SON CHAEYOUNG’S POINT OF VIEW

The day started unlike any other day I’ve experienced in my University life. I was awoken by Chou Tzuyu standing beside my bed, looking at me. It seemed like she was staring at me while I was sleeping, I quickly sat up. A little bit shaken, I still managed to cover my bare face. Then I realized it’s only Chou Tzuyu so I just gave up and let her see me in my lowest form. Son Chaeyoung with disheveled hair and dry saliva on the corner of stared at her, deadpan. 

“The hell, what the ? Do you usually do that?” I ask her, my voice groggy.

“Do what? Be pretty?” She asked, her voice without a trace of care. I just stare at her, how can someone be unbelievably off-beat? 

“No. Stare at someone sleeping. You creepy .” I mumble under my breath. 

“I can hear you, you know. This early in the morning and you’re already using your potty mouth.” She tells me. I just stare at her, waiting for her to tell why she’s in my room this early. She stares at me. Oh God.

“What is it? Why are you here this early?” I ask her, I cover my mouth. I’m trying to keep my morning breath all to myself. 

“Don’t you remember? Today is our outing with the unnies.” She seemed tired.

I just stare at her, she isn’t dressed yet though. It seems like she has just woken up. I scratch  my head, it’s like a thing that I do whenever there are things that I find confusing. As of the moment, I don’t understand what the giant is talking about. What outing?

“The outing, Chaeng. We rent a guest house somewhere and drink together.” She sounded almost apologetic for my forgetful . I stared at her and realized that this outing was something that we all agreed on during our group dinner months ago. I was about to panic about not packing my things yet, when suddenly I hear someone talk.

“Oh? You guys are already awake.” I see Mina unnie standing on my doorway. She looked beautiful as always, wearing her signature gummy smile. I immediately fix my hair and smile back at her. “You guys are ready, right?” She asked the both of us. 

“Yes unnie.” Says the giant brightly and I just nod with her. Mina nods back and walks away to do whatever she needs to do. Tzuyu stared at me afterwards and she gave this look. A look that suggested she’s thinking about something, I’m not entirely sure whatever it is yet. I just stare back at her. 

Yes, Tzuyu and I usually do a staring competition.

“WHAT?” I ask her, unaware that my tone came out a little too aggressive than it’s supposed to. She stared at me and gave me an annoyed look.

“Yah. How can you be like that towards me? You act like a puppy towards Mina unnie while you  act like a deranged dog around me. Isn’t that too much?” She asked me.

I just stare at her and realize she’s right. Whatever, she acts like a demon towards me too. I’m just being fair.

“Mina unnie is our unnie.” I tell her, my eyes still half closed. “We’re the same age so I’ll act as I please towards you.” I tell her casually. 

“You know, Chaeng. If I didn’t know better I’d think …” She trails off and then she snorts. “Nah, that’s impossible.” She tells herself. I just stare at her, confused.

“You’d think what?” I ask her.

“I’d honestly think that you’ve got the hots for Mina unnie.” She chuckles. I just stare at her, not sure what to feel. “Of course I’m wrong, right? You’re as straight as spaghetti pasta.” She chuckles as she ruffled my hair before leaving me alone in my room, I’m completely speechless.

Spaghetti pasta is straight until it’s wet. I’ve been wet for the longest time now.  I’m as confused as I can be.

My day started out like that. Being awoken like that was no issue. I had to wake up one way or another anyway. Later that day, after lunch to be exact, we had to drive to where we’re supposed to have our “staycation”. Jihyo unnie and Nayeon unnie have their own cars. Since there we’re only two cars, we had to divide the group by two. At first, we all agreed that we’d just ride with our dorm mates. However, for some reason Nayeon unnie wanted Jeongyeon unnie to ride in her car and because of that I had to adjust and ride with Jihyo unnie.

“Are both of you doing okay back there?” Asks Jihyo unnie while we were in the middle of I don’t know where. Both Momo and Jihyo were seated upfront while I sat in the passenger seat with none other than Kim Dahyun. Even though we live next to each other, I haven’t seen that much of her. 

“You feel weird, right?” Asks Momo unnie as she looks back at us. I shake my head.

“Why would she feel weird?” Asks Dahyun, her tone is a little nonchalant. 

