Ji-yoon walked with a certain subtlety that you admired dearly. Long legs and short skirts got you places, at least that’s what she’d taught you. She walked like she had everything, heels too high and hair straighter than the whiskey she knocked back like water, she truly was a sight.

 

Not in a bad way of course, you admired your room-mate greatly. Whether she pioneered for another couple days lee-way with the rent or she was finding new ways to get free drinks, she was everything you didn’t expect for your year studying abroad.

 

“When my parents come round pretend your names Sam”

 

Those were the first words she’d spoken to you. You, standing in the doorway of her apartment, suitcases and carry-on’s still sitting beside you. So with little preparation and a quick explanation, you spent the afternoon sipping tea and conversing with her mother and father. When her previous room mate had finally given up on Ji-yoon’s late night drinking and mid-week party’s, she had packed up and left. Leaving her with no choice but get another, the fifth one that year to be exact.

 

She was straight-forward and people took this for senseless comments most of the time, she was never the type to beat around the bush. She was also an only-child who had grown up in the countryside with her parents breathing down her neck and whispering about test results a little too loudly.

You couldn’t blame her for wanting some excitement.

You could blame her for a lot more though.

 

She held your hand tightly as you made your way through the hotel lobby, heels clicking as she lead you both past the concierge desk. It was bordering ten and she was already complaining you were late. You were already regretting coming. Your legs were bare as you followed her quickly, your skirt too short for your liking. Despite her protests you’d made it out with a leather jacket so you weren’t too badly off.

 

“Namjoon’s gonna kill me” she had mumbled under her breath as she brushed past a few business men, who all gave you strange looks. She stopped suddenly when you reached the elevator bay and looked around desperately.

 

It wasn’t long before Kim Taehyung’s tall figure was spotted, leaning against a far pillar, hands stuffed deep in his pockets. Muttering a few curse words you proceeded to follow Ji-yoon as she once again lead the way.

 

“And she arrives, speak of the devil” Taehyung had muttered once he noticed the shorter girl approaching him. Playful yet displeased, he still held a smile.

“We did have to walk here”

“Whatever. You want in or not? This party isn’t exactly easy to crash”
Taehyung had only begun to notice you and you would have preferred if he hadn’t.

 

“I don’t remember saying there could be a plus one Ji-yoon” he had finally said, arching a brow. 
“I don’t remember you specifying against one” was her quick reply, innocent enough.
And so, the tall man had sighed, running a hand through his brown hair and instead turned towards the elevator at the end. 

“Come on slow pokes” he called, already walking away “Or else I’ll leave you out here to converse with the riff raff”

The elevator ride seemed much longer than it actually was. The mirrors and gold interior doing nothing for your nerves. Untrusting glances from Taehyung left you staring at your shoes and you were beginning to feel sicker as the floors got higher. There was no stops, no sudden dings that meant for a second, you might actually be saved by another soul entering the small carraige, but there wasn’t. There was just a thick, uncomfortable silence and Ji-yoon’s grip on your hand.
Clearing his throat,  Taehyung shifted in place, glancing at Ji-yoon for a second, a softer look in his eyes. She remained oblivious, watching the floor numbers rise instead. Through the mirror you watched him avert his eyes, to the floor once again.

 

When the doors opened, the first thing that hit you was the music. Loud and obnoxious drum beats along with crude lyrics burst through the closed door near the end of the hall. The walk to the white door that read ‘Vanilla Suite’ was a blur. The dark lighting in the hallway made the path blurry and hazy  and Ji-yoon was the only thing keeping you from running away. 

Taehyung had nodded at the men standing either side the door, pushing it open with his shoulder, turning and using his foot to hold it as you followed suit. The door closed with a swift bang and you realized why Ji-yoon had asked you to go with her.

 

Blue and hazy lighting flickered on and off every few seconds. The stagnant smell of vodka and strong cologne wafted through the air, along with a hint of smoke and something else you couldn’t quite place. Shadows of people moving on the far side of the room, ducking into doors and dissappearing, along with the sounds of shouts over the loud music. An aura of electricty ran throughout the room, constant movement and sound, other wordly. In a trance you watched, as nothing really happened, but the seconds of darkness left you blind and waiting for something to pop out. 

In the far corner, a space was specifically arranged for dancing, where blurs of people moved and limbs came in contact with each other. Feeling sick, you weren’t sure what to do.

You weren’t sure how long you stood just staring at the strange scene, but the next thing you knew Ji-yoon was pulling you towards the kitchen and Taehyung was soon pushing a glass of whiskey in front of her.

 

“What d'you drink?” he asked, his tone slightly lower as the kitchen blocked out some of the sound. 
“Um … Vodka” you answered simply.

 

It was the first time you’d met the man, but his laughter had made you calmer and he poured you a glass with ease. The glass of the short cup reflected onto the marble counter, strange shapes and blue diamonds imprinting itself onto the white stone. It took you a moment to drink it, and the burning in your throat gave you a strange comfort when you finished the glass in one go.

Another chuckle from Taehyung, another glass.

“You drink it like Yoongi” he had chuckled, pouring more of the clear liquid into your glass “Can’t tell if that’s good or bad though”
You couldn’t tell either.
“Usually you’re a-”
“Pour me one too Tae” came a cheery voice from the kitchen door.

Jung Hoseok was smiling the first time you met him. Smiling that deadly smile of his that really did seem too perfect for it’s own good. Face slightly flushed and his bangs wet with sweat, he was was one of the hottest things you’d ever encountered as he walked towards Taehyung. A black t-shirt clung to his torso, patches slightly darker from having been pushed into the sweaty mass of people dancing. Black jeans and black boots, his smile was even more lovely.

