! I thought to myself as I glanced at my knock-off  Emporio Armani watch and locked the door to the dorm simultaneously. It was a sad reality that I would forever be late to everything. Ever. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken that hour long shower. But then again, knowing me I would have found something else to distract me from actually making it on time when people invite me somewhere for the first time. I accepted my lateness a long time ago . . . I only hoped my new friends were as cool about it as I was. 
   I nearly ran down the stairs, since I was on the third floor and waiting for the elevator would take longer, tugging at the fitted shirt I decided to pair with my black skinny jeans and the nicest shoes I had – a pair of Fila high tops. 
   I stopped dead in my tracks when I caught a sight of a reflection of me in the window of a closed shop. Ew. My wardrobe was seriously lacking if this was the best I could do. I looked like a wannabe emo rapper guy, without the makeup of course. No way I’d be caught dead looking like a raccoon. Just then my phone rang and I remembered that I was already impeccably late. “I’m almost there.” I answered my phone, speed walking to make it through the next crosswalk before the light changed. 
   “You didn’t get lost, did you?” Ok Taecyeon’s sarcastic tone yelled over the sound of club music and into the speaker of my phone. 
   “No! I’m fine, I’ll be inside in two – one minute!” I said, trying not to breathe into the phone as I ran the rest of the way. Luckily, the small night club was only three blocks away from the dorm so by the time I hung up, I was nearing the corner. I stopped at the door to catch my breath, showing the guy at the door my ID and stepping inside.
   Music and strobe lights and the smell of alcohol all hit me in the face as I looked around, trying to see past the high heels and short skirts of half drunk girls surrounded by dozens of skin hungry guys until finally, I found my group. They were easy to spot. I put on my “cool” face and casually walked over to the only table with a pair of bored looking guys in the whole place.
   “Sorry I’m la–” before I could finish the sentence Junho appeared in front of me, looking more annoyed than happy to see me. 
   He rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. “Finally . . . you’re like . . . like . . . at least like two hours late, I mean . . . you missed the whole party.” He wobbled in front of me and held his hand on his hip, keeping his mixed drink, looked like a cosmopolitan, from spilling with the other. “Wherewereyou?” he mumbled in a slur. Yeah. He was definitely drunk.
   I opened my mouth to apologize again but was cut off, again, when he gasped. “Oooohmygodddd! I love this sooooong!” He slurred, making his drunken way to the dance floor. I looked over at the table when I heard a loud snort and some chuckling. “Is he gonna be okay to walk around alone?” I asked as Taec downed a shot. 
   He looked at me then, quickly letting his eyes follow Junho’s retreating figure. “Don’t worry about him . . . he’s nowhere near as drunk as he thinks he is.” He watched the soft faced boy swaying to the music in the middle of the dance floor and sighed. 
   “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” I said, sitting down on one of the empty stools.
   “He’s just grouchy,” Nichkhun, the one closest to my age, jumped in leaning closer to me. “Every time HoButt over there gets drunk, he gives it up to some lucky bastard.” Nichkhun’s American accent was strong but he didn’t seem to care. “He was hoping to get some tonight.” He smirked at me.
   Oh. Ooooh. I blinked at Taecyeon as he got up and headed straight for the bar. He was gay. TAEC is gay. I snorted in disbelief. 
   Nichkhun laughed at my expression. “I know . . . we were all kinda shocked when we found out that the giant swung that way.” He said, motioning to Junho, who was now . . . well . . . booty dancing against some random guy. He actually looked kinda happy, swaying his head in time with the disco sounding American alternative-rock song, his small eyes closed as he lost himself in the moment. I had to admit, Taec had good taste in men.
   “You ladies talkin’ about me?” Taecyeon returned to the table with a fresh round of drinks for everyone, scooting mine closer until I picked it up and sipped the beer. 
   I watched everyone for a while, casually sitting back and drinking beer after beer. So this was gonna be my new band. Well, most of it, anyways. The other two members were back at the dorm with our leader, I think it was cause they weren’t into the whole “club scene” or maybe it was just cause they were too young to drink . . . which reminded me. I looked at Nichkhun, since Taec was long gone in search of Junho somewhere in the crowd of bumping and grinding. “Hey” I said. “How did you guys get in here? Cause I’m the only one here old enough to drink.” 
   Khun’s lips curled into a smile. “Fake ID, Bro.” He held his finger to his lips and laughed.
   I nodded. Wow. And here I was thinking that these guys were a group of pretty-boys. Go figure. These guys . . . I swear, you can’t peg ‘em. I finished my fourth beer, immediately reaching for the bottle of soju on the table. There wasn’t much so I finished it, regretting the action almost immediately when I realized that I was already tipsy enough. Before long, Taec came back to the table, holding a stumbling intoxicated Junho up by the waist. 
