✓ SIX THIRTY ━ johnny suh

. . . . chapter fifty-one.

( ❑❑❑ )

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

SONG  OF  THE  DAY  :
pretty lips - winehouse

. . . . . .

chia showed up to the party with the clothes her dad bought in japan. the outfit consisted of tattered jean cut-offs and a red striped peasant blouse. all was finished with a cute flower crown resting above her head.

have i told you she had her hair cut?

she had drained all the pinks from the strands, roots to ends now naturally black. it was chopped chin-length with bangs.

you know what they say about heartbroken people and haircuts.

but enough about heartbreak.

jace led chia to the crowded party illuminated by purple lights. it reeked of alcohol drank by women wearing very short shorts and men who didn't even try. not a new scene to the pair.

they continued walking until they stopped by sicheng facing backwards from them beside a tall man in what looked like a floral beach outfit.

jace called sicheng's name a couple times before getting heard in the booming noise within the venue.

it's time.

"oh you're here! hey, chia! meet my friend . . . " the very man turned only to reveal, "johnny suh."

what. him? oh.

youngho also looked a little different. he harbored a fresh cut, seeing how he can finally style his hair slicked back (she never saw it that way when they were together since his hair used to almost reach his shoulders). his skin was tanner too. it surprised her how she herself caught on the details in lighting that made it physically difficult.

he was as dashing as ever.

but holy fuck, why was he there?

"johnny?!"

the best friends' mouths fell slack in unison. they looked at each other with not much subtlety and began sweating.

"i need to pull her away for a second. save us seats!"

when jace and chia had ran to a corner away from the drunk people dancing and the johnny suh, they plastered faces in an extreme degree of panic.

"what the fuck?"

"what the fuck to you, jace," she whisper yelled. "you told me sicheng showed his picture. you've seen youngho in person. the worst part is you didn't even tell me. is this like, a setup?"

"do you think i have time for setups? i'm a college sophomore and i work at a restaurant while still making winwin time. youn— johnny was fucking shirtless in the pic! did you expect me to stare at his face when his six pack was right there?" exclaiming, he defended himself. "besides, i'm not good at recognizing people."

"holy fuck. holy shit."

"do you even think that's youngho? maybe he has a twin we don't know of. or maybe he's a doppelganger off shift."

"did you see the way he looked at me? that's youngho! and his style, and his tattoos, and—"

realizing she had been too taken away with the descriptions, chia took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"it's not too late to run. i'll come with you."

they stood in silence for a couple seconds in thought.

"fuck it," she said.

( ❑❑❑ )

"new hair, huh?"

though in the same table, chia and youngho sat almost a meter away from jace and sicheng who were in their own worlds on their side of the couch.

it was awkward.

"well you know, it's summer. just something more fresh-looking," she replied, ending it with a feigned chuckle.

"you look gorgeous."

somehow, he had a follow-up question. she wished he didn't. talking to him only increases the longing. "you smoking again? if you don't mind me asking."

"i haven't broken my record." she'd admit she was proud of herself. although she broke down to tears when she couldn't light one up the night of the breakup. anyway. "you?"

"i relapsed. i just continued what happened that night, you know."

"o-oh. i'm . . . i'm sorry."

"it's— i— it's not your fault," youngho said, sombre. "couple 12 hours sober though. sicheng said my date hated smokers. guessing that's you."

she did not know why her eyes were brimming with tears the moment he talked about sobriety. she was over this a month ago. she was fine.

some part of her blamed herself for the fall out. if only she'd been so understanding. if only she'd just thrown away her pride and apologized the next day. if only she could be there to help both herself and him. if only.

if one thing had been different then, would everything be different today?

to cope and stop the tears, she made an effort the slide the other side of table and take jace's last bottle of soju since she was out of her own.

at first, he wanted to persist and yell in a very bestie way, but noticing the tension kept him from doing so. he just ordered another batch of drinks.

chia drank, and drank, and drank until that unsettling feeling of wanting to break down into tears, while the very memory causing it was next to her, went away.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

( ❑❑❑ )