Parties Don't End at 3AM

by lalal_99

Summary:

"A party, huh?" you questioned.

"Not so much a party as a small get-together," Changbin corrected. "You know, if you want to, you can come by. It starts at ten."

"That's nice of you, but I don't really think I'd fit in. Also, I never went to a college party, so I wouldn't even know what to do, let alone how to dress," you explained.

"Wait, you've never been to a college party?" Changbin asked in disbelief. "Well, then you gotta come by. And I won't take no for an answer."

"I don't know-"

"But I do. Come on, you don't want your ex to be right, do you?" It was a rhetorical question, but Changbin hit a nerve there. "He wanted to show you how awesome his life is, so what better way than to party with a bunch of college dudes and dudettes."

Fridays shouldn't feel like this. Having two days off work shouldn't feel like this. They shouldn't carry that much weight – they should make you feel excited as you anticipate what sort of fun activities lay ahead of you. You shouldn't feel like you were obligated to endure them, but rather that you were allowed to relax and live a little.

Still, as you were exiting the subway station two minutes from your apartment complex, you felt guilty to yourself. As if it was a crime that all you were gonna do was watch old reruns of comedy shows and eat way more than your body needed to survive. Somehow, you couldn't wait to go back to work the following Monday, and it made you wonder if you were becoming something you had never wanted to become. Old.

As you turned the corner into your street, you saw a bundle of blond hair enter the door to your building, so you started sprinting to make it in time. You were just a few seconds too late as the entrance fell close right in front of your nose, an exhausted sigh leaving your lips. Maybe you should go to the gym over the weekend, seeing you apparently were very much out of shape.

The brown cardboard box in your arms got heavier with each second you held it, but you knew once you set it down, you wouldn't muster the energy to pick it back up again. With the box still in your arms, you tried fetching the keys out of your pocket, which was harder said than done.

Somehow, you managed to snatch the ring between your pointer and middle finger, starting to drag it towards the air. The second the key came into sight, though, you unintentionally let it fall, another groan leaving your pursed lips. As if this day couldn't get any worse, the key landed in a puddle on the dark cement.

"Fucking hell," you cursed, trying your hardest to retrieve the key without letting the box fall as well. That was harder said than done, so when you heard someone call your name behind you, relief took over.

"Let me give you a hand," the familiar boy said as he bent down to grab the key from the ground, handing it to you. It was still wet and slippery, so before you could drop it again, the boy took the box out of your hand, a kind smile on his face. What a helpful young man, you would have said hadn't you been around his age.

"Thank you. You're a lifesaver," you said instead as you opened the door, stepping inside and letting your neighbour enter after you. He had a bag strapped to his back, a second bag in the arm that wasn't currently carrying your box. "Changbin, right?"

"Yup," Changbin confirmed as he gave you back the box. "This is really heavy. Do you want me to carry it?"

Something about his voice told you that he didn't ask because he thought you were too weak. You had obviously been carrying it for a while, so he was just trying to help you out.

"It's fine, thanks," you replied as the two of you started making your way up the stairs. Living in a building without an elevator usually didn't bother you. Still, on days like these, you'd really appreciate not having to walk up five sets of stairs.

"What's in there anyway? Are you carrying your rock collection?"

"Not exactly," you answered as your eyes went down to the brown cardboard. "My ex-boyfriend came by my work today to give me back some of the things he claims I left at his apartment."

"Your ex? I remember him. Wasn't he the guy who went for runs shirtless, even during fall?" Changbin questioned, an amused expression on his face.

"Yup," you agreed as you remembered convincing him to wear a shirt, at least during winter, knowing the last thing he had needed was pneumonia. It had been worse enough whenever he couldn't work out for a day or two, but having to stop exercising for weeks? It would have made both of you go insane. All the whining would have become annoying after just a few hours.

"Didn't you break up with him like six months ago, though? Why does he still have your stuff at his apartment?"

"You're really up-to-date, huh?"

Honestly, you were a little surprised your neighbour knew exactly when you had thrown your ex-boyfriend out. Not that Changbin was oblivious like that, but you had never really talked to him or his roommates. They merely were your upstairs neighbours, so all you exchanged were the usual 'Hellos' and 'How are yous'.

"I'm not a stalker, I swear," Changbin explained with a sort of nervous laughter as the two of you were turning a corner. "It's just that I had an important exam the day after that fight the two of you had. I was awake all night studying, so I kinda heard the two of you yelling. He never came back after that."

"You heard that?" you questioned in surprise, a little embarrassed that your neighbours had apparently all been witnesses to the worst break-up of your life.

"The walls might be thick, but the ceilings sure aren't. My rooms right above your bedroom."

"Oh," you mumbled, hoping that yelling was all Changbin could hear from his room. It was one thing that he had heard you arguing with your ex, but there were other things you did in your room that you'd rather not have anyone else know about.

"So, why'd he give you your stuff back half a year after you threw him out?" Changbin asked again, curiosity written on his face.

"Well, he got engaged to his new girlfriend, or should I say wife to be last night. Apparently, he wanted to make sure I knew that he's doing so much better than me," you explained honestly, with a short shake of your head. You still couldn't believe that someone would be dumb enough to marry someone like him, and you were grateful it wasn't you.

"What an ass!" All you could do was laugh at Changbin's words, agreeing with a slight nod. "Why'd you break up with him anyway? Did his abs get too hard? Or did his biceps take up the whole bed?"

"I wish," you joked with a laugh as you got to the third floor. It was getting a little harder to keep on talking with each step as automatically breathing wasn't a given anymore. You didn't know how Changbin did it so effortlessly, chatting while climbing five sets of stairs and still breathing so calmly. Obviously, he must have been really fit, which you could also tell from his broad shoulders and big arms. "Actually, you were the main reason I broke up with him."

"Me?" Changbin questioned in confusion, his expression falling as he seemed to feel guilty.

"Not you individually. Your whole group," you corrected, referring to Changbin and all the other guys living in the flat-sharing community above your apartment. From all you could tell, a handful of other boys and men lived there, all of them college students or something similar. "Don't get me wrong, we already weren't happy before you moved in. But after he found out a bunch of handsome men were living above me, he just got super jealous. As if I had the time or the energy to cheat on him with a couple of college students. No offence."

"None taken," Changbin said with a laugh as you came to a halt in front of your apartment. Compared to theirs, which must have had many rooms to fit that many people, yours was a small two-room apartment. That was all you could afford, but you were more than happy with it. "Man, I can't believe he thought you were cheating with us. We don't even really know each other, and let me tell you, some of us aren't even into girls."

"I know," you told Changbin as you remembered seeing some of the boys with male partners canoodling in the hallways. "Anyways, he came by today and, apparently, he's super happy with her. And as if that wasn't enough, my boss told me off in front of all my colleges because I made a stupid mistake. I worked for hours trying to solve the problem, hence, why I'm coming home at 8:30."

A small look at your watch told you the time, and it was only now that you realised how dark it had gotten. The whole walk home had been filled with anxious thoughts, so you hadn't even noticed time racing by.

"You seem like you need some time off, then," Changbin pointed out, to which you could only huff.

"As if I can relax, not knowing if I actually solved everything until Monday morning."

Not even a bath or a movie marathon could possibly distract you from the lingering anxiety in your veins. It would need a lot more than that.

As on cue, you heard a door open right above you, and seconds later, a young round face appeared on the stairway. You recognised the boy as Han, one of the residents above you, and probably the person you had talked to the most. At least as of now.

"There you are! What's taking you so long?" Han questioned Changbin before noticing you standing next to his friend. "Oh, hey, y/n."

"Hey," you greeted the young boy back, a smile appearing on your lips. "You guys have something planned?"

"Do we? We're having a party tonight, and it's gonna be amazing," Han told you with an excited expression, his eyes wandering to the bags Changbin carried. "We need to cool the alcohol before people arrive, so you better hurry."

"I'll be there in a minute," Changbin told his roommate, who just shot you another smile before disappearing again.

"A party, huh?" you questioned.

"Not so much a party as a small get-together," Changbin corrected. "You know, if you want to, you can come by. It starts at ten."

"That's nice of you, but I don't really think I'd fit in. Also, I never went to a college party, so I wouldn't even know what to do, let alone how to dress," you explained.

"Wait, you've never been to a college party?" Changbin asked in disbelief. "Well, then you gotta come by. And I won't take no for an answer."

