Two Worlds Apart

1. Like every other party

She lifted the little shot glass to her mouth and let the soju straight through her mouth and into her system. It was that last shot of alcohol she needed. Now, she was ready to dance all night. Forget her worries and insecurities. Her best friend Seung read her mind, grabbed her wrist and led her from the kitchen to the dancefloor in the living room.

It was a big house. Three floors. And a pool in the backyard, perfect for pool parties. But back then, the pool was closed. Snow was on the ground. The Lunar New Year was a few days before this party. The school semester hadn't begun yet. This party was the last party before the last semester of college, or what Nari called absolute terror and anxiety.

They were all gathered at Tae-Hyung's house. A boy who seems to have woken up in this beautiful world with opportunities, privileges and money, just for him to ruin it for himself by being the dumbest boy Nari had ever encountered. But he was Nari's boyfriend Seok-Jin's best friend, or at least one of them. Keeping track of Jin's life was hard since Nari was hardly in it. Jin's friends were questionable, but Nari paid no attention since her girlfriends weren't the greatest either. The couple were both a part of the big friend group of all the popular students on campus.

Nari had often wondered how Tae would've ended up if he weren't as rich as he was, and he actually tried to do something with his life. Like herself, if she wasn't pretty or had rich parents, who knows how high school and college would have treated her?

But that's the thing about High School or society in general. Nobody actually gives a fuck about you. Even if you're rich, pretty, or admired in some other way, you might feel like you have some value to different people, but in reality, it's just the same fucking shallow world, and people only care about themselves.

Nari wouldn't be the one to complain, though. And why should she? After all, this system gave her all the power she could want, so why would she be the one to break out?

The dancefloor was crowded. It was filled with people from school, some of Tae's older brothers, and their friends. There were no bartenders, but the kitchen had every bottle of liquor you could ask for. It was the usual DJ that came to every party. He always wore a mask and sunglasses. If you weren't dancing in the living room, you would be outside smoking, grouping up inside one of the many bedrooms or in the kitchen, filling yourself with poison.

"Fuck, I'm starting to feel it, " Seung yelled to Nari as the loud music made yelling necessary.

"I knowwww, me too. I haven't eaten anything today to feel something tonight." Nari yelled back.

"OMG, me too!" The girls laughed and danced to their favourite songs.

Nari knew it was wrong, but it wasn't uncommon among her girlfriends to starve themselves. Whether it was to get drunk quickly or just to maintain their slim figure, it was unhealthy, but if Nari gained her old weight back, it would end up in social suicide.

When Nari was younger, she was a much bigger size, and that is something she would never want to be again. So, starving herself for days now and then was partly just a part of Nari's routine.

Being drunk and dancing to way too loud music was Nari's happy place. She could finally escape her reality, zone out, and let her body move. Nari often closed her eyes and dreamt she was somewhere else. Whenever she looked at the DJ, she felt envious. Imagine hiding your identity while doing what you do best. Sometimes, Nari fantasised about going to a club alone to dance the night away with none of her friends around her—just her and her thoughts. Of course, she could never do that. She would be raped before she would have her first drink.

"Hey Nari, where is Jin?" Seung asked her.

Nari's bubble popped, and she opened her eyes again. She looked around. She hadn't seen him since they got there. "I'm just going to do a round." It felt like a chore.

Seung nodded, and Nari pushed herself out of the crowd and quickly looked out the window to see if Jin was outside. He wasn't.

She went upstairs and saw Tae lying like a starfish down one of the halls. "Hey Tae, have you seen Jin?"

"No.." Tae was utterly wasted, but that was not Nari's problem. She went through several doors, but Jin was nowhere in sight.

Nari went up several stairs again and found Jin. He was on a couch in what looked like some lounge area, but he wasn't alone. He was with Sana. She sat on his lap while her hand ran through his black hair.

Nari turned around again and quickly went down the stairs. Luckily, they didn't see her, and she could avoid the confrontation. Not now, not tonight, she thought to herself as she rushed down the stairs while trying not to cry. She stumbled a bit as she reached the ground floor. The only thing she could think of was the kitchen. She needed to not feel anything anymore, just for a little bit.

She took the most significant bottle and cup she could find. She was about to ingest the drink that would send her body into a coma, but she moved before turning her head and walked right into someone and spilt all of her drink on them.

"OMG, I'm so sorry." It was a guy wearing a white T-shirt and a black zip hoodie. "Here, follow me," Nari said while grabbing his hand and pulling him into one of the bathrooms. She looked back at him when she opened the door to the bathroom. It was the DJ.