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“Heejin...Heejin!”
Heejin looked up from the many papers that she had neatly arranged on the library table, tilting her head in confusion. She had known that Jungeun had been talking, but she had assumed it was her usual meaningless chatter she engaged in to avoid doing schoolwork and had tuned her out. She supposed she’d be receiving another one of Jungeun’s rants about her lack of effort whenever they hang out—even when Jungeun, herself, has her eyes glued to her phone the entire time, as well. Heejin believed they were both to blame.
“Were you even listening to me?”
“Uh...no, sorry.”
Jungeun sighed, setting down her cell phone. "I was asking if you were going to the party on Friday.”
“Hm? There’s a party?”
Jungeun, whom Heejin had dragged along to the library to study with her, made a face that meant ‘do you live under a fucking rock? ' and shook her head in disapproval.
“Yes, there’s a party. It’s literally been all anyone has been talking about for the past week. How do you not know about it?”
“I don’t have time for parties,” Heejin replied, shrugging. It was true—being a stressed college student that signed up for classes that were too challenging for her was quite exhausting and time-consuming and didn’t leave much room for partying or having fun. Parties weren’t her thing, anyway. Too many people squished together in someone’s tiny apartment, one clearly not suited for a large party, sweating all over each other while generic EDM music played in the background. No thanks .
“Well, you’re coming to this one. Even if I have to physically drag you out of your apartment,” Jungeun said resolutely, returning her attention to her phone. Heejin sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing. Her friend could be quite scary, and when Jungeun wanted something, she got it. It couldn’t be that bad, right? She hadn’t been to a party since the one her other friend, Sooyoung, had hosted at the beginning of the year—at which she had thrown up all over the girl’s lawn and vowed never to attend a college party ever again.
“Can I dress up as whatever I want?” Heejin asked, crossing her arms over her chest. If Jungeun wanted her at that party, she was going to have to deal with whatever costume Heejin wore.
Jungeun nodded, rolling her eyes playfully. Heejin knew her friend went to parties often, but she wondered why she was so adamant about bringing her along.
“Who’s hosting this one?” Heejin asked, immediately getting suspicious when the tips of Jungeun’s ears turned bright red. Oh?
"Jinsol," Jungeun murmured, staring intensely at her lap. Heejin smirked, raising an eyebrow. Jungeun sent her a glare. “Don’t you dare say it.”
“What, that you become a total useless sack of gay potatoes around her— OW, WHAT THE HELL?!”
Heejin rubbed her arm in momentary pain in the spot where Jungeun’s dainty little hand smacked her at full force. Then, Jungeun’s face suddenly lit up as she stared at Heejin with a knowing grin that couldn’t mean any good.
“Whatever happened to that girl in your journalism class you were talking about?”
Heejin didn’t like how smug Jungeun looked.
“Ugh, don’t even get me started,” Heejin whined, burying her face in her hands. At times, she could be a bit emotionally stunted, and while she had lots of skills she was proficient in, such as drawing or working out, talking to pretty girls was not one of them. All it took was one blindingly gorgeous smile in her direction and she was rendered useless.
“What was her name again? Wait, don’t tell me—” Jungeun laughed, clearly enjoying Heejin’s pain. “—Kim Hyunjin, right?”
Heejin groaned in embarrassment. She was positive her face was the color of Jungeun’s nails at that moment—bright red.
“Isn’t she one of Jinsol’s close friends?” Jungeun questioned, dawning a teasing grin when Heejin nodded. “See? That’s another reason you should come to the party—you might get to talk to her. Or, since it’s you, stare at her from across the room like a creep. Your choice!”
“You’re insufferable."
But knowing Heejin and her track record with girls, Jungeun was probably right. There had been one time when Hyunjin had sat next to her since she had come in late and the chair next to Heejin was the only spot available, and she’d nearly passed out from subconsciously holding her breath the entire time.
It wasn’t as if she was doing anything else on Halloween, and she definitely wouldn’t mind possibly seeing Hyunjin outside of class. Maybe she’d succumb to social pressure just this once.
“Fine, I’ll go. Happy?”
