Now, first meetings can be very awkward. A lot could go wrong. Wait, haven’t I already said that before? Deja-Boo. Well, additionally, no awkward first meeting can be complete without a group of people you’ve never met, and to amp up the awkward factor: a possible suitor hitting on you right in front of your ex, whom your other possible suitor invited ‘just for kicks—whoops, actually it seems like a bad idea now. Oh well!’. Like it just isn’t awkward enough.

“Why does he keep appearing wherever I am?” Taehyun asked, irritated.

“Because I want him to,” Jonghyun replied, cheekily, “Any objections?”

“Can’t hear you. Too busy with this whole ‘my-ex-is-staring-at-me-again’ business. And business has been booming lately, it’d be a really good source of income if anyone paid me for it.”

Skipping the awkward first half an hour full of introductions, misassumptions, and multiple shots, the large group quickly became accustomed to each other, dropping formalities quite quickly. Although, many people were against having an ‘uncle’ in the same room as them; Jonghyun was very vocal about this matter. Apparently, Suho was being too uptight. Suho waited for someone to object. No one did.

Taehyun, however, in a room full of people letting loose, felt the most wound up. She stuck closely in beside Krystal, who was busy talking—flirting—with a Kim Jongin. To her left was a Do Kyungsoo, who was currently comparing Taehyun’s eyes to the sauce pans he’d used earlier today. Something about how they were shiny and perfectly reflected images through her stainless steel shell.

She would’ve stayed with Jonghyun, but it seems like even magic men can fall succumb to the effects of alcohol. There he was, singing along to WINNER’s “Immature”, at the top of his lungs, which completely described him and his group consisting of the two could-be-would-be twins, and a Byun Baekhyun, the resident drinking lightweight.

Through the corner of her eye, Taehyun could see that the dual-purpose Uncle and Man Servant Suho was getting along well with Jinki. She thought: ‘Well at least one of us is comfortable. Wow, I like what he’s wearing. Since when did he start dressing so well…?’

“Sunbae,” Kyungsoo said, ripping Taehyun away from her thoughts, “Am I boring you out?”

“No!” Taehyun exclaimed, a little too charismatically, “I was just wondering if you were comfortable, that’s all.”

“Ah,” Kyungsoo remarked, smiling bashfully, “I don’t usually come to things like this. It’s basically hook-up central in here.” Taehyun laughed. Kyungsoo grinned in relief, feeling less anxious.

“There are couples everywhere,” Taehyun complained, “There’s a couple-to-be right next to us. Uncle Suho and Jinki look like they’re hitting it off well, too.”

“How about us?” Kyungsoo spoke up, suddenly wanting to take back what he said the moment it left his lips, “Are-are we hitting it off well?” Taehyun’s eyes widened, she smiled, genuinely touched by his natural aegyo.

“Is there something you wanna tell me, Do Kyungsoo?” she asked. She found him innocently cute, much like Pororo. But only with deep, dark eye sockets. Sleep deprived Pororo? Taehyun had no romantic interest in him. Instead, her maternal instincts kicked in. ‘First years.’ she thought, ‘They’re all adorable.’

“Jongin thought it’d be a bad idea for me to come,” Kyungsoo admitted, “But, I wanted to come anyway. Cause I knew you were coming too.”

“That’s sweet,” Taehyun commented, fighting the urge to start petting him, “But why would it be a bad idea?” Kyungsoo leaned in closer, with the aim to whisper why into her ear. From just the right angle, you’d probably think he was about to kiss her. This did not sit well with some people.

Simultaneously, both Jonghyun and Jinki glanced at Taehyun. Both saw the same scene where a certain Kyungsoo was leaning in for what looked like a kiss. Both were about to have a heart attack. Jinki instinctively got to his feet, much to the surprise of Suho, but Jonghyun was a beat faster. He threw himself in between the two, placing his arm around Taehyun. Jinki reluctantly sat back down.

“I’m here to force you two to sing,” Jonghyun said, handing them a microphone each, “No excuses!” he flashed the two a bright, drunken grin. Taehyun was about to protest, but the song had already started.

When she saw his song choice, she wondered if it was a coincidence. She wondered if maybe Jonghyun knew more about her than he let on. What a sad song choice—that brought back memories of sadder days—for a night like this, bursting with vibrant liveliness—with all the vibrancy ebbing off of Jonghyun’s neon green sweater.

Jonghyun pleaded for her to sing, giving her puppy eyes; though she needed no encouragement. Automatically, like muscle memory, the lyrics poured out of .

“Another day passes by like this,” she sang, “My whole day was spent for you.” 2NE1’s “If I Were You”.

