It's 4 am. The summer hasn't let up on the hotness and warm air flows through the open window into her dark room. The panel pair light grey curtains she bought followed the breeze as if wanting to escape from being stuck to the curtain rod, until she decides that the color is too bland and wants to remove them, will they ever be free. Yet the cheap fan she bought from the market down the street blew cold air into her room, mixing with the warm breeze and turning the flurry into lukewarm air. The reason Yoohyeon was awake wasn't the fan that sounds too loud due to the impeller sitting too loosely, it wasn't the warm air outside and the few cars that was driven by reckless teens driving by. The reason why she was awake at this hour was to pick up a friend from a birthday party she wasn't invited to. Well, she could barely call it a friend anymore. They were colleagues. Yoohyeon had never been invited to any of the parties they held or to any group chats her so called ''friends'' had. Never included in anything yet she stuck around. Everyone would do that if they had no one else, right?

And just as she was about to turn to the wall and try to catch some sleep, the constant vibrations from her phone shook the mattress and Yoohyeon threw a hand to the other side of the bed to try and fish out the phone. The light illuminated her pale and exhausted face but she pressed the round green button on the screen, knowing well who it was that was calling her.

''You can come now! The party is almost done and we're just going to clean up the place. It's okay if I bring more friends for you to drop off, right?'' Her ''friend'' slurred, numerous voices echoing in the background as people probably chugged shots and was playing drinking games.

Yoohyeon bit her tongue. She didn't even know why she said yes to picking up her friend in the first place and she was definitly not okay with dropping off more people on the way, escpecially drunk people. But she couldn't say no. What kind of friend would she be if she said no. So the brunette reluctantly agreed to her friend's proposition before pressing the red button, ultimately hanging up the phone.

The tall girl sat up in bed, her head aching like someone beating a drum and the sudden whistle sound exploded in her ear as her vision slightly blurries. The hand she put to her head helped stabelise her as she slowly stood up, her stomach creating a queasy feeling that was sent throughout her body, the feeling of near passing out lingering in the back of her mind and threatening to take away her concesiousness. But the brunette pushed on, trying to navigate through the piles of old clothes scattered on the floor that she had promised her mom she would rummage through to see if she could find some old garnets to use before sending them to charity. Yoohyeon could barely get a glimpse at the red carpet on the floor that laid hidden underneath all the clothes but she could feel the fluffy texture tickeling her feet as she stumbled through the room and out into the corridor. It was much more tidy outside her room. The white walls held paintings of a time Yoohyeon wasn't even aware of, over the glass laid a thin layer of dust, giving her a hint that these photos are older than herself. People were smiling on those photos and she could recognize her mom with her brown bob hair and her dad with the short greyish hair, laughing and hugging as they were camping. There was a long and thin brown carpet stretching down the hallway that warmed Yoohyeon's feet as she was headed for the door that would lead into the big world. With her keys in hand and a puffy jacket on, she opened the door before locking it and heading down to her car.

Yoohyeon's neighbourhood wasn't the safest place and she could've probably gotten a better apartment if she just had saved up some more money but this will do for now. She had a roof over her head and that was the most important thing. As she hit the streets, the smell of the fresh summer breeze mixed with coffee, the fresh salt caused by the crashing waves of the sea and fresh seafood hung in the air. Clicking on the unlock button that sat on the black carkey that was held together by ductape after Yoohyeon accidently dropped it which resulted in it almost falling apart, a old grey ford mondeo sedan clicked once and the lights flicked. She got it as a birthday gift on her 18th birthday from her grandpa, at that time the car was wraped in pink paperwrap and Yoohyeon was ecstatic when she saw what it was but now she is embaressed by the grey lump.

The bricked buildings were pretty tight together but enough for a few cars to be parked along the side of the road under some flickering lampposts that people have been complaining about for weeks but no one came to do anything about it. So when Yoohyeon put the key in the hole and turned, the motor revved a few times before the car finally came to life, ready to take Yoohyeon to her desired destination. She carefully backed out and before she knew it, her car was speeding down the road and on its way to pick up Yoohyeon's ''friend''.

The opulent neighbourhood was definitely of a higher class. Gleaming and polished stone masions and villas laid spread out everywhere, large lush green backyards and pristine trees decorated the streets and not even a speck of garbage was seen. Luxury cars waited in the driveway to be driven somewhere, probably owned by spoiled kids and entiteld parents. Sprinklers watered the rich green grass that Yoohyeon could even smell from her open car window, flowers hung in the trees as a means of decoration, their multi colors popping out and demanding attention. Yoohyeon felt like a needle in a haystack, like a thorn poking out and screaming for someone to look at her. Everything about her from the rusting sedan to her grey sweatpants and white hoodie that she has wore for days feels out of place. The brunette doesn't belong in that place of the world. She isn't enough to be there. It was frustrating at how life is unfair. The tall girl had worked her off ever since she moved out at 16 and yet she still lives in a shabby little apartment in a neighbourhood that she doesn't like.

Her sweaty hands clutched the leather steering wheel as her eyes glared at the immaculate houses, they seem to be towering over her like fortresses and there were no escape. The cars' headlights glared at her like a panther's yellow eyes glares at its victim before it pounces. It all reminded her of the things she didn't have. Of the things she could've had if she just had worked a little bit harder. 

