Chapter 5
Chaeyoung picked up her cell phone and debated whether or not to call Mina . She glanced at the clock; the girl would probably be awake by now, right?
Chaeyoung listened to the line ring for twenty seconds. Okay, maybe Mina wouldn't be up at one in the afternoon, considering how drunk the girl seemed last night—or was it considered this morning? Chaeyoung was about to hang up when there was a small click and a groggy "Hello?"
A small smile flickered across Chaeyoung's face. "Morning, sunshine. How's your head?"
She chuckled when Mina grumbled, "Shhh, don't talk so loudly. Little men are using my eardrums as percussion instruments."
"Really." Chaeyoung fought to keep the grin off her face. "They're probably friends of the alcohol you drank last night."
Chaeyoung heard Mina hesitate. "Thank you for that. It was pretty irresponsible of me to get so drunk that I lost my car, wasn't it?"
"Just a tad bit."
"Did I do anything to embarrass myself?"
"Not more than the average intoxicated teenager."
A sigh of relief was heard. "Good—"
"Although, you did mention that you purposely lied about forgetting where you parked because you wanted to see me."
Chaeyoung heard Mina groan in embarrassment. "I actually told you? God, I'll never drinking again."
"I don't know, I think I might actually prefer Drunk Mina ."
"As much as I like Chaeyoung, I will not turn into an alcoholic just for her."
"That's too bad. Well, at least now I won't have to turn you in for underage drinking."
"They'd never take me alive."
Chaeyoung laughed. "Quite the little rebel, aren't you? I think the student body would be horrified to discover that their beloved student council president is actually a delinquent."
"I blame Chaeyoung. She's a bad influence, with her motorcycle and her leather jacket and her cute scowl."
"What? How can a scowl be cute?"
"Chaeyoung's scowling would be far more intimidating if she didn't have dimples. And stop frowning, you'll get wrinkles."
Chaeyoung stopped herself mid-frown and settled for raising an eyebrow. "Okay, did you install cameras in my apartment or something?"
She couldn't help smiling at hearing Mina's tinkling laughter. "Eh? is Chaeyoung accusing me of voyeurism? Or maybe she's hoping I installed cameras?"
"None of the above," Chaeyoung shot back.
"Chaeyoung always scowls when she's embarrassed or flustered. I think it's adorable."
"I don't do adorable. I'm a freaking badass," Chaeyoung grumbled. She decided to change topic. "How are your friends?"
"Momo is convinced she has brain damage and Dahyun is incapable of speaking, but other than that they're just peachy. I convinced them that your presence last night was a drunken hallucination and that we actually took a cab to my house. And you may be a badass, but you're still cute. That's why I like you so much."
Chaeyoung felt stupid for smiling so hard, but no one was around so who gave a damn? Show off your pearly whites, kid.
Chaeyoung cleared her throat. "Whatever. I'm not even going to argue with you."
"Because I'm right and you know it." Mina sounded smug.
"Yes, your majesty."
Chaeyoung laughed. "I want to thank your friend for picking us up last night."
"You can tell her in person. She's my plus one to your cocktail party tonight."
There was a short silence before a bemused voice answered, "I invited you to my parents' cocktail party? Oh, I must've been drunker than I thought."
"Why? Do you not want us to come? It's no problem if you don't—"
"No, it's fine," Mina assured. "It's just that my parents are rather…unconventional, and it shows in their parties. I'm just warning Chaeyoung that Myōi cocktail parties get rather exuberant as the night goes on."
"I'll be able to handle it if you don't leave me to fend for myself. Sana will make you her new best friend, though."
"Well, I'm currently not accepting applications for the position, but I'll contact her if there's an opening."
Chaeyoung snickered. "I'll pass along the message. See you tonight."
"Bye, Chaeyoung"
______
Chaeyoung furrowed her brow and looked in the mirror. Her outfit was fine, but there was one thing missing…"Jihyo! Which color tie matches this shirt?"
She scowled when Sana barreled into her room. "Who let you in?"
Sana plopped on Chaeyoung's bed. "Jihyo did. I've been waiting forever. Pick a color or I'll torch all your skinny ties."
Chaeyoung sighed in relief when Jihyo poked her head in. "Purple or white?"
Jihyo scrutinized Chaeyoung carefully. "White. It makes your eyes pop."
"You know what else makes your eyes pop? Asphyxiation…which will happen to you if you don't hurry up."
Chaeyoung fumbled with her tie. "Shut it, Sana. Jihyo,you sure you don't want to come?"
