The messy, improv therapy session ended only because midnight was thirty seconds away, and over half of the guests were hounding the penthouse for their host to give the countdown.
"I guess this is where our discussion ends, Hoseokie," Taehyung had said in parting.
"I guess so," Hoseok replied in turn, alcohol sweated out and possibly broiling in the underlying internal dread that gutted him.
"So?" Jimin immediately questioned upon approaching Hoseok. "How'd it go?"
Hoseok listened as the crowd shouted in a slurred chorus the countdown, starting from five.
FIVE!
"It went..."
FOUR!
Hoseok trailed off, gaze traveling...
THREE!
...over the sea of cheery strangers...
TWO!
...toward the open balcony window that carried the whispers of a storm...
ONE!
...and ultimately landing on the blazing, blood-red eyes on the other side.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
--
Hoseok's throat, ladened with dried alcohol and burning acid, sat tight and wired as he stared at Jungkook's reflection through the window.
Only, it wasn't a reflection.
He was there.
On the balcony.
"Oh, fuck right off."
And then the acid made its exit.
--
The party ended promptly after Hoseok vomited into the hair of another guest, which was approximately 0.1 milliseconds after midnight.
To say the least, nobody was impressed. Which meant they wandered the streets, piss drunk, in search of another open party.
"I do believe that was the quickest my guests' have ever cleared out," Taehyung mused lightly while pushing back Hoseok's matted bangs as the office worker released a second round of vomit into the toilet bowl below.
"I never thought Hoseokie would be able to do a showstopper like that," Jungkook teased, prodding the underside of Hoseok's ass with his boot.
Hoseok must be having a lucid nightmare.
There was no physical, possible way that he was standing (sitting?) witness to Jungkook, the fucking demon that ruined his entire life, and Taehyung, the manager that blessed his life, casually communicating with one another. While he barfed all his anxieties and drinks away.
Fuck, why did he have such shit luck lately?
Tears pricked at Hoseok's eyes as he dry-heaved into the full bowl. "Fuck off, Kook," he rasped, promptly hacking up a lung.
"Oh, I feel so threatened right now," Jungkook mocked and, God, Hoseok wanted to shove his face down the toilet. "Seriously, hyung, I'm gonna have to carry you all the way home, so you might want to be a little more gracious to your savior."
"No," Hoseok hissed with as much venom he could muster.
"Pardon my interruption," Taehyung said lightly, a hint of laughter in his voice, "but I do believe I have a vehicle that's functional and in the garage and very free to use."
"I dunno how to drive," Jungkook immediately answered.
"And I can't drive," Hoseok groaned miserably, curling into a fetal position on the tile floor the moment his stomach finished relieving itself.
"I suppose that leaves me, then," Taehyung sighed wistfully. "But I'm afraid I can't guarantee our safety while driving through the snow storm outside right now."
"So, are we just gonna chill here?" Jungkook questioned, lips fighting back the grin that threatened to reveal his gleeful reaction to the situation.
"I'm not chilling anywhere," Hoseok murmured against the floor, words slurred and near incomprehensible.
"I have plenty of guests' rooms, so make yourselves at home," Taehyung said, ignoring Hoseok's weak-willed protests.
As Jungkook and Taehyung made a joint effort to drag and carry Hoseok off and away from the bathroom floor, Hoseok muttered into Jungkook's neck, "Don't go anywhere near the first room."
--
"So." Hoseok curled even deeper into the comforter upon Jungkook's attempt at acknowledging the elephant in the room. "Did you find out anything?"
"Not anything that'll help you, no," Hoseok muttered reluctantly.
Hoseok listened as Jungkook groaned and let out a breath of surprise when feeling the demon collapse onto the bed he laid in. Jungkook curled his body in close to Hoseok's, and the feverish warmth that the demon brought with him was enough to have Hoseok frantically tugging off the comforter and kicking at the demon's lanky limbs.
"You had all this time to talk to him, and you didn't learn anything?" Jungkook whined against Hoseok's attacks. "What did you even talk about, then?"
"None of your business, Demon Boy," Hoseok hissed, biting at the stray finger Jungkook used in an attempt to calm him. "And if you're so curious, just ask him yourself since you're already here."
