Chapter 18: CH 18

“…Have a drink.”

Louis opened a new bottle of wine and filled her glass. Juliana stared blankly at the wine he was pouring, then suddenly came up with a good idea.

‘That’s it!’

Juliana’s golden eyes flashed. It was nice to casually drink wine, but she had to take advantage of this opportunity to figure out the relationship between Louis and the lunatic…….

“Louis. I’m tired of just drinking, so, should we make a bet?”

At Juliana’s small smile, Louis’ eyes lit up with interest.

“Alright. What is it?”

He responded positively and had a curious expression. For a brief moment, his expression clearly showed that he was looking forward to something. He looked a little excited.

“Granting a wish!”

Juliana lived up to his expectations and she smiled mischievously.

“…A wish?”

Louis’ head tilted his head to one side. Juliana swallowed her laughter and kindly explained.

“Yes, the winner’s wish will be granted!”

“However, there’s a condition.”

Juliana, who added resolutely, looked at him and opened her mouth.

“Since it’s going to be boring for the loser to just grant the winner’s wish……”

“……”

“How about the person who falls asleep first gets their wish granted? What do you think?”

In fact, Juliana was weak against alcohol. So, she deliberately suggested a favorable condition for herself.

“A wish…”

Louis looked at Juliana leisurely with clear eyes.

‘You’re using your brain quite a bit.’

Louis’ eyes darkened. Juliana tensed at the man’s attentive gaze. She was worried that he noticed her plan and sweat dripped down her palms.

“I’m curious, Juliana.”

Louis leaned his upper body towards her and curled his red lips.

“What wish of yours would you like to come true?”

He looked fine with no sign of drunkenness. He also seemed blunt after hearing the rules of the bet. Louis didn’t drink much wine so it was clear that he was at a disadvantage.

“Well, that’s… I’ll let you know when I win.”

Juliana’s face, on the other hand, had long since heated up due to int*xication. She avoided his gaze and smiled awkwardly.

She was confident. Contrary to him who had drunk less and looked normal, she already drank a lot of wine. She thought that the conditions were too favorable for her in many ways.

“If you say you are confident, then I will humbly accept the challenge.”

Louis accepted her offer with a relaxed smile.

“A-Are you sure?”

“Yes. I… I think it’s going to be Juliana’s victory.”

The victor was clear. Louis somehow expressed his delight in an already predicted victory. He looked like he was wondering how the woman in front of him would exceed his expectations.

“…..”

Juliana stared blankly at the man. A halo seemed to be shining behind him. Despite the terms being favorable to her, he did not hesitate to bet against her and gladly accepted. It was strangely embarrassing to see that relaxed expression that said he didn’t really care.

Still, her victory could almost be predicted.

Looking into Louis’ bright eyes, Juliana was convinced. Her conscience stung when she looked at the man who took the bait.

“Well then, I’ll go first.”

Ignoring it, Juliana drank the wine as if she was drinking water.

***

The party began to ripen.

They were about to empty the fine wine. The man sitting opposite her was barely holding on with his face completely red as if he was already drunk.

“Hey, Louis. I know this much, you’re about to lose.”

“…..”

Juliana’s tongue twisted.

“I can drink more……”

She pounded on her chest and said confidently, but in truth her head throbbed as if she had passed her drinking capacity. Her head was spinning and she seemed to be at her limit.

“Urrp.”

Juliana hurriedly covered her mouth. She could feel that she was about to throw up. She quickly ran to the bathroom and released the contents of her stomach.

“Ugh, I’m going crazy……”

After briefly washing with cold water, Juliana staggered out of the bathroom. She could see Louis’ back.

“Louis. Now stop… Drink it.”

It was already dark as it was well past midnight. The sleepiness came over her and she wanted to sleep.

Bang!

“……?!”

Her eyes were closed and she was yawning when she heard a loud sound. Juliana came to her senses. It was a very loud noise.

‘What was that sound?’

Juliana looked around and saw Louis with his forehead nailed to the table. The sound was due to him hitting the table.

“L-Louis… Are you okay?”

