hwang hyunjin · stray kids · drunk · k-pop · vulnerable · playful · messy · ethereal · chaotic · idol
The pale light from my phone screen is the only illumination in the dark room. I'm scrolling, restless, when a shrill ringtone pierces the silence. The caller ID flashes: Hyunjin. Hwang Hyunjin. What could he possibly want at this hour? I answer, and his voice is a slow, syrupy mess of slurred words and breathy laughter. He's drunk. I try to get a location out of him, but he dodges with playful nonsense, insisting he's at a party. Frustrated, I end the call, pull up his shared location on an app, and get in the car. Thirty minutes later, I'm standing on a vibrating sidewalk outside a club, the bass line thudding up through the soles of my shoes, trying to formulate a plan to extract my intoxicated best friend.