“I’m not so sure. I was so drunk last night.” She chuckles and then others laughed along. I just sit there quietly eating, just minding my own business. 

“Me too, I can’t remember anything from last night.” I replied flatly, not looking anyone in the eye. I shove another spoonful of food into my mouth as I feel this annoyance take over me. 

After breakfast, I helped clean whatever was needed to be cleaned up since I woke up pretty late. The unnies were the ones to prepare breakfast. So Dahyun, Tzuyu, and I were the ones to clear the table and wash the dishes. The older ones hung out in the yard. I wasn’t sure what they were doing though.

“So upstairs, huh?” I hear Kim Dahyun jokingly ask me. It sounded as if she was mocking me. She’s such a brat. 

“So upstairs, huh?” I repeated her words but I made sure I sounded ugly. I am currently washing the dishes, Tzuyu’s nowhere to be found so I’m pretty sure Dahyun is about to be nosy.

“I don’t sound like that though.” She defends herself, as if she’d sound any better than me. 

“What do you want?” I ask her as, still washing the dishes we used for breakfast. 

I know Dahyun, she’s not the type to let things go easily. So, the moment I heard her mocking voice, I knew she wanted to know things. 

Too bad, I can’t remember whatever happened last night. 

“Well, I was just a little curious.” She replied, it sounded as if Kim Dahyun was careful with her words. She didn’t want to annoy me. 

“Curious? The correct term is Nosy. Kim Dahyun, you’re nosy.” I reply, not really looking at her since I am busy cleaning up dishes. I placed the last plate to be rinsed on the drying rack and grab the kitchen towel, not wanting to look at Kim Dahyun. 

“You guys didn’t do anything upstairs, right?” She asked. 

“What the hell, Kim Dahyun?” I turned to her, almost immediately. Not only was her question personal but the question is just so off-beat in general. 

“It's just a question.” She tries to defend herself. I just stared at her. 

“Nothing.” I answered her immediately. “Nothing happened upstairs.” I lie, but of course Kim Dahyun doesn’t know this. I looked at her, not breaking the eye-contact between us. She just stared too, she had this look in her eyes that suggested that she’s trying to figure me out. 

“Are you sure?” She asked again.

To be honest, I do not understand why Kim Dahyun is asking me these questions. So much has happened since last night and I can’t deal with any more added stress. Kim Dahyun, she’s really pushing me off the edge right now. 

“Let’s say something did happen, what makes you think I’d tell you anything?” I ask her, not wanting to be mean at all. 

“So…” She trails off, she seemed really confused. She had this look on her face that also suggested that she’s uncomfortable. “What are you trying to say, exactly?” She smiles, trying to ease the tension between us. 

“What I’m trying to say is, mind your own business.” I rolled my eyes at her and turned away, I grabbed the kitchen towel and started drying the plates. 

“I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.” She replies. 

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t bothered at all, it would not be fair if I said I wasn’t taken aback with whatever Kim Dahyun said. 

“Hurt myself?” I chuckle as I dry the plates. “I’m sure accompanying someone upstairs won’t lead to pain.” 

“Are you sure?” She asked again.

“Yes. Besides, I can’t remember anything from last night. Talking about this is really pointless.” I tell her.

After cleaning up,  I went straight up to my room. I decided to take a bath. I took a warm bath, I just needed to be calmed a little bit. I needed to take an early bath since most probably after lunch, we’ll be driving home. I just wanted to get that out of the way. After doing all of my hocus pocus, I dress up, put some makeup on and stare at myself in the mirror. 

“Stupid.” I mutter as I stare at my reflection. I feel weird, ashamed even. 

“Why do you always have to mess up, Son Chaeyoung?” I ask my reflection. I pout, not sure about how to ease my frustration. 

Do you know that sinking feeling in your stomach when you feel disappointed? It’s what I’m currently feeling right now. I just feel this intense hollow feeling inside me, I don’t know. I sigh and just stare at myself some more. I look pissed. I don’t want to look pissed, I don’t want the unnies asking what’s the matter.  So I put my best smile on and head outside where everyone is gathered. 

