Drinks with A Friend

The sky hadn’t turned dark, and yet the pub was already rowdy. I gulped down my fish as I waited for Kayle to arrive.

Today was Friday, and Kayle asked me out to drink at the pub because she was fed up with her work. I didn’t know the details of it yet, but I was sure that she would complain about it until my ear fell off.

And not before long, Kayle arrived; her hair slightly a mess and her shoulders slumped as she made her way to the bar. I called out to her after she got herself a drink.

“Hey, Lena.” She sat on the seat across from me. “How’s your work?”

“Good, you?” I asked, gulping my draft beer to brace myself for her wave of complaints.

“It. Was. Horrible. I swear my boss doesn’t–”

Kayle rambled on and on about how much her boss sucked and how unreasonable he was. Hearing all the work he assigned to her and the emergency change she had reminded me of the old job I had. It was an overtime nightmare, every week there would be more than two days that I had to stay until twenty-one o’clock. I felt bad that Kayle had to suffer through all of that, but I didn’t have any real method to help her aside from listening to her vent, so I did my best to hear her out.

“Ugh, whatever, I don’t want to talk about work anymore…” Kayle gulped down her drink, followed by a bite of sausage.

“...Right. Didn’t Rune Hunters come out this weekend?”

I paused drinking my beer, surprised at the sudden shift in the topic. Kayle had never shown any interest in that series when I talked to her about it before, so I was curious about her sudden interest in the show.

“Yeah, this Saturday on Netflunk. Why?”

“Eh, I don’t know. I don’t have anything to watch, so I might as well since you kept talking about it…” Kayle chewed on her mashed potato before her eyes widened as if she’d remembered something.

“Wait, Rachel’s in it too, right? I’m pretty sure I saw her on the ad while I was on the way here.”

I gave her a nod as an answer. Indeed, Rachel was in it; she played as an important support character, Lesley.

“Oh… So you decided to watch it because Rachel’s in it,” Kayle said, ending the sentence with a snap.

“No?!” I refuted. “I'm gonna watch it because I’ve read the book before!”

It was the truth, though Rachel playing as Lesley was indeed a strong reason in my decision to watch the show.

“Whatever you say.”

Kayle took a big gulp of her beer and licked her lips.

“Speaking of Rachel… Did you meet her at the reunion?”

I paused eating because of her question.

“We… did.”

“Great! So I was right!” She clapped before taking another swig of her drink as if celebrating.

“But… how did you know?”

“While I was walking down stairs to go to the gym, I saw her walking up stairs, so I thought maybe…” She paused briefly before she continued. “So, how did meeting your idol go? Was she as great as you think she is?”

“Yeah, we talked a bit, and she’s… nice.”

Really nice in fact, but I couldn’t think of anything to say because my mind was kinda fuzzy.

“Oh? And anything else?”

“...That’s all.”

I didn’t know why I kept the fact that we exchanged numbers and met at the cafe a secret from Kayle. All that I knew was that I didn’t want anyone to know about the fact that I kept in contact with Rachel. I wanted it to be our little secret.

“Aw, really? At least you gotta ask for her number. Didn’t you always talk about wanting to get to know her better?”

“I just… didn’t want to bother her.”

“That’s a problem with you, Lena.” Kayle shook her head. “You always let opportunities pass by, even though they’re right in front of you! You’re going to regret that some day, you know?”

My lips cramped up, knowing that it was true. All my life, I’d always go with the flow, without ever looking to change any aspect of my life, whether it was good or bad.

“...Anyway. I’m getting another round. You need anything?” Lena asked as she got up from the seat.

“I’m fine…” I said with an almost empty pint of beer.

Kayle returned with two pints of beer in her hand. She sat down and put another beer on my side.

“Sorry about that.”

“That’s okay.”

After all, it was the truth.

I finished my pint before moving on to the one Kayle gave to me.

The beer Kayle gave to me flowed down my throat as well as her words. Regret was a concept that I’d gotten used to, to the point that it became a part of me because of the way I lived. A familiar pain that stung deeply, rooted in my past as I watered it with diligence.

If only I hadn’t been a coward my whole life, what would my life be like? Maybe I would be working a different job. Maybe I would’ve moved out by myself. And maybe I would’ve been friends with Rachel a long time ago…

Imagining what my life could’ve been, I burrowed my head into my arms. The weight of my sorrow, combined with alcohol, made my eyelids heavy, but I fought the temptation of sleep. Taking a glance at my pint of beer, I saw a reflection of myself.

‘…Is this the person she called cute?’

A messy and miserable person like me was cute? I couldn’t believe it at all. Anyone would say otherwise.

“Say, Kayle… Do you think I’m cute?”

Kayle paused drinking to look at me.

“That came out of nowhere. Did someone call you cute?”

“...Yeah, but that’s beside the point…” I lowered my head. “Just… answer the question…”

She put down the pint with a thud and crossed her arms.

“You are cute.”

Strangely enough, hearing Kayle call me cute didn’t make my heart race the same way Rachel did, but it still made me happy regardless.

“But you don’t do anything with it!”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t dress up, you don’t take care of yourself, and you don’t know how to wear makeup!” She emphasized each point by counting with her fingers.

“If you do something with yourself, Rachel might’ve taken an interest in you, you know? How about it? Should we go shopping this weekend?”

Kayle moved her seat next to mine and wrapped her arms around me. I knew she was starting to get drunk when she got close like this. And whenever this happened, it was hard to get her off of me.

“I’m fine... Maybe next weekend? I’m kinda... busy this weekend...” I tore her arm from my neck so that I could breathe properly.

“Come on, I know you’ll be doing nothing aside from watching whatever that show’s called and playing the same game as you do!” Kayle tightened her arm around me, negating my attempt to push her away as she chugged her beer. “Just come hang out with me for a day. I promise it won’t take long.”

“You always say that, and it takes you like two hours just to buy a piece!!!”

In total, we stayed at the pub for three hours, Kayle drank four pints of beer while I drank three. It was a short and relaxing night out for us.

“You wanna continue at my place?”

“...No, I think Imma go home…”

Kayle grumbled at my answer.

“Come on… Really? Fine, I’ll drink by myself then…”

Kayle’s place was only two blocks away, so I dropped her off before heading home myself.

Walking along the asphalt street, I felt my head spinning a bit, but not enough to tumble over. Maybe it would be okay to sneak in a few more drinks at home…

As I opened the front door, I took off my coat and headed towards the fridge where my beloved peach soju was.

Opening the fridge, I reached for the peach soju I’d brought, only stopping when I saw the vodka seltzer. I paused for a moment before I changed my decision and moved to grab it instead.

The label said: Zero Lemon, with a picture of lemon slices on top of splashing clear liquid. It was Rachel’s favorite, so I could expect good things from it. I popped the can open and took a swig. Its light and sour flavor entered my mouth and went down my throat easily; it was like she said. I smacked my lips and rubbed my tongue on the roof of my mouth to savor the aftertaste.

‘She really has good taste,’ I thought as I took another chug.

Regret was still buried deep within my core, but now that I was an adult, I could drown it with alcohol. And this vodka seltzer was especially effective, perhaps it was because Rachel gave it to me, or maybe it had a higher alcohol percentage than my usual drink?

I turned the can to see the alcohol percentage.

9%

Yep, it was definitely the person who gave it to me that helped the most.