Jihyo shrugged. "Duty calls. I have the night shift again at the restaurant."
Sana placed a hand on Jihyo's shoulder and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'll bring home a runway model for you."
Jihyo snorted. "If you can get one yourself." She looked over the pair before laughing. "It hurts me to say this, but you both clean up rather nicely. Have fun; don't call me if you're drunk because I will notpick you up."
Sana looked at Chaeyoung . "Her loyalty is astounding. Are we going to take my car?"
Chaeyoung grabbed her keys from the hook by the door. "Nah, let's take my bike."
"I want to drive!" Sana scrambled after Chaeyoung.
"Sure, if you can manage to pry the keys from my cold, dead hands."
"And once I do, I'm taking your wallet, too."
"But until then…"
"Yeah, yeah. Keep going, we want to be fashionably late, not shit-we-missed-the-party late."
_____
Sana gaped at her surroundings while Chaeyoung fruitlessly searched the crowd for Mina . The Myōi residence magically transformed from the empty place last night to a gathering of the rich and famous. Waiters ducked in and out of the crowd, holding glasses of champagne.
Sana nudged the distracted Chaeyoung in the ribs. "Are you sure you're a cradle-snatcher and not a gold digger?"
Chaeyoung ignored her friend and surveyed the people in distaste. "I hate crowds. I wonder where Mina is? No one looks under the age of 20 here."
"That girl looks younger than 20. Wow, she's gorgeous." Sana pointed to the entrance of the kitchen. A girl was leaning against the wall with her head turned disinterestedly to the side.
Chaeyoung looked before giving Sana a quizzical glance. "Sana, that's Mina ."
Sana's jaw dropped. "That's Baby Myōi? Holy crap, she's smoking hot."
"Don't I know it," Chaeyoung murmured to herself. Her brow creased in confusion. "Wait, how are you realizing this now? You saw her last night!"
Sana gave her a sheepish grin. "It was 2:00 in the morning, it was dark, she was in the backseat, and my eyes were closed half the time."
"You were driving with your eyes closed?"
There was a momentary lull in conversation at Chaeyoung's outburst. Curious eyes glanced at the duo before returning to the party. Mina, however, looked up at the sound of Chaeyoung's voice. She smiled at Chaeyoung and began to goddamn-literally strut towards the stunned pair.
Chaeyoung felt an acute pain in her chest and frowned. She always thought that the phrase 'so beautiful that it hurts' was a figure of speech, and yet here Mina was, proving her wrong again.
Sana whispered, "Chaeyoung, break up with her now."
Chaeyoung was thrown by Sana's grim look. "What? Why?"
"So I can date her." Sana kept her eyes on Mina's approach.
Chaeyoung smacked Mina's head. "Watch it, she's mine."
"Ooh, possessive much?"
Mina came up to Chaeyoung and greeted her with a kiss. "Hi. I'm glad you came."
"Hey." Chaeyoung tried not to blush; that would give Sana ammunition for weeks to come. "This idiot is Sana . She came with me to pick you up last night."
Mina slid her arm around Chaeyoung's waist and pressed into her side before turning to face Sana . She gave Sana a soft smile and offered her hand. "Myōi Mina. I probably didn't make the best first impression last night, but thank you for picking us up."
Sana shook her hand and gave the light-brunette a cocky grin. "Anytime. In fact, you can call me for a ride whenever Chaeyoung's not around—"
Chaeyoung glared at Sana "Look, there are platters of hors-d'oeurve over there. Go enjoy the chips and dip or the caviar or whatever."
"I'm not hungry. So, Mina …" Sana crossed her arms and smirked at an irate Chaeyoung "Just what do you see in our mutual acquaintance here? Can't be personality, because Chaeyoung's as touchy as a pit bull with rabies." Sana ignored Chaeyoung's growl. "Seriously, the only thing shorter than her temper is the line of women willing to put up with her."
Chaeyoung felt her scowl smooth away when Mina intertwined their fingers and pressed a kiss to Chaeyoung's cheek. "She's sweet, smart, and charming. What's not to like?"
Sana gave Mina a look that screamed out 'are we talking about the same girl?'
"And she makes for good arm candy." Mina winked at Sana .
Chaeyoung's scowl returned.
Sana laughed. "This is why I don't get into relationships. They turn you into mush; isn't that right, Romeo?" She elbowed Chaeyoung. "Stupid kid wouldn't stop smiling after last night."
"And now you've officially become the third wheel. Good bye." Chaeyoung directed Sana towards the crowd and pushed her forwards.
