Jaejoong felt uncomfortable.

The way the two strangers squeezed him in between their shoulders caused him to feel like a rubber toy. Alcohol splashed every time glasses tapped against each other for a loud cheer. Once they splashed, the clear liquid would stain the table or the ground. When someone forced him to drink, he would pretend to drink, but dump it in a nearby bowl. He watched everyone smile and laugh, scream and howl, and rise and dance. 

"Yunho! Join us!" two girls shouted. Jaejoong looked to his diagonal, and found Yunho smile at the two annoying females. He watched Yunho shake his head, but poor a small shot of alcohol into the girl's empty cups. Jaejoong rolled his eyes and stared at the closed screen door. In just minutes, the door opened and two familiar ladies entered the room. Everyone looked up, paused, and seemed to have noticed Yuri right away.

"Hey Yuri! Welcome!"

"You're the new girl in Yunho's group, right? Come here!"

"You must be a great dancer if you got chosen."

While Yuri was showered with compliment, Jaejoong noticed Jessica hiding behind her friend. Two people brought Yuri over to their side, leaving no room for Jessica. Jessica bit her bottom lip, unsure of what to do. No one really knew who Jessica was, but they didn't care. It wasn't like she was part of the group.

Jaejoong raised his hand and exchanged glances with Jessica. "Jessica, sit here."

Jessica scowled and shook her head. Seeing this, Jaejoong frowned at her in return for her negative reaction. She looked away, and decided to take a seat next to Yunho, who was sitting at the edge of the table. Yunho gave her a weird look, but her eyes were focused on an empty cup in front of her.

"Jessica! We made a little space! Want to sit here?" Yuri asked, pointing at the small opening in front of her. Although it seemed enough, Jessica knew that she wouldn't be able to fit in such a narrow space. She smiled and shook her head.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine sitting next to..." Jessica glanced over to Yunho, who refused to look at her. "...him."

Yuri paused, then shrugged her shoulders. "Suit yourself. If I were you, I wouldn't sit next to him."

Hearing this, Yunho got irritated and looked up to face Yuri. Yuri quickly looked away, and shoved two pieces of meat her in mouth. 

"What's so bad about me, huh?" Yunho asked. "Come on, tell."

Silence filled the atmosphere. Raw meat sizzled over the fire, and soft chewing could be heard from everyone's mouth. Yuri rolled her eyes, and slammed down her chopsticks, causing the people around her to jump out of their seats. Jaejoong looked down, trying to hold his laugh.

"Nothing. I just said that I wouldn't sit next to you, that's all," Yuri responded. "Why? Do you have a problem?"

"Well there must be a reason if you don't want to sit next to me," he pointed out. "A stupid reason, actually."

This time, Yuri was the one to feel irritated. "A stupid reason? Excuse me, but I have my own personal reasons to not sit next to you, jerk."

"Oh! So you can make up 'personal' reasons! Huh! Well, go figure!"

"You know what your problem is? Your attitude! If you were a little bit more nicer, I might enjoy sitting next to you!"

"I am nice!" Yunho retorted. He turned to Jaejoong. "I'm nice, right?"

"Oh please, of course Jaejoong is going to say yes!" Yuri exclaimed. She turned to Jaejoong, and gave him a glare. "You know, I've seen dogs more loyal than you can ever be!"

Jaejoong dropped his mouth. "Hey, don't drag me into your conversation. I'm not that low--"

"By dogs, do you mean your friend Jessica? Because I'm sure she's your only friend," Yunho spat out.

Jessica dropped her jaws. "Excuse me? Did you just call me a dog?"

"Guys, guys, let's stop right here!" Donghae exclaimed, attempting to settle down the tense atmosphere. "Here! Let's have a drink! Cheers--"

"The only dog in this table is Jaejoong! He's definitely a lone wolf," the blond girl added.

"Oh, come on! I am not a lone wolf! I actually hang around with more than one people!" Jaejoong retorted.

"Really? Are you sure, Jaejoong? Because I've seen you cling around Yunho like a leech!" Yuri exclaimed.

Jaejoong shook his head in dismay and turned to Yunho. "Dude, help me out here! I'm being attacked by two wild women!"

"You know what? Why are you even in my dance crew? Out! I say out!" Yunho shouted. Yuri stood up from her seat, ready to crush Yunho's bones to little pieces. She glared at him with eyes that seemed to be shooting lasers.

"Out? Why don't you just get out of your dance crew and make your own? I got in fair and square, so why don't I get the deserved treatment?" she yelled back.

