requested by anon

New Year's Eve.

The mere words can evoke a plethora of emotions in many, ranging from 'party time!' to 'oh crap it's been a year already?' to just plain old weariness.

For you, however, it marks another year of your single life, something that is not lost upon your friends, as they have made valiant efforts over the past months to try and get you in a relationship.

Needless to say, they all failed.

~*~*~*~*

"Come on, you'll have a good time."

"Himchan, that's what you said when you thought it would be a good idea to take me to a strip club."

"Hey, you're still holding that against me?" He frowns, holding his hands up in surrender. "We've been over this! I didn't know it was a strip club! My friend said it was just a club!"

"Yeah, well you should have known better than to trust Daehyun."

""I know that now, but I didn't then! Trust me, though, I've actually been to this place before. One of my best friends is gonna be there, and he wanted to meet up with me. New Year's celebration and all that stuff."

"But why do I have to come?"

"You need to get out more."

And when Kim Himchan decides on something, he will do anything to get it done.

Even if that includes throwing a dress at you, demanding that you put it on, and borderline kidnapping you on New Year's Eve, when you'd been setting up your apartment for a Harry Potter marathon.

"Get in the car," Himchan growls, still grinning widely as he opens the passenger door for you and pushes you inside. "I'm kidnapping you."

"I kind of figured that," you sigh, pulling down the hem of the dress as far as you could (why did Himchan have to pick the shortest dress you had in your closet?) and straightening out your blazer.

Himchan puts the car in drive and hits the gas, lurching you unexpectedly forward, making a swift U-turn and heading for...

...wherever it is you happen to be going.

And that was how you found yourself dragged by your cousin to some sort of club, where the lights where low, the drinks plentiful, and the people (well, in your opinion, at least) nothing short of shady.

Himchan does some sort of bro-salute-nod-thing to the bouncer, who waves the two of you through with barely a second glance.

"Are you sure this is a reputable place?" you hiss, glaring at Himchan to make absolutely certain that he knows you are mad at him.

"Well, I'm still alive, aren't I?" Himchan shrugs, and steers the two of you towards the bar, ordering a bottle of soju and pouring you a small glassful. "Drink up and stop being so boring!"

You accept the glass from him and take a small sip, if only to be polite, wincing slightly at the bitter taste. Himchan, on the other hand, knocks back his shot like a pro, grinning after he'd swallowed the last drop.

"I'm gonna go find my friend. You can stay here. Or find a nice guy and dance with him."

You take one look at the dance floor and shudder. "No thanks, I'm staying here."

Himchan rolls his eyes. "You're boring. I'll be back. You better finish that glass of soju by the time I'm back, ya hear?"

"You're the worst cousin ever."

But by then he's already gone, expertly ducking, dancing, and weaving through the crowd.

You internally curse Himchan's guts into the fiery pits of Hell, taking a sip of the drink out of sheer boredom.

It still didn't taste any better than before.

~*~*~*~*~

One hour later, you finally finish the glass of soju, but Himchan is nowhere to be found.

"That bastard," you grumble, throwing down some money for the soju. "I'm outta here."

"Please, don't go."

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see that the man has blonde hair, and assume that Himchan has finally returned (although the voice doesn't exactly seem to match).

"Himchan, you're kind of a basta—"

Once you turn around, however, you're greeted with a different blonde man, who has a bit of a sheepish smile on his face. He's attractive, no doubt, and your heart skips a beat when you look into his eyes.

"I suppose Himchan is kind of a bastard, if you really think about it. I'm Yongguk. Bang Yongguk."

"You're friends with Himchan?"

"Yeah."

"By choice or extortion?"

He laughs, a deep, throaty chuckle. "A bit of both, you might say."

"I see. I'm his cousin," you say, introducing yourself.

"Hellloooooooo everybody!"

The two of you turn to the front, where a staggeringly drunk Himchan has somehow acquired a microphone and is shouting nonsense.

"It's almost the New Year! Yeah!"

The crowd cheers; they're probably as drunk as he is, though.

"And you know what they say—nothing quite like starting off the new year with a nice make-out session with a hot guy or girl!"

"I don't think that's quite how the saying goes," you mutter, slapping your hand to your forehead.

"That's stupid, even for Himchan," Yongguk laughs, shaking his head in disbelief. "But he does have a little bit of truth in that."

"What part?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.

"The part about kissing a hot girl."

"Oh really, now—"

"Let's count down!" Himchan yells, holding a glass of what appears to be champagne in his hand. "Ten! Nine! Eight!"

The crowd chants along with him, and the air gets a bit more charged with each number.

"Two! One! Happy New Year, everybody!"

Everyone whoops, and you're about to let out a quick yell too, just to go along with things, but you're quickly cut off by a pair of lips on yours.

It's brief, but sweet, and Yongguk pulls away with a bashful smile.

"Happy New Year." He beckons to the bartender for two glasses of champagne, and hands one to you. "Here's to another? And possibly more?"

You clink your glass with his, hopeful that yes, indeed this year will be a great one.

After you've killed Himchan, of course.