Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 93

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Epilogue 2.
Hee-ju rubbed her solar plexus as it began to ache, exhaling a long sigh. Had the food from earlier not settled right?
With a shrug, she turned around, looking as bedraggled as a dog caught in the rain.
“Let’s go inside and talk about this.”
“Fine.”
Her older brother took the first step, and her younger brother followed in his wake, shooting Liam a sharp look.
Liam walked at an unhurried pace, as if he were out for a leisurely stroll.
Hee-ju, watching their reflections in the gleaming elevator doors, exhaled deeply once more.
***
Hee-ju looked in turn at her older brother Hyun-jin, her younger brother Hyun-woo, and Liam. She couldn’t fathom how things had come to this.
As always, the trouble had started with Hyun-woo. He growled at Hee-ju.
“Why did you let him follow you here? To a woman’s home?”
With three grown men standing in the cramped room, it was nearly suffocating.
As Hee-ju took a deep breath, Liam cut in with a response.
“We’re quite close, actually. And you’re not alone now, are you?”
“Close? That makes no sense—and why are you talking informally?”
“And what about you? If you’re Hee-ju’s brother, you should be younger than me.”
“You look foreign. Are you some kind of stick-in-the-mud?”
“I received strict etiquette training from childhood.”
Liam gave no ground, and Hyun-woo’s face flushed red and purple. He looked to Hyun-jin as if asking for backup.
In that instant, the tide turned. Hee-ju, rubbing her head with a sigh, introduced Liam to the two of them.
“Say hello. This is Liam Cloph. He’s—”
She trailed off, building tension. Liam looked at her with hopeful eyes, Hyun-woo glared, and Hyun-jin threw her a disapproving glance.
Hee-ju spat out the rest.
“My boyfriend.”
“What?”
“Hmm.”
Hyun-woo howled like a beast, while Hyun-jin crossed his arms and fixed Liam with a hard stare. Hyun-woo turned to Hyun-jin and burst out loudly.
“Say something! This weird guy is our sister’s boyfriend!”
Hyun-jin pushed his slipping glasses up and opened his mouth.
“You’re an adult now, so you’re free to see whoever you want.”
He paused, then raked Liam with a sharp gaze. Liam met it with an easy smile.
Hyun-jin’s brow furrowed.
“Liam Cloph. You’re a foreigner?”
As Liam parted his lips to answer, Hee-ju spoke first. It seemed the more Liam talked, the colder the atmosphere became.
“Actually, he’s half-Korean—a Korean-British man.”
“How did you two meet?”
“Um… work, mostly? He helped me a lot when I went to America this time too.”
“Surely not—”
Hyun-jin’s brow crinkled with suspicion. Hyun-woo leaned in from the side, muttering “America? Just the two of you?” while his eyes blazed.
Hyun-jin silenced Hyun-woo with a look and turned back to Hee-ju.
“A man can only truly be judged by another man.”
“Exactly. You’ve never had good judgment about people. Even as a kid, weird types gravitated toward you.”
“It’s because you’re kind. You can’t just ignore someone in need.”
“You helped a bullied kid and got stalked for it. You had some homeless man chasing after you too.”
Figures. Liam murmured to himself, his words lost to the others.
His relaxed gaze turned toward Hee-ju. She wore a disgruntled expression, caught in a barrage of criticism.
She plays the indifferent sage all on her own, yet she can’t leave a unfortunate soul alone. Even knowing it would tie her down.
Liam looked at Hyun-jin and Hyun-woo with amusement. Their descriptions painted a portrait of Hee-ju’s past—fragments he had never known.
Liam gathered the scattered pieces like a puzzle and fit them together one by one. It was surprisingly enjoyable work.
“And this time, he’s the weirdest of them all!”
“Hyun-woo.”
“Go ahead, tell him.”
Hyun-jin pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to Hyun-woo.
“Go buy some soju. Get plenty.”
“Got it.”
Hyun-woo dashed off like the wind, returning with both hands full of bottles—so much that even his large frame struggled under the weight.
Hee-ju let out a cry of disbelief.
“Are you both insane?”
“You’re sitting this one out.”
Hyun-woo announced grimly as he arranged the bottles on the floor. Hyun-jin pointed to a paper bag that had been left on the table.
“I stopped by home earlier. Mother said to give you this. Since you went to America without getting proper home-cooked meals, she packed all sorts of things.”
“Proper meals? I almost burst from eating.”
Hee-ju grumbled, yet her eyes were warm as she gazed at the paper bag. Hyun-jin gestured with his chin.
“There were some savory pancakes in there. Bring those over.”
