By the time, the bar became a full house, Aki was already on his fifth glass of beer. He was not a big fan of drinking but he often did when hanging out with Zy. But for the first time, the beer tasted better than he thought.

The feel of the cold, bitter beer running down his throat, bringing nothing but relief as if all of the pain were drained along. If it could lessen the pain, he would chug barrels of alcohol. No wonder many people drink to their worries.

“Hey! Isn’t that Aki?”

Aki heard someone calling him among the crowd not so far from him. He turned towards them in his hazy gaze, trying to find a familiar face but everyone’s starting to look the same as the next person. It was hard for him to tell who’s who no matter how hard he squinted.

But then again, everyone in Moonlight looked familiar to him after going to this club almost every day. The place was where the nearby universities meet so most of the patrons were students looking for a place to chill and socialize. It was not one of those rowdy and flashy clubs to which Aki was thankful for.

Aki could be considered a regular already. Sometimes he would exchange pleasantries with the bartender. Other times, he would greet and chat briefly to the other students. But most of the time, he would listen to Zy rant.

“Hey, it’s really you!”

The group came up to him. Aki barely suppressed a groan, because well, crowd, the last thing he needed.

Someone, a guy perhaps, judging from the feel of the hand clapping his back. Aki’s eyes blurred so it was harder to recognize their faces.

“Are you alone? That’s rare.”

“You know him?” Someone quipped.

“Yeah, guy from my university.”

“Aki, do you mind if we join you?” Another voice sounded from the sea of faceless crowd.

Aki looked up at the guy and then to his friends, trying to rack his brain for names After a moment, he gave up. He did not care.

He only came to this bar because of Zy but then he started going here alone because he liked the ambiance and so the people became familiar to him. Though he would not go so far as to talk to them.

“You always cling to your shell hehe.” Aki could hear Zy saying. Well, sorry he was not as cool as Drew.

Aki looked up at the group again. Whatever. To hell everything. He would be a social butterfly tonight.

He stood up, staggering on his feet. He grabbed his glass in an attempt for a toast.

“Sure why not? Nice to meet you, friends!”

He stepped closer but he rushed his movements so his body swayed. For a moment there, he was sure he would fall down.

Falling down with no one to catch him.

But instead of a cold, hard floor, a strong arm encircled around his waist, steadying him. The arm around him was warm, really warm and comfortable. Aki could stay inside for a long time.

The person drew him closer as if soothing him, making Aki tear up. Which was weird. In his muddled head, he knew it was impossible for the other person to know what he was feeling. Still, he let himself sunk within those arms. His rational self would berate him but for now, he did not care. He needed this warmth.

The person helped him to his seat, protective arm still loosely wrapped around Aki. Judging from the build, he could tell that the other person was a guy. But all Aki could think of was his warmth. He was shameless, leaning a bit to the other guy as Aki reached for his glass. The other man did not seem to mind.

The glass was removed out of Aki’s reach the moment his fingers touched it. He groaned in response.

“Alright, take it easy. You are already drunk.”

Aki smirked. “I’m. Not. Drunk.”

The guy sighed. “Yeah, like what every other drunk person says.”