"Because you took her place!"

"Who the heck is this girl you're talking about? Look, I'm sorry if you're in Lala-Land, but the truth is, that woman isn't coming back! The contract specifically said that I would be taking this position since there is no one there. I took her spot, so when she returns, there won't be anymore space. Okay? Do you understand?" Yuri questioned him.

There was a pause. This time, Donghae looked uneasy, and Yunho turned his head to glare at him. 

"You said that it would be temporary," Yunho said. His voice suddenly got quiet, and it quivered with fear and sadness. 

Donghae bit his bottom lip. "Um, the truth is... No, wait. Let me start over." He took a deep breath. "Dude, we know that she isn't going to come back. BoA officially injured her legs--"

"I thought we were going to substitute her with something else--"

"Have you seen her at the hospital?" the dance crew member asked, slightly raising his voice. "She's crippled! She's a goner, dude. That motorcycle accident with her ex-boyfriend literary killed her dreams!"

Yunho said no more. He stood up, grabbed his coat, and threw a handful of cash onto the ground. He walked out of the room in silence, wanting to be alone. Jaejoong looked around, and found himself in an awkward position. He, too, slowly stood up, and bowed at everyone in the room.

"I guess I'll be going," he said. Everyone bid him an awkward goodbye, and watched him exit the room. It took a while before everything got noisy again, and once it did, they used the extra cash Yunho gave them to buy some more food. Jessica stood up from her seat, and crept towards Yuri, who drank several alcohols in one shot.

"Yuri, you have to admit, we went a little too far," Jessica said quietly. "Especially what you said at the end."

"Why should I care?" Yuri asked, jabbing her chopsticks in her bowl of rice.

"You should care because someone's feelings were hurt," her friend replied. "Come on. Let's get up, apologize to them, and come back, okay?"

Yuri scoffed and continued to ignore Jessica. Jessica gently bit on her bottom lip, knowing that her friend would be too stubborn to apologize. She got up, told everyone else that she would leave and start heading back home, and left the room.

After three hours of eating, drinking, and having fun, Yuri forgot about returning home and continued to enjoy herself. However, no matter how much she laughed, ate, or drank, she couldn't avoid the pang of guilt tugging her little heart in her little chest.

It was a Tuesday when Yunho found himself walking to school with Jaejoong. The two walked on the same wet concrete and watched the same trees drop their leaves. Winter was going to come up in a few days, and therefore the two were bundling up and getting ready for the winter fashion. While Jaejoong was listening to music through his earphones, Yunho was dazed over the fact about what happened a few days ago at the restaurant. What Yuri had said and what Donghae had told him caused him to feel lost. He just couldn't replace her. No one could replace her.

It was when Jaejoong saw, from the corner of his eyes, a familiar branch and a book. He stopped, and heard his sneakers squeak quietly. Yunho walked a few more steps forward, but stopped when he noticed that Jaejoong was lagging behind. Yunho looked back, and followed Jaejoong's gaze. At a bench, Jessica was tapping her olive branch against her book, which was still filled with empty pages. It only took a few minutes for Jessica to finally look up, and meet not Jaejoong's eyes, but Yunho's. Her face brightened, and she quickly scurried over to Yunho.

"Good morning!" she greeted him.

Yunho glanced at Jaejoong, who shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, yes. Um, good morning..."

"Where's Yuri?" Jaejoong asked, approaching the two.

"Yuri? Oh... She went ahead earlier. B-But I waited for you two in order to apologize for my friend's irrational behavior! Even though we hate you two, I understand that some unnecessary words were blurted out from her loud mouth. I'm so sorry about what she did, and I'm sorry if she hurt your feelings in any way."

Yunho blinked his eyes in a clueless manner, while Jaejoong cleared his throat.

"So... do I get an apology?" Jaejoong asked, a bit hopeful. 

Jessica stared at him, and shook her head. "No. I don't regret calling you a lone wolf."

He looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, then a glare. "Hey! Watch your mouth, little puppy."

She smirked, and only stuck her tongue out. Turning to Yunho, she bowed at him apologetically, then looked at her watch. Her eyes widened when she realized that she was going to be late.

"Oh shoot! I'm going to be late!" Jessica exclaimed. For a brief moment, she exchanged glances with Yunho. 

Then, she smiled. Out of all she could've done when she was running late, she took her time to smile at the gazing boy. Yunho remained silent, and Jaejoong only watched her take off. As she turned her back against them, Yunho could only stare, remembering about another girl who had a similar smile that glowed in his eyes.

Ba-thump.