Chapter XLV – Sneaking Around

“Now remember, if you hit this, we win. . .” Irene stood next to Nabi pointing out the obvious with an intense stare. “No pressure though. . . Don’t miss. . .”

“So much about no pressure. . .” Nabi sighed holding the final dart while standing behind the red line.

Within the hotel, the group played darts, more specifically game 501. Simplified, each team had to reach a score of 0 or as close to it as possible throughout 14 rounds. With the machine having only four-player slots, the group split into teams of two. Team one was Ari and Sophie who officially lost the game with a total score of 51 remaining, making it impossible to finish. Max and Tjay were team two, but they too lost with a score of 17. Team three consisted of Arthur and Don who were in the lead with just 4 points remaining. And the fourth team, Irene and Nabi, were about to potentially run away with a flawless victory with a current score of 8 on the board.

“You just have to hit either two times four, or eight. You got this!” Irene cheered with a burning passion, not willing to accept defeat.

Nabi’s breathing intensified as she was eager to take the win from the boys. Sophie and Ari were openly cheering for her, while Tjay and Max stuck true to the bro code and rooted for Arthur and Don to take the win.

“If I go for the eight I might end up hitting seven if I throw it a bit lower, so we might win regardless. . .” Nabi strategized nervously.

“You’ll hit the eight,” Irene declared. “Leave those thoughts behind and believe in yourself!”

“You got this Nabi,” cheered Don which surprised Arthur but made him smile nonetheless.

Don was the type of person who prioritized fun over winning, which made it hard to call him out on cheering for the opponent.

“Fuck it!” Nabi yelled out throwing the dart.

Everyone watched as the dart flew towards the board. While Nabi’s aim was off target as the dart flew above the eight, it still landed on a five. It took a second for everyone to process what had just happened, but as the machine flared up and team four’s score blinked with a score of three, marking them the winner. The girls jumped up exhilarated by the clutch victory.

“We won!” Irene yelled out hugging Nabi as the two jumped in circles.

“We actually won!” Nabi yelled out in disbelief.

Sophie and Ari clapped, meanwhile Tjay and Max rolled their eyes at their exaggerated celebration. Arthur simply leaned back onto a bar stool that was next to him observing Don who was a little too happy for them.

“Take that boys!” Nabi pointed a finger at them before crossing her arms smugly.

“You tell ‘em girl,” Irene followed along with the taunting.

It wasn’t a flawless victory, but a victory nonetheless.

“Congratulations,” Arthur said clapping a few times.

“We’ll win next time,” Don said smilingly.

“Hah. . . Good joke,” Max said cockily. “You all just got lucky that we didn’t win earlier. Next game is ours for sure.”

“Totally. . .” Sophie said sarcastically.

“You got something to say to me pipsqueak?” Max teased her.

“Pipsqueak?” she pretended to be shocked by his words before grinning as she saw Iseul approaching from behind. “It’s funny how you act all mighty when Iseul’s not around.”

Irene and Arthur couldn’t help but chuckle as the rest kept quiet, knowing exactly what Sophie was aiming for.

“Oh really now?” Max took the bait.

“Dude. . .” Tjay tried to save him by cutting in, but Max ignored him.

“It’s fine. . .” Sophie kept teasing. “We all know you’re afraid of getting on her bad side.”

“Do you now?” Max smirked. “Well, what can I say. . . That’s cuz I know she’s the best Nonna I could’ve asked for. Isn’t that right?” he grinningly turned towards Iseul.

“Right. . .” Iseul mumbled sarcastically as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to Irene.

“Did you really think I’d fall for that?” Max turned to Sophie, watching her click her tongue. “You’ll need to do better than that.”

“Challenge accepted,” Sophie smiled crossing her arms, giving him a respectful nod.

Max jokingly performed a courtesy.

“Anyway,” Tjay interrupted the charade. “Whose room are we crashing? We can’t skip out on a late-night party in a hotel! I even brought something for us.”

“Oh god. . . What is it this time?” Nabi shook her head but was glad that the dust between the two was slowly settling down.

She told her new boyfriend beforehand that she’d spend time with her friends on the school trip rather than stick close to him. He reluctantly agreed.

“Well, since the teachers will be patrolling the hallways, I think the boys should risk it since they lost!” Irene teased.

“Then let's do it in your room since you’re the winners,” Arthur suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Nabi added as she was sharing the room with Irene.

