Chapter 14: Kissing a Drunk Girl
Gerhman remained alone in the middle of the street, his gaze lost toward the immensity of the sky which was beginning to tint itself with a deep purple. He eventually set off, his neat silhouette and indifferent demeanor inevitably attracting the attention of passersby. The women stopped in his path, literally hypnotized by the beauty of his fine features. In parallel, the men cast hateful glances at him, their faces twisted by a jealousy they could not hide in the face of such physical perfection. His appearance, almost unreal under the city’s neon lights, would undoubtedly have secured him a prime spot in the international fashion industry. Yet these considerations held strictly no importance in his eyes. The concerns of mortals seemed derisory to him, almost pathetic, for he who had once reigned over unfathomable abysses as the incarnation of the sin of Pride. Simply wanting to clear his mind and soothe the agitation of his heart, he began to walk in the lively street, hands thrust into the pockets of his pants, ignoring the crowd that instinctively parted before him.
He walked like this for a long time, his mind drifting toward the fragments of his past and the betrayal that had precipitated his fall. Indifferent to the urban bustle, he eventually stopped in front of a building with a dark storefront, adorned with a minimalist sign simply indicating: Piercings. A sudden impulse, a need to mark this new body, pushed him to open the door. The bell above the entrance tinkled discreetly in the muffled silence of the shop.
"Welcome," said the owner, a man in his forties with a shaved head and arms covered in tattoos.
Gerhman responded to his greeting with a simple nod before settling into the black leather seat installed in the center of the room.
"Show me your models," he asked in a calm voice.
The craftsman nodded and brought out a wide range of sketches and jewelry. He commented on each piece with professional enthusiasm, but Gerhman simply pointed to the elements he wanted, never uttering more than two words at a time. After a long moment under the expert needle of the piercer, his look had radically changed. In addition to the silver chain that already hung along his neck and his spiderweb tattoo, he had added several piercings to his left ear, including a thin silver chain that connected to his lobe. These new metallic ornaments accentuated the coldness of his gaze and highlighted the pallor of his ethereal skin. Now, he gave off an even more rebellious appearance.
"Do you like it?" inquired the piercer, stepping back to admire his work.
"I wouldn’t have paid if that wasn’t the case," replied Gerhman as he stood up.
Satisfied with this change, he paid the bill in cash, then headed toward Electhra’s apartment. When he finally arrived in front of the imposing building, he immediately noticed Hae-neul’s car parked on the side. Gerhman climbed the floors in silence. When he reached the door, he used his badge to enter. Once inside, he immediately found Hae-neul in the living room. She was not wearing her usual combat outfit, but loose clothes that clashed with her vice-master stature: a large gray sweatshirt that concealed her athletic musculature and lounge shorts revealing her powerful legs. She seemed to have bought an impressive quantity of drinks, as several bottles of high-end alcohol, some of which were already empty, littered the coffee table.
"Ahhh, you’re here..." she murmured, her voice already slightly slurred from the effect of the alcohol.
She raised her red eyes toward him, her usual severe expression replaced by an alcoholic haze that made her almost vulnerable. She patted the couch next to her.
"Want to have a drink with me?" she offered, lifting a bottle of whiskey that was still open.
"Why not?" accepted Gerhman after looking at her for a moment.
He approached the table, took a clean glass from those lined up, then sat down across from her. He observed the young woman with curiosity. After a while, as silence had settled, Hae-neul seemed to reach an emotional breaking point. The alcohol, instead of knocking her out, had released all the frustrations she had accumulated since their meeting. She stood up abruptly, nearly tripping on the thick rug, and pointed a trembling finger at him.
"You... you really think you’re the center of the universe, don’t you?" she began, her voice rising in pitch. "Since you’ve been here, Electhra swears only by you, she gives me orders as if I were just a babysitter for a rank D!"
Gerhman remained motionless, his face impassive. She is even louder when she drinks, he thought with disdain. Hae-neul approached him while staggering, her cheeks reddened by alcohol contrasting with her flaming red hair.
"Why do you look at all of us as if we were insects under your boots?" she continued, stopping right in front of him. "You’re just a little pretentious guy with jewelry everywhere!"
She did not stop there. In a surge of alcoholic bravery, she came to sit straddling Gerhman. The weight of her muscular body and the heat of her skin briefly surprised Gerhman, but he did not pull back. She placed her hands on his shoulders, gripping the fabric of his open white shirt.
"Look at me when I’m talking to you!" she almost shouted, her face a few centimeters from his. "You think you’re superior... but you’re nothing without us. Why... why are you so handsome when you’re such a bastard?"
Gerhman felt the smell of alcohol mix with the young woman’s perfume. His gaze remained fixed on hers, imperturbable.
"Have you finished your circus, Hae-neul?" he asked in a low and monotone voice.
"No! I’m not finished!" she replied, her expression oscillating between anger and a sudden sadness. "These piercings... I hate that they make you so attractive. It shouldn’t. A man as arrogant as you should be ugly."
She ran a hesitant hand over Gerhman’s ear, brushing the new silver chains. Her aggressive temperament seemed to have evaporated, giving way to the awkward shyness she usually hid.
"You are... unbearable..." she murmured, closing her eyes.
Suddenly, she closed the remaining space and kissed him. It was a disorderly kiss, marked by the urgency of alcohol and repressed frustration. Her lips pressed against his with surprising force, her hands getting lost in his grayish hair. Gerhman, surprised by the audacity of the one who had avoided him a few hours earlier, remained still for a moment before briefly responding to the pressure, his black leather-gloved hands settling on the young woman’s waist to stabilize her.
The kiss lasted for long seconds, a silent exchange of heat and resentment, before Hae-neul’s body completely relaxed. She let out a sigh of contentment before suddenly passing out, her head falling onto Gerhman’s shoulder. The emotional effort and the quantity of alcohol ingested had just claimed their due.
Gerhman remained like this for a moment, feeling Hae-neul’s heavy breathing against his neck. Problematic, he simply thought, although a glimmer of amusement had appeared in his eyes. He lifted her without apparent effort, his arms holding her firmly as he stood up from the couch. He crossed the living room littered with bottles and headed toward the guest bedroom. He gently placed her on the bed, tucking her in carefully, before leaving the room in silence, closing the door behind him.
