Jimin POV

Yerin forces me to help her set up for the party. It is a bit of a tradition, a habit, to celebrate New Year's Eve with the other 97-liners, something that began when we all turned twenty together. We rotate the location of the party, but this time it is Yerin's turn, and I am being forced to help her. 

"Why the does the vodka brand matter?" I call. "Yerin, you know they all get so piss drunk that you could feed them poison and they'd still think it's the tastiest thing on Earth."

Yerin walks into the living room where I am currently hanging up a bunch of gold-colored streamers.

"Jimin Jimin Jimin," she says from behind me. "Do you even remember the party Junhoe and Donghyuk threw last year? They had that thirteen hundred dollar champagne . I refuse to be outdone by a bunch of boys who are mentally two."

I sigh and turn around to raise my eyebrow at her. "It's the YG blood in them. You know that they all have the finest booze in all of Korea."

"Still," Yerin says with a sigh. Just then, the doorbell rings, and Yerin goes to get it, leaving me with the  now tangled streamers.

"Oh hi, Yugyeom. Hi Bambam," Yerin says before I hear a muffled thud and a couple swear words.

"What the is going on over there?" I shout, now attaching balloons to every available surface in Yerin's apartment. "And why the isn't anyone helping me with these goddamned balloons?"

I hear Yerin swear again before she walks in with Yugyeom and Bambam in tow. "These two losers jumped on me and started hugging me. And this is my house, my rules. I rule that you gotta do the decorations alone."

I turn my attention back to the balloons as I roll my eyes. 

"And don't you dare roll your eyes at me, Park Jimin," Yerin calls as she walks back into the kitchen to prepare an arsenal of liquor.

"Well then," I say, turning to Bambam and Yugyeom. "How have you two boys been?"

They look at each other meaningfully before Bambam says, "We're good. What about you? How are you? Are you by chance dating anyone?"

Yugyeom elbows him in the ribs, and Bambam groans in pain while complaining, "You said you wanted to know! I asked! Is that so bad?"

"There's this thing called 'being subtle' that I'm not sure you ever learned," Yugyeom retorts.

I laugh at the two before saying, "I'm fine boys. And no, I'm not dating anyone."

"What about Jungkook?" Bambam says, before recieving another elbow to the ribs. "What? Can't a guy ask a damn question without feeling that his ribs are being stabbed?"

"I'm not dating Jungkook," I say, trying to stifle another laugh as Bambam groans again. "How's Lalisa, speaking of significant others? Is she coming tonight?"

"She's good, bro. Although she won't be happy to know that her fiancee just broke one of his ribs. And yeah, she'll be coming over, but she has a quick phhotoshoot until eight," Bambam says, dragging himself into a sitting position. "And don't try to change the subject Jimin! What is your exact relationship with Jungkook?"

"We're literally just friends," I say.

"But more importantly, do either of you want to be more than that?" Yugyeom asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

I sigh before saying, "He want to date me again, I think."

"But do you want to date him again?" Bambam asks, now leaning in the slightest bit.

I sigh again before replying, "No."

"But why?" Bambam asks.

"Why what?" Yerin asks as she walks into the room.

"Nothing," I rush. "Which vodka did you choose?"

"The cheap stuff. I thought about what you said, and once you're drunk everything does taste the same," Yerin says, sitting down next to Yugyeom.

"Ok but why don't-" Bambam starts.

"Speaking of boyfriends, let's talk about your relationship status, Yerin," I interrupt.

Yerin rolls her eyes at me, a gesture that I am so familiar with now. She opens to retort back, but the doorbell rings, and all of us get up, abandoning the half filled ballons in the corner.

"Jihyo!" Bambam shouts, causing the rest of us to flinch. "What's up?"

To her credit, Jihyo laughs, replying with a simple, "Nothing." She turns to Yerin before saying, "Mina just called me to say she got caught in traffic. She's says she'll probably be quite late."

We all give exaggerated and dramatic groans, before pulling Jihyo into the apartment. But as soon as we get around to the living room, the doorbells rings again, and Yerin is gone, being the good host she is. People start streaming in, and the TV is to the New Year's program.

Amongst all the people, Jungkook slides up to me. "Hey Jimin," he says quietly.

I turn to look at him for a moment before turning back to survey the guests. "Hey Jungkook,"

I see Jungkook follow my gaze to the small crowd. "It's odd, I feel like I've kind of grown up with all these people, even if this is the only time of year that we meet."

"It's not odd," I reply, feeling like Jungkook and I could really be good friends. "I feel the same way. I used to put so much effort into making sure that I didn't have any other events to attend on New Year's Eve, just for this."

