DRUNK. #𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗁𝗒𝗎𝖼𝗄

10

"forget about huang renjun."

instead of letting me forget, it rather repeated in my mind over and over again. jaemin's words felt calculated enough to make me think more about it. i was their source of entertainment, so it wasn't a shock that they wanted to see me fall. 

.

.

.

there it was, the bar that they mentioned. from a distance away, it looked like a normal cafe with quiet outdoor seating and an indoor area protected by two doors that you cant see through as they had no windows. it seemed calm from the outside, but really, the inside was where the desires of mankind were let loose.

dim-lit rooms, loud sounds that blocked any kinds of thoughts in your head, flashy clothes and people to distract and tempt you; eventually, without the self-control needed, your desires will devour you. terrifyingly, it was easy for everyone in there to let themselves go from all the stress they had. it included the four who, i'm sure, had their own reasons to dump their exhaustion on.

however, that wasn't the case for me. instead of letting myself go, the unbearable noises, obnoxiously ignorant people, the smell of smoke and alcohol mixing into each other -- it was the trigger to my stress. after all, this was not what i wanted in the first place. i never wanted to be this way.

as i sat in the cornered table, people passed by and went. i couldn't bring myself to order any of those dumb alcoholic drinks, too. 

that was when i felt someone's soft skin touch my arm from beside me with the warm hand of theirs.

"hyuck..."

.

.

.

- renjun's perspective -

why am i here? why did i come here in the first place? 

"ugh, fuck you." there it is again, some drunk man thinking i was a girl because of my long hair and considered 'more feminine' way of dressing. i slapped his hand away from my hip. after avoiding him, i walked to some other corner without perverted jerks as him. 

i sat down near one of the other corners with tables available. looking around, i looked around. it seems it was safer without older men coming my way. 

"...ack!" but even if i was safe from them, i wasn't safe from him. right in the corner of my eye, i saw lukewarm eyes staring off into some place -- most probably staring into nothing. the familiar tanned skin, the black soft hair, the nicely-proportioned figure...there was no doubt that it was the one and only lee donghyuck.

why was i here, then? ah...that's right. after more than a month, i'm still scared to accept it, aren't i? sorry, hyuck.

at the sight of him, i could tell my body was going to react without my brain thinking first. it was annoying, but i liked how i never had to think hard when i was with him. it actually made me happy for once, and i was relieved to see him. so i moved towards him, my feet dragging me along as i knew this probably would not go well as i hope it was going to be. 

once he was within reach, my hand reached out to him, and got his attention immediately. hm, just as always, he hasn't touched a single drop of alcohol even though he was in a bar.

"...hyuck..." my worried expression suddenly felt like it melted into a smile, weirdly enough. once his name came out of my mouth, i was glad and the negative thoughts i had before were gone. 

his lukewarm eyes suddenly turned bright, and his cheeks turned to a light shade of pink. "...injunnie...? w-what are you doing here?" and, as if a spark of realization hit him, he stood up and placed his hands firm on my shoulders, almost shaking me.

"wh...where have you been...?" 

those words were filled with emotions. filled with sadness, happiness, and confusion. his words hurt me because of how much emotion he carried within them. 

"...let's not talk here." i couldn't see eye-to-eye with him. and, as he let go, we walked outside in a silence. i felt my heart thump as i instinctively held his hand to lead him out from the busy place. i felt his hesitation as he tightened his grasp.

i took a deep breath as we stood outside. the chilly night air was a nice escape. i looked at the taller who seemed to be staring at me. pulling away his hand, i sighed, "...it's empty out here, so why don't we take a seat?" 

as we sat down, a waiter who spotted us asked if we wanted anything to drink. i was about to decline knowing we both weren't fond of alcoholic drinks, but...

 "...i'll have whatever you recommend." the voice of the one sitting across me left both me and the waiter speechless for a few seconds. as the waiter turned around and left, thinking of a drink to give to donghyuck, i found myself having a twisted feeling in my gut.

hyuck didn't like to drink, not did he like to go to places as loud as these. so why was he here? i started to wonder if maybe, this was my fault he felt down. 

we sat in silence, thinking of what to say, as the waiter came back with some drink as requested from donghyuck. when the waiter was out of sight once more, donghyuck drank gulps of it at once. surely, it was more of an amount to down in one go. 

"h-hyuck, aren't you drinking a bit much...?" i reached out to hold his hand, stopping him from drinking more. 

his eyes looked directly at me. 

"..." i noticed his cheeks were slightly red and he seemed to get sleepier than how he looked before. was he drunk already?

a smile came across his face, then a little laugh. "heh, everyone's drunk again. might as well join them, right?" 

even if he was smiling, his eyes showed nothing but pure pain and grief. it seems i've seen this somewhere before.