Twenty minutes before the new year, an introverted stenographer accidentally gets locked in a bathroom.
With the weirdest 'stranger' she has ever met.
A holiday project.
(Twice) Jeongyeon × Taehyung (BTS)
Jeongyeon swallowed an ample amount of fruity cocktail before scanning the scene for her friends. Old high school friends, actually. She had long abandoned their round table (like the others) and was asking for shots of the addicting fruity cocktail.
She thought she should've worn something thick for the cold weather. Probably should've tried to look like she inserted effort in dressing up and not like the way she dressed back in high school. Although parties get hot, the coolness of December was solidly present. She stuck with an orange sweater, white tank top tucked within black skinny jeans, and a pair of black moccasins. Pretty average but that basically tells Jeongyeon's whole personality.
Simplicity at its finest.
The party was full of ex-classmates, ex-batchmates, friends she used to hang with back in high school. And now, they're all back in one (too huge be called) house, talking and cheering and reminiscing memories they have never forgotten.
She spotted Momo Hirai (former class president of her class; reliable best friend), dancing with two dudes as the beat of a perky k-pop song played in the background. The two dudes (men, rather) were the infamous Kim Yugyeom and the cute Jung Hoseok. They both look mature and that's a shocking fact.
Jeongyeon remembered getting annoyed by them constantly for their energetic, insensitive actions; but that was a long time ago. Yugyeom said earlier that he was a father of two kids, and Hoseok turned out to be a successful choreographer. No surprise there.
There was Myoui Mina (former class secretary; a good listener), gently patting an unbelievable baby bump, big enough for the world to see. She was unsurprisingly listening to Kim Dahyun speak about something.
Kim Dahyun (a cute chatterbox) still looked cute as ever, but she looked more of an adult than a teenager now. Jeongyeon could see the major difference when they were gathered at the round table.
Somewhere far off, she spots Son Chaeyoung (former captain of a varsity team; trashtalks like a dude) talking to her fiance. It was shocking to discover that the little feisty girl of their old group was the second to have a fiance.
And they all looked like they're having fun tonight. Everyone is, actually.
Jeongyeon was supposed to be having fun tonight.
She should be catching up with old friends, sharing her stories about her adventures in Italy, how she met charismatic Italian guys and how her life is going smooth as a stenographer.
She couldn't.
Maybe it's because of the fact that she had been alive all along after performing a disappearing act on her old friends; couldn't get back in touch with them after slowly cutting ties with them.
She had reasons.
Sure, she clicked automatically with Dahyun and other close friends, but she knew how they felt. They were shocked that she even came to this big reunion, all new and foreign.
The point is, she felt like she didn't belong here. It was pathetic. Like she wasn't twenty-nine years old right now, but back to being sixteen again.
Jackson Wang (former representative of their batch) hosted the reunion. He made sure everyone, especially the 'immigrants' (alumni and alumnae who flew off to another country after graduation), were involved in their program earlier.
Jeongyeon felt the spotlight burn on her. She felt the stares of her old friends, curious to what she was up to while she was gone. She felt ashamed for even being there that she spent most of her time outside the house after her little introduction, inhaling fresh air.
The shameful feeling died down. Right now, she's just feeling melancholic and bored.
She glances at her wristwatch. There is just about twenty minutes left before 2018 comes.
Dahyun said that ten minutes before the countdown, they would all gather back to the table and watch the fireworks together.
She approaches Jackson, who was fortunately nearby.
"Oh, Jeongyeon." The guy's really familiar with everyone already.
He stood by Choi Minho (also a former captain of a varsity team; also a guy Jeongyeon did not recognize at first), who was smiling at her too. He greets her with a nod.
"Need any help?" Jackson questions.
She smiles politely at both of them. "I'd just like to know where the bathroom is. This house is pretty huge, you know."
Minho chuckles at that. "Can't deny that though. I was lost from the beginning too."
Jackson smiles, probably feeling flattered. "Hard work pays off eventually. And the bathroom's just upstairs. Turn right and go to the door with a rug at its front."
Jeongyeon smiles and thanks him. She bows slightly at them before heading off to the stairs.
Unfortunately, her way to the bathroom wasn't immediate.
