The loud music could be heard a block away, but on a Halloween night like that, no one seemed to mind. 

 

Among all the decorated houses, there was one that stood out more than the others. Whether it was the loud music, the colorful lights shining, or the impressive decoration that ranged from fake spider webs on the window, Jack-o'-lanterns scattered in the garden to skeletons dancing and ghosts hidden around. However, the large number of costumed teenagers entering and leaving the house,  ignored all of this, preferring to go straight to the table containing a variety of alcoholic beverages.

 

On the opposite side of the drinks table, there was a huge spread of food, from snacks to different flavors of pizza. But what caught the most attention was the enormous candy table. Decorated with Halloween items, most of the candies look like fingers, eyes, brains, and blood. Like a scene from a horror movie, even though there were chocolates and other candies scattered around. The tray of chocolate brownies that Ryujin had made and brought to the party was the only thing that stood out differently on that table.

 

The loud music, commanded by a DJ stationed on the balcony behind the large pool, made the windows tremble.

 

"I can't believe your parents let you throw a party like this." Ryujin almost had to shout to be heard.

 

"They didn't let me, that's why they don't know," Jisu replied with a big smile. "What I don't do for you. You're welcome."

 

"I thought you would do something small, not all of this," Ryujin replied, looking around.

 

Despite the masks and makeup, she recognized the faces of some people from her school. Most had chosen costumes related to horror movies, from Freddy Krueger to Jason, and Ryujin was sure she had seen at least five different Ghost Faces. There were also many vampires, zombies, mummies, and skeletons. Some costumes were related to animations, some were Marvel heroes, and others were from DC. People had spared no effort in their costumes.

 

And everyone seemed to be enjoying the party. They were dancing around the pool near the DJ, around the food tables, in the kitchen, in lines for the bathrooms, and people coming in and out of other rooms. Ryujin knew that even though Jisu had left a warning that going upstairs was not allowed for anyone, at some point, things would get out of control.

 

It wasn't quite the type of party Ryujin enjoyed. Typically, she preferred staying at home playing video games or fooling around with her piano rather than attending a large party like that. She liked smaller gatherings, with a few people where she could chat, eat, and sometimes play some games. It was a much more pleasant kind of party than the one she was at.

 

"But it's small! There are barely 300 people here," Jisu said, sipping from her drink. "By the way, have you seen her around?"

 

And by her, Jisu meant Hwang Yeji, the reason why this party was happening in the first place. 

 

Although no one except Ryujin and Jisu knew this little detail.

 

Yeji was the new girl. She had moved in her last year of high school to Seoul because of college next year. Although she had arrived only a few months ago, Yeji had quickly carved out her space. She had been the captain of the soccer team in her hometown, so getting the position of starting striker had not been difficult. In fact, Yeji had just arrived and was already the best player on the team. Her sports scholarship for college was almost a guarantee.

 

And because of her impressive soccer skills, Yeji also gained admirers. Ryujin being one of them.

 

The first time Ryujin saw Yeji was at the first game of the season. Although they didn't care much about sports, Jisu was an enthusiast of the cheerleading shows that happened at halftime. For someone still in the closet, Jisu had an immense ease of talking to and being with girls. Ryujin was amazed to see how she was always with a new girl and still managed to pretend to her parents and the rest of the school that she was straight.

 

So Ryujin and Jisu always went to the games together, and Yeji caught attention right from the start. Besides being new, her hair was dyed orange-red. When she entered the field, Ryujin watched her intrigued. She had never seen her before. Jisu was the one who told her that Yeji was a senior, so it made sense that they hadn't bumped into each other during classes since Ryujin was still a sophomore.

 

When the whistle blew, even though she understood little about soccer, Ryujin was surprised by Yeji's skills. She was easily the fastest player on the field and controlled the ball more easily than anyone else. Yeji opened the scoring in the first 5 minutes of the game, and for the first time since entering high school, Ryujin found herself standing up cheering.

