“Daesungie? Daeeesungiiie?” he softly called out, feeling a bit self-conscious, hoping there was no one else occupying any of the stalls on which he was knocking. Most of them opened the moment he nudged the door, but there were two that didn't budge. The one in the far corner, and the one two stalls over. He strained his ears to try and catch the tiniest sound to determine which one was holding Daesung hostage. When he couldn't make out even the slightest scuff sounds or a tiny squeak in the toilet paper dispenser, he started to get worried. He couldn't even hear the faintest of breath sounds, it was way too quiet. What if the toilet had swallowed Daesung whole? Ah, he shouldn't have listened to him, he should have gone with him. As the worry worm ate itself through his gut, he regretted not having been a better hyung.

The bathroom door flew open, hitting the wall with the accompanying racket that bounced off the walls, creating a strong echo. It had probably reached the ears of each and every person in the entire building by now.

“Hyung! Oh no, I've come full circle!” a drunk Daesung exclaimed surprised, wobbling whilst turning 360° in a very misguided effort to orient himself, only causing him to be even more unstable on his feet. Seunghyun caught him as he tripped over his own feet, heading head first to greet the floor.

“I was going to the bathroom, I don't know what happened. I must've gotten turned around.” he added, scratching his head disappointed as he steadied himself.

“Wait, why are there sinks in our noraebang room? Have those always been there?” he squinted disoriented. Seunghyun couldn't help but snort, he had never seen him this drunk. Normally he was pretty careful with alcohol, never getting more than a little buzzed. This was a first.

“Oh, it's coming!” he grabbed his mouth, running towards one of the sinks, but Seunghyun managed to intercept and guide him towards one of the stalls, where he proceeded to empty his already empty stomach. The sounds of Daesung suffering cut through his heart like icy knives, making him wish it was him instead of Daesung that had his head halfway down a toilet bowl. After all, he was responsible for this disaster. This had not been his intention. He bent down and started Daesung's back, trying to make it just a little easier on him. He remembered he always felt better when his mom did this for him, like even though the world was crumbling one painful stomach cramp at a time, it made him feel like he wasn't alone. He hoped it did the same for Daesung.

After a long session of this lesser known art of ways to make the body sing on the noraebang bathroom floor, Daesung regained control over his own body and they got him cleaned up. He was still drunk as a skunk, but a skunk that could skunk on his own and didn't need the help of his fellow skunks that were a little bit less skunk drunk.

“Come on, pukie, let's go home.” Seunghyun said lovingly, hiding the guilt that was overtaking him, mentally kicking himself for always being so reckless, focusing only on what he himself wanted without considering the consequences. He really was a selfish bastard. If he wasn't, he would never have dumped all his problems on Daesung, like a garbage truck unloading its load on an unsuspecting daisy that was getting crushed under the weight of the heap of smelly trash, the truck driving away faster than ever, freed from the baggage that was holding it back, leaving the daisy struggling to survive. Daesung would have been much happier not knowing. He did this. There was nobody else to blame but himself.

Daesung raised his eyebrow with a naughty glint in his eye, as if a demon had taken him over. Without a word, he took an overly deliberate step forward, like he was consciously invading his personal space. What had gotten into him? Unnerved, Seunghyun wrinkled his eyebrows, using his eyes to ask what was going on. Instead of giving him an answer, Daesung just smirked, taking another step forward, causing Seunghyun to instinctively take a step back.

Maintaining an intense eye contact, they danced this inexplicable tango until Seunghyun could feel the cold wall his back. He was cornered, but Daesung kept advancing. His heart jumped into his throat, accidentally almost choking him. He didn't know what to think or how to react. The atmosphere was electrified. It was definitely a different vibe than usual. Was it finally happening? Was the alcohol truth serum actually working? He swallowed his heart as he tried to keep the hope from penetrating his entire being. Tried, and failed.

Daesung took the final step, bridging the distance that was left between them. He was so close it was intoxicating. He could feel his breath on his face, and even though it vaguely smelled of vomit, he didn't care. Of course he had imagined their first kiss over and over again as this perfect movie scene where everything came together in that one moment, their lives changed forever. But this wasn't a fairytale, this was real. This was as real as it got. And he preferred reality over his silly fantasies. Reality was messy, but in the most wonderful way.

