"you're drunk."

"no, i'm haechan." the intoxicated boy slurred as he leaned into niko's side. "i thought you loved me but you can't even remember my name!"

the girl rolled her eyes, securing an arm around his waist so he wouldn't fall off the stool and hurt himself. johnny chuckled at his client as he took another sip of his own drink.

haechan hummed a groan and dropped his head against the girl's shoulder. "how are you not even a little bit tipsy?" he asked, pinching his fingers together as he dragged the i in little.

"i kind of killed my liver after my mom died," niko explained with a bored shrug. "i'm practically immune to liquor."

"vampire!" haechan exclaimed with a gasp. he was passed out asleep about fifteen seconds later.

shaking her head, niko turned her attention toward the drunk boy's manager. "i'm surprised yuta didn't show up."

johnny scoffed with a grin. "he hates dealing with drunk haechan about as much as the rest of us. unfortunately, drunk rock stars falls under my job description, not his."

niko hummed and sipped her own caramel-colored drink. she tried to sound as disinterested as possible, but it was obvious that johnny saw through her. sighing, niko flashed an almost shy smile. "therapy stuff. don't really want to get into it right now."

johnny nodded in understanding. "noted. wanna see more baby pictures?"

"yes please."

haechan
whw re ar you

haechan
my babied

jeno
Ohhh boy

haechan
UO

haechan
LEFT E

haechan
fake fdinds

taeyong
wait where's nik??

haechan
WITN OHNNY OBCS

jeno
Poor Johnny

haechan
POOR ME

haechan
FAEK

taeyong
yuta was going to be there right?

haechan
brl dirched

taeyong
weird

jeno
So you're there with only
Johnny and Niko?

haechan
yed

haechan
rheyde le

haechan
lame

haechan
one is papa and the
ofher is bampire

taeyong
id join but i have to take
ami home🥰🥰

mark
receptionist ami??

taeyong
you didn't see anything🤗

taeyong
im home alone

mark
lol ok

haechan
SOMEOE PICK ME UP

jeno
I'm headed that way so

haechan
jebo ☹️☹️☹️💞💞💞💞

jeno
Mark's with me too

haechan
jebo 😤😡😤💔💔❤️‍🩹

mark
😒

haechan
WHERE ID YUTA

niko watched johnny's expression twist in the middle of their conversation. they'd been talking about snails versus salt when he got a text. meeting her eyes, she could tell by the softness of his brows that he felt bad about whatever he was going to say.

"jeno's on his way here to pick haechan up. he's with mark."

the girl's throat suddenly burned. "oh," she managed after a few swallows, forcing a tight smile to her lips as she reached for her jacket. "it's cool. i should probably call it a night."

johnny gave her a sad look. "you don't have to go. i can take him outside or tell them i'll bring him home myself—"

niko cut him off with the shake of her head. she was already on her feet by this point. "don't worry about it, really. we should do this again some other time." johnny didn't say much in response, so niko turned and took a seat, leaning her head against the bar top so that she was face to face with a groggy haechan.

"i'm heading home, okay? i'll talk to you tomorrow."

haechan hummed in response and raised a heavy hand so that it sat on the table between them. he blinked slowly and pressed his finger to the tip of her nose. "boop."

niko smiled and rolled her eyes as she straightened. "good night to you, too."

bidding goodbye to vybe's manager, niko hurried from the bar just before the sound of excited screams erupted from behind her. she didn't have to turn around to know that the other two vybe members had just arrived, causing her to quicken her pace as she turned a corner and disappeared from view.

she walked around for a while, hands in her pockets and breeze brushing past the hair that wasn't hidden behind the beanie taeyong gifted her. it was a calm night; no pedestrians or noisy cars.

her phone buzzed in her pocket, but niko didn't feel like checking it before switching it off. the night was too peaceful to be ruined by whatever drunk texts she was sure haechan was sending.

turning another corner, niko realized she was getting close to vybe's building. her old building. she didn't recognize the area since she came from a back road, but the area was familiar now.

not only the area, but the man with black hair past his shoulders. the man who happened to be helping a woman out of his car.

it was a cliche situation to be in, really. yuta's eyes widening upon meeting niko's, the girl's arms wrapped lazily around his neck, the sadness bubbling in niko's stomach, everything.

"nik," she heard him call, but neither made a move. the only person moving was the girl as she trailed her hands over yuta's chest.

usually, niko would walk away or hear him out. she didn't know him well, but he didn't seem the type to bring clearly intoxicated girls home. but niko was hurt, and her head was finally beginning to ache from all the alcohol she'd consumed.

she bit her lips together and pressed a few fingers to the side of her temple gingerly. not tonight, she thought tiredly. tomorrow.

"niko, wait!"

i'm so stupid. i should have told him earlier, but what was there to tell? hi! i may be in the process of developing feelings for you! yeah, no.

"niko, i can explain." he was closer to her now, she knew that without turning around. niko's chest heaved with a sigh, and she wasn't sure why she said, "i'm sure you can."

she faced him, and he suddenly wasn't yuta. the girl touching him wasn't just a girl. suddenly, he was mark, and the girl wore the face of gaeul. and just like that, niko was back in high school.

you're drunk, she told her self over and over again until the words sounded funny in her head.

"i swear, it's not what it looks like," yuta sounded more desperate now, but mark was smiling at niko.

"i..." she stammered, the alcohol making her wobble on her feet. "i don't want to hear it. any of it. i'm sick of this, and you, and everything." she took a breath but her cheeks were already too flushed to calm down. "leave me alone."

yuta moved to step forward, but niko backed away from him. her head was aching enough to cause her to wince. she knew she'd regret all of this in the morning, but in that moment she really believed she was shouting at mark lee.

neither of them moved for another few seconds until niko turned on her heel and walked back the way she came, hands fumbling for her phone as she searched for a ride home.

•
soooooo thoughts on golden age?