Update: Like the dumb I am, I forgot that I hid the previous chapter so MAKE SURE YOU READ BOOK 2 CHAPTER 2, people :> 

~

“What the heck is wrong with you?” 

“I wasn’t expecting such a reunion from my own brother, you know.” Yerin’s voice was quiet. Out of all the people in the party, she was the only one who hadn’t even touched a single drop of alcohol. 

She was currently seated at the edge of the pool, legs in the water, deep in thought. 

“You were the one who invited us here.” He settled himself right next to her, shoulders touching. “Is this any way that a host should react?” 

“Don’t get me wrong I…” She paused, letting the empty coke bottle fall to the poolside with a clang. “I wasn’t ready to see you guys?” 

“Not ready?” Hanbin scoffed, taking another swig out from the beer bottle in his hands, a faint tinge to his cheeks already. Out of the two, Yerin was an exceptionally strong drinker, while Hanbin was at the end of the other side of the spectrum. 

Half a bottle of soju could make him tipsy- Yerin needed at least two full bottles to even feel anything. 

“You stayed with us for like almost two months, and now you aren’t ready to meet us?” Hanbin put the beer bottle down again with her coke bottle and she eyed both drinks carefully, still painfully aware of the fact that she was possibly still this painfully innocent in his eyes. The coke bottle was a symbol of her innocence, her lack of exposure to the world, and the beer bubbling in his bottle was just another sign of how much more he had had to go through before her. 

“I don’t know, coming back to the team put a lot of things into perspective for me, I guess.” 

“Like what?” He didn’t miss a beat. Conversations between the two of them was never slow— they were both too straightforward to beat around the bush, something that made the two of them pretty comfortable, blunt and even come off as rude sometimes, but they had stopped caring for a long time already. 

Now though, she desperately wished that the conversation could flow slower. Her mind was too messy, the words too little and the emotions too many. 

“I’m happy to see you all again.” Yerin picked at a loose thread that hung from the hem of her shirt, looking as if she wasn’t too concerned about her own statements. 

Hanbin didn’t respond, just took another swig of his beer. 

“You got promoted to point guard?” 

“Yeah.” 

“That’s what you’re anxious about, isn’t it?” 

Of course, she could never hide anything from her big brother. They may have spent a long time apart, but being brother and sister and having practically the exact same personality, they knew more about each other than either of them let on. 

When she was lost in her thoughts, Hanbin twirled the bottle cap in his fingers and turned, letting out a content sigh as he kicked the water up. Behind them, the party was still in full swing, and someone had probably let the rest of the teams know that the two leaders were catching up and needed some time to themselves. 

“Tell me about it. Tell me about everything.” 

And so she did. 

She talked about how Youngbae had brought her over her paces the first night she returned. She talked about how the other members of the team watched, silent, as she did everything that their old point guard did, and how Youngbae reshuffled the members and their positions, and she was handed the position of the point guard without second thoughts. She talked about how it was always her dream to lead the team as a point guard, but at this point, she wasn’t sure anymore, because everyone else on the team was older, more sensible, less rash, and looked like any of them could have been a better leader than she was. 

She talked about how she missed him after staying with him for that period of time. She talked about how she missed her big brother, her closest confidant, and how she missed Jaemin and Haewon and Jiwon and Yunhyeong, Junhoe and Donghyuk and Chanwoo, and everyone else. 

She talked about how she always wanted to approach Jinhwan for help with her new point guard position but didn’t dare to do it because she was scared of what Youngbae would think. She talked about how she admired Hyemi and Donhyuk’s relationship, Jaemin and Junhoes’ relationship, and… 

“They’re not technically in a relationship.” 

“Please.” Yerin scoffed. “You think I haven’t noticed Junhoe looking at Jaemin every opportunity he has?” 

“Seriously, I’ve had enough with my team members getting distracted.” Hanbin groaned, and Yerin almost immediately regretted bringing up the matter, not sure if he was being serious or playful, but he sounded pretty serious to her. 

“Isn’t Yunhyeong okay, though? He’s dating too, right?” 

“You don’t see him getting distracted.” 

“Just because Donghyuk is distracted doesn’t mean that Junhoe will be distracted. Basketball is practically his life, and Jaemin is a player too. You think she won’t kick his if he’s distracted?” 

“Basketball was Dong’s life too, I don’t see her kicking his .” 

“For ’s sake, Kim Hanbin!” Yerin stood up. “You think love is a distraction?” 

“I’m just pointing out the facts.” 

“I can’t believe you.” She hissed. “What about your girlfriend?” 

“I’m happy I broke up!” 

Yerin closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “If Jaemin isn’t kicking his , why the is she here with you guys, trying her hardest to break up the Hyemi-Donghyuk wedding?” 

“They postponed their marriage to the end of next year, by the way.” A monotone spoke out behind the two of them, and Yerin froze. 

The owner of that voice was not supposed to know whatever she just said. 

“Donghyuk…” Hanbin gave a self-conscious, sheepish laugh. “I’m a little drunk… Don’t really know what I’m saying…” 

“You’re drunk.” Donghyuk raised an eyebrow. “She’s not.” 

Screwed. 

~ 

When Hanbin stumbled into the house again, Jiwon was nowhere to be seen, and information courtesy of Seoyeon had told him that his best friend had crashed on the couch in the living room. Chanwoo was with Junhoe and Jaemin and the rest of the team somewhere, touring the house. 

“You look like you could use some water.” The girl muttered, handing him a glass of clear liquid. He eyed it suspiciously, a blush creeping up his cheeks and it had nothing to do with how pretty she was whatsoever. 

Okay, maybe a little, but he was blaming it on the alcohol. 

“It’s not vodka, I promise. You can smell it, if you like.” 

“What if you poisoned it?” He whispered, voice hoarse. 

Seoyeon merely raised an eyebrow. “I see Yerin wasn’t kidding when she said you really couldn’t hold your alcohol.” 

“That punk thinks she knows me well.” Hanbin straightened up and let his face almost crash into Seoyeon’s, making her move back a step, hand still stretched out in front of her, this time holding the water as a barrier between the two of them. “That punk does know you pretty well. She said you got mad when you’re drunk too.” 

“I haven’t seen her in over ten ing years and she thinks she knows me so well!” 

“Did you guys fight?” Seoyeon blinked in understanding. She may or may not have seen Yerin in a similar state a few years ago, when they had just started as a team and the girl had drunk herself into oblivion right after the sabotage scandal. 

“Great. Now someone else thinks she knows me well too.”