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"San'ah!" A voice carries from the hall, stirring the brown-eyed male to turn his head, watching that of his best friend stumble down the hall with a smile plastered to his face.

"Wha–?" San, confused as usual by his friend's antics, watches Wooyoung take shelter behind him as another body comes stomping down the hall.

"Hwa is trying to hit me!" Wooyoung grabs onto San's arm timidly, waiting for Seonghwa to enter into the room, hiding beneath the taller stature of his friend.

"He ate my food!" Seonghwa stomps into frame, clearly irritated, but Wooyoung can't help but laugh.

"Did you label it?" San questions as Seonghwa annoyingly nods his head.

"I would not forget to do that with you two heathens around." Wooyoung breaks down laughing, letting go of San's arm and crashing to the floor in hysterics. San looks over to his friend, watching him laugh at Seonghwa's irate tone over something so simple.

"Woo?" San smiles as Wooyoung continues to laugh. "Why did you eat Hwa's food?"

"I was hungry and I didn't want to waste money ordering food." Wooyoung calms himself down to answer, wiping a single tear from his eye as Seonghwa stands there like an overbearingly angry mother.

"Fair, but you could've asked us to get food with you if money is an issue, Woo."

Wooyoung picks himself up, looking at his friends with a pleading gaze. "I will buy you lunch, Hwa."

"Okay," Seonghwa leaves the room shortly after, leaving Wooyoung and San to engulf themselves in quiet laughter. San turns himself around in his desk chair, leaving his laptop open and exposed for Wooyoung to investigate just beyond San's broad shoulders.

"Are you writing?" Wooyoung tilts his head as he tries to read the words shining from San's laptop, but San shakes his head.

"It's my paper for school," San sighs. "It's boring. I need a break."

"Let's go meet Mingi and Yunho out at a bar, then." Wooyoung suggests lightly, watching San's wheels turn visibly in his mind. Wooyoung starts pouting his lower lip, San takes notice very quickly and chuckles at him.

"Go call Mingi and see what he's up to." San takes his thumb and wipes it across Wooyoung's lip briefly, trying to push it back in jokingly. Wooyoung smiles, batting San's hand away while rushing to stand and racing out of the room for his phone. San watches him leave, and not a minute later, he returns with his phone, already texting their friend about his plans.

San, Wooyoung and Seonghwa had been living together for the past year. After graduating from school, the boys and their friend group had to decide where to go and what to do with their lives, and Wooyoung was the only one without a devoted path. San loved to dance and made it his mission to make a career out of it one day. Wooyoung also loved to dance, but not as seriously as San did. Wooyoung blindly followed San anywhere, but elected on working a nine to five rather than attending more school. Seonghwa was incredibly smart, about ready to finish college with a degree in business.

The rest of their friends stayed close, living with one another or completely alone. Jongho lived alone, pursuing a singing career at the same school as San. Yeosang and Hongjoong lived together in an apartment in the same complex as the trio, both working shitty jobs just to pay their bills. Mingi and Yunho lived together with Mingi working as a bartender and Yunho working at a police department.

Thankfully San's parents were well off enough to help him pay his bills with a monthly allowance, but Wooyoung was constantly struggling. Wooyoung didn't want to admit to anyone that he barely was able to keep living with his two best friends, but he goes out and parties anyways, drinking until he can't remember the anxiety of being an adult.

As Wooyoung texted Mingi, San watched him slightly fidget in his stance, waiting anxiously for a reply. San knew that Wooyoung was a little reliant on drinking to deal with his insomnia. He didn't want to entirely enable Wooyoung, but the only way Wooyoung could get any sleep was drinking enough until his mind shuts off.

Wooyoung was a conscious overthinker. He knew what his mind was doing to him all the time, but he chose to ignore it and devote his time to going out to parties and being with his friends. Wooyoung thought about his friends a lot, wondering when they'll hang out for the last time, or when San and Seonghwa will leave him alone in the empty apartment to fend for himself. San promised to never leave Wooyoung's side, but Wooyoung knows better than to let a promise determine his future.

"Mingi isn't working tonight," Wooyoung says excitedly, biting his bottom lip as he waits for another response.

