“Must…… go to……. sleep………” I muttered as I entered my dorm. Today had been an overly exhausting day, and I was more than ready to kick back and relax. I was surprised, however, to see Dara come out of the bathroom in a flattering silver dress and some neon pink pumps.

“Unnie, are you going somewhere?” I asked. It was well past dark, and the weather was humid and hot.

“Yeah; some of my friends asked if I wanted to join them tonight. Wanna come with us?” Dara asked as she walked over to the mirror on her desk and began putting on her gorgeous moondrop earrings. Dara unnie was cute and fresh without makeup, but with makeup, she was beautiful. Her cute eyes transformed to charismatic, alluring ones, and her petite frame fit perfectly into any outfit, including the numerous party outfits she owned. She may not look like it, but she does love to have fun.

“Mmmmm……. I don’t know….” I said as I went over to my bed and sat down. I began massaging my legs and back. Tutoring did take out more of my energy than I thought.

“C’mon, Eunbi! It’s summer vacation! Relax a little and have fun! I promise they’re nice!” Dara unnie looked at me with excited eyes while touching up her makeup. Wah, if only I could look as pretty as her one day….

I hesitated, and thought about what had happened today.

I needed a stress reliever, no doubt.

“Ok unnie! Let’s go!” I exclaimed as I jumped up and made my way over to my tiny closet. I only had one or two dresses for partying, because I didn’t really go often. My other friends weren’t really party people, but Dara unnie loved clubbing and whatnot, so I would often tag along and meet great people and have fun.

In a couple of minutes, I managed to climb out of my icky, worn out outfit and changed into a basic, yet flattering black dress that outlined my non-existent curves of my body. I tried. I decided to stay simple and wore some black pumps, and took my hair out of my ponytail and let it flow down the sides of my shoulders. I changed my eye makeup to something much more clubbing-appropriate, which meant more black eyeliner and a bit more eyeshadow and mascara. Don’t worry, it wasn’t so heavy that I looked like a panda; more like a seductive way of elongating my eyeliner. Dara said I looked great, and I always took her word.

I grabbed my silver clutch, and Dara and I left our dorm, linking arms and walking down the hall, excited for the night.

Once we arrived at the club, it was bustling with college students going in and out of the entrance. Even though it was late, people were all over the streets, and everything was crowded, probably because we were in one of the more populated areas in the city. The bouncer didn’t even ask for her ID because he knew Dara so well; she was a regular at this particular club. She mentioned that I was a friend, and before he could ask, I showed him my ID. I always had to. One of the reasons I always put on more makeup for clubs and parties was because I looked too young for my age compared to others. Even after I show some people my ID, if I happen to be wearing not enough wakeup, my youthful appearance overpowers my actual age, and they accuse me of fraud. Good thing I put on more eyeliner today, though.

He checked my ID and waved us in, nodding his head. I was so glad I was with Dara unnie, or else I would have a hard time explaining to the bouncer that I wasn’t in high school..

We went up the stairs to the main area of the club, and I could already hear the pounding music and the flashing lights. Some guys who were coming down from the club were drunk as heck. As we passed them on the stairs, one of them looked at Dara and whistled, checking her out. Dara unnie just ignored them; she got it all the time. No matter how many times people complimented Dara and praised her, however, she always retained her modesty, which was another reason why I loved Dara unnie. Too perf.

We finally made it to the dance area, and Dara searched for her friends who were supposed to be at a booth.

“Oh look! Eunbi! They’re over there!” Dara exclaimed as she put her arm around mine and dragged me to her friends.

When we arrived, the people moved over so that Dara and I had a place to sit on the circular couch. In the center, the table was covered with drinks and alcohol and snacks. The music was loud and crazy, but that was just what I needed in order to forget about all my stresses from earlier today.

“So, who’s the new kid?” One of the guys asked.

“Yah, Chen, she’s the same age as you,” Dara snapped back.

“Woah there noona, I’m just kidding,” the man said before he turned towards me. “Hey! My name is Chen! Nice to meet you,” he said as he extended his hand to shake mine. I timidly extended my own hand and shook his, but got surprised: his handshake was firm yet gentle… Reminded me of someone else…..

