Glow | Tokyo Ghoul

# 0 2 5 ⦋ Past Fatalities ⦌

— 2018

word count — 2622

♫

She disappeared into the room, according to Sumie, along with her glass and bottle of shōchū. When I knocked on the door, she yelled out,

    "Give me a second!"

   A negative emotion swelled at the center of my abdomen as I turned myself away, heading to the coffee table where Jin, Norio, and Sumie sat on the large couch, while Hana and Maki sat on the floor across the couch. My appetite had waned, but I took a seat beside the couple on the carpet, forcing down the food and trying to force out the thoughts.

   Man, I need some air. I'm eating some good food, yet all I could focus on was something else.

    "Hold on," Jin muttered, as though he knew how I felt. Putting down his chopsticks, he opened the door to the room where Mirélle hid, only for her to emerge with a wide smile on her face and the glass half full in her hand. Something about seeing her made me happy, but somehow, sad and frustrated, at the same time.

    "Eat fast! Let's get going! Let's get this party started!" she plopped herself down beside Jin on the couch, crossing her legs before waving at me. "Ah, mon chou."

    "Hey, Miri-chan." I waved back as a smile helplessly drew itself onto my face, my innards practically disintegrating at such an ugly feeling. Her eyes appeared apologetic as her gaze gradually softened.

    "How many of those did you have, Miri?" Jin asked, pushing his sunglasses back.

    "This is...my third, je crois."

    "Shot? Or entire glass?" Sumie growled, clenching her fists.

   Mirélle hummed, biting her lip. "Glass. I'm bad at measuring how much a shot should be in a whole cup. Can you believe that? I can hack into computers but can't measure a shot, ha!"

    "Okay," Jin took her glass and placed it on the other end of the table. "You can have that back when we're done. Good?"

   She gave him a thumbs up. "You got it, capitano."

   Our eyes met several times and she didn't bother redirecting her stare. It was impossible that she was already drunk, but she was definitely getting there.

    "Don't you want to eat?" I asked, gulping down the food that was almost tasteless, at that point.

   Shaking her head, she giggled. "Your food was enough for me."

   My cheeks reddened as an innuendo introduced itself to my thoughts, but I bit my tongue.

   How bittersweet.

Mirélle took zero bites of food and reached for several cups of alcohol, so much so that she could no longer stand up properly. She didn't start puking, but drink after drink, outburst after outburst, her cheeks began to flush and her eyes had almost completely glazed over. Every step she took forward resulted in her almost falling backward.

   Sumie had taken her to the room in which the girls were going to sleep in. She asked for Jin's help, but he was occupied on the phone with his friend that had gotten lost on the way to the chalet.

    "Stay where you are," Jin had finalized coolly. "We'll come to you."

    "Sumichan!" Mirélle's muffled voice was heard from the other side of the third door, almost sounding desperate and urgent.