The following morning, Minseok woke up to his roommate yelling at him. He was in his bed, still dressed in yesterday's clothes, covers yanked off of him. He was ignoring Jongdae's yelling, looking around the room as he rubbed his head, trying to figure out what was going on. The sun was shining brightly through the window beside his bed, fueling the headache with which he woke up to. The room didn't look messy, so Minseok thought it safe to assume he didn't start any fights in his room. (He could strongly recall a few occasions where, when drunk, he brought people in with good intentions, only to have them leave after starting a fight.) In front of him, Jongdae had stopped yelling. His head was now cocked to the side slightly, as if he was waiting for Minseok to respond to something.

"...What?" Minseok asked. To this, Jongdae gave an exasperated sigh.

"Are you joking? Did you hear anything I just said?" He questioned. Minseok gave an apologetic smile in response. Jongdae rubbed his head, as if he was wondering what to do with the elder. When he didn't speak up, Minseok decided that was his cue to stand and get something to help his headache. Jongdae didn't protest when he left the room, simply watching as Minseok made his way towards the bathroom. 

Minseok opened the medicine cabinet, quickly locating the painkillers and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. As he popped in one, two pills and swallowed them, he saw Jongdae coming towards the kitchen. Jongdae watched as Minseok swallowed down the pills, waiting for him to finish before speaking up. Minseok raised the glass of water to his lips once more, watching Jongdae as he took a few more gulps of water.

"I heard about what happened with Luhan." Jongdae said. Minseok put down the glass and looked towards his roommate, cocking his head to the side.

"What happened... with Luhan?" He questioned. For a second, he wondered if he did anything irrational while he was drunk. He felt a sudden wave of panic hit him as he conjured up countless possible situations. However, his demeanor stayed calm, and he waited for Jongdae to continue before he drew any conclusions.

"Yeah. Last night. At Yifan's." Jongdae continued. Minseok found himself again wondering what happened between him and Luhan. If it happened at Yifan's, then that meant he didn't call Luhan once he got home. Which meant that he-

Oh.

Suddenly, he remembered. How could he have forgotten? It was the exact reason he had rushed home and downed half a bottle of vodka. He remembered desperately trying to find somebody to forget his troubles with, and he stumbled across Yixing, the Chinese man with the extremely seductive smirk. He remembered how Yixing tasted, like alcohol and candy, bittersweet on his tongue. He remembered getting ready to indulge in the sweetness, eager to look away from all of the world's problems for a night. 

And then Luhan came along. He remembered how betrayed his friend looked, watching as Minseok and Yixing made out in the darker corner of the house. He remembered how Luhan backed away, insisting Minseok didn't need to explain himself. He remembered turning back, only to find Yixing gone. He remembered leaving in a world of hurt, and the decision he made to drink the first alcohol he saw when he got home. 

And that was how he got here.

---

When Minseok first fell in love, he was still in his second year of high school. They had met in Minseok's art class. They were partnered together for the end-of-semester group project. Minseok originally didn't know much about her, but the things she drew depicted her as mysterious. Her art was always dark, and it intrigued Minseok. Her personality was just as mysterious. 

Her name was Im Gayoung. 

In Minseok's eyes, she was curious to the world and everything it had to offer. She was aware of the corrupt ways of the world, yet she still wanted to know more about it. Looking back on it, Minseok wondered if that was because she was as corrupt as the rest of the world. 

At the time, they were still young. But Gayoung was a fast one, and she jumped into the relationship without looking back, diving headfirst into the water without even testing its' temperature. 

That should've been a warning sign to Minseok. However, he, too, was waiting for a relationship. Every one of his friends had relationships, after all. 

He should've known what was coming. Their love was young, and had no support. And what has no support, is not meant to last. 

They fell apart three months after they started dating, when Minseok disagreed with something she did, and she blew up on him. She called him many things that day. That day, Minseok saw a side of her that he could have never imagined before. Thinking back on it, he wondered if there were warning signs of that, too, that he simply ignored because he was young and foolish.

Jongdae supported him through the breakup. Thanks to Jongdae, Minseok was able to forget about Gayoung quickly. He went through the rest of the second year without looking at another girl.

---

Jongdae didn't bring up Luhan again after that day. Additionally, Luhan never texted him after the encounter. It was as if life had gone back to normal, back to before Minseok had started meeting Luhan in the mornings. Minseok didn't think it would be that easy.

Yet, why did he feel so terribly about it? 

