As Piper made her way to the broadcasting room the next day – having spaced out in yet another class due to a mix in desperate need of fine-tuning – Bo Na cornered her and an envelope in her face.

“Whoa,” Piper remarked, having been caught off guard. “What’s this?”

“I’m having a getting-back-together party with Chan Young.” Bo Na informed her, pushing the envelope into her hands. “This is your invitation.”

“Wait, you’re having a party…because you and Chan Young got back together.” Piper repeated, and Bo Na nodded innocuously. She chuckled, “You would have a party for that, Lee Bo Na.”

“Myung Soo’s DJ-ing, but I want you helping out,” she added. “Sunbae is confident in your music talents, and Myung Soo will probably get distracted by his next true love. Will you do it?”

“Of course, Bo Na-yah,” Piper smirked lightly. “It wouldn’t be a proper party without my musical stylings.”

“I’m also going to a salon before the party,” Bo Na went on. “I’m inviting you to that as well.”

Piper narrowed her eyes suspiciously, “Why?”

“Because I’m no longer speaking to Yoo Rachel and she goes to that salon too. I don’t want to show up there without someone who’s allowed to be meaner to her than I am,” she told Piper simply.

“I’m in.” Piper accepted, a sly smile on her face

She made her way to the broadcasting room to find Hyo Shin sitting at the table, books stacked around him as he stared at one of Bo Na’s invitations. He looked up when he heard the door opening, and she grinned as he held up her tablet.

He nodded his head to the soundboard, continuing their silent conversation as she walked over to the soundboard and plugged in her tablet computer. They sat in silence for a moment, Hyo Shin still enrapt in his thoughts and Piper editing her latest mix.

The moment was broken when Tan strode through the open door, sitting in the seat opposite Hyo Shin. “How is your condition?” He asked, and jutted his chin to Piper’s back, “What is she doing here?”

Hyo Shin reached behind him, grabbing Piper’s headphones off of her head.

“Hey!” She yelped, as she whirled around to swat Hyo Shin. “Oh,” she noticed Tan, “hi.”

“What’s that?” Hyo Shin gestured to the invitation Tan had tossed on the table. “You plan on going to Bo Na’s party, too?”

“Worry about your national college entrance exam.” Tan lectured. “How can you think about parties?”

“Hyo Shin doesn’t need to worry,” Piper interjected, attempting to deflate the situation. “After all, he’s smarter than the both of us combined. Then again, that’s not really saying much because Tan’s rank is 100 out of a class of 100.”

“Hyung, if you get more than 5 wrong your family will make you wait and retake the test. Isn’t the thought of being in the same grade as me a little scary?” Tan wondered, expounding on the point Piper had made.

“Ah, that’s all noise.” Hyo Shin brushed it off, pointing at the door behind the other boy. “What are you going to do about that? How dare you break my broadcasting room’s door?”

Tan’s face grew cloudy with guilt. “Don’t worry about petty things like that.” He scolded. “Focus on your test!”

Hyo Shin chuckled lightly at Tan’s childish behavior; Piper merely rolled her eyes.

“You’ll do well, right?” Tan asked, his tone growing more serious.

Hyo Shin slapped on a fake smile. “Of course.” He replied, his voice an imitation of cheeriness.

Piper shared a worried look with Tan. It seemed to her that he knew more than she had originally thought, especially with his attention on Hyo Shin’s upcoming text.

Piper reached in her bag and pulled out a plastic CD case, placing it in front of Hyo Shin. “Here. It’s done. I finished it last night.”

“You finally finished it?” Hyo Shin picked up the CD and examined the covers. “How many did you make?”

“Um, about a hundred?” She surmised.

“What, don’t I get one?” Tan questioned childishly.

Piper mock glared at him. “Do you think you deserve one? After what you did to my Hyo Shin-ah’s door?”

Tan flashed a guilty smile at them as he slowly rose from his chair, hastily making his exit. As he left, Piper turned her attention to Hyo Shin, looking at him in concern.

“Stop worrying about me,” Hyo Shin muttered, still looking over the CD.

“I’m always going to worry about you,” she stubbornly maintained. “All this studying…are you going to go through with it?”

He sighed, leaning back in his chair, “I haven’t decided yet.”

///

Bo Na’s prediction had come true. Rachel had shown up to the salon that night and Piper found herself uncomfortably sandwiched in her salon chair between the two girls.

“Haven’t you ever thought of changing your salon?” Rachel wondered impassively.

