Ficorpio
Chapter 1
I had been secretly in love with the older girl next door for five whole years.
But she told me she didn’t like women and turned me down.
Five years later, I spotted her among the beautiful women at a private karaoke lounge.
I’d been drinking. Clinging shamelessly to her hand, I asked, “Vivian, will you kiss me?”
She took the money and obediently did as I asked.
But—
Although she held me and kissed me, there was something in her eyes I couldn’t understand. Something dark and unreadable.
I saw Vivian again five years later.
She was wearing a black shirt. The long hair she had once treasured had been cut short, giving her a sharp, handsome look.
She had grown much thinner, too.
There was something so clean and composed about her that I couldn’t look away.
The girls who had come with me all turned toward Vivian at the same time.
I stopped them before they could make a move. “Leave this one to me.”
They immediately protested.
“You always pick the most handsome one.”
“Are you really going to keep the best for yourself?”
I looked at the cool, distant woman across the room, my voice turning bitter.
“She’s Vivian.”
“…”
They froze together, exchanging awkward glances.
I had told them the story of Vivian and me more than once.
And then, just as I’d hoped, I ended up sitting beside her on the sofa.
My friends understood perfectly. They gave us the darkest, quietest corner without being asked.
Sitting next to Vivian, I felt as though I could barely breathe.
Did she still remember me?
When she rejected me back then, she’d said she didn’t like women. So why was she here now, entertaining female guests?
My thoughts were a complete mess.
It took a long time before I finally asked in a small voice, “Vivian, how have you been these past two years?”
She gave a soft laugh. “Pretty good.”
After that came another long, drawn-out silence.
Seeing how timid I was, my friends ordered more drinks.
I’d always been a terrible drinker. After a few glasses, the alcohol gradually numbed my nerves.
I gripped the empty glass in my hand and turned to Vivian.
She sat with her eyes lowered, quietly drinking. In my drunken haze, I could almost see the gentle, thoughtful girl from next door I’d known years ago.
Then, as if possessed, I pulled out my wallet and pushed every last dollar I had into her hands.
Summoning my courage, I asked, “I’ll give you all my money.”
“Vivian, will you kiss me?”
She stared at the stack of cash for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
I had pursued her for years, and I had rarely seen her smile. When she did, her eyes curved slightly, and her gaze seemed to hold scattered fragments of starlight.
The next moment, she calmly glanced at the money.
Chapter 2
“Then I’d better kiss you a few more times,” she said. “Otherwise, I won’t feel right taking all this.”
I barely managed to recover from her smile. Fighting through the alcohol, I frowned.
“Th-then don’t just talk about it. You should actually…”
But before I could finish, Vivian really did lean in and kiss me.
The warm touch of her lips crushed what remained of my reason, inch by inch, until nothing was left.
Vivian really kissed me?
My mind went completely blank. I clung to the hem of her shirt with both hands, forgetting even to breathe.
By the time I was close to suffocating, I panicked and pushed her away.
The woman I had once regarded as my salvation was looking at me in silence. Her eyes were clear and pure, and she was still holding the stack of cash I had just shoved into her hand.
It was as if she had descended from some untouchable place and become part of the ordinary world.
I would never look down on her for that. If anything, my hands trembled inside my sleeves.
If money could really make her stay by my side, that would be wonderful.
Money was something I had.
But Vivian was the one thing money could never guarantee.
After staring at her for a long while, I turned and grabbed the bottle of liquor beside me. I tipped my head back and swallowed more than half of it in one breath. Then I drew in a deep breath and looked at her.
“Vivian.”
“Hmm?”
She answered me. Her voice was so soft that, to my ears, it drifted like a feather.
Warm. Ticklish.
“Um…” I licked my lips and summoned my courage. “Come home with me.”
She was clearly startled.
Her brows drew together. Her eyes were deep and beautiful, but I was too drunk to understand the emotions hidden in them.
Still, my alcohol-numbed brain slowly caught up with what I had said, and I hurried to correct myself.
“I mean… Are you having some kind of trouble right now? I can help you. I really can.”
Vivian looked at me for a long time.
A very long time.
Then, just as I began to lose my nerve, she spoke softly.
“I need quite a lot.”
“That’s okay.”
I seized her hand, desperate to make her believe me. “I can help you. I really can.”
All the sorrow of loving her without ever being able to have her surged to the surface under the influence of the alcohol. I tightened my grip on her hand and stared at her without looking away.
“Please don’t go sit with other people, sweetheart…”
I couldn’t bear to imagine the gentle, beautiful Vivian from my memories sitting beside strangers just for money.
Perhaps my agitation affected her. The detached look on Vivian’s face gradually grew solemn.
She watched me in silence, her expression impossible to read.
Chapter 3
Just as I was reaching for my phone to send her an instant payment, Vivian pressed down on my hand. Her palm was warm, and in those few brief seconds, that warmth slowly spread through me.
“Don’t transfer it yet.”
She glanced at the cash in her other hand and said quietly, “Let’s settle by the day. This… is just enough for one day.”
I froze.
Vivian had said she was expensive, but I hadn’t expected her to be this expensive.
I had put at least ten thousand dollars into her hand, and it was only enough to keep her for a single day.
The last time my best friend had taken me out to broaden my horizons, even the most expensive model at the lounge had cost only a few thousand.
But I gritted my teeth and agreed anyway.
That day, I took Vivian home.
I had been drinking, but she hadn’t. The liquor made my head spin, yet it also gave me more and more courage.
Riding that wave of Dutch courage, I tugged her down onto the bed with me. Her first instinct had been to refuse, but I cupped her face in both hands and stared at her with absolute seriousness. My gaze kept slipping out of focus.
“Vivian…” I slurred. “I paid for you. S-so are you ready to let me… ravish you?”
Vivian stared at me for two seconds, as if she had been amused by my question.
“Mm-hmm.”
After that, she stopped resisting.
Unfortunately, I was far too drunk. Just as I reached for her clothes, a sudden heaviness seized my chest. I couldn’t hold it back and vomited beside the bed.
And then…
I remembered nothing else.
All I knew was that when I woke the next morning, I was in Vivian’s arms.
I was wearing a nightdress, lying beside her.
The alcohol cleared from my head all at once. Trembling, I asked her what had happened the night before.
Vivian laughed.
One brow lifted, and a teasing light gleamed in her eyes. For some reason, she looked almost like a mischievous little doe.
“Take a guess.”
Take a guess?
I pulled back the covers and looked down.
Oh no. I really had been drunk out of my mind.
I stared at the red stain on the bedsheet in silence for a long time. Then I pressed my lips together and said softly, “Vivian… I’ll take responsibility for you.”
As I spoke, I hurried to reach for my phone so I could send her the money. But the battery had died, and the phone was shut off.
I gave her an awkward smile. “I’ll pay you for today later.”
Vivian paused. Then she lowered her eyes and answered with a quiet, “Mm.”
While I was getting up to change, I stole another glance at her.
She was such a beautiful woman, and I couldn’t remember a single thing about the night before.
I’d had an alcohol-induced blackout.
What a waste.
Aligning character names and chapter text output
As Vivian turned around, I hurriedly looked away.
Wrapped in a bath towel, she glanced at me with a slight frown. “My shirt isn’t dry yet.”
“Huh?”
I glanced at the black shirt hanging on the balcony. “You… did laundry last night?”