Junmyeon’s gaze across the wide living room and at his friends’ wilding dancing body constantly shifted from fondness to irritation; his ears bathing in the sound of their atrocious giggling, their outstanding laughter, screams, and howling. He was used to these scenes where all of them fooled around under the massive sound of music. He had expected such thing to happen when he rented this villa, and had requested one with a big and spacious living room for this purpose exactly; so they could turn it into a dance room. He wouldn’t say he hadn’t expected the girls to join them, because he had; they strangely fit with his friends’ personality, especially Sehun’s girlfriend Yuri to Sehun.

He sighed in embarrassment with the awkward way the boys were trying to hump the girls and dance along their bodies in their hazed drunkness, but the giggling, amused laughter from the girls around them in response lessened that responsibility that dawned on his shoulders occasionally at the immature actions of his friends. He sat on the couch behind their wrecking-havoc bodies; his eyes on them which were laced with boredom, amusement, and then embarrassment; as they made fools out of themselves. Kai was doing some girl groups impersonation to their dances in the middle of the living room with two of Joori’s friends screaming in approval, trying to mimic his sharp gestures but failing. Sehun was holding Yuri’s waist, and honest to God, slow dancing in the room, as if the harsh pop song echoing around did not reach their sealed ears; each one in their own little worlds. Even Kyungsoo, who was not usually a party animal like most of the boys and usually liked to stay home (or run away to his parents’ home because his friends always found him in his) was enjoying himself, sitting on a couch vertical to Junmyeon’s couch and talking animatedly with Sara, Joori’s friend, with a wide smile on his face.

Thinking about the worshiped goddess, Junmyeon guided his warm and focused eyes on her, noticing her right away. She was dancing behind Kai, laughing drunkly with flushed cheeks at Baekhyun and Chanyeol who were, for a better word, entertaining her. They were crowding around her, each holding one of her arms and winding it around like she was their puppet and they held the strings; Chanyeol hollering loudly in her ears about what a cool jam the large speakers the villa provided was playing, whereas Baekhyun giggling cutely at the way she was giggling, reciprocating her zeal and trying to lock his hazard vision with hers. 

Junmyeon felt his throat dry up right away; his whole body tensing, and his tongue feeling like it was scooping stiffened sand inside his mouth. He watched her with a glass of martini in his hand, which he almost forgot about because he hadn’t been drinking it for the past few minutes; his eyes studying the people crowded ahead of him and goofing around. Maybe it was the way Baekhyun looked at her, or the interest Chanyeol had about her and how many times he caught him trying to dance up to her body, but the sight of them felt oddly misplacing. He was a traditional guy; he didn’t like it when girls were too loose but he never really cared much because it wasn’t his business, but seeing Joori laughing, flushed red in all of her visible parts, and flashing her nice and long legs in that tiny tube dress she was wearing; it simply made him feel sore all over, a displeased sort of tingles turning on in his body.

He took another slow and agonizing sip of his martini; the bitter taste coating his tongue doing nothing to soften the already growing bitterness in his throat; his gaze harshly following the curves of Joori’s body as she wandered around and about, Chanyeol and Baekhyun following after her like flies following after their master. A sort of strength plagued his mouth as he found himself gritting his teeth, the childish feeling evolving him making him feel infantile and immature, especially when he didn’t recognize it at all, because he hadn’t really felt it before. But the flames of desire and despair encompassing him at the same time, making him grimace at both himself, and the puppies following after Joori’s tail.

Amidst the crowd and the fun, the rowdiness of the sniveling bodies and the rubbing hormones; Joori’s head turn to the side, her eyes curious and looking for someone. When those beady, shining honey eyes of hers fell on his questioning ones, and they brightened; he instantly realized that he was the one she was looking for amidst everyone. He watched her, a sort of solemness and silence in his eyes as she turned to Chanyeol and Baekhyun, whispering something to them which elicited a pout from the two, before she was separating herself from them, walking towards him with her wide and gleaming eyes. Instantly, Junmyeon straightened in his seat, and what once used to be a slouch with one of his arms across the armchair, shifted; he gathered them together and sat up, poised back, and legs closed together. 

