"Do you think I enjoy being here, getting myself drunk with this sake in my hands?" Like a tiger in the wild, Nickson narrows his eyes and locks them against mine. He tilts the glass and watches the liquid slide over to the side, close to gushing on the table.
The Korean guy sends shivers down my spine as he looks at me with an intense boiling rage of anger dwelling on him. As if not enough, Nickson stomps the bottom of his glass on the board, nearly shattering it into shards with its visible cracks. Upon turning my face ahead, the bartender seems preoccupied at the moment and does not see what is happening with his customer. If the server sees Nickson doing something ridiculous enough to break his property, he might have to kick us out from the bar.
My mind turns blank after hearing such retaliation from Nickson. This guy has always interposed my sentences until now and leaves no openings for me to retort. In the back of my mind, I realise he needs some help. Nickson must have a solution to both his relationship with his brother and within himself. Everything he has done until now will bite him back soon if he does not fix his entire problems.
"Look, all I want you is to attend in the office and do the paper works-,"
"All you care about is being an officer at the school," Nickson interrupts my sentence yet again, this time leaning closer to my face. I can peer through his eyes alongside the teardrops holding inside his sockets. "You do not give a damn about other things!"
The foul-smelling caproic acid comes to life at every breath of my lungs. After inhaling such a fetid scent, I unconsciously cover my nostrils and shield myself from his breath. Luckily for me, Nickson realises his distance and moves back from where he has last positioned himself and resumes staring at the cabinets.
He must eye for something different to drink and reminisce about himself for a Korean sake rather than the Japanese one.
Without a second of a doubt, I notice Nickson does not have his glasses with him on his face. He usually takes his lenses off during crucial times. It helps him think and say more prominent things compare with his eyeglasses resting on his eyes. That feature is the thing I perceive during my time following him around the school. It makes him more alive than ever when he only has his plain face with nothing covering his eyes.
"If I do not give a damn about you, tell me why am I still here, suggesting to a drunken vice-president? You are a person unrelated to me, copied my novel and turned it into a manga, while asking him to go back to his responsibilities, Nickson?" I involuntarily raise my voice and gulp all the contents of my carbonated drink.
With an icy stream entering my tube, I feel delighted about my drink.
"Oh, you are still at it with that novel of yours," Nickson gives out a sarcastic laugh and chugs the shot inside his mouth.
"That topic is already out of the question."
"If it is, then why are you bringing that dirt up, shoving it on my face!" As if having enough of the conversation, Nickson reaches out for the mug once more.
As if not content with the drink, Nick pours another round of glass in his cup and slurps everything. After realising that his alcohol has disappeared, he reaches out his hands only to find out that the sake is empty.
"Another one, please." He tosses out a bill towards the bartender. In response to his courtesy, the owner of the Izakaya slides yet another bottle of the same green and transparent green flask.
"This shit again," Nickson curses.
He wants to toss the bottle out of his sight but could not do so while sticking his fingers inside his pocket. Nickson glares at his reflection and does nothing for a couple of seconds, looking confused about what is happening to him.
"Give me that." I snatch the bottle away from his sight, thinking that he needs to stop drinking for tonight.
But upon realisation, Nickson reacts and seizes my hand, gripping me tight with all the remaining strength inside left in his arms. Despite his drunken state of mind, Nick could stop me from my movements.
"Quit it, Nickson! You have already intoxicated yourself with these sakes!" With a twisting turn of my arm, I free myself from his latch and glide the bottle inside a plastic bag.
"Hey, I paid for that!" The Korean guy cries and desperately extends his arm, reaching for the bag.
I understand he has already purchased the bottle. With the policy of "no refunds" in this shop, I plan to save this sake for him to bring it back inside his house.
"You are not even allowed to drink this thing!" I append to his befuddling actions and nudge him to the side.
With a defeated look, Nickson slouches his body and looks at the cabinet again. Unlike last time, he stares at the abyss, wondering to himself about something inside his mind before standing up from his seat to face me.
"You know nothing about mei. You are just an author, running around and chasing my problems. Well, guess what? I have my situation to solve, and you are not helping! Who fucking cares if those two Japanese idiots kick me out of my position. Do you want my chair? You can fucking have it, Yuki! You always wanted a high-ranking position now, don't you? It is all yours to take, Yuki."
His roars become audible around him as Nickson grips tight on the bottle. My drink turns sour and bitter, knowing that I have the least knowledge about this mangaka.
"Maybe you are right." A soft murmur escapes from my mouth as I play with my cup from side to side. It is an incomplete sentence that runs inside my mind, trying to look for the missing puzzle pieces of my statement.
"But that does not mean I cannot just leave you here. I have my responsibilities as a secretary-,"
"If I quit being an officer, would you leave me alone?"
No words flee from my tongue after hearing such words coming from his side. We exchange glances for a moment, unsure what to reply to his honest demeanour. I could not retort or deny his claim, knowing that I too want to become the vice-president of the council.
But that does not mean I can take that position away from him, since the former officers choose him for that place for a reason. Even if I question their judgement now, nothing will ever change the past.
"No. I would hate that." I shake my head and give him my reply, only to see him running away from my vicinity.
"Your brother is out there, so why do you refuse to come back to school? You are giving us some lame excuses, and I don't understand any of your nonsense!" I hate being blunt, but that is what I feel about the situation.
Nickson's actions bring more work to all the council, including six other officers working inside that room. These people have yet to voice their concerns, but it is only a matter of time before they would have enough of his actions.
For the last time, I sprint in his direction and grab his vest, hoping we could talk this out. People say that if you are under the influence of alcohol, you will be more honest with everyone, and since it all comes to this, I want to know what I can do about his situation.
"Leave me alone, dammit!" Nickson spins his arm and pushes me back to the ground.
Fortunately for me, I have my hands to cushion my fall as I lay flat on the dry land. However, the situation has worsened because of him hurting a person, especially a lady and a classmate that he knows.
"I did not mean it," Nickson denies what he has done and continues sprinting back and meets with a figure of a man waiting beside a car. With the rain pouring heavily from the dusky sky, I feel something more happening inside his head.
The other bloke wears an identical tuxedo as Nickson, but with more white fabrics and a hat hiding his face. He looks more like a butler than a formal gentleman attending a party.
"Is that his butler?" The colourless gloves give away his look as he opens the door for the drenching teenage boy.
"Hey, wait!" After shaking off the thought, I recommence my dash and meet him up close. I could not let this opportunity pass by and hurry myself to reach their site.
However, someone stops me from my tracks.
"I will take it from here," says the man wearing the jet-black suit with his waiter's hat resting on his head.
With a single swipe of his hands, the butler moves to the wheels and enters the automobile. Upon gazing up close, the lights on the front dazzle like the star, with the engine running rampant inside. After a few seconds, the car drives away at crazy speed, unbefitting for a local vehicle.
"What the heck is even happening here?"