Jinwook, having quickly changed into some casual sweatpants, let out a long sigh where his friend couldn't see him.
From experience, when she's the one suggesting to drink, it's basically her way of saying, "Something's up with me today."
Not having the slightest clue what was going on today, he felt a bit uneasy, not knowing what she might say.
'Is she going to just quit everything and go wild or something?'
Despite all the hardships she'd faced as a Hunter, Jinwook's rational side kept telling him that even if it's tough, Hwang Eunha was still an S-rank Hunter and someone society needed.
Every time he saw her struggling and wanted to tell her to quit, he'd swallow that urge down countless times.
And there was another reason why drinking with Eunha was scary.
'How drunk is she going to get today?'
When Eunha lost control after drinking, her telekinesis would go haywire, and she'd unintentionally float things around her in the air.
If you haven't seen seasoned fried chicken floating around, spilling sauce everywhere mid-air, you probably wouldn't get it.
"Haah."
As soon as he stepped into the mart, Jinwook let out a small sigh.
What did we say to order for snacks again?
Was it pork belly?
Anyway, muttering about his definite taste, Jinwook grabbed a drink and several bottles of soju in plastic bottles, then headed to the counter.
"Can I see your ID?"
"Here."
Did he still look young?
Eunha could buy alcohol without ID even when dressed casually.
Feeling some indescribable awkwardness, Jinwook headed home.
"Did you bring it?"
When he got home, his close friend greeted him with a slightly flushed face, wet hair, and just a towel loosely wrapped around her body, as if she'd just showered.
*
"Did you bring it?"
"Yeah."
"I ordered some snacks too. Should be here soon."
"Why don't you put some clothes on?"
"I'm just drying my hair."
Sitting in front of the vanity, she answered Jinwook's comment vaguely, and from behind came his muttered curse, "What a careless girl."
But whatever.
He probably didn't know, since he'd never been a woman, but if you put on clothes before drying your hair, your T-shirt gets all wet.
"Want me to dry it for you?"
"Then I'd be grateful."
Even though he'd seen her like this many times, and even checked her chest that morning.
Of course, she kept that to herself, knowing he'd nag if she said it out loud.
Handing Jinwook the hairdryer, the warm, pleasant air began drying her hair.
"Your hair's gotten pretty long."
"Yeah."
"Trying to grow it out?"
"No, I'm going to get it cut soon."
If anyone saw them, they'd think they were a couple.
But we weren't like that.
From when he was a boy, through the time I disappeared, and from the moment he returned as a woman, we'd seen each other at our best and worst, so there was no chance for any romantic illusions.
"Thanks."
After drying her hair, she went into her room, got dressed, and turned on her computer.
Just as she logged in to play some games before drinking that evening, messages had piled up, probably because she'd killed Choco three times in a row that morning and ran away, which had become quite a hot topic.
"Wow, that's a lot."
Though the hype had died down now.
And Choco...
"Still hunting, huh."
She switched to beginner weapons and headed back to the field.
Choco wasn't streaming while hunting, surprisingly.
Apparently, after asking viewers for understanding, she turned off the stream, took a short break, and was back to hunting.
- Hey, where did you go?
- Had some stuff to take care of.
Choco's chat didn't carry any hostility after the earlier frustration from dying three times.
Thinking it might have gotten a bit boring, she typed again.
- Not streaming?
- Will later.
- Just so you know, if you kill me again, I'm blocking you.
- Okay, okay.
- Can't join later, going drinking. Bye.
After returning her character to town, she went to the living room and sat on the sofa as the sound of water from the bathroom drifted through the door.
Jinwook must be showering after finishing his day too.
...But it was taking longer than expected?
"Haah."
When Jinwook came out of the bath, his face was slightly flushed, with a somewhat dazed expression.
I could guess what he'd been up to before showering, but since I understood, I let it slide quietly.
"Still not here?"
"Yeah."
Just as Jinwook asked if the snacks had arrived, the doorbell rang.
She quickly got up and rushed to open the door.
"Delivery?"
"Yes, thank you."
The delivery guy paused briefly when he saw her, but she was used to that by now.
She snatched the food from him naturally and closed the door, holding up the bag with a "Here it is!"
"Let's eat quickly."
"Let me put on some clothes."
"Okay."
While Jinwook put on his clothes, soju glasses, water, and soju floated through the air and landed neatly on the living room table.
Wearing sweatpants, Jinwook was called over with "Come on!" and she poured soju into the glasses first.
Just as he was about to pour his own, she grabbed his wrist.
"Nope."
"You pour yours yourself."
"Then hurry up and come over. Or you pour the next round."
They toasted, and she downed her shot.
