“Aren't you at least going to pretend that you're excited?” Your sister is perched before her vanity, lining her eyes with a black kohl liner. The line is thick and strong, making her look even fiercer than she usually does.

Your sister is almost two years older than you. You're a senior in high school, while she's in her second year of university. Character wise, you are polar opposites. She's sociable and outgoing. She likes to meet new people. She loves to make new friends. You, on the other hand, are more of a homebody, content with spending your day at home. Baking. Writing in your journal. Sleeping.

Well, sleep is not what you're getting tonight. In an attempt to foster the sibling bond between the two of you, your parents practically blackmailed your sister, talking her into taking you with her on a night out. The reward they promised is a new mac lipstick that your sister has been desiring for weeks.

Lying back on her bed, you stare at the ceiling. “I'm not excited.” And you aren't. The promise of being with other people that you don't really know. Probably stuffed into a tiny cramped apartment. Your parents promised that they would pick you up at twelve though, so you only have to endure it for three hours.

Your sister rolls her eyes and stares at your denim skirt. “At least you're wearing something semi appropriate”, she sighs and stands up, looking at the clock. “Seulgi is gonna pick us up in a minute.” She gives you another glance. “You ready?”

You nod and stand up, too, straightening out the wrinkles in your skirt. You have your phone in your back pocket.

You both descend the stairs and then get your jackets.

The ride is loud, but uneventful. Seulgi and your sister are gossiping about some girl who has dropped out of uni to become a model. You try your best to engage in the conversation, but you have no idea who the girl is, so you soon give up and stare out the window.

Soon, you drive up a path that leads to a large house. A mansion, rather, and you raise your eyebrows at your sister. She had said something about a “house party”, but nothing about the owner being so loaded.

The three of you get out of the car. Seulgi and your sister are still giggling. At the same time you can hear the loud music from inside and exhale slowly. Your sister turns around, “You're gonna be fine in there right?” For the first time in the night Seulgi gives you an enouraging smile. “Don't take any drinks from strangers”, she adds.

“Jaebum's gonna be there, right?”, your sister asks, stopping for a moment. For the first time tonight you're interested. She didn't mention anything about a guy.

Seulgi gives your sister a cheesy wink as if she knows everything about her and this Jaebum guy, “Of course!”

Your sister quickly brushes her hair back with her fingers and then lightly slaps her cheeks with her hands, “Do I look okay?”
“You look fine”, Seulgi answers. “Jaebum's gonna fall in love with you!”

Then the door opens and the smell of alcohol and something else hits you. You cough slightly and follow the two girls. They greet some people here and there, occasionally squealing and you soon find yourself at a group of chairs surrounding a table. There's a sofa, too.

“Hey girls!” You are welcomed with some shouts and catcalls.

“You look so great!”, a girl appraises loudly. She is absolutely stunning herself, sporting long brown hair and pink lips.

You stand there awkwardly, a bit overwhelmed with the sheer amount of people. It's feels like some sort of sensory overload: a dozen people talking at the same time and dozens of different smells attacking your nose.

You stare at your feet. Maybe this was a wrong decision. Maybe you should've stayed home. Your eyelids flutter and you hide behind your hand with embarrassment. When you've finally gained enough courage to peek behind your hands you notice a guy looking at you. You lock eyes for a second, before you look away.

He's definitely handsome. Warm, honey-blond dyed hair. Fierce eyebrows. A somewhat stoic expression. An expression that is somewhere between aloof and bored. It's that kind of bored face that makes him look arrogant, like he couldn't care less about what's going on right now.

You shake your head, reprimanding your brain for being so judgemental.

“Sit down, sit down!”, you hear your sister ordering. “Did mom and dad say anything about alcohol?”, she enquires and you shake your head, sinking down on the sofa.You're not 20, but neither is she and there's a cup in her hands already.

“I'll guess, I'll take something”, you mutter, “But nothing too strong.”

She gives you a victorious smile and commands some guy to pour something into a cup. He holds it out for you, giving you a wink.

Ignoring the wink, you take it, carefully moving it closer toward your nose. You take a smell. It's smells acerbic and stings your nose like something that you would use in an experiment in chem class. The difference is, you don't drink the liquids in chem class.

You look over the rim of the cup and find your stare drawn to the blond guy again. Looking closer, you're almost dazed by his beauty. There's a mole right under his eye. It gives him a somewhat cute look.

As if sensing your thoughts, he finds your eyes and you blush involuntarily. You quickly look down at your cup again, a bit too close, and feel your eyes tearing up.

One sip isn't going to hurt, right?

Throwing all your concerns for your liver over board you bring the cup to your lips. It tastes as bad as it smells.

You gasp slightly at the numb feeling of your tongue and look at the guy who gave you the drink. He's animatedly chatting with a short-haired girl.

You lightly bite onto your tongue with your teeth. There really is no feeling.

