15& Dorm: January 6^th, 2016, 7:50 a.m. (Present day)

It’s really not a good feeling to hear so much of your time has been wasted. Jimin had to find out that she’s been beating a dead horse by chasing Jackson. A complete waste of her time, and she spent almost two and a half years on it. After her hug with Jackson, Jimin basically found any sort of excuse to get the hell out of there and just pity herself at home. She didn’t cry with Jackson, and she couldn’t bring herself to cry at home. A few welling tears, but nothing falls down her cheeks.

            She rushes to wipe her eyes when she hears Yerin come in the door. She’s not in the mood to explain what had happened. Instead, she’s rather curious about what’s going on with her roommate.

            “Hey, you’re home,” Jimin calls to Yerin as she takes off her shoes, “Where’ve you been?”

            “I’ve been walking around with Taecyeon Oppa for like…” Yerin checks the clock on the wall, “Thirty minutes? Yeah, half an hour… I spoke to Yugyeom before that.”

            That was an obvious invitation to ask Yerin about him. Jimin catches her drift, and asks. “So? How did it go?”

            Yerin sighs and plops down on the couch next to her. It seems like ever since Jimin gave her that advice, Yerin feels quicker to express her feelings. It’s a good thing for Jimin, who only wants to help out her friends. Jimin’s phone buzzes, but they ignore it.

            “I told him that I’m not ready yet.”

            “Ready to?” Jimin urges her to go on.

            “To like him. Even, you know…” she goes in her pocket and shows Jimin the ring he got her. “You know this, right? He got it for me on Christmas. I told you about that. I told him basically…”

            This opens up Yerin to tell Jimin the whole story. Jimin may have a big mouth, but she is as good a listener as she is a speaker. Yerin appreciates this as she goes on to talk about what she said, and what Yugyeom responded. When Yerin finishes the story, she drops her hands to her lap and sighs.

            “So that’s about it,” Yerin concludes.

            “Alright…” Jimin squints and claps her hands together. “So you told him you’d wear the ring when you feel ready to like him—that seems reasonable… but…”

            “There’s always a but…”

            Jimin chuckles. “Yes, there is. What makes you say you’re not good enough to be ready to like him? You know you’re always judging yourself.”

            “But it’s true, I’m really not good for him! I’m never giving back…” Yerin trails off. Jimin’s phone buzzes.

            “Oh shut up,” Jimin laughs and pokes Yerin in the chest. “You’re good enough for someone if they think you’re good enough for them. Yugyeom has liked you for, what, five years?”

            “More.”

            Jimin puts her hands in the air. “More than five years! Well for more than five years, Yerin, I can tell you that you for certain that Yugyeom thought you were good enough for him. Was he angry when you told him this?”

            “Well, no, he said fairly that he would wait…”

            “He liked you for more than five years and is willing to wait even longer!” Jimin talks as if this were the most ridiculous situation. She tries to calm down and points at her friend. “Baek Yerin, let me tell you this: if he’s willing wait for more than five years, that’s his weird problem. But if you know he’s been waiting for five years, and tell him to wait some more, then he really should find someone new.”

            Yerin is silent as Jimin talks. “The more you wait, the less you deserve him. My tip: go for it while you know he’s okay with you. You said you’re stubborn and selfish? Yugyeom knows all of that! He likes you, and he likes your stubborn and selfish self! Now the real question is, Yerin-ah, do you like him? Are you making him wait because you like him or out of avoidance?”

            “I’m not avoiding him!”

            “So you like him?”

            She’s going all in with the interrogation. Jimin’s phone buzzes. Seeing that Yerin really can’t answer this question, Jimin throws in another one. “Okay, okay, it’s a bit of a blunt question… let’s try this: when you kissed him, what were you thinking?”

            Another conservative pause, but Yerin does answer. “I… was thinking… that I wanted to tend his wound.”

            “What were you thinking to tend his wound like that?”

            “I was thinking simply…” Yerin looks up in thought, then down in embarrassment. “That I just wanted to kiss him.”

            Jimin shrugs and stands up, ready to go to the fridge. “Well there you have it. You like him. He likes you. Now put on the damn ring.”

            Jimin’s phone buzzes. Yerin breaks her silence to remind Jimin of that. “Uh… your phone keeps on vibrating.”

