"You can hide behind your stories, but don't take me for a fool."

-Your Love is a Lie, Simple Plan

            The rich scent of cologne wafting from behind Changhyun tickled the bottom of his nose. His eyes slid shut and he let out a squeak-like sneeze, slightly embarrassed by what must be his sensitivity to the strong fragrance. Yet it didn’t take long after to realize that he wasn’t being sensitive, and the entire room was filled with the overwhelming scent of Jonghyun’s cologne. Slowly, Changhyun turned around and found his roommate adjusting the collar of his casual black blazer with a bottle of gold-colored cologne perched on the dresser beside him.

            Changhyun wrinkled his nose. “Yah, how much of that are you going to put on?”

            “Enough to attract the girls,” Jonghyun answered simply, giving his hair a toss.

            “You’re going to repel them instead,” he joked with a laugh, though a small part of him meant it.

            Jonghyun shrugged, laughing along. “It’ll wear off before we get there. Minsoo-hyung’s not even back with the beer yet.” He turned around to smile right at Changhyun. “Are you excited?”

            “I guess,” Changhyun responded honestly. He wore just a white v-neck and fitted khakis, but after spying his friend’s classy blazer he reached for a blue and white plaid button-up.

            “I was thinking,” Jonghyun began. “You should try to hook up with that little Nala girl.”

            Changhyun’s face twisted with sheer confusion. “Huh?”

            “I’m pretty sure Byunghun-hyung called dibs on Jazz, and I kind of wanted to go after Sumi tonight,” Jonghyun reasoned. He shrugged. “I just think you two would look good together.”

            Nervously, Changhyun blinked. “She’s cute, but, I’m not sure I want anything happening with any of the girls so soon.” He spoke honestly, though he knew there would always be a glimmer of hope in the back of his mind that illuminated Min Neul.

            Once more, Jonghyun shrugged. “Just giving you a suggestion. Kai Lee is pretty cute too. The oldest might be the hardest, but she’s so hot you’ve got to try. Out of five girls, one of them must be willing to get with us.”

            Changhyun grew cross. “There are six members of Circa. Why are you always leaving her out?”

            “Because she doesn’t matter to me,” Jonghyun answered simply. “It’s like she’s not even there to me.”

            “Well, she is. And you’re going to have to get used to it,” Changhyun found himself gruffly reminding his friend. He both hated and loved how every conversation lead back to Min Neul.

            Before the bickering could get out of hand, Byunghun popped into the doorframe wearing distressed jeans, a graphic t-shirt and a snapback perched on his blonde head. “You ready to go? Minsoo-hyung is back with enough stuff to keep everyone faced for the next week.”

            As the three started down the hallway, Jonghyun spoke up about Byunghun’s supposed claim on Jazz. Byunghun chucked nervously, simply warning the boys that no one was to make a move on her except him. Given the bet, Changhyun was left to wonder whether or not Chanhee would be included in the ban. He didn’t question it, however, and simply wandered into the living room to assemble before the front door with the rest of the boys dressed in nice clothing and ready to venture down the hallway to the girls’ apartment. In Minsoo's strong arms he carried a large rack of beer and Chanhee carried six-packs of wine coolers. With a nod, Minsoo started out the door and the rest followed.

            Although the girls' dorm wasn't too far away, the boys still shuffled hastily down the hallway as to not be sighted, especially not with copious amounts of alcohol. After the boys knocked on the door and the giggly girls shuffled around behind it, Soomin's beautifully smiling face welcoming the visitors. "Welcome, boys,” she ushered as they bowed.

            "That's a lot of booze," Minyeon noted. While she wasn't exactly a heavy drinker, she had a decent tolerance for alcohol and would never turn down a drink or two.

            "We just wanted to contribute a little something to this party," Minsoo explained as he and Chanhee shuffled to the kitchen to drop off the drinks. Jasmine and Minyeon followed to help them unpack, and the rest of the group stepped farther into the living room.

            Chatter was quick to rise, for the girls shyly completed the boys on their attire and the boys casually returned the favor. Byunghun tried his hardest not to stare at Jasmine's smooth legs beneath her short skirt and find the voice to compliment her, but his throat ran dry. Instead, he turned to a familiar face and smiled at Min Neul.

