Two weeks passed before his visions sent him back to the bar. This time, Namjoon had the night off, leaving the pretty bartender to serve him. The bar was relatively quiet; Wednesday nights were usually quite quiet. The manager had turned the music down lower, allowing people to carry on conversations without having to shout to be heard, no one was in the mood to party hard, and most of them were there for a quiet drink after work. He had learned that the pretty bartenders name was Eun Ji and that she was working there part time to pay for university.

They chatted when she had time. She felt comfortable in his presence, she wondered if it was because of him pulling her away from the creep on her first night, but she tried not to overthink it. She had become close with Namjoon since she started in the bar, the older man keeping her right with the job. Hoseok was a friend of his, so to her, he was a good guy. Namjoon hadn’t told her much about his dark haired friend. Only that they had known each other for a really long time and that they were good friends.

She had been observing him from the moment he had stepped into the bar. She could sense loneliness and sadness from him. The way he would stare into space for the longest time, a slight crease appearing on his forehead. Her fingers itched to reach out and smooth away the wrinkles that formed with his serious expression. He ignored all advances from all the women, and men, that approached him. She couldn’t help but wonder why he came alone to the bar and why he looked so miserable. She couldn’t help but feel that he would be incredibly handsome if he were to smile.

After only a couple of drinks Hoseok stood up to leave, already the last customer there, despite the early hour. As he pulled on his jacket, Eun Ji appeared, wrapped up against the cold. “Finished already?” he asked, startled by his own question. She stopped in front of him, pleasantly surprised by his curiosity. “Yeah. My manager let me go early since it’s so quiet.” She said motioning around to the empty bar. He nodded in response as they headed towards the door, the cold air hitting them as they stepped outside. She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck, shivering from the temperature drop compared to inside.

“Do you live far from here?” she asked curiously. He shook his head, not used to conversing with someone that wasn’t Namjoon or Yoongi. She picked up on his hesitance. “Ok, well… I guess I better get home. I’ve got a paper to edit before I sleep.” She said with a smile. “See you later.” She said with a wave as she headed down the street. Hoseok watched her go, a large backpack on her back, obviously full of her university things. He shook his head, and started walking in the opposite direction, back to his lonely apartment.

He returned to the bar the next night, this time both Namjoon and Eun Ji were working, the bar a little busier as Thursday meant ladies night. Hoseok sighed as yet another drunk girl slipped him a napkin with a phone number on it, giving him an over exaggerated wink before returning to her friends. Hoseok rolled his eyes as Namjoon picked up the napkin and whistled, “Lola.” He said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “If you want it, you can keep it.” He said taking a sip of his drink. His eyes landing on Eun Ji who was mixing up some drinks for some girls at the end of the bar.

Namjoon followed his gaze and smiled when he realised where it was focused. “She’s quite cute, right?” he said, suddenly right next to Hoseok's face. “W-what?” Hoseok spluttered before huffing loudly, taking a large gulp of his drink, his gaze roaming everywhere except for at Eun Ji. “There’s nothing wrong with it.” Namjoon said gently. “It has been a year…” he said carefully, watching as Hoseok's shoulders slumped, his gaze firmly locked onto the top of the bar. “She would want you to be happy. She wouldn’t want you in here every night.” Namjoon said gently.

They were words that he had said a million times, hoping he could bring back the old Hoseok. The old Hoseok that smiled freely. The Hoseok that didn’t feel guilty. In the last year, Namjoon was certain that he could count the amount of times he’d seen Hoseok truly smile on his fingers. It was such a turnaround from his usual personality. He used to always be smiling, the mood maker of the group. The one who always found the positive in every situation. But since the incident a year ago, Hoseok had closed off his heart, and his happiness. Namjoon knew that he was punishing himself. He knew that he felt guilty for what had happened, even though it wasn’t his fault.

He watched as Hoseok downed his drink in one go, wincing from the strong flavour. He pushed his glass forward, crossing his arms over his chest. Namjoon sighed and refilled the glass. He watched as Hoseok lifted the glass to his lips, taking a measured sip. Namjoon sighed, knowing that his next words were going to be harsh, but that Hoseok needed to hear them. “She’d be disappointed, seeing you like this.” He said as he moved to the other side of the bar before Hoseok had a chance to respond.

Hoseok grumbled quietly under his breath. He knew that he wasn’t handling things as well as he should be. He knew that what happened a year ago wasn’t his fault. He knew that no one blamed him for what had happened. He knew that she would be disappointed if she could see him now. But that didn’t mean that he knew how else to handle everything. That didn’t mean that even though no one else blamed him, that he didn’t blame himself. He downed the entire glass before catching Eun Ji’s attention to refill his glass.

She approached him a little hesitantly, his dark mood evident by the look on his face. She poured him another drink, part of her curious about why he was so upset, but part of her too afraid to ask. They still didn’t know each other that well and it felt wrong for her to pry. A group of girls appeared at the bar and she gave him one last lingering look before heading down the bar to serve them.

By the time closing time came around, Hoseok was half conscious on the bar. Eun Ji and Namjoon walked out from the staff room to see him, his arms folded under his head, one of his hands still clutching an empty glass. Namjoon sighed and approached his friend, shoving his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. “Yah! Hoseok!” he said, prodding the dark haired male. Hoseok groaned in response, mumbling at him to go away. “Come on, its closing time.” Namjoon said as he tried to pull Hoseok to his feet. Hoseok slipped off his barstool, the sudden weight too much for Namjoon to handle. He felt his knees start to buckle as Eun Ji appeared at Hoseok's other side, slipping his arm over her shoulders.

“Thanks.” He said as he readjusted his grip and they awkwardly made their way out of the bar, their height difference making it slow work. Hoseok groaned when the cold air hit him. “I swear you’re gonna die before you're thirty.” Namjoon mumbled before turning to Eun Ji. “Hey, I know it’s late, but could you help me get him back to his apartment? It’s not far from here?” he asked hopefully. She nodded at him. “Yeah, it’s no bother. I have a late lecture tomorrow anyway.” She said before they set out towards Hoseok's apartment.

The walk took almost double the amount of time it should have as Hoseok refused to cooperate with them, whining that he could drink more, trying to get them to buy some soju from a twenty-four convenience store. Plus, the stop halfway to let him throw up had taken some time. When they finally reached his apartment, both Namjoon and Eun Ji were sweaty and exhausted. Namjoon pulled Hoseok's key from his pocket and let them into the apartment. They took him to his bedroom and dumped him on his bed. They both rubbed their shoulders which were already aching from carrying him so far. “Thanks, I owe you one.” Namjoon said as he pulled off Hoseok's shoes, dumping them unceremoniously onto the floor.

“Help me study for my exams and we’re even.” She said with a grin which quickly disappeared as she took in Hoseok's expression. His brows were furrowed deeper than normal, his breathing laboured. Namjoon caught her expression as he covered his friend with his blanket. “He wasn’t always like this you know.” He said quietly. “He used to smile all the time. He used to be so happy.”

“What happened?” she asked, hoping that she could learn a little more about Hoseok. Namjoon sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “You know that some people get visions, right? Hoseok is one of those people. He gets glimpses of the future. But what he sees is always something random. No context. Usually he sees things about people he doesn’t even know. Last year, he had one about his girlfriend.” Eun Ji blinked in shock, this was the first time she had heard about Hoseok having a girlfriend. Namjoon looked at her, his expression more serious than she had ever seen before. “He saw her die.”