Lay flinched as Kris slammed his book onto the kitchen counter. Their esteemed leader had been in a particularly foul mood ever since meeting with the managers that morning. Suho had no doubt been attendance and was probably the reason behind Kris's sullen looks. It was better to leave him be, so Lay picked up his bag of chips and tiptoed away.

"Pst, Lay!" Tao waved him over. "I need your help."

Lay rolled his eyes. "Tao, if it's another spider-"

"This is serious." The maknae gestured for him to enter his room. "I'm worried about Kris and Suho," Tao frowned as he shut the door. "At the rate this war is going, we'll never be ready for the SM Town concert."

"Why worry? According to your horoscopes, everything will be fine by the end of the month. Or do you not believe that stuff anymore?" Lay said sarcastically.

"The stars show us an outline of the future but it's up to us to fill it in," Tao replied sagely. "Besides, you know how stubborn they both are. They'll never patch things up without our help." 

"Can't you find someone else?"  

"Well, I obviously can't depend on the K members-asides from D.O. but he's out doing groceries-and amongst the M members, Luhan's busy with practice, Chen doesn't give a hoot and Xiumin's still marathoning Pearl Princess so there's really no one left but you. Besides, out of all of us, you probably know Suho the best."

Lay's initial instinct was to refuse, but it would be nice, having everything back to normal.  He was pretty tired of tiptoeing around Kris as if he were a time bomb about to detonate and he did feel kind of sorry for Suho, who had to deal with an angry dragon on top of the usual K team hullabaloo.

"Fine, what's the plan?"

*****

"Bottoms up!"

Lay tipped the entire contents of the shot glass in his mouth, grimacing as the alcohol slid down his throat like liquid fire. He could feel the effect almost immediately, but willed himself to remain composed. After all, he had a mission to complete.

"Ah, that's better," Suho sighed contentedly and picked up his chopsticks. "Samgyeopsal and soju can always cure a ty day." The two of them were at a nearby restaurant and the tantalizing smell of meat wafted from the grill at their table. They had gone through half a bottle of soju and Suho was in much better spirits. Lay poured him another shot; a happy, slightly-tipsy Suho would make the mission a lot easier.

"You know, I used to come to this place a lot with Kyuhyun," Suho said through a mouthful of lettuce. "He used to have this massive crush on Victoria, but the thing was, Changmin, his best friend, liked her too."

"So he'd take you along while he drowned his sorrows in soju?"

Suho shrugged. "Pretty much. He paid for it anyway." Small wonder Suho was such a heavyweight, seeing as he had trained under the self-proclaimed 'Soju King'. Lay made a mental note to go drinking with Suho more often; someone who had spent seven years as an SM trainee must have been privy to plenty of gossip and juicy secrets.  

Lay glanced down at his watch. It was almost nine, which meant the second half of the plan was about to begin. The bell above the restaurant door jingled and Tao walked in. Kris was right behind him, his face looking more relaxed than it had all week. The effect that alcohol had on people was simply astonishing.

"Lay, Suho, what a coincidence!" Tao said brightly. "Mind if we join you?" Annoyance crossed Kris's face as his eyes found Suho.  

"Screw this, I'm leaving," Kris muttered, shooting a dark look in Suho's direction.

"Wait! Have some samgyeopsal first." With some effort, Tao managed to force Kris into the seat beside Lay, who hurriedly piled meat onto a plate and placed it before him.

"You know you want some," Lay chanted as he used his hands to waft the mouth-watering smell in Kris's direction, desperately hoping he would succumb.       

It worked. Kris dug into his food, downing shots of soju between bites. Gradually, his face reddened and his frown eased back into a relaxed grin. The food soon disappeared and they were left with the two bottles of soju that Suho had insisted on ordering.

"Drink up, drink up," Suho smiled broadly as he poured them another round. Tao grunted but made no move to take his cup. Ever since his fourth shot, the kid had been slumped atop the cluttered table. It was a miracle that he had survived that long, given that the only alcohol he had ever consumed was a glass of birthday champagne a few days ago.    

Lay shook his head, which felt as soft and mushy as a roasted marshmallow. "No thanks."

"Don't be a sissy. Drink it," Kris ordered. Suho nodded encouragingly.

With an unsteady hand, Lay took the shot glass and drank. His stomach felt nice and warm, as if the soju had lit a cozy fire within him. His brain was all jumbled but it really didn't matter because he was floating on a fluffy cloud and everything would be wonderful if he just closed his eyes...