            Drinks were handed out to everyone who wanted one. Boyun and Daniel declined, and Changhyun only took a beer to sip every now and then. Even Min Neul, clearly underage, clutched a wine cooler in her hands. Music was playing, the television was on, and snack food was set up in the living room and the kitchen. Chanhee was already attempting to flirt with Soomin over a slice of pizza, which Jonghyun had insisted on serving to her. The moment he caught the gorgeous older girl head into the kitchen, he had made a beeline for the very same room. As soon as he had disappeared down the hallway, Min Neul breathed a sign of relief. He may have been chasing another girl, but at least she would be spared their flirtatious interactions.

            Naturally, Min Neul found herself wiggling to Changhyun's side. "Hey, Changhyun-oopa," she greeted.

            "Hey you," Changhyun smiled down at her. "This party seems pretty good so far."


            Min Neul giggled. "The fun's only just begun."


            "Speaking of fun," Minyeon spoke up from the couch, where she was sitting between Jasmine and Daniel. "How about we play a little game to warm everyone up?"


            "What game?" Jasmine asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder and making Byunghun feel weak. 


            "Something fun and daring," Minyeon suggested. "Like 'Never Have I Ever.'"


            "Did I just hear 'Never Have I Ever?'" asked Soomin as she came sauntering into the living room with Chanhee and Jonghyun.

            Minyeon nodded. "Good ice breaker, right? Ten figures up, everyone.”

           “How do you play?” Boyun asked naively.

            “It’s really simple. Everyone will gave a turn stating something they have never ever done. If you’ve done it, you put a finger down. First person to put all ten fingers down loses,” Chanhee explained.

            "If you've done it, you've got to drink too," Minyeon added with a smirk.

            "Great," Soomin groaned. "So I'll be embarrassed and drunk by the time this is over."


            Chanhee seemed intrigued. "Why? What kind of crazy stuff have you done?"


            Soomin flashed ten fingers before his eyes. "Guess you'll find out."

            Everyone put up ten fingers, interested and nervous to hear the secrets that were to be revealed. Because the idea was Minyeon’s, she was nominated to be the first to ask a question. The redhead thought a moment before settling on a simple question that wouldn’t be too revealing. “Never have I ever gotten a cavity.”

            “Boo,” Chanhee murmured, playfully unimpressed by the safe question. He wanted scandalous. And there was nothing scandalous about finding out that Changhyun, Byunghun, Jasmine, Daniel, and Haeyoung had all gotten cavities. Groaning, and cursing their childhood mistake, they each bent a finger and grabbed whatever they were drinking to take a swig. Minyeon looked pleased she had already knocked five down to nine fingers, and nodded to Jasmine beside her to ask the next question.

            “Never have I ever smoked,” Jasmine proclaimed, proudly holding nine fingers up.

            Minyeon and Minsoo were the only ones to put down fingers. None of the boys flinched at Minsoo’s confession, for even Min Neul knew of Minsoo’s old smoking habit that Hyerin forced him to kick. Minyeon was a bit more of a surprise.

            “You smoke?” Boyun asked nervously as Minyeon took a drink.

            The older girl shrugged and set her beer back down. “I only tried once at a party. Don’t worry.”

            Boyun seemed relieved, for both her roommate and their room’s sake. When the fuss was over, Jasmine turned the attention to Daniel. The boy seemed to smile shyly and chuckle before confessing, “Never have I ever drank alcohol.”

            The entire room, all except Boyun, collectively bent down a finger. Their sharp groan turned into laughter, and they took a drink in unison. When they dropped their bottles, Haeyoung gave Min Neul a light shove. “You are underage,” she teased.

            Min Neul’s face felt warm. “I’ve only had champagne.” She glanced down at the bottle in her hand. “And now this nasty beer.”

            “Nasty? This stuff’s the best,” Jonghyun was quick to jeer, though whether or not he actually believed so was unknown. He simply jumped at any opportunity to take a jab at Min Neul and disagree with her. Min Neul pretended to not even hear him, for she gave her hair a quick toss and looked the other way. She was glad Changhyun was up next, so she could turn her head and focus on the cute boy’s smiling profile beside her.

