Chapter 6

The loud music could be heard from a mile away. I had my ears covered the whole time while Jung Ah and I made our way to the club. I was annoyed, as I didn’t want to be here in the first place, but my best friend practically dragged me by my toes and stuffed me into a taxi, not letting me speak. How could I forget that this girl always made my decisions for me no matter what I said? I was standing in line besides her looking down at my outfit, wondering if this was even okay to wear at my age.

“You look fine. Stop worrying!” Jung Ah nudged my ribs and smiled at me. “Come on. You look great, Soo Jin.”

“I’m almost twenty-five, Jung Ah. I don’t even think this is appropriate for my age.” I let out a dramatic sigh, letting her know how annoyed I was. “Why are we even here out of all places? I thought you said we were going to the bars?”

“Bars, clubs…? They’re the same thing.” She shrugged nonchalantly and reached for my left hand, making sure to take my ring off. “I’ll keep this in my purse.”

“What? No, Jung Ah!” I held my hand out feeling my blood boil. “Give it back.”

“We’re here to have fun, Soo Jin. If you have a ring on, what makes you think you’ll have fun? All that will be on your mind is this non-existent fiancé of yours.” She patted her purse and smirked at me annoyingly. “I’ll keep it safe, I promise.”

“Whatever.” I decided not to argue with her any farther. We stood in line for another five minutes and were finally let in before the cut.

The moment we stepped into the building, I felt like my eardrums were going to burst. I covered one of my ears with my free hand while the other hand was attached to Jung Ah’s hand, as she was pulling me towards the bar right away. She pushed me towards a stool and sat beside me, hitting the counter in front of us to get the bartender’s attention. I nearly choked on my saliva upon seeing two familiar faces there.

“Wow-wee…” Baek Hyun said this loud enough over the music, making my face turn beat red. “Look who’s back in Korea.”

Kai looked at me and scoffed. “Interesting… Jung Ah, did you happen to pick up the wrong person on the street?”

“Shut it, Kai.” Jung Ah patted my back and smiled. “She cut her bangs she looks a little different.”

“Still looks like Ahn Soo Jin to me.” Baek Hyun shrugged before leaning over the counter to look at me a little closer, not caring about the other girls who were asking for his attention.  “Drinks are one me and Kai tonight, Soo Jin. What would you like?”

“Give her a –“

“Did Baek Hyun ask you, Jung Ah?” Kai cut Jung Ah off as he held a finger up to stop her from talking.

I couldn’t help but laugh. The last time I saw these two, they were just laying around in Se Hun’s house, wondering what they wanted to do in life cos’ they didn’t want to go to school.

“Apple Pucker with Sprite please.” I replied as Jung Ah ordered herself a beer.

“I’ll have Kai make it for you. These girls over here won’t stop bothering me.” Baek Hyun rolled his eyes with an annoyed expression and made his way over to the other girls down the bar.

I watched as Kai made my drink slowly, not caring that there were many other people asking for drinks. He threw a fresh cut strawberry on top with a straw and handed it to me with a playful smile. I grabbed the drink and thanked him after taking a sip. He made the drink pretty well.

“Hey, I’ll be right back.” Jung Ah said as she took a few gulps of her beer and left me and Kai there alone.

I turned back to see where she was going, but I lost her the moment she squeezed through two guys who were clinking their beer bottles with each other.

“When did you get back?” Kai asked as he wiped his hands with a wet towel. “Jung Ah said you came back, but she never really said when.”

“Last week.” I twirled the straw in my drink to keep me occupied.

“Ah, that’s right. Lu Han mentioned something like that…” He nodded his head and helped a pretty girl beside me before coming back to me immediately. “And what about Se Hun? Did you meet him too?”

My lips were just about to press onto the straw, but I stopped the moment Kai asked me that question. I lifted myself back up so I was sitting up straight. I looked over at him only to see that he was giving me a stern look, not caring that there was a guy waving at him to get his attention. These guys being bartenders might not be the best idea; they didn’t seem to care to give people their attention.

“You already know, don’t you?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

He smirked and nodded his head before he waved the guy off with a hand. “I mean, we can’t keep secrets, can we?”

“What are you trying to say?” I narrowed my eyes at him, a little offended that he could be pointing his own words at me for something I did.

“Nothing, Soo Jin.” Kai shrugged and walked away to help the drunk men and women who were asking him for more drinks.