"I don't know-"

"But I do. Come on, you don't want your ex to be right, do you?" It was a rhetorical question, but Changbin hit a nerve there. "He wanted to show you how awesome his life is, so what better way than to party with a bunch of college dudes and dudettes."

"He wouldn't even know about this, though. And I'm not gonna roll up at his work just to tell him about a frat party I've been to," you said, making Changbin roll his eyes at you. As if you had known him for years rather than months.

"But you'd know," he pointed out, and you couldn't deny that he had a point. "Come on, you'll have a lot of fun. And there's gonna be hunks even hotter than him."

Maybe, it was that you wanted to prove to yourself that you weren't old; maybe, it was that you wouldn't be able to sleep anyways, with all the thoughts roaming through your head paired with the loud music coming from upstairs. A party just seemed to be the perfect opportunity to get out of your apartment again. Even if it was just to go upstairs.

"Fine. I'll be there, but I need to eat something and get ready first."

"Be there as soon as you can. And I'll make sure one of us is with you at all times. You won't have to be alone one second." Changbin turned around to walk up the stairs to his apartment. "And if you're not there by 10:30, I'll come down here to get you myself."

"Or you could yell at me through your bedroom floor," you joked, making the boy laugh as he was jumping the stairs up like an excited rabbit.

"That was a good one. You're funny."

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

 

You checked yourself out in the tall mirror beside your apartment door one last time before deciding that you didn't have time to change again. After going through outfits for most of the past two hours, you knew that there were no clothes better suited for the party than the ones you were wearing.

Jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers.

Maybe you should have asked Changbin if there was a dress code when you still had time, but how formal could it be? It was a college party, so something fancier just seemed like too much.

With an exhale that made your lips roll, you shook your head at how in your head you were before taking the key from the little counter beside you. When you exited the apartment, you locked the door behind you. The last thing you needed was for a bunch of drunk twenty-year-olds to mistake your home as a make-out hotspot.

Even before leaving your own four walls, you had heard the music blasting from upstairs. It was probably for the better that you were attending the festivities, rather than going upstairs only to complain. All the music in the world couldn't have eased your tension, though. Going into an unfamiliar environment without knowing anyone wasn't something you did every day. The only thing that got you through it was knowing that you could go home within seconds.

When you got to the higher floor, you noticed a sign on the door saying 'open'. Simple but effective – nothing less than what you had expected from a community of twenty-year-olds. Without further ado, you pushed the door open, stepping into the dark hallway of what you immediately knew was the hugest apartment you had ever seen. It had to be, to fit so many people, but it surprised you nevertheless.

For a few seconds, you simply stood by the door, taking in the scenery to get a picture of where everything was located. As far as you could tell, the bedrooms were to your right as that part wasn't occupied by people. There were four doors in total, telling you that some of your neighbours must have been sharing rooms. Definitely nothing you would have done, but that was thanks to your own sense of privacy. You had no siblings, so you just weren't used to sharing your space.

To your left, you saw lights flickering to the music as shadows were dancing across the walls. From that picture alone, you knew that the party was already in full swing. In front of you was a doorway that led to a big kitchen, which was also filled with people. It was there that you spotted Changbin, smiling at you as he made his way over.

"You actually came!" the boy exclaimed over the loud music as he looked at his phone. "And just a few minutes late. I didn't even have to send a search party."

"You might have to later, though. I'm so gonna get lost in all these rooms," you joked as Changbin gave you a warm hug. You hadn't expected him to greet you this heartily, but it felt nice. As if his strong arms could protect you from the cold – or danger.

"So, those rooms are the bedrooms. If you're fast enough, you'll still catch one. Though, I wouldn't go in there when a sock is hanging at the knob," Changbin explained, pointing at two of the rooms which were obviously occupied already. It didn't take a psychic to know what they were being used for right now.

"I don't think I'll be needing one of your bedrooms if there's one with my name on it right downstairs," you pointed out with a laugh, looking back at Changbin. From how lopsided his smile was, you could tell that he must have had a few pre-party cocktails or beers or whatever it was that he preferred.

"True," Changbin agreed as he turned to your left. "Well, there's the living room and the rooftop balcony. I think most people are out there."

"Rooftop balcony?" you questioned in surprise, your eyes wandering over to the double glass door which must have led outside. You had lived here for a few years, but this was the first time you heard about a rooftop balcony. Obviously, it was a private balcony, so you couldn't have gone there anyway. That you hadn't even known about its existence, though, still came as a shock to you.

"Yup. It sounds cooler than it is, though," Changbin brushed off. "There are two bathrooms, one beside the balcony door and one right next to the kitchen, which is-"

"Don't tell me, let me guess!" you exclaimed before he could tell you where the latter was located. "The room with the oven and the sink, which people are entering empty-handed and exiting all stacked up on alcoholic beverages."

"You're good!" Changbin admitted with a fake-shocked expression. "I think you just won yourself a free drink."

"I just so happen to have forgotten my wallet, so that is more than perfect," you joked as you followed the boy into the kitchen.

Changbin quickly mixed you a drink, which, apparently, was his speciality before he led you towards the balcony. You had to admit that his mixing skills were better than expected, which was why you had already finished your drink halfway, the second you stepped out into the fresh air.

Summer hadn't yet arrived, and sadly you had forgotten to bring a jacket. You had been unaware of the balcony up until five minutes ago, so how should you have known to bring something to cover your arms?

"y/n, I think you already know them, but I'd like to introduce you to my roommates again," Changbin said as you came to a halt in front of a table full of people. Some of them had girls sitting on their laps, some held the hands of boys beside them, but you quickly made out which of the youngsters were your neighbours.

"Nice to meet you. Properly, at least," a short but bulky guy said as he held his hand out to you. He introduced himself as Chan, and the others reintroduced themselves as well. Fortunately, that is, seeing you wouldn't have remembered half of their names.

"Here, sit!" Changbin told you as he pulled a chair out for you to sit on. You accepted his offer, your eyes wandering over the beautifully decorated scenery.

"I know I've never been up here, but I love what you made of this!" you gushed over the neatly hung lights and perfectly arranged flowers.

"Thank you. Finally, someone who noticed," Felix, a blonde boy with a freckled nose, replied, his eyes staring fake-tauntingly at the young man beside him. His boyfriend, seemingly. "I had a little help, though. Minho doesn't like to admit it, but he has a knack for things like this."

"Right, I knew someone was missing," Changbin noticed as his hand collided with his forehead in a light slap. "Where's he?"

"Probably still in his room," Han pointed out as he took a sip from his boyfriend's cocktail. "Dude failed his last exam, so he needs to retake it in a few weeks."

"Maybe someone should get him. You think he knows the party has started?" Hyunjin, a dark-haired guy with a ponytail, questioned into the round.

"You mean with the loud music and people ringing the bell for half an hour? Geez, I don't know!" Seungmin retorted mockingly, earning a small laugh from the girl on his lap.

"I didn't know sarcasm was on the dress code tonight," Hyunjin answered just as sarcastically as he seemed to notice something behind you. "I swear, Minho's like Bloody Mary. Say his name one too many times, and he appears while you sit in the bathtub."

As you turned around to look at the person coming towards you, you nearly choked on your drink. Perhaps it was the lump of sugar in your mouth that made you cough, or it was just the sculpture of a person heading over to you. Either way, you were at a loss for words and air.

You were sure you had met all of the boys at least once before, though you were even more sure that you would have remembered him. Dressed in a pair of black leather pants, which accentuated his muscular thighs, Minho looked like art more than a person. A white dress shirt was neatly tucked into his pants as a thick belt decorated his narrow waist. All in all, he was a sight for the gods.

On his perfect face, the boy wore light make-up, making him look fiercer than he probably was. His eyes scanned the people surrounding the table as he recognised all of them except for you. When he did, he slowed down for a second – it was so short you weren't even sure it happened. You noticed Minho's tongue running over his bottom lip before his eyes came to look at Changbin.

"Hey, Einstein. Done finding the route to mars?" Changbin asked jokingly, and Minho's eyes narrowed for a moment.

"Sure, you wanna go? I have a one-way ticket with your name on it," Minho retorted as he sat down next to Seungmin onto the couch. His eyes met yours for another second before he quickly looked back at Changbin. "Wanna introduce me to your girlfriend?"

"Oh, that's y/n," Changbin answered as you threw a smile in Minho's direction. The man's lips curled into a thin smile for a second, but somehow it didn't seem genuine.