Something within him screamed at him, telling him he had made the wrong decision. He found himself thinking of Luhan on the nights where it was hard to be alone. To avoid thinking of Luhan, he found himself turning to alcohol, an old habit he thought he had broken. Jongdae didn't appreciate this. In an attempt to take Minseok's mind off of the lack of Luhan in his life, he invited Minseok to hang out with Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Not having anything better to do, Minseok accepted.

The two were quite the enthusiastic duo, and Minseok found himself laughing with more frequency when he was with the three together. He got to know the two, not through Jongdae's stories, but on his own. He found himself joining them more frequently, participating in their strange group events. Even though he was the quiet one in the group, he still felt included. He wasn't sure if it was because Jongdae was forcing his friends to accept him, or if they genuinely liked him. He didn't ponder on this. He just enjoyed the fact he could be so at ease with the two. Truely, they were good friends.

Perhaps forgetting about Luhan would be easier, with two more boisterous people entering his life.

---
Minseok's second love was a smart girl with an optimistic, bubbly outlook on life. She was in the grade below Minseok, still naive to the harsh ways of the world. They met through the cooking club, a club Yifan had convinced Minseok to join. It was junior year, and Yifan had been worried about Minseok's love life, for he had not had a girlfriend since Gayoung. In an attempt to get him to meet more people (and pick up some "essential skills," as Yifan had put it), he managed to convince the elder to join the cooking club.

"Come on, cooking is important!" Yifan had insisted.

"For survival or for getting to know girls?" Minseok had asked with an eyebrow raised, giving a knowing smile to Yifan.

"Getitng to know girls, of course! They love it when a man can cook." Yifan told Minseok, "The survival thing is just a plus." Minseok had rolled his eyes at this, but he joined nonetheless, if not because he wanted to learn to make a few things, then just to get Yifan to stop trying to hook him up. 

The club itself was extremely useful. He learned many things from his peers, even though he was older than a lot of them. Then, when the second semester rolled around and the club had started accepting new members again, Minseok was introduced to the bubbly girl who was Seul Sihyeon. 

She was cute, and extremely respectful, even towards those who were younger than her. Minseok found himself getting close to her, feeling an overwhelming need to protect her from the cruelties of the world.

Though they had never officially become a thing, she treated him as if he was her boyfriend. He always returned the treatment tenfold. Yifan had seen their interaction as a success on his part, which greatly boosted his ego. The two were "together" for nearly half a year. It was smooth sailing for the pair.

One day, when the two were cuddling, Sihyeon had told Minseok something.

"I want to give you the world." She had said. To this, Minseok cooed, simply nudging her head further into his chest. He had replied,

"I will give you my world, too." 

Only a week after Sihyeon's declaration, Minseok found himself walking into the club's supply closet, only to find Sihyeon on her knees, giving "the world" to another man.

---

One day, Minseok was hanging out with Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Jongdae supposedly had something "important" to do, and had left the three to hang out together. They were at the bowling alley, taking turns playing against each other when it was Baekhyun's turn. Chanyeol had pulled Minseok aside, the joking tone he was using only a few seconds ago gone, replaced by a very serious expression.

"Are you okay?" He had asked. Minseok looked at him with confusion, asking him to elaborate.

"Well, ever since Luhan-hyung stopped hanging out with you guys, you've been looking pretty...down, to say the least." Chanyeol had said. 

Minseok looked at him with widened eyes, as if it was the last thing he expected Chanyeol to say. In reality, he should have expected it. However, before he could respond, Baekhyun had scored a strike, cheering as all the pins were knocked down. Chanyeol's attention snapped to Baekhyun, and a grand smile appeared on his face. He pretended as if he watched Baekhyun hit a strike, and gave the smaller a high five. It was then Minseok's turn. He went up to roll the ball, but not before looking back at Chanyeol, who gave him a worried glance before his attention was once again stolen by Baekhyun. Minseok had sighed, and rolled the ball, hitting only three pins. He was even quieter for the rest of the game.

---

His third love was a man, and a handsome one at that. It was the first man he had caught emotions for. He wasn't against the idea of it, but he had simply never found any guys he was attracted to. It was a year after Siyeon, and Minseok had decided that perhaps it was time to look away from girls. 

His name was Yeom Kwangho, and he was kind. He had been friends with Minseok for a while. Minseok found himself catching feelings for the way Kwangho treated him. When Kwangho came out, he told Minseok he had been crushing on him for a while. They started dating after that.

