Dahyun and Tzuyu exited the backseat of the car, thanking Mrs. Son graciously for the ride. Chaeyoung closed the passenger door behind her and waved goodbye to her mom, smiling like the perfect happy freshman on their way to their first high school party. Mrs. Son drove off, full of the fears and doubts traditional of a parent with a teen who wants to go to parties now. Her little baby was all grown up. When the lights of the car had faded into the distance, Chaeyoung let go of the act and allowed the disgruntled frown to settle comfortably back on her face. 

The three girls stared up at the house where they had been dropped off. “House” didn’t do the place any justice. This building was more of a palace. The mansion was gigantic, a modern facade of marble and glass, sleek and powerful. It was intimidating just to stand in front of. However, the feeling of dignity and class was tainted by the overwhelming mishmash of blasting music and shouting teenagers. Pulsing lights and wild silhouettes flashed through the windows. Im Nayeon’s party of the year (at least, until the next one) was in full swing. 

“Why did we come to this again?” Chaeyoung asked with bitter sarcasm.

Tzuyu might have rolled her eyes, but having witnessed even just the outside of the spectacle that was an Im Nayeon party, she didn’t seem so confident in her motivations anymore. With less conviction than intended, she said, “We came because we were personally invited.” 

The morning of the party reveal, before the action and before any sane person should be at school, Tzuyu was sitting alone in the library, putting the finishing touches on her history assignment. The lights of the library burned into her tired eyes and the background buzzing of the computers was lulling her into a near hypnotic state. This drowsy haze was abruptly interrupted by someone sitting themselves down next to her. Tzuyu looked up blearily to see Nayeon perched on the edge of the table like a queen on her throne. 

“You’re Tzuyu, right?” she asked.

Tzuyu blinked back at her.

“We ate lunch together that one time, remember?” Nayeon said, as if it hadn’t happened yesterday and Tzuyu could ever forget about it. She nodded hesitantly in response and Nayeon beamed.

“Perfect. So I’m throwing a party this Friday and I think you and your friends should come.” She spoke as if she was presenting this great gift, that any person would be lucky to receive. Tzuyu raised her eyebrows.

“Why?”

A bit miffed at the lack of enthusiasm, Nayeon was nevertheless not dissuaded. “I think you all could have a lot of fun. Just think about it. It could be a… special experience.” 

Tzuyu was unnerved by the emphasis she put on “special” but had no time to voice her concerns. Nayeon hopped off the table and walked away without waiting for dissent.

“I’ll see you three there,” she called behind as she sauntered off. 

Tzuyu blinked again, looking between the spot where Nayeon had just been sitting and her retreating form and the history project on the desk.

“What just happened?”

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes, not any more pleased to hear about the event for the second time. “And you convinced me to come how?”

“Don’t make me explain it again.”

Chaeyoung gripped her drink tightly enough to crumple the plastic. 

“Do you think she was flirting with you? Because if she was, I swear to God, I’ll straighten those buck teeth of hers with my fist.” 

Tzuyu was quick to reach out and release her grasp before they had to apologize to the owner of this cafe for an exploded iced coffee. “She has a girlfriend, so I highly doubt it.”

“Oh please, like you can expect any of them to be faithful,” Chaeyoung scoffed. “I’m sure her and Jeongyeon both have something on the side.”

Dahyun fiddled with the straw of her own drink. These conversations kept happening and she was starting to get really tired of them. Some part of her wanted to defend Sana and her friends, but that was probably just because she was getting weary of Chaeyoung’s nonstop rants. I mean, Chaeyoung was right, right? 

“I think we should go,” Tzuyu stated unexpectedly. “And Chaeyoung, I know what you’re going to say-”

“Why, for the love of all that is good and holy on this earth, would we go to that party?”

“Actually, my version had a lot more cursing.”

“Believe me, I am showing enormous amounts of restraint,” Chaeyoung fumed.

“I just need you to hear me out,” Tzuyu insisted. “It’s our first year of high school. We should to experience things.”

“I’m experiencing things just fine, as far from Im Nayeon and her friends as possible, thank you very much.”

