"I can't believe I'm doing this." Wonpil says.

He's currently sitting in the passenger seat of Jae's car, as they're parked in front of an apartment building that neither of them are familiar with.

"C'mon, it'll be fun" Jae assures,

"I'm gonna regret this." 

"Stop being like this" Jae scolds and Wonpil sighs before unbuckling his seatbelt.

"You better not ditch me, I don't know anyone here but you"

Jae opens his mouth to say something, but Wonpil cuts him off,

"And don't say Younghyun is here, because this is Brian's party." 

Jae mumbles something under his breath and just continues to walk to the door, which he holds open for Wonpil. 

"Do you know his buzzer number?"

"Yeah, he texted it to me"

And with a couple of beeps and pressing of numbers, a dial tone filled the entry of the apartment.

"Hello?" Brian's voice speaks through the speakers, and Wonpil and Jae can hear the faint conversation and music in the background,

"Bri, it's Jae" 

"Oh, okay!" he says, and hangs up, and soon enough Wonpil and Jae hear the door unlock.

They're walking through to lobby and to the elevators, when Wonpil looks at Jae,

"Bri?" he echoes, and Jae just rolls his eyes at Wonpil's teasing tone.

"Whatever, it's easier than calling him Brian." 

They get in the elevator, and Jae presses the correct floor.

"Jae." Wonpil says, and there's no sign of joking in his voice,

"Don't get too drunk. That'll mean you'll ditch me or something. I mean it, I have no problem in driving us home or anything, but I know how you get when you get too-"

"Yes, Mom, okay~" Jae says as they reach the floor, and the elevator dings before opening. 

"I won't get too drunk, I swear."

Wonpil gives him a warning stare before following him down the hall and eventually end up in front of what Wonpil assumes to be Brian's door.

Jae knocks, but not before looking at Wonpil and asking if what he's wearing is okay, only to be answered by Wonpil scoffing and saying

"You always look bad."

The door swings open, and Jae is greeted with Sungjin, whose light brown hair is styled upwards. He looks really nice, Jae admits, in a denim button up, with 3 quarter sleeves, a white shirt underneath paired with some black jeans.

"Oh damn," Jae comments jokingly,

"Shut up" Sungjin replies with a laugh, opening the door so motioning for Jae to come in, Jae laughs a bit too before giving a little bow, and hesitantly walking in.

"You're welcome" Jae says in his ear as he walks past Sungjin, and Sungjin doesn't get to ask what Jae means before Wonpil walks in behind Jae.

"O-Oh" Sungjin says upon seeing Wonpil, and he wants to smack himself in the face for sounding so stupid.

"You came?" he asks, and Wonpil gives him a friendly smile before saying,

"Yeah, Jae dragged me here."

"Well, I hope it's not too bad of a night" Sungjin says with a smile, and Wonpil finds some comfort in it, and doesn't know why he finds himself saying,

"Yeah... I don't think it will be."

Jae's making the way through Brian's apartment, smiling at people who are staring at him and refusing the urge to run right out the door because he never realized how awkward peoples' gazes could make him. He's usually really social, as proven, but he finds himself feeling a little nervous to be here.

He's walking around, and eventually finds who he's looking for.

The birthday celebrant is wearing black dress pants, and a black dress shirt that's tucked into his waist, and his sleeves are rolled up. The shirt's collar is white, and so are the cuffs on his sleeves, making him look probably a lot more formal than he intended to. His platinum silver hair is styled upwards, like is usually is but it looks a lot neater tonight.

Brian looks good; and it's kind of driving Jae insane because when Younghyun looked this good, it was almost habit to tell him, and wrap his arms around his waist.

Jae shakes his head, trying to get Younghyun out as he approaches Brian, he's talking to someone, so Jae just waits at the side

"Oh!" Brian says once he finally sees him, giving him a wide smile, and Jae smiles back

"You came?"

"Of course. Birthday boy asked me to" Jae replies, and goes to shake Brian's hand, but the celebrant's arms are spread for a hug, but Jae doesn't know if he's ready to hug him, which results in an insanely awkward hug with their chuckles accompanying it.

"Oh, let me introduce you to my friend, this is Dowoon"

And Jae thinks the name sounds familiar, as he shakes the boy's hand.

"Hey, uh, do I know you? Your name sounds familiar"

And Dowoon furrows his eyebrows in thought before he says,

"Ah, Junhyeok, maybe?"

"Right! Junhyeok. Oh man, it's been a while since I've seen you guys" Jae says, and he appreciates knowing someone here other than Brian and Wonpil.

"Yeah, I guess we're all a little busy" Dowoon replies with a smile,

"It's cool to see you here though," Jae says,

"Small world."

