Exception

XVII. Drunk

Surprisingly, even under this weather, Sleepy Seoul wasn't as empty as Daehyun thought. Most of the customers were too drunk to even notice the chaotic thunderstorm outside the bar.

Before he went in, he had checked the time on his wristwatch, and barely remembered about his task—to create a thick wall of fog around the perimeters of Nonghyup bank. So, with urgency and hoping he wasn't late, Daehyun looked up to the sky and concentrated on his powers. It took longer, since he was far away from the actual bank, but eventually the weather was altered and his grey eyes turned back into a normal brown colour.

The bartender looked up as Daehyun stepped into the dimly lit room. "Welcome." But Daehyun was too busy looking for Youngjae to acknowledge his greeting. After a while of scanning the perimeters of the bar, he realized there were several floors to this structure, and resorted to ask for help instead.

"Excuse me, I came after receiving a phone call..."

"Ah, you're... Youngjae's friend, right?" The same bartender came out from behind the counter. "We had to bring him upstairs to a more isolated room, because he was starting to disturb the other customers. Also, he used up all his money but kept asking for more, that's why we resolved to calling you."

Daehyun nodded, somewhat impatiently. "Can you show me where he is now?"

Soon, he found himself walking up the stairs into a more spacious part of the bar that has less furnishing, as if the place was still under renovation. In one of the far corners, sitting alone at a table, was no one other than Yoo Youngjae.

"He's calmed down now, compared to earlier. Probably exhausted his own body with all that alcohol." The bartender sighed, sounding relieved. A moment later, he was summoned back downstairs, leaving Daehyun with Youngjae on the second floor.

Cautiously, Daehyun approached his drunk friend. He was sprawled on the table, seemingly asleep. With minimal noise, Daehyun pulled out a chair from under the table and sat down, afraid to wake him up.

Unfortunately, it was still enough to startle Youngjae, causing him to whip his head up abruptly. He squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the face in front of him under the weak lighting. His words were slurred, but Daehyun was able to make out the approximate meaning based on his tone. "Who... who are you?"

"Youngjae, you've had too much." Daehyun frowned slightly. "In fact, I don't think I've ever seen you touch alcohol before. What's wrong?"

Daehyun didn't really expect an answer from someone so drunk, but he certainly didn't expect anything like what happened next, either.

Youngjae shot up from his seat, his stool toppling over with a loud thud. Then he walked over to where Daehyun sat and started shouting at him incoherently, while simultaneously hitting him on the arm, chest, and shoulder.

"Youngjae! Stop! It's me, Daehyun!" Daehyun attempted to grab ahold of Youngjae's frantic hands, but they were moving too quickly, and his punches actually hurt. At that time, he didn't recognize the man in front of him. It was as if a lunatic had abducted the angel-like Youngjae and assumed his identity, now thrashing out at Daehyun mercilessly.

Daehyun managed to leave his seat and escape the punching, but it was only for a short moment before Youngjae caught up and continued with his assault. "Tell me it's a lie. Tell me! Tell me it's not true..." This was the first clear sentence that came out of Youngjae's mouth, even if his voice was coarse from screaming so much previously.

"Tell you what? Youngjae, you have to calm down. Stop." With a voice he didn't know he owned, Daehyun ordered. But Youngjae didn't seem to acknowledge the words and continued throwing punches.

A sudden impulse caused Daehyun to fight back. He grabbed both of Youngjae's arms with a death grip and pushed him backwards until his body hit the wall with a loud thud. Youngjae, fazed, stopped resisting for a moment.

Daehyun instantly regretted his actions. It must've hurt. I just hurt Youngjae. What's wrong with me?

For a while, they stayed in that position—Youngjae with his back to the wall and Daehyun just inches in front of him. Daehyun was about to apologize, but something changed in Youngjae's eyes that made him hesitate. They were no longer filled with hatred, but replaced with disappointment.

Then, without warning, Youngjae burst out crying. With his hands still pinned on either side of his ears, he couldn't wipe away the river of tears that was flowing uncontrollably down his face. He was already out of breath from shouting earlier, but now he felt almost suffocated.

Daehyun, greatly taken aback, faltered. "Y-Youngjae? Please don't do this—talk to me." He let go of Youngjae's hands and gave him some breathing space.

A minute passed before Youngjae was calm enough to talk. "After I r, received that phone call, I c, came here immediately," he said between hiccups. "D, do you know w, why?"

Daehyun stared back into Youngjae's eyes, which were now swollen like walnuts. He didn't know what 'phone call' he was referring to, but he knew it wasn't the time to ask.

After seeing Daehyun shake his head, Youngjae laughed, somewhat mockingly. "To get drunk. I wanted to believe that it's impossible for you to lie to my face for the past year without me noticing, but just in case. Just in case everything's true and you're really who they say you are, then I've got to finish something before you leave my side forever."

Once again, Daehyun was clueless about what Youngjae just said. But he waited patiently for Youngjae to finish.

"And to do that, I need courage. That's why..." Youngjae paused, reaching for the last bottle on the table and drained it. "...I had to drink some."

Before Daehyun could even ask what Youngjae needed courage for, he was struck by a second round of shock within the span of less than ten minutes.

Right after Youngjae threw the empty bottle on the ground, he took a step towards Daehyun, wrapped his arms around his neck, pulled their faces together and gently touched his lips with his own, sealing the already small distance between them.

Daehyun wanted to take a step backwards when that happened, but Youngjae had a strong grip on his neck and, frankly, he didn't really want this moment to end that quickly. He knew he shouldn't be taking advantage of this situation, especially when Youngjae is evidently angry at him for some reason. But there was no way he could stop now, when his dream of kissing those soft lips finally came true.

Gingerly, he put his arms around Youngjae's waist and pulled him closer. Youngjae, surprised, parted his lips a little. The air around them definitely grew hotter, and Daehyun's heart beat faster.

Sadly, good things never last. Daehyun suddenly felt a tingling sensation at the back of his mind, like a warning of some sort. It was growing more and more prominent with time, but Daehyun ignored it, thinking it was nothing.

The customers on the floor below them looked up from their empty cups, confused by the sudden silence around them. Through the window, they saw that it was no longer pouring.

What Daehyun didn't realize was that he had accidentally allowed his emotions to dominate over his powers. Unknowingly, he had lost control over the weather conditions around him, including Nonghyup bank. The storm subsided, the rain stopped, and the fog dissipated. The mild weather only lasted for a few minutes, but it was already enough for Inseong, who was outside the bank, to take a good look at the faces of the two perpetrators.