            “Ignore it, Bambam is texting me and I don’t feel like talking right now. I’ll get back to him later,” Jimin says, rummaging through the fridge to find a snack.

            “Bambam?”

            “Yeah, Bambam.”

            Yerin’s eyes widen in realization and she slowly covers with her hand. “Oh… my god. Jimin, when I came in here, I saw Bambam in front of our dorm. I think he wants you to come out?”

            Jimin turns around quickly and bumps her head on the door of the fridge. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

            “I asked him what’s up, and he said he’s just wandering around… but…” Yerin rushes towards the window of their room. She glances down to the streets and covers in surprise again. Bambam is still down there, pacing in front of the apartment entrance. “I think he’s waiting for you.”

JYP Building: January 6^th, 2016, 8:00 p.m. (Present day)

On days off, Yugyeom tends to pass time in the dance room. As a trainee, practicing was all he did, so he’s used to feeling empty if he hasn’t trained for a while. Today, he feels like dancing to let out some frustration about what happened earlier today. He now knows Yerin likes him, but isn’t confident enough in herself to let herself go, and that frustrates him to no end.

            He shoves an Illionaire CD in the sound system and freestyles to whatever beat comes on first. It’s always his go-to stress release, so when the door to the dance room opens, Yugyeom barely notices.

            What does make him notice that he’s not alone is when Ok Taecyeon grabs the younger by the back of his collar aggressively. Yes, Baek Yerin’s most protective Oppa is being aggressive. That’s not a good sign.

            Yugyeom tries to turn around to see Taecyeon’s face, but it’s hard to do that when he’s got his collar locked in place. Instead, Yugyeom just looks at Taecyeon in the mirror. The elder looks annoyed, and suddenly Yugyeom feels so tiny.

            “What did I tell you?!” Taecyeon yells like he’s in the military.

            Yugyeom feels like he’s being tested. “Um… you said…”

            “I said take care of Yerin!” his patience is short. “And what did you do?”

            At this point, Yugyeom isn’t really sure if he took care of her. He did help her with those men, though she technically had it under control. He did try to fight those men later that night to protect her, though both parties were too drunk to cause either any danger. He hung around her for most of the night, though he was too out of the loop to protect her.

            “I um…” Yugyeom blinks as often as he can. “I let her get drunk.”

            “Wrong answer!” Taecyeon almost whines and drops Yugyeom’s collar. Yugyeom coughs at the change in position and drops to his knees from the scare Taec gave him. Taecyeon shakes his head at the sight and crosses his arms.

            “You were supposed to say I did my best or some sappy like that! I’m testing you, you little kid!” Taecyeon scolds with motion in his arms, and he sounds so much friendlier and childish this time. There’s the Taecyeon that Yugyeom knows.

            “I’m sorry? Um… I tried my best.”

            “Exactly,” Taecyeon grins and bows to his junior. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

            Yugyeom pauses before looking Taecyeon’s reflection in the eyes. “Did I… did I take care of her well?”

            Taecyeon drops down to a squat and ruffles Yugyeom’s hair. “You’re so hard on yourself, Jesus. Did Yerin not act like you took care of her well?”

            “I don’t know… she acted like I did too much for her. I think.”

            “Well, Yerin is stubborn, you know that,” Taec rolls his eyes, “But I was actually walking around with her just a half hour ago.”

            “Oh really…” Yugyeom’s mouth dangles open as if he were getting more comfortable.

            “Yes, yes I have. And she talks herself down way too much. She said you did you best and made her feel safe.”

            “Safe?” That’s not something Yerin mentioned to Yugyeom. “I guess… I tried my best.”

            Taecyeon nods, and sits down next to Yugyeom cross-legged. “You know, Gyeom, I won’t be around forever.”

            “You sound like an old man, Hyung,” Yugyeom chuckles, “You’re only twenty-nine.”

            The twenty-nine year old holds a finger up, signaling silence. “But! As a fellow twenty-year-old to her, you’ll probably have more matching schedules. Yerin won’t always have me, especially with my military duties around the corner. So I say this to you, Kim Yugyeom, with a sincere heart. I think Yerin will need you.”

            A pause follows, and Yugyeom hunches over and draws circles in the floor with his finger. “Will she? She seems like she needs her distance.”

