𝙂𝙊𝙊𝘿 𝙂𝙄𝙍𝙇𝙎! 𝙣𝙘𝙩 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢

the sun was already fully set at the time they pulled into the famous neo house, and now there was no time for yun to change her mind. she didn't know who else out of the friends were going to come, and she didn't really care, she was mainly just ready to have a good time for once without getting into trouble.

her stomach twisted at the sight of people in front of her, which was unusual considering she'd been to enough parties at this point there was really no reason for her to be nervous. still, she inhaled and exhaled deeply and slowly to calm the nerves bubbling around.

before she got lost in her thoughts, ren linked their arms together as she practically skipped into the house, danbi and chenle following behind calmly with their hands tangled together as they always did so perfectly. yun could almost feel the excitement radiating from rens body. as per usual, the music got even louder when they pushed the door open and squeezed past the bodies crowding even such a big space, the smell of alcohol and sweat flooding their noses almost immediately.

"you know, this is the one thing i almost hate about neo parties," ren began, the four of them stopping at a drink table and watching her pick up one of her own, "so many people here. like, i swear this is more than our school."

"yeah, of course," chenle confirmed, "you think these assholes would only invite ncit?"

it was obvious now, they just wanted badly to keep whatever reputation they had and would keep throwing these ridiculously big parties if that meant it would stay.

the trio conversed comfortably about such and such, but yun couldn't seem to stay focused on one thing. her eyes wandered everywhere, from faces to bodies, to drink labels until she managed to spot hyunjin and eunjoo talking and laughing. her stomach twisted again, this time out of disgust when remembering the previous interactions with the girl. of course, the two seemed closer than ever.

"jaemin!" chenles voice broke through her thoughts and the small group turned to watch a grinning jaemin approach.

he and yun had hardly spoken or even seen each other since... you know... but she couldn't help but notice how happy he seemed in that moment. like the way he was whenever they were alone, and she hated how it was a sight she missed, seeing him so happy.

she hoped she'd be invisible to him, not wanting all the feelings she forced away to come flooding back but of course he had to flash his charming smile her way, and she couldn't help but send one back before immediately turning to grab a drink. he watched her do so, hands shoved into his pockets as he took a few steps closer to her so they had no choice but to communicate.

yun pulled the plastic cup to her lips, glancing at the taller with perked eyebrows but an occupied mouth. "you okay?" he asked.

she hummed, still not pulling the cup away even though now she was sipping on absolutely nothing, but he continued. "i didn't think you'd come, but i'm so relieved you're here. i was probably gonna leave if you weren't."

finally she parted ways with the cup. "really? why?"

"i mean—if you all weren't here. i just feel more comfortable with you guys around." he backtracked, realizing how that could've sounded. "you know i'm really not a party person."

"yeah, i know. i'm starting to not be one," she replied, voice drifting off, "drinking helps. a lot."

his eyes flickered between the now empty cup in her hands. "don't drink too much, yun."

"don't worry! i promise i can take care of myself!"

he almost flinched at the hint of sarcasm. "i know, i'm just looking out for you. i still care about you."

they were just friends but yun couldn't ignore the softness in his voice every time he spoke to her, and friends don't speak to each other that way. friends don't stare at each other longingly with their hearts beating out of their chests before one of them inhales sharply and acts like the tension was never there.

yun was the one to inhale, looking away and taking a step back once she realized how close they'd been standing. her lips parted even though she had absolutely no idea what she was going to say, but she didn't get a chance to say a word when ren came to swoop her out. "sorry, best friend time."

then the two were further away from jaemin, yun silently thanking no one for pulling her out of the very awkward situation. ren pulled her out to where others were dancing, spinning her around before wrapping her arms around the girl and swayed. "this is not the night for boys. and before you say 'i wasn't, i wasn't, blah blah,' i know you. you'll give in before you can even think."

the younger gasped lightly at both the way rens voice shifted in a higher pitch when imitating her, and the fact that she didn't have faith in her decisions. "okay, i don't sound like that, and i wasn't even thinking about giving in, or whatever you're even talking about—"

"yeah, i'm sure," ren dragged, "i'm helping you. trust me on this."

the other didn't protest any further, just glaring at rens mischievous grin and let her body loose the way she was. all while thinking she was definitely right. yun was absolutely getting ready to fold under the pressure of na jaemin, all because of the stupid feelings that refused to dissipate no matter how hard she tried.

"is that who i think it is?" another voice joined, startling the two girls as their attention turned to the figure who suddenly approached them, but frowns turning upside down when they realized it was doyoung.

there was no clear sign that this party was a birthday party, most of those people likely didn't care as long as there'd be alcohol but doyoung wanted to make it somewhat known by wearing a little party hat he looked all too proud of. "oh my god, it's the birthday boy. how old are you now? 40?"

"ha ha, funny, when did you get here?"

"not even half an hour ago. oh, this is ren, ren, doyoung." she introduced.

