chapter three

the playhouse

Kyungsoo did not notice how obvious he was staring at Rei until Sehun patted his back a little too hard. ‘You sure about this?’ he asked. ‘I mean if you don’t want to do this, we’re cool.’ He said, with a convincing look on his face too.

‘Y-yeah,’ Kyungsoo stuttered, still not recovered from looking at Rei.

‘Don’t worry, just stick with us.’ Sehun assured him. Rei was fixing her lipstick using the reflection on a random silver Sedan. She had on a tight black turtleneck, matching them with a pair of loose ankle denim pants and black strap heels.

It was an image Kyungsoo was not expecting to see, although he barely knows how a girl is supposed to dress if she was hitting a club. He could not see her as a student, which, he figured, was good, considering she was a tad too young to be there in the first place. Sehun did not look much different than normal and was in a loose black t-shirt and skinny jeans.

If Kyungsoo did not know any better, he would have guessed that Sehun was a skater boy.

‘Looks like we’re all ready,’ Chanyeol appeared with Jongin, Soojung and Baekhyun. They were all dressed well, fit for the occasion. Kyungsoo felt a little out of place in his bomber jacket and black pants but Soojung counteracted that.

‘You look good,’ she smiled, clad in a cream-coloured sundress under a leather jacket.

‘Thanks,’ he whispered.

‘Let’s go,’ Chanyeol ushered everyone.

‘Where did you park the car?’ Jongin asked.

‘Two blocks from here,’ he answered, leading the way. It was Saturday night; the only day students were allowed to go out. Chanyeol had rented an SUV and confidently drove them to their destination. While he drove, Jongin began distributing packets of white powder to everyone, who hid them neatly in their small bags which they carried. Kyungsoo felt slightly overwhelmed, but held it in.

Chanyeol parked in a back alley behind a row of shops. They got out and headed towards a small passageway where there was a metal door.

‘Kyungsoo,’ Jongin called. ‘Here,’ he passed him a card. It had a small picture of him and his details, except that his birthdate was wrong. ‘Fake ID,’ he smiled.

‘Are we ready?’ Chanyeol asked. Everyone nodded. ‘Kyungsoo, you ready?’

‘I guess?’

‘You can stick with Jongin tonight,’ he said, leaving the two exchanging attempted glances. The club did not look like what Kyungsoo was expecting. Sure, there were the typical lights of different colours blaring from the ceiling, bathing the walls in shades of blue, purple and pink. There was the music, and the people. It did not look as chaotic and insane and Kyungsoo had thought.

On one side it looked calm. People were perched on top of couches, talking over cigarettes and alcohol. The smell of smoke and perfume clashed in the air, and slightly made Kyungsoo dizzy, but he followed the rest in. On another side of the area was a lifted large platform where people were dancing randomly.

‘Let’s split,’ Chanyeol said, and some of the rest nodded.

‘Come on,’ Jongin ushered Kyungsoo to the back of the seating area. Like a lamb, he followed the boy. ‘Let’s start selling,’ he smiled. They found a spot, a set of couches around a glass table and they sat.

‘So how does this work?’ Kyungsoo asked.

‘Most of the time our stash comes from orders. Students, if you’re lucky-‘ he leaned towards Kyungsoo, whispering, ‘-teachers.’

‘For real?’

Jongin smirked, his eyes lifting in a sly smile. ‘I got two tonight,’ he said, in a tone that sounded like a combination of him being cocky and exposing the unknown side of his high school teachers. ‘Once we get orders, we total them and that’s the minimum we usually sell. Sometimes they bail, but most of the time they don’t. So we get our stock. Chanyeol buys extra because of profit. It’s actually pretty easy selling them. You just have to know where to look,’ Jongin explained. Kyungsoo felt as if this was a revelation. ‘Like Rei,’ Jongin added.

‘Rei?’ he did not expect her name to come up.

Jongin nodded towards somewhere behind Kyungsoo. The latter turned a little, enough to spot Rei and Sehun at the bar. Sehun was a few seats away from her, talking to a girl, and Rei, to a man. Kyungsoo felt a shiver run down his spine remembering that she was merely a teenager. ‘She’s a little ambitious,’ Jongin elaborated. ‘She would ask for extra packets to sell. She asked for five tonight,’ Kyungsoo was observing rather intently.

