Chapter 3

“No way. Hwang Ara!” Chaeyeon squeals, hands clasped over as an attempt to contain her excitement. Sooyeon stares in disbelief at her friend. Unbelievable. The three of them glance down at the phone screen and the ten-digit number presented. The most coveted phone number on campus was right before them.
“Call him.” Chaeyeon demands, shoving the phone closer to its owner.
“Are you crazy?” Ara incredulously exclaims. She already made herself into a fool in front of him last night, she did not need to be booty calling the blond in the middle of the night. 
“He literally told you to call if you needed a good . He’s practically telling you to use him as a rebound. Why would you pass up on that?” Sooyeon explains, arms crossed as if the choice was obvious. It was an obvious to choice to any other girl on campus, but Hwang Ara. She doesn't know what exactly is holding her back. Was it the fresh break up wounds? The annoying and knowing smirk of his? Her stubborn pride when it comes to the blond?
“I heard he’s really good in bed.” Chaeyeon winks, causing Ara to blush a deep hue of red. Yes, the whole campus has heard of Mr. able. 
“I literally just ended things with Kai less than 24 hours ago.” Ara reminds them. Her heart pinches just a bit at the blatant truth, after all, she was infatuated with the man her entire freshman year. 
“So? You didn’t care about that last night when you were all over Baekhyun.” Sooyeon snickers with a teasing smirk.
“I was drunk and pissed.” Ara defends herself. She raises her hand to silence her friends.
“I don’t need to be ed. What I need is a girl’s night out.”

That’s how Ara finds herself swimming through a pool of sweaty bodies wreaking of alcohol and weed. It wasn't a stench she particularly liked, but she's gotten used to it since entering university. Everything moves in fluorescent blurs around her as the flashing lights of the club dart in all directions, casting shadows against walls and allowing Ara to not give a care in the world if she’s bumping into others. She doesn't even mind that someone spilled a bit of Fireball on her dress a few moments ago. It’s probably due to the two margarita glasses she practically drowned herself in when she first arrived. Whatever it was, she felt great. Way better than this morning and much better than two hours ago when she was unexpectedly crying in the bathroom stall. 

“Ara!” Chaeyeon’s voice cuts through the loud bass of the music like a knife through butter. 
“Chae!” Ara twirls around, a widening grin dancing on her face as she stumbles over to her friend, finally putting some distance between herself and the dance floor. The slightly cooler air outside of the dance floor is refreshing against Ara's burning skin, yet her mind keeps nudging her to go back to the puddle of bodies.
“This is for you. The bartender said some dude bought it for you.” Chaeyeon explains, holding up a small glass to Ara’s face. The Hesitantly, Ara takes the shot glass from Chaeyeon’s grasp. In her drunken stupor, she squints at the golden brown liquid content of the glass with concern. At least she was still mentally there to check for drugged drinks. 
“I watched him make it, don’t worry.” Her friend adds with reassurance. A lazy smile stretches across Ara's lips after hearing Chaeyeon's confirmation. What would she do without her friends?
“Any idea who?” Ara asks, swirling the beverage in its glass. It wasn't like she was going to go home with the stranger, but it's nice to know someone thinks she's the .
“The bartender said you’ll know after you drink it.” Chaeyeon shrugs her shoulders. She would know after drinking it? What does that even mean, exactly? Ara was not one to pass up a free drink though. She quickly inhales a breath of the humid nightclub air before chucking the cool liquid down . It burns. Unbelievably. A burn that's just a bit too familiar, yet she can’t quite put her finger on where it’s from in her drunken daze. Ara nearly chokes out a cough as her face contorts with absolute distaste. 
“Gross. Whoever this guy is needs to figure out a better way to impress girls.”

In no time, Ara finds her body back out on the dance floor, her body moving with a mind of its own among the crowd. That last shot was def