Another sleepless night for Lee Taeyong. What is this feeling in his chest? He can’t identify it and has never experienced it before. The confused feeling in his head made him actually consider going to the doctor. Instead, he rises to his elbows, glances over to his right to see Inhye, but she’s buried into the blanket. Then he glances over her at Yuta, who is snuggling with Inhye’s cardigan. Wonder how that smells. He’s never really thought that much of Inhye’s smell, and now that he’s gotten curious, he can’t stop his jealousy towards Yuta and the cardigan. Why did she even give it to him, Taeyong can’t understand it. Does she really have feelings for him left? Is his hypothesis right? He knows her pride but he knows that she isn’t someone to mistreat others either. Or does he really know her that well?

Feeling like he has to puke, Taeyong more or less runs out of the barn. Instead of going to the well, he leans towards the weak tree-walls of the barn, breathing. The world is spinning. A familiar feeling to how he felt in High School, like the whole world was against him. But it’s only familiar. God, this feeling is much, much, worse...

He waits for a while there, doesn’t know what he’s waiting for - because the spinning and nausea won’t disappear - until Jaehyun comes out.

”You’re really a light sleeper,” Taeyong points out, laughs weakly. Jaehyun hasn’t been sleeping properly a single night and yet he’s up early to cook for them. Taeyong is almost getting motherly feelings towards the guy.

”And you’re a really stupid hyung,” Jaehyun smiles, sits down on one of the hay balls outside of the barn. Taeyong doesn’t have the energy or counter arguments to deny that. ”So what is it tonight? Ten and Johnny are not even as loud as yesterday, fortunately. They’re both suffering from their stupid idea to take a evening dip. I’ve never seen them so quiet before.”

Taeyong shakes his head. ”I feel so sick... Like, I’m sweating - even though it’s cold. It’s hard to breathe, I’m feeling a bit dizzy and almost like I need to puke, and... my heart is beating faster. Maybe I’m about to get a ?”

Jaehyun laughs. ”You’re so innocent, hyung. How disappointing; and here I thought that you were a cool murderer.”

”Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re not that cool yourself.”

”True, but I’m not a murderer” Jaehyun looks up, meets Taeyong’s gaze. ”Neither are you.”

Taeyong manages to hide his surprise behind a nonchalant smile. ”Ever considered becoming a lawyer?”

”Not a chance, I wanna’ be a doctor. Plus you’re a horrible liar.”

Taeyong snorts. ”You’re really just a kid.”

Jaehyun laughs, but something in that laughter is coming out mockingly. As if he’s telling Taeyong that no, hyung, I’m not the kid. You are.

”Go to sleep, hyung, the midsummer party is tomorrow and I guess you might not want to sleep through it.”

”Yeah, let’s sleep,” Taeyong walks past Jaehyun, into the barn. But before he opens the door, he turns around to Jaehyun again. ”The keys to Hansol’s house are under the second purple flower pot to the left of the door, sleep there if you can’t sleep. There’s no one there at the moment. Try to sleep peacefully at least one night.”

Jaehyun smiles, softly. ”Thanks, hyung~”

 •  •  •

Because Hansol isn’t fully heartless; he decided to let them sleep in a little more today. Or possibly, it’s because the last thing he needed was people getting sick thanks to the constant working and freezing. Tonight there will even be alcohol on top of that. That everyone would end up getting poisoned or having liver failure doesn’t sound too tempting.

The extra hours of sleep didn’t matter for Taeyong, though. He had been sleeping anxiously the whole night; constantly twisting and turning. Thoughts that he didn’t want to think about, terrorised his mind as soon as he felt close to falling asleep. More than once he had considered tapping Inhye on the shoulder; ask her to please, don’t, but ended up pulling back at the last moment every time.

”How rare of you to be up so early,” Hansol comments as they put on their shoes to take the usual stroll around the paddocks.

”Couldn’t sleep,” Taeyong yawns, rubs the back of his head. ”What’s in for today? No more sweeping, right? I beg you, hyung.”

Hansol chuckles. ”No more sweeping. I wanted to prepare the party a bit, we have the alcohol prepared already and everyone are here. I think Jaehyun had some more though, and Johnny too, and I’m pretty sure Kun had wine with him.”

”God, we’re all gonna ing die,” Taeyong realises, pulling a hand through his hair. ”Especially with your ing exclusive Busan alcohol.”

”- From 1952,” Hansol winks.

”To think those are still standing after three years,” Taeyong sighs. He remembers walking down to Hansol’s alcohol basement three years ago, and as the innocent kid who had never been in contact with alcohol before - he was stunned.

Hansol’s dad is namely very fascinated in alcohol and loves collecting it in his basement. There, he lines them up just like books in a library. Three years ago, Taeyong was barely 17 years old and Hansol had just gotten the permission to go down to the basement. There was only one rule; see but don’t touch (which is a pretty stupid rule to set for teenagers but hey, maybe he wanted to show off his collection). So as the usual idiot he is; he brought Ten, Johnny and Taeyong. That was when Johnny said ‘Hey, shouldn’t we have a midsummer party?’. And that is how it all began.

