Game

DRUNK-DAZED - Seven (xobells)

This part's written by Bells, find me @xobells.

They say time is flying by when you're having fun and that's true in this case. I feel like we just got to this bar but the clock's already past midnight. I'm sitting next to Han, surrounded by my friends and I feel really happy for the first time in a long time. Han told
Chan about us before I had the chance to object and now all of Stray Kids know. Weirdly, none of them were surprised. Hyunjin even used the word "finally". Changbin is sitting next to me and he's telling everyone about how he managed to get a new personal best at the gym the day before. Felix looks moderately interested and Chan is smiling politely. Lee Know and Han are having their own discussion and it's like they're always in their own world. Emma is sitting with some of the boys from Ateez and Dino and Hoshi from Seventeen, who just happened to be here when we came in. It's a pretty common bar for idols to come to as it's very dark and subtle, if you saw it from the outside you wouldn't even believe it's a bar. It's like the owners of place has sworn secrecy cause what happens here stays here. I see San by the bar by himself and I tell Han I'll be right back. I walk over to San and sit down on a barstool next to where he's standing.
"Noona!" He says and smiles widely.
I smile. "Hey Sannie, barely seen you all evening."
He pouts. "I could say the same about you."
I roll my eyes. "Ya... Anyway, what's up? I saw you leave a bit abruptly before."
He sighs. "How is that even possible? You weren't even at that table."
I smile. "I see everything Sannie"
"Mm, I guess you do."
"Are you okay?" I say. He looks less confident than normally and he seems a bit distant.
He nods. "Yeah it's nothing." He glances over at the table where he was just sitting before making a sharp exit to go out. I look over and see Em in what looks like an intense conversation with Dino from Seventeen. I frown and look at San again.
"Oh... I see" I say and smile. "You have a crush huh?"
His eyes widen and he just stares at me. "What! No!"
I tilt my head and look at him. "Are you sure?"
He sighs. "I don't know? Maybe? I mean... she's really beautiful and funny. And I don't even know much about her but I want to?"
I smile. "I knew it."
He puts his head in his hands and groan. "I don't even know what to do."
I pat his shoulder and then I order us two hotshots.
"Here" I hand him the shot. "Take this."
We both down the shot and he grimaces. "I still can't believe you like these."
I frown. "What's not to like? Coffee, whipped cream and vanilla flavored alcohol? It's a perfect mix."
He laughs. "You forgot the part about how the alcohol is like three times as strong as soju."
I roll my eyes. "You're just weak." I smile at him and continue, "Anyway what are you gonna do about that?"
He shakes his head. "Nothing. And neither will you."
I laugh and say, "Oh San, it's cute how you think you can tell me what to do."
He smiles and rolls his eyes. Before I can say anything else, I feel a hand on my lower back and I look up to see Han. I smile. Han leans down and kisses me quickly. San takes the opportunity to go back to his table and I let him go without a hassle. I've teased him enough today already. I smile at Han again and say,
"What brings you here?"
He smiles. "I missed you over there."
I laugh and tug on his shirt with my hand. I pull him closer to me and say, "You're too cute."
Instead of replying, he just kisses me. I wish I could freeze time right here, because the moment is pretty darn perfect. When his lips leave mine, I smile. I know we should get back to the others but I love being alone with him, even though the others are literally just 20 meters away. I order myself another beer and asks if Han wants anything. He shakes his head.
"You mean other than you?" He smirks. "And no, I shouldn't. We have practice tomorrow early so I should stop drinking now."
I nod. "Okay, that's wise." I pause. "And you've already got me, I'm all yours."
He grins and I take his hand as I stand up. I drag him over to the table where our friends are sitting. I take my spot next to Changbin and Han sits down next to me. I glance over at the other table and smile. Wooyoung is half asleep by the looks of it, Hoshi and Dino are getting ready to leave and San is trying to play things cool. The rest are in a discussion about something I can't hear.
"Oh!" Chan says and looks at me. "I completely forgot noona! Do you know yet what group you'll be working with?"
I look at him puzzled. "Oh! You mean from JYP?"
He nods and I say, "Yeah I know." I look at Han and say, "You were right, it's 2PM."
Han's eyes widen and he says, "For real? That's awesome."
I nod and the others also look at me in awe. I've known 2PM for a while but the only one I'm really friendly with is Nichkun. He looked out for us a lot when we were working for JYP and I'm forever thankful for that. The rest I've met a few times but I wouldn't call them my friends. Like the rest of South Korea, I at one point in my life had a huge crush on Taecyeon. Emma loves to tease me about it and I hate it. But then again, I do tease her a lot about the crush she used to have on Dino from Seventeen. 
"So you're gonna be working on their comeback?" Chan asks.
I nod. "Yeah. We saw Nichkun today and the shoot starts in a few days."
"Oh that's so cool" Felix says and I smile. I guess it is pretty cool. We spend the rest of the time until they have to leave by talking about their next scheduled comeback and even though it's far away, I know they're already working on it. When the clock hits 2am, I know it's time to go. To be fair, we should've left at 1am by the latest but it's always like this. We have too much of a good time and don't want to leave. I pay my tab and then I grab Han's arm just as he's about to leave.
"Hey" I say. "We can't say bye out there."
His eyes flicker to the exit. "Shit yeah, I forgot."
I nod. "I know." I hug him tightly and say, "Call me when you can."
He smiles and says, "I will. I think we're gonna have to talk to our manager tomorrow."
I frown. "Yeah. I know. I guess it's time."
He nods. "Yeah, but I'll call you after." He smiles and kisses me and for a few minutes I forget all about the fear of him telling his manager. I know I'm scarred by what happened between me and Dawon and I shouldn't let that affect what's going on between me and Han. When he lets me go, I stroke his cheek and say, "You're cute. I hate to say goodbye to you."
He smiles. "I feel the same way." He kisses me briefly again before he takes my hand and we walk towards the door. He grabs the door handle at the same time that he lets go of my hand. I smile at him as he opens the door.

