Drinking Buddies (2)

"It's okay. I tend to drink alcohol when I am sick." He gave me an approving look, "Just this one bottle, okay?"

"You told me that we should drink sometime," I told him as he tried to pour soju into his empty plastic cup, but I took it away from him. Instead, I poured soju into his plastic cup. "Oh, thanks."

"Do you know about this type of courtesy?" I asked him as I filled his cup half full. "You shouldn't pour alcohol for yourself when you drink with someone. That's the job of having company."

"It's only a type of courtesy that existed in Korea." He said as he took a sip of his soju, he took the soju bottle and poured some for me. "You don't need to have someone pour alcohol for yourself when you have both hands."

"Tsk, it's a tradition. Why are you acting so serious?" I asked as I observed the plastic cup filled with soju. I smiled, and a question popped up in my head. I grabbed the plastic cup and showed it to him, "What do you think of this cup? Is the cup half-way or half-full?"

He snorted as he took a sip of his soju. "Are we doing a psychological test about perspective?"

"Ey, you're boring!" I pouted and whined at the same time, "So, do you must know what it means then?"

"Of course," He cracked a smile as I angrily drank my soju.

"What would you choose then? What is your perspective on how things happen in this world? Is it half-full or half-empty?" I asked him as I poured soju on his cup and my cup.

"To be honest, I am both. I tend to look at the bright side and the negative side. I guess you could say I am somewhere in between pessimistic and optimistic." He said as he gave me a weak smile, "I am more of a realistic person, I guess."

"I see," I nodded vigorously. "For me, it's always half-full. I guess I tend to view things brightly! I am very optimistic, and I tend to spread positive vibes to everyone!"

"I agree that you do." He was about to take a sip of his cup when he stopped, "You are always carefree and positive that people take advantage of you."

"I am trying to be more honest about myself, okay?" I told him as I hit my hands on the table. "I'll try to decline more workloads if I am busy."

"Now that's the spirit." He said he finished drinking the last drop of soju from the bottle. He stood up and started to gather his things like cellphone, coins, and wallet. "Let's go home now,"

Plan commence! I have to trigger that mermaid's tail discovery, so I have to go to his house! What excuse should I make for me to enter Seungwoo's house? Should I pretend to be drunk? Then, he would carry me to our house, right? I mean, he knows where our house is! What if I offer to walk him home since he's not feeling well?

"Should I walk you to your home?" I asked him while I grabbed my purse, and he stared at me again like I was speaking an alien language.

"Why would you be walking me home when I should be the one who's going to walk you home?"

I raised my voice in a panic, "W-what? I should walk you home! You know that you're sick! You also drank almost a full bottle of soju, and what would happen if you lose consciousness along the road?" I approached him and tried to put the back of my hand on his neck. "S-see? You are still burning hot! I should at least make sure you are home safe! You'll make me worried if I don't get to see you inside your home."

"Li Suji," Seungwoo held my wrist and pulled it away from me and stared at me to the eye, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, of course!" I said as I broke away from his gaze, "I mean, what's wrong with trying to take care of my colleague?"

Lies, Li Suji. Lies!

As if you will go there without any motive at all.

Seungwoo has always been sharp, but I hope he buys it this time. I mean, I am not there to force anything on him. I will wait for it to come this time..?

Waiting for it to come is a lie again. When here I am, trying to force anything to be able to visit Seungwoo's house and possibly trigger an event. My true colors are showing. I don't want to end up disappearing as a foam, so I'll be doing my best to make this work. 

Seungwoo started walking in the direction of his house, "Let's go! We only have one and a half hours left before the clock hits midnight."

+++

Ting!

The elevator finally arrived at the floor, where we were supposed to stop.

Seungwoo's right arm on my shoulder, my left arm on Seungwoo's waist, it's such a wonderful sight. Yes, I am currently carrying Kim Seungwoo as he was acting strangely most probably, he was in a state of having extreme drowsiness and loss of balance.

I was dragging him to his apartment door. Automatically like a reflex, he was somehow half-awake and opened his apartment door. He went straight ahead as he put all of his car keys, cellphone, and wallet on his small dining table. He plopped himself on his bed and let out a moan. He was probably tired from driving and doing all the work for today. I stared at him, looking uncomfortable with his black tie and a white polo shirt.

Approaching his bed and sitting next to him, I untied his necktie and unbuttoned his shirt. He was sweating profusely, so I stood up and tried to find a piece of cloth to wipe off his sweat. I went over to his small table with a drawer next to his bed and found a small towel. I went to the CR and sprinkled water slightly enough to make the towel wet.

I went back to sit right next to Seungwoo, and his face was so red that it made me wonder if it's because of the alcohol he drank or maybe because he was sick. Or maybe both?

I started wiping his sweat on his forehead, and a realization strikes in. This scene was incredibly familiar. I stopped, and I stared at the wet towel that I was holding and at Seungwoo, who was already half-awake. He held my hand and guided me to wipe his neck and chest.

"It tickles. Why are you wiping my body so lightly?" Seungwoo let out a groan. I am so preoccupied with the thought of having only a piece of towel that separates our touch between my fingers and his skin. "You shouldn't be doing that. Are you sure you are going to finish all of that tonight?"

"H-huh?"

My eyes widened in shock as he sat up and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his perfectly sculpted body. "Should I do it instead?"