It was a chilly and murky evening, carrying a hint of typical winter weather. To Ai, it was a perfect occasion to wrap herself in a blanket after having her hot bubble bath and watch dramas and animes till late night hours. But tonight was different. Tonight Ai had plans. Plans which she would have gladly swapped with any kind of activity that didn’t include her leaving the warmth of her home. But no, she was darned and it was all Kyungsoo’s fault.

It was roughly eight o’clock in the evening at the moment and Ai was dipped in a scorching hot, therefore relaxing aromatic bath, the bubbly water reaching just above her lips. Why did she need to get ready and go to the stupid party? She exhaled sharply through her nose and made the bubbles disperse a little further away from her face. Kyung, you poop-head.

But then a brilliant thought crossed her mind.

I can just accidentally fall asleep here and then I’ll miss the party. Yes! It’s not like anybody could blame me for doing that! It’s not like it would be on purpose.

She snickered deviously underwater and caused the bubbles to emerge to the surface. Her plan seemed impeccable to her, that is, until a voice from behind the bathroom door boomed.

“Ai, get out of there and start getting ready! You don’t want to be late, right?”

Damn it. It was a bit impossible to execute anyway, she thought. Damn you, Lulu.

Slowly and with a lethargic spirit, she rose from the bathtub and wrapped her wet and flushed body in a big, soft towel. After exiting the bathroom, Ai was headed towards her room to get dressed, but her intention was interrupted when her phone which was lying perched on the coffee table went off.

Immediately cheered up by her favourite ring tone, she began performing a little choreographed dance which matched the rhythm of the song, before she decided to finally pick up the device in her hand and slide the green button to answer the call.

“What took you so long to answer?” An annoyed male voice asked from the other side.

“I was in the bathroom getting ready.” Not like I need to explain myself to you, googly- eyes.

“Okay, whatever. Listen. Uh, you don’t need to come to my house to pick me up. I’ll head there on my own.”

Ai’s eyes widened. “Eh? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“No, nothing happened. It’s just... Um... Uh... Okay. Here’s the thing. I’m feeling really impatient and I want to see him as soon as possible, so I’m going there first. I’m about to leave right now.”

“WHAT? What the , Kyung? You can’t do that to me! I can’t go there alone! What about our pact? What about ‘bros over hoes’, Kyung?”

“Ai, calm down. You’re not my “bro” because you’re a girl and Kai is not a hoe. Stop whining about every little thing and act your age for once. And besides, you have Luhan, right? He’ll be with you.”

“Lulu is only driving me there, he’s not going inside with me! I can’t possibly go inside on my own, Kyung!”

“Oh stop it! You’re not going to die, Ai. I’ll be inside waiting for you, what’s so scary about entering the mansion alone?”

“It is scary for me, Kyung! I don’t wanna—”

“Okay, I’m hanging up now, bye!”

“ you!”

“Love you, too!”

“I HOPE YOU GO AND DIE IN HELL!” Ai yelled into the phone, but the only thing she got in response was a beeping sound, which meant Kyungsoo had already hung up on her.

“Stop shouting so much, you’re disturbing the neighbours.” Luhan scolded as he passed by Ai, carrying a basin of freshly washed laundry in his arms. The girl turned to look at him with a pout on her face.

“But Lulu~” she whined with a drawl, “Kyungsoo totally stood me up for some guy just now! What the hell is wrong with him? Why is he being so stupid?!”

Luhan set the basin down before going over to cradle Ai’s face in his hands and smile sympathetically at her. “He’s not being stupid, Ai. When in love, people will do anything they can to be close to their beloveds.”

Frowning at him, Ai muttered. “Sounds stupid to me.”

The man only laughed in response and patted her head. “You’ll understand one day, when you experience it for yourself.”

“Oh god, no! If that ever happens, I want you to push me off a bridge or something before I turn into a complete ing idiot!”

“Language, young lady!” Luhan reprimanded and flicked her forehead, making her hiss and rub the sore spot. Just then, he noticed the way Ai was clothed - her body being wrapped in one measly towel. “And why on earth are you dawdling around the house -?”

“I was—”

“That’s enough! To your room and get yourself dressed!”

Shooting him one last glare, Ai stomped off to her room and Luhan had to stifle a laughter burst incited by girl’s hilarious choice of facial expression. Shaking his head, he picked up the basin and went on his way to iron all the laundry. Just as he was finishing off his work, Ai appeared leaning in the doorway of his room, her arms crossed over her chest.

“I’m ready. Let’s go.”

With a raised eyebrow, the man dragged his eyes all over Ai’s standing figure, scrutinizing the way she was dressed. “You’re going dressed like that?” he asked unsurely.

Looking down at her own clothes, Ai shrugged. “Why? Is it not appropriate or something?”

Luhan pursed his lips because he was not sure about how to answer that question. In all honesty, no, he would most definitely not allow the girl to leave the house in some overly exposing or alluring outfit for more than one reason, but this? He scanned her outfit one more time. Skinny jeans which served no purpose as they were two sizes bigger than intended, revealing neither the skin nor the clear shape of girl’s legs, baby pink shirt, buttoned up all the way to the neck, paired with checkered jumper vest worn over it.

