"There he is," Gayeon said, her voice low. "Act cool."

This had to be the worst thing to say to a nervous person. I thought about telling her so, but I was too nervous watching Kyungsoo making his way across the crowded living room. Instead I asked, "Whose party is this, anyway?"

"Jackson from GOT7," she said, sipping her beer. "His parents have that truck with the star on it? They sell the hottest hot sauce in town. People have been hospitalized."

"Wow," I said, as Kyungsoo stopped to talk to two girls who had their backs to us. He had on a white button-up, short sleeve, and no apron. Not that he would wear an apron to a party. Okay, I was nervous and crazy. I took another sip of my beer, which was warm even though I'd only just gotten it. "Ugh, I feel so out of place. Why did I agree to this again?"

"Because barista is cute and you want to beat Sehun," she replied happily, adjusting the neckline of her dress. "Speaking of which, there he is. I guess he found it after all."

I looked over to where she was looking. Sure enough, there was Sehun in the kitchen, popping a beer open on the countertop. When he saw us, he waved, pushing that curl from his forehead. Vivi was on the deck outside, being petted by a group of girls holding red cups. This time, he had on a polka-dot bandana. Apparently, this was his signature look now. "Found it?" I questioned.

"Sehun hadn't heard of the neighborhood when I told him about the party."

Now I turned, giving her my full atttention. "You invited him?"

"Yeah, when I gave him a ride the other night." She was scanning the crowd, not looking at me. When she realized I was staring at her, she blinked. "What?"

"I thought you couldn't stand him."

She flipped her hand. "Oh, that was just a first impression. He's okay."

Between his and Wooyoung's prosciutto date, I suddenly felt like no one was telling me anything. "You gave Sehun a ride? When?"

"Last week," she said easily. "I was doing register for my dad downtown, after the bars closed, and I saw him and his dog walking. I couldn't just drive past them, especially at 2 a.m."

"Im surprised he was alone," I said, as Kyungsoo looked up and saw me, waving a hand. I waved back, and the girls he was talking to both turned to look at me. I drank more of my beer.

"He said that he dodged some girl at a club," she replied. "Crazy story. Had to run out the back door."

"I think I heard about that."

"I'm sure you did." She took another sip. "Anyway, I just drove him back to his sister's. He invited me in for a snack, but I said no. Being around food all night in close space and all. Plus I felt super greasy."

"He asked you in?"

"Yeah." She was looking around again, and took a second to meet my eyes. "Why? Is that weird? You guys are just friends, right?"

"Not even that," I said quickly. "We're just co-workers."

"And make bets together."

"That's strictly for bragging rights," I told her, thinking about what Wooyoung had said.

"That's what I thought." She tucked a piece of hair behind one ear. "I don't think he's my type anyway. Too carefree. Not a varsity jacket in sight."

"Remember how that worked out last time, though," I reminded her. "Maybe it's not the best indicator."

"True," she agreed. "I guess you never know."

Kyungsoo had wrapped up his conversation and was now making his way toward us, passing by the growing crowd. My date, even though I wasn't supposed to call him that, and yet now all I could think was Gayeon and Sehun, together. It would never happen. Would it?

"Hey there," Kyungsoo said, sliding in beside me. "Where'd you get the beers?"

"Outside," I said. "Follow me."

We cut through the kitchen, which displayed hot sauces stacked on the windowsill, and out onto the side deck, where the keg was set up under lights. Vivi, tied nearby, saw me immediately and began wagging its tail.

"Hey there, Vivi," I said, bending down to scratch his ears. He'd had a haircut and smelled like shampoo, clearly freshly bathed. "Ten to one Sehun met a pretty dog groomer," I said out loud. "Am I right?"

"What?" Kyungsoo asked from the keg.

"Nothing," I said, standing back up and faced him. "Do you want to go back inside? Or -"

"Let's stay here for a bit," he replied. "Less chance of bumping into more people from high school."

We walked over to a bench, where I took a seat. Vivi, now diagonal from me, let out a whine and then lay down, his head on his paws. "You're from here, too?" I said, as Kyungsoo leaned back. "I didn't realize."

"Born and raised," he replied. "Class of 2016, Valedictorian."

I raised my brows. "So you're super smart."

"By the numbers. I was a big-time math nerd before I started writing."