“We’re all stressed, we could use a break.”

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes so dramatically they might have fallen out on to the table. “That’ll be a fun break, watching our peers get drunk off their asses and dodging handsy football players. Sounds like an amazing night out.”

Dahyun suddenly spoke up. “I agree with Tzuyu.”

Tzuyu shot her a look of thanks as Chaeyoung groaned, “Not you too! Am I the only sane one at this table?”

“She makes some good points, okay?” Dahyun shrugged. She felt a weird enthusiasm for the idea, one that she couldn’t really explain. “I don’t think we should waste our time in high school. And the parties are supposed to be insane.” Spotting Chaeyoung’s reaction, she corrected, “In a good way. Hundreds of people go to them. We can just… avoid the people we don’t want to be around and have fun together.”

Chaeyoung looked around wildly, like how could she be the only one who sees this is a terrible idea.

“Well fine then,” she relented. “You two can go.”

Tzuyu gave her a look. “Chaeng, come on-”

“No, no, enjoy watching cheerleaders get high off of hand sanitizer or whatever’s hip with the kids these days, I don’t need that in my life.”

Tzuyu reached out and grabbed her hand. “Chaeyoung, just come to the party. We can hang out together.” Her eyes darted to Dahyun. “All three of us can hang out together.”

Dahyun looked between the two of them, confused. Chaeyoung pulled her hand away quickly. 

“It’s a unique opportunity,” Tzuyu continued. “We should take it.” She stared at Chaeyoung imploringly. Finally, her resolve seemed to break.

“Fine. But I’m not enjoying myself. And if I see Nayeon or any of her friends, I’m taking my ‘unique opportunity’ and pushing them into a pool.”

Dahyun looked back on the memory, surprised at her own enthusiasm. She couldn’t be feeling further from enthusiastic in this moment. She shifted from foot to foot, shivering in the autumn evening air.

“It’s cold,” she commented. 

Chaeyoung hummed in sarcastic concern. “Maybe if you had worn that jacket…”

“Shut up, Chaeng.”

“Are you allowed to wear white to a house party?”

“Of course not, you would be shot on sight.”

Dahyun groaned. “That’s not helpful.”

“Did you expect it to be?”

Dahyun threw her phone onto her bed, along with several outfit options she had been deliberating between for the past hour. Well, maybe deliberating was a gentle way of putting it. More like tearing her hair out over.

She pressed her current option up to her front, looking at it in the mirror. “Is wearing a dress too formal or just formal enough?”

“I don’t know, I could call up my contact in the fashion police but I think she’s on duty tonight.”

Dahyun groaned deeper.

“Listen, Dahyun,” Chaeyoung said through speaker phone, “I know you consider me an expert in all things, as you should, but what makes you think I can help you with this? I’ve been to exactly as zero parties as you have.”

“I don’t know,” Dahyun said, ruffling through her closet. “I’m just stressing, I need to talk it out.”

“If you’re stressing so much, why are we even going?” Chaeyoung asked.

Good question, Dahyun thought, but kept quiet.

“We can just skip it,” Chaeyoung continued. “Let’s see, I can have a group root canal scheduled that might be just as fun.”

“Ha, ha,” Dahyun said sarcastically.

“Or we can just relive our middle school lives for four hours. I can play Kim Yerim and you can spill your soup all over me on picture day. ”

Dahyun cringed. “I couldn’t walk in the hallways for months without her giving me a death glare. It was worse when the yearbook came out.”

“And there are going to be plenty of people just like her at the party. I mean, if Im Nayeon’s running it, I’d be surprised if you could scrape a soul together among the lot.”

Inhaling deeply, Dahyun plopped herself down on the one section of her bed not covered by an article of clothing. “Chaeng, I need you to be serious with me for a second.”

“I can try.”

“What do you think is really going to happen?”

