Just Before The Dawn [DaeJae]

Twenty two

When Daehyun came back with their drinks, they decided to take the opportunity of the sofa not being occupied for once and sat down. 

Youngjae spent the next two hours mainly with listening to the other's conversations and trying the different drinks that were offered him. 

In general he had a good time, none of the the guests seemed to be interested in talking to him, which he approved of since it saved him from uncomfortable conversations. Junhong spoke to him from time to time, while Daehyun was more busy with others and just gave him a smile once in a while. 

It was around half past twelve when Daehyun got up, leaning down to them to be able to talk quieter. "I'll go chill, wanna come?" 

Junhong nodded and grinned. "I thought you said it's not for minors?" 

"Shut up, Junnie or I really won't give you anything. Jae, you come too. Don't wanna leave you alone here." 

They went to put on their shoes and go out to the backyard, then Daehyun pulled the joint his cousin had given him earlier out of his pocket and lighted it. After a bit, he gave it to Junhong, who, after smoking, gave Youngjae a questioning look. 

"Have you ever tried it?" 

The boy shook his head. "No, never... I'm not sure if I should though..." he said, although he kind of had always wondered what it was like to smoke weed. He wanted to try, he just was insecure because he was among lots of strangers he could not trust. 

Junhong smiled. "You can try if you want, it's just weed, no tobacco, that makes it easier when you don't smoke. Maybe you don't even feel anything, like I did when I tried first." 

Daehyun nodded. "Even if it hits you, don't worry. We'll take care of you." 

"Alright, I'll try it." Youngjae said and took the joint. He was a bit nervous, but his curiousity to experience this won, and during the last few days he had developed more trust towards Daehyun and Junhong, so he believed they would look after him if it was necessary. 

"Keep the smoke in your mouth for a little bit to let it cool down, then breathe it in" Daehyun said and the younger did so. To his surprise, he barely even felt the smoke in his throat, he had expected to start coughing like from cigarettes. That must be what Junhong had said about no tobacco making it easier... 

After breathing in the smoke two times, he handed the joint back to Daehyun, who gave him a smile. "If you feel anything, t should start soon. Don't take any more for now until we know how you feel. Too much is no fun, especially not for beginners. Believe me, I had way too much on my first try." 

Time went by - not a lot of time though, just a few minutes - and Youngjae started feeling different. He felt lighter, like he was more mind than physical bod and the conversation of the other two slipped out of his focus. Instead, he started looking at the tree a few meters away from them. He totally spaced out, until he heard Daehyun calling his name. 

"Youngjae? Are you there?" 

"Huh? Yeah... I feel strange..." the boy mumbled when he looked back at Daehyun, who smiled at him. 

"Want some more?" 

Youngjae shook his head. 

"Alright. Take it slow" the older said and shared the rest with Junhong, then the three of them went back inside. 

When they were back in the living room, Daehyun suddenly disappeared and Youngjae was left with Junhong. 

"Jae, let's go to the kitchen. I need another drink." the boy said and Youngjae followed him. Seeing how tipsy Junhong was, he wasn't sure if drinking more was such a good idea, but Junhong probably knew his limits best.  

The kitchen was not as crowded as the living room, which Youngjae was very happy about. Except the two boys, there were just Seokjae talking to a black-haired guy and a girl who slept with her head on the table. 

Junhong handed Youngjae another beer, then grabbing one for himself, leaning against the counter. "I hope we find Dae, he once left me alone at a party without saying anything, if that happens today we're fucked" he said after drinking a bit. 

"Do you go to parties often?" Youngjae asked, he did not feel that insecure anymore since they had been outside. 

Junhong shrugged. "Sometimes, but not too often though. Mostly my older brother drags me to clubs. What about you?" 

Youngjae let out a short laugh. "This is the first party in my life." 

"Wow, really? Well, then at least your first party was a cool one with fun people." 

"Yes, it really is fun." Youngjae smiled lightly and they remained silent for a while, just drinking their beer, until the black- haired guy Seokjae had been talking to turned around. 

When Junhong saw his face, his expression changed - he looked like he had just seen a ghost. He put his beer on the counter and approached the young man. 

"Hey..." he said, sounding nervous. "Um... Are you... you?" he stuttered, receiving a surprised look from the other. 

"What?" he asked with a deep voice, a smile forming on his face. "Of course I am me, who else should I be?" 

"I- I mean..." Junhong cleared his throat, "Are you... Is your YouTube name 'Mr Bang?'" 

The guy raised his eyebrows. "Oh? No, sorry. My surname is indeed Bang but that's not me." 

It was clear to see this was not the answer Junhong had been hoping for. He blushed lightly, now looking down to the floor. "Oh, then I'm sorry for this weird conversation... I confused you with someone else, you really look like him though. Sorry again." 

"It's alright, that happens all the time. I have a twin brother, you know. If you want I can get him here, maybe he's the one you're talking about." He went to the door, sticking his head out to the hallway. "Guk, get your ass over here, you're needed!" he yelled and a few moments later, another black-haired young man came in. 

It was obvious they were twins, but the second one had a bit longer, more curly hair than his brother. "What is it?" he asked and Youngjae felt like the depth of his voice gave him goosebumps. 

"This boy wanted to know if one of us is called 'Mr Bang' on YouTube. Could that be you?" 

"Yeah, that's me, why?" he smiled and looked at Junhong, then his eyes widened. "Oh..." 

They both stared at each other for the blink of an eye, before the guy with the deep voice started grinning widely and pulled Junhong into a tight hug. "It's you! My little Jello! See, now you did get to meet me this week." he happily said, not letting the boy go. 

Junhong as well was as happy as he could be and closed his eyes, resting his head on the other's shoulder. "Yes..." he mumbled, "I'm so happy that you exist... I was worried that maybe you were just tricking me..." 

"I would never do that!" he broke the hug, looking Junhong in the eyes.. "Now that we met... Let's do what we promised to do." he grinned. "My name is Yongguk, I'm twenty three and that's my brother Yongnam. Now it's your turn!" 

Junhong grinned, still not believing this was really happening. "I'm Junhong, I- Im seventeen..." he mumbled the last part when he realized Yongguk was older than he had expected. 

Yongguk, however, didn't seem to mind and just hugged him again. Youngjae exchanged a loo with Yongnam, then looked at Junhong who seemed to have totally forgotten about his presence, so he decided to search for Daehyun.