She breathed out through her pliant wet lips, her chest tight as sweat began to form above her palms and forehead. Seren stayed close beside Jin and Rina, following their every move with no desire to be left alone in the club. Rina held her arm, keeping Seren close to her as they forced themselves through crowds of people to get to the bar.
"How are you feeling?" Rina asked over the music, placing herself closer to Seren to hear her response.
Seren raised her eyebrows, fracturing a stilted smile. "I'm okay." She pulled her dress up, wanting to keep her chest covered.
"Okay, if you wanna leave at any point, just tell us." Rina comforted her, patting her shoulder.
Seren promised herself that she would stay for as long as Jin wanted to. He seemed to be the most ecstatic about their outing, finally getting out of work to do something entertaining for once. She didn't want to have to rain on his sunshine by telling him that she wanted to go home. But, she was aware that he would be okay with it, understanding her feelings.
"Here, I'll order us shots." Jin advised, heading over to the barkeep.
Seren sighed, sitting on a vacant stool with Rina that joined her.
Her phone buzzed, calling for her attention.
Hoseok
Well, I'll be sleeping. Goodnight, Seren.
Have fun, and please be safe. Stick with your group. :)
She grinned, her dulled expression transformed to buoyancy to see his thoughtful message. Her serrated anxiety disappeared when his name appeared on her screen, and she felt relieved, truly believing that she could have fun with her friends.
Seren
Thank you, Hoseok.
Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.
Have a nice rest <3
"Is that Hoseok?" Rina asked, propping her elbow above the bar, an impish grin pulling at the corners of her cherry lips.
Seren looked up from her phone, nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah! He just messaged me, telling me to have fun and to just be safe." She put her phone away, wanting to give Rina her full attention.
"So? That means it's going great, right?" Rina asked, her fingers tugging at the silver horseshoe in her nose.
"It is," she cheerfully revealed. "We went on our third date a few days ago, and it ended on a good note."
Unless it was misconstrued, though, Hoseok was the one that asked for a kiss before she had left.
The image of them holding hands flashed in her brain, and her body became warm. Such a heavenly sensation ruptured in her when that precious moment replayed in her head, she thought about it often, and she never got tired of that feeling.
Rina smiled, her white teeth flashing themselves at her. "That's great news, Seren. I'm happy for you."
"Ladies, I got us the drinks." Jin was back, holding four shots in his hands.
He handed two to the girls, holding another pair in his hands.
"Wait, you got four?" Seren asked with a frown, her eyebrows elevated. "There's only three of us."
"Yeah, I got two for me." Jin stated, drinking one shot with no reaction or recoil to his features.
Seren glanced at Rina – who was already finished with her one shot. She decided to drink it, no longer wanting to idle by and be the one to hold them back.
She typically kept count of the number of drinks she'd have, especially with shots. They went through her like water when she kept drinking, feeling a sudden wave of reality smash her head when the drinks caught up with her.
Jin inhaled through his grit teeth, staring at the empty shot glass. "Wow, that was good. Normally I sneak in a shot or two at work, but its great when I can do it carelessly." He placed the cups down on the counter, licking his lips.
The three decided to have a few more before making the decision to go dancing, Seren sticking herself to Rina and Seokjin like glue, not wanting to lose sight of them.
Although she was initially dubious to go to a club, once the alcohol settled and the dancing loosened her taut behavior, it reminded her of why she used to party so much a couple of years back. It was always her way of removing herself from stressful times, whether it was caused by her family or school. Her issues always seemed to be incessant, and her solution was to go out and have fun.
It wasn't a healthy solution, which was part of the reason why she stopped.
At that moment, Seren felt like her same reckless self, the one that saw nothing wrong with her behavior. The one that acted that way to seek the attention she so desperately wanted from her parents – her mother.
That realization made her a bit dizzy, her nebulous mind having too many intricate thoughts for a night out in a club.
She felt hands clasp against her hips, feeling something hard poke at her back, making her body shiver.
Her body was mollified when she guessed that it was Rina wanting to dance with her.
"Rina, I think I'm gonna use the bathroom." Seren expressed, placing her hands above Rina's.
However, she became frozen in place when she felt the hands that were above hers were rough, and much larger than she anticipated.
She quickly turned around, ripping herself from the hold when she saw an older male keeping her body close to his.
Maybe it was the liquor or the fact that she was unaware of how long he had been behind her, but the urge to vomit was sitting right in her throat.
"Seren, are you okay?" A hand clasped over her shoulder, causing her to turn her back to the man.
Her eyes scoured the face in front of her, facilitated when she saw Rina. "Y-yeah. Rina, I thought you were behind me." Seren muttered to her, holding onto her hand.
"What do you mean?" Rina asked, frowning. "I've been in front of you this entire time."
Seren had been lost in a trance, a trance that her loud thoughts put her in — losing all senses and people around her. She was solely concentrated on the ruminations in her head.
"Some guy was behind me, he grabbed me and I felt-" Seren shut her eyes in abhorrence, shaking her head. "He was right over there." She turned over, the man already gone.
"You felt... what?" Rina asked, concerned for her friend's well-being.