“I wore the clothes that you liked best,” she continued, “I should look beautiful in the mirror. But, I just look miserable.” Jonghyun fought off his natural instinct to tell her that she was off-key and pitchy. However, he noted that it wasn’t her voice that caught his attention. He felt emotion, meaning, as if she weren’t singing, but speaking to someone. He slyly turned his head to see if that someone was listening. And, as expected, he was; ever so attentively.

“I wish I could love you, I wish you would love me,” Kyungsoo sang, “I wish we could be together just for a day, so I can let you go without regrets.”

‘That’s my line,’ Jonghyun thought, ‘Tch… This kid… If anyone’s going to confess to anyone, it better be Jongin to Krystal. Don’t even get any ideas, kid.’

Jinki listened to Taehyun’s somber voice. All of the sudden, he couldn’t understand his own feelings. He questioned why she had to let him go if she was going to be so sad about it; he felt wronged, but he felt selfish for feeling that way, he felt angry, but full of regrets.

“Sometimes, I want to push everything back and go out like you,” Taehyun sang, though suddenly choked, “I want to wash down my pain with alcohol, my sadness with laughter, and I did.” The slight deviation in the lyrics suddenly made everyone, who knew about what happened between her and Jinki, severely uncomfortable. Taehyun placed the mic down, and pressed for Kyungsoo to finish the song, complimenting his voice. Kyungsoo was now the only one bursting with happiness in the room. Him, and probably Baekhyun, who was neck deep in soju.

In concern, Jonghyun tightened his grasp around Taehyun’s shoulder. To his surprise, she let out a genuine laugh.

“I’m fine,” she said, “You think I’m gonna let some guy make me cry again? We already made so much progress, I’m obviously not going to let it go to waste. I just wanted to have a little fun with the song. Did I sound too bitter?” Jonghyun felt his heart start doing jumping jacks again. As to why his heart had a sudden interest in physical fitness, he’d never know the reason to.

The song ended, but the next one started almost immediately. Jinki’s voice echoed in the small room. He’d chosen 2NE1’s “Missing You”. The aura in the room had officially crashed and burned.

“… Actually no, I’m still hating you, who let me go,” he sang, “My frigidly cooled heart is still missing you, missing you, missing you, missing you, missing you.” Taehyun blinked.

“You don’t think he’s talking about me, right?” she asked Jonghyun.

“Nah,” he replied, “I think he’s singing about Choi Taehyun.”

“Makes sense,” Taehyun agreed, “Heard those two were really close.”

“… How can you smile so brightly? But looking closely, I see your face is sad. I know I’ve been there before.”

“He has a nice voice,” Jonghyun commented.

“Right?” Taehyun agreed, “It’s like caramel.”

“Oh my God,” Jonghyun exclaimed, “That’s the perfect word. Caramel. It does sound like caramel.”

“… The love of my youth is ending like this. Please be happy. Even after a long time passes, let’s both remember that we both had each other’s backs then. That we both had each other’s backs.”

Jonghyun and Taehyun clapped loudly, and charismatically. Unsure of what just happened, everyone else decided to just clap along. Suho was loudly complimenting his ‘new best friend that’s so much better at singing than Jonghyun—that little—’. Jinki knew better than to trust what she was putting on display on the outside. After all, that was the reason why their break up hurt more than anything; how sudden and unexpected it all was, because she’d put on a mask.

The group parted ways leaving a love sick Krystal and Jongin, a passed out Baekhyun being supported by a Pororo on Cloud Nine, an overly-hyped Minho and Taemin, and another set of plans for a get together, in its wake.

“It’s so cold,” Jonghyun said, looping his arm around Taehyun’s, “I forgot to bring a coat.”

“More like you didn’t bring it because it’d interfere with your aesthetic,” Taehyun retorted, “Plus, you can make a coat appear right now if you wanted. Like ‘snap’, and wow! It’s a coat!”

“I’m too tired,” Jonghyun complained, “And too drunk. I might make a boat appear by accident. Or a goat.”

“Ha, ha, ha, real funny,” Taehyun said, rolling her eyes, “Old man with your old man jokes. Can’t you at least make a car appear? I’m tired too.”

“Nope,” Jonghyun disagreed, “Drunk magic men make drunk magical things appear. Don’t drink and drive. And especially don’t drink and do weird magic stuff. Looks like we’ll have to walk.” Taehyun sighed.

“Fine,” she said, “But if you freeze to death, I’ll dance on your grave.” Jonghyun clung unto her arm tighter, grinning.

“At least I’ll die happy.”