Stop ing things up, Son Chaeyoung.

Outside, almost everyone was playing Touch ball. I decided not to join since I came late. Also, I wasn’t in high spirits so I just walked over to the nearest tree shade and sat down. 

I looked around and noticed how everyone seemed to really have fun playing. I, on the other hand, just watch under the tree shade. I wanted to mind my own business. As the play continued, my mind started to roam.

Bad thoughts, illegal thoughts, name them and I have them. 

I ease my sitting position and look up at the sky.

How the heck did I mess things up again?

So everyone drank and became rowdy, I got dared to sit on Mina’s lap. 

Whatever, it's not a big deal. 

Mina, as she claimed, was so drunk that’s why she wanted me to accompany her upstairs. 

Understandable. 

Since I wasn’t hammered last night, I remember everything. I told her to go brush her teeth. After that, I remember her specifically asking me to stay beside her until she fell asleep, I even held her hands. I thought she drifted off, so I told her how I felt. I told her I liked her. 

Everything would’ve been good if it ended there, but no. 

She had to wake up, pull me close, and make out with me. We made out and then she has the audacity to tell everyone she doesn’t remember a thing about last night? We ate each other’s faces! How the hell can someone forget about kissing someone? Is this a joke? I’ve been drunk before and I call bull on her excuse. 

I honestly think Mina’s just messing with me. 

While sitting, I cross my arms and just watch everyone play. I notice that the number of players has reduced. Probably, the others are getting ready to travel back home. For some reason, I turn my gaze to my left and see Mina walking towards my direction. I don’t see anyone beside me though, what the hell does she want now? 

“Hey.” She greets me, she then sits beside me. I just stare at her, she’s smiling. She looked bright and happy. 

What are you smiling at?

“Hey.” I reply, slightly  making my voice seem cheerful. I smile at her, as a respect since she approached me nicely. She eased her sitting position and placed her hand on my shoulder. She tapped me, lightly. 

“Dahyun told me everything about last night.” She stared at me, like usual, her gaze pierced through me. Her hand slides off of my shoulder, I just stare at her as if I’ve got no idea what she’s talking about. 

“Yeah?” I ask her, trying to play it cool. She’s staring at me. 

“Yeah.” She replies quietly, for a moment I swear I see her smirk. 

“What did she tell you exactly?” I ask her, and then she smiles, not the type of smile that looks forced. When she smiled, her gums show and her cheeks just … I don’t even know what to say. She looks perfect. Her eyes even smiled too. 

I don’t even know whether I’m still mad at her or not. All I know is, like the freak that I am, I couldn’t stop staring at her. She’s got me wrapped around her fingers. 

I, Son Chaeyoung, is under a spell.

“She told me that you accompanied me to my room last night.” Says Mina. She gave me this look, her gaze looked soft, and I couldn’t do anything, it felt like I was being melted by her gaze.

“Yeah? What else?” I ask her, trying to prolong our exchange. She gave me this look, I see her pause for a while. As if she’s trying to be careful with what to tell me.

“I do not remember much last night…” 

Bull, she’s trying to pull the ‘I forgot’ card on me again.

“But I appreciate that you accompanied me.” She calmly adds. 

“No problem.” I force a smile out, not looking at her directly. I was afraid, afraid that by looking at her, I’d become softer. I just stare down at the grass, where I am seated.

“You’ve done so much for me lately.” She says quietly. I just stared down at the grass, I was exhausted with this exchange. It wasn’t going anywhere. 

“You’re a friend, of course I’d do anything for you.” I muttered half heartedly. 

“Hey, I’d do anything for you too.” She says this assuringly, she sounded sincere. I look up and catch her staring at me. 

How long has she been staring at me?

I just look at her, without blinking. I was waiting for her to finish her sentence, while we were maintaining this eye contact which seemed to have lasted forever. 

