Hundreds of people are gathered together in the main streets, counting down to the second for New Year's. Colorful fireworks and loud screams break the silence, as the clock turns midnight. An exhausted Wooyoung makes his way to the nearest alley seeking some peace and quiet, and maybe a smoke or two. A mindless figure is sitting on the cold, snow-covered pavement, only being lit up by the fire slowly burning down the tobacco. It's hard to see, but the fire is reflecting off of the figure's eyes, making its aura even more intimidating. "Hello?" Wooyoung asks. "Do you have a lighter? I forgot mine and I need to smoke." he follows, taking two steps closer. The man doesn't speak and instead reaches out to give Wooyoung a lighter. The latter grabs it, approaching even more and eventually sitting beside the quiet. The lighter's flare reveals a lot- the man's face, how his porcelain skin reflects even the smallest of light, and the costume he's wearing. "You're wearing Hanbok?" Wooyoung asks, desperately trying to get the guy to speak. "Yeah. I was forced to. We got a family-run bar right down the alley, and we all wear Hanbok for new year's." the man finally speaks. Wooyoung sighs in relief, as he finally got the shadow to speak. "Oh, cool! So you-" Woo is cut off before he can continue. "WOOYOUNG! Dude, I've been looking everywhere for you!" a familiar voice can be heard from the alley's opening. It's Kang Yeosang, Wooyoung's best friend. "Sorry! I just wanted to smoke for a bit..." he exclaims. "Who's that?" the protective Yeosang follows. "I'm Choi San" the guy says, standing up to bow for Yeosang. "Happy New Years." he follows, as he turns his back and makes his way further down the alley, leaving the two best friends alone. "Happy New Year!" Yeosang replies shouting, as San is already far enough to not hear him clearly. Yeosang then makes his way next to Wooyoung, asking for a cigarette of his own. the two best friends, Wooyoung and Yeosang, sat there for a couple more minutes, talking about everything and nothing. At one point, Wooyoung noticed a pack of cigarettes covered in snow next to where San was sitting. "Hey, these must be his..." he says, picking them up and showing them to his friend. "Cool, let's smoke those too!" Yeosang said without hesitation.
The next day comes, and Yeosang still hasn't had enough of the holiday. It's the third day of Seollal, so they must do something. Wooyoung has an idea; "Let's go to this place that guy works at, Choi San. He told me he ran a bar a couple minutes from here. I can return what's left of the cigarette pack back to him too." And he knows Yeosang is going to agree since he's always down when it comes to food. "Do you even know where the bar is, though?" Yeosang asked, already knowing the answer. "We'll find it, it's not that big of a deal" Woo said, trying to calm Yeosang (and himself) down.
After about 20 minutes, they're finally there- the same alley as yesterday. "Where did he say it was?" Yeosang asked. "Just down the alley... I think" Wooyoung said, with worry swallowing his voice. It's bright outside, so they shouldn't get lost, he thought. Just some steps down the path, and there it was- a small restaurant, filled with happy cheers and calming music. Wooyoung and Yeosang could feel the warmth of this place by just looking at it. The welcoming aura brought them inside without a second thought. "There are a lot of people here, huh?" Yeosang asked, looking for reassurance. "Is it even peak hours yet? This place is filled!" he followed; Wooyoung didn't pay attention. He was too busy looking for a black-haired boy in pink Hanbok, and as soon as he spotted him, he rushed to him. "Hey!" he said, startling San. "Oh, hey" the latter replied.
- "I met you yesterday night, remember? I'm Jung Wooyoung, we had a cigarette together and you left these behind."
- "Yeah, thank you. But you really didn't have to come all the way here.."
- "Well, we were looking for a place to eat - and since you said you worked here, I thought it was the perfect opportunity!"
Wooyoung and Yeosang spent that day eating, and Wooyoung got drunk as well. Yeosang knew his limits, and that he was going to drive the two back home, so he never took a sip of alcohol; he hates it anyways. All throughout the day, San would take little peaks at Yeosang and Wooyoung's table, looking at what they were doing (and checking if the drunken Wooyoung was safe), and he would prioritize serving their food over anyone else's. He wanted the two friends to have a good time since they were so kind as to return a pack of cigarettes. They did steal some cigarettes, sure, but they still returned what was left.
