They had met at a party.

                In her pink cocktail dress, Sooyoung restrained herself from touching any glasses that night. Keeping her hands occupied with a simple water bottle, she would not allow herself to take a sip of alcohol and lose control.

                “Here, a drink for a pretty lady.” From her side, someone held out a full glass and offered it to her.

                Sooyoung stared longingly at the offering. She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. “I- I-,” she stuttered trying to explain, and held up her bottle. Her hands were trembling.

                “Oh, you don’t drink. Okay, that’s cool,” the guy said, and took a sip out of the glass himself. Sooyoung didn’t bother correcting his mistaken conclusion. Instead, her eyes hungrily followed the beverage to his face.

                 As soon as she had set eyes on him, she couldn’t look away, even when he lowered the glass. His jawline was sharp, yet handsome, and his eyes were puppy-like and mischievous.

                 He noticed her gaze and grinned. “I’m Jonghyun, by the way.” He was shorter than she was, but well-built. She could see how muscular he was through his shirt. Although he, in a plain button-down and skinny jeans, was underdressed for the occasion, he had an aura of dignity and self-worth about him. 

                “I’m Sooyoung,” she introduced herself, and hoped she didn’t look as much of a mess as she felt. She couldn’t ooze the confidence he did, not without her booze. “Are you enjoying yourself tonight?”

                “Oh, yeah, definitely,” he replied. “Except I actually have to work soon. But I love what I do, so it’s no big deal.”

                “You have to leave?” Sooyoung couldn’t hide the disappointment from showing on her face. Her hands clenched the plastic water bottle. Although they had literally talked for less than a minute, she didn’t want him to go. She wanted to get to know him better, this man with this confident aura, this attractive charisma.

                “I didn’t say I was going to leave,” he pointed out. His eyes traveled somewhere across the room and he perked up. “Oh, I have to work now. See you soon,” he winked, and strolled away.

                Sooyoung was puzzled, and just stood alone, trying to figure out the meaning of Jonghyun’s words. She almost didn’t notice the sound of a guitar that floated in the air across the room, alerting everyone of the musical act that was to start.

                A soothing voice flew through the air, perfectly harmonizing with the 6-stringed instrument, and Sooyoung was mesmerized by it. She made her way through the sea of people towards the other side of the room, to get a look at the singer.

                Jonghyun, sitting on a plain stool, guitar in his arms, was deeply absorbed in his music, singing with great passion. Tapping his foot to keep the time of the beat, he launched himself into a series of consecutive notes, pleasing the ears of all who heard. He played a medley of different tunes, each time his playing getting a little softer, until his music faded into the atmosphere and his guitar, along with his mouth, stopped altogether, leaving a chilling effect in the air.

                Throughout his whole set Sooyoung has stood immobilized, just watching him sing. When he came up to her again, he smiled and asked, “So, Miss Sooyoung, what did you think?”

                “That was amazing,” she commented. “You’re very good, you know.”

                “Really?” He stared at her with excited eyes, glad that even just one person enjoyed his music.

                “Yes, I mean it.” She smiled as he launched into a description of his dream to be a musician. Listening carefully, she hung on to every single word, because she was hungry to get closer to him.

                When he asked her about her dreams, she affectionately talked about her dream career of being a veterinarian, and how she was working 3 different part-time jobs to pay for her school studies.

                Eventually, the party began to pipe down, and all the guests were leaving the building. Checking the watch on a weathered leather strap around her wrist, Sooyoung noticed it was late, and said that she had to go as well. Jonghyun offered to walk her out.

                “You know, I have a dog,”Jonghyun mentioned as they passed through the doorway. “You should meet him sometime. He’s really cute and affectionate, just like me.” He flashed a bright grin, looking up at her.

                Sooyoung giggled, half out of appreciation of his joke, and half out of excitement that he invited her to hang out. Her cheeks flushed red as she spoke. “I’d love to meet your dog, especially if he’s like you.”

                “Great! Here, can I see your phone?” He held his hand out, and she put her phone in it. Jonghyun programmed in his number and texted himself. “There, I have yours now too. I’ll text you with the details. Maybe we can meet up sometime later this week.”

                Sooyoung nodded as he hailed a cab for her. When she got in, she waved to Jonghyun, who watched her leave before walking back into the building.

                It wasn’t until she reached her home and got into bed that she realized she hadn’t touched an alcoholic drink all night.

                It was her first successful night being sober.