When I and Kwon Se-hyun came down to the first floor, Edward, who was drinking milk with the store employee, lifted his head slightly. His eyes turned to Kwon Se-hyun, who was standing behind me.
“You have pilled up a lot of alcohol… can you drink all of this?”
“Of course, Hyung-nim!”
Kwon Se-hyun, who sighed in response to Go Dong-ju’s confident answer, shook his head and picked up a small 330 mL beer bottle. It was my favourite beer ever since.
I was also grabbing the same beer to drink, but all of a sudden, Kwon Se-hyun took mine away.
“What is it?”
“Not this one, but open the can of beer you drank earlier.”
“What? Why?”
“This one has a higher alcohol content.”
“Ho…”
Of course, I was shocked at the attitude that I couldn’t imagine.
“Don’t be ridiculous and let it go.”
When I reached out again and grabbed the beer bottle that Kwon Se-hyun had stolen, Kwon Se-hyun also gave strength to the back of his hand to the point where blood was sprouting. The beer bottle between me and Kwon Se-hyun’s hand was shaking to and fro.
“You look weak, so don’t be stubborn?”
“How does Boss know that? And no matter how weak I am, I don’t get drunk after drinking beer?”
“Can you listen to the adult?”
“What the… why is the adult coming out here?”
“Kuk… pfft…”
Cheon Sa-yeon, who was listening to Kwon Se-hyun’s conversation with me, bowed his head and started to giggle and laugh. Others were looking at Kwon Se-hyun with happy smiles on their faces. Oh, really annoying…
“Then share half with me.”
“You really… do as you please.”
I thought I would be a real laughing stock if I stayed like this longer, so I let go of my hand first. After giving up the beer and taking a seat, Edward, who was fidgeting from the other side, asked cautiously.
“I have some juice left, do you want some, Han Yi-gyeol-ssi?”
“…no, thank you.”
“Puhahaha!”
In the end, starting with Go Dong-ju bursting into laughter, the store employees started laughing hahaha.
Cheon Sa-yeon, Park Geon-ho, and Kwon Jeong-han, who were hiding their faces while turning their bodies, were also laughing.
“Ya, ya, red friend! Drink this.”
Park Joo-won, who came closer to Kim Woo-jin, who had already moved to my side, held out a glass of alcohol. It must have been made by mixing drinks and alcohol again. Bartender Park Joo-won did it when he was bored.
“Don’t just stare, drink it, oh? Do I look like I want to give you some poison?”
Park Joo-won, who wasn’t at all intimidated by Kim Woo-jin, who was annoyed with a slightly wrinkled eyebrow, begged him again. Kim Woo-jin, who took the glass with an uneasy expression, took a sip and said.
“Sweet.”
“Isn’t it good? It’s mixed with drinks, so it’s easy to make and the alcohol content is low.”
“…how do you make it?”
“Come here.”
Perhaps interested in the explanation that followed, Kim Woo-jin followed Park Joo-won and started learning to mix directly. It must be really delicious.
“Hm, hm, the beautiful woman I met then is now my wife…”
“Waa. So romantic~!”
“Hey, newbies are good at drinking?”
“On days like this, shouldn’t we loosen the reins and drink?”
“Hyung-ssi, is the back of your head that was hit during a fight okay?”
“It’s okay.”
I watched Go Dong-ju recounting his love story to Min Ah-rin, Park Geon-ho drinking alcohol with the employee like it was plain water, and Woo Seo-hyuk calmly answering the employee who cared about him in turn. That alone gave me a feeling of comfort that I couldn’t explain.
“Come on, drink it.”
Kwon Se-hyun, who filled Kim Woo-jin’s empty seat next to me, gave me the beer bottle he was drinking. Seeing that there were about half of the contents left, I smiled and took the bottle to my mouth.
“When did everyone become so close?”
“I became close with Boss, would it be difficult for other people?”
Kwon Se-hyun, who heard my answer, looked at me as if a little surprised, then touched the nape of his neck with an awkward look.
“Well… that’s also true.”
I glanced at Edward, slowly tilting the bottle and sipping it. Edward, who wasn’t far from where Kwon Se-hyun and I were sitting, was looking at Kwon Se-hyun from time to time, avoiding the gaze of others. A ray of light twinkled in his two eyes.
“I have one question for you.”
“What is it?”
“How long can you stay here?”
At the unexpected question, I turned my gaze away from Edward and looked at Kwon Se-hyun.
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Even now, you are all staying in the hotel together. Looking at it that way, I don’t think it was planned for long in the first place… you should know roughly how long it will be.”
“You know there’s no place to use like that. You can just say we’re gone and forget about it.”
“You really don’t think that’s possible, do you?”
“……”
I suppose so. Park Joo-won, talking with Kim Woo-jin, with a smile on his face caught my eye.
“To be honest, I don’t even know.”
“You don’t know when you’re leaving?”
“Yes. But it’s true that we have to leave. We can’t stay here.”
Even at this moment, time outside of space was flowing. From Chloe, who was very worried about Edward’s disappearance, to the problem of Korea and the Praus cult. We still had a lot left to do.