Chaeyoung exhaled, mulling it over. “I really don’t know, Dahyun. It could be really boring, it could be really fun, it could scar us for life. People are probably going to get drunk and rowdy and loud and make bad decisions. It’s gonna be a party, I guess. I mean, we’ll be fine, the three of us. We’ve got each other and all that sappy friendship stuff.” Dahyun chuckled despite her anxiety. “Worst case scenario, we call my mom to come pick us up and we finish the night in my basement watching a horror movie. Best case scenario, Nayeon falls off her own balcony and we finish the night in my basement watching a horror movie.”

Dahyun snorted. “Okay, Chaeng.” The tension, though not entirely gone, had eased a little bit. She could survive this party. “Thank you for your never ending wisdom.”

“Don’t mention it. And just wear something simple, no one will be sober enough to care and you might as well be comfortable when someone spills their drink on you. But put some effort in. If I can’t find you a girlfriend by the end of tonight, I’ll have to resign as your best friend and we all know how much of coveted position that is.”

“Very funny,” Dahyun said.

“No, really, we’re gonna hook you up. There’s that girl Irene you used to like, she’s probably gonna be there.”

“I think she’s in college now, she was my babysitter in like fourth grade.” Dahyun squinted skeptically. “Why the romance all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know, I’m thinking about it. I mean, that’s what a high school party is for, right? Meeting the love of your adolescent life and having that perfect kiss under the stars.” She coughed. “Or whatever.”

“Son Chaeyoung, you poetic loser,” Dahyun smirked.

“No. Shut up.”

“Whatever you say, softy.”

“Leave me alone. And wear that skirt you just bought, it makes your look good.”

“Alright,” Dahyun said. “Thanks for helping me calm down.”

“We’ll be okay. I mean, it’s going to , but it’ll be fine. If you consider being trapped in a witch’s lair with 400 of your new drunkest friends fine, which I do not, if I might add.”

“Goodbye, Chaeng.”

“Later, loser.”

The three fell silent, looking up at the house that wasn’t getting any less intimidating as they stood in front of it. The mood might have been eased earlier, but confronted with the reality of the situation, their confidence drained away yet again.

Chaeyoung took a deep breath. “Well, my mom drove away and it’s not getting any warmer. Shall we?”

Tzuyu nodded, shaky but determined, and Dahyun tried to her best to do the same. The friends steeled themselves and walked up the path to the front door. As they approached, the volume of the party steadily increased, the base and their heartbeats thrumming in their ears. 

The door was propped open, eliminating the awkward “to knock or not to knock” debate, but they hovered in the doorway regardless. The outside of the house was one thing, but seeing the teeming sea of raging teenagers up close and personal was an entirely different experience. It was clearly a very modern, cleanly decorated place, but the party had taken over. The entire room was packed with kids, drinks in hand, inhibitions absent. They danced wildly, shouting like banshees and throwing their limbs in time with the blaring music, or as in time as they could be when they were clearly wasted beyond rhythm. 

The three freshman gulped in unison.

“What, uh, what should we do now?” Dahyun asked, unable to pull her eyes from the scene. She had to shout to be heard over the uproar.

“I guess, get drinks?” Tzuyu said, as if she was asking herself more than anyone else. The other two nodded nervously, and they made their way tentatively into the fray, hugging the walls and nearly each other in a close huddle.

They fumbled their way through the crowd, dodging flailing bodies and careless drinks, and managed to stumble into the kitchen. It was just as large and grand as the rest of the house, but slightly less populated. Dahyun was able to hear herself think at the very least. 

Lining the kitchen island were stacks of plastic cups and dozens of open bottles. They didn’t look like they held fruit punch. It should have been expected, by the reputation of these parties and high school parties in general, but it was still very jarring. The three friends just looked at the bottles, almost having a staring contest with them.

“You better not even think about drinking that.”

They whipped their heads around to see Jihyo approaching them. That was unexpected.

“Of course we wouldn’t,” Dahyun said quickly. Jihyo raised her eyebrows, half joking, half deathly serious.

“I trust you three, you’re good kids. You never know what could happen at one of these parties though.” She surveyed the crowd with distaste. “God, I hate these things.”

“Why are you here?” Chaeyoung asked, her surprise speaking for all of them.

