I woke the the next morning feeling as miserable as when I went to bed last night. Lu Han wasn’t answering his phone and Tao had told me he needed time. I decided to let it be and wait until he was ready to call me. Unfortunately that led me to spend the entire day glued to my phone and feeling extremely anxious. When he still didn’t call or text by 6, I decided to leave the phone to go get ready for the party later. Honestly I wasn’t feeling it at all but for Tao’s sake I it up and got dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a simple white blouse. Putting on makeup was never part of my ritual so that part took me a while to do but once I was done, I was quite proud of the results. I looked completely natural which I loved. I even let my long hair down which I almost never do.

I took a final look in the mirror before grabbing my bag and hurrying out. I quickly scanned the place to make sure Kai was nowhere to be seen which I’d been doing all day. So far I had succeeded in avoiding him each time. 

Downstairs Mr. Kim and Min Ho where playing some kind of game.

“Where are you going?” Min Ho asked.

“Party,” I explained. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Don’t be out too long,” Mr Kim said. I nodded and bowed before leaving the house. I was to meet Tao in front of school since I wasn’t comfortable telling him where the Kim’s lived yet.

Tao was leaning against his motorbike with his helmet on. I gave him a hug.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” he said.

“It’s okay”, I gave him an assuring smile and took the other helmet.

Tao and I stood in front of Chris’s house waiting for the door to open. The music was so loud it felt like I was inside the house already. Finally the door opened and a insanely happy guy with blond hair and the bluest eyes stood before us with a ginormous smile on the face. My jaw almost dropped at how gorgeous he was. I had seen him around school several times but never this close.

“Tao!” He and Tao gave each other a brotherly hug. “You made it.” He then turned to me and pulled forward his hand. “Glad you could make it Go Ji Eun.” I shook his hand and felt  he lingered for a few seconds more than normal. “Come in, come in.”

When I came in and had a look around, I realised just how big of a party this was. People where literally everywhere. There was dancing in the living room, people playing beer pong in the kitchen and some where enjoying the pool. 

“This is so ing great!” A grin was glued on Tao’s face.

”Yeah,” I agreed. ”For you.” Tao was staring at a few girls that where dancing in the living room. He jokingly pushed me with his shoulder.

”It is the biggest party of the year,” Chris proudly said. ”Let’s find something for you to drink.” He gave me a smile before going to kitchen. Tao and I followed suit by pushing through the crowd. Once in the kitchen, Chris opened the fridge. 

”What do you guys want?” He asked. ”We got beer, soju, cide-”

”You know my drink,” Tao said. Chris took out a bottle of Soju and a can of beer which he  mixed in a glass and handed to Tao. He then turned to me. ”And what about the lady?What’s your achilles drink?” I couldn’t help but let out a little laughter smile at him calling me lady.

”Anything strong works for me,” I answered. Chris smirked.

”I know exactly what to give you,” he said as he grabbed a glass from one of the cupboards which he put on the counter I was leaning against. He grabbed a white bottle from the fridge along with a juice box and ice cubes. I felt intrigued as I watched him put the ice cubes in the glass and pour in the content of the white bottle so it filled half the glass. He then poured in the juice, grabbed a straw and mixed it. Chris then put the straw in his mouth to taste what he’d just created. He nodded approvingly, put the straw to the side and opened the fridge again. This time he took a lemon which he cut a slice of and put on the side of the drink. He then pulled out a new straw and put in in.

”For the lady,” he said as he handed me the drink. I nervously tasted the drink and was pleasantly surprised. It tasted sweet like a mix alcohol with coconut and pineapple juice.

”Wow,” I said. ”I’m impressed.”

”I knew you had a sweet tooth,” he proudly smiled. ”It’s my secret recipe. Only a select few have ever tasted it.” I smiled. Chris could have just as easily have it written on his forehead that he was flirting with me. It was as obvious as daylight and honestly I didn’t mind it.

”Aren’t I lucky?” I smiled and turned towards Tao but he was gone. He was nowhere to be found in the kitchen either.

”Yeah, he left.” Chris said. I shook my head. This was typical Tao behaviour. He would coerce me to go to a party and then disappear once he found a girl he was interested in. I didn’t mind cause I had ditched him at parties before but after hyping me up as a good wingman I was hoping to at least use my skills. Oh well. ”You can just hang with me and my friends.” I felt a little anxious at the thought of sitting with seniors from the A class. If the sophomore A classes where awful to me then I just couldn’t imagine how the seniors would be. ”We don’t bite.” Chris gave me a reassuring smile. ”But before that, beer pong.”

Chris and I joined a team. After four rounds of playing and me getting drunker by the minute, I had to stop.

”Hang with my friends?” Chris asked.

”If you make me another drink”, I said.

With a drink in my hand we left the kitchen. I thought he was going to take me to the living room but instead we walked to the backyard. As we walked pass people, Chris was getting greetings left and right.

”Where are we going?” I asked.

”The pool house,” he pointed towards a smaller house not far from the pool which I had completely missed. When we walked inside, I heard loud voices. It sounded like people were arguing about something. Once Chris closed the door, the music from outside completely disappeared and I could hear the voices more clearly. There was even music playing. 

”The soundproofness here is insane,” I commented. 

”My father has a studio hidden in one of the rooms so he went all in with the noise blocker. Come.” Chris and I entered the pool house’s living room.

