After a long and exhausting late-night shift, everything Minjeong wanted was a couple of drinks at S&S, the hotel bar her best friend worked at. Minjeong looked around as she took a large sip of her whisky. Like a typical Friday night, the dance floor was crowded with people dancing way too close to one another. Minjeong scrunched her nose and, as a couple moved out to the bar, she spotted a man trying to approach a loner woman. Instead of looking away, Minjeong kept her eyes on him, watching as he tried to dance with her, daring to touch her hand. Minjeong found herself biting her lower lip and gripping her glass tighter as the woman tried to swiftly move away and swat his hand, to no avail.

“Why are men so disgusting?” Minjeong asked, a thought into the air.

“Hm?” Hyunjin prepared a cocktail on the other side of the counter.

“That guy is making me sick.”

Hyunjin frowned and looked in the same direction as Minjeong.

"I know that woman. She comes here once or twice a week, asks for a few drinks, dances alone, and then leaves. For real, I’ve seen way too many different men trying to harass her.” She rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the heads up. Mind going over there and warning security for me?”

Taking another sip of her whisky, Minjeong looked back at the dance floor. The woman wasn’t exactly doing anything but ignoring him, and he didn’t seem to be giving up anytime soon. Her blood boiled up in her veins as she gulped the burning alcohol.

He crossed the line when he decided it was a good idea to rest his hands on the woman’s waist, still trying to get her to dance with him. Minjeong stood up, swallowing the rest of the liquid in her glass and setting it on the counter with a loud bang.

"Minjeong, what are you doing? Security's the other way!"

She heard Hyunjin’s voice, but her brain didn’t process the words. With her eyes fixed on the man, she walked straight in their direction, and without thinking, she pushed her way between their bodies and shot him a threatening glare.

“E-Excuse me, could you mind your own business and leave my partner alone?” Minjeong spat despite how her whole body trembled.

He looked at Minjeong from head to toe and smirked.

“What a pretty face. And you’re hot, too. Why don’t we have fun the three of us-"

“Get the out. I won't tell you a second time.” Minjeong gritted her teeth, fury burning in her eyes and her knees trembling so hard she thought she would collapse.

The man’s face changed into a furious expression, as his eyebrows drew together.

“Who the do you think you are?!” He growled, pushing Minjeong violently, making her stumble back and hit the woman.

Minjeong’s breathing became unstable, the world around her spinning as her vision became blurry. All the voices and the loud music blurred into an undistinguishable buzz in her ears, and her knees finally gave in.

“What are you all looking at?! Don’t come closer, let her breathe, for ’s sake!” Minjeong heard a voice yelling close to her, making her cover her ears with her hands as she tried to stabilize her breath.

A sudden hand touched her shoulder. Minjeong flinched, her head jerking in its direction.

“I’m sorry. He’s gone now, security took him. Are you okay? Wanna go outside to get some air?” the woman asked with clear worry in her voice.

Minjeong’s eyes widened, and as her vision focused, she found the woman squatted right next to her. Her breath had stabilized, and her body slowly relaxed, the trembling subsiding.

“N-No,” Minjeong forced to say. “He might be outside.”

“Then let me get you a glass of water. Can you stand?”

Minjeong nodded, and with the woman’s help, she got on her feet.

“I need a drink, not a glass of water,” Minjeong said, her hand still holding her head.

The woman stared at Minjeong for a few seconds, her eyebrow quirked.

“If a drink will make you feel better, a drink it is.”

As they walked to the bar and sat at two vacant seats, Hyunjin approached them, her eyes widening and jumping between them.

“Girl, you're crazy.” Hyunjin shook her head, but Minjeong knew she was worried.

“Get me another whisky, please,” Minjeong said, a hand to hold her forehead.

“Same for me,” the woman added.

Hyunjin sighed and rushed to prepare their drinks, coming back mere seconds later. When Minjeong heard the glasses hitting the counter, she grabbed hers and downed it all in one shot. She took a long and deep breath, and her eyes found the woman staring at her.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked.

With everything that had just happened, only now did Minjeong have the chance to properly look at her. And good God in heaven, she was absurdly beautiful. Minjeong knew she asked her a question, but couldn’t come up with a sound, too busy trying to take in those perfect, doll-like features.

"Y-Yes."

"I'm glad." She sighed, her shoulders slouching. "I'm sorry for what happened. I wasn't really expecting someone to step in, but you did, so, thank you. I don't have the courage to be so... confrontational, even though I really want to at times like this.”

A small smile appeared on her perfectly defined lips, almost as if they had been hand-drawn to fit her V-shaped chin. Minjeong's stomach did a couple of flips. Was it the whisky?

"I... That's okay. But you shouldn't let yourself be scared off by any man at all,” Minjeong said, not sure if to her or to herself.

“I could have left him on the ground with a few broken bones if I wanted to, but that wouldn’t be very civilized of me, would it?"

If she was serious or not, Minjeong had no idea.

"Are you sure you're okay? He didn't hurt you?" she asked, carefully resting a hand on Minjeong's arm, where the man had pushed her.

"Yes, I'm okay, thank you. You didn't need to leave him on the ground with a few broken bones, even though that would be quite... satisfying. But you could try telling him to off.” Minjeong shrugged.

