Against the Odds | DAERIN

Chapter: 4

The next day passed quickly, as I didn't have work and only one college essay due, which I finished in no time. Soon enough, it was time for the party. My parents had told me that the guests would be arriving around 7, so I made sure to be ready a little bit early just in case. I hate dresses, but as it was a formal party, I had to wear one. It was just a simple, short black dress that I had paired with a few of my rings and a minimalistic necklace. For once, I had let my hair down. I looked in the mirror, admiring how I looked. Not gonna lie, I looked hot. I wasn't one to wear makeup; I liked to keep my face natural. As I picked up my lip gloss, I heard a knock at the door.

"Haerin, come and get the door, please," I heard my dad shout from downstairs.

"Coming," I quickly applied some lip gloss and made my way downstairs to the door. I opened it to find Danielle standing there, fiddling with her hands. She must be slightly nervous.

"Hey, come in," I said, smiling at her. "You alright? You look nervous."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Parties just aren't really my thing," she said, looking up at me and smiling.

"Here, let me take that," I said, gently grabbing her shoulders and turning her around so I could take her coat. I pulled it off, my hand lingering on her arm for a second. "You look beautiful, by the way," I whispered from behind her, my hand still on her arm. She turned back around, her lower lip slightly trapped between her teeth, and an unrecognizable look in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered back, our eyes never leaving each other.

Our moment was interrupted when I heard coughing behind me. I turned around and saw Jungwon standing there, wearing a suit.

"Hi, Danielle," he said, completely ignoring my existence.

"Hey, baby," she said, her eyes briefly meeting with mine again before she smiled at me and walked off with Jungwon.

Baby.

She was so sweet; he didn't deserve her. Usually, I wouldn't have cared about Jungwon's girlfriends, as they were all usually like him, but Danielle... she wasn't. She was a nice girl who didn't deserve to get used and hurt by him. And from what I had heard the other day, that's exactly what was happening.

All the guests had arrived by now, and I had been making polite introductions to everyone, but I was bored out of my mind. Jungwon had invited his friends and was now somewhere in the house drunk, and my parents were talking with all their guests. I looked over to where Jungwon was; he was taking a shot. I looked around his friends to try and find her. Where is she? I looked around, but there was no sign of her. I figured the only place she could be was outside. I made my way to the back door, politely replying to guests when they greeted me. I opened the door to see her standing on the decking just outside the door, looking up at the stars.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" I said, stepping out and closing the door behind me.

She turned around, slightly startled.

"Haerin, you scared me," she replied, laughing.

I stepped closer to her, laughing quietly. "Sorry, didn't mean to. I was looking for you inside," I said, stepping closer again. "Why are you out here?"

"Jungwon and his friends got drunk, not really my environment," she replied, sighing. "He gets..."

"Violent, loud, rowdy?" I finished the sentence for her.

"Yeah..." she looked down at the floor.

I stepped forward one more time, gently taking her hand in my own. "You want to know something?" I whispered, looking into her eyes.