Chapter CVIII - The Nightlife

Leaving the steamy bathroom after having taken a shower, Arthur returned to his room with a towel hanging over his neck, wearing nothing but pants. Irene was busy getting ready for the party, doing her makeup, but it didn’t stop her from playfully smiling at him, gesturing for him to come closer with her index finger.

He walked over and leaned in for a smooch, but Irene stopped him by pressing a finger against his lip,

kissing his chest and neck before finally reaching for his lower lip while tracing her hand across the trail of red lipstick she had left behind.

“How long until you’re ready?” Arthur asked, kissing her forehead before turning toward the clothes laid out for him on the bed.

“Never rush a girl,” she chuckled, turning back to a table mirror Sophie had. “Besides, I’ve yet to figure out what I want to wear.”

“It’s gonna be colder tonight, so make sure you don’t underdress,” Arthur warned her.

“Okay,” Irene said, standing up before reaching for her side of the wardrobe.

Due to how often Irene stayed over at his place, helping him while he healed Ryung, Arthur had made space for her to move into his room. It wasn’t a lot for the two, but still better than sleeping on the couch together every night. For someone so rich, Arthur was surprised at how accommodating Irene was.

Arthur couldn’t help but watch her take off his shirt, left wearing nothing but black lingerie he knew she wore just to tease him. The fact that she was slowly putting on tights made it even harder to look away, yet as soon as she threw a glance at him, he shyly averted his gaze, making her giggle.

“Still looking away?” She teased, putting on black high-waist denim hot pants with front slit pockets and a leather belt strapped around the waist before sliding on a black t-shirt and tucking it in.

Arthur used the chance to dress up all black as well, wearing a short-sleeved button-up shirt paired up with black pants, though, unlike him, Irene didn’t shy away from watching him the entire time with a grin on her face.

“I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he said, knowing she still had to do her hair.

“Okay.” Irene playfully slapped his butt on his way out, making him jump in surprise. “I’ll be down in fifteen.”

“Okay. . .” Arthur chuckled, shaking his head as he left the room.

Putting on his shoes, Arthur waited around with Kyu sleeping beside him. However, the fifteen minutes he expected turned out to be closer to over half an hour.

Entering the living room in her ankle boots, Irene caught Arthur staring at her with a coy smirk.

“You look beautiful,” he complimented her, scanning her from head to toe, loving everything from her loose hairstyle, the clothes she wore, and even the makeup despite being a fan of her natural look.

“Thank you.” She blushed, sitting next to him. Arthur wanted to kiss her, but she stopped him, whispering, “I don’t want to leave lipstick on you.”

“Now you care?” he chuckled.

“Fine. . .” She shook her head, giving him a quick smooch on the lips before wiping them with her thumb. ”You ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Arthur couldn’t help but gaze into her eyes.

“Great. Pour Kyu some food, and I’ll call us a taxi,” she said, taking out her phone while scratching behind the cat’s ear.

Leaving the taxi while Irene paid, Arthur noticed their sisters standing beside Iseul and Max as they waited for them. Opening the door for his girlfriend, Irene took his hand and thanked the taxi driver before they went to join the others.

It was rare for Arthur to wander so late at night, and the line of people waiting to get into the club was just a hint of how crowded it’d be.

“You’ve made it,” Iseul said, hugging Irene.

“Oppa, you feeling okay?” Sophie asked, worried since he had been showing signs of exhaustion for a while now.

“Took a nap before we came here, so good as new,” he reassured her, patting her head.

“Good,” she smiled, looking at him from head to toe. “New outfit?”

“We went shopping when you guys left,” Irene cut in. “Dashing, isn’t he?”

“Should let your girlfriend dress you up more often,” Max teased, tapping Arthur’s shoulder. “Looking good.”

“Thanks,” he chuckled, glancing back at Max. “You too.”

Max was rocking a white short-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans matched with spotless white sneakers that were just asking to be stepped on; meanwhile, Iseul took a page out of Irene’s book and dressed all black, rocking a skirt and thin crop top hoodie while having her hair tied in a ponytail. Sophie decided to go with ripped jeans which Arthur never understood, paired up with a pink crop top shirt, while Amelia, unlike her sister, dressed in skin-tight jeans and a white blouse.