“Ai, sweetie, you know that it’s not really that cold outside, right?”

“Hm.” The girl grazed her hands over the soft material of her jumper and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I like this style. It’s kinda pretty.”

Luhan didn’t feel the need to contemplate on Ai’s definition of the word ‘pretty’, so he let the subject be dropped. Instead, he focused on girl’s just dried, but still rather messy golden hair. “Do you want me to do your hair before we go?”

Ai nodded in response. “Yeah. I don’t think I can go out like this anyway.”

The older man just laughed at her cute honesty and led her out of the room by holding her hand.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go in with you?” Luhan parked his car along the sidewalk which faced the house where the loud techno music was blasting from. Releasing his hold on the steering wheel, he craned his neck to look at the girl sitting in the passenger’s seat, staring straight ahead of herself.

“Nah, Kyung and Tao’ll make fun of me if they see you there. I don’t want to give them that pleasure.” Ai mumbled grumpily, even though the offer sounded quite alluring since having Luhan by her side at the party would help her get rid of her nervousness. Social events were never her forte.

“Mm. Alright, then.” Luhan nodded his head. “Remember, if someone offers you alcohol or any kind of drink for that matter, don’t accept it no matter what. Drink only things that you open by yourself. And if anyone tries to bother you, ask your friends or someone from your class for help. When you want to leave, just text me or give me a call and I’ll be there in a five, okay?”

“A five? Isn’t that a bit too quick?” The girl asked, confused. “Where will you be until then?”

Luhan chuckled and ruffled the girl’s hair. “Ah, an old friend of mine has a club not too far away from here, so I figured I’ll go pay him a visit for a bit. You can’t possibly expect me to leave you here on your own and go back home, right?”

Ai shook her head with a smile. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve figured you’ll do something like that. Can’t afford leaving me alone, eh?”

The street lights illuminated Luhan’s soft features in the pitch darkness of the inside of his car. “I just love you that much.” A gentle smile graced man’s lips and he leaned in to place a kiss on the girl’s cheek. “Have fun!”

While unbuckling her seat-belt, Ai snorted. “Yeah, I’ll try.” And with that, she ducked out of the car, stepping into the cold and crisp evening air.

The smell of alcohol and cigarettes wafting through the air, dancing silhouettes of unknown people grinning and staring in the enormous expanse of a room with dimmed lights, all followed by a loud pop music with bass powerful enough to make one’s insides churn in apprehension, made Ai clench her fists in an attempt to restrain herself from rushing out of the house and thus breaking her promise.

She managed to find an empty corner in the big living room to catch her breath and calm herself down. She looked around herself with squinted eyes, but neither Tao nor Kyungsoo were anywhere in the sight. After a few more awkward minutes of stiffly standing in one spot, Ai recognized a familiar looking figure just a few meters away from her.

She weaved through the crowd of teenagers to get close to her friend who was standing with his back turned towards her. She patted the lanky boy’s shoulder to get his attention, making him turn around with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh hey, you finally ca— OH MY GOD, what the hell are you wearing?!” Tao exclaimed, his face scrunched up in incredulity.

Ai frowned. Not you, too. “Hey mind your own business, gaylord.”

Just when he was about to counter the girl’s insult with another insult like ‘fashion terrorist’, Tao’s attention went to the man wrapping his arms around his own waist from behind and kissing his neck. “Babe, I didn’t know you liked elementary school kids.” A visibly older man chuckled.

Tao saw the girl gnash her teeth and clench her fists, so he hurriedly tried to pacify the situation. “Don’t be like that, honey. She’s one of my closest friends. Oh, can you get me another drink, I’ve already finished this one. Ai, what do you want?”

“I’m going to get my own by myself, thank you very much.” The girl dismissed the offer as she crossed her arms. “Just hurry up and tell me where Kyung is.”

Tao arched his eyebrows and stuttered out an answer. “O-okay, the last time I saw him he was in some room upstairs with Sehun and the others.”

With the wave of her hand, the girl wordlessly left the two males to bewilderedly look after her departing form. After invading the kitchen, Ai found that all the drinks were exclusively alcoholic. She searched the cupboards and rummaged through the fridge, but found nothing that soothed her taste. Ultimately, she groaned loudly and yelled in exasperation. “There isn’t even regular water? Seriously?!”

Suddenly, the girl’s vision was enveloped in complete darkness as someone from behind had covered her eyes with his hands. Just as she was about to panic and perform a backwards kick she had learned from Luhan’s self-defense classes, the person spoke in a very familiar voice. “Guess who?”

Gently removing the hands from her face and turning around with widened eyes and a blush on her face, Ai stammered. “J-jongin?”

“This isn’t exactly how the ‘guess who’ game works, you know?” the tanned boy laughed and pinched the blonde’s