Hyunmi couldn’t believe her brother and Sunggyu had actually bought cartons of beer for all of them—Sunggyu even sneaked a bottle of Whiskey. Her friends, being underage, were of course attracted to the forbidden.   “We’re gonna play a game. And whoever wins gets a gulp of this,” Sunggyu said, holding the bottle in the air like some trophy.   This was messed up in many ways and Hyunmi could only shake her head. Whiskey was supposed to be the punishment, not the prize.   “Don’t worry. We’re safe with them,” Ahreum suddenly appeared, softly patting her shoulder for comfort. She must’ve referred to the group blind date where drinking led to an unwanted situation.    “I know,” Hyunmi said, watching Woohyun and Sungyeol tease Sungjong by keeping the beer out of the poor boy’s reach. Sungjong was a few years younger than them, and they used that excuse to forbid him from drinking. At the same time, they deliberately finished their bottles next to him just to tempt him.   She couldn’t help but scoff and feel sorry for Sungjong at the same time. Yeah, she’d be safe with them.   Just then, Woohyun looked in her direction as if he could feel the pull of her gaze. He left the boys on their own and approached her.   “My cue to go,” Ahreum sang as she quickly made her escape.   Hyunmi laughed before remembering what had happened with Woohyun earlier. Actually, this wasn’t a good time for her to be alone with him. Were they going to address it or pretend it never happened?   “Hey,” he greeted, and somehow, there was something coy about his smile, as if he remembered their shared moment earlier as well.   “You reek of beer,” she said with a disapproving frown, trying her best to avoid any awkward moment. “Drinking too much alcohol isn’t going to speed up your recovery, you know.”   He laughed—at least he regained the ability to laugh without hurting his jaw. “What kind of nonsense theory is that?”   “Mine,” she admitted, making him scoff.   “You know, this injury is actually beneficial for you.”   “Why?”   “My face is hidden now and girls will be repelled by the black eye. Aren’t you relieved?” He asked, the overconfidence making her raise her eyebrows. “Don’t lie now. I know you were bothered by those girls in the restaurant earlier.”   “B-Because of work protocols.”   “Excuses,” Woohyun sang. He took a gulp from his bottle, which failed miserably when she playfully held his arm back, making him spill the beer all over his shirt, bare arms, and legs. They exchanged a stunned look at each other before Hyunmi burst out in laughter.   “Luckily, the sea is right there for you to wash everything off,” she said.   “Yeah, and you’re coming with me.”   As she screamed and began running, he had already charged towards her, leaving the empty beer bottle at the side of the water. The sand made it harder for her to escape, and it didn’t take long before he caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist to forcefully drag her into the water.   Hyunmi yelped when the cold ocean water touched her feet, but truthfully, she hoped her yell was loud enough to cover the tumultuous beating of her heart. She was practically in Woohyun’s graze, feeling his arm around hers. It wasn’t like she put up any struggle against his deadlock either. The coquettish part of her enjoyed the skinship too much to do anything about it, until Woohyun actually flung her into the water.   “Oh my God!” She yelped in surprise, continuing to laugh heartily as she chased him, jumping on him entirely to pull him underwater. Of course, it was another excuse to initiate more skinship, but none seemed to mind.   Soon, others joined in and played around in the water before Sunggyu called them back. Woohyun extended a hand to Hyunmi, pulling her out of the water as they returned. He picked up the empty bottle from before and properly discarded it to preserve the beauty and cleanliness of the beach.   “You look like you had a lot of fun,” Hime commented teasingly as Hyunmi took the empty spot beside her on the sand.    Hyunmi didn’t even deny and bumped against her friend with her soaking wet arms. It was fun, especially cause she was with Woohyun who now sat at the opposite side between Kibum and Sungyeol. As she squeezed the water out of her hair, she noticed Woohyun’s eyes never leaving her. It made her nervous and excited at the same time.   “Alright, it wouldn’t be a complete beach party without a game of truth or dare,” Sunggyu declared. “Whoever can fulfill their dare or answer with the truth is allowed to taste some Whiskey.”   The others cheered at this very skewed rule.   “What about those who don’t like to drink?” Maerin asked.   “Then it becomes a punishment instead,” Sunggyu said.    “Are black knights allowed?” Taemin asked.   “Yes, but the black knights get to ask that person a question of their own or get to claim a wish,” Sunggyu said.   “Okay, that’s easy!” Seulyi declared confidently.    Sunggyu placed an empty beer bottle in the middle of their circle and spun it. It was quite amazing how smoothly it rotated on the sandy surface.    The game started out with mild questions, mainly because these cheeky teens wanted a taste of Whiskey. Maybe it was the effect of the alcohol or everyone’s growing impatience at the mediocre game, but at some point, the questions and dares got wilder.   “If you had to date someone at our school, who would it be?” Kibum asked Myungsoo.   Myungsoo blinked, taken aback by the question. “Pass.” He was about to take the bottle of Whiskey to drink his way out, but Sungyeol immediately held him back.   “Come on, you got nearly all the girls at school at your feet. Choose someone to date!” He encouraged his friend loudly, clearly having drunk too much.   Myungsoo pressed his lips together, stealing a secret glance at one person in the circle—a move that did not go unnoticed by Kibum’s hawkeyes.   “Oh, it’s Seulyi!” Kibum loudly announced, making the girl look up in disbelief.   “Me? How come?” She asked, but Myungsoo quickly silenced himself with another gulp of the drink.   “Next person!” He eagerly yelled, spinning the bottle with too much power. They watched it spin until it landed on Hyunmi.   “I choose truth,” she said, knowing Kibum’s dares were merciless. Plus, if they made her choose between all the guys at school, she could somehow try to twist the truth.   “Perfect.” Kibum smirked instead as if she had fallen into a trap. He took a sip of his beer, elongating the silence to intensify the moment before posing the question. “What would you say if Woohyun were to ask you to be his girlfriend right now?”   Hyunmi’s eyes widened in panic, not having expected something so personal. She briefly glanced at Woohyun who was taking a sip of his beer, clearly trying to act as nonchalant and uninterested as possible.    Everyone else held their breath, switching their gaze between the two, hoping to catch a secret exchange of some sorts. This was probably the highlight of the night.   “C-Can’t you change the question?” Hyunmi asked. Darn Kibum. This was as good as replying to Woohyun’s confession without him actually having to confess. She regretted telling Kibum all about preferring the traditional method.    “No can do. If you refuse to answer, you’ll have to drink Whiskey,” Kibum said, since in Hyunmi’s case, alcohol was the punishment.    Hyunmi pouted, hoping anyone could interfere or try to talk Kibum out of it, but they were all just as curious. Until finally, Woohyun moved from his spot and gulped down a bit of Whiskey.   “Black knight,” he said, raising his hand midair in surrender. “That’s not a question you should ask, Kibum.”   “Fine, we’ll let her forfeit this round, but she owes you a wish or an answer.” Kibum winked, and as he spun the bottle again, others cooed in disappointment.   Hyunmi waited for Woohyun to meet her eyes so she could thank him for his save, but he never did. H