The alcohol's burn made her exclaim "Kheh!" involuntarily.
Jinwook, half scholarly as usual, silently picked up a piece of pork belly and ate it.
"Ah, I forgot this."
She used her telekinesis to pull the food closer.
The rustling sound of the bag fluttering like it was caught in a breeze reached her ears.
This telekinesis also boosted her body's resistance, including to alcohol.
Unless she drank something really strong, this was almost essential for her.
"How wasted are you gonna get today?"
Of course, at this moment, her body was just like a normal person's, vulnerable enough to die from a simple knife wound.
But well, nothing like that would happen at home.
"It's home, so what?"
"Could you at least think about me putting up with your drunken antics?"
She smiled slyly at Jinwook's words and offered her glass.
He sighed, poured a reasonable amount of soju, and she poured some into his glass before taking another sip.
"So, what's going on today?"
"Who knows."
"You still gotta tell me more."
"It'd be a funny story if I told you, but I don't have the guts to say it sober."
After a few quiet drinks, she shifted her gaze to the TV showing the news.
A segment was on about a hot topic online.
Contrary to common prejudice about public broadcasts, the news was already reporting about an S-rank Hunter who had defeated the ghostly iron skeleton for the first time.
"Is this related?"
"Yeah."
"You're the one who took down that ghostly iron skeleton?"
"Yeah. Like I said, I'm quick to catch on."
She felt the buzz of alcohol creeping up.
Jinwook still looked fine, so maybe she was just getting drunk faster.
Looking at his face, he seemed to be getting tipsy too.
"Why is that?"
"I just want to live a normal life, but if people find out that's me, I doubt they'd leave me alone."
"Well, you're not that famous, so maybe no one knows. You haven't even lifted the info protection request with the Association yet."
"But the chance of being found out has definitely increased."
After taking another shot from Jinwook, she downed it and slammed the glass on the table.
"Ha, this guy's gonna get drunk again," Jinwook sighed, but she didn't care.
Not taking another glass from him, she opened the bottle herself and downed several shots in a row.
How many times had she done that?
Had the rational part of her brain disappeared?
With a sigh, the words she'd been holding back started spilling out.
"Ha. I'm not an S-rank Hunter, I'm Hwang Eunha, or rather Hwang Jaemin, so why does everyone keep seeing me as a Hunter?"
"Hey."
"Jinwook, do you see me as a Hunter too?"
"No way. You're my friend Hwang Eunha."
Jinwook, as if telling her to stop drinking and eat something, wrapped a piece of lettuce with some meat and offered it to her.
Instead of taking it with her hand, she opened her mouth, and he sighed softly before feeding it to her.
"I'm glad at least you see me that way."
She wondered when he'd brought the rice again.
Mumbling, she swallowed the wrap and was about to pour more soju when Jinwook suddenly snatched her glass away, telling her to stop.
"Hey, you're drunk. Let's stop here."
"What? There are still two bottles left! Give it back!"
She reached out, but he stretched his arm back, refusing to give her the glass.
Annoyed, she used telekinesis to grab him and forcibly took her glass back.
Honestly, she felt a bit sorry for being so forceful.
But somehow, today she just wanted to keep drinking until she blacked out.
"Hehe, I'm gonna drink more…"
"Ugh, I don't know about this."
Apparently, as soon as they found out she was an Awakener, someone had filed a complaint.
That had been quite a shock for her.
Still, she trusted that guy wasn't the type to have other intentions, and since it was a situation she had to talk about, she opened up to him.
"Hey, remember a few days ago during the day?"
"Yesterday?"
"Yeah. A gate popped up at our school, and just as I was about to enter the scouting team, you showed up and saved me."
"Yeah."
"But for some reason, he filed a complaint with the Association, saying how I wasn't an Awakener but got registered as a Hunter."
She said that and let out a quiet, slightly crazy laugh.
It was a topic she couldn't talk about openly, just having good abilities.
Drinking behind the scenes like this felt kind of pathetic.
"I thought at least he wasn't the type to blab everywhere, so I trusted him."
"...Are you sure Kang Tae-woo filed that complaint?"
"I don't have proof, just a strong suspicion. I think it's him."
After saying that, she tried to pour another drink but saw the empty bottle and buried her face on the table with a chuckle.
Jinwook said, "Hey, I'll clean up. If you're going to sleep, go to your room. You're pretty drunk."
Just as he was about to say that, she suddenly lifted her head.
Since she'd been drinking, she said something she'd never say as a homebody.
"Hey, wanna go for round two? Karaoke?"
"Round two? What the..."
Seeing Jinwook's disgusted face trying to refuse, she lit up her eyes again.
He gave in and said, "Then go put on a jacket or something." and looked away.