"You sure you want to go out drinking?" San reaches over and closes his laptop, watching as Wooyoung begins a reply.

"What else are we gonna do?"

"If you're sure," San sighs and stands from his chair, walking towards his closet as he searches through his shirts.

"Mingi can meet us there in ten minutes. Should I bother Joong?"

"Why not? I'm sure he wants to see Hwa anyway."

"Cheeky," Wooyoung laughs, opening a different text message before using his fingers to quickly bother his friend.

"Hyung!" San shouts from his room, taking off his current black shirt, removing a blue collared shirt from a hanger in his crowded closet.

"Yeah?" Seonghwa answers back, entering back into San's room shortly after.

"We're going out. You coming?"

"I have an exam to study for, San'ah."

"Joong is coming." San raises a brow at him with a sly smile, watching Seonghwa's face turn a light shade of red.

"I'll go get ready." Seonghwa turns heel and San can't help but laugh at him. San liked to play matchmaker between his friends, always teasing anyone about their crushes or dates, but he never failed to make Seonghwa embarrassed about his crush on Hongjoong. San had long known about the crush for the better part of the last year, always encouraging Seonghwa to make a move and make his feelings known, but Seonghwa was always too shy.

"Alright, Yeosang and Joong are coming too."

"Don't forget to text Jongho." San swings his shirt onto his arms, slowly buttoning his shirt from the bottom to the second-to-last button near the top, leaving a bit of his skin exposed.

"Yeosang will drag his ass there anyway." Wooyoung shuts off his phone, looking over to San with a smile on his face. San can't tell if Wooyoung was checking him out, or just poking fun. "Are you trying to get laid tonight?"

San laughs. "No?"

"You're dressed like you are, San'ah."

"I don't need a girl right now, Woo." San shakes his head. "I'm too busy."

"I don't know," Wooyoung smirks, heading for San's door. "Someone is gonna try to climb that mountain tonight."

"Aye!" San chases Wooyoung out of his room as Wooyoung runs down the hall laughing and yelling. How they haven't gotten a noise complaint yet, San will never understand.

"You have your keys, Young'ah?" San looks at Wooyoung as they exit their apartment behind Seonghwa. Wooyoung nods his head, fixing his black collared shirt after he closes their door.

"Are Joong and Yeosang waiting for us downstairs?" Wooyoung asks, twisting the door knob once more to check that it's locked.

"Yeah, and we're already late because Seonghwa wouldn't stop fixing his hair."

"Hey." Seonghwa looks to his friends as they laugh quietly at him, then follow him down the hall towards the stairs. Wooyoung grabs San's arm, hooking himself to his friend as they walk and laugh with one another. San pokes fun at Seonghwa again, to which Seonghwa turns and jokingly glares at them, but both boys laugh anyway.

"Took you guys long enough." Yeosang confronts, his arms crossed unamusingly.

"Sorry, sorry. Hwa likes to fix his hair for twenty minutes."

"Is that true, Seonghwa?" Hongjoong smirks at him, watching Seonghwa's bruting mother-like personality simmer in embarrassment.

"Yeah," Seonghwa's face turns red as the group of friends all laugh and follow Hongjoong out of the apartment complex and towards the parking garage.

"Joong'ah, are you driving?" San questions from the back of their pack with Wooyoung attached to him like glue.

"Hell no! You drive!" Hongjoong yells back, earning a chuckle from Wooyoung as he leans against San. San leans over to kiss Wooyoung on the head and Wooyoung smiles through it.

The parking garage is quiet until the rambunctious group enters, laughing and talking loudly as they search for San's black SUV.

"One level up," San says out loud. "Parking space 32."

San speeds up his pace, walking to the front of the group as they follow him towards his car, Wooyoung still attached to his arm. Wooyoung turns around to laugh at Yeosang as he openly makes fun of Hongjoong, stirring Wooyoung to cackle continuously.

San finally makes it to his car, unlocking the newer SUV as its white high-beams brighten the concrete floor ahead of it.

"Shotgun!" Wooyoung runs towards the passenger seat, grabbing a hold of the handle as everyone else groans. They all knew this was going to happen, afterall, Woosan was not ever meant to be separated.

