"Fake a smile,
So no one else could recognize
The broken heart that's under my skin."
-
"I don't think I'll be going tonight. Too much for me to take," Sana huffed as she laid flat on her bed, burying her face into the pillows.
"Don't mess with me now. What's the reason for your decision of not going to the party you personally got invited to?" Dongsoo snapped, emphasizing the word 'personally' as her gaze left her phone and travelled towards Sana, who was currently having a dramatic mental breakdown.
"Don't be like that! I don't have anything good to wear, okay? And I don't want to walk in a huge place filled with so many people looking like a complete mess," Sana spoke, her words turning into a mumbling mess by the end of her speech, which was muffled by the sheets.
"God! You'll look anything but a mess. Why are you being so ungrateful? Oh– wait," She paused, eyeing Sana skeptically, giving her a once over, "You've never been ungrateful. Then why are you being so picky right now? You have your closet full of everything, to be honest," She paused once again, tapping her chin and eyes narrowed into a thoughtful look. "Are you, perhaps, nervous because of someone in particular?" Her once once serious expression morphed into a teasing, amused one and she wiggled her eyebrows to irk the girl in front of her purposely.
"Stop already! You're being so lame right now, really," Sana threw the pillow laying beside her towards the other girl who was still laughing her ass off, tossing and turning in the bed. "I'm not nervous because of anyone, it's just that a large number of well-known people will be there and I don't want to embarrass myself."
"Oh. Don't worry, you won't embarrass yourself. Plus, Park Jimin would be there too, so it'll be alright."
Sana was quiet for a while before she spoke again, "Exactly, he'll be there." Dongsoo took a moment to analyze the words, and when it finally hit her, she squealed in joy and victory, reminding Sana of how stupid she was to say that in the first place. And she was already regretting letting those words out of her mouth. She sighed indignantly.
"See? I told you. You're nervous because of him. Girl I'm telling you, you're liking that man."
"Shut up."
"You're acting like a twelve year old girl who's afraid of her crush. Get your man bae," She winked, and Sana groaned in dismay.
"Are you emphasizing that I'm too old to do that now?"
"So you do have a crush on him," She nodded to herself and her face beamed with joy, mischief, content with the epiphany of the moment. "Oh dear, I'm so proud of you," And then she wiped her non existing tears, sniffling dramatically. It was always like this. Dongsoo would always make a huge deal out of nothing. Not that stuff like this would be that irrelevant, but it was for Sana.
"Get out. I call disowning you."
Dongsoo barked a laugh back in response and patted her back, only for Sana to swat her hand away, to which she laughed again, "Come on now, no time for sulking, or disowning, you can do that later. But let's get ready, you don't have all day."
Sana let a sound of protest past her lips but eventually got up, the comfort of the warm sheets seeming irresistible.
"And for your information, I'm not wearing anything fancy. It'll look really showy. I'm just gonna wear something decent and casual."
"Yeah yeah. Just wear anything. You'll even look good in a trash bag," She snorted and laughed at her own self, sitting straight once she noticed Sana's piercing gaze directed towards her. "Just saying, y'know? It isn't that bad of an idea, trash bags also need some appreciation," she spoke with her face completely serious, yet the mischievous hint in her eyes and the quirk of the corner of her lips gave away, suiting much more with her words.
Sana hit the back of her head, albeit harshly, then stood up and went towards her closet, still confused with what to wear. Her closet was full of dresses, courtesy of her doing nothing in her free time rather than purchasing dresses online, even the ones she knew she would never need to wear. But who cares? She just needed to get the feel of it.
'Who am I trying to impress anyway?'
-
Finally content with her appearance, she smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She nodded to herself, appreciating the effort her best friend had made for her to be finally satisfied with how she looked. She stood in front of the huge mirror in her room, which was gifted to her by herself. Yeah, that was a part of 'forget the past, move on, make yourself happy' plan.
Sana was wearing a white dress that reached her knees. A red belt was tied around the waistband, showing off her tiny waist and slim figure. The dress was sleeveless but boat necked, embroidered with red rose-patterns on the front, while the back was plain white, with a zipper along the length of her back, halting at the base of her spine. It was flawless, as put in by Dongsoo. After a lot of convincing and begging with 'I swear I won't ask for anything else'–which Sana knew was a big fat lie–, Dongsoo managed to convince her to let her hair down.
She applied light makeup, using the lightest shades of eyeshadows in her favorite makeup palette, a nice, satisfactory eyeliner which highlighted her big eyes more, a cutesy pink lipstick, which was her all time favorite and of course, highlighter for that glow. Couldn't miss it.
Highlighter makes everything seem happier. Trust me.
Dongsoo gave her an approving nod, checking out her dress once again to make sure every detail was perfect. Her red wedges looked pleasingly matching with her dress, making her look almost unreal.
"Stop it Dongsoo! You're acting like I'm going on a date, Gosh!" She placed her hands on her best friend's shoulders to stop her from circling around again and again, as if jerking her back to reality.
Dongsoo chuckled, "Well, basically you are. I mean not directly, but he invited you, and wants you to be there. So, it's a date," She shrugged and removed Sana's hands from her shoulders, observing her all over once again.
