Hyejin gulped nervously, regret was slowly eating her up – partly because she had to admit that she didn’t really feel comfortable with the atmosphere in this room, in which Kai and his friends were sitting, and partly because she hated lying to her older sister. She hadn't intended to lie, she actually wanted to listen to Ara and stay at home, but then Kai and also a few of her friends convinced her that she should just go. She recalled Kai telling her he'd be very sad if she didn’t come, remembered Minhee, one of her friends, asking her to go shopping with her for the party. She just really wanted to go, seeing her friends and her boyfriend being so eager about the party. And then Kai briefly explained what she could do. Telling a lie, that is. After pondering about it for a whole night, she had decided to do it. To lie to her big sister. A lump slowly formed in while she was thinking about it. Hyejin hated lying, especially to Ara. It was so hard to enjoy the party when she perfectly knew how worried and furious Ara must be at the moment.

Shortly before she had left the flat, she quickly took that small sticky note and wrote down something, of which she was sure Ara would know what she meant. She simply couldn’t bring herself to lie to Ara fully. That little note – as ridiculous as it sounded – made her feel a tiny bit better. I'm sorry, Unnie, she repeated in her mind, again and again, hoping the terrible feeling in her chest would go away.

Hyejin uncomfortably tugged at the dress she was wearing. It was the dress Minhee picked out for her, and which she, after twenty minutes of Minhee convincing her, finally took. In the end Minhee offered to buy this for her when Hyejin used the excuse of not having enough money to buy it, since according to her friend she looked so absolutely stunning in it, it would be a crime not to buy it. Hyejin heaved a sigh. Skintight, black and short – beautiful. But did she feel good wearing it? Not at all. It was such a revealing dress, that she just wanted to slip over a jacket or something, but this damn room was so hot already.

“Relax,” a husky voice suddenly breathed next to her ear. Kai's voice. She could feel his arm lay around her. Skin against skin. Hyejin had to admit that she found it uncomfortable. “Why are you so stiff, baby?” He exhaled the smoke of his cigarette. Honestly, Hyejin didn’t like the fact that he smoked, but she forced herself to ignore it, and just laughed awkwardly, “I'm just a bit nervous.”

“Don't you want some alcohol?” Chanyeol, who sat at the opposite side of the small table, on a stool, asked and reached out a wine glass. Hyejin shook her head reluctantly. She wasn’t very fond of alcohol; alcohol reminded her of certain things from back then … But seeing Kai smiling at her and the other boys, who all sat either on stools or on the other settle, who looked like they wouldn’t accept a simple no, she stayed quiet.

“Come on, Hyejin, try some. You'll feel better with it,” Chanyeol laughed and Suho agreed as he took a sip of his cola-vodka. Baekhyun giggled as well, and Kyungsoo seemed to be in his own world already, his champagne glass already emptied. The only one who didn’t laugh was Sehun. He just sat on the other settle, his face blank and a wine glass, he occasionally took a sip from, in his hand. He was also the only one Hyejin always got a not so friendly vibe from whenever she met Kai's friends. He didn’t necessarily say mean things, he just … didn’t smile, and he seldom talked.

Before Hyejin could answer properly, Chanyeol gave her a wine glass. “Come on, try,” he smiled at her. She tentatively took the glass and eyed it with narrowed eyes. She looked around and saw all the boys (minus Sehun) smile at her with gazes that seemed to say 'Just try it'. No one in particular forced her, but the atmosphere seemed to do so. She quickly took a sip. Soon another one. And another one.

It just happened.

After a while and an emtpied wine glass, she noticed that Kai's face was utterly close to hers. Before she could blink, he leaned in and kissed her. Hyejin's eyes widened slightly, but she kissed back. They were already dating for almost two weeks, that should be normal, right? She thought nervously. There was this small uncomfortable feeling sweeping across her chest. She didn’t want to admit it, but she didn’t really enjoy the kiss. She loved Kai, or so did she think, but she just felt like this wasn’t right.

She accidentally bit Kai's lip, letting out a gasp, when she felt his hand on her , traveling down. She could have pulled away if she wanted, but it felt like her body refused to do so. Was it the atmosphere? Was it the pressure? Or was it the fact that she didn’t want to acknowledge to herself that she didn’t enjoy it?

As though she was looking for someone to tell that it was okay to pull back, she looked around the