He is hosting a grand party. That is the excuse he is going to give others if they question the cartons of alcohol lying on his backseat.

“I’m holding a grand party to celebrate the success of my album sales and the concerts I’ve held so far.”

Junsu rehearses the words in his head again as he smiles at the imaginary person in his car passenger seat which he affectionately dubs as Ms X.

“Oh,” Ms X replies, smiling coyly at his words, “So who are you inviting to your party?”

The smile on Junsu’s face freezes over.

“Oh, haha,” Junsu laughs as he fumbles with his car keys, his fingers entangling in knots, (Wait. Which one was it that was the right key to the ignition site again?);

“It’s just a small party with a bunch of friends back in my hometown.”

Ms X says no more, but the gleam in her eyes gives everything away. She knows he is lying. He has not seen any of his friends for months and they have all steadily drifted away from each other. She knows it, and Junsu is willing to bet that she knows as well as he does that these hypothetical friends he is speaking of do not exist in reality. Junsu sighs, sticking the key into the ignition site as he hears the engine rumbling to life. All these efforts of his are all crumbling away to nothing. His defense is down. He will just admit it.

He misses them more than anything.

He never knew how much he missed them until the sight of alcohol actually stopped him in his weekly grocery shopping at the local mart. His nose turned up in disgust as the putrid smell of Jaejoong’s burps assaulted his senses. He had looked around then, convinced that Jaejoong was going to show up where he was, drunk and whiny like he was when he had lost all control of his senses. Junsu turned, the fluorescent lights reflecting his flustered face on the beer cans surrounding him. Jaejoong was not there. Jaejoong was never there. He was imagining things again. Junsu sighed, pushing his sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose. He had to stop engaging in this self-destructive behavior or it was going to consume him whole.

Picking up the can of beer, Junsu glanced over at its nutritional information and was horrified to discover that it actually contained 43 calories per 100 grams. While it might not seem huge in numbers, the thought of his hyungs (and his little devil maknae) chugging alcohol like an athlete consuming water after a 10km marathon run was enough to make him shudder in fear. How many calories had they even consumed? How were they even slimmer than him?

“Changmin especially,” Junsu whispered vindictively under his breath, “Where on Earth did those six pacs popped out from?”

Still, Junsu was reluctant to return the can of beer back to its carton. The can had hypnotized him and Junsu was too weak to overcome its spell. He continued staring at it in silence, his palms exuding sweat as his heart started pumping faster and faster…

N- Nobody would know right?

Junsu’s mind stuttered as his eyes continued fixing on the tiger in the Guinness logo that was printed on the beer can in his hands. Nobody would figure out his true reason if he did not say a thing. After all, it was considered rather normal for people of his caliber to purchase alcohol after a long stressful day at work. He is of legal age no matter how much Changmin likes to insist otherwise. He could just purchase the alcohol and nobody would know he is secretly fantasizing Jaejoong’s alcohol breaths, Yunho’s drunken hugs, Yoochun’s offkey singing and Changmin’s tears as he bought the alcohol. It was just a few metres. It was all right in front of him. All he had to do was to reach out and grab it and he could realize that dream.

The tiger yawned back in his face as Junsu’s face arranged into a frown. No. He needed a better excuse than this. He had to come up with a reason why he needed to buy alcohol, especially since everyone around him (including his fans!) knew he did not fancy alcohol. Time passed by in agonizing seconds.

“Ah! That’s it!” Junsu proclaimed loudly, unaware of the people that stopped at the sound of his voice, “I can be organizing a party and that’s why I need to buy lots of alcohol for it.”

“If that’s the case, oppa, you should probably buy more than the can of beer you’re holding in your hand.”

The lady spoke behind him, avoiding his gaze as he did so. Abruptly, Junsu was disrupted out of his thoughts, and upon noticing the lady’s voice, realized that there was now a crowd gathering around him in curiosity and wonder. Oh my God, sun! His manager was going to skin his hide alive.

“You’re probably right,” Junsu uttered quickly as he grabbed three cartons of beer and brisk-walked to the cashier far ahead. Abort mission, his mind screamed, abort mission at all costs.