 

From that day on, Ryujin started noticing Yeji in the hallways. She would catch glimpses of her in the cafeteria and sometimes in the parking lot, arriving or leaving school. It took about a week for Ryujin to gather the courage to talk to her, and things had gone well. Except that maybe – just maybe – Ryujin had been a bit nervous and hadn't made her intentions clear enough. So maybe – just maybe – she had been too friendly, so friendly that Yeji had no idea that Ryujin was interested in her.

 

When Jisu found out, she laughed so loudly that Ryujin didn't know if she should be embarrassed about her situation or for how half the cafeteria looked at them. But despite laughing, Jisu offered to help. She suggested that a party would be the ideal setting for something to happen between the two, and Ryujin agreed. At a party, the atmosphere was much more comfortable and conducive than in the school hallways. But she had imagined it would be a small gathering, not one of the biggest Halloween parties she had ever attended.

 

"I still haven't seen her," Ryujin said a bit disappointed.

 

She had invited Yeji to the party a few days ago. They had the habit of waiting together for the bus, and Ryujin found it to be the perfect opportunity to be alone with Yeji. The truth is, she could carpool with Jisu to home since they lived nearby, but waiting for the bus with Yeji had become a moment she cherished.

 

It started with small conversations, those typical of getting to know a new person, about interests and personal preferences on topics ranging from school subjects to hobbies. Yeji liked to talk, and Ryujin found that she liked to listen to her talking. Whether it was about soccer, sports in general, or even horror movies – which she was terrified of – when Yeji spoke, they seemed better.

 

And even when the roles reversed, Yeji always seemed attentive to every detail. Ryujin had her own passions and loved talking about music. But she also enjoyed discussing her hobbies, like comics and Marvel movies, and Yeji always listened with enthusiasm even when their interests diverged. Although Ryujin's initial interest in her was physical – finding her beautiful from the first time she saw her – now she found herself increasingly interested in getting to know Yeji better.

 

"Do you know what her costume is?" Jisu asked as they walked towards the drinks. She poured herself another cup of beer but didn't bother to offer one to Ryujin. She knew she wouldn’t drink.

 

"No. But she likes horror movies, so maybe she'll be some villain," Ryujin said, trying to think which character Yeji would choose. "She was hooked on Saw a while ago, so maybe she could come as that puppet from the movie. The one with the spirals on the face, Billy, I think." She tried to think a little more despite the noise interfering. "But she really likes Scream, so maybe Ghost Face?

 

"Well, here comes a Ghost Face." When the person approached them, Jisu, without hesitation, pulled the mask off his face. Unfortunately, it was just a boy from school. Jisu quickly apologized and let the boy go. "At least now there are only four more Ghost Faces that could be her."

 

"I'll try to send a message," Ryujin said, grabbing her phone.

 

It was difficult to type because of the gloves, and unlocking the phone required more effort than it should. Ryujin knew she should have cut the part of the gloves and left them at least separate from the rest of the costume so she could take them off, but now it was too late. In times like this, she also bitterly regretted not having installed facial recognition as her password.

 

At least she could see well since she had forgotten it at home, but she hadn't minded because she couldn't wear it all the time anyway. It was too stuffy and got too hot too quickly, not to mention she couldn't see properly.

 

Ryujin gave up unlocking the phone and left it for Jisu to do it for her. The gloves were complicating everything. The last message she had received from Yeji had been over an hour ago when she had warned that she was leaving home. She tried to write a message, but the letters came out all scrambled.

 

"Honestly, of all the costumes you could choose for a Halloween party to get a girl, Spider-Man was your first choice?" Jisu said, looking Ryujin up and down. "Give me your phone again. I'll send the message."

 

"What's wrong? I looked great in this costume." Ryujin said, and it was true. 

 

The costume covered her entire body and was a nightmare to use the bathroom in, but the way it hugged every curve of her body highlighted all her positive physical aspects. In other words, Ryujin was a very hot Spider-Man. Or in this case, Spider-Woman. 

 

"Everyone likes Spider-Man. I don't even know what movie that is you're wearing."

