27. Night Club
Somin and Cholsu
Somin's head was throbbing after the previous day's binge. Saturday finally liberated her from the school schedule and let her sleep late without worries or the need to set an alarm. She didn't even hear Mia knocking lightly on her door. After her eyes opened, she made herself get up and drag her miserable being to the living room, where a note lay on the counter:
"︎I'm going to the Zoo with the girls. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join us, but I couldn't wake you up. Here's at least a nutritional breakfast."
That's sweet. Somin melted, looking at the items.
Her personal blue bowl with pink detailing, a glass of milk, oats in a separate bowl with note on how to cook them together with sliced fruit and small cup containing vanilla-flavored protein powder.
Somin worked sluggishly, checking the written instruction. After the deed was done, she collapsed with the meal on the sofa, a throbbing headache raging in between her eyes. The hungover girl made herself eat, tears filling her eyes yet again.
What now?
This was never the plan.
Being here in this strange big city without him, without company.
I was looking forward to the shared weekends. He'd have dragged me to exhibitions.
The "what could have been" scenario was bittersweet, but only "what is now" laid before her.
With every spoon dragging to her lips, the memory of their first meeting came back.
I was so hungover back then, how fitting.
...
Young Somin reluctantly entered the noisy dive club with her peers. From the state of its doors and the hall beneath them she knew it would be an unbreathable filthy place. Graffiti proudly decorated its interior without any care from the owners. The stench of sweat and old beer sticking to her feet attacked her nostrils.
Conform. She reminded herself.
Hoping her classmates will warm up to her if she was willing to spend more time with the group.
The place wasn't known for its strictness with ID checks and this fact made it into a notorious hotspot for teenagers looking to let out steam. Let the youth live a little, was the unspoken motto of that bar.
Somin's group was easily distinguishable as they dressed in obviously edgy attire like every other art students who loved to be the center of attention. Somin stuck out like a sore thumb in between her peers, holding a sketchbook and looking very uncomfortable in her casual black clothes. Long dark hair was covered by a baggy hoodie and the whole look together with ripped black jeans gave off a "go to" feel. The easy choice for someone who didn't know what to do with their closet. She wasn't comfortable with the more out-there choices the other girls opted to wear. Weaving scarves into their hair or sewing their own clothes for that matter.
What am I doing here? She asked herself every time, but still tagged along.
Even though she considered herself to be an outsider through and through she yearned for friends all the same.
Everybody from her class went and it wasn't the right thing to stand out from the group and stay home, right? The coy girl kept giving the dreaded "socializing" a try. Somin hated it, but persisted.
Give them a chance.
It was already the start of her third year and she kept on going. Kept hanging out with people she despised.
The other girls headed out to the dance floor immediately, some of them ordering at the bar first. Meanwhile, Somin stayed behind after she ordered a few shots of hard liquor for herself. It was almost a routine at that point. Too self-conscious to dance, too stressed out to talk to someone, there was no other choice.
The shy girl sketched a page, downed a shot. Sketched another one, shots fired, all the while pulling her hoodie closer to her face to hide the embarrassment and shame.
What am I doing here?
...
On the opposite side of the club sat Cholsu, bored by his so-called friends who spent every evening they shared company desperately flattering him in an attempt to stay on his good side. The tall sculptor went out with his small-town friends on the rare weekend when he got back from uni. Impressing them with his college experience and getting nothing substantial back.
Pathetic losers. That's what he thought of them.
Their ordinary lives were filled with ordinary jobs, getting ordinary payrolls. Meanwhile, he rocked his first two sculpture reveals at the center of a big city. He took pictures for magazines, retelling his sophisticated backstory to interviewers, heavy with art jargon. He made sure to look serious while still enjoying the cute reporter's interest in him. Later he enjoyed her body in the hotel was intrigued by his big city life. Their eyes sparked with hunger for gossip, living "the life" though his eyes.
"Soon you'll get to know all the celebrities!" someone said.
"Oh, I'm jealous of your fame already," another one chipped in.
"You're already somebody," a different friend assured him.
