Sangbae didn’t waste time as he walked the short distance to meet up with his cousin. Despite the large and warm coat that Juhyeon had forced onto him, the late hour paired with the chilly breeze and light snow created a temperature that was less than ideal for walking. He continued to use his chilled body to distract him from any other thoughts; mainly about how much colder Juhyeon must be since he had given his coat up and what was going through Juhyeon’s mind and why Juhyeon couldn’t explain himself like a normal human and why Juhyeon-

            Sangbae shook his head as if to chase the thoughts away as he realized the pattern he was thinking in. “Juhyeon…” Sangbae breathed out his name in exasperation as if the younger would suddenly show up and explain his self properly this time. Of course, Sangbae knew that might never happen, seeing as things were only becoming more awkward between the two of them.

            The small leader was relieved when he finally arrived at the meeting place; a small restaurant shoved in the back corner of a small strip mall that only sat thirty-five people at most. It was the ideal place for Sangbae and the other Madtown members when they wanted to escape for a moment. No one recognized them as idols there, and the owners had known most of them since their trainee days. Sometimes Sangbae wondered if the owners even realized that they had debuted yet, seeing how as every time he stepped into the small place he was always asked when he was going to debut. It didn’t matter how many times he reminded them, their elderly minds and lack of knowledge on any sort of modern media seemed to create a barrier that couldn’t be torn down. It was nice though, the members being able to go somewhere that there weren’t curious eyes following them. The only curious thing to him was the fact that an old elderly couple ran the small place twenty four hours a day. How they managed that miffed Sangbae, but he wasn’t going to ask, not sure they’d understand his question anyway.

            As he stepped through the old door he was met by the familiar scent of ramen and the warmth the place emanated. Glad to see that it was relatively empty, only two other customers, he found a small table near the back of the room as he sat down and waited for his cousin to arrive. It wasn’t long before the elderly owner came out, his thin hair revealing sun spots on his forehead and his soft smile revealing his crooked teeth. He rubbed his hands on a towel as he stopped at Sangbae’s table, looking down at him as he squinted his eyes. Once he recognized him he let out a sigh of remembrance as he said, “Mouse boy…” Sangbae felt the urge to correct him that it wasn’t “Mouse” but rather “Moos”, but he kept his mouth shut as he awaited the normal question.

            “When you boys debuting?”

            Sangbae cleared his throat before smiling, genuinely found of the forgetful grandpa. “We debuted quite a few months back, Ajusshi.” The old man laughed as he gave Sangbae a rough slap on the back, “Ah yes, you did! ‘Yoho’ was the song.” Sangbae chuckled shifting Juhyeon’s coat further up his shoulder’s as he replied, “Yeah, sort of…”

            Sangbae looked towards the doorway as he recognized a voice coming from it. His cousin came rushing in, rubbing his hands together and giving Sangbae an apologetic look as he said, “Hey, sorry I’m late.” He rushed over to the table, bowing slightly to the owner before sitting down across from Sangbae.

            The leader shook his head as he meekly said, “No, you’re fine, Hyung. I wasn’t waiting long…” Honestly, he felt sort of guilty having his cousin come out this late, but it was the other who had suggested it in the first place…

            The Ajusshi looked at the both of them before asking, “What do the two of you want?” Sangbae knew with the approaching comeback that he couldn’t eat late at night, but he wanted something to distract him from bothersome thoughts, so he ordered a beer. His cousin gave him a thoughtful look before ordering the same, waiting until the owner walked away before leaning over the table slightly and asking, “Are you sure that’s okay? Aren’t you… supposed to act like, I don’t know, and idol now?” Sangbae sighed as he stared down at the table, blinking as he thought of an answer. “Idols can drink… I just won’t get drunk.” His cousin shrugged, leaning back in his chair as the owner returned with two drinks.

            Once the elderly man had left their table again, Sangbae took a small sip as his cousin took a long drink, the latter setting down his drink loudly before finally asking, “So what’s up? You never accept my offers for a drink anymore. Why now? At almost 2:00am?” Sangbae kept his mouth hidden before the glass as he stared down at the foamy drink. “No reason, really… I just wanted to get out.”

            The other didn’t seem to be buying his excuse, pursing his lips slightly as he pushed his dark bangs away from his face. “Get out, huh?” He paused for a moment before he nodded towards Sangbae. “Whose coat is that?”

            That seemed to set something off in Sangbae as the shorter set his drink down quickly, putting his hands up in defense as he started blabbering, his eyes blinking furiously as he tried to think of an excuse. “Why do you ask? C-Can’t it be my coat? It doesn’t matter whose coat it is. I just-“

            His cousin laughed, stopping the panicked man as he quickly interrupted, “For starters, it’s too big. It looks like it’s going to eat you. And secondly,” He raised an eyebrow, “Why be so defensive about it? It’s one of the Madtown members’, right? What’s the big deal?”

            Sangbae sighed, placing a hand over his chest as he calmed his heart down. For whatever reason, he had suddenly thought that his cousin knew about everything happening between him and Juhyeon and that’s why he had asked. He now realized that was ridiculous.

            Wanting to explain himself, Sangbae took a longer drink before he quietly said, “I’m just a little stressed lately, Hyung.” The other seemed to be listening as he leaned his elbows on the table, looking intently at Sangbae as he said, “I’m sure the Idol life is tough. We thought it was hard as trainees, but I’m sure things haven’t gotten much better.” Sangbae sighed in response, taking another drink before continuing, “I feel like everyone has been a little stretched thin with the comeback preparations. Sometimes it can be difficult for me to be a leader when I feel so…” He sighed, not sure how to finish his sentence.

