party favors.
keeping enemies close ft. @fthyeyeon
there are two things to know first thing about the parties most idols attend: they're usually housebound, a shoddy attempt at hiding away from the public gaze, and they get weird fast. at the end of the day, the code of conduct by which celebrities abide doesn't stray further from any group of coworkers stuck in an office. work hard, fuck up harder. the already exclusive crowd spreds thin around the house, chatter cutting through the music, faces receding into the shadows of a dark corner or a another body to be perched upon.
it's hard not to feel like you're in high school again, but maybe part of it is exactly the appeal. sneak out when you're meant to be back home, make out when the adults are not looking, get shitfaced before a test the next day. when the walls close in, there's nothing better than acting out.
the fog in the air tickles his throat. he takes a drag from his cigarette for a quick fix, holding it near the window to be minimally polite. he has an hour with his vocal coach in just three days, which makes it a bad idea. just being there counts for negative karma anyway, so he supposes he'll just be bad till dawn is upon him.
his tongue is sour in his mouth when he crosses eys with her, but it must just be the tobacco. he drags a hand over his mouth, fingers scathing over his chin and then jaw, and looks away. can't be a good idea to mix hyeyeon and alcohol. he wets his lips and drinks again, for good measure. she should be taken in small doses, and he has had about enough of his fill for the month.
her eyes were wide with worry, lip tense as she kept staring from across the room when his gaze averted. the brief memory replies just enough times to trigger whatever left of sympathy he has stored inside him, and he turns around to look again.
there she is, still watching, still desperate.
he sighs like breathing hurts.
a couple steps later, he sets his bottle on the counter behind which hyeyeon stands. the underside of his tongue smooths over his lower lip in a quick second, his body's last shred of restraint wasted. from up close, he can see the guy sitting on the floor next to her, jaw hanging open as he presses the top of his head back into the wall behind him. that might have something to do with the consternation on her face.
raewon pointedly glances away from the man, the corner of his mouth pulling a lopsided greeting as his sets his elbows on the countertop.
"what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"