Jungeun’s face immediately lit up, nodding eagerly. “YES!! Thank God, I was scared you actually wouldn’t come. Also, Jiwoo and I are going costume shopping tomorrow and you’re coming with us, and while I know I said you could be whatever you wanted, please no anime characters, okay?”
It was funny how well Jungeun knew her.
“So generous.”
Heejin ran her fingers over the cheap fabric, grimacing at how undeniably ugly and poorly made some of the costumes were.
“Ew, who would even wear this?” Jungeun said, pulling a face at a rather funny-looking chicken costume.
“I don’t know…I think you could pull it off,” Heejin joked, grinning as Jungeun shoved her playfully.
“Give me a hundred bucks and I’ll wear it.”
Heejin smirked, raising an amused eyebrow. “For real? I’m sure Jinsol would love it.”
Jungeun’s ears turned bright pink as she scowled, huffing at Heejin. “Never mind, I take it back.”
Heejin snickered, dodging the hand that flew toward her. Jungeun was just too easy to tease sometimes.
She continued to wander the aisles, getting mildly jump-scared by the automated severed hand that started moving when she walked past.
“Oh my god, Heejin ,” Jiwoo’s delighted voice called from a different aisle. “I think you should definitely wear this.”
The short-haired girl poked her head around the shelf to get a better look, eyes bulging out in disbelief when she saw the costume Jiwoo was holding.
“Jiwoo, no . That says, ‘slutty bunny costume’,” Heejin complained, eyeing the plastic bag skeptically. Inside was a black faux leather leotard, some cheap-looking fishnet stockings, and a bunny ear headband.
Definitely not .
“And? People are going to be all over you, Heekki. You’ll be the talk of the campus!”
“I’d also have a lot of creepy drunk men ogling me, so I think I’ll pass,” Heejin scoffed. It was often that she was approached by random strangers asking for her number when she went out in public, and she had a strong feeling that those kinds of uncomfortable interactions would be severely increased if she wore that costume to the party.
She looked back at it one last time, pausing for a moment.
“The ears are kind of cute, though. Maybe I'll just get something like that," she said, bending down to a different bunny ear headband that was displayed on one of the shelves. Then, she spotted it; the costume above all costumes: Naruto.
“Oh my god, this is it,” she gasped, eagerly grabbing the hanger off the rack and cradling the costume as if it were the most valuable thing in the world. She could feel her friends' unimpressed stares, but she didn't care, grinning at the thought of possibly interacting with Hyunjin outside of class.
“I think she's gone crazy," Jungeun muttered, yelping in pain when Heejin stomped on her foot.
Heejin stood nervously on Jinsol's doorstep, her hesitant fist balled up and ready to knock. She could already hear the music blasting through the thin apartment walls, practically shaking the entire neighborhood. She wondered how long it would be until they got the cops called on them.
She wiped her clammy hands on the pants of her costume, pulling out her phone as if she were expecting there to be a notification—which there wasn’t. Jungeun was supposed to come over to help her get ready, but she had ditched her at the last minute, saying she had something she needed to take care of before the party and to just meet her there. She was also beginning to regret not wearing a jacket as she shuddered from the small gust of wind that washed over her. Jungeun had told her the party began at seven and it was currently seven-thirty on the dot. Half an hour was fashionably late, right?
Finally gathering enough courage to knock, Heejin reached forward only for the door to swing open before she even touched it, revealing Jinsol in a white button-up shirt and an orange ascot tied lazily around her neck, and Jungeun hiding behind her in a purple mini skirt.
“Hey, Heejin! Glad you could make it tonight," Jinsol said, grinning as she ushered the shivering girl inside her apartment. Heejin could already feel the humidity radiating off the many bodies smushed together in Jinsol's living room.
It was when Jungeun finally came out from behind the blonde that Heejin got a better look at her, gasping in surprise. “ Holy shit , Jungeun. When the hell did you dye your hair?!"
“Today," the new redhead replied, bashfully staring at her shoes.
“It looks pretty on her, doesn't it?" Jinsol commented, smiling proudly at Jungeun, who had turned a hilarious shade of pink.
