Prepare your snacks because this gon' be a long chapter

♣ ♣ ♣

"And... there! My friend, you are now officially ready to head out," Areum squeals with overflowing enthusiasm after applying the finishing touches on my makeup and hair. My lips immediately reveal a wide smile as I study my reflection in the mirror. Areum is grinning with pride, excitement written all over her flawless features. Ever since the party was announced, Areum and I had thoroughly planned our outfits, hairstyles and we even watched countless of beauty gurus on Youtube to gather as much inspiration and makeup skills as possible, in order to make this night memorable.

We both don't usually wear makeup, which is why we decided to enhance our features with a natural finish -- the result was not disappointing. I even managed to persuade Areum to allow me to curl her hair, since she told me she'd never tried it out. And oh boy, she's drop-dead gorgeous. Since she's been taking selfies for the past half hour, I suspect that she appreciates my work of art. However, the clock was ticking and we were already late, so I unfortunately had to interrupt her little Beyoncé moment.

"Areum, please, we can take lots of pictures later!" I remind her with a laugh, waving my hand in front of her phone to cover the camera. She puts away the phone at last, but to my surprise she embraces me in a tight hug instead, almost suffocating me in the process.

"I look like a totally different person, all thanks to you! Thank you so much!" she squeals as her body leans more towards my own, which resulted in us sliding off the edge of her bed and land on the carpet with a thud. Then we both roar with laughter as we lie on the floor, with her still hovering over me.

"I can't breathe..!" I wheeze out after our endless giggling finally died down. After she lifted herself off of me, she grabs her phone again and shoves it in front of my face.

"Can we just take one last pic before we leave?" she pleads cutely, pouting while batting her eyelashes at me in a seductive manner. I playfully roll my eyes at her request, but I obviously couldn't say no when her adorable side was on display, so we position ourselves close to each other and flash wide smiles before snapping one photo.

"This is definitely going up on my instagram," she says with a satisfied smirk. "What should the caption be?"

I pretend to think for a moment before suggesting, "How about 'The moment before I was brutally murdered by my friend because we're two hours late to the party, hashtag RIP, hashtag Swedes are scary'?"

My sarcastic comment caused her to immediately drop her phone and jump out of the bed, before grabbing her purse and heading towards the door, while exclaiming,

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

♣

"You guys finally made it!" Baekhyun exclaims ecstatically when we step into his house. "What the hell took you so long?"

I shoot Areum a glare, which she obviously ignores as she shrugs off her jacket and throws it somewhere on the floor before turning around to face Baekhyun. "So, how many are here, then?" she asks curiously as we start making our way towards the source of the music that was blasting on full volume.

Holy. Shit.

Baekhyun didn't exaggerate when he said that everyone would come. The livingroom we just entered was completely packed, despite being the size of my entire house in one single areal space. People were scattered around everywhere, either dancing in a large mob in the middle of the room, or just chilling in the gigantic sofas with drinks in hand. Something that definitely did not go unnoticed, was the pairs pressing up against the walls, making out without a single care in the world that they were literally grinding against each other open for everyone to see.

The unexpected sight caused my jaw to drop to the floor, causing my two friends beside me erupt in laughter.

"Blue, this is exactly what I expected," Areum shouts through the music, nudging my arm to wake me up from my gawking. "I told you Bacon throws the best parties."

My shocked expression turns into a satisfied smirk. Oh, this party will be lit.

"Let's go to Chan and Kai in the kitchen, follow me!" Baekhyun says, also screaming through the pounding music. Thus, the journey towards the kitchen commenced and we managed to reach it without drowning in the large mass of dancing bodies. It was even difficult to squeeze through the hallway because of the people crowding there as well.

My breath was taken away yet again as my eyes roam around the incredibly spacious and beautiful kitchen, which thankfully wasn't heavily packed like the rest of the house, making the air much easier to inhale. Here, people were playing some shot-games, mixing drinks at the kitchen island, or playing beer pong on the dining table. His house was truly magnificent, I've honestly never stepped my foot into a home like this before -- I have to admit I'm a little envious.

Immediately when we stepped our feet into the chatter and laughter-filled space, we heard Kai and Chanyeol shouting and waving us over to the table which had red cups rowed up at both ends, similarly to how bowling pins are placed.

"Areum! Blue! Play beer pong with us!"

We chuckle as we walk over to them without hesitation and happily accept the hugs they greeted us with.

"Blue's with me!" Kai exclaims, immediately claiming me as his beer pong partner, as he drags me to stand by his side. I then giggle at the others reactions, since they were making hearts at us using their hands, teasing me and Kai who just laughs at them anyway.

"We're uneven but I guess you two are okay with going against us three?" Chanyeol questions. Kai and I exchange a look, before we smirk at them in a challenging manner.

"Why wouldn't we? Scared that we will beat your asses?" I tease, earning amused smirks from the trio standing before us.

"Is that a challenge?" Baekhyun asks with narrowed eyes which were burning with thrill for a battle.

