Lip Balm | Wooyoung

15

Saturday

As soon as everyone's settled down, the food arrives. Hyunmi widens her eyes as the waiters pour a glass of wine for everyone too, setting bottles down onto the table. This seems fancy.

She eats her food happily. She occasionally pretends to laugh at something Seonghwa is telling her, but in reality she's laughing at Jongho's annoyed face in front of her. Even at a company dinner, he can't just relax.

She doesn't care anymore though. So what if he can't? That won't stop her from relaxing. She picks up her wine glass and sips it warily at first. The strong flavour overwhelms her senses and she shivers.

After a moment of hesitation, she decides to down the glass in one go, already reaching to pour herself some more. She told herself to not drink, knowing that alcohol has too big of an influence on her, but she can't stop herself anymore. Always worrying has her sick and tired.

She easily chugs another glass. The other men at her table are too occupied with each other to notice her, except for two.

Seonghwa watches her with worried eyes and Hongjoong lightly gasps. "Are you feeling okay?" he asks as the girl pours herself a third glass. She bites her lip momentarily and turns to Hongjoong with the glass in her hand.

"Yes," she utters before downing the contents.

As she reaches for the bottle again, Hongjoong gently grabs her arm. "Maybe that's enough for today, you still haven't touched most of your food," he worries. Seonghwa observes the two from the side, heart unknowingly clenching at the sight.

Hyunmi retreats her hand slowly. She wanted to maybe relax tonight and to let herself go. She nearly forgot where she is right now.

"Sorry," she mumbles, picking up her fork and shoving food into her mouth. She can't think straight, but she doesn't even think it's the alcohol. Her mind spins so fast, running with thoughts.

As the night goes on, the men get livlier and Hyunmi feels less focused.

She blinks mindlessly at her plate.

"Hyunmi? What's wrong?" Seonghwa asks this time. He had been observing her for the entirety of the night so far, not speaking in fear of interrupting her thoughts that she seems so deep into.

Hyunmi clutches her dress in her fists tightly while turning to Seonghwa. "Am I wrong for wanting more? I mean, we did agree to be just friends" she slurs to the man beside her, Wooyoung's face circling her mind.

Taken aback, Seonghwa simply widens his eyes in shock. "W-Who are you talking about?" he questions, his heart beating faster by the second. He doesn't know if he's ready to hear the answer.

Just as she's about to open her mouth, Hongjoong turns to the girl and rests his hand on her shoulder. "How are you feeling now?" he wonders with a soft smile.

Hyunmi's dreamy smile drops into a frown. "You- Kim Hongjoong," she begins while pointing a finger straight to his face. Hongjoong's eyebrows raise in amusement and he sits back, a small smile painting his lips.

"You're so nice but you're so mean, why do you even do that? You're such a weirdo but you're also one of my only friends so I don't even know what to think of you," she scolds while shaking her head.

Jongho proves he was listening all along when his eyes widen and even Seonghwa brings a hand to his mouth.

Hongjoong, on the other hand, giggles softly. "I'm mean?" he asks her.

Hyunmi grins and joins her hands together. "Excuse the language sir, but you're an absolute asshole," she exclaims. Hongjoong doesn't know why, but hearing these things from the girl beside him makes his face grow pink.