Double Date, Double Trouble

I spotted her by the perfume counter, testing some scents on her wrist with this little tilt of her head. There was something about the way she moved like she was someone i recognize. Then she turned, and for a second, I thought I was seeing double.

"Chaeyoung?" I Blinked.

She froze, eyes going wide, before that familiar slow smile spread across her face. "Chaeyoung? No fucking way."

Jiwon, who'd been browsing sunglasses nearby, glanced between us. "You know each other?"

"We have the same name," the other Chaeyoung laughed.. "We’re both Lee Chaeyoung."

Right then, this guy in a tight black shirt slid up behind her, arm looping around her waist like he owned the place. He had that effortless swagger of someone used to attention. When he caught sight of Jiwon, his eyebrows shot up. "Park Jiwon?"

Jiwon stiffened, just barely. "Kyunghwan?."

The air between felt heavy, but Kyunghwan just grinned. "Small world." He turned to me, hand outstretched. "You must be the other Chaeyoung."

The other Chaeyoung, Chaeng, like she'd made everyone call her in college bounced on her toes. "We should all grab dinner. A Double date."

Jiwon hesitated, but I nodded before he could say no. Something about this whole thing felt like it was a setup. "Yeah, let's go," I said, catching the way Kyunghwan's fingers tightened slightly on Chaeng's hip. She didn't seem to notice, as she’s already pulling up restaurant options on her phone.

We ended up at this Korean BBQ spot, the kind with the fancy vents so you didn’t leave smelling like grilled meat. Kyunghwan took over right away, ordering soju and a bunch of cuts without asking anyone. "You still like pork belly?" he asked Jiwon, who just nodded. The way they moved around each other was weird, too familiar but too stiff, like two guys who used to be close but weren’t anymore.

Chaeng kicked me under the table, grinning. "Remember our tiny dorm? You hogged the mirror every morning." She mimed me fixing my hair, tossing her own dramatically, and I rolled my eyes. "Says the girl who dated that basketball player just because she heard he has a big dick." The soju showed up then, and Kyunghwan poured shots like he’d done it a thousand times, sliding one to Jiwon first.

As the meat cooked, the conversation split, Chaeng and I laughing over stupid college stories while the guys talked low, saying things without really saying them. At one point, Jiwon reached over to adjust my glasses, his fingers brushing my temple, and Kyunghwan smirked. "Still fixing people's vision, huh?" Jiwon didn’t bite, just wiped his hands on a napkin. "Someone has to." The tension was thick, but Chaeng either didn’t notice or didn’t care, leaning over to steal a piece of meat off my plate with her chopsticks. "Mine now," she sang, and just like that, the moment shattered.

Three bottles deep and the world got all soft around them. Kyunghwan had his arm slung over Chaeng's chair, fingers tapping idly against her shoulder while Jiwon, shockingly actually loosened his tie. now he was laughing at Kyunghwan's bullshit story about some bar fight that definitely didn’t happened. "Bullshit" Jiwon snorted into his drink. Kyunghwan just flashed that sharp grin of his. They fist bumped across the table like idiots while Chaeng clapped like it was the best thing she'd ever seen.

The liquor made her bold. Chaeng leaned into Kyunghwan, whispering something that made him smirk before turning to me. "Hey, remember that time we got wasted and tried climbing into the boys' dorm?" Heat shot up my face, I'd tried to forget that mess. Jiwon's eyebrows nearly hit his hairline. "You what now?!" Chaeng cackled. “We got caught halfway up the fire escape." Kyunghwan looked weirdly impressed. "Damn, Chaeng. Didn't peg you as a rule-breaker." She winked. "You don't know half of it."

Jiwon nudges my foot under the table. "You never told me that," he said, expression unreadable. I shrugged, grinning. "You never asked." Something shifted between us, less careful now, more... alive. Kyunghwan poured another round, slopping liquor everywhere, and Jiwon didn't even blink. Just raised his glass. "To coincidence." We clinked. Chaeng's fingers brushed mine just a second too long, her eyes sparkling. "To us," she added, and the way she said it made me wonder if she meant something bigger than just the four of us sitting there.

By the fifth bottle, Chaeng was a giggly mess slumped against Kyunghwan, tracing nonsense patterns on his leg. He didn't seem to care, just watched her with that lazy smirk. "Think we broke them," Jiwon muttered, nodding at Chaeng as she attempted stacking empty soju bottles like some drunk Jenga. They crashed down and she dissolved into laughter. Kyunghwan ruffled her hair. "Cute." That word stuck in my ribs sharp and warm all at once.

Somehow we made it to the parking lot. Jiwon, weirdly steady, dug out his keys while Kyunghwan hauled Chaeng along as she mumbled about the AC’s being "too damn loud." I swayed, my feet not quite cooperating, and Jiwon caught me. "Got you," he murmured, and whether it was the booze or his touch, electricity shot through me. Kyunghwan dumped Chaeng into the backseat like a ragdoll. When he turned to help me, Jiwon shook his head. "I got her." There was something in his voice, possessive, maybe and Kyunghwan just smirked and let it go.

