The whole floor seemed to vibrate with excitement as there were clusters of people in the kitchen, living room, and backyard. The kitchen was full of people who wanted to practice their bartending skills, so I made sure to avoid it. The living room was more of a mess. Half the group was too heated over a game of Mario Kart while the other half was sang karaoke. It looked like the boys were having a competition on who can get higher points on… is that the Mulan soundtrack I hear?

I weaved my way from the bathroom through the living room and to the patio door that led to the backyard. Someone’s phone was connected to the surrounding speakers so there was never a quiet moment.

There was a small group of people dipping their feet into the pool and others were dancing near the speakers. In the midst of it all, there was a group sitting on the lawn away from most of the commotion.

“Eunha!” My friend waved me over when I made eye contact with her. The group on the lawn directed their eyes towards me at the mention of my name. They all grinned and patted the grass, telling me to join them. I made my way to the group and found a familiar back. The one with the familiar back turned his head and gave me an even more familiar smile. He was wrapped in a blanket to shield off the cool air.

He opened his arms and I sat down next to him so we could share the blanket.

“You made it just in time! We were about to play truth or dare!” Jongdae exclaimed as he placed his empty beer bottle in the center.

“We tried to tell him that we weren’t in middle school anymore but he insisted that we act like children before we grow up too fast,” Minseok rolled his eyes but a faint smile playing on his lips.

“The punishment for not telling the truth or avoiding a dare is to drink a shot of Chanyeol’s Jungle Juice concoction,” Kyungsoo told me and I winced. We all knew to never trust the alcohol levels in Chanyeol’s drinks.

Jongdae spun the bottle and I wasn’t surprised it landed on me first. My kind of luck.

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” I answered, not wanting to start off the whole night with a dare that could embarrass me.

“When did you have your first boyfriend?”

There were some oh’s and ah’s coming from the group of friends and the corners of my lips immediately turned up.

Minseok teased me by pushing me away, acting offended. “What’s with the smile? Was he your first love?”

I laughed and gave everyone a shrug of my shoulders. “After listening to my story, you tell me. I’m still unsure to this day.”

One of the girls in the group whistled while one of the guys howled. Honestly, I will never get sick of any of my friends.

The same friend who called me over earlier, Seulgi, leaned into the circle, as if immersing herself into the story. “Tell us, I can’t wait for juicy stories and a jealous Minseok.”

Minseok playfully rolled her eyes at her as everyone laughed. We all knew Minseok wouldn’t get jealous over an old story like this.

A breeze hit the backyard and everyone automatically shivered. I was grateful to be sharing the blanket with Minseok. Despite the thinness of the blanket, and how the breeze easily passed through the fabric, Minseok’s body warmth was enough to keep me from shivering too much.

“Imagine this, we met in second grade, but we didn’t get together until the weekend mountain trip all the sixth graders took,” I started my story and everyone immediately got even more excited. While our group of friends did not meet each other until university, we all went on similar trips in sixth grade.

“Who knew 7 year old Eunha would have some game,” Joy, another one of our friends, teased me and soon the rest of our friends would join in on the teasing.

Minseok clicked his tongue. His gaze on me wasn’t angry, I knew that. It looked more amused than anything. Even though he wasn’t saying anything, I knew he was thinking the same thing as Joy.

“I first met him when he transferred to my school. He moved from a village in Damyang to my neighborhood in Jeonju. His parents got better jobs and all, you know how it goes. He always talked about how big of a change it was but his family never regretted leaving