The rest of the evening went by uneventful. At least for Eunbi, who just went with whatever people told her. She did her very best to avoid Luhan and Sehun as midnight drew closer, for all she wanted was to get home, to think and to sleep. Eunbi needed a time-out from the thoughts causing havoc inside. The possible breakup with Yixing tormented her, too. It made her considerably uneasy and terrified. They’d not even been together for a month and now this. She sighed. His dream was something she couldn’t forbid him to pursue. It wouldn’t be right.

Distraught, she slipped away from the living room where most of the guests were and headed upstairs. It was quiet, something that was met with mixed feelings. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. Still. Being left alone was not ideal either since it meant her thoughts could run wild. Worst-case scenarios became more apparent the longer she stayed there, hidden in the darkness and completely shut off from everyone. Tears formed in her eyes but she let them be, not caring whether someone saw her or noticed her tear-stricken cheeks. It didn’t really matter anymore.

Her hopes of being left alone was not long-lived though, because Luhan showed up from out of nowhere, his lips set in a smirk as he inched closer. Eunbi stared at him as he moved forward. But made no attempt to run. There was simply no point anymore. Luhan seemed unfazed by her lack of response, too, for he continued until he came to a stop just right next to her. The way he looked at her sent chills down her spine. It was a look she’d seen before. A look that would easily be described as when a predator laid his eyes on its prey. Luhan didn’t shy away from his intentions either, something that became even more obvious when he, in a rather clumsy way, plopped himself down next to her. And that’s when she noticed the not-so-subtle alcohol stench. He’d been drinking.

Eunbi remained despite that. She didn’t care what he’d done for she was too occupied with her own problems. Because of that, because of her own thoughts, she couldn’t focus on what he said when he spoke. In fact, Eunbi reacted only after she felt something cold touch her hand. The object that’d been into her palm was a pocket flask, one Luhan urged her to take. She looked at him, a bit perplexed of what she was supposed to do with it. That it was filled with alcohol didn’t cross her mind until Luhan said so. He explained with a slight slur that he’d stolen the flask from his father, and that it contained some real old and expensive liquor.

“Come on, drink.” Luhan encouraged her and though she shouldn’t have, Eunbi took two big gulps of the liquid, only to feel tears well up in her eyes as it burned . The following seconds were close to unbearable and she coughed as soon as she’d swallowed it all. Luhan must’ve thought it was fun though, for he laughed. Eunbi paid no real attention to this. She didn’t really care to be honest and instead handed the flask back to Luhan, who took a sip and then mumbled something about Sehun. It wasn’t clear what he said, but just the mentioning of Sehun’s name was enough for Eunbi to react. A low cry slipped from her lips at the mental images of everything he’d done, everything he’d caused her to feel. And out of the blue, Eunbi stood up. She decided then and there that she would take care of it. That she would talk to Sehun.

She found the said male moments later, after having searched through half the house. He was standing alone in one of the hallways, his attention on the window and the backyard outside. He couldn’t have heard her approach though, for she noticed that he tensed when she placed herself next to him. He didn’t say anything, didn’t even turn to look at her. Eunbi wasted no time and went straight on, not the slightest afraid of what he might say or do as she asked him why he’d kissed her that day. To her disappointment, there was no answer. Sehun remained quiet and unfazed by her question. A feat that sparked a sense of irritation for she couldn’t understand what his deal was.  

“Are you listening? I’m trying to ask you a question.” this received more of a reaction, and Eunbi watched as he moved about to face her, his lips set in a scowl. His expression surprised her a bit since she hadn’t expected for him to look so upset. This changed nothing though, because she would not let this sidetrack her from finding out the truth. Eunbi would not stop until she’d gotten the answer she wanted. That the alcohol she’d been dumb enough to drink earlier was starting to take effect didn’t matter too much. Maybe because the only thing being different was the lightheadedness. It was something new, something she hadn’t experienced before. But it didn’t create problems. Not like one might think it would’ve.

Sehun noticed right away that she’d been drinking. He knew the smell all too well and was not happy that the younger girl had consumed alcohol. Moreover, he was annoyed by it for he thought she stayed away from such things. She wasn’t even old enough. Then again, neither was he and he drank.

“Where did you get the alcohol from?” his eyes roamed up-and-down her form. It was a rather useless move considering she was dressed in a tight fitting dress without pockets or room to hide anything. Her purse however, was big enough to hide a small bottle and Sehun wasted no time. He reached out and grabbed a hold of it. He did it in such a swift move that Eunbi was left speechless. She was given no chance to take it back either, before he was rummaging through it. There was no bottle or anything that could give him an answer as to where she’d got the spirits from, so he handed the purse back to Eunbi, who showed her displeasure right away.

“What right do you have to look through my belongings?” she stated with a frown, annoyed that he did whatever he wanted. Sehun sighed in response for he realized that the alcohol was starting to take effect. Her eyes were getting a bit glassy-looking and the way she was behaving, with the harsh tone and how she’d spoken, were typical signs. Eunbi was acting out of character, and he was pretty sure she wouldn’t dare tell him off like that if she hadn’t been drinking.

“Did someone give it to you?” Sehun pressed on, he wanted to know where and how she’d gotten ahold of it. If someone had given it to her. More so because he knew what could happen, he’d heard stories about guys who got girls to drink, only to force themselves on them when they were drunk.

“It’s not like it matters.” Eunbi was, in difference to Sehun, not the slightest concerned about what could happen. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that anyone, or in this case, Luhan, would want to do anything to her. She’d been too occupied with her own thoughts and everything revolving Yixing to have cared about the alcohol she’d consumed. Yixing whom she feared would accept the offer made by that University.

“But it does. Don’t you understand what could happen?” Sehun became increasingly bothered by Eunbi and her lack of understanding the downside of it all and therefore took a gentle hold of her shoulders and made sure that she looked at him. She didn’t seem to realize the backside of drinking, that she could put herself in possible danger. And he if anyone knew the backside of too much alcohol. Add on with the wrong crowd and you’ve got a disaster just waiting to happen. Because of this, because of his own experiences, he wanted to make sure she didn’t put herself in those situations. Especially after knowing how hard it was for her to defend herself.

“I don’t want him to leave.” tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes and Sehun could only watch as they rolled down, taken aback by the suddenness of it all. He’d not expected her to cry like this. Moreover, who was that “he” whom she mentioned?

“It’s not fair. I don’t want us to break up.” Eunbi sobbed, distraught by the thought. The alcohol increased the misery, too, and it was not long before she was blurting out incoherent words. Words Sehun had a hard time understanding. One thing crossed his mind though, as he stood there and tried to understand what was happening, and that was the relief he felt as he realized that Eunbi’s relationship with Yixing seemed to be falling apart. It shouldn’t have made him so relieved. But it did and Sehun had to restrain himself from saying something that would have made her even more upset. So instead of making it worse, he tried to comfort her by placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Unfortunately for him, the reaction from Eunbi’s side didn’t meet his expectations and he took a step back, his hand falling from her shoulder when she lashed out at him. Her voice was so loud he was certain someone must’ve heard it.

“What right did you have to kiss me?” Sehun frowned at the outburst because this was so not a conversation he wanted to take then and there. He didn’t want to explain himself when others could hear. They wouldn’t understand. Then again, he wasn’t even sure he could be selfish enough to put Eunbi through it. So he avoided the question, his heel, and left.

Unbeknownst to the two, someone had been standing in the shadows, listening in on the conversation.