Chapter 9

Stay

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The loud music and heavy bass pulsed through the club as the walls shook. There was a large horde of bodies swaying on the dance floor, making it difficult for anyone to maneuver through the crowd. Left and right, there were people dancing, singing, and jumping. 

“This is fun!”

Jiyeon cheered as she threw her head back in a fit of giggles. 

Anyone could tell that Kim Jiyeon was officially drunk. But even though she was drunk, Jiyeon still had a clear understanding of her surroundings.

It had been a while since Jiyeon felt like this. She finally felt free. It had been almost a year since the horrendous incident that had her swearing to never touch alcohol ever again, thus causing her to return to Seoul.

However, her friends swore that they would be here for her and she trusted them. Maybe it would be okay for her to drink just this one night.

She was currently dancing with Soojung, who turned out to be an amazing dancer. Moving her hips, Jiyeon began to lose herself in the music.

Before she could protest, hands began to circle around her waist just as she felt a cold and unwanted presence behind her. Jiyeon’s eyes widened and turned towards Soojung who shook her head in panic, not knowing who it was.

Jiyeon slapped the person’s hand hoping he would get the message, but he chose to ignore her and instead, gripped his hands tighter around her waist. 

Her breathing hitched as the familiar feeling of a panic attack began to settle in her system. Even in her drunken state, she couldn’t protest the flashback images that began to fill her head. 

Not wanting to become a victim again, Jiyeon quickly shook her head, wanting to sober up and regain her senses. She began to turn her body, so she could kick the guy in the shin, when suddenly, the man’s hands were ripped off her waist. 
 

Jiyeon felt the empty air behind her and turned her body around to figure out what had happened.

There, stood Sehun, glaring at the man with his hands gripping the man’s collar. Jiyeon noticed that the man, who was at least half a head shorter than Sehun, was cowering in fear under Sehun’s glare.

Jiyeon watched as Sehun muttered something inaudible to the man who nodded his head in fear before releasing his grip, pushing the man away. The man his heels quickly and disappeared into the unaware crowd.

Not meeting Sehun’s eyes, Jiyeon quickly fled towards the bar, suddenly feeling the need of alcohol in her system. She immediately took a seat on the stool and called for the bartender.

Jiyeon grabbed a shot of soju that was given by the bartender and downed it quickly. She felt the alcohol burn as the effects slowly make its way towards her head. The images that were once hidden away in her head, slowly began to pop up in her mind. It was as if the only way to dissolve the images from her head was to consume alcohol. 

Jiyeon quickly downed multiple shots consecutively before grabbing another. Before she could place the shot glass on her lips, a pair of cold hands grabbed hers.

Jiyeon felt a gaze on her and looked up in confusion. Sehun stood next to her with a blank look as he gently took the glass from her hand, placing it onto the table.

“What are you doing here Sehun?” asked Jiyeon adding a slight giggle at the end of the question.

“You’re drunk,” stated Sehun as he took in Jiyeon’s appearance.

“Am I?” Since Sehun was standing beside her, she felt her body naturally lean against his. “You feel nice.”

Hoping that Sehun wasn’t paying any attention, Jiyeon tried to sneakily grab the glass that Sehun grabbed from her hand and placed it on the counter.

With his fast reflexes, Sehun immediately grabbed the glass before Jiyeon could reach it and gave it to the stranger next to him. “You’ve had one too many drinks.”

Jiyeon pouted.

“You know you’re a lightweight, yet you continued to drink,” scolded Sehun before lowering his tone. “Why?”

There was a short silence between the two of them before Jiyeon finally spoke up.

“I just want to forget,” whispered Jiyeon, knowing that Sehun had heard her clearly despite the loud music and chatter behind them.

Sehun let out a small sigh. He didn’t know what Jiyeon meant about wanting to forget, but he knew that there was something she was hiding that had to pertain to alcohol.

“Just don’t drink without me there with you next time.”

Despite being drunk, Jiyeon felt her heart beat quicken at his words. She wasn’t sure if her warm, rosy cheeks were because of what he had just said or the alcohol in her system. 

“Alright,” Jiyeon looked up and gave Sehun a wide grin, completely changing the mood. 

Before Jiyeon could say anything else, her bar stool was spun around causing Jiyeon to giggle and Sehun to look at the culprit in surprise.

“Jiyeon!” 

A very drunk looking Baekhyun was standing in front of her with his signature wide grin spread across his face. Jongin and Soojung stood behind him with knowing smiles on their faces. 

“You should try this,” Baekhyun handed a tropical looking drink to Jiyeon and gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s really good.”

Before Sehun could protest, Jiyeon placed the glass on her lips and took a sip. Jiyeon let out a sigh as the alcohol burned down followed by a sweet, tropical taste. 
 

“This is good!” Jiyeon’s head once again began to feel clouded as the strong alcoholic beverage entered her system. She took one last sip before getting stopped by Sehun.

“That’s enough for the night,” said Sehun causing Jiyeon to whine.

“But- “protested Jiyeon. Sehun gave her stern look as he took the drink away from her grasps. 

“I think it’s time we head home,” muttered Sehun. He watched as Jiyeon began to play with the bar stool, making it twirl around repeatedly. Not wanting her to throw up, he quickly stopped the stool from turning. “Let’s go home.”

“Already?” asked Jiyeon, cocking her head to the side.

“I’ll take you home,” said Sehun. Jiyeon pouted and tried to stand up. However, the drink Baekhyun had given her was pretty strong and