It doesn’t matter.

“That’s what friends do, right?” She mumbled, a smile formed on . 

I just nod and smile as I feel this sinking feeling creep up my heart.

“Yeah, that’s what we do.” I tell her bitterly. 

After the game ended, the others started doing their own thing. Some took baths, some were chatting, and some were outside. Basically, everyone just relaxed. They all were up late drinking during an unholy hour, doing weird and provocative games. I’m not saying I hated it, I’m just saying what really went down last night. 

A little after lunch time, we all gathered our things and headed back to Seoul. This time, for some reason, I was seated together with my dorm mates. Nayeon unnie drove and I chose to sit beside her. The others, Mina, Tzuyu, and Sana unnie sat at the back. 

Probably because of all the activities that we did last night, everyone was quiet. Tzuyu just slept, Sana unnie listened to music, and Mina just played on her Nintendo switch. I, on the other hand, fell asleep about thirty minutes in during the drive. It felt like the drive home was longer than the drive on the way to the rest house yesterday. When I woke up, it was already dark outside. I checked my phone to see what time it was and figured out it was already six thirty in the evening. 

Just as we pulled up on the driveway, I saw a familiar figure standing beside our gate. I completely forgot about this person during my time with my friends. Nayeon unnie parked the car and we all got out. The moment I got out, Min Woo approached me.

“Son Chaeyoung.” He smiles and then he hands me a bouquet. I just stare at him in disbelief. What the is he doing here? Of all the places he decides to meet me, he picked my dorm? ing . “I haven’t seen you in a while, where have you been?” 

Oh my god, the audacity. 

I stare at him, not sure what kind of thought process this guy has. Is he really that slow or is he playing dumb? I don’t know, but the more I look at him, the more I want to punch him in the face. 

“I waited in front of your gate for hours.” He points at our gate. 

“Oh? Jung Min Woo. What are you doing here?” Asks Tzuyu, she approached us. Followed by Mina, Nayeon, and Sana. For ’s sake, that’s the last thing I want right now. 

“Just came by to see Chaeyoung.” He smiles at Tzuyu. I was just staring at them the whole time.

“Oh? Who’s the guy?” Asks Sana unnie as she looked at Min Woo from the head down. Min Woo bows and introduces himself as my friend. Sana unnie nodded but didn’t shake his hand. “Oh, that’s cool. Shaking hands isn’t my thing.” Sana unnie replies. 

Liar.

“Chaeyoung never told us anything about you.” Says Sana unnie frankly. Sana unnie looked bored, she just stared at Min Woo, trying to comprehend where the guy came from. 

“Oh, she’s probably just busy.” Smiles Min Woo at Sana unnie. Sana just nods at him, keeping a distance between them. I can feel the dislike of Sana unnie towards him. 

“Do you live around here?” Sana unnie prods further. Min Woo had this look on his face that suggested he is taken aback. 

“I don’t.” Min Woo smiled. 

“Cool, I kind of picked up on that.” Sana unnie gave him this prolonged stare, which also shook me a little because Sana isn’t the type who would ask so many questions. She’s usually the chillest one amongst us, but for some reason, she’s all curious and assertive tonight. 

“Nayeon unnie and I are going to head in first.” Says Mina as she bowed to Min Woo, Nayeon unnie walked alongside Mina as they got inside the house. It was weird how Nayeon unnie didn’t greet Min Woo, when I know for a fact she hasn’t met him yet. 

“Tzuyu and I are going to head in as well.” Sana unnie puts her arms around on Tzuyu and then they walk away. I waited for them to get inside the dorm and made sure they were out of earshot before opening my mouth. 

“Hey…” I trail off, looking at Min Woo from head to toe. 

“Yeah?” He asks, it seems like he doesn’t understand the severity of what he’s done tonight. I need him to at least understand what he’s doing is not good. 

“What are you doing here?” I ask him, I try to sound as calm as possible. 