"I'm not his girlfriend, though. I live downstairs in 5b," you explained as Minho slowly nodded at your words.

"Are you the woman with the weird-ass boyfriend who goes jogging naked?" Something about Minho's words seemed bitter.

"Gosh, is that what I'm known for? I'd like to change that," you answered as you tried your best to ignore his somewhat rude first impression. "I did have a boyfriend who went jogging shirtless, but we haven't been together in months."

"You must remember the yelling coming from downstairs like six months ago," Changbin tried to remind Minho, who looked at him with a stern expression.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you for real? Our bedroom is right above hers. You can't tell me you didn't hear them fighting all night," Changbin told his friend, who seemed like he really didn't know what he was talking about. "I distinctly remember we were up all night studying for some test, and you complained to me about it a lot."

"I'm telling you, I can't remember," Minho disagreed, his eyes focused on Changbin. As if he was silently telling him to just shut up. Obviously, you didn't know what that was about. "I never heard anything coming from downstairs."

"You really wanna tell me that you never heard voices from her bedroom when I remember all your whining like it happened yesterday?"

"Yes."

Changbin looked at his roommate in disbelief – as if he couldn't understand why Minho was denying something so insignificant – when suddenly, you felt a shiver run through your body. The wind was pretty heavy up here, not strong enough to blow away the decoration, but strong enough to make the freezing air known.

Both Changbin's and Minho's eyes went over to you, realising that you were wearing only a thin t-shirt, and it didn't take long for one of them to speak up about it.

"Are you cold? Do you need a jacket or something?" Changbin asked in concern as he was already halfway up on his feet.

"It's fine. I'll survive," you told Changbin as you set down your now-empty drink. Only when you looked at your hands did you notice how badly you were shivering. It made you laugh at the irony of your previous words. "Well, on second thought, a jacket might be nice. Or like a cardigan or something."

"I'll be right back," Changbin told you with a kind smile as he started making his way into the apartment.

"You need a refill," Minho added, noticing your empty glass. Before you could answer and tell him that you were fine for now, not in need of another drink this soon after your first one, he was already on his feet, your glass in his hand.

Your eyes followed the two men until you couldn't see them anymore, which was also when Han decided to speak up.

"Look at that. It's only been five minutes, and they're already competing for your hand," the boy joked as he got a laugh from almost everybody at the table.

You slightly chuckled at his words but couldn't help but wonder what the two of them were up to. Why were they acting so strange?

"Don't let Han mock you," Felix added after a few seconds as everyone else was already in another conversation. His warm smile filled you with ease as you noticed his boyfriend looking at him in admiration. "Changbin's just excited to make a new friend, and Minho, well, he's under a lot of pressure right now. He really did fail one of his exams, so he's stressing himself out."

"Oh," you mouthed as you looked back at the door. "Thank you for the heads up."

"No worries. Everybody here's running on sarcasm, especially Han, who's trying to impress his new flame. You'll get used to it."

You really appreciated Felix for sensing your strange reaction and even more for clearing things up. It had probably not been more than ten minutes since you had gotten here, though you already felt like the group was becoming your friends.

After about a minute, you heard the glass door open, so your eyes went back to the two boys slowly exiting the apartment as they were talking to each other. Changbin was carrying a sweater while Minho held a glass filled with red liquid. You couldn't understand what they were saying to each other, but you could tell that they were arguing a little – Changbin looking at Minho in disbelieve.

It took them a few seconds to hash things out, but when they apparently did, they started making their way back over to the table. Whether they had noticed your staring, you couldn't tell.

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

 

About an hour into the night, you finally decided to get yourself a third drink. An evening rarely escalated into more than two drinks, mostly wine anyway, but you felt adventurous tonight.

Over the previous hour, you had rejected any offer coming from Minho to fix you another one of his mixtures. The main reason was that one of his counted for two of yours, regarding the amount of alcohol. You didn't want to embarrass yourself in front of your new friends, so you were trying not to get drunk already.

As you entered the apartment, a gush of warm, sweaty air hit your face, so you decided to leave the door open behind you. To get the aerosols flowing rather than piling.

The number of people currently dancing in the living room made it harder for you to move towards the kitchen, though, after a minute, you finally reached it.

Slightly fewer people were occupying the room as you could immediately head for the sink rather than mentally designing a path first. You looked through the bottles in the ice-cube filled sink until you reached what you identified as rum. Your favourite. You stole a few cubes out of the sink, knowing it wouldn't bother anyone if you did, and filled a small amount of the brown liquid into your cup before searching for a soft drink to mix it with.

"Cranberry or coke?" a deep voice asked beside you, and when you looked up, a dark-haired stranger was smiling at you, one bottle in each hand.

"Um, coke. Thanks," you thanked him as you tried to snatch the bottle out of his hand. The strangers pulled it back a little, so you couldn't reach it anymore, an amused expression clouding his face.

"Na-uh, what's the magic word?"

"Please?" you questioned, but the stranger unexpectantly shook his head.

"Nope. You have two more tries," he told you with a lopsided grin that revealed a dimple on his right cheek. Had he not been so cocky, you would have called him cute.

"What happens if I don't find the right word? You're gonna throw out all the coke?" you asked him in confusion, well aware of the fact that there was a crate filled with bottles of coke just by the doorway. Why you even bothered arguing with a drunk person, you didn't know. Maybe, for entertainment.

"Well, if you don't find the magic word, and I know you won't, then I guess you'll just have to kiss me."

Your face fell at his words, his lame line earning an eye roll as you finally decided to just ignore him. You didn't need to let some dude come on to you when there was another bottle of coke within five steps. After all, you were a grown woman, not a college girl trying to make the biggest mistake of her life.

When you tried pushing past him to get to the bottles, the stranger took a step to the side, apparently still capable of reacting somewhat quickly.

"Where do you think you're going?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Listen, I'm sure you're a really nice guy, but all I want is a drink, so would you please let me get to the coke?" You should have seen that reasoning with a drunk college boy was not happening.

"Fine. You can just kiss me right away then. No need to keep guessing the magic word, which, by the way, was 'blowjob'." How imaginative! You tried pushing past him again, but he simply prepped his arm onto the counter, blocking your exit. "Hey, what did I just tell you? Kiss me, and maybe I'll let you leave then."

"That's blackmailing," you pointed out as you started to get really pissed off. You didn't have the time or the energy for this. "Just let me go."

"No!"

"She said, let her go."

As you looked past the stranger's shoulder, you spotted Minho standing in the doorway, observing the scene. His face showed a hint of irritation as he had apparently gathered what was happening. You noticed how his tense statue made him appear even fiercer.

"Sorry, man. I didn't know the chick was yours," the stranger replied as he took a step to the side, finally letting you pass. Blame your logic, but you felt a lot safer next to Minho than that douchebag.

"She's not mine because she's not an object," Minho countered as he took a step forward to grab the man by his bicep. "I don't think you read the consent pamphlet that was handed out on campus last week, so you better get to it." As Minho dragged him towards the apartment door, the stranger threw a begging look back at you as if to ask for your help.

"Lady, please tell him to let go of me!" The stranger's pleads earned nothing but a huff from you as you watched the scene unfold in front of you. "Fine, I'm sorry."

"'Sorry' won't cut in court. Just leave and don't come back," Minho told the dude as he opened the door and literally threw the stranger out of the apartment. "Like ever."

As soon as Minho threw the door close, a relieved sigh left your lips. You hadn't even realised how tense the whole thing had made you feel. You had been trying not to let that douche get to you, but apparently, it didn't work.

"Thanks," you told Minho with an honest smile as you crossed your arms in front of your chest.

"No problem," he replied with a smile just as kind as he pointed towards the kitchen. "I think you were making yourself a drink."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," you laughed as you realised that your glass was still sitting somewhere on a counter in the kitchen. You quickly made your way back into the room, followed by Minho, who thankfully gave you enough space to move freely.

"If I was you, I'd empty that cup and get a new one," the boy told you as he fetched a new glass out of the cupboard above your head. For a second, you could smell his cologne, a fresh, menthol scent filling your nostrils. It took you a moment to clear your head after that.

"You think he roofied my drink?" you questioned, a little surprised, never having thought of that possibility.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't risk it. Dude might be gone, but I still think getting roofied isn't the ideal end of a nice neighbourhood party."