They make their way to Hansol’s house and sees Jaehyun cooking through the window.

”He is such wife material,” Hansol jokes as he unlocks the door and steps inside.

”I have first dibs,” Taeyong continues on joking.

Hansol takes off his shoes as soon as the door behind them are closed. ”Hello?” Hansol calls out, almost tripping over all the pair of shoes laying all over the place. Taeyong almost screams out loud by how messy it is.

”In here!” Jaehyun calls back from the kitchen.

”Need help?” Taeyong asks and walks into the kitchen to check what’s up. ”Wow, that’s one American breakfast. Bacon and eggs?”

”Because I’m tired of rice, and for your information, it’s actually an English breakfast,” Jaehyun explains, looks fairly surprised that it’s not ten starving, hungry souls rushing in and starts fighting over the food as if they haven’t been fed for ages. Well, basically like the previous days out here in Busan. ”Did everyone sleep in today?”

”Yeah,” Hansol nods and takes a seat around the dining table. ”Or else they’ll die tonight. Especially Sicheng. Oh god, both midsummer’s he has fallen asleep after one shot and missed all of it.”

”Wish I could do the same,” Jaehyun laughs. ”That way, my eyes wouldn’t have to witness Ten and Johnny being worse than usual.”

”That’s true. Either way, what did you do with the alcohol?”

”I left it in plastic bags down the basement.”

”Good,” Hansol raises up from his seat. ”Now, I have to take care of my animals real quick. I can do it by myself today, but before y’all leave you have to help me re-paint the barn.”

He leaves before Taeyong or Jaehyun gets to answer. Taeyong sighs. ” that. His barn is huge. And his ladder is made of twigs.”

”Drink a lot tonight, hyung.”

Taeyong shoots the younger a glare. That was totally irrelevant, it had nothing to do with the situation. Jaehyun isn’t looking at him, his back is facing him as he’s frying the eggs. ”What?”

”You haven’t been drinking for years, right?” Jaehyun turns his head slightly, answers Taeyong’s glare with a smile. ”Drink a lot. You need it.”

Taeyong leans back to the wall, grins. He’s cute. ”Don’t lecture me.”

 •  •  •

Because they all slept until noon and Jaehyun’s breakfast became their brunch instead, the party night isn’t far away anymore.

Painting the barn didn’t take as long as the other things. No one wanted to use Hansol’s ladder, so he took use of his tractors and did something Inhye wouldn’t even have considered. He ing hoisted them up so that they could paint, while sitting in the tractor’s scoop.

Since Johnny and Ten are so excited for tonight, they decided not to play around too much. The worst thing they did was putting their signature on the barn as well when Hansol wasn’t looking. Which is kind of bad. But well, it could’ve been worse.

Inhye thought the night would never come. She’s not used to drinking in only a group of friends. When she usually drinks, it’s because she’s feeling depressed or if she’s going out with her friends; at a night club or similar (especially the times when they had just turned 18, God those party nights with Yuta... She tries so hard to forget about them but she just can’t). But now, a little after 10 p.m, she’s sitting outside of a barn in Busan with 10 guys, and way too many alcohol bottles laying in the middle of their circle, accompanied by 11 shot glasses and a little too many red, plastic cups.

”We don’t need those,” Ten comments as Jaehyun hands out the shot glasses to everyone. ”We have so much alcohol that everyone could have their own bottle instead of their own glass.”

Hopefully he’s joking because Inhye usually have troubles downing a single glass of beer.

”And how would you drink it? Through your nose?” Jaehyun states.

”Eh, through my mouth by taking a sweep?” Ten defends himself.

”If you’re going to be ungrateful you’ll have to shot from your ing belly bottom,” Jaehyun snorts.

. Why did he say that. Johnny’s face lights up, and he turns towards Ten; eyeing him from head to toe. ”Is that possible?”

Ten grins. ”I guess we’ll have to find out.”

”Oh kill me before it’s too late,” Inhye can hear Doyoung mutter as he gives Johnny and Ten a disgusted look.

”Let’s go, guys!” Johnny begins and claps his hands together. ”Should we all start the night with each one of use taking a shot of our exotic Busan-alcohol?” Then he finishes by patting Hansol’s thigh.

”Ahjusshi, are you already drunk?” Hansol jokes, overdoing the Busan accent. ”As we have our own bartender, Ten, can you fill the glasses with this?” Then he hands him the Busan-alcohol from 1952.

Of course, Ten has to show off with his super nice bartender tricks, such as balancing a glass onto his (way too nice) nose bridge while filling it. Inhye would lie if she’d say that she wasn’t impressed. Ten really loves the attention he gets by doing the tricks, so Doyoung had to almost forcefully tell him to hurry up.

When all of their glasses are finally full, Inhye realises that there is no going back now.

”Ok,” Johnny speaks, grins a little foolishly. ”On three; one, two--”

Ten interrupts him. ”Happy midsummer!”

Already 20 chapters in, thank you all for staying put with my unregular upload scehdule and for keeping up with me and Inhye for this long! Please subscribe if you haven't already, comment, up-vote and as usual, most importantly; enjoy~!