More new information. "You write?"

A nod. "I'm in the program at the University, independent study, all that stuff. I was doing both tracks, but now I'm strictly fiction."

"What kind of stuff?"

"The novel I'm working on right now is kind of a consciousness take on the human contact in society," he replied, as easily as anyone else might rattle off their birthdate and their sign. Clearly, he'd said this before. "It's futuristic, but also set in the present day. I'm working it from time to time, so it's challenging."

"Huh," I said, before realizing this was about the stupidest response I could've offered. I added, "I love to read. But I've never been good at writing if it wasn't, like, papers for school."

"Oh, it's totally different," he said, taking a sip of his beer as two girls walked over to the keg. "Anyone can be taught to present a basic grammar or summarize information. Fiction is a skill. You either have it, or you don't."

"And you do."

"Well, yeah." He must have known this sounded arrogant, because he smiled at me. "But I'm still learning. I have this awesome professor, Kim Junmyeon. You ever read his books?"

I shook my head, not exactly wanting to share that the current novel on my bedside table was a story about a girl having an online crush and moved to his hometown, but didn't tell him. She met an security that soon kept bothering her. Little did they know, the security with her online crush. I'd once been a fan of contemporary fiction. Since I lost Jongsuk, though, real life had been bad enough all around me on a daily basis. Between the covers of a book, I wanted anything else.

"Oh, he's great," Kyungsoo continued. "Seoul resident, really sparse in terms of his prose, but with thick wisdom. His whole first book takes place in a potato field one day and it was told in the point of view of the plow."

"Wow," I said.

"It's incredible." I'd never seen him this excited about coffee. "I'll loan you one of my copies. If you don't mind highlights and margin notes."

"I don't," I said.

"Great. I'll bring it to work tomorrow." He smiled at me again. "It can be tough to read, with all the footnotes and flashbacks. Junmyeon is my inspiration when it comes to time shifting on the page. But I can walk you through it."

I'd said I wasn't good at writing fiction, not reading it, I thought, but then told myself to stop being judgmental. When you loved something, you wanted everyone else to love it in the same way. Right? Right.

Just then, my phone rang. With it in my bag, which was over my shoulder, it took a second to grab it, during which Kyungsoo raised his brows at my ringtone. Who was being judgmental now?

"Hello?"

"Wave at me," a voice said.

I looked at the screen: Sehun. "What?"

"I'm inside, in the living room. Facing you right now. Wave at me. Make it look urgent."

"You need an urgent wave?"

"Just do it. Please?" Then he hung up.

I turned, looking over a group of girls huddled in the open sliding door. Sehun was indeed all the way across the room from me, a red cup now in his hands. A girl with broad shoulders and high ponytail was facing him, her hands on her hips. He looked like he might be sweating.

"What's going on?" Kyungsoo asked.

"Not sure," I said, then waved at Sehun. He looked surprised, then looked both ways, as if wondering if it was too late to avoid being spotted. I waved again, this time with a bit more arm. The girl in front of him turned around, narrowing her eyes at me.

"What was that, your ringtone?" Kyungsoo asked me. "It sounded like . . ."

"It's nothing," I told him, as the girl with the ponytail turned back to Sehun, sticking her finger in his face. I watched as he slid away from her, talking the entire time, then made a beeline across the room, dodging in and out of people, before popping out the door a minute or two later. Vivi, spotting him, began wiggling, his tail going crazy.

"Thanks," he said to me as he slid beside me, bumping his leg against mine. Not only did I not feel awkward, I didn't move over. "Seohyun was getting a bit clingy."

I looked back at the living room, where Seohyun, with her shoulders, was now glaring at me. "What did you tell her?"

"That you are my ex-girlfriend and we've gotten back together since she and I hung out, and you are very jealous," he answered smoothly, now scratching a grateful Vii behind his ears.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"It's fine, our road trip to the mountains was weeks ago."

"You went to the mountains with that girl?"

"I needed some air," he explained. "Don't you, sometimes?"

I just looked at him. Across from me, Kyungsoo snorted into his beer.

"Anyway, don't let me interrupt your night," he said, bending down to untie Vivi. "We'll just make our exit and hope for the better results at the next party."

"There's always another party, isn't there?" I asked.