“I was just trying to start a conversation because you guys are so quiet.” Says Momo in retaliation. I turn my gaze to Dahyun, she’s sitting right next to me. She looked at me like she wanted to say something, but she wavers. “Didn’t you say you know each other, Dahyun-ah?” Asks the nosy Momoring. 

I waited for Dahyun to answer back but the car became silent instead. The air felt awkward so I turned my attention to the rear-view mirror and notice Jihyo unnie is looking at me. When she realized that I am looking back at her, she turns her attention to the road. 

“Stop being so nosy Momo.” I hear Jihyo unnie chuckle. Momo unnie then turns her back and faces Jihyo unnie instead, she gave Jihyo a defeated look. “You shouldn’t really be scaring our Chaeyoung like that.” She looks at me through the rear-view mirror and I smile at her. 

“No worries. I think it’s cute that you’re asking questions, Momo unnie.” I smile at her, I then see Dahyun in my peripheral vision. She turned her gaze to me. I turned to her nonchalantly too, though there was only minimal space between us I managed not to flinch. “What? What are you looking at?” I ask her, I pretend to sound aggressive but fail to do so and just chuckle as a result. 

The first time I saw Dahyun after our breakup, I honestly didn’t know how to react. Should I be sorry? Shall I act relentless? Should I act like I do not know her? I honestly had these thoughts. The pressure of the situation made me really confused. However, as we got to talking, I realized things were okay. She wasn’t bitter, I wasn’t bitter, and we just thought that acting like idiots will just ruin our living conditions. Even though I’ve done a terrible thing to Dahyun, she was still able to forgive me. I’m thankful for that. 

Though I rarely hung out with Dahyun, Jihyo, and Momo, I still found the ride fun. The three of them were talkative. We talked about anything under the sun. I don’t know, the four of us had a good talk about random topics. The drive took us more than two hours. By the time we got to our destination, it was almost 5 pm. 

When we all planned about the “staycation” during that group dinner months ago, I thought of maybe a bungalow with a fridge, one big room where we’d stay and sleep, and a comfort room for us to puke in. However, I think my unnies had different things in mind. The place was huge. The second I stepped foot out of jihyo unnie’s Mercedes, my eyes were instantly glued to the rest house.

“Holy crap. This place is awesome.” I mumble under my breath. I look around and notice that the other girls were also amazed, except for Tzuyu and Mina unnie. Both of them seemed like this isn’t something special to them. After parking the cars, all of us proceed inside the rest house. I hurriedly ran towards Tzuyu to catch up to her phase. “Jesus, how the heck am I supposed to pay for my share for this thing?” I ask Tzuyu, not really expecting an answer. 

Though, I do consider my family well-off. But the thing is, my parents are the ones who work and not me. Asking for too much money from them isn’t really something I’d want to do. 

“You don’t have to.” I hear the giant talk and I look at her, still walking. 

“Should we not pay the rest house owner then? I ask her sarcastically. 

You know, this bickering thing between me and Tzuyu really has become the norm for me. It’d be a weird day if Tzuyu and I aren't arguing over something so small. She stares at me, her eyes had no expression, the usual. 

“Do you even read our group chat?” She asked me. I just stare at her. She’s usually the one who doesn’t read or reply. How dare she ask me that. 

“Aren’t you and Mina unnie thee ones who do not reply as much?” I asked her. She looked at me, confused. My question made her think.  

“That’s not the point.” She clarifies. “The point is, you did not read the thread about the staycation. Don’t you know you don’t have to pay?” She asked me. I stare at her, I’ve become even more confused now.

“I don’t know what’s happening. I just woke up today and I was told we’re going somewhere. That’s basically how my day started.” I just blurted out in retaliation. She just nods, she’s just listening to me. She’s probably not even really listening. The other girls were already heading inside the rest house while the both of us were left behind.

“Jihyo unnie’s family owns this rest house.” She stares at me, I was a little taken aback, I stare at the building.

The rest house was a two-storey building, it looked like top-notch architects and engineers worked on the place. The information didn’t really surprise me, I mean, the girl drives a Mercedes-Benz. Of course she’s rich. As I entered inside, I was greeted by a large living room. Tzuyu left me behind after answering my question, that’s why I was pretty much all by myself when I came in. 

