surprise surprise! told you i'll make it up to yall lmhaoo
i might again tomorrow

_______________

mingyu excused himself in the middle of the conversation and walked all the way to the living room to see for himself. minseul was on her phone and was laying down on the couch with her head on soonyoung's lap, while the boy was talking to wonwoo. the moment minseul's eyes met mingyu's, she sat up in surprise. even soonyoung was shocked.

"mingyu!" minseul called, "i just remembered i needed to talk to you!" she hurried off the couch and hurriedly dragged mingyu to somewhere they cold talk.

"what was that about?" mingyu asked, feeling quite nervous.

"sorry i didn't tell you sooner...but—"

"you're back with soonyoung hyung?"

minseul nodded, "yeah.."

mingyu was obviously disappointed. he felt like he was let down all of a sudden, even if he expected this to happen at some point. he knew he just had to accept it because there's really no other choice, and minseul never liked him in a way he liked her.

but what truly bothered mingyu was how soonyoung was able to take minseul back so easily. she said it herself m she was slowly letting him go, but how could she fall back to him so fast. soonyoung must have done something to make things work.

"did he have to beg and manipulate you to get back with him?"

minseul frowned, "i don't know how you thought of that. honestly, he just told me we should be together again and i accepted. he didn't have to do anything else."

mingyu was taken aback and minseul could tell. it wasn't long until he gave her a genuine smile though. "well, now that i heard that from you, i feel much better now," he told her, "i just want you happy. and if there's a problem you can always come to me. no matter what."

"hey why are you talking like that?" minseul laughed and hit his arm, "you talk as if we're parting ways!"

"i mean, are we not? not literally of course. but you already have soonyoung hyung back. you don't get to hang around with me anymore!"

"i'd still hang out with you, what are you talking about?"

"soonyoung hyung gets jealous easily, come on. like you don't know him," mingyu chuckled, "we can't be too close."

"let's face it gyu, were we ever too close?"

mingyu paused for a moment. yes. they had been too close—for a few times, in fact. he couldn't comprehend if minseul just easily forgot every time they kissed. then again, maybe it's too unimportant for her to remember.

whatever, mingyu thought. he's never the type to be so negative about life. so it makes sense for him to downplay the situation and focus on the better side of things. it may be difficult, but he swears he'll be fine. if minseul's happy, he's genuinely happy for her.

at least he had his moments with her even for a short time. and those are already more than enough for him to treasure.

unlike jihoon, mingyu took the situation very, very well.

____________

now, jihoon barely gets jealous over anything at all. he simply feels like there's no point of wasting energy, stressing out over the little things. but this time, things were a little different. only two days had gone by and he already couldn't stomach the sight of soonyoung acting sweet towards minseul.

it's not like he's against the relationship. he does want minseul to be happy and he holds no grudge against her. but soonyoung...soonyoung is acting like there was nothing between him and jihoon. once again, it's all back to zero.

minseul, however, was having the best time of her life. being around soonyoung was really something she liked. he would always look after her, play with her hair when he's busy talking to wonwoo and just hug her whenever he wants to. this kind of affection was what she missed.

soonyoung was trying his best to redeem himself. it's what he really wanted. however, he was still lonely deep inside.

wonwoo, mingyu, jihoon, soonyoung and minseul all gathered around to play a board game (just because everyone had nothing else to do) jihoon was seated across from soonyoung and the latter just couldn't stop staring at him. two days of barely talking to jihoon already feels like a decade.

"this would be better if we had something to drink," mingyu muttered.

wonwoo sighed, "oh my god don't tell me...."

"soonyoung hyung, don't you have soju in your fridge? i remember seokmin brought a few when we had a party for chan. no one really drank so it's still there!" mingyu cheered

"i don't know, go check," soonyoung replied and rolled the dice down the table. one went straight to jihoon and it startled the boy. soonyoung had to ask him what number was facing upwards.

"four."

"ah, how unlucky," soonyoung hissed and moved his player forward. by then, mingyu had already come back with some soju bottles and glasses. "whoever loses gets to drink, sounds good?" he asked

everyone answered no, but mingyu insisted. "come on, we don't have schoolworks at the moment! and it's been a long time since we drank together. i mean come on, this is the only time we get to hang out with jihoon hyung since he's always busy with school."

"i'm clocking out in an hour, i have a project to work on," jihoon announced, "so i'm not drinking."