"Hope so," he said cheerfully. "Because this one is too small for me and Seohyun. You might want to avoid her, you know, just to be on the safe side."

"Won't she wonder why Suzy's talking to another guy if she's with you?" Kyungsoo asked.

"No, I told her she has a wandering eye and is super promiscuous," Sehun told him. "That's why we broke up."

"You did what?" I glared at him.

"I'm going now!" he said, wrapping the leash around his wrist. "You two kids have fun."

"Kyungsoo! What are you doing here?"

Once again, Sehun was saved by another girl - this time a very pretty girl with long straight hair wearing shorts and a blouse, gladiator sandals wrapped around her legs. Everything about her screamed beach and flowly, and I instantly was aware of my appearance.

"Tyuzu," said Kyungsoo, breaking into a smile. "Hey."

They hugged, her kissing his cheek, then both turned to face us. "Hi," she said, sticking her hand out. "I'm Tyuzu."

"Suzy," I said.

"She's the girl I met at work, the one I told you about," Kyungsoo explained. "And this is . . ."

"Sehun," Sehun said, offering his own hand. He was looking right at her, of course; full attention, focused. "And this is Vivi."

"Hello, Vivi," Tyuzu said, crouching down to pet him. "Aren't you a handsome boy."

"He takes after me," Sehun told her. I rolled my eyes.

Tyuzu stood up, then gave Kyungsoo a friendly punch on the arm. "You jerk. You didn't tell me you'd be here when I said how I was dreading it earlier."

"I didn't know it was the same party," he said.

"I'm newly single," Tyuzu explained. Sehun, hearing this, visibly increased his attention level. "And Kyungsoo's been on me to try to get back out there and date. But it's hard."

"I know it," I told her. "I'm in the same boat. my best friend basically had to drag me here."

"The you get it!" She sighed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, which had diamond hoops. I'd never seen anyone so, well . . . shimmery. "Once you get dumped, the last thing you want is to offer up your heart again, right?"

"Someone dumped you?" Sehun asked, shocked. "What are they, crazy?"

In response, Tyuzu smiled gratefully. "You're sweet. And, well, yes. We were together for four years."

"And had known each other since kindergarten, where we met," Kyungsoo added. "We were best three friends on the playground."

"Never date one of your best friends," Tyuzu said to me. "When it ends, you lose so much more than a boyfriend. It ."

On this last word, her voice crack a bit, and she smiled, embarrassed. Kyungsoo put his arm around her, and she put her head on his shoulder. "Jongin's an idiot. You'' find someone else. Someone better."

"Which I guess is why I'm here," she sighed. "I'll stay for one beer. Then I'm going home to get into bed and eat ice cream."

"That sounds like a plan," Sehun said. He reached over, grabbing a red cup and filling it, then present it with a flourish. "Personally, I like Rocky Road after a bad breakup. It's like a metaphor, fitting."

"Thanks," she said. "Lately I've been maintaining mint chocolate chip. I was hoping it had some kind of magic."

"Just avoid the classics. Too couply for the newly single."

"That's good advice," she said.

"Sehun was just leaving," I told her.

"Only because I had no reason to stay," he said. "Now we're talking ice cream, so I do."

Tyuzu blushed slightly, then looked down into her beer. "I'm warning you, I might be terrible company. If I get buzzed I'll probably start telling you my entire sad story."

"I love sad stories. So does Vivi," Sehun told her. The dog, for his part, started pulling toward the stairs that led down to the yard, clearly sending a message. "Oh, looks like someone needs a walk. I'll be back in a second."

"I'll come with you, if you want," Tyuzu offered.

"Yeah?" he said, pushing that strand out of his face.

"It's not like I really want to stay here," she said.

"Lead the way, then."

Sehun waved his hand, motioning for her to go first. She looked at Kyungsoo, shrugged with a smile, and then climbed down the stairs, Sehun and Vivi following. I could hear their voices, already chatting, as they disappeared into the dark of yard below.

"He'd better behave himself," Kyungsoo said, as we watched them cut across the grass, their shadows thrown in the moonlight. "That girl's a real prize."

I believed this, even though I'd just met her, and was pretty sure Sehun got it, too. And watching tis particular departure, I knew something was happening. Even from a distance, you could tell when two people simply clicked. Starting with a nighttime walk, well - that just sealed the deal.