I try my best to drink as little as possible, spitting most of my drink back into the frosted glass Loona handed to me.
The next hour feels like an alternate reality, everything about it is so bizarre, if someone told me I'd be sipping drinks with two Sweet Poison members, a TBT superstar and famous rapper months ago I would have laughed in their face.
But here we are, cheering - me constantly trying not to drink anything - with each other, everyone huddling closer on the couch, eager to meet the new comers.
Loona introduces me to the rest and I quickly learn that the two older men in the room are angel investors. They've put big money into PT entertainment and many others.
She tells them that I'm a budding Kpop idol, soon to debut under Firefly. I appreciate her optimism and resist pointing out that my position as an idol hasn't even been finalised yet.
"You know I'll be there for your showcase right?" She leans in, her breath smelling like vodka and cranberry juice.
I nod furtively. "Yes, management told me."
Loona cackles suddenly making me jump in my skin. She can be so unpredictable. "Apparently our photos together at the Blue Diamond got leaked and now everyone thinks we're besties. What a coincidence, don't you think?"
She eyes me in a telling manner, making it known that she knows I leaked those pictures. Well maybe not me directly but she definitely knows.
"Are you two close?" One of the investors who was introduced as Mr Ha Joon sidles up to me, our knees now touching.
I shift my legs, feeling uncomfortable but he doesn't seem to mind, the glass in his hand almost empty. I wonder how many of those he's had already.
Hyeon seems to notice this and I watch him join us on the couch, his fingers clutching his thighs tightly as he eyes Mr Ha's legs.
Loon simply flicks her long platinum blonde hair over a bony shoulder. "Everyone wants to be close to you when you're famous but the truth is I only have a handful of people I truly consider friends and family."
At hearing this Jungseok looks up from his phone, meeting my eyes for an interminable second.
"Jina here is a baby, barely out of her diapers. I consider her a lost lamb I stumbled upon, in need of guidance and the fame our association offers." Her face is taut as she looks down at me with such condescension, it makes my ears burn.
"In need of guidance, you say?" Mr Ha Joon purrs, leaning so close I can feel his breath tickle my neck. Hyeon looks like he's about to murder him. "It would be crime not to offer such a pretty young thing some help."
My stomach is roiling, acid crawling up my throat and I hope the disgust I feel isn't evident on my face.
I look at Loona and notice her beaming at our interaction.
"I'm a friend of Dalia's not Loona." I answer the first thing that comes to mind and only then do I realise how childish it sounds but Loona's face pinches like I just threw acid on her.
The investor who had been looking down the neck of my dress leans back, a slight frown marring his face. I notice Maria and Taejun have moved to the end of the sofa, both leaning in and listening to our interaction.
Jungseok appears to be listening as well but he seems more interested in Hyeon. I notice him studying my partner in crime subtly and pray to God that he hasn't recognised him from the bar we followed him to.
"Such a waste of talent," The other investor next to Mr Ha speaks for the first time since we got here but the way he stretches the word 'talent' is off, like he is implying something else. "Do Yun really lucked out."
Loona glares at the very drunk investor who has continued to ramble something incorrigible but Hyeon and I immediately catch each other's eye. Do Yun, as in Park Do Yun? The handsome chaebol running for city council? The one in the pictures with Dalia?
"Yes, such a waste," Mr Ha says pensively but then he places a hand on my thigh, the entitlement on his face is startling, like I've been brought here just for him. "But my dear Jina, you can always make new friends. And in this industry, trust me when I say you're going to need it."
I stiffen, my eyes widening and Hyeon gets up from his seat, hands bunched into fists by his sides and I can already tell that things are about to get messy but Loona suddenly intervenes.
She pushes Mr Ha's hand away gently, her voice sickly sweet and cautious. "They obviously don't know how things work yet. Let me do the explaining."
Mr Ha's mouth forms a thin line and he glares at Hyeon before turning to Loona with a look of impatience. "Get rid of that guy while you're at it." He nods at Hyeon who doesn't make any move to back down.
The two investors leave the room after gulping down a drink each and Loona waves for the Dj to leave us as well.
"When Mr Ha touches you, you let him touch you. It's just a bit of harmless flirting, no one's asking you to go to bed with the guy, unless you want to." Loona side eyes Maria, her voice clear now that the music has dimmed. "Those two practically own the entertainment industry. You don't want to mess with them."
I cross my arms over my chest, the skin on my exposed thigh prickly from where he placed his sweaty palm. I take a napkin and wipe over it repeatedly, trying to rub away the memory as well.
"That's not happening. The next time he touches me, he'll find his fingers all over the floor," I reply angrily making Loona laugh.