If he had not known, he would have thought that she was grown up and older, and was being hit on by the man beside her when it was the complete opposite. ‘She doesn’t act like she’s 16, does she?’

Kyungsoo turned back to Jongin. ’16?’

‘She skipped a grade,’ he answered. ‘Smart kid,’ he said. ‘She knows who to sell them to and probably never had any leftovers,’

‘Wow,’ Kyungsoo breathed.

‘You’re into her?’ Jongin laughed.

‘Huh?’ Kyungsoo was flustered, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks.

‘Don’t worry about it, she’s cool.’ He said before getting up. ‘Do you want to join?’ he offered. Kyungsoo nodded, stumbling after him.

Jongin had picked out a cigarette from a packet he had inside his pants pocket and as if he thrown all care away in the world, slit it between his teeth and lit it. He almost looked as if he seven years older. There was a certain ambience about him that gave Kyungsoo the impression that he had been through some things. Things he know not of.

He felt as if his own presence vanished.

The lights accentuated Jongin’s slightly darker skin, and every time he inhaled the smoke, his hollow cheekbones would protrude. Kyungsoo found it almost mesmerizing every time smoke escaped his slightly brown lips. ‘Are you dating?’ Kyungsoo blurted out accidentally.

Jongin turned his deep black eyes at Kyungsoo’s way. ‘No, I’m not.’ He said. ‘Why?’

‘Figured you’d have a girlfriend,’ he thought out loud. This was followed by Jongin’s small laugh.

‘I’m not into girls,’ he answered blatantly. ‘But no, I’m not dating either,’

Kyungsoo wanted to curse himself for asking, and hoped he did not sound as if he was too interested, because he was not. His thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a girl, who emerged from behind Kyungsoo. She was curvaceous and had on a tight red mini-dress, which almost gave poor Kyungsoo a heart attack.

‘Do you mind?’ she asked Jongin, who gestured her to welcome herself. Kyungsoo did not expect her to slide by and sit next to Jongin on the same single couch, but decided this what always happens in places like this so he composed himself instead and put up a cool smile.

The two began whispering and exchanging flirtatious giggles. The girl did not seem to mind Jongin wrapping an arm around her waist almost immediately. In fact, she seemed to like it; and was even more daring, placing a hand on Jongin’s thigh and it fondly. Kyungsoo was impressed, but felt like puking at the same time. It was as if they had known each other for a long time. Even at such close distance, Kyungsoo could not make out what they were saying to each other, and only watched closely.

Somewhere inside him wondered if everyone else – or more particularly Rei – had to do the same. Young, pretty and innocent Rei, he thought to himself and he craned his neck a little slightly to catch a glimpse of her. It took him a moment to find her, for she was missing from the bar, and when he caught her she was walking with a man, obviously older than her. He had an arm on her back and was leading her closer to the hallway where the private chambers where located. Kyungsoo knew well what goes on inside there and was almost frightened for Rei, although he had no reason to be.

But they did not walk in further.

He cornered her to a wall, an arm against it and had his head so dangerously close to hers Kyungsoo thought he could be trying to eat her neck out.

He shrunk back into his seat.

‘Just keep in contact with me, alright, cupcake?’ he tapped her on the nose.  

‘You’re a tease,’ the girl smiled cheekily, slipping the small bag of in her glittery pouch. ‘Bye, muffins.’ She winked at him before wandering off elsewhere.

Jongin slipped the money she paid him inside the pocket of his pants, continuing to finish off his cigarette. ‘You look tensed,’ he pointed out without looking at him.

‘Huh?’ Kyungsoo was caught off guard.

‘I think you need a drink,’ Jongin chuckled lightly, before being alarmed by a call.

‘I’m just a bit overwhelmed,’ Kyungsoo shook his head, pulling his hair back. He did not want to drink. He felt anxious and afraid enough being somewhere he should not be. If his parents found out he would be dead. Jongin stood up and excused himself to take the call.

‘It’s just how we play,’ he shrugged and smiled. before he placed the phone to his ear and walked away.

*

‘This is neat,’ the man dealing with Rei was holding a bag of in his lap, making sure it was hidden. Rei slid the money in her bag discreetly. She noticed how he was looking at her and did not plan on staying longer. ‘Extra cash huh?’ he assumed. ‘Do you want more?’