“I was visiting you, of course.”  He answers, but his voice seems to sound really bored. As if he’s just reciting. 

“But I don’t want you to visit me.” I tell him straight up. It is very out of my character to say rude things to people but I am tired, I am sleepy, and I am hungry. I’ve got no time for all this crap. 

“Why not? I’m just visiting you. Aren’t you happy to see me?” He asks, he’s staring at me. His voice sounded off. He doesn’t seem like his usual self.

Going off on Min Woo like this isn’t me. I don’t usually burst like this, but it just feels like he’s invading my private space. My dorm is my private space and my friends are people I consider to belong in my inner circle. He should at least respect that. He’s pushing a little too much. There’s nothing between us. Why the hell is he in front of my dorm? What is he doing here? 

“I missed you. Where have you been?” He asked me. His eyes, they looked blank. How can he say such things when I can’t even see the slightest emotion in his eyes. Honestly, I admit that it’s partially my fault why he’s acting this way. It’s probably because I wasn’t able to make things clear between us. But now, I’ll fix what I need to fix. 

“You could’ve told me that you’d visit me or something.” I tell him.

“Then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” He replies without skipping a beat.

“I hate surprises. I also don’t like it when people show up at my place without telling me.” I tell him directly.

“Look, it’s not that deep!” He tries to defend himself. This time, I just can’t stand him. It’s as if an invisible wall has formed between us. I longer want to be associated with him.  

“Jung Min Woo, don’t you get it?” I asked him. I feel this big ball of emotion form inside me. I’ve got all this pent up anger that needed to be released. 

“Get what?” He asked. 

“I don’t like you.” I tell him. Saying these words came easy, it’s as if I didn’t care about what he felt. He was just blinking, trying to process everything I said. The thing is, all this anger I feel isn’t because of Min Woo. It’s all because of Mina. “I never have and I never will like you.” I tell him, without a trace of remorse in my voice.

“Yah. Son Chaeyoung, stop joking around.” He tries to get a hold of my arm but I quickly back away. 

I don’t want him touching me. 

“Please, this isn’t going to head anywhere. ” I tell him. 

Jung Min Woo looked like he wasn’t paying attention, as if everything I was saying wasn’t something that he understood. Honestly, I would’ve felt a little bad saying those things if he at least looked hurt. But he doesn’t look hurt. He just stared at me, emotionless. 

For some reason, I felt a slight hint of fear. It’s because it looks like he doesn’t seem to care. Alarms go off inside my head, telling me to immediately get inside the dorm. 

“I’m sorry but let’s stop all of this. I’m sorry if I made you feel like there was something more between us.” I told him and quickly walked away from him. 

Walking towards the door to my dormitory seemed to go on forever. I am unsure but everything about Jung Min Woo seemed off. I cannot quite put a finger on it but there's just something not right about him. As I spoke those words, his eyes were devoid of any emotions. It felt like I was talking to a wall. For some reason, alarms went off inside my head. It felt like something bad was going to happen if I didn’t get out of there. 

“Lock the doors.” I announce as I enter the dorm. Everyone was inside the living room, they were waiting for me. Their eyes are full of worry. The moment I saw them, it felt like a huge amount of weight was lifted off of me. I started to breathe easier. 

“Why? What’s happening?” Asks Tzuyu, she then approaches me. I just shook my head, refusing to tell her what I was really thinking. 

“Son Chaeyoung, how did you meet that man?” Nayeon unnie stood up. Her eyes full of fear. Mina was trying to pull her back down, it looks like she’s trying to calm Nayeon unnie. Nayeon however, refused to be calm.

“What’s going on?” Asks Sana, adding fuel to the tension inside the dormitory. 

I just stared at everyone, an unbearable tension was felt inside the living room. Nayeon unnie’s eyes start to water, I see Sana walked over to her and she starts to soothe Nayeon by hugging her. 

“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Asks Mina. She sounded serious, and I just stared at her, clueless with what to say. 