“Can’t believe you really wore them,” Iseul commented, looking at Irene’s ankle boots which made her taller than the rest of the girls.

“It’ll be fine. . .” Irene chuckled.

“We’ll see what your feet have to say about it halfway through the night,” Iseul pointed out.

“Amm. . .” Sophie mumbled, walking up to Iseul. “You said we’d be able to get in, but they’re checking IDs.”

Amelia was the only one that could legally go in, despite Iseul being eighteen.

“Don’t worry. Unnie’s got this,” Iseul said, giving her a wink.

“I don’t like this. . .” Max mumbled.

“Then why did you come?” Iseul questioned, furrowing her brows.

“What? And let you go in alone?”

“Like I haven’t done it before.”

“That’s the problem. . . How’d you even get in?”

“Max. . . Could we not now?” Iseul sighed.

“Fine, but you got some explaining to do later, Noona.” He shook his head and turned to Arthur, whispering, “See what I gotta deal with? Wish my Noona listened as Sophie does to you.”

“Righttt. . .” Arthur mumbled, raising an eyebrow while looking at him before noticing Amelia standing alone awkwardly, looking lost in thoughts. “Noona, you okay?”

“Huh?” Amelia looked up, unsuspecting of attention. “Ah. I’m fine.”

Irene softly smiled, walking up to her sister and wrapping her hand around her arm.

“Hey,” Irene whispered, leaning against her. “Stay by me, okay? We got Sophie to look out for.”

“Right. . .” She smiled.

“I’ll be fine, guys. . .” Sophie awkwardly laughed, feeling as if they were going to put a leash on her soon.

Arthur couldn’t help but think that something else bothered Amelia and Irene knew about it, but he didn’t want to question it and ruin the mood, so the best thing that came to mind was simply to watch over them.

“Let’s go. My friend’s gonna wait for us by the door,” Iseul said, handing her phone to Max for safekeeping.

Even at the entrance, they could hear the muffled Korean club music playing while waiting for the mysterious friend that would help them get inside without having their IDs checked.

Max was surprised to find out that he knew Iseul’s friend. It turned out to be a girl from their neighborhood that used to come over with her younger brother, and while she was a few years older than Iseul, they got along well.

Her name was Jimin, and she worked at the club as a bartender and had a good work relationship with the owner, so the group was given free drinks for the night.

Considering how sweet and innocent she looked, Arthur had a hard time imagining her working there, as people like Moon fit the description better. That thought made him wonder if Moon, despite being seventeen, commonly went to places like these and if there was a chance of running into her.

Theoretically, it wasn’t Arthur’s first time in a club since he went and fought West High students when they beat up Don, though it was also far less crowded back then. The loud music, flickering lights, the smell of alcohol, and the murmur surrounding him made Arthur feel out of place for the first time.

Art could get away with feeling tired, despite faking he wasn’t, and not knowing the songs didn’t bother him, but dancing? He couldn’t bring himself to even imagine how awkward he’d look.

While attending a ball or two in his past life was mandatory, and learning the basic steps wasn’t that hard when he could perfectly mimic the people around him, the modern club dance that had no shape or even rhythm as far as he could tell, made it impossible to figure out. Luckily, Iseul went ahead and reserved a table for them so they wouldn’t have to stand all night, a saving grace for Irene as well.

Enjoying their drinks, they sat down first and just chatted among themselves. Of course, Arthur and Max could already see some guys that came alone intending to pick up girls, eyeing their table, but none yet dared approach as it was still early into the night. Max’s private words of warning turned out to be worth listening to, even though Arthur never doubted him for a second.

Sophie and Amelia were too engrossed in their conversation, and Iseul dragged Irene to the bathroom, leaving Max and Arthur all by themselves.

Noticing Max looked uncomfortable, Arthur couldn’t help but wonder why.

“You okay?” Arthur asked.

“What?!” Max yelled back, having a hard time hearing him with the loud music banging in the background.

“I asked if you’re okay,” Arthur repeated after leaning in closer.

“Oh. . . yeah. Don’t worry about it.” He brushed it off.

“No can do, buddy. You’d do the same for me.” Art raised his glass. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” Max chuckled, accepting Art’s initiative.