            Changhyun too challenged something simple. Never had he ever been to the States. Jasmine and Byunghun bent their fingers, and even though Byunghun knew he and Jasmine shared the experience he was still glad to have something in common with her. It gave him an excuse to smile shyly at her before the question was passed on to Min Neul.

            At first, Min Neul hadn’t the slightest idea what to ask. But the moment Jonghyun sneered at her, she knew exactly what she would challenge. “Never have I ever cheated on someone.”

            The statement was bold. To any of the girls, it was a smart but scandalous challenge with no personal attachment. To each of the boys, it was loaded with meaning. It was her defiant way of telling Jonghyun once and for all that she never cheated on him, and their entire breakup had been a mistake. But the statement only filled Jonghyun with silent fury. He shot her a charged glare, labeling her a liar with his narrow gaze. Min Neul remained firm, and didn’t break her strong gaze. She was so occupied with her silent battle with Jonghyun that she didn’t even notice Soomin boldly bent a finger.

            “You cheated on someone?” Chanhee cried among the gasping, excited that the game was finally revealing some juicy secrets.

            “Yes,” Soomin squeaked a confession. “But it was only to make my ex boyfriend Jong jealous.”

            “Ex-boyfriend Jong, huh?” Jonghyun repeated, raisin an eyebrow. After finding out the hot girl he was starting to like had cheated on someone, he wasn’t too keen and pursuing anything with her. He couldn’t risk being cheated on again, even if Min Neul insisted she never did.

            Soomin took a long drink and sighed before explaining, “Okay, look, Jong was my on-again-off-again boyfriend and everyone was saying he cheated on me so I wanted to get back at him and I hooked up with this other guy. Okay? I wouldn’t cheat on someone again.”

            Jonghyun was still fuming in silence. While everyone was teasing Soomin for her confession, Changhyun was gazing at Min Neul. He nudged her leg slightly, just to let her know she made a bold move and he was proud of her. Min Neul couldn’t help but smile at him; there he was again, the sweet Changhyun who was entirely on her side and would support her to no end.

            Soomin demanded for the game to keep moving, because she was sure everyone would find out more about her supposedly wild life, and Haeyoung was next. She declared that she had never gotten drunk, and Soomin’s shoulders fell as she put another finger down so soon. Minsoo, Chanhee, Jonghyun, and Minyeon followed, then playfully toasted (“to their drunk asses” as Chanhee called them) before taking a sip of alcohol. When Jonghyun had ever been drunk, Min Neul wasn’t quite sure of. But she supposed he could have intoxicated himself sometime after they had broken up. The Jonghyun she knew would never drink to the point of being drunk, but the Jonghyun she knew also loved her more than anything in the world. Evidently, and heartbreakingly, that Jonghyun was gone.

            Minsoo claimed he had never cried at a movie. All the girls except Haeyoung, Jasmine, and Minyeon had, and all the boys ripped on Changhyun for supposedly crying during a movie but not wanting to admit it. The scuttle made everyone laugh, but Changhyun was eager to move on to the next person. Byunghun, wanting to impress Jasmine with his chivalry, declared that he had never gotten in a fistfight. His challenge was very anticlimactic, for no one else had gotten into a fistfight either. Naturally, the boys for picking a boring question and the girls giggled in response. Red-faced, Byunghun gestured at Boyun to keep the game going and took a drink of bitter beer to calm himself.

            Innocent as ever, Boyun admitted, “Never have I ever kissed someone.”

            This got nearly everyone to bend a finger. Minsoo, Chanhee, Jonghyun, Min Neul, Soomin, Jasmine, Minyeon, and Haeyoung. Min Neul and Jonghyun looked away from each other. Byunghun balled his fist. At least he wasn’t alone in the teasing; Changhyun, Daniel, and Boyun hadn’t either.

            Chanhee was more than pleased to me next. He had had enough of these safe questions. Rubbing his hands together, he challenged, “Never have I ever had somewhere other than a bedroom.”

