“Yoona can you open this bottle for me?”

I stared at Jessica who handed over the bottle of yogurt flavoured soju. She had delicate manicured hands and while she seemed to put a solid effort into trying to open it earlier, I realized that Jessica was a total princess.

I grabbed the bottle of alcohol and stared at Seohyun who sat beside me. Her eyes peered at the label.

“It contains alcohol unnie,” she said, looking at Tiffany. “Are we allowed to drink that?”

Tiffany waved it off with her eye-smile. “It’s fine. We’re only having one bottle between the four of us, and we’re using it as part of a game. If you really don’t want to drink, we won’t force you.”

Seohyun nodded. She weaved a headband into her hair and remained calm.

The first night in Andong had been pleasant, we had a nice supper and this seemed like a different way to end the night. Jessica and Tiffany insisted that alcohol was harmless as long as we enjoyed it responsibly. We were planning to head to bed after this anyways, so I didn’t see the harm.

Jessica divided the shot glasses among the four of us as I carefully opened the bottle.

It popped open with ease. “Him-Yoona,” joked Tiffany. She started explaining the game.

It revolved around a deck of Go-Stop cards. She would shuffle them and lay them face down, and we would each take turns flipping one over. Anyone who gets the hog would have to take a shot. There were forty-eight cards in total, and only one hog, so you would need to be pretty unlucky to pick it out.

We played rock paper scissors to determine the order which would stick for the rest of the night. Seohyun got the privilege of turning the first card over every game. She nervously picked up the first card, a peacock, and let out a happy breath.

We each took our turns until Tiffany was the first to pull the hog out. Jessica mocked her and poured the soju into her shot glass with a smile. Tiffany smelled it and took the whole shot in one-go.

“Tasty?” Jessica asked.

Tiffany nodded. “It’s pretty good.”

We continued with the game for a few more rounds, all of us having to take shots except Seohyun who managed to avoid it each time. She pointed at our red-faces and laughed.

Jessica snickered. “Just wait, you’ll get your turn soon enough.”

Sure enough, Seohyun finally pulled out the hog and nearly collapsed at the sight of her misfortune. We all laughed. Jessica was too happy to pour her the first drink.

She stared at it as Jessica placed the glass in front of her.

“You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to,” I said, seeing the hesitation in her eyes.

Jessica didn’t want me to ruin the fun. “Nonsense Yoona, she’s playing the game with the rest of us.”

Seohyun took a whiff as she picked up the glass and made a disgusted face. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable.

“I’ll drink it,” I said, ready to take the bullet for her.

“White-knight!” shouted Tiffany with a smile. “That’s sweet. Why don’t you take shots for me Jessica?”

Jessica scoffed. “Why would I do that? You’re good at holding down your liquor.”

“Hey!” Tiffany shouted back. The two of them bickered, but I was too focused on Seohyun to care. She seemed conflicted.

“Seohyun, I’ll take the shot for you.”

She stared at me. “I don’t want you to get drunk.”

“I won’t get drunk. Here let me -“

She drank it with one-go, despite my offer and slammed the glass down onto the table with conviction.

Tiffany and Jessica cheered. “How is it Seohyun?”

She poked her tongue out and scrunched her fact in disgust. “Bleh! This isn’t tasty at all!”

We all laughed out loud, except Seohyun who seemed in utter pain.

I put an arm around her shoulder and huddled close to her. “Next time I’ll drink it.”

But the next time, Seohyun drank it without hesitation. I continued to offer, but she kept taking the shots. I realized now that she would rather drink some alcohol than to let me have more of it in my system. But she started getting a string of bad luck, and after a few more shots, she was completely red in the face.

I took the glass away from Seohyun. “Alright, I think that’s enough.”

Tiffany concurred and closed the bottle of soju. Jessica seemed disappointed at our sudden stoppage.

“Seohyun, are you feeling okay?”

She nodded with a cute smile. “I’m fine.”

We all got up from our spots to head back to our rooms, but I watched as Seohyun almost tripped over herself after taking a few steps forward. I managed to catch her before she hurt herself. I propped her up and put her arm over my shoulder, walking with regret. It was a terrible idea to drink.

I helped her into our room, which was separated from the massive suite that Jessica’s dad had booked for us. He got us a great deal because he had connections to the area. The inn itself was designed like an old style hanok, which made us feel like we were on the set of a historical drama.

I slid the wooden door shut to give us some privacy as I sat her down on the bed. “Look at you, you’re drunk.”

Seohyun shook her head, refusing to believe something that seemed so preposterous. “No I’m not. You’re the one that’s drunk.”

Maybe I was a little tipsy, and maybe Seohyun was too, but my mind didn’t like seeing Seohyun with a red-face, unless I caused it. “I told you to let me take the shots.”

Seohyun’s nodded and acknowledged my concerns. “I didn’t want to be left out, Yoona. We were all having so much fun. We still are.”

I put a hand on her shoulder. “Seohyun, you don’t need to do something just because we’re all doing it.”

Seohyun shook her head and looked at me with kind eyes. “I wanted to try something new too. It’s not your fault.”