You laughed a little at his remark, somehow only now realising how funny Minho was. Thinking back to all the different things he had said over the past hour, which wasn't a lot seeing he mostly stayed quiet, you remembered how much everyone laughed at his words.

"By the way, I'm sorry if I came on a little strong before," Minho apologised, referring back to when he had first entered the scene. As he spoke to you, calmly now maybe to relax you a little further, he started fixing your drink. "I know it's no excuse, but I've been under a lot of stress over the past few days. And then the boys wanted to throw this part, and I wasn't in the mood."

"Tell me about it. Just today, I think I had the most stressful day at work," you agreed, shaking your head at the thought. "Honestly, I didn't even want to go to the party, but Changbin wouldn't take no for an answer."

"What happened?" Minho questioned as he handed you your finished drink. You took a sip off it, realising that yet again, it was a little stronger than you would have mixed it.

"I ran into him in the hallway, and he said that since I've never been to a college party-"

"Not with Changbin," Minho interrupted you, a small laugh leaving his lips. "Not that I would mind you telling me how after a year of living here, it is only now that you decided to attend one of our get-togethers. But I was referring to your day. What happened at your job today?"

You felt dumb as he clarified your mistake. Of course, Minho didn't want to know why Changbin wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," you snorted as you already felt the effect the drink had on you. "I made an error in an important email to an international partner, so my boss yelled at me in front of everybody. It took me three hours of overtime to fix it. And as if that wasn't enough, my ex turned up at my job to give me back some things I apparently left at his apartment. And he took that opportunity to brag about his engagement to his new girlfriend."

"Wait, running-naked-man got engaged. Didn't you say you broke up six months ago?" Minho questioned to your surprise. You hadn't expected him to remember that detail Changbin had told him an hour ago.

"Well, finding a new girlfriend doesn't take so long when you've been seeing them for half a year during your last relationship." As you took another sip from your drink, you realised that Minho didn't have anything to drink, so you held your glass out to him. "Want some?"

"No, thanks. I don't drink," Minho told you, which surprised you even more. A college boy who didn't drink? No wonder his mix was so strong. "Man, I'm so sorry your ex cheated on you. That happened to me once, and it hurt for so long."

"Actually, the cheating doesn't bother me. I have a bigger problem with my ex-boyfriend projecting his infidelity onto me. I can't tell you how often he accused me of cheating with one, or even a few of you guys."

The shock was written in Minho's face as he looked at you in disbelief. It had taken you a while to finally recognise just how toxic your ex had been, so you could understand Minho's reaction.

"Really? With us?" he questioned with a shake of his head. "But like half of us aren't even into girls."

"Changbin said the same thing," you laughed. "When he accused me of cheating, he always had the weirdest reasons. Like when I greeted one of you in the hallways. As if that wasn't just neighbourly behaviour. Once, my ex even made up a reason."

"He did?"

"Yes, it was the weirdest thing. He watched me leave for work one day and apparently saw one of you hiding from me in the hallways. To him, it was just another way of us trying to hide our non-existent secret relationship." As you thought back to the moment you came home that night, you couldn't help but shake your head at the memory of your ex going off at you. As if he hadn't spent the whole day fucking his side-chick.

"Weird," Minho hesitantly answered as he turned around to grab himself a coke out of the crate. Without looking at you, he continued his response. "Why would any of us hide from you."

"Right?"

For a few seconds, it was silent as Minho came back up and opened his bottle. He took a long sip off it, emptying half of it in one go before he looked at you again.

"Should we maybe head back out?"

You nodded at his words, deciding that it had been long enough that you had stayed within the warm rooms of the house. You needed the air, and seemingly, so did Minho. The redness coating his facial skin had gotten even darker over the last minute. Had you not known better, you'd have assumed he was blushing from how spontaneously it had appeared.

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

 

The fourth drink of the night happened about an hour after the third one. Four drinks in two hours wasn't a lot, but it also wasn't what you were used to. It didn't surprise you that you were feeling the effects of the alcohol in your veins, your nerves sending shock waves up your body whenever someone touched you.

That you needed a fifth drink just moments later was unintentional. After only ten minutes of dancing in the sea of people, Han had accidentally bumped into you, effectively spilling the content of your cup onto your shirt. Unfortunately, you had taken Changbin's sweater off just minutes before, securing it around your hip for when you decided to head back outside.

Before you could even think about heading home to change, Minho had already decided that he'd lend you a new shirt so that you didn't have to miss out on the fun for too long. Also, you had the feeling that he didn't expect you to come back up once you were in the comfort of your apartment, and somehow, that thought was upsetting him.

"Are you sure? It'll take like two minutes," you told the boy again as he was leading you to his room.

"You said it yourself. You didn't want to come today, so how can I be sure you won't stay downstairs?" Minho pointed out, making you laugh a little. He was just too cute.

When his hand reached for the doorknob, you noticed the sock covering it, suggesting that someone was using his room for privacy reasons.

"Shouldn't we knock?" you questioned, but Minho simply opened the door, leading you inside. Surprisingly, the room was empty.

"No need. I hung the sock myself, so people wouldn't come in here to- you know."

"Impressive thinking," you applauded the way his brain worked as he made his way to one of the two closets. He quickly went through the content, handing you a black shirt with a colourful motive in the front. "Turn around!"

"Sorry," Minho answered as he obeyed, a nervous smile appearing on his lips. The way he was so careful not to make you feel uncomfortable would have made you blush if your cheeks hadn't already been on fire from all the dancing.

As you got rid of your wet t-shirt and put on the new, dry one, you realised that it was not only too big for you, you literally swam in it. A light laugh escaped your lips as you held your arms out to the side, the fabric covering most of them and everything down to your mid-thighs.

"I don't think this works," you pointed out before allowing Minho to turn back around once you noticed him hesitating. For him, consent was apparently written in bold letters – just another reason to like him even more.

"Maybe, you could-" Minho stopped himself as he watched you intently from head to toe. You could tell that he was surprised by how his shirt looked on you and that it wasn't just the size of it. He cleared his throat as he looked back up at your face, taking a step forward. "Can I?"

"Sure," you agreed as his hands made their way to the hem of the shirt, pulling it up a little. You were pretty much unaware of what he was doing until you realised he was tying a knot into the side so that the shirt wouldn't reach as far down.

When Minho started securing the fabric, standing closer to you than ever before, his hand touched your stomach for a second. Goosebumps rose all over your skin, but you couldn't quite pinpoint why. It wasn't necessarily cold in his room, and your intoxicated head didn't even consider his touch being the cause.

It took Minho a couple of seconds to fix the way the shirt sat around your waist, and when he was finished, his eyes met yours again. The depth of his brown ones captured you for a second as you realised that yours probably were bloodshot and blurry from the amount of alcohol in your body. Even though you didn't feel as intoxicated anymore at that moment.

"How do I look?" you questioned, his eyes wandering down your front. You were pretty sure that Minho wouldn't be able to tell from this angle, but he still answered.

"Go-," he spoke up, his voice suddenly breaking as if he was going through vocal change all over again. Swallowing hard to clear his throat, he attempted to answer a second time. "Good."

"Just good?" you teasingly asked as you brought your arms closer to your body now that Minho was done fixing your outfit. "Maybe I should try another shirt then."

"No," Minho disagreed, his brows furrowing for a second. "I mean sure if you want to. But you look great. Pretty."

"That's more like it," you accepted his specification with a grin. "Thank you for the shirt. I'll give it back first thing tomorrow if that works for you."

"Perfect."

You couldn't shake the feeling that Minho's words weren't referring to your time-management skills. The way he allowed himself to look at you for a little longer this time made you interpret his word as an addition to your previous discussion on how you looked. But maybe, that was just wishful thinking. Alcohol made you crave human intimacy after all.

Obviously, you couldn't trust your drunk self. You were sure that Minho wouldn't take advantage of you in any way, his constant longing for consent told you. Still, you couldn't be sure you wouldn't use your own intoxication as an excuse to make rushed decisions. You barely knew the guy, and you wouldn't want to drive him away already.

To quickly shake off the intimate atmosphere, you took a step away, taking a look around the space. It was bigger than you had expected, but still small considering two people lived here. Especially if those two people were two grown college students.

"So, you really share this room with Changbin?"

"I do," Minho answered after a short second of surprise at the sudden break of the previous conversation.

