The music was pumping loud and clear. Everyone was dancing or eating and most definitely enjoying themselves on the roof. But here you were- on a bench a few floors down. The half a can of beer had given you a bit of a confidence boost but it was hardly enough to be in any state of drunkeness. The silence was awkward and nearing deathly. You knew you'd have to talk sooner or later having been the one to grab Aaron's hand and lead him downstairs. You hoped he'd be prepared for the worst. Turns out he wasn't.

'So what is it that you want to tell me?...'

Clean break, Haneul. Clean break.

'Stop this'

Keep it clean. Keep it painless.

'Stop chasing me'

Be to the point, Haneul.

'You're wasting your time, Aaron. I don't have feelings for you anymore.'

Don't be a

'And I wish you had never come here'

Oh...

'So please stop making a fool out of yourself. I hate it.'

.

You sighed.

Haneul, you're a .

'Aaron...' You said softly, 'I don't know how else to put this-'

'Can you just call me Taejoon?' He snapped, 'Please?'

'Taejoon-'

'Actually, can you just not speak right now?'

Your jaw dropped

'Because you're kind of being a real cow to me right now'

It dropped lower

'And I'm starting to wish I had never come here too'

'I... I didn't mean that, Taejoon-'

'Well I do.' Aaron looked at you straight in the eye, 'All you and your friends have done since I arrived here is treat me with hostility.'

You found your patience being tested as you gritted your teeth,'Oh grow a pair, Taejoon.'

'It's true! The way they look at me- it's like they treat me like scum. They all think they're so amazing because people talk about them and glorify that stupid exo name-'

'They're not like that and you know it so can you not talk about them as if they're arrogant idiots? I told you that they're family to me-'

'So you're just going to take their side even when they're being unfair to me?'

'You're being unfair to me!'

'How?'

'I left my old life on a new, clean slate-'

'So you're saying you left not liking me anymore?'

'Stop twisting my words!' You screamed, 'shut up and just listen to me, Ahn Taejoon!' You hadn't realised your hands were grasped around his shoulders as you shook him violently. 'You need to get over me! I'm not the world! I'm not everything! You're not going to die if I'm not by your side! You need to move on!'

Aaron was silent.

'How long have you waited to tell me this?'

'Pardon?'

'How long have you known you no longer wanted to be with me?'

'Well I-'

'Why didn't you tell me earlier?'

'I did! I told you to leave me but you insisted on chasing after me! Don't you dare try and shift the blame on me.'

'I don't believe you.'

'You wouldn't anyway. You don't know anything about me'

'I know everything about you!'

'Everything about the old Haneul! The Haneul that was just Hana! You don't know anything about the new me... You're not in love with the person I am now. I'm different.'

'Test me'

'You've got to be joking'

'I'm serious'

'\fine... What's my favorite scent?'

'What... Your brother's cologne?'

'Wrong. It's the cologne Chanyeol uses. What's my favorite food?'

'Samgyeopsal, easy.'

'Wrong. It's D.O-oppa's home cooking. How about clothes?'

'The jumper Maddie and Ah Ri bought for you?'

'No, it's the sweatshirt Kai gave me when I moved in. Or the dress I wore to the dance at school last year. See? You're still in love with the girl I used to be but I'm not her anymore'

'Yeah. You're right. You've changed a lot being here' Aaron said, 'What happened to you, Haneul? You used to be so independent and strong. You'd never be afraid to stand up for what you believe is right but look at you. You hide behind the shadows of those guys. I even heard you were bullied when you arrived! What happened?'

'I had to grow up fast, that's what happened'

'So you growing up is being protected by some guys who only have good looks?'

'If you had some psycho kill your entire family, wouldn't you want some protection? If everyone you loved had died and you were the last one left, wouldn't you want someone to reach out to you and take you in?' You said angrily, 'Wouldn't you want someone to hug you close and tell you everything would be okay when you get tomatoes thrown at you? Wouldn't you ing want to wake up in hospital to at least one person who actually gave a damn about you?! When everyone else hates you and you're in a foreign country with people out to get you, wouldn't you want to know you're loved?!' 'Look, I don't know what happened whilst I wasn't here-'

'Exactly.'

'So tell me'

'What?'

'You heard me. Tell me what I missed. Tell me why you side with them so much. Tell me why you stuck by Kai even when he punched his own brother on stage and fell from grace. Tell me why you take loveshots with an alcoholic. Tell me why you're so close with a runaway from Canada. Tell me why you like these misfits so much that you actually want to live with them-'

You slapped him, straight across the face. He held his palm up to the burning handprint you had left. Tears were filling your eyes.

'We live together because we're all misfits! We've all got our own dark past- something you wouldn't understand. You want to know why? Fine. I'll tell you the reasons one by one.' You said, your eyes darkening, 'And then you'll stop seeing them as good for nothing idiots. How dare you think so lowly of them when you know nothing about them!'