“Let’s head up then,” Max led the way towards the stairs but halted as soon as he reached the first step. “By the way. . . Which room are you in again?” he awkwardly chuckled.

With Irene leading the way, the group eventually arrived in front of door 302. The rooms were identical for the most part, with two beds, a round glass table, large TV mounted on a wall, multiple blue cushioned chairs, and a leather couch with a mini-fridge near a window that overlooked the forest. Spectacular to say the least.

Tjay carried his bag along with him all day long. Meanwhile, Max went to grab snacks and homemade sweets from his room, which he shared with Arthur.

“Still can’t believe how good the rooms are,” Sophie mentioned as she jumped onto Irene’s bed.

“By far the best part is this!” Tjay stood by the door before dimming the lights in the room.

“Now we just need some music in the background and we have ourselves a true party going,” Nabi commented.

“I got us covered,” Don said taking out a portable speaker from Tjay’s backpack which he left there since Tjay insisted that they’ll be needing it later.

Turned out, he was right.

“Now that we have music, snacks, and proper lighting, it’s time I reveal my surprise,” Tjay teased as he opened up his backpack fully.

Tjay took out three bottles of Soju and a bottle of tequila, Tjay’s favorite drink. There was a shirt wedged between them so that the bottles don't make any sound when he moved around.

“You packed alcohol?” Max asked, clearly confused by his choice. “No wonder you were stealing all of my food. . . Dude, there’s hardly any room left.”

“What kind of party has no alcohol though?” he argued.

“So you do have your uses,” Irene teased picking up the Soju. “But this needs to go in the fridge for a bit before we drink it.”

“I picked that out for those who don’t wanna drink this lovely piece of art,” Tjay said holding the tequila bottle up in the air, making kissy faces towards it.

“What’s so special about it?” Arthur asked.

“It’s just stronger alcohol,” Sophie added.

“Just stronger alcohol?” Tjay looked offended as he chuckled.

Irene put the bottles of Soju in the mini-fridge which had a few items in it already, but all of them were overpriced and probably would get them in trouble since they weren’t legally allowed to drink yet.

Max awkwardly looked towards Iseul with whom he never partied before. Her being a student council president made it seem like she’d tell the teachers.

“You’re kidding me right?” Iseul sighed looking at Max.

“I didn’t say anything. . .” Max averted his gaze.

“I recognize that look. You think I’m gonna tell on you for drinking.”

“Well. . .”

“I’ll have you know, I drink from time to time. . .”

“Pff! Your sister is way cooler than you. . .” Irene pointed out. “She even knew a shop clerk that would sell us alcohol when we were hanging out at my place. Let’s not even mention some of the things I know. . .”

“Irene. . .” Iseul sighed.

“You drink?” Max looked at her surprised.

“You’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Iseul teased.

“I presume you bought plastic cups for us to drink from?” Nabi asked Tjay.

“I have a few, so don’t go wasting them,” Tjay said pulling them out of his backpack.

“So, what are we gonna do? Another drinking game?” Don asked.

“Woah Don, spicing things up!” Tjay yelled out proudly. “I like it.”

“I’m down, but let’s play something other than never have I ever. . .” Max requested.

“How about. . .” Sophie leaned in grinningly. “Truth or dare?”

“How’s that a drinking game?” Max asked.

“Well, if you refuse to answer or do a dare, you have to drink,” she explained.

“Oh, sounds fun,” Irene said, dropping next to her on the bed.

“I’m not gonna like this game very much, will I?” Ari asked but accepted nonetheless.

The group agreed with the proposal and sat around in a circle. The mood was perfect, and cuz Soju was still in the fridge, the only thing drinkable was tequila which motivated most to answer or do dares.

“Since it’s your suggestion, how about you start us off?” Iseul told Sophie.

“Sounds good to me,” she smiled looking around the room. “Max! Truth or dare?”

“How’d I know you were gonna pick me. . .” he rolled his eyes. “Fine, truth it is.”

“Hmm,” Sophie wasn’t impressed with his choice. “Have you ever had a weird dream about someone in this room, and if so what was it?”

“Woah, starting strong!” Tjay practically praised Sophie.

Arthur was somewhat glad he wasn’t the one asked this question, but to his surprise, Max opened up the bottle of tequila and poured himself a shot before downing it in one go.