 

“Pour it yourself, what do I look like? A bartender” Taehyung had scoffed, passing you your own drink before joining you and Ji-yoon on the bar stools.

His eyes were pretty, standing out from the rest of his face, his gaze caught yours. Just for a second and he ing smiled. Sort of a casual thing, as he turned to the array of drinks before him, getting a cup for himself.

 

But god it was nice, just for a second to let the man smile at you.

When he came over to lean on the bar, you couldn’t help but look up at glance. A wink was all it took to make you drop your head again. He seemed to find this funny and cheery laughter came from his mouth, Taehyung shooting him a strange look.

 

“Something funny hyung?” was all he’d asked, a smile on his lips.

“No, no. It’s nothing” was all his answer was as he sipped the liquid in his cup.

 

Giving him a sceptical look, Taehyung eventually stood, wiping non-existent dust from his trousers.

“C’mon” Taehyung had motioned to Ji-yoon “You said you wanted to find Namjoon, so let’s go find the son of a ”

It took you a few seconds before you realized you had been hopelessly abandoned. With Ji-yoon gone off with the tall intimidating Taehyung to find Namjoon, you weren’t sure what to do.

 

Hoseok had eyes you a second before downing the rest of his drink, throwing the plastic cup in the bin before turning to leave. You hadn’t really expected much, you didn’t even know his name, so you had simply stared at your cup, awaiting the painful next few hours that would be trying to stay sober, but your surprise, a familiar figure had appeared in front of you.

 

He was smiling again.

“You wanna come dance with me?”

The grin that was forming on his lips was bright than the fluorescent lights of the kitchen and you found it intoxicating. You had to turn him down though.

“I’m not really good at-”

 “Good and bad are things I’ve long since scrapped from my mind set so come on”

You had paused, unsure how to answer that.

“Or are you gonna make me find another partner?”

 

And somehow, you found yourself being lead into the crowd of dancing twenty somethings. His hand was soft, encasing yours as he searched for a clear spot, and you kept your focus on that rather than the feeling of your lungs imploding.

You almost crashed into him when he stopped suddenly, turning around to meet your gaze, taking your other hand in his free one.

“C’mon I wanna see how bad you think you are”

 

You hadn’t moved, feeling like a fool for being persuaded so easily in the first place. 

“Look I’m just gonna go back-”

“No, no. C’mon. Please” he was quick to say, his smile coming out again “Just follow me okay?”

His hands landing on your hips was a surprisingly light touch, cupping your sides with a gentleness that wasn’t at all what you suspected. Pounding music and a mass of people were soon background noise to his loud facial expression. A gleaming smile was directed at you, while you settled for putting your hands on his upper arms.

 

He swayed you, slowly at first, laughing again as your eyes met anywhere but his own. Oh god, he was just other worldly. Grinning, he was like something from a movie, something from a book. Dark eyes slightly closed due to melodic laughter that passed chapped lips, his hair, matching the dark eyes that never left your view, fell onto his forehead.

 

Effortless, in every sense of the word, the way he simple stood was something like a dream.

And for a moment, you gave in and became part of this dream.

Music long forgotten, his smiles grew smaller but nonetheless beautiful as you swayed to the beating of your pounding heart. He was mockingly confident and you were willing to be dragged to hell in that moment, as long as he was there.

 

There was no hand movement or suggestive looks, his hands never left your hips and his eyes never left yours. It was nothing more than him, and his smile and the promise of forgetting why you had come to the party in the first place. And as the hour passed, you began to forget more and more

Infinity in your bones and cigarette smoke encasing hazy thoughts and passive smiles, you were for a second, the definition of true heroes, of damned youth; fully aware of hell being a mile away, with fast cars en-route.

 

Simple yet shocking, he had you trapped.

And you would have willingly allowed his inviting smile to turn into a kiss and that to turn into a lot more. That’s why when he had leaned in, so innocently, so slowly, almost as if waiting for your permission, you had pulled away the last second. 

His lips being torn from you neck, such a light touch that the action was almost uncalled for, you looked at his expression. His frown was nothing short of accepting and that’s why it had surprised you, almost like he knew it would happen. It was the utter look of complete understanding and it caught you off guard.

 

His composure regained itself just as quickly as it was lost and in a cheery voice he commented.

“Look at you saying you were a bad dancer”

Oh god it was almost comical ad dreadful at the same time.

“You did most of the work”

 

He grinned at this, replying in a overly cheery voice.

“Hey, you weren’t so bad yourself”

The seconds after he gave you a long look, his small smaller then, slightly sad, but pretty nonetheless. Leaning forward, so you could hear him properly.

“Go on. Don’t you have to leave before midnight”

 

And the rush of adrenaline this mere sentence gave you was sickening. Your stomach did flips and your mind was gone for a second, off on some rant about how this was not happening. His smile made you want to run as fast as you could and ask him to never leave go of you. A mixture of impending emotions and the constant contrast of sad eyes and a bright grin was deafening.

 

“Cinderella had a happy ending huh?”

 

It didn’t appear like he wanted the answer to that question though.

His smile dissolved then, into something of a frown , you couldn’t say was any less beautiful. And it was ironic, how someone like him was at a party like that. 

You weren’t blind. The guards at the door and the exclusiveness of the party was suspicious enough. Along with the era of tension and the expensive suits. And the bags of white powder being passed around and the glimmer of a gun barrel every now and then was just hitting the nail on the coffin.

 

If you hadn’t already known who Ji-yoon had gotten involved with you would have had to been an idiot not to have noticed.

Hoseok had answered in a soft a tone as he could, over the loud music.

 

“I hope you get yours too princess”