***

Dull thumps of a heavy beat in an unrecognisable mainstream song were vibrating through my body, making my heart quiver in a strangely pleasant anxiety. I couldn't feel my hands and for a moment I sincerely doubted I even own a pair of those; the alcohol rushing through my veins took any sense of self-awareness away and all that remained was an embodied excitement wasting its life away on a dirty dance floor.

I didn't know what time it was, I didn't know how many shots I've had, nor I had any idea in which club I currently am, however, I was very aware of my own existence yet doubting it with each intoxicated breath I took.

Nights like these are the definition of regret as much as they are the definition of an addiction. Just how easy is it to become hooked on the ecstatic sensation of unbridled youth that you pour down your throat and poison your body with?

With that thought (although not so poetically vocalised) I left the dance floor just to take another shot of soju and to let my body rest for a bit. My legs were all trembly, thus highly unreliable, and I wasn't sure if it's an alcohol poisoning or just my old bitter companion Miss Exhaustion. That always shows up whenever she pleases and makes me fall asleep in the most inconvenient places, so I don't really like her.

Panicking, I looked around searching for a bed and to my drunken surprise, there was none to be seen. The bar counter looked quite comfortable, only a little too wet and I caught myself contemplating if it's a real life-threatening issue or if I am just spoiled.

I would have probably laid myself down on one of the sofas lurking in dark corners and risk getting some disease (considering what people usually do on couches like these) when my best friend, roommate and my most faithful party buddy approached me with a mischievous grin on her pretty pink lips.

“Hey, . Remember that hot guy I spotted when we came?”

“, I can't even remember my own name.”

She eyed me from head to toe in sincere disappointment as she was in a much better state than I was. Although, to my defence, I wasn't a regular drinker and it didn't take much liquor to fatally destroy me.

“11 o'clock, look.”

I checked the time of my wristwatch: “It's almost 2:30 am. What sick mind games are you playing now?”

She rolled her eyes so fiercely I became worried that they might get stuck in the back of her head: “Look in that direction.”

“Oh,” I nodded, “That is some next level Spy Kids , comrade.”

Again, she just rolled her eyes as I blinked a few times to clear my vision to see properly; and boy, there was definitely some quality material to look at.

A guy not much older than us was standing at one of the tables people usually put their drinks on and forget about them the second after; he was looking around, his eyes seemed to be searching for something. Flickering blue neon lights added a dramatic effect to his already dramatic looks; he was somehow pretty, almost feminine like, yet his broad shoulders and distinctive Adam's apple left no one in doubt that he was, in fact, a man.

Black hair long enough to gently brush his eyelashes, jaw sharp enough to cut you if you're not careful, lips soft enough to lure out a kiss from you. He was just enough. Certainly pretty enough to catch my attention.

“He's a snack, right?” she winked at me, knowing goddamn well that pretty boys are my greatest weakness.

“He's a proper full course meal,” I corrected her impishly in the exact moment his gaze became fixated on us, "A meal I am getting tonight."

“I saw him first, though,” she pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest.

I shook my head in a blunt disbelief: “You have a girlfriend.”

“True,” she admitted, “So, ?”

Maybe she was drunker than I thought. Or maybe I was much soberer than I thought; that way or another, the pretty black-haired boy was openly staring in our direction, as if he was deciding with which one of us he will go home with.

Truthfully, my friend wouldn’t cheat on her girlfriend (even though I blurrily remember a doubtful conversation regarding monogamy a few bars before) and on a top of that, I was used to getting whatever I wanted.

There is no s