Yeosang sits behind Wooyoung with Seonghwa in the middle and Hongjoong behind San. San settles into his seat, scooting it forward slightly so his friend has a bit more leg room. He starts the engine, turning down the radio nearly immediately after remembering he had been blasting music on the way home from class just hours ago.

"Mingi and Yunho are almost there," Wooyoung says while staring at his phone, texting Mingi back quickly with a vague response of 'otw'.

"Jongho coming, Yeo?" San looks in his mirror to look at Yeosang. Yeosang shrugged his shoulders.

"He said he'd think about it."

"Buzzkill," Hongjoong scoffs.

"He's a star now! He has to think of his image." Seonghwa attempts to justify, but not everyone agrees.

"We're still his oldest friends. We've known him for almost eight years." Yeosang sighs. "I just wish he would come out more."

"Well, if he shows, he shows." San tries to settle down the tension in the car, moving his hand nonchalantly to turn the music up slightly louder. Wooyoung hums along with the music, nodding his head with the beat of the thumping song as his hand is swung over the center counsel, hand resting on San's thigh.

San was used to Wooyoung being so touchy and affectionate; it was just his way of showing love. Wooyoung was very affectionate and open about his love for his best friends, always wanting to kiss their cheeks, hug them and cuddle them, even hold their hands in times of needed comfort. San never pushed Wooyoung away and instead opened himself up to receive the love Wooyoung wanted to give, which in turn made their friendship stronger.

San peers in his mirror again, noticing Hongjoong's hand covering Seonghwa's on his lap, and San can't help but smile.

They're only in the car for a couple of minutes before the bar comes into view. Wooyoung starts singing obnoxiously loud, enough for Seonghwa and Hongjoong to wince in annoyance. San pulls into the parking lot, spotting a familiar red sports car and parking next to it. Surely enough, Mingi and Yunho are sitting in the car, listening to loud music and banging their heads. San points to them through his window, stirring everyone else to look and start laughing at their obnoxious friends.

Wooyoung gets out of the car and walks over to Mingi's driver window, tapping on the glass with fake annoyance tuned to his voice. "Sir, your music's too loud! Sir! Please turn it down–!" Wooyoung starts laughing mid-sentence, watching Mingi turn his music louder before watching Yunho plug his ears and intensely nod his head. San starts clapping as Yeosang starts laughing out loud, oblivious to the patrons outside of the bar staring at them in disbelief.

San waves his hand at his friends in the bumping car as he exits the driver's seat, listening to his friends follow him out of his car. Mingi and Yunho finally exit their vehicle, but Mingi has to pay the price of being engulfed in a bear hug from Wooyoung.

"I wanna do shots! Let's go!" Yeosang leads the group towards the bar's side entrance, listening to everyone follow and half-listen to his demands, watching as everyone pairs off and he's suddenly left alone.

The bar is half-full of people, sports broadcasts coating several televisions as baseball and soccer dominate athletics in the late summer. Mingi makes his way to the bar, not wasting anymore time to order a round of shots for his friends, a beaming smile on his face.

"What did you do?" San stops in his tracks as he sees the grin growing on Mingi's face.

"Fireball for everyone!" Mingi grins, watching as the bartender lays out seven shot glasses, then grabs a bottle of Fireball, filling each glass to the rim as each male watches in horror. San's stomach cries and begs for him to choose another drink, but if Mingi was buying, San wasn't going to refuse.

Each male grabs a glass, letting the warm, bitter liquid slide down their throat as they toss it back, wincing at the sting as it collides with their stomach. San visibly winces, unable to take the bitter cinnamon sting of the Fireball as he sets down his glass, taking a deep breath after the alcohol settles.

"Aye, shit-" Wooyoung breathes through his teeth, setting his glass inside San's empty shot glass. San feels his skin flush as the alcohol melts into his skin, simmering in his core.

"Mingi, you don't ever get the choice of shots ever again," Yunho grimaces, shaking his head slightly with a wince.

"You guys are such sissies." Mingi laughs, barely affected from the bitterness of the Fireball. Yeosang splits off from the group, disappearing from view as everyone else mingles around the barstools San and Wooyoung were now sitting at. San orders a tall beer, letting Wooyoung buy on his tab. Wooyoung orders hard liquor, sipping it smooth as if it was pure water. San makes the decision to keep his one and only beer the last alcoholic drink for the night, listening as Wooyoung's words slur the longer the night goes on.

