Wheein and Hyejin are more than happy to skip class to accompany her to The All Nighter. They’re happy about the skipping class part, and partly also because they’re curious about the bar.

“They serve the best drinks,” Hyejin says as she sits at the back of Wendy’s car, legs crossed. “Byulyi talked about how they also have the prettiest girls.”

Wendy turns the wheel, meeting Hyejin’s eyes on the rearview mirror momentarily. “Byulyi’s been there?”

“Once. She had a fight with Yongsun and some named Xiumin suggested she try The All Nighter since they serve drinks that would make you forget.” Wheein sniffs, nose upturned as she crosses her arms. “She came to class the next day hungover and her fight with Yongsun worsened.”

“Is The All Nighter the only bar in town? It isn’t, is it?”

“Where do you think I drink?” Wheein snaps. So, maybe Hyejin was the only one willing to go to The All Nighter, and she only tagged along because she forgot to do her homework. “Shangri La is the best place to drink.”

Unable to stop herself, Wendy scrunches up her nose. The name’s familiar and she thinks she drove past the (disgustingly plain) place once. “Shangri La? You sure that’s actually a good place?”

Wheein huffs. “They sell drinks from bottles and don’t know how to mix drinks themselves, but the singers are amazing and they let the customers sing whenever they want.”

“The All Nighter does that too,” Hyejin says, looking up from her phone. She turns it around to show Wheein The All Nighter’s page filled with reviews. Most of them obviously written while drunk. “And they give discounts to newcomers, because, and I quote, ‘you’ll pay back by going back, because they all go back’ end quote.”

“Sounds arrogant,” says Wheein, just as Wendy stops the car. She looks out the window at the stone statues of wolves guarding the front, snakes around their necks. “Does that look like a normal bar?”

“It looks like a normal bar with a theme,” Wendy answers nonchalantly, taking off her seatbelt. “And a normal bar with someone named Seohyun who can help me. You guys come in and order your drinks, I have to check on Seulgi about something.”

Wheein frowns. “Check on Seulgi or check on Irene?” She scoffs at Wendy’s innocent stare. “Just a reminder, Wendy, all those boys fell for their charms before they disappeared into the wind.” She in a breath, studying Wendy with concern dripping from her tone. “Don’t disappear.”

Wendy smiles brightly. “I won’t. Now go, I’m just going to ask her something.”

Hyejin eyes her as Wheein climbs out. She whispers, “Yeah, you disappearing would big time.” She smiles tightly before exiting the vehicle.

Wendy watches as the two enter the bar, Wheein shuddering at the wolves. As soon as they’re in, she pulls the candle out of her bag and takes a deep breath. Then she takes the note and shoves it in her pocket and pushes the candle back into her bag, under all her books.

She’ll find her answers.

-

The bartender has the second most dangerous eyes Wendy has ever seen, right below Irene’s. She smirks and Wendy swears her teeth glint.

“You’re a new face around here,” she drawls, taking a glass from under the counter, half full with some kind of red liquid. “The name’s Kwon Yuri. You are?”

“Wendy Shon,” she replies meekly, ignoring the glass. It could be filled with poison for all she knows. “I’ll take a glass of champagne, please.”

Yuri smirks, flicks her gaze pointedly at the glass before going back to staring into Wendy’s eyes. “This drink fits you best, Wendy,” she almost spits the name. Then winks at Wendy like they're sharing an inside joke.

The back of Wendy’s neck crawls, and she involuntarily shudders. “What is it?” she jerks her chin towards the drink.

Yuri’s smirk grows. “Slayer Blood.”

“What?” she croaks out, eyes wide.

Yuri laughs, sound dangerous. “Our bar’s theme is, well, supernatural creatures.” She gestures around them, at the mysterious vibe of the bar, at the scaly leather seats, at the stone snakes hanging from the ceiling. “Slayers are the bane of their existence, and we thought it’d be fun to add them to the list. Slayer Blood’s not as popular as the Devil’s Dare, but I think it fits you.”

“What’s in it?”

“Vodka, and a bit of magic.”

Wendy huffs, crosses her arms, and leans back. “Give me champagne.”

“It’s proper protocol for the bartender to suggest a drink to a newcomer. Witch’s Brew doesn’t fit you, darling.”

She looks away from Yuri’s eyes. “I can’t take vodka. It’s too strong for me.”

Yuri pouts sympathetically, hand to her heart. Then she grins and slides the glass nearer to Wendy. “Yeri makes the best hangover cure. Ask Sunny.” She waves her hand towards the other bartender.

