NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 0 part 1
Prologue Chapter:
Watch out!
Soft music played, people were bustling, the faint smell of alcohol lingering. Although it was the night sky, it was clear that rain would soon fall. The air was slightly cool, the breeze was lazy as I was listening to a beautiful song, but if it’s liquor…no number of bottles would be enough.
I let the bitter liquor flow down my throat in a big gulp, then slammed the small empty glass down on the table. Duennao picked up the glass before pouring more liquor.
“Nao, take a break, you’re pouring it so eagerly.” Said Skater, who was sitting opposite.
“North drinks fast, I can’t keep up with pouring.”
“Then don’t pour.” I said before reaching for the bottle, but Nao snatched it back.
“Stay sober, friend, you can’t handle more than this. Take a break after this glass.” Said the guy next to me before handing me another glass of liquor. I finished it in one go and put it down. “I hate stiff-necked people because they waste liquor.” Nao complained.
“I’m not stiff-necked, seriously.” I said while strongly ruffling my hair. Dammit, I was so frustrated.
“But right now, your neck is stiffer than your feelings.” Teased Skater. From his demeanor, it seemed like he was also losing control.
“Right on point.” I said, giving him a thumbs up, “You’re drinking too little, Kyu. I’m paying, you know.” I turned to ask Kyu who was just eating something else. I had won the lottery and brought them here to celebrate my belated heartbreak.
“Hey, North’s friend. You’re drunk, I’m drunk, Nao’s drunk. If I get drunk too, who’s going to clean up the corpses?” Said Kyu, slightly smirking.
“Nao’s drunk too? Can’t tell.”
“He’s the type that hides it well. Looks sober but if you ask him to stand, he’d fall.” Kyu said, trying to hold back laughter at Duennao’s displeased look.
There are four of us in total: me, Duennao, Skater, and Kyu. We’re all engineering students, and today we decided to meet up for drinks…because honestly, I’ve had it.
“[Sigh] why you guys? I’m just an engineering student, what can I compete with? Oh, I don’t even have a future, why? I can take care of myself too, give me another chance, will you?” I said, because being drunk makes you talk in circles. “Don’t say that, it affects the whole group, we’re all from the same faculty.”
“Seriously, I can’t compete with anyone?” I repeated the same old question to my friends who had no answers, and I wasn’t really looking for one either.
“I’ve got no answers for you, just pure shots.” Said Nao, handing me a shot glass.
“Oh, didn’t you say you couldn’t handle pure stuff?”
“Too lazy to mix.”
“I’ve been strong all this time, until you handed me this pure alcohol.” I said, then smiled slightly, and quickly downed the shot. The heat ran down from my throat to my stomach.
Honestly, I can’t fully say I’m heartbroken; we broke up some time ago. But when she announced their serious relationship…I thought I was over it, but it hit me hard. “Jaja” is the name of my ex-girlfriend. She just updated her status to say she’s dating ‘Temp, the doctor,’ who she’s been talking to since we broke up, or maybe even before. She broke up with me right before we graduated from high school, with the reason that she needed to choose someone with a better future.
“North. We want you to understand, okay? We’re all grown up now. We have to choose people with a future. We can’t just date for fun like when we were kids, right?”
Yeah…But wasn’t I serious too?
But what can I do now? I’ve lost that right.
“Hey, so your ex, Jaja, is she at the same university as us?” asked Kyu.
“No, she’s at a nearby university, but Temp is at ours.”
“Doctor Temp, huh? I hope we don’t run into him.” Said Nao, “Especially since North is quite hot-headed.”
“Crazy, I’m not that kind of person. Just don’t make my girl sad, that’s enough, you animal.” I said before grabbing some snacks to eat. “Wow, bastard lover mode, I’m not used to this North. Spit out the old North, will you?”
“Hey, North. Are you going back with me?” Kyu asked; he had brought his car today, intending to take us drunk guys home.
“No, my dorm is in a different direction from you guys. If I start to stagger, just call the number I gave you labeled ‘Hell Roommate’ and tell him to come pick up my corpse.” I said. I had already told Ter that I was going to drink, left my motorcycle with him, asking him to pick me up.
“Hell Roommate? That’s Ter, right? He’s not that bad, is he?” Skater asked, his eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.
“Nah, he’s just got official with his boyfriend, and it pisses me off.”
“…”
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