            “She says that, but trust me… she needs you. In these years that you thought she didn’t like you, has she ever tried to distance herself from you?”

            “… No, she hasn’t.”

            “Well there you have it,” Taecyeon says and stands up, wiping the dust off his back pockets. “Whatever romantic or friendly type of endeavors she plans on undergoing with you, I can’t stop you two. Ah, she’s growing up so fast…”

            Taecyeon leaves the room, muttering to himself about how much Yerin has grown. He sounds like an Ahjussi, and Yugyeom laughs at his expressions. When he finds himself alone in the dance room again, Yugyeom presses his lips together to hold back a smile. Looking at the ring on his finger, he can’t fight his cheeks rousing up.

            “She needs me…?”

Outside 15& Dorm: January 6^th, 2016, 8:00 p.m. (Present day)

The sky is already dark at this point, so Bambam takes off his surgical mask. It’s not like any fans will be out here. The boy is dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, so when he feels a light drizzle over him, he can’t help but curse himself for not having brought a jacket. But he doesn’t budge from the spot as he watches Jimin’s silhouette in their apartment window from outside.

            “Do you like her…?” Bambam mouths, quoting Yugyeom last night. He won’t admit it, but he’s jealous that Yugyeom can express his feelings so easily. Bambam knows he’s grown—why does he still feel like a child? Only children mask feelings with endless teasing the same way Bambam has to Jimin.

            “Do… you… like her…” he mouths again, asking himself the question. He keeps his eyes locked on Jimin’s silhouette. Why would he come all the way out here for her out of simple speculations that she might not be okay?

            Her silhouette disappears, and Bambam checks his phone to see if she’s responded to any of his messages. He scrolls through them. “I’ll come over.” “I’m here.” “You don’t have to come out, but I’m here.” “I’ll be here until I’m certain you’re good.”

            The more he reads over his messages, the more he feels like he sounds clingy and embarrassing. He can feel his face redden. —why is he suddenly feeling embarrassed? He kept his cool when talking about it to Yugyeom, but when he thinks about it to himself, it all feels more touchy feely. At least the rain is here to wash out some of his thoughts.

            He hears the door open, and Jimin walks out with an umbrella in hand. When she sees Bambam’s shirt partially soaked, she gasps and rushes over to cover him with her umbrella. She has a little towel with her—probably out of prediction that Bam would stand in the rain—and she ruffles Bambam’s head and hair with it. She then rubs his arms with the towel.

            “You could have rung our doorbell.” Jimin scoffs as she dries him off with her small cloth. Under this little umbrella, Bambam feels so close to her. He’s put his arm around her before, and hugged her before. But now, chest-to-chest and face-to-face, he feels a different sort of close.

            Jimin looks up at the taller male. “You’re red! You were gonna catch a cold at this rate, aish…”

            Bambam simply nods, praying to himself that this is the reason he’s so red. Jimin, still focused on drying his other arm, speaks up. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you ask Yerin to come in when she saw you? You’ve been standing here for what, twenty minutes?”

            “It’s embarrassing… I only wanted to talk to you,” Bambam admits, looking down at Jimin’s head.

            “You sound so dumb,” she laughs. “What do we need to talk about?”

            He’s about to answer, but feels cut off when Jimin brings the towel up to his neck and collarbone and starts wiping him there. Too close! He thinks and impulsively grabs her wrist, taking her hand from his upper chest. Jimin an eyebrow and looks him in the eyes.

            “What? I’m drying you off, what do you think I’m doing?” Jimin mocks.

            Bambam blushes again—damn it, why is he so shy all of a sudden—and looks down. “Um, sorry. That was a reflex. I don’t normally have girls wiping my neck.”

            Jimin rolls her eyes. “So bashful all of a sudden, this kid… really, what did you want here?”

            He lets go of her hand and she continues to wipe his collarbone. The bottom of her hand is unknowingly wiping his chest, so Bambam feels like his face is on fire. Maybe it’s because he’s about to have a serious conversation with her for the first time, but he’s so out of character today.

            He breathes in and finally asks what he came here for. “Are you… really okay?”

            Jimin pauses and laughs sarcastically. She looks at his eyes again. “That’s what you came here for? I told you I was fine, didn’t I? You didn’t have to run all the way here…”

            “But… I did,” Bambam says as Jimin proceeds to toss the towel around his waist. As she dries and rubs his waist and belly, Bambam continues. “Because I think you’re lying.”