Cholsu's eyes spotted a bunch of high schoolers entering the club. Recognizing these "adults" from miles away was the funniest drinking game he could play. Cholsu, bored out of his mind with the dull conversation, judged all the newcomers, taking a sip of his beverage every time he was right. Majors, ambitions, possible pairings. Whatever crossed his mind brought more points in between his automatic "Hmpfs" and "Yeahs."
He observed the newly entered group dynamic at first, seeing a confused girl being left behind peak his interest. Standing alone awkwardly, she shuffled her feet to the nearest empty table.
Hmm, she clearly doesn't want to be here. I guess social pressure then.
He gave himself mental points.
...
The lonely girl drank heavily, knowing well that she'd eventually find comfort in the drunken haze.
Looks like I won't be fitting in anywhere soon.
Somin hated the loudness. The neverending changing of colors made her sick to her stomach. The people around her were having fun somehow.
Fun avoids me at all costs.
The envious girl snickered bitterly to herself.
One pair from her school came to the table and started making out wildly, disregarding her presence.
...
Cholsu observed the scene from his table across the dance floor, answering the questions of his hungry friends to the left and right without hesitation. All the while coming up with the right tactics, how to approach her, assessing what would work.
That's enough, I'm rescuing her.
The artist headed over to her table. No point in speaking when they can't hear each other well. The older boy tapped energetically on the table in front of her, ignoring the lovebirds. His eyes locked on her sketchbook.
Not bad, extra points for a talented discovery. Cholsu thought, satisfied.
Big frightened eyes looked up at him from behind the hoodie.
Did he get lost? Ended up at the wrong table? Somin was more than confused by the stranger's presence.
He pointed to the exit, his face an unreadable wall on which the colors made a strange shadow play. Cholsu thought his expression exuded confidence and warmth, while it actually looked more like annoyance.
Maybe I'd had enough of the liquor. Somin thought drunkenly.
Wait, does he want me to get out? People must hate me so much when strangers go up to me and kick me out of here. Somin felt bitter tears forming in her eyes.
What is she doing? Cholsu observed her packing all of her stuff.
I wanted to go to the fresh air with her. His face gave up his surprise.
Her moves were frantic as she avoided eye contact. She slipped alongside the couple, now almost fucking at the corner of the table, and ran out, leaving Cholsu behind. He ran out to catch her, grabbing her wrist outside where only the loud humming of the club remained.
"Ya! Where are you going?" Cholsu asked loudly.
"Hey, what's your problem? I fucked right off as you wanted!" her voice was sharp and clearly drunk.
"What? I never wanted that," he clarified, caught off guard.
Is she trying to say I made her leave? Cholsu couldn't believe it.
"What do you want?" she sounded on the brink of tears.
Cholsu closed on her and pulled the atrocious hoodie off to see her face instead of answering.
The cloth revealed a pretty girl. Not jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but pretty. There was a hidden beauty in her kind of simplicity.
Kind of a win? More points for me.
Her most prominent features were large pale eyes with long black lashes. Dark hair framed her fresh face. She wore no makeup which jarred with the setting they found themselves in.
Plain, but why not?
Heart-shaped lips with a hint of pink tantalized his warped senses.
Small and cute.
Her sweet, innocent face wasn't his usual type, but hers was intriguing enough to spark his interest.
"How old are you?" it slipped out of him.
"Old enough for you to let me go." With that statement he released her wrist.
"What's your name?" Cholsu asked again.
"Are you the fucking police?" She turned her back to him and ran away, trembling.
Why was he harassing me? What's wrong with me?
Somin was confused as ever, blinking the tears away.
...
Cholsu let her go, feeling weirded out by the interaction. Bewildered.
Was I being frightening?
She was pretty... drunk and sad.
It called to him, mirroring so much of himself at her age. The young girl only had a bit of fake edginess which he found adorable.
It'll take some work with this one, but I'm bored anyway.
Round one I failed, you won.
...
These thoughts, sad and distant, made her cry herself to sleep. Yet another day was wasted, her head hadn't loosened its clutches on her mind. Somin knew there was no other way to escape these anxiety-inducing feelings than sleep.
...
😳 Author's corner 😊
🍹 Did you start drinking young? Teen/ preteen? What is normal age young ppl drink in your country (not meaning legal age). 🍹
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🎨Illustrations of each chapter are available on my Wattpad acc, AO3 acc -klubickoArt🎨