She turns to Maria. "See, this is what I told you about. The girls so brazen, I've never met a trainee like her. Guys, come closer I want to tell you a funny story."
Hyeon takes a seat hesitantly and I notice Maria, Taejun and Jungseok all scoot impossibly closer. I catch Taejun eyeing me ever so often, his gaze curious like he is trying to figure me out.
"This girl thinks Dalia was murdered," Loona mutters softly and Maria only glances at me, not looking surprised. I'm guessing Loona filled her in on our Blue Diamond episode already. Jungseok eyes me with a new found interest and Taejun pales like someone just told him Dalia's ghost might be sitting next to him.
"What?" It is the first time I am hearing his voice in person. This mega superstar who I've seen on tv multiple times. It feels unreal listening to the soft baritone he is so famous for, let alone sitting with him on the same couch. Everyone turns towards him but his gaze is fixed solely on me, making me feel extremely self conscious.
He's looking at me, eyes huge with disdain, waiting for me to explain but I'm at a loss for words. Do they really expect me to admit that I'm looking into her death?
"Do you have any proof of this?" Maria asks casually like she's talking about the weather. Unlike Loona, her face is a calm beautiful mask I can't decipher.
"We don't know what you're talking about," Hyeon answers for me quickly, most likely afraid that I will slip up.
Loona shakes her head, laughing again. She pours herself a drink and finishes it all in one gulp. The sight reminds me of an article that circulated online a few months ago. I remember she got charged for drunk driving and she nearly hit a paparazzi in the face for following her back to her car that same night.
She really does seem like the most unstable one in the group.
"She's digging for information and we are all suspects, or at least we both are," She nods in Maria's direction and the air in here has become so stifling, I'm finding it harder and harder to breathe.
I need to do something, say something or get the hell out of here. I look to Hyeon but he is focused on Loona's flushed face, cheeks red from all the alcohol she's consumed tonight.
"Well did you?" He asks her. "Do it?"
The room is so silent, only the soft deep house music playing automatically from the dj's console. I am so nervous, I feel like taking a swig of vodka right from the bottle in front of me.
Jungseok turns to him and I see his muscled arms flex as his hands tighten to fists on his lap, the veins on his forearms popping. "Watch yourself."
For a second I wonder if we're both about to be murdered. I can almost see the headlines, 'two guests found dead at club launch. Victims have been identified as Kang Jina, a Kpop trainee and Hyeon something -- a QBS camera man.'
Loona frowns at him. "You sure do act out of line for a manager."
Taejun stands up abruptly, drawing everyones attention to him and I can't express how grateful I am for the interruption.
"I'm going to the restroom," He turns to leave and Loona scoffs, waving a hand to dismiss him.
Taejun shoots me a look before leaving the room and my eyebrows bunch together in confusion. Loona pours herself two shots and gulps down both of them one after the other, making me wonder if she is an alcoholic just as Maria shifts closer.
"So tell me have you found anything. I find it hard to believe she killed herself as well." Her face is so earnest, I wonder if she's telling the truth. "Maybe we could work together. There must be things only us group mates know. Information you might need for your... investigation."
She says it so casually, her eyes so innocent, so disarming that my shoulders slacken even with the alarm bells ringing in my head.
"I'm really not..." I hesitate, unsure of how to get out of this without saying something that might give us away.
"We have to go. Management wants you back now." Hyeon announces, holding out his phone before standing up. He grabs my arm, pulling me towards him and I nearly trip over my heels. He leaves no room for argument, pulling me away from a hungry looking Maria and a slurring Loona. Only Jungseok stares at Hyeon suspiciously but he makes no move to stop us.
Breathing only comes easily once I am out of that suffocating room and I take rapid breaths, trying to calm myself as we head down the dark winding staircase.
"We should find Taejun," I whisper into Hyeon's ear. I feel light headed, my knees wobbly. Hyeon keeps me from tripping by gripping my shoulder tightly.
We head to the restrooms in search for him only to find Taejun leaning by the back exit, waiting for us.
"You're DaliaJunkie909," He says to me when we reach him and Hyeon stiffens, eyes widening in realisation. "You're the one posting all those conspiracy theories about her, aren't you?"
My eyebrows bunch together into a deep frown. I have no idea what he's on about.
"You're Dalia'sdaddy1001? The one who leaked those photos?" Hyeon stops right in front of Taejun, surprise evident on both their faces.
Taejun's nods slowly and his answering grin makes my brain freeze. What in the world is happening? A mega superstar was the one who leaked those Dalia and Park Do Yun photos for Hyeon to find?
"Come on its not safe here. Let's take this conversation elsewhere." Taejun pushes the back door open, leading us to the back alley that reeks of cigarette smoke. He steps through, not waiting for us to reply or follow suit.