 

"This is the outfit Regina George wore to the Halloween party in Mean Girls," Jisu replied without even looking at Ryujin. She was focused on writing the message to Yeji.

 

Indeed, Jisu's outfit was exactly like the bunny costume Regina George wore. She had a replica made, and even though she knew her parents wouldn't like it if they saw her dressed like that, she had planned to wear it during one of the Halloween parties she had been invited to. Now, with her parents traveling and at her own party, it had been the perfect opportunity.

 

"Besides, everything about this costume is very well planned. For the common and unprepared eyes, this is a quite heteroual costume. But for the right eyes, a mean lesbian incarnate." Jisu waved to a girl dressed as a vampire nurse who had just entered and pushed the phone back to Ryujin after sending a long message. "If you excuse me, I just solved all your problems. You'll thank me later. You're welcome."

 

"Wait, what did you do?"

 

Ryujin's words didn't even reach Jisu's ears as she was already halfway to find the girl she had waved to earlier. With a frustrated sigh, Ryujin knew she had lost her friend for the rest of the night. She was about to see the message Jisu had written, but someone bumped into her arm.

 

"Sorry," Ryujin said, bending down to pick up the phone that had fallen.

 

In that moment of bending down, the person Ryujin had been eagerly waiting to find passed through the room, heading towards the back porch of the house. Due to the large number of people and her momentary distraction, Ryujin didn't realize that Yeji had walked past her. And Yeji, walking briskly with her eyes on the door, didn't see Ryujin either.

 

"I’m sorry. I dropped your phone." The guy who bumped into her said. "I can pay for any repairs if it's broken."

 

"It's okay, didn't even scratch, see?" Turning to face him to show the intact screen, now blocked again. 

 

Ryujin completely missed the moment when Yeji passed through the door, disappearing into the crowd at the back of the house. 

 

The two had missed each other for the first time at that party.

 

"Oh, good! I'm sorry again. I wasn't looking where I was going." The guy apologized once more. "Wait, I think I know you."

 

"You know me?" Ryujin was a bit confused, but when she looked at his face more closely, she vaguely felt like she knew him. The zombie makeup made things a bit tricky, but he was probably someone from school.

 

"You're that girl who hangs out with Yeji sometimes, right? I'm Yeonjun, her friend," the guy introduced himself.

 

"I'm Ryujin. And yes, I think you're talking about me. By the way, have you seen Yeji around?" Things seemed to be looking up, or at least that's what Ryujin thought at that moment. Her excitement about finally meeting Yeji made her momentarily forget the message Jisu had sent for her on the phone, which she put away.

 

"Yeah, we came together." The smile that had grown on Ryujin's face immediately dropped, but Yeonjun quickly realized and hastened to explain . "Not together- together . I mean, we came in the same car."

 

" Oh ," was all Ryujin said. She couldn't look him in the eyes.

 

"Anyway, she wa s outside in the front with some people when I came in," Yeonjun said, pointing to the house entrance. "I think Kai was with her. He's in your class, I think."

 

"Yeah," Ryujin remembered seeing him in some of her classes. "I guess I'll go talk to her."

 

"You should," Yeonjun said with a suggestive smile.

 

At that moment, Ryujin didn't quite understand the meaning of that smile. She opted to just smile back before heading towards the front door.

 

In front of the house, there were fewer people than inside or at the back, but it was still crowded. Some small groups were scattered in different corners, some smoking. Most had cups in their hands, and a few couples were hiding in the darker corners.

 

Near a tree at the entrance, Ryujin managed to spot Kai talking with a group of people. Another guy and three girls, but none of them was Yeji. Still, Ryujin decided to bite the bullet and talk to him anyway. After all, according to Yeonjun, he was the last person to have seen Yeji.

 

"Hey, Kai," she called, approaching.

 

"Hey. Ryujin, right?" Kai recognized her.

 

"Yeah. How are you?" Ryujin greeted him, stopping by his side and smiling faintly at the others. Now that she was closer, she could see that the other guy, Beomgyu, was also in her class, as well as one of the girls, Heejin. She didn't know the other two. "Hello."

