Chapter Text
sana lurches out of the club bathroom, teetering on legs that feel liable to give out at any moment. after her night-long rendezvous with a bottle of soju, she’s not confident in her motor functions… functioning.
the whole night, she just wanted to be fancy, (whatever the hell that means) and at this point, sana wonders whether she should have even have gone out.
of course, she wonders this every time she goes out.
that’s beside the point. the point is, sana is extremely fucked up. she’s beyond a cold splash of water waking her up, she’s beyond a drunk cig revitalizing her, she’s beyond a hot kimchi lamyeons’ restorative powers.
she’s fucked up.
the byproduct of being as drunk as sana is the haze that clouds the mind; this haze is all-encompassing, and sana is doing everything that she can to pull herself together. however, after such a long time in this club, with no familiar faces, and alcohol as her sole acquaintance, sana started to feel like it was all too much.
breathing was becoming harder and harder. her breaths were becoming gasps. the people surrounding sana wore harsh expressions on their faces; there wasn’t a smile to be found in the crowd that began to slowly envelop the lonely girl from osaka.
it was all too much.
sana made a beeline for the exit, ignoring the questioning look of the bartender as she stumbled outside. the stark contrast in temperature immediately made sana shiver; she wishes she’d brought a coat. sitting on a conveniently placed bench, she takes solace in the fact that other drunken souls surely have been in her exact same spot and scenario before. breathing deeply, she looks around, shivering all the while.
the club’s location in the heart of seoul meant that the street adjacent was filled with young, happy people. people smiling at each other, people kissing each other, people loving each other.
sana saw everyone, and felt everything too.
sana was alone. alone, faded, and completely lost within the trappings of her mind. the alcohol exacerbated her sense of isolation; how alone she felt in that moment! burying her face in her hands, sana waited for her muddied head to clear.
someone sat down on the other end of the bench.
“are you okay?”
sana turned. the speaker was smiling at her; their smile was too much to comprehend. their smile was so beautiful it was almost alien. this was the kind of smile that solely existed in magazines, the kind of smile that lingered in your memory for days after. despite sana definitely not being okay, for a moment, everything was.
jesus, their little voice, sana thought. so soft… like dubu. sana giggled at her drunken internal dialogue.
the smile grew unsure. sana realized (much to her dismay) that she was unabashedly staring (and laughing) at this strangers face; a cat had her tongue, and speaking to this angelic stranger seemed much too tall a task for someone much too drunk.
“I’m cold,” sana stuttered out. immediately, she berated herself internally; hell of a first impression minatozaki.
the stranger pursed their lips, staring at sana.
sana never took pride in her social skills; she found that she could generally hold conversations with anybody, no matter the level of familiarity. but (it felt like) the stranger’s eyes were boring into her soul, rendering her mute.
the stranger stood up from the bench. immediately sana felt any feeling of reprieve she might’ve felt vanish; she was drowning. the icing on the disappointment cake she devoured tonight was her failing to even exchange pleasantries with a kind, beautiful stranger.
of course I messed this up, sana thought. of course. they literally, out of the kindness of their little heart, asked a random stranger if they were okay! they didn't have to do that. they could have just gone on their merry way, but you had to act a fool. what could be more characteristic of minatozaki sana, a down-
“do you want my jacket?”
the stranger held their fancy jacket out to sana. worried she’d find herself tongue-tied again if she stared at the stranger’s face, sana focused on the jacket. cashmere, definitely not cheap, sana mused.
sana (inwardly) cursed. not the time sana!
gathering herself, sana stood up as well; a reply consisting of an apology for her curtness and a (gentle!) refusal was formulating in her mind.
and immediately regretted it; she’d underestimated how lit she was. the alcohol rushed to her head, making her stumble and sit back down on the bench, hard.
sana looked up at the stranger, still standing with their coat outstretched. by now it was far past two in the morning. the stranger was wreathed in darkness; the streetlights and neon signs of the numerous clubs and pojangmachas barely illuminating their face.
sana couldn’t get enough of this face. their skin is so pale. literally who even has skin this pale? do they go outside ever? are they… wow. okay, you are really drunk. you know that they’re not a vampire, good lord sana.
the absurdity of the situation, coupled with sana’s addled mind was extremely funny to sana. she started to laugh; she laughed harder and more fully than she had in many weeks.
the stranger laughed too.
so sana and this kind stranger shared a laugh together for the first time. sana hadn’t felt this safe and happy with someone since… it definitely had been a while since she’d been this close to someone, that’s for sure.
eventually, as all things do, the laughter subsided.
suddenly, sana didn’t have the comforting veil of laughter to hide behind. despite the feeling of vulnerability seeping into her, the silence was nice. it felt like they didn’t have to say anything.
but sana now had the courage to say what she’d been wanting to say for a minute now.
“I would love to to wear your jacket. but… aigu, I don’t even know your name, and I’m pretty drunk right now to tell you the truth, and it looks like it’s so expensive, and I-“
the stranger was smiling at her again; sana lost her train of thought.
they held out the jacket. “it’s dahyun. yours?”