ΛFTERGLOW ☼๋࣭ ₖ.ₜₕ

『 14. nice bodyguarding 』

A/N: Thank u for reading! borahae, my loves~ ♡

⚠️WARNING(S)⚠️
brief mentions/use of alcohol

Word Count: 2,740

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ˏˋ POV'ˎ
SOLEIL

“So would you say it’s safe to assume that you are no longer in sobriety?” Esther wondered aloud as she blankly watched me down my last flute of champagne before I snatched up my purse.

“I was never an alcoholic therefore I was never in sobriety,” I corrected as I popped a breath mint into my mouth ad touched up my lipstick in the mirror closest to the hotel door.

“But you clearly have issues,” Tilly clarified, only to be silenced by Everleigh shoving a strawberry into her mouth and eliminating the glass of wine in her hands.

“Thank you for your input, Tilly, it was hurtful and completely unnecessary, per usual,” I monotonously joked, earning a few laughs and an apologetic kiss on my cheek from the tiny Latina by my side as we all exited the suite.

As soon as we came into their view, Jaebeom and Jackson greeted us politely with smiles and began to guide us out of the hotel. Jackson tailed us while Jaebeom took the lead, and the bubbly in my system had caused my brain to temporarily erase the memory of Jaebeom staring at me the other night. I chalked it up to the fact that I clean up nice and he’s a single man near my age so I shouldn’t read into it. If he makes a move on me, I’ll just have to let him down easily because I’m utterly infatuated with someone else.

Upon Taehyung coming to my mind, I realized he had never responded to my message from earlier, and my heart clamped painfully for a moment. I never gave him a definite answer as to whether or not I could see him after the event tonight and he didn’t bring up the question again. However, I knew it was directly after the concert we had interacted last and surely he was swamped so I shouldn’t worry about it.

Leaning my head back against the elevator wall, I took notice of Esther and Tilly initiating a private conversation and Everleigh bumped my hip with hers, stealing my attention. I chuckled in response and she and I exchanged compliments regarding each other’s dolled-up appearances for the comedy club event.

“Your ponytail is so sexy, SoSo, but I miss seeing your natural curls,” she pouted, twirling my pin-straight locks of inky black strands between her fingers. “Do you just prefer straight hair?”

Shrugging, I smoothed back the slick hair of my scalp to ensure there were no flyaways as I answered, “Not necessarily. It just takes so much product and way more effort to keep my natural curls from getting frizzy or tangled rather than just taking some time to straighten it and keep it that way for a few days,” I explained, exasperation clear in my voice. “Also I’m still working on the whole self-love as a black Asian woman thing so while other people may think my curls are nice, I feel kinda naked when I display them. I know I shouldn’t, but that’s just how it is for me right now.”

Everleigh gave me an empathetic smile. “I understand some of those feelings to a certain extent as a tall Indian woman. It sucks sometimes when few people in this area can understand,” she nodded in agreement and I squeezed her hand with an appreciative smile. “I know this won’t change anything but just so you know, I’m obsessed with your natural curls and you’re seriously like, the hottest person I’ve ever met.”