And Dowoon nods in agreement, and Brian tells Dowoon he'll be a minute, and he'll just show Jae around a bit.

"Minri isn't here?" Jae asks as they're walking out of the kitchen and through the living room,

"Nope. She figured she'd just let me have some guys over. She's sleeping over at her friend's place. There aren't that many to meet, so I hope you get comfortable soon" Brian says,

"That's nice of her. Trusting, too"

"What, do I look like a player to you?" Brian jokes and Jae raises his hand in innocence,

"I mean, who knows what can happen when alcohol takes over."

And Jae's glad Brian doesn't realize he's referencing to that one night him and Younghyun were drinking, some things were said, and emotions took over and things got a little out of control but neither of them wanted to turn back or stop.

"So! You just met Dowoon, you know Sungjin-" and Brian stops when him and Jae pass by Sungjin and Wonpil.

They're sitting on the couch, Wonpil has a beer in his hand and Sungjin's is on the ground by his feet. He's telling a story very enthusiastically, his hands all over the place, gesturing and explaining. Wonpil's eyes are staring into his, and he's laughing, and Jae is slightly amazed,

"That is the least pissed I've seen Wonpil look."

Brian looks at the duo who are having quite a conversation before scoffing and asking,

"Really?"

"Yeah, really! He never laughs like that at my stories.."

"That's 'cause you're not funny" Brian says bluntly, and Jae squints his eyes, and ignores Brian's annoying laugh as they continue to walk.

Brian introduces Jae to his friends, and Jae doesn't allow himself to feel special.

Upon meeting everyone, Jae concludes that Brian's friend Jackson doesn't need alcohol to be loud and rambunctious. However, he feels like he and Jackson would make good friends, and decides that he'll probably talk to him later on in the night.

The author also gets some character personalities from most of them, comparing Mark to the quiet one who's extremely attractive but his setback is he doesn't really talk. He thinks Jinyoung's joking and sassy character is one that would be the one to make the heroin broaden their horizons in a novel. 

His author thoughts are cut off when Brian offers,

"Do you want a beer?" 

Wonpil's warning words echo in Jae's head, and he figures one beer won't hurt

"Yeah, thanks."

Jae accepts one from Brian, and they end up going out into the balcony. 

"Shouldn't you be out entertaining your guests?"

"Nah, they're fine. They all know each other really well."

"Wow, making me feel like an outcast" Jae jokes and says, and Brian just laughs. 

It's a nice night. Jae doesn't know if it's the night breeze that makes him feel so happy, or the fact that Brian's by his side. They're watching the cityline below start to light up, as darkness envelops their small city. 

"You know you can leave me alone" Jae says, and Brian says

"The only 2 people you know in that apartment are talking to each other."

And Jae looks back to see Wonpil and Sungjin still in deep conversation. And he sighs before saying,

"You're right. And I feel like if I tried talking to Wonpil right now he'd hate me,"

"Probably already does." Brian says and they both laugh.

"When did we get close enough for you to be so mean to me?" Jae asks, hand over his heart as if he's offended, and Brian laughs before replying,

"I don't know. I feel like we've been friends for years when I talk to you, you feel me?"

And Jae does understand that, way too much. Because they were friends for years; well, Jae and Younghyun, not Brian. But hearing him say that gives Jae some hope.

"Your friends all look nice," Jae says in an attempt to make some small talk, although them just standing in silence isn't awkward at all.

"Yeah, they're pretty great." Brian replies, and continues

"They understand." 

Jae tilts his head a bit, and looks at Brian who takes that as a signal to further explain,

"They understand that I can completely forget them tomorrow and yet they still associate themselves with me." he says with a sad smile.

"Yeah, because you're great." Jae says, and Brian just laughs,

"No, seriously. You're a good person. And it must be so much scarier for you, becoming close and attached to people even if you may forget them." they share some eye-contact as Jae gives him a smile with some underlying emotion that Brian can't decipher.

"Happy Birthday, Brian" 

"Tha-"

"What're you guys doing out here?~" Jackson's loud voice interrupts their conversation,

"C'mon Jake, the party's in here!"

"It's Jae,"

"Yeah, whatever, c'mon Jae!"

Jackson says and Brian stiffles his laughter when Jae looks at him with a slightly scared yet amused expression as Jackson swings an arm around his neck and drags him back into Brian's apartment.

Jae ends up spending the next hour with Jackson, and they click almost immediately. They're both really social and open, so there's no awkward small talk transition stage, and it's really comfortable talking to him. Brian is socializing with his guests now, but he glances back every now and then, smiling at Jae and Jackson's loud conversation that doesn't really make sense.

"Hey," Jaebum catches Brian's attention,

" 'Sup?"