"Not to be stalker-y or anything, but how do two grown men share a room? Don't you need privacy for when you bring home – people?"When your fingers touched the surface of his mattress, you noticed how he shifted a little, so you quickly retrieved your hand.

"Believe it or not, but we hang socks on the knob when that happens," Minho explained as he watched you inspect the room some more. "Well, the others do anyway. I never had to hang a sock at the knob. Or anything for that matter."

"No way! You're a virgin?" you exclaimed in surprise, covering your mouth a second later. This was a personal matter, not something you'd talk about with someone you just met. Still, the thought of it seemed so unreal.

"No. What I mean is, we've only lived here for a year," Minho corrected your assumption. Quickly, you realised that he had never hung a sock before because he hadn't taken someone home over the last twelve months. The light chuckle escaping his lips decreased the tension in your back. "I'm not- most definitely not a virgin."

"Of course, I'm so sorry," you apologised at your quick and false hypothesis. Maybe you should think before you speak. "I must be drunker than I thought."

"It's fine."

As you made your way further away from him, you reached the window at the other side of the room. When you took a look outside, you noticed that this wasn't too different from what you saw when looking out your own bedroom window.

"That's weird. I can see into Mr Kim's kitchen from up here just as well as from my room," you pointed out, looking back at Minho. "Are you sure you never heard any voices coming from downstairs? I could swear your bed is right above where I sleep."

"I-" Minho cut himself off, apparently unable to answer that question. It seemed almost unbelievable that he couldn't hear you yelling at your ex when it had been loud enough for Changbin to hear during late-night study sessions. "I think we should head back. The others are probably waiting for us, and if they notice the sock-"

"You think they'll assume that we're doing something?" you questioned, falling for Minho's desperate try to distract you.

You couldn't hear his thoughts, so you were unaware that your previous query had made him feel more than uncomfortable. It wasn't your question itself that made him nervous but that Minho didn't know how to answer it truthfully without sounding like a creep.

"If you're drunk enough to assume I'm a virgin, it's not too far fetched for them to assume we're doing something, is it?"

You couldn't argue with that sober and logical premise, so you nodded your head as you followed him back out of the room.

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

 

The next few hours were like a blur. At around 1 a.m., you decided to not get another one of Minho's mixtures and settle for softer drinks so that you could sober up a little. Even though it was the weekend, you still needed to get things done the next day, like grocery shopping and- well, that was it. But you still didn't want to spend the next two days fighting off your sleep deprivation as well as the inevitable hangover that was awaiting you.

At around 2 a.m., all the couples decided to call it a night, effectively leaving only the singles on the dance floor. Admittedly, Hyunjin and Changbin were a lot of fun to watch, so you mostly did that rather than moving yourself.

As you were sitting on the full couch, surrounded by couples making out, your eyes soon focused on Minho. Though moving less enthusiastically – probably due to the lack of alcohol in his system – he seemed to have some skills as well. Even if he wasn't really dancing but swaying, he must have had some moves to his name.

You expected yourself to get tired just sitting on a couch and watching people move to the loud sound of the newest hip-hop track, but somehow, you were wide awake. Blame the amount of coke you had drunk throughout the past few hours. Nevertheless, you felt yourself longing for your bed and a cup of hot milk at around 2:30, deciding that it was more than fair to leave at that time.

You had spent about four hours at the party, and you were drained. It had been a while since you had had that much social interaction, and all you could think about now was solitude. Maybe it was the couple next to you who was practically dry humping each other, but you suddenly felt the need to get out of here. Especially now that you were sobering up, the quantity of noise you could still take decreased.

With that thought in mind, you got up from the couch and made your way towards the group of hosts that were still awake. You tipped Changbin on the shoulder to get him to notice you.

"Hey, so, Imma head home," you told him with a slight smile. You just hoped that he could sense how beat you were.

"Already?" Minho interrupted, stopping all his movement to look at you. "But it's only like 3 a.m."

"Exactly," you pointed out the irony of his statement. Maybe you should have waited for Minho to leave the room before announcing your departure, seeing as he obviously had a problem with you heading out. As if you were the only thing that made this party worthwhile. "Anyways, thank you so much for the invitation. I had a lot of fun."

As you hugged Changbin goodbye, you felt his chin move against you as if he was mouthing something to someone. You ignored it, brushing it off as your imagination as you went on to Hyunjin. You noticed some commotion going on behind your back, and you could make out the words 'do it, or I will' being spoken to someone. The second you turned around with a questioning look on your face, everything seemed normal again. Changbin smiled at you as you turned to hug Minho goodbye.

"I'll take you downstairs," Minho explained as he held his hand out to lead the way. Honestly, you were more than able to find home yourself, but you figured he was simply trying to be a good host. And you couldn't really argue with that. Also, you didn't hate the thought of being alone with Minho again after having had that moment before. Just to see if your sudden attraction to him was caused by the alcohol or simply by him being so damn cute.

"Okay," you agreed as you waved at the two remaining hosts. "Bye. I'll see you around."

Slowly, you started making your way towards the exit, followed closely by Minho. You couldn't help your wandering mind, questioning what it was that made him decide to take you home. Did Changbin say something to him? And if so, what, and why?

As you walked down the flight of stairs, your shoes screeching against the marble floor of the hallway, there was not a word spoken. The silence made you feel uncomfortable as much as relaxed, knowing that you were out of the room filled with 50 college students exchanging fluids. The music was still very audible, but it was far less distracting. You could finally hear your own thoughts again.

When you came to a halt in front of your door, you turned around, looking at Minho for the first time since you left his apartment. You quickly noticed the nervous smile on his face as well as his fidgeting fingers.

"So, that's me!" you stated the obvious, looking back at the door behind you. "Thank you for taking me home. I felt very safe."

"That's good. I just wanted to make sure that the guy from earlier wasn't still here, waiting for you or something."

The moment Minho said that you knew it was a lie. Sober you did anyway. There was no way this was the reason he took you home for. You couldn't help but wonder why he had lied when he could have simply not said anything.

"You mean the guy who left four hours ago? I don't think he'd be waiting that long just to get another shot at slurring his lame lines at me," you pointed out with a laugh. "But thanks anyway. And thanks for earlier. That guy really made me uncomfortable, and if it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be trapped in the kitchen."

"No problem," Minho spoke, a thoughtful expression on his face. "It really worries me, though, that in 2021 it still needs another guy to get a man to stop talking to you. A simple 'no' from you should have been enough."

"It's strange, isn't it?" It was a rhetorical question, so Minho simply nodded at that, agreeing with your words. "I had a lot of fun tonight, really."

"I'm glad you did. Especially considering you didn't even want to come," Minho pointed out as he put his hands into the pockets of his leather pants. You remembered seeing him in them the first time tonight, how in awe you had been about his looks. It had turned out that there was much more to like about him than just his appearance, though. "But then again, I didn't really want to have the party either."

"I barely noticed. You seemed to be enjoying yourself up there," you told Minho honestly, trying to focus on your conversation rather than how likeable the guy was. That was harder said than done as he was just such a feast for the eyes and the brain. Maybe it wasn't the alcohol that had made you feel attracted to him after all.

"Well, with my test coming up, I wasn't really in the mood. But as it turns out, the party was still a lot of fun."

"It's not over for you anyway. You're probably going right back up, right?" you questioned.

"I don't know. I'm kinda drained myself, so maybe I'll head to bed as well," Minho explained with a reaffirming nod. And yet again, you got the feeling, or maybe a wishful thought, that you had been the reason he had stayed up. Minho just didn't strike you as the avid party-goer, so there had to be a reason he had not headed to bed earlier.

"Can you even sleep with all the music?"

It was a long shot, really, but right now, all you wanted was to invite Minho in for a tea, or hot milk, or just anything. You didn't dare ask him directly, unaware if he'd say yes. For all you knew, every hint over the past hours that he was willing to get to know you more could have been the product of your imagination. Even now that you were sobering up, you still couldn't tell if any of the hints had actually been hints.

"I guess I have to try," Minho simply replied with a shrug. "It's not like there's anything else to do anyway."

Was that his attempt to get you to invite him in? You just didn't know what to think anymore. Had you just been given a quick peek into Minho's head right that moment, every doubt you had would have most likely vanished.

You would have realised that Minho had lied about not being able to overhear your bedroom, simply cause he felt bad for doing so every night. Be it you talking to your friends at night or you crying after finding out your stupid ex had cheated.