I took the straw out of my glass and took a few big gulps of my drink. I don’t know what I was truly upset about, but I knew that Kai said these things to me just to trigger my emotions. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before putting the straw back into my drink. Damn it, I really hated straws. They just happened to be there at every moment I really needed them.

“What did Kai say to you to make you look like that?” Baek Hyun tapped the counter in front of me and handed me a different drink. “It’s a Jagger-bomb, in case you didn’t know.”

I picked up the cup and saw the Jagger sitting in a small shot glass within the red bull that was swimming around the glass. I looked at Baek Hyun and saw that he had one in front of him too. He lifted up his cup and tapped it against my cup before we both downed the drinks quickly. I set the cup down and within five minutes or so, I was starting to feel the alcohol kick in and it has only been an hour since I’ve gotten inside the club.

“We should have a celebration for you coming back to Korea, Soo Jin.” Baek Hyun continued as he put our cups into the sink behind him.

“Don’t you think it’ll be weird?” I asked not caring how I was speaking now that I was getting to the happier side of alcohol.

“Weird? Why do you say that?”

“Because… Because…” I didn’t want to say it.

“Because you’re not dating Se Hun anymore? Oh come on, Soo Jin. Who cares?” He really didn’t seem to care that Se Hun and I broke up. “Besides, we’re all friends, right? We all missed you.”

“We really do.” Kai said as he passed behind Baek Hyun and helped the other customers that he wasn’t helping.

I chuckled as I asked Baek Hyun for a beer and he quickly handed it to me. “Thanks.”

“Don’t want your Apple Pucker anymore?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

“One glass is enough for the night.” I shrugged as I took a big gulp from my beer bottle and ending it with an ‘ahhhh’ cos’ it tasted really good tonight.

“Here.” Kai came back and stood beside Baek Hyun and set a shot in front of me.

“Uh…” I stared at it as if it was foreign. “I’m not taking that.”

“Trust me, Soo Jin. It’ll make you feel great!” Kai urged as he pushed the shot towards me.

“What is it…?” I asked, a little scared.

“It’s just a shot of tequila.” He smirked at me.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Fine then. We’ll all take it.” Baek Hyun grabbed two more shot glasses and set it down before pouring tequila into the cups. “Alright, the three of us can take this then?”

I nodded my head and the three of us held our shot glasses up above us before we cheered and took it quickly. The three of us began catching up about how the two of them got a job here and how this was only a part-time job and they also worked at a restaurant and bartended there. The boys and I took a few more shots together and even slammed a few more beers, making my stomach feel uncomfortable, but I didn’t give in. Before I knew it, the alcohol had really hit me.

I was drunk…

“Where’s Jung Ah?” I asked as I looked around for her, but I could barely see anything clearly around me. “She hasn’t come back yet…”

“She’s yelling at someone over in the corner.” Baek Hyun pointed with a cup in his hand.

“Maybe you should go get her…” Kai nodded towards her. “Who knows what she might do…”

I chugged my beer before giving it to Baek Hyun and Kai, who both watched me get off my seat and squeeze through the crowd to go get Jung Ah, who wasn’t even where I swear she was. I looked around, still in a daze, and couldn’t find her. I leaned against the wall behind me and took a deep breath to calm down my crazy mind that I couldn’t even focus. Where did she go? Was she really there or was I just seeing things?

“…” I hissed to myself as I tried to stand up straight only to almost fall over from wearing too high of heels that I couldn’t handle.

“Oh? Are you okay, miss?” I felt a pair of hands grab a hold onto my arm and helped me balance myself before I could fall.

“Thank you. I’m fine.” I said as I pushed the person away from me and tried to walk back towards the bar where Baek Hyun and Kai still were.

“Where are you going?” The person asked following behind me.

“Going to my friends.” I replied with little interest.

“Come dance with me.” The guy grabbed my hand and twirled me around until our chest hit one another. “I can’t let a beautiful girl like you just walk away from me like this.”

I looked up at the guy and barely saw his eyes, but I knew he was a stranger. I pushed him off once again, but he didn’t budge this time. “Let me go. I don’t even know you.”

“Oh come on, sweetie. We can get to know each other by dancing.” He held the small of my back and pressed his body closer to mine before he leaned in towards my ear. “How can a girl like you look this y…?”

“I’m engaged…” I whispered back before pushing him away.

