Dull [Book III]

Pressured

The car ride was an unexplainable experience.

Of course, Xiumin made Minah seat shotgun instead of at the back with Soojung, in fear of witnessing his girlfriend kiss a person that's not him. She was quiet the moment a seatbelt was strapped over her and soon enough, her eyes were closed and her head was leaning against the window, and Xiumin was more than relieved to see Minah being behaved.

Lay, on the other hand, had a bit of a problem taming Soojung's drunk self. For the past twenty minutes, he learned that when Soojung got intoxicated, she should be locked up in a room by herself because she literally clung to any person that got close to her. The vodka had completely hit her head and she didn't know what she was doing, as she swung both her legs upwards until they were resting on Lay's lap. She wrapped her arms around him, face burying on the crook of his neck and hands playing with the hair on his nape.

Lay, with his heart pounding and his palms starting to sweat, attempted to pry Soojung away from him and failed miserably. Her arms loosened but she did the same exact thing no more than ten seconds later, and she was relaxed with her legs in that position. She was murmuring incoherent words and strangely, panting nonstop.

Lay had a hard time grasping the situation and it was getting more difficult as he could feel her every heavy exhale hitting the skin on his neck. He shut his eyes tight and grabbed Soojung's shoulder, gently pushing her away from him until she gave in and just lied down on the backseat.

"Is this right?" Xiumin asked, referring to the street they turned to. Lay took a glance around and nodded, watching straight ahead until they stopped in front of Soojung's apartment building. "Should I wait?"

"No, hyung, it's fine. I'll take a bus home or something." Lay replied. "Besides, you both have to rest. It's been a long day."

"Alright." Xiumin nodded and parked.

Lay carefully removed Soojung's legs from his lap and slowly got out of the car. He leaned in and grabbed her arms so she could sit up and get out as well. "Come on, let's get you in."

"Watch her head." Xiumin reminded when Lay miraculously got her to straighten up, and he placed a hand over her head to keep it from bumping against the doorframe. He pulled Soojung up a little more forcefully than earlier and with her unstable stance, she ended up falling against him and Lay wrapped his arms around her waist so she wouldn't collapse on the ground again.

"Thanks, hyung." Lay said. "I'll send you a text later when I get home."

"Okay." Xiumin replied. "We'll go now."

When the car left, the whole area was practically empty and almost all shops were closed. Soojung began mumbling again and Lay sighed, adjusting his hands and bending down to reach her legs so he could carry her instead and make it easy for himself. Her hand feebly pressed against his chest and trailed up to the collar, fingers fiddling with the opened zipper line. He went into the elevator and Soojung's eyes were still closed, but her mouth kept moving with puffs of hot air and random words. Lay could only understand a few, like 'Minah' and 'stupid' and 'vodka'... sadly, even 'Jiyong'.

"Even in your smashed state, you just can't forget him." Lay uttered, looking down at Soojung's red face. "Is he thinking of you right now too?"

"Hmm..." Soojung moved her head little by little until her forehead was pressed against Lay's chest, and then she was silent again, except for the panting. He noticed beads of sweat forming on her face and neck, most probably from the heat of the alcohol they were enjoying earlier.

They reached her floor and Lay brought her legs down slowly when they were in front of her door, silently hoping that nobody else would go out their flats and get the wrong idea about him being there with a drunken girl. Her habit was back all of a sudden and her arms were around Lay again, and he had to carefully feel around her pockets for the apartment key.