"Shall we make a bet?" I then suggest with an evil smile. "If we win, body shots on Baekhyun. If we lose, body shots on Kai. Deal?"

Kai and Baekhyun look shocked, but before they had time to argue against the odds; Areum immediately exclaims, "Deal!"

"May the best team win," Baekhyun says before we intake our positions on each side of the table. Kai and I got to start, since we two were alone against the three of them. I aim the ball and throw it towards the other side, which immediately lands inside one of their cups. Kai and I cheer loudly in bliss, attracting an audience as people were starting to gather around the table to cheer us on.

"Drink, drink, drink, drink!" The crowd chants as Areum picks up the cup where the ball had landed in, and empties the alcoholic liquid in one go. After wiping her lips with the back of her hand, she throws the ball back at us. It miss one cup by only a millimeter, making Chanyeol and Baekhyun groan in exasperation.

Then it was Kai's turn. He also succeed in instantly hitting one of their cups, and this time it was Chanyeol's turn to drink. The crowd kept cheering as Baekhyun threw the ball towards us again, this time managing to perfectly land inside one of our cups. I empty the chosen cup while the crowd, Kai and the other team cheered me on.

The exciting game kept going for several minutes, until finally only one cup each were left. Now, things were starting to get really intense. The crowd had continuously been growing over the past minutes and they were cheering non-stop.

This is it. The final throw before it was all over.

Chanyeol was up next to throw for their team. Kai and I watch nervously as the ball makes its way towards us through the air. Roars of happy screams was then heard from me and Kai when the ball bounces off the edge of the cup -- they missed! Kai grabs the ball, places a soft kiss on it before handing it to me.

"I'll let you finish this one. I believe in you."

I nod my head, his pep-talk giving me even more willpower to focus my next throw. Then I throw it, for the last time. It lands perfectly inside the last cup. The last cheers erupt around us and I feel Kai picking me up, spinning me around in the air as delighted squeals leaves my lips.

Even though the other team lost, they happily sprint over to our side and embrace us in a group hug while screaming with joy.

"Damn, Blue! You were really good!" Chanyeol compliments me, ruffling my hair.

"I honestly didn't expect you to be this skilled. Good game!" Baekhyun praises, making me laugh at their cuteness.

"Come on, dudes! Body shots on Bacon!" Areum exclaims excitedly while clapping her hands.

We clean the table so Baekhyun can lay down. He unbuttons his shirt and let it fall to the floor, revealing his surprisingly toned upper body. Areum and I exchange a quick glance, smirking in approval to the sight. Then we proceed to place four shot-glasses on his stomach which we fill with Tequila. We lastly pour some salt onto the back of our hands, getting ready to down the shots.

"One... two... three!" We count in unison before finally licking up the salt, bowing down to pick up the glasses with our lips and tilting our heads backward to swallow the liquids within the small containers. My throat was burning as the alcohol made its way down to my stomach, which seconds later resulted in warmth spreading through my body.

I was now officially drunk.

"Let's go dance!" Areum exclaims with a giggle before grabbing my wrist and dragging me out of the kitchen towards the livingroom, before I even had the time to react. We stop in the middle of the room and then start dancing our hearts out.

Kai, Chanyeol and Baekhyun joined in on the dance immediately when they found us. Meanwhile the guys danced like they've never done anything else in their lives, Areum and I on the other hand looked like flailing potatoes suffering countless seizures. But, not a flying fudge was given this slightly blurry, blissful evening. We then dance in a ring, leaving some space in the middle where occasionally one of us enter the center to perform a weird solo-dance while the others cheer them on. Shouts, cheering and laughing was constantly pouring out of us, and I honestly had the time of my life -- just like Baekhyun promised I'd have.

Suddenly some very familiar beats took over the previous playing song that began to fade, which caused Areum and I to freeze on spot, exchanging a surprised expression with our eyes widely opened. One second afterwards, we both scream in ecstaticness and start jumping up and down in result of the overflowing excitement because it was then we had realized; 'Fantastic Baby' by no-other than BigBang was on full blast.

"BIGBANG!" We scream at the top of our lungs while still jumping like two idiots, which made the boys start laughing uncontrollably at us.

The reason behind our sudden outburst of excitement is that we found out that both of us are hardcore BigBang trash. We had been getting ready this evening while listening to countless songs by them, which is why our euphoria was on peak right now.

We had even come up with a short choreography to this exact song, meaning that this was the perfect time to show it off to everyone. Areum and I immediately dash into the center of the ring and start dancing in sync to each other. The boys even start chanting loudly, which attracted more people to join our little ring. Halfway through the song, somehow more than half of the room were dancing around us, witnessing the more or less embarrassing dance we had created. I usually don't like much attention, but this time I honestly didn't even care because I was busy just having an incredibly fun time my friend. We danced our hearts out, not having any care or shame in the world for how ridiculous we looked, but that only made us laugh at each other the entire time and enjoy it even more.

Eventually the song ends and by then, Areum and I are panting and breathing heavily. It was like we had performed a full-on workout session, that's how exhausted we were. Everyone around us cheer loudly and clap their hands as we stop dancing, the loudest of them were obviously Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Kai, who then embrace us in another group hug.

