When she’d allowed herself to trust Kai for the night, she’d been expecting him to take her somewhere with a rave-like atmosphere.  This place wasn’t so rave-like but it was a bit out of her element.  They had been walking for a while, past the school and into Heechul’s neighborhood.  Seulgi had thought perhaps they’d been going to that same frat house but Kai walked past it and that was when she realized she was blindly following him.  She knew nothing about him and they weren’t even friends but here she was trailing after him like a puppy.

She hated herself for it.  She didn’t want to be weak enough that she was driven away from her home.  People, especially her age were supposed to feel safe at home, but for her being at home was like walking on a tightrope.  She might be skilled enough to walk on the rope but there was a fear of falling off at any moment.  In that way she knew how to deal with her father, however there was always a chance that whatever happened today would happen again.  

“We’re here,” Kai murmured, grabbing onto her hand.  

She moved, letting herself recklessly follow him into the house.  Inside, it was bright and well lit.  Yet there was no one in sight as far as she could see.  She took a peek into what looked liked the sitting room, and found it to be empty.  There were a set of stairs leading upwards to a second floor.  Next to the set of stairs, a hallway led further into the house, which was where Kai was tugging her along.

They walked through the hallway to reach an empty kitchen.  Seulgi stood awkwardly as Kai got himself a glass of soda, offering her one as well.  She took a glass from him and took a large gulp.  The carbonated liquid felt welcome as it went down .  A bit of the fear and apprehension wore away and calmed her nerves.

“So where exactly are we?  Is this your place?” Seulgi asked.

Kai snorted mid-sip of his soda, resulting in him spraying the brown liquid everywhere.  Seulgi flinched as a few drops hit her skin but otherwise she pretended not to be as disgusted as she really was.  She stood in place as Kai laughed hysterically at her question.

“No this isn’t my place.  It’s another frat house.  Kyuhyun’s the house leader for this one,” Kai answered.

“Oh.  Well then, why do you hang out with college guys so much?” she asked, genuinely curious to know, not caring that she didn’t exactly know Kyuhyun.

“Because they understand,” he replied.  Before she could follow up with another question, he took her hand again and opened a door to his right.  Seulgi hadn’t even noticed a door being there but she followed him down a pair of stairs.

She knew she was going to the basement.  Unlike the rest of the house, she could feel the booming laughter vibrating through the walls.  The smell was enough to make her stomach churn with discomfort but it was familiar in a way.  Kai let out a curse and let go of her hand, bounding down the rest of the way.

“You ers don’t know when to stop!” Kai yelled.  

“You need to stick a popsicle where your is and chill out Kai,” a familiar voice drawled.

Seulgi came down the rest of the way to see a group of ten boys sitting in a circle of bean bag chairs.  A bong was set in the middle of the circle, making it clear to see what they were doing. Her eyes sought out Kai who was facing Heechul angrily, as if he was personally offended they were sitting around getting high.

“Hey y, nice to see you again,” Kyuhyun’s spoke, getting her attention.  

“Hi Kyuhyun,” she said, in greeting.

“What did you call her? Kyuhyun, shut your mouth,” Kai spat.

“What are you doing here, Seulgi?” Heechul snapped, angrily.  “Jongin, why did you bring her here?”

Seulgi had found a spot on a couch that had been pushed up against the side of the room.  The three boys had been busy glaring at each other to notice her, even though they were talking about her as if she weren’t there.  It was like a scene straight out of some movie but Seulgi was just too tired to care.

“Can you all just calm down?  Kyuhyun, don’t call me y again.  Heechul, I’m not leaving so deal with it.  Jongin come here and keep me company,” Seulgi snapped.

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