“No way in hell am I answering that. . .” he said with a disgusted look on his face, not taking the shot all too well.

“Woah. . .” Sophie chuckled. “You know that not telling us makes it even worse. Admit it, was it about Tjay?”

“Why am I getting brought up? For all we know, it could be about you,” Tjay acted up, but the girls kept on laughing to themselves.

“Next!” Max yelled, ignoring Sophie’s provocation. “Arthur, truth or dare?”

Arthur thought about it for a moment and knew that Max could put him in an awkward situation with questions, to avoid it, the only solution was to pick a dare. “Might as well start the daring route. I’ll pick dare.”

“Woah, brave,” Iseul leaned back impressed.

“I wasn’t expecting that. . .” Max sighed having no good ideas in mind as it was still too early to get wild. “Dance for a minute with no music on.”

Before anyone could even comment on it, Arthur took the bottle of tequila and poured himself a shot.

“Cheers. . .” he said downing it, taking it much better than Max did.

“At this rate, we’ll all just end up drinking,” Irene said.

“You do it then,” Arthur chuckled.

“If you dare me to, I will.”

“I have better dares for you,” Arthur said turning towards Nabi. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Pick one word to describe each person in this room.”

“That’s a good one. . .” Ari said.

“Hmm. . .” Nabi looked at everyone. “Irene, badass. Iseul, inspirational. Sophie, passionate. Ari, loyal. Max, trustworthy. Don, considerate. Tjay. . . Daring. . . And you. . . I’d say enigma. But realistically, it’s hard to assign a single word to describe you all. Honestly, I’m stunned by the people I’ve surrounded myself with.”

Everyone remained quiet as they smiled, Iseul even wrapped one arm around her and leaned into her.

“Damn, I was sure she was gonna poke fun at us, but that was just wholesome. . .” Max said while thinking about what he’d answer.

“Yeah, yeah. . .” Nabi mumbled taking a shot anyway, in desperate need of alcohol after saying all that. “Don, truth or dare?”

Don thought about it for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking at her confidently. “Dare.”

His answer left everyone in awe.

“Did I hear that right?” Tjay asked Max.

“I think so. . .”

“Damn,” Irene mumbled. “Respect.”

“Alright. . .” Nabi smiled as she poked her cheek while thinking of a proper dare. “I dare you to. . . Oh, I know! I dare you to talk in third person about yourself throughout the night. If you fail you have to drink!”

“Damn, that’s a tough one,” Arthur commented. “Might as well just drink.”

“Don will do that,” Don said with a sigh of relief. “Now Don will ask Tjay, truth or dare?”

“Well Tjay will answer with truth,” Tjay played along.

“Don asks, how did Tjay achieve such a great score on midterms even if he did poorly during prep?”

“Fuck. . .” he clicked his tongue.

Everyone looked at him confused.

“Tjay?” Nabi asked.

“Well. . .”

“Spit it out already,” Max rushed him, assuming he already knew the answer based on Tjay’s reaction.

“I ain’t going to admit shit in front of you guys, so just assume what you want,” he said downing a shot.

“Damn dude. . .” Max sighed somewhat disappointed.

The entire room looked at him knowing the answer, somewhat disappointed as they felt proud of his success. Nabi felt deeply disappointed since she cheered him on and even was so excited when he told her the news. She was wondering why he wasn’t accepting her compliments and just brushed them off. Due to the tension between them, she refrained from saying anything.

“Oi, fuck off with those looks. . .” Tjay said downing another shot.

“Let’s just focus on the game. It doesn’t really matter,” Nabi backed him up. “If we’re gonna play truth or dare or games similar to this, we can’t really judge each other. Regardless of anything, we’re friends. Right?”

“I’m just disappointed you didn’t share the answers with me,” Max said jokingly, trying to lighten up the mood.

The group agreed with Nabi and everything proceeded as if nothing happened.

“Go on, Tjay. It’s your turn,” Arthur said.

“Alright,” he looked around, and eventually his eyes fell onto Iseul. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” she responded instantly.

“Have you ever slept with someone?”

“Dude! I don’t wanna fucking know that. . .” Max averted his gaze in disgust just thinking about it.

“Oh grow up. . .” Tjay teased.

“Yeah, I did,” Iseul cut Tjay off which caught some by surprise. “I was in a year-long relationship with a former classmate. We eventually broke up when he left the country, but we did it before he left.”

