Trouble

The moment Haewon walked into her bedroom after lunch with her sisters, she dropped her bag on the floor before opening her window so that natural light would flood the room.

The light seeped in and brightened the canvas that she kept close to the window because of the lighting.

She quickly freshened up and changed into her stained drawing clothes before going to sit in front of the canvas.

She put on her headset and hummed a tune as she deftly mixed her colors and picked up a brush.

As she dipped the brush in color and started stroking the white paper, she felt a surge of excitement well up in her, and she let herself get lost in it.

Haewon did not think about anything else but the flower that she ended up drawing until someone took off her headset.

"I thought you had a party to attend?" Selena asked while Ivy studied the painting.

"Party? Oh, yes! Why?" Haewon asked, her eyes clouded with confusion.

"Are you not going to get ready? What are you wearing? Are you not going to wash your hair or do something?" Ivy asked, now looking at her curiously.

They had expected to walk into her bedroom and see her trying out different clothes as was typical of a teenager, but the moment she did not respond to the knock on the door, they had realized that, as usual, she was lost in her painting.

"The party is not until 7 p.m., I think. And I can just wear anything. My hair doesn't need washing. We were at the salon last weekend, remember?" Haewon said, not entirely pleased about the interruption.

"And where do you think the time is?" Selena asked, and Haewon gasped when she checked her wristwatch and realized it was past 6 P.M. already.

"Ivy, please look through her closet for a suitable outfit," Selena, who was the oldest amongst them, instructed.

"I can pick something for myself," Haewon protested as she dropped her brush and rose to clean up.

"You can, but you don't have to. Not when you have big sisters who can do a better job," Selena said with a bright smile.

"For Christ's sake, Hae, where did you drop your phone?" Charlotte asked as she walked into the room with her backpack and stopped when she saw Selena and Ivy and said hello to them.

"Did you call?" Haewon asked as she walked out of her bathroom after washing her hands.

"About a zillion times!" Charlotte said, looking slightly pissed.

"I can't believe you haven't showered," Charlotte complained.

"Relax. It's just a silly house party, not a big deal. No one will notice if we are late," Haewon said as she watched Charlotte walk over to the closet to join Ivy and Selena.

A moment later, they were both dressed and ready to leave. Haewon was dressed in jean trousers, and a halter neck crop top, with a Jean jacket and boots. Charlotte, on the other hand, was dressed in a knee-length floral halter-neck dress with sneakers.

Sandra's house was about twenty minutes drive from Charlotte's, so they left in an Uber.

The minute Haewon stepped into the house, she regretted agreeing to come. The music was too loud, and the place was too rowdy for her liking. It looked like the fraternity parties that she had seen in movies.

She wondered why Sandra's neighbors had not called the police and shut down the party already.

Charlotte was the first to step into the crowded room of people, and Haweon followed suit. She did not see any need to grumble when she was here already. She also knew that complaining would only put Charlotte in a foul mood.

Haewon did not miss the surprised looks that were sent her way. She had turned down every party invite since she first set foot in the school, so it wasn't surprising that they were surprised to see her there.

"This looks beautiful! Doesn't it?" Charlotte asked with a wide smile.

"No, it doesn't. I will find somewhere to sit. You go and have fun," Haewon suggested.

"What? You can't just sit…"

"Charlotte, go and have fun," Haewon said firmly.

"Fine. Let me get you something to drink first," Charlotte offered when she saw the displeasure on Haewon's face as she looked around.

"No alcohol," Haewon reminded her.

"Sure. I'm aware," Charlotte said with a bright smile as she went to find somewhere to get the drinks.

By the time she returned, Haewon was no longer standing where she had left her, so she looked around until she found Haewon seated and studying some paintings down the hallway.

"Here," Charlotte offered her the drink.

"Thanks. We leave in an hour, don't forget. So, have all the fun you can until then," Haewon said before Charlotte disappeared.

Alone now, Haewon moved around the house, trying to find a quiet spot where she could sit down and keep busy with her phone until it was time to go home.

Sandra and some of her male classmates came around to say hello to her and try to get her to join the party, but she politely declined, making it clear she was not there to socialize.

An hour later, she was ready to go home. She picked up her phone and dialed Charlotte's line, which went straight to voice mail.

After trying a couple of times, Haewon walked around the house in search of Charlotte, wondering what she was doing and why her line wasn't connecting.

After asking a couple of people for Charlotte's whereabouts and searching for her to no avail, Haewon gave up.

By now, she was pretty irritated at Charlotte's behavior and decided to go home on her own. Charlotte could go home whenever she liked, Haewon thought angrily as she walked out of the house and down the street.

As she busied herself with ordering an Uber ride, she didn't take note of the men coming behind her until one of them snatched her phone from her.

She spun around in annoyance and was surprised to see three strange guys staring back at her with sinister smiles.

"If this is some sort of joke, it's not funny. Give it back!" Haewon said irritably, and to her annoyance, the trio roared with laughter.

"What are you going to do if we don't?" One of them asked.

"You look so sexy, you know?" Another asked as he leered at her.

"Shouldn't you be scared?" The last one who was holding on to her phone asked.

If there was one thing she had learned from all the self-defense classes her parents had insisted she take, it was to never allow her face, voice, or body give away her fears.

She looked at all three of them as she tried to figure out whether or not she could take them on. It didn't seem like help was going to come her way anytime soon. There was every chance that she could take them on, but she also knew she might get hurt in the process. Was it worth it?

Perhaps if she could run back to the party, she would be safe and then reach Selena with a borrowed phone and ask her to pick her up.

"Scared? Of you? I'd suggest you return my phone and be on your way before you invite trouble for yourselves," Haewon advised as she took a step back and positioned herself, ready to run.

"Trouble? I like the sound of that," The last guy said with a lecherous smile as he took a step closer to her.

Seeing how they were standing, Haewon doubted that it would be easy to run past them. And she knew screaming for help would be useless in such a private neighborhood where everyone was locked up behind their massive gates.