A few hours tumble by as the group gets more and more wasted. Hongjoong and Seonghwa had disappeared sometime between Wooyoung's fifth and sixth drink, leaving Yunho and San to watch as their friend fell down the rabbit hole. San was watching him closely, sipping on a virgin drink through the night as Wooyoung mingled with different tables, making comments to girls as he passed.

Wooyoung wasn't exactly the type to bring girls home, but given his personality and how flirty he can be, accidents happen and girls always end up leaving the apartment before Seonghwa wakes. San always covered for Wooyoung, cleaning up his messes and giving the male Tylenol in the morning after a heavy drinking night. Wooyoung never failed to hide under his blankets, almost like a fort of shame when San saw him hungover in his bed, but he always made sure to mumble that he loves him.

"He's not off talking to that blonde again, is he?" Yunho leans in close to ask San, but San shrugs.

"No idea. I was looking for Hwa but I don't know where he went."

"Joong mentioned going to the bathroom–" Yunho's eyes open wider as San shakes his head.

"There's no fucking way," San downs the last of his mocktail and sets his glass on the counter, hurriedly walking towards the men's restroom.

"San'ah, don't barge in on them!" Yunho tries to grab San's shoulder, but San shakes him off.

"They're allowed to do whatever they want at home. Not in a shitty bar's bathroom of all places." San sighs after looking at Yunho, walking a few more steps to the black door and opening it completely.

Sure enough, there they were, Seonghwa's back against the tiled wall with Hongjoong pressed against him. They were just making out, nothing more, but as soon as Seonghwa heard the door swing open, his hands find Hongjoong's shoulders and he pushes him away.

"I'm taking you guys home." San crosses his arms, looking half-disappointingly at his friends as they stand there with a drunken gaze.

"I tried to stop him," Yunho holds up his hands as he backs away, letting San have the chance to back up and let the door swing closed again.

"I gotta find Woo," San mutters as he walks away, diving back into the drunken, dancing crowd in search of his friend. Music thumps away in San's brain as he stumbles through the crowd, eyes scanning faces as worry sets in.

"Wooyoung!" San shouts a bit loudly, but not loud enough to draw the attention of the bar's patrons. He hears Yunho behind him also shouting for Wooyoung, but neither of them can seem to find him.

Panic ensues shortly after as he makes a couple of rounds through the bar, unable to find his dark-haired friend. San's hands guide people out of his way as he shuffles through the thickening crowd, only getting louder as the night grows darker.

"Wooyoung!" San yells once more, his voice nearly drowned by the sound of the loud music. Yunho approaches him, shaking his head. There was no sign of him.

"He's out back!" A voice carries through the crowd as the two males turn to see Hongjoong pointing towards the side entrance. San quickly walks through the bar with Yunho tailing him, making way to the door and pulling it open.

The night settles San's nerves as he watches his friend sitting on the curb, talking to Yeosang with an arm over his shoulders. San breathes through his anger and worry, letting a deep inhale fill his lungs.

"Woo," San breathes again, this time in relief, allowing his tone to relax before approaching his two friends.

"Sorry, San'ah. Yeosang is upset."

"What's up?" San makes his way over, sitting down next to Yeosang as he stares hopelessly at his phone. Wooyoung looks to San, his eyes red in drunken stupor as he sits and clings onto Yeosang protectively.

"Jongho, again." Yeosang mutters, glancing up and handing his phone over to San. San takes it, pressing the button on the right side of his phone, watching as a notification from Jongho remains undisturbed.

"I don't want to come out. Sorry." San winces at Jongho's cold words, but understands the image he wanted to maintain.

"I'm sorry, Yeo." San hands his phone back, knowing fully well that Yeosang just wanted to see Jongho, but Jongho kept blowing him off. Wooyoung pulls Yeosang closer, engulfing him in a hug as he leans in and kisses the side of his head. Yeosang normally would fight the affection, but for some reason he allows Wooyoung to press close to him and offer his version of comfort.