“You change yours.” Bo Na replied in the same tone. “How many years have I been going here?”

“How far did your invitations extend?” Rachel ignored her question.

“Why?” Piper wondered. “Curious to see how many people were more important than you do be invited to a party you weren’t.”

“We’re in a place full of scissors,” Rachel informed her coolly. “I could take one and cut all of your hair off.”

“Yes, but I could pull it off; I have the bone structure for that.” Piper breezed. “You, on the other hand…well, let’s just say you don’t look as fresh as some other girls of our age.”

Bo Na snickered softly as Rachel seethed under her calm exterior.

“Is Cha Eun Sang going too?” Rachel pressed.

“Because of her part time job, she won’t be able to...come.” Bo Na trailed off, realizing Rachel’s intent.

“She probably won’t. She has to make a living.” She conceded disdainfully. “Where does she work?”

“How would I know?” Bo Na demanded.

“You do know.” Rachel insisted. “Piper, you know.”

“Oh, it’s this really cute store called ‘None of Your Business’,” Piper smirked. “Did you actually think I’d tell you where she worked?”

“It’s her parent’s rules,” Bo Na went on. “They’re New Money, so I guess they’re not used to being rich. They’re probably afraid of losing it all someday, and they’re probably trying to earn as much as they can.”

“What time is the party today?” Rachel asked innocently.

“So what if you know the time?” Bo Na interrogated. “I’m getting bad vibes from you right now.”

“Right now?” Piper repeated incredulously.

“Don’t come to my party today. Absolutely not!” Bo Na insisted.

///

Bo Na and Chan Young strolled happily through their party, smiling and greeting everyone who showed up. Parker was currently flirting up a storm with a number of the female students, seeing them out of their uniforms gave him new eyes for a few of them. The happy couple laughed when they passed the DJ booth, Myung Soo and Piper arguing over the controls.

“Why is your bass turned up so loud?” Myung Soo scolded.

“Ugh, your configurations are stressing me out!” Piper wailed.

“Aren’t you two having too much fun?” Chan Young teased. “Play the music excitedly.”

He lifted his camera, and immediately Myung Soo and Piper reversed their attitudes, posing happily for the portrait. As soon as they left the pair began bickering again, swatting each other’s hands to get control of the board. They paused, though, when they saw Rachel entering the scene.

“What is she doing here?” Piper asked, wide eyed. “Bo Na told her to her face that she wasn’t invited.”

“Do you think she’s here to cause trouble?” Myung Soo wondered.

“It’s Yoo Rachel we’re talking about. The question isn’t if, it’s what kind.”

The pair exchanged nervous glances, but since Rachel hadn’t done anything spiteful or mildly suspicious, there was no reason for them to get involved…yet.

When they were ready to officially start the party, Chan Young signaled for Myung Soo and Piper to shut off the music and exit the booth; both of the DJ’s ended up trying to get the better of the other by setting the controls how they wanted and being the last to leave. An icy stare from Bo Na caused them to shape up quickly and join the rest of the group.

“Yoon Chan Young’s…” Chan Young started.

“Lee Bo Na’s getting-back-together party,” Bo Na finished with a smile. “Thank you for coming. You punks who bet whether we would get back together or not while we were fighting...I know who all of you are. Watch where you walk at night time!”

There were a few laughs, and the guests began to cheer and applaud.

“All the cocktails are , so you try to get drunk, you’ll just end up going to the bathroom a lot.” Chan Young announced.

“You sound like the class president no matter what.” Myung Soo quipped.

“Especially you.” Chan Young singled him out. “Don’t spike the drinks with alcohol.”

“Catering service is here.” Eun Sang’s voice rang out, and everyone turned to see her pushing in two dispensers of drinks on a cart.

Chan Young, Bo Na, Piper and Parker watched with a mix of shock and pity as they watched their friend move the drink dispensers to the table. Rachel was wearing a victorious smirk.

“What? Cha Eun Sang?” One of Ye Sol’s former friends asked. “You work part time?”

“Yeah. Are you enjoying the party?” Eun Sang inquired.

“Why do you work part time?” Another asked.

“To make some money.” She told them, bringing out the cups. “Yoon Chan Young, Lee Bo Na, congratulations on making up.”

Chan Young pulled out of Bo Na’s embrace and trailed behind Piper as she made her way towards her friend.

“Eun Sang-ah, what are you doing?” Piper questioned, genuinely confused at her arrival.

“What happened?” Chan Young asked. “Yoo Rachel did this, right?”