When me and Em get home, we both pass out immediately. I know we have to be up at 9am at the latest, because I have to go see 2PM so they can try out the clothes I've sourced and so that they can be altered in case there's something wrong. Em doesn't need to go with me technically but I know she will purely because she wants to see me interact with Taecyeon. We're meeting them at the JYP office, of course, and when the clock hits 9.30am I'm waiting by the door for Emma. She's running around trying to find her sunglasses and I just laugh at her. She finally finds them and we leave. I'm tired and slightly hungover and seeing 2PM isn't what I'd prefer to do today. But work is work and I'll pull through. Instead of taking an Uber I decide to drive since I have to bring clothes with me. It would've been much easier if they could've come to our office but no, the management wanted us to meet at JYP HQ. And all we could do is agree to that. I let Emma be in charge of music on the drive as I'm too busy focusing on the road. It's not a long drive but there's quite a lot of traffic. I glance at the clock on the car's display. 9:45am. Han messaged me earlier this morning and said he was about to talk to his manager and then I haven't heard anything since. Which terrifies me. I know he's probably busy and probably getting yelled at by either his manager or JYP. Actually, it's probably both. I park outside the JYP office at 9.55am and we head inside. The receptionist shows us to the room where we're supposed to meet 2PM and as the door closes behind her I sigh. Emma just looks at me and smiles.
"You want some coffee right?"
I nod. "Desperately."
Before she can offer to go get some, the door opens and in walks Nichkun holding two coffees. I look at him and I feel so thankful I could cry. He laughs.
"You look like you're about to burst into tears. Are you okay?"
I nod. "I'm just so happy to see coffee."
He smiles and hands me a cup and says, "If I didn't know how much you love coffee I'd be offended."
I roll my eyes and take a sip of the coffee.
"Hey," he says. "What's this about you dating an idol?"
I almost choke on my coffee and Emma does the same. We're both coughing as Nichkun says,
"Probably shouldn't have said that whilst you were drinking huh? I just wanted to ask before the others get here."
"How do you..." I begin. "How do you know?"
He smiles. "I heard people talk about it this morning. Some managers spoke about it in the hallway and I heard them mention your name and something about a JYP meeting."
I sigh. "Ah, I see."
"So is it true?"
I glance at Emma and she nods as a sign of approval. "Yeah" I say. "It is."
He grins. "I'm happy for you! Who is it?" He pauses. "God it's not Junho is it? I know you both love cats but no. No." He says firmly and I laugh.
"No, it's not him."
He nods. "So someone from Stray Kids then I'm guessing."
Before I can say more, the door opens and in walks the rest of 2PM. I look at Emma and she looks as mesmerized as I feel. We're in a conference room with another room connected to it by a door. And yes that's where they'll get changed. We all greet each other and as I point them to their assigned outfits.
"I really hope none of you have worked out a lot since I got sent your measurements" I say and smile.
Taecyeon meets my gaze and I almost gasp but I stop myself. "I can't promise anything. Where should we get changed?" He raises his eyebrows. "Here?"
"Dear God no" Emma exclaims before I can say anything and Chansung laughs.
I point at the door behind them. "That room. Go!"
They all disappear into the room and come back one by one. Chansung first and his outfit fits perfectly. He grins and walks back. After him, Wooyoung, Jun K and Nichkun also get their outfits approved. Junho walks out and the second I see him I groan. He looks so offended and says, "Ya, what kind of reaction is that!"
Emma stifles a laugh next to me and I glare at her before I look at Junho.
"Ah, sorry oppa. It's just... way too tight. Can you even move in it?"
He nods. "I could." He smiles. "But then it'd rip."
I wince. "Okay, one out of six isn't bad. I hope Taecyeon oppas fits."
I take out my measuring tape and measure his arms as that's where the main issue is. He finds it way more entertaining that I'd like. When I'm done, Junho walks back into the room and Taecyeon walks out and I sigh with relief when I see that his outfit looks perfect.
"So?" He says and smiles that deadly smile.
"Ah oppa, it looks great." He's one of the few people I'll gladly call oppa. Any time. Any day.
"Good! Good job!" He says and winks before he goes back into the other room. I look at Emma and she says, "I know you technically have a boyfriend but how are you alive after that?"
I laugh. "I have no idea."
The door opens and they all come out again. I inform them that since JYP wants there to be an outfit change mid video, I'll have to come back another day with the other outfits. They just nod. I tell Junho I'll bring his first outfit then again so he can try it again. They say bye and exit the room, heading for their dance practice. Nichkun is the last to leave and before he goes he says, "I still wanna know who it is!"
I smile and wave him off as he closes the door. Me and Emma look at each other and we both just let out a sigh of relief.