He thought she’d sit next to him on the couch, but seeing her single minded determination to just be in his vicinity, he realized she wasn’t exactly right in the head, her vision growing directionally challenged by all that booze in her system. She charged towards him and Junmyeon’s breath caught in his throat, making him lower his glass of martini on the floor beside his feet and readying himself to catch her. True to his prediction, she all but flopped herself on him, and her sudden weight brought him back to his slouch, his back against the couch, and his legs parted to sustain her weight. She giggled loudly, and wrapped her arms around his neck, cooing softly when she felt his arms going around her waist in response; bringing her correctly on his lap sideway, her residing on his left thigh.

She brought her face up from where she hid it against him when she hugged him, and fixed it closer to his face, nuzzling their noses together. He stopped breathing. “Hi..” she murmured, smiling, and in her wasted state, she didn’t notice his wide eyes, or his flushed cheeks — or his palpitating heartbeats. 

“Um, how drunk are you?” He murmured back, almost secretly, and tried to fix her position on him so that she wouldn’t be so undeniably close to his face. Noticing his shuffling body and his wandering hands, she flushed, understanding his state of discomfort. Immediately, she let go of his neck and shuffled away from him, but since she was so unstable she ended up smacking face first on the couch beside him, her upper body falling on the cushion while her legs still tangled with his. She groaned at the embarrassment, burying her face even further into the thick cushion of the couch.

Strangely, Junmyeon found himself smiling, finding her wasted state of mind adorable. He held her legs and brought her down with the rest of her body gently, the pads of his fingers lingering on her fair thighs, his cheeks warming up at the softness. 

Joori instantly gathered her strewn legs and fixed herself on the couch so that she sat next to him, instead of... well, like that, curled awkwardly half around him and half around the couch. She fixed her sweating hair off of her cheeks, and started gathering it in a bun. She didn’t have any hair tie so she wrapped it around itself to hold it still. Aside the fact her hair was annoying her; she was also taking the time to soften the spinning world around her, and the roaring heartbeats of hers because of her embarrassment of what she did. She wasn’t a natural drinker and she was a very, very light weight. She shouldn’t have drank the way she did if she wanted to impress Junmyeon. He probably thought of her as an idiot now.

But when she peeked a look at him from the corner of her eyes, she saw him looking at her, no smiles on his face but his coffee eyes twinkling in bared amusement. Seeing this, it made her feel slightly better about her previous situation, but it also made her feel like he was mocking her.

“Okay, you can laugh at me,” she huffed, secretly pouting and looking away; Junmyeon caught that jut of her lips and found her extremely cute. “I’m a lightweight. Sue me. And I’m not even that drunk.”

“How many fingers am I holding?” Junmyeon teased softly, raising two of his fingers in front of her face. He wasn’t even that much of a loose and fun guy when it came to girls, but she seemed to bring that trait out of him. 

“Jun, no.” She groaned, taking his fingers in her hand and then pushing it away from her face, a soft hue of redness flaring up in her cheeks. She’d like to think that her state made her blush easily, but it was a big fat lie. It was all because of him and his presence. 

He raised a single sleek eyebrow up, eyes glinting in doused challenge. “Oh, I’m just Jun now?”

She flushed more, but still, a bold smile was growing on her face. “Yup. You’re Jun now. Deal with it.”

He didn’t say anything; just staring at her with slight awe at how she made everything eliciting embarrassment normal and plain, like nothing really bothered her, or that her bravery stemmed from a deep part of her soul that it could never be distinguished. It was a very attractive attribute, especially when it didn’t grow out of her to become arrogance. Or maybe he was just blindsided by her. 

Junmyeon noticed her eyes flicker down to his legs, and he knew right away that she glanced down at his martini.

“Let me guess, it’s a strong drink again?” She teased playfully, eyes emitting a soft glow which he clearly saw despite the dim lights of the ‘party’ the others decided to throw in the honors of themselves.

“Yup, I like my drinks strong as I said. Deal with it.” He imitated her, almost in a chastised tone, but her eyes were focused on the half full glass of Martini. 

“Can I have a sip,” She murmured, but it wasn’t like she was really asking because she was already diving down for it. 

Instantly, he reached down to snatch the glass from her flailing hands, ignoring her respnsive whine, and placing it on a place where she won’t be able to snatch it away without him noticing. “Nope, nah. You’re already tripling over everything around you, even human bodies, apparently. No more for you.”