You gulped.

'Kris was the first friend I made here and Kai let me invade their lives. He let me lean on them for support without knowing me for more than a few days. Luhan is the only one besides my mother who can lull me to sleep. Baekhyun was the reason I could smile at least once everyday and Xiumin helped me mature in ways you wouldn't even understand.'

You took a deep breath.

'And when I was lost in Japan, Chanyeol searched for me. When I was almost practically by a guy in my class, Chanyeol was the one to beat him to the ground. Chanyeol has always been by my side, Taejoon. Why can't you see that?'

Aaron scowled and you growled back.

'Still need me to carry on?'

'Please'

'Chen is the wittiest person I know who can brighten up my day quicker than anyone else. And without him I wouldn't have had the pleasure to meet Seohee. Suho is my hardworking oppa who stayed up late just to teach me when I locked myself away when Hyun Ki died. Sehun is the same-aged friend I can relate to and Tao is someone I can easily talk to because he just gets me. There aren't many people that you can click with so easily, Taejoon. Okay?'

You began speeding up. 'I can't even tell you all the things Lay has done for me. He put himself in harm's way for me. He's ended up in hospital for me. He's gentle and selfless and caring, if not slightly confused at times. Do I need to explain why D.O-oppa means a lot to me?'

Aaron shook his head, 'I know about him already. He likes you and you like him too. I saw that yesterday-'

'When did I say I like him?'

'So you know he likes you but you haven't given him an answer?' Aaron sighed, 'so are you just going to lead him on forever like you've done with me?'

'Excuse me? I didn't lead you on.'

'You should have told me all this earlier'

'I did! From the day you arrived, I told you not to talk badly about my family-'

'Look at you! You even call them your family!'

'They are my family!'

'How can they be your family if they have feelings for you?'

'Don't you always say you and Jinri have a brother sister relationship?'

'Why are you bringing Jinri up?'

'Are you an idiot?'

Aaron glared at you, 'what are you talking about?!'

'Jinri, you pabo! Jinri!'

'What about her?!'

'She likes you! God, you're so thick!'

'...what?'

You calmed down and lowered the volume of your voice.

'Whilst you've been chasing me, you failed to see the one person that's stuck by you this entire time. I didn't break it to you earlier because I wanted to protect my friend but you coming after me all the time is bringing her down. Have you honestly been so blind to not see what's been standing in front of you this entire time?!'

You stood up to return back to the barbeque, mentally and physically drained.

'Just open your eyes, Taejoon-ah and forget about me. Move on. Find someone that deserves you and would do anything for you.'

To your amazement, he nodded. Slowly and sadly.  But he still nodded.

'Can I hug you one last time?'

'What? No. Of course not! Yah, did you not listen to anything I just said?'

'Pabo, that's why I want to hug you. You disappeared before I got the chance to say anything after your parents passed away.'

He captured you in one last hug.

'At least let me hold you like I should have done. For the last time. To make up for my mistake. For not holding on to you on your last day back home.'

 

***

 

You took it upon yourself to get completely hammered after that, downing love shots of soju this time with anyone and everyone. When you woke up the next morning with a pounding headache on the couch in the living room, you found Kai sleeping on the floor beside you. Sehun was asleep at the table, Tao was asleep and curled up in a ball on one of the smaller armchairs. It seemed like Xiumin was the only one to have slept in his own bed judging by the bodies strewn out across the open plan room. You heard a thump from a room, followed by a groan and Luhan appeared in the doorway of Suho and Sehun's room. He was in his boxers, not an unusual sight for you really, but he was also topless this time. He scratched his poofy mushroom-like bed hair and wiped the corner of his mouth before groaning again and trudging towards the bathroom.

Looking around the room again, you noticed Huiling sleeping in a corner with a blanket placed over her. Lay was slumped against the wall beside her, his hand on her back. He was covered in goose pimples from the cool air of the AC and you presumed he had given up his blanket in the middle of the night or something. Standing up and taking care not to step on the sleeping and peaceful Kai, you gently wrapped your own blanket around him. You heard a creak of floorboards and whipped your head around. Luhan had emerged from the bathroom, a towel thrown around his neck and his toothbrush in his mouth. He took the toothbrush and held it as he yawned, white foam still surrounding his mouth. Catching your eye, he gave a sleepy wave in your direction.

'Attractive...' 

He responded with a thumbs up before re-placing his toothbrush back in his mouth. There was another moan, a slightly more pained one, and it was followed by another boxer-short but this time also shirted figure, making a mad dash from Chanyeol and Baekhyun's room to the bathroom. Only this time you could hear retching and the sound of someone vomiting. Luhan shrugged, still in a morning daze, and headed for the kitchen to spit, rinse and gargle some water.