I snapped out of my own little delusion, shaking my head a bit and hitting it lightly with my fist. Chen apparently found this amusing, and laughed, making me frustrated.

So we’re the same age, eh? And you’re still laughing at me? I had had enough smirking for one day.

“Yah, Chen, don’t be so mean. She’s pretty cute right now, so enjoy it while it lasts,” Xiumin said as he noticed my little frustration with Chen.

Xiumin-oppa was one of Dara’s closest friends. He wasn’t the tallest, but his face was round and good-looking. Normally, he was very reserved and gentleman-like, but with Dara, he was very talkative and fun to hang around with. Still, he retained his maturity in all situations, and knew when it was appropriate to be goofy and fun, which was why I admired him so much. He was a senior at university as well, but went to a different school from Dara. They were high school friends, and frequently met each other at different places, including clubs. I wasn’t too sure what their relationship was when I met Xiumin-oppa for the first time, but I was pretty sure they were super close and BFFs for lyfe.

“Oppa!” I cried as Xiumin just chuckled. He always made fun of how ghastly I look without makeup and any sleep because of finals and projects from school. I had to admit: my dark circles and puffy eyes didn’t exactly look attractive at 4 in the morning.

“So, Xiumin, where’s Kris? I haven’t seen him in ages,” Dara asked as she began to pour herself a drink.

“What? You didn’t hear?”

“Didn’t hear about what?”

“Kris went back to China,” Xiumin said, genuinely surprised that Dara didn’t know. “Didn’t he tell you?”

Dara was shocked, and stopped while pouring her drink, staring into nothingness.

Kris, another senior in university, was the third member of Dara’s close-knit group of friends. Although he was a bit aloof and 4-D, he was super tall and handsome, making all the girls fall for him. Xiumin had met Kris when he tried out for the basketball team their freshman year of college. Of course, Xiumin’s height didn’t help with the sport, but Kris, on the other hand, was accepted into the team right away. They managed to keep in contact, and soon, Xiumin introduced him to Dara, and they became the best of friends. I had only met him a couple of times when I saw him play at basketball games, but even I was amazed by his height and overall authoritative aura.

“He’s gonna come back though, so don’t worry,” Xiumin quickly said, noticing the awkward situation.

Suddenly, Dara shook her head and smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure he will,” she replied. “Now let’s go have some fun!” She stood up, dragging Xiumin along with her to the dance floor. Xiumin’s mouth quickly changed into an “o” as he was surprised by Dara’s sudden actions. I just chuckled at their cute friendship.

The rest of the people around the table were people I didn’t really know, but had seen a couple of times here and there when I went clubbing with Dara-unnie. After I saw Dara and Xiumin leave, I turned back around to the table only to jump in surprise when Chen suddenly put his face right next to mine.

“Yah! How’d you get over here?” I asked, annoyed a bit. He definitely wasn’t my type; not that I was looking at him in that sort of light anyways.

Chen then chuckled as he kicked back and leaned against the back of the couch, putting his hands behind his head. I glared at him. I sighed heavily, and then began to pour myself a drink. I then gulped down the soju in one shot, making a loud “keuuuu!” sound after swallowing. Not very feminine, I know, but I really had a lot on my mind today and I had to release it somehow. I used the back of my hand to wipe of the sides of my mouth.

“Got a lot on your mind, eh?” Chen asked, smirking at me.

“Yup…..”

“So, what school do you go to?” He asked.

“SNU…… you?”

“Woah, really?? Hey I go there too!” Chen suddenly sat up, closer to me. “I’ve never ever seen you though before! What are you majoring in?”

Hah…. Chen had probably seen me numerous times… It’s just that the clubbing Eunbi looks very different than the normal Eunbi that I usually look like at school.

“I majored in biology last year, but I’m thinking about switching,” I said.

“Ohhhh dang! Biology! You must be smart,” Chen said, grinning. What was up with this guy? He was always either smirking or grinning.