The petite woman who always walks in as soon as Peek-A-Brew opens. She winks at Wendy and raises a glass towards her before handing it to—huh—Johnny, who nods at her a little shyly.

“Are you all, like, part of some huge corporation or something? Secret agents?”

Yuri’s smirk melts and her eyes change. “Drink the Blood, Wendy.”

“I’m looking for Seohyun,” she chokes out. She looks around for Wheein and Hyejin and find them laughing loudly about something, tucked into one booth far from the counter. “What did you give them?”

Yuri tuts, brows meeting. She stares at Hyejin and Wheein fondly. “Siren’s Scream.” She points a finger to the drink drawn on the menu, murky blue, almost green. “Fits them, don’t you think?”

“Too dark for them.” She scrunches her nose to prove her point. But somehow the drink does fit. Wendy can’t pinpoint how, but it does.

“Seohyun’s out,” Yuri says, taking a more carefree stance. “It’s Tiffany’s night to sing, and we don't make Seohyun cook nor wait tables after one too many complaints about ‘the tall girl who acts like my mother’.”

“Irene told me to ask for Seohyun. I—there are cats outside my window. They can get really…” her gaze flicks to Yuri’s mouth, still in a sinister grin, “unnerving.”

“She can never keep her kitties in check, huh?” Yuri asks Sunny adoringly, grinning. She turns back to Wendy. “If it’s cats, you have to go to the flower shop.”

“Jisoo’s?”

Yuri scoffs, waves her hand dismissively. “Jisoo doesn’t have anything to do with it. She’s not from here. It’s the flower—”

“—and all other plants—” Sunny interjects,

Yuri hums, “—and all other plants, yes of course. It’s that one beside the mart. Your friend Seulgi might know them.” After some thought, she adds, “Does the name Soojung and ‘orange juice' ring a bell?”

Wendy controls her facial expressions, which makes Yuri laugh louder. “Where can I find Seohyun?”

“Probably pestering Taeyeon,” Sunny answers, wiping the counter with her rug. “And Taeyeon’s probably brooding on the roof.”

“One rule: don't go up to the roof when Taeyeon's there. Only Seohyun’s allowed to, because only Seohyun’s not afraid of anyone.”

Johnny nods at Yuri’s statement. “I got a huge bump on my head because I once got drunk and went up to the roof while Taeyeon was brooding. Girl has a solid hook.”

“She’s the weakest here, John,” Sunny exclaims, frowning pointedly at Johnny.

Johnny blushes. “Ever since that stunt Doyoung pulled back in ‘11, I started bruising real easy.”

“Have Kangta check that.” Yuri scowls at the boy, almost looking like a disappointed mother. She then turns to Wendy. “Am I going to have to prod further before you drink my mix?”

“I’m really just here to talk to Seohyun.”

“What about me?” asks a tall girl standing at the end of the stairs, brows raised and posture elegant.

Wendy looks up as Yuri groans. “You’re Seohyun?” The girl nods, eyeing an annoyed Yuri. “Uh, Irene sent me here.”

Seohyun blinks, almost looking like floating as she walks over to Yuri. “You’re Wendy? Is it about the cats?”

“No.”

Seohyun raises an eyebrow; Yuri leans closer. “Then what?”

“Uh,” she clears , “I need some answers.”

Yuri’s sinister grin returns. “If that’s what you need, then I'm who you need. I sell secrets, just pay with something valuable to you, a secret of your own…” she eyes Wendy’s lips and Wendy them instinctively, “Or a kiss.”

“You’re so disgustingly creepy,” Seohyun grumbles, pushing a laughing Yuri to the side—into Sunny’s unwilling arms. “What do you need to know?”

Wendy freezes, eyes only on Seohyun because Seohyun doesn’t seem dangerous at all. “I'm not sure.”

“Weirded out by the town, I suppose?”

She nods. “Everything's weird. There are cats outside my window, but they're gone now thanks to Irene's candle. Johnny’s eyes hypnotized me—” she throws Johnny a look and he has the decency to flush bright red before taking his drink and leaving the counter.

Seohyun watches him as he slips into a booth with two other men. “Have you been to Déjà Vu? They have books about the history… and future, of this place. It’s my favorite place here.”

She shakes her head. “I haven’t been there. I don’t think anyone goes there.”

“Don’t be silly. I go there. Yeri goes there. We hold most of our town meetings there.” She purses her lips. “I can accompany you there sometime.”

“You will?”

