Hanna remembered the first time she had ever held a paintbrush. Her grandmother had given her a small one. It was cheap and plastic, bright red in color. Hanna was 6 years old at the time. She had dipped the worn bristles into the green paint, watching wide eyed as she dragged it across the scraps of paper her grandmother gave her. Little by little, she had etched out a small house on the back of a torn-out magazine page. 

"Lovely," her grandmother had smiled. "You'll be an artist one day."

To this day, that was Hanna's best memory. Nothing else came close to touching the warm joy she'd held in her little hand as she beamed up at her grandmother. She still remembered the fuzzy warmth of the kitchen, the smell of her grandmother cooking. Hanna cherished it, that tiny slice of a loving family and the way she had been, with no reservations, happy. 

She had never come as close to that since. 

"Hanna!" Her roommate Soomi called out from the bathroom. "Hanna you cannot stay in again, I won't let you!"

Hanna smiled, putting aside her brush. Hanna was 20 years old now. Her brushes were still cheap, her paint still too saturated and child-like to be anything expensive. She still practiced on scrap paper, saving the pricy canvas for her homework. 

"I have to stay in," she said. "Midterms are coming and I want to work on some ideas."

Soomi stuck her head out from the hallway, her curled hair falling around her shoulders. Soomi was a pretty girl, with wide eyes and big, full eyelashes. She wore a small, tight black dress that hugged her curves. In one hand was bright red lipstick and in the other were her high heels. 

"Midterms? Who gives a about that?" Soomi said. "It's Jia's 21st today and we are going to the club to celebrate. Come one! She's giving out free VIP tickets to the Memoruim! Don't miss out, come!"

Hanna shook her head. Parties and clubs were not her style. She was sure Soomi and others had fun doing it, and a small part of her wished she could do it too but - 

In the back of her head, she heard her father's voice. 

Don't dress like that, what will others think? What about my reputation? To have such a woman for a wife, the lord is testing me!

Hanna shook her head, trying to throw off such memories. She stared down at her painting. The green of the plants and the red of the roses stared back at her. Hanna looked down, realizing her hand was shaking slightly. She bit her lip. She hated when this happened, when the memories she worked so hard to stuff down came racing back to the forefront of her mind. Hanna picked up the brush, setting it back inside her paint box. Standing up, she walked towards the bathroom. 

"Soomi?" she called out. "I changed my mind. It sounds fun."

Soomi's face darted out from behind the bathroom door. Smiling widely, her roommate threw her hand up. 

"YEAH!" she squealed. "We finally got you! Go get changed, we're going to party!"

Hanna walked towards their shared room, her steps slowing down a bit. She did not have much in the way of clothing, espiacally not clothes for a club - but. 

Hanna paused, remembering some of the outfits she'd seen Soomi wear out. Sometimes she'd wear her glittery dresses, the tight fitting ones. Other times she wore leggins and a tank top...Hanna did not have anything fancy, but she could make herself presentable. She knew that much. Walking into the bedroom, Hanna began to dig through her closet. There had not been much she'd had when she left her uncle's house. Most of what he had given her was torn and unwearable. But Hanna had worked hard and built up some clothing, things she would never have worn when she lived with her parents. 

Hanna shook her head, pushing away the dark thoughts and memories. 

Hanna pulled out a pair of black tights and one of her fancier, lace dresses. It certianly was not as tight as Soomi's, but that was okay. She smoothed out the red fabric, pulling at the short skirt to fluff it out. This would work, even if it was not the best. 

"Hurry Hanna!" Soomi called out. "We can't be late!"

45 minutes later, the two roommates were walking down the sidewalk of the clubbing district. People were teeming on the streets, moving around as they enjoyed the warm night air. Hanna kept her arms tight around her, almost shielding herself from everyone else. Soomi strode forth confidently, her heels clicking on the street. 

"This way!" she said. "It's just up the street."

Memoruim was certainly more - Hanna struggled to find the word she was looking for. It was just more than anything she had been imagining. The club was deep inside the night district of the city, taking up an entire five story building of its own. The line to get in twisted down the street, people dressed up standing around on their phones. The building itself was sleek, with large panes of black glass hiding those inside from the public. Dead center of the building, hanging over the gaping black doorway, stood the neon red sign -

MEMORUIM 

This was the famous night club. Hanna shivered in the night air, pulling her light black jacket closer around her thin arms. An uneasy feeling crept over her. She stared up at the sign. It almost seemed to stare straight back at her, as if it knew she did not belong. Hanna jerked her gaze away, refusing to look at it any longer. 

"Soomi," she almost whispered. "What is this place?"

Soomi looked at her as if she were stupid. Hanna flinched. 

"Memoruim?" Soomi asked. "It's the hottest night club around! Look at that line-Everyone wants to get into this place!"

