The lessons went swimmingly. Hoseok was a class favorite, and he welcomed the attention shyly because, again, it had been an entire decade since he was last praised for his skills outside of basic paperwork etiquette.
Before long, it was nearing New Year's, and Hoseok's existential dread that came with the floor's annual celebration was rolling in again, just like it did for Christmas a mere few days ago.
"Just invite that Jungkook kid," Seokjin said when Hoseok declined his invitation for the tenth time that afternoon.
Hoseok sputtered and turned toward him with a glare. "I can't just—invite him!"
Seokjin rose a brow, shoving one of those leftover candy canes used to decorate the floor's Christmas tree into his mouth. "Why not? He's not a demon anymore, right? What's the harm in having a human plus-one? It's not like you'll be the only one."
"He hardly knows me, hyung. Why would he accept an invitation to a party that he doesn't even know the host of?"
That was Hoseok's argument, but after the following morning's lesson was over and Hoseok popped the question, Jungkook merely spent a few seconds mulling it over in his head before nodding.
"Sure," he said, and Seokjin didn't let Hoseok live it down when he delivered the news in the office.
--
"Damn, Hoseokie, when was the last time I saw you at a party?" Namjoon said as he embraced Hoseok's still-shivering form.
"Three years," Hoseok muttered, and Namjoon released him with a sharp hiss of an apology. "It's fine," he insisted because it was. At least, he hoped it was. It still hurt—remembering Taehyung—but if Yoongi could go about his days without misery tethering him down, Hoseok should do the same. Maybe out of respect, perhaps for his own self-preservation.
"Anyways, where's your date?" Namjoon asked when the silence dragged on.
"He's not my date," Hoseok sputtered, heat encasing his cheeks. "He's my plus-one."
Namjoon shrugged, noncommittal. "Same thing. Anyways," he continued, proceeding further into their manager's home, "I came because I heard the manager's got a God-tier wine collection. So, I'll probably be seeing you at midnight."
"It's only seven—"
Namjoon waved him goodbye without a backward glance.
Hoseok sighed and lingered near the entryway listlessly. He didn't want to run off and indulge himself in all the goodies he saw lying on the kitchen counter because he promised Jungkook he would introduce him to his coworkers. Just so that Hoseok wasn't the only person that he knew because Hoseok wouldn't know what to do with himself if Jungkook hovered by his side the entire evening out of sheer shyness. He prayed Jungkook had grown out of his social ineptness, but there was no telling if a dance leader was a leader in conversation.
Hoseok greeted the guests and their plus-ones as they began to trickle in the older the evening grew. He accepted the glass of champagne Seokjin had passed him, a faint "good luck" parting Seokjin's lips as he was tugged back into the growing crowd that congregated in the living room. Hoseok waited and waited, and he nearly dropped his glass—refilled thrice since Seokjin's gifting—when Jungkook's face suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Hey," Jungkook said, a smile breaking out across his face. "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was bad."
Hoseok hummed, empathetic, and gave Jungkook a once-over. "You look nice," he muttered, and he couldn't tell if it was because he was used to seeing Jungkook drenched in his own sweat with loose tees and sweatpants on, or because Jungkook had filled out remarkably in the three years since he had last seen him. He looked nothing like the fifteen-year-old in his memories, and Hoseok didn't know if that was good or not.
Jungkook giggled, something like nervousness lilting his tone. "Thanks. You look, uh, tipsy, hyung."
"Haven't eaten yet. Was waiting for you..." He reached his hand out and barely managed to stop himself from intertwining his fingers with Jungkook's. He turned away and walked briskly toward the kitchen, shouting over his shoulder, "Come on! I'll introduce you to everyone!"
Seokjin was found hoarding several snacks in the corner of the kitchen, and Hoseok offered Jungkook a faint "that's Seokjin-hyung" before raiding the fridge for something palatable. He approached Seokjin and Jungkook's meet-and-greet session with cheese and bread in his hands.
"You really don't remember me?" Seokjin said, something remarkably close to a pout on his lips.
Jungkook's eyes flickered between Seokjin and Hoseok, a helpless look within his wavering pupils. "Uh, no?"