His heart was pounding so fast that his entire body was pulsating. He only needed to push his lips half an inch forward and they would be kissing. Half an inch. But did he dare? His stomach churned, turning inside out. Where was his courage when he needed it? There were a thousand thoughts going through his brain, but at the same time his mind was blank. He couldn't move. He tried to warp the atmosphere with his thoughts, trying to communicate to Daesung that he had the green light, that he should go all the way, seal the deal or whatever metaphor would get him to lean in and give him a great big kiss on the lips. The kiss he had yearned for all these years.

Daesung assertively slammed his hand against the wall, right beside Seunghyun's head. Seunghyun's knees started to give in to gravity, having a hard time supporting the weight of his body, his legs shaking. It was as if they were in a classic drama scene, the most romantic one of them all. He couldn't believe it, repeatedly convincing himself he wasn't dreaming, that this was happening for real.

“Ehm.. what are you doing?” he asked with a quivering voice when Daesung didn't make any further moves. He swallowed with difficulty, not sure that he was ready to hear the answer, but craving it all the same.

“Ah, there was a mosquito..” he explained, drawing his hand back and blowing the imaginary mosquito out of his palm before looking back at him smirking. “Aren't you going to thank me for having saved your life?” Daesung cracked up, leaning away.

As the distance between them grew greater, Seunghyun felt the loneliness of the void that was left behind come crashing over him, disappointment creeping into the center of his bones. He mustered up a fake laugh or two as he hit Daesung's shoulder, probably a little harder than he should have. Daesung winced, but was unfazed. He still thought he was the most hilarious guy ever to enter this bathroom. And he probably was. But laughter was the furthest thing from Seunghyun's mind.

“Let's get back, one final song and we call it a night, okay?” he said dryly as he pushed him away and headed out the door.

As they entered their room, Daesung collapsed into a laughing fit for no apparent reason. He writhed on the floor with tears flowing down his cheeks, he was laughing so hard. That babo. Seunghyun couldn't hold a grudge against him, forgiving everything on the spot. He was just too cute. So cute it hurt. He couldn't help laughing as he helped the hopelessly intoxicated Daesung off the floor.

He took the mic and chose the song he had been practicing for weeks for exactly this moment. He was all jittery, nervous to finally sing it in front of Daesung. Especially since the lyrics were so fitting that it was scary. He cleared his throat as the music started.

“You're just too good to be true,

can't take my eyes off of you,

you'd be like heaven to touch,

I wanna hold you so much.”

“I know! Let's play a game! We choose which song the other sings!” Daesung interrupted, giggling as he changed songs. His drunk mind didn't seem to have grasped the significance of the song he had been singing, even though he had sung it from the bottom of his heart in the sweetest voice he could muster. Instead he sang some Japanese ballad from the 60s that he had never heard before, much to Daesung's amusement. He sighed as the song came to a close. He wasn't sure if Daesung had done this on purpose, perhaps to avoid the pressure that the meaning of the song was putting on the atmosphere between them, or if he was just so drunk that he didn't realize how inconsiderate he was being. It wasn't like Daesung to be disrespectful, he always, always tread so carefully in the presence of another's heart, putting everyone else ahead of himself.

Refusing to give up, he chose the song 'I love You' from Daesung's solo album. If he couldn't get him to say it for real, he would take what he could get. Daesung's angel voice caressed the lyrics, making those three words seem more precious than ever before. Seunghyun got goose bumps, a swarm of butterflies attacking his gut every time he said it. He knew it was silly, he knew it wasn't for real, but still he treasured every second of it.

Towards the end of the song, Daesung managed to step on the cord that was connected to the mic, falling face first in his direction. Thanks to his unusually fast reflexes, Seunghyun managed to catch him before he kissed the floor. If he wasn't going to kiss him, he was sure as hell not going to let him kiss the floor.

He was so drunk that he was having trouble standing on his own, so instead he clung onto Seunghyun for dear life. He put his arms around his neck and rested his head on his shoulder, turning Seunghyun's rescue attempt into a slow dance. Defeated, Seunghyun placed his hands around him, guiltily enjoying how his back muscles moved under his palms. And so they danced.

“I wish I could be who you want me to be.” Daesung whispered hopelessly into his ear, before passing out on his shoulder. Seunghyun tried not to think about what that meant, unsuccessfully. So he just kept slow dancing, ignoring the tears that had escaped their prison, trickling down his cheeks in rhythm to the music.