nyctophilia | j.jk ✔️

0|1|Behind Closed Minds

0|1|Behind Closed Minds

A clink of a glass.

A bark of laughter.

The sound of someone vomitting.

The howls of the group of boys in the corner of the room.

And my disgusted look at it all.

"Do we have to be here?" I asked my best friend, who had just taken her third shot of the night. She giggled at me, already quite drunk. She swayed, about to fall, when I quickly grabbed her. "Woah, woah, woah. Park Ji-soo, if you take another drink, I will punch you in the face and drag you home even if you put up a fight."

"Calm down, (y/n)," her voice slurred towards the end, as she tried to get out of my hands. I winced when she slipped and fell down. I bent down, and grabbed her by the shoulders, making her stand up.

The disco lights in the bar made my head ache and the smell of alcohol made me nauseous. I firmly took a hold of her and stirred her out of the bar and into the open night.

"What are weeee doing out heeerrree?" She asked, puffing her cheeks. "Go back in, I need to get fully drunk!"

"Aren't you already?" I snapped at her, as I opened her car's door. I made her sit shotgun and tied the seat belt so she wouldn't fall off while I clamber into the driver's seat. I started the car and drove off to our shared apartment.

"(Y/n)!" She wailed beside me. "Why don't you drink?"

"Because it's momentary pain relief," I said crisply. "I prefer music over that horrible hangover."

"Heyy," her voice quietened down.

"Hm?"

"I, I need to talk to you, (y/n)," she said, her voice slurring towards the end, tone getting sleepy. "Imp..ortant.... thing."

With that, she fell asleep before I could reply. My eyes softened with worry as I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes.

Ji-soo was a sweet girl, and my best friend since childhood. We stuck together through first kisses, heartbreaks, boyfriends, elementary school, middle school, high school, college and even jobs. Now at 26 and 27, we were both sharing an apartment, and working our asses off to be able to pay our rent bills.

I worked as a teacher in an elementary school and took up two part-time jobs of working at a bakery at weekends and as a tutor for the evenings.

Ji-soo on the other hand... I was not sure. Somewhere along the line, she started a night shift somewhere and no matter how much I insisted, she wouldn't tell me where she worked. I knew she cared for me, so I didn't push it, hoping that she will tell me herself about what is going on.

Whatever this job was, I could tell that Ji-soo wasn't happy doing it. Every weekend, she dragged me to the same bar and drank till I had to drag her home. I was worried for her.

I never drank, because I hated it and also because one of us needs to be sober. I always offered to be the driver and the one to take care of her, because I still remember the things she has done for me.

When we reached our building, I locked the car and put her on my back like a piggyback ride after waking her up a bit. She fell asleep there again, but I didn't complain.

The lift took us to the third floor and I saw the two doors that faced each other on my left and right. I walked to the door to my right, which was our apartment.

The beautiful painting on the polished wood read (l/n) (Y/n) & Park Ji-soo. I opened the door with great difficulty and entered the dark apartment.

I dropped my keys on the hook beside the door and went straight to the bedroom after locking the doors. I dropped Ji-soo on the bed and changed my clothes to my comfortable pajamas. Then I changed her clothes because I couldn't let her go to sleep like that.

I washed up and even cleared off her makeup while she slept like a log. With one last smile, I went to the kitchen where I drank a glass of water before I went off to sleep.

●◐○

I woke up at 7 the next morning, even if it was a Saturday. I went to Ji-soo's room, where she was still fast asleep. I placed the headache pill and glass of water on the table beside her bed and left to go cook breakfast.

I made some pancakes quickly and as I was letting another two cook, I took a glance at the calendar. I didn't have any work so I was hoping to spend tomorrow in peace.

"Shup? Good mornin'," Ji-soo mumbled drowsily as she sank into her seat. "'zanks for ze pill."

"You okay?" I asked as I flipped the pancakes.

"Mm-hm," she replied, laying her head down on the table. "Jus' sleepy."

"Take a nap then," I said to her as I swiftly placed the two pancakes on a plate for me. I slid her plate towards her. "Unless you want to eat up before sleeping again?"

"Yah, I actually want to eat," she grumbled, trying to sit up straight so that she could eat the pancakes. I didn't say anything else but grabbed me some chocolate sauce to pour over the stack of pancakes in my plate.

"There's more if you want," I said as she started eating. She hummed in response and I decided to bring up yesterday because I make bad decisions early Saturday mornings. "Um, yesterday..."

"Oh shit, what did I do?" She asked, straightening upon her seat. "I forgot everything after the second drink and then I remember being in the car but then I... I'm blacking out after that part."

"Yeah," I gulped, trying to take another piece but I felt kinda sick. "You said you wanted to talk to me about something important."

"Oh yeah," she smiled nervously, "maybe after breakfast? I won't sleep then. I really need to talk."

"Sure."

Fifteen minutes later the table was cleared up and our stomachs were filled. We sat across the table, facing each other with a cup of coffee in our hands each.

"It's about my job."

●❦●

Updated/ Published On:
11th May 2020
11/05/2020