Suayeon's room

3. In A Blink

Sua was standing next to the entrance of the subway she had just exited from, waiting impatiently for the red light to transform into a green one. The brown-haired girl kept checking her phone nervously, just in case she was going to receive another phone call in the last seven meters she had to travel. She ran to cross the road; she had arrived at the given address. Her face was clearly lacerated by concern.

"수아씨?"
tr: Sua-ssi? (Miss Sua?)

The 24-year-old turned to the side. An old woman was waiting for her, sitting on a green plastic stool. Her arms were crossed; her features were giving away a notion of déjà vu. She was representing all the soju tents owners of South Korea, right now. Sua sympathized with her jaded attitude. She knew that every night, at some point, these people needed to find a way to call relatives, or at least, the right contact that could take care of their wasted customers. There was no way dead drunk individuals could go back home safely by themselves.

"날 따라와."
tr: follow me.

They came into the red tarp-covered restaurant. The tent was only installed from the evening to the middle of the night. The mountain of green bottles, empty beers, disposable chopsticks, and plates would all be gone by the next morning. There would be no one left on the streets of Seoul either. The grilled food was very odorant but the smell of soju was what stayed with Sua the most. Despite the combination of meat roasting and fans diffusing the white smoke, the 24-year-old immediately located her girlfriend. She bowed to the ahjumma to thank her and quickly reached the back of the shop.

"Singnie..."

The upper body of Siyeon was lying down on the table, her arms so widespread on its surface that her hands were floating in the air on the opposite side. The young woman turned her head towards Sua as soon as her sweet voice had reached her ears. She started to speak to her, putting her right hand next to her face, making it into a fist.

"A-bo-bo-bo! A-bi-bo-bi-bi-bi!"

Sua chuckled at the gesture.

"Nope Sing-Sing, no alien language for tonight."

Siyeon looked at her interlocutor, faking being hurt on the chest. She pressed her heart and faked dying. Somehow, it made Sua feel better. Her girlfriend wasn't drunk, as in an alarming state of being drunk.

"So... What happened? Why are you drinking alone, like this? I was worried when the ahjumma called me, you know?"

Sua took the empty sit in front of Siyeon so that she would face her. She could see that her nose had reddened already. Her interlocutor's face was slightly swollen.

"The soju is really good here, you should drink some too." Siyeon managed to say without sounding too wrecked.

"No, I'd rather n-"

"AHJUMMA! One more bottle, please!" Siyeon shouted, her left arm in the air, only her index finger stretched out. Her eyes were struggling to stay open.

Sua raised her eyebrows with surprise. The brown-haired girl stayed silent for a mere second before bursting into laughter. She covered her mouth with her hands to laugh more as she saw the shop's owner approaching. Siyeon was so funny when she was drunk. Her inhibitions had all crumbled down with alcohol.

The old woman came with two new glasses and a bottle of soju. She rapidly looked at Sua, concerned that the tiny human wouldn't handle the drinks too well. The brown-haired girl was already swirling the green bottle and slapped its bottom with her palm. She was ready to twist off the cap.

"We might need a few beers too, thank you." Sua added playfully while looking at Siyeon making ugly faces.

The two young women didn't bother ordering some food as there was still plenty on their table. Sua was already thinking about eating the chicken feet next to Siyeon's noodles. She was craving for those.