Not Sober - Chapter 1. Part 3

Chapter 1. Part 3

“What do you mean by ‘whore’? Stop saying such terrible things!” Jenna interjected. She felt shocked and hurt by her parents’ accusations.

“Min Jenna, stop arguing and give me a straight answer,” her father demanded.

“What?” Jenna responded, feeling a mix of confusion and apprehension.

“Have you been out with someone as$hole?” he asked.

Jenna prepared for a challenging conversation, but she didn’t expect it to escalate to this point. Why was he holding a golf bat? Was he going to hit her?

Jenna found the situation absurd and couldn’t help but laugh. However, her laughter only fueled her father’s anger, and he swung the bat at her.

Jenna whispered, “That’s amazing,” her smile tinged with bitterness.

She mused that her father hadn’t heard from her in a while, but all he seemed to be concerned about was her virginity, her virginity, her virginity.

She glanced at the shoe rack and noticed that her brother’s shoes were missing. This indicated that he had not returned home yet.

“Min Yejun hasn’t returned yet?” she asked, shifting the focus away from herself.

“He’s a boy!” Jenna’s mother exclaimed in frustration.

“What’s the difference between a boy and a girl?” Jenna retorted, tired of the same old arguments.

Her parents’ reactions were as expected—her mother fuming with anger and her father looking disappointed and exhausted.

Without a second thought, Jenna turned away from them, ignoring her father’s calls.

“Min Jenna!!!” she heard her father shout behind her, but she kept walking.

She was determined to stand her ground, even if returning home would make her feel like a criminal. Nothing would change with her parents. Jenna steeled herself.

“If I have a knife, I will cut a radish,” she thought. She hardened her heart against the turmoil within.

*

“Jenna, did you leave home?!” came the surprised voice on the other end of the line.

Jenna sat on a swing in the deserted playground and sighed heavily.  She asked Sua hesitantly, “Could you let me stay with you for a few days?”

“Wow, that’s awesome! Of course, no problem at all! I am thrilled that you have finally escaped from that suffocating house.” Sua replied enthusiastically, her laughter tinged with sarcasm as she emphasized the word “family.” As Jenna’s best friend since high school, Sua knew more about Jenna’s family situation than anyone else.

“Thank you so much,” Jenna said gratefully, feeling relieved that Sua was willing to help her out.

Jenna suddenly noticed background noise and asked cautiously, “Wait, Sua, are you outside? Why is it so loud?”

Sua suggested, “It’s my night off. I’m in Gangnam. Come over, and we can have a drink before heading to the house together.”

“I’ve already had a few drinks.” Jenna hesitated, unsure if she should go out again.

“It’s fine, just come and hang out. The guys here are wild, you’ll regret missing out. You should experience this while you’re still in your early twenties,” Sua urged, trying to persuade Jenna to join them.

Feeling like she had no other choice, Jenna agreed reluctantly. “Okay, I’ll come.”

“Great, I’ll send you the location on WeChat. Hurry up!” Sua replied eagerly.

As Jenna made her way to Gangnam on a Friday night, the bustling scene around her amazed her. Flyers advertising various bars littered the sidewalks. Groups of young people, clearly drunk, were either hailing taxis to get home or moving from one drinking spot to another.

The crowd was well-dressed in fashionable clothes. Jenna felt out of place in her leggings, hoodie, and eco-bag, as if she didn’t belong among the glamorous attendees.

“But I can’t go home now.” She headed towards the location Sua had sent her, feeling embarrassed amidst the glitz and glamour of the night. Her heart was pounding with nervousness.

‘Other people have fun like this every Friday…’ Jenna couldn’t help but envy the carefree joy she saw on the faces of the other partygoers. She realized she had never experienced this kind of enjoyment before.

‘But I can change that,’ she told herself, determined to break out of her routine. ‘I won’t be doing this every day, just once in a while.’

Jenna pushed open the door to the bustling pub with newfound determination and stepped inside, where the bouncer asked for her ID.

Jenna explained that she was meeting a friend inside and just wanted to take a quick look. She felt self-conscious about her attire.

“Can I see your phone, please?” the bouncer unexpectedly requested.

Jenna was startled by the request and hesitated before handing over her phone. The bouncer then clarified that cameras were not allowed inside and provided a sticker to cover the lens.

The bouncer took Jenna’s phone and covered the camera lens with a sticker before returning it to her. Jenna felt out of place and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, feeling like she was in a foreign country.

“Jenna, over here!” Sua’s voice cut through the din, and Jenna gratefully made her way over to her friend.

“Oh my goodness, what a surprise to see Min Jenna here at this hour,” Sua exclaimed, delighted by Jenna’s unexpected appearance.

Jenna approached Sua’s table and noticed several people already seated. She took her seat nervously, feeling uneasy about being in such a lively environment.

Sua sensed Jenna’s unease and leaned in to whisper, “It’s fortunate we were one person short. They had an extra seat. Can you believe it?”

Jenna noticed a distinct difference in the men sitting across from her at Sua’s revelation compared to the tired, disheveled boys she was used to seeing at school.

“It’s like he’s the same person,” Jenna thought. She struggled to make out the man’s features in the dim lighting, but his yellow hair seemed oddly familiar.

Then, realization struck her. “Wait a minute,” she muttered to herself.

In a moment of surprise, Jenna blurted out, “Senior Baek Sung-chan?”

The man across from her appeared equally surprised to be recognized. He was undoubtedly the same senior who had been the subject of countless rumors at school, always at the center of gossip.

“Huh? Do you know me?” he responded, his expression reflecting his confusion.

Unlike Baek Sung-chan, Jenna felt like an invisible presence, someone who had never been part of the class gatherings or social events. There was no way Baek Sung-chan could have known her.

Feeling embarrassed at being singled out, Jenna blushed, grateful for the dim lighting that concealed her discomfort. “Um, yes… I’m Min Jenna, a junior in our class,” she replied politely, despite being outside the usual school setting.

Although Jenna’s behavior seemed out of place, Sung-chan returned her greeting with a slight smile and acknowledged that they were in the same class. He complimented her name, saying, “Nice to meet you, Jenna.”

Contrary to the rumors she had heard, Sung-chan appeared nothing like what Jenna had expected. As she looked at him with a gentle smile, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for herself for half-believing the gossip she had heard.

“I guess I can’t trust rumors,” Jenna thought to herself, reflecting on how she had perceived Baek Sung-chan based on the gossip she had heard.

Sua was surprised when Jenna revealed that she knew Sung-chan. At that moment, Sung-chan himself bought Jenna an unfamiliar drink.

“Jenna, would you like some snacks? Order whatever you want,” Sua offered, interrupting Jenna’s thoughts.

Jenna listened to the conversation around her and decided to correct anyone who talked about Sung-chan in the future. She thought to herself, “He seems like a nice guy, doesn’t he?” and reevaluated her initial judgment of him based on the rumors.

He spoke gently and soothingly, which was a stark contrast to the rumors Jenna had heard about him.

“Thank you, Senior,” Jenna responded gratefully.

“Eh, no need for formalities, just call me brother,” Sung-chan replied casually.

The term “brother” was unfamiliar to Jenna, leaving her feeling slightly awkward. She nodded slowly in response, unsure of how to reply.

In Jenna’s eyes, Sung-chan seemed like the perfect prince—charming, handsome, and kind. Suddenly, the words of her classmates echoed in her mind.