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'What’s a babe like you doing in a place like this?’
The red plastic cup of fruit punch in Jiwon’s hand is whisked away unceremoniously by said babe, and abandoned on a nearby table. Jiwon whines, the loss of accessory in her grasp making her suddenly lost and dizzy amidst the dim kitschy neon lighting of the house party. In the middle of the living room, their host Wonyoung is waltzing, or rather stepping on the feet of their cheerleading squad president Ahn Yujin, looking as messy-intoxicated as Jiwon feels, but with a dumb grin. Jiwon returns her attention to the person staring her down in unamused silence.
‘Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’ Jiwon mumbles out of nowhere.
Rei’s eyelid appears to twitch. Jiwon doesn’t really see properly because she’s distracted by what’s above those attractive eyes, which is the mascara Rei put on for today’s party and the brow piercing she got last week. It’s still slightly swollen. Wait, attractive?
She must have imbibed more of the fizzy blue sparkling liquid than she realised, so she doesn’t put up a strong fight when Rei mutters something under her breath and tows Jiwon out of the place like some sort of baggage she’s taking to the trash, only pausing to thank Wonyoung on the way for her hospitality.
The journey home is a blur of the mostly deserted nighttime roads and then midway, the inside of a cab although Jiwon’s apartment is within walking distance. In her stupor she’s still lucid enough to figure Rei probably couldn’t handle dragging her deadweight alone the whole way.
-
She blinks awake sensitively to blinding rays of morning sunlight, and for some reason, checks under the blanket of her own bed that’s clumsily draped over her body. She’s still dressed in last night’s crumpled and stale-smelling clothes. Then she drops the sheet when Rei saunters into her bedroom, holding a glass of coffee.
She’s not the only one flustered—her friend appears to almost drop the drink too, fingers of the other hand flying to steady its wobbling. Rei narrows her widened eyes and moves slower to gingerly place the steaming beverage on Jiwon’s bedside table. Jiwon can’t help clicking her tongue. Hot coffee in a glass? Really?
Rei doesn’t seem to notice, or care about her momentary distraction. ‘I stayed the night and slept on your couch because it was late and you were like—I was worried you might fall and hit your head or something. Since you’re up, I’ll be going. See ya at school.’
Jiwon blinks, thrown again by the unusually lengthy monologue by her closest classmate. Then out of the blue a snatch of the same voice from the night before replays in her mind as if jolted to the surface by hearing Rei.
‘… won’t remember this… the morning.’
-
Jiwon gawks at Rei for a long time until she senses now.
‘What?’ Rei sounds cagey, barely glancing at her for a moment before turning to leave through the door.
Jiwon calls her name plaintively, stopping her in her tracks.
‘I confessed to you last night, didn’t I?’
The words shock even herself, spilling unbidden. It’s even as, only as she says them aloud that she remembers more of their trip home though.
‘Tell me… when… sober and I’ll…’
Rei does finally lock stares with her this time, standing on the threshold of Jiwon’s room. Jiwon can’t read her expression but her face appears more flushed than normal.
‘You were wasted out of your mind,’ Rei mercifully answers after a pregnant awkward minute of no one speaking. ‘You would’ve spouted your mouth off to anyone else chaperoning you home. Luckily, it was me. Don’t worry, I didn’t take it seriously. But next time— Why’re you frowning?’
‘… Trying to remember, is all. Why do I recall you… accepted my confession, though? Am I imagining things?’
Rei snorts flatly, rambling seeming to have been derailed.
‘Before or after you had the fit of hiccups that nearly made you puke on both our clothes?’
She pinches her forehead, making sympathy jab Jiwon at how tired she looks. It’s not like it’s her first time discovering how big-hearted her friend is, but—
But.
Throwing caution to the winds, Jiwon makes a show of checking under the blanket again. Her heart trembles but her voice doesn’t as she calmly asks, with a teasing edge, ‘We didn’t do anything before you went to the couch, did we? I can’t remember either.’
Rei raises her gaze to the ceiling and shakes her head, but her cheeks are definitely pinker. How did Jiwon not know earlier how much fun teasing her is?
‘Are you sure? You did down a couple cups of punch too. Didn’t feel tempted to—ah—steal a kiss from ther sleeping beauty who had confessed to you?’
Rei sighs. ‘I can guarantee your chastity is intact, Miss Sleeping Beauty.’
Jiwon lets out a burst of laughter, unable to help it, and Rei cracks a smile too. Her voice is reluctantly warm as it says, ‘You’ll be ok on your own? I’m really going.’ Her eye-reaching smile is so… attractive. Fuck.
Jiwon really can’t let this go. Not when the gentle nudge of Rei’s speech awakens a last dazed memory, from right before Jiwon was bundled into the backseat of the taxi after which a familiar figure crowded in beside her, their warm sides touching.
‘Tell me again when you’re sober and then I’ll listen.’
Jiwon gasps.
-
‘What now?’ Rei doesn’t even turn this time where she’s toeing on her sneakers in the entryway of Jiwon’s apartment, looking like she was planning to hightail it out as fast as possible.
’Rei-chan!’ Something flooding her chest, Jiwon runs up behind her stupidly and backhugs her. Rei freezes like a statue in her arms.
‘Are you still woozy?’ She detaches herself gently, pretty features irked as she pushes Jiwon away and holds at arm’s length. ‘Do you need some hangover—‘
‘Just one date.’ Jiwon’s the one babbling now. ‘Can you give that to me—I mean, I’m sober now so,’ she grabs a hold of herself and forces back her incoherence. Unintentionally, a coy tone comes out.
‘Why not, unless you’re afraid to fall in love with me? Only one little date?’ She keeps her drawl confident and the wheedling out. Knowing she’s played checkmate. That she’s played dirty, but not caring.
Rei can never reject a challenge.
‘I’m not gonna fall in love with you,’ Rei lies, bristling.
‘Yeah?’ Jiwon raises a brow, wiggles both. ‘Cool. This evening, then. It’s Saturday, so let’s go all out. To a romantic restaurant in our best outfits.’
Rei chokes on her breath. Jiwon doesn’t wait for her response to shove her out the front door, calling, ‘I'll make the reservations. Pick me up at seven, unnie!’ then shuts it in her new date’s red face and lovely, flashing eyes.
-
She awaits the text message calling the appointment off for the rest of the day, to light up her phone, but it never arrives, not until the hesitant press of her doorbell just after seven.