Amalia's POV
It only took about another five minutes or so for me to get home and once I stepped inside, my mom invited me to sit down for a chat since the maesil-cha she was making was almost ready. She poured us each a cup and I told her all about the food festival which got her excited; she's always loved those kinds of events, and even suggested we find one to go to as a family. On top of that, she was happy to hear that Felix was still living across the street and even more so that we'd decided to reconnect. It was obvious, both from her smile and the fact that he's one of the only guys I've known throughout my life that she's actually liked.
Once we'd finished catching each other up on our respective days, my mom went back to watching the show she'd had on in the background whilst I made my way upstairs to my room. It was surprisingly empty, though that didn't last long as the moment I sat down on my bed, Riley peeked her head around the door, grinning from ear to ear.
"Liaaa..." She sang, running over to plop down by my feet as I laid back and picked up my most recent book from the bedside table. "Guess what."
"I don't know, Ri. Why don't you tell me?"
"We... are going out tonight."
Confused, I slowly lowered my book to make eye contact. "What? Where?"
"To a club!" Her smile only grew, even though I didn't think that was possible. "You know Tae's friend slash girlfriend, Hana Morais, right?"
"I know of her."
"Right, right. Well, today is her birthday, and she's having a party at Liquid Disco downtown. It's pretty obvious Tae's gonna be there — cause why wouldn't he be — and I've heard he's gonna be performing as well!" Her grin faltered only slightly as I quirked an eyebrow. "We have to go!"
"To a club filled with celebrities and paparazzi? Good luck with that," I scoffed, shuffling to get comfortable so I could lean back against the headrest. "Besides, clubs aren't really my thing."
"But Lia, this could finally be my chance to meet him. I've already got everything planned out — we're gonna head down around 7:30, Yuna is gonna drive us, then we'll—"
"Wait, wait, Yuna? You convinced her to take us?" The surprise in my voice was clear, but I forgot my sister was also a fan of Taemin Seong. She wasn't quite as obsessed or verbal about it as Riley, though she'd certainly love the chance to meet him. "Can't you guys just go together?"
"Without you? Don't get me wrong, I love your sister, but I'd much rather have you there with me. Plus, we promised to share all our vacation adventures, remember?"
The longer the conversation went on, the more pointless arguing seemed. I couldn't help sighing as I fiddled with the corner of one of the book's pages. "Ri, you know I don't like crowds..."
For the first time, a look of concern took over Riley's features. She slowly slid back on the bed to lay beside me before taking the book from my hands and placing it down. "It won't be that bad, and I'll be by your side the entire time." She could probably tell I still wasn't quite convinced. "Lia, I know I've dragged you all over the place searching for Tae and it hasn't led to much, but I know he's going to be there tonight... please?"
"I..." There wasn't much else I could say, especially when she was staring at me with such a pleading look in her eyes. "Alright, I'll go. But I'm sticking to you like glue... and you're coming with me to The Huntington next week."
"Sure, deal." Her smile quickly reappeared as she held a hand out to me. I took it and shook it, and once I did she jumped to her feet and pulled me with her. "Now come on, let's get dressed up and go party!"