“But Jun, my throat’s burning,” She was whining, and if she wasn’t so unearthly present, she’d have blanched at herself. “I wanna drink something!”

“And you think alcohol is the answer?” Junmyeon gave her a scolding look, which she pouted at, and stood up. “I’ll bring you water, stay still and don’t go anywhere.” Near Baekhyun and Chanyeol, he wanted to add. 

He walked away with the sound of her whine ringing in his ears, softening what’s left of the brick walls encompassing his heart. He sensed a sudden presence warming up behind him, and when he turned around; he was surprised to see her walking unstably after him.

“What are you doing?” He questioned, placing his arms on his hips in a patronizing way. “I thought I told you to stay.”

“I was going to listen but the loud songs penetrated my ears,” She replied, teasingly popping her fingers inside her ears in emphasis. “I think if I stayed longer than I should in this state, they’d bleed.”

He muttered something under his breath which she didn’t catch; turning around to get her water like he said. She followed him further inside, her steps lithe and minimized, as if she were gliding on the floors instead of walking, exactly like a real dancer. When he prepared the glass of water to her and gave it, she raised her brows at him.

“Tap?” She asked. 

“Nah, bottled,” She instantly accepted it after that, sipping half of it down in one large gulp. “I noticed you don’t really drink tap water.”

“Aw, you noticed, didn’t you? You noticed.” She emphasized on noticed, so very clearly teasing him, lighting up a huge and obvious blush up the older male’s cheeks. 

He didn’t mean to be a creep, or anything, but she had been so hellbent on bottled water through the two days they’ve spent in this villa together that he just had to pay attention. Some of the boys had noticed beside him too, and he remembered one of her girlfriends mocking her about how picky she was once. He was bound to know. 

“Drink your water, Ri.” He half growled, catching the twinkling amusement in her eyes. She gulped the rest of her water with a giggle. 

When she was done, she went further inside the kitchen and headed towards the counter behind him, placing her palms on the cool surface and raising herself up to sit on the marble. She instantly felt something under her and she raised a little bit of her thigh to take it, only to chuckle at seeing it a book.

“Is this yours?” She teased, twirling the said book in her hands, eyes wondrous yet filled to the prim with joy. The book itself was smaller than usual books, probably the side of his hands, but in her grip it looked remarkably bigger. 

Junmyeon turned to her from where he was pouring some tap water into the glass for himself curiously, only to roll his eyes. There was a small gush of redness on his cheeks, though, a sign of embarrassment at her easily detecting his ownership to the book when he was sure she hadn’t seen him hold it even once before. 

“I was entertaining myself before all of this madness happened.” He ticked his head towards the dancing room, the hollered screams of his friends and hers still audible from where they were in the kitchen. Joori lowered her head down to read the title of the book, a teasing smirk glowing on her pretty face. 

“50 ways to become a successful businessman? Seriously, Junmyeon?” She shot him a look, her body shaking with her suppressed laughter. He huffed angrily, cheeks dark, and she knew it was making him embarrassed more than he’d admit. “You read these boring things on a vacation like this?” 

Disliking the fact this amused her so much — to the point she was literally hunched over to stop from collapsing in loud laughter — He marched towards her with pink cheeks, and roughly tried to snatch the book away, only for her to wind her arms backwards, hiding the book behind her. He quickly followed the movements of her arms, sneaking his own arms between her waist, catching up to her clear gasp of surprise in his ear, and trying to pull it back.

He was surprised, however, by her hands dropping the book away, and when he looked up at her in confusion at the sudden gesture; she was already lowering her head down and kissing him.

He froze, honest to God, like a damn block of ice being pulled from a freezer; his whole demeanor screaming at him at the amount of rigidness that attacked it; his countenance looking like a ghost haunting humans, eyes wide and lips sealed, pressed against her playful ones, now feeling anything but juvenile; hot and burning, sizzling a drifting fire that engulfed his whole and winding his spirit out of his body. He’d feel utterly pathetic if he said he hadn’t felt what a kiss was like, a kiss that wasn’t a polite or thankful one on the cheek. But that was the case. Despite having had girlfriends before, it felt right for him to give them utter resp