ES

Was it possible to be hungover without even being drunk? Because that was exactly how I felt. Like I had drunk too much and had then fallen into a black hole. It felt like I wasn't even alive. 

After I had dropped the stripper off at the bus station, I pulled back in front of Chorong's apartment and sat in the car until I could be one hundred percent certain that everyone had left the party. And by ‘everyone,' I mean Minah. And Minah's friends. So I guess that I really did mean ‘everyone.' 

Being in the car was also awful. It was times like those that really made me wish that I had an iPhone. I heard that those were a great way to pass the time. I mean, even the stripper had one to read books on when he had some time off. Instead I just sat there and stared out the window. I organized the glove compartment. I fluffed up the seat cushions. I sent Chorong a million text messages begging her to fake some sort of emergency to get everyone to leave. 

After what felt like thirty hours of being in the car, I had begun reciting to myself facts about giraffes. Even though it was giraffes that had kind of gotten me into this entire mess (I was really trying to avoid taking the blame), I still really liked them. And if you really like something then you shouldn't let it go. You should be proud of it. 

Then I realized that my mental rant about giraffes also accurately described my current situation with Kyungsoo, I called his number again, only to yet again be greeted by Jongin. Obviously, I hung up, and then spent the next hour and a half bawling my eyes out in the front seat of Chorong's car while blaring Taeyang’s ‘This Isn’t It’ because I was just really sad, you know? 

Finally, Chorong sent me a text saying that the coast was clear and that I could come back upstairs. I helped her clean up because Minah's friends were filthy and I couldn't handle knowing that there had been people in my kitchen and then cried a little bit more. 

"Avery, I know that this sounds absolutely horrible right now, but I'm so proud of you for standing up to Minah. And I totally ship you and Kyungsoo," my best friend gave me a smile despite my tears. Although I wasn't expecting for Chorong to hug me. That would've been weird. 

"I tried calling him but he didn't answer," I mumbled, aggressively spraying cleaning product on the countertops. "Do you think that she told him?" 

Chorong shrugged, leaning back against the table. "I doubt it. I don't think that she wants to ruin her celebrity thing by talking to him. Although I think that this marriage is going to fall apart anyway. I mean, if it didn't work the first time, I don't know why it's going to work now." 

Wow. That was harsh. But interesting. Well, I was already the Campus ; I should at least be able to hear all of the gossip now without feeling guilty. "Why would you say that?" I asked, sniffing up my snot and tears. 

"Her last fiancé left her because he realized that she was crazy." 

My jaw dropped. Not, like, ‘O’ face style, but it dropped. "Seriously?" 

"Haha, no. No one actually knows why he left her. None of us have heard from him since he failed to show up at the wedding. Minah was devastated. But I think that if someone leaves you at the altar that you should think about what you did wrong. I mean, that's why Joonmyun and I aren't getting hitched anytime soon. There are too many things wrong with both of us," she moved so that I could spray behind her. "And it sounds terrible, I know, but I also know how self-centered Minah is and how she's not going to admit the blame for anything." 

I frowned, thinking it over. So nobody knew the story behind Minah's getting left at her wedding? Well, it wasn't like she was just going to tell me now. "Does this have anything to do with why she hates Joonmyun?" 

Chorong let out a short burst of laughter again. "She hates Joonmyun because of that cheating thing a million years ago and because he ratted her out for having a dog in the apartments. Joonmyun's allergic; he couldn't help it." 

Oh. Well. That was ... not scandalous. What else could I get out of this. 

"Who's Chanyeol?" Nobody had answered that one, had they? 

Chorong just shrugged. "I don't know, her friend? They've known each other for ages. I think that he's kind of a , you know? Or at least he was one back when we were all in high school together." 

Okay. I hadn't really expected that much out of her. But that was good enough for me. 

"I'm going to go to bed and think about what I'm going to say to Kyungsoo tomorrow when I call him," I said with a sigh, dragging myself over towards my room. "Hey, what were you doing with my room earlier? You know, when I was hanging out in yours before the party. What was going on in here?" Really. Because I did not want to sleep in a bed that people had just had in. 

"It was just for storing people's jackets, Avery. Don't worry," she rolled her eyes, grabbing the cleaning product and spraying it at me. 

I let out a breath of relief. That was probably the best news that I had heard that night."Thank god. Goodnight!" Even though the night really hadn't been all that good. In fact, it had been kind of awful. Really awful, sort of. Super awful. 

I guess Chorong had realized that too because she didn't even try to make things seem better than they really were. 

"'Thank that this day is finally over." 

***

Which lead me to where I was with the whole hangover thing. Okay, maybe there had been a couple shots of vodka a little later that night because I couldn't sleep and Chorong wanted to finish the bottle so that she could get rid of it when the recycling came later on that day. But I swear that I wasn't drunk and now, for some reason, I felt like I was dying. Because I seriously felt like the world had fallen was rapidly caving in on me. My head hurt. My heart hurt. I just wanted to sleep for a million years and for this entire thing to solvedled. 