Jihyo rolled her eyes, as if she was asking herself the same question. “Mina. She seems really stressed these days. She told me I needed to ‘let loose’ and ‘make the most of highschool’. I think she was talking to herself more than anything. I wasn’t going to change her mind, so I decided to come with her. At least if I’m here I can make sure she doesn’t let loose too much.” Jihyo gave them a suspicious glance. “Why are you three here?”

“Same reason, pretty much,” Dahyun said. It was true, but why did she feel like a guilty child lying to their parent?

“Where is Mina?” Tzuyu asked.

“She went to look for a bathroom,” Jihyo said. “God knows there must be like 40 in this house. I should go find her. Make good decisions, kids.” 

Jihyo plunged bravely back into the breach, leaving the three freshman alone in the kitchen once again. Well, as alone as they could be with dozens of other people crammed in the same room. Dahyun eyed the alcohol.

“I’m not feeling that thirsty to be honest,” she said, and her friends nodded in agreement. They shared a look, seeing the only place to go from here, and rejoined the wilderness of the party proper.

Clustered in their little huddle, the three girls made their way deeper into the house, even more impressive on the inside. There was a game room, where far more people danced on the pool tables than played anything, a home theater, where no one took a break from making out with each other to start watching a movie, and a library, where nothing resembling reading was happening between the stacks. Of course, there were multiple living rooms, all decorated with some new, modern style, that seemed to blur together into one twisting, pulsing mass of teen debauchery. Dahyun hadn’t taken a single drink, but the energy of the place was starting to make her dizzy.

Chaeyoung halted them in what looked like a sort of museum display room. A group of boys were armwrestling on the display case of a 2000 year old manuscript.

“Okay, I’m done,” she shouted over the noise.

“Yeah, they’re about to break something they can not afford to replace,” Tzuyu said.

“No, not with them,” Chaeyoung said, but gave the boys a second look. “Well, yes, with them, but also with us!” Her friends looked at her, confused. “You drag me to this stupid party to ‘experience high school’, right? How can we do that if we’re huddled together like a bunch of penguins?”

Dahyun was going to interject but Chaeyoung continued. “No, come on, we look like losers. We have to split up.”

“We’re hanging out together,” Dahyun insisted.

“We can meet up again later,” Chaeyoung returned. “Come on, Tzu, what do you say?”

“I,” Tzuyu looked between the pleading faces of both of her friends. “Yeah, you have a point. We should split up.”

“Tzuyu, really?” Dahyun groaned.

“It’ll be fine, and we’ll see you later,” she said.

“But, guys, come on,” Dahyun started, but they were already being swept away into the party. She found herself alone, standing next to a weird horse statue in the middle of an unfamiliar house, surrounded by drunk idiots. She needed some air. 

Making her way towards the other end of the display room, Dahyun found a staircase and climbed up to the second level. This floor was quieter than below, with fewer people clogging the rooms. She followed a couple of hallways and ended up on a sort of balcony, overlooking the packed entrance hall where she and her friends had originally come in. She wondered where they had gotten to, if they were having the time of their life in that crowd down there while she slumped over the railing up here, trying to fight nausea. She brought her hands up to her forehead, feeling exhausted.

“Hey, freshie, you okay?”

Dahyun turned at the familiar voice and saw Jeongyeon, leaning against the wall next to her. She was dressed for a party, in a brightly patterned button down and shorts, but the ensemble didn’t match her mood. This meeting was eerily similar to their first, except they were both alone this time. It probably wasn’t the smartest move to strike up a conversation with a girl with Jeongyeon’s reputation, but it seemed they both felt a little dejected in that moment.

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks,” Dahyun responded. Jeongyeon was holding a cup and seemed a little tipsy, but a lot better than most of the partygoers. 

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Jeongyeon said. “This doesn’t really seem like your scene.”

“Yeah,” Dahyun said. “It isn’t really. But when Im Nayeon herself invites you, you have to come right?”

Jeongyeon chuckled wryly, shaking her head. “Yeah, ever since she stopped flirting with people, she fancies herself quite the matchmaker.”