“Haha not really….” I said.

“What do you mean? Biology isn’t easy, ya know.”

“I guess….”

“Wow.. I totally didn’t see you like that at all.”

“Huh?” I asked, not knowing what Chen was getting at.

“I thought you were one of those typical party-hard girls who waste their parents’ money and not even study,” he explained.

“Wow.. you judged me at a freaking club?” I asked.

“Well….. yeah.” Chen chuckled nervously, and scratched the back of his head.

“I guess it’s ok… I mean, my makeup is pretty thick toda-“

“No. I think it looks beautiful.” Chen said, staring at me.

I paused for a second, looking at him, and then just chuckled.

“Haha nice one! Almost got me there,” I laughed as I lightly punched him in the arm. Phew; he caught me off guard, but I knew he was probably just joking. Nobody ever told me I looked beautiful before, and I sure wasn’t ready to hear it at a night club.

Chen cocked his head to the side, confused, but just smiled. “It’s a pity you think that way…” he whispered, just soft enough that Eunbi couldn’t hear him.

I then poured myself another shot of soju, and drank it in tiny sips this time, looking at people passing by and dancing in the center area. The loud music soothed my soul and helped me to forget my embarrassing moments. Chen and I talked for a couple of more minutes, and my image of him changed almost 180 degrees. When I first sat down, I thought he was some stuck-up goofball with no manners, but I found out that he’s just a goofball in general and loves to play around with people. He was actually a really nice guy and a funny guy to talk to. Both of us chatted and drank soju and beer and talked about how college life was and all that.

“So, what do your parents do-” Chen began.

“Oh hey I like the music playing right now, so I’m gonna go dance. See ya!” I quickly said before he could ask me any more questions, leaving Chen dumbfounded.

Phew… If Chen found out that my parents own a chicken shop back in my hometown, he would never let me hear the end of it! I panicked as I ran off to the dance area.

The music in the background was perfect for dancing; not too slow, not too boring. Although it was a bit crowded, I managed to find a spot and just sway with the crowd of people, jumping up and down and enjoying the party scene. The flashing lights and heavy bass contributed to his crazy atmosphere, and I liked it.

After about half an hour of sweaty dancing, I escaped from the moving crowd and went over to the bar. I sat down on the stool, and leaned against the table, tired yet having a great time. I normally didn’t go all out like this when I went clubbing, but today was different. I needed this.

“Would you like anything to drink?” the bartender asked out of nowhere.

“Oh, no thank you,” I said. I had drunk enough soju earlier, and decided to not get myself crazy drunk for I had to go back to the dorm later that night.

I leaned back, and faced the center of the club, watching pretty girls linking arms with their boyfriends and other gorgeous girls drinking with their boyfriends. Couples were everywhere.

Were there always this many lovey-dovey couples around here? I thought to myself. I sighed.

Clubbing was one of the things I hadn’t been able to do with Luhan, just because both of us were so busy during the school year.

I shook my head, trying to rid my brain of such annoying thoughts, and sighed even deeper. I was about to get off of the stool and go back to the table with Dara’s friends when a man sat next to me.

“Hey baby, you’re looking fiiiiiiine,” the man said, trying to flirt with me. “Wanna have a drink?” He asked.

“No thanks,” I said, not looking at him before trying to get off the stool. Before I could, though, the man reached out and grabbed my arm, putting me in panic mode.

“No, I insist. Just have one drink with me, that’s it,” the man said. I tried to shake his hand off, but his grip was firm.

“I said no,” I stated firmly, continuing to wiggle out of his grip. Seeing that he wasn’t going to let go, I turned to look at him, annoyed. When I saw his face though, I gasped.

“Yah! Kim Jongin! Why are you here?!?” I asked, almost yelling. The kid was a freaking high school student; why was he at a club?!

“I-It’s… y-you?” Jongin asked, dumbfounded. He released his grip, letting his arm fall to his side.

“You’re not even supposed to be here! How’d you get in?” I asked.

