I Wished for Non-Face-to-Face Lectures

“You’re going to live with a guy who we find it strange when we don’t fight every time we meet?”

Looking at his well-reddened face, I continue teasingly.

“You’re drunk! Pfft… kid, you always make a big fuss about how well you can drink, but how did you get drunk after just two cans of beer? Hehe…”

The funniest thing I’ve heard lately, if the goal was to comfort my depressed feelings about losing my apartment, it was successful.

It felt like it completely blew away the depression that had built up from all the unfair treatment I’d experienced over the past week.

Gulp, gulp.

After downing an entire can of beer, I feel a slight buzz and open my mouth.

“Haah, still, thanks for the empty words. I feel a bit better thanks to you.”

“It wasn’t just empty words.”

“Ah, stop being so funny already? Khuh… I almost bit my tongue because of you, you jerk.”

As I forcefully hold back laughter, I think.

There’s no way he would have proposed living together while sober, so he must be drunk, right?

What should I do? Just leave him alone until he passes out?

“Hmm.”

I decided to just leave him be for now.

It’s not like I can’t handle his drunken antics, and so far it was just at the level of being funny.

After making that decision, my mouth felt bored so I tried to grab some dried squid, but.

“By the way, when did we finish all the snacks?”

They must have been eaten already, as only the cute wrapper of the dried squid remained.

…I’m still hungry, should I order delivery?

As I stared at the wrapper with a serious face, Jaehyuk opened a delivery app and casually suggested to me.

“We can just order snacks for delivery. How about chicken?”

“Chicken is the most standard option. Order something moderate, I’ll cover it as payment for my stay.”

“Okay.”

After ordering chicken.

Perhaps due to the lack of snacks to ease the awkwardness, the apartment with just the two of us quickly became quiet.

An uncomfortable silence descended between the two.

At times like this, Hye-eun’s absence felt too significant.

They might be crazy about making sexual jokes, but at least the audio never stops running.

What should I say?

While twisting my hair idly as I looked at the empty beer can, fortunately, Jaehyuk spoke first.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“About what?”

“About the apartment. Are you going to live together? Or not?”

“…”

Could it be that he’s serious?

I don’t think he would have repeated something he didn’t mean, so I consider it with a somewhat serious attitude.

It would be a lie to say it’s not an appealing offer.

There are more advantages to staying here than going back to my family home.

But living together is more uncomfortable than one might think.

Unlike when you’re alone, there are many restrictions on what you can do, and there are so many things you need to consider and accommodate for your roommate.

One or two days might be fine, but three and a half months was too long.

More than anything, I wasn’t confident I could live with him without fighting.

We quarreled every time due to differences in opinion even when we met only once every two or three months, so living together where we see each other’s faces every day?

The result is obvious without even looking.

I would lose one of the few precious friends I have.

With a regretful expression, I shook my head.

“I appreciate the thought, but I don’t have the confidence to live with you. We both know we don’t get along at all, right?”

“…It’s not difficult to adjust to living together. We won’t run into each other much to begin with.”

“Why are you being so active today? Did you eat something wrong?”

To think that a word like ‘adjust’ would come out of his mouth.

Just how pitiful must I look for him to say such things?

As I let out a dry laugh, he explained with a stern face as if telling me not to misunderstand.

“Think about it, you don’t usually come out of your room unless something happens, right?”

“…That’s true. I do have a strong homebody tendency.”

“And even if you do come out, it would be at night because you’re nocturnal, right? I go out to work at night, so we’ll hardly ever run into each other, right?”

“Hmm… that’s also true.”

“Then there’s no reason to fight, is there? We just need to respect each other’s privacy for 3 months, right?”

I found myself nodding at his surprisingly logical words.

Now that I hear it, that’s right.

Even on weekends, we both go back to our family homes anyway, so we won’t run into each other, so isn’t it really okay?

Certainly excellent conditions.

But there was one thing that bothered me.

“But why are you being so nice to me?”

Specifically, the fact that this guy was being suspiciously nice to me.

Given that he’s always itching to pick fights, it was very suspicious that he was being this nice.

Does he have some sinister ulterior motive? Otherwise, there’s no way this bastard would be this nice to me.

As I looked at him with eyes full of suspicion, Jaehyuk shrugged and answered my question.

“If I create one debt like this, you’ll help me without complaint when I ask for help, right?”

“…Just for a reason like that?”