You would have realised that Minho had told Changbin about his secret crush on you while getting you a drink and a sweater, respectively. When Changbin had brought you to the party, Minho had assumed that you were now seeing his friend. And when he told Changbin about his crush, currently single for the first time since he had moved into the complex, his friend was quick to take a step back.

You would have seen that your ex-boyfriend hadn't made up the story about one of your neighbours hiding from you in the hallways, but that it actually happened. That it was none other than the guy standing in front of you. Minho had never wanted to interact with you, scared he might catch real feelings while you were in a relationship. It wouldn't have been the first time anyway.

Knowing all of this would have made you asking Minho in a lot easier. You wouldn't have had to tiptoe around the question. Things would have been more sure, more secure. But you had no idea any of it had happened, so you were simply stuck in this uncertain situation.

"I'll see you tomorrow," you told Minho as you decided to give him a hug you had been looking forward to giving him for a while. As his arms wrapped around you, you noticed the firm muscles in his back.

"You will?" Minho questioned in confusion, pulling away to look at you.

"To switch shirts," you reminded him.

"Oh, yeah, right," he agreed with a short shake of his head as you slowly turned toward your door to unlock it.

You turned around one last time in hopes that you would bring up the courage to ask him in, but then you noticed that he was already on his way back to the stairway. In disappointment, you quickly headed inside, leaning back against the door with a sigh once you had closed it.

You should have asked him. You should have just gotten over your fear of being rejected. You should have-

"Are you kidding me? Why didn't you ask her if you could come inside? She obviously wanted you to."

You had always been well aware of the fact that the doors of your complex weren't that thick. You could easily hear someone talk behind them, though, until now, you had never understood the content of the conversations held in privacy. Right now, the two voices outside were clear as day as you recognised them to be Minho and Changbin.

Maybe you shouldn't have, but you decided at that moment to press your ear up against the dark wood to not miss a word.

"She did? Man, I don't know what's going on with me. I'm usually really good at this."

"You better turn around and knock on that door right now!"

"I can't. It would be weird to just knock again when we just said goodbye."

"I won't tell you again. Do it, or I will."

So your ears hadn't betrayed you earlier. Changbin really did say something to Minho when you had said goodbye to them.

"You wouldn't!"

"But I would. Just stop whining and get your ass back over there. You've been crushing on that woman for like a year now, so it's about time you do something about it. Don't be a wimp!"

As those words left Changbin's mouth, you took a step back in realisation. You shouldn't be listening in on their conversation when they were talking about you, though you were glad you had heard at least the last part. Knowing that you hadn't imagined all the hints before was a relief, and you couldn't deny that it made you excited. Minho had a crush on you, at least according to Changbin, so all that mattered now was how you wanted to play it.

From your current perspective, there were two ways to go from here. You could let Minho dangle a little, or you could make things easier for him. Had you really identified all the hints correctly, he was somewhat nervous around you. Playing hard to get never made sense to you anyway, so you decided to go with the second option. To help him out a little.

Without a second thought, your hand came back to the doorknob, pulling the door open immediately. To your surprise, you were met with Minho's face right there in front of yours. Apparently, Changbin had gotten his way, pushing his friend to finally do something. Had you not opened the door, Minho would have knocked. Either way, this moment would have happened.

As you were smiling at Minho, a blush appearing on both your faces, you noticed a giggling Changbin heading up the stairs behind Minho.

"Hi," you said shyly, as you couldn't get your eyes to look anywhere other than him.

"Hey," Minho repeated, a shy smile also playing on his face. His hand came to the back of his neck as he scratched it anxiously. "So, I've been wondering – and it's totally okay if you're like too tired or something – but would you mind, maybe-"

As the boy was stumbling over his words, you felt the sudden urge to just shut him up. He was like a deer caught in headlights, and all you wanted was to lead him out of the beam and towards safety at the roadside. So, before he could ask you the question he was apparently dreading to ask, you pulled him down towards you.

The first few seconds, you could tell Minho was overwhelmed. You must have really taken him aback by suddenly kissing him without warning him first. Had you not known it to be incorrect, you would have assumed that this was his first kiss. Though the second he came out of his trance, you could tell that you were wrong. So wrong.

Minho's hands came up to your flushed face, cupping your jaw as if to keep you from drawing away. Obviously, that was the last thing you wanted at that moment. The way he moved his soft lips against you made a warm feeling spread inside you as if he was setting every vein on fire in a matter of seconds. You caught yourself wondering if Minho could taste the alcohol on your lips, mistaking the sweetness as you.

Automatically, your hands came up to his chest after a while, gripping his shirt to keep yourself steady. His taste was so intoxicating that you just needed the extra leverage to not fall and break the kiss. Your disappointment when he pulled away after not even a minute was understandable.

In more than just disbelief, Minho's eyes were staring at you. He scanned your face for any sign of regret or something else that couldn't have been further from what you actually felt at the moment. Maybe he was also trying to detect whether you were still drunk. When he realised that you had genuinely enjoyed kissing him just as much as he did, something within him visibly shifted.

"So," Minho spoke up with a smirk on his face. "Are you gonna invite me in or what?"

Honestly, you were surprised by Minho's sudden confidence. It was a side of him he hadn't shown you yet, and you couldn't help but interpret it as him recognising that you liked it, and more importantly him. Just like he had apparently felt for you over the past few months.

With a smile decorating your lips, you stepped to the side to let him into the comfort of your own four walls. The second you closed the door behind you, you found yourself in the darkness of your living room, so you quickly turned on the lamp beside your couch. It made the room appear in just the right amount of light – not too bright, but bright enough to see.

"You wanna have something to drink?" It was the politeness that you had been taught as a child that made you ask that question. Honestly, after having kissed Minho in the hallway, there were other things you wanted to ask him rather than if he was thirsty.

"I'm good," Minho quickly answered as he took a step closer to you. His hand came to your waist, pulling you towards him hesitantly. "So, you wanna talk, or-"

Admittedly, it was the logical next step. Finding out that your neighbour had been secretly crushing on you for a year when you had just found out he even existed called for a conversation. Had you been less on edge from just having kissed him, you would have probably asked for a talk yourself. Blame the last drops of alcohol still lingering in your system, but right now, talking was the last thing you wanted to do.

"Why don't we get to that later-?" Before you could even finish the sentence, Minho had already closed the gap between you, his lips hungrily attacking your own.

He almost knocked you off your feet as you stumbled backwards, your body only caught by his arms and the door behind you. This time neither of you broke the kiss as you simply tucked him closer by his shirt before wrapping your arms around his neck. Your hands came to his hair, fingers softly entangling with a few strands of it.

Minho's hands seemed to be acting on their own when they made their way under your shirt, gripping your waist. It reminded you of when he had accidentally touched your stomach earlier, though this time, it was intentional. It sent a shiver up your body as he silently smiled into the kiss.

The second your tongues started playing with each other, you knew where this was heading. There was just no way you could still come down from the feeling Minho was causing within you. You just needed to feel him closer. Your body was longing for him as though he was the drug that kept you alive.

When Minho's hip pressed against yours with no way to escape due to the door your back was currently pressed against, you decided that you couldn't wait any longer. As hard as it was to pull away from him for even just a second, you needed to so that you could voice your wishes.

"Bedroom?" was all you could get out with those beautiful eyes staring at you as if to devour you alive.

"Bedroom," Minho agreed as you took his hand in yours and started leading him towards it. When you entered the room, you noticed Minho scanning it for a few seconds. "Interesting. This is just how I imagined it."

"You imagined my room?" you questioned in surprise as you closed the door behind you. It was unnecessary but a habit nonetheless.

"Many times," Minho confirmed as he came closer again, your back once more hitting the door behind you. He came close enough so you could feel his breath against your mouth, though he didn't yet kiss you. "Every night, I lay in bed and listen to your conversations or your laughing at whatever movie or TV show it is that you love so much. Honestly, your laugh might be the second most beautiful sound I ever heard."

"What's number one?" you questioned curiously. Hearing how Minho had listened to your private conversation while you were unaware of it should have probably made you feel uncomfortable. Somehow, it made you like him even more.

"Well," the smirk on Minho's lips as he leaned down closer made goosebumps appear all over your body. "I'm not proud of it, but I touched myself many times to the sound of your moaning. I used to be so jealous of your boyfriend for being able to touch you and make you feel so good. But now that I know you haven't been with him in half a year? Tell me, who made you moan the past six months?"