It was way past dinner time so Jeongyeon unnie, Jihyo unnie, Tzuyu, and Sana unnie decided to drive to the nearest market to buy something for dinner. This left Nayeon unnie, Momo unnie, Mina unnie, Dahyun, and me to fend for ourselves while the slightly responsible people (excerpt for Tzuyu and Sana) went out to buy groceries.

The house was huge and when I say huge, I mean HUGE. The place was well-lit, you know, the type where I could take nice photographs. That’s the first thing I noticed when I entered the rest house. I noticed the effort put into the lighting by the interior designer, it honestly feels like I’m in my happy place. While I admire the beautiful lighting the place had to offer, the others were busy minding their own business. 

Momo and Nayeon unnie were probably busy checking out rooms together. I don’t know where Mina unnie is but based on her personality, she’s probably playing games on her phone somewhere or she might just be in the comfort room freshening herself up. While taking loads of selfies, I see Dahyun all by herself outside.

Just outside of the Rest House is a garden. The place was spacious and there was also an area to cook outside like a grill and there were also tables and chairs. I walked outside, although I wanted to take more selfies, I also felt the need to help Dahyun set up the grill and tables. We didn’t really talk, what topic was there to converse about anyway?

Surprisingly, Jihyo unnie and company didn’t take that long buying groceries. They brought tons of things for tonight's dinner and breakfast tomorrow. The others hung out inside the Rest house while Jeongyeon unnie, Dahyun, Mina unnie, and me took care of dinner. Honestly, it wasn’t hard work. Dahyun and I were just grilling marinated and raw meat while Mina and Jeongyeon were the ones prepping the vegetables. 

“Stop staring at them. You look like a total creep.” I hear Dahyun whisper under her breath. I stared at her, I was offended.

“Looking at what?” I ask her, totally playing the innocent card. I hear her snort.

“You’re just watching Mina and Jeongyeon the whole time we’re grilling. Good thing they have their backs turned away from us.” She says nonchalantly. I give her a dirty look.

“ I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Of course I know what she’s talking about. I can’t stop myself from sneaking a few glances, okay? I’m not forbidden to steal a few glances, right?

“Could you be anymore obvious?” She asked. I stared at her, this time my patience was becoming thin. She stares back at me, she pretended to look a little too innocent. She then smiles, the type of smile that’d make anyone annoyed. 

“Shut the up.” I tell her without hesitation, and I hear her chuckle. I guess, for her, making me lose my cool is her ultimate life goal. 

After all the preparation, dinner was ready. The seemingly silent spot a while ago became rowdy because of these noisy creatures. Seriously, with all our personalities combined, a person would definitely be easily overwhelmed if he/she hung out with us. This exhaustion would create the need to take a vacation. If we had managers, the managers would definitely have a hard time managing us because we’re not the type that can be managed. I think if we do have a manager, we’d have to pay the poor manager double the amount of the regular paycheck because handling us won’t be a piece of cake.

When I sat down, I just thought of eating. I wanted to eat because I was hungry. However, things didn’t go as peaceful as I expected. The table fit all nine of us perfectly, without thinking though, I sat down in the middle on one side of the table. I admit it, sometimes I’m a dumb dumb. Since I sat in the middle, naturally, I’d have the others sit beside me. 

Just like in true angsty Kim Dahyun fashion, the girl who looked like tofu sat beside me. She just sat beside me without saying a word. I didn’t mind, though. Everyone was just talking and minding their own business, they aren’t even looking my way. 

“, Momo. Stop dropping your food all the time. Damn.” Says Nayeon unnie as she takes a mouthful of food. I turned my gaze to Momo unnie and noticed that she unintentionally dropped her food. 

“At least what I eat does not go directly to my stomach, Nayeon unnie.” Momo strikes back. 

Oh no, everything’s about to go down.

Nayeon unnie was about to say something back when both Jeongyeon and Mina came outside from inside the rest house. Jeongyeon was carrying a water pitcher while Mina unnie was carrying the glasses, they placed the things on the table and proceeded to take a seat. The seat to my left wasn’t occupied and to my surprise Mina unnie sat beside me. Jeongyeon unnie took the seat to the left of Mina unnie. 

I stared at Nayeon unnie and she became quiet, she just continued to eat while just giving Momo a sulky look. It almost felt like she wanted to give Momo the finger, I just casually hid my smile, thinking how much these crackheads make me happy.