They took it slow, for it was the first relationship with a man for both of them. However, it was cute, and they enjoyed being with each other. 

However, Kwangho found himself getting jealous of the close relationship Minseok had with Jongdae. He became possessive, and told Minseok if he didn't stop hanging out with Jongdae, he would leave. Minseok pondered his options, and decided against Kwangho. After all, Jongdae had been there longer. He didn't think Kwangho would actually leave. But he found that when he picked up the phone to call him, his number was blocked. 

Though it hurt Minseok greatly, his relationship with Jongdae strengthened thanks to it. After Kwangho, Minseok learned a simple fact: relationships were simply not meant to last.

---

It was early September when Minseok got the phone call. 

It was four in the afternoon, but he was still laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. After Chanyeol had taken notice of his behavior, he had stopped pretending as if everything was okay. The truth was, he was hurting. And he could not comprehend why he was hurting so much, when he had already told himself he wouldn't let himself catch those kind of feelings.

He was getting ready to fall into another nap- something he did often. When he wasn't busy studying, he took his off time to nap. Jongdae had tried repeatedly to get him out into the outside world, but what he used to do with vigor, he could no longer find the strength within him to care about. He appreciated Jongdae's attempts, though, and he still went out on the occasional group outings with him and his group. He enjoyed it most when they came over, so they could all hang out with minimal distance travel. 

A yawn escaped his mouth as he slowly closed his eyes, when beside him, his cell phone started buzzing. He did not bother to open his eyes to check the name, figuring it was just Jongdae again, with a new event for an excuse to get him out of the bed. 

"What is it now, Jongdae?" Minseok asked once he answered the phone.

"Heeeeey Miiiinseeeeook." Came the reply. Minseok's eyes shot open. Though he recognized the voice instantly, disbelief made him pull the phone away from his ear to check the caller ID.

"Luhan? Are you drunk?" He asked. His first instinct was to scold the other for drinking at this time of day, but he stopped himself for multiple reasons. The first was because he, too, found himself drinking at unreasonable hours. The second was because he wasn't sure if their "friendship" was that strong, to where Minseok could scold him like that.

"I've missssssed you." Luhan replied. Minseok stopped for a second, and considered telling Luhan everything he had been feeling for the past two months. However, he knew this was a waste of time. Luhan was drunk.

"Where are you? I'll pick you up." Minseok asked. He had found himself stumbling out of the bed he had been lying in, making it out of his bedroom and towards the front door of the apartment. 

"Where am I? I'm at home, silly." Luhan responded, giggling after he said 'silly.' Minseok sighed, relieved.

"Okay, good. I'll be there in a bit." Minseok said.

"Really? Yay! It's been sooooo long since you've come to me, Minnie." Luhan exclaimed. Then, his voice faltered as he asked another question. Minseok had already left the apartment, and began walking towards Luhan's.

"Minnie, why haven't you come to me?" Luhan asked. To this, Minseok froze. He began to open his mouth to respond, but chastised himself. This wasn't a conversation to have while one party was drunk.

"Don't worry, Lu, I'll come now." Minseok responded, successfully evading Luhan's question. Luhan responded with a meek, "Okay." He then hung up.

Minseok texted Jongdae, telling him he would be leaving the apartment for a bit. Jongdae responded with two shocked emojis.

---

Minseok still had the keys to Luhan's apartment. They hadn't been used since June, but they still sat there on Minseok's keychain, a reminder of what he had left behind. 

This was the first instance in two months where he was thankful to have kept the keys. He unlocked the door, stepping cautiously into Luhan's house. He felt a wave of emotion overcome him as he looked around. Not much had changed since he last came over. He found his thoughts drifting to better times, when he and Luhan were on better footing. However, he quickly shook his head, knowing he had more important things to do. He walked into the living room, looking around. Nobody was nearby.

"Lu?" He called, "Where are you?" 

"Minnie!" A response came from further inside the house. He heard fast footsteps approaching him, and then, a very excited Luhan came rushing to him from the bedroom. Then, he felt arms wrapping around him as Luhan threw himself onto Minseok, hugging the older. Minseok hugged Luhan back softly.

"It's been so long." Luhan said, tightening his embrace. 

"I know." Minseok replied.

---

Luhan had fallen asleep eventually. Minseok had tucked him into his bed, watching the gentle rising and falling of Luhan's chest as his breathing steadied out. He did not know what convinced him to stay in the house after Luhan fell asleep, but he did.

