62
* * *
Sitting in front of the warm grill and sipping soju for the first time in a while, Doun was grinning foolishly.
“This is well-cooked. Hurry up and try it.”
The meat that Samin had placed in front of him several times was delicious, and as the alcohol began to take effect, his mood started to lift. If heaven existed, he thought it might be like this.
“If the dungeon rewards aren’t anything special, I’ll be disappointed…”
“Since it’s B-rank, they probably won’t give us anything amazing, right?”
“You’d have to go into dungeons often to know…”
“That’s true.”
Just listening quietly to the guild members’ conversation was fun and made him happy. He even thought that if he had known he would feel this way, he should have joined a guild a little earlier.
“No, why are they still mining magic stones? They need to close the dungeon quickly to get the rewards. Aren’t those people curious about the rewards?”
Kim Chansol, the epitome of an impatient Korean, was grumbling while drinking his beer and soju mix when Jang Hyeonseong, who had been wondering with Do Hyeonwoo about what might come as rewards, glanced at Doun and struck up a conversation.
“I wonder if they’ll give us skills or artifacts? What do you think, Doun?”
Doun, who had been enjoying the atmosphere alone while drinking, belatedly turned his head when his name was called. It seemed like someone was asking him something, but with voices coming from here and there, he couldn’t focus.
Since he had been listening to the guild members’ conversation like background music while just looking at the meat, he was flustered. In the end, Doun mumbled whatever came to mind under the influence of alcohol.
“…Uh, I was thinking about meat right now.”
It was clearly the answer of someone who had no intention of joining the conversation whatsoever. Moreover, who could say anything when he spoke like that with such a mysteriously relaxed, gentle face? Jang Hyeonseong muttered with eyes that looked at him almost like his youngest sibling.
“Oh my. Was our Doun eating meat deliciously? Hyung was asking what dungeon rewards might come out.”
“Ah… I think they’ll probably give us potions or small artifacts.”
Doun sipped the soju that filled his paper cup and smiled with his eyes. He was embarrassed because he thought he had given an odd answer. He felt a bit awkward, but since his mood was still at its peak, laughter kept leaking out.
Samin, who had been proudly watching Doun laugh with the guild members, suddenly felt something was off and tilted his head in confusion.
‘Hm? Was hyung originally someone who laughed this easily?’
Until now, all he had gotten were dismissive chuckles when Samin made strange nonsensical remarks and acted cute. The way he was grinning broadly was definitely not like the usual Lee Doun.
Samin’s gaze, which had been battling with the meat on the grill to feed Doun the best grilled food, turned to the paper cup in Doun’s hand.
‘Hyung’s pronunciation has been a bit strange since earlier too. Don’t tell me that’s…’
Doun had always insisted on only drinking soft drinks at drinking gatherings like this. What he often drank was cola. But today, Doun was strangely drinking a colorless liquid that was just clear without any bubbles.
‘It can’t be soju, right?’
Though Samin was far from depression, he knew that psychiatric medication and alcohol didn’t mix well. He had even heard from Doun’s own mouth that he was trying to refrain from drinking until he got better.
‘No way. There’s no reason hyung would drink soju.’
Samin decided to put aside his unnecessary suspicions. He had directly seen Doun taking his medication properly until just before going to bed yesterday. But…
“Did you also receive potions and stuff when you conquered dungeons before?”
“Mmhm… I think so, but I don’t really remember.”
The way he grinned and mumbled in response to Jang Hyeonseong’s question was not ordinary. Finally, Samin quickly picked up the paper cup that Doun had put down on the table after drinking.
When he brought it close to his face, a sharp scent wafted from the swirling transparent liquid. There was only one thing this could mean.
‘Our hyung is definitely drunk!’
Samin squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t know how Doun had ended up drinking soju, but he didn’t want to let him drink any more.
“Uh oh… Samin. The meat is all burning…”
Even though Samin had taken his glass, Doun just grinned and rested his chin on the table, mumbling. His pronunciation was already practically slurred.
“Hyung. You’ve been drinking, right.”
Samin asked in a low voice. Then Doun moved his lips briefly, glanced at Samin, and nodded.
“…Mmhm.”
His voice confessing the truth was completely drawn out. Samin narrowed his eyes and swallowed a lament internally.
‘Ah, fuck. He’s cute. Can’t just grab and devour him here. I thought he was first place at conquest, but now I see he’s also first place at driving people crazy.’
Since there were many eyes watching, he couldn’t openly say anything, and to make matters worse, he had the constraints that Doun had set for him. Samin slyly brought up his status window.
