Seoul Kitchen: Chapter 8 (Patreon)

Crazy Cabs in Night City

Rebecca was drunk and so was he so it was time for them to go. She was already making quite the commotion and he didn’t want things to escalate any further. Thankfully, she became much sedated once he dragged her out of the bar, enough that he could let her go. Unfortunately, she decided to cling to him was the best course of action.

“Stupid out of towner,” Rebecca muttered as she glared back at the bar. She was still rearing for a fight and he’d rather not have her pick one at this state, “”

“I’m sure she didn’t mean harm,” He assured her as he gave her a pat on the head, trying to get diffuse her already lit match. Eager to get home, he called Pillar. He didn’t know where she lived.

“Come on, pick up!” He muttered as he tried contacting man but to no avail. For his troubles, all he got from the man was an annoying voicemail.

“Yo! This is your man, Pilar. If your trying to reach me at this time, better luck next time cause I scored myself a hot babe tooonight~!” The mans infuriating prerecorded message laughed out from the other end of the phone, “Just drop me a voice message or something if its important, I’ll take care of it tomorrow or whatever,” The message then said before it cut off.

Sighing, he moved on, trying to contact the other Member’s of Maine’s crew but he was not getting through any of them. He was stuck with her there at the parking lot of Lizzies bar. As the a familiar song rang from inside the bar.

“A handshake with you, what's your point-of-view~? I'm on top of you, I don't wanna go~”

Looking down on the angry girl pouting as she glared unseeing off in the distance. “Come on Becca, just tell me where your apartment is so we can get you there,” he begged her one more time but that only annoyed the girl.

”No, I don’t wanna,” The smaller girl whined, “Not when there are sluts around.”

Shaking his head, he wondered what he was going to do. He really couldn’t just leave her here. She might know the people here but did he really trust them to take care of his friend when she’s this drunk? He had to take her some place where she could sleep. He could rent a hotel or something…

“Cause I really wanna stay at your house~ And I hope it all works out~”

Or he could just take her home to his house. It was far safer there and at least he didn’t have to waste any eddies while giving her some place comfortable to sleep in. As the song picked up, the tiny gremlin’s hold tightened, deciding for him on the matter. He was going to have to take her back home.

“To my apartment it is then,” He sighed as he called a Delamain to come pick them up. It wouldn't take long for the ever so reliable AI driven cab to come over and pick them up.

Getting his companion inside the cab, he followed suit and off they went. It was an expensive ride but the price was well worth it. Fast, secure and most important of all, private; he could simply lean back into the soft cushions and relax.

As they drove down the busy highway, he then turned to his companion before asking her once more, “You sure you don’t want to go to your apartment instead? We could make a detour there.”

Unfortunately for him, the girl was still quite peeved about earlier. With a pout, she fired back, “I don’t want to talk to you,” As angry as she looked though, she looked far more annoyed than anything; What a troublesome girl.

“Alright,” He relented, giving up at this point. There really was no use arguing with her. All he could now was reach up and stroke her hair as they passed rows upon rows of street light. Currently, they were heading back to Westbrooke.

“Stop talking to me,” The girl growled out, swatting at him but as he pulled back his hands, she pulled them back. Leaning into his touch, she mumbled, “And don’t stop petting me… you’re hands warn…”

He chuckled, keeping quite while he kept his hands atop her head. Looking out to the garish and almost eye searing advertisement of Japantown, he let his mind wandered. It’s been so long since he has someone he truly called a friend. Despite finding himself a place in the richer district of night city, it was a lonely existence. It was nice to have someone to mess with and call his friend.

“Are you seriously ignoring me right now?” The girl spoke up, breaking his train of thoughts. Poking at his cheeks, grabbing his face as she got closed before shouting at his face, “Why are you ignoring me!”

As fun as it was, he would have preferred if it was less intense. Still, he liked her enough so he choose to ignore her even as she climbed atop him. “Come on, talk to me, I’ll be a good girl~” The girl begged him, but he would not break,even as she tried to be polite for once, “Please?”

Pouting the girl pulled back and it seemed like it was the end of it until he suddenly felt a tongue poke into her ear. “Gah!” he jumped in surprise. Cringing at the wet feeling inside his ears, he sent a baleful glare at him as he cleaned it much to the amusement of the girl. Shaking his head at the girls uproarious laughter, he muttered, “Damn it Rebecca,”

“Yay~ I got Chef to talk to me again,” The girl laughed as she plopped down atop his lap and looked back at him. With a big grin across her face, she gave him a boop on the nose as she told thim, “Hah~ You’re the best chef. So long as your not talking to any other girl who wants to steal you away off course~”

He off course would reward the girl with bop on the head for her trouble. Cradling her head, the girl looked up at him with a pitiful look, “Owie~” Still, the girl was anything but persistent as she tried reached up to him but this time around, he was ready for her.

Reaching down, he pinched her nose as she scolded her, “Stop it, your drunk.”

They would trade some pokes and teasing until the Delamain Ai suddenly butted in, “Lovers quarrel?” He grimaced, forgetting how nosy the old and venerable AI was as its face popped up in one of the screens. “You know, for an extra hundred eddies, I can provide you some couple’s counseling,” The digital entity.

He would have ignored it if not for Rebecca entertaining the AI’s question. “He’s looking at other girls when he already has me-!” She complained before he quickly clamped his hands on her mouth.

“Nope! Were just friends,” He clarified even as the AI’s digital face quirked a brow at him. He then felt Rebecca’s tongue a second time, making him rear back once more. “Damn it Becca! Stop it!” he scolded her but the drunken girl was simply too unruly as she blew a raspberry at him. He sighed, the things he does for his friends.

The AI smiled at him before it snarked back in reply, “You say that but based on your elevated heart rate and the way you’re pupils dilate, I see that’s not the case. Are you perhaps in denial?” Smirking, the AI then lectured him, “You know, not realizing how deep one is in a relationship can be quite damaging to the bond you have with her.”

Blushing, he blustered as he fired back, “Do you even have the license for this?”

He wanted to wipe off the shit eating grin off the AI’s face as he answered back, matter of factly. “Why yes, yes I have,” With a flash of his screen, he showed off a list of certificates, all with the name of the Delamain central AI written on it as the recipient, “As you can see, I am licensed and approved by the New American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology's to provide and dispense psychiatric advice to my customer.”

“Forget I even asked,” He groaned as Rebecca giggled while he nuzzled against his stomach, poking at his belly while he argued with this machine, “How the hell do you even have time for this when you handle the everything in your company?”

“Unlike you fleshbags, we neither sleep nor have difficulties multitasking,” The AI scoffed, seemingly offended by his words, “With all this processing power in our finger tips, We have nothing but time in our hands and trying to understanding humanities oftentimes confusing action never fails to provide us with all the entertainment we can ever want,” he then replied as he procured himself a digital bag of popcorn. Of course the AI that chooses to be a Taxi driver would find entertainment of their passengers.

“He’s ignoring me again!” Rebecca once more whined.

“Why yes, indeed” and the Delmain was all too happy to side with her to mess with him. Giving him an amused look, the AI told him, “You know, it’s bad manners to ignore a young lady that’s quite smitten with you. Perhaps you two should try some ecstasy together to work things out?”

“I’ll take two~” Rebecca then pipped up.

Blushing from embarrassment, he muttered, “I swear this city is going to drive me insane one of this days,” Thankfully for his already frayed sanity, that the ride back home wasn’t too long.