“Just one word from you and I’ll rip out her stringy hair,” Piper promised with a growl.

“I came knowing.” Eun Sang admitted. Drawing in a steadying breath, she faced her classmates once more. “If you want to drink, line up front. Juice is on the right. Coffee is on the left.”

“Cha Eun Sang!” Chan Young called out.

“New Money, why do you work part time?” Myung Soo inquired. “Are you working for your family business, like Young Do?”

Eun Sang was quiet, and lowered her head. “Actually, that’s...I’m actually...”

“Kim Tan!” Myung Soo interrupted in the nick of time, seeing his classmate enter the room.

Tan strode up to her. “Leave.”

“Not now.” She argued.

“For once, I agree with him ordering you like that,” Piper urged. “Go wait outside.”

“I’m here for the catering service.” Eun Sang stood her ground.

“I ordered it.” Rachel announced. “I thought the party lacked refreshments. I’ll have coffee.”

Eun Sang forced a smile. “Okay.”

“When do you end work?” Tan asked suddenly.

“When all of the drinks are served.” She informed him.

Tan overturned the table, causing the dispensers to burst open and the liquid seep onto the floor.

“They’re all served now, right? Come out.” He grabbed her wrist, beginning to drag her out.

“Yoo Rachel, sorry. I’ll bring some more.” Eun Sang tearfully apologized as she was pulled through the doors.

“This party is ruined.” Bo Na announced, seething. “Rachel, did you come here to do this?”

“Yeah. Enjoy it more.” Rachel smirked. “She said she would come back.”

“This crazy...Come here!” Bo Na shrieked, grabbing Rachel by the arm as the guests crowded around to stop the potential fight. “Only one of us will survive out of here, come here! Come here, you! This is my party, I don’t you not to come. Seriously!”

As everyone fussed over Bo Na, trying to calm her down, Piper stalked over to Rachel.

“Hey, Yoo Rachel.” She called, smartly slapping her across the face when she reached her. Rachel clasped her cheek and stared in astonishment at Piper. “Oh, did that hurt?” Piper mocked concern, holding up her other hand. “This hand’s the one with the ring.” She slapped Rachel again, her ring causing a small welt to rise up on Rachel’s lip.

“Piper!” Parker shouted loudly, utterly shocked.

Rachel snarled and went to slap Piper, but her hand was caught in Piper’s tight grasp before she could make contact.

“Do you think you have the right to hit back?” Piper hissed as Rachel struggled to break free. “After what you just did? You’re lucky you’re not going to have to call your mother to pay for total reconstructive surgery after the beating I want to give you.” She flung Rachel back, the girl staggering from the force. “The only reason I’m holding back right now is because of Lee Bo Na; because I don’t want to ruin her party any more than you have.”

Rachel – having regained her footing again – faced Piper with a stone cold glare. Piper returned with her own, with such hatred it was a miracle Rachel’s flesh wasn’t melting away.

“Walk away, Yoo Rachel.” Piper warned. “Walk away.”

Myung Soo watched the whole thing unfold with wide eyes, and quickly pulled out his phone. “Hey, Young Do, where are you? Hurry and come.” He brought the phone closer to his lips, speaking quietly. “This party’s a wreck, but you’ll have fun if you come.”

Parker strode over to his sister, his turn to seethe. “Piper, what the hell were you thinking? Fighting like that? Do you remember what happened the last time you acted like this?”

“Yes, Parker,” she fired back with the same intensity. “I quite clearly remember almost getting expelled. It was a dark time for me, but I think we can both agree that a lot of it was Ian-related issues.”

“So what’s your excuse now?” Parker demanded. “Because, clearly, Ian is nowhere around.”

“It’s not about Ian this time and you know it,” Piper growled. “It’s about me not standing by to watch my friend mistreated and you acting like a coward and not getting involved.”

“Me?” Parker repeated. “I’m the coward? What, because I don’t go around hitting people?”

“No, because you just stood there and watched while Eun Sang got shat all over. At least I did something.”

The twins started at each other, flames shooting at each other, before they uniformly huffed and marched to opposite sides of the room. As Piper sat seething, Myung Soo cautiously came over and offered her a drink.

“To make you feel better,” he told her sweetly, leaning down to whisper. “Don’t tell Chan Young, but I spiked it.”

“Good,” Piper muttered, downing it in one shot.

“Whoa, careful,” he remarked, surprised.

“This isn’t my first time at a rodeo,” she informed him.

