My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

41. At Home, With My Childhood Friend, One Night. (3)

The first time I drank with Aki was in my third year of middle school.

Our parents and Aki’s parents went on a 2-night, 3-day trip to Jeju Island, but it happened to overlap with exam period, so Aki and I couldn’t go with them. Left behind like that, we met up for a small get-together after our exams.

The problem, well, that’s where it blew up.

—Uh, what’s this?

—Uju~chan, that’s beer. Our Papa bought it.

—Ah, is that so? It was alcohol.

—Why? Wanna try it?

—…….

Back then, I was young.

No, actually, I’m still young now.

Anyway, back then when I was younger, I thought, ‘If Aki’s dad likes beer enough to buy a drinks fridge for it, there must be a reason…’ and I couldn’t overcome the boiling curiosity.

‘Yeah, if not now, when will I ever try alcohol?’

—Should we just try one…?

—Heh, let’s. Actually, I’ve been curious about the taste of alcohol too…!

—Aki, have you never drank alcohol before?

—Mm-hm, no. Papa absolutely won’t let me drink.

Looking back on it now, I really shouldn’t have been drinking then…

—Okay, Uju~chan. Cheers!

—Uh-huh, cheers.

Not knowing what the future held, I took two cans of beer from the beverage fridge and split them with Aki.

…And then.

—…Heehee, Uju~chaaang…!

—Aki…?

After just one can of beer, her face turned bright red and she turned into an affectionate puppy.

—UjuUju! …Uju~chan, Uju~chaang…!

—Uh, uh-oh, uh-oh-oh…?!

No, thanks to Aki, who had become what you’d call a drunk, I had to deal with all kinds of hell, and on top of that.

—Our daughter, Momma’s home~!

—…!

Aki’s parents, who were originally supposed to arrive tomorrow morning, came back half a day early because of an urgent matter with her father, catching us red-handed in our drinking.

—U-huh, Uju~chaang…♡

—……Oh my.

—…….

—…….

—……Uju-kun.

So, I got a real earful from my father.

—I know you’re close with my daughter, Wooju, but even so, you need to know your limits. You’re both still underage, drinking alcohol… We came home early, thank goodness. If something had happened, how could you face our family, or your parents, or grandparents, or any of the elders?

—I’m, I’m sorry, Father…

It was enough to feel my father’s usually quiet, stoic voice rise with emotion.

So, after that day, I swore I wouldn’t drink with Aki until I became an adult.

But.

It hadn’t even been a year since that incident when another mess like this broke out.

“Wooju~chan, are you defying me now…?!”

“…….”

Aki’s the one who drank, but why does my head feel like it’s about to explode?

Aki’s got a beer can in one hand and is gripping the waistband of my pants in the other, her cheeks are flushed bright red, obviously drunk.

‘If it’s like this…’

I guess I have no choice but to have Aki stay over at my place tonight.

There was the condom incident too, and with so much on my mind, I’d normally be trying to subtly suggest we head home, but if I send her home like this, Aki’s parents will think we were drinking again.

“……Ah.”

I thought, holding onto my pants, trying to stop them from being pulled down by Aki’s grip.

When she’s drunk she’s completely out of it. This is a disaster.

It’s self-inflicted, I know, but I can’t help but let out a deep sigh. However, my sigh didn’t sit well with Aki, who sharply glared up at me with her trademark big eyes and snapped at me.

“Wooju~chan! Why are you sighing…? Do you not like being with atashi(me)…?”

“No, it’s not that…”

The puzzle was how to get through this mess.

That’s what I wanted to say, but Aki didn’t wait for my answer.

She knew I didn’t stand a chance in a straight-up battle of strength, but she was still determined to yank my pants off, putting her full body weight into it, pressing and pushing down hard, again and again.

“Ugh! Why are you so stubborn…!”

“……A, alright. I’ll drink it, …just, let go of me!”

“Oh, really? Heheh…. Here!”

The touch of her fingers on my bare skin made me flinch, and I just threw myself at it with a “whatever” attitude, which finally stopped Aki from forcing me.

Maybe it was the trauma from that day. Honestly, I didn’t really feel like drinking.

But if I didn’t drink, a drunk Aki would just throw another tantrum and act up again, right…?

For the sake of domestic peace, or rather, the peace of my mind and body, it was better to drink now.

“……Glug.”

Having decided, I downed half a can of beer in one go.

“…….”

Aki stared silently at my Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

“Okay, is that enough?”

When I shook the empty can at her, she made a bizarre ‘Hah…!’ sound and immediately nodded.

“Ah, yeah! It’s okay, perfect….”

‘……What’s perfect?’

I didn’t really know, but she seemed satisfied, so I guess that was that.

I took a moment to breathe, and then glanced at the wall clock.

Around 8 PM.

I’ve had dinner and done the dishes, but it’s not quite bedtime yet.

Still, Aki’s drunk, so if I just leave her be, she’ll probably pass out soon, right?

“Aki, getting a little sleepy…”

“……Mmm.”

The second I was about to ask her something, Aki stumbled, half-falling into me.

It was a truly coincidental moment, but the sudden close scent of her and the beer smell instantly pulled my attention toward her.

First things first, put the empty beer can on the table…

Now that both my hands are free, I held Aki to keep her from falling, and said near her ear,

“Aki, are you tired? Do you wanna go to bed?”

“……No, not tired. Wanna play with Ujoo~chan.”

She speaks so clearly at times like these…

“Okay, I understand. But let’s get ready for bed first, is that okay?”

“Yup, ‘kay.”

It must have worked, hearing her request, Aki answered quite calmly.

If she could only keep this level of silliness up right before falling asleep, it’d be perfect, but that’s probably too much to ask, right?

