They stood and smiled for the camera, trophy held firmly in Irene’s hands. Their happy expressions were easy, confident; they’d had the great fortune to have many show wins under their belt at this point. It felt so long since their first wins with Ice Cream Cake, but one thing that had never changed was the anxiety that curled around Joohyun’s heart whenever they finally released a new album, and she knew the members felt similarly. Every concept was so different, and it felt like a string of miracles that each one had been well received. Zimzalabim had been further afield than most; even they had been taken aback by the sound of it. But here they were, the first award they’d been up for won.

“Unnie, let’s celebrate!” Sooyoung yelled as they got in the van.

“Let’s order pizza,” Seulgi added brightly.

“Alcohol,” Yeri added, and looked back at Joohyun with a grin. Joohyun simply shook her head.

“I think it’d be good to mark Zimzalabim’s success,” Seungwan said behind her.

“We have schedules tomorrow,” Joohyun said, but sighed. “What kind of pizza does everyone want?”

That was how they ended up in the living room sprawled around an empty pizza box with Sooyoung and Yeri yelling while Seungwan pouted at a karaoke app on her phone. Seulgi was leaning against the couch next to Joohyun doing something on her phone, and Joohyun simply looked on with amusement.

“So, if you win the karaoke match, you take a shot,” Yeri was saying.

“You’re supposed to take shots when you lose in a drinking game,” Sooyoung retorted, draping herself over Seungwan’s back to peer at the phone herself. “Did you figure it out yet, unnie?”

“I bought expensive alcohol, though! It’s a privilege to drink!”

“I’m pretty sure…” The TV screen flickered, and what was apparently Seungwan’s phone screen appeared with the karaoke app. All of the members let out a whoop and Joohyun had to smile. “Alright, who’s first?”

Eventually Yeri, Sooyoung, and Seulgi, who had been dragged into the debate by Sooyoung, had settled terms such that the losers would all take shots of the whiskey still in the back of the cabinet from a year ago and the winner got to take shots of Yeri’s expensive liquor. Somehow it wasn’t surprising that the end result was that everyone drank. The old bottle was dusty, and Joohyun resolved to win each match.

She did. With a grin, she poured herself a shot of liquor while watching Sooyoung struggle to open the old whiskey bottle. It went down smooth like victory. 

The rounds took a long time with five of them; after round two, Yeri left to her room, waving her phone and mumbling something indiscernible. She, however, had left her alcohol behind and so she left with their blessing. Joohyun won the third round as well. She might be up against the vocal line of their group, but their skill was also their downfall as the karaoke app didn’t like the dips and flourishes the other three added to their melodies without thought. Her solid, stable singing kept garnering her the highest scores. In comparison, they gleefully added a second whiskey shot to Seungwan’s punishment after she managed to score below a 70 with her now firmly drunken warbling.

However, the liquor on mostly empty stomachs kicked in, and none of them were particularly interested in round four. Instead, Sooyoung poured four more shots of Yeri’s liquor, glaring at them until they drank with her.

Sooyoung had reached out and, finding Seulgi and Seungwan closest to her, dragged them to sit on the couch with her. Joohyun frowned at the mess they’d made and decided to take the bottles and shot glasses into the kitchen so that they didn’t have to deal with them in the morning when they were all inevitably hungover. 

Her head felt fuzzy, her limbs clumsy. The glasses clinked irritatingly in her hand as she took them over to the sink.

“Do you need help?” Seungwan slurred behind her. She turned her head only to bump noses with the other girl, who was on tip toe to peer over her shoulder.

“I think I can handle five glasses,” Joohyun teased, turning back to the sink so that Seungwan’s eyes and lips weren’t so close to hers. “Aren’t you supposed to be one of Sooyoung’s body pillows?”

“Sseul took over my duties for me. I’m pretty sure they’re going to fall asleep on the couch.”

“Should we wake them up?”

“Do you think they’ll get sick sleeping out there? Maybe I could get a blank—whoa!” A hand grabbed her waist as Seungwan’s forehead landed heavily on her shoulder. She reached behind her to steady the wobbly girl. Seungwan laughed, her breath warm on Joohyun’s back. “I think that double penalty shot was too much. You should ground Sooyoung for that.”

“You’re an adult. You could refuse her.”

“Who refuses Joy-ah?”

Joohyun only shook her head, using her free hand to set the clean glasses on the counter. It’s not like she could argue otherwise—she had taken the extra shot from Sooyoung as well and she was definitely feeling it. “You should drink water.”

“So should you. I can get you some—”

“I don’t trust you with the water pitcher,” Joohyun interjected. But she didn’t move, and neither did Seungwan. Her hand was still pressed firmly along the width of Seungwan’s back, holding her close. Seungwan’s hand was still squeezing just above her hip. She could feel with absolute clarity every place their bodies rested against each other. She shuddered. 

“Unnie…” Seungwan’s voice sounde