[- Contract (S)
Can impose sanctions when the other party breaks a promise. However, if no applicable target exists, the skill can no longer be used.
Promise currently applied to you: Prohibition of excessive fuss in front of people
Sanction currently applied to you: Perform 1 hour of silence
▶View promises and sanctions applied to the other party]
It was a lovely restraint that always made one corner of his heart feel proud. It was a promise that Doun had personally set for him, so how could he dislike it? Others would have called him crazy if they heard, but at least that’s what Samin thought.
“Did you drink on purpose?”
Samin, who had swallowed his gushing, showed a slightly worried expression at a sudden thought. Since that D-rank hunter had been showing off about Timer and doing trashy internet broadcasts, he thought Doun might have wanted alcohol.
“No… No, right? Was it on purpose? I accidentally took a sip when glasses got switched earlier, so that wasn’t on purpose…”
Samin’s gaze fixed on the lips that were giving a vague answer was burning hot. If it weren’t for the guild members sitting nearby, he might have sneakily sat next to him and sucked on those soft-looking lips.
‘So he didn’t drink because he was upset about that bastard. That’s a relief. But fuck, he’s really cute. No wait, hold back. Kyung Samin. Try to hold back as much as possible…’
Samin was tormented trying to calm the impulse that was urging him on from within.
“But… later I followed along and drank, so was that on purpose? Is this right? I don’t know.”
When Doun couldn’t give a clear answer, he asked Samin a question in return, and when no answer came back, he eventually just laughed it off.
‘…Is there anything around here I can punch?’
Samin couldn’t control his overwhelming emotions. The location wasn’t suitable for punching the air like he had on the day of that indirect kiss with Doun. As he looked around, he belatedly had to move the completely burnt beef off the grill. Then Samin noticed Doun’s plate.
The plate was piled high with grilled corn, vegetables, and pork that had been passed over from the grill next to them. While he had been distracted grilling meat, he was worried that Doun might have only drunk straight soju.
“Why aren’t you eating when you have a pile of food on your plate?”
“Huh? I ate tons. They kept giving me more so it got refilled. Mmhm.”
Doun seemed quite pleased with his answer as he nodded and grinned again.
“Really? You ate tons? It got refilled?”
“Yeah. There’s also space here for the meat you give me. There’s no meat here. Look, look.”
Doun poked the plate with his wooden chopsticks and looked up at Samin. He deliberately tried to put strength in his eyes to hide his drunkenness, but they were half-unfocused.
“Oh oh. Yes. There’s no meat. Here. Eat this. Stop drinking alcohol.”
Samin, who had glanced at Doun’s plate, pushed the paper cup with soju to the side. Then Doun quickly reached out his hand.
“Let’s just finish what’s already poured. It would be a waste to throw it away.”
“No. Hyung, you’re taking medication, so you need to stop drinking now. You’re already a bit drunk. You can’t even open your eyes properly.”
“…I’m not though?”
“They say drunk people don’t know they’re drunk.”
At Samin’s firm refusal, Doun pressed his lips together and then nodded.
The reason he had been feeling elated and only happy for a while now seemed to be because of the alcohol.
‘I shouldn’t cause a drunken scene. Let me pull myself together…’
Though he thought that way, his body didn’t follow well. It was partly because his body wasn’t handling the alcohol well since it had been so long since he drank, but the way his body was swaying back and forth wasn’t entirely due to alcohol. He thought he would have been just as happy even without drinking.
The cool breeze cooling his face felt good, and it was blissful to sway his appropriately relaxed body back and forth while eating meat.
As his tense mind from meeting that hunter who had said strange things in the dungeon relaxed, he began to feel drowsy. Doun was dozing off while still smiling. Then Do Hyeonwoo, who was sitting far away, whispered to Kim Minhyeok.
“…It seems like Doun hyung just laughs a lot when he drinks.”
“But is it okay for that hyung to drink? Didn’t he say he couldn’t because of some medication?”
Everyone was interested in Doun even if they pretended not to be. Kim Minhyeok, who remembered what Doun had said at their first company dinner when they ate chicken together, was puzzled when this happened.
Samin cleared the meat he had been grilling from the grill and put down his tongs.
“I’m going to put Doun hyung to bed and come back. This hyung keeps dozing off in front of the fire.”
“Yeah. Doun-ssi might get hurt.”
Choi Jiyoon, who had been watching anxiously from the side, quickly waved her hand telling him to do so.
Samin embraced the limp Doun as if supporting him. It was a moment when his know-how from taking responsibility for drunk guild members’ trips home shone. Doun, who had quickly entered a half-sleep state, flinched and mumbled when someone hugged his body from the side.