“What?” That was all I could say. Nothing else came out of my mouth. This situation, it’s too much for me. 

“Son Chaeyoung. Do you know that man?” She asked once more, this time she sounded mad. I just stare at her. I’ve never seen her mad before. Mina unnie, she’s usually collected. But this time, I can feel her annoyance. 

“We’ve been on a couple of dates.” I told her, my voice was really low when I said those words. I see her stare at me sharply. Mina, looked furious. As I was about to say something else, Tzuyu chimed in. 

“Mina unnie, please don’t get mad at her. She didn’t know anything.” Tzuyu walks over to me, she just stood there beside me. I felt like my legs were jelly, I felt weak. I just stare at Mina, why is she mad at me? 

“What are you talking about?” I ask Tzuyu. She just stared at me and then she shifted her gaze to Nayeon unnie. Tzuyu’s eyes were full of worry. “What the hell is going on?” I demand answers. Tears were already streaming down Nayeon unnie’s face, Mina holding her hand tightly. 

“Chaeyoung-ah…” Trails Tzuyu off. She looked worried, unlike her usual self. This made me feel terrified. 

“Son Chaeyoung. How could you be so careless?” Mina unnie harshly asks. I just stare at her. I feel this rush of awful emotions wrap around me. Why is she scolding me? What the hell did I do? “You don’t just let any man into your life without knowing them thoroughly. What are you, a child?” When she spoke, her voice wasn’t increasing in volume but I have to admit that her words stabbed me. 

“Look, I don’t understand you.” I tell her, staring into her eyes seriously. I look at Nayeon unnie who’s already sobbing while Sana unnie comforts her. 

Everything’s a mess, I couldn’t comprehend anything. Everything is overwhelming. 

“It’s not Chaeng’s fault.” Says Nayeon unnie as she looked up, her face all red. 

“What exactly is happening right now?” Asked Sana unnie. I feel Tzuyu’s arms on my shoulder, she’s trying to calm me down. I don’t know what was happening, but it felt like I was also about to burst into tears. 

“That guy. At first I didn’t recognize him. But, what happened was just too much for me not to remember.” Nayeon unnie sobs. Everyone listened, all our eyes were on her as she spoke. 

“That guy, he cornered me in a club one time. Made advances to me. Told me I was his girlfriend.” She sobbed as she narrated her story. While I listened to her, I felt disgusted with myself. How could I bring him into our lives like this?

“At first, I thought he was drunk and had mistaken me for his girlfriend. But I was wrong. He knew me. He knew my name.” She said this, while tears streamed down on her cheeks. I was frozen, listening to her broke my heart.

I felt disgusted, I wanted to puke my guts out. How can this happen to her? Of all people?

“He said things that made me scared. I am afraid of what he’s capable of doing. Jung Min Woo, he’s my stalker.” She looked at me, her eyes full of fear. 

“Why didn’t you tell us anything? We could’ve done something about this!” Mina unnie starts scolding Nayeon unnie. Everyone was silent, we all just listened. 

“Do you think I wanted this to happen?” Replies Nayeon unnie, and everything about this just breaks my heart. I couldn’t bear seeing them argue about something that I am partly responsible for. 

I feel this hollow feeling inside me, I felt awful. As if everything was my fault. I just stare at her in disbelief. Sana and Tzuyu looked concerned while Mina unnie looked pissed. The tension inside the living room was unbearable. 

And then I realized something. 

“.” I curse. I see all of their eyes widen.

“What?” Asks Sana unnie.

“Call the cops.” I tell her. My whole body felt cold, this extreme feeling of fear has taken over me. “Call Jihyo unnie and tell her to lock their doors.” I tell them. My feet felt like it’s stuck, I cannot move. 

“What the hell is happening?” Asks Tzuyu. I look at her dead in the eye. I was mad at myself for letting something like this happen. This is all my fault.

“I never told Min Woo where I live.” I tell them, obvious fear was in my voice.