   Junho’s smile beamed. “HYUNG! You made it!” he squealed at me, leaning closer and nearly falling, causing Taec to pull him back like a protective owner of a small animal. “Whendidyougethere?! Ya know, I thought you weren’t coming!” his smile faded as he blinked and stared at me with, oddly enough, big eyes. “Whoaaaaaaaah . . . you’re drunk!”
   I couldn’t believe it. He actually had the nerve to call me drunk. I rolled my eyes as he giggled and his eyes squished into that tight eye smile of his. How can he even see with his eyes closed so much? I tried not to wrinkle my nose as I looked for more beer. 
   “Here,” Taecyeon handed me his untouched beer. “You can have mine…I’m not gonna need it.” He dragged Junho away with a satisfied smirk. 
   I took the beer and started drinking, despite not knowing where it came from. What a boring night . . . I sighed to myself. I shouldn’t have even come here tonight; these kids don’t even know how to party. I chugged the beer and slammed the cup on the table, sliding off the bar stool and frowning when it took me a few seconds to get my balance. Maybe I won’t drink anymore tonight. I groaned in my head as I got up to go take a piss. After a few minutes of stumbling around, I finally found the bathroom. I smiled, heading inside for a much needed break from the noise of the club, hoping the quiet would clear the dizziness from my head.
   The bathroom was not quiet. The wash area was empty but sounds echoed from one of the stalls. I don’t know if I was jealous or just annoyed that I had to listen to it, but I walked over to the stall, trying not to think about how the heavy thudding matched the beat of the song barely audible through the walls of the bathroom. I did my business and got the outta there as fast as I could, making my way back to the table . . . after a quick stop at the bar. 
   I leaned against the counter, trying to order a drink from a very busy and very annoyed looking bar tender. A couple of chicks stood next to me, whispering to each other as they eyed me. They were cute. But I could tell by the way they giggled, they were idiots. Ugh, great. I thought, trying not to look completely disgusted. I turned away when one approached me, pretending to be ordering another drink or talking to the person next to me or something or . . .  
   I sighed at the tap on my shoulder, turning around.
   Whoa. That was not who I expected. I blinked and looked around, trying to figure out where the girl went. “Wh-Who are you?” I asked, confused. 
   The guy standing in front of me narrowed his eyes. “Can you move over, you’ve been standing here doing nothing for almost twenty minutes?”
   I just stared. 
   He looked a lot like Junho, only . . . not Junho. Bigger. Not just taller, but actually bigger. Broader shoulders, bigger arms, even his hair was longer. I kept staring.
   The stranger rolled his eyes and growled. “Are you going to order a drink or not? You’re being rude.”
   What little sober part of me was left snapped me out of it and I blinked. “Oh . . . Jeongmal mianhae.” I bowed and stumbled away before I could make myself look like a bigger idiot. I headed for where I thought the table was, suddenly being pushed around from all directions. I opened my eyes fully to glare and shout at people but then realized I was in the middle of the dance floor. How did I get here? I held my drink up so it wouldn’t spill and fought through the crowd, trying to find my way out. 
   Finally, I broke free of the overly packed dance floor and steadied myself, only to be confused all over again when a pair of hands grabbed me from behind and pushed me onto a stool at a random table. I protested and looked for whoever it was, glaring.
   “Relax hyung,” Nichkhun laughed, sitting down on his stool. Oh. This was my group’s table. I nodded to myself. That made sense. “You’ve been gone over an hour.”
   I was sure my mouth shaped into a perfect “o” cause Khun mimicked my face and laughed at me. I would usually get annoyed from being laughed at but I was too drunk to respond normally.
   “Here” he said to me, pouring a shot into a glass. “Have another drink.” 
   I shook my head and then took the glass, downing it. Why did I do that? A small part of me asked . . . a very small part. “I just saw someone.” I said, leaning over to my dongsaeng.
   Khun looked at me and smiled, he clearly wasn’t as drunk as I was. “Did you, now?”
   I nodded. “He looked juuuuuuust like Junho,” I mumbled. “Only . . . it wasn’t.”
   His face turned pale. “Wait, Rain’s here?!” He looked around the club with a worried expression. “! ! !” Khun looked at me seriously. “Hyung, where was he?”
   “Um . . . at the bar.” I pointed in a direction, not knowing where.
   “I’m gonna go find Taec and Junho-yah. You stay here.” He commanded, quickly disappearing. 
   I had no idea what was going on. On top of the mass confusion, I felt dizzy again. Realizing that last shot of soju was kicking in, my eyes grew heavy until suddenly everything was black.

To be continued...