There is mentions of relapsing via alcohol through this chapter, with partying and some mentions of anxiety/mental health. Please don't read further if you are sensitive to these topics.

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Wooyoung follows Yeosang indoors, towel wrapped around his waist, a looming feeling of anxiety clinging to his fingertips. Yeosang agreed readily to this apparent private conversation without hesitance, leaving Wooyoung as the only hesitant one, even though he initiated it. Yeosang sits down on one of the counter stools in the kitchen, Wooyoung settling next to him with his towel underneath him. Yeosang swivels his seat towards his friend, eyeing him curiously, a small smile curled as he waits patiently, watching as Wooyoung fumbles around with his towel and his hands, chewing on the interior of his lip before looking up.

"Sorry." Wooyoung mutters. "I was just told a lotta shit and I'm worried that you're trying to avoid me."

"What do you mean?" Yeosang's familiar happy and calm expression melts into something Wooyoung can't exactly place, one that strikes a chord of fear in his stomach.

"Sorry, god dammit. That came out wrong." Wooyoung closes his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "I just- Hwa told me that something happened again between you and Jongho, but you never told me. You didn't bother to text me or call me, and it worried me."

"Well, to be honest with you Woo, Jongho and I are on a break right now." Yeosang admits quietly, eyes lowering to his lap. "He was always mad at me. He was always reaching for something beyond what I actually did. A stretched truth, if you will. I went out to drink with you at the club, and he found it necessary to tell me that I need to stop drinking so much."

Wooyoung visibly winces at the words, hopeful that Yeosang doesn't see it.

"Then he told me that he never sees me because I'm going out all the time with Soobin, Hongjoong and you." Yeosang sighs. "It was an argument everyday. There was never a moment of peace and I felt like I was walking on eggshells."

"I'm sorry." Wooyoung says softly, watching Yeosang slightly smile at him as he looks upright again.

"We're working on it. We didn't talk for a couple of days and I slept on Soobin's couch, but now I'm back at the apartment and he's been sleeping in the spare bedroom. We're talking now and learning how to communicate again, but things haven't been smooth sailing for a bit. This was all happening when I heard about your meltdown from Seonghwa. I wanted to reach out to you and talk, but I didn't know if you wanted to be bothered after that."

"That's what San assumed happened. But you can always bother me, because you're never really bothering me. I like your company a lot, Yeosang."

"I'm sorry for not telling you any of this sooner. I'm not trying to hide shit from you or anything, I just wanted to give you some space."

"I appreciate you thinking of me like that." Wooyoung smiles, gaze dropping. The urge to be truthful sits on the edge of his tongue, but the words won't leave. He wants to tell someone about his relapse. He wants to explain the thought behind it and how he wants to get better, but then he'd have to explain why he had hidden alcohol all these months and why he lost his job; so he simply stays quiet. Yeosang was the one person he could trust almost as much as San, but even still, he finds it difficult to spill his truth because of the impact of all of it.

"Everything okay?" Yeosang can see right through Wooyoung, just how Seonghwa and San were able to, and Wooyoung nearly crumbles. He bites his tongue, using the pain from his teeth to pull the tears away from his eyes, swallowing his pride as he looks up with a breath, nodding.

"Yes. Yeah. Sorry, I've just been in my head a lot more and being here is a bit overwhelming because of. . . y'know." Wooyoung motions to the couch behind them and Yeosang breathes out a quiet ah in understanding.

"Well," Yeosang looks towards the back door, spotting Yunho and Hongjoong conversing outside of the pool. "Everything okay between us now? Or is there something else you wanted to talk about?"

"No, no. I'm alright. Thank you for being honest."

"Of course. We're friends, Woo." Yeosang offers him a smile before leaning to get out of his seat, taking a few steps towards the backdoor as Wooyoung stares at the empty bar stool. Yeosang's words hang heavily in Wooyoung's conscience, weighing on him like a ton of bricks. They were friends. Wooyoung should've been honest to him then, should've finally just confided in someone so he could rid himself of all of this pressure and all of this anxiety. But, he takes another breath, sliding out of his seat and grabbing his towel, following Yeosang back outside.