Sana rolled her eyes and a sound of disapproval left her lips. "How is that a date? You're seriously out of your mind. It's a business party," She mumbled indignantly, to which Dongsoo shrugged once again.
"Shrug once again and I won't be treating you for a whole week," Sana deadpanned.
Just as Dongsoo was about to break into a string of complaints and whining unceasingly, a vibration on Sana's phone stopped her, showing a message on the lockscreen. Just by a single glance at it, Sana's heart sped up quickly. She looked at her friend, who came over to see what it was , perhaps a bit too excitedly for someone who wasn't even going in the first place.
'Best friends are best friends, after all.'
Message from CEO Park.
'I'm looking forward to seeing you. I'll meet you in an hour in front of your building.'
-Park Jimin.
'What?'
"Oh my god Sana! He's coming to pick you up himself! This is perfect, I'm happy for you, my daughter," Dongsoo squealed with excitement, and the girl beside her groaned for the nth time, her statement causing Sana to hit her on her head lightly, but enough to get a pained sound and a look of annoyance from her.
Sana then stood stiff at her spot, reading the message over and over again to make sure. Well, yeah. She had to make sure. Park Jimin certainly did not seem like the person who'd pull pranks and jokes on her, but she still grew agitated.
Then suddenly, another wave of nostalgic memories and thoughts hit her, like a tidal wave with so much force and power, the one that destroys everything in it's path. So she flinched and the sudden rush of blood to her head caused her to get dizzy for a split second before she contained herself and stood straight.
'This isn't just it. Why is he doing all of this? What is the purpose of this?'
"Sana! Why are always in your imaginary land. I swear- Wait," Dongsoo–who was on the other side of the room searching for a matching clutch to go with the dress–stopped and looked at her before walking towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her other hand turned Sana's face towards her, whose eyes refused to look up from the ground. Seeing her mood go down in seconds worried her, she knew she had to talk to her to make her feel better.
"Oh honey, what's wrong?"
Sana looked at the concerned face of her best friend and a pang of guilt hit her, for always being the one causing worry to the girl in front of her, for always being on the receiving end. Dongsoo was usually a very loud and carefree person, but she could be the most sensible and understanding when it came to Sana, she knew exactly what to do.
Dongsoo noticed the hesitation in her eyes and squeezed her shoulder gently, encouraging her to talk about it. Sana shook her head, a sad, pitiful smile on her face, soon turning into a frown.
"I-just.. I can't help but be skeptical about it. I can't help but question it okay? It's not normal to such an important CEO to make such efforts for a girl like me, for a girl that knows nothing. Dongsoo, am I overreacting?" She spoke, to which the other girl only shook her head, with a knowing look on her face.
"I know what you're thinking, and I won't stop you from being sensitive about this, because it's only you. You're the one who'll be making decisions." She moved her hand up and down her arm in a soothing way, her eyes heavy with worry and concern. She sighed before continuing, "but that's like a distant memory now. Maybe this is a new start for you. God is giving you a better chance." Soon enough, she pulled Sana towards her and wrapped her arms around her, engulfing her in a tight, meaningful hug.
"I don't even know why I'm reacting so much over this. It's just a business deal right? Then why do I feel this way? I don't want to feel this way."
"Hey, look at me. You're so much better than this. You won't let a horrible memory from your past ruin your present, right?" Sana nodded slowly, sniffling a bit.
Dongsoo smiled at her response and let her fingers run through her hair. "Baby, it's okay to feel this way sometimes. You are constantly trying to busy yourself with everything, that you've forgotten that also need a break. It's okay to cry, it's okay to let out everything once in a while, it's okay to just let everything be. But it's not okay to push away the good things in life. It's not my place to tell you to let the walls around your heart down, but I'll surely tell you to stop being hard on yourself, to stop being skeptical about everyone, maybe they have good intentions, yeah? Don't push yourself though, try to be natural around him, but if you sense anything wrong in his intentions, don't think twice before punching his perfect face, okay?"
Sana laughed and nodded at her words. She adored her. Dongsoo always knew the right words to come up with. She would always help her in sorting herself out. And her small talk at that moment enticed something new, passionate in Sana. She knew it was just for the time being, because after this party was over, they would resume their lives again, forget about each other, and go on. Right? But for now, she won't distant herself.
Maybe, somewhere inside her, a part was afraid because after all, he had been on her mind ever since they met. And just by the thought of him, a blush would creep up her neck and cheeks. Maybe that was what had her scared, but not anymore.
"There is no greater revenge against someone who shattered your heart into pieces, than letting go and opening the door for something good to walk into your life when the time is right," Dongsoo finished with a soft look on her face, smiling sweetly when Sana's frown vanished into thin air and morphed into a determined look.
"Now, quickly fix yourself. He'll be here anytime. Don't do something stupid," She said while chuckling.
Sana only nodded again, fixing her makeup once again. That's when she received another message, telling her that he was already waiting down, making her insides jump with excitement and nervousness, and to be very honest, she had missed this kind adrenaline rushing through her at the thought of someone. She had surely missed this.
'I deserve to be happy.'