"Didn't know you were friends with a famous author" he teases, and Brian chuckles a bit,

"Have you talked to him yet?"

"Not yet, but he seems pretty cool" Jaebum replies as he looks at the tall author and Jackson laughing obnoxiously loud, and he smiles himself.

"When'd you meet him?" 

"Like, almost a month ago?"

"Wow." 

"What?" Brian asks, 

"That wasn't that long ago." Jaebum replies, and continues

"I mean, I'm just saying. It took me like a year to be invited to one of your birthdays" and they both laugh.

"I don't know, it just felt right to invite him,"

"Glad you did. Now I don't have to deal with Jackson," he jokes and once again, the 2 boys laugh,

Jae's previous thought earlier that night was correct; one beer didn't hurt.

However, 5 or 6 does some damage, specifically to Jae's judgement and state of mind.

It's almost 1 in the morning, and most of Brian's guests are gone. Jae assumes the only reason he's still here is because Wonpil is still talking to Sungjin, who obviously would be the last one to leave. 

Wonpil's sober, only having one beer and then sitting at Sungjin's side for the rest of the night without having another sip. 

Jae, on the other hand, is completely intoxicated. 

Brian is waving goodbye at the front door to Mark who's dragging Jackson to leave.

It doesn't take too long for Brian to join Jae who's sitting by himself in the den. 

"Hey Birthday boy~" Jae almost sings and Brian holds back the laughter

"How many beers did you drink?" he asks, as he settles beside Jae

"Not that many, maybe like 5?" Jae answers as he holds up 4 fingers to Brian, and he laughs this time

"That's 4, Jae." 

It was pretty amusing, seeing Jae so drunk. The two had never drank together before considering they just became friends recently, and Brian wonders if he's like this all the time. Brian wants to ask Wonpil if he wants to take Jae home yet, but something about the atmosphere between him and Sungjin is something Brian doesn't want to interrupt.

The two are sitting in silence, Jae mumbling some incoherent words that Brian doesn't even bother to decipher. 

"Bri," Sungjin's voice causes the boy in question to look up,

"Wonpil and I are gonna start cleaning up," he says,

"Oh, no you don't have to, I'll do it" and before Brian has a chance to get up, Jae's head falls on to his shoulder.

Sungjin smiles before saying,

"It's okay, we'll do it and then we'll get going." 

"We?" Brian teases

"Separately. We will part ways, and go to our individual homes." Sungjin replies, unamused and just rolls his eyes as Brian laughs,

"Thanks, appreciate it" he says, and watches Wonpil follow Sungjin into the kitchen. 

Brian's sitting still, Jae's head resting comfortably on his shoulder. 

"You know what, Brian?" Jae says, his speech almost slurred due to the alcohol

"What, Jae?" Brian muses,

"That tattoo of yours. I like it, a lot." 

"My tattoo?" Brian says, curious as to how Jae knows about it,

"Yeah. The dandelion," he says fondly

"Thank you" the birthday celebrant says,

"You know, I have a similar one. Actually, you wouldn't know, you're Brian" Jae says, laughing to himself and Brian just thinks Jae's spouting nonsense.

"Your parents."

"What about them?"

"Did they say anything after I met them at the cafe?" 

Brian's mind flashes back to the tense atmosphere he felt between Jae and his dad, and once again his curiosity is sparked

"Like, about your books?" Brian indirectly avoids the question,

"No. About me, as a person. Me as Park Jaehyung who is their son's friend" 

"No, they didn't say anything. Why, what would they say about you?" Brian asks, and Jae laughs,

"Figures. Why would they want you to know..." and if Jae wasn't leaning on Brian's shoulder, maybe he wouldn't have heard the second part.

"Do they know you?" 

"As much as I knew you." Jae responds, and Brian wants to respond with 'that's not that well' but something about Jae using past tense makes him anxious. Brian just shakes his head slightly, reasoning with himself that Jae's intoxicated and doesn't know what he's saying. 

"Brian." Jae says, 

"Yeah?"

And it's quiet for a bit before Jae says,

"I hope you get your memories back." and Brian hears the sadness in Jae's voice that's usually so cheerful. 

"And why's that?" he asks.

Jae lifts his head from Brian's shoulder and Brian turns his head to look at him. At this distance, or lack thereof, Brian takes in the details of the author's face.

"So that you can remember me." is the response he gets, but doesn't expect.

Brian doesn't know why, but he doesn't look away when they start staring into each other's eyes. And like always, they make him feel safe and comfortable. However, Jae's eyes look sad; tired. And his previous words are nagging at Brian, and he's trying to convince himself that Jae's drunk words don't mean anything.

His mind is preoccupied in trying to comfort himself, and his curiosity that he doesn't really notice Jae's face moving closer.

