"Ugh."

I held my head. My head was particularly painful today. Especially when I turned to look at the foot that was resting close to my face, alongside the murmurs that I was hearing from beneath me.

"...Don’t... touch me."

"How did this happen again...?"

My hands slid down my face as I blankly stared at the ceiling above me.

Honestly, I was at a total loss.

All I remembered doing was taking one sip. Just one sip.

"Did I black out from one sip?"

"Hm... you’re tickling me."

"Just how powerful was that whisky?"

I tapped the bed a couple of times before leaning over and spotting the bottle. I first reached out for it with my hand, stretching my arm a couple of times before giving up. After which, I looked back at Soran to make sure that she was still sleeping before a dark thread shot out and pulled the bottle my way.

"Alright, let’s see."

I turned the bottle around. But the moment I did, my expression froze as the label appeared before my eyes.

[Bruichladdich X4 Quadrupled Whisky, 92%]

"....Ah, I see."

I smiled while putting the bottle back down. After which, I sat up while scratching my back. As I did, the Team Leader’s murmurs continued to echo in the air as I looked around and picked up one of the pillows.

I tapped on it twice before nodding.

"Yeah, this should do."

The next set of actions was calculated. Walking towards the Team Leader, I pressed the pillow right onto her face as I pushed down.

"Hmm—!"

Her body went rigid in an instant.

I continued to press down, muttering softly, "Shh. It’s okay. It’s just me."

"Hmm! Hmmmm—!"

Her hands flailed, and her body squirmed. I continued to press down, my eyes closing as her hands reached for my forearm, her nails digging into it.

Honestly, she was a lot stronger than I anticipated.

It caught me off-guard, and that moment was enough for her to find her voice as she screamed.

"H-help...! Hmmm! Murder...! I’m being... m-hmmm-urdered!"

I tried to mitigate the damage, but her screams were loud. I knew in that moment that I didn’t have much time as I applied even more pressure, trying to secure the kill quickly, but this woman was a lot more agile than I expected as she twisted her body on the bed, freeing herself from the pillow before she glared at me.

"Y-you...!"

Her hair was a mess, with saliva still leaking down her chin.

We made eye contact for a brief moment before she reached for the saliva and wiped it away.

"I see."

Her chest slowly started to steady as she recovered her breath.

"...Looks like we’re having a domestic dispute."

"No, we’re not."

"But we’re a couple. We even slept together."

My face hardened.

"Not only that, but you were on top of me."

It hardened further.

"I felt your thick—"

"You—"

"—arms."

I tossed the pillow aside and turned to face the door. The more I stayed here, the more my head hurt. Honestly, this was rare. Very rare. There weren’t many people who could make me like this. For some reason, Soran really knew how to push my own buttons.

Not even the Conductor would give me such headaches.

’No, it’s fair to say that nothing comes close.’

Bringing my hand to my face, I reached the door and placed my hand over the handle. However, right as I did, my face changed as I heard the sound of numerous footsteps rushing in our direction.

Oh, no.

I looked back at the Team Leader, who also seemed to have heard the steps as her face changed. Quickly, she moved down the bed and moved next to me, and not even a second later, a knock was heard.

"Hey? Is everything alright? I heard something."

"I’m good."

The Team Leader answered while clearing her throat.

"...I drank a bit, so..."

"....."

The silence that followed was enough to make me sigh in relief.

’Looks like they bought it.’

Yeah, it was hard not to. Especially because the Team Leader was. I relaxed from this point, only for my breath to leave my body the next moment as the Team Leader opened the door, revealing several faces whose eyes widened at the sight of me.

"Well, off you go."

She patted me on the shoulder while the numerous stone gazes were fixed on me.

My lips parted, but no words came out as the Team Leader’s hand traced down my back.

"You’ve still got a lot of work to do. So, shoo. Shoo. "

At the same time, she looked at those who were staring at her while raising her brow.

"What?"

She tilted her head.

"What’s wrong with your expressions? We’re married."

We’re not.

I looked at her, and she stopped. In the end, with a disappointed face, she lowered her head and sighed.

"Alright, I proposed to him, but he’s yet to reply. The same thing, though."

I opened my mouth, thinking of replying to her, but to be honest, my head was still hurting from last night, so I just gave up. I wanted to rebuke and do something, but my mind was simply not there as I pushed my way out of the stony faces that were looking at me and headed for my own room.

’What am I even doing? There’s still a bit that I need to do.’

*

The group remained standing at the front door for at least a minute. From the way they were acting, it was almost as if they were completely frozen in time. The Team Leader whipped out her phone and took several photos while mumbling, "He may be a little bit rough around the edges, but with some nice cleanup, he’ll look handsome. That’s who my man is."

Click! Click!

She continued to take photos until the group finally snapped out of it.

Only then did they leave, with just one person staying behind.

He stood by the door while the Team Leader lowered her phone.

"Hm? Section Chief? Why are you still here? Are you here to deny our vows? If so—"

"How is he...?"

The Team Leader stopped, her expression turning more serious. She subtly looked to her left and right, making sure there was no one present before replying.

"Honestly, I’m not sure."

Her brows furrowed.

"He seems okay on the outside, but it’s clear that he’s not quite right in the head."

"You think so as well?"

"Mhm."

The Team Leader nodded.

"Yeah, he’s definitely not okay. He’s certainly become a lot more confident, but at the same time, it seems like he’s losing his sanity in the process. If things keep going this way, then..." She stopped at the moment, her brows furrowing further. However, she didn’t need to elaborate further as the Section Chief understood instantly.

Looking at the Team Leader, his expression turned grim.

"...I understand. I’ll try to work something out."

"Do so."

The Team Leader replied while putting her phone back in her pocket.

As she did, she turned her back as her voice lowered.

"I wouldn’t want the past to repeat itself."

Clank—

The door closed right after that, leaving the Section Chief to stand in the silence as the Team Leader’s voice echoed inside his mind, over and over again. In the end, he turned away as his lips pursed together.

"Me too."