Recollection

You honestly think you can be a model for Advil.

It’d be so easy too; Your back hurts like a motherfucker, it hurts to open your eyes, and your head feels like it got run over by a truck, then having said truck double down on it and run you over in reverse. It doesn’t even feel like you got any sleep either, and the pillow you’re resting your head on is way too damn hard.

And you were not appreciating how happy the sun is today, shining its stupid light at you.

You take a deep breath and give your arms a good stretch. Your neck gets a nice ol’ crack, and you feel bliss for a good second. Until you open your eyes, and immediate regret settles in as the glare of the sun is beaming down straight at your head.

Can you shoot the sun? Is that a thing you can do? Or, you know, hope that it gets all gloomy and starts raining. That’ll show it not to mess with you today.

You slowly open your eyes again, covering the light with a hand to take in your surroundings. And you won’t lie, not a single thing inside of this room is familiar to you.

Where the fuck are you?

A curse slips out of your lips as your back cracks mid-stretch, and you crane your neck to figure out what the hell sort of mattress gave you an even worse morning than it already is. And lo and behold, it was a chair. Made of wood.

Fan-fucking-tastic. No, really it was great—no idea where you are and a shitty chair as a bed.

Definitely gonna need that Advil soon.

Your body is literally screaming for it, dying to get something to get rid of the pain yet you can’t even get up. You return to slumping back into this god awful chair trying to get comfortable.

Obviously, it doesn’t work out.

So you look around. To your left, it’s a wall. Good start. You look to your right, and you spot a bed. A big, fluffy, lovingly beautiful bed that looks extremely good to get on top of and simply lay there to wallow in your misery. The pillows look so enticing too, like it would wrap your head in a gentle embrace when you lay upon them.

You’d love to do exactly that, but someone’s already beat you to it. Enjoying the soft cushion of the bed and the pillow, the ones that you should rightfully have due to being completely fucking hungover. All you can manage to see is her hair sprawled over her back and her shoulders peeking over her top.

You almost missed her at first glance; She almost looks one with the bed considering that she’s wearing all white and the only thing sticking out was her black hair and your suit jacket over her.

Wait, your jacket?

Who the fuck is she?

Okay, the need to un-fuck your head from this migriane just grew higher because you need to figure out what the hell is going on.

You wake up in what most likely is a hotel room somewhere with a woman sleeping on the bed while you’re on the chair with a killer headache because of said chair along with alcohol. You wonder why you couldn’t have just slept next to her but that would’ve been an awkward way to wake up.

Especially if you two were naked.

The bed would’ve been worth it though. Anything to not be sleeping in the way of the sun and having a sore everything. You would’ve preferred a rude awakening than a rough one if it meant it got rid of this goddamn migraine.

You manage to grab the closest pillow and use it as a nice warm headrest for yourself instead of this god awful chair past you decided to sleep on. You sigh and close your eyes, giving yourself a proper pillow this time as you try to remember what exactly you did to end up here.

That begs the question—

What the fuck did you do?

—

“How about her? She looks like your type.”

“Haewon, I’m not looking for a girlfriend.”

Not even an hour in the party and you already regret going. You were honestly hoping that it stuck to its script. Reunion party five years after graduating, a chance to mingle with old friends, catch up with the latest gossip, the works. And it was nice to see them all, finding out how life has treated them. Or not.

You don’t judge. Life’s been a rollercoaster for you too.

It’s a simple affair, classy, elegant, all that jazz. It was all so formal. Until someone said that there was an open bar and suddenly everyone’s got alcohol in their hands.

Now when Haewon is given a combination of rum, soda, and lime, otherwise known as the beautiful concoction one may call a mojito, you’re usually gonna have a headache at the end of the night.

It doesn’t help that she’s been on this whole schtick for weeks on end. And knowing that this party was gonna have people coming in droves she might as well hit two birds with one stone. Get you a girlfriend, and get wasted doing it.

“Bullshit you’re not.” And she always was one for dramatics when she’s had alcohol in her system. “The last girlfriend you had was what, three years ago?”

“Two and a half,” you correct. “It’s not even that long.”

“That’s longer than your cock.” That headache’s coming in real fast if she keeps this up. “I’m just trying to help you get your dick wet.”

“Oh my god, Haewon please–” People were staring, and it was generally not a good sign when they did. “Pipe down, you’re making a scene.”

She sighs, raises her glass up in the air as an ‘apology’ of sorts—whatever the fuck that even means—and speaks in a quieter tone. “How about this,” she starts, taking another sip of her drink. “You go out there and talk to one girl that’s not me–” Well there goes that loophole. “And you see where it goes.”

“…That’s it?” You narrow your eyes. There was always something else with her whenever these negotiations of hers comes along. “I don’t need to go home with her, get her number, anything?”

“Nope. Just talk to someone. Anyone that you haven’t met yet.” And there it is. The rules of the game further expand. “The only people you’ve talked to here are me, some of your guy friends from that stupid club you were in, and the bartender,” she continues. “And he doesn’t count since you only asked for a drink.”

“Why are you so hung up on this?” You shake your head, leaning back against the chair. “You’ve been on my ass about this for weeks now. And it’s not like I’m missing out on anything big.”

“You’re missing out on a lot, really,” she snaps back, the smirk on her face really starting to annoy you, until it softens to a smile. “You’ve been coasting since the break up. The literal definition of eat, sleep, work and repeat. It’s like you don’t do anything else.”

“I have hobbies,” you defend, but she didn’t seem to hear it. Or chose to ignore it.

“And besides, it’s been three years.” You’re almost tempted to correct her again if not for how serious she is about this. “You gotta live a little, you know. Explore and all that.”

“What are you, my mom?” As much shit Haewon does give you she does it in good faith. You think. She just tends to do it in the most obnoxious ways possible, especially when she’s had some alcohol in her system.

“Ew, no,” she snorts, rolling her eyes at you. “Look, just try it out. And I swear I’ll get off your ass about it.”

“Yeah?” You can’t believe you’re agreeing to this stupid little bet, deal, whatever the hell this is that she’s trying to do for you. But if this is the only way to get her to shut up is to say yes (like it always is) then you might as well follow her advice for the umpteenth time. Besides, she does have a point. You have been doing the bare minimum in terms of your social life.

And a party’s always the best time to make new friends. Plus it sounded easy enough.

Just one.

You’ll give her shit one last time though. Just for good measure.

“The last time you said that–”