He would tell someone eventually. Maybe not now. Maybe not even tomorrow. Soon, though.

Yeosang mingles right into the conversation Yunho and Hongjoong were having, leaving Wooyoung to toss his towel back onto his claimed chair, sinking back into the water where he spots San and Seonghwa talking.

"Hey," San eyes him after a second, arm outstretched as Wooyoung approaches. "Go okay?"

"Mhm." Wooyoung leaned against the pool edge next to San, feeling as the elder draped his arm across his shoulders protectively. Seonghwa glances between the two of them, hesitating for a moment before speaking.

"Yeosang is okay, right? Has anything else happened?"

"Well, lots. It's probably best if you ask him yourself, Hwa." Wooyoung says softly, watching as Seonghwa's gaze travels to the conversing group outside of the pool.

"Right. I'll pull him aside then. Also, discuss what you guys want for lunch. Mingi's buying, I guess."

"Will do," San affirms, watching Seonghwa move towards the steps of the pool and begin to get out. They weren't too far into the pool, probably somewhere near the middle, lingering in water that was near the top of their chests. But it was warm and the sun was partially covered by clouds, leaving this as the perfect day to be in the pool.

Wooyoung waits until Seonghwa is far enough away before he slings himself back on San's lap, hands on the back of his neck and hips pressed close to his. San raises a brow at him but says nothing, wrapping his hands around the top of Wooyoung's thighs, squeezing the flesh lightly. Wooyoung smiles at him, leaning closer, one hand sifting to move through the elder's slightly wet hair.

"I said I wasn't done with you." Wooyoung muses, and San smiles at him, sparing a second to glance at the group before looking at Wooyoung again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." San says with a breath, but Wooyoung has a feeling it most certainly wasn't nothing.

"Did Seonghwa say something to you?"

"No, no. Stop worrying, jagi. I'm just in my head."

"In your head about what?" Wooyoung's head tilts, watching as San's gaze drops away towards his lap.

"I promise you it's nothing. Just forget I said anything, okay?"

"San'ah." Wooyoung deadpans, San's gaze finally returning to meet his own.

"I'm serious. It's really, truly nothing. I'm just overthinking. It's not anything important, love. It's okay. Everything is fine."

"I'll drop it only if you promise to tell me if it starts to bother you more than this." Wooyoung warns quietly, and San nods readily.

"Of course. I won't hide anything from you." San shifts his grip on Wooyoung's thighs as they move to his hips, pulling the male closer. Wooyoung brushes their noses together, feeling San's breath on his lips.

He feels guilty. San is devotedly honest and always has been, and yet, here Wooyoung is, lying and hiding parts of his life simply because he's ashamed of himself. He never wanted to sink back into old habits, but he let himself fester in anxious thoughts and allowed the negativity to swallow him whole, finding it hard to see any light pressing through the cracks. His old, shattered heart was being held together purely by San's love for him and his love for San, and an even greater fear grew from that. Wooyoung worries that if he tells the truth to San and comes clean about it all, especially regarding his relapse, that San will end up leaving him.

So, he insists on remaining selfish. San doesn't need to know. At least, for right now. He wants San to himself and he wants to be able to love San and hold him like this. He wants to sleep with him, feel him, touch him and kiss him; he's insatiable. He doesn't want to lose the one thing that felt like it was keeping him grounded in this horrible, twisted life he was living in. With no support from his parents, Wooyoung finds it incredibly difficult to survive in the world he was growing in. San was the only thing keeping him sane. San felt like the only stable thing he's ever had, and that alone made Wooyoung all that more reliant on him. He needed him to sleep, needed him to function and to keep his mind in check, and at times, it felt like he needed him to breathe. Or, is that too extreme?

Losing San would be his biggest mistake. He could lose his job ten times over, lose his phone, lose a limb and he'd be okay with that. He'd figure out a way to survive just so he could have San. Call him whatever you wanted, Wooyoung didn't care. He just wanted the one person he swore to love with his entire being, and if that makes him selfish, then so be it.

