The place where Hoseok took Jihoon and Hyewon was completely different from the one Minho had taken him to a few days before. Jihoon wasn’t trying to be snobbish, but he couldn't help but notice how everything here felt simpler, even a bit more ordinary—from the music to the food and the cocktails on offer. And when he paid closer attention, he realized that the crowd was nothing special either, with their bland faces, anonymous expressions, and conversations about office work, vacations, taxes, and sales at department stores. 

He wanted to say that he felt like a fish out of water in the place Hoseok had chosen, but the truth was, this place suited him far more than the luxurious Thai Majal, where he had been with Minho. It was a reality check that reminded him of who he really was, and in some odd way, that was comforting. Here, there were no pretenses or extravagant displays—just normal people living their everyday lives, something Jihoon could relate to far more than the world of glamor and wealth Minho belonged to. 

But even as he sat there with his friends, laughing and chatting, Jihoon couldn’t entirely shake the thoughts of that night with Minho, or the way he'd felt so out of place in both worlds, as if he didn’t fully belong in either.

"Why the long face?" Hyewon said, poking Jihoon's cheek with her finger.

Since they had arrived at the place, Jihoon had downed at least a couple of cocktails, munching on one chip after another. His head felt light, but not enough to make him spill the beans so easily. He pouted, shrugged, and took another sip from his cocktail.

"I don't have a long face."

"How can you deny it? It's obvious."

"I'm telling you, it's not like that. I'm fine."

"Really? Then why does it look like someone egged your front door?" Hoseok remarked, raising an eyebrow. "We're your friends, we're worried about you—Hey! Waiter! Another round of shots!"

When they were served, the three clinked their glasses and drank them down in one go.

"Let's just say I met someone..." Jihoon finally let out, sighing in frustration. He had no intention of going into details, but maybe his friends could give him some valuable advice.

"I knew it!" Hyewon trilled, then turned to Hoseok with a look that screamed, *See? I told you so!*

Hoseok, with a knowing smirk, slung an arm around Jihoon’s shoulders. "And who is this person? Where’d you meet them, considering you never leave the house?"

Jihoon blushed and hid his embarrassment behind a couple of sips from his cocktail. "Well, it’s not exactly that I *met* someone... It’s more accurate to say I *reconnected* with someone from my past. Someone who probably should have stayed in the past."

"Ooooh!" Hoseok said, "Never go out with an ex…"

"No, we were never together—at all! We’ve always hated each other."

Hyewon clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Ah! The classic enemies-to-lovers trope! Let me guess... you two were always at each other’s throats, but when you saw each other again, there was this overwhelming sexual tension, and you ended up doing it rough and wild in their car."

Jihoon’s jaw dropped, and even Hoseok looked shocked by that description.

"What the hell have you been reading?" Hoseok asked, raising an eyebrow. Hyewon burst into a clear, ringing laugh.

"We didn’t do anything in …their car," Jihoon quickly defended himself. But truth be told… hearing Hyewon talk about that possibility made him feel a sudden rush of heat. What would’ve happened if something like that had occurred? The mere thought filled him with both desire and disappointment. He would’ve liked to find out, but... Minho was ghosting him, so it didn’t seem like a possibility anymore.

“We drank, had a good time, and maybe I had a bit too much… I’m not sure how it happened, but we ended up kissing, and then… well.” Jihoon raised his hand to get the waiter’s attention. “Another round of shots.”

He downed it as soon as it was placed on the table.

“You were saying? What happened after that?” Hyewon asked eagerly, her hands under her chin, batting her long lashes like a curious deer.

“Okay… okay. How do I even say this…” Jihoon murmured, lightly smacking his own face. By now, he was feeling tipsy enough that keeping secrets was starting to seem pointless.

“Try using words,” Hoseok teased.

“Or examples,” Hyewon added.

“Just make sure we get it.”