“Clothes…let’s just sleep in this, let’s just wash our faces and brush our teeth. Aki, can you go to the bathroom?”

“Mmm…take me there.”

“……Alright.”

She can barely even stand on her own two feet, no way she can walk to the bathroom.

Actually, I didn’t really expect an answer when I asked.

I almost just scooped her up and carried her, but that felt like too much, so I stopped myself.

“Aki, link your arm with mine. That’s it, like that…”

Aki grabbed my arm, and I turned my body slightly towards her, putting my hand on her waist.

Thanks to that, we ended up walking side by side facing each other, which looked a little weird.

‘Should I have just carried her…?’

I kind of regretted not just picking her up normally when we ended up walking awkwardly like this. But what’s done is done, I guess.

I’m on the bigger side, so next time I should just pick her up.

“…We’re here.”

After all the hassle, we finally arrived in front of the bathroom.

I turned on the bathroom light and even opened the door for her.

“Okay, go wash up. Aki.”

Even so, I couldn’t go inside with her, so I stepped aside.

But, instead of going in, Aki just stared up at me.

“…Uju-chan~”

“Huh?”

A smirk.

Aki raised both corners of her mouth into a smile.

“Wanna wash up with me?”

“……”

“Is that seriously what you’re saying right now?”

“…Stop messing around and go wash up. I need to shower too.”

Honestly, my heart did a little flutter.

But, Aki’s drunk right now, blurting out whatever she feels like.

If I took it seriously and responded earnestly, I’d be dealing with the fallout later.

“There’s an extra toothbrush in the cupboard, use that, and the soap and cleanser are next to the shampoo. If you need anything else, just yell from in there. I’ll get it for you.”

“Heheh, okay~”

Aki, answering sweetly, shuffled inside.

‘If I had my way, I’d leave the door open and see if she washes well…’

It’s not like I have any ulterior motives, I swear to god, seriously, absolutely none. But still, that’d be a bit much.

I closed the bathroom door with a slightly uneasy feeling.

*Thud-*

– *Squeak, swishhh.*

After a short wait, I heard the faucet running, followed by the sound of brushing teeth.

“Whew…”

Looks like she’s actually washing up okay.

Only then did I finally feel relieved.

I’m not even a parent letting their kid loose near the water, why am I so anxious…

“…Let’s see.”

It’ll take at least 5 minutes to wash her face and brush her teeth. I guess I’ll just look at my phone in the meantime.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and fiddled with it. First, I checked the messages from my parents, replied, and then scrolled through the group chats I’d missed.

The topics were the usual: who got promoted in ranked games, who got demoted, let’s play basketball this weekend with the crew, what homework’s due tomorrow, that kinda thing…

-Ah, Woo-joo~chan…!

Suddenly, Aki’s voice came from inside the bathroom.

“Aki, what is it?”

-J-just a sec, open the door for me…!

What’s up with her?

I can’t really hear what’s going on in there because of the water running, did she maybe lose her balance and fall?

Worried that Aki might be hurt, I quickly opened the door.

“Aki, you okay…? Huh?”

Aki was standing there, perfectly fine.

Didn’t look hurt either.

“Woo-joo~chan, look at this…!”

Aki pointed at a corner of the mirror.

It was where the toothbrush holder was, the one where I keep my toothbrush, toothpaste, and water cup.

“When the matching toothbrushes are together like this, it’s so pretty, right…?!”

Aki had hung her pink toothbrush next to my blue one, smiling brightly, like she’d just discovered the most wonderful thing.

I was speechless, and just sighed, completely drained.

‘I thought something serious had happened…’

“…Are you done now? I need to shower.”

“Tch, no fun reaction! Uju~chan, you’re an idiot!”

Who’s calling who an idiot. This real idiot…

The words were practically jumping out of my throat, but saying them would 100 percent get a rise out of her. I hid my thoughts and waved my hand around vaguely. Meaning, hurry up and come out.

“I’m gonna wash up real quick, so wait here for a sec, got it?”

“Yeeeess.”

“Don’t answer like you’re joking, it makes me uneasy…”

“Hai!”

I told her not to answer like a joke, and she answers in Japanese.

I was dumbfounded and amused, so I chuckled a bit, gently ruffled Aki’s hair, then slipped inside the bathroom and carefully closed the door.

It’s not quite bedtime yet, but I should wash up and get ready just in case.

I opened the toilet lid first, and then went over to the toothbrush holder.

And then, without thinking about it, when I reached for my toothbrush.

My toothbrush and Aki’s were standing side by side, catching my eye.

Aki, upon seeing this, said it looked pretty, since matching toothbrushes were placed together.

But to my eyes.

Hmm.

It’s a little embarrassing to say.

It looked like how a newlywed couple living together would keep and use their toothbrushes in the same place.

“……”

The moment I said something like that out loud in front of Aki, I’d probably die of embarrassment.

“So, just a few kisses and you’re imagining marriage? The person offering the rice cake isn’t even thinking about it, but you’re having all these wild fantasies, next thing you know you’ll be planning our retirement in a silver town,” etcetera, etcetera… those are the kinds of digs Aki will throw in as a bonus.

“…I’m gonna shower.”

Let’s cut the crap with the pointless daydreaming.

Squeezed toothpaste onto the toothbrush, put it in my mouth, and brushed up and down.

And then, kinda spacing out, I started pulling down my pants—

*Bang!*

“Woo-joo~chan, you’re late! Why aren’t you out yet…!”

“…?!”

Suddenly, the bathroom door swung wide open.

I never imagined it would open, and so I froze solid, hand still gripping my pants, completely stiff.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Aki was staring at me, or more precisely, staring intently at my hand on my pants…

“…Well.

“…….”

“I, uh, had a good look…”

“…………Hey!”