While eating, I wasn’t really talking that much. I mean, the noisy ones really talked and talked about various topics. I, on the other hand, was just listening the entire time. I got so distracted to the point I stopped eating and just put my chopsticks down to listen to the unnies. 

“Stop being so distracted and just eat your food.” I hear Dahyun whisper under her breath as she places a piece of meat on top of my unfinished bowl of rice. I stared at her for a while and realized everyone has completely turned their attention to us. 

“Wow, Kim Dahyun. You’re so cool. I never thought you’re the charismatic type.” I hear Nayeon unnie . 

“Don’t you know Charismatic is my middle initial?” The tofu tries to play it cool. She’s got this expression on her face when she said this. Thank God I broke up with her. Jeez. 

“Stop making up.” I hear Tzuyu interrupt. “You’re not even drunk yet. I’m seriously scared with what’s about to happen later.” This made the whole table go wild. I mean Jeongyeon unnie started ugly laughing her off, she had to close to prevent herself from drooling. While everyone was laughing like ugly hyenas, I caught Mina unnie trying to reach for the ketchup which was on my side of the table. I see her trying to reach for it so I just instantly grab the bottle and hand it to her, coolly.

“You can ask for help, you know.” I tell her and stare. I wasn’t really sure why I did that but it felt nice. Looking at her felt nice. She smiles at me and then she nods.

“Everyone seems to be trying to act cool tonight.” She mumbles under her, she glanced at me for a split second and I swear to God I see her smirk. I chuckle a bit, as of the moment she’s got this playful vibe going on.

“So you think I’m cool?” I ask her, trying not to laugh. My attention is now fully caught by her. She looks at me  and for a second our eyes meet. It’s funny how a few seconds have an impact on someone. The second our eyes meet, we instantly break the tension by looking down, we ended up chuckling. 

After chuckling for what felt like an eternity, she turned her attention to the ketchup bottle, opened it, and tried to pour some out. However, it seemed to be almost fully consumed.  Mina looked disappointed, I was about to help her but Jeongyeon unnie’s hands were already wrapped on the bottle. She then did this jerking motion to the bottle which made the ketchup splatter all over the place. The thing was, the ketchup landed on the wrong spot.

Mina unnie wore a white shirt, unfortunately, because of Jeongyeon unnie’s funny way of pouring the ketchup out, a little amount was splattered on Mina’s shirt. Right across her chest. It seemed like people didn’t really notice it, but I did. I shift my eyes from her stained shirt to her face, slightly gaped. I then turned my attention to Jeongyeon unnie and I saw her eyes were wider than usual. She was about to say something when Mina just stood up and swiftly walked inside the rest house. Probably to clean her ketchup stained shirt. 

I do not know what came to my mind but the instant she left the table, I also stood up and followed her. I don’t know, it felt like she needed help, my feet felt like they’ve been electrified and that I’ve got so much energy that I just have to follow and help her with whatever she needs. It’s weird but whatever. I was just a few steps behind her, so when I saw her get inside the comfort room. Immediately, without using my head, I also enter the comfort room and is greeted by something I wish I’ve never seen. 

Mina unnie, half . Her top off, the girl was only wearing her white laced bra. She was washing her stained shirt on the sink, I just stared at her. I’m pretty sure my mouth dropped, my eyes wider than usual. She stared at me, I’ve never seen her eyes this wide, her jaw clenched and her cheeks flushed. She was still holding her shirt on the sink, water running through it. My eyes,  they kept on exploring places they shouldn’t be looking at.

I gulp, my breathing felt like it slowed down, my heart thumping through my ears. I can hear my heartbeat. She was about to open but I immediately turned my back and closed the door. I walked away slowly, not really sure what just happened. My heart is still beating fast, I just walked like a zombie. I wasn’t sure what just happened. 

“Where were you?” I hear Momo unnie ask. They probably didn’t notice what just happened. “Everyone’s cleaning the dinner table. We assumed you guys are already done eating. Is that okay?” She asked. I just stared at her, I wasn’t really willing to process whatever she’s saying. I just nod. My heart was starting to calm down now.

“Go and wash up.” I hear her say. “The unnie’s will be preparing for the drinking session here in the living room.” She adds.