“What do you mean?” Dahyun asked.

Jeongyeon shrugged it off. “Oh, nothing.” She took a sip from her cup. “Are you enjoying the party?”

“It’s a little…” Dahyun trailed off, looking down at the sea of dancing below, the flashing lights. 

“Yeah, I get that,” Jeongyeon said.

“Are you enjoying it?” Dahyun asked. It was a little weird to her to see Jeongyeon just standing off to the side, when she had expected her to be the life of the party, center of attention.

“Well enough, I guess,” she said, without much enthusiasm. “It’s a little different with a girlfriend.”

Dahyun hummed, surprised by the honesty. “Where is she?”

“Somewhere down there,” Jeongyeon gestured to the party below, “being the perfect hostess. And I’m up here, ducking past flings and drinking alone.” She spoke very contemplatively, like this was all some big self deprecating joke. The alcohol was making her a bit more open to sharing than she might have been sober. 

Dahyun finally allowed herself to ask a question that had been burning through her. “Do you miss it? The flirting?” 

Jeongyeon looked surprised. “Honestly? Not at all. It’s a pretty unsustainable lifestyle. Some people might even say it’s ‘a move’.” She laughed and Dahyun found herself joining in. “I don’t need to make any more enemies. And I mean, Nayeon and I bicker all the time and maybe I don’t act like it enough, but I love her a lot. Just, so much.” She gazed off into the party. It might have been her inebriated state, but Jeongyeon talked about Nayeon with stars in her eyes, a bit of a dopey smile on her face. It was a very touching, entirely unexpected moment. 

The moment was cut off abruptly by the arrival of Momo, who, unlike Jeongyeon, was drunk off her .

“Jeong,” she whined, wrapping her arms around her friend’s shoulders. It looked like she might have spilled her drink down the front of her dress. “I asked her to come and she said she would but I haven’t seen her and Jeong,” she stretched the name out, “what if she hates me now and I ruined it forever and she never wants to talk to me again.” She clutched tightly to the front of Jeongyeon’s shirt, legs unable to support her.

Jeongyeon pried her grip open. “Whoa there, Momo, you need to slow down. I’m sure she came. There’s like a million people here, maybe you just haven’t run into her yet.”

Momo seemed to consider this and nodded as sagely as her state would allow. “Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled. She turned to Dahyun, seeming to just realize she was there. “Hey, you!” She surged forward, bringing her arms up around Dahyun. “Have you seen,” she slurred, “have you seen Mina?”

Dahyun, awkward with the close contact and the strong scent of alcohol coming off of Momo, fumbled with her words. “Uh, last I heard, she was trying to find a bathroom.”

“Ugh, how’s that supposed to narrow it down?” Momo groaned. “I have to go find her.” With a newfound sense of urgency, she started to stumble back into the crowd. 

Jeongyeon pushed herself off the wall. “I should go make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.”

Before she could get very far, Nayeon emerged from the crowd and pushed her against the railing of the balcony, bringing their lips together fervently.

Dahyun stood off to the side, flabbergasted and apparently forgotten entirely as the couple kissed. Just as she started to wonder if she should just leave, Nayeon broke away for air.

“I missed you so much,” she whispered against Jeongyeon’s lips. 

“That’s… kinda gay,” Jeongyeon panted.

Nayeon hit her playfully. “Don’t start with me. It’s absolutely wild tonight. I don’t think there’s a single vase in the house that’s not shattered, there are freshmen making out in the coat closet, and some on the lacrosse team asked if I was your sugar mommy.” 
Jeongyeon groaned, but it was clear she wasn’t that upset. Her mood actually seemed drastically improved. “I wonder if it’s the same guy who asked if we’d be willing to have a .”

Nayeon giggled at the memory. “Aw, you know Mommy would never share her little girl with anybody-”

Remembering they weren’t alone, Jeongyeon’s eyes darted to Dahyun and she coughed. Nayeon followed and she lit up in recognition. “Hey, you came!”

