#Side Story 20
When I returned to the room, I immediately lay down on the bed. With just one person, Saheon hyung, gone, the small hotel room seemed spacious. But I soon remembered that Saheon hyung originally had his own assigned room.
Saheon hyung’s carrier was neatly placed next to mine, though I wasn’t sure when it had been moved. I wondered if hyung would have any use for his own room during our stay in London.
A strange sense of fulfillment based on this domestic scene overtook me. As I chuckled at the sight of the carriers, I remembered the teddy bear we bought at the flea market. I thought it might be nice to attach it now.
I took out the teddy bear I had carefully tucked into my pants pocket and attached one to Saheon hyung’s carrier and one to mine. The red “KISS ME BEFORE FLIGHT” tag and the fluffy beige teddy bear looked good together.
As I admired how nicely they were placed, I took a picture with my phone for proof. The shutter sound quietly echoed. I sent the photo to hyung.
After finishing all the tasks I could think of, I realized I had free time until hyung returned. I lay back down on the bed. Saheon hyung’s uniform was hanging on a chair, a testament to his bad habit of leaving clothes anywhere.
I thought about tidying it up, but having seen hyung’s habits for so long, I had developed the ability to ignore it to some extent. I turned my attention away from hyung’s uniform and chose to turn on the TV instead.
I enjoyed my solitary freedom. While watching an English comedy program on TV and my phone simultaneously, I suddenly felt like snacking, so I went to a nearby convenience store and bought a bunch of food.
I spread out delicious snacks, juice, and bread on the bed and munched away. The brunch I had for lunch seemed to have been digested long ago. The sweet and salty snacks kept going in endlessly. It was amazing how I could keep eating.
By the time I had eaten almost all the snacks I bought and decided to take the remaining ones back to Korea, it was already after sunset. I checked the time when I saw the full night through the gap in the curtains.
8:30 PM. Saheon hyung said he would be back around 8 o’clock. Was the drinking session going longer? But with tomorrow’s flight schedule, he should have been back by now.
Maybe the drinking session was going longer than planned. I turned on my phone screen. There were no messages. I had decided to contact hyung around 9 o’clock when someone suddenly pounded on my room door with their fist.
Startled, I flinched and looked at the door. As I stared at the door with wide eyes, holding my breath, another loud knock rang out, and I opened my mouth with a trembling voice.
“Who is it…?”
Only after speaking in Korean did I realize I should have answered in English. I seemed to be too shocked to think properly. As I was about to speak again in English, I heard a familiar voice from outside the door.
“…It’s me.”
It was Saheon hyung. I brightened up and got off the bed. I ran to the door in one step and turned the handle to find Saheon hyung leaning against the wall.
“Hyung!”
Saheon hyung was clearly drunk to anyone’s eyes. Seeing him unable to even stand properly, I asked worriedly.
“Did you drink a lot?”
“…A little… No, a lot.”
Mumbling in a voice even lower than usual, hyung raised his head. I was shocked. Saheon hyung wasn’t the type to get red-faced from drinking. But now, his cheeks were flushed red. Looking closely, his eyes were also unfocused.
I first let hyung into the room. Although stumbling, he followed me. Every time he walked, the black paper bag in his hand rustled. After closing the door, I asked with a worried expression.
“How much did you drink?”
“At the Korean restaurant… Soju and… Whiskey…”
Just hearing about it made me feel the strong alcohol. In fact, every time hyung opened his mouth, there was a strong smell of alcohol. It was a bit unfamiliar to see hyung come back this drunk from a company dinner. I had never seen hyung this intoxicated before.
“Cheongmyeong-ah. Cheongmyeong-ah… Lee Cheongmyeong… My love…”
“How are you going to manage tomorrow’s flight after drinking like this?”
“…Don’t know, want to kiss.”
A chill ran down my spine at his low, mumbling voice. Before I could say anything, Saheon hyung pushed me against the wall and roughly pressed his lips against mine. Our tongues tangled messily.
“Mmph… Hnngh!”
The strong and sweet scent of alcohol came over. I stared at Saheon hyung, who had become twice as rough, with wide eyes.
“Hyu-hyung, hyuung… Wait, mmph…”
I called out to hyung every time I separated from him, but Saheon hyung didn’t seem to hear. I tapped hyung’s shoulders. But the kiss only deepened. The tongue that was roughly exploring my mouth only pulled away after tangling satisfactorily.
