Brian nearly gets tackled to the ground the moment he shows himself, Wonpil and Jae slamming into him with full force as they cuff him around his neck. He pushes the jesters off him good-naturedly, before shoving them in the direction of the chalet. He wonders if they're tipsy, and the empty beer cans littering the area confirms his suspicions. He shakes his head at their antics, wondering how the duo have so little restrain when it comes to drinking. Sungjin and Dowoon are the only sober ones on the team, the former grilling meat and the latter silently sipping on his soda in the background.

"You're finally here, took you long enough."

Sungjin takes a playful jab at Brian's tardiness, eyes darting between the sizzling meat and Brian's face, a smirk hanging on his lips.

"Sorry, the wedding ended late."

"Still, shouldn't you make up for being late? I had to suffer more because of your absence. Birthday boy wouldn't leave me alone, clinging onto me and whining about why you weren't here yet."

His captain shivers in exaggeration, before proceeding to jerk his head in the direction of Wonpil, whom is now engaged in a high note battle with Jae, their dolphin-like screams making Brian wince. Turning back to Sungjin, he says,

"I'll gladly make up for it. What do you need me to do?"

"We're running out of ice to chill the drinks, and ice cream too. Take Dowoon with you, those two are too out of it to be of much use now."

Sungjin and Brian both snigger under their breaths as they continue to eye the comedic duo. The raven-haired male claps Sungjin on the shoulder, wishing him a silent good luck in being able to watch over Jae and Wonpil while the two of them were away.

Walking up to Dowoon, he puts his arm over the broad shoulders of the younger, steering him in the direction of the convenience store.

"Come on, let's go get Wonpil's favourite ice cream."

Dowoon follows without much resistance, the light bounce in his step an indication that he, too, was glad to get away from the rowdy scene for a short while.

---

“We got everything?”

Dowoon takes a peek into the bag as he does a visual check of the items bought, nodding his head as he raises it up from its craned position over the bag. He meets Brian’s eye for a short while – until something else coming up from behind Brian’s back catches his attention.

Or rather, someone coming up from behind Brian’s back catches his attention.

Brian notices how the smile is wiped from the younger’s face, and the feeling of someone watching him prickles the back of his neck.

“Dowoon, what’s wrong?”

Dowoon’s voice comes out soft, barely above a whisper.

“Hyung…”

He lifts a shaky finger to point at something behind Brian but the star player does not have to turn his head to figure out what caught Dowoon’s attention – for he hears the familiar click of heels against the tarmac floor; a memory buried deep within his mind resurfacing yet it’s an unpleasant one, his fist clenching as his lips curl at the memory. He feels the figure stand right behind him, and he turns around to face the person, knowing very well who to expect – but expectation doesn’t necessarily make one more prepared for how the outcome feels – and this one feels like a punch in the gut, a slap in the face.

Seeing Ayeon never gets easier – only harder – but this time, for different reasons.

Unlike before, his eyes that meet hers don’t hold any warmth, a greeting no longer hanging by his lips as he reaches for you. Instead, he stares her down with a steely cold gaze, his lips forming a sneer as his fists remain firmly clenched by his side. Ayeon remains unfazed by his hostile reaction towards her, keeping her poker face in place as she crosses her arms over her chest. She smiles a sickeningly sweet smile at Brian, and he has to look away for a moment before he gets too disgusted and loses his appetite for the birthday party later. She feigns innocence, and lets a surprised gasp fall from her lips as she pretends to finally notice his presence.

“Oh Brian? What a lovely surprise! What brings you to this chalet? I was just having a small weekend getaway here and – ”

Brian rolls his eyes at her nonsensical rambling, and decides to put an end to it.

“Cut the bull Ayeon. You’re not here on accident; you never liked such places. What did you say about them last time…”

Brian pretends to be deep in thought, letting his head hang low as he lets out a scoff.

“Right, I remember now. You said that such places were filthy, meant for the good-for-nothings that could not afford better. So, how about you stop pretending to be nice and tell me what you want, so that we can settle it and have nothing to do with one another again. Ever.”

He punctuates his points with venom, head snapping up to give her a murderous glare to get his point across. But Ayeon merely laughs at him; finding him amusing when he’s angry. Now that her ploy has been exposed, no need to keep up the façade.

“Ah Brian, as expected, you haven’t lost your sharp mind yet. You’re right – I’m not here on accident. I just wanted to confirm something with you, since I have no other way to reach the other party except through you. Evening…Luna… was it? Rachel’s café. We’re pretty interested in the area; we’ve got a contract all prepared. I was hoping that you would be able to kindly put me in touch with her.”

Upon the mention of Rachel, Brian nearly lunges at Ayeon, but is promptly stopped by Dowoon’s firm grip on his shoulder and his deep voice of warning; having forgotten about Dowoon the moment he started arguing with Ayeon.

“Hyung!”

Brian comes back to his senses immediately, taking a step back obediently when Dowoon pulls him away. Brian’s eyes dart between Dowoon behind him and Ayeon right in front, weighing the gravity of her words uttered before.

Her parents are real estate developers. They have the power to take away Rachel’s parents life works the moment she convinces them to take interest in the area. No… this won’t do… I need to convince Ayeon to leave Rachel alone.

Ayeon watches Brian’s internal battle with erse glee, the corner of her blood red lips tugging up ever so slightly as she drums her perfectly manicured nails against her arm, mocking Brian with impatient, incessant taps of her heels against the tarmac floor. Brain notices this all – she’s a predator