe three times my limit?”
“…What? Then why did you keep drinking?”
“You weren’t gonna hit me? I thought if I didn’t drink, you’d hit me, so I drank it all. So praise me!”

She smiled, puzzled.
I wanted to tell her that wasn’t it, but I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t speak.

“If I couldn’t drink, you’d beat me for ruining the mood, right?”
“No.”
“Hmm, if I didn’t serve properly, you’d hit me for sitting still while an adult drinks, right?”
“No, Kyunghee.”
“Wow, drinking without getting nagged or hit…?”
“Yeah. That’s how it is at my place. No, that’s how it is normally.”
“That’s wild… And you don’t get scolded for being late to meals?”
“Of course not.”
“Oh… yawn…”

Kyunghee yawned.
After drinking several times her limit, it made sense.
She staggered to the bathroom, and I cleaned up the drinking table.
Some time later, while I was doing the dishes, Kyunghee looked around with an anxious expression.

“Ugh…”
“What?”
“You’re… sleeping there…?”

She pointed at the floor, probably noticing the pillow and clothes I’d laid out.
I planned to let her sleep on the bed while I took the floor.
I nodded to confirm and kept washing dishes, but she grabbed my sleeve and asked again.

“I’m… sleeping on the bed…?”
“Go sleep on the bed.”
“But I’m a guest…”
“Guests get the good stuff. Sleep there.”
“Really…? It’s okay to sleep there…?”
“Haa.”

This could go on forever, so I sighed, picked her up, and carried her.
Held in a princess carry, Kyunghee panicked but wrapped her arms around my neck.
Normally, she’d have held her breath and closed her eyes, but seeing her like this was cute.
And separately, I was pretty angry.
What kind of parents make their kid so paranoid?
I wanted to beat them senseless, but I forced a smile for Kyunghee.

“Sleep?”
“Yeah, sleep.”
“And you…?”
“I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“Okay…”

I laid her on the bed and stepped out. She half-sat up to say goodbye.
The moment I almost closed the door, I heard a thud—she’d passed out.
I opened the door again, checked on her, and saw her fast asleep. I stretched.
I was tired. No, exhausted.
Since she was sleeping, I figured I could too.
Normally, I’d do something before bed, but I was too tired now.
I tossed a pillow on the floor and lay down.
I knew I wouldn’t be cold without a blanket.
I drank less than Kyunghee, but I’d still chugged a ton, so it was no surprise.
The moment I lay down, sleep hit me like a wave.

How much time passed?
Sunlight streaming through the window suggested I’d slept in.

“Ughhh…”

I stretched lightly and checked my phone.
The screen showed 10 a.m.—not too late.
I got up to drink water, but something was off.

“…Kyunghee?”

Kyunghee was trembling on the floor, wearing only underwear.
Next to her head was the baseball bat I kept in the bedroom for emergencies.
My mind went blank.

“K-kill me…”
“What the…?”

I knelt on one knee and helped her up.
Her expression showed she wasn’t in a state to think clearly.
Her ears, which were perked up yesterday, were now drooping.
Her fluffy hair had turned dry and dull.
Her forced smile, with those eyes and mouth, was like…
Like a murderer confessing after a crime.
Seeing her tremble as if she’d committed such a crime was incomprehensible.
She hadn’t done anything wrong yesterday.

I tried to move the bat away, but the moment I grabbed the handle, she held her breath.
Not just a little—she gripped her hands so tightly they turned white, trembling, as if certain I’d swing the bat at her.
And she kept that state, convinced she’d get hit at least once.
She was probably tensing up, thinking she’d get hit if she relaxed.
I had no idea what to say anymore.
No matter what I said, she’d interpret it as a signal I’d hit her.
It almost felt like violating her would be a better choice.

But I didn’t.
What we needed now was communication.
We were just misunderstanding each other, so we needed honest conversation to clear it up.
So, I hardened my expression, spoke in a firm voice, and put the bat away.

“I won’t make you explain right now, but you’ll need to tell me why you acted like this.”
“………………”
“I’m not going to hit you. And you must be cold.”
“S-sorry…!”

Only then did she open one eye, tried to stand, and fell.
She fell hard enough to hurt, but she didn’t seem to care about the pain.

“Put on some clothes. You look bad like that.”
“Y-yeah! Sorry!”

She hurriedly put on a hoodie and pants, then curled up in the corner, pulling at her ears.
Her ears perked up, maybe from relief at not being hit, but she pulled them down, thinking she’d get hit more if caught.
Seeing that, I didn’t know what to say.
I’d just woken up, but I was exhausted—not physically, but mentally.
I couldn’t not feed her, and seeing her pale face, I could guess.
She’d probably been like that since she woke up.

“How long were you lying there?”
“Uh… uh… well…”
“Tell me quick.”
“Th-three… maybe four hours…”
“Goddamn.”
“Cough!”

Seeing her cough made me feel even more tired.
I tossed her a blanket from the bed and headed to the kitchen.
She wrapped herself in it, her ears perking up cutely, but I didn’t show it.
Maybe because of the alcohol, my head was starting to hurt too.
Something warm and spicy for Kyunghee, who’d been lying there for hours…

“Let’s make pasta.”

A rosé pasta seemed like a good idea.
Add some cheese, make it spicy with jalapeños.
Throw in some bacon too.
Make a lot so we could eat heartily.
I figured a full stomach might bring some ease.

I grabbed a decent-sized pot, filled it with water, and put it on the stove.
I opened the valve and lit the flame.

“Like pasta?”
“Y-yeah… I like it.”
“Glad you eat anything.”
“Really…?”

Kyunghee peeked out from the blanket and smiled.
She looked like she wanted to throw it off but couldn’t.
Every time she seemed about to cough, she desperately covered her mouth, trembling.

Cute.

No, really.
I knew her family life was tragic, but with that appearance, it was just cute.
But I couldn’t let it stay that way. I wasn’t a bystander; I was someone who’d reached out.
Instead of lingering on her cuteness, I needed to look at her core and extend a hand.
If I didn’t, I’d just be a zookeeper keeping her caged.
That thought made me feel like a bit of a bad person.

“Oh.”

Lost in thought, time had slipped by.
I hurriedly checked my phone, pulled the pasta out just in time, drained it, and set it aside.
Then I grabbed a wide frying pan, tossed in pre-chopped bacon, onions, and garlic, and sautéed them.
After a while, before the pasta cooled, I poured in rosé sauce and let it simmer.
Then I added the pasta and jalapeños, cooking it through, and grated cheese on top.

“Let’s eat.”
“Y-yeah.”

This time, I made plenty so she wouldn’t eat less.
A bit more than two servings based on my usual amount.
Kyunghee set the table with an anxious look and placed chopsticks.
When I filled her bowl with pasta using tongs, her nervous expression turned pale.
Paying attention to every little thing would only make her more anxious, so I ignored it and ate with chopsticks.
It was nicely spicy with melted cheese—pretty tasty.

Kyunghee cautiously picked up a bite with trembling hands, ate it, and closed her eyes, waiting.
Surprised that nothing happened, she looked around and started eating carefully.
She didn’t seem to notice, but at some point, her ears perked up, and her hair got fluffy again.

Very cute.