“Aishhhh……. You screwed up big time, Kim Jongin,” he mumbled while running his hand through his hair.

“Hello? Kim Jongin! I’m asking you as your tutor: why are you at a night club right now? You’re not even the right age yet-“

Suddenly Jongin cupped his hand over my mouth, rendering me speechless.

“Shhhhhhh. I don’t wanna get caught just yet,” he whispered. “You’re really clueless, aren’t you noona.”

“Hey! I’m your seonsaengnim, so don’t call me noona!”

“Not here. You’re not a teacher here,” Jongin replied, smirking.

AGHH that smirk!! It annoyed be so much that I groaned out loud, frustrated.

I calmed myself down, before looking up back at Jongin. Even though I had been his teacher for only one day, I felt responsible for all my students. Dude, if this was some random kid, I wouldn’t have gotten myself this worked up.

“Anyways, I’m very disappointed in you, Kim Jongin, going to clubs even though you should be studying.”

Jongin, however, was totally ignoring my words, as I could notice him looking up and down my body, checking me out. Thank goodness it was relatively dark inside the club. After I realized that talking to him was pointless, I kicked him in the shin, earning a “YOW”from Jongin.

“Aish why’d you do that for?” Jongin said, frowning and rubbing his shin.

“It’s because SOMEBODY hasn’t listened to a word I said!”

“Well, it’s not my fault. I’m a guy too ya know.”

Calm down, Song Eunbi. You can handle this.

“If you don’t explain why you’re here, then I’m going to-“

I stopped mid-sentence, because something had caught my eye.

“You’re going to what-“

I put my fingers up to Jongin’s lips, hushing him, keeping my eyes on the moving figures in the back of the club.

When I could see them a bit better, I cursed under my breath. They were in their black suits, just as I expected.

Aish…. Why today… I thought as I grimaced. Out of all the days to come, why did the gangsters have to visit the club today?! Although most people were fine with them, I knew that things would get very icky if they stayed at the club. Usually, the tiniest thing bothers them, and they start a huge fight, hitting and wrecking the furniture and club atmosphere recklessly. Of course, it’s only 1 out of a 100 chances that they do this, but I managed to experience one of those slim chances in the past, and I wasn’t going to risk getting caught in a big fight once again.

Plus, if they started a commotion and the police came, Jongin would get caught, and who know what would happen to him.

They pointed in our direction and began to make their way over to the bar, where Jongin and I were sitting.

Something felt weird that day as they were making their way towards us. Something felt off, and my instincts told me to run.

Ohhhhhh sh*t…

“Jongin, come with me,” I said quietly before grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the back.

“Yah, where are we going-“

“Just be quiet and follow me,” I growled behind my teeth.

The entrance was too full and crowded to escape through, so I dragged Jongin to the back where there was a janitor’s closet that nobody ever used. I came to know of it thanks to my previous incident at this particular club.

Once we were out of eyeshot of the gang members, I began running, weaving through the crowd of people. We eventually made it to the back closet, and I hurriedly went in, dragging Jongin along with me. I closed the door shut, and didn’t turn on the lights, for the beams could be seen from the outside, making us easier to be caught.

“Aish, noona, why did you-“

“Shhhhh” I whispered, cupping my hand over his mouth, surprising him. I looked out of the slits of the door, just to make sure nobody had seen us or followed us. Once I had made sure that things were safe, I let go of Jongin’s wrist. He scowled, rubbing his hand over his raw wrist. I hadn’t realized how tight I had been gripping his arm.

I kicked my head back against the wall, and sighed, releasing the tensions. I closed my eyes, and just stood there silently.

“Noona; why’d you take me here?” Jongin whispered.

“Where else could I take you?” I whispered, annoyed. “There are some local gang members outside, and they noticed us. I don’t know why - I haven’t messed with them ever – but something in my gut told me to run.”

Jongin suddenly froze, and looked down. Of course, my eyes were still closed, so I didn’t notice his change in behavior.

Aigoo… You’re only his tutor, and yet you’re doing all of this just for him… Wah… Song Eunbi… You deserve some bread; no question about it.

