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Hyuna walked out of her cozy apartment that she shared with Luka in her best clothes—after all, she had to be well dressed for a girl’s night out! The temperature change after stepping out of the room had Hyuna’s teeth chattering, and she rubbed her arms. It had been way too long since she had gone out with her two best friends, and to be honest, after all the stress from her work week, she needed to unwind and just have fun.
Outside the apartment complex, Mizi waved from her car, shouting the other woman’s name excitedly. As best she could in her heeled boots, Hyuna ran to her car, smiling at Sua as well, who was sitting in the passenger seat. She looked tired—but Sua was never one for the nightlife.
“Are you ready for a night out on the town, girls?” Hyuna asked exuberantly, fastening her seatbelt in the car and soaking up the warm air of the heater.
“Yes! Oh my God, Hyuna, it’s been like a month since we went out with you. You are taking way too much time doing your astronomy work and modeling for Luka’s firm and not enough time partying!” Mizi exclaimed, continuing with some philosophy about how time is not wasted if you enjoy wasting it, and Hyuna just chuckled good-naturedly.
When will Mizi learn that as you get older, the more work there is? Thank God Sua’s always there to watch over her though—she’s always seemed so wise for her age.
The drive to the bar was a comfortable silence, the pop music playing softly on the radio saying all that needed to be said. Occasionally, Sua would hum along—honestly, this seemed like enough of a girl’s night out for her, no need for the club or the drinks.
As they got out of the warm car and into the chilly downtown littered with neon lights and drunk strangers, Hyuna breathed a sigh of relief. She had missed the bright glow of clubs and the loud racket all around. Sure, she loved her and Luka’s quiet part of town, but sometimes she just needed that excitement.
“Come on, girls!” Mizi exclaimed, going towards their usual nightclub. The bouncer at the door smiled warmly at them as each of them handed over their IDs and entered the club. Immediately, the sound of the thumping bass drum and the loud cheers of the people entered their ears, and Hyuna dragged both Mizi and Sua towards the bar. They sat down quickly, narrowly snagging three seats right next to each other.
After a bit, the bartender approached the three with a warm smile, asking them what they wanted to drink.
“I’ll get a vodka cranberry—what about you guys?” Hyuna said, then turned to the other two. “Oh, and you’re kissing. Can you order a drink then make out?” She joked, and the two parted quickly, Mizi awkwardly pulling out her phone to look up what to order.
The bartender, Jerry from his name tag, chuckled. He spoke loudly to be heard over the loud music playing from the speakers. “Hey, you’re pretty—can I have your number?” He asked Hyuna shyly, turning to make her drink so he didn’t have to make eye contact.
“Huh? No, sorry, I have a boyfriend! Hey man, you’ll find a girlfriend soon though, I believe in you.”
The two laughed wickedly, and once they were done, Mizi ordered.
“I’ll get a… tequila sunrise, and she’ll get the—baby, what do you want?”
“I’ll get a soda, you guys are forgetting that someone here needs to drive back.” She giggled, and Mizi looked slightly embarrassed.
“Yeah, that. Thanks!”
Jerry laughed again, and asked who would be paying the tab or if they would be paying separately.
Before Sua could try to step in to pay as she had done so many times before, Hyuna was prepared.
“Here, I’m paying for our drinks.” She said with a smile, and Sua playfully glared at her. Hyuna handed over her card, then turned to her friends. “So, do you guys wanna go on the dance floor, what’s the plan for tonight?”
“I kind of just want to chill here, but I don’t mind dancing.” Sua said, sipping on her soda that had now arrived.
“Okay, Mizi? Any thoughts on dancing?”
“Girl, I did not take 5 years of dance classes in my childhood just to sit at the bar. You know, there’s even kareoke—we need to do that too!”
“We actually do not need to do that.” Hyuna said with a laugh, taking her drink from Jerry with a quick thank you. “Well, looks like we’ll be on the dance floor tonight!”
Mizi got her drink as well, and the three talked about meaningless things, like pop star drama or the best move to make in case some idiot guy wouldn’t fuck off after getting rejected.
As much as she hated to admit it, Hyuna missed nights like this, nights with her best friends. The day was littered with responsibilities and duties and things she had to do. In the loud nightlife of downtown, Hyuna didn’t have to be anyone. Not Hyuna the astronaut, or Hyuna the girlfriend, or Hyuna the model. There were no contracts to sign, nobody nagging her about her next deadline. There was just peace in her drink and peace in her mind.
As the lights dimmed, a melancholic but pretty tune played over the speakers, replacing the loud, fast songs playing previously. A dude stood on the stage, and he pointed to the crowd with his finger. “This one is to all of you American girls!”
“Oh God, the karaoke has started.” Sua whispered. But the guy on stage wasn’t even that bad, and soon Mizi and Sua had disappeared from Hyuna’s sight. She headed onto the dance floor as the next song started playing—this guy was terrible, but the music was upbeat and everyone was laughing and this is what she came out for.
She ordered another drink, and soon was a bit tipsy, shimmying on the dance floor like there was not a care in the world. Mizi found her and danced with her heartily, laughing as Hyuna slipped onto the floor and messed up her hair.
“Where- where’s Sua?” Hyuna stuttered drunkly, standing back up.
“Sua insisted on ‘just trying my drink before I have it’ and then drank the whole thing. So it looks like I’m the one driving again. Also, she’s cleaning up in the bathroom, she had to throw up. My poor baby lightweight.”
The two laughed noisily, causing some stares from onlookers. But they didn’t care—after all, it was time to relax. Soon, Mizi heard Sua calling out her name, and returned with a very tired Sua.
“Looks like we should head back. Unless you want to do the karaoke?” Mizi said smugly, nudging Hyuna.
“We can go home, don’t worry.”
And so, the three stepped out into the night, Sua and Hyuna giggling and Mizi just trying to keep the two upright enough to get into the car.
As Hyuna stepped into her apartment, she was greeted with Luka sitting in the living room, reading a book on the sofa. Noticing Hyuna was back, Luka’s face lit up, and he went to the kitchen to grab her a cup of tea.
“Because I know you drink way too much.” He said with a grin, and handed her the warm cup.
“That I do. Luckily, I have you here with me to always give me some tea.”