Hoseok downed another shot, letting the strong taste of the alcohol burn its way down his throat. He signalled to Namjoon, the bartender, who was also a friend, to refill his glass, which he did with a frown. “Hitting it pretty hard today.” He commented as he once again refilled the glass, his brown eyes showing his concern. Hoseok smirked slightly as the tip of his finger ran around the rim of the glass but he didn’t reply. Namjoon shook his head in sympathy before moving on to serve another customer.

Hoseok eyed the amber liquid before emptying the glass and slipping a few notes onto the counter. He stood up, his vision swimming enough to let him know just how many drinks he had consumed. He half stumbled out of the bar, pulling up the collar of his jacket to fight off the cold wind. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he slowly made his way through the crowds of people out celebrating the start of the weekend.

He glared at a tipsy girl who bumped into him, her jaw dropping as she took in his handsome face. She tried to flirt with him but he brushed her hand off his arm and continued on his way, not bothering to look back. He made it back to his apartment and went into the kitchen, tempted to open the bottle of whiskey he kept for emergencies in the medicine cupboard, but decided that judging by how quickly the kitchen was spinning around him, he had had enough for one night.

He grabbed a bottle of water and threw his jacket onto the couch before heading into his room. He placed the water bottle by his bed, knowing that he would need it in the morning. He stripped down to his underwear and slipped into bed, letting out a sigh and hoping that he would be able to get some much needed sleep.

He woke up the next morning, his head feeling like it was being split open. He grumbled and cursed at the sunlight that streamed in through the crack in his curtains. He grabbed the water bottle, downing half the contents in one go. He stretched, satisfied with the popping sound from his joints. He dragged himself to the shower, letting the warm water wake him up. “At least there weren’t any visions last night.” He said to himself as he wiped the fogged up mirror to reveal his pale face reflected back at him. He grimaced at the dark bags under his eyes.

Last night had been his first decent sleep in almost a week. His visions had been working overdrive lately, making it difficult for him to sleep. He sighed as he headed back into his bedroom, preparing himself for the day ahead, wondering why today of all days he had agreed to work on a Saturday. He arrived at his cubicle an hour later, his colleague, and friend, Yoongi nodding at him as he handed him a coffee. He dropped into his chair and sipped on the bitter coffee, enjoying his last moments of freedom before his shift began.

“Rough night?” Yoongi asked, noting his pale face. “Hungover.” He mumbled as he booted up his computer. Yoongi nodded in understanding, used to his methods for dealing with his visions. Yoongi slipped his half-finished coffee onto his desk. “You need it more than I do.” He said in way of explanation as he turned his attention to his computer. Hoseok allowed himself a small smile, knowing that Yoongi giving up his coffee was almost unheard of. It also confirmed the fact that he knew he must really look like crap.

He tried to bury himself in work, hoping his headache wouldn’t get any worse, and that his boss wouldn’t harass him. At around eleven o’clock he felt the familiar, sudden pressure build behind his eyes. He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, hoping it was just a symptom of his hangover. Yoongi glanced at him, his brows furrowed slightly. “You ok?” he asked, his fingers hovering over his keyboard, ready to help if needed. Hoseok waved him off, “It’ll pass.” He said, forcing himself to take deep breaths as images flashed behind his eyelids.

He saw an elderly woman crossing the road, the crossing lights turning red before she made it across. His hands fisted in his lap, expecting the worst to happen until a young girl ran forward and pulled her onto the pavement, the images faded almost as quickly as they had come. He let out a sigh, sweat beading on his forehead as he reclined as far back as his chair would allow until a plastic cup of water was pressed into his hand by a concerned looking Yoongi. He mumbled his thanks as he sipped on the water, relieved that the images had had a happy ending because unfortunately, that wasn’t always the case.

