Sooyoung’s the type of girl who shies away from meeting new people, despite how much she might want to socialize. It’s an odd predicament, to want to make friends yet not knowing how to go about it in the first place. Usually Sooyoung is left to her own devices, a loner in a crowded room, unsure of who to talk to or what to even talk about.

When she meets Jiwoo at an apartment party on campus at end of her sophomore year, for a split second, Sooyoung becomes convinced the other girl is a godsend. Perhaps the big man upstairs really had heard all the silent pleading she’d done for the past ten years of her life or so and had allowed Jiwoo to stumble her way into Sooyoung’s life by sheer chance. Perhaps there was still hope for Sooyoung’s awkward habits to be relearned.

Sooyoung was on her third mixed drink and had already consumed two and a half shots of vodka over the course of her arrival at Haseul’s party. She lay sprawled out across a surprisingly comfortable couch, red solo cup in hand with the word ‘Yves’ scrawled across it in purple sharpie. Other than Haseul, who’d invited her in the first place, no one had approached her, and she was grateful for that.

Tonight, she just felt like getting buzzed without having to worry about how to open up with people she knew she’d never see again nor had any desire to strike up a conversation with in the first place. Her head propped up on a puffy throw pillow, Sooyoung scrolled through Twitter on her phone and listened to the steady chatter of the partygoers around her, taking the occasional sip here and there from her cup.

Her bored expression was enough to stop anyone in their tracks from taking even one step towards her, and she relished in that. But all good things must come to an end.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?” A girl’s voice cut through the dull party chatter and the heavy thump of the bass. Sooyoung let her phone fall flat on her chest as she looked up at whoever spoke to her. “What did you say?” Sooyoung slurs slightly, clumsily pushing herself up on one elbow. She blinked up at the girl with bleary eyes, barely making out the silhouette of the girl standing above her. A finger poked at one of Sooyoung’s legs.

“I said, is this seat taken?” The voice asks again, still as light and airy as before.

“I mean, I’m kind of sitting here,” Sooyoung grumbled, eyes narrowing at the figure standing in front of her. The girl merely gave Sooyoung a smile and waited, taking a sip from her own solo cup while surveying the room nonchalantly. Sensing that no amount of time would deter the girl, Sooyoung caved in after a moment or two.

“Alright, alright.” Sooyoung swung her legs off of the couch to make room for the girl. “Happy?” The girl flopped down on the cushions beside her and gave her a radiant smile. “Overjoyed. Anyways, I’m Jiwoo. What’s your name?” Sooyoung gave Jiwoo a long sidelong glance, noting the way she seemed to light up the air around her with her toothy grin and her bubbliness. “Sooyoung,” she replied, taking another swig from her mixed drink.

Sooyoung was teetering on the edge between pleasantly buzzed and something darker, more dangerous, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to cross that line now, especially when there was a pretty girl sitting next to her. “What year are you, Sooyoung?” Jiwoo asks, pestering her with more questions. Sooyoung turned to look at her fully, tearing her eyes away from the sight of a beer pong game unfolding in the den, and studied her.

A fringe of light brown bangs shrouded her forehead and threatened to cover her eyes. A pair of bright brown eyes with the pupils half blown gazed back at her, so clear that Sooyoung was certain if she leaned in a tiny bit more, she’d see herself reflected in them. Too drunk to care, Sooyoung allowed her gaze to wander a bit longer as she savored the girl’s question.

Jiwoo was wearing a baby blue button down shirt with a pair of blue jeans and white sneakers. A gold necklace dangled around her neck, disappearing from Sooyoung’s sight as it dipped beneath the shirt’s collar. She was cute, Sooyoung decided. Prettier than most of the girls who were hanging around. Despite the noise from the rest of the partygoers and the blasting music, Sooyoung still heard it when Jiwoo coughed a moment later, politely signaling Sooyoung to stop staring near her chest. A blush threatened to bloom across her cheeks, and Sooyoung looked away quickly. “I’m a sophomore this year. You?”

Sooyoung felt the telltale prickle of nervousness near the back of her neck as she finished speaking. Instinctively, she took another sip of her drink, trying to get back to that buzzed feeling again. Even when she was loose, she felt stressed while talking to someone new. The thought made her even more disappointed in herself for shying away, and just as she was about to lose herself in a wave of self-pitying, Jiwoo spoke up again.

“I’m graduating high school this summer! I don’t actually go here.”

That got Sooyoung’s attention.

“Oh? What brings you here?” She asked. Sooyoung was positively intrigued by this pretty girl with the bright brown eyes who didn’t seem to mind how rusty her conversationalist skills were. Jiwoo looked like the kind of girl who hadn’t lost sight of the luster of the world yet and she didn’t seem like the rest of the kids at Blockberry.

Sooyoung had seen far too many of the same stereotypical sorority girls or the pot headed junkies lingering around to even be interested in starting conversation at parties like this. But Jiwoo had something they didn’t, a spark that drew Sooyoung in like a moth to flame like no one else had done before.

“I live nearly all the way across town, you probably wouldn’t know it,” Jiwoo said, fidgeting cutely with her cup. “Blockberry University’s always been my dream school and I know a friend or two here, so they decided to bring me over and show me what campus is like this weekend. Too bad they all forgot about me after a couple of drinks.”

Jiwoo tossed a look over her shoulder and Sooyoung followed her line of sight to a pair of blondes chatting rather closely with each other. After a closer look, Sooyoung recognizes one of the girls from her statistics class last semester. She thought for a moment, trying to grasp at the girl’s name, but came up empty other than a few scattered memories of her coming into their class late.