She gestured towards everyone else waiting to get in. Hanna was shaking her head, Soomi had not understand. Hanna knew that Memoruim was a club, people talked about. She heard them, but the gut feeling in her stomach made her want to throw up. What was this place? Soomi shook her head. 

"We're lucky that Jia's parents are rich. Those VIP tickets she was handing out? Those are at least $1,000 per ticket."

Hanna blinked in suprise. She looked down at the golden band Sommi had tied around her wrist. $1,000? That was as much as Hanna made in a month if she was able to pick up shifts at the store she worked at after school. It almost made her feel sick, that someone else who did not know her very well would give her such a precious thing. The gold glimmered next to her pale skin. Hanna swallowed, face turning slightly red. 

"So let's go!" Soomi beamed at her, taking Hanna's hand in her own. "The tickets let us skip to the front of the line."

Soomi tucked her along, dashing Hanna's misgivings. Soomi went out partying much more than she did. As long as Hanna stayed by Soomi's side...Hanna would be okay. That's what she told herself when they paused in front the guards at the front door. There were two of them standing by the front of the line, standing just behind the velvet barriar line. These two men were huge, tattooed, wearing nicely tailored suits. They seemed scary. Soomi waved her wrist at them, pointing to her VIP ticket. Hanna looked away, silently holding up her wrist as well. 

"Two VIPS," one of them said in  a gruff voice. He lowered his sunglasses, peering his dark eyes at them. "Let them through."

The other one nodded, unhooking the velvet barriar from the post and holding to the side. He waved them through, ignoring the other people standing in line behind them. Hanna bowed her head towards them before she scurred through the gaping open doors behind Soomi. The doors opened up to a long, dark hallway. The walls were painted black, illuminated only by neon red lights showing the way forward. Directly to their right was an open doorway. It was the only doorway she could see. Soomi walked confidently ahead. Hanna followed after. She glanced to the side as they passed by the large room full of other men in suits. Were they other bouncers? Hanna did not know. She averted her gaze and pushed forward. Now she could hear the pounding of the music, loud and chaotic. 

At the end of the hall was a dark red curtain. Soomi pushed it to the side, waving Hanna in after her. 

"Let's go!" she said cheerfully. 

Hanna ducked through, and on the other side of the soft fabric lay Memoruim's main clubbing area. Hanna gaped, staring at it. It was massive, a scene like something she'd only seen in movies. Directly ahead of her was the dance floor, already teeming with drunk and happy people. Behind them stood a large stage with a DJ on it, head bobbing in time to the music. Scattered around the space was raised platforms and stairs, creating different areas for seating and what looked like games on high top tables. A large, spacious bar area was to their right, illuminted by white lights. Hanna closed , still staring. The lights were flashing white, black, red, pulsing across the dimly lit space. Soomi took her hand, pulling her towards one set of stairs. Hanna dumbly followed her, not even knowing where to go. 

"Up here!" Soomi shouted over the noise of the music. "Let's go!"

Hanna was led away from the main dance floor and up towards another section. Now she could see there were other sections to this club, set away both on top of the platforms and hidden away down long, dim hallways. Soomi walked up to one guarded by a bounder at the stop of the stairs. Soomi waved her wrist again, and they both moved in. 

This section was set up apart from the main club area, but overlooked it on a balcony. This area was bigger than most restuarents she'd been in, holding what she thought was probably close to 100 people. A bar of its own was off to her left, manned by two bartenders. The people up here looked much more luxarious than anything Hanna had ever seen. She suddenly felt very plain and poor in front of these people. Jia, a business major from college, waved at them from her table. She was with a group of around - Hanna guessed 15 of her friends from college. They all wore bright colors, glittering with sequences and embroidery. Hanna felt very, very plain now. 

"Oh my god you made it!" Jia squeled, leaping up to hug Soomi. Soomi laughed, easily slipping into a seat at the table. Hanna followed after, rendered mute. "And you brought Hanna!"

Jia smiled wide, extended a hand towards her. Hanna took it, smiling back. Jia gript her hand, eyes scrunched up tight and face flushed. She was already drinking. 

"You're so cute," Jia said. 

"Thank you," Hanna told her, "Happy birthday."

Jia laughed, the other girls clapping and clinking their drink glasses together. The music from down below continued to pound, blasting over them. 

"It's my birthday!" Jia said. "Let's go dance girls!"

 

 

 

Hanna was never really good at dancing. She liked doing it, remembering dancing secretly at home with her brothers to the neighbor's music blasted through their walls. Since leaving home, she had danced a lot more. Her uncle hadn't been opposed to it, but he hadn't done it either. Hanna stood towards the side of the VIP dance floor, dancing in small, controlled movements. Soomi, three drinks in, danced with abandon with the other girls. Hanna herself was only two drinks in, but she wasn't used to drinking at all. Already her body felt warm, her skin almost tingling. The music deemed duller now and not so overwhelmingly loud. Hanna wondered if that's why people drank, so that they could have fun in places like this.

