Diamond : Choi Youngjae

004

"Hands off the girl, Bhuwakul,"
"Is Youngjae jealous?" The guy who hugged Youngjae earlier, Jackson, teased.
"Of course not. The kid already has tons of girls. He doesn't need her," Youngjae pointed at me. "So don't even bother trying her, Bhuwakul."

The said guy retrieved his arm from around my shoulder and stood up, bowing towards me.

"Kunpimook Bhuwakul, or BamBam, for short. And before you ask, yes, I'm Thai."
"Park Chorong," I said quietly, shaking his hand hesitantly.

I found it strange on how Youngjae called him by his last name. They were friends, I mean... Or maybe it was because they were friends that he was like that.

His friends were a loud group, courtesy of Jackson. It was surprising how they all went to different schools, Jackson being in an international school, Mark in an arts school, Jinyoung already in a theater company while studying, Jaebum a student vocal instructor at his school, and Yugyeom and the Thai boy BamBam still in high school, but kept their friendship so strong.

But now Youngjae is lecturing me on his friends' personalities, finishing with BamBam's multiple personalities...

"BamBam... Watch out for that kid. He may look cute and innocent, but trust me, he's not. He's perfectly capable of blackmailing and backstabbing. He's a demon and an angel in one body. Girls love him at their high school, and he always manages to take advantage of them, to the point that he breaks their hearts in the most innocent way possible."
"Youngjae! I'm right here!" BamBam whined. "Don't make me sound like the bad guy!"
"But you are one. You look like really nice, but you're in fact a bad boy, without the vices and the gangster stuff and all those nonsense,"

They continued to bicker, and I wondered if they were always like this.

"If you're going to hang out, you better get used to this. They're always like this," Mark spoke quietly. The first sentence he spoke since I got here with Youngjae.
"I see..."
"Who are you, Park Chorong? Youngjae has never brought another girl here after Ah Yeon. Who are you exactly? What are you to him?"

How am I supposed to answer that? We weren't friends.

"We're.... Acquaintances,"
"Only acquaintances? And he brings you here? Are you for real?"

He spoke the last sentence in English, but it was enough for me to understand that he didn't trust me one bit.

"Mark!" Jinyoung shouted over the loud music. "Get over here!"

He got up and went over to his friend, shooting a single glare at me before going. What was wrong with that guy? He was so weird...

"God, Youngjae! Your girl is so tense! Loosen up a bit, Park Chorong! Have fun!" Jackson held out a hand to me, jerking his head towards the dance floor. I shook my head politely. "Shame... You're looking beautiful, and I bet you dance well, too. Dance with me!"
"Jackson, if you want to dance, just go dance on your own. Don't bring her into this,"

Youngjae sat down on the seat beside me by the bar and ordered a drink.

"Want one?"
"No thanks,"
"You don't drink?"
"Why do you drink?"
"I need something to keep my mind off of someone. But don't worry, I don't drink often,"
"Why would I worry?"

He shrugged and took a sip, looking around.

"Cool, isn't it? Jaebum brought me here before since it was his senior's dad's club and now this is sort of our official hangout place..."

I didn't know what to comment.

"Here. Drink," he suddenly placed his glass in my hand. "Just one sip. Just so that you'll get a taste of alcohol. You can't always be a good girl, can you?"