Rolling your eyes, you headed for the utility cupboard and picked up a few towels from the pile Baekhyun had made. Your head was still a bit thick and cloudy but you weren't too bad at controlling your hangover. You could at least walk in a straight line. Pushing the bathroom door open, you found D.O hugging the toilet bowl, the front of his hair stuck to his forehead from sweat. He was paler than usual too and he clutched his stomach.

'I'm going to kill Kris-hyung' he muttered, 'and Lay for letting Kris cook again'

Lay had managed to cook one successful batch of meat before he decided enough was enough and handed the tongs back to Kris. As it turned out, Kris had given D.O food poisoning. You gently patted D.O's damp forehead with the corner of the towel.

'I'm also going to kill Sehun for challenging me to a soju drinking game'

You sighed, 'you shouldn't have accepted the challenge, silly'

'Sehun was already half passed out anyway, I knew I'd win with just a few more-'

D.O groaned and gulped, coughing after he had done so.

'It needs to come out, oppa. Just sick it out, I don't mind'

He shook his head, 'no, you shouldn't see me like this'

'I'm not going to think lower of you just because your stomach can't take Kris' badly cooked food nor an excessive amount of alcohol, oppa. Besides, I saw you drunk last night already.'

'True-'

D.O stopped talking mid sentence, eyes wide and began flapping his right arm. You took that as your cue to look away and just as you did, you heard him be sick. Passing him a towel, he flushed the loo and stood up with your help.

'I think that's it for now'

'You sure?'

He nodded, turning away from you as he turned the taps on at the sink and began washing his face furiously, grabbing whatever face wash was in front of him.

'I think I should work on doing some sort of hangover soup for everyone else though'

There was a groan and a whine from the living room, followed by the sound of a chair toppling over and sobbing.

'Ah...' you said, wincing, 'that would be Sehun'

D.O looked at you, eyes narrow, and then he frowned unhappily- the sort of cute, adorable downturned frown little kids do before they start crying.

'Can you do me a favour, Haneul?'

He sat back down by the toilet bowl.

'Hit him for me please'

 

An hour passed and barely anyone was awake. Luhan was sat on the sofa cross legged, watching the news with his mouth wide open in a trance. He blinked rapidly, almost as if it was the first time he had ever seen a television. Lay had jerked from his slumped position, waking himself up and you had expected him to simply stay awake and have some breakfast or something. He didn't. Instead, he slowly crawled away from Huiling on all fours towards his room where he scrambled into bed and stayed there for the next few hours. Kai was still on the floor by the couch, fast asleep and deadly still. Baekhyun had managed to successfully trip up over him as he stumbled to the bathroom only to find D.O still hugging his stomach miserably. Groaning with a groggy headache, Baekhyun took to peeing in the shower, much to your disgust.

'We do it aaaaaanyway... when you shower... you peeeee... weee peee... Haneul-aaaaah you look nice'

You grinned, took out your phone, and instantly began to film him. 'Baekhyun-ah, can you send a message to Maddie?'

'Maaaariko! Maddie-ah! I luv yoooou'

'Perfect'

Baekhyun brought his face dangerously close to your phone camera and began kissing the air dramatically.

'Mwuah! Mwuah! Mwuah! Look, Maddie! I'm on Superjunior's Kiss the Radio! Look! Look!'

He grabbed your phone and began filming himself.

'Look! Look! Super Junior Ohio!'

You snatched your phone back and flicked Baekhyun's forehead. He teetered on his heels, before coming to stand straight and upright.

'Aish... You're just too embarrassing, Baekhyun...'

 

 

---

Okay so reality has hit me... I'm going on holiday to Singapore and Hong Kong on the 23rd and well my aim was to have this story finished by then since I'm going away for a whole month but well... that doesn't seem likely at this rate otl. SO I'm gonna try and get this finished in the next 2 and a half weeks (unlikely) but my god it's gonna be hard. Give me strength guys... On another note however if I don't finish by the time I go on holiday (very likely) I'm adamant about not going on a full blown hiatus. I'll find a way of getting my hands on a laptop, no worries... 

By the way, if you live in Singapore/ will be there from 24th July-6th Aug and wanna hang/ chill out then message me!!!!! Everytime I come to SG I have no friends and I spend every day walking around alone... It's a lonely holiday for me haha... I'm not a creep so don't worry about me being a weird pedo, I just wanna meet some people on holiday for once! We can meet up and chat and go shopping or go to a cafe ANYTHING 

Finally SHOUTOUT TO HallyuGI WHO READ 50+ CHAPTERS (POSSIBLY MORE) AND LEFT ME THE MOST HILARIOUS RUNNING COMMENTARY IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. Thanks gurl for persisting and omg thank you to just about everyone who manages to catch up on chapters all in one go lol you guys deserve an ice cream as a reward! In fact thank you to you all for reading and supporting! You're the best!