"unless you lose the game, mister," mingyu told him.

"fuck. fine."

jihoon lost three times in a row. every time he lost, he had to drink up four times. by the twelfth glass, he was already dizzy. the others still drank whenever they wanted to, but they weren't as drunk as he was. jihoon was slouched over the table, his cheeks rosy from his drunkenness.

"one more glass for jihoon hyung!" mingyu laughed out loud

minseul furrowed her brows, "huh? but he didn't even—"

"sshhh he's already too drunk to notice!"

"i don't wanna!" jihoon whined and covered his face with his hands. the rest were cheering him on, while soonyoung only sat there in silence.

"i'll take it for him," the older announced.

"nani..."

"give it," soonyoung told mingyu, "i'll drink his glass for him."

"oooh you got lucky this time, jihoon hyung!" mingyu laughed. jihoon didn't even say anything. he was so close to passing out.

half an hour had passed. mingyu and wonwoo were equally drunk, jihoon was trying his best to keep his eyes open while minseul was knocked out, her head resting on soonyoung's shoulder.

soonyoung was still quite sober. he was just on his phone when he heard jihoon fall back down when he tried to get up. "fuck, i gotta do my project, i totally forgot," the drunk boy slurred his words.

"take a break and rest, you wouldn't be able to do it well while you're in that state."

"fuck you, don't talk to me."

soonyoung pouted. he watched jihoon attempt to get up for the second time. by the fifth time, he gave up. he gently moved minseul's head off his shoulder and let her rest on wonwoo's instead. then he got up and held jihoon by his arm.

"hey, i didn't fucking ask for help."

"don't be hardheaded, i bet you wouldn't even be able to crawl out of here looking like that," soonyoung told the boy before he crouched down in front of him, "come on now, i'll carry you."

"i'll walk on my own, go take care of minseul."

"she's clearly asleep. while you're over here stumbling everywhere."

"i don't need to be carried!"

"fine. if you say so." soonyoung left his spot and sat down next to minseul, who remained asleep. the boy just crossed his arms and watched jihoon, once again, slouch over the table. he groaned as he tried to get up for the sixth time.

it just won't work. the fact that jihoon was denying his drunken state was only making it worse. soonyoung took a picture of the boy's bare face and slid his phone across the table.

jihoon squinted at the screen. he could see what he looked like. his eyes were barely open, his hair was a mess and his face was rosy; there's no way he looked like this. "oh my god i look fucking terrible. maybe i am drunk," he slurred his words some more, "still, i don't need your help."

"i wasn't offering anyway."

minseul woke up a little and realized she was leaning on wonwoo so she looked the other side. upon seeing soonyoung, she rested her head on his shoulder and clung onto his arm. soonyoung tried not to mind. he just brushed the hair covering the girl's face and kissed the top of her head.

jihoon was just watching it all happen.

"hey, soonyoung."

"hm?"

"carry me to the room."

soonyoung raised his brows, "sorry, what was your request?"

"it's not a request, it's a command."

"oh sorry, you see, i'm taking care of my girlfriend right now."

jihoon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "soonyoung......please?" he asked. soonyoung burst out laughing and let minseul lean on wonwoo again. jihoon let soonyoung carry him to the bedroom. even soonyoung and minseul already got back together, soonyoung still let jihoon have his bedroom all to himself. nobody questions it anyway.

he entered the room and gently laid him down the bed, but there was a problem: jihoon wouldn't let go.

"ah, have you fallen asleep already?" soonyoung mumbled and tried to untangle jihoon's arms around his neck. he couldn't do it. "hey, you're awake, stop playing around!" he laughed

"are you going to go back to minseul?" jihoon whined

"yeah, i have to."

jihoon frowned and gently let go. "okay, thanks for bringing me here," he told him. soonyoung leaned in to kiss jihoon's forehead, but stopped halfway through. he hugged him instead. jihoon was so warm, soonyoung didn't want to let go.

"you're just right here but i'm missing you badly."

jihoon pulled away from the hug and their faces were inches away. "just go back to her, i won't go anywhere anyway. you know i'm just here, i'm your friend," jihoon replied, "don't hurt her again."

soonyoung bit his lip and gave him a nod. okay, he thought to himself. he'll carry on with this mess of a situation, no matter how lonely he feels.

_______________________

are y'all still mad at soon HAHAHA