So he lets the truth linger in the back of his mind, storing it away for later, eyes gazing over the male he was hopelessly obsessed with. San had the same look in his eyes, the same level of adoration and love, looking at Wooyoung as if he held the entire galaxy within his russet hues. Wooyoung's cheeks flush with color suddenly, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he allows himself to melt under San's gaze. San always knew how to make him fall apart at the seams, but he also knew how to build him back up and repair him, putting him back together as if he never fell apart to begin with.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" Wooyoung murmurs hushed, only a daring few inches away from San's lips.

"Because you're perfect and I love you." San smiles at him, eyes lulling shut for a moment before blinking back awake, hues slightly brightened by the overcasting sun.

"I'm not perfect, Sannie." Wooyoung huffs, leaning away, head tilted to the left.

"In my eyes you are." San's thumbs press small divots into Wooyoung's hips, tongue wetting his bottom lip tentatively. "Don't ever doubt how I see you in my eyes."

Wooyoung really, one hundred percent, could cry right now, but he wouldn't dare to ruin this moment. San would remain oblivious to the impact those words had on the younger, leaving a sudden mended feeling settle over his breaking heart. Wooyoung was sure that his heart would break enough until he finally broke down himself, but San somehow found ways to rebuild him everyday, keeping the younger from his breaking point and far from it for the last few months. Wooyoung wasn't sure what the darkest point looked like for himself, but it was something he never wanted to see.

Wooyoung isn't sure how to respond to San, so he instead kisses him tenderly, hands sinking into the base of his hair and lingering there, kisses turning feverish the longer he plants himself against San's lips.

"Hey!" Mingi shouts from the steps of the pool, pointing to his phone. Wooyoung and San break away from one another and glance at their friend, seemingly disinterested in whatever Mingi had to say. "Order what you want for food now, or you aren't getting shit."

"That's harsh." Wooyoung pouts.

"Then quit mouth-fucking each other in the pool and come hang out with us." Mingi raises a brow unenthusiastically, but shit. He had a point. Wooyoung, with a defeated breath, gives San a soft kiss on the corner of his lips before sliding off of his lap, wading towards the steps of the pool. San follows closely behind, trying his best to hide the flush on his cheeks from Wooyoung's intimate gesture.

"Yeosang!" Wooyoung giggles, hiding his face in the crook of San's neck.

"No! One more!" Yeosang laughs, stumbling around the living room with a bottle of soju in his hand. "Try one more!"

"Go ahead, Joong'ah-" Seonghwa hums, biting his lower lip, watching as Hongjoong stood and tried to gesture out the title of a movie for the nth time.

Wooyoung was sitting in a small chair with San, settled over his lap, nosing in the side of his neck with quiet giggles. San had his arm wrapped around Wooyoung, the other holding one of the younger's legs, watching their friends amusingly.

Hongjoong takes a breath, then gives Yeosang a gesture of the number one.

"One word?" Yeosang asked. Hongjoong nods.

Hongjoong then gestures as if he's driving a car, both hands on an imaginary steering wheel, hand reaching down to move the clutch as he 'races' around in his car. Yeosang nods, catching his tongue between his teeth before answering. "Cars?"

Hongjoong shakes his head knowing they were already half-way through their timer. So, he continues driving, but then suddenly gasps, making a pointing gesture as he trails his hand from the ground and upwards, pointing towards the ceiling. Yeosang looked beyond fucking confused when Hongjoong met his eyes and he huffed.

"Thirty seconds." Seonghwa warns, watching his partner continue to try and explain this movie to a tipsy Yeosang, but ultimately ends up failing.

"Hyung, what the fuck." Yeosang rolls his eyes, sighing in defeat as Hongjoong raises his hands into the air, turning around to look at Seonghwa who shamelessly starts laughing.

"Transformers!" Hongjoong blurs out after the timer buzzes quietly. Yeosang's jaw opens, incredulous, in a fit of shock that that was Hongjoong's drunken interpretation of fucking Transformers.