“Why do I have to wash up?” I ask her, she just smiles, the type of smile that’d make anyone worried for their life. 

“Things tend to get messy when we play drinking games.” She winks at me, she then walks past me, she walked towards where Mina was washing her shirt. Just before Momo entered the comfort room, Mina came out wearing the water soaked white shirt. This made her look so sensual. I quickly walked upstairs, trying my best to ignore her, upstairs is where my assigned shared room is. 

The ? Is she trying to kill me? 

Upstairs, I just take Momo unnie’s advice and wash up. I understand what she meant, so after getting into my comfortable clothes, I take my perfume from my bag and spray some on. Who knows? Something might happen tonight.

Tzuyu was my partner for the room, however, she had freshened up before dinner. After brushing my hair, I went downstairs and was greeted by everyone gathered in the middle of the living room. Drinks were already placed on the table, even chips were there.

“Perfect, you’re already here.” I hear Jihyo unnie exclaim, she clapped her hands together. Why is she weirdly enthusiastic all of a sudden? Tzuyu stares at me and motions for me to sit next to her so I obliged. When I sat down, Tzuyu asked me what took me so long because they’ve been drinking for almost an hour already. They thought I wasn’t going to come down. I just made up some excuse. 

I wasn’t going to tell her that I became so distracted by Mina's stained shirt. And well, of course, seeing her half . 

Jeongyeon unnie suddenly stood up and clasped her hands. She stared at everyone and she had this satisfied look on her face. “Now that we’re complete, we can now start the drinking game.” She smiles. She motions Sana to stand up.

“We will play the classic truth or dare.” She informs everyone. “You all know how this works, right?” She asked everyone and we all said yes. “However, Sana here, she’s got your lives for tonight.” She points at Sana unnie who walked towards the table, grabbed a basin, and started pouring random drinks in. She smiles, this . 

“If you refuse to answer or do the dare, you’re going to drink a full cup of this deadly liquid. Understand?” Her voice sounded bossy but cute at the same time. We all stared at each other, but as much as possible I avoided eye contact with Mina. She made me too nervous. Sana unnie suddenly locked eyes with me. “Yah. Son Chaeyoung. Why were you late?” She asked me directly. I just stare at her, not sure what to say. 

“Who cares? Make her drink a cup of that as a penalty.” I hear Mina say. My eyes widen, what the actual ? Of all the people in this room, she’s the one I’d least expect to say such a thing. I turned my gaze to her, I felt a tad bit annoyed. 

She looked flushed. Oh, okay. That’s probably the reason why she’s acting a little too brash. I expected Sana unnie to not take Mina’s comment by heart but instead she handed me a cup of the drink she concocted. Everyone waited for me to drink, so I just drank. Who cares anyway? The second the drink hit my mouth, it felt hot. The taste was awful because the mixture was too concentrated. The worst part was the burn I got when the drink hit my throat. my life. 

“Okay, Momo. Truth or Dare?” Jeongyeon quickly started the game right after I finished the drink. Momo thought for awhile and then she picked Truth. Out of nowhere, Jihyo unnie raised her hand. It seemed like she wanted to ask Momo the question.

“Hey, Momoring. After you’ve dropped a piece of food, what’s the longest time you’ve left it on the ground and then ate it?” Thomas the train asked bluntly. We have this running joke about Momo unnie always dropping her food. Momo stares at her.

“A minute.” She answers in a deadpan manner. Some girls made this grossed-out facial expressions. 

“Wow. You’re amazing. I’ve always thought dropping your food was your limit. I never thought you even ate them dirty, huh?” I hear Nayeon unnie inquire and everyone laughs. What the is happening right now? Before everything went south, Jeongyeon unnie pointed at Tzuyu. Tzuyu just nodded her head.

“Yoda-yah. Truth or dare?” Asked the girl who sometimes acts like an ostrich. Without hesitation, the demon tree picked dare. Jengyeon out of nowhere grabbed this fishbowl that contained rolled up papers. She said the dares were to be picked randomly. She first shook the fish bowl and then picked up a piece of paper for Tzuyu. She unrolled the paper and then she smirked.

