When the hours passed, Y/N kept her word and went to meet her friends at the address Sam had sent her. She knew anyway that Sam was capable of going to look for her if she was missing. There was really no way out now.
It was 10:30 p.m. and the four of them were already in place, sitting at one of the tables while laughing and chatting. Samuel, Christina, J.C and Y/N used to meet whenever they could, although for the last one of them it was more difficult to find an available time.
"Cheers!" Chris held up her beer bottle with a smile. "To achieve this meeting the full squad! I thought it wouldn't happen again until one of us was dead." She exaggerated.
Y/N rolled her eyes and gave a small laugh, taking her bottle and following her friend's toast.
"Yeah, I was surprised you weren't with things to do," J.C spoke after taking a long sip. "When Sam told us he was really hyped."
The girl gave Sam a look and denied with amusement. The three of them used to tease her because of the little free time she had; nothing new, she was used to it.
"I would love to be that euphoric about it." She commented, sighing slightly.
"What do you mean?" Samuel frowned at her, confused.
"I got fired."
"What?!" They were heard in unison.
"Why?" Chris asked, "Why would they ever...?"
"Well... budget cut," she said, trying not to make a big deal out of it. "And I still have a lot of life ahead of me... I guess they think I have a better chance of getting another job because I'm young... I still don't quite understand how."
"What? But that doesn't make sense!"
"Sense or nonsense, facts are facts." Y/N shrugged.
"And what's done is done." Sam added.
"How encouraging, Sam." J.C. hit him on the shoulder and shook disapprovingly.
Y/N laughed lightly again and took a deep breath, shaking her head away to drive the thoughts away. She had already had enough time to get depressed or feel her world collapsing; she did not want to continue with it now.
"Anyways, if it hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here now." She concluded then with a smile, trying to cheer up her friends and not worry Sam.
"Well that's true." J.C. gave her the point.
"Cheers!"
After the new intervention of her friend, Y/N noticed how the others were encouraged and returned to toast. She was not able to tell them at that moment what her fate would be if she did not get a job soon. She had to pay for her studies the following week at the latest, or else she would have to leave the city and go back to live with her parents.
But she couldn't do that to them, it was the first time they met in a long time. She had to find a way to fix everything.
But she had no idea how.
Not at all.
Time passed and the group seemed more and more out of their senses. They all drank, laughed, played and danced. Chris and Sam seemed closer and closer every time, while J.C and Y/Ngave each other knowing glances.
Samuel had around four beers, as were Christina, J.C three, and Y/N just two, when a drunken fight caused the party to end earlier than planned. With nothing else to do, the four withdrew from the scene and took different paths. Seeing herself in that situation, Y/N kept her hands in her trouser pockets and went to her apartment, resigned.
But it was not the same anymore. She had alcohol in her body and no one was waiting for her at home. It would only be her and her thoughts, on a date with her uncertain future, that will only repeat over and over in her head, anguishing her more.
She was so absorbed in her mind that she did not notice the boy walking the other way until she collided with him.
"I'm sorry, I... Agh." The girl immediately apologized, not knowing what was wrong with her.
"Everything okay, Y/N?"
"Yeah, it's just that-" Then she looked up. "Wooyoung? What...? What are you doing here?"
The boy rested his eyes on her and raised an eyebrow, letting one of the corners of his lips rise when noticing that Y/N was not 100% on her senses.
"It's a street." He answered with a smile. "I'm going home."
"Oh sure. Of course."
"Are you alright? You look... disconnected."
"Don't worry." Y/N did not even mind the boy's unusual concern. "I'll be fine."
Wooyoung was silent for a few seconds and put his hands in his pockets. Neither had spoken of what had happened the night before. Perhaps neither of them wanted to give it too much importance; after all it was just a kiss.
"Do you want to go to my place?" He invited her then. "Maybe it's very sudden and inappropriate... but you don't seem like you want to be alone right now."
Y/N looked up at his pupils and pursed her lips. Time might have passed, but some things did not change, and she was not drunk either.
"I come in peace." Wooyoung threw up his hands defensively. "I'm not forcing you either." He shrugged.
The girl kept her gaze on him and narrowed her eyes. Then a smile gave away what was going through her mind, and she ended up accepting the invitation while she shrugged like it was no big deal.
A small smile appeared on Wooyoung's face and he nodded later, starting to walk. Y/N did not hesitate before following him. On their way, Wooyoung kept talking about random topics, such as movies and series; those themes that only served to pass the time.
Upon arrival, Y/N entered after the boy and looked around her. Everything was very neat and clean; maybe a little different from her expectations.
She did not know exactly how, but when she realized her actions again, she found herself sitting in the main room. Then she saw Wooyoung back with two beers.
She naturally received the bottle and saw the boy take a seat next to her, both on the floor.
"How long have you been living here?" She asked, taking a long sip.
But Wooyoung did not answer that. He knew it was not a good time to talk about what had changed since the last time they met; Y/N was not in her senses properly, and even if she was, her mind did not seem to be with her at all.
"What is it that has you so disconnected?"
"Huh?" The girl turned her gaze to him and licked her lips, denying then, "...ah." She swallowed heavily. "I'd rather not talk about that."
Wooyoung noticed Y/N look away, and nodded, bringing the bottle back to his lips
"...Keeping it inside doesn't help, you know."
Y/N looked back at the boy, seeing how his jaw was exposed when he raised his chin to drink. Then, she sighed listlessly.
"Seriously, I don't want to talk about it..." she insisted. "I've been trying to get it out of my mind for over an hour, okay?"
"Why?"
"I don't want to talk about this-"
"How bad is it?"
"Stop trying, Jung! I'm not going to say it!"
Then, Wooyoung fell silent, keeping his eyes on her. His face showed no disturbance from her words. Simply silence.
"I... ah, sorry." Y/N shook her head, setting the empty bottle on the table in front of them. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come. I just want to turn my mind off for a few min-"
Her words were left half. She could not finish her sentence, since Wooyoung acted impulsively and grabbed her chin to move closer until his lips were on hers.
Y/N did not know if it was due to the alcohol, the adrenaline, or the fact that her worries had just been pushed aside, but she corresponded his actions without hesitation. She followed his kiss as if it was something she had planned beforehand.
Wooyoung hid a smile when he noticed that, and placed his hand on her cheek, finally closing his eyes and feeling how the atmosphere changed in a matter of seconds.
Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Their lips moved in a shared rhythm, hiding a hopeless desire. Neither was in their senses 100%, nor were they looking for reasons to do what they did.
Wooyoung hesitated his next move for a moment, until Y/N's fingers went up the nape of his neck and stroked his hair. Then, he placed his hand confidently on her hip and, not being pulled away from her, he leaned little by little until he rested her back on the floor and stayed on top of Y/N.
She bit and pulled Wooyoung's lip, letting out a sigh.
They both knew what would happen if they did not stop.
It was an imminent destination.
So inviting.