“It is.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t blame yourself.” She had a slouched posture and finally collapsed back onto the bed with a smile. “I’m happy that we’re here on the trip together.”

“I’m happy too.”

I remembered how Seohyun had been given the choice to sleep with Tiffany or me. When she said, “Yoona of course,” it made me want to jump up and down with glee.

There was enough space beside her for me to slide into bed comfortably. I pulled the sheets over us and decided that it was probably for the best if we just slept the alcohol out of our systems. But Seohyun had other ideas as she rolled over to stare at the ceiling. We had enough sleepovers together for me to know that she wanted to talk.

“Thanks for standing up for me Yoona.”

I complained. “You mean for the drinks? I wanted too, but you didn’t let me.”

“No, when I was getting interviewed at the restaurant.”

It seemed like such a trivial thing. To talk about how much someone meant to you, but I realized how powerful it could be.

Seohyun turned to me. “It made me really happy to hear you say those words.”

“What words?”

“You know what I’m talking about,” she had a cute grin and rolled over so that she faced the ceiling again. She freed her arms from the sheets and threw them into the air and yelled, “She’s the best friend anyone could ever ask for.”

I laughed at Seohyun’s ridiculous behaviour. She put her hands back down and turned back to me with an eye smile. “It was nice.”

“Well, I’m glad.”

Seohyun scooted towards me. “I’m glad too. That I have a friend like you.” We were face-to-face and shared the same pillow. My heart started to beat voraciously, as it always did when she came close.

She seemed in a good mood, and I wondered how much she would reveal when she was feeling a little tipsy.

“Seohyun, did you avoid me after I confessed?”

There was a silence as Seohyun analyzed my question. Would she avoid it? She rolled onto her back.

“I thought you wanted some time away.”

“How long were you planning to ignore me?”

Seohyun sighed. “As long as you needed.”

It pained me to hear that. “What happened to let’s be friends?”

“I’m not that dumb Yoona. You were avoiding me too. What happened to supporting me and coming to debate club? Or calling me for sleepovers, asking me when I was free?”

She was hurt too. Of course she was. But was there even a need for an apology? We both did what we thought was right. How could I be mad at her for that?

“Yoona?” she asked sweetly.

“Yes?”

“Are you going to the semi-formal with Nichkhun?”

“Nope.”

“Are you going by yourself?”

I shook my head. “I might not go at all.”

“But you guys were holding hands.”

“What a guy and a girl can’t hold hands? If they do it means they’re dating?”

Seohyun nodded, realizing that I was adamant that we were not together.

“You and Yonghwa are going together right?” I asked. She turned over and faced the ceiling again. She was a fidgety drunk.

“Is that okay with you unnie?”

Of course it wasn’t.

“I don’t like him,” I confessed.

Seohyun turned back to me and grabbed my hands under the sheets. She squeezed on it gently. “He’s not a bad guy Yoona. Trust me. I’m good at reading people.”

Maybe it was because she didn’t hear the rumours about him, but she seemed so sure of herself. What did Miss Innocent know about playboys?

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Seohyun stretched her arm so that it was wrapped around my waist and I felt her pull me closer towards her. She held me as we lay there. It felt like were at my house for a sleepover, only we were a little intoxicated and she knew how I felt about her.

“I’m sure you’ll like him if you give him a chance.”

“I heard you guys are dating.”

Seohyun pulled away from me and looked at me with a surprised face. “Us? Says who?” she blurted out.

“That’s just what I heard around school. Is it true?”

“Of course not, we’re just friends.”

I sighed. “Well, I’m pretty sure he likes you.”

“Why would he like me?”

“A lot of reasons.”

“Like?”

“You’re pretty, smart, confident, hardworking.” There was a thought that had always lingered in my head. “If you were a guy, you’d be perfect.”

She giggled. “Oh so you like pretty boys.”

I laughed at her little joke.

“That’s not what I meant.”

We smiled and just laid there for a while in silence. I closed my heavy eyelids and could feel myself start to relax as I breathed. The warmth in my body started to fade. Seohyun caught me off guard with her next statement.

“Keep going.”

“Wait what?” My eyes shot open.

Seohyun wriggled closer. She rested her head just above my chest. “What else do you like about me?”

I noticed the you. Was it the alcohol? Or did she really want to know what I liked about her.

My confusion died down and I closed my eyes again. “I was talking about what Yonghwa likes about you.”

“Mhm,” she said, snuggling closer. She was also being incredibly affectionate.

“Well.” I paused with my eyes still closed and thought about all the things I loved about Seohyun. Her adorable smile, her cute eyes, sweet voice, her big heart, but it was hard for me to word everything properly in my head.

Being romantic wasn’t easy.

Finally, I figured out the perfect way to express all the things I liked about her with one line.

I opened my eyes and was about to speak until I noticed that she seemed to have dozed off. She seemed completely relaxed as she quietly breathed.

“Seohyun?”

 She had fallen asleep. I would have to save that line for later.

The light was still on, so naturally there was an inclination for me to want to slide out of the bed and shut it off. But Seohyun looked so peaceful sleeping on me so I remained as still as I could. I waited for her to roll away, but she stayed fixed to my chest. After a while, I closed my eyes and comfortably drifted to sleep.