 

They greeted her back and smiled at her. It seemed like a very friendly group. The other two girls, Ryujin found out, were named Jinsoul and Yves, and they were also seniors and friends of Yeji.

 

"Sorry to bother you, but have you guys seen Yeji?"

 

"You just missed her. She left here about ten minutes ago, I think," Kai said.

 

"Did she arrive a long time ago? I was waiting for her inside." Ryujin said, looking around. She hoped that Yeji might appear at any moment.

 

"We got here about half an hour ago, I think," Yves said, checking the time on her phone. "But we haven't even been inside yet. Yeonjun, Kai, Gyu, and I wanted to smoke one before. Yeji, Jinsoul, and Heejin were keeping us company."

 

"And speaking of which, I need to go inside. I'll see you guys later," Heejin said before heading towards the entrance of the house in quick steps.

 

"It looks like someone is going to have a good night tonight," Yves said, laughing along with Jinsoul and Kai.

 

"Finally! They've been dragging this on for ages." Jinsoul said.

 

"Do you think it'll happen this time?" Yves asked. "Last time, Heejin practically ran away."

 

"Oh, I think if it's not tonight, it's not happening anymore," Jinsoul said convincingly.

 

Ryujin just observed the conversation, not understanding what they were talking about. Kai noticed her discomfort with the situation.

 

"Hey, but back to the topic of Yeji," he said. "She went to look for you."

 

"She went to look for me?" Ryujin couldn't hide the smile on her face.

 

"Yeah, you invited her to come, right?" Kai asked.

 

"Yes," Ryujin felt her ears turn red, although she wasn't quite sure why.

 

"She was really happy that you invited her," Jinsoul said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

 

"Yeji talks a lot about you," Yves added.

 

"Okay, how about we let Yeji speak for herself." Kai interrupted before turning to Ryujin. "She just got your message a little while ago and went to wait for you at the back. Didn't you agree on that?"

 

"Right! The message, that's it." Ryujin agreed although she hadn't even seen the message Jisu had sent in her place. "I'd better go there then. It was nice meeting you all."

 

Ryujin quickly said 'bye’ before starting to walk towards the back of the house. This time, she chose to go around instead of inside. It was faster and had fewer people blocking the way. It was only when she reached the other side of the house that she realized she should have asked what costume Yeji was wearing.

 

The back of the house was undoubtedly the most crowded place at the party. There were so many people dancing around the pool that it was hard to see where the DJ was. Ryujin froze, looking at the scene. It was almost impossible to find anyone there if you didn't know exactly where they were. Not to mention the music, so loud that she barely could hear one's own thoughts.

 

Ryujin moved away from most people towards one of the house walls, near the door leading to the room with food and drinks. She needed to see the message Jisu had sent to Yeji. Even if there was nothing important in it, she needed to find out where Yeji was somehow. She took out her phone and tried to unlock it, even with her fingers sliding on the screen.

 

"Why aren't you with Yeji?"

 

"Jesus!"

 

Jisu appeared next to Ryujin without her noticing, almost making her drop the phone for the second time that night.

 

"No, it's me, Jisu, silly." It was evident from the slightly slurred way her words came out that her friend was already somewhat altered.

 

"Shouldn't you be with your vampire nurse?" Ryujin asked, remembering the girl she was with earlier.

 

"Yeah, but it wasn't going well. So, I took a break." Jisu said, grimacing a little before taking a sip of her drink. "But what about Yeji? Where is she?"

 

"I still haven't found her." Both of them were practically yelling to hear each other.

 

"What did she say to the message I sent?" Jisu asked, moving away from the door to let people pass.

 

"I haven't seen it yet," Ryujin said, trying and failing once again to unlock the phone. "What did you send to her?"

 

"You were walking too slowly, so I—damn! The vampire nurse." Jisu pulled Ryujin in front of her, hiding from the girl who seemed to be looking for her. "I'll be back in a second. I need to hide."

