Kira couldn’t concentrate with what she was reading because Jongin’s words have been echoing inside her mind the entire time. What he said hit her hard. He was right when he said that she’s been fooling herself with a friendship that she’s trying to keep together in one piece.

A knock on the door made her snap to reality. Secretary Seon opened the door. “Young miss, I have the supplementary reports for this year,” he said while showing her the folders. She stood and walked towards him, reaching for them.

“Do you need anything else?”

Kira shook her head. “Not at the moment. Is grandpa back from his meeting?”

“He’s still not back. I’ll go and check on him in a while.”

“Secretary Seon, do you think I’ll pass the evaluation? Will the share holders like me?” Kira asked in a soft voice.

The older one smiled at her. “I believe that they will like you young miss. You’re working very hard and I think that they will see the fruits of your hard work.”

Kira smiled back at him. “Thank you.”

Secretary Seon nodded in reply before taking his leave. Kira went back to her table. She put the folders in a neat stack before sitting back. She sighed and leaned on her desk, resting her head for a while. She shut her eyes for some minutes and before she knew it, sleep came to her.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes, I get this overwhelming feeling

Of having to do something

So I move around for no reason

“Kira, are you listening?” Yuna asked, tapping Kira’s shoulder after not responding to what Jimin just asked her. Kira quickly removed her earphones and looked at the two.

Jimin and Yuna stared at her in disbelief.

“W-What? Why?”

The two sighed in unison before showing the phone to her. Kira reached for it and squinted to read the text. The font’s too small for her liking.

“Jiwoon oppa’s the DJ tonight,” Yuna excitedly stated before giggling with Jimin.

Jiwoon who? Kira’s brows bristled, trying to remember where she heard that name before. That name sounds familiar. Where did I hear that?

Noticing no reaction from Kira, Yuna grabbed her phone and rolled her eyes. “Seriously Kira, are you living in a cave? Have you not heard of Song Jiwoon? The hot and y DJ? Song Jiwoon?” Yuna asked and Kira felt like went suddenly dry.

“A-Ah! Of course I know!” Kira suddenly exclaimed. “Song Jihoon!”

“Song Jiwoon,” Jimin corrected. Kira mentally slapped herself. She pursed her lips into a thin line, looking at the two for their reactions. They looked like they already gave up with her. Then, she remembered who the guy was. Yuna has been talking about him for a month but because of Kira’s rusty memory, she blew her chances of impressing the two.

The mood changed and Kira’s already sitting on the edge of her chair. She’s scratching her index finger with her thumb and she does that when she’s nervous.

“…it’s better to be alone than to fool yourself with a friendship that’s not really one.”

Jongin’s voice echoed at the back of her mind. What does he know to say that to me? He does not know anything. Yuna and Jimin are my first friends. T-They’re my friends. A-Are they?

“Kira.”

“Huh?”

“You should really get out from your comfort zone once in a while. Do you even know what’s happening around you? Do you know what the media’s talking about?” Jimin asked, reaching for her hands and squeezing them softly.

“I know. Euro weakened after the ECB policy meeting. North Korea tested a new anti-ship missile. UN just announced that-”

“Stop. Stop. Stop,” Yuna interrupted, waving her hands in front of her. It was obvious that she’s irritated because of the way she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Yuna’s the more short-tempered out of the two and she’s the one who would likely grab you by the hair when you mess with her. She has a strong personality.

Kira shut immediately.

“Jung Kira, are you showing off right now? We know that you’re studying really well because you’re going to take over your company,” Yuna stated. She looked pissed off.

“That’s not what I-”

“Okay. Okay, let’s calm down,” Jimin said, patting Yuna’s shoulder and giving her a small smile. “We need to understand Kira’s situation. She’s still a chick in this world so we need to help her know about things that people our age should know.”

Yuna sighed as if she came back to herself. She nodded her head before shrugging. Jimin turned back to Kira, giving her the sweetest smile the latter has ever seen from her friend.

“We’re going to the club tonight. We’re going to see Jiwoon oppa,” Jimin whispered and Kira raised a brow.