            “Do you hold me for a liar?”

            “No, but I heard Jackson Hyung… saying that he rejected you.”

            She still focuses on drying him up, but her expression softens. “I see… but it isn’t as tragic as it sounds. I had to find out that I unknowingly got over him as well. It’s a bit sad, but I’m okay with it.”

            “Are you really? Are you okay?”

            “Yes.”

            The response is so sudden and quick, it sounds rehearsed. Bambam decides that pushing her further would be pressuring after all, so he balls his hands in fists and grabs her wrist again. He takes the towel from her hand. “That’s enough of that for now.”

Bambam pulls Jimin in for a hug, breaking his recent odd fear of nearness. The action is so sudden, so Jimin’s hand slips in surprise and the umbrella falls to the floor. The rain had picked up, and her attempts to dry Bambam are now put to waste. She resists a little, but Bambam only embraces her tighter. Soon enough, both of them are soaked in rain water. Jimin stops resisting.

            “Did you come here just to make me drenched?” Jimin mutters in his chest.

            “Maybe,” Bambam says, “But let me stay like this for a little longer.”

            “I told you…” Jimin’s muffled voice gets louder. “I’m fine.”

            “Maybe I’m not. Would you hug me if I’m not?”

            His last question is so obviously built off a lie—Bambam seems fine, and the only reason he’s doing this is out of concern for Jimin. But maybe, because he’s worried, he’s not fine. It’s the first time for Jimin to be having such a serious moment with Bambam, so she hesitates before ultimately responding by hugging him back.

            “And if your fans see us?”

            “They can’t see us through the rain.”

            Bambam’s face is still red as fire, but he tries his best to stay cool. Jimin can feel his bouncing heartbeat, and continues to assume it’s a side effect of him catching a cold.

            “My hair is wet,” Jimin mumbles.

            “So is mine,” Bambam responds. Tiny streams trickle down his back, but he doesn’t seem to care. “What did he say?”

            The he Bambam refers to is Jackson. Jimin knows who he means. “He said he knew that I liked him. He was too scared to reject me by the time he got together with Youngji Unnie.”

            “Ahh, I see…” Bambam rests his chin on Jimin’s soaked head.

            “But I don’t like him anymore, so I don’t even know why I cried about it.”

            “That’s okay,” he says simply. It’s still a mystery how Jimin can suddenly get over Jackson by typing a few texts. Maybe her heart landed on someone else, and the thought troubles Bambam.

            “Bambam?” Jimin raises her head a little so that is out of his chest. She looks Bambam in the eyes. “Why did you come here?”

            “I answered that already.”

            “I answered ‘Are you okay’ ten times, I think you can handle a second trial,” she sarcastically retorts. Something about her eyes look suspicious; what is she thinking? If Bambam is lucky, she can’t see his flushed face through the raindrops dripping from her eyelashes.

            He gives up avoiding the question, and loosens his hands that are still around her waist. “Because I knew you weren’t okay.”

            “Why were you willing to wait in the rain?”

            “Because I care about you.”

            Her eyes remain locked with his for a few more seconds that felt like an infinity. Slowly, her gaze trails down to his lips, which are turning blue and trembling from the cold. She continues to lower her gaze to his shirt, which is no longer white, but see through and sticking to his skin uncomfortably.

            “More than you care about yourself?” she asks, eyeing the mess in front of her.

            Bambam pauses at her joking sentence, and answers seriously. “Yeah. I do.”

            “What, really?” Jimin looks surprised, and laughs. “What heroic act must I have done for you to care about me that much?”

            Here it is, no going back. Bambam thanks the lord that Jimin’s head isn’t in his chest anymore; he doesn’t want her to feel his heavy heartbeat right now. He clenches his fists behind Jimin’s waist. “I think I like you.”

            Depite her black eyes, he swears he can see her pupils dilate. Is it out of embarrassment? Shock? Dread? Bambam holds his breath as subtly as possible. “And it’s probably dumb of me to use this chance now that you don’t like Jackson anymore—”

            “It’s not dumb,” Jimin interrupts. “Do you… by any chance… plan on asking me out?”

            He stops to think. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m ready myself to express my feelings any further.”

