By Zephyria 
The door opened and closed, and finally, I was alone.
“Haa…”
A sigh escaped me unconsciously. Only then did I press a hand to my forehead, closing my eyes tightly and shaking my head. Belatedly, I felt a burning heat flush across my neck and face. What on earth had I done? The realization that I had sat on the bed completely naked, looking as pathetic as a male prostitute while stimulating that man, made my stomach churn.
Am I still not sober?
That was the only way I could think of it. Feeling a sense of self-loathing, I took a deep breath in and let it out. The clock on the wall showed it was already past noon. Realizing it was time to prepare to leave, I tried to get out of bed, when something strange caught my eye.
…Eh?
I stopped moving and tilted my head. The sheet I had hurriedly pulled over myself barely covered my waist and part of my thighs. From the knees down, my bare skin was fully exposed. As I slid my hand down along my own skin, I stopped abruptly at my ankle, resting atop my defenseless bare foot. For some reason, the skin was stained red.
Frowning, I pulled my leg closer and examined my ankle from different angles, but I couldn’t figure out why. Had I hurt myself here?
The answer was simple. I must have bumped into something. Given how drunk I was, it was only natural that I wouldn’t remember. I could have dismissed it as nothing, but something bothered me. It was different from a bruise caused by accidentally slamming into something. It was a long oval shape, with a uniform stain. It looked like…
A hickey.
Suddenly, I remembered the way Nathaniel Miller had looked toward something just before he left.
“No way, that’s ridiculous.”
I immediately shook my head. Truly, it was a nonsensical delusion.
For Nathaniel Miller to do such a thing—he wouldn’t be drunk; he’d be insane.
“Get a grip, Chrissy Jin. This is no time for stupid thoughts.”
Speaking loudly on purpose, I hopped out of bed and hurriedly grabbed my clothes hanging from the back of the tea table chair. The clothes, which must have been soaking wet the day before, had been cleanly laundered and were completely dry. This, too, must have been Nathaniel Miller’s doing.
It wasn’t hard to imagine the man stripping me and handing the wet clothes to a servant. I simply couldn’t believe that Nathaniel Miller had shown me that much kindness.
“Tsk.”
An annoyed sound escaped my lips as I held the fluffy, dry underwear in my hand. After quickly dressing, I didn’t even glance at the cold, forgotten mug on the side table; I simply finished a quick wash in the connected bathroom and stepped out.
* * *
When I hurried downstairs, people were already leaving. Spotting the Prosecutor General and his wife among them, I walked toward them without hesitation.
“Oh, Jin. Did you sleep well?”
The Prosecutor General, noticing me a beat late, spoke with a hearty laugh. I felt awkward, but at the same time, I felt relieved. Judging by the Prosecutor General’s attitude, it seemed I hadn’t made any major blunders last night.
“I rested well, thanks to you. Um, well… I was wondering if anything happened yesterday…”
When I asked cautiously, the Prosecutor General laughed loudly and patted my arm.
“Don’t worry. Nothing happened. I heard you passed out while drinking and Miller took you to your room?”
“What? How do you know that?”
Just as I felt my heart turn cold, the Prosecutor General rubbed his chin, pretending to search his memory.
“I heard it from the host. He said Miller found an empty room and laid you down. Just how much did you drink? When did you become so close with Miller? I was quite surprised to hear that Miller was the one who moved you. What on earth happened? Did you get comfortable with him while drinking together? Or perhaps you have something in common, unexpectedly?”
The Prosecutor General poured out questions with a face full of curiosity. I couldn’t answer immediately; cold sweat just poured down my back.
“No, it’s nothing special… I just drank a bit too much.”
That was all I could say. The Prosecutor General seemed to expect more, but it was impossible. Therefore, I looked at him with a forced smile.
“Really. We didn’t even have a proper conversation. I only just found out that Miller helped me.”
If I told the truth—that the man had stripped me naked and waited until I woke up—the Prosecutor General might collapse from shock. Even I, the party involved, was still doubting myself, wondering if I had simply dreamed the whole thing.
“Thank you for introducing me to such a gathering. I had a wonderful time thanks to you.”
As I shifted the subject with flattering words, the Prosecutor General nodded with a pleased expression.
“I told you, I was sure you’d like it. I’ll let you know if there’s another opportunity next time.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After seeing off the Prosecutor General and his wife, who boarded their car first, I turned around. I also had to greet the host before leaving the mansion.
