Lesson Nine

Sober? Not Really.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"ISN'T that A Piece Of Cake?" The woman sitting near the bar murmured. 

The bartender heard her and went to attend to her.

"Excuse me, do you wish to have cake? Or another shot?"

When she raised her head and looked at him he immediately drew back and regretted his choice of words.

"Oh, my- I didn't know that it was you, Ms. Kim-" he stuttered, but she gave him a small smile which made him stop.

"It's alright, no offense taken," she said and got up on her feet. The bartender privately wondered how she could still walk straight judging by the number of shots she had downed in half an hour itself.

As she walked, a few murmurs from other well-known guests were caught by her ears.

"Fancy that she was invited-"

"After the plastic surgery scandal, who would've thought-"

"I seriously don't understand how she still hasn't given up her contract like her friends."

Tossing her silver locks out of her face she walked towards the food table, curious to know who the new face was.

•

Previously, Jungkook had led Yoona to the banquet table. However, owing to certain distractions ("IS THAT IU? E-excuse me Yoona, I'll just go and get myself an autograph- uh, I mean, a drink. Yes, a drink. Nothing else," Jungkook stuttered and took his leave), she was left alone dipping strawberries in the chocolate fountain. As she relished the taste of the savory, she observed her surroundings with a keen eye.

The party was set in a classic, retro style. A few paintings decorated the walls reflecting the "Gucci Boy"'s taste in art. There was a dim lighting system in the halls. A bar was set up against the wall opposite to that of the banquet table. Small round tables were set up near the long table for guests who wished to sit down and gorge on the delicacies rather than stand and enjoy them.

Although there were waiters roving around with small bites of food and glasses of wine or champagne, there were people who were hovering near the banquet. Yoona could empathize with those people, few they may be. The succulent dishes could tempt anyone to act like a glutton in this sophisticated party.

Sighing, she popped another chocolate-coated strawberry in her mouth, nodded in approval as its favorable taste melted in her mouth.

It took her a moment to realize that a hand rested lightly on her shoulder. Her head turned up to look up at its owner and saw that it was a tall, pale man with an unpleasant smile on his face.

Yoona was no fool and realizing what his intentions really were, smiled politely at him and took off lickety-split towards a farther corner of the table.

To her horror, he tread on her heels and she cursed under her breath, noticing how swiftly the guests on that side dispersed.

Perhaps he was an influential person and the bitter realization of that wasn't helpful news. Biting her lips in worry, she searched for any sign of her brother or his brothers.

She froze when she felt the same touch on her arm. She didn't dare look behind.

"Why are you in such a hurry, sweetie? I haven't seen you around here. Are you a fresh face? I'm sure that I can help you out. With that pretty face, you might get anywhere in the film industry. Not to mention, that lovely body too. What do you say?" He said in a low voice which only she was able to hear.

Praying silently in her mind, she hoped that someone would extract her from this sticky mess. When no one did, silent tears pricked her eyes as she felt his hand lower down her back.

"Hm, this looks interesting," a rather smooth yet heavy voice spoke. 

The man hitched a breath when he saw who it was. He immediately let go of Yoona.

Yoona turned around and a gasp left her. It was a woman whose face she knew very well, whose songs she had grown up listening to.

Her face had a carved quality about it, with a rather obvious hint that her nose had gone through some work. Dressed in an off-shoulder dress which reached below her knees in neat frills, she had heavy make-up on and there was a smile on her face which displayed her genuineness and intelligence.

"Ms. Kim, it is an honor to meet you, I didn't expect-" The man began but was cut off by her.

"You didn't expect me to come? Not unexpected in the least, in my opinion. I couldn't refuse Kim Taehyung's kind invitation, which was addressed in all politeness to all the Girls' Generation members," Ms. Kim said in soft, thick tones.

"O-oh, w-well. I see," he spoke with a feeble attempt at smiling.

She gave him such a look that Yoona couldn't question why it made him shiver. She shivered a little too.

"That's lovely to know. Now I have some business to attend to the lady next to you. If you please, I'd like it if you took your filthy hands off her," said Ms. Kim, her tone menacing. The man gave a quick nod and scurried out of sight.

"Some men," Ms. Kim hissed "... simply don't know how to treat women. But he was right, you know? Who are you, little girl?"

Yoona suppressed the desire to retort at being called 'little girl' and responded to the question asked.

"I'm Min Yoona, Min Yoongi's sister. You can ask him if you like. He'll confirm it," Yoona spoke courteously. "It is such an honor to meet you-"

"Oh cut the buttering up and the yada yada. It seriously gets to me. Just address me as Hyo, okay?" Ms. Kim said, sounding rather bored.

Yoona gave a quiet nod in response. She looked at her in interest. She felt drawn to the girl, in a weird way. With a faintly amused smile, she put a question before Yoona.

"Say, is that A Piece Of Cake that you're wearing?"

•

Seokjin looked around in the great hall for some sign of Yoona, while the rest of Bangtan acted as the perfect hosts, attending to every guest.

Hoseok was particularly efficient at this job while Taehyung managed to charm every one who approached him.

Despite being tagged as a "private" party, to encourage better relations with other labels so as to secure better deals, prominent producers and artists were also given the invitation to Taehyung's birthday.