“…What? Who is it?”
Seeing him ask without being able to open his eyes properly made his heart burn. To think that Doun was this drunk with alcohol while he had been distracted by things like meat. It was infuriating.
“Who do you think? It’s Samin.”
Samin answered Doun, who kept asking who it was while actually staying obediently in his arms. Then Doun’s eyes widened.
“Ah, Samin…? I know… I know who you are. But I’m not sleepy. Where are we going? Hm?”
“Oh my. Our hyung’s drunken behavior is really the best. How much soju did you drink?”
“…Several times?”
“Of course you drank several times. Come on, take off your shoes.”
Samin, who had arrived at the pension entrance, quietly watched as Doun slowly took off his shoes. Even his drunken behavior was surprisingly well-behaved, perhaps resembling his personality.
Arriving at the room at the end of the second floor, Samin laid Doun, who had been tucked under his arm, on the bed. As Samin arranged the disheveled hair and tried to cover him with a blanket, his hand was firmly grabbed.
“…Samin.”
“Yes, hyung.”
When the slightly flustered Samin looked down at him, Doun’s eyes snapped open.
“You punk. Always go around smiling. Got it?”
So that’s what he wanted to say. Samin chuckled and moved the hand that Doun had grabbed to cover him with the blanket.
“Why? Because hyung likes it when I smile too?”
It was a question subtly leading to the answer he wanted, but the response he got was absurd.
“No. When you don’t smile, it’s scary and I feel distant.”
“…Do I look scary?”
“…A little?”
When Doun answered slowly, Samin muttered with a dejected face.
“Should I get plastic surgery?”
“No. It’s not to that extent… Why would you get surgery? You’re handsome now.”
“Ah, this is driving me crazy.”
“Don’t go crazy either…”
Even though it was like a sigh to himself, the way Doun answered everything was driving Samin crazy. And why was the hand that was still holding him fidgeting like that?
“Alright, I got it, so sleep quickly. Our hyung’s drunken behavior is so cute it’s a big problem, really.”
Samin, who had exercised extreme patience, gently pulled his hand out. Then Doun quickly grabbed Samin’s forearm.
“Ah! Hyung! Wait, let go of my hand…!”
“You should sleep. You need to lie down quickly too…”
Doun, who had instantly pulled Samin down and made him collapse on the bed, muttered matter-of-factly. Samin, who had almost crushed Doun, had to feel his heart pounding like crazy.
‘Crazy, what kind of strength is this?’
Since directly witnessing Doun smashing a magical beast’s skull with his staff in the dungeon, he knew that Doun had been going easy on him all this time. However, it was the first time he had been so blatantly overpowered, so he was flustered.
Though he was suddenly in a position of being embraced by Doun, his hand was gripped so tightly it was numb. When Samin gently moved his body to just pull his hand out, the drunkard scolded him sternly.
“Shh. You need to sleep quickly.”
“No, hyung… If you could just let go of this.”
“A man shouldn’t say two different things with one mouth. If you said let’s sleep, then sleep.”
“I’ll sleep. I’ll lie down and sleep with hyung, so please let go of my hand.”
“Sleep quickly.”
He was a stubborn mule who wouldn’t listen to reason at all. Samin just blinked blankly.
‘What is this?’
He had been thinking of maybe sneaking a kiss when he put the drunk Doun to bed and he fell asleep, but instead of a kiss, he was being held. His forearm was gripped tightly. Honestly, his bone might have cracked a little.
Of course, it was an unexpected reward, but somehow his pride was hurt.
He was much bigger in build and his specialty was close combat, so he was confident in physical activities more than anyone. But he had been defeated without a chance to do anything. Just when he wondered if it was a dream, the numb pain he felt in his still tightly gripped forearm told him it was reality.
Since things had come to this, Samin decided to enjoy this situation as much as possible instead of struggling to escape.
‘Even his breathing is fucking cute. Really…’
Every time he felt the rough breathing, there was a hint of sharp alcohol scent mixed in. Usually drunk people have a disgusting smell of alcohol, but strangely, only a lewd and lovely scent came from Doun. He thought his own head had probably gone crazy.
Samin muttered while trying hard to ignore the sensation gathering below.
“Hyung. Are you sleeping?”
“…”
“Are you really going to sleep like this?”
“…”
“Sleep well, hyung… If you say you couldn’t sleep tomorrow after this, I really won’t let it slide.”
As if responding to Samin’s complicated goodnight that revealed his feelings, Doun, who was deeply asleep, wore a faint smile.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
