Just Friends

Chapter 6

"On my mark. Three... two....one.....GO!"

All six boys immediately throw back their first shot. The room instantly fills with choked coughs and groans while some try to keep it together despite the pained expressions on their face.

Oh my god, it burns, it burns!

Throat stinging and resolve wavering from the jet fuel, Taehyung leans on the bar's counter top for support and takes a look to his left and right to see how the others are doing.

Unsurprisingly, Jeongguk's the first to get all three of his shots down. He's already plopped down on the floor, attempting to yank off his boots while ignoring the ostracizing looks he's receiving from the others.

Typical Jeongguk, trying to uphold his tough guy persona even though his face is taut with distress and his eyes are watering.

Taehyung, on the other hand, willfully admits his vulnerability to the world with a gag and a severe shiver when he takes his second shot.

It's just as bad as the first and his fists are tight in the air as he begs his body to actually swallow it, a true attestation that he's not made for this kind of shit.

"Fuck," he means to squeak out but it feels like his throat is trying to reject the fiery liquid. He wishes he could, but Taehyung's just far too competitive for that.

He holds his hand over his mouth instead to deter himself from spitting it out and losing the game.

It works. He's successful in keeping it down but there's no time for celebration. He makes a go for the third, but finds himself resting his forehead against the edge of the bar instead. His survival instinct has apparently decided to step in, forcing him to wait a moment.

Breathing in and out slowly, Taehyung stares down at his feet. Every part of his body that's been touched by the Bacardi—from his lips to the lining of his stomach—feels like it's on actual fire.

The sedative effect of the intoxicant is hitting him quickly, too. He can always feel it by the way his neck tenses up just before the muscles in his shoulders slack and go heavy.

This is one of those moments where Taehyung despises being a light-weight drinker and wishes he could handle more alcohol before he feels it's effects. But then again, there is a plus side to it. Like Jin always says, it's cheaper this way.

He's got to get back in the game though, the others are already ahead of him. There's no time to waste, he must keep going.

Taehyung mentally prepares himself for his last shot as he picks his head up from the bar and reaches out for it—but it's suddenly snatched away from in front of him.

There's a second-long pause in confusion of trying to figure out where his mini solo cup just went until he turns to see Jeongguk, once again, standing next to him. He's got the plastic cup that belongs to Taehyung in his fingers, holding it down by his side for a moment like he's hiding it.

It seems as if he's got his eyes locked on Hoseok and it finally clicks with Taehyung what he's about to do. His eyes widen with panic and tries to reach out to Jeongguk to stop him, but he's too late.

Jeongguk quickly takes the shot with ease and wipes the remnants from his lips. Without saying a word to address his actions, he pulls off his hoodie so fast it leaves his hair standing up in the front a little.

"You better start stripping, Tae," he laughs huskily with a suggestive flick of his eyebrows.

"I—" Taehyung goes to say something but stops short, unable to get his words out. He's in acute shock that Jeongguk heroically just took his last shot for him so that he didn't have to suffer through it again.