"I am not a hamster", I shouted with a loud voice and a grumpy face.
"Well, suit yourself, Mr. Han" Minjae laughed, wired, as if it was a mocking laugh.
This punk, I was going to "kill" him one day, my inner voice yelled loudly.
"Jiwoo, you do not listen to oppa. He's mad," Noona said, looking at Minjae, and then she softly took my hands.
"Come on, Jiwoo, let's move out; there are a few people that I want to introduce you to, and those people are good humans," Sohee noona whispered loudly, mocking Minjae.
I nodded at her with a mischievous smile because I was enjoying the moment greatly.
Sohee noona guided me out of the room with my hands in hers, for some reason. I felt actual chills running down my spine because of the fact that Minjae was giving us a death stare.
"So, Jiwoo, how you have been?" Sohee nonna asked "So, I guess it's been almost 4 years now, since we last saw each other, right?"
"Oh, yes—yes, noona, I have been doing well all this year. And, knowing the fact that, even after all these long years, you still remembered me. This made me really very happy. You know, Noona, I have been following all your fashion pages, blogs, and the till now read all the articles about your winter collection design. They were truly very beautiful."
"Jiwoo-iya… you really did that?" She got little emotional here.
Yes, of course," I replied with a grin on my face. "I had to, I'm your first fan, right? So I just had to support my idol"
"So to be sincere, I have to thank you for all your support," Sohee noona's expression softened, showing that she too became emotional. "You always say that I am your idol and that I really helped you, but it's been you who have been supporting me all along," she continued.
"And, had you not inspired me to submit this design to fashion and had I not received the first prize, I don't think that I would be here where I am standing today. Thank you so much, Jiwoo." Noona said while holding my hands tightly.
"No— No Sohee noona, it was you who archived everything with your own talent, and I should thank you, as you always motivated me, and you also helped me know that this is my passion," I said, shaking my head.
Both of us were quite emotional at this point and hugged each other in a manner similar to what is depicted in that kindergarten image, after a very long time.
Um. Okay. No more crying or I'll be like Anabelle" Sohee noona said in a laugh
"Oh yes, noona," I laughed, "While wiping off tears on my eyes, 'Even I don't want"
She smiled at me, her hand softly pushing my shoulder. "You're just the same, Jiwoo. Always dramatic."
"Hey, that's been years," I protested. "I'm entitled to a few tears."
"So what?" she laughed. "Now, stop crying. Let's go to the party."
"Party?" I blinked at her. "Weren't we supposed to meet the director and the designer from the other company, noona?"
"What's with being so scared now that noona is with you? We can do that another time. I have good connections, and in any case," she continued with a mischievous smile, "I even dragged you away from oppa so that we could totally enjoy this party. If we were with oppa, he wouldn't even let us have one glass of wine"
"Are you sure, Noona?? And will it be okay?" I asked hesitantly
"Of course," she said firmly. "Tonight is for us. First, reunion. Then, work."
"Even I want to enjoy some moments, I told myself. I have been going through a lot of stress lately due to Minjae. Let's drink till my last breath and forget everything," I said to myself.
"Well," Sohee noona questioned with a smile, "shall we go and rock the party?"
I nodded like a puppy, ready to follow wherever she may lead me. "Yes, noona Fine, then, let's enjoy our reunion and rock the party all night long."
We both headed toward the bar section, with a hundred-watt smile on our faces, as we were very excited to enjoy the night. But, little did we know what the future was holding for both of us.
When the door opened. What I saw afterwards felt like paradise opened its gates for me.
"Is this a bar section or a full-fledged pub?" I whispered in surprise.
One side had party lights blinking with loud music and complete chaos. The other side had the lights dimmed with a cozy atmosphere ideal for relaxation with drinks.
It was as if the place was divided into two parts, two completely different worlds.
"Damn, this place is like a hell and heaven on earth," I blurted out without thinking.
"Jiwoo, I told you would enjoy it," Sohee noona said with a wink.
Before I could process anything, Sohee noona pulled me straight to the bar counter.
"Welcome, Ms. Kang," the bartender greeted her with the cutest smile.
Sohee Noona waved her hand. "Hey, Jun, my usual drink. Make it two. Umm, no. Wait." She paused before adding, "Cancel that and get me two strong bottles of whiskey."
I looked at her in shock. "You're serious?"
"Trust me," she leaned in to whisper.
A person should know better. Sohee Noona said 'trust me' every time we got into trouble.
The bartender brought two bottles and glasses. I poured a drink, and took a sniff.
"Oh. It's strong," I said, looking at her.