Also, more importantly, I needed to figure out what the hell I was going to say to Kyungsoo. Because that was going to be important. I didn't think that ‘Hey, it's Avery, and I'm madly in love with you' was really going to win anyone over. If anything, it would freak him out. Or maybe it wouldn't. Squash, was I sure about anything anymore? 

I was still sitting in my bed, staring at my phone which was sitting in front of me. It wasn't like I was expecting for it to ring or anything because I'd already been waiting for hours and was pretty sure that Kyungsoo wasn't going to call me, but it was the only thing keeping me from buying a plane ticket and heading back home. Because even if I ran away, the problem would still exist. 

"Okay, Avery, you can do this," I said to myself. Actually, no, I had said it to the stuffed giraffe that I had sitting in front of me next to my non­iPhone. 

Which, yes, it was a new low that I was talking to a stuffed animal. But at the same time, talking to Bongie had always kind of made me feel better and I didn't feel like getting up and talking to Chorong because she wouldn't let me sit and wallow in self-pity and that's all that I really wanted to do. If it's any consolation, I knew that the stuffed giraffe wasn't real. It was a gift from Joonmyun. He really had named it Avery, though. That was kind of him. 

"Best case scenario is that it goes to voicemail," I told myself, pushing a clump of my hair back behind my shoulder. "Also, he can't see how you look right now." 

I looked awful. My hair had epic­curled itself that night into this mullet­type thing. For some reason I had thought that by putting on a headband that it would make things better, but it didn't. I looked insane. So, yeah, it was a good thing that I couldn't see Kyungsoo because my crazy face look would have not convinced him to stay with me forever. 

"You just have to dial," I said to the giraffe. And the cell phone. And myself, really. 

"Avery, there's somebody here to see you! I'm sending them back to your room!" Chorong yelled out suddenly. 

My eyes widened in absolute horror. Why would there be someone there for me? And who the squash was it? It wasn't like I was just swimming in friends, especially now that I was the local home wrecker. 

Oh, god, it was Kyungsoo, wasn't it? It had to have been Kyungsoo. He was the only person that had any reason to talk to me. Squash. No, . No, . What was I supposed to say? What about my hair?

"What about my hair?" I hissed to the stuffed giraffe that just smiled back at me because it was a stuffed giraffe and those aren't known for their exquisite communication abilities. Then again, I was a human and I wasn't known for that, either. 

"Why are you talking to a stuffed animal?"

. "It's­," I began, my head shooting up to see who was standing in my doorway. "Jongin?" 

"It's not going to talk back, you know." 

It was Jongin. Looking as indifferent and twelve and wearing Ray Bans because all middle schoolers wear their sunglasses inside. But the real reason that I was staring in awe at Jongin was because he had a baby strapped to the front of his chest. I'm not kidding, a real life child was attached to another real life child. What the hell? Did he have kids? I mean, I was pretty sure that he slept around and everything, but I never considered the possibility of him fathering children. Had he never heard of a before? Although they don't teach that lesson until the eighth grade and Jongin was clearly in the seventh. 

I was so shocked that I kind of just stared at him for a few seconds, not even speaking. "Jongin, why do you have a baby?" I squinted at him, just to be sure that I was really seeing what I was seeing. 

"Why don't I have a baby?" was his nonchalant response as he strolled over to my bed. 

I was still staring. I couldn't help it. I had no idea what was going on. Was I hallucinating? Stress could cause hallucinations, right? "Baby," I said, pointing at his chest blankly. Why, yes, Avery, that was a baby. Wow, I made it really easy for people to make fun of me. 

"Yeah. This is Seulgi. I'm babysitting," he shrugged as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Although it kind of was. That is what kids did. They babysat. But who would trust their child with someone like Jongin? Had they met him before? "Your hot roommate said that she would watch her while I talked to you. Hold on," he instructed me before turning around and walking out of the room. 

I wonder how he got Chorong to do that. Chorong didn't like babies. Chorong didn't like people. She probably didn't want the poor thing to die under Jongin's care. That made sense. Meanwhile, I used the absence of Jongin's presence to hide my stuffed giraffe under my pillow. No need to get made fun of for that as well. 

Jongin returned a few moments later, without infant. "What's up with your hair?" 

Sadly, I couldn't even deny the fact that my hair looked awful. "It's the humidity, okay?" I grumbled, pushing it back again. I swear, my locks had adopted a life of their own. Probably a life where they weren't stuck on one of the most socially awkward people imaginable and didn't have to resort to kissing their best friend's fiancé because other people actually liked them. "Why are you even here?" 

Jongin had no problem diving into bed next to me. I shouldn't have been