NOT 16

It happened in an instant.

The lights that had been clear just moments ago suddenly blurred, and people’s voices seemed to follow a beat late. It wasn’t that the laughter grew louder, but rather that Haon’s ears were processing it with a delay.

With his usual stubbornness, Haon took another gulp before he finally realized.

Ah, I’m in big trouble.

The self-awareness was late, but the understanding was quick.

Strength was draining from his body. He felt a desire to lean against something.

Haon moved as his heart dictated. As he tilted his body, he felt warmth on his arm.

“You really drank a lot. Senior, lean on me.”

Cha Seo-jun’s voice buzzed as it reached him.

When did he come to the seat next to me? That thought passed through his mind for just a fleeting moment.

At the words ‘lean on me,’ he was about to comply obediently, but he felt someone’s hand pulling him in the opposite direction.

His body, unable to handle the alcohol, fluttered easily with the pull of the hand.

As if conscious of that, the grip, which had seemed only rough, softened. The force supporting his body also became stable.

“You’re not a child, leaning on someone. Sit up straight.”

Thanks to that, Haon’s body was seated more upright than before. His large eyes, disproportionate to his small face, blinked slowly a few times.

To care this much…?

Haon looked up at the prickly Cha Jeong-won.

“Senior.”

Haon finished the remaining alcohol in the bottle he was holding, placed it on the table, and put both hands neatly beside it. Then he mumbled.

“Really.”

His upright posture collapsed in an instant. Haon’s body gradually slumped forward.

Haon just… He just did it because he thought Cha Jeong-won might not hear his voice.

It was a distance where if he got just a little closer, their breaths might mingle.

The table where the three were sitting shook slightly. It was the moment Cha Jeong-won grabbed and moved away the beer bottle that was also wobbling.

“Then… Do you dislike me or like me every time you see me?”

His gaze had slightly blurred, but his voice was clear. It was a voice wavering between hope and resignation.

It was also a question he would never have asked while sober. What did it matter whether Cha Jeong-won liked or disliked him?

“If that were the case… I think I would have liked it a little.”

The lightly thrown end of his sentence sank, soaked in alcohol.

The two men, not understanding Haon’s meaning, simply listened quietly to his words.

Because no answer came back, Haon’s heart grew heavier.

This is because of the accident in the broken elevator.

Originally, he should have been avoiding him. It would be best if he had no feelings at all.

Was it because their lips had touched? He just wished Cha Jeong-won didn’t hate him intensely.

This, too, was a thought he would never have had while sober!

Cha Jeong-won did not answer.

He just lifted the bottle once more and then lowered it. His lips brushed against the glass rim.

“You’re drunk.”

That was all Cha Jeong-won said.

“Yes.”

Haon smiled with his eyes half-closed.

“The alcohol… where is it?”

The beer bottle was already empty.

Then another new bottle was placed on the table. It seemed someone from the next table had taken care of it.

“Stop drinking.”

Cha Jeong-won picked up the bottle and moved it away. Because of that, Haon’s hand momentarily swept through the air before returning to the tabletop.

“If I stop drinking?”

Haon mumbled.

“What will you do for me?”

At Haon’s subtly suggestive tone, a faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Cha Jeong-won’s mouth. His gaze also sharpened.

“Seems like you want something.”

Was it the look of a detective who had found the culprit, or the look of a predator who had spotted its prey?

While Haon was getting drunk, Cha Jeong-won had also drunk quite a bit. He wasn’t drunk, but it was true he was a little more relaxed than usual.

“It’s not that… I don’t.”

Haon said, blinking his heavy eyelids.

And he pointed his index finger at Cha Jeong-won.

“Senior’s… sweet room.”

Before he could finish the rest of his sentence, Haon slumped face-down onto the table.

The stacked bottles clinked against each other with a clear sound. But no other noise was heard.

“Senior? Haon senior!”

A startled Cha Seo-jun carefully shook Haon’s shoulder. Haon only made a few whimpering sounds and didn’t lift his head.

Everyone was focused on Haon, pondering what he had said.

“Hey, did you hear that just now?”

“He said ‘senior,’ right? Isn’t that a confession?”

“No, he might have just been calling him senior.”

“But he said ‘want’!”

“Whoa. Amazing.”