"Are you serious? That's all you could think of?" Yeosang holds the bottle up to his lips, tilting it back, taking a long swig before setting the bottle down on a table nearby.

"How do you seriously want me to act out a car transforming into a robot?" Hongjoong places his hands on his hips and Yeosang shrugs.

"Okay, okay, stop it." Seonghwa reaches for Hongjoong's wrist, pulling him back down onto the couch next to him.

"When did you say people were coming?" Yunho turns to ask Mingi, who was sitting between himself and Yeosang.

"Uh, seven?" Mingi reaches for his discarded phone, holding an open can of beer in the other. "I can't remember."

"Who did you even invite?" Yeosang leans into the arm of the couch, eyebrow raised, eyes slightly red.

"Some friends from college." Mingi's brows furrow as he thinks, somehow unable to recall who exactly he invited almost three hours ago. "I think some girls I know? I don't remember."

"You've barely had two bottles of soju and your memory is this skewed?" Yunho says in near-disbelief, leaving Wooyoung to scoff at Yunho's response.

Mingi's eyes narrow for a moment, on the verge of saying something before completely shifting his focus to his phone as it begins to ring. "That could be them. Be right back."

Yunho rolls his eyes as Mingi raises himself off of the couch, answering the phone with an enthusiastic greeting. Yunho eyes the rest of the group with a slightly irritated gaze, reaching for his own bottle of soju before downing a large swig of it.

Wooyoung watches the encounter with curious eyes, knowing deep down that something was happening between the two males, but he couldn't quite place his finger on what.

"Jongho ever text back?" Hongjoong breaks the silence as he looks towards Yeosang, and Yeosang nods.

"Yeah. He'll be here soon. He got out of work late, but he'll be here for the weekend."

"Are you gonna be okay seeing him?" Wooyoung asks softly, head tilting as he rests against San's.

"I'll be just fine, Woo. Don't worry about me." Yeosang assures, leaning back into the couch. "Oh! By the way-"

Wooyoung raises a brow, watching Yeosang reach for his drink. "I invited Soobin and his friends out. I don't know if they'll show, but I thought it might be nice for them to meet our group while we're together."

"Oh boy." Wooyoung mumbles under his breath, trying his best to smile at his friend. He surely was happy about seeing Soobin again, but the thought of seeing Yeonjun after their awkward encounter makes his stomach twist. It was just another thing to add on top of his pile of bullshit to sift through this weekend, but he keeps his irritation to himself.

"They're here!" Mingi shouts from the front door, turning nearly everyone's head towards his direction. Wooyoung instead buries his face in the crook of San's face, nearly afraid to see Yeonjun again, if he was even at the door to begin with. Three males walk in behind Mingi, smiling and waving towards everyone.

"Oh, shit. Hey Ni-ki!" Yunho rises from the couch to walk over to the male, embracing him into a friendly hug. Mingi eyes the interaction curiously, jaw tight as Yunho smiles at the male.

"Yunho'ah-" Ni-ki smiles, eyes raking over everyone else in the group. "Mingi has told us a lot about the rest of you."

"Guys, this is Ni-ki, and these are his friends Sunoo and Sunghoon." Mingi points to each male respectively, smiling nervously as he takes a few steps and points to his own friends. "Closest to me is Yeosang, and further down the couch is Hongjoong and his boyfriend Seonghwa-"

The three males bow their heads slightly with a smile as Mingi keeps talking. "And isolated on the chair over there is San and his boyfriend, Wooyoung."

"It's nice to meet everyone." Sunoo says quietly, obviously a bit shier than the other two males. Wooyoung felt empathetic for the male, knowing how weird it can be to meet a crowd of someone else's friends.

"Speaking of introductions-" Yeosang rises from the couch. "Soobin just got here, too."

Wooyoung really hides his face this time and San can feel the nerves radiating off of him like a heater.

"Young'ah?" San asks quietly, the arm wrapped around the younger moves down, squeezing the male's hip. "What's up?"

"Remember that guy I told you about that was flirting with me?" Wooyoung says lowly as San nods. "He's probably with Soobin and they're about to walk in here."

