Chapter 1
The clock had already passed midnight, but the night was far from over.
Laughter filled the apartment as you sat around the table with your closest friends, surrounded by empty bottles, half-finished drinks, scattered snacks, and the remains of what had begun as an ordinary night out. The music played loudly in the background, its beat mixing with the endless chatter of the girls. Nobody seemed interested in checking the time, and nobody appeared ready to call it a night.
You certainly weren’t in any condition to make sensible decisions.
You had been drinking for hours, and although you had insisted several times that you were perfectly fine, the room had started to feel warmer than usual. Your cheeks were flushed, your thoughts were slower, and every little thing seemed far funnier than it actually was.
Across the table, Lia was laughing so hard that she nearly spilled her drink.
“Oh my God, you girls are so boring!” she exclaimed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “We’ve been sitting here for hours, and all we’ve done is drink and talk. We need something more exciting.”
You lifted your head from where you had been resting it against your hand.
“Exciting?” you repeated, squinting at her. “What kind of exciting?”
Lia’s expression immediately changed.
It was the look she always wore whenever she had an idea that was either incredibly entertaining or a complete disaster. Unfortunately, she rarely understood the difference between the two until it was far too late.
She slowly placed her glass on the table and leaned forward.
“Girls,” she announced dramatically, lowering her voice as if she were about to reveal a dangerous secret. “Let’s call a random person, say something completely ridiculous, and then hang up!”
For a moment, you simply stared at her.
Then one of the girls burst out laughing.
“No way!”
“Yes way!” Lia insisted, already reaching for her phone. “Come on! It’ll be hilarious. Imagine someone answering their phone at this hour and hearing one of us talking absolute nonsense.”
Another girl immediately grabbed her phone from the sofa.
“Oh, I’m doing it.”
Within seconds, the entire group seemed to agree that Lia’s terrible idea was suddenly the most entertaining thing anyone had ever suggested.
You watched as your friends began unlocking their phones, scrolling through their contacts, and searching for random numbers to call. Their excitement grew with every passing second, and the room filled with overlapping voices as they argued about what they should say.
“Tell them you’ve won the lottery!”
“No, pretend you’re calling from a restaurant!”
“What if we just start singing?”
Lia nearly fell sideways laughing.
“Exactly! That’s the point. We don’t need a plan. We just call someone and see what happens!”
You shook your head, although the movement made you feel slightly dizzy.
“This is stupid.”
“You’re stupid,” Lia replied cheerfully. “Now, stop complaining. Everyone has to take a turn.”
You immediately regretted being there.
It had sounded amusing when everyone else was doing it. Watching your friends make ridiculous phone calls from the safety of your seat was one thing. Actually participating was something entirely different.
You weren’t particularly interested in speaking to a complete stranger, especially not when you were drunk enough to struggle with your own thoughts.
But your protests were ignored.
One by one, your friends made their calls.
The first girl called someone and immediately began speaking in a dramatic voice about a missing sandwich. She lasted approximately fifteen seconds before she dissolved into laughter and hung up.
The second pretended to be someone looking for a lost cat.
The third simply made strange noises until the person on the other end disconnected.
Every call seemed to make the girls more confident.
They were laughing, shouting, and practically falling over each other. You couldn’t help laughing along with them, even though a small part of you was beginning to wonder why you had agreed to stay awake this late.
Then Lia suddenly turned toward you.
“Your turn!”
Your smile disappeared.
“What?”
“Your turn,” she repeated, pointing directly at you. “Come on. Everyone else has done it.”
You immediately shook your head.
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Oh, don’t be boring!”
“I’m not being boring. I’m being sensible.”
The entire table erupted into laughter.
Lia pressed a hand dramatically against her chest as though you had personally offended her.
“Sensible? At midnight? While we’re all drinking? What happened to you?”
You rolled your eyes.
“I hate all of you.”
“No, you don’t,” Lia replied, grinning. “Now take your phone.”
You looked at your friends.
Every single one of them was watching you with expectant expressions. Some were already laughing in anticipation, while others were encouraging you to hurry up.
You considered refusing again.
You really did.
But the combination of alcohol, exhaustion, and the unbearable teasing finally won.
With a long, exaggerated sigh, you reached for your phone.
“Fine! But if something embarrassing happens, I’m blaming every single one of you.”
Lia clapped her hands.
“That’s the spirit!”
You unlocked your phone and stared at the screen.
Your fingers moved slowly as you searched for a random number. You didn’t want to call anyone you knew, and you certainly didn’t want to speak to someone who might recognize your voice.
Eventually, you selected a number you didn’t recognize.
You looked at it for a few seconds, suddenly less enthusiastic than you had been moments earlier.
“What am I even supposed to say?” you asked.
“Anything!” Lia answered immediately. “That’s what makes it funny.”
You gave her a doubtful look.
“You’re going to regret this.”
“Just call!”
With your friends watching eagerly, you pressed the call button.
The phone began ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Your stomach tightened.
You silently begged the stranger on the other end not to answer. You didn’t know why you were suddenly so nervous, but the thought of actually having to speak to someone made your confidence disappear.
Please don’t answer.
Please don’t answer.
You stared at the screen as the ringing continued.
Then, just when you were convinced the call would go unanswered, someone picked up.
Your eyes widened.
The girls immediately fell silent, their attention fixed on you.
You lifted the phone to your ear.
“Hello?”
The voice that answered was deep, low, and unmistakably male.
For a brief moment, you forgot what you were supposed to do.
Then the alcohol took over, and you opened your mouth.
What followed was a collection of completely meaningless sentences, half-formed thoughts, and drunken nonsense that made very little sense even to you.
You spoke about absolutely nothing.
You changed subjects without warning, forgot what you were saying halfway through a sentence, and somehow managed to make the situation more embarrassing with every passing second.
Your friends were practically choking with laughter.
You could barely hear them over the sound of your own voice.
The man on the other end said nothing.
His silence should have warned you that something was wrong.
Instead, you continued talking.
You had no idea who you had called.
You had no idea that the number belonged to someone whose name alone could silence entire rooms.
And you certainly had no idea that your ridiculous little game was about to become the biggest mistake of your life.
After another moment of drunken rambling, you suddenly remembered the original plan.
Say something ridiculous.
Hang up.
Simple.
Without waiting for a response, you pulled the phone away from your ear and ended the call.
“There!” you announced triumphantly, dropping the phone onto the table. “Done!”
The girls exploded into laughter.
Lia leaned against the sofa, clutching her stomach.
“What did you even say?”
You shrugged, looking rather pleased with yourself.
“I don’t know.”
That only made them laugh harder.
You reached for your drink, completely unaware that somewhere across the city, the man you had just called was staring at his phone in absolute disbelief.
You had made your call.
You had hung up.
And as far as you were concerned, the entire thing was over.
You couldn’t have been more wrong.
