Chapter 102: Buffer Overflows and Unmapped Coordinates

Na Eun-hyeok was saying something in front of me, but in my hyper-nervous state, absolutely none of it registered in my ears. To break the tension, I repeatedly poured alcohol down my throat like a desperate addict. One glass became two, and two glasses became three. I normally can’t even handle half a bottle of soju, but before even half the meat was gone, we had completely emptied two full bottles. I filled my glass with the third bottle Na Eun-hyeok had ordered as a backup.

“You drink pretty well, huh?”

“Naoooh.”

“I’ve only had three glasses so far.”

“Nooo way.”

I shook my head. It felt like it shook a little too slowly, or maybe it didn’t. Na Eun-hyeok’s laughter sounded slightly slower than a moment ago. Drinking another shot of soju, his voice sounded like a cassette tape getting caught in a broken player.

“Na Eun-hyeok. Why are you laughing so slow?”

“Am I laughing slowly?”

This time, Na Eun-hyeok spoke sluggishly, exactly like a broken tape. I stared directly into his eyes to say something, but his deep, dark irises felt like they were pulling me right in. Ever since his days as a child actor, Na Eun-hyeok had always been praised for having a magnetic, captivating gaze. Looking at me with those exact eyes, it was honestly only natural for me to feel this way. Because……

“You’re seriously so handsome.”

“Un-ha-ya?”

Yeah. Because he was genuinely, breathtakingly handsome. He was gorgeous, his personality was flawless, and he was incredibly smart. The only reason I kept missing out on being the top student in our department was entirely because of Na Eun-hyeok, but he was such a perfect existence that I had never once felt resentful about it.

“Seriously, you’re probably not even human……”

“Un-ha-ya?”

By the time I emptied yet another glass that had somehow been refilled, I was completely past the point of knowing what was spilling out of my own mouth. I mean, I was definitely thinking it. I didn’t think I said it out loud, but it felt like my lips were moving. Na Eun-hyeok seemed to be saying something, but it barely penetrated my ears. Only after reading his lip shapes multiple times did I finally realize he might be calling my name.

“Why do you keep calling meee.”

“Un-ha-ya. I think you’re a bit drunk.”

“I’m not drunk.”

“Anyone looking at you can tell you’re wasted.”

“No. My mind is perfectly clear. I even know that you’re handsome.”

My mind was clearer than ever. At least, that’s what I firmly believed at the time. I could hear Na Eun-hyeok’s voice perfectly fine, and I could see his face clearly. Best of all, what felt most encouraging was the fact that while looking at Na Eun-hyeok for too long normally made my heart race, right now it didn’t—which meant I could stare at him for as long as I wanted.

“See. I’m looking right at you like this.”

“You’re completely hammered.”

“Being drunk means you can’t recognize someone’s face. And in your face, your eyes are definitely the prettiest.”

I heard Na Eun-hyeok let out a laugh. The huff of a chuckle sounded like he found the situation a bit absurd. Getting needlessly defensive over that, my voice grew louder.

“Why are you laughing? Are you saying you don’t believe that Na Eun-hyeok is handsome?”

“Oh, I’m handsome, alright.”

“Of course you are. You’re incredibly handsome. Unlike a certain someone. That total psychopath……”

“A psychopath?”

“Sephiroth. You don’t know him, do you? I bashed a slime to death today. Or wait, was that yesterday?”

“Hmm……”

“Yesterday I had dinner with you, right? The side dishes were delicious. My absolute favorite is the salmon steak at the Business Administration building.”

“Do you know anything else about Sephiroth?”

“That bastard? He’s a total elementary school kid. He claims he’s an adult, but I don’t believe him for a second. He definitely lied about his age. Doesn’t lying about your age land you in prison? Prison seems like it would be kind of chilly, though.”

“You don’t know anything else besides his age?”

“He’s kind of similar to you. No, wait, there’s no way he’s similar to Na Eun-hyeok. That’s a literal insult to you. Do you know that? Sephiroth and you don’t look alike at all.”

Even through my thoroughly scrambled consciousness, I felt like this was the one absolute truth I needed to make perfectly clear. Na Eun-hyeok and Sephiroth were not the same. The fact that I had ever thought they were similar had to be kept a secret at all costs. If Na Eun-hyeok found out, he would undeniably be offended. So I had to hide it. Like a guilty person throwing a preemptive tantrum, I slammed the chopsticks I was holding onto the table with a loud thud.

“People who say things like that are incredibly wicked, Eun-hyeok-ah. Got it? You shouldn’t hang out with bad people.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a good person, obviously.”

“How do you know I’m a good person, Un-ha-ya?”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

“Un-ha-ya. Can you make it home?”

“Why would I go home? I’m drinking with Na Eun-hyeok right now. I’m going to stay like this for the rest of my life.”

I had absolutely no idea how many more glasses of alcohol slid down my throat after that. Bizarrely, every single time I lifted the shot glass, it was filled to the brim, so I naturally just kept letting the soju flow right in. Maybe because I had been raising my voice, the outside weather—which had felt perfectly cool just a moment ago—suddenly felt intensely hot. As I fanned myself with my hand, Na Eun-hyeok’s gaze tracked the movement of my fingertips.

