When they reached her apartment, Dongwoo observed how sketchy the neighborhood was. "Is it safe for a girl to be living alone in a place like this?"

"If you want to pay for me to live in a better place, be my guest." She was getting ready to get out of the car when she asked, "Hey, do you want to go to the party with me?"

"Party? I'm not a party person. Thanks though."

"Have you ever been to a party?"

"Well, no."

"Come on. It'll be fun! You can meet new people. Maybe find a girl." She was already pulling him out of the car before he could reject her offer, and by then the rain had stopped, leaving the air feeling humid and warm.

 Beer bottles, cigarette butts, and trash were scattered around the simple, unadorned apartment. Out on the terrace were pots of various flowers, mostly wilted. Her clothes took up most of the space on her sofa, and when Dongwoo pushed a few of the shirts away to make himself a seat on the couch, a black bra was peeping through the cracks. Flustered and embarrassed, he quickly put the clothes back over the bra and stayed standing.

"Sorry about the mess. I'm going to go change." And with that, she left Dongwoo alone in the room who looked around the place, unsure of what to do. He resorted to walking around the apartment. There really wasn't much to it. The kitchen was just big enough for two people to cook side-by-side, and a table for four stood just outside the kitchen, halfway to the living room. Her room was right across the bathroom. In the living room, she had an outdated television sitting across the room from the sofa. Other than the trash and clothes, there was not much else decorating the place, except for one photo in a frame that hung on the wall. Dongwoo walked over and in the picture he saw a toddler version of his new acquaintance and two adults who appeared to be her parents.

"They're my parents." She was standing in the doorsill, now clothed in a tight black dress, a little too revealing for Dongwoo's taste. "My dad died when I was three and my mom left when I was five. Don't look at me with such a pitiful face. I'm fine." But he could see the hurt in her eyes that she tried so hard to conceal from the world.

"Let's go then." Dongwoo was about to go get the car when she told him the party was a walking distance away.

"Are you sure you want to walk in those shoes?" he asked. He had two older sisters who always came home whining to their parents how terrible heels were. She insisted she would be fine, so they continued on their way. After about five minutes of walking, she was holding on to his arm for support. Dongwoo tried not to think much of it, but this had been the first time a girl linked arms with him. Suddenly, she grabbed his arm and placed it around her waist.

"Will you help me out a little? Stop being such a baby about this. It's not even a big deal." By now, she didn't even have to look at his face to know he was blushing.

As they approached the party, Dongwoo started regretting ever coming. He could feel the loud music thumping through his chest, and he could tell this was not the kind of party his book club held once a month. This was the type of party he had only seen in movies.

"This is something to tell Hoya and Woohyun," he thought to himself. Gulping, he allowed himself to be pulled into the party. The place was full of people, some drunk, some high. He really didn't want to be there, but he thought it could be a new experience for him. His friends always told him to loosen up a little and enjoy the present.

"Come on!" she yelled, holding on to his hand. "If you don't follow me, we're going to get separated!" They pushed through the crowd if people. He was absolutely oblivious to the flirtatious looks he received from some of the girls there. He didn't fit in with the crowd at all. Instead his plaid sweater vest, nicely combed hair, and big, black-framed glasses stood out against the provocative and flashy outfits of the small crowd of girls slowly forming around him. He looked around frantically for his new friend, who was the only one he felt comfortable enough to talk to. He pushed his way through to where the food was and poured himself a drink. He gulped it down, realizing too late that it was not regular fruit punch. Grimacing, he threw his cup away and headed for the door. He didn't want to leave without saying goodbye but he could not take it any longer.

Out of nowhere, someone grabbed his arm and pulled at him.

 "Dongwoo?" He turned and saw his good friend Woohyun with a confused and equally shocked look on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"What? I can't hear you," Dongwoo replied into Woohyun's ear. Woohyun led the way upstairs where it was quieter. Dongwoo hadn't realized how much his ears and head hurt from all the noise until he shut the door to the room him and Woohyun escaped to.

"I asked what you were doing here. Who are you here with? Hoya?"

"No, I came with this girl I met today." He went on to tell Woohyun everything that happened in great detail. Woohyun listened but had a hard time believing Dongwoo, the shy, timid nerd he had been best friends with since middle school, interacted  with another human other than himself or Hoya, nonetheless a person of the opposite gender.

"Wait. You grabbed her ?"

"No! Not grab. My hand happened to be in the same area as her bosom at the same moment in time."

"So you touched it. Man, congratulations. You are not the innocent sheep I once knew. You're one step closer to being a true man." Dongwoo playfully punched Woohyun, who was holding on to his stomach in pain, not because of the punch but because of his laughing fit.

"Well what now?" Woohyun asked, wiping away the tears from his eyes.

"I want to go home. I don't like it here."

"I'm surprised you even came. You hate places like this."

"I don't know what got into me when I agreed to come."

The two guys heard shouting from the hall. It sounded like a couple was fighting, so Dongwoo wanted to stay in the room until they were done. He didn't want to interrupt them, but Woohyun assured him that it probably wasn't a big deal. Woohyun opened the door, and Dongwoo found his new friend standing there with whom he assumed to be her boyfriend. Suddenly the man slapped her across the face, causing her to fall. Immediately, Dongwoo ran to her asking if she was okay.

"Dude, that was not cool. Not cool at all," Woohyun growled as he grabbed the collar of the man's shirt with one hand.

"Oh, are these part of your group of boy toys?" The man unclenched Woohyun's fist from his shirt and straightened out his shirt.

"Shut up," she replied, too tired to say anything more.  Dongwoo tried to help her get up, but she only pushed his hands away. Dongwoo stood there helpless, but he was observant enough to see that she didn't want to be there any longer either. He grabbed her hand and pulled her downstairs and out the door, away from the party and away from her pain.