Chapter 21 – A Frenzied, Mad Dance of Chaos

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Chihiro-san launched a full-scale invasion on my house, so following the ancient wisdom of “a wise man keeps away from danger,” I retreated straight to my room.

Exams were coming up, so I tried to focus at my desk. Tried. But between the lingering muscle pain and my brain working at half speed, it was a trainwreck. Concentrating was like trying to study with a sledgehammer tapping the back of my head. Every time I shifted, my back screamed, and my legs kept pulsing with that deep, gnawing soreness that wouldn’t quit.

After two miserable hours of fighting with the same five pages of notes, my phone buzzed with a message.

“Mom's not passed out drunk, is she?”

Mahiro.

Of course.

Whenever Chihiro-san shows up to drink, odds are she's carrying some emotional baggage—and nine times out of ten, she doesn't stop until she's plastered. It’s a pattern. Something pisses her off or weighs her down, and instead of talking about it like a normal person, she downs enough alcohol to knock out a horse.

Mahiro knows that better than anyone. So yeah, her being worried made sense. But still—

“I haven't checked, so I don't know.”

“Sorry, but if she is, I'll have to come pick her up. Can you take a quick look for me?”

And just like that, I got roped into another round of being the convenient middleman. That's always how it goes with Mahiro. She drops the polite words, but what she really means is do it for me, like always.

This kind of thing is exactly why it's impossible to cut her off. Childhood friend or not, she's got this way of tugging strings until I move without thinking.

Annoying as hell.

But fine. Time to go check on the mess downstairs.

***

“…And then, while straight-up ogling my tits, the guy goes, ‘Yoshikawa-san, how about a drink after this?' Like, seriously? That's the best he could come up with?”

“Well, if you say yes to a one-on-one drink, that's practically code for ‘I'm down to hook up.' Turning him down was your only move.”

“Exactly! And the dude's getting married soon! If he's already pulling that crap, he's clearly got one thing on his mind. What, is his fiancée on her period or something?”

“Gahahaha! Or maybe he's just a h***y monkey who can't go a week without getting his dick wet! If he gets caught, he's dead—like, relationship-wise and financially. Guy must have a death wish.”

They were completely hammered. Loud, wild, no filter.

Trashy talk? Sure. But when two single moms drink like this, it's bound to turn into chaos.

Apparently, some coworker of Chihiro-san, with the self-control of a middle schooler, decided to nuke his own life by trying to get in her pants.

Guess he thought, “Oh, single mom? She must be thirsty.”

No s**t she was pissed. The way people treat single moms is ridiculous.

“Men are seriously just sex-driven meatheads. That's it.”

“Right?! And they don't even care if the woman gets off. Just finish quick and bounce. Selfish as hell.”

“And like I'd ever use some bottom-tier loser like that to scratch an itch. If I ever did need it that bad, I'd rather f**k a cute friend's son—now that would actually feel good.”

“Pffft—!!”

S**t. I snorted out loud.

Both of them turned and locked eyes on me.

“Oh, speak of the devil—Yuuya-kun.”

“Hey, Chihiro, keep your hands off my precious son.”

Wait. That line about the “cute friend's son”… That was about me?!

My brain blanked so hard I nearly popped wood right there.

This whole place was a disaster zone. Empty bottles of Early Times, half a handle of Bombay Sapphire gone, and like eight crushed beer cans rolling around. Their drinking speed was next level.

If they kept going like this, I might need to jam a cork in their mouths—or straight down their throats.

***

“…So really, there's no reason for me to limit myself to just Yuuya and Mahiro. I mean, I could just—”

While I was gathering up empty cans, Chihiro-san, totally wasted and flushed with heat, reached out and tugged at the hem of my shirt.

Her eyes were half-lidded, lips curled in a smirk. Why is it that drunk women always end up looking this damn seductive?

“Hey, lady. Maybe think about your age before you start acting like that. By the time I graduate, you might be… I don't know, already expired.”

“How rude! I take great care of myself, thank you very much. Right, Yuuya-kun? You're not turned off by older women, are you?”

“Uh, well…”

S**t. How serious was she? And the way she pushed out her chest like that—there was no way she didn't know what she was doing.

“Older women can be nice, you know? We've got experience. We know how to treat you right.”

“Right… and I bet you've got plenty of hugging power, at least.”

“For a promising young guy like Yuuya-kun, I'd let him do whatever he wanted to me.”

“And what if I ended up a total failure who pissed away his elite future?”

“Well, for now, you've got me. And my daughter.”

“Yeah, no. That's not a bonus. That's a penalty.”

That must've hit a nerve because my mom shoved Chihiro-san out of the way and stepped between us.

“…Yuuya. Don't take her drunk nonsense seriously.”

“I'm the only sober one here. What else am I supposed to do?”

“And let's be clear—I'm not accepting a daughter-in-law who's my age.”

“She'll forget all of this when she sobers up.”

That's what I thought, right until—

Chihiro-san suddenly lunged at me and knocked me flat on the floor.

“Hehehe… I guess I'll just help myself, then—”

“Since when did I say that's okay?! And seriously, your breath stinks like a damn brewery!”

Panicking, I tried to nudge her off, barely touching her stomach—hoping not to get accused of anything stupid.

Bad call.

“…I think I'm gonna hurl.”

“Wait. Hold on. Wait, wait, WAIT—”

————–

—Please hold for technical difficulties—

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“…I'm so sorry for my mom…”

“Yeah, well… sometimes people need to let it all out, I guess.”

“…Yeah.”

And just like that, our fun little drinking party went straight to hell.

With Chihiro-san passed out cold after painting the floor with puke, I had no choice but to call Mahiro.

“…Sorry for the mess.”

“Nah, it's fine. Want me to help carry her?”

“No, it's just a short walk. But thanks.”

I didn't think she'd say yes, but I had to offer anyway.

“…Hey, Mahiro.”

“Hm? What?”

“…Never mind.”

If those damn soccer idiots actually got expelled, what would that mean for her? What kind of rumors would start flying?

It bothered me. But this wasn't the time to say anything. And honestly, it wasn't even my place.

So I just watched as Mahiro, balancing her drunken, unconscious mess of a mother, slowly made her way out the front door.

---

I forgot about this.

Again.

Yeah, sorry.

But don’t worry, I won’t drop this despite countless projects I got.