Myung Soo cocked his head to the side. “A what?”

Piper sighed, “Never mind.”

Eun Sang reentered with new drink dispensers, bracing herself to face the crowd. Drawing in a steadying breath, she confessed her secret. Almost every pair of eyes widened at the news.

“What did you say?” Myung Soo marveled at her confession. “Say it again.”

“The reason I’m working part-time is to make money.” Eun Sang repeated. “The reason I need to make money is because my household is in a difficult situation.”

Young Do came in quietly, Piper momentarily caught off guard at his entrance. For a fleeting moment, her anger and anxiety were gone as she looked at him. His hair was no longer slicked back, his fringe falling over his forehead. He looked like an 18 year old boy.

“You said you were New Money.” One of the girls asserted. “What are you saying?”

“I’m sorry for deceiving you all this time. I’m not New Money.” Eun Sang confessed. “I...transferred here as a welfare student.”

The group burst out in mixed stages of surprise intermingled with astonishment, anger, and disgust. Piper moved to help, but Eun Sang threw her a warning glare. She wanted to do this on her own.

“So this whole time, you were acting like New Money.” Myung Soo summarized.

“Amazing!” One girl remarked. “She’s really something.”

“I’m speechless.” Another sneered. “When you’re just a welfare student, and you dared approach Kim Tan, who has a fiancée.”

All eyes moved to Tan.

“Kim Tan, it seems like you didn’t know.” One of the male students observed.

“Kim Tan, did you know that she was a welfare student?” Another asked. “Did she fool you, too?”

Tan threw his head back and sighed. “Oh, I was fooled.” He replied. The students muttered in shock, and then he began moving towards Eun Sang. “She was acting so tough, I thought she’d be okay, but she’s shaking.”

“Amazing, it must be true.”

“What are you going to do, Rachel?”

Rachel scowled, storming out of the room in silence.

“There’s no music at this party, Myung Soo.” Tan commented, his focus on Eun Sang.

“What do you mean? There definitely is.” Myung Soo winked, heading back to the DJ booth. “Piper-ah, come on.”

“No, you go ahead,” she waved him off, staring fondly at her friends. “But make it a nice one!”

“Coffee is self-serve.” Tan announced. “It’s time for Cha Eun Sang to get off work.”

The lights dimmed and music started, Piper grinning like an idiot at Myung Soo’s sentimentality. Tan and Eun Sang looked at each other.

“I did it.” She breathed, relieved.

“Nice to meet you welfare student, Cha Eun Sang.” He spoke softly. “I’m an illegitimate son; Kim Tan.”

Piper looked past them to see Young Do look utterly torn, and he turned and walked out the door. She turned around as well, knowing if she followed then she wouldn’t be able to control her emotions – especially with the upheaval the party had brought out. Sighing heavily, Piper made her way back up to the DJ booth – downing another cup of punch on the way – and put on her headphones, quietly adjusting the mix.

“Oh my,” she heard Myung Soo mutter beside her, and looked up to see Tan and Eun Sang kissing sweetly on her forehead.

“Aww,” she cooed, a soft smile appearing on her lips as she allowed the moment to distract her.

“No, not ‘aww’,” he corrected. “Bad. Very bad. What if Young Do sees this?”

“Oh,” Piper muttered lamely.

Myung Soo groaned and grabbed Piper by the wrist, dragging her out of the DJ booth and through the remaining guests. Piper grabbed another cup of punch; she needed liquid courage at that moment if she was going to distract the boy she liked from having his heart hurt. She downed it in one shot as she was pulled out to the hall of the car park, missing the trash can she attempted to throw the cup into.

“Young Do! Young Do!” Myung Soo called out, letting go of Piper as he grabbed onto his friend’s shoulders.

Piper staggered a little at the loss of momentum. The alcohol rushing through her system wasn’t helping, either. She should’ve eaten earlier. How much alcohol had Myung Soo put in the punch? Had he just dumped bottles of soju in there? Not to mention the fact that she downed two whole cups within minutes of each other and hadn’t really eaten anything. She was definitely starting to feel fuzzy.

“That, you know...that... what I mean is...” Myung Soo struggled. “You know that person from that place? What was their name again?”

“Are you drunk?” Young Do wondered.

“Yup,” Piper replied, popping the last syllable. She looked at the stunned faces around her; although she had spoken in English, her meaning was very plain. “What? Was that question not for me?”

“Piper-ah,” Myung Soo folded his arms. “How much of my punch did you have?”