"It's no use, hyung," Hoseok said around a mouthful of cheese. "He's completely forgotten. Someone fucked up bad."
Seokjin groaned exasperatedly, eyes rolling and everything. "Damned demons. Can't count on them for shit."
"Hear, hear." Hoseok raised his glass before downing it. When he lowered it, he met Jungkook's concerned gaze. "Don't worry about it, Kook," he said with a hiccup. "We're working on it."
"You're working on it," Seokjin insisted. "I don't want to deal with your demonology bullshit anymore."
"Uh," Jungkook said, off-kilter and awkward. "Should I be...worried?"
"No," both Seokjin and Hoseok say.
Seokjin turned toward Hoseok with a raised brow. "But you should be. How long's it been? Three months now? Aren't you being a little slow with your pining?"
"I'm not pining." Hoseok slammed his glass onto the counter and fixed Seokjin with a glare, but his sobriety was slashed, and he probably looked every bit as smashed as he felt because Seokjin just burst out laughing. "Let's go," Hoseok muttered as he trudged out the kitchen with Jungkook in tow.
"You're not gonna meet Namjoon until midnight!" Hoseok shouted over the music, the sound of people making merry, the New Year's program somebody decided to blast through the television's speakers.
"What!" he heard Jungkook shout back, a good foot away, and he tutted as he reached through the crowd that had formed around them to tug Jungkook by the wrist.
"I said," Hoseok repeated, looking up slightly to meet Jungkook's close—far too close—eyes, "Namjoon's a no-show until midnight."
"Oh." The response sounded like it was punched out of Jungkook, breathless and hazed. His gaze lingered on Hoseok for a moment, tongue flicking out between his lips before saying, "We—do you want to go? Get some fresh air?"
Hoseok blinked up at him, momentarily startled and, admittedly, slow-witted with the alcohol still heavy on his mind. "Yeah," he said after a moment, head nodding along to the song's bass that played around them. "Yeah, let's go."
Jungkook decided to take the lead because the heat and rhythm of the bodies surrounding them started to make Hoseok's head foggy and body wobbly. They emerged from the front door relatively unscathed and drifted toward the front yard, occupied by a few loiters and introverted party-goers.
Hoseok collapsed into the frost-studded grass and wheezed when the frozen earth collided with his back. He patted the spot next to him as he stared up at Jungkook. "Join me."
There was a moment of hesitation, but Jungkook complied with Hoseok's request and lay beside him. They stared up at the cloudy sky that was alight with holiday lights and early fireworks alike.
"Hyung," Jungkook said, startling Hoseok from his silent marveling. He turned toward Jungkook and hummed in prompt. "I... You seem to be familiar with me."
"Not to you?" Hoseok already knew the answer, but the hope was still there.
"I mean, I feel a sense of deja vu with you sometimes, but not much else."
Hoseok sighed as he turned back toward the sky, stretching his body across the lawn and Jungkook's chest. "Would you believe me if I told you?"
"Told me what?"
"That I knew you."
Jungkook snorted. "Of course you know me, hyung. We've known each other for—"
"A decade."
Hoseok felt Jungkook's body jolt underneath his arm.
"Well, technically, four years, since we forgot about each other for a while. Oh, wait, I guess it would be only a year now that you don't remember me again." Hoseok sighed wistfully. "Why'd you have to get involved with a demon, Kook? It's made our lives hell."
Jungkook sat up, and Hoseok's gaze drifted toward his towered figure. "You're...you're serious, aren't you?" Jungkook said, and Hoseok was just glad his tone wasn't scathing.
"You joined my dance crew ten years ago, admired me, wanted my attention, got into a deal with a demon to get my attention, accidentally fell in love with me, got turned into a demon as punishment, later struck a deal with me, and then we got into a world of trouble." Hoseok heaved his torso from the ground and flicked his finger against Jungkook's forehead. "I won't talk about the details because it still hurts and I want you to use that brain of yours for once."
Jungkook looked mildly offended by Hoseok's comment, but otherwise, he seemed every bit as perplexed as Hoseok would have expected him to be.
Hoseok sighed, disheartened. "I knew it was no use..."
He stood from the ground and stumbled back into the house, accepting the champagne glass passed his way.
A/N - next chapter's the last one :,)