Heejin wanted to scoff but held back, nodding in agreement. It was moments like these, watching the two girls in front of her look at each other adoringly as if they were the only people that existed at that moment, that made Heejin feel especially single. Even if they weren't officially together, they might as well have been considering the amount of shameless flirting and stolen glances exchanged between the two.
Soon, Heejin found herself alone once again--neither Jinsol nor Jungeun anywhere in sight. She also hadn't seen Hyunjin at all yet, much to her disappointment. The air felt humid, almost as if she were standing in the middle of a jungle instead of a college student's apartment.
She decided to step into the kitchen, which was somewhat separated from the main space. Grabbing a red plastic cup full of who knows what, Heejin took a small sip, immediately regretting it as the flavors of at least five different liquors danced on her tongue. She began to choke on a bit of the liquid that had managed to go down the wrong pipe, keeling over as she launched into a coughing fit. Her throat burned, reminding her why she didn't drink alcohol often.
“Here, have some water," an oddly familiar voice said, causing Heejin to look up from where she was bent over the sink. The stranger was clad in a tailored black blazer and an intricate cat mask that only showed their mouth, giving off masquerade vibes. They had a taller build, only a bit shorter than Jinsol.
“Thanks," Heejin replied, graciously accepting the cup. She gulped down the contents in an instant, making a satisfied 'ah' sound.
The stranger giggled, the sound causing something deep inside Heejin to stir. “Aren't you worried I put something in it?"
Heejin pretended to think for a moment, stroking her chin with her index finger and thumb playfully. “Hmm, no, not really. You seem pretty trustworthy."
“You're cute," they laughed. They stepped closer and oddly enough, Heejin wasn't compelled to step back. "I haven't seen you at a party like this before. Did you come with someone?"
“Kind of? My friends dragged me along since I'm not much of a party person," Heejin replied. “How about you?"
“Yeah, it's the same for me. I don't usually like to go to parties, but my friend begged me to come to this one since she was hosting it," they chuckled, looking over to where Jinsol was dancing poorly in the middle of the room while Jungeun stood next to her in embarrassment, her lovesick grin still shining brightly even in the dim lighting.
“You're friends with Jinsol?" Heejin tilted her head curiously. That meant they went to the same university.
“Yup, one of my closest friends actually…” the person replied. “Are you friends with her too?”
“She’s dating one of my friends, actually.” Hyunjin stared at her quizzically, causing Heejin to quickly correct herself. “Well, I guess they aren’t technically dating since Jungeun’s too much of a chicken to bring it up, but they might as well be.”
The person let out a bubbly laugh as their lips formed a brilliant grin. “Jungeun’s not the only chicken, Jinsol can barely function properly when they're around each other—much less ask her on a date .”
“It seems both of our friends are idiots then,” Heejin replied, giggling nervously when the person took a step closer. “A-Anyway, what’s your name? Have we met before?”
Something about them seemed so familiar, but Heejin just couldn’t put her finger on it. In all the sappy romances she read, they always said you’d know when you met your soulmate, without either party having to say or do anything special. Was this what they meant? This odd fluttery feeling made her feel like she might throw up a stream of butterflies at any moment, but also an unusual feeling of comfort and security.
Woah, slow down there , she thought to herself, trying to push away the prickly warmth crawling up her cheeks. She had only just met this person and she was already wondering if they were her true love or not? I guess lesbians do move fast.
“If I told you, what fun would that be?” the person smirked. Heejin pouted, jutting out her bottom lip in mock disappointment. “Maybe at the end of the night I’ll tell you but for now,” they said, pausing to think for a moment, “you can call me…Cat Noir! Since that’s who I’m dressed up as, anyway.”
“The dumb blonde dude from Miraculous Ladybug?” Heejin asked in amusement. It was one of the cheesiest things she had ever heard, but somehow it fit their vibe perfectly.
“Pretty big talk from someone dressed as a dumb blonde dude from some anime,” the person--Heejin refused to actually call them Cat Noir--chuckled.
“Hey! Naruto isn’t just some anime, it’s the best anime out there—the holy grail of Shounen anime!”
“Mhm, totally,” they said with a teasing smirk, “Naruto has nothing on K-ON, though.”