Tjay repeatedly nodded in respect, while Max was trying to figure out who it was.

“Woah, so mature. . .” Ari mumbled, and Sophie agreed with her.

“Jay? You slept with Jay?” Max looked at her dumbfounded.

“He was my boyfriend, so it’s only natural. . .” Iseul poked Max’s side with her foot. “Anyway, moving on. . . Ari, truth or dare?”

“Oh god. . . Truth I guess.”

“Tell us who in this room you had a crush on?” she smirked.

Ari was caught off guard. Regardless of how she looked at it, it was a two-in-one question.

“I’m not answering that. . .” Ari poured herself a shot and drank.

Her expression was hilarious as she was by far the worst when it came to enduring the taste.

“Even I don’t know that!” Sophie yelled out. “I thought we were done with secrets. . .”

“What if it’s you?” Irene teased.

“If it is, she should just tell me!” Sophie played along. “I’d have the cutest girlfriend!” she hugged Ari.

“Oh god. . . Why did you do this to me?” Ari dreadfully looked at Iseul.

“All part of the game,” she shrugged.

The game continued and some of the dares were silly such as doing a handstand, meanwhile, the questions remained modest for the most part. Few shots had been taken, and a bottle of Soju was drank on the side to warm up as Irene claimed. As midnight approached, everyone was already somewhat drunk, and things were getting far more interesting.

“Tjay,” Max said. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth. . .”

“Would you rather kiss the security guy at our school or our homeroom teacher?”

“Dude. . . Eww. . .” Tjay took a shot of the nearly empty bottle of tequila. “Definitely the teacher, I might get a good grade for it.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

“Idiot, you drank so you didn’t have to answer!” Max made fun of him.

“Who cares? I just wanted a drink after that. . .” he turned to Iseul. “Truth or dare. . .”

“Dare,” she answered confidently.

“Take a body shot off of someone,” he grinned.

“Dude. . .” Max sighed again half drunk.

“We don’t have any salt and lime,” Iseul pointed out.

“Oh, don’t worry. . . I do!” he chuckled as he took them out of the backpack, including a pocket knife to cut the lime up.

“You came prepared for this one. . .” Arthur sighed. “What is a body shot even?”

“You’re about to see I guess. . .” Iseul said taking the bottle of tequila.

“You carry a knife with you?” Sophie asked intrigued.

“Only when on trips. You never know when you might need it,” Tjay answered, looking around the room before glancing back at Iseul. “So. . . Who you picking?”

“Irene lay down on the bed,” Iseul grinned.

“Me?” she looked surprised but excited at the same time, as she never had anyone do this to her before. “Sure.”

After making some room, getting the lime cut into a small slice, and getting Irene into position, Iseul was ready to do the body shot. Irene untucked her off-shoulder blouse and unbuttoned her high waist shorts to expose her belly.

“Fuck, this’ll be cold. . .” Irene realized, but it was too late to back out.

Pouring a bit of tequila onto her belly button, showing off her fitness, and making a line of salt next to it, all that was left was for Irene to hold the lime with her mouth.

The tension in the room intensified as everyone was staring, including the girls, leaving Arthur somewhat confused but at the same time intrigued.

Sipping the tequila, she dragged her tongue across Irene’s skin picking up the salt in the process. Irene tried to remain still, but it felt weird having someone’s tongue touch her. Iseul ended it all by biting down face to face on the lime. Upon finishing, everyone cheered.

“That was quite something,” Irene chuckled blushingly, glancing over towards Arthur, biting down on her lower lip, giving him a wink.

“My turn now. . .” Iseul said.

“Oh shit, that’s right. It’s not even my turn. . .” Irene realized.

“Hah, if you want a turn so badly then go ahead. Truth or dare?” Iseul smirked.

Regardless of what she picked, she knew she was in trouble.

“Dare. . . Got to follow up on that,” she said somewhat nervously.

“Perfect,” Iseul said glancing toward Arthur. “How about showing us a little kiss?”

“A kiss?” Irene asked drunk. “Not impressive at all. . .”

She turned towards Arthur, picked up the bottle, and took a chug straight from it. Arthur understood, but at the same time felt a faint disappointment. However, his expectations were blown out of proportion as Irene shoved him backward, sat in his lap, grabbed him by the hair, and tilted his head back before planting her lips against his neck. Her touch felt soft, as a light sucking sensation tingled his skin which was intensified by the intoxication. Everyone looked shocked, Don mumbled in third person, but Arthur couldn’t hear a word of it.