 

"Wait—Jisu!" But once again, Ryujin lost her friend in the sea of people that was the party. "You could have at least helped unlock the phone!"

 

Frustration was an understatement for what Ryujin was feeling at that moment. How could two people be in the same place at the same time and still not find each other?

 

But Ryujin promised herself that she would find Yeji at that party, even if she had to turn the place upside down!

 

And it was at that moment that she saw it. One of the people in the Ghost Face costume passes on the other side of the pool. It was just a glimpse, but Ryujin was sure that behind the mask, whoever was wearing it had red hair. Reddish-orange hair just like Yeji's.

 

Without hesitation, Ryujin started running. Or at least she tried, as there were many people in the way. She went through the gaps she could find, trying to avoid getting hit by sharp elbows and half-filled beer cups. She bumped into someone wearing the full Deadpool costume but hastily apologized without even looking at who it was and continued running. Due to the volume of the music, she couldn't even hear if the person said anything back.

 

When she finally reached the other side of the pool, the person with red hair and the Ghost Face mask had already disappeared.

 

That was the second time Ryujin and Yeji had missed each other at that party.

 

Ryujin took a deep breath amidst the crowd and resumed walking, searching for anyone wearing a Ghost Face costume. It had only been a few minutes. She couldn't have gone too far. 

Maybe if she got closer to where the DJ was, she could have a better view. So that's what she did.

 

Doing her best to weave through the dancing people, Ryujin tried to get close to the DJ, whom she could now see was wearing a Michael Myers mask from the Halloween movie. On the way there, she felt her arm and hand being pulled a few times. Some girls tried to get her attention to dance with them, but Ryujin smiled politely and kept going.

 

The speakers were so loud that Ryujin could practically feel the vibrations passing through her body. She had to cover her ears when she climbed onto the small platform where the DJ was, but at least she could get a better view of the people outside. Inside the large number of people dancing, it was difficult to identify anyone, so she tried to look deeper into the backyard.

 

Near the entrance along the side of the house, there was a larger space with various groups of people talking and drinking. She could see the swing further back, which belonged to Jisu's younger brother; it was practically empty. There was only a skeleton sitting on one of the swings, but Ryujin was almost certain it was just a decoration. The place was great for couples, as there were several trees and corners to stay out of sight.

 

She managed to spot a person in the Ghost Face costume, but the mask was on top of their head, so she could see that it was a guy. Ryujin wanted to curse whoever had the brilliant idea of making a new Scream movie and worse, a good movie. Now everyone wanted to dress up as Ghost Face, and that was messing up her life. Okay, there were only five, maybe six people at that party with that costume, but still.

 

She saw the person in the Deadpool costume she had bumped into earlier heading towards the swing. The costume was cool. From where Ryujin was looking, it seemed quite faithful to the movie, even the mask. She tried to stand on her tiptoes to see better but spotted another person wearing the Ghost Face costume. They had their face covered by the mask, walking towards a group of people dancing.

 

Immediately, Ryujin jumped off the platform and ran towards where the person was. A real action scene in her head, but in reality, the platform where the DJ was standing was only 80 cm high. She almost knocked into someone wearing a Darth Vader costume but didn't stop. She managed to intercept the person with the Ghost Face costume before they could disappear.

 

"I found you," Ryujin said, somewhat breathless. She hated having asthma at times like this. She was out of breath even though she had run for a short distance.

 

"You found me. Hello."

 

That voice was not what Ryujin was expecting to hear. It was a female voice, but the high pitch was very different from Yeji's tone. 

 

Once again, it wasn't her.

 

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else." Ryujin didn't care to wait for a response and walked towards the inside of the house again.

 

She went straight to the food table, grabbed a napkin, and helped herself to the first slice of pizza she saw. Maybe food would help her think a little better about what to do. Part of her wanted to blame Jisu for throwing such a big party, but she knew it wasn't her fault. Jisu had already helped her a lot. What was happening was just a small series of chance misfortunes.

