The night was growing deeper by the minute and the weather, dropping by the second but running endlessly through the city kept my body warm and my mind occupied with thoughts of anything other than Kris. I went to everywhere I thought he’d be. Han Gang River, the coffee shop where I worked, and around the area near my condominium building, but he was nowhere to be found.

I leaned on my knees, gasping for air as sweat fell to the floor.

My phone rang again, it was Chanyeol. He too was looking for Kris and was as dead worried as I was.

“Have you seen him?” I said between breaths.

“No,” Chanyeol said with much negativity. “Sun Mi and I will continue looking. Are you doing fine alone?”

It’s evening. I’m in an alley barren from people and hidden from society. Though it’s the worst place for a woman like me to be, I was strangely not worried about myself. I was more worried about Kris. Some part of me was thinking that it’s my entire fault—why he’s missing. I’m guilty to the core and I’m just forcing back my tears from streaming—tears of irritation.

“I’m fine. I’ll go search for him again,” I ended the call, stuffing the phone in my pocket before taking a closer look through the narrow road.

My eyes wandered around, keenly looking for any sign of Kris. His hazel hair, his clothes, anything; I was desperate.

The thoughts of giving up and going home once crossed my mind, but the thought that Kris was out there somewhere doing and thinking who knows what, I couldn’t bring myself to turn around and go home. I wouldn’t last the night from thinking and worrying about him. So I kept looking until I saw a glimpse of his familiar hazel locks behind the clear tent of a food stall.

However, I immediately sensed trouble when I also noticed a man and a woman standing before him, eyeing him down while Kris stood there motionless.  

Closing the distance, I finally got a clearer view of what were happening…and the amount of empty soju bottles on Kris’ table that was too many to be true. There were six to seven bottles and two nearly empty ones. I couldn’t handle one because of the terrible headache it gave me even after two shots, and I stared in fear at the empty bottles.

“Yah!” the male chuckled. “Apologize,”

Kris tilted his head “Why should I? It was your ty girlfriend that came on to me first,” He looked disgustedly at the low plunging shirt of the lady who had her devil red lips gaped open.

“What?” The other male spat.

Kris chuckled, talking mindlessly as he was just digging himself into more trouble “Tell your girlfriend that she makes me vomit and girls like her should never bother trying to hit on me because they disgust me,”

The Kris that I was hearing, it wasn’t the Kris I knew. Or at least I thought I knew. Even from afar, I trembled from his icy glare though it wasn’t directed to me. If he was intimidating before, he was downright horrifying now. But I didn’t blame him. It’s the alcohol. He probably wasn’t aware of half the things he was saying but still, I never believed that people are unconscious of their actions when they’re drunk. Kris is just too impossible to understand, no matter how much I think I do know him.

I watched in fear as the other male suddenly threw punch after punch on Kris, causing a commotion inside the small tent.

What surprised me was, he wasn’t fighting back. It’s like Kris wanted to be beaten up. As if the amount of bruises he was gaining wasn’t enough, he still kept mocking him with words that only boiled his anger up more.

“Is that all you got?”

“You’re more feminine than your girlfriend,”

He’s crazy.

If it wasn’t for the tent owner who got in between them, I don’t think Kris would’ve been spared. He was also the same person who helped me bring Kris, who couldn’t even take two steps without tumbling down, to the taxi where I informed Chanyeol that I found Kris. He breathed like a heavy load just got off his chest.

“Thank you Bo Mi. Really,” He said from the other end of the line. “Is he okay?”

Okay…wasn’t the correct term. I looked at Kris, asleep as the full effect of alcohol finally started to kick in “He’s fine,” I lied. Chanyeol was worried enough. “I’ll let him stay in my house for tonight,”

“Okay. Thank you Bo Mi. I owe you,”

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Kris the whole time. What could be running through his mind when he allowed that man to beat him up like that? He didn’t even attempt to fight back and welcomed his fists with open arms. Yes it’s the alcohol but there’s something else and that’s probably why I couldn’t contain this feeling of guilt.

When we reached my building, I struggled to lead Kris to the elevator. His heavy weight was pulling me down as I placed his arm around me. The stench of alcohol reeked from his clothes and his mouth and it made me cringe. The smell of alcohol disgusted me that’s why Jeremy made sure to take a bath as soon as possible when he came home from drinking with his friends. But he never came home bruised and bloody like Kris and that had put aside all irritation for the smell.

I laid him down on the couch as I got my first aid kit from the cupboards. When I came back, he was sitting up, staring at the ceiling and touching the cut on his lips—flinching as he felt the pain.

“Does it hurt?” I asked, taking a seat beside him.

Kris slowly brought his gaze to me, taking my hand and placing it over his chest. “It hurts,” he murmured.

It wouldn’t take much for me to understand that the “hurt” he meant wasn’t from the physical pain brought by the bruises and cuts on his face.

I felt the beating of his heart on my palm, it’s slow pace and the heavy breathing of Kris.

I hesitantly pulled my hand back, taking a piece of cotton and drenching it with antiseptic. I shifted closer to Kris, carefully dabbing the cotton on his face.

He tilted his head so he faced me. His eyes, soft, as it followed the motion of my hands. “Why did you look for me?” Kris said, wincing when I treated the cut near his lips.

“What kind of a question is that? Chanyeol was worried sick about you,”

Kris nodded faintly.

Before he looked away, I continued. “I was…worried…about you,”

He chuckled, saying “Thanks for the pity,” in pure sarcasm.

Even if he was not sober, he had no right to say that.

“Pity?” I scoffed.

He massaged his temples before nearly falling forward as he sat up. “I’m so pitiful aren’t I? That’s why I’m not good enough for you? You don’t have to pretend that you care for me,” he raised his brow only adding to the currently building annoyance I was having.

If that’s what he think, that I’m just doing all of the worrying, crying and running for show and pity then who said he can’t think that way. Out of all people though, I didn’t expect it to be Kris.

I slammed the cotton ball on the couch, getting on my feet and feeling my eyes burn hot.

“Fine!” I said as I felt tears streaming down my cheeks “Think what you want. This is the thank you I get for running three hours straight looking for you nearly freezing in the cold,”

I couldn’t stand another minute in the room. I’ve never been so angry at anyone like that ever since Jeremy left me. So I grabbed my bag and left Kris in my house, slamming the door as loud as I could and dialing Sun Mi’s number on my phone.

this is my first time writing anything related to getting drunk so it's a bit awkward i know. 
and i said friday night but ended up uploading the chapter on sunday night. I had to edit it and read it again and again because I wanted everything to connect to the ending. oh and exo on karaoke was just mad and downright crazy. 
I cant believe I stand dorks. oh wait...I can. hehehe

-Kleo ♥