Stunned, all Dahyun could do was nod. 

“That’s perfect. I hope you’re having fun.” Her eyes cut to the stairs slyly. “You should go check out the pool.” There was a mischievous quality to Nayeon’s voice that Dahyun didn’t trust entirely. But before Dahyun could consider asking for clarification, the couple was making out again and she decided she needed to get away from here regardless. 

Descending the stairs, Dahyun squeezed her way through the crowd, hopefully heading towards the pool. Plunging back into the party, with all of its music and shouting, made her head spin once again. In one of the living rooms, she spotted glass sliding doors that seemed to head outside and she made her way towards them. 

Feet from the door, Jihyo appeared in her path. “Dahyun!” she shouted over the crowd. “Have you seen Mina?”

“No!” Dahyun replied. “But she’s very popular tonight!”

“What?”

“Momo was asking about her earlier!”

Jihyo’s mood changed abruptly from concerned to indignant. 

“What!”

“Yeah,” Dahyun said, sensing the shift and trying to ease back. “Listen, have you seen Chaeyoung or Tzuyu?”

“I’m sorry, no,” Jihyo replied, her mind clearly moving past this conversation. “I have to go.”

“Oka-” Dahyun started, but Jihyo already melted back into the crowd. Even more desperate for air now, she shouldered her way past a couple people and nearly fell through the sliding glass door into the pool area.

Sliding the door shut behind her, the clamor of the party was dulled and she heaved a deep breath, taking in chlorine tinted fresh air. She had emerged in a courtyard of sorts, surrounded by windows that showed the party raging around it and open to the star-dotted sky above. The pool itself was empty, but there were maybe thirty people scattered around the edges, basking in the quiet blue lighting and speaking at a normal volume. It was an enormous relief. She finally felt free of the party, able to breathe again.

Her relief was cut short when she caught sight of Sana.

Dahyun didn’t know if it was her exhaustion, the fumes of the party gone to her head, the absence of a school uniform, or all of the above that made Sana look that much more like a goddess, sitting casually on a deck chair across the patio without a care in the world. She positively glowed. Like she was a higher being, emitting some strong magnetic force, pulling the light and the atmosphere and Dahyun’s eyes all to her and keeping them focused. 

Sana turned her head, meeting Dahyun’s admittedly awestruck gaze, and everything about her lit up even more, which should have been impossible. She waved brightly, beckoning Dahyun over. And how was she supposed to resist that?

“Dubu!” she cried as Dahyun made her way over. “You’re here!”

“Yeah, I am,” Dahyun said, too busy trying to catch her breath to come up with something more creative than that.

“I’m so happy to see you,” Sana beamed. She patted the deckchair she was seated on. “Come, sit.” Dahyun did as she was told and Sana leaned into her, linking their arms.

“Are you enjoying the party?”

“Sana, you look… stunning.” As soon as the words left , Dahyun nearly choked, blushing furiously. 

Sana giggled, looking down at her body almost bashfully. “Thank you,” she said, and the way she said it made it seem like the compliment meant so much to her, even though she had definitely heard it many times before. “I think you look stunning as well.”

“Ah, come on,” Dahyun deflected, heat glowing in her cheeks.

“No, no, I love your outfit. It’s very cute.” Sana couldn’t know about the hours Dahyun spent stressing over what to wear, couldn’t possibly know the deeper effect her words would have, but the sparkle in her eyes could convince you she knew every single detail about you.

“It’s a good thing you’re here, I actually needed to talk to you,” Sana said. She took a deep breath.  “I’m really sorry about what happened at that lunch.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Dahyun insisted instantly. Sana looked like she had been really hurting over it.

“No, it’s not fine. I intruded where I wasn’t welcome and I need to apologize,” she said. She looked off. “Your friends don’t like me very much, do they?”

“No, it’s not, they-” Dahyun cringed, trying to come up with a better response, but she was never very good at lying. “Well, no, they don’t.” 

Sana’s shoulders drooped a little bit. She turned back. “You like me though, right?”