Rei gave him a brief glance, and noticed the way his eyes flared. ‘You want to buy more?’ she knew it was not that at all, but perhaps she could be lucky.

‘No, but I could pay for something else.’ He slid closer towards her.

‘Hey, babe.’ Rei almost jerked from a hand that suddenly wrapped itself around her waist, before realizing her heart had leapt for nothing. ‘Did I make you wait?’ Chanyeol’s height shook the man a little, and the former pecked Rei lightly on her head.

‘Thanks,’ Rei winked at her customer, before letting herself be pulled away by Chanyeol.

‘Be careful,’ he said to her, letting go of her waist once they were well away from the man.

‘I’m sorry.’ Rei lowered her head. ‘Thank you for what you did back there,’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he looked around. ‘Are you done?’

‘Yeah, he was my last customer.’ She ran her hand messily through her hair.

‘Cool. Soojung and Baekhyun’s outside already,’ he told her before disappearing. Rei held the sides of her head, sighing before finding her way out. Sure enough, both Soojung and Baekhyun were at the back. They were both sitting on a flattened cardboard box. Baekhyun was smoking.

‘You’re sweating,’ he said to Soojung. ‘Are you sick?’

Soojung shook her head, looking aimlessly at the ground. Her face was damp with sweat and she seemed distracted. She looked up when she saw a shadow approaching, smiling weakly. ‘Hey,’ she greeted Rei. Rei wanted to ask too, but she figured Soojung would not answer.

‘You look cold,’ she said.

Soojung bent her bare legs slightly. ‘Silly right?’ she replied. ‘I should have worn pants or something,’ she scratched her head in distress, exhaling heavily. ‘Where’s Sehun anyway?’

‘Hitting on some girl from the cheerleading team,’

Baekhyun puffed out smoke. ‘Out of all places,’ he muttered. ‘Well, speak of the Devil.’ He said, and Rei turned.

‘I got her number,’ Sehun held his wrist up at them, on it was a series of numbers written in black pen. Rei snickered.

‘Don’t you think you’d have a better chance of getting someone’s number on the field? Like, after you win a race and you’re sweating. You whip off your bib and push back your hair. You know that cliché hot athlete ? It’s more attractive than a student selling ,’ Baekhyun spoke up, crossing his arms.

‘I want to try something a bit different,’ he shrugged.

‘Experimenting on girls?’ Soojung looked at him.

‘No, I just want to see if girls like me only because I do sports. Besides we agreed to have no strings attached,’

Shortly after, Chanyeol, Jongin and Kyungsoo appeared, looking rather content and happy. ‘Did we sell everything?’ Chanyeol asked.

‘Looks like it,’ Soojung answered. ‘So are we doing the usual?’

‘Hell yes,’ Baekhyun said in excitement.

‘Do what?’ Kyungsoo asked Jongin.

‘Hang out. Drive somewhere in the middle of the night and never come back,’ Baekhyun had rose from the ground and whispered in Kyungsoo’s ear, much to him getting startled. ‘Do you want to tag along?’

‘I’m not joining this time,’ Jongin announced, looking at Soojung, who nodded. ‘I’ve got somewhere else to be with Soojung.’ Rei glanced at them both. Jongin was obviously preoccupied with something. The joy from selling drugs had worn off his face and it was if another problem had conquered his mind. Rei decided to ignore it, as usual.

The rest of the party agreed to have a drive out into the night and Kyungsoo followed, for some odd reason. Perhaps he trusted them; Sehun and Chanyeol at least. They got back into the SUV and Chanyeol drove off, leaving the pair behind.

 ‘He doesn’t look okay,’ the driver said once they were well away. Sehun turned at Rei, hoping for some kind of hint, but she was merely grazing her teeth against her lips. Then again, it was not as if she ever showed anything, but Sehun sometimes felt as if he was getting better at reading her.

Kyungsoo kept quiet throughout the trip. It was not that he had nothing to say, but rather, the hour he spent with Jongin made him feel a little queasy. He could not tell if it was the fact he had inhaled smoke and air tinted with alcohol or if it was the new exotic atmosphere he had dived in.

Maybe the lights had made him dizzy somehow.

But he knew it was something else.