black swan || hyunjin

nine

I fix my hair slightly as the BMW arrives at the party's entrance. We park on the pavement, just outside the entryway. Looking out the window, I can see a tall, stern, buff man standing at the door of the club.

I gulp loudly, my anxiety beginning to kick in. What if we don't get allowed inside? What if the plan fails?

Chris gets out of the car, and walks around to my car door. He opens the door, allowing Jihyun and I to get out of the car, like a true gentleman.

I take a proper look at the building. A tall, lit up place, with pink LED outlines around the edges. What a well decorated place.

As we walk over to the entrance, the stern-faced bouncer glares at the three of us walking up to him, Chris in front.

"Hello sir, Chris Bahng. 21 years old." He says, as he passes the man his ID. The man nods in approval as he walks in, waiting for us at the other side of the door. Jihyun and I then show him our IDs, and he again nods his head, allowing us in.

Chris had given us his sisters' IDs in advance, with their permission of course, me having 'Chaeyoung Bahng', and Jihyun having 'Hannah Bahng'. It was strangely refreshing being someone else for a night. It's almost like I can forget about my current life situation, and not have to worry about anything else but having fun.

There were at least around 90 people here, which is enough for me to feel faintly sick.

It might not be a lot for others, but I have a strong fear of people. It kind of makes me ask myself why I agreed to go to a nightclub.

I walk closely behind Jihyun, my heart beat speeding up slowly as I scan the room.

The majority of people here were aged around 20-25, which made me feel a little bit at ease. At least there isn't a bunch of dodgy old men in here.

The lights in the room are coloured purple, and the dance floor in the middle of the club sparkles brightly. The luminous disco ball  scopes the whole area, making my surroundings look like a miniature galaxy.

Jihyun leads me over to a small group of friends, supposedly hers. She introduces me to all of them as I smile awkwardly, a few hi's escaping my mouth, but not speaking otherwise.

I stand there uncomfortably, listening to Jihyun catching up and laughing with her friends. I look at each of the 3 individuals standing in the small circle I'm in, examining their faces.

They are all girls, matching with one another. The three of them are wearing feathery black and pink mini skirts, paired with strappy white tank tops that look like someone had cut a big chunk off the bottom to crop them.

Their outfits do look good, I must admit, although their temperament is quite bitchy and cattish, which makes me go off the three quite quickly. It is difficult to tell who's who, because their whole presence is the exact same. Even their voices sound the same. It's scary.

As I continue to look at each girl closely, searching for a difference, Jihyun interrupts me.

"Aera, if you're not gonna talk, can you go over there and get us some drinks?" She demands in a condescending tone, looking at me with such a fake expression on her face, like she's forcing herself to smile. She didn't even say please.

But, as the kind person I am, I direct myself over to the bar on the other side of the room. I am actually quite pleased that I've been sent over here, it was so painfully boring standing with those girls.

I get to the bar counter and wait for the bartender to finish serving another customer. He seems to take his goddamn time, too, because I end up waiting for a good two minutes.