Chapter 12 - We Like to Party

My heart was racing as fast as Ji Yong's Lamborghini. I felt like I was dreaming. I felt like I was in a drama. Ji Yong was blasting Beyonce's "Partition" on his stereo. I blushed a bit and wondered if he understood all the lyrics. As we drove through the streets of Gangnam, I tried to calm myself. I'd never been to a night club before; not even in the States. There were a lot of firsts for me today.

My phone rang, and I fished for it in my hand bag. Ji Yong lowered the stereo and smiled, "Go ahead and answer it." I nodded my head bashfully and put the phone up to my ear. "Hello?"

"Yah! Ha Na!" Eun Ji's voice sounded through the speaker. Her voice was so loud I had to pull it away from my ear for a moment.

"What's up?" I asked, returning the phone to my ear.

"Where are you? I've got a few of the other trainees at the house and we're going to throw a party!"

"Um..." I turned my face towards the window and whispered into the phone. "I'm kinda not able to come home right now..."

"I can hear what you're saying, Ha Na." Ji Yong said with a small chuckle.

There was a pause, and then Eun Ji practically squealed into the phone. "W-was that G-Dragon?"

"Yeah..."

"You are with G-Dragon right now?"

"Uh huh," I replied while smiling pathetically at Ji Yong.

"Shut. Up." There was another pause. "OH MY GOD, HA NA! YOU HAVE TO TELL ME EVERYTHING! ARE YOU-"

I quickly pulled the phone away from my face. "Look, I've got to go. Hang up."

"-LIVING A CINDERELLA STORY? DON'T YOU DARE HANG UP ON-" Oops. I hung up on her and pursed my lips together hoping the Ji Yong wasn't staring at me. But he was.

"Ready?" He asked.

"For what?"

"We're here, Ha Na." He slid out of the driver's seat and closed the door.

"Oh..." Before I knew it, he opened my door and offered a hand to help me out. This didn't look like a club. It looked like a...hotel?

"Um...oppa?"

Ji Yong passed his keys off to the valet. "Mmm?"

"This is a hotel..."

"Ah. Well, I thought maybe you and I..." he paused for a moment, smiling shyly while giving me a wink. My eyes went wide and my face turned crimson. "...could grab a bite to eat before we went to the club?"

"Right, dinner." My heart was in my throat. Stupid girl, what was I thinking. I exhaled.

"This is Hotel Ellui. Club Ellui is attached. We're going to eat here first. Let's go." He didn't offer his arm this time. I wondered if he was worried about the ever watchful eye of the paparazzi. I tucked my handbag under my arm and followed him inside with my head lowered a bit.

The sound of my heels clicking on the marble floor was all I could hear. I followed Ji Yong through the lobby as he led me to a restaurant that looked more like a high-class pub. The host showed us to a private booth towards the back.

"This sure is something else," I said as I surveyed the surroundings.

"Do you like it?" Ji Yong asked while flipping through the menu.

"I do." I smiled. A few moments later a server came over to take our order. I wasn't hungry at all, so I asked Ji Yong to order for me. He ordered two filet mignons with winter vegetables and a bottle of wine with a name I won't even try to pronounce. When the server returned, he poured our glasses of wine. Ji Yong and I toasted and I savored the smooth taste of the red wine.

We conversed a bit while eating our meal. He asked me a lot of questions about where I was from and how I grew up. I answered as best as I could while I prayed to the gods that I wouldn't drop anything on my dress. I had never been so uptight in my life. I felt like I would crawl out of my skin at any moment. I loved being with Ji Yong. He was kind, funny and warm. He was attentive. But a large part of me was well aware that I was with a celebrity, wearing clothes that I could never afford, eating a meal that probably would cost me a whole paycheck.

Perhaps it was the wine, but by the third glass, I had mellowed out a bit. Okay, mellowed is an understatement. I was full on tipsy. I giggled at every small joke Ji Yong made.

"Are you okay, Ha Na?" He asked with worry.

"Totally, oppa. Just a little tipsy." I propped my chin on my hand.

"I guess this is what people in the states call pre-sporting?"

"What?" I laughed.

"You know, when you drink before the main event?" Ji Yong looked a bit embarrassed.

"Oh!" I laughed once more. "That's called pre-gaming. You were close, though!"

Ji Yong laughed, too. "I'm glad you decided to come, Ha Na. And not just because you're helping me with English slang."

"I'm glad I'm with you, oppa." Did those words just come out of my mouth? Dammit, Ha Na, get yourself together! I glanced up at Ji Yong expecting the worst, but he was smiling.

"Ready to party?" He rose from his seat. I nodded emphatically.

When we stepped into the club, my senses were completely overwhelmed. The place was huge. There were stairs leading up to the second and third floors. The DJ was spinning on a huge stage with laser lights going in all different directions. The dance floor was packed, and the music was bombastic. Ji Yong grabbed my wrist and led me through the crowd to the stairs. I felt dizzy, but I made my way up, step by step until I stumbled backwards. I felt Ji Yong's arm steady my fall. My body tingled. I shook my head. Clearly, the wine was talking.