She smiled. "That's the whole purpose of being drunk."
We touched glasses.
The first swallow stung the back of my throat, then warming me deep inside.
"Oh." I blinked. "That's actually good, and that's quite strong too "Told you," she said proudly, flipping her hair.
Then we started drinking.
One glass.
Two glass.
Then, another, we were chugging the whisky as if it were water.
Five minutes later, two bottles were empty.
And, suddenly music got louder, the lights brighter, and my thoughts became fuzzy. After a chaotic week and the stress. I felt loose. Relaxed. Free.
After a few more drinks, we looked at each other.
Then we burst out laughing.
"Ohhh, Jiwooiyaa," Sohee noona said, pointing at me, "you look so funny! Your face is as red as a tomato! Why are you holding that glass like that?"
"Noona," I squinted seriously at her, "you look funny too. With your red hair, you look like a witch."
She flicked my forehead hard.
"Ouch!" I gasped. "Noona! That hurt!"
She laughed. "One little bottle, and he's already out of control."
Another twenty minutes passed.
In a matter second, we don't know when or how, from sitting on the counter, we ended up on the dancing floor.
We were also dancing, like the intoxicated crowd at a wedding reception.
"Jiwoo, look at me!" Sohee noona shouted over the music, showing me her ridiculous dance moves.
I clapped enthusiastically. "Noona, you're amazing!"
We danced for nearly an hour until we ran out of energy.
"Jiwoo, If i dance more, I might end up in hospital. Let's go back to our seat," Noona said in an exasperated voice.
"Yeah—yeah, even I'm exhausted. Let's go."
After we calmed down, I reached for my glass once again, my gaze fixed on the spiraling liquid.
"Noona, I mumbled, 'Do you know when your chest suddenly starts racing, your cheeks flush, and the air seems to smell like perfume even though no one sprayed any?'"
Sohee noona stared at me.
She suddenly stood up, leaned towards me, and placed her hands on my face.
"Jiwooiya," she whispered, "are you in love?"
We both blinked at each other.
"Love me…" I mumbled. "I am in love me…" In five seconds in turned into a ripe tomato.
"Ohhh!" Sohee noona gasped, clutching her chest. "My little Jiwooya is in love! Who is he? Tell noona!"
She leaned closer, eyes sparkling. "Tell me, With whooo? Whooo is he?"
"Mr. Kang…" I was blushing. "Kang… hehe..I like him.. hehe" I murmured.
"Mr. Kang?" she asked slowly.
She took a moment to think and then, "Wait. Mr. Kang means—my oppa?"
I nodded hard. "Yes. Yes. Kang oppa. Mr. Kang. Same Kang."
Her smile faded, and she stared at me as if I am in love with a serial killer.
Then she leaned toward me and gave me a flick on my head.
"Ow! That hurts," I yelped.
"Jiwoo!" she started shouting "What's wrong with you? You like that idiot? He's rude! Cold! He looks like a gangster!"
I nodded vigorously. "Yes! Yes! Exactly! Handsome Gangster!"
She crossed her arms, "Huh, Handsome"
"First of all, he doesn't smile, he doesn't talk properly, and he's scary for no reason. Even though I'm his sister, I am scared of him!"
My brother is very stiff. And very scary," she said dramatically
I slapped the table. "Yes! Yes! Exactly! Because of him, I was walking on eggshells these whole week. My shoulders hurt, my pace vanished. And, my life is fucked up."
She pointed at me. "See! He's bad for your health. Shhh, forget him, okay?"
"Yes!" I agreed right away. "Very bad. Extremely bad. Dangerous for the heart too."
We looked at each other.
Suddenly, I was just a second away from crying a waterfall.
"Noona…" I said with voice cracked. "But still…"
Her lips trembled. "Still…?"
"I like him," I whispered, then burst into tears. "Why do I like this scary man?"
"Nooo!" she cried, grabbing me. "Why does my brother cause emotional damage to innocent Jiwoo?!"
We hugged each other, crying, wiping our stools and tears like two tragic characters in a low-budget drama.
"But he's so scary," she sobbed.
"But he smells nice," I cried back.
She gasped. "JIWOO!"
"I hate him," I sniffed.
"But I like him," I added quickly.
We cried harder.
Two grown adults.
Drunk.
Emotionally wrecked.
Clinging to each other like the world was ending.
Neither of us noticed those weird stares.
Neither of us will remember what we said.
But somewhere between insults, tears, and terrible life choices.
A very important secret slipped out and drowned itself in alcohol.
— To be continued