"Why hello there!" a man's voice shouted close behind her. 

Hanna turned, eyes wide. A young man, not much older than her, stared her down. His face was red, eyes slightly crossed. He ran his thin fingers through his dark hair, his face in a crooked smile. He was much taller than she was, seemingly looming over the girl although he was a few feet away. 

Hanna waved slightly. She half turned, trying to scoot her way back towards Soomi. The other girls had distanced themselves from her, not on purpose, but they now were twisting and turning several feet away from her. Their eyes were half-closed, hair falling over their faces. No one seemed to notice her. Hanna felt her skin prickling. 

"Don't turn away," the man yelled. Now he was much, much closer to her than she wanted him to be. 

Hanna looked back at him. She felt sick, her stomach twisting in fear. She knew she shouldn't be reacting like this, not when he hadn't done anything - but yet - 

Hanna felt very afraid. He stared at her like a wolf stares at prey, and she felt like she was in the wrong place to be. A tattoo of something - perhaps a wolf? was tattoed on his neck. More tattoos were on his hands and she could see this looked like a welldressed man. He had money, he was here, and he looked as if he didn't really care if she was going talk to him or not. She felt his attention was not good to have. 

"Sorry," Hanna yelled back. "I'm with my friends."

"Don't worry about them," his eyes glimmered. "You can have a good time with me."

Hanna shook her head, not liking where this was going. She took a few steps back, moving off of the dance floor and towards the stairs. The man stepped with her, pushing himself closer until only a hand's width seperated the two. Hanna's heart beat fast. He leered at her, his smile twisting wider. 

"I need to go," she said, throat dry. "I need to go home now."

"Aw babe," the man said. He shook his head. "I said don't worry, you'll have a good time." 

Then his hand s out faster than she could move. It grasped her wrist, holding it an iron grip. Hanna stepped back again. This time, she couldn't step back further, held by the man. He shook his head. Hanna's eyes teared up. It hurt, his finger nails digging into her thin wrist. She wished she was braver, wished she could hit him and make a scene but - 

All she could think of was how she never ever made a sound when other people gript her wrist like that, because making noise could make things far far worse. 

"Let me go," she said instead, her voice shaking. 

He didn't move. She wondered if he even heard her over the music pounding. Hanna shook her head, feeling the booze clouding her thoughts. Her fear wasn't enough to chase away the warm feeling it brought her, but it was pretty damn close. The man reached out his other hand, this one reaching for her free hand. Hanna froze, unsure of what to do! Soomi danced away on the floor, not noticing at all. 

"Soo-" the words caught in . "Soo-"

"I don't think the lady wants you near her," a dry, angry voice cut through the noise. 

Instantly, the hand on her wrist released her. Hanna yanked it back to her body, holding it close to her chest. She looked up, finding herself staring in the deep, dark eyes of her rescuer. 

Holy , she thought. Who -

The young man was shaking his head. His eyes were dark and piercing, looking directly at the man who had a hold of her wrist. His large fingers covered in rings raked through his black hair, the other casually tucked into the pockets of his suit pants. He wore a plain white business shirt that was unbottoned most of the way, revealing a toned chest covered in swirling, colored tattoos. This was a gangster if ever she had seen one, a wide shouldered young man with the fierce look of a fighter. Hanna felt breathless, unable to look away. He was handsome, with a sharp jawline and slanted eyes. Hanna's heart skipped a beat. This was danger incarnete and she could't look away. 

"Sorry Kai," the man said. "Didn't know she was your girl."

"She's-" Kai cut himself off. He looked down at Hanna, eyes narrowing slightly. His fierce gaze looked her up and down. Hanna's face turned red, feeling very out of place with her leggings and tank top on. Her jacket was on the table, and now she felt bare before him. But still - her heart was pounding and she wondered how much of that was the alcohol and how much of it was due to him. 

"She's with me," Kai said, voice darkening. He bowed his head towards her, extending a hand. "Ready to go?" he asked her. 

Hanna nodded, not even knowing she was doing it. Almost on impulse, without any raitional thought, she took the hand. His hand was warm, firm, with the strength of a man who worked hard in it. Her fingers slide between his, leaving her slightly breathless. Kai pulled her gently to his side, looping his arm around her shoulders. Hanna felt her red face burning. He was - 

GentleWarmStrongHandsomeKindSavedHerShe -

"Let's get out of here babe," Kai said. With that, he walked away, leaving the man standing on the dance floor with a red face. Kai used his free hand to wave back at him. 

"Bye cuz," he yelled over the music. "See you later."

Then, he turned down to face Hanna. 

"Well then," he smiled. 

Oh how dangerous your smile is, I can't, I can't resist it. 

"Are you ready to get out of here for real?" he asked. "Let's go to my place and I'll show you a much better time."

I can't resist it, Hanna thought, body burning. I can't resist that face, I- 

"Let's go."

And Hanna went with the gangster to his car.