11:05 pm. 

Wonwoo tips his glass back as he downs the shot. He winces as the drink stings his throat, but welcomes the fuzziness that comes with it. 

"Babe, let's dance!" Comes a high pitch voice from next to him. 

Right. He isn't sure why Soonyoung thought it was a good idea to set up blind dates on New Year's Eve. 

"So we won't be a lonely college student who didn't get their first new year's kiss," his friend had claimed. "Seokmin found these girls for us and I can assure you— they're nice," he had also claimed next. 

Wonwoo fakes a smile towards the girl clinging onto his arm. "We just danced for an hour straight earlier, babe. Let's rest first, yeah?"

He glances at Soonyoung, who's casually talking to his date for the night. Lucky for him, she seems like a laid back person who isn't forcing him to dance. 

The girl tugs at his arm. Wonwoo kind of forgot her name. He's pretty sure it was Kay, or Kayla or something. 

"Come on, just another 10 minutes. This is my favourite song!" She insists, her words slurring. 

Wonwoo sighs, looking towards the bartender. "One more shot, please."

The bartender wastes no more time pouring the drink, winking once as if he understands. Wonwoo watches as the young man's arms flex underneath his tight uniform, which was simply a white button up shirt with a black vest. He winks back. 

"I mixed in a bit of something for you, just so you know," the bartender says, his smile showing off his pearly white teeth even in the dim lighting of the club. 

Wonwoo raises the glass, "Thanks, man," and drinks it in one shot once more. He tastes something fruity in it, and finds himself enjoying it. "You've got to tell me what drink that is, so I can order that next time."

"I'll prepare you another once you're done dancing," the other responds amusedly, gesturing towards the girl that Wonwoo forgets is with him. 

"Right, I'll hold you onto that..." Wonwoo squints his eyes at his name tag, "... Mingyu."

Mingyu smiles once more and shrugs. "Sure."

The both maintain eye contact for a few seconds as the girl — Kay, May, whoever— pulls him towards the dance floor which is full of other sweaty dancing people. 

 

11:45 p.m

Apparently ten minutes had extended to a full half an hour. 

Wonwoo slumps on the same stool he was on previously, as Mary— actually, was it Beth? — drags her own stool next to his. She's saying something, but Wonwoo doesn't catch it, eyes unfocused towards the front. I'm not drunk enough for this, he thinks. 

The sound of a glass scraping on the wooden surface of the table catches his attention, and he turns his head where a full shot glass is placed. He looks up and realises that it's Mingyu. 

"Told ya I'll prepare you another drink once you were done," Mingyu says with a smirk. 

Wonwoo chuckles in response, "You're a life saver." 

He then feels an arm tucking underneath his. He looks to his right to see that Beth is still talking— Is she actually talking to me?  He can't tell, but he just smiles and nonchalantly pushes her arm away. It should be quite obvious by now that Wonwoo isn't interested in her. 

He looks back towards the bar, but unfortunately, Mingyu's tending to another customer. Grabbing the glass, he downs the fruity drink. The drink is sweet, but still gives the buzz he needs. He turns towards Betty, ready to tell her off as politely as he can. 

However, the lights suddenly dims even more, and the song stops. 

 

11:55 p.m

"Hope y'all are having an awesome night!" The DJ's voice blasts throughout the club. "I'm DJ Eight, and I'm honoured to be here for the new year's countdown."

Everyone cheers. "Woo! Go DJ Eight!" Someone shouts in particular. 

"It's 5 minutes till the new year, so you know what this means!" He says enthusiastically. "At exactly midnight, the lights will go off and you have to find someone to kiss! If you're with a date, well, you lucky ." Most of the people laughs, except Wonwoo as he hears Jane giggle obnoxiously— I'm basically coming up with names now. I'm horrible.

"Well, I'm sure this year has been a year full of ups and downs, but here's to leaving your miseries behind!" DJ Eight raises his glass and everyone follows suit. 

Wonwoo turns to get a drink, but realises his shot glass is refilled. He tries to find Mingyu in the dark to thank him, but fails to do so. Nevertheless, he grabs the glass and raises it with the rest, before drinking it in one shot. 

 

11:59 p.m

"Okay, guys, it's 1 minute till midnight..."

Everyone is silent as they stare at a huge tv screen showing the time. 

"10,"

"9,"

"8,"

Wonwoo slowly inches away from June discreetly. 

"6,"

"5,"

"4,"

"3,"

"2,"

The lights completed goes out. 

"Happy new year everyone!" DJ Eight shouts into his microphone. 

Wonwoo's sure he's well away from his date, but he is suddenly pulled by the arm into someone's embrace, before he feels a pair of lips landing on his. 

This person seems tall, Wonwoo notes as his head is tilted up gently by a pair of soft hands. He doesn't mind the kiss, if he's honest. He moves his own lips together with the other's. It's a simple kiss— no aggression or tongue or whatsoever, and Wonwoo likes it. 

Soon, the kiss ends and they pull away. It's still dark, and Wonwoo can barely see the silhouette of the other, but he has a hunch of who it is. He grins. 

When the lights turn back on and the music starts playing again, Wonwoo doesn't see the person. He turns around, only to see Beth lip locking with... Isn't that Soonyoung's date? His gaze moves over to see his best friend staring at the pair in awe. He walks over to him. 

"Apparently Emily told me that both her and Amanda are not straight and Seokmin forced them to act as our date, because no other girls wanted to," Soonyoung says, still distracted. 

Right, her name's Amanda. 

Wonwoo laughs. He's fine with that. He tucks his hand into his jeans pocket, when he feels a paper inside. Confused, he takes it out, only to reveal a note in perfect handwriting, 

I'm done with my shift. You can meet me outside if you want. 

Smiling, he turns to Soonyoung. "That works for me, I guess. I have another date. Don't wait up for me," he says hurriedly, before heading towards the exit. 

As Wonwoo steps out of the stuffy club, the cold air greets him. He looks around, before spotting Mingyu leaning against the wall. He's now in a grey turtleneck with a black coat. Wonwoo notes how his hair blows against the wind, and how attractive he looks. 

Mingyu spots Wonwoo, and a huge grin forms on his face. "Hey," Mingyu greets, walking towards the other. Wonwoo also notes how Mingyu is a few centimetres taller than him. 

"Hey," Wonwoo greets back with a smile of his own. 

"This is embarrassing, but I didn't catch your name," Mingyu admits, rubbing the back of his head. 

"It's Jeon Wonwoo," the said boy replies. 

"Wonwoo," Mingyu tests out, and Wonwoo finds that he absolutely loves hearing the other say his name. "Wanna grab a drink somewhere else?" He offers.

Wonwoo nods happily, "Sure."

 

3:00 a.m

Soonyoung slowly unlocks the door to his shared apartment with Wonwoo, careful to be quiet. He isn't sure if his friend is asleep. 

Slipping off his shoes, he enters the living room—

"Oh, are you ing kidding me," he mutters angrily as he turns back around and leaves the house. "You both couldn't even make it to the bedroom?"