"Careful." He offered me his arm once more, and I slid my hand around his elbow. We continued to ascend, arm-in-arm, until we reached the VIP area. There were the boys, waving at us to join them at a table that overlooked the dance floor.

"Wow, Ha Na, you look delicious." Seungri purred as he sidled up to me. My face turned red.

"Hands off, tiger." Ji Yong playfully pushed Sungri away.

"You'd deny me the pleasure to dance with the most beautiful girl in the club?" Seungri frowned.

"That's up to her." Ji Yong winked at me.

Seung Hyun was sitting in the far corner of the booth, but he too was staring at me with his mouth slightly agape. I smiled at him, but he turned away.

"Maybe later?" I offered as I slid into the booth. There were drinks upon drinks and bottles everywhere on the table. "Who else is joining us?" I asked.

"It's just us!" Seungri yelled across the table.

"Wow...okay...lots of booze," I muttered.

Taeyang was dancing beside the booth. Watching him was mesmerizing. He gave me a wink and Seungri hopped up to join him. Unfortunately, Seungri looked like a hyper little kid next to the smooth hip hop moves Taeyang offered. Daesung raised a glass towards me, and we downed a shot of soju.

"All of this expensive liquor on the table, and you're drinking soju, Dae?" Seungri asked.

"You can take the kid out of the country..." Daesung started.

"But you can't take the country out of the kid!" I finished, impressed that he was aware of the American colloquialism. We poured each other another glass, shouted "One shot!" and down the hatch the soju went. Like two drunk idiots, we high fived as Daesung and I continued our bonding ritual over alcohol.

"Hey, Ji!" Taeyang yelled at Ji Yong. "You okay?"

Ji Yong was looking down at the dance floor, his face suddenly serious.

"Oppa?" I placed a hand on his arm and looked up at him.

"Uh, yeah, sure. That sounds good. I'll be right back, okay?" But I hadn't asked him a question, and I watched his back as he walked away. I suddenly felt odd, as if this was some bad omen. Obviously, it was the wine, I thought, and nothing that another glass couldn't solve. The boys and I continued to down shot after shot until we were all trashed, singing loudly and laughing even louder. I watched Seungri, Taeyang and Daesung throw themselves out of the booth with excitement as 'Turn Down For What' blared through the speakers. I watched them and thought about how happy I was right now at this moment.

"Don't you dance?" Seung Hyun had moved next to me.

"Oh...no, not really," I smirked.

"You do now!" Seungri yanked me out of the booth, and I couldn't help it. The music and their energy were so infectious. I started dancing with them.

"Show me your American moves, Ha Na!" Seungri said as he grabbed my wrist and threw it over his shoulder. He wrapped his other hand around my waist and pulled me into him tight. I finally decided to stop giving a damn and started dancing with Seungri. Our bodies rubbed together and although we both had zero feelings for each other, I could see Seung Hyun getting agitated.

"Okay, that's enough! Everyone is watching!" He stood up and pulled us apart. I lost my footing bumped into Seung Hyun.

"Wow, chill, hyung. We were just having fun." Seungri whined before flopping himself into the booth.

I must have completely lost any sense of rationality at this point. I could feel the heat rising off of Seung Hyun's body, and I felt even more intoxicated. I leaned into him and put my finger to his lips. "Yeah, just having fun." His looked down at me with an expression that made my mouth water. I felt Seung Hyun slowly slide his arm around my waist, and his breathing became low. His face was just inches from mine. The music was washed out by the sound of my heartbeat. I wanted him. I wanted him badly, and I knew that he wanted me, too. What was this? I thought my heart belonged to Ji Yong. Why was I reacting this way to the cold hearted Seung Hyun? I took a deep breath, and the music seemed to resume, breaking the trance I was so briefly under. I stepped away from Seung Hyun.

"I-I have to go to the bathroom." I spun around on my heels and left Seung Hyun standing there, his face looking as shocked as I felt.

I fanned myself as I walked down the stairs and I tried to catch my breath. I walked through the maze of people towards the bathrooms. As I turned a corner, I saw Ji Yong at a bar off to the side. With a smile, I headed towards him. But then I noticed he was talking to some girl. I stopped dead in my tracks and my smile faded. He was whispering in her ear, and she was laughing and touching his arm affectionately. The two of them seemed very intimate. My heart sank. Ji Yong looked over and noticed me, his eyes wide with surprise. I remembered what Seung Hyun had said to me before, "Be Careful. Girls fall for him easily. They misunderstand his intentions." I took a few steps backwards, embarrassed that I ever thought he ever felt anything for me. I backed into what felt like a brick wall. A hand grabbed my wrist and whirled me around. I found myself pressed against Seung Hyun's chest. He was glaring hard at Ji Yong. I felt him wrap his arm around my waist.

"You were right. Please get me out of here," I murmured into his chest. I felt him nod as he led me out of the club while tears stung my eyes.

A.N. - Thank you so much for your patience. I realize it's been awhile since I've updated. I broke my wrist and it was impossible for me to continue writing for awhile. It did give me a lot of time to flesh out more of the story - so updates will frequently be happening! I hope you continue to enjoy and thank you for your support!