Then, a person wearing a wolf-ears headband and a slightly smaller girl dressed as Little Red Riding Hood popped out of the crowd, beckoning the stranger over with their red Solo cup-filled hands. The taller one had a rather scary appearance and an icy cold gaze that passed over Heejin to look at Cat Noir, but that glare immediately softened when Little Red Riding Hood stood on her toes to whisper something in the wolf’s ears. Cute , Heejin thought, smiling subconsciously at the two.
“Hey, Hy—” the girl in the wolf headband started to say but was cut off by a sharp jab to the stomach. “...Cat Noir. Sorry to interrupt whatever's going on here, but Chae and I were wondering if you wanted to play beer pong with us? Jinsol’s awful at it and has gone through nearly all the cups by now.”
Cat Noir turned to Heejin as if to ask for her permission to leave. Heejin smiled and gestured towards the brightly lit dining room table covered in plastic cups. “Go ahead, win cup pong for me. I’m fine here.”
“Are you sure?” Heejin nodded, smiling apologetically at Cat Noir’s friend who appeared to be getting impatient. “Alright…holler at me if you need anything!”
“But I don’t even know your name!” Heejin yelled back, but it was too late, and the person had already been pulled into the sea of people.
Sometime later (Heejin was having trouble keeping track of how much time went by after her phone died), Heejin began to get a bit restless from standing in the kitchen all night. She made her way through the crowd, getting pushed and pulled in every direction possible. She missed talking to Cat Noir—even if they were a Naruto hater—and she was tired of getting ogled by random men after she had taken off her jacket since the apartment had practically turned into a sauna.
She spotted the table that Cat Noir was standing near, sporting a large grin when she landed her shot, and some guy with greasy hair and rectangle glasses had to drink the nasty concoction. Heejin found the victory dance she did incredibly embarrassing to watch but at the same the most endearing thing she had ever seen.
Heejin waved, catching Cat Noir’s eye who waved back. Right as she took another step forward, she gasped at the sudden feeling of the front of her tank top getting soaked with a sticky liquid that she suspected had come from one of those suspicious-looking bottles on the beer pong table.
Her head shot up to meet the glazed-over eyes of some man who had an appearance akin to that of what a rat would look like if it magically turned into a human. He smirked lazily, not-so-subtly glancing down at her alcohol-covered chest. “Oops. My bad.”
Heejin took a deep breath, trying her hardest to resist the urge to punch him square in the face. It would be terribly embarrassing to get kicked out of a college party in Naruto pants and a sticky tank top. But it was already taken care of when the man suddenly fell to the floor in front of her.
“ Oops ,” the masked person jeered, burning holes into the guy’s face with their eyes. “I saw you intentionally spill that on her, you fucking weirdo.”
He glared at them from his spot on the ground but scampered away when they pretended to lunge at him.
“Ugh, I really hate men sometimes.”
“Me too,” Heejin sighed, looking down at her top. “I don’t have a change of clothes either…”
Cat Noir paused for a moment to think, glancing around the apartment. Their eyes lit up through the mask as if a lightbulb had just gone off in their head as they turned back to Heejin.
“Here,” they slipped off the blazer jacket they wore, draping it in Heejin’s arms, “go change in the bathroom and you can wear this.”
“O-Oh, thanks.” Heejin accepted the coat graciously, hugging it to her body. She could have just put her Naruto jacket back on, but why turn down such a generous offer?
When Heejin returned from the bathroom, Cat Noir had Jinsol’s drunken arm draped over their shoulder as they struggled to keep the older girl standing.
“Hyunjinnn, where have you been? I feel like I haven’t seen you all night…" Jinsol slurred, grinning widely as she stumbled towards the kitchen. She nearly tripped but was caught by a much more sober Jungeun. She smiled guiltily at the two girls for interrupting their conversation and steered Jinsol in the other direction.
Wait . Hyunjin? As in Kim Hyunjin, the same girl she had been drooling over every single lecture they shared, but couldn't approach because she was too nervous?
