[Jieun]

The moment we stepped down onto the first step of the stairs, a spotlight hit us and it was so glaring, I swear I was blinded. Shielding my eyes, I gingerly made my way down the seemingly treacherous stairs. My hand never let go of my best friend’s and the damned spotlight never diverted away from us.

The screams and wolf-whistles got louder as we descended the stairs. The spotlight may be rather warm on my exposed skin but its heat was nothing compared to the numerous stares I’ve been feeling ever since the ray of light shone on us. I couldn’t tell what kinds of clubbers had their eyes on us but seeing how my goosebumps rose, those gazes aren’t those that I would prefer to receive.

Sera pulled me over to the bar, pointedly avoiding the dance floor and the mess of people on it. The heated stares still followed us but after awhile, my back cooled and I finally relaxed. Leaning against the counter, I watched Sera as she glanced around at the drinks that surrounded us.

“What are we getting?” I whispered to her, hoping she’d know names of some concoctions but she was just as clueless as I was. Well, we are first-time clubbers so it’s perfectly fine to not know anything. “Can’t we just order milk or something?”

Sera stared at me in horror as I burst out into laughter, slapping her arm lightly. “I was joking! We’re not pregnant women. But seriously, order something. Everyone’s staring weirdly at us.” I could smell the stench of alcohol as the male beside me turned towards us, his breath reeked and I resisted throwing up in his face.

Just then, two martini glasses slid our way. "It's on the house ladies." The bartender retracted his hands and winked at us. "Lemon margarita for this smoking hot lady in black and strawberry margarita for this sweet-looking lady in maroon."

"Thank you?" Sera looked at me with her brows raised.

"You're welcome miladies, enjoy." And he left.

Under the soft lighting of the bar, I narrowed my eyes at the pink concoction. It’s pretty to look at but I know it packs a whole lot of alcohol. Well, here goes nothing. I picked up the drink and tap it lightly on Sera's green concoction.

“One shot?”

“One shot.”

I downed it. The sweetness of the strawberry enveloped my tongue and flowed down my throat before the bitter alcohol followed. My throat seared slightly, but I enjoyed the drink immensely. Who knew alcohol would be this nice to drink?

“Shall we go?” Sera removed the empty glass from her lips and set it down on the counter. A satisfied smirk formed and she tugged on my hands.

I nodded and we weaved our way through the dancing mess towards the dance floor. The music was blasting, the platform was vibrating, the clubbers were moving. The moment we stepped onto the dance floor, a swarm of males surrounded us.

"Hi ladies, may I have the honor of dancing with you?"

"Let's shake some asses over here alright?"

"Let's take over the dance floor tonight together, shall we?"

"Well… How about..." Sera tapped her chin and seeing how her eyes twinkled under the flashing coloured lights, I knew what her answer would be. I stifled a snicker.

"How about me?" Some of the boys moved closer to us, their outfits reeking of alcohol and once again I found myself trying to not barf over their shoes.

"How about NO?" Sera pursed her lips and pushed past the boys, her hand gripping tightly on mine as we made our way towards the heart of the club.

“Well, I don’t know how to dance so…” She shot me an apologetic smile and I returned the favour. “Don’t feel too embarrassed about my lack of dance skills, yeah.”

Sera started swaying her body from left to right and right to left, following the beat of the music. Then she slowly moved on to a side hop to a glide. By then, she had already drowned herself in the music, her body moving on its own.

I watched her move and was fairly impressed with my best friend’s dancing ability. On the contrary, I found myself still rooted to the floor. A pair of hands gripped my waist and I yelped in shock, fear washing over me until I heard Sera drawl, “Jieun, relax. C’mon, follow me.”

She guided me and before long, we had successfully blended into the crowd of frequent party-goers. Losing myself to my senses, I let my mind go; freeing it of everything and anything.

While I danced, I never once gave a thought about the problems that lingered in my mind; I didn’t give a damn to Sera’s ‘abandonment’, nor did I think about my developing feelings for a certain boy. I felt free.

If only I could stay away from the problems for awhile more, or even forever. If only…

[Sera]

How long have we been dancing?

Out of reflex, my eyes darted to my wrist only to find it bare. Oh right, I never wear watches.

Mental note to self: get a watch.

I slowed down and for the first time since I stepped into the club, my eyes gazed at her. A bright smile was adorned on her sweaty face and I know she hadn’t smiled like that for the past few days.

Yes, I’ve noticed.

I’ve observed her frowns and how she would be rather absentminded during lunch time. And yet even though I’ve noticed all that, I didn’t know what I could do to make her happy. I didn’t even know what had happened to make her like that…

I’m a bad friend, aren’t I? She was my first friend as Do Sera and I really am thankful for all the help, joy, and laughter she had given me since we’ve met. Although this short girls’ day out would never be (in my opinion) enough to repay her for being my friend, I really wished that it will at least lighten her mood and allow her to be free from the troubles that I cannot help her with.

For instance, the problem with Jongdae-oppa… I could help her, but I should let nature take its course.

“Sera!” She threw herself at me and shoved at my ear. “It should be getting pretty late and I’m tired, shall we go?”

She pulled away, eyes devoid of energy and the playful glint that was dancing in her eyes before the night began had vanished. I nodded and together, hand-in-hand, we weaved our way out of the still-dancing mess of bodies to stumble outside.

Cold, fresh air hit our faces and I swore the bouncers chuckled when we both raised our hands in the air as though we were praising the skies.

"I am verrrrrry colddddd! Hahaha!" Jieun slurred, as I swung an arm around her shoulders. She was pretty cold to the touch (and it definitely wasn’t me who had cold hands) and I rubbed her arms to generate heat.

The once-crowded streets were now empty and the rows of lamp posts that lined the sides of the roads glowered eerily down at us. Wrapping my arms around the only other being on the street, we staggered aimlessly down the pavement.

“S-Seraaaaaaaa, I love you. You know that?” Her breath reeked of alcohol even though we only consumed a martini glass of margarita and I resisted pinching my nose until I remembered that I didn’t need to breathe. “Yixing-oppa reaaaaaaally loves you.”

Oh great, she's drunk. With only one glass of alcohol.

Guess I know what beverage my dear best friend has to abstain from forever.

"Sera ahhhhhh, I really really like him." And now, she was sobbing.

God, this girl is most definitely drunk.

"Ji-Jieun ah, you're drunk. Let's get you home." I tightened my grip on her and continued to stagger forward, wanting to at least get us to a bus stop. But the moment I took another step, my mind swum and I felt extremely light-