Mina laughed. "Oh, the girls would love you."
Sana immediately perked up. "Really? Which girls? We should make sure."
Mina pointed to the hors-d'oeurve table, where a group of beautiful women were congregating. "Those are the latest models Mama has worked with. They like meeting new people; I'm sure you fit in that category, no?"
Sana grinned at Mina . "Oh, I like you. Please don't dump Chaeyoung."
Mina smiled and looked at Chaeyoung. "Not yet."
Sana straightened her tie. "See you later, Son. I'm going to help myself to some chicks and dip."
Chaeyoung raised an eyebrow. "You mean chips?"
"Isn't that what I said?" Sana didn't even bother looking back.
Chaeyoung rolled her eyes and groaned. Mina laughed. "I like Chaeyoung's friend. She's amusing, and she obviously cares about Chaeyoung's well being."
"Wow, is that what all the insults mean? Sana likes you, though, I can tell."
"How so?"
"Sana absolutely refused to talk to my last girlfriend. She claimed it would kill off her brain cells."
"Eh, Chaeyoung feels it necessary to mention the last girl she dated? Now I feel inferior."
Chaeyoung pressed her forehead against Mina . "Don't. You're beautiful."
She counted it a victory when Mina blushed. "I should've added 'smooth' to Chaeyoung's list of qualities."
"You forgot 'honest,' too, since it's true." Chaeyoung kissed her. She squashed the little Chaeyoung in her head screaming, Honest? Please! I can smell your pants burning from here!
"That was utterly sappy to the point of cavity-inducing, and very cute. Who's your latest beau, ' Minari? She's very attractive."
Chaeyoung's head snapped to the left. Her eyes widened at seeing a shorter, older version of Mina , with dark gray eyes and blonde hair. Mama Myōi had arrived.
Mina groaned and turned her body towards her mother. "Mama, are you drinking a martini? Don't you remember what happened last time?"
Mina's mother dismissed the question with a wave of her perfectly manicured hand, the other hand holding a martini glass. "Don't worry about it, Minari , I've got it all under control."
Chaeyoung shifted uncomfortably when Mina's mother looked her up and down. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Myōi—" She stopped when the woman held up a hand.
"If you work for me, you call me Ms. Myōi. If you don't, you call me Crystal." Crystal Myōi beamed at Chaeyoung before her smile dropped. "Unless you want to work for me? You're hot; I can use you. Perhaps for the Milan show—"
"Mama, Chaeyoung is not a model. She has a job and is going to medical school," Mina interrupted.
"Oh, your father will be delighted to hear that. Chaeyoung, is it? You'd look great in my Winter Collection—"
"Papa was looking for you before. Maybe you should go find him." Mina turned her mother around and gave her a gentle push.
Crystal smiled wistfully. "I swear, that man would be helpless without me, chief of Tokyo General Hospital or no. I'll see you around, Chaeyoung" She winked at the flustered Chaeyoung and disappeared.
Mina turned to Chaeyoung with a fondly irritated sigh. "I told you my mother would like you."
Chaeyoung blinked. "That's a relief. Crystal Myōi, the name sounds familiar."
"She's a designer. She owns the Crystal M. clothing line."
"Ah, even I've heard of that one."
"Mmm. My father is around here somewhere, schmoozing with the rich and famous. He finds a lot of clients at these parties, you know."
"What does he do?"
"He's a plastic surgeon. My mother came storming into his office when one of her models' nose job came out badly; it was love at first sight, apparently." Mina looked bored, like she was repeating something she had heard countless times. "He'll probably insist that you call him Kenjiro."
Chaeyoung yelped when a giant of a man came out of nowhere and hugged her and Mina .
"Hello, Papa."
"' Minari! I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"
"You haven't."
Mina's father didn't hear the last comment and turned to Chaeyoung. "And you must be Chaeyoung. I heard you're planning to join the medical field?" He winked. "Call me Kenjiro."
Chaeyoung caught Mina's amused look and couldn't help smiling back.
_____
Sana smirked to herself as she left Hot Girl #7. Man, she was on a roll tonight! She had successfully hooked up with four different women and two men and gotten all their numbers. Normally that would be impressive in and of itself, but the icing on top of the cake was that they weren't just ordinary people...they were freaking professional models, among the most beautiful men and women in Tokyo. Sana decided this must be what heaven felt like.