            “,” Min Neul cussed under her breath, hoping desperately that Chanhee’s stupid question wouldn’t make things any more awkward between her and Jonghyun. They had had in the living room, in the car, even the shower. Her admittance shocked every one of the girls, who were floored to know their eighteen-year-old maknae wasn’t a . After a moment, the boys remembered to pretend to be surprised too, and everyone was shocked once again to learn Teen Top’s maknae wasn’t a either. No one was shocked to watch Soomin bend down her sixth finger, and Min Neul couldn’t help but blush when she caught Minsoo nonchalantly bend his fifth finger. Where else besides the bedroom he and her sister had had she didn’t know, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out.

            “Now wasn’t that interesting?” Chanhee asked smugly, intrigued by Soomin in particular.

            Haeyoung grabbed Min Neul’s hand. “You really had with someone?” she asked, shocked.

            Min Neul was hesitant, but nodded. “I had a boyfriend for a long time, okay?” she replied in a hushed tone. Jasmine and Minyeon looked impressed and Boyun looked shocked. Chanhee was too busy sweet-talking Soomin into some -related conversation, as he clearly was growing more and more attracted to her wild side.

            “I cannot believe the maknaes aren’t s,” Minyeon laughed, ironically glancing between the exes.

            Min Neul smiled meekly, but Jonghyun sighed roughly. “I regret it, though,” he replied unnecessarily, leaning forward as if to divulge into a completely false sob story. “I didn’t truly love her, but we did it anyway.”

            His words were painful. How could he honestly say he never loved her? He was a liar, and his sharp words were slowly but surely killing Min Neul. Tears began to well in her eyes and more than anything she wanted to scream out that he did so love her, and everything he was saying was a story full of rotten lies. But she couldn’t. So Min Neul sat back, digging her fingernails into her palms to keep herself from crying as Changhyun once again nudged her leg. Min Neul desperately wished to respond to his sweet touch and lean on him for support, but she forced herself to hold back the sobs and pulled on a mask of indifference to Jonghyun’s lies.

            “In the moment, I’m sure you loved her,” Chanhee spoke up softly, sounding quite thoughtful. “Whether she was a girlfriend you loved or a friend you just really cared about, you must have loved her.”

            Jonghyun crossed his arms. “So you mean to tell me you truly loved whatever girls you’ve had with?”

            “I did,” Chanhee nodded. He glanced at Min Neul to make sure she was listening. “I loved them in very different ways, but I still loved them. And we did what we wanted in the moment. You wanted it at one point, so don’t say you regret it. I don’t regret any time I did it, and neither should you.”

            Min Neul was listening. Chanhee’s sweet words. Changhyun’s nudge. They cared about her. They truly did.

            Chanhee’s challenge had sparked the most conversation, and everyone was feeling a little buzzed from the constant shots. Especially Soomin, who was losing the game with only four fingers left, and Minsoo right behind her with five. Conversation seemed to win over playing a game, for the chatter escalated. As expected, Soomin had lost and Boyun’s innocence had carried her to victory. Min Neul was actually glad for the game to stop because she wasn’t sure how much more of Jonghyun she could take. Hoping to numb the pain, Min Neul took a long drink of her nasty beer.

            “You alright?” Changhyun asked in a low voice.

            Min Neul put down the bottle and gulped down the last bit in . “Never been better.”

            Changhyun knew she was lying just as Jonghyun had been. “Come on,” he encouraged sweetly. “Let’s go talk to some people. Get your mind off him.”

            Numbly, Min Neul nodded and followed Changhyun around like a limp sidekick who could not fend for herself. The two meshed in the perimeter of a conversation involving Jasmine, Soomin, and Daniel. It started as lighthearted teasing of Soomin, now giddy from alcohol, and Min Neul gave an honest chuckle or two. It wasn’t until she caught a whiff of boozy breath that she noticed an ominous presence behind her. Before she could catch her breath, Min Neul stiffly turned around to find Jonghyun, brooding as he casually slipped his way into the group. Her eyes caught his; they were already bloodshot, and he held a freshly frosted bottle in his hand. He raised a sharp eyebrow above a narrow eye at Min Neul’s gasp and quipped a taunting slur from lips that just wouldn’t stop lying.

           “Fun game, huh?”