The car smelled like leather and just a touch of Air Freshener. Chaeng was sprawled across the backseat, her head drooping against the window like she was half-asleep, until suddenly she wasn't. She sat up too fast, swayed, and then her hands were on my face. The kiss was messy, tasted like soju, and landed more on the corner of my mouth than anything. I didn't even have time to react before I heard Kyunghwan suck in a sharp breath from the front seat. "Fuck," he muttered. Jiwon's grip on the steering wheel went white-knuckled. "Yeah," he agreed, voice tight. Chaeng just giggled, slumped against my shoulder, mumbled "Missed you," and then promptly passed out. The silence in the car was so thick you could choke on it. Kyunghwan twisted around to stare at us, grinning like an asshole. "Well, That just happened." he said.

Chaeng woke up again as we pulled into Jiwon's apartment complex. The elevator ride was awkward as hell, Kyunghwan leaned against the mirrored wall like he owned it, Chaeng hanging off his arm like some drunk squirrel. Then she blinked at me, suddenly way too alert for someone who'd been unconscious five minutes ago. "We should have a sleepover," she announced, and before anyone could stop her, she'd pecked Kyunghwan right on the lips. Quick, playful, Then she lunged at me, peppering my face and neck with sloppy kisses while whining "Isa, you're so cute" into my shoulder. Jiwon cleared his throat, jaw clenched, while Kyunghwan just laughed and hauled her upright as the elevator dinged. "Down, girl," he said, like he was talking to an overexcited puppy.

Jiwon's apartment smelled like clean laundry and the faint scent of air freshener. Kyunghwan whistled, taking in the neat, barely-lived-in space. "Nice place," he said. Jiwon ignored him, steering me toward the couch except Chaeng collapsed onto it first, limbs everywhere, and before I could even sit down she'd rolled onto me, face buried in my tummy. "You're warm," she mumbled, like that explained anything. Kyunghwan watched, arms crossed, expression unreadable. Jiwon tossed a blanket over us, his hand lingered on my shoulder a second too long. "Stay," he said, quiet but firm. It wasn't a request.

Chaeng's breathing evened out against my chest. Kyunghwan hovered by the coffee table, flipping a loose soju cap between his fingers. "So, We just... leave them like this?" he said, glancing at Jiwon. Jiwon rubbed his temple like he was fighting a headache. "For now." Kyunghwan smirked, slow and knowing. "Interesting." The word hung between them, loaded. Meanwhile, Chaeng's fingers found mine under the blanket and tangled tight. I didn't pull away.

Then she moved. Suddenly Chaeng was pushing herself up, face flushed, lips parted. She grabbed my hands, too fast, too rough, and pressed them to her own cheeks before kissing my hands. Once. Twice. Her tongue flicked out against my skin, tasting me. "I want you tonight, Lee Chaeyoung," she murmured, voice thick with soju and something hotter. My breath caught. Kyunghwan made a low noise in his throat; Jiwon's hands curled into fists. Chaeng didn't wait for an answer, her hands were already under my shirt, nails scraping lightly over my sides before yanking it off. The air was cool on my bare skin, but her stare was scorching. "Boys just watch for a bit, okay?" she said, not even looking at them, already working the button of my jeans. Kyunghwan chuckled, dark and approving. Jiwon didn't move, didn't speak, but his breathing had gone shallow.

I should've stopped her. Could've, easily. But then her mouth crashed into mine again, all heat and teeth and no patience, and any sane thought just... evaporated. Her hands were everywhere, shoving my jeans down, gripping my ass hard enough to leave marks. Behind us, Kyunghwan shifted, his stupid expensive jacket creaking. "Fuck," he grunted, sounding wrecked already. Chaeng pulled back just enough to smirk at him over my shoulder. "Told you," she panted before biting my lip hard enough to sting.

Jiwon let out this sharp breath. "Isa—" Chaeng shut him up with one look. "Later," she muttered, yanking me down onto the couch. The couch scratched my bare back, her body pinning me under her. When her thigh pressed between my legs, I arched up without thinking. Kyunghwan's laugh came out choked. "Holy Fuck." Chaeng didn't slow down just dragged her lips down my neck while her fingers slipped lower, teasing through fabric.

The whole place smelled like sweat and alcohol and something sharper, something desperate. I turned my head just enough to see Jiwon still standing there, gripping the armrest so tight. Kyunghwan wasn't smirking anymore just staring where Chaeng's hand disappeared between my thighs. "Keep watching," she murmured against my shoulder, right before her fingers found me through my panties. I gasped. Nobody moved. Not them. Not me.