She tried to play it off like a joke but it clearly wasn’t. Dahyun really didn’t expect this many emotional conversations to happen at this party. She looked deep into Sana’s eyes, seeing a flicker of vulnerability she’d do anything to ease.

“Yeah, Sana, of course,” Dahyun said. And she didn’t find herself having to lie. Somewhere in between all of the gratuitous flirting and getting flustered, some fondness had formed between the two of them.

Sana nodded, biting her lip. “Well, I like you too, Dahyunnie,” she giggled, brushing the sadness out of the atmosphere with a flip of her hair. Dahyun let out a breathy laugh, taking in a whiff of Sana’s perfume. It was more intoxicating than any drink at this party.

“This is my first party, you know,” Dahyun said.

Sana raised her eyebrows exaggeratedly. “What? No, I never could’ve guessed.”

“Hey,” Dahyun protested. “I tripped over that door frame like a pro, I’m completely in my element.”

Sana laughed and Dahyun’s stomach felt light. “Well then, either way. I’m happy I could be your first.”

Her eyes danced with double entendre. Dahyun tried to suppress the half cough, half choke that immediately bubbled up, but Sana caught it, just like she did everything.

“Aw, did I make your heart flutter?” she asked innocently.

“Please.” Dahyun’s denial was severely undercut by her inability to keep the blush off of her cheeks. “It was just… a very funny joke.”

Sana grasped her chest in mock swoon. “Wow, it’s not every night a pretty girl calls you stunning and funny. Dahyun, slow down, I’m already yours.”

Hearing Sana say her name sent her stomach in a series of flips Dahyun couldn’t explain. “Are you now?” she asked, in far too steady of a voice.

Instead of answering, Sana seemed distracted, flickering her gaze over Dahyun’s face. Dahyun felt like she was under a microscope but she didn’t hate it. It felt like she was being appreciated, not dissected, like Sana was some fine art connoisseur and she was a masterpiece. It was flattering, to say the least, and doing nothing to abate the heat growing on Dahyun’s cheeks.

She could feel her own eyes drawn into Sana’s face. Getting pulled into the depths of her eyes, following the curve of her nose, down to her lips. She looked like an angel. Dahyun felt an irresistible pull forward, like a siren song, calling out to her, to do… something, anything. She looked back up to Sana’s eyes. They were perfect stars.

“I’m sorry,” Dahyun said quickly, breaking the eye contact.

“Why are you apologizing, Dahyun?” Sana asked gently.

Dahyun unentangled their arms, weaving her fingers together in her lap. “I mean, this is your friend’s party, you probably want to go hang out with them, you don’t have to sit here with me-”

“I think I’m perfectly happy right where I am.”

Dahyun persisted. “No, no,” she shifted her body away from Sana, “I’m sorry, I should leave you alone, I don’t know what I’m doing here-”

“Hey,” Sana said, bringing her hand up to Dahyun’s elbow, bringing their eyes back together. She wet her lips and smiled, eyes glowing like a sunrise. “Kiss me if you’re sorry.”

Oh. So that’s what she had felt compelled to do. And staring back into Sana’s eyes, falling deep, the compulsion felt stronger than ever. And she didn’t want to fight it. It felt different from the other times Sana had asked for a kiss. It could have been a joke, but the look on her face said she meant it wholeheartedly. And Dahyun wholeheartedly wanted to give in.

She felt herself leaning in and saw Sana do the same. She closed her eyes softly.

“Dahyun?”

She jumped back, opening her eyes to a broken spell. She whipped her head to where the call had come from, only to see Jihyo standing at the door, giving her best “what the absolute hell do you think you’re doing” look. Dahyun looked between Jihyo and Sana, fumbling for words and trying desperately to get her lungs to work again.

Suddenly a cheer went up from the other edge of the pool and all three girls turned. A group of partiers was clustered around two people Dahyun couldn’t make out, shouting and egging them on. Still shaking off the daze she had just been in, she didn’t understand what was happening. Until it became clear, when the two figures lurched forward out of the fray and she saw Mina and Momo tumble into the pool with a splash, locked at the lips.