ACT XII | SCENE LVII

❝PARTY❞

[seven years earlier]
december 2012

OUT OF PLACE did not begin to describe how yoongi felt. seokjin had convinced him he needed to loosen up after their final finals in university. and that was how they ended up at a house party of some rich kid seokjin was friends with, against yoongi's better judgment.

having already started out his modelling career, seokjin was pretty popular and practically everyone wanted to speak with him. and yoongi was quickly getting tired of being dragged around as well.

he tapped seokjin's shoulder lightly. "hyungie, i'm just going to rest over there. you can come find me when you're done." he told him. "huh? but..." seokjin looked at him with concern. obviously this was very much out of yoongi's comfort zone and his friend wouldn't want to leave him by himself. "don't worry, hyung. i'll be fine."

seokjin seemed to contemplate for a while before sighing and nodding in concession. "there's a barbecue going on at the rooftop if you want to eat something. i'll come find you soon. and if you want to leave before that, just call me." he said. yoongi nodded and wandered off.

just as seokjin had suggested, he found his way to the rooftop. the music was just as loud, punctuated by constant chatter. the enticing aroma of beef filled the night air and he gravitated towards it. as soon as he took a seat, someone placed a plate in front of him as well as a can of beer and asked him to enjoy.

he nodded his thanks and picked up the can. yoongi had never had beer before. he'd never actually tasted alcohol. he never had time for it, really. he was either too busy studying or gathering data to work on his app to try anything that would only dull his mind.

but for today, he supposed that it would be fine. pressing his lips in a determined line, he opened the can. closing his eyes in anticipation, he placed it against his lips and tipped his head back. he cringed a little as he took a large swig, not quite expecting the taste that hit his tongue. it wasn't as bad as he'd imagined though so he took another sip.

before he knew it, he'd downed the rest of the contents without even taking a bite of his barbecue. "wow," someone close to him said. "you drink pretty well." he commented and yoongi turned sharply to look at him. the action was too sudden and he felt himself swaying. he blinked, smiling at the man.

"here," the stranger popped open another can and held it out to him. yoongi's eyes seemed to already be slightly out of focus but he felt fine, so he took the drink. "thank you," he said and took a gulp. "try the barbecue too. it's great." the boy urged. yoongi did as he suggested, definitely feeling tipsy.

before he realised it, yoongi had down several cans if beer, tried a few shots of soju as well as soju bombs. he was long past tipsy and some deep part of his alcohol-saturated brain knew he really had to stop. he put a hand up and shook his head, loopy smile dancing across his lips. "no more." he slurred. there was a small chorus of disappointed noises. he struggled to get on his feet and staggered back inside.

the music seemed to have been turned up because it boomed and reverberated in his head, further disorienting him. he stumbled his way through the place, eventually finding somewhere to sit.

there was a girl sitting cross-legged on the couch already and staring blankly. she grinned brightly at him when he flopped down next to her. she moved in and out of focus repeatedly but he was somehow able to discern her smile. he returned the gesture with one equally as unhinged as hers.

after a while of just sitting and letting the music pound their heads in, she turned to look at him. "it's so loud, isn't it?!" she yelled over the music, a giggle in her voice. "huh?!" he scrunched his eyebrows and cupped his ear. she repeated her words and he only managed to pick out some of them but somehow deciphered what she said. "ah yes!" he shot her a gummy smile.

"what's your name?" he asked after a moment's silence. "hm?" she raised her brows, lips still curved in a smile. "what's your name?!" he repeated, smiling even wider. "huh?" she pointed to her ear and laughed, trying to let him know she couldn't hear. "your name!" he leaned closer to her.

understanding passed over her features and her smile stretched impossibly wider. "hae—!" she said but her voice was drowned out by the bass. he frowned. "what?" he asked, wanting to hear the rest of her name. she repeated her name but once again, the latter half was swallowed by the music. yoongi tried to read her lips but his vision kept going in and out and multiplying so he just settled for what he heard. "hae," he nodded, grinning like a child.