The atmosphere noticeably shifted after his confession. You gulped at his words, your eyes flickering down towards his lips. Minho didn't need an answer for him to know who it was that made you feel good over the last few months.

"It was yourself, wasn't it, kitten?" Minho questioned, and again, he didn't need a reply. The way he used that nickname for you without another thought drew you closer to him as you pressed your lips against his.

Up until now, you hadn't perceived Minho as much of a dirty talker. Hearing him say all these things to you without a hint of reluctance turned you on to a point you've rarely been to. Every vein in your body wanted- no needed, to feel him closer, which was why you pushed him towards your bed after just a handful of seconds.

"Take off your shirt!" you ordered Minho as he plopped down onto the sheets of your bed. Immediately, his hands came to your thighs, fingers roughly gripping at the jeans-covered flesh.

"So, you're not denying it?"

"I said, take off your shirt," you repeated, a little fiercer this time. Maybe not a good decision, seeing Minho obviously was used to taking the more dominant role.

"Careful, kitten. You might burn yourself on that fire you're playing with," Minho whispered seductively, though you could tell that he liked your enthusiasm. "By the way, demands like that only get you so far when they're properly compensated. Say, my shirt for your pants."

You rolled your eyes at him, taking a step back and eagerly undressing the lower half of your body. Minho appeared to be surprised you gave in so effortlessly, though he apparently was a man of his words.

Once he had gotten used to seeing this much of you, your black lace panties needing a second longer to be fully processed, Minho pulled his shirt out of the waistband of his pants. The second he had rid himself of the fabric, your fingers were already on him. Your hands started down by his caramel abs before coming all the way up to his pecks, roaming over every centimetre they could. Michaelangelo's David had nothing on him.

Seeing you took your sweet time in taking him all in, you gave Minho the perfect opportunity to take back the upper hand. Within moments, he twirled you around, got up from the sheets and had you positioned in the middle of your bed, himself located right there above you. How he had managed to get you into this position this fast, you had no idea.

"You're good!" You hadn't intended to blurt that out, but it was the truth.

The more minutes passed, the more surprised you found yourself by just anything he did. Before he had realised that you wanted him as much as he did you, you had expected him to be nervous throughout all of this. After the past few minutes, though, not much of his hesitation was left.

"It's a team effort, really."

With those words, Minho attached his lips to your neck, biting softly at the flesh. It earned a quiet moan from you, your eyes closing on impact. Your hands trailed towards his muscular upper arms as you held onto them tightly. They twitched at the sudden interaction with your fingers, though it didn't stop him from attacking your flushed throat.

One of Minho's legs was situated in between yours, just centimetres from where you needed to feel him the most, as he kept you spread for him. Call it devastation, but when you noticed just how close his thigh was to your core, you couldn't help but grind yourself against it.

Both of you were surprised by that unexpected action, though soon enough, Minho positioned his leg even closer, apparently loving the reaction he got from you. You repeated the previous movement as it was the only opportunity for you to get some friction. His helping hand – or thigh, for that matter – therefore, was gladly accepted.

"God, you're hot," Minho breathed against your skin, your moans escaping your mouth like a mantra. You didn't answer, mainly cause you were in no position to do so as you kept on grinding against his clothed leg. "Arch your back for me! Can you do that, kitten?"

As if his wish was your command, you pushed your back off the ground, realising what he was doing only when his fingers reached the clasp of your bra. With an impressively quick motion, Minho opened it, his fingers immediately finding one of your perched nipples now that they were freed from their restraints.

The moan that escaped you from just that movement made him bite the inside of his lip to a point where you thought he would draw blood.

You wanted to make it easier for him, to give him more access to your chest, so your hands went to the hem of your shirt. You started dragging it up your body just to be stopped by him.

"Leave it on!" Minho ordered. "I'll work my way around it, but you have got to keep my shirt on." Obeying his orders, you simply removed the bra from below your shirt, keeping everything else where he wanted it.

It didn't take a psychic to know that it wasn't as much the shirt itself that made him want you to keep it on, but the fact that it was hisshirt. Apparently, he loved seeing it on you as though it was marking his property. Though you knew he would have never addressed you as such.

The moment Minho's knee drew away from your core, a frustrated groan left your lips. It was a sudden stop to the small amount of friction you had felt before when all you wanted was to feel more.

"Easy there," Minho chuckled at your desperate behaviour, his lips engulfing yours in a short but equally rough kiss. "I have a plan, but you've gotta trust me."

A simple nod from your side formed a smirk on his lips as Minho made his way further down your body, his hands never leaving your sides. Soon enough, his face was positioned above your stomach, kissing a trail around your navel and, eventually, down your panties. The little fabric between his lips and your core didn't stop him from licking a stripe up, making you groan louder than before.

Minho quickly moved away again, his teeth now meeting the soft flesh of your thighs. Usually, you would have gotten a little self-conscious at how close he was to one of your least favourite body parts. Due to the level of frustration within you, there was little to no time to try and hide any imperfection he might have witnessed down there.

For a while, Minho simply grazed his teeth against your skin, leaving what you were sure were love-bites that would stay with you for days. The markings themselves were no problem, but you surely didn't like how long he was dragging this out when he must have known just what you wanted him to do.

"Please," you moaned when Minho got closer to your core yet again. By now, you were sure he was doing this on purpose.

"Please, what?" he questioned as his mouth met your thigh once again. "What do you need?"

"More," was all you got out as you threw your head back at one particularly harsh bite.

"You mean like this?" he asked as he bit just above your core and through your panties. If he kept on doing this, you could throw them away the following morning.

"More," you repeated, the frustration more than evident in your voice.

"So, like this?"

And finally, after too much teasing for your liking, Minho's mouth met your covered nub, his lips engulfing it in a strong suck.

"Fuck!" you groaned louder than intended, his fingers slipping beneath your panties. "Yes, like this."

"Why didn't you just say so? It would have made things a lot easier for you."

Had he not started to drag your underwear down that minute, you would have said something to that. You would have complained about how he must have known what you had meant before. You would have told him off for teasing you so much. The cold air hitting your wet folds stopped you as a hiss escaped your lips instead.

Before you could get used to the new temperature, Minho's mouth was already on you, sucking on your nub like he hadn't taken his sweet time mere seconds prior. It was that action that totally threw you off the edge, your moaning and whimpering becoming louder with each and every one of his movements.

Minho's strong hands were harshly gripping onto your hips, keeping you as steady as he could. You were sure that the imprints of his fingers would stay with you for as long as the markings on your thighs would, but right now, you had no capacity for thoughts about the future.

The way Minho was working your body, the way he knew just where to lick and where to suck, made you see stars. The air entirely left your lungs as you struggled to take just one single breath. It was a deadly combination, though you wouldn't have died right now under any circumstance. Too good was the feeling of Minho taking care of you as if he had never done anything else.

Your hips bucked up against his mouth, too overwhelmed by what he was doing to you. Apparently, his hands weren't strong enough to hold you, so without looking up, he grabbed one of the pillows beside your head, positioning it under your arching back. That way, you couldn't move your waist as freely, effectively keeping you in one spot.

For Minho, that was an advantage. For you, it was torture.

The new angle worked like a torture device as he had better access to all those spots that made you feel so good. Too good, even. Never had it taken this few minutes to get you this close to your high, and when he entered one of his long fingers, you were over and done with.

Almost animalistically, the groans fell out of you as your body was working on its own. As much as you tried controlling yourself, there was no way you could make it any less overwhelming when it was Minho who had total control of you. With every roll of his tongue, every bend of his finger, you got closer to your high.

"I- I'm-" It would have been only fair for you to warn him of your approaching release. Though the words just didn't want to leave your mouth. They couldn't, with the amount of whimpering your mouth was occupied with, and still, he understood you just fine.

Apparently, you finishing wasn't on his mind right now as his lips withdrew and his finger slowed down, slowly guiding you away from your release. The edge had been so close, and still, you came down from it faster than usual. Way too fast for your liking.

"Sorry," Minho apologised as he came further up your body again, kissing your lips once he was close enough to reach them. As you tasted yourself on him, you couldn't help but hum at the wetness of his lips. "I just wanted to feel you around me when you come."

You didn't reply, unable to do so for more reasons than not knowing what. Right at that moment, you were sure any words coming out of your mouth would have simply sounded like gibberish. Minho wouldn't have understood you anyway, so why try?