All of a sudden, I heard footsteps coming down the hall, towards our end of the closet. Jongin heard them too, and before he could say anything I put my hand over his mouth, leaning against him. We were close; the closet was cramped, and out of my sudden instinct, and I leaned my body against his in order to hush him.

We held our breaths and slowly waited, hearing the footsteps come closer and closer. I looked out of the slit, not even moving an eyelash. Finally, I saw the owner of the footsteps reach the area right outside of our door, and pause.

I began to sweat, and I could feel Jongin’s heart beating like crazy. He managed to stay quiet though; at least he could do one thing right.

The owner of the footsteps paused for a little while longer, before turning around and slowly making their way back towards the main area of the club.

When the coast was clear, I finally took my hand off of his mouth, and sighed, resting my forehead on his chest. I was too stressed to take note of the situation that we were in.

“Oh, sorry,” I mumbled, backing away from him. I put my hand to my head, and took a deep breath. It had been too close; way too close. Our chances of getting caught had never been higher.

“Y-yeah…” Jongin replied, in a whisper. In truth, the previous moment had been super awkward for him, for a girl had never been able to get that close to him before. At school, Jongin was one of the most popular kids, with all the girls swarming after him. His fans, however, kept their distance from him, and since he also didn’t have a girlfriend, he didn’t really hang out with girls that much, better yet get stuck in closets with them. New experiences made Jongin nervous and awkward, but he tried to hide it by smirking.

Eunbi was oblivious to this fact, however, and didn’t think twice about anything. For her, this wasn’t awkward at all. Survival was at stake here!

After a while, I opened my eyes, only to see Jongin looking down, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

“So, wanna get out of here already?” I asked. I was pretty sure that the gangsters had left by now if they hadn’t started a commotion. From the looks of it, I could get Jongin out of the club before he got caught for being underage.

“Y-yeah… I mean, why not?” Jongin stammered.

I raised an eyebrow by the unusual tone of his voice.

“You ok?” I asked.

“Yeah! Why wouldn’t I be?” Jongin then looked up and smirked at me.

I sighed. Of course.

I opened the door quietly, and thanks to the ever-present roaring music, we managed to camouflage into the dancing scene.

“Finally! Now. Get outta here,” I ordered.

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Kim Jongin. Do you not understand- AGH just forget about it and leave right now.”

“No.”

My hands slowly transformed into tight fists, but I tried to calm down, taking deep breaths. When would this nuthead realize that he was in danger if he stayed in the club?!

“YAH!” I yelled, causing some heads to turn. I then angrily grabbed his wrist yet again, and dragged him through the crowd, making our way to the entrance, and eventually, outside of the club. The bouncer hadn’t noticed us, thank the heavens.

When we were to the side of the club building, I let go of his hand, running my hands through my hair in frustration. The weather was a bit cool, but still pretty warm since it was summer. The glow of the lamp in the street made our faces barely visible, yet identifiable. I didn’t even dare look at Jongin’s face.

“Fine, I’m going,” Jongin said, causing me to look up at him in surprise.

“What? Er- I mean- good. Finally.” I said, straightening myself up.

Jongin then turned around and began to walk down the street, with me just looking after him. I then turned around and went in the opposite direction. There was no way I could get back into the club myself without Dara-unnie’s help, so I just decided to go back to the dorm. I had come to the club in order to relieve my stresses, but I had actually just made my day even worse. I was tired, sweaty, and exhausted for panicking so much.

After taking only a couple of steps, however, I yelped as I felt something tickling the side of my head.

“By the way, your zipper is down,” Jongin whispered into my ear from behind. Before I could react, he reached up to the zipper on the back of my dress and swiftly zipped it up, causing me to gasp from the sudden extra tightness in my chest.

I then felt him leave once again, and didn’t even bother turning around because I knew he’d be smirking like crazy.

“Aishhh!!!!” I cursed as I stomped my feet.

I couldn’t even keep up my tutor image for a single day.

Ahh thank you for reading~ I'll try super hard to work on this story!