“Have I ever told you that I’m gay?” Jihoon asked abruptly. Hyewon and Hoseok went completely silent. Clearly, he hadn’t mentioned it before. “Well, anyway… Even though I’m gay, I’ve never had any kind of experience. In fact, I’m a virgin.” The expressions on his friends’ faces grew even more shocked, as if the second revelation was more surprising than the first. “And… I’m twenty-seven, right? So, there was this nice atmosphere, and we kissed… and then he took me to one of those—what’s it called? It was a dark place, full of naked people who…”

“OH MY GOD, HE TOOK YOU TO A DARK ROOM?!” Hyewon shrieked, horrified, hysterical, panicking. “He molested—he molested poor innocent Jihoon?! Who is this bastard?! I swear I’ll break his face and—”

Hoseok tugged on Hyewon’s skirt. “Get down from the chair, people are staring…”

“Yeah… sorry, I got a bit carried away.”

Jihoon now felt incredibly embarrassed, as if everyone was watching them… and in fact, they kind of were.

“He didn’t molest me, you idiot! … But yeah, I… I gave him a blowjob.”

Hyewon and Hoseok didn’t say anything for a moment. They both downed their shots in one gulp, then started to giggle nervously. “Haha, well, these days, that kind of thing is normal,” Hoseok said, trying to ease the tension.

“Totally normal,” Hyewon agreed, nodding quickly. “I love reading BL stories.”

“I don’t think that’s the point—” Jihoon tried to say, embarrassed by his friends’ awkwardness.

“And anyway, you’re an adult, even if you’re a bit inexperienced,” Hoseok continued as if Jihoon hadn’t spoken. “It’s normal, actually, it’s healthy for you to have experiences.”

“I agree,” Hyewon added. “Absolutely agree. But… wait. Wait. So, you had this crazy night, and then he just disappeared?”

Jihoon nervously bit at the skin around his thumb. “He asked for my phone number before we said goodbye. I thought it was because he wanted to stay in touch, maybe see me again… but it’s been days, and he’s just vanished. He hasn’t even sent me a single message.”

Hyewon grabbed a chip from the basket and crunched on it. “Listen, let me see this guy—do you have a photo? Is he on social media? I want to see the face of the jerk who ghosted my friend—”

Jihoon blushed again. “Uh, no, I don’t have any pictures of him, and I have no idea what his social media handles are…”

“I think,” Hoseok said, frowning slightly, “we should stop wasting our time thinking about this idiot. Jihoon! You need more experiences! And in a situation like this, nothing helps more than finding someone new to replace the last one!”

“No, I totally disagree with that!” Hyewon chirped. “That’s not the best solution at all! Precisely because you’re inexperienced, you shouldn’t just hook up with anyone—you’ll end up getting hurt again!”

Hyewon and Hoseok’s back-and-forth was giving Jihoon a headache. Each of his friends was bickering over the best strategy to help him move on from the whole mess, but in the end, as much as their advice was well-intentioned, none of it felt right to him. He didn’t want to wallow in self-pity over Minho more than necessary, nor did he want to start dating other people just to forget a bad experience. That just wasn’t him. He wasn’t the type to go out with the first person who came along just to erase a sad episode from his memory.

“Guys, stop it—I appreciate that you want to help me, but there’s really nothing I want or can do right now. I just wanted you to know why I’ve been in such a foul mood—it’s because I’m a fool waiting for a message that never comes, and every time I realize he still hasn’t written, it hurts and makes me angry. It’ll pass. Maybe it’s better if we don’t talk anymore—after all, it would’ve never worked out between us. We live completely different lives.”

Hyewon listened and slowly nodded.

“Well, I’m on your side no matter what you decide to do. Just as long as he’s not a married man—I’d never approve of something like that. If he’s married, just drop it, especially if he has kids!”

Jihoon coughed awkwardly.

“He’s not married and doesn’t have kids.”

“Thank goodness,” Hoseok said, grabbing the last chip from the basket.

For a while, the group sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, processing everything they had just discussed. A lot had come to light, and who knew how much of it Jihoon would regret sharing the next day when the alcohol wore off…

Just as that thought was about to fade, Jihoon’s phone vibrated on the table. He froze, and both Hyewon and Hoseok perked up, immediately alert. The message was from a contact he had saved ages ago as “HIM, THE DEVIL!”

It was Park Minho.

Jihoon’s heart began to race wildly in his chest.

Like a flash of lightning, he opened the message.

It was just a few simple words.

“Are you done with work?

Send me your location.

I’ll come pick you up.”