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HAVE fun, get drunk and drown your problems in one go. That's the plan you had in mind tonight.
Your steps were heavy as you dragged yourself to the familiar mansion you've gone to a few times — but not in these kinds of situations.
Neon lights bouncing off the walls and through the windows, loud music blasting while people scattered all over the place. It's pure luck that the entire property was located kilometers away from the heart of the city and instead, is perched near a cliff, way past the heart of the forest. So yeah, no complaining neighbors to worry about, alright.
It's private property after all.
"Elle, you made it!" A handsome face pops out from the opened door after you've knocked about eight times. A smile crept into your face at the sight of him.
"Am I late, Woo?" You ask with a chuckle. Your friend was quick to shake his head and pull you inside the house. "Not at all, silly!" He exclaims so you can hear him past the blaring music from the stereos. It was almost deafening. Thank god, Wooyoung drags you away from it, past the dancing bodies reeking of sweat and alcohol and brings you somewhere upstairs.
You figured he'd bring you to his friends. Frankly, Wooyoung is friends with every single soul in the university he goes to. But these friends you're talking about are his close-knitted ones. One he'd sell his kidneys for.
You see, you're Wooyoung's childhood friend, which made you special, his words not yours. And these friends of his, seven in total, were strangers he encountered with and stuck to in highschool and ever since then, they were like brothers, a family, inseparable.
You weren't exactly as close to them as Wooyoung is, but you can say you've had quite a few fun times with them too. They were nice and they made you comfortable with them. But...it's you.
The problem lies in you.
You had, still have, trust issues. The reason why you don't have close friends, (not that you mind) just like how Wooyoung has one. You find it hard to let people in, in your life.
Being solo is nice, but sometimes you can't deny but crave for something or someone who you can have by your side too.
That doesn't matter right now though. You're here to get wasted, hopefully.
Wooyoung leads you through a hallway, past rooms and more rooms until you finally reach the end. You both stop in front of a blue door. Wooyoung knocks.
"You're back than — Elle?" Yeosang, the quiet fellow of the group, gasps, as he sees you beside Wooyoung. You offer him a friendly wave.
Out of all the seven guys, Yeosang is one of those who you're closest with. With his quiet nature, you can't help but gravitate towards him and his company because you're one as well.
"I can't believe Wooyoung was right this time. You did came." Yeosang adds, with a smile that tells you he's more than happy to see you here, and then he ushers you in.
Wooyoung has invited you a lot of times to go to his parties. But out of all the 15 invitations he made, this was the only one you appeared to.
What can you say, you're desperate now.
Inside, your mouth gapes at the sight of the private room. In the middle, there was an abstract carpet, a few leather couches circling a coffee table filled with assorted magazines and game consoles, a flat-screen tv and a crackling fireplace with warm heat.
As the three of you venture further, you realize there's a few bedrooms and then another room. There, you see a bean bag in the corner — which looks like it's been occupied just not too long ago, a mini bar with a cabinet full of expensive wine bottles, a couple of game machines with all sorts of games you can't quite name and finally, a large pool table at the center.
And at that moment, it was occupied.
Your eyes meet one of the player's. His cat-like eyes squinting and then widening at you in recognition, the cue stick on his hand falling limp on the table with a thud.
You giggle softly and smile shyly at him. Noticing his pink cheeks, you start to wonder how many drinks he's had already.
"Okay, so who's winning?" Wooyoung clasps his hands together in a loud manner before he moves closer to the pool table.
"Elle, darling, is that you?" A warm voice says, and when you turn around, you see Seonghwa's pink head peeking out from one of the bedroom's.
You smile at the sight of the eldest.
"Hi." You reply, before Seonghwa comes to ruffle your hair.
Hearing your name made the others look up from their businesses, and suddenly, before you could process things, you were already crushed in a hug by the two towers — Mingi and Yunho.
"Guys, it's just me." You giggle as you pat their backs. Hongjoong smiles at you as you meet his gaze while Jongho, the youngest of the bunch, can only offer you a pained smile as he watches you getting crushed by the YunGi duo.
"Oh my god, let the poor girl breathe!" A voice exclaims before you feel the grip on your body loosen. Mingi and Yunho muttering apologies, saying they just really missed your pretty face.
"We kept wondering when Wooyoung would let us meet you again. Especially Mingi, since he said he had so much fun when you came with us at the waterpark." Hongjoong tells you, making Mingi's face flush in pink at your side.
"Is that so?" You say, poking his side playfully before he grabs Yunho by the arm and drags him away for another game of pool.
The rest burst into laughter while you smiled. Because, Mingi just might be the sweetest guy you've ever met.
"You're here." The same voice that pried away the two towers from you, speaks behind you. His mouth dangerously close to your ear, you could practically smell the intoxicating mix of mint and alcohol together and a lingering hint of smoke from it.
"San, hi." You greet him, turning around to face him. Wrong move.
Was San ever this attractive to your eyes before? You thought, gulping, now that you see him upclose. His taunting cat-like eyes, his sharp nose, his full lips, his prominent jaw and the way his black hair mats on his forehead because of sweat.
He looked…..breathtaking.
"I see...you finally gave in to Wooyoung's pleas huh?"
"Y-Yeah. Badly needed the alcohol." A hand instantly flies over your mouth because why on earth did you let that slip out.
San doesn't need to know. None of them needed to know.
At that, San squints his eyes, eyebrows furrowing, before his lips form into a smirk.
"Oh? Is that so? Shall I do the honor of making your drink then?" San offers, and because he's the one you're closest with, you nod, letting him take you to the back where the mini bar was located.
He pulls out a chair for you and makes you sit before he goes to the counter to make his specialty for you tonight.
San was a sweetheart. When Wooyoung introduced you to them for the first time, you remember being scared to look him in the eye, because his features looked so fierce and sharp. The way that he also had an eyebrow slit and piercing didn't help in the slightest as well. You were so intimidated by him.
But then, he flashed you the brightest smile, eyes turning into crescents as he did so. Dimples popping out on both sides of his cheeks.
After that encounter, you find yourself sticking to his side whenever Wooyoung drags you to hangout with them. San's never been anything but a gentleman to you.
But tonight, you can't help but feel that he's oozing with a different aura. Was it his new haircut? The blue-grey contacts he wore? Is it the fact that he's wearing a tank top right now? Or is it the way you noticed how his features seemed to have gotten even sharper, his body even bigger than you remembered? His broad shoulders and muscles flexing as he had his back to you. You even think he grew a tad bit taller.
When was the last time you saw the boys? Saw San?
Last summer. During that waterpark getaway Hongjoong mentioned earlier.
Is it possible for someone to get even better-looking in a span of four months? Somehow, it makes you internally sigh in relief that you don't go to the same university as them. Because if you did, God, how can you survive seeing San like this every single day?
"A penny for your thoughts?" Your heart almost jumped out of your chest at the sudden hand placed on your shoulder. When you look back, you see Yeosang beaming at you.
"God, you scared me for life, Sang!"
"How deep were you in your thoughts that you didn't even hear me calling your name?" Yeosang raises an eyebrow, and you don't know why you felt heat creeping up to your cheeks.
It's not like he caught you staring at San, didn't he? And Yeosang can't read minds, so you're safe in the least.
Before you could even muster a reply, a glass filled with pink liquid with a cherry perched on it slides towards you on the table. When you look up, San is smiling at you, gesturing for you to take a sip.
"Thank you." You say, completely forgetting about Yeosang being there.
"My pleasure." San replies, clinking his glass with yours. Then he raises it to his lips, drinking it down with a smirk.