"I'm not worried." San sighs, squeezing his hip again.

"I know you're not. But don't be all. . . I dunno. Weird."

"I'm not gonna beat the shit out of him, Woo." San chuckles quietly. "I'll do my best to not be possessive if you don't want me to be."

"No." Wooyoung raises his head, waiting for San to meet his gaze and only speaking when he finally does. "I want you to be."

"That's new." San raises a brow. "Why's that, hm?"

"I like feeling wanted, Sannie. It's nothing new."

"When you put it like that, that makes sense. You've just never openly admitted it like that before."

"I suppose." Wooyoung hums, listening to voices break out near the front door but his gaze doesn't waver. "You're all I have eyes for. I only want you."

"I know." San kisses him once, leaning away partially. "You're all I want, too."

"Jongho!" Yunho yells out with an excited gaze, arms up in the air. Wooyoung glances towards Yunho, spotting Jongho walking into the living space with Yeosang not far behind him. He isn't sure when Yeosang left the couch, nor did he bother to pay attention to when he did, but he's happy to see that the pair is at least trying to get along.

"All eight of us are here, now." San murmurs, hand curling around Wooyoung's waist protectively. Wooyoung shifts lightly, his left arm draped around the back of San's neck and dangling over the male's arm, fingertips dragging lightly across his skin.

"I wonder if they talked about anything else." Wooyoung mutters back, head leaning back into San's. It was only then that his eyes raked from Jongho and Yeosang over to Soobin, and a sudden brick settled in his stomach the moment his eyes crossed over Yeonjun.

Wooyoung feels a sudden uneasiness transpire over his skin, but San runs his hand soothingly along his sides, shifting his grip slightly, pulling the male closer. Wooyoung smiles to himself, watching as Yeonjun looks over in his direction and smiles, then turns to say a few words to Yeosang. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as Wooyoung had thought it would be.

"Let's play a drinking game, shall we?" Mingi announces over the crowd of people, turning Wooyoung's attention towards him almost immediately, head still leaning against San's lazily. San doesn't seem to mind, he rather enjoys the closeness of their bodies present amongst a group of people, brand new and familiar.

"What're we playing, Mingi?" Yunho asks as he settles into the couch, and Mingi offers a devilish smirk.

"Truth or drink." Mingi hums. "Come on. Everyone gather into a circle. I've got cards made for this."

Everyone within the room shuffles around, moving to sit between the couches and the floor, huddled with pillows and quiet laughter. Wooyoung and San stand from their chair and push it back a few feet before settling on the floor in front of it. Wooyoung sat to San's right, Yeosang rushing over to sit on the opposite side. Hongjoong sat next to San, then Seonghwa, followed by Ni-ki and Mingi, then Yunho, Sunwoo and Sunghoon. Jongho was after that, next to Hueningkai, Beomgyu, Taehyun, Yeonjun and finally Soobin, who connected the circle fully as he rested next to Yeosang.

"Okay." Mingi shuffles the deck of cards within his palms, looking at everyone with a tipsy smile before pulling out the first card. "Rules are simple. You answer the question on this card, or you take a drink. And I mean a large swig of whatever you're drinking."

"Go first, then." Yunho eyes him curiously, watching Mingi's eyes trail down to his card.

"Tell the group the weirdest place you've had sex." Mingi shrugs, placing the used card ahead of him before handing the deck off to Yunho. "Easy. Backseat of a car in the parking lot of campus grounds."

"I remember you telling me about that," Ni-ki remarks with a subtle laugh.

"Moving on," Yunho rolls his eyes, drawing his own card, reading the words unenthusiastically. "Tell the group who you've kissed last."

Yunho eyes the group warily, placing the card on the floor ahead of him. "My ex from like two years ago. Haven't been with anyone since."

"You didn't make out with that girl when we were here in the summer?" Mingi pries, and Wooyoung can see Yunho's shoulders tensing.

"Nope." Yunho shakes his head, handing off the deck to Sunoo. "Wasn't my type."

