Respiration

11

Jinyoung was shocked at how many people Jackson knew, but he just went along with the ride since the party scene wasn't exactly his cup of tea. He sat on the couch and relished in just having his arm hooked with Jackson's, that was, until Jackson unhooked their arms to take a drink from someone who offered him one. Jinyoung felt a bit awkward and out of place, but he tried his hardest to keep a cheery look on his face.

While Jackson was occupied with his friends, Jinyoung just sat there and looked around at the people walking by, trying to find a way to make time pass by faster. His attention was suddenly caught by someone who slumped down on the couch next to him, a bit too close for his comfort. He felt the guy staring at him, and Jinyoung tried to ignore it until a hand touched his knee.

"Hey." The guy greeted when Jinyoung finally gave him the attention he so desperately wanted.

"Hi..." Jinyoung mumbled back, awkwardly shifting closer to Jackson who was too busy looking the other way to notice.

"You're cute. Got a name?" The guy asked before taking another sip of his cup.

"Um... Jinyoung?" Jinyoung replied, though he suddenly thought that maybe giving a shady guy his name wasn't the best idea.

Though the stranger just nodded with a smile, sitting up and leaning closer towards Jinyoung. "Well Jinyoung, you don't look like you belong here."

"Excuse me?" Jinyoung responded, taken aback by the sudden assumption.

"Your cup is still full. Everyone here is at least a bit tipsy, you haven't even taken a sip. And you look pretty uncomfortable. I'd say this is your first or second party, huh?" The drunken guy asked, taking a surprisingly good guess.

Jinyoung didn't know how to respond, looking away while scratching his neck. "W-Well..."

"Don't worry, I've been there, that's how I know. What you gotta do is just let loose. Let yourself have fun, and you'll be fine." The guy stated, though he didn't really seem to be in the right mindset to be giving advice.

"Um.... I'm fine I think..." Jinyoung mumbled back. He tried scooting even closer to Jackson, though there wasn't much room to go anywhere, and Jackson was totally absorbed in the conversation he was having with his friends.

"Well at least drink some. It's no fun being the only sober one." The stranger stated, pointing at the liquor Jinyoung had received from BamBam earlier that he still clutched onto.

He looked down into his cup at the transparent liquid. He took in a breath, glancing at the guy next to him who waited eagerly for Jinyoung to down some of the concoction. It wouldn't hurt to drink a little, would it?

Jinyoung took a small swig, the taste absolutely terrible aside from the tiny hint of sweetness on his tongue. The alcohol burned his throat, and he ended up coughing a bit because of it.

The guy frowned, scoffing at Jinyoung's reaction. "How dramatic. What, is it your first time drinking too?"

Jinyoung shook his head, his eyes scanning the room for any sort of water he could drink to get the flavor out of his mouth. "No, it's not. I just don't like the taste."

The man shrugged, shaking his head. "Well you gotta get over it. I can down a cup in a few minutes."

"Good for you I guess..." Jinyoung mumbled out, truly not entertained by this guy at all. He wanted to leave more now than he had before, especially when the drunken guy started to lean in closer towards him.

"Hey, you know what else I got that could loosen you up a bit?" He asked Jinyoung who genuinely didn't even want to know what he had.

Um..." Jinyoung didn't know how to respond as the guy eagerly dug into his pocket. He didn't trust this man who still hadn't even introduced himself  at all, and was very uncomfortable with how close they were sitting now.