He poured soju into paper cups and set them down before himself, Hyun-woo, and Liam. Then he turned his attention to Liam.
“What’s your alcohol tolerance?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never gotten drunk before.”
“I’m probably older than you, but for someone trained so strictly in etiquette, your words are sparse.”
“I apologize. My Korean is still rough.”
At that, Hyun-woo’s eyes widened. He leaned toward Hyun-jin and whispered, “He’s lying. He’s definitely lying.”
“Drink.”
“Yes.”
All three of them downed their soju in one go. Hee-ju, who had been fidgeting, snatched the cup from Liam’s hand.
“Don’t drink. Both my brother and Hyun-woo are talkative drinkers. They’ve never lost a drinking contest with anyone.”
“Hey, this isn’t your place to butt in.”
Hyun-woo grabbed the cup from her hand and refilled it with soju, then set it down in front of Liam with a sharp clink.
Hee-ju smacked the back of Hyun-woo’s head hard. Thwack.
“Ow! Why’d you hit me?”
“Stop talking back! You’re barely bigger than a bean.”
“Me? You’re the one who’s tiny. And that’s exactly why people say you can’t judge character.”
Liam watched silently with a smile playing on his lips. Hyun-woo seethed, yet never once lunged at Hee-ju—like a dog well-trained.
Hee-ju fit perfectly between them. He could almost picture the childhood she must have had.
Fortunately, it hadn’t been a lonely one. For that alone, Liam felt considerable goodwill toward the two brothers.
Of course, their feelings seemed to be quite different.
Liam picked up another scattered piece and placed it neatly in its proper spot.
“One more round.”
Hyun-jin pushed another drink. Goodwill was goodwill, but he wasn’t about to refuse a fight walking toward him.
Liam had never turned down a fight. He’d never lost one either.
He threw back the soju in one gulp, and Hyun-woo, not to be outdone, drained his cup too.
Clink. Clink. Clink. Three paper cups were set down on the floor.
Hee-ju, having given up on trying to stop them, rose from her seat with a weary shake of her head. She warned Liam firmly.
“I’m done now. I already warned you not to get along with these two.”
“Why not? It’s just getting fun.”
“Do as you like. I’m going to wash up and sleep. You three can fight it out however you want.”
Hee-ju slammed the door shut and disappeared. In the living room, now empty of her presence, a peculiar tension settled.
Hyun-jin’s face was impassive, impossible to read. Hyun-woo’s eyes remained fierce and predatory as he stared at Liam, while Liam grinned at him with the air of someone intent on turning his insides out.
“Another round!”
Hyun-woo filled the three cups. Liam, never one to refuse, matched their pace and drank without hesitation.
The soju smelled of rubbing alcohol and wasn’t to his taste.
Moreover, the alcohol content was high enough that the sensation of it burning down his throat was quite stimulating.
Yet Liam never lost his smile. Hyun-woo was there, waiting for his brow to furrow.
***
Hee-ju became aware that consciousness was returning while her eyes remained closed.
What time is it? Did the alarm go off? Should I get up… No. I’m unemployed. I should sleep more.
She stirred and pulled the blanket toward herself. But the blanket didn’t move.
Huh?
Still half-asleep, she tugged at the blanket again. It remained stubbornly fixed.
Instead, a strong smell of alcohol brushed past her nose. And with it came the flood of last night’s events all at once.
Sleep vanished in an instant. She jolted upright.
“Liam!”
Past midnight, the three of them had still been raising their cups.
Hee-ju’s pleas for them to stop had fallen on deaf ears. Eventually, she had gone to bed first, but even then the three continued their foolish contest in the living room.
When she’d gotten up briefly in the early hours to use the bathroom, she’d found all three of them sprawled out.
Hyun-jin had fallen asleep on the sofa, Hyun-woo was curled up beneath it, groaning, and Liam was lying in the corner.
It wasn’t cold, but Hee-ju had draped a blanket over Liam’s shoulders before heading back to her room.
“But why…?”
Why was Liam here in her bed, holding her waist?
Hee-ju, frozen mid-rise, stared at Liam lying beside her. She placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Liam, get—”
At that moment, the door opened.
“Ughh… bathroom…”
Her eyes met Hyun-woo’s as he stumbled in, making animal-like sounds and rubbing his eyes.
“Why are you in the bathroom…?”
As Hyun-woo muttered drowsily, his gaze shifted. His eyes suddenly snapped wide open as he walked into the room with heavy strides.
He grabbed the back of Liam’s neck and growled.
“You bastard, what are you doing to our sister—!”
Before he could even finish, Hyun-woo was flat on the floor.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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