 

Maybe it wasn't meant to be. Maybe this was the universe's way of trying to let Ryujin know that Yeji wasn't interested in her. A kinder rejection than hearing it directly from her. At least, that's what Ryujin thought. She should have stayed home playing video games, as usual. She wouldn't have to go through all of this.

 

She headed to the drink table and picked up a cup of soda. But as soon as Ryujin brought the cup to , she immediately regretted it, feeling the bitterness of alcohol. Someone had spiked even the soda. On reflex, Ryujin turned to the side and spat out the drink.

 

She spat the drink directly onto someone's shirt.

 

"I guess I deserved that," Yeonjun said, pulling his shirt away from his body.

 

"I'm sorry," Ryujin said with wide eyes. "Here, some napkins. I'm sorry."

 

"It's okay. I guess I deserve it for dropping your phone earlier," Yeonjun didn't seem bothered by the situation.

 

"My phone!" Ryujin hurried to pick it up and pushed it in the direction of the boy dressed as a zombie. "Here, take it."

 

"Well, I think a stain on a torn shirt isn't worth a phone, but I'll take it," Yeonjun said faking surprise but smiling in the end.

 

"I'm not giving you the phone. I need you to unlock it for me. I can't do it with these gloves," Ryujin said, showing her hands. "I need you to open my messages with Yeji."

 

"Oh, Yeji! Did you find her?"

 

"Not yet, that's why I need you to open my conversation with her. Quickly."

 

At that moment, Ryujin didn't dare to feel relieved to have some help. The way things were happening, something could come up to hinder her at any moment. She needed Yeonjun to be fast.

 

"That's a pretty easy password, don't you think?" He said, finally unlocking the phone.

 

"I have a bad memory," Ryujin replied hastily. "What costume is Yeji wearing? Is it Ghost Face?"

 

"She didn't tell you? It's pretty cool, she's wearing—"

 

"Hey, guys, everything okay with you?" A cheerful Jisu approached, arm in arm with a girl dressed as a cat woman. "This is Minnie! We just met."

 

"Hi," the girl said, nodding her head.

 

"Hey, how are you?" Yeonjun greeted them, friendly.

 

Ryujin completely forgot about manners and took the phone from the boy's hand, ignoring Jisu and the girl. She couldn't let herself be distracted at that moment. Most importantly, she couldn't let the phone screen be locked. Fortunately, Yeonjun had already opened the recent conversation with Yeji.

 

Hey, I just got here.

22:00

 

I'm just waiting for my ride

See you soon :)

22:14

 

When you arrive, find me at the back, near the swing.

22:26

 

I’ve been wanting to tell you something…

Can we talk? Just us two ;)

22:27

 

I also want to talk to you. Just us two ;)

22:43

 

I'm here. Where are you?

22:54

 

Went to look for you. I think I saw you, but  I’m not sure.

23:32

 

I'm on the swing…

Change your mind? :/

23:57

 

The last message had been sent less than 5 minutes ago. Ryujin felt her heart beat faster as if her body wanted to jump around. 

 

Yeji was waiting for her.

 

I'm coming.

00:01

 

Even with the letters coming out somewhat scrambled, Ryujin managed to send the message. She was going to meet Yeji now without any more hindrances, no more misconnections.

 

"Jisu, thank you." Ryujin hugged her friend, who seemed to be in a lively conversation with Yeonjun and Minnie. Jisu looked confused by that display of affection and didn't even have time to reciprocate because Ryujin was already heading to the back door again. "I'm going to find Yeji!"

 

"Wasn't that what she was trying to do since she got here?" Jisu asked Yeonjun, confused. But the boy just raised his hands in the air, not understanding what was happening either.

 

Ryujin's hurried steps led her outside in less than a minute. Now that she was sure she was heading towards Yeji, she felt somewhat nervous. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to fix it as best as possible as she headed towards the trees near the swing. This time, she didn't even notice that the person dressed as Deadpool, whom she had seen earlier, now occupied the swing next to the skeleton decoration.

 

"Yeji?" she tried to call out as she approached the trees.