“Tzuyu-ah. I dare you to show us the last thing you’ve searched on google.” Jeongyeon unnie’s smirk grew wider. Everyone ‘ooohhhed’, but to our surprise the demon tree turned her phone on and instead of showing us the last thing she searched, she confidently showed us her search engine history. 

“Puppies? That’s all you search for? Puppies? Everything’s related to puppies!” Jeongyeon unnie exclaimed. She sounded so disappointed. 

I couldn’t help but snicker, well, Tzuyu definitely flexed on us. She even searched for dog accessories in online shops. I’m telling you, this girl is a dog whisperer. She loves puppies so much that she can’t get enough of them.

After not finding something juicy in the Demon tree’s phone, Sana stood and pointed to Nayeon unnie.  Jeongyeon just stared at Sana, not really questioning whatever she’s doing. We all just sat and watched what was about to happen next.

“Nayeon unnie, Truth or dare?” The girl who looked like a Shibaa-inu asked Nayeon unnie cutely. Nayeon thought for a while and just picked Dare. She seemed hesitant at first, but we can see she’s smiling so it seemed like things are doing okay. 

Jeongyeon then handed Sana unnie the fishbowl, the shiba-inu then fished a piece of paper out. We all were anticipating, Sana reads the paper. Her eyes widened, she seemed hesitant to read the paper. 

“What? Say it already, I’m waiting here!” Nayeon unnie sounded a little sluggish. Sana just stared at her and just nodded her head. 

“Kiss the person sitting to your left.” Sana unnie sounded really hesitant. The air became really awkward. Sitting to Nayeon unnie’s left is Momo unnie. We all stare at them. Momo unnie doesn’t seem bothered. Nayeon unnie just stared at Momo blankly. 

“Ah, who made these dares?” We hear Jeongyeon unnie ask, she was sitting to the right of Nayeon unnie. Jeongyeon unnie sounded worried. “Just drink a cup of that—” Jeongyeon points to the basin full of the ugly tasting concoction of Sana unnie. “Get things over with.” Jeongyeon adds. Nayeon looked back at Jeongyeon and then she fixed her gaze on Momo unnie. 

“It’s okay. You don’t mind, right?” Asked Nayeon unnie as she stared at Momo. Momo, she just seemed to be really chill. She just gave Nayeon unnie a thumbs up and right after that, Nayeon unnie leaned in, held Momo unnie’s chin on her hand, and then pecked on her cheek. Everyone burst out laughing. The scene just seemed so funny, at first the air was filled with tension but Nayeon unnie ended the dare well. 

Sometimes, she’s cool, Nayeon unnie is. But most of the time she’s bothersome. 

“Who made these dares?” We hear Dahyun ask. She looks a little bored. 

“ I did. Why? Do you find them too aggressive?” Asked Sana unnie. Dahyun just stared at her, Sana unnie raised both her eyebrows as if asking ‘Well, what do you think?’. Dahyun just shrugged. “Okay then. Kim Dahyun. Stand up.” We hear Sana unnie’s voice become commanding. I’ve never heard her like that.

“Oohhh, so commanding. You sounded super y just now.” We hear Nayeon unnie chuckle and all of us ended up laughing too. 

“Okay, Dahyun. Truth or Dare?” Jeongyeon unnie interrupts. We all waited for Dahyun to answer. She was sitting right across me and honestly, she seemed to be a little flushed. Probably because of the alcohol. 

Dahyun was silent for awhile. She’s probably thinking of what to pick. After a while , she picked truth. Tzuyu, out of nowhere, stood up and raised her hand. She had a question for Dahyun. Tzuyu also seemed a little flushed too. It’s probably because even when playing,  the shots were still coming. 

“Alright Tzuyu!” We hear Mina exclaim out of nowhere. We all just stared at her, is she okay? She seems a little drunk. 

“Go ahead, ask me anything.” Says the tofu. 

“Dahyun, unnie. In this room, who do you think would be the worst person to date and why?” The demon tree asked. Everyone was mumbling. Their voices were low but you can tell they were anticipating with what Dahyun had to say. 

Dahyun thought for a while, looked at each and every one of us. Her eyes then landed on me. It felt like she stared at me a little too long. She just sighs and then, pursed her lips. She looked tired, probably because of the alcohol and all the preparations she’s done for today.

“Son Chaeyoung.” Says Kim Dahyun without Hesitation.