Soo Emi

"You're serious?"

Jennie sets down the duffel bag on my bed. "Yup!"

She opens it and reveals an outfit.

"Your attire, m'lady." She giggles and hands it to me. "Hurry and change into it."

"I-Isn't the skirt a little too short? The tank top is pretty low too. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be complaining."

"I had a feeling you were gonna say that. That's why..." She takes out a cardigan from the duffel bag. "I also brought this. It's to cover you up a little."

I take the cardigan, so tempted.

I've never been to a party like this and the way Hoseok described it sounded absolutely terrifying.

The thought of my father working so diligently pops up in my head and I hesitate.

"Jennie, I appreciate this, but I don't think it's a good idea for me to go." I sulk.

"Emi, forget about what Hoseok said. I'm sure he just said all that so he could be with a bunch of girls tonight and not have you see him. He's been to a couple of my boyfriend's parties and that's what he usually does."

I scoff.

He was with a lot of women at Seokjin's birthday party.

Jennie grabs my shoulders. "This is your life, Emi! Not his. You're going to have fun at this party. I'm sure of it."

I bite my bottom lip. "Y-You're right. Hoseok isn't the boss of me."

"That's the spirit!"

°

We arrive at Jennie's boyfriend's home.

The house looked like a normal family home. A royal blue, 2-story house with a lot of windows and a nice front yard. I like these typical homes. They feel safe.

But not this one.

Cars bombarded the front. Empty cups and beer bottles were thrown all over the place. Even some broken bottles, which was a serious safety hazard.

And the windows were changing colors from the lights inside. The whole house seemed to vibrate from the loud music.

Hoseok was right.

This isn't my type of party.

"Jennie, I think I should go back." I pinch her sleeve.

"You'll be fine, girl!" She gently pushes me forward.

We walk closer to the house, jumping over broken glass and dodging drunk people.

With all the cars in the way, finding the front door was way harder than it should be.

"Is it normal for my heart to be beating faster?" I hold a hand to my chest. "I feel scared."

"You'll be perfectly fine." Jennie links her arm with mine. "Come on, you'll see."

I gulp as we make it to the door.

As soon as we enter, I flinch at the volume of the music. It was even louder inside the house.

There were so many people crowded in so many different places. It's like we just walked into a club and not just a house party. It also reeked of alcohol and cologne/perfume.

Even more bottles were thrown on the floor and even some food. Paper plates and red plastic cups were scattered everywhere.

Everyone in here was dancing. They were either shaking everything they had or calmly bouncing to the music with a drink in their hand.

And don't get me started on the inappropriate dancing! Boys were dancing dangerously close to the girls and I couldn't watch it. I turned away in a second.

Not to mention the boys were half naked and the girls were in their undergarments. I thought I saw wrong and maybe their clothing were nude colored, but no.

Jennie leads me towards the kitchen and I catch two people making out in the corner. I immediately look away, turning blood red.

On the way, I accidentally bump into someone and their beer bottle falls out of their hand.

I swiftly catch it and hand it back to him.

"Be careful. Broken glass is dangerous and a pain to clean." I warn the random stranger.

He just cackles at me and wobbles away.

"Steer clear of drunkies." Jennie whispers to me. "They're crazy."

I nod my head, heart beating even faster.

I've heard a lot scary stories about drunk people and parties like these. I can't believe I'm actually at one. My father would never allow me to go to parties like these.

Why am I even here?

Suddenly, someone smacks my butt.

"Cute ass!" They holler before disappearing in the crowd.

Startled, I cover my mouth. "Jennie, I want to leave RIGHT this instant."

"We can't turn back now, Emi! Come on, let's go get a drink." She continues dragging me forward.

She sits me down at a table and grabs two beers.

I shake my head. "No, thank you."

"Suit yourself." She says and chugs down the two bottles.

I watch her with my mouth wide open.

She did that effortlessly.

"Time for dancing!" She cheers and grabs my hand again. "WHOOO! I'M PUMPED!"

She brings me to the crowd of dancing people.

I get pushed around and I tumble forward.

Shielding my face from getting hit by butts and legs, I stand back up.

"Jennie?" I turn around. "Jennie?"

Great. Where did she go?

I rush out of the crowd and looked around.

Dang, where did she go?

"Coming through!" Someone yells and stumbles towards me.

I quickly notice the stranger about to run into the wall, so I grab his arm and pulled him back.

"Oh, thanks for that." The guy turns around and meets my face. "Hey, I've seen you before! On TV! You're Soo Emi! You're that girl that was rich, then-"

"Became homeless. Yes, I'm aware of that."

"You really.....out. You've....party....like....... when.....first time?"

I could barely make out his words from the volume of the music. I lean closer to him to try to comprehend what he was saying, but I get distracted by his nasty breath.

"Follow me." He grabs my hand and brings me outside to the backyard.

I notice people staring at me and I awkwardly hide behind my hand.

"You really stand out." He says, voice much more clearer. "You haven't been to a party like this ever in your life, huh?"

I nod.

"I know a trick to having fun. Want to know?"

"What?"

He leans to my ear. "Just drink."

"I think I'll hold off on drinks tonight."

He shrugs. "Boo, you're boring. Anyways, if you change your mind and want a good drink. Find me. Name's Wooshin."

He roughly pats my back and goes back inside.

I walk to an empty table and sat down.

I'm already exhausted and my head is pounding from the music and stench.

The backyard is a little less hectic, though. I think I might just stay out here the entire time.

But there are a lot of couples.

Whatever, I can just look away-

In the corner of my eye, I notice a familiar figure.

Hoseok?

I see him standing by the pool with girls all around him. He had a drink in his hand and he was smiling sweetly at his girls.

Jennie was not kidding.

I grit my teeth, annoyed to my core.

Hoseok catches me looking at him and his smile instantly fades.

I spin around and went back inside the house.

I will have some fun too, Hoseok.

Walking into the kitchen, I find the guy from earlier standing with a couple of other people.

"Wooshin!" I call his name while tapping his shoulder. "Hey!"

He turns around and smirks. "Oh! Did you change your mind just now?"

"Just give me a drink."

"Alright-"

"But not too strong....no! I'll do strong. Just nothing that will get me in trouble. How about-"

"Here's my favorite." He hands me a glass.

The drink was a weird pinkish color with white fizz decorating the top.

His friends stared at me with amusement and I overhear them speaking about me.

"She's the girl who lost all her money."

"She became homeless."

"Must suck since she was, like, a princess before."

"I heard she sells her body for money now."

"Lame."

I take a large swig of the alcoholic beverage and set it down carefully. The liquid burns my throat on the way down, but nothing I couldn't manage.

I am not a princess.