"Oh. My. God. I look—"
"Cute, right?" Shu interrupted with a delighted squeal, practically bouncing on her heels after finishing my hair.
I stared at my reflection in disbelief. She slightly curled my blonde hair, styled it into two neat buns, and with soft bangs curling just below my eyes.
"...too innocent," I muttered, unimpressed.
"Well, yeah—but adorably cute," she countered with another squeal, reaching over to pinch my cheeks.
I groaned, swatting her hands away. "This isn't what I meant when I asked you to make me look... unapproachable."
"Oh, come on, Yuu!" she whined, pouting dramatically. "It's my birthday! I want us all to look cute and irresistible."
It's Shu's 20th birthday, and the whole house was alive with music and energy. From our room upstairs, I could feel the vibrations of the bass thumping through the walls.
I had no idea how they managed to pull off such an elaborate party in just two days. I was under the impression it was going to be a small, low-key gathering, like we had last year. But leave it to rich girl Gigi to turn the impossible into reality.
"Fine," I grumbled in defeat, standing up from the chair. "Just this once—because it's your birthday."
Shu squealed in delight, practically tackling me with a bear hug before grabbing my hand. "Yay! Let's go!" Hand in hand, we headed downstairs.
As we stepped into the party, I was immediately hit by the booming sound of the stereo. DJ Gigi was in her element, spinning her remixes to a small crowd that cheered her on enthusiastically.
The sheer number of people packed into the house already had my energy draining out of me. I was seriously considering bolting back upstairs when Shu grabbed my hand and dragged me toward Gigi.
Spotting us, Gigi handed over the DJ table to the professional they'd hired for the event and made her way over with her signature grin.
"Hello to our birthday girl!" she exclaimed, pulling Shu into a tight bear hug.
I stood there awkwardly, already bracing myself for mine.
"And hello to you too, cutie," Gigi teased, laughing as she turned to me.
I scoffed in response, but she was clearly enjoying herself. She knew full well that I couldn't refuse anything Shu wanted tonight, and she was revelling in my misery.
"You're going to break a lot of hearts tonight with that look," Gigi added with a smirk, her tone oozing mischief.
"She will, right?" Shu chimed in enthusiastically, pinching my cheek like I was some sort of doll.
To make matters worse, Gigi mirrored her, and the two of them showered me with their annoying, over-the-top affection.
"Stop!" I grumbled, swatting their hands away. "I'm not breaking any hearts tonight because there's no one to break." I huffed, glaring at them, but my two idiot best friends just laughed, completely unfazed by my death stares.
"Oh, Yuu, you never know," Gigi teased, her smirk turning even more mischievous. She nodded subtly toward a nearby group of people.
I followed her gaze and noticed a cluster of girls giggling amongst themselves and a few boys whispering as they glanced in our direction.
I raised a brow but decided against questioning their reactions—or whatever they might be talking about.
Instead, I resigned myself to my usual plan, which is to ignore anyone who tries to talk to me. Simple and effective.
"You two are so annoying," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. "I'm going to grab a drink."
Ignoring their laughter behind me, I made my way to the small bar counter that Gigi, in true rich-girl fashion, had somehow managed to whip up in just one day.
I plopped down onto a stool with a heavy thud, already feeling like my energy was empty despite having done almost nothing.
"Cola, please," I mumbled to the barista, barely lifting my head.
As I let out a deep, exaggerated sigh, I rested my head on the counter, hoping to collect myself. This is going to be a long night.
"Would you like some snacks with your drink?" a familiar voice asked.
Grumpily, I looked up—and froze. Ari stood in front of me, placing a glass of cola on the counter with that effortless grace she always seemed to have.
"Ari? What are you doing here?"
Oh, my goodness. She looked so good in that fitted tank top and skinny jeans. Way too good for my peace of mind.
"Giselle asked me if I could help serve drinks, and I thought it sounded fun, so I agreed," she said with a smile, her gorgeous eyes locking onto mine.
Suddenly, I felt a wave of self-consciousness wash over me, my earlier grumpiness evaporating in an instant.
Knowing Gigi, she probably roped Ari into this so she wouldn't have to hire more staff. But Ari seemed to genuinely enjoying herself, so I wasn't about to ruin that for her.
"I see," I said, clearing my throat. "What snacks do you have?"
"We've got pretzels. Gigi mentioned you love them," she replied, her tone light and teasing.
"Oh, yes, please!" I said, practically begging—not that I'd meant to sound so desperate.
Ari giggled softly. "Coming right up!" she replied before heading off.
As I waited for Ari to bring the pretzels, a guy strolled up and took a seat near me.
We briefly made eye contact—me sipping my cola as casually as possible, him giving me a small nod in greeting.
I ignored him and went back to focusing on my drink, hoping he'd take the hint that I'm not interested in initiating small talk.
When Ari returned with my pretzels, the guy finally spoke.
"Ari," he called.
"Jun?" Ari replied, her voice tinged with curiosity. She then turned to me, setting the plate of pretzels down in front of me with a smile.
"Thanks," I mumbled before digging into my snacks, completely uninterested in whatever conversation they were about to have.