”Where have you been?” A guy I recognised from one of the B senior classes asked. i think his name was Lee.

”At the party,” he said. ”I brought a guest.”

”Daebak,” one of the girls said when she saw me. I knew she went to class A but my fuzzy mind couldn’t remember her name. I immediately bowed since she was a senior and I didn’t know how to respond as I didn’t know the meaning behind what she’d said. Was she being shady? Or was she just genuinely surprised? When I saw she was smiling I felt at ease. ”Hi, Ji Eun.”

”Hi,” I greeted and bowed towards everyone. As I was getting up I lost my balance due to dizziness but thankfully Chris grabbed me.

”Easy there”, he said as he helped me up. ”Come.” Chris held my hand and he guided me to the soffas. The others made room for us as we sat down. ”So what have we missed?”

”We were talking about who is most likely to miss graduation,” the guy who’d spoken earlier, Lee, said.

”Please,” Chris said. ”That would be you.” Everyone laughed and I joined along while not really understanding the backstory. Chris leaned his head towards me. ”He has a habit of missing everything. The fact that he made it tonight is an achievement in itself.”

”I can hear you,” Lee answered. This time I laughed along with everyone else until my eyes caught on Kai sitting across from me. I immediately lost my smile when our eyes met. Of course he would be at this party.  And of course he would be in here of all places. These where only some of the people he hung out with. I shifted my gaze towards my drink but could feel his eyes on me. I uncomfortably put my hair behind my left ear and turned towards Chris who was sitting to my left.

”You okay?” He asked. I nodded.

”I’m fine,” I said. I took another sip of my drink. My head had been a little dizzy but now that I was sitting down, I felt a little better.

”You know”, he put his finger under my chin and lifted my head up so I would look at him. ”When I asked Tao to invite you I was so sure you wouldn’t come.” I let out a laugh.

”Why?” I asked.

”I don’t know,” he awkwardly shifted in his position to face me. ”You just seem so cool.”

”Me?” I asked. I had never before in my life been called cool and couldn’t believe a senior was actually sitting here and saying this to my face.

”You have guts,” he continued. ”i mean you managed to actually get in the top 20 ranks of your grade in two months. Who does that?” I felt my cheeks turn red and nervously looked down. ”So naturally I thought this type of thing wasn’t your scene.”

”I see,” I managed to say. I was definitely embarrassed from the compliments. ”Well, I actually do enjoy this type of thing, so you know who to call if you ever have a party.”

”I’ll definitely make sure to invite you next time.” We looked at each other and I saw his eyes look down on my lips. Feeling lowkey overwhelmed about what was going on, I cleared my throat and returned to my drink but it was empty.

”Gotta get a refill”, I said.

”We have a kitchen here”, Chris got up. ”I’ll show you.” I followed him out of the living room but ended up stumbling and falling on the kitchen floor. As I laid there on the floor I couldn’t help but laugh. Why was everything so funny to me? ”Alright little lady, we need to get you up and still.” I felt his arms around my shoulders and gravity shifted as I was brought onto my feet. 

”I’m fine”, I grabbed onto his shoulders to stand still. ”I’m fine.” 

”You need to sit”, he grabbed me by my waist, lift me up and put me down on the kitchen counter. He was right. Sitting down was definitely a better idea than standing. I leaned against a cupboard. ”I’ll get you some water.”
”No”, I pulled him away from the sink towards me. ”I want another one of your special drinks.”

”Sorry”, he pouted. ”No ingredients here but I do have some stronger stuff though.” He opened a cupboard and pulled out some bottle. ”This is my dad’s precious whisky.” He poured me some in his glass and I had a taste. Chris laughed at the grimace I made following the tasting.

”This is disgusting”, I said while taking another sip.

”Yet you’re drinking it”, he laughed. He took a step closer and stood before me with both his hands holding onto to the counter on each side of my legs. His clear eyes where shining in the darkness of the kitchen. In the background I could hear the music and the others talking and laughing. That’s when I realised, although I had noticed it all night, his perfume was much more clearer to me. He smelled fresh, almost like  a… I couldn’t put my finger on it but one thing was clear. He didn’t smell as good as Kai, only almost. ”What are you thinking about?”

”Just stuff”, I answered and looked down. I felt his hand caress my cheek and he gently pulled my face up.

”You shouldn’t hide your face”, he said. ”You’re too beautiful for that.” Chris brought his lips to mine with his hand cupping my face. I had a feeling this was going to happen and I wasn’t opposed to it. I might have a crush on another person but it didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy being single. However it didn’t feel right to kiss Chris so I turned my head to the side.

His lips landed on my cheek and he pulled back.

”Come on, Ji Eun.” He pleaded and tried again but I pushed him. ”Really? We’ve been flirting all night.” The tone of his voice made me feel uncomfortable. I wanted to get out of this kitchen. I tried to get off the counter but he had a firm position and was blocking me.

”Get off!” I said and tried to push him off me but I was too drunk. He grabbed hold of my arms and once again tried to kiss me. This time he was more forceful and I freaked out. ”Get off of me!” I cried. Suddenly Chris fell back to the floor. Along with him came all the ustensils surrounding us. Then I heard the sound of punches being thrown around and felt the need to remove myself from the scene. I got off the counter and walked out before people would fill in the room. 

”Ji Eun!” Someone yelled when I opened the front door of the pool house but I walked as fast as I could away from everything and everyone.