Even in a close knit group, the effects of alcohol differ from person to person. Some have a higher tolerance to it, some just loosen up a little bit whereas some are reduced to a state of being an absolute moody child.

Of course, Chanyeol happened to be one of those whose mischievous demeanour becomes more pronounced as they hit their high. Taking a swing from his third soju bottle, he surprised the rest of the group with a spontaneous suggestion of hide-and-seek. Standing up suddenly, he slurred a string of descending numbers loudly as he clumsily covered his eyes with his pink tinted fingers.

The members belatedly realised what he was up to, and when they did, they all protested in unison as they scrambled loudly, movements slow and confused. Kyungsoo was still seated, blinking slowly as he took in the sudden movement in bewilderment, utterly confused in the midst of the commotion.

Before he could make any decision, a warm hand grasped his forearm firmly and pulled him away from the crowd and dragged him into the dormitory corridors. And as they staggered hurriedly towards the wardrobes, a lopsided smile curved his lips the moment realised that it was none other than his maknae, Oh Sehun.

The two of them snorted and laughed while shushing the other as they clambered into Sehun’s wardrobe. They had managed to cramp into it and Kyungsoo shut the door as quietly as he could, leaving it slightly ajar as he peeked outside.

Minutes passed by as he strained his ears, trying to listen for heavy footsteps or loud whispers that would give that elephant eared clown away.
“Do you think he has started seeking yet?”, Kyungsoo asked quietly as he slid the door open a little more, trying to get a better angle of the corridor.

“I can’t hear him. And if you can’t hear Chanyeol hyung, he is probably passed out after tripping over his own foot”, Sehun slurred, breaking into a fit of giggles.

Kyungsoo snorted at the mental image of a passed out Yeollie, and turned to pinch Sehun’s arm, murmuring something about not making him laugh and giving their positions away. Sehun whined softly and slumped his head on Kyungsoo shoulder, complaining about him not being fair.

Kyungsoo chuckled and brought a hand to Sehun’s hair gently as the maknae mumbled incoherently and snuggled closer to his throat. The wardrobe was filled with their breaths, the atmosphere comfortably warm and snug.

Minutes passed by as Kyungsoo hummed a low tune, still absentmindedly Sehun’s hair and feeling extremely relaxed in the other’s presence, as if it were natural. The maknae always made him feel comfortable and often went out of his way to make his favourite hyung happy. Kyungsoo has always been grateful to him and was extremely fond of him for all the quirks and sides he knew so well.

And that’s why it worries him deeply these days when Sehun seems distant, even when he hides it so well. And whenever Kyungsoo asks him if everything is alright, his expression falters for a second before he plays it off in an aloof manner, his laughter a little forced.

Even now, as Sehun rests on his shoulder, Kyungsoo’s eyebrows knit as he feels the laboured breaths fanning on his throat and the fist that tugs on his shirt.

“Sehun,” Kyungsoo says softly as he pulls the other away to face him.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

Sehun stays silent as he looks down, avoiding Kyungsoo’s eyes that bore into him now, unrelenting. In his alcohol addled state, he shakes his head slightly, whispering an unconvincing denial. He flinches as a warm hand cups his jaw and leans into the touch, slowly lifting his gaze to meet his hyung’s concerned ones.

“Sehun, tell me what happened. I can help you. Let me in.”

Kyungsoo waited patiently as he saw the maknae’s shoulders slouch further under the weight of burden he was carrying, his feet shuffling closer to Kyungsoo as he shook his head, tightening the hold he had on the others shirt.

And as he withdrew his hand from the maknae’s jaw, Kyungsoo noticed that look that came on Sehun’s face. It was a long, hard look that Kyungsoo observed Sehun give him off late.

He still remembers when they were at the Jeju Island beach at dusk, where he was walking into the cold waters, the air heavy with salt and mist. He had turned to call out to Sehun who was still dry on the warm sands and saw this look directed at him. And the intensity of it made him rooted to the spot. It was as if Sehun was trying to tell him something, and before Kyungsoo could say anything, Sehun would tear his gaze and look away.

And it was the same look that Sehun giving him right now.

Kyungsoo felt his breath quicken as Sehun shuffled closer, his mind muddled as the maknae’s face came closer to his. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy and hot, Kyungsoo’s nose twitching as Sehun’s stuttered breath mingled with his, the soju and musky cologne assaulting his senses.

Their lips were almost touching Sehun closed the distance and pressed his lips firmly against Kyungsoo’s plush ones. Kyungsoo’s mind was buzzing with white noise as a million thoughts fired around, his eyes wide open as he saw Sehun’s hooded ones, the look shooting sparks through his spine and making electricity course through his veins. They stayed like that for a long moment before Sehun withdrew a little, his breath harsh and laboured, like he was holding back an ocean of emotions.

“Hyung”

Sehun’s pleading whisper seethed through his trembling lips and volumes of emotions spilled in that one word, and Kyungsoo was so affected and drunk in those emotions as he closed the distance this time, pressing his lips into Sehun’s warm ones.

Sehun released a stuttered breath pressing back into the kiss as his eyebrows knitted. His hand cupped Kyungsoo’s jaw, and coaxing him into the kiss as Kyungsoo’s fingers curled into the short hairs on the back of his neck, pulling Sehun closer.
The temperature of the wardrobe crept up higher as the kisses turned from soft nips to hot messy ones as Sehun had Kyungsoo backed against the back of the wardrobe, pressing and tugging at him desperately as he into his mouth, savouring the sizzle of the soju and the essence that is Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo had his arms thrown around Sehun’s neck and moaned into his mouth, which stilled Sehun for a second before kissing him with new fervour. The intimacy had Sehun claw at Kyungsoo, whining when Kyungsoo tugged his lower lip harshly before his tongue.

They stilled when the heard muffled steps and a deep voice calling out for Kyungsoo right outside the wardrobe, withdrawing away a bit and managing to quieten their breaths with great difficulty. They waited for the steps to grow fainter, and finally when they couldn’t hear them anymore Kyungsoo released a sigh of relief and Sehun threw his head back and let out a deep groan of frustration, his hand now Kyungsoo’s waist.

They both looked at each other a chuckled. Kyungsoo’s half lidded eyes could see how affected Sehun’s blown ones was. He tiptoed to place a chaste kiss on Sehun’s mouth, which turned into a couple more chaste kisses until they withdrew when Chanyeol bellowed their names.

Sharing a warm smile, they exited the wardrobe hand in hand and drunk for a very different reason.