"A party?"

"Yes. Miyeon’s birthday party! C'mon, Tiff, it will be fun!"

"So who is Miyeon again?" Tiffany asked, confused.

"Friends with HyunA," Yuri replied.

"Who is HyunA?"

"One of Hyomi’s best friends."

"Who is Hyomi?"

"The girl I’m trying to hook up with." Tiffany twisted her lips. "C’mon Tiff, say yes, please! I don’t want to go alone."

"I don’t know, Yul."

"I know you are worried about Taeyeon, but I’m not even asking you to hook up with anyone; I’m just asking you to come with me."

Tiffany didn’t like that invitation. She likes parties, she always did, to be honest, but Taeyeon is all her mind could think of, plus the fact that Tiffany is at Yuri’s place didn’t really help her situation at all. Not only was she worried about Taeyeon’s overall condition, as her friend was still suffering from her fever heat, but Tiffany was also truly missing her own dorm.

Not anything bad happened between Yuri and Tiffany, but Yuri's scent was beginning to grate on Tiffany’s nerves. Alphas aren’t typically drawn to each other’s scents as much as they are to other castes', and sharing a loft with another alpha was proving more bothersome than anything. What Tiffany truly craved right now was a break from Yuri, not an invitation to a party she had no interest in attending.

“I’m sorry, Yul, I’m not in the mood,” the alpha replied.

“I understand. Taeyeon's in heat, and that's all your mind can focus on, right?” Tiffany looked at her friend. “It’s normal. You’re interested in her, and that happens to all of us. Trust me, been there.” Tiffany continued listening. “As long as Taeyeon is in her heat, you won’t be able to concentrate, nor will you have any interest in meeting potential mates. But this isn't even a blind date for you. I'm not trying to set you up with anyone. I’m just asking you to accompany me to a party. You don’t need to engage with anyone. Just have a few drinks, chat with some people there, and that’s it.”

Tiffany sighed. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. “Please.”

“Fine!” Tiffany nodded, eliciting an enthusiastic 'yes!' from Yuri.

“Thanks, Tiff!” Yuri hugged Tiffany.

“Just don’t hug me, please. You stink.”

“It’s ain’t like you smell like roses too, you know?” Yuri complained.

~~*~~

Tiffany had always prided herself on being a good drinker, leveraging her high alcohol tolerance to attract attention in pubs and bars. However, at the moment, she was using it as a distraction from thoughts of Taeyeon, allowing Yuri to have her privacy with the girl she was interested in.

After downing her fifth Martini in a single shot, Tiffany heard a voice beside her.

“Trouble with the boyfriend?” The alpha looked at the girl who approached her. Medium stature, pale face, blood-red lipstick. The girl was captivating, but Tiffany wasn't interested.

“If I say yes, will you leave me alone?”

The girl chuckled. “Why would I? If you’re having trouble with him, you need some help, right?”

“You can’t really help me,” Tiffany replied, signaling for another drink.

“Are you friends with Miyeon as well?”

“I’m a friend of a friend of a friend of Miyeon’s. I’m here just to accompany my friend over there…” Tiffany pointed to Yuri, who was kissing a girl. “Well, guess she never really needed my company.”

The girl laughed. “What is your name?”

“Tiffany,” she answered, returning to her drink.

“American?”

“Yep.”

“Why did you come to Korea?”

“Long story, not in the mood to share.”

“Quite short-tempered, aren’t you?”

“I'm not short,” Tiffany retorted, making the girl giggle. Tiffany sighed. “Look, I’m not really in the mood. I don’t even want to be here, to be honest. Why don’t we make this better for the both of us, huh? Just leave me alone.”

Tiffany raised her brows when the woman placed her hand on her thigh. “Denial makes things more interesting, doesn’t it?” The girl asked seductively.

“No. It’s abusive and inappropriate.”

The woman didn’t seem to care, her lips and moving even closer to Tiffany. Her scent mixed with perfume invaded Tiffany’s nostrils— an unmistakable Beta scent. The girl seemed to pick up Tiffany's scent too.

“You're an alpha kin.” The girl smiled. “Now, I know you're so short-tempered.”

“You don't like alphas?” Tiffany asked curiously.

The girl clicked her tongue. “Bit pretentious. But you're all better than omegas, that's for sure.” Tiffany raised her eyebrows.

“You don't like omegas?”

“They are just a waste of time and space. There are so many rules because of them. Society would be better off without them, don't you think?”

“No,” Tiffany replied, her voice cold. “My best friend is an omega.”

“Alphas and omegas can't be best friends. You're like fire and water. Too different.”

“We don't care about that,” Tiffany retorted. “We don't care about our differences.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There's more about us than just our castes. We trust one another. We protect one another.”

The girl giggled. “Then... why isn't your best friend protecting you now?”

“She's not here.”

“If she is your best friend...” the woman got closer to Tiffany. “Then why isn't she here?”

Tiffany didn't answer. “If she is your best friend… why are you drinking your 6th glass of Martini?” Tiffany maintained herself in silence. “You don't want her to be your best friend, do you?” 

The woman locked her gaze at the alpha. Tiffany noticed the light tint of green in her eyes, indicating the contacts the girl was using that night. “No. You want her to be something more. But she can't give you what you need. I can.” The woman proceeded to give Tiffany a peck on her lips. Her red lipstick smudged. As Tiffany stood quiet, the beta female grinned, kissing her one more time, this time with a little help of her tongue.

Tiffany didn't like kissing women with lipsticks on. It tasted bitter, and it left marks. Tiffany didn't like marks on her skin.

“Don't,” Tiffany said, her voice in a commanding tone. The woman stopped what she was doing and looked at the alpha in front of her.

“You don't like betas?”

“Your kin is irrelevant to me. I just don't like people who don't respect my privacy.”

The girl scoffed, recognizing her defeat. “See? Alphas… a bit pretentious.”

“If you had come to me a couple of months ago, I would have accepted you.” She confessed. “But you just picked the worst day for that. I'm really sorry, but I’m really not in the mood.”

“If I were your best friend… would you be in the mood?”

Tiffany didn't answer. The girl chuckled.

“See, you don’t want her to be your best friend.” Tiffany looked away. “But I won't waste m