“Some friends, huh?” Sooyoung chuckled, shaking her head. She looked away right before the taller blonde leaned in for a kiss. Jiwoo shook her head and sighed, “They’re great, actually. It’s just that Jinsoul and Jungeun don’t really get to see each other during the week so they, you know. Want to spend more time together. It’s understandable for them, they’ve been dating for two years or so now and Jungeun still goes to high school with me. We’re both trying to get into Blockberry next semester.”

Sooyoung’s eyebrows flick up, and she nods her head in understanding. She crans her neck back around to watch as Jinsoul and Jungeun begin laughing over something Sooyoung couldn’t quite make out over the thumping of the music. But they were happy, she could tell that much. There was an easiness about the two lovers that was rare enough for her to see it. “Two years? And long distance, at that? Must be difficult for them,” Sooyoung mumbles, half to herself and half to Jiwoo.

The two girls are silent for a moment, watching as Jinsoul leans in and presses a gentle kiss to Jungeun’s cheek. “They look so happy together. Truly. I hope you both make it next year,” Sooyoung says, tipping up her solo cup in a toast. Jiwoo gives her a breathless smile and tips her cup against Sooyoung’s. Her eyes glitter in the strobe lights Sooyoung had helped Haseul set up earlier.

“Thanks. Jungeun and I are both pretty sure we can make it, but you never know…,” Jiwoo trails off, frowning. Sooyoung thinks the younger girl’s still pretty, even with her lips turned down and her eyes far away as they stare into the contents of her cup. “I couldn’t imagine what would happen if only one of us made it and the other didn’t.” Sooyoung downs the rest of her drink and tries to smile to lift the mood.

She knows what it’s like to be in Jiwoo’s shoes, to feel the lingering weight of college entrance exams and graduation on your shoulders. “There’s always transferring if it doesn’t work out. Nothing wrong with a little community college to get all your credits first. I wish I’d done that sometimes,” she says, playfully nudging Jiwoo’s shoulder with her own. The younger girl sighs and shakes her head, “You’re right...sorry for being such a downer.” She throws back her head and laughs while Sooyoung looks on, eyebrows furrowed with concern.

“Here I am, opening myself up to a stranger at nearly two o’clock in the morning,” Jiwoo shakes her head and rests her chin in her hand. By now, Sooyoung’s buzz has worn off and she’s starting to feel more sober. That was her cue to get another drink. Slowly, she pushes herself up off the couch and holds out a hand for Jiwoo. “Want to get another drink? It might make you feel better,” Sooyoung offers. “I’ve got one hell of a final coming up so lord knows I need another.”

Jiwoo blinks up at her with her big brown eyes and Sooyoung nearly drowns in them. “You’ve let me talk your ear off and now you’re offering me a drink?” Jiwoo asks, astounded. She looks almost lost sitting there on the couch with her eyes peering up at Sooyoung, her tiny hands curled around the red of her cup. “Yeah, why not?” Sooyoung asks, jingling her own empty cup in the air. “I think it’s safe to say we both need more than one drink tonight.”

Jiwoo bites her lip, still unsure of herself. “I don’t want to be too much of a bother,” the high schooler mumbles, toying with her drink, “Besides, this is really just sprite. I was too chicken to mix in any vodka or anything.” A hand gently encircles her wrist and tugs her up from the couch. “You’re not being a bother at all,” Sooyoung reassures her. “This is actually maybe the best time I’ve had at a party since I started going to these. And about your drink...we’ve got to fix that,” Sooyoung vows, giving her a lopsided smile while interlocking their fingers.

She leads them in the general direction of the kitchen, weaving a path through other college kids milling about and chatting with each other. When the kitchen counter comes into sight, riddled with half empty liquor bottles and torn cardboard boxes of beer, Sooyoung lets go of Jiwoo’s hand to rummage through the contraband. There’s a burning in the palms of her hands at the loss of the other girl’s warmth, but she’s too focused on her mission to recognize it.

Jiwoo watches, stifling a giggle, as Sooyoung paws through the collection of booze. A few stragglers come in and fix themselves more ice from the fridge or top off their Hawaiian punches, barely batting an eye in their direction. “What would you like to try first?” Sooyoung asks a few moments later, holding up two oversized liquor bottles to the kitchen light. There’s a wicked grin on her face as she whirls around to face Jiwoo. “Vodka or Tequila?”

**

The sun falls across Sooyoung’s face, searing her back into reality again. She jerks up from the bed she’d been passed out on and takes a quick look around, trying to figure out where she was and what she’d done the night before. A headache is quick to claim her, rapping mercilessly on her skull, and she groans in pain.

With bleary, half-opened eyes, Sooyoung squints around enough to come to the conclusion that she’s back home at her apartment, safe and sound in spite of a rather large hangover. She’s still wearing the clothes she had on the night before, and she spots a smudge of mascara on her pillowcase, but other than that, she seems still put together.

Realizing she’s still blinding herself with the sun, Sooyoung jerks up from the bed to close the blinds of the windows. When she clumsily whirls around, she spots an unopened bottle of water and an aspirin waiting for her on her bed stand. If there’s one thing she’s sure of from last night, it’s that she certainly didn’t put that out...so who did?

Her heartbeat began to pick back up again as she tried to remember something, anything, from last night. Slumping back on her bed, Sooyoung scoops up the aspirin and quickly downs it, straining to come up with any semblance of memory. The last thing she could re