The whole ride to the restaurant, Do Jung had done all of the talking while Jang Mi spent the entire journey cursing herself for not saying no to him. She had sent a quick message to Hoseok, apologising for not getting Jimin’s coffee, telling him that something had come up at the last minute. She instantly recognised the restaurant he had taken her to. He had taken her there on several occasions when they had first started dating. He led her into the restaurant, a waiter leading them to their seats. She felt strange being in the same restaurant where they had spent so much time together, she could almost forget about all the heartache and pretend that nothing had changed and that they were still madly in love with each other.

Almost.

That notion disappeared the second the waitress appeared by their table to take their order. It was her. The girl he had cheated on her with. She felt her blood boil at her flirtatious manner towards Do-Jung, but her anger was stronger towards him. He was the one that was supposed to have been faithful, whether or not that girl had known they were in a relationship was irrelevant, all that mattered was he had promised to be faithful to her, and he had broken that promise. She gave her order to the petite brunette, her tone icy despite reminding herself that she technically hadn’t done anything wrong. Neither Do-Jung or the pretty waitress seemed to notice her chilly attitude.

Do-Jung happily chatted away while she remained cold. She felt ridiculous for not rejecting him like she had done at the party a few days ago. She blamed it on him appearing in front of her so suddenly. If she had known that she was going to see him, she would have been able to steel her heart and rejected him. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she still had some feelings for him. She was trying to bury them, to tuck them away into the tiniest, darkest corner of her heart and move on. She told herself that seeing him with the waitress was a good thing, it helped her put those feelings to rest a little more.

Do-Jung noticed that she was a little distant, but he didn’t let it deter him, if anything it just made him more intrigued about her. He had heard through the grapevine that she had a thing for him, but since he had talked to her on Halloween he assumed that she had been playing hard to get, a game which he thoroughly enjoyed. He took a sip of his wine as he watched her quietly eat. Let’s see who gives in first. He thought with a smirk making its way onto his face.

Once they finished eating, he offered to take her home. “It’s okay. I'm actually planning on meeting a friend soon. I’ll just go there.” she said, hoping he would drop it and let her leave on her own. “I can drive you wherever you need to go.” He offered as they headed out of the restaurant, making sure to keep himself close by her side. “It’s actually quite close by here. You should head out first.” She said as she took a half step away from him, needing some distance between the two of them. “Thanks for the meal.” She said, cursing herself for her need to be polite. “Anytime.” He answered smoothly. “I had a wonderful time.” he said as he took a step closer to her again. “That’s nice. I should really get going. Bye!” she said as she hurried away from the restaurant, leaving Do Jung alone at the entrance. He watched her go, a chuckle making its way out of his mouth. “Jang Mi, you really are an interesting one.” He said as he made his way to his car.

Jang Mi hurried to the end of the street and turned the corner, not daring to look back, half expecting to see Do-Jung right behind her. “What the hell was I thinking? I should have just flat out rejected him! It’s not that hard! Just remember how I felt when I saw him in bed with that stupid brunette.” She muttered to herself as she stormed down the street, heading towards the nearest subway station to get herself back home. “Just focus on hating him, don’t let yourself get side-tracked or go soft. If you get together with him again things are just going to end up the same way. Him with her and you on your own, crying your eyes out like an idiot over some stupid guy.” She said, her pep talk bringing her mood up. By the time she reached the subway station, she was already feeling more confident. “I won't make the same mistake twice.” She promised herself as she stepped onto the train.

When she arrived home, she had too much pent-up energy from being so nervous at the restaurant and from her pep talk. She kicked off her shoes and immediately some music, louder than her neighbours would probably appreciate, but she wasn’t in the mood to care. She set about cleaning her entire apartment. She started in the kitchen then decided halfway through cleaning to do some baking. She had just enough ingredients to make some cookies, so she tied her hair up and quickly started baking. When the first batch of cookies were safely in the oven, she continued cleaning up the kitchen.