"Let's go home. You can stay with us if you want to, Yeosang." San places a hand on Yeosang's thigh, shaking his knee gently as he listens to Wooyoung try to convince him to stay.

"Okay, okay." Yeosang smiles through his unwillingness to say no to his friends, watching San and Wooyoung get excited about having him in their apartment. Yunho comes outside with his phone in his hand, looking at his friends with an unamused gaze.

"Mingi took a girl home. Can I stay on your couch?" Yunho, seemingly embarrassed, questions his friends, but San doesn't hesitate to respond.

"Obviously. Anything you need." San stands from the curb, holding his hands out, one for each of his sitting friends to grab a hold of as he hoists them up slowly, then pulling them into a hug. Yeosang grumbles as he sits through the hug and Wooyoung laughs, squeezing his friends tighter.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa come out after, clearly buzzed and sleepy, looking at Yunho as they watch two of their friends suffocate Yeosang with affection.

"Quiet, Woo." San laughs, pulling out his keys to open his front door. His friends were behind him, trying to stifle their laughter as a drunken Wooyoung couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut. The door finally opens and San heads inside, holding his door open as his five friends stumble inside, letting their laughter finally come out. San quickly closes his door and locks it, taking a breath of relief knowing that his drunk friends were finally home safe.

Wooyoung crashes to the couch, Yunho following and laying over Wooyoung, earning more laughter from the already giggly boy. Seonghwa and Hongjoong wave their goodbyes as they walk like a pair of zombies through the hall towards Seonghwa's room, closing the door behind them. Yeosang leans against the wall, watching Yunho and Wooyoung make absolute fools of themselves.

San grabs an extra pillow and blanket from Wooyoung's room, setting them down on the couch next to the wrestling males. San watches for a couple of minutes before grabbing Wooyoung's arm and pulling him from the couch.

"Alright," San can't help but chuckle briefly. "Yunho gets the couch, Yeosang can take Woo's bed."

"Where's Wooyoung gonna sleep?" Yunho looks at San and Wooyoung dazed and confused, only for Wooyoung to laugh at him.

"He can sleep in my bed. I gotta write my paper, so, I'll watch him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." San waves his hand dismissively, watching Yeosang take advantage of the sudden break in conversation to head towards Wooyoung's room. Yunho watches him leave and grabs a hold of his pillow, resting it on the couch behind him before lying backwards. Wooyoung continues to giggle and make mumbled comments, to which Yunho coos back a smart-ass response.

San puts his hands on Wooyoung's shoulders as he pushes him towards his room, giving Yunho a half-smile as he walks his drunk friend into the threshold of his room before closing his door behind them.

"San'ah?" Wooyoung mumbles.

"Yes?" San walks him to his bed, helping him sit down. San crouches down, taking off Wooyoung's rings and bracelets, then moving to take off his loose necklace. This was a rather normal occurrence for them, Wooyoung never told him to stop, and surely wouldn't begin now.

"Can you sleep with me?" Wooyoung asks with a slight pout. San smiles, holding Wooyoung's jewelry pieces in his cupped hand.
"Okay. But let me give you a shirt to wear." San walks away, gently setting down Wooyoung's jewelry on his desk. He walks to his closet as he notices Wooyoung starting to unbutton his black shirt, searching through his closet and grabbing the first t-shirt he spots, handing it over to his friend as his shirt is pulled off. San swallows the need to watch Wooyoung as he turns around, taking his own shirt off and getting into something more comfortable.

Wooyoung lays down after he pulls the new shirt over his head, wrist laid over his eyes as he mumbles nonsense into the quiet room. San turns off the only light in the room, walking to his bed and settling next to Wooyoung, setting his phone down on the table beside him.

"San'ah?"

"Yes Woo?"

"I'm sorry." San looks over to Wooyoung, confusion stuck in his gaze.

"What for?"

"I'm too drunk," Wooyoung shuffles, turning to his side to face San. He looks extremely tired, leaning into his cold pillow.

"Yeah, a bit." San reaches over and pushes a strand of hair out of his eyes. "It's okay."

"I love you, San'ah." San's heart melts as he reaches and pulls Wooyoung into his chest, kissing his forehead and holding him close.

"I love you too, Wooyoung."