“Aren’t you hot? I’m burning up……”

“I’m not hot.”

“Must be nice. Having layers you can actually take off……”

I muttered under my breath, looking back and forth between Na Eun-hyeok’s black cardigan and my navy hoodie. The corners of Na Eun-hyeok’s lips smoothly curved upward into a soft arc. The sight looked exactly like a video playing in slow motion, making it completely impossible to tear my eyes away.

“So handsome……”

As I murmured like someone completely under a spell, a palm was extended toward me. Only then did I realize that Na Eun-hyeok had stood up.

“Let’s head out, Un-ha-ya.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Are you not going to hold my hand?”

“No, I am.”

I didn’t even know what I was answering to anymore. The moment I reached out, Na Eun-hyeok’s large, solid hand locked around mine as firmly as a thick tree root. As I forced my body upward, my legs threatened to buckle entirely. Stumbling, I grabbed onto Na Eun-hyeok’s arm for support. His body felt as solid as a massive log, making it seem like the perfect thing to lean against.

“……Ugh.”

“How am I supposed to get you home like this?”

“I can go home perfectly fine,” I mumbled back in protest, but no answer came.

Relying entirely on Na Eun-hyeok’s hand as he guided my stumbling steps, I staggered out of the restaurant.

“……Ugh.”

My entire body felt incredibly heavy. In particular, my lower back and hips ached fiercely, as if they had been completely shattered. The only thing keeping it bearable was the plush mattress underneath me, beautifully wrapping around my body as comfortably as if I were floating on a cloud. Sinking endlessly into the plush surface, I wanted nothing more than to just abandon my body to the sensation. The faint, subtle scent of Na Eun-hyeok drifting past the tip of my nose only accelerated that desire……

Wait, Na Eun-hyeok’s scent did what?

“……Gasps.”

Letting out a suffocating choke, my eyes flew wide open. A high ceiling. Sunlight pouring through sheer white curtains. A lightweight yet incredibly warm duvet. Not a single element of this matched my own apartment.

And most decisively of all, Na Eun-hyeok’s scent was—

“Are you awake?”

—completely filling the entire room.

“E-Eun-hyeok-ah.”

And right on cue, the face of that exact guy appeared as he stepped into the room.

I stammered like a total idiot. It felt like I had been violently thrown back to the beginning of the year when I first met Na Eun-hyeok. Every single ounce of casual familiarity I thought I had built up over the past month had completely melted and flown far away. I understood the situation, yet I completely didn’t understand the situation at all. Where on earth was I? I desperately wanted to ask, but I couldn’t summon the raw courage to push the words out.

“Is your stomach feeling alright?”

“U-Uh. Why am I here……”

“Do you not remember anything from yesterday?”

I didn’t. My mind was completely white. I remembered getting incredibly nervous and drinking a terrifying amount of alcohol, but how that sequence of events had managed to connect all the way to me waking up in an unfamiliar bed was an absolute mystery.

No, wait. I mean, obviously, it must be that.

Having had plenty of experience carrying other wasted friends to nearby motels before, claiming I didn’t know what this looked like would be a total lie. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, the stark reality that I had gotten utterly plastered and completely passed out in front of Na Eun-hyeok was right before my eyes. Denying it would only make me look more pathetic, so I forced myself to accept it.

Okay, fine—but why did an unfamiliar lodging smell this intensely like Na Eun-hyeok?

Back when I traveled on a tight budget with my friends, we had stayed in standard motels a few times. I had physically carried completely incapacitated guys on my back and tossed them onto motel beds before, so I had a general idea of what they looked like. What I was trying to say was that I had never seen a motel with this specific kind of interior design before. A bed this luxurious, a deep dark-brown 5-tier solid wood wardrobe standing against the wall, and a genuine Persian carpet subtly gleaming beneath the light pouring through the massive windows.

Which meant……

“You were entirely too drunk, so I brought you to my house.”

I had desperately prayed with every fiber of my being that this exact hypothesis wasn’t the case.

“I-I’m so sorry.”

I frantically blurted out an apology first. I’ve stepped into a forbidden sanctuary where I absolutely do not belong. That single thought completely hijacked my entire brain. Na Eun-hyeok’s house. Na Eun-hyeok’s bedroom! I tried to vault out of the bed like a coiled spring, but a delayed wave of intense hangover symptoms ruthlessly seized my ankles. I had no idea why a hangover was causing my lower back and hips to ache this badly, though.

“Ugh……”

“Should I grab you some water?”

“No, I mean, it’s fine.”

“Just wait here a second.”

Entirely ignoring my refusal, Na Eun-hyeok turned and walked straight out of the room. Letting out a hollow, defeated sigh, I let my hands drop limply onto the covers. My head was spinning violently from the hangover, and my entire body throbbed as if I had been thoroughly beaten up. In this physical state, the clean, dignified escape I was envisioning was mathematically impossible.

How on earth did things end up like this?

Clutching my throbbing head, I swallowed back a miserable groan. I was suffering physically, but I was suffering a thousand times worse mentally. The complete black hole of memory from last night felt absolutely terrifying.

Setting the headache aside, why did my body hurt so much? Why did my lower back ache like this?

What did I say? What did I do? Is it possible I did something to make Na Eun-hyeok absolutely despise me?

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