 

It was still challenging to compete with the volume of the music. And where Ryujin was, the lighting was dim, making it hard to see clearly. But would Yeji be waiting for her in the middle of the trees? She should be closer to where there was light, Ryujin concluded.

 

That's when she heard the sound of footsteps near her and turned to look. At a glance, she saw someone in the Ghost Face costume and sighed in relief. Yeji was there. She was about to approach when she noticed something. 

 

There was someone with her. 

 

She could hear two voices talking, laughing. But it was hard to distinguish who they were due to the music. She approached to get a better look, and at that moment, Ryujin froze.

 

She could see Heejin, one of Yeji's friends, leaning in to kiss a girl dressed as Ghost Face. Ryujin could only see the girl from behind, but it was easy to recognize her by her reddish-orange hair.

 

Heejin was kissing Yeji. She had missed her chance. 

 

Ryujin took a step back and walked away without a second thought. She didn't need to see that.

 

She didn't even realize that her feet had taken her out of the party. When she realized it, she was already on the sidewalk, walking towards her own house. Living near Jisu had never been such an advantage as now. Ryujin just needed to walk up the street from the condo, and she was home.

 

She went straight to her room to take off the costume. The whole night had been a waste. She sent a message to Jisu, letting her know she had gone home and would pick up the tray that had held the brownies the next day. She had seen the tray empty when the party was just starting, but she didn't care about taking it home at that moment.

 

Ryujin knew she didn't have to let that moment ruin her night, but she couldn't help but feel upset. Even though she and Yeji were just friends, and Yeji wasn't aware of her feelings for her, Ryujin couldn't make the tightness in her chest disappear.

She took a cold shower and went to the living room downstairs to watch a movie or whatever was on TV. She had even lost the desire to play video games. Her father was at his new girlfriend's house, and her younger sister, Yuna, was sleeping at a friend's house. There was no one to complain that it was too late and that she should go to bed.

 

"All I need now is some distraction," Ryujin murmured to herself, flipping through the TV channels. "You've got to be kidding me."

 

On television, Scream, the original 1994 movie, was playing. But that day really seemed to be playing tricks on her because the television soon went off the air.

 

It had started raining shortly after she had arrived home, which she initially thought was great because it would ruin the party, but regretted that thought immediately. After all, Yeji was free to do whatever she wanted. It wasn’t her fault that Ryujin had been too slow and missed the opportunity to try something. God, how stupid she felt now. 

 

The rain, which was initially light, seemed to be getting stronger. There was no lightning or thunder, but it was quite windy. Ryujin only noticed when all that rain began to affect the TV signal, taking all the channels off the air.

 

She threw her head back tiredly but soon felt that she had laid on something. Taking whatever it was with one hand, she realized it was her Spider-Man mask that she had forgotten before. Studying the mask, Ryujin had an idea of how to fix the signal problem.

 

"At least this I can do."

 

Within 5 minutes, she was ready. In blue and white plaid pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt — in other words, her pajamas — Ryujin put on her sneakers and wore the Spider-Man mask. On one arm, she carried a rope, and on the other, the ladder the gardener used to help prune the trees.

 

She used the ladder to climb onto the roof and crawled carefully, trying not to slip because of the rain, towards the chimney near the antenna. She tied one end of the rope around her waist and the other around the chimney to make sure she wouldn't accidentally fall off the roof. Unsteadily, Ryujin managed to stand up and reach the antenna. She shook it a few times, hoping it would fix the problem. She couldn't see very well what she was doing, whether it was because of the mask or the rain.

 

In the sky, a flash made her lose her balance, and Ryujin slipped off the roof, her scream hidden by the sound of thunder. In what might truly be her first moment of luck that night, the rope had worked, saving her from falling headfirst. On the other hand, Ryujin was stuck, hanging upside down on the roof in the pouring rain.

 

"At least the mask was waterproof," Ryujin said to herself before shouting. "Help? Anyone? Help!"

