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LOZ 87
While Jiyu watched with bated breath, Hunter set down his empty glass and pointed to the one in her hand.
[You drink too.]
[Huh? Oh, right...]
Jiyu quickly lifted the glass to her lips. Expecting a scent similar to grape juice, she tilted her head, confused by the crisp aroma of apple and another unknown fruit.
Whether it was people, places, or food, Jiyu was the type to remain wary of new things, approaching them cautiously as if tapping on a surface to test its stability.
Hunter, sitting across from her, was the exact opposite. He was bold in everything. The newer and more unfamiliar something was, the sooner he would experience it firsthand to make his own judgment.
Jiyu envied that reckless courage. Sometimes, she felt a secret sense of vicarious satisfaction just by watching him.
Even a moment ago, she thought he seemed unusually nervous, only for him to brazenly empty a glass of champagne in one go.
'Maybe I'll try a little bit?'
Taking a deep breath, Jiyu squeezed her eyes shut and took a sip of the champagne. Bubbles that popped more softly than a soda tickled the tip of her tongue. She slowly opened her eyes.
'This isn't as bad as I thought.'
Following a smooth and sweet first taste and the tingling sensation of carbonation, a bitter note of alcohol mixed with a refreshing fruity scent arrived. She tilted her head and took another sip. Then, a faint smile played on her lips.
[I'm not entirely sure, but I think it tastes good.]
Hunter let out a short laugh.
[It was worth volunteering as a guinea pig.]
[...Guinea pig?]
[Whenever you eat something new, you watch me eat it first to see if I die or not, and then you eat it if it seems safe. Did you think I didn't notice?]
He grinned, showing his teeth.
Jiyu's heart sank.
'He knew?'
Her face flushed. She couldn't tell if it was the alcohol already hitting her or if it was sheer embarrassment.
[When did I ever...]
She denied it clumsily, her voice trailing off.
[Cauliflower. You haven't touched the stuff since I pretended to die after eating it when we were kids.]
[That was...!]
It was true. She was surprised that Hunter even remembered that.
It had happened around the time they started Korean lessons, when they were about five or six years old.
As soon as the lesson ended, Rex was dragged away by his mother, who was constantly anxious that he would cause trouble, and Ae-jeong, who had come to pick up Jiyu, was enjoying afternoon tea on the terrace after being invited by Lauren.
Thanks to that, Jiyu had lunch alone with Hunter in the play room.
Pointing to a handful of cauliflower on the edge of the plate, he claimed it contained a poison that could kill a person instantly.
[Stop lying.]
[Want to see? Whether it's a lie or not.]
Hunter stuffed a large piece of cauliflower into his mouth and chewed vigorously. Jiyu watched him with an anxious gaze. Even after he swallowed the cauliflower, nothing happened for a while.
For a brief moment, she had been terrified that it might actually be true, but she concluded that no matter how foolish Hunter was, he wouldn't intentionally eat poisoned food. So, she poked a well-cooked piece of cauliflower with her fork and took a bite. It was a vegetable with a subtle, mysterious taste, not as strong as broccoli.
Right then, Hunter grabbed his throat and tumbled off his chair onto the floor. Jiyu immediately spat the piece of cauliflower out of her mouth back onto the plate.
Sprawled on the floor, Hunter made choking, dying sounds, his eyes rolling back. Jiyu jumped up and rushed to him, grabbing his hair and shaking him violently.
[Spit it out! Spit it out, Hunter!]
Then, Hunter closed his eyes and went limp.
Terrified, Jiyu thought Hunter had actually died.
[What do I do! You can't die, Hunter! Waaaah...]
She hugged his head and wept large, fat tears. Suddenly, Hunter's shoulders shuddered. Startled, Jiyu gripped his hair as if she were about to tear it out.
[Ah! Jewel Parker, ugh, let go. Pfft, it hurts!]
A voice suppressing laughter, shoulders shaking as if vibrating.
Jiyu flung the head she had been holding away. Doubled over, Hunter rolled around on the floor, giggling. That obnoxious laughter still rang clearly in her ears.
