Maria - or rather, Taeyeon - was a sight to see.

Her hair was glistening in pulsating neon from the club lights. It was as if someone poured cooking oil on her hair. Ew. She needs to draw on those pencil-thin whisker like eyebrows. Ugh. Her dangling earrings remind me of those hoops you see on subway handle-bars.

Her lips were blood red. Did she bite into them herself? I swear I could make out teeth marks on them.

Someone should tell her fishnets are for catching fish not attention.

And. What. The. .

Why is her hand wrapped around my Baekhyun’s arm?!

I can’t believe I’m getting jealous because of a girl.

“Well hi there,” I finally managed to say. I was glad to break the silence. Especially after witnessing the troubled look on my boyfriend’s face. I knew I was seething in fury. But I also knew I had the right to.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

“Uhm,: Baekhyun began. And I suddenly felt a pang hit my chest. “Yeah. Chanyeol this is-”

“Taeyeon, right?” I smiled, teeth clenched. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Oh?” She gestured, flapping her unbelievably black eyelids. “Really?”

Ugh. Even her voice is ing annoying.

Baekhyun cleared his throat. “Uh yeah, Taeyeon. This is Chanyeol… My… friend.”

F r i e n d . . .

Taeyeon’s strawberry scent was the last thing I remembered before storming into the club.

God. I need a ing drink.

“Dude, what the ?!”

Jongin beamed as soon as he found me. I was sitting alone by the bar, squeezed among a gyrating sea of flesh.

“Go away,” I said, chugging the vodka in my hand. I gestured the barista for another. “ I had all the right to be dramatic. He didn’t tell her we were together. That I, Park Chanyeol, was his ing boyfriend! And they came together. And he didn’t tell me he was coming. He deserved the attitude!”

“Dude, I know right!” Jongin agreed, to my surprise. “What the ? Why is he suddenly acting that way?”

I sighed. For once, I just wanted to not care at all. “She was his first love, don’t you see what’s going on?”

“I know! But he’s with you now, right?”

“Supposedly.”

And then there’s a snap of fingers in front of my face. “Hey, Park Chanyeol. Why are you so nonchalant about this?”

“Believe me when I say I would flip this whole club if I could. I am so pissed with what’s happening. And even more because Baekhyun won’t say anything,” was what I said.

“Wait, so you already confronted him about this?”

I nodded.

“He’s been mentioning Taeyeon for some time now. It all started when he found out they’d be in the same degree in college. He told me not to worry and just trust him. At first, I thought maybe I should. But I just saw them clinging with each other on their way inside the club. Look at where it got me now.”

“You’re one hell of a jealous boyfriend,” Jongin chimed in. “But dude trust me, I understand how you feel. If Kyungsoo did this to me, I’ll beat the out of the other guy.”

I scoffed. Ah, yes, the Kyungsoo situation. I was about to ask him about it when my phone screen lit up in blue. BAEKHYUN CALLING was plastered onscreen, yelling at me.

“Don’t pick it up,” Jongin said.

“The hell I would,” I shook my head, and then took a sip of my newly refilled drink.

“Oh .” Suddenly, Jongin’s hands were tight against my shirt.

“What?!”

“They’re coming.”

I immediately stood up and handed the barista a ten-dollar bill. “Let’s go,” I said, dragging Jongin with me.

“Chanyeol,” I could hear Baekhyun among the blaring noise. “Chanyeol, we need to talk.”

Maybe it was the alcohol or the anger boiling inside me or that dull pang on my chest but I managed a small curtsy and smile directed at him.

“No thank you,” I said, smiling. “Just enjoy your little date.” I didn’t regret walking out on him.

Although I do wish I had another shot of vodka before I left.

We found ourselves sitting by the docks at the wee hours of the night.

Contrary to what writers would make you believe, the sea isn’t all roses and butterflies. It smells like , metal, garbage, and the stink of dead fish, all thanks to pollution. But, then again, the night breeze around these parts are a lot better than the air back in town, so it’s still a win-win.

The breath of air was soon tainted momentarily by Jongin’s menthol cigarette. The smoke put on a temporary veil on the moon’s pale face before disappearing in - should I say - a puff of smoke.

Without hesitating, perhaps because of the alcohol running through my veins, I took the white stick from Kai and slipped it between my lips.

“I know you have a pack of smokes in your pocket, give that back.” Kai grumbled. I took a hit, inhaled deep, and let the smoke flood my lungs. Kai was silent as I passed the stick to him. I sensed he knew I needed that silence. For a moment, my problems went away as I blew the poison out of my lungs.

“So…” Kai began after a while. “What are you gonna do now?”

I shrugged. “Ignore it until I can no longer take it. As usual.”

“Ha ha. Reminds me of that time you used to run away out of town because you didn’t want to deal with your parents’ divorce. You want to go through all that again?”

“Probably.” I said, but should I?

Kai took a puff. “Up to you. Just remember you had Baekhyun to back you up before. But things have changed. Baekhyun’s your problem now.”

Kai was right. It’s hard. Thinking about wanting to let him know about everything that is going in my mind in the past days, but ending up having to say nothing because it’s all about him. It’s like running back to the safety of a home and coming face to face with the reason why you were running in the first place. The irony of it all.

“I’m sorry I can’t be of any help, man. Taeyeon and I weren’t that close.”

“Tell me what you know about her,” I said.

Kai shifted in his seat before answering. “Well, she was one of the prettiest back in middle school. You gotta admit Baek had good taste. She lived with her mom and older brother. But they moved out of town. She was the model student back then, straight A’s, a long queue of admirers, a soloist in the school music club… Name it. She’s the it girl back then.”

Kai paused. “That’s why I was surprised when I saw her last week back in the club. I was actually on the phone with Kyungsoo, just so you know. I didn’t recognize her at first. Bro, she did a 180-degrees transformation! I’m not even sure if I like this version of her. I mean, she’s hot yes. But it’s like she’s another person. It’s not the Taeyeon I used to know.”

“