Chapter 16: A Toast That Turned Sour

The small room was thick with the smell of alcohol.

Lined up on the floor were soju and beer bottles, and Choi Jae-hong lay sprawled out, half out of his mind.

In one corner, Jo Min-jung had started talking to the wall, cackling loudly.

At another table, Kang Tae-oh humored Captain Hwang’s endless nagging while sneaking glances at Ji-won.

Clack!

Just then, Ji-won finished another drink cleanly and set the empty glass down noisily on the table, reaching for the soju bottle.

“That’s enough, isn’t it.

Your eyes look unfocused.”

Seo-wan lowered his gaze lazily and warned her.

Ji-won scoffed and shot back.

“They’re not unfocused yet.”

She jerked her chin toward the glass in front of him, telling him to bring it over.

Where she’d picked up this pointless bravado was beyond him.

At a loss, Seo-wan downed another full glass of soju in one swift gulp.

Watching him, Ji-won bit down hard on her lip.

She was starting to look uneasy.

And understandably so—over the past couple of hours, the bottles the two of them had emptied already numbered more than a dozen.

One glass, then another.

What started as a pride battle had turned into this absurd drinking match.

Yet strangely enough, Seo-wan didn’t find it entirely unpleasant.

It felt like he might get to see another side of Song Ji-won he’d never seen before.

This time, it was her turn.

Without hesitation, she pushed her empty glass forward again.

Seo-wan filled it to the brim with clear alcohol.

“Do you do this kind of stupid thing often?”

“As if.”

Ji-won replied incredulously and downed the drink again.

“What do you even get out of beating me?”

“What do you mean.

The winner gets their wish granted, remember?”

“Right.

So what is it you want.”

Seo-wan asked as he brought his own full glass to his lips.

His alcohol-wet, crimson lips moved slowly, almost invitingly.

“Withdraw the complaint against Grandma Yang Hyeong-ja.”

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Was a single complaint really worth going this far over.

Clinging to it like this, making wishes.

She was impossible to read.

One moment like this, the next completely different.

Just when he thought he had her figured out, she’d slip away again.

“And you, Team Leader.

What do you want?”

“If I win, I’ll tell you.”

Ji-won swallowed the bitter liquor and glared at him.

“That’s not fair.

What kind of nonsense is that?”

“If you’re curious, then give up.”

“Are you insane?”

“Yeah.

The fact that we’re doing this at all means we’re nowhere near normal.”

Seo-wan scoffed at himself and drank again.

Ji-won stared at him for a moment, then suddenly raked a hand through her hair, her voice bursting out.

“Seriously, why are you such bad luck?”

Caught off guard by the sudden outburst, he frowned, wondering if he’d heard her wrong.

It looked like anger had surged up in her, and she didn’t seem inclined to back down easily.

“I’m not drunk yet.

Think before you speak, unless you want to write an incident report tomorrow morning.”

“Is it really that hard for you to withdraw it?

Hard enough that you’re drinking like this?”

“Yeah.

The harder you try to make me do it, the less I want to.”

“You crazy—”

She barely swallowed the curse.

Seo-wan tilted his head as he watched her clench her teeth and down yet another glass in one go.

“Why do you hate me so much?”

Her words came out slurred with irritation.

Her eyes were looser than before, her cheeks flushed red with heat, her breathing slightly uneven.

Everything about her betrayed her condition.

Even so, she kept gulping down drink after drink, stubbornly refusing to lose.

That obstinacy stirred an odd spite within him.

“There doesn’t have to be a reason to dislike someone.

Can you even give a reason for hating me?”

“Yes.

I can.”

“You’re not denying it, then.”

“You’re bad luck.”

“……”

“I hate you because you’re bad luck!”

It had been a long time since he’d been criticized this bluntly, straight to his face.

Aside from his biological father—who treated him like the stain on his life—how many people would dare say such things to him without thinking.

Right here, right in front of him.

Her innocence, her complete lack of concern for her own future, was almost disarming.

It didn’t even make him angry.

Should he call this cute, or should he say it made him want to kill her.

“Ha….

Can I ask you something?”

Ji-won suddenly set her glass down with a thud and looked up at him, slowly blinking her round eyes.

“Ask.”

“When are you going to give up?”

“On what.”

“This.

This!

When are you going to give up already!”

Her slurred words and the way she clutched the bottle were so ridiculous that a laugh slipped out.

If she couldn’t handle it, she could just give up herself.

Her stubbornness was unreal.

Swallowing his laugh, he deliberately drained his glass.

Watching him, Ji-won squeezed her eyes shut in despair.

