Sometimes I wondered why I even hung out with Jiho... or Zico, as he preferred to be called. He had shown up on my doorstep one night along with a group of the guys I used to be friends with back in high school, but didn't see much of anymore. It was a few weeks after the breakup and I hadn't seen anyone other than my students and my co-workers and Jaehyo when he came to pick up Himchan's stuff. I hadn't even talked to my mother since I kicked her out of the apartment.

It only took a few minutes from the time they had knocked on my door to the time Jiho was pulling me down the sidewalk because he wanted me to go drinking with them. "The best way to cure heartbreak is alcohol and lots of it," he told me with a grin. I didn't even know how he had heard about me and Himchan breaking up and it didn't seem like he was going to tell me either.

"Where are we going?" I asked. If I was going to get drunk I at least wanted to know where I was getting drunk.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that," he said condescendingly while he ruffled up my hair as if I wasn't two years older than him. I scoffed. Jiho was probably the most obnoxious friend I had ever had in my entire life, maybe even the most obnoxious person I had ever met. I think that was why I liked him so much.

One of my other friends, Hanhae, slung his arm around my shoulders. "We're going to take care of you tonight," he assured me. "We're going to get some booze into your system and some ladies into your bed and you're going to forget that that Kim Himchan-person ever even existed. Alright?" There was an uncomfortable pang in my chest at the mention of my ex, but I chose not to show it and I faked a smile as I followed them to wherever they wanted to take me.

We ended up at one of the bars we used to frequent back when Jiho was still too young to drink (but he was the type of person who always knew a guy who knew a guy so he usually managed to get in anyway). The place was already pretty packed. There were people dancing in the open space in the middle of the large room lined with booths. We sat down and Jiho went to fetch us drinks - he had a friend who was close with the bartender, so he should be able to get us booze quicker than anyone else.

The others occupied themselves with conversation and I tried not to let my thoughts be invaded by Himchan. Hanhae was no help in this. Not long after we had arrived he scooted closer to me and muttered only loud enough for me to hear: "I saw Himchan the other night."

My mind went blank for a few moments as I tried to comprehend his words and then come up with a proper response. I didn't really know how to react. "Oh?" I ended up saying, trying (and failing) not to sound too interested.

Hanhae nodded. "We talked. He told me to tell you that's he's doing fine."

"Is he, though?" The other grimaced. I knew what that meant.

"He's miserable, Yongguk," he said with a sigh. "And obviously you are as well. I don't understand why you don't just talk to him, just talk. It can't be that difficult."

I had opened my mouth to answer him, but at the exact same time Jiho returned with a tray filled with small glasses, which he placed on the table. "Shots!" he announced loudly, making everyone at the table cheer along with him, and before I could do anything one of the glasses had been pushed into my hand. "Drink up, hyung, forget about that ex of yours." He sent me a grin and a wink and next thing I knew I had thrown my head back and the alcohol burned in my throat.
 

I'm not exactly sure why Jiho only had to pay half prize for our drinks (the suggestive wiggle of eyebrows he responded with when I asked told me that I probably didn't want to know) and I'm not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing either. In less than an hour and a half we were all more or less plastered and I kind of liked it. Thinking about Himchan hurt less this way. I didn't like hurting.

"I have to take a piss," I announced. I had this tendency to fall into my old habits when I was around my old high school friends. Being crude was one of them. Himchan had tamed me and the guys often teased me about it. They told me I was whipped. I didn't use to bother me.

"Go take a piss, then, no one cares." Hanhae shoved me off my seat and I stumbled for a bit before I managed to find my footing somehow. I flipped him off and steered towards the area where the bathrooms were, bumping into several people on the way, but most of them were just as intoxicated as me and none of them seemed to care.

I barged through the door to the men's bathroom and emptied my bladder. I was just thankful that I wasn't too drunk to do that by myself. I would never have been able to live that down. I splashed some water on my face and tried to look myself in the mirror. After a while I gave up because the reflection kept showing two of me.

On my way out the door I bumped into someone who was entering the bathroom at the same time. The guy had his head lowered and his hair was falling in front of his face, but he still seemed oddly familiar. "Watch where you're going," he slurred, sounding just as drunk as me, but even though we were both wasted I would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Himchan," I breathed out without thinking. He froze and raised his head to look at me. He seemed to have a hard time focusing, but when he did I saw hurt flash through his eyes. Then he looked away.

"What are you doing here?" he mumbled.

"What are you doing here?" He didn't answer. I looked him over. His clothes - which I would have described as ty if I didn't love it so much - his messy hair, the flush spreading on his cheeks and neck that told me he was flustered. He had lost a few pounds since the last time I saw him weeks ago, but he was perfect nonetheless. It was half habit, half intoxication that led me to stumble the last few feet towards him, cup his face and press my lips against his. And I'm sure it was the same reasons that made his fingers tangle in my hair and his tongue slip into my mouth.

*****

A/N: went to a funeral today. I'm all exhausted and sad. I don't really have anything to say about this chapter even though there are probably a lot of things to be said. yongguk is friends with zico and hanhae in the story and they went to the bar with their other rapper friends and they all got drunk. then yongguk made out with his ex-boyfriend in the bathroom. the end.
please leave us pretty comments.

here's a song with zico and hanhae that I really like.