Attraction | Ateez

Chapter 16: Sting

Seonghwa smiled as he passed a nurse who was guiding a patient down the hallway, pushing the medicine cart in front of him. He had just finished his medicine rounds and was on his way back down to the dispensary room to drop off the medicine. He sighed as he passed by the numerous rooms and nurses who were on duty that day. 

He hadn't been getting enough sleep, only about three to four hours per day. He couldn't sleep. He was always thinking about Hyejin. He knew that Mingi and the police were searching day and night for San and Hyejin, but time was ticking and he had no idea if she was still alive.

"Seonghwa." A voice said. He turned around to find Yeosang, Wooyoung, and Jongho. 

"Hey," he said. 

"What time do you get off your shift?" Jongho asked. 

Seonghwa looked down at his watch. 1:13 p.m. "In about two hours."

"Well Jongho and I get off at four and Yeosang gets off at five." Wooyoung's voice dropped to almost a whisper. "We were wondering if you wanted to go to the bar with us after work since its Friday."

Seonghwa bit the inside of his cheek. "What time?"

"Eight maybe?" Yeosang said, looking around at the others for approval. Everyone nodded. Wooyoung was smirking with his hands behind his back, rocking forward on his toes. Jongho ran his slender fingers through his dark brown hair. 

Seonghwa thought about it for a moment. Maybe it will clear my mind. Just one or two drinks, that's all.

"Just a couple drinks. Have a little fun, you know?" Jongho said, mirroring his thoughts. Seonghwa sighed.

"Yeah, I guess." Wooyoung smiled and patted Seonghwa on the back. "I'll text you when we get there."

"Where is it?" Seonghwa asked. Wooyoung looked at Yeosang.

"Let's go to Seendosi." Seonghwa nodded and waved, turning around and heading back down the hallway.

Later that evening, Seonghwa was searching through his drawers, trying to find something to wear. He almost never went to bars and when he did, it was always to go pick up a drunk friend of his that asked for a ride with slurred speech. 

Seonghwa's phone chimed.

We're here it read. The message was from Wooyoung. Seonghwa tossed his phone down on his bed and walked to his closet. After a few minutes of just staring at the clothes, he sifted through the numerous shirts that hung in the closet.

He finally settled on black skinny jeans with holes in the knees and an off-white dress shirt that he tucked in the front, but not the back. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, unbuttoning the cuffs of the shirt so that he had more of a casual look. He slipped on a pair of black converse and threw on a black jacket and fake round glasses with a black frame that was only for looks. Satisfied with his outfit, he grabbed his phone and his keys and headed out the door. 

When he arrived at the bar, a woman, probably a year or two younger than Seonghwa leaned against the brick wall of the building smoking a cigarette. She wore a short black skirt with a black long-sleeved crop top and a matching black choker. She wore dark makeup around her eyes and bright red lipstick that complemented her dark eyes and long black hair that was tied loosely at either side of her shoulders. Seonghwa gave her a small smile and walked to the doorway. She looked him up and down, taking a puff of her cigarette.

"Is this the entrance to the bar?" He asked. 

She nodded and stood up straight. "Yeah, just go up the stairs. Keep going up until you see a sign on the door that says Seendosi." She pointed up. Seonghwa smiled and bowed lightly. "Thank you," he said.