"So did I! I even lied to my managers just so I could drag my to this party and get piss-drunk," Jungkook says with a laugh.

I smile before saying, "The first year was the worst. We'd all just turned twenty and we had no idea how to drink properly. I was so hungover that I felt like dying."

"Look, there's Mingyu trying to hit on Yuju again."

"You'd think that he'd get the hint after all this time. Wait a second. Is that...."

"Yeah I think that's Donghyuk and Chaeyoung."

"And they're...."

"They're making out, yes."

"Damn. I didn't know about that."

"They're engaged. Didn't you read the tabloid news?"

"I hate tabloids, so I don't look at them if possible."

"Everyone's progressed quite a bit in their love lives."

"I guess. We've all aged quite bit, so it makes sense."

Just then, Yerin stands up on a chair and shouts, "Hello 97-liners! How are all of you tonight?"

"Young and wild and free!" we all shout in unison, the phrase being our battle call ever since Bambam came up with it.

"Tomorrow, we will all be a year older and a year closer to our inevitable deaths. But just for tonight, what are we?" Yerin calls, raising her hand to her ear.

"Young and wild and free!" we all call back.

"Yes! Tonight we take ourselves back to the first year of this party, the first year of adulthood. And although pretty much everything has changed, let's make sure that just for tonight, our spirits have not!" Yerin shouts before she steps off the chair and turns on the music.

"She's good at hyping everyone up," Jungkook notes, admiration obvious.

"She really is," I reply.

"Hey Jimin," Jungkook says, turning to face me. My heart makes an uncomfortable leap, and I am forced to confront the fact that Jungkook can not truly be real, genuine good friends. "I want to start the new year with you."

"Jungkook," I say, cringing at the words pinging around in my head. "I'm sorry, but you really don't want to date me."

"Shouldn't I be the one to decide that?" Jungkook says, raising his eyebrow dubiously.

"Jimin!" Junhoe shouts in his abnormally loud voice. He grabs my hand and pulls me up as I internally thank the gods for his impeccable timing. 

"Have a champagne," he says. "You looked pretty tense back there."

"Thanks," I say.

Junhoe winks as he says, "Don't worry about it. Anything for our little Kpop Star winner." He walks off, ruffling my hair and sending me a smirk. I roll me eyes and start to sip my champagne. It is not long before I am dancing with the faces I have danced with for seventeen years and experiencing the rush that will continue for much longer.

"Three, two, one!" We shout, watching the TV and blowing on our party horns. We all start to laugh and dance and scream, basking in the feeling of a fresh start that accompanies all new years. Yerin's booze arsenal remains mostly untouched, although all of us are tipsy.

I feel an arm wrap around my waist, and Jungkook whispers, "So can we start the new year together?"

And maybe it's the alcohol, maybe it's my subconcious, maybe it's just a whim, but I respond with, "Yes."

Soon, Jungkook is spinning me around and around, ballroom style, and everyone else is laughing along and cheering. 

But it isn't long until Yerin is forcing her way through the crowd with an accusatory finger. "You said you wouldn't date her!"

I feel Jungkook tense up next to me, but before he can respond, Yerin is laughing. 

"What the hell, go ahead and date her if you want! It's the new year, am I right? Everyone deserves a chance!" Yerin shouts, and everyone around us is screaming in agreement.

She takes a couple steps closer to us and says, "Hurt her unnecessarily and I might cut off your fingers, ears, and left foot. Don't forget."

For a second, the crowd is silent, but it explodes with sounds of agreement. And the night goes on.

Jungkook kisses me for the first time that night, as he spins and dips me around Yerin's kitchen.

He kisses me in the morning, in front of the first sunrise of the new year.

He kisses me again over the complementary cups of coffee that Yerins offers to any overnight partygoers. (also known as everyone)

Jungkook kisses me right before he leaves, inciting a round of whistles and hoots from Yugyeom, Bambam, and Yugyeom.

And all too soon, it is just me and Yerin sitting on her couch, holding cups of coffee, appreciating the life and energy that was trapped in the small apartment at the end of the apartment on the fourth floor.

Author's Note

Hello! Lots of refrences to other 97-liners in this chapter, simply because I love the idea of everyone being friends behind the scenes. In case you didn't cath them, they are Bambam and Yugyeom from Got7, Lisa (Lalisa) and Rose (Chaeyoung) from the soon-to-debut Black Pink, Jihyo from Twice, Mingyu from Seventeen, and Junhoe and Donghyuk from Ikon. Continue answering yes or no to affect the outcome of this story. Also, I've been thinking about starting another fic, so if anyone has any cool pairing and/or AUs they want to see, please comment! Please subscribe, comment, and upvote! Thank you!