After chugging down Soju, Arthur squinted his eyes, looking at Max. “You gonna tell me, or do I gotta figure it out on my own?”

“I swear, it’s nothing. . .” he said but noticed Arthur looking doubtful, which led to Max letting out a sigh. “Fine, fine. . . I’m just feeling weird about being here with Noona.”

“Why?”

“Well, you know. . . I can’t stop looking out for her, and the idea of her coming here on her own just doesn’t sit right with me,” Max explained, making Arthur chuckle. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” Arthur tapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a good brother. You know that, right?”

Max was surprised to hear Art say that, making him feel flustered. However, to deal with it, he brushed off Arthur’s hand and said, “Come on. You don’t want Tjay to hear about this, do you? I’m sure he’d make a gay joke or two about us.”

“Well. . . In the end, it’s us, the four musketeers,” Arthur joked, having seen the movie a few nights ago.

“Seriously, how are you dating her. . .” he mumbled.

“What? The music–”

“Nothing!” Max laughed.

“Okay then, but let’s just enjoy ourselves, okay?” Arthur smiled, inviting him for another drink.

“Slow down, dude. . . We’re gonna get wasted at this rate.” Max sighed, failing to realize Arthur was desperate to relax in such an environment.

Only when the girls returned from the bathroom did the party feel as if it truly started. Irene was quick to pull Arthur to the dance floor after Amelia reassured her she’d watch over Sophie, and just as Arthur imagined, it was awkward as hell.

He was stiff and clueless when it came to dancing, and looking at others didn’t help, seeing as many severely lacked a sense of rhythm, let alone style. Bumping into people all the time made him feel cramped, and he was constantly worried he’d step on someone or get hit as many swung their hands around carelessly. Arthur also made sure to stop trying every time someone passed by him while carrying a drink, wishing to avoid being the reason they spilled it. However, all that discomfort was dwarfed by Irene’s smile as she danced to the beat and found herself enjoying the atmosphere.

So focused on finding someone who knew how to dance, Arthur failed to notice Irene getting closer until she had her arms around his neck.

“You okay?” She asked, smiling charmingly and gazing into his eyes.

“I’m fine. . .” He mumbled, feeling as if he had just had this conversation with Max.

“God, I love that you suck at lying.” She chuckled, pulling him in for a kiss while guiding his hands to her waist. The two began to slow dance despite the song not necessarily matching the vibe, but despite that, Arthur started relaxing, gazing into her eyes. “Feeling better now?”

“Yeah. . .” He whispered through a smile. “Thanks.”

“Don’t think too much, and just enjoy yourself. If you want, we can always go back to the table. I’m just happy to be here with you.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he said into her ear. “I just suck at dancing.”

“Look around you. Nobody cares.” She giggled, leaning into his ear. “Besides, you’re just overthinking it. You’re doing fine.”

That was a lie, and Arthur knew it. Still, her words encouraged him to enjoy his time with her and try his best.

Irene eventually eased him into it, allowing them to go on for quite a while before Arthur finally decided to sit back down, needing a well-deserved break. Noticing everyone was still dancing, Arthur told her to join them, saying he’ll be right behind her.

Hesitant at first, Irene accepted but only after sneaking in another kiss, promising to drag him away if he didn’t show up after a while.

Taking a sip of his drink, he found it surprising how much energy he had left, feeling reinvigorated by having fun. The afternoon nap turned out to be the perfect second wind he needed to make it through the night, but as soon as they reached home, it was bedtime for him.

Looking at Sophie and seeing her smile eased his mind, thinking how it was worth the effort to come if it meant her mood would improve. Life hit hard, and he was worried about how she’d take it, especially after finding out about the debt and what Arthur had to do. But, time and time again, she surprises him with her optimistic side and iron will, making him feel genuinely proud of his little sister.

After taking his time to rest, Arthur got up and slowly made his way to the group; however, his eyes went wide after someone snuck up on Irene and grabbed her waist while she carefreely danced.

The shock on her face quickly turned to surprise as she turned around and saw a familiar face. One that once upon a time made Arthur feel jealous.

It was Jun, Irene’s ex-boyfriend.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.