            Jimin softly takes his hands from behind her back to hold them in front of her. “We can be friends until then, right?”

            “Of course! Nothing has to change just because of this… hell, we’ve kissed and somehow stayed casual about it,” Bambam insists, and the mention of the kiss freezes Jimin up in her spot. “We can be friends who have feelings for one.”

            “Yeah…” Jimin lightly bites the inside of her lip and avoids eye contact. What is she thinking this time? “If you want, we can do that again. And still be friends.”

            “That?”

            “We can be friends who have kissed…” Jimin’s mind is so hard to read. “And we can be friends who kiss again.”

            It suddenly becomes a bit clearer as to how Jimin got over Jackson. Maybe Jimin doesn’t know it herself, but that drunk night kissing Bambam seemed to have had an effect on her. By the way she words herself, she doesn’t seem ready to expand her feelings either. And that’s okay with Bambam.

            He leans in, not sure whether either of them have closed their eyes or if raindrops simply block their view. Either way, all of his senses seem to be blocked—he can only feel touch. So that’s why when their lips touch, Bambam feels so much more certain about how he feels. He doesn’t think he likes her anymore, he knows. Jimin seems to still be battling with her feelings, and Bam knows both of them need time to sort out their feelings. But until then…

            They release. Bambam covers his eyes with one hand and laughs.

“…We can be friends that kiss.”

JYP Building: January 8^th, 2016, 6:00 p.m. (Present day)

It’s been two days since Yugyeom had that lengthy talk with Taecyeon. It’s also been two days since Bambam came home drenched, much to the surprise of his teammates. The black and red smudges on his T-shirt (Jimin’s makeup when he hugged her) were also suspicious. Nobody really knows what he meant when the first thing he said upon coming home was “We can be friends that kiss.”

            Well, nobody but Yugyeom. Bambam had slurred and muttered over the whole story when they were in their beds later that night. From what Yugyeom understands, they’re taking it slow, and will consider each other friends. Friends who kiss sometimes. To him, it sounds like they’re hormonal and in denial. But he wouldn’t say that out loud to Bambam.

            What Yugyeom learned from Bam is that spontaneity made that whole story happen. Yugyeom and Yerin are always meeting up to tell pre-rehearsed speeches. But Bambam just ran to her without a proper plan—and that ended much nicer than his own previous meetings with Yerin.

            So Yugyeom decides that if he wants to crack Yerin’s shell, he has to be spontaneous. How the hell is a shy boy supposed to be spontaneous? He sighs and stares down at his ring, which he twirls between his fingers.

Actually, Yugyeom did do something spontaneous about an hour ago.

It was an hour ago when Yugyeom was, like now, admiring the ring on his finger and the little engraved letter in it. The lighting in the dance room is nice, so Yugyeom took the opportunity to take a nice photo of it on his phone. The photo did it no justice to its actual beauty, but it might be only so to Yugyeom, who appreciates the meaning behind it as well.

            As he snapped the photo, he received the notification asking him if he would like to share the photo on Instagram or send it to anyone. The last person he texted was days ago, but it was still Yerin. So the recommended person to send it to was, in fact, Yerin.

            It took him only a few tired thoughts to himself before he mindlessly sent the picture to Yerin. Seconds afterwards, he immediately regretted it. Why would he send a photo of his ring to her? Is he dumb? No turning back now.

Since then, the only response he got was the little Seen checkmark, only adding to Yugyeom’s agony. He leans against the wall of the dance room and slides down it until he’s sitting. He doesn’t feel like dancing right now, only pitying himself. What in the world made him think that was okay?

            The door opens with a clack that echoes throughout the whole dance room. Taecyeon Hyung, Yugyeom supposes, and he doesn’t bother to turn to look. Instead, he just hangs his head and stares at the floor between his feet. He pities himself, he pities himself, he pities himself, he pities himself…

            The sound of footsteps gets closer, and Yugyeom assumes that Taecyeon is walking his way. But the footsteps don’t sound like sneakers—it’s the sound of heels. Unless it’s Bambam in his solid man-heels… a woman, huh? Fei and Min come in every here and there to dance, so he’ll assume for now that they’re coming his way to kick him out.

           The sound of the footsteps stops. From what Yugyeom can hear, the woman had stopped by the wall and stands a few meters next to him. Yugyeom gives himself a mental slap—why is he not just looking up? He takes a look to his left to see who the mystery woman is.

