Chapter 6: 6-1

"Remind me not to get blackout drunk today," I jokingly say to my brother as we walk to the bar he works at. "No promises." I tsk at him. "You're my older brother, you're supposed to take care of me." "Go find a boyfriend to take care of you, that's not my job," he sneers at me and puts his hands in his pockets. I frown at him but drop the topic. I've been helping the kid next door for over a month now and have accumulated a decent amount of cash; enough to be able to go out an enjoy myself tonight. And yes, while our relationship is past the need for me to call him the kid, I can't help but force myself to distance from him, even with the use of nonchalant nouns. That intimate hug from over a week ago still haunts me sometimes. I lectured myself that day for a good two hours after. As soon as we enter the bar our group of friends greet us with a loud cheer. My brother bows dramatically with one hand behind his back. I just roll my eyes and sit down next to my friend Sunny. "How's it going?" She asks. "Terribly. You?" "A complete shit-show." And that's how my night starts. We go through a gross amount of food and alcohol—thanks to my brother's employee privileges—but then again when ten stressed out college students come together, what can you expect? Eventually we start playing drinking games, and of course, like the asshole he is, my brother strategically gets me to take more shots than anyone else. I want to wipe that evil smirk right off his ugly face. It gets to a point where I can't drink anymore, it just all falls back out of my mouth. "Nuh-uh, no more. I'm done." "Yah, stop it! Look at how drunk you made her!" Sunny holds me in her arms as she yells at my brother. He just laughs along with the other guys. "I hate you," I slur at him. "Take her home," Sunny tells him. "I can't. I actually have a shift starting soon." "You're drinking before work?" "I work at this damn bar, it'll take a lot more than two beers and two shots of soju to make me tipsy." "You're such a dick. I can't bring her home either, I have to leave to meet my boyfriend soon." "Ooh," I sing at her drunkenly. "Hold on," my brother takes out his phone and calls someone. "Hey! You don't happen to be free right now do you?" A pause. "Oh really? That's perfect! We're just down the street. Destiny needs help getting home and unfortunately I start work soon. Can you—" Another pause. "Oh awesome! Thank you so much. I'm just worried about her getting home safely. We're at the bar, you know the one." Wait, who is he talking to? He hangs up and smiles triumphantly. "Who did you call," I slur. "Jaewook," he says casually before taking a sip of water. "What!?" I yell at him. "He's just down the street, it worked out perfectly." I start at him dumbfounded, mouth open like a drunk idiot. Soon enough, the young boy walks through the doors, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. I've never seen him wear that before. He walks over to us and my brother claps hands with him. What the hell? When did they get friendly with each other? My brother says bye to me and heads to the bar. Jaewook looks at me for a while, observing my sorry state. I catch him smirk before he grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet. "Who's this?" Sunny asks. "Jae-Jaewook," I stutter. The boy turns to look at me, "do you usually remember what happens when you're drunk?" "What? No... bad memory," I slur. I almost always forget what happens while intoxicated, that's why I only get drunk if Zen is around. "Good," he turns back to Sunny, "I'm her boyfriend. Her brother called me." "What?!" Sunny and I both yell at the same time. "Destiny, you didn't tell me this?" "We have to go, I'm sorry. Nice to meet you," the boy very smoothly says before turning and leaving, my hand still in his. "Jaewook!" I whine as I stumble after him. "Jaewook! Slow down. Your legs—is—are too long," I slur. He smirks and slows down. But he continues to hold my hand. We seem to get home unbelievably quick, but that's only because my sense of time is incredibly altered right now. He leads me to my door and tells me to open it. My fingers sloppily hit some keys, but it declines. "Yah-ah," I whine at the machine as I continue to type numbers. After the third failed attempt, Jaewook grabs my hand again and walks down the hallway. He types in his passcode and opens the door. It's dark in his house. "Shh, stay quiet. My mom's asleep." I can't help but giggle. His finger comes over my lips to gesture me to stop. His eyes seem to glow in the dark as they stare at mine seriously. Then he leads me to his room. He closes the door quietly before turning on the light. "Ah," I exclaim as my arms come to cover my blinded eyes. "What did I say?" Jaewook's stern words cause me to stare at him in shock. "Be quiet," I mumble. "Good girl." He turns back to what he was doing, heading to the mini-fridge beside his desk. Wait. Did he just? Call me? A good girl? I groan in confusion as I stumble across the room.