The car shrieked as if in pain when she hit the brake pedal and Yoohyeon cringed inside as she saw a group of people stare at her as if they were judging her and laughing at her. Outside her beat car was a affluent stone mansion with towers reminding Yoohyeon of fantasy castles and cars gleaming that she could even see her own reflection in them. Multiple people with cups of what Yoohyeon assumed to be alcohol stood out in the driveway, their clothes made by the most expensive brands and Yoohyeon felt like she commited a crime for even looking at them.

She reached into the pocket of her worn out sweatpants and wiggled out her phone. Her slender fingers danced across the screen as she hastily wrote a message to her friend saying that she's outside and ready to go. Now it's just to wait. Yoohyeon dropped her phone into two cupholders between the driver and passenger seat before leaning back and gazing out the window. The sun was starting to show its peaks, orange rays flying across the sky as it mixed with the darkness of the night, forcing it back into its hiding as day was starting to take place. Her limbs felt heavy and her eyelids had trouble staying up, always finding themselves closing on multiple occassion until Yoohyeon catches herself and shakes her head awake while shifting position, hoping by shifting her body she would stay awake. She was tired and it was notciable. Not just tired as in needing sleep and then she'll be full of energy, she's tired as in even after a night of sleep she still feels like she's about to fall apart due to exhaustion. Her ''friends'' were taking a toll on her. The relationships she thought she had was draining her of all her life force. Yoohyeon knew this wasn't good, not good at all. And just as she was about to turn the key to drive away, a set of knocks shook the car window and on the other side stood a way too happy blonde with a couple of strangers behind her.

Yoohyeon sighed, she had prayed to the stars that only she will come but not there's at least 5 strangers and only 4 fit into her car. But she unlocked the doors either way, not wanting to seem impolite for not driving anyone home. ''Come in.''

The motor revved as they swoosh down the roads, Yoohyeon trying to navigate the streets to find the first person's home. The compact car reeked of alcohol, all sorts of exotic perfumes and colognes, voices stacked upon voices as all of them laughed at whatever the other one said. Yoohyeon clenched her teeth together, grinding them as she took a harder hold of the leather wheel while stopping at a red light. To stop herself from spitting out a quick 'shut up' she bit the inner flesh of her cheeks. There were two guys and two girls besides her ''friend''. Yoohyeon could guess that the two guys were siblings as they had the same round eyes and facial features reminding the brunette of two pandas but in black prada short sleeved shirts, some brand jeans and air jordans. For the girls, Yoohyeon could only be jealous. Compared to her worn face and worn out clothes the girls' faces bore way too much makeup for Yoohyeon's liking but each to their own. They had expensive dresses, one had what looks to be a black dress cut in half that could be seen as a crop top and a skirt, the other one had a white satin short dress with an expensive prada valentino embroided purse.

One after one, the strangers deserted Yoohyeon's car and went on with their own lives, probably forgetting who she is in the morning and that she had to stay up all night to drive them home. The car was practiaclly empty now, the only space that was occupied was the driver's seat where Yoohyeon sat and the passanger seat where her supposed friend sat. The silence really said it all. They weren't comfortable in each other's presence but her friend didn't seem to care. She didn't even seem to notice her as she was too preoccupied with the shining screen on her phone, messages shooting away.

They pulled onto a stainless driveway supported by a large dark wooden mansion, lights blinding Yoohyeon like stars on a dark and clear night. The grass was cleanly cut almost looking like they had bought plastic grass that never grew and that stayed on all year. Leaves on the trees were perfectly cut into round balls, almost looking like a big football were stuck on a long stick. And yet her friend didn't leave, she was too busy chittering away at her phone for her to notice that she was right outside her house, the front door begging her to go through.

Yoohyeon rolled her eyes, nudging her friend's shoulder only to be replied with a frown. ''We're outside your house, dummy.'' She half joked, the last part the brunette really meant but tried to play it off into a playfull joke.

''Thank you, Yoohyeon! I wouldn't have made it without you.'' Her friend smiled to which Yoohyeon fake smiled back. ''Oh and uh, you maybe wanna think about getting a new job, seeing you pick up people in THAT car with THOSE clothes is a little embarressing.'' With that said, the door shut in her face.

The brunette didn't even turn to see if her friend made it into her home safetly. She kept staring at the ghost of the person that sat in the passanger seat. Those insults thrown under a light tone wasn't anything new for the tall girl. They would often joke about her job and her being less well off unlike the other people she surrounded her with. It was dumb but Yoohyeon thought that maybe if she just surrounded herself with the wealthy stuff that people have, she would become one of them. But tonight, that dream shattered into a million pieces of glass. There was no way she wanted to become like those people at all. So she left the place, her tires shrieking when they left burn marks on spotless driveway. A bitter taste captured Yoohyeon's mouth as she rode down the street, maybe a little too fast for the laws liking but in that moment she didn't care. She had no one left. No family to take her in, no friends to care for her and ask if she's okay when she's feeling bad, nothing. Hell, even landing in jail would be better than being out here.

A/N

I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes or weird sentences. English is not my first language but I am happy that I pumped out a chapter even though it's a bit short. Don't expect too much in the future, I don't know if I will update this one or not but hopefully I will. We'll see :)