The game continues around the circle until it lands on Yeosang, leaving the only person to not answer a question to be Yeonjun, who chose to drink instead. Wooyoung could've guessed why, considering the card Yeonjun pulled was for him to expose his crush in front of the group. Wooyoung still wasn't sure if there were feelings lingering between Soobin and Yeonjun, but he could see the guilt swelled over Soobin's gaze as he watched Yeonjun down a swig of soju, but he made no move to say anything afterwards.

"Tell the group who you trust the least in the room." Yeosang says before looking up, placing the card down on the floor. "I'm not gonna name any of the people I've just met for the first time, because that's not fair. . . so- nevermind. I'm just gonna drink."

"Wimp." Mingi mutters from across the circle, earning a bored glare from Yeosang as he takes a large swig of soju. Wooyoung had a feeling Yeosang wanted to say Jongho, and he couldn't blame him for wanting to drink instead.

"Okay," Wooyoung sighs as he pulls a card from the deck, almost immediately handing the pile over to San as he flips his card over, eyes raking over the words. "Tell the group your darkest secret."

Wooyoung's heart visibly crashes into his stomach. He couldn't say that. He couldn't expose his relapse in front of everyone, nor could he ruin the happy bliss of the weekend with such a wicked truth. He swallows tentatively, placing the card flat down on the floor. He couldn't drink, not openly anyway, leaving him to find some sort of secret that would be dark enough to distract from the even darker truth. "I. . uhm. Got laid off from my job a week ago."

San's eyes widen, as do Seonghwa's, leaving his close-knit friend group to eye him to stare at him expectantly, waiting for more words beyond the revelation that came to fruition. "I can feel all of you staring at me, well. . . all seven of you. Don't worry, I'm fine. It's fine. It's temporary."

"Jagi." San's brows pinch together, thinking back to that night when he came home, finding his partner completely disheveled and heart broken. "Is that why-?"

"Yeah. Can we just. . move on from it? I don't really want to discuss it right now and ruin the mood. I'm fine." Wooyoung looks up to face San, then looks to Seonghwa, knowing how guilty the male must've felt, especially since he experienced the meltdown first hand. "Seriously. I'm fine."

Seonghwa nodded at him, visibly relaxing, but his eyes were still laced with concern. The room was quiet, a slightly uncomfortable silence, but San breaks the tension in the room by pulling his own card, handing the deck off to Hongjoong. "Confess to your crush in front of the group if they're present."

San rolls his eyes, planting the card down on the floor, turning to Wooyoung with a cheesy smile. "Jung Wooyoung-"

"Here we go." Wooyoung laughs quietly.

"I am hopelessly in love with you, and I'm ridiculously obsessed with you. Will you please stay by my side for as long as you'll have me?" San offers his hand, palm facing up, still smiling like a love-sick idiot.

"Of course." Wooyoung takes San's hand, pulling the male towards him, sweetly kissing his lips. The group sounds in a chant of aws and other incessant chatter, which only makes Wooyoung smile and flush in embarrassment. "I love you too, you moron."

"I know you do." San smiles at him again as he leans away.

"Okay, okay-" Hongjoong smacks San on the back lightly. "My turn."

The game continues for what seems like an eternity, consumed by laughter and alcohol, leaving the atmosphere light and airy, filled with a sense of comfort. Wooyoung relishes in it, a new found peace washing over his skin as he watches the group unfold into bleeding chaos. His eyes trail over to glance at San, smiling to himself as he watches the elder laugh at something. Even if he was overwhelmed by a wash of love and adoration, a settled brick of guilt sits in his stomach, which suddenly draws his mind to a blank. His eyes, once warm and glazed over, suddenly trap themselves to the floor, aimlessly staring holes into the wood slats. There's a faint buzzing within his ears, an apparent ringing that only seems to dissipate when he feels San's hand caress his shoulder. Wooyoung blinks upwards, the flood of noise falling back into him, watching as the group dissipates into various parts of the house. Yeosang was still settled next to him, watching him warily.

"You okay?" San asks timidly, quietly; doing his best to not startle the younger.

"Hm?" Wooyoung leans upright fully, blinking rapidly before taking in his surroundings again, breathing deeply. "What?"