“I have tried that in the past, but words don't quite cut it. And I have to confess I did end up hurt the few times I tried something more drastic. But you, though, seemed so… fearless, even though you were a head shorter than him.”

Minjeong gulped, trying not to blink too much, because the woman’s eyes seemed to be looking into the depths of her soul.

“So, you just ignore them?”

“Yes. They eventually grow tired.”

“I see.” Minjeong nodded. “My friend told me you come here pretty often. How come I never saw you around here?”

“Friend?”

“Hyunjin.” Minjeong pointed at the raven-haired barista, who stood with her back facing them as she prepared some fancy looking drinks.

“So, you’ve been talking about me?” she asked, a hint of a smirk growing on her lips, and Minjeong noticed the tiniest of moles right next to her lower lip.

“I-I, no, I mean, I saw that man harassing you and brought it up to Hyunjin, that’s all.” Minjeong scratched her neck. “But you didn’t answer my question. I come here often too and never saw you.”

“Maybe you never looked hard enough, but I'm glad you did now. Tell me, what's your name?"

Shouldn't the person who asks say their name first?

"Kim Minjeong."

But her voice sounded more like a command.

"Kim Minjeong," she repeated, smiling, and her name sounded way prettier in her deep voice. "I'm Yoo Jimin. To repay what you just did for me, should I get you another drink?"

For some reason Minjeong couldn't properly understand, that Yoo Jimin seemed like trouble. But whatever trouble would she be, Minjeong didn't care. Hyunjin was already preparing the two whiskeys Jimin had just asked for.

—

Minjeong shouldn't let herself drink that much, but another drink became two drinks, and two drinks became six drinks. And when she realized, she was in Jimin's hotel room, pushing her against the door as soon as she closed it.

This wasn't like her at all, but somehow, when Jimin whispered the invitation to go up to her room, it felt wrong to say anything but yes. It's not like it came completely out of the blue either, as Jimin had spent the length of their interaction touching her hand or her leg and Minjeong was not oblivious to her seduction. She felt exactly the same and she enjoyed every bit of it. Sober enough to know what she was doing, with just a few drops of alcohol in her blood to tip her past the point of giving a , Minjeong gave in, grasping Jimin's tiny waist and tip toeing to kiss her lips.

Maybe Minjeong would still kiss Jimin even if she wasn't tipsy. But would she have let her guide her towards the bed and take her shirt off? A chill ran down Minjeong's back, both from the sudden cold air, and Jimin's fingers touching every inch of her exposed skin.

The back of Minjeong's knees hit the bed, making her fall on her back. Jimin didn't waste time and took her own shirt off, and Minjeong couldn't help but widen her eyes at the sight. Jimin threw Minjeong a lustful look and a smirk as she loosened the belt of her jeans, before crawling on top of her.

It wasn't too late to say no now, even if Minjeong wanted to. But she didn't. They kissed again, and again, as it became more intense by the second, a mess of hands, unstable breaths, and moans.

And Minjeong was enjoying every second.

—

Minjeong thought she was practically immune to hangovers, but this one hit hard. Maybe she should have gotten some more food in her stomach before drinking. But considering how the rest of the night had played out, she wouldn't try to change a thing about it.

She remembered all the details vividly. How Jimin kissed her, touched her, made her feel what she hadn't felt in a long time. Or maybe, made her feel what she had never felt.

As she rolled on the bed and expected to see Jimin's beautiful face first thing in the morning, she found herself alone. Maybe she was in the bathroom.

Minjeong frowned as the bathroom door was open, with no one inside. She the light and stepped inside, scratching the weight on her eyes away, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Completely was how she found herself. Minjeong sighed, shaking her head. As she splashed cold water on her face, she wondered if what happened last night had been right or wrong. She wasn't someone who would give herself like that to someone she had just met. What had happened to her? Minjeong felt like there had been something deeper than just the effects of the alcohol, but she couldn't explain what or why.

In the end, Minjeong didn't regret it. Maybe she was disappointed in not finding Jimin there, but she couldn't blame her. It had been a casual hookup, nothing more than that.

As she turned to leave the bathroom, she noticed something in the mirror. She approached and her eyebrows raised when she found black numbers written on her skin, going from under her arm down to her ribs.

So, Jimin had already left, but not before writing her number on Minjeong's body. Didn't she have another place to write her number down? A piece of paper, maybe?

Minjeong stared at it, her lips pursued. She had her number, but what now? Was Minjeong supposed to call her? To say what? Thank you for last night?

Maybe Jimin wanted to meet her again. Did Minjeong want to meet Jimin again? One voice in the back of her mind said no, but another screamed yes. She would definitely not have written her number if she didn't want to see her ever again.

So, without hesitating, she walked back to the room so she could write Jimin's number on her phone. But something else caught her attention.

On the nightstand laid a few bills. Minjeong knew that money wasn't hers.

She couldn't believe Jimin had misunderstood her like that and left her money. Minjeong was not that kind of woman.

A sudden rage built up inside her, and now, she deeply regretted it.

---

A/N - heh, off to a good start am I right? :))

Twitter - @itzloonatic
CuriousCat - curiouscat.me/itzloonatic