 

A few minutes passed, but it felt like an eternity when Ryujin finally heard footsteps approaching. She could hear someone calling her name, but she didn't recognize who it was. In the reflection of the glass door, she saw a figure in red approaching. Ryujin couldn't see the face, but she recognized the costume.

 

"I can't believe this is how I'm going to die. Murdered by a Deadpool cosplay."

 

"Ryujin?"

 

Now that the person came closer, Ryujin finally saw who it was. She knew whose voice that was. And she had confirmation when she finally saw the face of the person wearing the Deadpool costume, now without the mask, with the red hair completely drenched by the rain.

 

"Yeji?"

 

"Ryujin?"

 

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Ryujin asked, trying to sound casual despite hanging upside down.

 

"You said you wanted to talk, just the two of us. But you disappeared," Yeji said, stopping in front of her.

 

"Well, I... Wasn’t you dressed as Ghost Face?" Ryujin asked, genuinely confused.

 

"You said you'd come as Spider-Man. So, I decided to be your Deadpool."

 

"Oh." That was all Ryujin could say, which sounded even more muffled due to the mask.

 

"Jisu was right. Sometimes you're a bit slow," Yeji said with a smile.

 

"Wait, what?"

 

Instead of answering, Yeji approached and pulled down Ryujin's mask, enough just to reveal .

 

The moment their lips touched, Ryujin stopped feeling the rain. It was as if the cold couldn't reach her because all she felt was the warmth of Yeji's lips against hers. Even upside down, they fit perfectly.

 

Ryujin didn't believe in love at first sight, never had. But at that moment, with Yeji's lips on hers, she started to believe in passion at the first kiss.

 

“Wow.” Ryujin felt dizzy, maybe from the kiss, maybe from hanging upside down for too long. She wasn’t sure. "Can I ask you something?" 

 

"I'll help you get down," Yeji said, laughing.

 

"That wasn't it, but that's a good idea too."

 

Yeji had to retrieve the fallen ladder to help Ryujin down without her falling straight to the ground. It ended up being a bit more complicated than expected. Ryujin insisted that she could come down without help now that she could reach the ladder, in a ridiculous attempt to seem like she had the situation under control now that she was in front of Yeji. In the end, she just swung back and forth until Yeji held her steady and helped her down completely.

 

After the embarrassing moment, Ryujin told Yeji how she had looked for her throughout the party, thinking all the time that she was wearing the Scream costume. Ryujin also ended up telling her why she had left, only to find out that the girl Heejin was kissing was actually Huh Yujin, a girl from her class who, coincidentally, had also dyed her hair.

 

"But her hair color is different from mine. Hers is more orange, mine is more red," Yeji said.

 

"But it looked like yours before you touched it up," Ryujin defended herself.

 

"I touched it up to a more red tone after you told me you were coming as Spider-Man. I thought about going as Mary Jane, but Deadpool seemed more cool from what you told me."

 

And Ryujin had to agree with her. She didn't know she needed to see Yeji dressed as Deadpool until she saw her. And most importantly, Ryujin felt her heart get warm when she noticed Yeji indeed paid attention to her interests. 

 

"But why didn't you come after me when we bumped into each other?"

 

"This mask is horrible. I couldn't see anything properly." Yeji wrinkled her nose. "I only put it on when I was outside because it helped drown out the music."

 

"I can't believe we almost didn't find each other," Ryujin said.

 

"I found you upside down, but I found you," Yeji said, smiling shyly. "You wanted to ask something before… what was it?"

 

Ryujin felt her ears turn red. She didn't know if it was because she felt embarrassed about the situation in which Yeji found her or because of the closeness they now shared. Her hands fit perfectly around Yeji's waist.

 

"I wanted to ask if you'd like to go on a date with me."

 

"I would love to," Yeji replied, the smile on her face widening.

 

"Really?" Despite everything, Ryujin asked again to make sure it was real.

 

"Yes, really."

 

This time, Ryujin leaned in for a kiss. And the second one was just as good as the first.

 

Despite all the misencounters they had, Ryujin didn't think it could have ended in a better way than this. 

 

Even if the night had almost ended upside down.