Jungkook whined and pressed his body flush against Hoseok's, much to the office worker's disdain. "I don't wanna! That was your job! I don't wanna do it!"
"Jungkook—Christ, let go!" Hoseok slammed his fist against the meat of Jungkook's arm, which was wrapped tightly around his torso. "What is with you and confrontation?"
"Says the guy who's in denial." Jungkook squeezed Hoseok even tighter, and Hoseok found himself swallowing back bile. "Oh, sorry. I forget how fragile humans are."
"You're turning into one, and haven't you figure that out for yourself by now?" Hoseok rolled over to face Jungkook properly. He frowned at the pout that greeted him and reached a hand up to pinch at Jungkook's cheek. "C'mon, kid. Just go talk to him. He's literally just down the hall."
Jungkook released an indignant huff and tugged his cheek free from Hoseok's grasp. "One, I'm not 'turning' into a human. Two, I can't just go ask the guy if he knows me when he literally just met me last week."
Hoseok raised his eyebrows and reached his hand further up to card it through Jungkook's glossy hair. "So, what? You just wanna develop a genuine relationship with the guy before asking him about your past?"
"Eh." Jungkook curled into Hoseok's touch with a conflicted face. "More like I don't want to scare him off too soon, really."
Hoseok dragged his nails lightly against Jungkook's scalp, grinning softly at the almost purr that escaped the demon. "Oh, trust me. You won't be scaring him off any time soon with your petty little question."
Jungkook's lips twitched, and he huffed haughtily. "Oh, yeah? How're you so sure?"
"Let's just say that our little discussion before was more jarring than yours will be."
--
Hoseok woke with the sunrise, and he figured that was better than waking up to his annoying ass alarm.
The sun's rays weren't blocked by curtains nor the blinds, those having been drawn up to their fullest height. As such, the blinding, snow-covered cityscape greeted Hoseok's eyes alongside the pastel sky.
"What a view," the same voice that he fell asleep to said from behind him.
"Would be better if it wasn't so fucking bright," Hoseok murmured, shoving his face into his pillow. "This is why I have curtains. Taehyung-ah must be insane, especially with that damned snow."
"Are you ever happy?" Jungkook's voice mocked exasperation, but Hoseok could feel his smile against the back of his neck.
"When have you ever been this clingy? The fuck?" Hoseok was too tired to deal with Jungkook's sudden behavioral change and the damned light that reflected off the fucking snow was still shining into his peripheral and can he please just go home.
"I was going to wake you guys later, but I guess I can feed you breakfast now," Taehyung announced from the doorway, startling Hoseok into a sitting position, subsequently shoving Jungkook off of him and halfway off the mattress. "Oh, did I interrupt something?"
"Hyung's just cranky about the snow or whatever," Jungkook answered in Hoseok's place, tone a bit bitter. "What's for breakfast?"
"Well, there's this place that delivers and has breakfast menus that I usually order from. Want to check it out?"
"Just give us a minute to look presentable," Hoseok said, frantically searching the bedroom floor for the jeans he had abandoned some time during the night.
Taehyung laughed cheerfully and exited the room with a merry, "Happy New Year's!"
Hoseok found his jeans under the nightstand and slipped them on with a bit of struggle, his motor skills still faulty.
"Do you think I should ask him during breakfast?" Jungkook wondered from his lounged place on the bed.
"Isn't this your first meal in forever?" Hoseok questioned in turn. "Wouldn't you rather savor the flavor than risk ruining the mood with your little theory?"
"Hey, I wouldn't even have to worry about this if you had done your job last night."
Hoseok turned around fully, still buttoning his pants, to give Jungkook a dirty glare. Jungkook flushed and looked away hastily, which struck Hoseok as odd because wouldn't Jungkook have been looking away since the beginning?
"Anyways," Jungkook said abruptly, cutting off Hoseok's chain of thoughts, "I guess I'll just have to ask now. Better late than never, right?"
Hoseok huffed and zipped his pants, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I guess." He gave Jungkook one last scrutinizing gaze. "Just wait until I've had at least one bite, okay?"
Jungkook chuckled. "Whatever you say, Hoseokie."
"Yeah, yeah. Fuck you, Kook."
A/N - confrontations and exposition next chapter! woohoo