When I arrived, I saw Victoria hanging out with some guys I didn’t recognize. Victoria and I are best friends, alongside Krystal. Krystal is an aspiring law student whilst Victoria is studying Fashion Design. Victoria shared the same pain with me. Why?
Simply because his father also handles the largest Chinese Mafia.
I approached her. She embraced me immediately and whispered “Did something happen?”
“No. Not really. Kwon bitch is with Dad. I don’t want to stay there.” I whisper back.
She nodded her head. She turned to her circle of friends. “Hey guys, this is Choi Sulli. From this day on, she’ll be part of our group. She’s my best friend. You guys better take care of her or else…”
They all looked at me and smiled. They welcomed me into their small group. Three of them were boys and two were girls (I don’t know for the other girl since she had a boyish cut and she wore boyish clothes. Okay, let’s just say she’s boyish.).
“Hi, I’m Sehun.”, a tall yet slender blonde-haired guy stood up and shook my hand.
“Xiumin. Nice to meet you, Ssul!”, a cheerful guy with chubby cheeks approached me.
“Luna. Talk to me. Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”, a girl with long, black locks winked at me.
“Amber at your service yo! Let’s be friends.”, the boyish girl I was referring to waved at me and did some hand gestures.
“I’m Park Chanyeol. It’s nice to have you here, newbie.”, a simple yet very tall guy introduced himself to me. His hair was pure brown and his round eyes made contact with my eyes.
“Sulli here is a really good dancer. Let’s get started, shall we?”, Victoria said all of a sudden. I pulled her arm and asked her what’s going on. Victoria smiled and replied, “You’ll see, darling.”
Sehun turned the music player on and walked to the center. Everyone looked at him as he danced to the music. Later on, Xiumin and Chanyeol joined him. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
“This is my refuge, Ssul. This is my passion. Whenever something’s wrong at home, I call these guys up and we dance like there’s no tomorrow. Sometimes, Luna and Amber sing for us. We always meet during Tuesdays and Thursdays to entertain the people who pass by.” Victoria explained to her.
“And you’re expecting me to join this group?” I asked.
“Yes. I know you can dance.” She replied.
“But Victoria, I-“ I tried to complain but she cut me off.
“Listen. I know how you feel. If you just keep those emotions inside your heart, you’re going to die, young woman! You better let those emotions go away by dancing with all your heart.” She encouraged me.
“What if someone sees us?” I folded my arms.
“They won’t. Trust me.” Victoria looked me in the eye and pulled me to the center. I tried to dance along with them. It was quite awkward. Since I had nothing to do and nowhere to go, I gave it a go. Victoria was happy to see me dance. The other members left me to dance by myself on the center. Wow, this is really embarrassing. But who cares?
I get Victoria’s point now.
As I danced, I noticed Chanyeol’s lingering stare. How I wish he would turn away or go to the comfort room to pee. It’s really awkward for someone to look at me seriously when I dance. He looks like he wants to kill me. But I just brushed the thought off.
When the song ended, they all gave me a round of applause. Even bystanders and other people cheered for me. I just flashed my ordinary smile and ran towards Victoria. Victoria hugged me and said, “You did a great job! I knew you would enjoy this.”
The night was quite longer this time. After hanging out at the subway, our group decided to hang-out at a small pizza parlor. Midnight snacks. They were quite busy asking me questions of all sorts and I try my best to answer them well. If I do get my tongue slipped, my father will kill me right there and then. Chanyeol sat beside me. I could see his adam’s apple popping up and down. He cleared his throat and asked for my phone number. Without hesitation, I gave it to him. I don’t know why but I have a feeling that I’ll get along with Chanyeol well.
“So, um… Sulli-ssi. You’re going to be a film maker soon, mmm?” Chanyeol initiated a conversation between us.
I nodded my head. “Yeah, hopefully.”
There was awkward silence between us. I spoke up again. “Victoria told me you love drawing and sketching. You love arts.”
“Yes. I want to be a cartoonist soon. I want to make a big impact to children’s lives.” He answered, followed by a soft chuckle.
“Oh. So, you’re not the Casanova slash chaebol type?”
“I’m not. I refused that kind of life. Dad wanted me to have our family business but I refused. I guess he understood my purpose. So, he trained my younger brother for it. My Dad still treats me well despite my decision.”
“That’s cool.”
“How about your parents? What do they do?”
Uh-oh. Here we come. I bit my lip and said. “My Mother passed away when I was twelve. It’s such an unfortunate incident. I saw her being shot.”
Chanyeol gasped. “I’m sorry.”
“My Dad is a businessman.”, I lied. Victoria heard this. Her eyes bulged for awhile. It's as if she drank so much cola she's going to throw up any second.
Chanyeol nodded his head. “I see.”
To prevent further questions about our personal lives, Victoria stood up and said, “Okay guys. We have to go now.” She checked her sleek watch and said, “It’s getting late.”
Victoria walked ahead of us. Luna and Amber took a taxi together. Xiumin rode on his bike. Sehun rode on his sedan. Victoria bid goodbye to us as her butler escorted her to a private parking lot. Chanyeol tapped my shoulder and said, “I better go home, too. Do you have a vehicle?”
“Yes. It’s over there.” I pointed at my silver-colored car. Chanyeol’s hand was still on my shoulder.
“Cool. Good night, then.” He said.
“Good night.”
We went separate ways. I saw him walk towards a red car. He looked back at me and waved at me. “I’ll text you.”
“I’ll be waiting.” I said as I unlocked my car door.