"You zoned out." Yeosang mutters. "Too much noise?"

"No-" Wooyoung shakes his head, trying to plaster a smile onto his lips. "I'm fine, guys. I'm okay."

"Young'ah." San presses lowly, eyes trained on Wooyoung's own. "You can tell me anything."

"I know that." Wooyoung assures, taking another breath. "There's nothing to tell. I'm okay, I just. . . spaced out."

"I've never seen you so gone, though." Yeosang mentions. "But if you're sure you're okay-"

"I'm sure, Yeo. I'm really sure." Wooyoung feigns a smile to his friend, watching Yeosang hesitate for a moment before rising to his feet and treading off, leaving San and Wooyoung alone and on the floor.

"D'you need a second?" San asks quietly, hand trailing away from Wooyoung's shoulder and down to his thigh, thumb smoothing circles over the fabric covering his legs.

"Maybe. Where's everyone going?"

"Outside. Mingi wants to start a fire or something, I don't know." San turns around briefly as he listens to Sunghoon and Ni-ki stumble outside in a fit of laughter, leaving the sliding door open.

"Yeah. . . I'm gonna take a second then. Wait for me outside?"

"I'll save you a seat." San promises quietly, leaning forward and kissing the male's forehead before rising to his feet. Wooyoung watches him walk away and head outside before he himself rises to his feet, a little unsteady at first as he hesitates in the decision ahead of him.

Unfamiliar anxiety seeps into his pores, and he can't exactly place as to why. He's been in a group setting like this before, many times actually, but somehow all of the noise and the reeking smell of soju seems to have found a way to bring back all of the lingering nerves.

The guilt was overwhelming. The couch, the alcohol, the lies; Wooyoung wasn't sure how much more of it he could handle alone. He could confide- well, more like should. He's aware of that, but as he walks towards the kitchen, his hands linger on the handle of the fridge, trembling slightly as he eyes the nearby sliding door, spotting no one even remotely nearby.

Wooyoung feels a changing path ahead of him, a decision that could very well sway the course of his life dangling right before his eyes. His head tilts towards the fridge, hesitating; then he turns back towards the door. He could confide his worries and transgressions to the one he loves the most, or he can do what the devil on his shoulder was harassing him about.

He almost feels like the choice is obvious, and for the sake of his anxiety, he whips open the fridge.

"Wooyoung?" The male pauses, stomach dropping into the floor. "What're you doing?"

"Looking for water." Wooyoung turns around to see Seonghwa staring at him, arms folded against his chest.

"I thought Mingi told you there was nothing except alcohol in there." Seonghwa raises a brow, but Wooyoung shakes his head with a dismissive smile.

"Yeah, I forgot. Just a habit. . . y'know. Associating water with being in the fridge?"

"Sure." Seonghwa eyes him for a moment before shrugging. "Is there any in there?"

"No." Wooyoung scoffs, letting the door of the fridge close. "Just booze."

"Alright. Coming outside?"

"Yeah, in a second, gotta go to the bathroom first." Wooyoung smoothes out his shirt, watching Seonghwa nod and head towards the door.

"See you in a minute, then."

Wooyoung mumbles yeah in return, a breath leaving his lips the moment Seonghwa was far enough away. Wooyoung shakes his head, hands reaching up to cover his face, the familiar pit of guilt growing within his abdomen. He knew he really shouldn't do what he was about to, but there didn't seem to be any other way to control his anxious mind.

Wooyoung races towards the bathroom within his shared bedroom, closing the door and leaning against it once it's closed, reaching for the cold bottle he had shoved into the pocket of his joggers. He wets his lips, hand shakily holding the small, pocket-sized bottle of fireball he stashed away in hopes Seonghwa hadn't seen. One drink, Wooyoung promises. Just one drink to get rid of the thoughts.

He eyes himself in the mirror momentarily before flashing a glance towards the bottle within his palm. Without another thought, he unscrews the cap and holds the bottle to his lips, debating one last time before tilting the bottle back and letting the sting of the fireball smooth over his tongue.