My head hurt as if I just woke up after a long drinking marathon, though I remembered I'd barely had two beers last night. The amount of alcohol I'd drank yesterday didn't explain the suspicious feeling of a hangover I felt right now since my alcohol tolerance had always been high. But on the other hand, I couldn't really tell how the party had ended and how I'd miraculously teleported to my bed so maybe it was possible I'd had a few more drinks than I could remember?

If yes, then I would have to make sure not to drink ever again because I felt like .

Groaning in pain, I got up from my bed to find something that would help me ease the thirst I felt. My lips were so dry I was afraid I got dehydrated over the night. The horrible feeling of nausea was squeezing my stomach the moment I got up and I barely fought with the urge to come back to my bed and lie down for another month or year. I hadn't felt that horrible since me and Sooyoung had made that ice cream bet in high school - which I would prefer to erase from my memories for good since we both had ended up vomiting the whole night previously consumed ten litters of ice cream.

I put my slippers on and, having my eyes half closed because of the dazzling light almost burning my eyes out, I headed to the kitchen and I walked into the living room, taking in the view after the party. Surprisingly, the room was clean, as if there wasn't anyone here yesterday. But before I could ponder over the fact that my living room seemed untouched, the sound of glasses clattering made me stop on my track. It sounded as if someone was in the apartment and my brain immediately brought the only name I could think of now at this moment.

"Baek--?" I asked quietly, wrapping my arms around chest in alarm, but shut my mouth in an instant when Sooyoung came out of the kitchen with a bowl full of soup in her hands. She looked as surprised as I was when she saw me standing in the middle of my living room with a terror widening my eyes. She was the first one to recover from the shock.

"Oh, Mira, you're awake!" She called happily after the surprised look on her face vanished away, walking fast to the nearest table and placing the hot bawl there. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

The moment she asked me this, all the memories rushed back to me and, as if someone just uncovered my eyes, I'd seen everything that had happened yesterday evening speed before my eyes. The party, the feeling of Joonmyun's touch, the darkness in the wardrobe Baekhyun locked us in.

The burning suffocation.

Swallowing hard, I reached to my collarbones, feeling the uncomfortable tightness back in my throat. Everything was clear now.

"Oh God... I out, didn't I?" I whispered in horror, being bombarded with another memories from the party and Sooyoung nodded after a moment of hesitation, confirming my worst nightmares. Everyone saw me in that awful, miserable state of panic and I was more than sure it would be a top one story on Monday in our University. My chance to become Joonmyun's girlfriend just dropped to zero along with the chance of me having a peaceful two remaining years of studies. A hot wave of panic rolled down my entire body as I struggled to stand straight.

"Are you okay?" Sooyoung asked with uncertainty in her voice as I staggered in the direction of my sofa.

"I think I need to sit down for a moment."

"Mira, it wasn't that bad, trust me," Sooyoung tried to assure me, sitting next to me on the sofa. I didn't even know when she managed to cover the distance between us in such a short time without me noticing. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to her in a warm, calming embrace.

"Wasn't that bad?" I scoffed in frustration, leaning on my friend's shoulder. "I made a total fool of my self in front of all these people you invited. They probably think I'm a freak."

"Oh come on, stop it," Sooyoung scolded me immediately, running her hand up and down my arm in a soothing . From the way she knew how to handle the situations and treat people, it felt as if she was my mother, not a friend, and I couldn't be more grateful to have her with me in moments like this. "It's not like you wanted to be claustrophobic in the first place, am I right?" She stated with confidence noticeable in her every word. "Besides, I made sure to give Baekhyun a lesson for what he's done so don't be so hard on yourself."

My ears perked up in interest as soon as I heard the familiar name and I looked up at Sooyoung, giving her a confused look, "What did you do?"

"I just made him realize how dumb he is," Sooyoung answered evasively, giggling to herself a little at the memory which made me narrow my eyes suspiciously at her. She snorted the moment she saw me looking at her with dubiety. "That's all you need to know so don't ask more. Though, I'm pretty sure he almost peed his pants after he saw us taking your unconscious self out of the closet."

I groaned again at the mention of my uncool passing out and closed my eyes in resignation, leaning my head on the back of the sofa. "Because of that I lost my chance with Joonmyun. I can literally hear the terrified screams he's going to make if I'll ever approach him again."

"Geez, why so dramatic?" Sooyoung looked at me with one of her brows up and a small smirk pulling the side of . "If you didn't pass out, you would've heard how he argued with me to do a mouth-to-mouth breathing as if you just freaking drowned in a freaking ocean."

Ignoring Sooyoung's loud laugh, I sat up, grabbing my friends hands and gazing at her with eyes open in hope, "Please, don't tell me you stopped him."

"I didn't want to," one last chuckle left before Sooyoung became quiet again, looking as if she hesitated to say something more as I was trying to make her say the whole truth. This wasn't quite the reaction I'd expected but before I could ask her what had exactly happened between me and Joonmyun, Sooyoung stood up suddenly, running a hand through her hair. "Well, I actually gotta go now, totally forgot about my father picking me up at six."

I looked at the clock hanging on the wall above the TV and, if it was showing the right hour, Sooyoung was already five minutes late. Knowing her father's character and the lack of patience he possessed, I sighed tiredly, waving my hand at her. "Go before the hell will break loose."

"See you tomorrow at Uni?" She asked, leaning forward to give me a quick peck on the cheek. As I nodded, she smiled widely, not sensing that I was lying to her. "Remember to eat the soup I made for you."

"Yeah," I forced a smile so she wouldn't have to worry much about me. "Just go now, mom."

She stuck her tongue at me hearing the mocking tone of my voice and, grabbing her coat, she literally flew from my apartment after she sent a quick kiss in my direction. I sighed, putting my arms behind head. I was alone again but this time it wasn't as scary as usual. Facing tomorrow would be much harder than being home alone. There wasn't any power in this world forcing me to come to my University on Monday but Sooyoung didn't have to know I wasn't going to attend our courses. I looked to the side, eyeing the table to see where my cell phone was. Seeing it on the pile of the magazines, I reached to it and with a few swift moves, I turned off my clock. I could just tell Sooyoung I overslept, she would believe this without making a fuss.

No matter how much I loved her