Moving along with the queue at the cashier and onto a relatively safer spot, Junsu sighed and released the adrenaline from before. Great, he thought, now netizens were going to be informed of this stupid party he was hosting, a party that did not even exist in reality. What was he supposed to say when his manager called to question him about it?

“I bought this many beer for no other damn reason than me missing my stupid hyungs and that annoying little devil so damn much?”

How fantastic! Junsu laughed at himself as he thanked the cashier for her efficient service. His life was turning out great. Marvelous! And now that Junsu is back in his car with the engine of his car vibrating all around him, Junsu does not feel any difference from before. It is the fault of the supermarket, the source of trouble that leads to his current predicament. He turns around, glaring at the three cartons of alcohol that are still on his backseat.

“It’s your entire fault!” Junsu scolds the cans of beer as he sticks his tongue out at them, before he shifts his gears and prepares to drive home. Or at least that was the plan before his phone started vibrating and rudely interrupting his thoughts, jarring him out of his self-righteous anger.

“Hey Junsu ya,” Jaejoong’s melodious voice floats through the speakers and all tension bleeds out of Junsu’s stature immediately.

Life-saviour, Junsu’s heart echoes, Hyung is here to save me from this evil alcohol.

“Hyung,” Junsu whines, “Your poor maknae is being bullied here.”

“Bullied by who?” Jaejoong’s concern is apparent even through the speakers of his phone.

“The al…” Junsu’s voice dies out towards the end. There is no point telling Jaejoong anyway. It will just provide his hyung with more ammunition to for feeling alone and abandoned since he is the last one out of the five of them to enlist in the army. Junsu clutches the steering wheel tightly, ignoring the snickers that he hears behind him as the tigers continue laughing at him in the mock silence. Junsu sighs, removing the sunglasses from his face.

“It’s no matter. In any case, how do you have the free time to contact me now, hyung?”

Jaejoong laughs, “Well, I saw the internet as I was leaving camp and noticed that you were having a party that I was not informed of so I decided to call you and invite myself over.”

Mortification floods his face as Junsu’s face burns up with shame and horror.

He knows. He saw through everything. He knows how much I miss him now.

“It’s okay ah,” Jaejoong struggles to stifle his giggles in the tension that follows, “You do know that we miss you too, right?”

Junsu shakes his head and closes his eyes. This is all just a horrible nightmare. Tell me that did not just happen. This is just a dream.

Jaejoong sighs.

“Junsu ah, there really isn’t anything to be embarrassed about, you know?” Jaejoong says upon noticing the abnormal silence on the other end of the phone call, “We all miss you too. Changmin even cried.”

“Changmin cried?” Junsu squawks in astonishment, “Is it the same little devil maknae we’re talking about here?”

Junsu hears rustling on Jaejoong’s end before Changmin’s high-pitch scream came blasting through the speakers.

“Little devil maknae?” Changmin screeches, “Is that how you refer to me in your head?”

“Yup,” Junsu nods his head, forgetting that Changmin cannot see him, “You are the little devil maknae after all. I’m being as truthful as I can be.”

“You get your here right now! How dare you insult the great Changmin the First! We’re all meeting at Jaejoong’s place so you better rush here and we’ll have a one-to-one combat fight, where I’ll show you the prowess of the little devil maknae while the rest can sit there and laugh at your sorry loser .”

“Changmin ah,” Junsu hears Yunho speaks, “You were just saying you missed him a few hours ago and now you’re challenging him to a fight?”

“You don’t understand hyung! He’s the one antagonizing me!”

“I swear you both are behaving like kids. Has army not done any good for you?” Yoochun criticizes.

“Like it has for you, hyung, you’re still the creepy old Hawaiian man.”

“What is that even supposed to mean?”

“That you’re a creepy old Hawaiian man!”

“What! How dare you!”

“Junsu ah,” Jaejoong shouts the moment he snatches back the phone from Changmin while the two continue bickering in the background, “Just come here right now, okay? And bring the alcohol too!”

Then, Jaejoong hangs up the call.

Junsu smiles, and as he presses down on the accelerator pedal, he allows the laughter bubbling in his chest to unleash as the alcohol on his backseat giggles along with him.

Turns out, he is really going to have a party after all. 

Author's Note: Feel free to leave a prompt in the description below! :)