"Ari!" Chaewon yelled, chasing after her. "You can't wear hoodies to a party!"
"Why not!" Ari yelled back. "It's just a party"
"It's a party," Chaewon said, grabbing Ari's arm. "You need to wear something sexy"
"For what?! I don't intend to seduce boys, they're boring."
"Stop complaining and asking so many questions, you douchebag," Chaewon said. "Put on this dress!"
"NO!"
"Seriously, you both look like mother and daughter fighting over a dress," Sarang remarked with her chin in her palms, occasionally throwing candies in her mouth.
"I have a strong urge to record this," Park Hyejin said. "And post it on our school's website"
"Shut up, you two," Chaewon said, panting from chasing the younger girl. "ARI!"
***
"Is this the place?" Hyejin asked as they got out of the car.
They were standing in front of an old building. It was decorated with neon string lights in front of which the four girls looked like pink-and-blue aliens.
Loud hip-hop music played from inside, almost too loud. The air had cool moisture mixed with the smell of alcohol and smoke.
"This is your choice, Sarang?" Ari asked. She wore a short, red dress with a back cut exposing most of her skin. She had black heels on, which made her look even taller than the rest. Her short, black hair swayed along with the wind.
"This is where we are invited," Sarang said. "We do not complain about our hosts or their house, ladies"
"This is a haunted house," Chaewon stated. "I'm guessing our hosts are the ghosts"
"Who invited us, anyway?" Ari asked as the girls walked toward the creepy building.
"Some really handsome men," Sarang said nonchalantly. "You're gonna love them"
"I hate men"
Sarang knocked on the old, rusty door. The knock faded under the loud hip-hop music playing inside. Sarang knocked again and this time, the door opened, revealing a boy about their age.
He had several piercings on his ear that were shadowed by his silver-blonde hair. He had fox-like eyes that stared deeply at the four girls.
"Welcome," the boy said, smiling, which Ari swore was the cutest she had seen.
"Lower the volume of your music, Sunoo," Sarang said as they walked in. "We had to knock, like, ten times for you to finally open."
"Shut up, it was only two," the fox-eyed boy said, leading them inside the house which was now blasting with electronic music mixed with R&B.
"Enjoy yourselves, ladies," Sunoo said, pointing at the hall.
The room was filled with dancing couples with glasses of wine in their hands. Some were making out on the couches while some simply sat in corners.
Ari decided she would be the latter in a few minutes.
Chaewon and Sarang scurried away almost immediately when they saw the drinks section giving away red wine. The other two knew they would get wasted before you could say 'Don't go.'
"Get ready to clean their pukes tonight," Hyejin said shaking her head in denial.
"Please, I don't want to do it again," Ari added dreadfully. "We just cleaned up after them last week when they sneaked out to a party"
Hyejin sighed. They had been living in the same dorm for as long as they'd been at the university. Which also included them complaining about each other's mess and stealing food at 3 am.
Ari and Hyejin spotted a small enclosure with arcade games.
"Say what, now?" Hyejin said as they went toward it. The sound of winning points and clicks echoed inside the space.
"These days clubs have games," Ari noted. "Amazing. We don't have to interact with humans now"
Hyejin shook her head deliberately. Ari's introverted ass was too much to handle, even by the four of them.
Ari saw a computer displaying one of her favorite games and immediately rushed toward it, leaving Hyejin behind. She excitedly pulled out one of the chairs and sat down, just to be interrupted by someone.
"That's my computer you are stealing," a male voice said.
Ari turned her body to see the owner of the voice and was awestruck; the boy had a considerable number of huge necklaces hung around his neck, which also looked like a useful caning material. He had a lot of tattoos on his neck and arms and his messy, ebony hair matched his black outfit and his huge black eyes.
"What did you say?" Ari asked, feeling more protective of the computer.
"That. Is. My. Computer," Mr. Big Eyes said, pointing at the screen. "So move away"
Ari started feeling just as stubborn as the boy in front of her. She came here first, so she was going to claim it.
"No," Ari said. "I'm not moving"
Big Eyes looked stunned at Ari's rejection. He crossed his arms across his chest and stared at Ari with unavoidable eyes.
"Excuse me, lady, that is mine," He said. "I paid like, ten grand for it"
"Whoa stop there, you two," Ari was interrupted by Hyejin, who had gone to get some drinks for her and Ari. The boy in black simply rolled his eyes at her.
"And who is this handsome, young man supposed to be?" Hyejin asked, receiving a death glare from Ari.
"None of your business, ugly," the boy snapped. Ari instantly knew this boy would receive a kick in the place that mattered. Calling one of her best friends ugly was not something she could handle too well.
"Watch your tongue, asshole." Ari got up and clutched at his collar. The boy rolled his eyes again as if getting threats from girls was an everyday business.
"Or what, honey?" He asked, smirking down at Ari. Ari could swear her stomach did a somersault, but she let it slide and focused on the task at hand.
"Or," Ari said, deadly calm. That seemed to get the boy's attention. "You will regret saying what you said because you won't have any kids to talk about it"
Ari aggressively let go of his collar. He stumbled on the computer table.
"Name's Heeseung," the boy said, glaring at Ari. "I see you've got some nerve to threaten me"
"Yeah, I hope I don't stumble across you to give you another death threat," Ari articulated, crossing her arms.
"I think we should go," Hyejin said, with her voice full of anxiety and concern.
"We should definitely go," Ari said. "I don't think I could survive another minute in the same room with this person"
Heeseung advanced at Ari as if he was going feral. "Now, now, pretty face," Heeseung said, smirking down at Ari. "You should be the one watching your tongue right now."
Hyejin pulled Ari's arms and suggested that they leave. Ari didn't argue, but we must understand that Heeseung doesn't like being ignored, especially by Pretty Face and girls alike.
He grabbed Ari's arm and Hyejin's hold on her slipped abruptly.
"You really are something," Heeseung glared down at her. "Messing with me? Do you know who I am?"
"No," Ari said shortly. "But I do know that you are an insecure schmuck who plays with girls just because he's bored"
"As much as that is true, you're going to regret letting that come out of your pretty lips"
"At the end of the day, I regret almost everything that comes out of my pretty lips. But where's the fun if you don't risk it?"
You could see Heesung's ears flaring up. It was obvious he wasn't used to girls answering back at him. They mostly wanted to run away from him or date him. But this girl wasn't on either of the extremes. Which bothered Heeseung.
"Congratulations, Pretty Face," Heeseung said, smiling down at Ari, which suggested she was spared or in big trouble. "You've officially entered my to-ruin list"
Yep. Big trouble was it.