He made it through the rest of the day, his hangover becoming more tolerable after lunch, even if Yoongi had scolded him about his drinking habits. It’s not that he didn’t know that drinking so much and so often wasn’t good for him, but sometimes the visions he had weren’t always as nice as the one he had experienced earlier that day. Sometimes they were downright awful. He crushed that line of thinking before it took hold as he opted to walk home instead of taking the train, letting the warmth left behind by the sun wrap around him.

He walked without a direction in mind, slowly leaving the bustling city behind. Before he realised it, he ended up near a bridge which led on to the next part of the city. When he saw the bridge his feet immediately turned to lead. He froze in place, a few people bumping into him because of his abrupt stop. He ignored their grumpy stares as he continued to look at the bridge, his hand subconsciously reaching up and pulling out the delicate ring that was hanging from a thin chain around his neck.

He looked down at the thin piece of silver in his hand, the fading light shining off it, making it glow. He stepped off the path, walking across the grass to the fence at the end of the cliff face. He rested his forearms on the fence as he looked between the ring and the bridge, a heavy sadness settling over him. “I miss you.” He whispered, the wind pulling his words out over the water in front of him.

Despite his earlier scolding from Yoongi, he once again found himself back in Namjoon's bar that night. He kept his pace much slower than the night before, tonight he wasn’t looking to block out the visions, just numb his feelings somewhat. Seeing the bridge had brought up some memories he would rather have left buried. He sipped at his drink, this time not opting for shots. A pretty bartender that he didn’t recognise was following Namjoon around the bar as he showed her where to find everything. He watched them interact for a while before signalling for another drink.

Namjoon nodded in his direction and the pretty bartender came up to him. “Refill?” she asked, her hand already heading for the whiskey bottle, Namjoon obviously must have told her what he was drinking. He thanked her as she smiled at him before heading off back to Namjoon's side. He watched the two of them interact, a smile actually making its way onto his face when Namjoon tried to show off with the cocktail shaker, accidentally launching it over the bar. She ran around the bar, still chuckling as she chased after the cocktail mixer while Namjoon fussed with organizing the already perfectly aligned glasses, obviously embarrassed.

She picked up the mixer, catching his eye as she stood up. She gave him a warm smile which he was tempted to return before a tall guy appeared from the dancing crowd and wrapped himself around her. She tried to push him off, her expression showing that she was straining to be polite to him, he was a customer after all. She firmly pushed the guy in the chest but he sneaked an arm around her, reaching down to grab her . She lifted her hand to slap him but someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the guy’s arms.

Hoseok put himself between her and the guy, his expression fierce as he stared down the guy in front of him. The dancing guy raised his hands in front of him and chuckled, “Didn’t realise she was taken!” he slurred before disappearing into the crowd. Hoseok turned to face her and realised that he still had a grip on her wrist. He released her like he had been burned. “Are you ok?” he asked over the loud music. She nodded as she discreetly rubbed her wrist. “Yeah, thanks.” She said, giving him a weak smile. Namjoon appeared at their side a second later. “Where’s the guy? Are you ok? I saw what happened.” He shouted at her.

She nodded. “I’m fine! We better get back to the bar.” She said pointing at the quickly forming queue. Namjoon nodded at Hoseok in thanks, knowing that he must have stepped in to help before hurrying back to the bar. She turned to face him and smiled at him. “Thank you.” She said again before following Namjoon back to the bar. Hoseok sighed, more surprised by his own actions than the situation itself. Normally he wouldn’t have gotten involved in anyone else’s business, but for some reason he couldn’t help but help. It’s something the Hoseok from the past would have done in a heartbeat, but the Hoseok now was different ever since…

He shook his head, not wanting to continue down that line of thinking. He returned to the bar and downed his drink before slipping his money onto the counter as normal and leaving the bar, making sure to look over his shoulder one last time, the pretty bartender looking fine as she laughed at something her customer said. He paused at the door for a few seconds, his mind still pondering over his decision to help her. He shrugged before pushing the heavy door open and walking out into the cool night.