By the time the last batch of cookies were finished baking, she had cleaned her kitchen, living room and half her bedroom, and the first batch of cookies were almost gone. She put the rest of the cookies into boxes, cursing herself for eating so many of them. She finished cleaning her bedroom, even taking the time to put new sheets on her bed before cleaning the bathroom, her least favourite part of cleaning. By the time she finished, she expected to be exhausted, but she was still too fidgety to sit still. She tried to sit and watch a movie, but nothing could hold her interest. She then tried with a comedy show, but her eyes drifted to the time every few minutes.

“Screw this.” She grabbed her phone and pulled up Hoseok's number. She went into her bedroom and headed for her wardrobe as she waited for him to answer. She started looking through her clothes, frowning at some of the items in there. When she had first developed her crush on Do-Jung, she had found out that he preferred girls with shorter hair, so she had cut her hair and had bought clothes that she thought he would like. “I need to go shopping.” She muttered as she dumped a few items of clothing onto the floor as Hoseok finally answered her call. “Hey, Jang Mi.” he greeted, his warm voice soothing her instantly. “Hey, you busy?” she asked as he pulled out a dress and held it against her body before throwing it behind her. “Not really, what’s up? Did something happen earlier?” he asked. She groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it. But I’m in the mood for some dancing and I'd really prefer to not go alone if you're up for it?” she asked hopefully.

“Clubbing?” Hoseok asked. “Must have been bad. When and where?” he asked. She smiled, loving that he didn’t pressure her to tell him what had happened and why her mood was so bad. They both knew that she wasn’t really the clubbing type, she only went when she was in a bad mood and needed to blow off some steam. “Hhhmmm, how about Wings? In about an hour?” she suggested. “Sounds good. I’ll see you there.” she hung up the phone and threw it onto her bed as she looked through the rest of her clothes, determined to find something decent to wear.

She reached the club before Hoseok arrived. She made her way up to the bar and ordered two shots. The bartender lined them up and she slid her money over to him. By the time he turned back around to give her her change, she had downed the two shots. He raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk on his face. “Rough day?” he asked. She chuckled, “You don’t know the half of it.” She said as a familiar hand landed on her shoulder. “Hobi!” she said excitedly as she wrapped her arms around her best friend’s neck. “Jang Mi, you look amazing.” He said as he took a step back to admire her outfit. She was wearing a pair of silver heels which made her the same height as him and a form fitting black dress that showed off her lean, dancer’s body.

She grinned at him, “Thanks. I totally forgot I had this dress. I don’t think I've ever worn it before.” She said, spinning in a circle to let him see the low dip at the back. Hoseok couldn’t take his eyes off of her. They had been friends for years and he had always known that she was pretty, even during her awkward teen years, but seeing her in that dress that left little to the imagination without being overboard was almost too much for him. He forced his gaze out to the people dancing behind them, a slight blush tinting his cheeks which was thankfully concealed by the low lighting of the club. “When did you get here?” he asked. “Just before you, do you want a drink?” she asked. He nodded, hoping that a drink would calm his nerves.

She ordered them a shot each, both of them draining the strong-tasting liquor in one go. She put her glass back onto the bar and smiled at him, “Come on, I’m ready to dance.” She said as she grabbed his hand. He had just enough time to put his glass onto the bar before she pulled him into the large crowd behind them. They found a small space in the middle of the dancefloor and they immediately started to move with the music. Both of them were excellent dancers, Jang Mi often claiming that Hoseok was better than she could ever hope to be. She loved watching him dance. He seemed to be so confident and free whenever he danced.

She wasn’t too concerned about dancing well, she just wanted to burn off the fidgety feeling that she’d had since Do-Jung turned up in front of her at the café. She lost track of time as they danced. She laughed as the song changed to a faster one, the crowd cheering at the popular song that was now blaring through the clubs many speakers. Her eyes landed on Hoseok and she almost stopped dancing, her actions slowing down as she watched him move, it was as if he was a part of the music. He never missed a single beat, his actions so fluid it was as if he had them already planned out. The lights were bouncing off of him, as if highlighting him to show off his talents to everyone around them. He lifted his gaze his eyes meeting hers. She let out a barely audible gasp at how good he looked. He was wearing tight black jeans and a shirt that was now slightly untucked from his movements. “You ok?” he asked as he moved to stand right in front of her, the words barely making it over to her. She nodded, “Yeah, yeah, I’m good!” she shouted to be heard over the music.

