Never | Lee Haechan

Her devil's dare 📍

"You didn't tell Jaemin you're coming this year, did you?" Mina asked as Ryujin pulled over their car.

"He'd have a cardiac arrest just at what I'm wearing."

"It's literally knee-length. Looks more like you're being considerate of him being there," Ryujin smirked as she changed gears and parked the car.

"I'm so glad you're finally here. I swear, you're in your third year and still haven't experienced this side of Hanyak," Somi added as they got out of the car, making Jiae chuckle.

"Be careful though," Mina made sure to add, to which Jiae rolled her eyes.

"This ain't anything new to me. It was just church boy Yangyang."

"Something always felt off about him. Glad you're out of it," Karina smiled sweetly, trying to make sure Jiae wouldn't feel upset at the mention of her ex, and locked arms with her.

"Let it all out tonight, babe."

"Been waiting to."

———

The ambient lighting at the front counter led them through a foyer and down the stairs, where music was booming through huge speakers. The girls walked into the hall.

Jiae smirked internally at the scent of alcohol in the air. Bodies clashed on the dance floor—half of them probably unaware of what they were even doing. Tables lined both ends of the widely spread-out hall, and people were gulping down shots at the bar. Not too big of a place, but the number of people packed in made it feel vast. The dark blue lighting with sprinkles of red and green added more intensity.

"God, it's been a while."

They decided to head to the bar first, right beside the Truth or Dare table—led, of course, by none other than the infamous senior, Johnny Suh. Hair slicked back as always, no shirt, just a black leather jacket. As the girls reached the bar, Jiae caught sight of Jaemin, his arms wrapped around a girl she didn't recognize.

He barely noticed her until he realized his friends were all suddenly eyeing someone—some with caution, others blatantly staring. He followed their gaze, and alarm bells rang in his head. He quickly pulled his arms away from the girl he'd been flirting with.

"Jiae... what the fuck?"

Jiae couldn't hold back her laugh at his reaction. "It's okay, you can go back to what you were doing."

"Respectfully, damn," Jeno said carefully, knowing his place as Jaemin's closest friend.

"Yeah, it's a good change from the usual," Renjun added with a sincere smile.

"Dude, you look amazing," Mark said. Renjun and Mark were seemingly the only ones not eyeing her like they secretly wanted to devour her—well, and Jaemin, who just looked thoroughly pissed.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She ignored him and smiled at the rest of them. "Thanks, y'all. I appreciate the support, but some of you might wanna tone down those looks."

"I mean, let's not act like we're not all here to do what we do," Jiae's eyes shifted to Haechan, who was eyeing her a bit too shamelessly, leaned over on the table on his elbows, right beside Jeno, who was adjacent to Jaemin.

Jiae almost choked on her drink at the way his gaze trailed on her.

"Since when do you even know what we do?" she teased, expecting him to throw out an insult like they usually bickered.

"Why? Desperate to find out, babe?" He raised a brow, swinging the cup in his hand slightly. For a second, she had to register that this wasn't... the regular Haechan. He had high tolerance, but he wasn't completely sober either. The way he eyed her with amusement didn't feel like the usual jokes she was trying to play it off as. It was mischievous—in the most exciting way possible.