Piper scrunched her features into an exaggerated thinking expression. “One was when you gave me one after I nearly slapped Yoo Rachel’s face off,” she giggled, counting on her fingers. “Two was before I came back to the DJ booth before number three, which is when we came out here to st – “

“Hey, Yoo Rachel, you too!” Myung Soo interjected, cutting off Piper’s drunken admission of their plan. “Don’t you remember the letter I gave you at our middle school graduation?”

“What if I do remember?” She wondered monotonously.

“You’re always like this.” He frowned. “A good luck letter that started in England and made its way around the world, how could you never reply to that letter?”

They stared at him in bemusement, only distracted when two of the party guests came out of the building.

“Cha Eun Sang seriously has no shame!” One of them muttered.

“Tell her she needs to know her place,” another fumed. “How dare she kiss Kim Tan?”

The faces of both Young Do and Rachel fell, Myung Soo’s distraction plan having failed. Piper cringed, and Myung Soo began feigning bowel-related discomfort.

“I need the restroom!” He declared, rushing back into the building.

“I’m leaving first.” Young Do announced, stalking off towards his motorcycle.

Piper groaned and followed along, not allowing him to leave in such a sour mood. Had she been sober, she probably would not have followed; instead, she probably would have returned to the party and sought comfort in sugary foods.

She was drunk, however – growing drunker by the minute as the alcohol seeped into her system – so whatever shyness or social reservations she held when she was sober had flown out the window. She wrenched Young Do’s keys out of the ignition when Young Do was beginning to put on his helmet, stuffing them in the top of her dress.

He lowered his helmet and glowered at her, “Give them back.”

“No,” she shook her head.

“What makes you so sure I won’t just take them?” He wondered, cocking his head to the side.

“Because regardless of the fact that you’re a bully capable of a lot of really mean things, when it comes to other things you’re an innocent,” she replied, stumbling slightly on her feet. “Not to mention you wouldn’t be so mean to a girl.”

He huffed, pursing his lips. “What do you want?”

“I don’t know!” She shouted, her arms swaying wildly as she attempted to maintain her balance. “You’ve been nothing but mean to me, so I don’t know why I care that you’re sad.”

“Sad?” He attempted a chuckle. “Who’s sad?”

“Oh, save it, Young Do.” Piper held up a hand. “We have had this discussion far too many times for you to try to be coy with me. I am not drunk enough to lose my wits completely.”

“Why did you even get so drunk?” He asked.

“Because I’m sad,” she threw her hands out. “This is what I do! Blame it on bad coping mechanisms I developed after a bad break up, but whatever the case I drank because a lot of really annoying things have happened and now I’m sad. So, I drank, and now I’m standing in front of your motorcycle yelling at you because you’re sad.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” he retorted.

“I know!” She cried out, throwing her hands over her face and groaning. “This is not how I wanted this conversation to go. Why does the drunk me decide to listen to the restaurant ajumma now?”

Young Do sighed and shook his head. “Will you just give me my keys and let me go? I don’t want to sit here and listen to you ramble on for the rest of the night.”

Piper lowered her hands and glared at him. “I am trying to be brave here – it’s also part of the reason I drank – so will you just let me be that instead of…just…ugh!”

Her phone buzzed in her dress, causing the keys nestled next to it to jingle slightly against the fabric. Piper pulled out her phone out from her bra – sticking it there was a habit carried over from her ‘bad habit’ phase – to see her brother’s frantic texts.

‘Where are you?’ He wrote. ‘Yoo Rachel is kissing Hyo Shin!’

“What?!” Piper exclaimed, looking at the screen.

‘Holy , he just kissed her!’ Read the next one.

“What is Hyo Shin doing here and why is he kissing Yoo Rachel?!” Piper shouted at her phone.

“Does it hurt?” Young Do asked her once he had gotten over his own shock at the news, attempting to hurt her with no real malice behind his voice. “That the guy you like is kissing someone else?”

Piper groaned, “I don’t like Hyo Shin, you idiot. I like you!”

Her eyes widened and she gasped loudly, slapping a hand over mouth. Young Do’s eyes widened as well, just as startled by her unexpected confession as she was. She turned to leave, some sobriety punched into her by the shock.

“Hey,” he called after her. “I need my keys.”

She grimaced, pulling his keys out and tossing them over her shoulder. She heard them clink as he caught them, and she quickly strode back to the building to hide from her own embarrassment.

How on earth could she face him now?