Ears loosened by alcohol added their own interpretations. Whispering voices quickly traveled between tables.

Cha Jeong-won looked down at Haon silently for a moment.

His arm hung limp and powerless. By now, his eyes were completely closed.

“Cha Seo-jun.”

At Cha Jeong-won’s call, Cha Seo-jun sprang up.

“Call a taxi.”

＊ ＊ ＊

What woke first wasn’t his head, but his body.

It felt hollow and empty, yet heavy at the same time.

Haon slowly lifted his eyelids, and a white light flashed.

“…Uh.”

At first, he didn’t recognize it, but belatedly realized the ceiling wasn’t the one he saw every day. It was wider than his room, and there was a lighting rail he’d never seen before.

“Where… is this?”

His voice was hoarse. The lingering taste of alcohol on his tongue hadn’t faded yet.

There was no scent of fabric softener, nor the dusty air unique to his rented room.

Only a pleasant scent, like dry sunlight, rose from the bedding.

As he pushed the blanket aside and tried to get up, he sensed a presence below.

He heard regular breathing sounds. Holding his breath, Haon slowly bent his upper body and looked down over the edge of the bed.

The moment he saw a man sleeping on the bare floor with his head resting on one arm, Haon bit his lip hard to stifle the scream that threatened to escape.

With facial features recognizable even from a hundred meters away, he couldn’t possibly pretend not to know.

“Cha Jeong-won…?”

Words closer to a breath than a sound leaked out. His throat was parched.

‘What did I do yesterday?’

Welcome party. Corner table. Beer.

I said the senior always sees me as a weird person, and then…

I got drunk.

After that, my memory cuts off.

He had no idea how to fill in the missing parts.

“Phone…?”

Almost reflexively, he searched for his phone.

It was the only evidence that could tell him what happened yesterday.

Haon pulled the blanket tighter to cover his upper body and very carefully felt along the edge of the bed.

Not here?

Then where could it be? Looking around, he spotted two phones neatly placed side by side on the nightstand.

He took his phone from among them and pressed the button, but there was no response.

‘Ah…’

It seemed the battery was dead. It seemed he wasn’t the only thing that was exhausted.

“Charger…”

Haon swallowed once and lowered his feet to the edge of the bed.

His toes touching the floor were cautious. He gathered strength in the soles of his feet, trying to come down quietly.

“…Mmm.”

A low groan was followed by the sound of someone shifting. Haon froze completely.

He even stopped breathing.

In dramas, they fall back asleep at times like this…

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen to him.

Cha Jeong-won opened his eyes.

With sleep-filled eyes, he looked at the ceiling once, then looked up at the person standing above him.

Haon made eye contact with Cha Jeong-won.

“Yesterday you suspected me of being the culprit like that, so why did you bring me here!”

The best defense in such situations is offense.

Before the dazed atmosphere could break, Haon shouted first.

His voice trembled slightly.

Cha Jeong-won blinked once.

His face had the characteristic daze of someone not fully awake, but soon an expression of absurdity surfaced.

“I wasn’t going to say this, but…”

Haon poured out his grievances.

If Cha Jeong-won hadn’t shown up yesterday, he would have drunk moderately and gone home. Then he wouldn’t have had to face a morning like this.

Yesterday morning, I met Cha Jeong-won and the elevator stopped, didn’t it?

Last time, I also tumbled down the stairs because of him.

I even took that useless suppressant because I was wary of Cha Jeong-won.

All my blackouts happened because of Cha Jeong-won.

“I’m not a man who gets over things so easily with just one kiss.”

“……”

“That was an accident. I absolutely do not consider it a kiss.”

“…Seems like you do consider it.”

Ignoring Cha Jeong-won’s low mumble, Haon put his hands on his hips.

“On the contrary, I’m the one who’s wronged. I avoided you so much because I didn’t want to see you, so why do we keep running into each other? It’s like there’s an invisible hand making us meet, you know? In dramas, they’d call this fate, but it’s not.”

Haon already knew exactly what the original story was about.

“We’re a bad connection!”

“First, let me…”

“So don’t bring a drunk person home like this.”

“It wasn’t me.”

Cha Jeong-won said calmly without raising his voice.

“You were the one clinging to me and wouldn’t let go.”

Not me, you.