Luhan woke up the next morning very confused. He was even more confused when he walked out of his bedroom to find Minseok watching TV on the couch. Minseok heard Luhan leave his bedroom, and turned his head to face Luhan when the latter arrived in the room.

"Are you okay?" Was the first thing Minseok asked. Luhan simply nodded dumbly in an attempt to comprehend what was going on. Minseok couldn't help but laugh at Luhan's confusion, a noise which Luhan frowned at.

"What happened yesterday?" Luhan questioned.

"You were drunk. You called me, so I came." Minseok responded. Luhan's eyes widened, and Minseok could practically hear the panicked thoughts going through the other's mind. 

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything bad." Minseok said, in an attempt to console Luhan. Luhan gave out a relieved sigh before straightening up once again.

"Well, I'm sorry for bothering you." He said, his voice becoming strangely formal. "Thanks for staying over to make sure I was okay. You can go now." 

"Wait, before I go," Minseok started, suddenly becoming very frantic at the thought of Luhan kicking him out. He didn't want this to be the end. "I need to say something." Luhan crossed his arms at this, looking at Minseok questioningly. He moved his hand as if to say "go on." 

"I'm sorry for... really, everything that happened in the past few months. I stopped talking to you out of nowhere, and then you found me at Yifan's stupid party and I didn't get to explain a thing of what was going on, and I was too cowardly to confront you about it afterwards, so I let us drift apart and now you probably hate me, but I just need to get this off my chest." Minseok said. Luhan opened his mouth, as if he was ready to respond, but Minseok continued. 

"The reason I started ignoring you was because after I took care of you, I realized that I felt for you as more than a friend. And that hurt me so much, because all of my relationships in the past have ended up with me getting hurt, and I'm just so scared of that happening again. So I figured if I ignored you, I'd get over it. I went to Yifan's party because him and I are really close friends, and I didn't expect you to walk in on me making out with Yixing. It was just my attempt to get my mind off of everything. It didn't work, though. You showed up and I felt so bad, I drank so much that night. Jongdae woke me up the morning after screaming at me and I was so confused and then I remembered you and then I was in so much pain. But I didn't know how to confront you about it, so I didn't. I started hanging out with Jongdae and Chanyeol and Baekhyun more often, and it helped take my mind off of you but whenever I wasn't with them I was just feeling bad for myself. Then one day I was bowling with those two and Chanyeol pulled me aside and told me I looked miserable ever since you left, and I realized that everyone else noticed how bad I felt, but it had been so long since we stopped talking, so I figured you just got over it, and then you called me when you were drunk and I was so scared something was happening to you, I ran here so quickly but you were okay and you were happy to see me, and I was so happy to be here, even if it was just because you were drunk. The thing is, you mean a lot to me, and I like you a lot, but I don't know how to handle that and whenever that happens I push people away and it's what I did to you and I feel so bad for it and I just wanted you to know I'm sorry." A large amount of silence followed this.

"Wow." Luhan said, "That's a lot of and's." To this, Minseok laughed. He laughed for a large amount of time, and he wished he wouldn't stop laughing. It felt so good to laugh near Luhan again. 

"But wow, you're stupid." Luhan continued. "How could I forget about you? I had feelings for you before June. Do you know how confused I was when you started ignoring me? I wondered if I did anything wrong. Then I saw you making out with Yixing, and I thought you had ditched me for some boyfriend of yours." He said. To this, a pang of guilt hit Minseok. 

"I'm sorry." Minseok said meekly. Luhan sighed. Then, a smile began to grow on Minseok's face. 

"You had feelings for me before June?" He asked.

"Of course! You couldn't see it?" Luhan responded in disbelief. Minseok simply shook his head. Luhan gave another sigh, this one sounding more exasperated than the last. Minseok opened his mouth to ask another question.

"Do you sti--"

"Yes. I still do." Luhan responded. Then, a sudden feeling of joy kicked at Minseok's stomach. Would things be okay after this? 

"But," Luhan continued, "I don't want to enter a relationship with you just yet. You ditched me for two months. I think we need some time to catch up. I don't want to jump into anything." To this, Minseok nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, I completely understand. We'll do things your way." Minseok said. Luhan smiled.

"So, does this mean we're friends now?" Minseok asked.

"Yes. We're friends again." Luhan responded. And to this, Minseok grinned wildly, enveloping Luhan in a tight hug, silently promising himself he would never let go. For he found a treasure, and he had to make sure he kept it safe this time.