First | S. Eunseok

2

His gaze stood fixed on our table. At least, that's what I assumed. I broke eye contact and began to look around to what he could possibly be seeing. That was short-lived as soon as I saw Jimin smiling in his direction. The way this whole day has been going, I could tell he had a thing for her. This is Areum and Seungchan all over again. I never saw Seungchan in that way, but when Areum first got into a relationship, all she cared about was her boyfriend. I was tossed to the side, which led to a big fight. We ended up working through it, and honestly, it made our bond stronger.

Jimin is my work friend, so it's a bit different. If Eunseok starts working there, which he most likely will, they'll go through that honeymoon phase that I hate so much. That is if they even get together. Maybe they'll try to keep it a secret, considering he's the boss' son, and she could potentially lose her job.

"I hope his dad retires." Jimin sighs as imaginary hearts start shooting from her eyes. I scoff at her comment.

"Yeah, I think that one shot was enough for you." I take the opened bottle from her and pour some for me, drinking it as if was juice.

"I still want to drink, but I think you're right. I have to drive to the airport in the morning anyway." She sat back, crossing one leg over the other under the table. "It was nice drinking soju that a handsome man bought for us." She batted her eyes and let out a laugh. "Maybe one more drink will be fine. It would be rude not to have just a little more. It was a gift, after all."

I laughed with her, and suddenly, more of our coworkers made their way into the bar. We were all close to one another but in our own groups. Some people stopped by to greet us and chat for a bit. Eventually, Jimin started chatting it up since she was completely sober. Me on the other hand, started getting quieter the more I drank. The bottles of soju eventually exclusively became mine as I just started drinking straight from the bottle. I'm not really one to drink this much, but something about today kind of put me off. I needed this edge, I needed to drink my feelings away just this once. "I'm going to the bathroom." I slurred. I don't even think Jimin heard me as she continued to speak to one of the girls that works with us and would have lunch with us every now and then.

My trip to the bathroom made me realize what exactly happens to my motor functions after I drink nearly 3 bottles of soju on an empty stomach. "Excuse me." I try to snake my way around a man in a white button-up shirt. I lightly hold down his arm with the tips of my fingers as I brush past him.

As I make my way into the bathroom, I make a b line straight for the sink. I run the water and start splashing it on my face, waking me up a bit. I decided to just place some paper towels on the floor and just sit here until I sobered up at least a little. Regret already flooded my mind as I began to sit down. Why did I drink so much?

-

After about 15-20 minutes of just sitting there, I began to doze off. Yeah, it's time to get my ass up. I will not be falling asleep on a nasty bar bathroom floor. My fingers grip the sink in front of me as I hoist myself up. I picked up the towels that I had placed on the floor and threw them in the trash near the door. I turned back to wash my hands and splash my face once more. The liquid was getting all in my hair as I repeated the motion of splashing my face with cold water over and over again. I decided I was going to let my face air dry as I walked out of the bathroom.

"I thought I was going to have to rescue you." I hear a man say over the faint music that was playing towards the front of the bar area. I look up to see the same white button-up shirt from earlier that I had to walk past. Of course. Eunseok. This was the last thing I needed. My boss' son seeing me drunk off my ass. "You ok?" He asks.

"Yeah." I say softly, nodding my head just in case he couldn't hear me. "I just needed a breather." A breather and a bed. "I think I'm just going to get Jimin and go home."