“What do you mean ‘just’? Do you know what I might ask for help with?”

His eyes suddenly turned sinister.

I frowned and warned him.

“I can’t help with anything strange or illegal.”

“Do I look like someone who would do such things?”

“My mother said you never know with people.”

“Don’t worry. Despite appearances, I’m a publicly acknowledged upright citizen.”

“You’re full of crap.”

After a round of fierce conversation, he put down the empty beer can on the table and made a final offer.

“Take it or leave it. You’re the one who needs it, not me.”

“…How much money do I need to pay?”

“Half of the monthly rent I pay. It’ll probably be less than what you paid for your previous apartment.”

Hearing the amount, it was certainly cheaper compared to my previous apartment.

At this rate, it would be strange to refuse, so I sent money to his account as a sign that I would live together.

“…I’ll be in your care for the semester, kid.”

“Please don’t cause any accidents. It will affect the security deposit.”

Ding dong♪

Just as we clinked our beer cans in a toast, the doorbell rang, announcing that the chicken had arrived.

It came faster than expected. By the way, what kind of chicken did this guy order?

After receiving the chicken from the delivery person, I immediately unwrapped it.

“…”

“…”

At the disgusting garlic smell rising fragrantly, I ended up smacking his cheek with a golden chicken leg.

The feeling that cohabitation life was already going to be tough.

It was definitely not just a feeling.

Having arrived at work after escaping from the enraged vampire.

The owner, who had been making cocktails for a while, showed concern when he saw my swollen cheek.

“Jaehyuk, what happened to your cheek? Did you fight with someone?”

“…There are circumstances I can’t talk about, boss.”

“Hmm, I understand. Eat that garlic chicken in the staff break room, and let me know if you need a cocktail. I’ll make you a special one today.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just eat it with the beer I brought.”

After receiving permission to stay at the bar for a bit, I immediately headed to the staff break room.

The break room was empty as it was time to work without rest.

I opened the window for ventilation, sat on a chair, and started nibbling on the garlic chicken.

“…How hard did they hit me?”

I let out a long sigh while touching my still-stinging cheek.

It’s unfair, but this is definitely my fault.

Ordering garlic chicken when eating with a vampire, am I in my right mind?

Let me clarify in advance, I had absolutely no intention of pranking Jiwoo.

As he was someone who always insisted on garlic chicken, I ordered it without any particular awareness.

I had heard it was a weakness, but I didn’t know he would abhor it to that extent.

Maybe because of guilt, the chicken tasted bad, so I put the chicken leg I was eating back on the plate for a moment.

“…But how did I end up proposing to live together?”

Arriving at the bar after leaving the apartment, the hazy feeling cleared up, and I thought about it again.

Jiwoo was right; something was strange.

Perhaps I was possessed by a ghost?

It’s a decision I would never have made under normal circumstances.

But when I recall his appearance in my mind, it makes sense.

I felt sorry for him.

He was pretending to be okay, but that pitiful figure that looked like it could collapse at any moment was too heartbreaking.

Everything he had built up was overturned overnight, and on top of that, he became a pathetic species that could die at any moment.

This is too harsh, isn’t it?

Originally, I’m not the type to care about others, but this time, I felt like I wanted to help somehow.

The excuse about creating a debt was just that—an excuse.

He’s so busy just surviving, how much proper help could he even offer in return?

“…When I go back, I should apologize first.”

After roughly picking out a few of the delicious parts to eat, I left the chicken in the break room.

If I tell the boss, either the boss or another part-timer will eat it and throw it away.

As I went outside leaving the chicken behind, the boss immediately asked me, perhaps finding it strange that I came out so quickly.

“What, are you leaving already?”

“I feel more uneasy after coming out of the house. Ah, there’s a lot of chicken left so I put it on the table… should I clean it up?”

“No, it’s fine. I was feeling a bit hungry anyway, so this works out well. Have a safe trip home? See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, boss.”

After bowing respectfully, I walk back to the apartment, pondering.

How should I apologize to improve his mood? I’m not used to apologizing first…

As I arrived at the apartment while still contemplating.

Still thinking about how to apologize, I threw open the front door-

“Uh, uhhh, the sky, the sky is spinniiiiing…”

A cracked window and a bat sprawled on the floor, swaying, caught my eye.

“What situation is this now…?”

The feeling that cohabitation life was already going to be tough.

It was definitely not just a feeling.