“Hi, Jinsol," the person chuckled, finally pulling off their mask. A small gasp escaped Heejin's lips as she realized it really was Hyunjin. The latter turned to her, her long black hair blowing in slow motion as if there was a mini fan in front of her as she sent Heejin a charming smile that made her knees feel as if they'd collapse at any second. “I guess my identity has been revealed. Are you disappointed, Jeon Heejin?"
“I…uh…wait, you know who I am?" Heejin stared at her classmate in shock. Heejin didn’t consider herself to be anything special and hardly stood out from the other eight thousand students at their university, so it was quite a surprise that someone beyond her three close friends, much less Kim Hyunjin , would recognize her.
“Of course, I do! We have literary journalism together," Hyunjin replied. “I always see you looking at me, but you never come over and talk to me."
Heejin's face began to heat up at the realization that Hyunjin had noticed her staring, but she didn't seem weirded out about it which she was relieved about. If anything, she seemed proud of it, sporting a somewhat cocky smirk. Heejin would have been annoyed and turned off if it had been anyone else, but on Hyunjin it was undeniably attractive.
“A-Ah, that’s right,” Heejin giggled nervously. It was too late for her to play it off now. “I didn’t realize you noticed.”
A playful grin reappeared on Hyunjin’s face as she took a daring step closer. “It’s hard to miss someone as pretty as you.”
Heejin’s eyes widened at the comment, her heartbeat racing even though she was standing still. It’s just the alcohol . Her brain was still malfunctioning at the suggestive comment, causing the words to get stuck in the back of her throat.
“Wha…you—”
“HEEJIN!” Jungeun’s voice boomed as she rounded the corner of the kitchen. She paused to look at the two for a moment, a teasing smirk appearing on her face. “Sorry to interrupt whatever was going on here, but we need to get going. Jiwoo’s passed out in my car, and we have to get her home before Sooyoung comes all the way over here to kill us.”
Heejin stole a glance at Hyunjin who nodded, prompting her to go with Jungeun. Then Heejin remembered she still had on Hyunjin’s jacket, beginning to pull out her arms to hand it back, but Hyunjin shook her head.
“Keep it for now,” she replied, pulling the coat tighter around Heejin’s body. The latter could feel Jungeun’s stare, strategically choosing not to look in her friend's direction. She knew she’d be getting bombarded with questions on the way home, anyway. “You can return it on Monday when we see each other in class.”
“Okay…” was all Heejin managed to get out. She knew that if she stayed any longer, she would have a much harder time leaving, so she took Jungeun’s impatient foot-tapping as her cue. “Well, I suppose I really need to go now…I’ll see you next week?”
“Yeah!” Hyunjin replied cheerfully, grinning so widely that her canines poked out. All Heejin wanted at that moment was to squish her cheeks. But instead, in a burst of extra confidence, she gave Hyunjin a light peck on the cheek.
Gone as fast as she came, Heejin grabbed hold of Jungeun’s arm and dragged her towards the door.
Hyunjin, who was still frozen in shock with her fingertips fixed on the spot in which Heejin’s lips were just a few seconds ago, snapped out of her daze and waved towards the retreating duo.
“Text me,” she said, making a phone gesture with her hand. Heejin tilted her head in confusion, wondering how she would text her if she didn’t have Hyunjin’s phone number, but before she could ask, Jungeun slammed the door shut behind them.
“So,” Jungeun smirked. She gestured towards the oversized garment draped over Heejin’s shoulders. “She gave you her jacket, huh?”
“ Shut up ,” Heejin groaned, hiding her face in her hands. “Don’t act like you and Jinsol weren’t all over each other the entire night as well.”
Jungeun huffed in response, but there was an undeniable tint to her cheeks at the comment.
When they reached Jungeun’s car, Jiwoo’s sleeping face was pressed up against the passenger-side window, causing her to look like one of the birds that would occasionally crash into the window at Heejin’s apartment. Both girls snapped several pictures before getting in.
It wasn’t until Heejin arrived back at her apartment that she noticed the little slip of paper sticking out of the pocket of Hyunjin’s jacket with a phone number and a doodle of a cat scribbled on it.
Text me :P
Xxx-xxx-xxxx
P.S. I’ll be saving you a spot on Monday, so you better sit with me >:|
~Hyunjin