"I bet you feel amazing," Minho pondered as he kneeled over you, undoing his pants right there in front of your eyes.

It didn't take him more than ten seconds to rid himself of any restraint – the only fabric between you was now his shirt which you wore. Though that hardly mattered for what was about to come.

"Condoms?" Minho questioned as if to ask where to find them. You softly shook your head, unable to do much more moving.

"No need," you replied with a soft smile. "I'm on the pill, and I'm clean." You didn't have to tell him that twice as he immediately lined himself up with you.

"I should have talked to you months ago," Minho simply stated as he pressed his lips against yours to weaken the effects of his entering.

And just like that, just by that simple movement of hip against hip, you were back where he had left you mere minutes ago. Whimpering beneath him as you knew it wouldn't take much longer for you to make a mess around him.

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

 

When you woke up in the comfort of your warm bed, the sun shining into your room through the windows, a smile immediately spread on your face. How couldn't it after the events of last night? It was as if a reset button was pressed, your whole weekend now appearing in a much brighter light. Whatever you decided on doing with it in the end, somehow, it didn't go to waste.

The memories of last night came crawling back, one by one, as your head automatically turned to look at the handsome man beside you. Though, when you spotted the empty pillow, you for a second believed it had all been dream.

You sat up in your bed, eyes narrowing as you realised that not only was Minho gone, he must have been for a while, guessing from how the sheets were cold. You knew for a fact that he hadn't left in the middle of the night, seeing how you remembered him pulling you closer to cuddle a few hours earlier. The sun had already risen at that point, so Minho couldn't have been far.

Still clad in his overly huge shirt, you got up from your bed, stretching your back and hands for a few seconds as you made your way out of the room. Maybe, Minho was just using the bathroom or making himself a coffee in the kitchen. Though you soon realised that every other room in your apartment was empty.

With a confused expression still on your face, you walked back into your room, only now spotting a small piece of paper sitting on your nightstand. You knew you hadn't put it there, so the note must have been from Minho.

I'll be back soon. Don't move! You probably can't anyway ;-)

You shook your head with a chuckle at Minho's words. Frankly, walking was more painful than usual, with the soreness lingering in your leg. The bigger problem, though, was the bruises all over your thighs that touched whenever you took a step. The burning sensation indeed did make it a little uncomfortable to move. You were willing to take all of this for what had happened the previous night, though.

The note was quickly forgotten on the bedside table as you put on a pair of clean sweatpants before heading out of the room. When you spotted Changbin's sweater lying abandoned on the floor, you picked them up before heading for the door. After fixing your hair in the mirror beside it, you left your apartment. Realising your keys were missing from the small shelf next to your door only solidified your assumption that Minho couldn't have been far.

The moment you came to a halt in front of your neighbours' door, you gently knocked on it to not wake any remaining late sleepers. It didn't take more than a few seconds for the door to be opened, Minho appearing behind it. He had traded his dress shirt for a t-shirt, his legs now clad in low-hanging sweat pants. Despite his change of clothes, he still looked amazing.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you read my note not to get up?" he questioned, a little surprised to see you.

"I did, but I wanted to make sure you hadn't run out on me," you joked, making a smirk appear on his lips.

"Cute. You really think I'd leave after you sounded that amazing last night."

Minho's honest response was followed by him leading you into the apartment and straight for the kitchen. You noticed a few people sitting on the couch in the living room, mindlessly looking at the TV or individual phone screen.

"How's everyone feeling?" you asked Minho as you noticed the faint scent of cooked eggs emitting from a pan on the stove.

"Worse than expected. Felix and the others are doing okay, I guess, but Changbin and Hyunjin not so much. I don't think they'll be back to normal for a few days," Minho told you as he stirred what you identified as scrambled eggs. "Apparently, the party didn't stop after we left."

"How nice of you to fix them some breakfast. That's one good roommate quality," you told Minho as you noticed the two cups of coffee next to the coffee machine.

"Oh, this?" he asked, nodding at all the goods beside the stove. There were buttered toasts, a few peeled oranges, two cups of coffee and two plates which you assumed were for the scrambled eggs. "That's not for them. I'm making breakfast in bed for us. That's why I didn't want you to get up. I was trying to surprise you."

"Really? All of this, for the two of us?"

"I didn't know what you liked, so I made a bunch of stuff," Minho explained. Honestly, you hadn't expected him to do something as cute as this. For all you knew, Minho wasn't really the soft type, but more like the slightly cocky, more-or-less dominant one. Seeing how he apparently cared this much for you, your stomach erupted in a few little butterflies. "By the way, nice shirt."

"Oh, this old thing?" you asked as Minho's hands came around your waist, pulling you a little closer. You had totally forgotten that you were still wearing the shirt he had lent you yesterday. "Some guy gave it to me."

"Oh, I sure did," Minho smirked at his somewhat lame joke as he pulled you in for a soft kiss. Your hands came to his neck, Changbin's sweater abandonedly lying on the counter as you tangled your fingers with the short strands of Minho's hair.

As he pulled you in closer to his body, you felt his fingers brushing over your hips, a hiss escaping your lips as you remembered the bruises all over them. Apparently, so did he, as he smiled into the kiss.

"I hope I wasn't too rough last night," Minho spoke as he softened his hold on you.

"I liked it. It was all worth it in the end anyway," you told Minho with a smirk as you pulled him down again, instantly deepening the kiss by brushing your tongue against his.

Minho seemed to enjoy this, a hum escaping his lips as he picked you up a little to sit you onto the counter. It allowed him to come between your legs, pulling you as close to him as possible as he kept a firm grip around your waist. You couldn't deny that, though it was a little painful, you loved how impulsive he was being with you. It made you feel like he couldn't control himself around you, which made you feel proud somehow.

A light moan escaped your lips the moment Minho's lips went further down to your jaw before making their way down to your neck, lightly sucking at the skin. From what you could tell, you didn't have any love bites there, at least yet. His hands slowly made their way below your shirt, running over your bruised stomach as you whimpered into the kiss. It only spurred him on.

You could have done this all day, just make out with Minho, be with him, talk to him, and you didn't even think about stopping at that moment. He could have dragged you to his room to continue the previous night for all you cared. Though when you heard a throat being cleared beside you, everything came to a sudden halt.

Minho's retrieved his lips from your neck, running his tongue over them once as his face turned to look at the doorway.

"Remind me, in what language does 'going to the library all day' mean 'making out with our neighbour in the kitchen'?"

Hyunjin chuckled at Changbin's words, an amused expression on both of their faces. They had apparently been watching the scene for a while. It took you a second to spot the shocked expression on Jeongin's face as he was standing beside them. You felt bad for the poor boy, obviously not having expected to see this much action this early in the morning.

"How- What- Huh?" was all he could say as Changbin obviously noticed his friend's confusion.

"Remember what I always say? A good party either ends at midnight or at like seven in the morning," Changbin explained, only confusing Jeongin even further. "Well, y/n went home last night at 3 a.m., and the party most definitely didn't stop there. I don't have to explain the birds and the bees to you again, do I?"

"You don't. I have a girlfriend, remember?" Jeongin asked as Changbin realised that his young, innocent friend wasn't so innocent after all.

"Let's just ignore the fact that our little Innie here has grown up for a second," Changbin pointed out with a somewhat disgusted expression as he came back to look at the two of you. "You do you, but please do so in the privacy of your own room. You know, where there's no food around that could possibly get ruined. Also, I need to use the coffee machine, so you have two minutes."

With those words, everybody left the kitchen again, leaving only you and Minho in each other's company.

"He's probably right, you know," you said to Minho as you retrieved your hands from around his neck. "We shouldn't make out in the kitchen where everybody can just walk in."

"You're right," Minho agreed as he helped you down from the counter. "So, how about we get to breakfast in bed now? Or is there something else you'd rather use your bed for?"

You knew what Minho was hinting at, so a chuckle escaped your lips. After last night, there was no way the day wouldn't be filled with all of the same things that had made you realise the beauty of the weekend just hours earlier. Eating, cuddling, making out in bed. There was probably nothing you didn't want to do in the comfort of your own four walls.

"Why choose when we can do both?" you asked Minho as a smirk immediately appeared on his face.

"Interesting," Minho pondered as he leaned in further, his face close enough so he could almost kiss you. "I never thought I'd say this, but Changbin was right. Parties don't end at 3 a.m."

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Stray Kids Short Stories