It took her a few seconds, which to him felt like minutes, but when she pulled away it left a mark on his skin. She knew he could’ve pushed her away or stopped her at any moment, and maybe it was the alcohol, but she felt even more daring than usual.

She leaned back and looked him straight in the eyes. Arthur was mesmerized and left glancing at her lips, barely holding back from pulling her in.

“A dare is a dare,” she whispered before getting up, leaving Arthur flustered.

She too was flustered, but at the same time felt somewhat empowered by the fact that she pulled it off, despite sensing some doubt from others.

“I’ll get you back for this one day,” she whispered to Iseul, leaving her wondering if that was a good or a bad thing.

“Don thinks it’s finally your turn again,” Don chuckled, maintaining the third-person voice.

“Right. . .” Irene mumbled.

The game from that point on died down a bit in terms of intensity. Nothing major happened, nor did a secret get spilled.

It was past midnight and for the most part, everyone was passing out from exhaustion. Ari fell asleep in Nabi’s bed and Sophie was barely keeping conscious.

“Alright boys, I think it’s time to call it a night,” Iseul said. “Now, remember that the teachers might be patrolling the hallways, so make sure to sneak out without getting caught.”

“What about you? Shouldn’t you worry about yourself?” Max asked while looking at Iseul who was somehow sober.

“The benefit of being a student council president I guess,” she shrugged.

“Don doesn’t feel so good. . .” Don said feeling unwell from drinking too much.

“Come here buddy,” Tjay lifted him by pulling his hand around his neck. “I’ll drag you to our room. We can do this soldier!”

“Don appreciates that. . .”

“You don’t have to talk like that anymore,” Tjay chuckled.

“Don won’t fall for such tricks. . . Don can’t afford to drink another shot. . .”

Max chuckled and looked over at the girls. “Who’s gonna wake her up?”

“Just leave her be,” Nabi said. “I don’t mind sharing a bed.”

Sophie looked somewhat disappointed that she’d be alone in the room.

“Stay as well,” Irene told Sophie.

“You sure?” she asked while in no condition to walk around.

“Yeah. Worst-case scenario, I’ll just move to the couch,” she teased.

“Thanks. . . I’ll try my best,” she said before collapsing backward onto Irene’s bed. “Just kick me out if I get unbearable. . .”

“Alright, it’s just you and me left,” Arthur said to Max while giving him a hand.

“Thanks,” Max grabbed on, allowing himself to be lifted.

“Have a good night girls,” Arthur said.

Leaving the room, Tjay dragged Don towards the elevator, a bold move but as Nabi said, he was always the daring type. Meanwhile, Max and Arthur made their way down the stairs, their room being on the first floor. Iseul casually strolled two rooms down the hall which she shared with another classmate of hers.

“Man, that was quite something,” Max mumbled, wobbling along the way.

“You okay there?” Arthur chuckled.

“You don’t look so good either,” Max looked at Arthur’s neck. “Quite the mark she left.”

“A mark?”

“Yeah. . . She left you with a hickey.”

“Can’t believe Iseul dared her to do that. . .”

“Why not? You weren’t gonna do it, so she did you a solid. Wasn’t exactly a kiss we were expecting, but god damn.”

Arthur touched his neck, realizing that he had been smiling the entire time.

“Well, here we are. . . Room 107,” Arthur unlocked the door.

It didn’t take them long to get ready for bed as Arthur glanced out the window.

“Hey enigma,” Max teased Arthur half asleep. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. . .”

Arthur glanced over towards Max, but he had fallen asleep already by that point. Somehow, he truly believed in his words. Still, it wasn’t a secret that Arthur could calmly share.

Arthur channeled Qi through his body for the next twenty minutes, purifying his body of intoxication. Max was out of it completely. The full moon cast its moonlight into the room, lighting it up brightly.

Approaching the mirror, Arthur glanced at his neck realizing that she left a bruise from her kiss. Smiling, he closed his eyes and imagined the sensation again, wondering how her lips would’ve tasted.

After spending a few minutes getting ready, he dressed up and glanced out the window. His goal was simple. Sneak out of the hotel, hike up to the temple, and meditate until sunrise while making sure to return on time before anyone woke up to notice him missing.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.