"I need to use the bathroom." Seren suddenly urged, holding her wrist close to her chest.
Rina grabbed her hands, separating her from her scratching. "Okay, okay. We'll go now, I'll tell Jin."
Seren stayed quiet, squeezing onto Rina's hand, watching her squeeze Jin's broad shoulder and whisper something in his ear. Jin's inquisitive brown eyes scurried to Seren, then he nodded, a miniature smile clinging to his pretty lips.
"Alright, let's go." Rina softly tugged her forward, heading for their destination.
She allowed Rina to take the lead, staying beside her as they fought their way to the women's restroom.
Repulsion overtook Seren, chewing her lower lip as she tried to remove herself from the static sensations that the man brought upon her body. Seren never forgot that, the emotions that came with being touched and held in a way she didn't want or didn't ask for by somebody she didn't even know.
It brought back the repugnance she thought she buried long ago, the humiliation and chagrin that elicited from her contorting stomach and burning cheeks. It hadn't happened in years, but when it did, it was easy to detect what those sentiments were.
She winced, grimacing.
Now she remembered exactly why she stopped.
Why she held herself back from being the expected twenty-four-year-old, partying every day, then studying the next morning. It was a lifestyle she wanted nothing to do with.
"Here, there's an empty stall." Rina noted, opening the door for her.
Seren nodded, releasing her hand. "Thank you. You'll stay here, right?"
"Yes, I'll stay in front of your stall," Rina said in a soft voice, closing the stall for her. "Just take your time."
Seren didn't really have to use the bathroom, she just wanted a moment to herself. To collect her emotions and thoughts before she got back out there.
She heard the door squeak open.
"Um, this is the ladies room." Rina advised, her tone thick with contempt.
"Oh, my bad." The deep grating voice gave Seren chills that devoured at her skin.
There was a moment of silence, the door never shutting to let her know the man left.
"Okay, so leave?" Rina fearlessly spoke up, her heel tapping against the tiles in utter impatience. "The fuck are you still doing looking around?"
"Sorry, I was just looking for someone." The man apologized, the door squeaking as he finally decided to leave.
"Fuckin' creep." Rina effused, hoping the man was still able to hear her through the door.
Seren kicked the toilet lever, making the water flush.
She unlocked the stall. "Who was that?" She asked, squeezing her way through the stall to wash her hands.
"Some fucking weirdo," Rina muttered, shadowing behind her. "It was some older guy, pretending he didn't know this was the girls restroom, even though it fucking says it on the sign outside."
Seren winced, pushing on the soap dispenser to wash her hands beneath the lukewarm water.
Something told her that the man who happened to accidentally walk in was the same man that had snuck up behind her. She felt nauseated thinking about it again, the ambiance in the cold murky bathroom becoming stuffy, her lungs not supplied with enough oxygen for her to take deep, full breaths.
She ripped paper towels out from the case on the wall, patting them against her warm forehead.
"Can we just go?" She spoke in a hoarse whisper. "I have a really bad feeling."
Rina dropped her folded arms from her chest, her lips lined. "Y-yeah. Let's get going."
Seren kept her eyes searching in every corner, watching for the man that she encountered while dancing, curious if he truly was the same man that walked into the restroom. Her eyes prodded the shadows in the hallway, seeing nothing.
Her breathing was unsteady, walking through the club with a clouded mind, trying to eliminate the haze and wave of confusion that the liquor created. Just as she was going to drop her paranoid search, her heart went frantic. Her eyes made unexpected contact with the man she had been searching for, keeping himself disguised in the wave of people near him.
What a strange coincidence that his eyes also happened to be set on hers, his left eyebrow rose in curiosity as he watched her leave.
Seren looked away, moving herself to the left side of Rina – trying to stay hidden from him. To keep her eyes away from him.
Something about him called her attention, and she couldn't help but wonder why.
Did she know him? Or was she just freaked out by the presence he brought, and the memories his actions elicited?
'Or maybe he's the man that stands outside my window... watching me.' Seren mused, her heart throbbing erratically.
She looked back around, seeing the man had already disappeared.
Seren exhaled, her head throbbing with all the theories racing through her.
As she turned her head back forward, her throat let out a puff of air as her body collided with something stern.
"Oh, are you okay, Seren?!" Jin's voice laced with concern, placing his hands on both her shoulders to study her figure.
"No, I'm okay," Seren waved her hands, rapidly blinking. "Just caught off guard."
Rina's brunette eyes softened at Seren's words, slightly worried for her. "Let's get going, maybe we can finish this hangout at one of our houses." She proposed, looking at each of them for their opinions.
Jin looked over at Rina, his forehead frowned, concerned. "Okay. Yeah, let's do that. I was getting tired of their music anyway." Jin placed his hand above Seren's shoulder, offering her the solace it seemed she needed.
Which she did.
Seren's mind was running wildly out of control that night.
She couldn't help but think about what would have occurred if Rina wasn't with her, in the restroom.
If the man had walked in and seen that she was all alone in the stall.
Seren shook her head, shaking off the thoughts that threatened to monopolize her again.
☾