For a while, Byul stared at Baekhyun in silence, thinking that maybe she had enough drinks that she might have started seeing his face on someone else’s body. What was Baekhyun doing there? And then Byul remembered: He was friends with Jangmi’s boyfriend, which was how they met in the first place.

“Haven’t seen you in a long time,” she awkwardly started, picking between that phrase or ‘Nice to see you here,’ but the latter was a lie.

Baekhyun stretched his arms out as if wanting to embrace the cold air. “It’s surprising to see you here at all. Not buried in a ditch or something.”

“What?”

He abruptly laughed as if she had said a joke. “Nothing. I’m just talking nonsense,” Baekhyun said, waving a hand to dismiss the topic. “You came alone? You looked lonely so I came by.”

She felt the strong need to correct him. “I’m not lonely.”

Baekhyun seemed to pretend he didn’t hear that. “People are doing karaoke downstairs. Want to join?”

Byul pressed her lips together in thought to conjure up a sentence that wasn’t offensive. What was the best way to politely turn him down and say she had no intention of befriending him in any way? “That’s not a good idea. Us together, I mean,” she told him carefully.

She noticed that the corner of his mouth twitched, almost ruining this seemingly perfect smile that he kept on. “We’re friends, right?”

Byul only followed him after he playfully grabbed her arm and brought her inside the house. He was chirping like a bird about how fun it was going to be though Byul could only absentmindedly nod in response. Everyone on the sofa moved a few inches in one direction to make space for the two. Someone was attempting IU’s high notes on Good Day. Byul half-heartedly banged the tambourine that Baekhyun handed to her on her lap to the beat of the songs that played. Everyone seemed to be having a good time except for Byul. She was constantly aware of Baekhyun beside her. His presence distracted her from everything else around her.

After their break up, she was surprised that he would talk to her. She did say no to his proposal for god’s sake. Didn’t he have pride? Baekhyun said they were friends but he was draping his arm around her shoulders as if he meant differently. The “friend” thing was most likely a detour to drive her away from his ulterior motives. Someone was passing around a pack of vodka coolers in cans and Byul took it as a chance to get out of Baekhyun’s grasp to help pass the cans around.

She took another shot of rum instead of the coolers, hoping it would calm her nerves. It wasn’t that she was scared of Baekhyun or hated him. Byul just wanted nothing to do with him anymore and clearly he wasn’t reading all the signs and getting the hint from her. There was something about Baekhyun that made her feel uncomfortable to be around him, but she couldn’t put her finger on what.

Baekhyun hogged the mic and sang Crayon, bouncing and making the sofa shake. Everyone around her seemed to be getting lost in the excitement as well, laughing and cheering together. When he was finished with the song, he turned to speak to her. “Don’t you want to join in on a song? Or is something bothering you?”

She could smell the alcohol off of his breath. He obviously wanted a hearty conversation on how her day went or what was on her mind. Instead of giving him that satisfaction of opening up to him, she said, “I’m just tired.”

Byul knew she was being stubborn, but she didn’t care. She didn’t like how he was pressing up against her side as if there was no more room on the sofa. Baekhyun seemed to give up on talking to her for the time being because he sat back and watched the next song play out. Byul took her phone out to scroll through apps and hopefully kill time. When was an appropriate time to leave the party without being rude to Jangmi?

Baekhyun’s next words surprised her.

“I miss you, Byul.”

She looked at him in disbelief. “You what?” she asked even if she was sure she heard right.

“I said I miss you.” His voice was low.

Byul simply just stared at him. In the room, all she could feel was Baekhyun’s eyes boring into hers. He was leaning in and she didn’t know what he was planning to do until he closed his eyes.

He’s going to kiss you.

At the sound of the voice in her head speaking, Byul pushed his chest until he moved back. “I’m leaving,” she announced.

Baekhyun stood with her. “Byul, wait.”

Byul didn’t bother getting her drink and simply walked away with her small purse and phone. She almost tripped over someone’s legs on her rush up the stairs. Because all her focus was on leaving, she didn’t even notice that Baekhyun was hot at her trail. Fingers dug into her arm and pulled her backward. Her back slammed against the wall that Baekhyun cornered her into.

That perfect smile that he kept on for show unraveled itself and showed what was underneath. Baekhyun was gritting his teeth, intense fury firing in his eyes that made her feel small. “Dammit, Byul. Don’t you get tired of rejecting me? You aren’t even supposed to be here! I was going to let you live! I was giving you a chance, but you ruined it.”

“What the hell are you even talking about?” She struggled against the grasp he had on both her shoulders. It didn’t help that she was tipsy from the alcohol. Walking felt like she was standing on jelly. It scared her that she didn’t have full control of her body.

“Look at me.” He grabbed her face with a hand on her jaw, forcing their gazes to be locked.

Byul thrashed around without any use. “Let me go!”

His lips were suddenly crashing down on hers. Her yells of protest were muffled by Baekhyun’s mouth. Both of his hands held her head in place even if she tried to resist by turning away. Summoning all of her strength for that one moment, she pushed at his shoulders until he skidded a step back. Taking that chance, she darted up the stairs, hopin