Behind their masks

Why are you so wet?

Somi's point of view:

I clenched my hands around my book, trying to focus on the words. But it was no use. The music was so loud that everything in my room was shaking. I sighed loudly. He hadn't had a party for a while and I was finally used to the peace and quiet.

I hated being cooped up in my room. But Jae Beom's parties were the worst. His so called friends were all really annoying, and they played loud, obnoxious music. And to make things worse everyone would reek of alcohol and cigarettes and many of them would pass out and wouldn't leave till the next day. It was a whole mess.

I closed my book. There was no point of trying to read it if the words on the page weren't gonna stay still. I started to wonder if Jae Beom threw the party because of the incident the other day. Since then he hadn't said much about it. He was still himself, but I could tell something was bothering me since he always became quieter around me.

I grabbed my jacket, maybe I could read my book with Aerin at Jaehyo's house instead. It was just the matter of making it through my house and out the door in one piece that was my real problem now. I opened the door, the smell of alcohol hitting me strongly, throwing me back slightly.

I stumbled back and scrunched my nose, trying to make my way out the house. I barely made it down the stairs, trying to squeeze past people and avoid swinging arms and the screams of people singing along to the loud music directly into my ear.

I was almost down when I noticed Jae Beom staring blankly into nothing, surrounded by empty bottles of soju and a girl who he was paying no attention to at all. I frowned lightly. This wasn't anything new. But it always made me feel a little disappointed seeing him like that. It made me wonder why he looked so miserable if he was the one who threw the party.

"Oh you're cute." A voice popped.

"Huh?" I mumbled. I looked up at a man smiling widely at me. He towered over me, almost stumbling forward, barely able to stand because he drank too much. He leaned towards me, staring at me.

"Did you come alone?" He asked, snatching a can of beer from someone's hand and pushing it towards me.

"I..uh..I live here." I laughed awkwardly, pushing his hand back so I could make space for me to escape.

"You couldn't have come alone with a face like that." He popped ignoring what I had said, tapping my nose with his fingers and giggling again. He pushed the can towards me again, but I pushed it back to him.

He was too drunk to even listen to what I was saying or he was actually ignoring me. Either way, it was annoying. "I have to go." I huffed, trying to push past him.

"What's the rush?" He slurred, putting his hand on the bannister. He leant down towards me, "Come with me, we don't have to tell your boyfriend." He whispered near my ear, the stench of his breath making me want to hurl.

"I want to leave." I popped. I could've said I had a husband and that he was right over there, but Jae Beom rarely liked referring to me as his wife. I tried to stay out of his way as much as I could when he threw these parties.

I stepped back before the guy could get any closer, but there were too many people behind me and it didn't look like they were paying any attention to what was happening. "Come on," He pouted, shoving the can of beer towards me for the third time.

I laughed nervously, taking it and passing to whoever was behind me, who took it out of my hands in seconds. "I have to really be somewhere else now, so-" I said, before he cut me off by shoving his finger to my lips.

"You have a cute face, but your body is really hot." He hummed, his flicked his eyes down, biting his lip as he began to step forward again.
He reached for my hand, but I moved away, clutching my book in both my hands as I held it to my chest, leaning as far back as I could.