            His cousin stayed silent, obviously waiting for Sangbae to continue. After another drink, the short leader started again, “Everyone is so wonderful, and I’m thankful to finally have a group…” He blinked for a moment before continuing, “After I had to drop out of MBLAQ before debut, I felt like everything had been a waste, and even though there was the two of us, I felt lonely.” He took another drink, not noticing that he had already finished one and that the shop owner had brought over another one to replace it. “During the time that I was a backup dancer I started meeting the kids one by one and when we were put together as a group I started to feel alive again. Even when I was in Pro C with Juhyeon, I felt… like I had someone to confide in. He never talks much, but he’d always listen to my worries when I felt like I couldn’t talk to anyone else…” He slumped his head slightly as he took another long drink, his cousin giving him a look of concern but not stopping Sangbae as the other began to slur his words slightly. “The kids are always so lively, you know? I can’t help but dote on them. I love them all… they’re my family and I never want to ruin that.”

            His cousin jolted in surprise as Sangbae took a much longer drink, setting the cup down loudly before announcing, “Aaand that Juhyeon has to go aannd be confusing and-“ He blinked as he slouched in his chair, staring at the cup intently. “And he always does weird things. How am I supppoosed to be his Hyung when he constantly avoids taaalking about things like…” Taking another drink, Sangbae’s speech started to become more unfiltered as he made it through another glass, “Like why he isss so sweet one moment aaand the next he’sss touching meee.” Sangbae rubbed his eyes, feeling tired but still having so much he wanted to say. “Not normal touching, either. Why doesss he have to add in kissing? Aaand then he tries to be all handsome and it’sss frustrating. I have a better body than him aaand I’m older but why isss he always so dominating? Aaand the other’sss don’t even seem to notice it.”

            His cousin seemed taken aback by what Sangbae was saying, but he wasn’t sure if he should stop him or not. Obviously Sangbae had been upset about something, and this seemed to be the root of it. However, his cousin began to glance around despite the relatively empty restaurant as Sangbae began to talk louder. “Aand when he kisses me I don’t knooow what to do.” He slumped his head forward, not caring as it hit the table loudly. He moaned with frustration as he continued, obviously too drunk to watch what he was saying, “What ifff this messes up everything? But he can be ssso cute and caaaring and I just want to huggg him sometimes but I’m ssstill not sure about the kissing I don’t hate it it’sss just so confusing but I don’t want him tooo stop I just get nervousss and screw everything up and now he’sss probably mad atttt me and-“

            His cousin jumped up patting Sangbae on the back as he interrupted him, laughing awkwardly, “And obviously I’ve figured out what your problem is. No need to say anymore.” Sangbae looked up at him, his forehead red from hitting it on the table. His eyes were slightly blurry as he complained, “But don’t you want to hear about when he pusheddd me down and-“

            His cousin talked loudly as he tugged on Sangbae’s arm, silently praying that nothing else that he says would change his opinion of the rookie idol. “Maybe some other time! I think there’s someone else who you might need to talk too right now.” Sangbae let himself be pulled to his feet, not paying much attention as his cousin paid for the multiple drinks that Sangbae had and the one that he had. His cousin kindly readjusted the large coat over Sangbae’s shoulders before ushering the drunken shorter man outside, helping keep him up straight as he began leading him back towards the direction of Madtown’s dorm.

            His cousin couldn’t help but laugh as they were away from people, Sangbae still blabbering about how handsome and frustrating Juhyeon was and how he was worried about their relationship and many other things that hopefully Sangbae wouldn’t remember that he had said.

            When Sangbae paused for a breath, his cousin added in quickly, “I think I let you drink a little too much… I just wanted you to relax a little.” He sighed in defeat, “Maybe you relaxed a little TOO much… We’ll have to put our drink date on hold until you get things resolve with your dongsaeng.”

            With just a little bit of struggling to keep Sangbae on his feet and walking, they soon arrived at the dorm’s door, his cousin knowing where it was due to visiting a few times before. After seeing that it was locked, he sighed with defeat, trying to hold Sangbae up with one arm and knock with the other hand. He silently prayed that someone would be awake, and that it wouldn’t be the manager. Last thing Sangbae needed was to deal with a tired manager seeing the leader this drunk. Not to mention that he felt slightly guilty for Sangbae’s current state.

            He stiffened slightly as the door unlocked, Sangbae completely oblivious as he leaned his face against his cousin’s shoulder, swaying slightly on his unsteady feet. The door opened and a light came through the now open doorway. A lone figure stood there, silent staring as his taller shadow was casted over them. His expression was stone cold and his eyes took in Sangbae before resting on the other, many assumptions obviously running through his mind as his stare could cause any grown man to shudder in fear.

            Sangbae’s cousin cleared his throat awkwardly, thankful that it wasn’t the manager but now realizing that he would rather deal with an angry manager than the younger man facing him now. “Juhyeon… It’s been a while.”

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Thanks to everyone's support, I felt inspired to write again this week! (lol it didn't hurt that I was bored because I'm sick right now and had to stay home from work >.<) Thank you for reading and commenting!

Hope you enjoyed a drunk and out of it Sangbae! LOL His poor cousin. And Juhyeon.... XD The next chapter will be fun too write! Hopefully htey get things 'sorted out'... :3

It might not be beer, but here's Sangbae with his favorite banana milk >.<