the two continued to talk—or attempted to—yelling over the music to be able to pick up bits and pieces of what the other was saying. their conversation was punctuated by slurred words, pointless giggles, obnoxious laughter, and exaggerated hand gestures.

she put a hand to her throat and tried to clear her throat. yoongi could sympathise with her, chuckling at her sore his throat was starting to feel. he pointed to the stairs. "less screaming there!" the words came out slowly and with great effort. it was getting harder to remember the right words as the night went on. it was almost as if he kept getting drunk even after he'd already stopped.

she nodded with a smile and hiccuped, which warranted more laughter from the two. yoongi stood up and swayed momentarily as everything whirled before his eyes. he took a second to try and stabilise himself before holding out a hand to her. it took a few seconds for her to place her hand in his because she kept missing her target.

the two stumbled their way up the stairs, dragging each other and laughing uncontrollably for no specific reason. they careened down the hallway and she pushed open one of the doors farthest away from the stairs. "empty!" she cheered. "yay!" he put both hands up to cheer and ended up teetering in place for a second.

she tottered forward and he followed, banging the door shut to dull the music. hae let out a dramatic gasp as she reached the small desk in the room first. "cam—" she let out a hiccup-giggle combo and placed a hand over her mouth. "pictures! pictures!"

"me! me! gimme, i'll do it!" yoongi held a hand out excitedly for the polaroid camera, opening and closing it. She handed it over and it almost dropped between their shaky fingers. The two panicked for a second and laughed loudly right after.

after several attempts and even more near-drops, the drunken duo figured out how to work the camera. "come here," yoongi beckoned and she walked into his open arm. he held the camera up and she pressed her cheek to his. "smile!" he grinned and she did as he said. she took the picture once it was printed and began to shake it compulsively.

trying his best to be careful—with far more effort than he usually would've needed—he placed the camera back on the desk. slowly and swaying from side to side, he plopped down on the bed. "let me see." he urged and she stopped wiggling the polaroid in her hand, sitting next to him. the two leaned in close and took a look at the picture. "cute!" she giggled, pointing at yoongi. "you too. cute." he pointed at her smile, his becoming wider and loopier.

she lifted her head to look at him and he met her gaze. "cute..." she repeated, pressing her index finger to his lips. "soft," she commented with a dazed smile and leaned even closer. he glanced down at her lips right before she closed the distance between them.

yoongi had only been kissed once before that night but he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, kissing her back feverishly. they giggled between kisses, their hands all over each other. in a matter of moments, their clothes had come off and she was pressed between him and the sheets. giggles and moans filled the room, the dull throbbing of music somewhere far back in the space.

when it was over, she mumbled something about being tired and snuggled into him. soon she was snoring lightly and yoongi just smiled dazedly into space. he ran his fingers through her hair, commenting to himself about how soft it felt between his fingers.

"jin hyung," he mumbled after a while, remembering his friend. "jin hyung is waiting." he hiccuped and grinned at no one in particular. he tried to carefully get out of bed without disturbing her and ended up falling on his behind. he laughed quietly at himself before tottering his way up and struggling to find his clothes in the semi-dark room.

he looked at her and allowed another loopy smile to stretch his lips. "pen. pen." he twisted around the place before finding a fountain pen on the desk. flipping the polaroid picture over, he took his time trying to remember his phone number and write it out legibly.

when he was done, he wrote his name underneath and grinned contentedly. he straightened, only to stumble and brush his hand over the still wet ink in an attempt to catch himself. eyes going in and out of focus, he didn't notice and turned to look at her sleeping form.

"goodnight." he waved before staggering his way out of the room in search of seokjin. his friend would be looking for him and he didn't want to worry him.

🌻🌻🌻
and that, kids, is how i met your mother. hehe.
hi hi, i hope you've all been doing okay. this chapter is a little rough and awkward but i'll probably come back to fine tune it soon (maybe). take care of yourselves and stay safe, butterflies 💛