By Zephyria 
Their gazes intersect. For a moment, his swaying vision feels fixed. Kwon Mi-eon looks at him as if pulling him in, making it impossible to look away.
“Mo Yeon-hu?”
At the sound of Kim Seong-jae calling his name, Mo Yeon-hu hurriedly pushed Kwon Mi-eon away.
“Sorry. I think I’m drunk….”
“What? Drunk? You don’t usually get like this.”
“This bastard’s condition was off from the moment he arrived. He mixed his drinks, too.”
Mo Yeon-hu could handle his alcohol well, but his tolerance varied greatly depending on his physical condition.
“Yeah, I’m heading out first. You guys keep hanging out.”
“Hey, just stay longer. You sober up quickly anyway.”
“You guys were the ones telling me to get lost because my drunken habits are disgusting….”
“True.”
Moreover, he was the type whose intoxication hit late and then faded quickly; if he stayed any longer, he would undoubtedly end up showing off his terrible drunken habits. Additionally, due to the recent incident with Kwon Mi-eon, he had resolved never to drink until he blacked out again.
“Yeon-hu, I’ll catch a taxi for you.”
Park Taek-yoon, who knew Mo Yeon-hu’s drunken habits well, clicked his tongue and stood up.
“Kim Seong-jae, stay here and hang out. I’ll take Yeon-hu home.”
“Uh, sure. Mo Yeon-hu, you okay?”
“Yeah, but I feel bad.”
“Hey, forget it. Your face was pale from the start. Go get some rest. We can just drink again next time.”
“Right, Yeon-hu. I’ll be in Korea for a while anyway…. I’ll help you walk. Hold onto me here.”
The two, who were habitually trying to take care of Mo Yeon-hu, paused at a movement blocking their path. Come to think of it, they weren’t the only ones there.
“What a shame. Yeon-hu is drunk, so I think we should be going.”
Turning his gaze, he saw Kwon Mi-eon, who had been standing as quiet as a mouse, watching how the two men treated Mo Yeon-hu.
He shifted his gaze toward Park Taek-yoon and approached.
“I’ll help Yeon-hu Hyung.”
What was this? This strange sense of déjà vu. Park Taek-yoon stared at Kwon Mi-eon, who had approached before they knew it and was attempting to support Mo Yeon-hu.
“What is it?”
Park Taek-yoon asked, looking uncertain.
“Excuse me… have we met somewhere?”
“That’s impossible.”
“I don’t think so……”
When he first saw him, and just now. Eyes like glass submerged in water, appearing to have no interest in others. That kind of gaze was not easily forgotten.
As the other lowered his head, Kwon Mi-eon’s bright hair momentarily darkened. It looked almost black, making Park Taek-yoon’s eyes sparkle.
“Huh?!”
Wait, could it be.
However, Park Taek-yoon couldn’t finish his sentence because Mo Yeon-hu stumbled at that exact moment. Kwon Mi-eon gripped Mo Yeon-hu tightly.
“It’s difficult, isn’t it? I’ll take him.”
After speaking firmly once more, Kwon Mi-eon naturally pushed away the remaining hand Park Taek-yoon was using for support and pulled Mo Yeon-hu close, almost as if embracing him. Park Taek-yoon, who reflexively tried to hold his ground, flinched.
‘Where did this strength come from?’
Contrary to the smooth movement, the strength of the hand that pushed his arm down was powerful. He felt the slight buzz of alcohol vanish.
Kwon Mi-eon supported Mo Yeon-hu, who was nodding off as if he might collapse at any second, almost carrying him. Supporting a drunk adult male couldn’t have been easy, yet he seemed unfazed.
“I didn’t drink. We can just take my car. You two please continue enjoying yourselves.”
Looking at that kindly smiling face, it was as if he had never forcibly pushed an arm away.
“Wow, you’re a good kid.”
Impressed by Kwon Mi-eon’s immediate willingness to take care of Mo Yeon-hu and leave, Kim Seong-jae told him to go ahead. Kwon Mi-eon bowed politely.
“Not at all. Have fun, Hyungs.”
Smiling harmlessly once more, Kwon Mi-eon quickly moved Mo Yeon-hu out of their sight. Watching their retreating figures, Kim Seong-jae kept clapping, saying he was a rare kind of youth these days, while Park Taek-yoon…
“Seriously, why is he here?”
“What do you mean?”
“……Nothing.”
As if it were nothing, he naturally grabbed his glass and watched the two disappear with curious eyes.
* * *
“……Ah, my head.”
He felt like he had blinked for a moment. He hadn’t fallen asleep, but his head was dizzy, and because his body kept swaying, he felt motion sickness. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them.