"it's your birthday?" ren asked, brows squeezed together in confusion all while ignoring the introduction.

the two laughed, "yes, it is. what better way to spend my special day, really." he jokes, eyes scanning the room full of sweaty, mostly unknown people.

"i think you're being sarcastic, but this is exactly how i'd wanna spend my birthday." ren slung her arm over yuns with a confident smile over her lips. doyoung nodded, unsure.

"so all of you are weird, huh?" he teased, earning a slap in the arm from yun. "oh! jaehyun was looking for you! i almost forgot, so when you see him please tell him to restock the drinks. the sororities are coming in with whiteclaws."

ren stifled a laugh at his frustration while the other nodded and watched him walk away, turning back to her friend and burst into giggles together. "okay, he's cool. maybe the neos aren't so bad."

yun nodded, and got ready to say 'i told you so,' when her mind became fog watching kyong walk through the crowd. she was surrounded by people yun had never even seen before, smiling largely with her pearly whites and hugged almost everyone that she passed. just watching her talk casually in the groupchat was enough to piss her off, but seeing her act as happy and dandy as she currently was made it that much more annoying.

ren stopped her own laughter when she picked up her head to see her friend everything but laughing, unable to help herself from following her gaze just to make the same face when she spotted the problem. "my god, this bitch really had the balls to show up."

yun inhaled again, reverting her stare somewhere else and decided that night was not about to be ruined for her. the older seemed to notice quickly, ensuring the two of them couldn't be seen by the girl they dreaded. "i need a drink."

she heard her friend calling after her as she began to push through the crowd, but forced herself not to hear it when pouring herself another and downing it like it'd be the last think she'd ever drink. it burned straight down to her stomach, scrunching her face up in disgust and turning to watch ren catch up.

"last one, i swear," she promised, though that was probably a lie.

ren scoffed, not believing a word out of yuns mouth as she pulled her phone from her back pocket once she felt it vibrate. the other curiously peered over her shoulder to see a text from jeno saying he'd arrived. "wow, you guys are at the stage where you're notifying each other when you're at the same place. i feel sick."

there was an evident blush across rens cheeks paired with a silly grin, and it was obvious how hard she was falling but she nudged yun in the side before she could notice. "let's go get him, princess."

the place was filling up more by the minute, and the cloud was thick enough yun swore she was beginning to feel a second hand high along with a stomach ache from downing two cups filled to the brim. people unknowingly bumped into her, the grip on rens hand tightening to ensure she wouldn't somehow get lost in the crowd until they reached the door.

jenos smile suddenly got bigger upon seeing ren, his eye smile becoming more prominent when she dragged him fully through the door. "hi yun!" he greeted briefly before they disappeared into the crowd.

"how cute," the all too familiar voice of haechan came too close to yuns ears, feeling his arm fall over her shoulders causing her to jump slightly. "jesus, haechan, you scared me."

"i missed you."

ignoring the pounding in her chest, yun shrugged his shoulder off. "you saw me a couple days ago."

"i miss you everyday," he sighed dramatically, "let's get a drink."

his hand fell into hers, intertwining their fingers so delicately she hated how much she loved it. they took two steps before haechan stopped suddenly. "wait, your boyfriends coming."

"what?"

before she could even think about who the 'boyfriend' in question could possibly be, the pair were watching jaehyun make his way over, haechan only squeezing her hand tighter so it was impossible to let go.

"you made it," he grinned, staring straight at yun before his eyes flickered to haechan, "i don't believe we've formally met, haechan, right?"

the younger boy hummed and forced a smile, brushing his arm against yuns body when he got even closer. for some reason it felt embarrassing to her, especially with jaehyun eyeing the two. "i'm jaehyun! since we're here, i've already told yun but you guys don't have to make a decision right away about the neo thing. it may seem like a simple job but i understand if you—"

"don't worry about it." haechan interrupted. his voice was pathetically fake sincere but jaehyun didn't seem to pick up on it, just nodding awkwardly. "i'm gonna get that drink."

the atmosphere suddenly got even more awkward when haechan detangled his hand from hers and walked the other way, yuns eyes staying on his body until he was fully out of sight.

"he doesn't like me, does he?"

it was too obvious to deny. "to be fair, he doesn't really like any of you." yun mumbled. "they haven't gotten the chance to get to know you like i have."

jaehyun felt his heart clench at the words, playfully ruffling her hair when she wasn't looking. "that's really sweet of you, yun. i think we're just misunderstood."

and they were, she knew that, they knew that. she couldn't understand how their reputation came to be when the boys themselves weren't all as awful as everyone made them out to be, and there was no way if proving that they were good people unless people knew them personally. the idea of being around them slowly wasn't sound all too bad.

i am finishing this up at 6 am, this isnt over but im splitting it into 2 or 3 chapters bc this one is already over 2000 words, sorry its super lengthy 😥