And even when he does notice, he finds himself not moving. Even when Jae places his lips on his.

The author's lips taste like alcohol; which Brian tells himself is reason he just kissed him.

But, his lips feel familiar. It's nerve wracking, and it's a weird feeling that Brian has never had, but he doesn't push Jae away. Because it feels like his liips should be there; it feels natural. And it's kind of scary because for a split second, he forgets he has a girlfriend.

Jae pulls away, and the kiss feels like it lasts numerous hours, but Brian's sure it was only a few seconds.

"Younghyun..." is all Jae whispers before passing out, and his head returns to laying limp on Brian's shoulder.

And the birthday boy is left in silence, his mind in disarray. It takes about 3 tries for Sungjin to finally get his attention,

"Bri!" 

"Huh?" he finally looks up,

"We're gonna get going," Sungjin says and looks at Jae,

"Is he passed out?"

"Who? Oh," Brian clearly isn't fully there, but Sungjin just disregards it,

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Ah, sorry" Wonpil says, annoyed 

"I told him not to get too drunk." and he reaches down to help Jae up,

"Okay, get up, we gotta go"

And Jae replies in mumbles, 

"God, why are you so heavy?!" Wonpil asks after trying to help him up,

"I-I got him" Brian says and places Jae's arm around his neck and lifts him up,

"No, it's okay- Jae, get up, seriously" Wonpil scolds,

"It's fine" Brian assures, and starts walking, most of Jae's body weight being supported by Brian.

"Do you want me to drive you guys home?" Sungjin offers, 

"It's okay, we'll be fine." Wonpil answers.

All 4 of them end up walking to Jae's car. The elevator ride down to the lobby is quiet, mainly Wonpil scolding the intoxicated Jae who probably won't remember anything tomorrow.

"Sorry about him," Wonpil says once Brian places Jae in the passenger seat of the car,

"Don't worry about it." 

"I'll talk to you later?" Wonpil says, and Brian almost awkwardly asks 'how', until he realizes he's directing his words at Sungjin.

"Yeah, sure thing."

Sungjin and Brian wave goodbye as Wonpil does the same, and drives out of the apartment complex. 

Brian gives Sungjin a brief hug, not before teasing about Wonpil, and then they part ways. The birthday celebrant goes back up to his apartment, and looks around. Sungjin and Wonpil had done a good job cleaning, as expected of his best friend. 

He quickly washes up, and goes to the bedroom. He just wants to sleep, forget about what had happened between him and Jae, because it was just the side effects of some alcohol. But then his phone goes off,

Minri♡: hey babe♡ are the boys still there?

Brian habitually smiles at the next from his girlfriend, and types a reply

Brian: hey♡ nope, they left. shouldn't you be sleeping?

Minri♡: about to head to bed right now. just wanted to text you. good night, love u♡

And Brian ignores the guilty feeling as he types,

Brian: good night! love u too♡

The drive back to Wonpil's place is long, and it gives Jae time to sober up. He's awake now, staring out the windshield, 

"Wonpil." Jae says,

"I don't wanna hear it, Jae." 

"No, seriously. I think I ed up."

"Huh? What do you mean, what'd you do? Did you leave something at Brian's?" Wonpil asks. They're almost at Wonpil's place, and he's not really in the mood to turn around and drive all the way back to Brian's. Jae doesn't look away from the road as he tells him,

"I think I kissed him." 

It's quiet for a moment before Wonpil basically yells,

"You what?! You think you kissed him?!" 

"I don't know, maybe I'm just thinking I did! I was too drunk! I'm still drunk!" 

"I told you not to drink too much! Damn it, Jae!" Wonpil says,

"Why're you getting so upset?" Jae raises his voice,

"Oh, I'm sorry, maybe you're too intoxicated to remember, but Younghyun is the one you could kiss. Brian, the one you think you may have kissed, has a girlfriend, Jae! A girlfriend!"

It's quiet in the car before Jae processes everything, and simply curses,

"." 

AUTHOR'S NOTE; 

welp. :))) ok ok, things are starting to progress so, please hang in there with me ! (: addition to some random cameos because i'm not about to look up some male korean names so !! GotDay. LOL, yeah so uh ok. geez, i with words LOL, anyway! here's chapter 5  ! ^_^ thank you to all the subscribers and commenters omg; please comment i love reading comments. ♡ i really do. also; thank you to my day6 soulmate Lindanele whose constant support is everything. ♡ anyway !! i hope you guys didn't hate this too much, and please comment your thoughts or anything! upvote if you're enjoying the story, and subscribe to keep updated ! ^_^ ok. i'll try and update soon, but until then, peace!! - zen