To Kwon Se-hyun, this place was real, but it wasn’t for me. Because I have new people to protect.
‘That’s why I called Edward here.’
As Edward had previously asked me to meet Kwon Se-hyun again, it was up to him from now on. I wished I could get information about the exit from Kwon Se-hyun. Even if it was small things.
“I wish I could talk to you before you leave.”
“That might be possible. All right.”
Even without Kwon Se-hyun’s request, I tried to leave after seeing his face. If we went out from here, I would never see Kwon Se-hyun again in the future life.
I lifted my head and looked around the store. If we found the conditions to activate the exit and exit this space, we would never be able to come back to this store like Kwon Se-hyun. Once again, I realized that the time I spent here wasn’t that bad.
The drinking party continued until the morning sun came up. Everyone, including me and Kwon Se-hyun, didn’t leave and stayed there for a long time.
* * *
Back at the hotel, we each decided to take a break. I had to go to work this afternoon as usual, so I needed to shower and get some sleep.
“I, Han Yi-gyeol-ssi.”
As I was about to go back to the room, Edward caught me in a quiet voice and opened his mouth with a very complicated expression.
“May I… have a moment with you before you go to work later? Together with everyone else.”
At that request, I noticed that Edward had learned something through Kwon Se-hyun or the jackknife.
Now, everyone was drunk and it was late that they would be tired, so we would have to wake up and tidy up properly. I nodded.
“I understand. You’ve worked hard today, Edward-ssi. Get some rest and see you later.”
It must have been difficult for Edward to spend the dawn among adults. As I patted his head in response with a grateful heart, he licked his lips with a hesitant look and eventually nodded his head after me.
I came into the room with Ha Tae-heon and Kim Woo-jin, washed and lay on the bed. The cell phone placed on the bedside table came into view.
‘I’m glad I got my cell phone.’
If there was a situation where we had to leave this place in a hurry without time to see his face… we might even be able to say goodbye by calling him on the cell phone. I got it because he thought it would be convenient, but it was surprisingly useful.
Piiik, piik.
Fox, who had been alone in the hotel all morning, whined and came into my arms. It was the first time I had ever held him like this while I was sleeping. It must have been quite lonely.
Feeling a little sorry, I went to bed with Fox in my arms. It was the most comfortable sleep I had had in a long time.
I slept soundly without tossing and turning or waking up in the middle, and when I woke up, the clock showed 3:30 p.m. Fox, who had been held in the same position before falling asleep, licked my hand when I woke up.
“Did you sleep well?”
Pik!
After letting Fox go, I got up and looked around the room. Ha Tae-heon and Kim Woo-jin, who slept together, had already woken up and went to another room, so the beds were neatly arranged.
After I went into the bathroom and took a shower, I walked out the window with my hair a little wet. The sky, which began to get dark, was a deep blue.
Fox, who was lying on the bed, flew over and sat on my shoulder. Feeling Fox’s rich tail tickling my cheek, I looked out the window. The lights in front of the hotel slowly turned on one by one, as always, there were many people coming and going.
“…oh?”
As I watched it blankly, I blinked and noticed that the person standing on the road had just disappeared.
‘What?’
Did I see it wrong? But it was definitely there. An ominous feeling, which wasn’t just an illusion, pierced my skin. It was then that I narrowed my eyes at that discomfort.
“……!”
This time the woman in front of the crosswalk turned into liquid in an instant and melted on the ground. When I saw with my own two eyes that she had disappeared without a shape, chilling goosebumps hit my back.
It wasn’t just people. Street lamps on the street, buildings, and birds flying in the sky, everything just turned into a liquid like the woman and began to disappear. The unreal sight suffocated me.
Piiik, pik! Haaak!
Feeling unusual energy, Fox raised his fur and let out a sharp cry. Only then did I come to my senses, I quickly turned around and ran to the side table and picked up my phone.
However, before contacting Kwon Se-hyun, the cell phone in my hand also turned into a grey liquid and flowed down to the floor. Then it disappeared without leaving a trace.
“What the hell is this…”
“Han Yi-gyeol!”
“Yi-gyeol-ssi!”
As I stood looking down at the floor where the cell phone had disappeared, the door opened and Ha Tae-heon and Min Ah-rin rushed in. Others followed in.
“Yi-gyeol-ssi, did you just see that? People…”
“The food prepared by the hotel disappeared. There must be something wrong with the space.”
After confirming that everyone was safe, I was a little relieved.
“Yes, I saw it. I think we should go see if there is a problem with the exit right now.”
“No.”
Edward, who was at the back, walked up to me and opened his mouth.
“It’s true that space is collapsing, but… it’s not the exit where we need to go.”
“Edward-ssi?”
Edward, standing in front of me, had a rough and tired face I had never seen before. There was deep regret in his two big eyes.
“…Han Yi-gyeol-ssi.”
Edward, who had a sad expression, pulled something out of his arms. Then he looked straight at me and asked.
“Now you have to make a decision.”
On Edward’s little hand was Park Seok-jae’s jackknife. When I saw it, my whole body became cold.
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