[Encore]

The club is packed, exactly as I thought. A huge line awaits the eight of us; to be fair, though, I've faced far longer lines back in Korea, whether it was for Black Friday season, a top artist's concert, or simply for curiosity over a random event, positive or negative.

I make sure no-one stays behind. I notice that Adam is still wearing this morning's tux, the one he had at his failed wedding. Good. At least it doesn't go to waste or dust somewhere in his wardrobe until he finds the right one.

Apart from him, the rest of the gang, including myself, aren't dressed as formally. Rose Nix might look like an exclusive club, but I still don't think there's need to go overboard or follow a strict dress code.

The line moves at snail speed, which allows us to do some small talk. Roy asks me, "How did you get us here, Sanghyun? Have you got any good references?"

I shake my head. "I just did some random research one day, and found out they have some top notch events at the VIP lounge. I promised myself I'd come here one day, but under different circumstances, of course."

"Such as?" intervenes Adam with his usual mixture of annoyed and taunting voice tone.

"Do I really have to tell you?" I clap back at him, knowing he won't relent until I give him a satisfactory answer. "Okay, I originally wanted to go on my own, but then I reminded of that promise... So, here we are."

"Wow." I don't like his sarcasm right now. Okay, I should be used to it, but it's out of line in a situation like this, where we should only focus on having fun and drowning our negative thoughts in booze.

"The bouncers at the entrance are slow, aren't they?" points out Lacey. She has a point; this could be why the queue is barely moving.

"Are you sure? I think there could be someone stirring up trouble for their own sake," is Daejung's hypothesis, which is the closest to my personal thought. Whether it's for something trivial such as forgetting the entrance pass, or more serious such as attempting to sneak minors in, no-one needs this shit.

Those bouncers need to start working more quickly. Ten minutes have passed, and less than a dozen people have entered, with several others being rejected. Maybe Rose Nix is as exclusive as it's made out to be.

Half an hour in, the line finally starts moving at a more reasonable pace. We come closer to the entrance; I take a glimpse behind my back and realize we're quite lucky. Whoever comes now is bound to wait even longer, and might be left out all night.

Only three people separate us from the bouncers and, therefore, from fun. They get asked for passes or tickets, but they hesitate and make excuses. "Oh, sorry, I must've left mine at home," says one of them.

They're three girls. All of them are brunettes; one of them is petite, while the other two are much taller. Maybe almost as tall as me. The short girl taps her heels on the pavement and snorts. "Come on, find it! You can't have left it at home for real!"

Her voice sounds familiar, but I can't make out where I heard it before. The two tall girls try hard to buy some time to be able to get in, stalling the line again. One of them flirts with the bouncers, who, however, remain impassible.

The other girl keeps rummaging through hers and her friends' bags to the point that I have to catch a paper that landed exactly at Sally's feet. I try to return it politely, but the girl snatches it, panting out of anguish. Her heart is racing.

The short girl is on the verge of exploding. She tries to reassure the bouncers that she'll find the passes, but I suspect it's all bullshit. Her tirade at her friends, to me, is proof that she's trying to sneak in without being invited. "Paige, Ida, you idiots! How could you lose them? Seriously, fuck off!"

She pushes her sidekicks away, ordering them to clean up the mess they caused, and proceeds to attempt to break into the club on her own. She cooes at one of the bouncers. "Sir, I think I've met you in the past. It was at some other club... Do you remember?" She bats her eyelashes and puckers her lips.

She's pathetic. She's literally selling her dignity just to enter a fucking nightclub. She should accept her fate and follow her friends out of the line. The bouncer who's object of her advances asks her name. She shows him her ID and asserts. "Arlene Olivier. I'm sure you've heard of me, or of my aunt..."

Oh, shit. Using family connections to enter clubs. Typical of nepo kids. That's the custom in South Korea, so I'm not surprised it also happens here in the States. However, to be fair, I don't even think I've heard that name. I eye the rest of the gang for an explanation.

Lacey answers, "Oh, yes, Arlene Olivier... I remember that brat... She's Leanne Betts' niece. She once came at the boutique and threw a tantrum in the middle of my shift." Oh, no, not that ugly witch again! Okay, it's not her, it's just a relative, but I guess her personality is as shitty as her aunt's.

Arlene catches us gossiping and snaps at Lacey. "Hey you, pumpkin head! Shut up! Someone told me the shit you pulled against Elise, and I of course told my aunt! You'll have to refund them—especially that stupid ass groom and the bridesmaids." That's enough. It's time to put this bitch back in her place. Since the bouncers don't take action, I do.

"So, you're Elise's friend, huh? And I guess you and your aunt covered her cheating ass, right?" Arlene doesn't listen to me and turns her attention back to the bouncers in an attempt to suck up to them. I, however, force my gaze on her, which earns me a glare.

"Listen carefully, little brat. I won't let you discredit Lacey's work. I won't let you insult Adam, who at least had genuine feelings unlike your fake ass best friend. I won't let you belittle Breanna, Kaitlin or Sally who saw through the little missy's shit-"

Arlene points at me with a disgusted face. "And who? Who the fuck are you, their attorney? Get the fuck out of my face or you'll face trouble-"

Daejung intervenes as soon as he hears that word. "You said trouble, right? Fine. I'll serve you what you want." He whistles at the bouncers, who immediately earn his attention. "Guys, can we go in? We do have passes, unlike this yapping bitch-"

"What did you call me? I'll-"

The bouncers obviously listen to Daejung, ignoring the brat. After we all show our invitations, the ladies enter the club first, with Roy and Adam trailing close after them. Daejung and I are left in front of a furious Arlene.

"You two! You'll pay for that! I-"

I walk past her, pushing her against Daejung, who eyes her in a mixture of disbelief and disgust. He moves forward and catches up with me, away from that jerk and the growing queue.

Finally we're all in. The VIP lounge is waiting for us, and so is a night full of passion and free from sorrow.

For the first time since I met the lift gang and Daejung, I don't feel like thinking of secrets, promises or anything close to that. Now, it's time to have fun.