“I will.” She taps the counter, nails sounding against the stone almost sweetly. “But keep in mind that by doing so, you’ll be breaking Irene’s trust.”

She frowns. “Why will I be breaking her trust?”

Seohyun sighs, stirring the straw on the Slayer Blood. “Because Irene trusts everyone to stay even when she keeps secrets. She’ll tell you what's happening in her time. But if you’re—” she almost looks coy, lashes sweeping, “—so curious… I’m willing to show you the most helpful books.”

“Are you going to break Miss Irene’s trust or deal with the frustrating curiosity?” Yuri asks, sliding next to Seohyun. She pushes the drink towards Wendy again. “Or, you can come here for drinks every time the secrets hurt your head and I’ll make you forget everything.”

Sunny pops out beside Yuri, pushing her back. “I’ll make your drinks if Yuri and her hormones are too sketchy for you. But the offer stands. Our drinks will make you forget, and the songs will keep you coming back.” She taps on the glass of the drink. “This doesn’t have anything on it, you know. Drink it to prove that our drinks are topnotch.”

“This will make me forget?” she asks incredulously, pointing to the little amount in the glass.

Sunny laughs. “No, but you’ll come back for more before the day ends, and the fifth one will make you forget.”

She scowls doubtfully at Sunny. But when her gaze lands on Seohyun, she’s still looking at her warmly, no hidden intention inside those eyes of hers, that’s enough for Wendy to take the drink and gulp it down.

Yuri whoops victoriously; Sunny and Seohyun roll their eyes at her. And Wendy feels burning, her chest hurting, and her tongue asking for more.

Without realizing, the night passes by in a blur of colorful drinks, Yuri’s smirk, and a beautiful voice singing in the background, Hyejin’s and Wheein’s arms around her shoulders and Seohyun watching from afar.

-

Forgetting isn’t the right term.

Wendy wakes up the next day, miraculously in her apartment, parched and her skull throbbing. She remembers, though.

She remembers asking for another drink, and Hyejin trying to stop her because it was her seventh, and Wheein arguing it was only her fifth. Seohyun had given her another drink, said it was to stop the hangover from hitting full on the next day.

What a goddamn lie.

She remembers pulling Hyejin down from a tabletop as Johnny and his friends encourage her to keep dancing, the party starting as soon as the singer stopped singing ballads and started singing more upbeat songs.

She remembers holding back Wheein’s short hair as she threw up, because Hyejin had forced her to do so, despite the hair being short enough to not affect Wheein’s vomiting.

She remembers so much. But she forgot so many that night, too. Well, not forget. It was just easier to ignore. Not one thought of Peek-A-Brew and its unique customers came to mind. Her overdue assignment in Physics didn’t come to mind.

She did, however, forget how to pretend to not care about Irene, too, and kept whining to an ever smirking Yuri about her mood changes and the way Irene softly smiles whenever she plays her playlist, asking about the lyrics of Troye Sivan’s songs, nodding along to Hozier’s songs.

She whined about not wanting to die just because she found Irene pretty and charming, and Yeri adorable, and Joy hilarious, and Seulgi comfortable. She whined about not wanting to disappear just because she never really believed family can be anything other than blood, but those four together are the laughter Wendy wouldn’t mind coming home to.

And she remembers telling Yuri all this, and Yuri shaking her head at Wendy, saying “You’ve known them, what, almost two weeks, and you’re already this deep into them? Holy Neptune, Wendy, you’re too soft.”

She lets out a loud groan, annoyed at herself and her massive headache. Adding salt to the wound, she opens her phone and curses under her breath at the full brightness.

And the time written over her lock screen, a picture of a sunset her sister once sent her, taken somewhere in this city: 9:12 PM. September 11.

“Did I just ing miss all of my classes for today?” she asks herself, eyes wide. She sits up abruptly, and immediately the regret comes with the sharp attacks of pain.

She feels like such a trashy college student. And, oh god, she hasn’t even started tomorrow’s pastry!

Ignoring the feeling of death knocking on her skull, she forces herself to get ready and sends both Wheein and Hyejin a text, making sure they got home safe.

There are several texts from Seulgi, too, asking her where she is, telling her Irene’s pissed she didn’t come to work without warning. She ignores that and a text from an unknown number saying ‘you’re heavy. Xoxo, Y’ since it’s not that hard to guess who that’s from and she’s honestly not willing to deal with that Y tonight.

Not when she has to deal with Irene’s wrath, too. Just when she thought they were being friendly.

-

The first thing she says is “Yeri, can I have some of your hangover cure?” and Irene’s open mouth closes, eyes turn offended.