Perhaps because that incident had left a trauma, she found herself unable to reach for cauliflower even though she knew it wasn't poisonous.
Recalling her childhood for a moment, Jiyu glared at him. Hunter had been a truly terrible prankster as a child.
Noticing the change in her expression, he stealthily lowered his gaze and pointed to the appetizer plate containing Beignets de Courgettes (fried zucchini flowers).
[Eat.]
He then dipped a zucchini flower from his own plate and popped it into his mouth. Jiyu had been subtly flipping them over with her fork since it was a food she had never seen before. While pretending not to look, she stole a glance at Hunter eating, and he suddenly grabbed his throat, pretending to choke.
Jiyu's shoulders flinched. Then, she narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
[You're not falling for it anymore. Try it, it's better than you'd think.]
He grinned and popped another zucchini flower into his mouth. Only then did she put one in her mouth as well. The taste was exquisite.
While the two were having dinner, the sommelier came by once more to suggest a wine to pair with the main course. Instead of wine, Hunter asked for another glass of champagne each.
By the time the main course arrived, Jiyu had finished two glasses of champagne.
[Hunter, don't you think I'm a better drinker than I thought? I've had two glasses and I'm perfectly fine. It's so amazing! Actually... my mom is a good drinker. I guess this stuff is hereditary.]
Jiyu giggled, pressing the back of her hand against her flushed cheeks. Since it was her first time properly drinking, she didn't realize she was already slightly tipsy.
On the other hand, Hunter had become noticeably quieter. He occasionally let out a sharp breath and shook his head. However, since his complexion remained the same, he looked fine from the outside.
As Hunter sliced into the Chateaubriand steak topped with Bearnaise sauce, the tip of his knife slipped off the plate with a harsh screech, scratching the smooth bone china. He gripped the fork and knife tightly, the blue veins standing out on the backs of his hands.
Hunter grabbed the champagne glass and drank it down like a thirsty man, then paused, his brow furrowing deeply. He narrowed his eyes and stared into the glass for a long time, as if checking its contents.
Setting the champagne glass on the table, he picked up the water glass next to it, swirling it around and observing it closely before gulping it down.
Small details in his behavior were slightly off. Normally, Jiyu would have been the first to notice something was wrong.
Whenever she was next to Hunter, she kept her senses sharply honed, like a small animal in a predator's cage. But those keen senses had been eroded by the sweet, fragrant intoxication of the champagne.
The prejudice that he must be a good drinker because he was so robust and physically superior in every way also played a part.
[On the day of the Aster School graduation, my mom poured me a glass of soju, saying I was an adult now. I sipped the whole glass back then and was fine. But this is way tastier than soju!]
Jiyu chattered in an excited voice. She had become twice as talkative as usual.
[...Ah.]
Hunter responded a beat late.
It was strange that his gaze was slightly unfocused and his reaction time had slowed, but Jiyu, who was experiencing a buzz for the first time in her life, didn't suspect anything.
[Hunter, how about you? Have you drunk before?]
He blinked slowly before nodding his head.
[Oh, I see. When was the first time you drank?]
After thinking for a long while, he answered with slightly slurred pronunciation.
[Prom.]
A shadow instantly cast over Jiyu's beaming face.
[Prom...?]
The memory of prom remained an open wound.
Hunter had come to find her that dawn, looking completely disheveled and smelling strongly of Sienna's perfume. Sienna had openly declared that night that she would seduce Hunter.
As the memories she had tried so hard to erase resurfaced, Jiyu smiled bitterly. For her, every "first" had been with Hunter, but the fact that she probably wasn't the first for him made her heart ache a little.
The reins of reason, which had been desperately screaming at her to hold her tongue, loosened, and the intoxication urged her on. Thus, Jiyu abruptly blurted out a question she would never have asked normally.
[With whom? With Sienna?]
Hunter thought for a long time, as if trying to recall an old memory, and then nodded.
[I suppose so.]
Jiyu felt like crying.
[Hunter Hamilton. Did you sleep with Sienna Reed?]
Realizing she had spoken the question she had only been thinking in her head, Jiyu belatedly covered her mouth.
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