“Hey darling, what have you been uuuppp to?” giggling, Janice grabbed me by my hands and twirled us around the apartment, skipping from room to room. Extracting myself quickly, I stormed around, looking for Manager Kang. My happy mood that made me feel infinite had long diminished and the boys scooted out of my way wherever I went.

“WHAT DID YOU GIVE HER? I’LL KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD” I crossed my arms and yelled full out, my hands balling into fists.

“Woah, calm down. I gave her some whisky which I hoped would calm her nerves for a while, and it worked. Before she took it, she was deranged with worry, I tell you” Manager Kang raised his eyebrows at me and explained the situation, his calm, cool tone a stark contrast to my own loud, raucous one. Turning on Bang, I demanded a translation. Maybe it was new found confidence with the success with me, or it was the fact that he knew everything with Himchan was okay, but Bang didn’t even flinch at my breakdown. He calmly translated for me and stepped forward, rubbing his arms up and down my back. Strangely comforting, my breathing slowed down and I turned toward Manager Kang again. Glaring at him for a minute longer, I finally dropped my gaze and sighed.

“Well, I guess I can’t blame you. You never knew what alcohol can do to Janice” shaking my head, I strolled over to Janice and pulled her into a hug, holding her for a while. She smiled at everyone goofily then pulled away from my grasp, floating over to Youngjae. Surprised, but accepting her embrace, Youngjae chuckled softly.

“You have a strange choice of picking people” Youngjae whispered softly and Janice giggled, snuggling into his shoulder. Leading the way to the couch, Youngjae landed with an oomph from Janice’s weight on top of him and Janice giggled again, breaking out into full volume laughter. Laughing along as well, we all sat down in a circle on the floor, Manager Kang managing to squeeze in between Zelo and Jongup. As if suddenly remembering something, he jumped up and announced to everyone that he would back.

“Looks like she likes you, hyung” Zelo chuckled and nudged Jongup. I raised my eyebrows at Youngjae in apology for Janice and he rolled his eyes, smiling. Deciding to wait until Janice was sober to tell her about Himchan’s situation, we talked in low voices. Eventually, Janice dropped off to the soothing buzz of continuous chatting and Youngjae her hair gently. Smiling at this picture, I leaned into Bang and he smiled down at me, kissing my hair.

“So, they look happy together” I nodded at Janice and Youngjae, who had dropped off as well. Listening to their soft breathing, we gazed at them for a while.

“Well, I’m happy with you” Bang said, breaking the silence and I rolled my eyes at his cheesiest comment yet. Suddenly, Jongup started sniggering and Zelo joined in, not fully comprehending what Jongup was sniggering at. Daehyun cracked a smile and leaned back against the couch, watching the two youngest members’ glee.

“What’s so funny now?” I asked confused. Jongup glanced at me sideways and smiled.

“This room just filled up with so much tackiness, first from Yong Guk hyung and you, and now Youngjae hyung and your friend, that it was just funny in a way” covering his face from laughter again, Zelo laughed even harder, finally understanding the joke. Daehyun rolled his eyes and turned his head toward Youngjae, gazing at him tenderly.

“Well, my little Jae has finally found a girl. I guess I should be happy for him” sighing, Daehyun patted Youngjae’s hand proudly and he woke with a start. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he peered at the laughing boys then noticed Janice’s still sleeping form resting on his chest. Flushing a bright red, he smiled at us all.

“Hey, it’s not that funny. She’s cute, funny, interesting. Hyung, I really like her” widening his eyes in realization, he turned toward Daehyun, an apologetic look in his eyes. Daehyun laughed and nodded his head.

“We know Jae, I’m happy for you” joining in, the rest of the boys laughed along and I sighed happily. Things that made us happy, that made us feel alive could still be possible even in the darkest of times. I squeezed Bang’s hand and he squeezed it back, raising our intertwined hands to kiss mine. Bang cocked his head and motioned to the door. I smirked at him and nodded. Standing up, we quietly snuck out of the living room, walking into the kitchen. The afternoon’s sun created golden rays across the countertops and I felt myself go warm inside as I soaked in the heat from the dying sun. Turning away from him, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling the sweet scent of roses blowing in from the open windows. Bang wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck, nuzzling my hair. Smiling, I twisted around in his embrace and wrapped my arms around his neck. He grinned back at me and pulled me closer to him, resting his forehead against mine.

“You know, it’s amazing how things happen. I never would’ve thought that we would be here, in this time, together when I first met you” Bang whispered and I placed a finger on his lips, shushing him.

“Things just work out like this. Accept it. I think I liked you for quite a while, but I didn’t want to admit it, even to myself. I’ve never loved someone both as a friend and as a partner before” confessing what I had been holding in from everyone, even Janice, I felt surprisingly light and carefree, like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Bang’s eyes lit up at the word “love” and smiled tenderly, lifting my lips toward his with a gentle finger. Melting into the kiss, we stood like that for what seemed like an eternity of time, lost in our own world.

“Awww, sorry for interrupting” a voice behind us pulled me reluctantly out of my dreamland and Bang sighed, disappointed that it had not led to more. Turning around, I rolled my eyes at Zelo, Jongup and Daehyun standing behind the island of the kitchen. Zelo propped his head up on his hands and Jongup smirked at us. Daehyun winked at me and I narrowed my eyes at him, faking anger.

“Oh you guys, do you know what privacy means?” I shook my head in mock disappointment and grinned at Bang. He shrugged then crossed his arms, facing the three boys, inquiring their reason for interrupting our little session.

“Alright hyung, no need to get mad. Janice is awake and sober so we thought we would get Jane to explain to her Himchan’s situation. And also, she might want to be informed on how she acted and who she ended up sleeping on” chuckling, Daehyun informed us, an amused expression permanently fixed on his face. Hearing this, I immediately scuttled out of Bang’s embrace and into the living room, where Janice was holding her head in her hands. Youngjae was patting her back, smoothing out her tumbling hair.

“Jane! How are you feeling sweetie?” exclaiming in relief, I took her hands in mine and she looked up at me. She smiled sheepishly and nodded her head, telling me silently that she was okay for now. Smirking, I remembered Daehyun’s words and sat down next to her, leaning on the back of the couch.

“By the way, you acted quite strange around someone when you were drunk” I said in an offhand tone and she groaned.

“Who? Oh god, please don’t tell me I did something really stupid, like kiss one of the boys. Actually, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know” she buried her head in her hands again and mumbled curses to herself.

“Oh it was nothing. You just preferred to have Youngjae support you instead of me and you fell asleep on Youngjae, which I’m sure you already know. Also, this guy” – I patted Youngjae on the knee and he raised his eyebrows at me, having no idea what I was talking about – “confessed his feelings for a certain someone. He likes you, did you know that? We had no idea”.

Jane flushed a bright red and refused to meet Youngjae’s eye, smiling a shy smile down at his shoes. He gently lifted her head and grinned at her. Smiling back, she shrugged in apology and Youngjae laughed, shaking his head.

“Anyway, what’s happening with Himchan?” suddenly alert to the situation, Janice turned to me, demanding a run through of our inventive day. Sighing, I knew the part I was least forward to talking about was coming up and I patted the space next to me, offering Bang a spot. I needed to support and he knew it. Slinging an arm around my shoulder, he kissed my cheek and smiled at Janice’s bewildered reaction.

“I’ll explain later. First, Himchan” short and snippy now, I got straight to the point.