nostalgia, forty-six.
❛ crashing the party ❜
"This was all my idea," Tan Xiaohui announced, walking up to greet the birthday celebrants with a proud smile.
Sunghoon, who still stood next to Jungwon, raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Stop lying."
"I sent the invites."
"I planned out the party."
"I'll plan out your funeral."
"Okay!" Yebin clapped her hands together awkwardly, before swinging her arms around both Xiaohui and Sunghoon.
She took one more look at the balloons and streamers that decorated the walls, along with pictures of her and Jungwon scattered around. All of it brought a smile to her face. "Thanks guys, this is amazing."
"You're welcome!" Xiaohui beamed.
"She meant me," Sunghoon countered.
Yebin let Jungwon pull her away from the two, who would probably be arguing for the entirety of the party. They made walked around the place, greeting their friends and introducing each other on the way. Yebin had to admit she felt a little sad knowing Taeri and Micha weren't there.
"I wish things ended better." Yebin sighed. "I called them a bunch of bitches."
"Where's the lie, babe?" Jungwon asked, making Yebin roll her eyes with a smile.
Soon, they reached the photo booth, and Yebin quickly plopped a party hat on Jungwon's head. He glared as she snapped a picture of him, posting it on her story.
They then turned to pose for the camera, which was self-timed. Yebin groaned, standing on her tiptoes as she tried to adjust the tripod. "Ah, who set this so high?"
Somehow, Yebin set the timer off. Not wanting to waste a piece of film, Jungwon scooped her up bridal-style, smiling for the camera right as it went off.
The machine whirred and the polaroid was quickly printed out, making Jungwon laugh aloud as he caught sight of Yebin's face, looking as if she'd seen a ghost.
"I'm keeping this," Jungwon mused, only holding it up higher when Yebin tried to snatch it from him.
"Jungwon, I swear-"
"Yebinnie!"
The two whipped around at Huening Kai's familiar screech, and they watched as he ran up to them with Kang Taehyun beside him.
"Jungwon-ah, we'll just borrow your girl for a minute," Taehyun said, before he and Kai linked arms with her and skipped away. Yebin held her hand out for Jungwon, mouthing 'save me!' as he just waved her goodbye with a laugh.
Yebin's eyes went wide as she saw the backs of two tall boys hogging the snack buffet. They turned around, shoving the chocolates in their pocket before grinning at her widely. She hadn't seen Yeonjun and Soobin since they'd left for college.
Needing some catching up, they fell into a conversation of laughs and memories as Yebin remembered how they were the first people to approach her when she started high school. Three years later, she still knew they were five friends she'd be forever grateful for— and here came another one.
"Ruto!" Yebin threw her arms around the boy, giving him a tight hug as he smiled.
"I can't believe you're older than me now."
"Shut up." Yebin glared. Haruto then handed her a paper bag, and she peered inside with an awed gasp. It was the jacket she talked about in that vintage store.
"I found it online," Haruto explained. She gave him another hug, and they heard someone clear his throat from behind them.
Yebin pulled away, bouncing over to Jungwon with a wide smile. "Won, look what Haruto got me!"
"Oh, yeah," Haruto said awkwardly, pulling a small package from his pocket. "Happy birthday too, man."
Jungwon was handed the gift, a flimsy rubber bracelet with the words 'work hard, dream big' printed on it, the kind they'd find at sports store counters.
"Ah, thanks."
Yebin nudged him at his tone, as Jungwon could never hide his distaste. Haruto excused himself shortly after, and Jungwon looked from Yebin's gift to his.
"This usually comes as a freebie," Jungwon muttered.
Yebin shrugged. "He probably didn't know what to get you."
"Yeah, but he got you a jacket. This isn't fair at all."
"Yah, don't be sad. Actually-" Yebin scratched her head. "He said this is our shared birthday gift. We just take turns, you know?"
Jungwon was about to respond to her lies, when his phone chimed. He furrowed his eyebrows at the screen, before blocking the number and shutting it off.
"What was that?" Yebin asked.
"Spam message." Jungwon sighed, before swinging an arm around her shoulder. "Come on, I heard we're opening gifts soon."
"Oh, shit." Yebin's eyes went wide. "Did you bring your gift?"
"Yeah, I've had it since this morning,"
"I thought we were having dinner at my house, so I left mine at home." Yebin slapped a palm to her forehead. "I have to go get it."
"Yebin, I really don't mind if-" Jungwon sighed when she frowned at him. "Okay, I'll go with you."
"No, no, enjoy the party! I heard they're playing some games over there," Yebin said. She was a little tired, and biking from here to her house wasn't the shortest distance. "I'll just book a taxi."
"But-"
Yebin pressed a quick kiss to his lips, before jogging towards the exit, waving. "Love you, bye!"
Jungwon stood frozen in place watching as she hailed a white taxi that passed by, opening the door and sliding into the passenger seat before the vehicle began moving. He shook his head, smiling to himself as he walked back to join the party.
Lee Kiyoung wasn't himself. He'd just went out of his way to find Yang Jungwon's number, sending a text saying 'I just want to talk.' To no surprise, he was immediately blocked.
Earlier that afternoon, he was at the park. They didn't see him, but he was there, playing a cold game of basketball alone while they kissed and held hands the way couples did. He saw Jungwon make Yebin laugh, the way he used to when they were together. And he couldn't handle it.
He thought he'd finally gotten over her. Their relationship wasn't built on much anyway, just a simple dare in his junior year to date a freshman girl. Maybe he didn't realize it then, but the only reason he kept the dare going was because he'd actually fallen in love with her, and he was sure she loved him back.
Kiyoung knew he made mistakes. He'd gotten into trouble with his anger issues in the past, but Yebin sympathized with him enough to not say anything for so long. The guilt he now felt, along with the kindness she'd showed him, only made him love her even more.
He grew angry. Maybe it was the alcohol he'd nicked from his dad's cabinet, but looking through his social media and seeing pictures of the happy couple spending their birthday together lit a fuse in him. He couldn't stand it. Getting up, he grabbed his keys and made for the door, stumbling as he walked.
Haze. That was all he saw as he drove through the near-empty streets, heading towards the clubhouse, where the party was still ongoing. He was slowly losing all sense of direction, along with his own consciousness as his grip on the steering wheel grew loose.
His eyes drooped tiredly, and he shut them for a while, completely unaware to the fact that he was now going in the wrong direction on a one-way road. His ears seemed to ring from all the alcohol he drank, and he stepped on the gas hard as a migraine reached his head.
He didn't hear the sudden honking of a vehicle, nor the panicked screeching of tires as they swerved against the pavement. All he saw when he opened his eyes were bright headlights that seemed to be growing closer by the millisecond, and it took him a while to realize he was the one speeding straight at it.
By the time he thought to step on the break, his car was colliding with the white taxi in front of him, the mere impact crashing straight into its passenger seat.
a/n. sorry i didn't update yesterday bbys,, but i hope u enjoyed this chapter 😁