Jungkook, who tagged along with Namjoon, tried very hard not to roll his eyes at how artificial most of the guests were acting. He felt a twinge of guilt for not having kept an eye on Yoona as he should have. Nobody had told him to do so, then why was he feeling such a pang of insecurity for her?

'It must be because she's my brother's sister. Yes, she's my brother's sister,' he tried to convince himself.

Yoongi's eyes roved around the hall. When they landed on his sister, he let out a sigh of relief. Then, he saw who she was with.

He nearly took a double-take.

Was that the Kim Hyoyeon of SNSD?

What the heck was Yoona doing with her? On closer inspection, he observed that she was quite cheerful in the famous dancer's company and the latter was also being very friendly to her. It was still early days to say everything was alright; Yoongi simply prayed that nothing happened to her.

Seokjin finally spotted where Yoona was. He, unlike Yoongi, had a different reaction.

He had briefly met Hyoyeon for a collaboration project which had eventually dissolved due to certain issues. He knew that her character wasn't the worst and trusted that Yoona would be okay with her. Rather, he was glad that Yoona had found her instead of anyone undesirable.

He cast a look at Jungkook, who had also found where Yoona was. There was a certain intensity in his eyes that seemed foreign to Seokjin.

Dread filled him quicker than the wine that entered his body.

  What if his silly pranks at the maknae had led to something more serious? Although it was a nice change to see the youngest taking interest in something - more specifically, someone - other than music and other endeavors, Seokjin knew that that was the sister of one of the bandmates. 

What if something backfired? 

It was necessary to confirm his suspicions.

An idea flashed in his mind. He didn't like it but it seemed to be the most simple, straightforward decision to clearing things out. Steps had to be taken before it was too late.

He caught Taehyung's eye. The boy raised his eyebrows in query when Seokjin motioned him towards himself. Taehyung excused himself and walked towards Seokjin.

"What is it, hyung?" He asked.

"Can I ask you a favor? It might be too much but I would be grateful if you agreed to doing this," Seokjin said, his expression not amused in the slightest.

Taehyung nodded. Seokjin told him what had to be done. Taehyung looked at him, stunned for words. Seokjin gave him a wry smile.

"It's for Jungkook and Yoona both. If things go wrong between them, I will never be able to forgive myself. Better late than never," Seokjin said, entwining and untwining his hands in anxiety.

Taehyung gave him a blank look as a minute's silence followed. With a deep sigh, he finally spoke.

"Alright," he said.

•

"How did you know that the dress I'm wearing is from A Piece Of Cake?" Yoona asked curiously.

Hyoyeon gave a little laugh and she downed another shot. "I was the brand ambassador of it. I could recognize their style anywhere, little girl," she said.

"Ah, I see." Yoona said, nodding to herself.

It had been nearly fifteen minutes since they had started talking and half an hour since Yoona had entered the venue.

"How old are you?" Hyoyeon asked, while the bartender poured out another shot for her.

"I will turn 20 in January," Yoona responded.

"Oh, my! You're nearly a decade younger than me!" Hyoyeon exclaimed.

"Which is why I should call you unnie but you refuse," Yoona said, shaking her head a little.

"Hah! I am an unnie everywhere I go. It feels nice to feel younger, to be quite honest," Hyoyeon remarked, downing another glass of soju. Yoona laughed at this.

"Why did you laugh?" Hyoyeon asked with a smile.

"Well, I have a - ahem - student who insists I call him oppa. And here you are, demanding me to do away with calling you unnie," Yoona explained. 

Hyoyeon gave a tinkling laugh.

"Nice! And how old is this student of yours?"

"He will turn 21 next year. He is literally three months older than me," Yoona said. 

Hyoyeon nodded and ordered another shot of soju.

"Why are you drinking so much? Are you sure you're still sober?" Yoona asked.

Hyoyeon looked at her with a sly smile and turned back to the shot glass.

"Sober? Not really," she responded. Before Yoona could reply, an interruption arrived in the form of Taehyung.

"Hello, Ms. Kim. Do you mind if I borrow Yoona for a minute?" He asked Hyoyeon politely. She gave him a curious look, but nodded nevertheless.

Before Yoona left, she handed Yoona a slip of paper.

"It was nice meeting you. Let's catch up some time later," Hyoyeon said with a warm smile. Yoona nodded, smiling too.

Hyoyeon watched Yoona leave with Taehyung. With a sigh, she downed the last shot of soju.

'Youth - how short it truly is,' she thought and sighed once again.

•

"Why did you call me out here, oppa?" She asked him. 

He looked at her, straight in the eyes. There was no benign twinkle in his eyes as there usually was. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Yoona, I want you to answer me sincerely. Do you, by any chance, have any feelings for me?"

She stared at him with an empty look. This had happened before. Were the consequences going to be the same as last time? However, her answer was given quicker this time.

"No," she whispered. 

He caught the words and gave her a heavy smile.

He led her back to the hall where the two of them acted as if they had never met each other.

Little did they know, the man who escorted Yoona had heard their conversation. And for reasons unknown to himself, he felt bad for feeling glad about it.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Some Korean terms used:

maknae - A common term used by people, generally young , to refer to the youngest in a group.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.