His eyelids felt so heavy that he could barely lift them. When he finally did, he saw a familiar sight—though it was turned sideways at a right angle. There was a door in front of him. He could hear the sound of a train running. He felt his cheek pressed against the surface of a table. One by one, his senses returned to him. He’d been wondering why his cheek was so damp when he smelled the cognac. That must be it.
Taekjoo groaned as he lifted his upper body. The table his face had been resting on was soaked with liquor. He didn’t have to see to know how wasted he looked right now.
Taekjoo rubbed his damp face in frustration and looked around. Zhenya must have gone somewhere. He wasn’t there When Taekjoo tried moving his body, his foot kicked empty liquor bottles lying on the floor. If he was up already, he might as well have cleaned up. A complaint started to rise in him, but it faded before it could take shape. He realized it didn’t make sense for him to expect human decency or the least amount of civility from Zhenya.
He pushed the empty bottles to the side and started walking toward the shower when he heard the sound he hadn’t noticed earlier. Is that Zhenya inside? He might’ve just woken up, thought Taekjoo to himself.
Taekjoo wanted to take a shower right away. His felt gross all over. But since the shower seemed to be occupied, he just lay down on the bed. His entire body felt sore, and he guessed it was because he hadn’t drunk that much, that hard, in a long time. His body melted into the bed, sinking deeper and deeper.
The sound of water continued, and the way it drummed against the floor was so consistent that it felt like a lullaby. Taekjoo’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his hearing started to fade into the distance. Am I falling asleep again? Taekjoo found negligence of duty unacceptable, but he couldn’t keep his hold on his consciousness. He couldn’t win against the overwhelming drowsiness.
Soon, the bathroom door opened. But the strange part was, the sound of the water hadn’t stopped. Taekjoo’s awareness slipped further away as his body began to float weightlessly. It was a peculiar sensation.
A pair of wet feet walked toward Taekjoo, and in an instant, a giant shadow was cast, swallowing Taekjoo whole. I really need to get up. Taekjoo tried to move his body, but the only thing he could do was twitch his eyebrows a bit.
Against his will, his arm was lifted into the air. A long finger, chill to the touch, brushed the back of his hand and between his fingers. It felt like a snake was licking his hand. Taekjoo’s hair stood on end.
‘Ну ты и глупая зайка[11].’
Taekjoo heard a sour, unsettling voice speak—it was Zhenya’s. There was a hint of glee in the voice, but it was far from warm. In fact, it sounded so cold it could freeze the air around it. The hand that was touching all of Taekjoo’s fingers now only held the ring finger. The pressure around it was so strong that Taekjoo didn’t even dare resist it. He couldn’t move his entire body as if he was having sleep paralysis from a nightmare. His primal instincts blared a warning.
Click. Click. The familiar sound grew louder as his ring finger—held hostage—was fed into something. Taekjoo tried to pull out, but Zhenya didn’t let go of him. Zhenya watched Taekjoo squirm and twitch. Then, his eyes lit up with glee, drawing a smile. At the same time, the cigar cutter clicked again and bit down on Taekjoo’s ring finger.
NO.