"Hongki Oppa..." Dahyun managed to mutter.

He seemed to have heard it even though the music was blasting in their ears. With a nod and a smile, he put a hand over Dahyun's head and lightly caressed it before putting his hands in his pocket and leaning his shoulder against the wall.

"This place might not be ideal for a reunion, but it's nice to see you again. Where are your friends?" Hongki asked.

Dahyun shrugged, "somewhere..."

"Then do you want to join me? My bandmates and a few friends are with me. It's safer than being alone," he offered.

Dahyun shook her head, "It's fine. I'm heading home first." 

"Alone?" 

Dahyun nodded and stared at him when he looked like he was thinking about something. 

"Let me get my things first, and I'll accompany you home," he said, putting her arm over her shoulders again to support her as she started walking.

"I can go home on my own, though," she said, rejecting the offer but still walking to wherever he was guiding her. 

"I won't be at ease if I don't send you home myself, considering you're a girl who's drunk," Hongki said.

Dahyun wrinkled her nose in annoyance, "I'm not drunk. I'm conversing with you with a clear head, aren't I?" 

"Yes, but you can barely walk straight," Hongki rebutted, and Dahyun was left speechless. 

Hongki was spitting facts, and she had no choice but to let him help her, to her embarrassment. Getting drunk in a club was undoubtedly a horrible way to reunite with someone who once meant the world to her. Fortunately, she didn't need to meet his friends, and he only left her for less than two minutes to take his things before helping her again. 

In the meantime, she had texted her friends to inform them that she'd be heading back first since she was feeling drunk. 

They took his car, but he called for a substitute driver because he drank alcohol. The car ride was quiet. Dahyun closed her eyes since she felt the alcohol working in her body and was starting to feel tired. A conversation with her childhood crush was the last thing on her mind.

"You don't have to send me up to my apartment, though," Dahyun said when she saw Hongki paying the substitute driver after parking the car in the apartment complex car park. 

"Come on," he said, ignoring her words, and Dahyun took a deep breath.

He was starting to get on her nerves.

Inviting him into her three-room apartment, she asked him to sit as she took two bottles of water from the fridge. 

"I don't have a change of clothes for you if you want to shower here. I have a spare room if you want to sleep, though," Dahyun handed him a bottle of water before she opened hers.

She sat on the sofa, leaving a space between them. 

Hongki chuckled softly and shook his head, "It's fine. I'm heading back home shortly. It's good to see you well, though. What are you doing now?" 

"I work in an investment firm that my dad owns," Dahyun said.

Hongki hummed in response before gulping the bottle of water. 

"I've been curious about you, but I can't reach you since you changed your number without telling me," Hongki said.

Dahyun pressed her lips into a thin line, her heart beating fast. She didn't know if it was because of the alcohol or him. 

"I..." Dahyun hesitated, "there was a situation, so I had to cut off all contacts for a while. I lost all the numbers when I changed my number," Dahyun said.

"I see... If I asked what kind of situation it was, you wouldn't answer me, would you?" 

He was looking down at the floor with the water bottle in his hand. Dahyun hummed in response, "It's in the past. Anyway, I'm serious about offering you a place to sleep for the night, or do you have a girlfriend who might misunderstand?"

He turned to look at her and raised his brows, "I don't have a girlfriend."

For some strange reason, she felt relief at the revelation but didn't show it on her face. She simply responded with, "I see. It's late, so you must be tired too. Stay for the night." 

"You don't just offer to stay the night to any guys, right?" He frowned.

Dahyun blinked, "No. Besides, it's not our first time sleeping under the same roof anyway."

"I'll go get a towel and a bathrobe for you," Dahyun said, going to her walk-in closet to get the items.

She tried