Finding him wasn’t particularly difficult. People were gathering around him to say their goodbyes before leaving the mansion, just as I was. I waited for the person ahead of me to finish speaking and then quickly approached him.
“Mr. Field, I had a wonderful time thanks to you. Thank you for your consideration in many ways.”
When I offered the cliché greeting, he looked momentarily bewildered.
“Hmm? Oh… right, Chrissy Jin. Prosecutor.”
He had clearly forgotten me for a moment. However, he soon put on a friendly smile, said my name, and rubbed my arm firmly as if we were close.
“My, my, I’m glad to see you enjoyed yourself yesterday. Please make sure to come to the next party as well, won’t you? Of course?”
His laughter was full of exaggeration to anyone listening. Perhaps he was being considerate, fearing I might feel embarrassed since I had been a nuisance. I exchanged a few more polite platitudes with him, who seemed to be laughing even louder on purpose, and then finished the greeting. After that, I moved urgently. I intended to hurry back before I possibly ran into Nathaniel Miller.
However.
As expected, I was a man with terrible luck. The moment I turned around to head to my car, the man standing in front of a pitch-black sedan entered my field of vision. Reflexively, I hid my body behind a pillar. Calming my racing heart, I peeked out slowly; he was still standing in the same spot. I saw his partner from the previous day getting into the car in front of Nathaniel, who was holding the passenger door open. Shortly after, Nathaniel returned to the driver’s seat and got in. It didn’t take long for him to start the engine and leave. Only after the car had completely disappeared from sight did I finally step out from behind the pillar.
After that, there was no need to rush. Once the cars had cleared out and the exit path became quiet, I went to my car. As I leisurely started the engine and left the mansion, naturally, nothing happened.
“Haaaa.”
As I hit the road, a sigh of relief escaped me automatically. Sudden fatigue washed over me. I wanted to go home and rest immediately, but I still had several hours of driving ahead. I deliberately tightened my grip on the steering wheel once and stepped firmly on the accelerator to increase my speed. By the time I finally returned the rental car and got home, it was already nearly midnight. In the end, I collapsed onto my bed and fell fast asleep.
“How was it, Prosecutor?”
As soon as I arrived at work, the assistant prosecutor asked me, unable to hide her excitement. She looked incredibly thrilled, as if she had spent the entire weekend thinking about it. I gave a bitter smile and gave a vague answer.
“It was… not bad.”
“What do you mean, ‘not bad’?”
The assistant prosecutor, who had followed me in, waited for me to walk around the desk and sit in my chair before quickly thrusting her face forward.
“I heard a lot of celebrities go there. How many did you see? Was it just politicians and people like that? You saw entertainers too, right? Yes?”
She clearly wanted gossip. However, since I didn’t know much about celebrities, I wouldn’t have recognized them even if they were there. Except for one person who came to mind.
Aveline.
The moment I mentioned her name, the assistant prosecutor reacted immediately.
“Aveline? You mean the ‘A’ Aveline? She’s the hottest model these days! A glamorous beauty with red hair and she’s this tall. And her waist is just this small.”
She put her two hands together to form a very small circle. Thinking that the woman I saw was likely her, I replied vaguely again, “Yes.”
“I’m not sure if she came as someone’s partner or if she was personally invited.”
“She was probably a partner. I mean, who in the world would turn down such a stunning woman? Haa, if I had the chance, I’d gladly date Aveline.”
She let out an excited sigh, seemingly expecting more news, but I actually had nothing to say. In truth, all I had done was make a fool of myself while drunk. If I could, I felt like going back in time and jumping into the Hudson River instead of attending the party.
“I’m sorry, there really wasn’t much. I didn’t even understand half of what they were talking about.”
When I smiled bitterly again, she slumped her shoulders, looking utterly disappointed. But that didn’t mean she gave up.
“Next time, try to be a bit more proactive.”
After giving that piece of advice, the assistant prosecutor left the office. Haa, only then could I let out a weary sigh. I felt sorry for her, but I had no intention of ever attending that party again. Success and social climbing—those were things far too distant from me.
With that resolve, I pulled a case file from the pile of documents and began to read.
* * *
It was three days later when Mrs. Smith came to see me. As usual, I was sitting in my office struggling with paperwork when I was startled to hear from the assistant prosecutor that she had visited, and I stood up from my seat.