“Shall we get a drink?” he asked as he moved in closer to her. She could see the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. She nodded and he grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd, making sure they didn’t get separated. They found a small table at the back of the club, one of the waitresses bringing them a drinks menu. “Whose turn is it?” she asked, thankful that the music was a little quieter in the back of the club so that she didn’t need to shout as loudly to be heard. “I think it’s your turn to pick.” He said as he handed her the menu. They had devised a game whenever they went out. They would take turns to pick the weirdest or most interesting drinks on the menu, the other not able to disagree. She picked out a pitcher for them with a smile.

“What did you pick?” Hoseok asked as he leaned in closer to her, his hand draped over the back of the couch behind her. “Paradise.” She said with a grin. Hoseok laughed and sang a few lines from Hyolyn’s song ‘Paradise’ and doing some of the dance from his seat. “Good choice!” he said. The waitress brought them their pitcher, pouring some of it into two glasses for them. “One shot!” she yelled as Hoseok picked up his glass. He chuckled as they raced to finish their drink. Hoseok chuckled when he finished first. “You're so slow tonight.” He teased. She pouted and elbowed him in the ribs. “Shut up.” she said as she leant back, Hoseok's arm acting like a pillow for her head.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Hoseok taking the time to steal glances at her while she spaced out, watching the people dancing around them. “What happened today?” he asked, knowing that whatever had happened was still bothering her. She sighed before reaching out and pouring them both another glass. She handed Hoseok his glass and settled back in her place. “After you left, Do-Jung appeared at the café.” She said. Hoseok's eyebrows furrowed but he didn’t say anything, not wanting to pressure her to talk. “I got a call that my last class was cancelled and he overheard and said that I had no excuse to refuse his offer for a date and he dragged me out to eat.” She said, taking a sip of her drink.

“And?” Hoseok asked gently. She sighed quietly, “It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have gone with him. I don’t know what I ever saw in him to be honest. I must have been stupid to ever like him.” She said, anger swelling up inside her again. It hurt her that she couldn’t properly explain her feelings to Hoseok. She didn’t think he would take her seriously if she told him that she was upset because of Do Jung cheating on her in the future. Instead, she had to tell him these half-truths and hope that he didn’t pry too much. “Did he do something to you?” Hoseok asked worriedly, not entirely sure where her anger was coming from. She shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. “Nah, I must just be tipsy.” She said with a laugh. “I just realised that he's not the right guy for me but for some reason I couldn’t just say that to him. The next time I see him or he calls me I’ll need to be firm and tell him that I’m not interested.” She said, a look of determination on her face.

Hoseok nodded. “If that’s how you feel then you’ll just need to tell him. He’ll be disappointed to be rejected by an amazing woman like you, but he’ll survive.” He said with a grin as he held his glass up. She tapped her glass against his before they both drained their glasses. “I have no idea what’s in this, but its strong as hell.” She said with a laugh as she put her glass back onto the table in front of them. Hoseok chuckled, “You always did have a knack for picking the strongest thing on the menu. Remember the first time we went clubbing?” he teased.

“Oh my god.” She said as she covered her face with her hands. “No, I remember nothing about that night except that I lost one shoe and woke up with vomit in my hair with you passed out on my parent’s couch. It was awful.” They both laughed at the old memory. Hoseok poured them another glass each. “At least now we’re not such lightweights, mainly thanks to you.” He said with a wink making them both laugh again. “You’re welcome.” She said as she stuck her tongue out at him. Hoseok chuckled as he reached for the shelf behind her, pulling out a deck of cards. “Ready to lose?” he asked, a wicked grin on his face. She smirked back, “Bring it on.”