Suddenly, you feel someone's hot breath close to your neck, “Are you checking out Youngjae?” You turn slightly to see a pretty girl with black hair and really pale skin. She glances at you in her drunken stupor, but it seems as if she's seeing right though you. “He's a tough nut to crack.” She giggles and holds onto your shoulder. “I'm Wendy, by the way.”

Her eyes are glassy and you wonder for a second if she is going to remember any of this tomorrow morning. Then you put on a smile and give her your own name.

“Are you Suyeon's sister?”, she then asks, squinting, “You two look pretty similar.”

“Yeah, she's my older sister.” You wonder if now is the appropriate time to take a casual sip from your drink, but Wendy interrupts your thoughts.

“So, are you twins?”

***

After enduring more mindless remarks from Wendy, you're finally a bit tipsy, having taken a sip every time she said something stupid.

You sure that she is a really nice person when she's sober, but you can't take her seriously when she's drunk.

You bring the cup to your lips again, only to realize that it's empty. You look at Wendy and mumble an apology, but she lazily waves her hand.

The kitchen is half deserted and you throw your empty cup in the trash, opting to rummage through the fridge instead to look for some water.

“Are you thirsty?”, a soft voice asks and you turn around with wide eyes. Caught.

He's handsome. Blond hair that is almost white, a cool tone. Bright eyes that twinkle when they look at you. You nod.

“I was looking for some water”, you explain. It's the first time you're going to a party and you don't want to end it with someone holding your hair back while you're barfing out your intestines. The guy smiles a sweet smile and walks to a cupboard. He opens it, revealing an array of bottles. You read the label. Evian.

“I'm Bambam”, he says, grabbing one bottle. You can see his biceps under his dress shirt and quickly look away. He opens the cap and hands you the bottle. It feels cold. You mumbke a quiet thanks and take a sip. When you're finished, he's still looking at you.

“You wanna dance?”, he asks. He holds out his elbow for you to take like he's some chivalrous knight in a midieval setting and you laugh.

“I haven't really danced before though.” It's a quiet confession. A confession that you're not really a partygoer. That you probably have two left feet.A promise that you're certainly going to step on his toes.

Bambam smiles, “We'll see.”

***

When something vibrates on close to your , you almost gasp. You take out your phone and motion to Bambam that you have to take the call. It's your mom.

You accept the call and quickly weave through the sea of drunk people on the dance floor to find a quiet spot somewhere else.

“Hey mom”, you mumble breathlessly, still feeling the dizzying high of having danced so much.

“Hello, my child! Are you having fun?” Her voice sounds cheerful and you check the time. Almost twelve o'clock.

“Yeah,...”

“We just wanted to check up on you”, she adds. You hear your father on the other side of the line affirming it. “Is your sister still able to walk in straight lines?”

Last time you saw her, she was downing shots with Seulgi.

“I guess.”

Your parents guffaw.

You smile. Your retinence probably gave you away. You're a bad liar.

“Well, please make sure that she putting on a coat, ok? We're gonna be there in a few minutes if your father manages to drive properly...”

They continue to bicker and then hang up. You put your phone back into your pocket and turn around. Bambam is standing there, looking at you, “You okay?”

You nod. Dancing with him had turned out to be much more fun than imagined. Moving your body to the rhythm was quite fun actually. While dancing you had also discovered that Bambam has way too much energy. Really.

“Is your mom going to pick you up?”

“Yeah, but I have to look for Suyeon first.”

Bambam smiles at you, “Let me help you. I think I have a feeling where she might be.” Taking your hand like a matter of fact, he looks forward.

“Let's go.”

And Bambam's hunch is right. Your sister, though she's already hammered, is standing at the beer pong table. To her credit, she's not the one participating in the game. Insteadt she's cheering on a guy with wild hair and a shirt that is half ed.

You don't know whether you should feel embarrassed for him.

“Found her”, Bambam laughs and you cringe, wondering if your sister is like this at every party.

You let go of his hand and meander through the crowd until you've reached your sister. You tap on her shoulder and she turns around. “What are you doing here?”

You remind her of your “curfew” and she sighs. “That's what I get from going out with a minor”, she complains and you don't bother correcting her.

“Where did you put your bag?”

She squints at you, trying to remember where she put her things.

“I have your stuff.”

Bambam comes back with a bag and two jackets in his arms. Your sister grabs it from him and Bambam turns to your, holding your jacket open for you. His lips are pink and there's a thin layer of perspiration on his forehead from having danced so much.

“You are way too polite.” You slip into the jacket with embarrassement.

“I try my best.” He laughs at your misery and you look down at the floor.

“Thank you for tonight. I had fun. You made me dance”, you hesitate and bite your lip. “But it was fun.”

Your sister is staring at you and you give Bambam a quick glance, “I think we have to go now.”

“I'll see you off”, he says, catching your glance. His eyes are dark, so dark that you have trouble differentiating between his iris and pupil. A small, pleasant shiver runs down your spine and you take a breath.

“Ok.”