            Of course, Baek Yerin. She stands against the wall, some meters in between them. She looks down at him with a straight face. That’s the same face she had when they last spoke—an expression of determination. She’s made some sort of decision. Looking at her from below, with her short shorts and long legs, she appears so tall. Before Yugyeom can even try and read her expression any further, she turns from him and looks forward, in the same direction as her body.

           Yerin slides down the wall so that she’s sitting in the same position as Yugyeom. She still doesn’t look at him. The tension is gut wrenching, for him at least. Why isn’t she talking? What drove her to just walk in here, and sit next to him, after their last dramatic meet?

            Finally, she moves. Yugyeom watches her as she reaches to her pocket and takes out a little silver—yes, she takes out her ring. Seeing as she’s not wearing it right now, that means she must not be ready yet. Yugyeom sighs—not out loud, but he imagines himself to be. Yerin plays around with the ring and twirls it between her fingers, before ultimately placing it gently on the floor beside her.

            She gives the ring a push, and slides it over to Yugyeom. Yugyeom watches the ring as it skids his way, and stops as it hits Yugyeom’s leg. What is he supposed to do with this ring? Yugyeom looks at Yerin, who is still staring ahead. As he stares, very slowly, he sees her ears fade to a pinker shade. Is she blushing?

            Finally, she breaks the silence. “Yugyeom-ah…”

            He gulps, then hopes that wasn’t too loud. “Um… yes?”

            “Let’s start over. With this ring.”

            “Sorry?” Yugyeom blinks several times, unsure what Yerin means when she says that. Yerin releases a slight huff of air through her nose before turning to Yugyeom. Her eyes are sharp as usual, but her ears still pink.

            “Give me the ring again as if it’s the first time I’ve seen it.”

            Another pause follows, and Yugyeom has to sit and think about why she’s asking such a thing. Her face is unreadable. As he continues to think and stare into those catlike eyes, it becomes all a little clearer. Is she guilty? Is she trying to make up for all the drama by starting over? Her persistent nature would halt her from properly apologizing with her words, but her actions feel so sorry.

            So Yugyeom obliges. He takes the ring in his hand, and stands up. Only a few footsteps later, he’s standing right next to Yerin, little space in between. He sits down and closes the barrier that caused such tension. Yerin stares down at the ring, and Yugyeom takes her hand and pushes it in her palm.

            “Here, I got this ring for you,” he says. Yerin nods.

            “It’s really pretty.”

            The skit is so odd, but Yugyeom knows it’s only because she regrets not acting correctly the first time. She admires the ring as if it were the first time, and she slips it on her middle finger. He thinks nothing of it at first, but Yerin turns to him and smiles. It’s a shy smile, but it’s familiar. It’s the same smile she gave him when they counted down to New Year’s together from across the room. The same smile that slowed time down before, slows time down again.

            “I’m wearing the ring…” she says quietly. “Jimin helped me realize some things.”

            “What things?”

            “I was confused for a while, and maybe too shy to ask even my teammate for advice. But really, you should try asking her for advice every now and then, she’s a miracle worker,” her voice is no louder than before, but there is a twinkle in her tone. “But I know now.”

            “You know?”

            “I’m ready.”

            There’s an innocent look in her eyes when she stares into Yugyeom’s. A stare that says, I trust you, and I trust myself. This innocent side of Yerin isn’t something he sees everyday, with her sassy and blunt self. Those two words, I’m ready, say so much to him. She’s ready to like him, just like she said she would eventually be.

            Yugyeom breaks into a helpless smile. “Are you ready?”

            “To like you. And I’m sorry that I waited so long to realize this.” There’s the spoken apology he thought he wouldn’t hear from her.

            Their moment is interrupted by her phone ringing. Yugyeom feels like punching a wall; they were at a good moment! Yerin shows Yugyeom one finger to signal that he should wait one second as she picks up her cell.

            “Ah, what’s up,” Yerin says, and Yugyeom leans in suspiciously to see whose voice is on the other line. He’s a little protective now that he technically is in a more developed relationship with Yerin. Or he’d like to think so. When he listens closely, it sounds like Jimin is on the other end.