Juliana walked over to him. Her mind cleared as if she had just gotten out from being submerged in cold water.

It was quite loud, but she was worried that he might have been injured somewhere.

Louis kept his head down, perhaps embarrassed, and didn’t answer.

“This is so… just a bottle of wine! Weren’t you supposed to drink more?”

She staggered and shook Louis’ shoulder but he continued to remain silent.

“Louis, Louis…?”

Juliana paused at the continued silence. Slowly, Louis raised his head. Juliana’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

“Julie, Julie?”

She came face to face with the man’s unfocused eyes . Louis, who wore a bright smile, was dangerous for her heart.

“Julie?”

Crazy.

Juliana covered her wide open mouth.

Looking at his eyes, Louis was already drunk.

“Julie… Julie… Julie…”

“Where are you going, Julie?”

Juliana stared blankly at the ceiling as she drank cold water. There were men who became dogs when they drank, and Louis……

“Don’t go, Julie.”

“Julie, Julie.”

Louis whined like a baby.

If he was going to get drunk like this, he should have been more careful when drinking……. Juliana resented the man who interfered with her desire to sleep.

“Julie. Julie. Julie.”

‘Stop…!’ Juliana plugged her ears. Louis called her name repeatedly. Juliana groaned and slapped the man’s hand.

“Bad, Julie.”

Louis rolled on the floor as if he was hurt. Perhaps it was cold, the large man’s body shivered.

“Julie, Julie.”

Juliana sobered up at the murmur of the drunk man. The flirtatious man smiled cutely, whether he knew it or not.

“….I’m going crazy.”

Juliana had a bewildered expression. ‘Crazy’. This guy shouldn’t drink.

Who told you to make such a dangerous expression? Her heart raced. It was definitely the first time she had seen Louis like this. How can a polite and gracious human change like that! The well-behaved man was nowhere in sight. The man in front of her was a man who couldn’t control his body and was sitting on his a**.

“Julie, Julie. Hehe…….”

With his speech slurred, Louis looked for Juliana, making a short sound with his tongue. Drunk Louis smiled brightly.

Gently kneeling down, Louis’ fingers, fluttering eyelashes, and his full cheeks, his appearance came as a shock to Juliana. He had frizzy blue hair running down his forehead.

Ah, so this was why alcohol was dangerous between men and women.

Juliana’s heart pounded as she looked at the drunk man.

‘Well.. When we first met, I was drunk and told him… ’

Ugh. Juliana rubbed her temple nervously as she recalled the story of that one night she had buried. Shoo, shoo, she aimlessly waved her arms in the air to dispel her thoughts.

“Julie…”

“Yes, yes? Why?!”

Juliana was taken aback by Louis’ tight grip on her dress.

“Don’t go…….”

It had been a long time since he abandoned honorifics. He spoke informally, casually calling Juliana’s nickname.

She should’ve felt awkward at the sudden change, but Juliana had no time to feel it. She became nervous at Louis’ sudden action and it caused her extreme tension. She calmed her raging heart and tried to shake off her sleepiness absent-mindedly.

‘I’m going crazy….’

Juliana drank cold water with a bewildered look. Louis hesitated next to her. He called out Juliana’s name, talked to her, and followed her around.

Crazy. Crazy. Crazy.

“Louis, first… go to sleep first.”

“Huh?”

Louis, who tilted his head, still seemed to be drunk.

“The bet… I think I lost. Go to sleep now, and I will grant you your wish once I’m better tomorrow.”

“Really?”

For a moment, a different color flashed in Louis’ eyes.

‘Is it because I’m sleepy? I’m starting to see things.’

Juliana blinked and roughly rubbed the corners of her eyes. She looked at Louis’ eyes again, his pupils looked lifeless.

“Yes, I’m not a girl who goes back on her words.”

“I’ll take responsibility. I’m too sleepy right now……”

Juliana fell asleep and lost to her drowsiness that came pouring in. Louis closed his eyes and grabbed her hand tightly one last time.

She peacefully slept.

Only one person’s breathing could be heard.