Although Taekwoon wasn’t a fan of parties, he didn’t mind them as long as his group of friends were in attendance. Said friends were scattered around the place; some dancing, some flirting, while he stuck to the bar, slowly sipping on his wine.

 

“Hi!” a lady suddenly approached him, “are you here alone?”

 

“Uh…”

 

“Okay, what I really meant was, are you single?”

 

Taekwoon was quite surprised by the lady’s boldness; he wasn’t used to such approaches.

 

“What?”

 

The look on his face must have appeared amusing to the lady, for she giggled at his reaction.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m not asking for myself. I’m asking for my friend over there,” she pointed.

 

Taekwoon’s eyes followed her finger and landed on another lady, who looked like she was ready to bury her friend alive. When she caught his gaze, she gave an apologetic nod.

 

“She doesn’t look interested,” he said.

 

The lady smirked, “ooh. Does that mean you are?”

 

“What? No. I mean, I, uh…”

 

“I’m sending her your way,” she laughed and went towards her friend.

 

Taekwoon hid his face in embarrassment. Minutes later, there was a small commotion behind him.

 

“…not getting away with this. Just you wait!”

 

“Yeah, I love you too, honey!”

 

A presence beside him made Taekwoon look up and into the eyes of the lady’s friend.

 

“I apologize for my friend’s behavior,” she said, “I hope you’re not offended.”

 

“No, it’s alright,” Taekwoon nodded, “my friends are worse.”

 

The comment earned him a laugh from her and he found himself smiling too.

 

“You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to.”

 

“Well, I was dragged to this party by the friend you just met, who, has apparently decided to vanish after planting me here. And sitting here is much better than being surrounded by dozens of other people,” she rolled her eyes, “I hate parties.”

 

Taekwoon chuckled at the action.

 

“I’m Jung Taekwoon.”

 

“Chae Hansol.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Hansol-sshi,” Taekwoon tipped his glass slightly, “I don’t like parties too, but if my friends are with me, then I don’t mind.”

 

“Did they abandon you here too?”

 

He laughed, “no, I planted myself here.”

 

Hansol ordered a cocktail for herself, and the next few minutes were spent in silence. Taekwoon scanned the place to try to locate at least one of his friends, but it was fruitless. He did, however, spot someone he didn’t want to see and groaned.

 

“Is something wrong?” Hansol asked.

 

“Just…a person I don’t wanna see,” he sighed, “didn’t expect her to show up here.”

 

“An ex? Did it end ugly?”

 

Taekwoon shook his head, “we never started. In fact, she regarded my confession as a joke in front of an audience.”

 

Hansol frowned, “that’s horrible. Of her, obviously.”

 

“Mmhmm. Worst Christmas ever.”

 

“What?!” she exclaimed, “oh man, Last Christmas come to life.”

 

Taekwoon shot her a wry smile, “tell me about it.”

 

“Uh…Taekwoon-sshi, is Ms. Last Christmas wearing a gold sparkly dress and with huge wavy hair?”

 

“How did you know?”

 

“Because she’s headed our way and staring right at you.”

 

Before Taekwoon could even attempt to turn and look, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He groaned again mentally and turned around.

 

“Taekwoon oppa! It’s been a while!”

 

He managed to force a small smile, “hi Heejoo.”

 

The girl named Heejoo tried to pull Taekwoon into a hug, but he leaned back instinctively.

 

“Why?” she smirked, “do you still like me?”

 

And then he felt Hansol rest her chin on his shoulder, her arm looping into his. Taekwoon tensed.

 

“Heejoo? Is she the friend you told me about before?” Hansol asked nonchalantly.

 

“Uh…” he cleared his throat awkwardly, “yeah…”

 

Surprise was evident on Heejoo’s face. And then her expression turned sour.

 

“You got yourself a girlfriend, I see.”

 

“I’ve been waiting to meet you, Heejoo-sshi!” Hansol beamed and held out her hand, “Taekwoon told me about what happened between you and him.”

 

Heejoo stared at Hansol, “what?”

 

“Well, I wanted to thank you for giving him up, if not I wouldn’t have been able to meet him. Taekwoon is an am