‘What, where is this?’
The smell of a car and the view of a parking lot. It seemed to be the bar’s parking lot. Perhaps the intoxication had risen further in the meantime; Mo Yeon-hu’s expression became strange as he watched the parked cars in front of him seem to multiply as if they were breeding.
‘But inside a car? I didn’t bring mine, so whose car is this? Park Taek-yoon? Kim Seong-jae?’
But he had no time to think further. Mo Yeon-hu let out a groan and clutched his head.
‘The headache is insane today. My head.’
Occasionally, when his condition was poor after drinking, he would get a severe headache, and that was exactly the case now. In such instances, the alcohol sobered up relatively quickly due to the headache, but the hangover the next day was brutal. Just as Mo Yeon-hu was clutching his head with a miserable face, anticipating the pain he would feel tomorrow, the driver’s side door opened with a thud.
And the person who got in was….
“Hyung, are you okay?”
It was Kwon Mi-eon. Then again, since both Park Taek-yoon and Kim Seong-jae had been drinking, there was no one else.
“It really is Kwon Mi-eon….”
Even seeing him again, it was somehow hard to believe he was right there.
“How on earth did you… ugh… get here?”
“Drink this first.”
No matter how he thought about it, the appearance was too abrupt. However, Kwon Mi-eon simply opened a water bottle and handed it over along with a hangover cure.
“No, I mean how did you get— ah.”
He needed to interrogate him, but why did his head hurt so much? Mo Yeon-hu ruffled his hair with an expression that said he felt like dying.
“Hyung, are you okay? Do you feel nauseous?”
“Yeah… no? …No, yeah.”
He said he was okay, then shook his head, then nodded again.
“You feel nauseous and your head hurts, right?”
“Yeah, my head….”
“You’ll feel better if you take the medicine and drink some water.”
His head hurt so much it felt like it was splitting, so he couldn’t refuse any longer.
He shouldn’t have drunk so quickly. He should have paced himself since his condition was poor, but he had downed them one after another, and it seemed he had hit his limit. In the end, Mo Yeon-hu took the medicine Kwon Mi-eon offered and drank the water.
As the water went down, his nauseous stomach felt like it was being saved, but the headache didn’t disappear.
Despite that state, Mo Yeon-hu desperately wanted to hear why Kwon Mi-eon was here, so he struggled to call his name.
“Kwon, Mi-eon.”
However, because his will preceded his ability, his pronunciation tripped.
“Yes, it’s Gum-Mi-eon, who has been ignored so much by Hyung’s ignored calls and ignored DMs that he’s become like chewed-up gum.”
Yet, regardless of how he was called, Kwon Mi-eon responded with a stoic expression and carefully leaned over. He took the water bottle Mo Yeon-hu was holding and, with his other hand, pulled the seatbelt across.
“Ah, ahaha.”
Kwon Mi-eon paused at the sudden burst of laughter. While bent over to fasten the seatbelt, he slightly lifted his head and widened his eyes at the face right in front of his.
“Hahaha.”
Mo Yeon-hu was laughing. With his head tilted back, the corners of his mouth pulled wide, his eyes folding prettily, and his hand slapping the seat.
“Gum-Mi-eon, he said Gum-Mi-eon. Ah, that’s seriously too funny……”
He seemed to have become fixated on that word. Mo Yeon-hu, who continued to burst into laughter as if savoring it, suddenly opened his eyes wide in surprise. It was because of Kwon Mi-eon’s face right in front of him.
Kwon Mi-eon was fair-skinned. Mo Yeon-hu’s skin was also white, but there was always a pale quality to Kwon Mi-eon’s face. But now it was different. The moment their eyes met, Mo Yeon-hu froze and couldn’t move.
“…….”
Kwon Mi-eon’s face was flushed bright red, all the way to his ears and neck. Facing the face that was entirely red while looking at him, Mo Yeon-hu felt as if he sobered up instantly.
Tension flowed between the two, who were frozen as if turned to ice. The taut air that had lasted for a moment broke the instant Mo Yeon-hu shifted his gaze and leaned back.
Click. As if he had never been close, Kwon Mi-eon quickly fastened the belt and returned to the driver’s seat.
Mo Yeon-hu repeatedly curled and uncurled his fingertips.
‘What… was that.’
Not only did the remaining buzz of alcohol vanish completely, but it felt as if even the headache had disappeared. However, he didn’t feel refreshed at all.
‘Why do I keep thinking about it?’
The image of Kwon Mi-eon’s face turning bright red was automatically replaying in his head.