We walk out from the room and as we get close to the exit, I hear a voice behind me.
"Noona!" I turn around and see Lee Know coming jogging towards me. The look on his face is unreadable.
"Hey!" I say. "What's up?"
"Uh" he says and looks around. "I need to talk to you."
I nod. "I see. Can you give me 5 minutes? I need to drop the clothes off in the car." I say and nod towards the clothes me and Emma are carrying. He nods and says he'll wait right there. After we've put everything in the car, I say, "I feel like I know what it's about but I'm so nervous."
Em nods. "I get it. I'll go to the café and eat something while I wait. If it takes too long I'll just get an Uber to the office."
I smile. "Thank you."
We part ways when we get inside, she goes to the café and I go to see Lee Know.
"Come, follow me." He says and we walk past the choreography rooms and into a smaller conference room. He opens the door and I follow him inside. We sit down and he tells me that earlier this morning, Han told their manager. Their manager immediately decided they had to tell JYP so since then, Han and Chan had been in a meeting with JYP. Lee Know smiles at me apologetically. "I feel like I'm as nervous as you are."
"Yeah" I say, just as Lee Know's phone rings. He answers quickly and gives someone his location. I feel like I'm gonna throw up. The door opens and when I see Han I don't know if I should laugh or cry. He looks so deflated but he smiles when he sees me. I stand up and he walks over and pulls me into a tight hug. When he lets me go he looks at Lee Know and says,
"Thank you for finding her."
He shrugs. "No worries. Do you want me to leave you two alone?"
I kind of don't want Lee Know to leave because then it'll be so much more real. And I have a feeling the meeting didn't go well. Han nods as a reply and Lee Know leaves. I sit down and Han sits down next to me.
"What happened?" I ask and he sighs. He tells me how him and Chan were called in to see JYP and how they were lectured about the dating ban and how they both should've known better. He had explained to them multiple times how damaging a relationship could be to the entire group and how they could lose a lot of fans. He also at one point threatened to end their contract, which is insane to me. Chan had apparently countered by saying it wouldn't be an issue for them to find another company.
"So after a really long meeting and some really uncomfortable topics, we basically told him that if he cares anything about his artists well-being he'll let me see you, as long as it doesn't interfere with our schedule."
I just stare at him. "And? What did he say?"
Han smiles and takes my hand in his and intertwines our fingers. "He said okay."