Her liquor-soaked face tilted sideways.

“Ah….

Why do you drink so damn well too, seriously….”

Whether she meant it as a mutter to herself or for him to hear was unclear.

With her head drooping, her lips moved sluggishly as slow breaths leaked out.

The drinking contest seemed to be over.

Even so, Seo-wan slowly lifted his last filled glass and drank it, savoring it.

His eyes, carrying a strange heat, trailed over her long lashes curled upward, her gently closed eyes, her slightly parted red lips, and her pale, slender neck.

As if drawn by instinct, his gaze moved, narrowing subtly.

Drunk.

Just then, a loud vibration broke the moment.

He tore his gaze away with effort and stood up.

Straightening his expression, he left the room and brought the phone displaying the name “Cha Soo-min” to his ear.

– You’re coming to the opening ceremony the day after tomorrow, right?

“No.

I’m busy.”

– Busy with what.

The news says you just wrapped up a huge case.

“Do you think that’s the only case I handle?”

– Even if you’re busy, you should still come.

Because of Chairman Geum’s hotel investment, your brother and sister-in-law have been on edge lately.

“So what.

Want me to go perform tricks or something?”

– Yeah.

Do that.

They’re saying whether your sister-in-law becomes CEO is a critical moment.

That family’s messed up steps one through four—don’t tell me your sister’s counting on this?

Trying to catch the chairman’s eye while she’s at it?

“So.

What does that have to do with me.”

– How does it not.

Even if you’re just a step-grandson, you’re still a grandson.

If you help her out, he’ll probably toss something your way too.

“Do you need money again?”

– Seriously….

You’re uncanny.

“What is it this time.

Whose mess are you paying for now?”

– Daeyoung got hit with a damages claim.

They’re demanding eleven billion from a laborer who protested on a crane.

Those insane bastards.

“That law firm really is open-minded.

The fact that they haven’t fired that lunatic lawyer obsessed with pro bono says it all.”

– Exactly.

So lend some money to your poor aunt, nephew.

Yeah?

“Talk to the chief prosecutor.

Don’t bother a powerless cop with no backing.”

– That cold-blooded man doesn’t even pretend to listen.

What do you expect.

“And I do?

I don’t have money.

This call’s a waste, so hang up if there’s nothing else.”

– Like hell you don’t have money.

Hey.

Cha Seo-wan.

Seo-wan!

Seo-wan coldly cut off Soo-min’s desperate voice and ended the call.

He swept his eyes over the greasy restroom of the barbecue place and stood at the sink.

His unfamiliar reflection in the stained mirror was baffling.

He should’ve just thrown down his card and left.

How had he ended up in such a chaotic, pathetic place.

“Are you really not going?”

“Yes.

Let the staff eat comfortably.”

“It’d still be nice if you came.

They’re secretly hoping you will, and we never properly held your welcome dinner….”

Of all moments, the problem was seeing Song Ji-won and Kang Tae-oh slipping in together, whispering, through the team office glass.

The thought of Ji-won eating, drinking, and laughing comfortably without him there made something twist unpleasantly in his gut.

Strangely so.

“Shall we go, then.”

“What?”

“You said it was my welcome dinner.”

Shaa—.

Cool water streamed over his long, straight fingers.

At the sound of someone entering, he lifted his head to see Hwang Seong-il reflected in the mirror, offering a genial nod.

Turning off the faucet, he pulled two paper towels and thoroughly dried his washed hands.

Hwang Seong-il stepped up beside him and began washing his own.

“Looks like you’re drinking a lot.

Are you okay?”

Hwang Seong-il spoke casually.

“I’m fine.”

“You can really hold your liquor.

It’s not easy to keep up with Ji-won.”

“……”

“She’s got quite the competitive streak.

Been that way since she was young.

She can’t stand losing to anyone.”

“……”

“I’m a bit worried though.

Once she’s drunk, her habit is really something.

A real menace.”

Seo-wan glanced down at Hwang Seong-il, who was bent over washing his hands.

“You seem quite close to Officer Song.”

“Of course.

She’s like my own kid.”

He’d thought from the beginning that their relationship seemed a little different.

Song Ji-won, proud as she was, relied on Hwang Seong-il without reserve.

And Hwang Seong-il doted on her excessively in return.

It wasn’t the kind of closeness you’d expect from simple workplace seniors and their families.

Seo-wan’s mood twisted further.

“Captain.

What exactly is your relationship with Song Ji-won?”

The sound of running water stopped.

In the now-silent restroom, his voice echoed coldly.

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