Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 488 Reception
The sound of three people's slippers echoed in the living room. The television, which had been silent, was turned on again. Two plastic bags were placed on the coffee table, and brightly colored metal cans with condensation on their surfaces shimmered under the overhead light.

"How do you want to drink?" Mochizuki Haruka sat down on the right side of the sofa and asked coldly.

The right side of the sofa is where the boys usually sit, so it became her preferred spot.

Kurusu Yosei frowned and lay down on the left side of the sofa. "Don't be so serious! Drinking is a fun thing!"

She always sat on the left, which was the most comfortable position for the girl to tease the pine branches with her feet.

"Remember not to drink too much; a holiday is not an excuse to indulge." Jun Matsueda walked towards a small sofa and was stopped by the girls.

"Why are you sitting so far away?" Mochizuki Haruka patted the seat next to her.

"Matsue doesn't think that just because Mochizuki is here, you don't have to drink anymore, does he?" Kurusu Yosei beckoned to him with his finger, "Come sit over here!"

So Jun Matsueda had no choice but to stand up again and sit down in the middle of the sofa, maintaining a just-right distance from the girls.

Yosei Kurusu leaned over the coffee table, his fingers sweeping over the bottles of liquor as he counted them.

"Nine cans in total. Anyway, the three with higher alcohol content are mine. You can drink however you like, okay?" She smoothed her long black hair and looked at the two people beside her.

"Why did you buy so much?" the boy couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't say I'd drink it all tonight." The girl rolled her eyes at him. "Besides, it's not very strong, it's like beer, you won't get drunk."

"Is that okay for you?"

"Is Matsugi's alcohol tolerance really that bad?" Mochizuki Haruka, who had been keeping a straight face, asked curiously.

Jun Matsue nodded. "It's pretty bad, isn't it? It seems like this thing is useless even with training."

“Last time he got drunk after only a few drinks and could only lean on my shoulder, sister~” Kurusu Yosei winked at her with her right eye.

"When did this happen?!" The girl suddenly stood up from the sofa.

"Don't worry, nothing happened when she left Tokyo," the boy explained immediately.

Mochizuki Haruka glared at him, then snatched a can of strong liquor from Kurusu Yosei's hand. "I'll drink with you!"

“Who asked you to keep me company?” The woman in room 507 sat back down on the sofa with a can of yellow and blue “Lemon Tang” in her hand. “I was going to drink it with Songzhi in the first place.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t drink.” Jun Matsue reached for a bottle of “Men’s Plum” on the table and checked the alcohol content first.

Five degrees, which is about the same as regular beer, so there shouldn't be any problem.

He glanced again at the grape-flavored "Icebound" drink in Mochizuki Haruka's hand, a nine-degree flavor. The girl noticed his gaze and leaned closer.

"Does Songzhi want to drink from the same can as me?"

The boy shook his head. "How's Wangyue's alcohol tolerance?"

This was the first time he had ever seen Mochizuki Haruka drink.

The girl first opened the can and took a sip before calmly starting to think.

“I haven’t compared myself to others, but my aunt sometimes drinks red wine at home, and I’ll have a little with her.”

"That should be better than me." Matsueda Jun was relieved. "Keep an eye on Kurusu later."

"What do you mean by looking at me?" Kurusu Yosei asked, displeased. "Have I done anything out of line with you?"

"You've really gone too far tonight," the boy replied with a look as he turned around.

"Alright, alright, let's stop with all this nonsense!" The girl held up the can in front of him. "Let's have a drink together to celebrate my return to Tokyo!"

Matsueda Jun imitated her previous actions, pulling open the tab with one hand and raising the bottle.

Mochizuki Haruka stared at the two people's hands, which were suspended in the air, for a while before joining them.

"Well then—congratulations on the successful conclusion of my tour! I exceeded my expectations!" Yosei Kurusu's cheerful voice echoed in the living room, and the three of them clinked their bottles together, making a crisp metallic sound.

"Congratulations." It was the boy's voice, tinged with laughter.

"Who wants to wish you that?" the girl, who didn't intend to fit in, said softly.

Jun Matsuoka brought the can to his lips and took a small sip—his tongue tasted a brief sweet and sour flavor before the saltiness appeared. He then tilted the bottle back, and a cumin-like perilla flavor filled his mouth.

"How are you feeling?" Yosei Kurusu asked curiously as he leaned closer.

“It definitely has a very ‘manly’ smell,” Jun Matsueda said, looking at the people laughing on TV. “It’s a bit pungent and a bit salty, which reminds me of sweat.”

The girl laughed, and Mochizuki Haruka, who was standing to the side, looked at the two of them and rested her head on the boy's shoulder.

"What are you laughing at?"

Sweet breath brushed against her earlobe. Jun Matsue turned his head away from the girl, shaking the can in his hand.

"This is the sake that Kurusu bought for me. He said it has a kind of 'old man' flavor'."

"Does it taste like an older man?" Mochizuki Haruka leaned down, and Matsueda Jun watched as her pink tongue darted out from her lips and circled the mouth of the jar with astonishing agility, swirling up the remaining liquid.

The thought of a cat's tongue flashed through the boy's mind.

"What an awful smell." The girl squeezed her eyes shut and frowned in disgust.

“It’s not that difficult—” Matsueda Jun was only halfway through his sentence when Kurusu Yosei’s body pressed against him.

"Hey, hey, hey, what were you doing just now?! I saw it!"

"Just a taste~" Mochizuki Haruka blinked innocently.

"No!" The girl put the wine on the coffee table and tried to pull the boy into her arms.

"Never mind, never mind." Jun Matsue stopped her. "She's licking the bottle, not my mouth."

“Then I’ll lick it too!” Yosei Kurusu pouted.

"Licking or drinking is up to you." Jun Matsueda handed her the can; he wasn't the type to fall for someone just because of an indirect kiss.

"..." The girl stared at the top of the metal can for a while, then snorted, "It's a bit disgusting."

"Indeed." The boy took back his wine and wiped the rim of the can with a tissue.

"Hey!" Mochizuki Haruka was getting a little angry now.

The party began, and by the time Jun Matsuoka had drunk half of the first bottle of sake, his face was already red.

Yosuke Kurusu turned off the living room lights halfway through, so the boy didn't realize that the second can of alcohol he picked up was a strong liquor meant for girls. When the lemon ice with the word "strong" on it was completely empty, he unsurprisingly became the first one to pass out.

When Jun Matsue regained consciousness, the living room was still dimly lit, and the television screen was still changing. He found himself sitting upright in the center of the sofa.

The girls, who were drinking together, each had one hand on his thigh, as if they were using his body as a drinking table.

The soft touch slid across his thighs. With his last shred of reason, he brushed the girls' hands away and sat down on the small sofa on the other side.

"Remember not to drink too much."

When Jun Matsuoka woke up again, the living room was quiet. The television was muted, and the remaining screen exuded an air of isolation and loneliness.

Sleepiness and drunkenness made the boy reluctant to open his eyes. He heard a series of pattering footsteps approaching him and then stopping beside him.

The girl seemed to squat down, and her soft breathing sounded in his ear.

"Songzhi, what are you thinking about right now?"

(End of this chapter)