can you even make ramyeon?

0009

i hesitated before leaving the house; my teacher had set us a last minute essay that was due the next day (how typical)—attending a party really wasn't the best idea.

despite the work awaiting me, something inside me insisted i went anyway, just so i wouldn't let su-bin and min-ji down. it just meant i'd have to leave early to finish my work.

it took a long, tiring search through my drawers to attempt to find something different from my normal casual clothes. and even then, i think i must have given up after about an hour, settling for a graphic tee and an oversized denim jacket with some black jeans.

i carefully lined my eyes and applied some lip gloss before scraping my long hair into a ponytail and slipping on some black boots.

~

as i walked into the house i cringed at the sight of so many people. i suddenly felt very suffocated and desperately searched the dimly lit room for something familiar. the beat of the music was muffled by the sound of drunk teens laughing and shouting amongst each other.

even though i was the same age as most of them i felt afraid. i still couldn't see min-ji or su-bin so i walked into the dark corridor to see if they were in another room.

after dodging past worryingly drunk teenagers and skillfully avoiding any prospective conversation-makers, i saw su-bin linking arms with who i assumed was her boyfriend. she waved at me before approaching me with a smile. and then, seemingly out of nowhere, min-ji also appeared and pulled me to sit down in the dark room on the couch.

"you made it," she had to shout so i could hear her.

i made small talk with some of her other friends, but soon began the squirm slightly as i watched the people around me lose themselves completely.

half an hour later i got up and tried to get away from the madness, walking into a room where some (some) people were actually still sober. the panic that had been growing in my chest subsided a little as i squinted and tried to make out the silhouettes in front of me clearly.

a guy with an empty wine bottle in his hand laid his eyes on me and started to walk up to me, the corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. i backed up immediately—to my despair, he didn't show any sign of stopping and was only advancing closer. the heat of panic spread to my face as i continued to take steps back. my back collided with someone; i spun round and looked up at the tall figure.

wait. i know that smell.

i inhaled the somewhat comforting musk perfume and looked up at jaehyun's surprised eyes. i was about to speak before the other guy grabbed my arm and harshly pulled me into his embrace. i yelped out and kicked him, trying to get his arms off me. his breath reeked of the alcohol he'd consumed and i wretched at the putrid smell.

i continued squirming until, suddenly, he let go. i smiled in triumph until i realised his nose was bleeding. he backed off into the shadows before reaching for another drink.

jerk.

by this time, i was breathing heavily and moved closer to jaehyun who was stretching his wrists ever so casually.

my eyes widened, "thank you," my voice was but a hoarse whisper.

"what are you even doing here?"

"the girls invited me yesterday and i couldn't say no. kind of starting to regret it, though," i admitted and rubbed my arm that had an angry red mark. "did i disturb you? i'm sorry, i'll leave you to be with your friends." i walked backwards flustered.

"so what, i save you from a drunk and you think you can just walk away like that? where are your manners?" he demanded.

i sighed, " fine."

jaehyun was wearing a black leather jacket with his hair styled over his forehead. he also wore black jeans and black boots.

i fought the urge to gasp when i realised we were wearing the same tee shirt.

stop buying shirts from the men's section, seo-yun!

he clearly fought the urge to smile when he saw we were wearing the same marvel comic strip on our shirts.

~
for once he was actually civil with me. i'm not sure if it was the party atmosphere but something was different. we talked for hours, i was beginning to get tired and couldn't wait to go home and slee—crap!

my eyes bulged and i gasped, unnerving jaehyun as he asked what was wrong.

"m-my essay! look, i've got to go. um, thank you for today i need to go."

i rushed out, not even bothering to say bye to anyone else. i frowned as i saw jaehyun jogging up to me and silently walking with me. he saw me staring.

"don't take this the wrong way, okay? i'm only walking you home so we're equal after the whole knife thing."

"yeah yeah, i know okay," i rolled my eyes.

honestly, i was kind of glad he was with me, the walk was long and the streets were dark, something i wasn't particularly fond of. we passed an alleyway and i couldn't help but inch closer to him as we saw a group of men who eyed us hungrily.

he pulled me closer and i held onto his arm. due to a past experience in a situation like this...i was scared. i trembled and held tightly onto my only protection, whose grip on me did not falter, even for a second.