The Sana spotted Chaeyoung and Mina from across the room, acting all couple-y and whatnot. Sana let out a whistle; Chaeyoung was a better actress than she thought. For god's sakes, the Cub just looked at an oblivious Mina with the most love-struck expression Sana had ever seen in her admittedly short life. As far as Sana knew, though, Chaeyoung was still going on with her plan.
It was a damn shame; Mina was one of most gorgeous girls Sana had ever seen, and she seemed genuinely nice. Sana shrugged. Whatever. She considered sticking around to pick up the pieces when Chaeyoung broke the girl's heart, but Mina would probably hate her then, too. Guilty by association, and all that jazz.
Sana grabbed another drink from a side table, not caring whose it was. Seriously, from the amount of alcohol that was being served at this party, she wouldn't be surprised if the Myōi had vodka coming out of their sink faucets and a pool filled with gin and tonic in their backyard.
Sana spotted a gorgeous dark blonde enter the front door and look around in disdain. Hello, Hot Girl #8.
She walked over to the dark blonde and flashed her a grin. "You don't look like you're having fun."
The dark blonde looked up with an unimpressed look. Ooh, Sana mused, dark brown eyes were both intimidating and a turn-on.
"You're quite observant, aren't you?" The woman drawled. "You must be a detective."
"Lawyer, actually." Sana frowned. Her sixth sense was tingling—the sense that told her whether someone was interested in her or not. The dark blonde was obviously planning to string Sana along before cutting her down. Jeez, that was coldhearted; even Sana herself wouldn't do that. She at least had the decency to tell people that she was way out of their league from the second they started hitting on her. You do not hit on Sana Minatozaki, Minatozaki Sana hits on you!
Besides, Sana had an annoying feeling that she had seen this woman before. "Have we met somewhere? You look familiar."
The dark blonde scoffed. "That's your pickup line? I was expecting something a little more original and a little less desperate."
Wow, okay, this blonde was smoking hot but a Grade-A bitch. Forget her, Sana told herself. "Actually, I was just trying to make polite conversation."
"You don't know who I am?" The dark blonde flipped her hair.
"Nope. Did the escort service send you?"
The dark blonde looked pissed. Sana gave herself a mental pat on the back. "No. I'm here with my boyfriend," the dark blonde sneered. "What the hell were my parents thinking, inviting people like you to their party?"
Sana choked on her drink. "You're Myōi Mira?"
Mira smirked. "Oh, so you have heard of me."
Sana bolted, frantically searching the crowd for Chaeyoung. This was bad.
___
Chaeyoung was caving into Mina's wheedling and opening her mouth to taste some caviar that Mina insisted she try ,when someone dragged her away by the tie.
Chaeyoung choked and struggled until the person finally let go. She coughed for air and spun around with a menacing glare on her face. "What the hell, Sana !"
Sana ignored her indignation and hissed, "Bitchy Myōi is here!"
"Who?"
"Mira, you idiot!"
Chaeyoung paled. "Mina said Mira doesn't come to these parties—"
"Hey, she matched the criteria," Sana snapped back. "She's dark blonde, looks similar to Baby Myōi, and acts like a humongous bitch!"
"Shit. We have to leave before she recognizes me." Chaeyoung looked around frantically.
"Chaeyoung?" Mina suddenly appeared, looking confused. "What's the matter?"
"We have to leave. Sorry, kid." Sana gave Mina a tight smile. "My, uh—"
"Sana's cat died. She's devastated." Chaeyoung said. She shrugged when Sana mouthed "What the fuck?"
Mina gave Sana a sympathetic glance. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
"No, no, it's fine," Sana assured. "I barely even remember what it was like to own a cat." Probably because I never did, Sana mused.
"I'll call you tomorrow, Mina ." Chaeyoung motioned Sana to start towards the door. She glanced around in anxiety, but Mina turned Chaeyoung's attention towards her.
"Sana gave me a very good idea," Mina said slyly.
"What's that?" Chaeyoung smirked. This was a bad idea, she should be moving—
Mina grabbed Chaeyoung's tie and pulled her in for a kiss. Chaeyoung knew she had been in the middle of something important, but it was hard to remember what it was when Mina was moving her tongue that way—
"Ehhhh.., it seems our Minari is all grown up." Chaeyoung stiffened on hearing the voice that was still familiar, despite the years. "Who's the hottie draped all over you, and how much did you pay her?"
Chaeyoung held her breath and glanced to the side, nearly cursing at what she saw. Oh yeah, now she remembered. She was supposed to be avoiding the devil incarnate, otherwise known as Myōi Mira who was currently standing before her with that familiar sneer. Oh, joy.