Beloved Dear, Look At Me For Once | ✔

Chapter Twelve

Tay never saw a person cuter than New before in his whole life.

He smiled, reminiscing how happy New had become when the team they went rooting for won the match.

New was literally jumping around, shining bright like a full moon as his wide grin made him feel happy on a level he didn't know he could feel.

And so in celebration, they ordered alcohol alongside whatever they were eating.

At first New had seemed a little bummed out when he learned that Tay stopped drinking but after a little convincing from Tay's side, that he should enjoy his birthday to the fullest, finally had coaxed New.

And New had literally started slurring on his words after two bottles of soju and a pint of beer.

"Do you know the capital of China is Beijing?"

"When you divide twenty one from three, you get seven and you know who are seven? BTS, yes, but I kinda like Blackpink more, bada bing bada bong bong bong is easier to sing."

"I want to go to Phuket once in my life. Just take a long vacation there, chill on the sand, swim in the salty water, eat expensive and quality food, especially ice cream..."

And that was when New had actually fallen asleep at the table, his head almost about to crash onto the table when Tay had saved it with the speed of light, chuckling at the beetroot reddened cuteness of his then.

He spoke so much unlike his sober self, not that he minded him speaking be it sober or drunk, and that too so cutely and his drunk self also had an impeccable comic timing that even if he was saying something utterly simple, Tay couldn't help but laugh at it.

Booking a cab, which was luckily three minutes away from the restaurant they were at, Tay had collected their stuff and had somehow managed them to the cab,

He would not lie it was hard managing a drunk person to just get to the car, although New wasn't so fussy, he wondered how did they manage him whoever always dropped him home-

He felt a pinching sensation course through his body as his eyes stopped at a sleeping New who he was securing with a seatbelt,

A blurred but painful memory resurfaced,

It was the first time he had gotten drunk after finding nothing but defeat when he had started to search for Joss.

He thought the last thing he ever remembered was crashing on the bench opposite the tree, drinking his pain away,

But no,

He remembered a face, although faint, but he did,

It was fair and maybe, painted with concern,

He also remembered pink lips.

"Are you okay?"

And it once again struck in his head like a dart as the memory suddenly became crystal clear.

The face matching that of the one who slept peacefully before him,

"Khun? How long will you take?"

He snapped to the driver then, toggling back to New as he squeaked out, "Just- just a minute."

He carefully buckled New up and didn't waste a moment in getting in from the other side then.

Losing himself in his thoughts when the car started moving.

He wondered if New had been present all along during that phase of his life yet he just never knew it.