“By we, do you mean including me?” she asked in disbelief. Jimin nodded. “We’re minors. We will not be allowed to enter. We shouldn’t go to a place like that because-”

“Kira. Kira. Oh my dear Kira,” Yuna suddenly said before clucking her tongue. “If you’re going to be such a good girl, no one’s going to hit on you. You need to be aggressive and be a little bad, I mean y, for guys to notice you. I can get us in without any sweat. Money can solve everything.”

Yuna started playing with her hair before staring back at Kira who was still processing the things that she heard.

“I-I don’t think I can co-”

“Oh c’mon, you’re not going to come again because you’re busy? It’s one night,” Jimin asked as if demanding that she really needs to go with them.

“What’s the use being of being friends if you’re always not engaged in anything that we’re doing?” Yuna added.

A sudden feeling of fear rushed into Kira. She suddenly became afraid of losing the first two friends that she made.

“O-Okay. I-I’ll come,” Kira answered, giving in.

Everything’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay. You need to make sacrifices to make this relationship work.

Yuna and Jimin hi-fived before pulling her into a hug.

“We are so going to have a blast,” Yuna commented, giggling.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

“Stay still.”

Kira was already frowning as Jimin continued curling her hair. Yuna’s fixing her make-up and Kira’s feeling a little itchy since she never really used such heavy make-up before.

“Okay. Done,” Yuna chirped before turning Kira’s chair. The latter gasped when she saw her own reflection on the mirror. She looked like another person. Her lip’s so red and her eyeliner’s so thick. She saw some idols wearing the same make-up but never in her life has she done make-up of that style. She glanced at her friends who were grinning at their masterpiece.

Kira stood and pulled the hem of her dress, feeling uncomfortable of wearing such fitted and skimpy clothing. She felt like her chest would explode because she couldn’t move properly. Yuna insisted on making her wear that little black dress. Kira looked at the mirror again.

She’s barely covered.

“Can I wear a coat? I’m feeling a little cold,” she asked, turning to Yuna who quickly shook her head.

“You’ll eventually feel warmer when we enter the club. And girl, don’t use that excuse to cover your pretty dress,” Yuna said.

“Don’t you think this dress is too short?” Kira questioned, pouting.

Yuna sighed and held Kira’s shoulders. “It’s not too short. That’s what people wear when they go to clubs. Besides, you have a great body to show off,” she continued before her gaze stopped on Kira’s chest. The latter felt her ears heating up as she quickly covered her chest.

Jimin and Yuna laughed out loud at her reaction.

“You’re too pure for your own good,” Yuna commented before reaching for her purse. “Here you go.”

Yuna handed them what looked like IDs.

Kira’s jaws dropped when she saw that they were actually well-made fake IDs – giving false information that they’re of legal age.

Jimin nonchalantly put it inside her purse before facing the mirror to fix her eyeliner. Noticing Kira’s reaction, Yuna rolled her eyes and snatched the ID from Kira’s hands.

“This goes to your purse. Now, let’s go.” Yuna threw Kira’s purse for her to catch and without waiting for her, the two started strutting towards the door.

If there’s one thing that Kira would like to do as of the moment, that would be to turn back time and refuse to go with Jimin and Yuna to that club. Her heart’s pounding so hard because she knows that she’s doing something that she shouldn’t be doing. Her head’s already filled with possible scenarios that could happen if something goes wrong with their little ‘adventure’.

She likes music but the blasting music from the speakers is not of her liking. She wished she could just turn that loud sound at that moment. She started pulling the hem of her dress as she glanced around. Yuna and Jimin were already on the dance floor, dancing with strangers who asked them a while ago. They said that Song Jiwoon, the DJ, will be a little late so they had to wait for a little longer.

She felt her phone vibrate and a sigh escaped her lips when she saw who was calling her. Grabbing it, she pushed her way to the restroom – straight to one of the cubicles where she shut the door immediately and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Young Miss, I’m just checking on you. What time should I come and pick you up?” Mr. Yoon asked. Kira shut her eyes, feeling her head’s going to explode. She lied to her grandpa, to Mr. Yoon and to Secretary Seon when she said that she’s spending the evening at Yuna’s house to make their History paper.

“You don’t need to come. I think I’m just going to spend the night here,” she answered, lying.

Mr. Yoon did not speak for