“I don’t see a ring.” He raised an eyebrow as he still had his arm wrapped around my waist.

Jung Ah. She really was messing with me today. I regretted letting her take my ring especially when I was getting hit on by people who wouldn’t let me go.

“You don’t have to lie to me like that, sweetheart. I believe you and I will be just fine tonight.” He grabbed my wrist tightly, making me yelp in pain, and pulled me towards the restrooms where it was almost empty. He pushed me into the men’s bathroom and pushed against the wall and tried to kiss me, but I kicked his leg, causing him to fall over. “What the hell, you !”

“I’m engaged.” I hissed before I tried to walk off, but he grabbed my wrist and yanked me so hard that I hit the wall behind me and it hurt.

“Not so engaged now, are you?” He held my hand up and chuckled annoyingly. “Stop trying to act like you don’t want this.”

“Want what?” I decided to stay still just in case he would throw me again. “You have nothing that I want.”

“But I want you so maybe you should be a little fair with me, eh?” The guy then leaned towards me again, making me shut my eyes in fear. Just as his lips were nearly a few millimeters away from mine, I felt his grip and his aura suddenly disappear. I quickly opened my eyes and saw Se Hun there standing between us. “Who the are you?!”

“Her fiancé.” Se Hun grabbed my hand without looking back at me and squeezed it, as if he was assuring me that I was going to be okay.

I hated this familiar feeling. I hated that it seemed like even to this day, I still needed him here with me when situations like this happened. I shouldn’t need him anymore. Actually, I didn’t need him anymore. I yanked my hand out of Se Hun’s grip and walked out of the restroom and found my way out of the club. I could hear him calling after me, telling me not to leave without him, but I ignored him and ran out.

“SOO JIN!!!”

As soon as I got outside, the cold air hit me pleasantly. I took a deep breath only to find myself laughing like a mad woman. Goodness, what was going on with me right now? Maybe it was the alcohol, but I clearly remembered this feeling very well; it was when I first got caught with Soo Hyuk and he nearly almost took my first kiss, but Se Hun took it instead.

Stupid gangster kid…

“Did he try to take your first kiss too?” I heard Se Hun’s panting voice behind me.

I didn’t look back. I tried to hold myself up even though I felt like I was falling over. I didn’t know that I was this drunk.

“Soo Jin…”

“I’m going home.” I said as I started to walk, praying that I wouldn’t trip.

“I miss you.” I heard him say.

“Oh, just the perfect time to say it.” I replied with a sarcastic tone.

“Soo Jin, stop.”

“Stop following me.” I said as I heard his steps right behind me.

“You’re drunk. You’re not even going the right –“ I fell over before Se Hun could even finish his sentence. I scraped my knee on the ground and felt like crying for being such an idiot. “You idiot…”

“Stop reading my mind…” I cried as I blew on my open cut. “It’s so annoying.”

Se Hun walked around so he was now crouching in front of me. “You always hurt yourself, you know that?”

“Yeah, so what?” I said as I felt my head bob.

“Let me take you home, you idiot. At least I’ll take you the right way.” He held his hand out in front of me, but I couldn’t see a thing.  “Gosh, Soo Jin. What am I going to do with you…?”

“Stop calling me that!” I pointed my finger at him and narrowed my eyes at him.

“Calling you what?” He asked.

“Idiot…” I cried quietly.

“Okay. I’m sorry. I won’t call you that anymore.” He said as he reached over and grabbed my hand. “Come on. Get up.”

“Go away, Se Hun.” I pushed his hand away and tried to stand up, but it wasn’t working out too well.

“Ahn Soo Jin.” Se Hun said as he leaned towards me. “Will you just –“

“Why can’t you leave me alone?” I tried to look at his face, but I felt like I was seeing two of him and if one wasn’t enough, two wasn’t enough either. “Go away…”

Se Hun seemed quiet for a bit. He was staring right back at me without really saying a word or moving, but I was surprised as soon as he quickly pulled me up to my feet and picked me up in his arms, carrying me as if I was as light as a pillow. I looked up at him while he walked us to wherever we were going, but his focus was ahead of him. I slowly reached up and was about to brush my finger against his skin, but I stopped when I realized what I was doing.

I knew drinking with Jung Ah was going to be a bad idea…

*Author's Note: Happy 1600 subscribers^^ Thank you so much :)) Enjoy the update and the new poster :D