She smiles sheepishly at her, raising her hand up. “Sorry, The All Nighter’s bartenders make the deadliest drinks.”

Irene blinks, unamused. “Yeri’s upstairs doing her homework.” She turns around and takes a cup from the stack.

Seulgi approaches her with Joy behind her. “Let me guess, Yuri?”

“Ugh, yes.”

Joy laughs, handing Wendy a glass of water. “You should’ve asked for Sunny. She’s more careful with her drinks.” She smiles proudly at Wendy. “Is that why you didn’t come to work today? You were busy dying.”

Scowling, Wendy gulps down the water and hands the glass back to Joy. “Yes. I’m so sorry. I’ll bake the pastry tonight, I’ll stay up all night.”

“Forget it,” Irene snaps, walking to them with a drink in hand. “Drink this and go to sleep. Seohyun told me you were drinking from early afternoon to 3 am.” She lets out a strangled sound, obviously pissed. “Did you lose your mind? Yuri mixes the most toxic drinks and you stayed there until 3 am?”

“I stayed ‘til 3?”

“Of course, you can’t remember,” Irene exclaims, throwing her hands up to the air as Wendy sips the drink. “That’s their tagline! You’re not going to remember anything at all, and you apparently forgot to use your head yesterday.” Her glare hardens, but at Wendy’s pained expression, she lowers her voice. “It was a school night, too.”

“I know, I wasn’t thinking. But do you think it’s easy to say no to Yuri?”

“Yes,” Irene answer sharply.

Wendy sighs. “Fine. It is. But it isn’t so easy when it comes to Seohyun. She looked like she’d protect me. She looked decent!”

“She is. But a business is a business and you just blew off your money last night.” Irene sighs. “You paid for your two friends, too. They crashed in Sunny’s house.”

She vaguely remembers waving her card around, and Hyejin bouncing on her feet as Wheein downs another drink. She runs her fingers through her hair, annoyed. “Yeah, I think I did.”

“You did. Sunny told me everything earlier today.” Irene looks much softer now, eyeing Wendy with concern and not annoyance. “Go home, Wendy. We can use today’s leftover batter for tomorrow.”

She pouts. “What about Jisung? He’d be looking forward to some cream cake tomorrow.”

“It’s fine,” says Jisung, surprising Wendy. He smiles at her. “Taeyong’s not here yet. You didn’t greet me earlier when you passed by my table.”

Wendy quickly reaches out to ruffle his hair. “I didn’t realize you were still here.” She looks around and finds the elderly ladies sleeping on two of the couches, which are apparently sofa beds. “And them, too.”

“Now that I think about it, isn’t this your first time here this late?” Joy asks, tilting her head. “Is it creepier?”

She scoffs. The lighting is dimmer, since the store’s closed, and there are no rumbles of chatter and occasional barks. It looks almost dead.

“Not at all.”

Seulgi chuckles. “You’d still pick baking early in the morning before your class, though, won’t you?”

“I would, only because I don’t like driving home when it’s dark. The cats are always waiting by the front steps and they stare too much for my liking.” She turns to Irene. “The candles worked, by the way.”

“Then why did you go find Seohyun?”

She blushes, looking down. “I wanted a drink.”

Irene scoffs. “What a lie.” She takes the now empty cup from Wendy. “Go home and sleep it off. And don’t come back to The All Nighter unless you tell us beforehand so we can ask someone responsible to look after you.”

“I’m not a child,” she mutters.

Irene’s lips curl. “You certainly act like one.” She grabs Wendy’s wrist and pulls her to the door. “Go home.” She opens the door and gently pushes Wendy out. As she closes the door, she mutters, “Take care.”

Wendy stares at the pavement, cheeks heating up. The All Nighter’s drinks might be too strong for her, but Irene’s soft words always hit a little too much, more than the drinks did. And, like the drinks, Wendy’s yearning for more.

She gets the feeling she’d be going to The All Nighter a whole lot more than she intended. To forget, and to remember. Peek-A-Brew can cure her hangover each time. Or Irene can make things worse for her, digging below her rock bottom every time. But Wendy isn’t so sure that’d be all that bad.

A/N:

I finished this way too fast and I have to update before I can actually start on the next chapter (idk why I'm like this either), so here it is.

Title's from p!nk's Beautiful Trauma.

Thank you for the comments, it's fun seeing all the guessing (and those correct guesses and predictions(?)). I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and also had a good start to 2018! Happy New Year!

thepurplewan