Rough breaths automatically came out. I felt like I was getting drunk from the alcohol scent that came over through the saliva. Hyung pressed his forehead against my shoulder and mumbled.
“Want to kiss. Want to kiss…”
I swallowed hard. The sudden change in Saheon hyung’s mood was a bit scary and a bit nerve-wracking. I grabbed hyung’s arm and shook it carefully.
“Hyung. Are you okay? I think you drank too much. Let’s go to sleep.”
“Lee Cheongmyeong.”
There was no smile on Saheon hyung’s face as he raised his head. To be more precise, he wasn’t thinking of putting on his habitual smile. His bloodshot eyes were staring at me fiercely. I felt like I would get burned by the hot gaze.
“…Why are you so pretty.”
The bloodshot eyes licked every inch of my face. My skin tingled. Hyung’s breath was mixed with a strong scent of alcohol.
Suddenly, Saheon hyung grinned. Giggling, he buried his face in my neck and rubbed against it as if being coy.
“Like, like… I like Cheongmyeong so much…”
Saheon hyung, who was muttering incoherently, stumbled. His legs seemed to have given out, and I had to bear the full weight of hyung.
With his knees bent, Saheon hyung was tightly holding onto my arm in an ambiguous posture that was neither sitting nor standing. I was very worried. I helped hyung stand up and led him to the bed.
“Hyung, let’s sleep first. You’re too drunk. How much did you drink? Did the captain give you a lot of alcohol?”
“…Yeah…”
“Did you drink everything they gave you?”
“Yeah…”
I let out a long sigh. When my father used to come home drunk from company dinners, my mother would sigh deeply, and somehow, I understood how she felt now. Whether I sighed or not, hyung just giggled like a mischievous child.
“Cheongmyeong-ah, I love you.”
Saheon hyung’s slurred pronunciation made it sound like “Cheongmyeong-aah, I luv youuu.” Seeing hyung act drunk for the first time, I was half amazed and half wishing he would just go to sleep as I tried to soothe him.
“Me too. Hyung, but let’s sleep now. I’m already worried about tomorrow morning… Hyung!”
Finally, Saheon hyung plopped down on the spot. I quickly bent my knees to follow hyung, inwardly cursing the captain who had made him drink this much. Hyung, who was still tightly holding onto my arm, suddenly let out a mischievous giggle.
Suddenly, I was struck by a sweet desire. As I swallowed hard, my Adam’s apple moved up and down noticeably. I took out the phone I had put in my pocket. Saheon hyung just giggled, following me with clear eyes.
I switched the phone camera to video mode. If he’s this drunk, would he remember tomorrow? Maybe this could be a weapon to tease hyung. The excitement in my heart was clearly about the prank I was about to play.
A small “ding” sound indicated that the recording had started. I asked in a slightly trembling voice.
“Captain Kwon Saheon. How much did you drink?”
“Four of us… drank soju and whiskey. I drank quite a lot.”
Saheon hyung answered diligently with slurred pronunciation. Finding it amusing, I asked another question.
“Are you drunk now?”
“Not dru- I am drunk. I took the captain and juniors, all, all of them to their rooms.”
His voice was lower than usual, but his slurred pronunciation made me laugh. I tried to suppress my laughter by tightening the corners of my mouth.
“You seem drunk.”
“I’m not… But I might be a little drunk, yes, I am.”
In the end, I couldn’t help but smile brightly. Drunk Saheon hyung answering every question was too cute. Since it wasn’t easy to see hyung like this, my dissatisfaction gradually faded. Finding it amusing, I continued the interview.
“Do you have anything you want to say?”
“Something I want to say… I love you. Mungmung-ah, I love you. Only like me.”
Hyung frowned deeply. I watched hyung while giggling. Saheon hyung, perhaps wanting to get up, flailed his hands in the air a few times before using me as support to stand up. I slowly straightened my bent knees to help hyung stand.
“Cheongmyeong-ah.”
“Yes?”
“You’re really pretty.”
Suddenly, Saheon hyung mumbled with relatively clear pronunciation. However, it was only relatively clear compared to before; it was still strange compared to his usual self. With a flushed face, hyung looked at me seriously.