            “Oh my god! I’m sorry! No, I’ll be right there!” Yerin gasps and hangs up. She stands and claps her hands together in apology. “I have to go, I accidentally brought both my keys and Jimin’s keys, and now she’s locked out of the apartment…”

            “Oh, no, it’s okay!” Yugyeom reassures, though disappointed, and stands to walk her out of the room. “I need to stay here to practice a bit more anyway.”

            Yerin nods in understanding and they both make their way over to the exit of the dance room. Yerin smiles and waves lightly to him before walking out of the room. What are they now? Yugyeom can’t help but wonder.

            No use just standing around and wondering.

            Just as Yerin is about to walk out of Yugyeom’s reach, he grabs her hand and pulls her close to him. Before she can ask what he’s doing, he crashes his own lips into hers for a split second. A peck on the lips, nothing more, but it feels so much more intimate than their longer kiss that drunk night. He releases quickly, their lips peeling apart stickily by her lip gloss. Yerin, whose ears have been pink this whole time, now blushes with her whole face as her cheek, chin and forehead rouse up. Yugyeom blushes as well, but his shade of pink seems to be more confident when he sees Yerin's stunned face.

            “I’ll see you,” Yugyeom grins.

Pierrot Strike: January 9^th, 2016, 11:00 p.m. (Present day)

“What are we even doing here again?” Jimin asks, annoyed. This pub will only bring back cringe-worthy memories.

          They're in Pierrot Strike again, and the scene looks like a matured version of the one spent only a few nights back. They sit in the same barstools with more confidence in their postures. The same bartender from that tome doubtfully hands the four glasses of beer.

          Yugyeom nudges her with his elbow as he hands her a beer. “I’m just bringing you all here to relive that night in a more responsible way.”

            Jimin regretfully takes the mug and rolls her eyes. “But if we end up overdrinking again, I am blaming you, Kim Yugyeom.”

            Yerin laughs as she grabs her own pint of beer. “Beer is nothing in comparison to those shots we took that other time—what even were those shots? Bambam ordered them, didn’t he?”

            Bambam slings his arm around Jimin’s waist to keep her from running away. “They were… just the recommended kind.”

            The other three shake their heads—guess they’ll never figure out what those shots were in the first place. But Bambam’s head perks up. “We can try them again, if you’re so curious as to what they were.”

            Yugyeom squeezes Yerin’s hand when he remembers the awful taste. “No thank you, Bam, let’s just drink and have a normal night this time. Okay?”

            “Aight,” Bambam says and takes his own beer in his hands.

            The pub is not nearly as full as on New Year’s, so the quartet doesn’t really mind playing around with their PDA. Jimin leans her head on Bambam’s shoulder. “If we end up giving Ayeon Unnie drunk calls again, she will absolutely murder us. None of those shots tonight.”

            “I know, gosh!” Bambam exclaims and playfully pushes Jimin’s head off his shoulder. He pokes Yerin’s glass. “But you went the most overboard the last time, so I suggest you drink the least out of all of us.”

            Yerin sticks her tongue out. “Don’t tell me how not to drink when you’re at fault for me going so overboard in the first place.”

            Yugyeom and Jimin taunt a collective “Ooooh” at Yerin’s grown up sentence. Bambam, annoyed by all of them, snaps his fingers.

            “Fine, it’s all Bambam’s fault!” Bam groans. “Let’s just drink, okay?”

            “Hey…” Yerin suddenly stops. “Earlier, like last year… didn’t we make a promise to drink together? Yeah, in that dead group chat…”

            Yugyeom grits his teeth and the BamMin duo laughs at his annoyance. Yugyeom grabs Yerin’s cheek forcefully. “You’re the last to remember, of course we did!”

            Yerin slaps his hand away, offended at the sudden action, then grabs his cheek as revenge. The two tug at each other as Jimin and Bambam watch with waiting glasses in hand. Jimin has had enough, so she slaps both of them on their thighs.

            “Shut up, you guys, and let’s just drink!” Jamie scolds and hits their arms away from each other. They calm down, and all four clink glasses to a more responsible night.

            They down their first glass.

They might have forgotten what happened after that.

END

A/N: There it is, the end~ Thank you to everyone who read this story! I hope you're satisfied with the lovelines and ending, and I hope you enjoyed this story thoroughly! The comments were very motivating, especially the regular commenters!! See you the next time ^^