"You guys slayed that shit!" Baekhyun praises us, making me and Areum chuckle as we aggressively wave our hands in front of our faces to cool ourselves down.

"Guys, we know that we danced like shit. But fantastic baby is our jam, so we couldn't help it," Areum says, wiping off a bead of sweat that had formed on her temple. "But now I'm thirsty af."

"Thirsty for me?" Baekhyun smirks, raising his eyebrow in a playfully seductive manner.

"In your dreams," she replies with a snort, delivering a hard punch to his shoulder. "Let's go to the kitchen, I'd kill for a glass of cold water right now."

The five of us make our way to the kitchen and fill up some glasses with water, which we empty in the span of two seconds. Baekhyun then excuses himself, because some new people had come over whom he had to greet. Areum, Kai and Chanyeol then go back to the livingroom to dance some more, while I excused myself to get some fresh air since I was still too warm to function.

I step onto the porch at the back of his house, and I found myself at shock once again because this house never seemed to stop amaze me. The garden before me was large and beautiful, decorated by a pool, jacuzzi and endless amounts of flowers, bushes and stone ornaments. Here, people were sitting on the luxurious outside sofas playing cards, meanwhile more than a handful of people were chilling in the bubbly jacuzzi, and some were even lying on the grass, watching the stars above.

I walk up to the railing at the end of the deck and lean against it, observing the delightful surroundings while just enjoying the mild, pre-autumn breeze. The stars were difficult to observe where I lived, due to the endless rows of lamp posts radiating light, which conceal the natural illumination the night's sky offered after the sun sets for the day. However, here on the outskirts of town, you can breathe in nature herself. I close my eyes and focus on the various sounds surrounding me. Cheerful conversations and laughs which followed by people playfully joking around with each other, are the main sources to the sounds echoing through the outside area. However, listening carefully enough, you can hear crickets and grasshoppers creating their signature vocalizations in the background, mixed with the soft, soothing sound of birds singing. This was indeed a magnificent property.

"Enjoying some fresh air?"

I flinch and open my eyes when the familiar, angelic voice woke me up from my wandering thoughts. My head turns to the direction where the voice had come from, resulting in my eyes meeting the soft, sparkly gaze of the male standing beside me, his elegant, well-sculpted body leaning against the railing. My heart immediately accelerates as his lips curve into a warm smile.

"Jimin," I spoke softly, surprise evident in my voice. "If you keep sneaking up on me like that you'll give me a heart-attack."

He chuckles amusingly before giving me an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, I didn't want to disturb you or anything."

"I'm just kidding, and no, you didn't disturb at all. I'm actually happy to see you again. Are you having fun?"

His smile grows wider, the sight causing my insides to bubble with affection. How damn cute can this boy get? He doesn't even have to do anything in particular and I'd still melt into a puddle of pure fluff.

"Now I am."

Did he seriously just pull that cheesy line on me?

Nevertheless, it worked, because my soul had left my body at this point.

"Wanna take a walk?" he then asks. "It's too noisy to talk out here."

I nod in approval, and I follow him as he directs us to a path that is leading towards the end of the garden. I first wondered if I should inform Areum of where I was, but decided against it since we probably wouldn't be away for long anyway.

Jimin is walking close to me, occasionally causing our shoulders to brush against each other, as we're making our way through the garden. The obnoxious music eventually fades, making it now easier for us to talk without having the need to shout.

"Are you having fun then?" he asks, the smile never leaving his lips.

"I'm honestly having the time of my life. I didn't know you Koreans liked to party like this," I admit with a chuckle, making him laugh.

"Of course we do. What, you expected us all to be some sort of angels that spend all our freetime just studying?"

"Something like that," I mumble, feeling a little stupid. "But you turned out to be fun people, and I'm actually relieved that my judgement was completely wrong. I don't miss home that much because of it."

"Where did you live before?"

I start explaining to him about my background; where my parents comes from, how it was like growing up in Sweden and the reason behind our sudden move. He was quiet the entire time, like he was really concentrated in every word I said. If he had any questions, he always waited until I stopped talking before asking. It felt like I was just babbling on like an annoying person, but he actually seemed rather amused than bored. This caused me to relax and not constrain myself -- unlike Taehyung who gets bothered if I accidentally breathe too loud.

We keep following the path until we eventually approach a cute little outdoor seating area. When we reach it, we exchange a shall-we-continue-talking-here look before deciding to sit down on the sofa that was bombarded with pillows. There was a roof above our heads with chains of light hanging from the ceiling, spreading a romantic essence over us. My cheeks almost start heating up when I realize that this cozy area was overflowing with romance.

"But enough about me now. Tell me about you," I urge him after making ourselves comfortable. However, our sides were basically pressed to each other since the sofa was quite small and there wasn't much space left because of the cushions.

A thoughtful sigh leaves his lips before he wonders out loud, "Oh boy, where should I start? I don't know what to say." A laugh follows, and I join in with a chuckle while nudging him on the arm before giving him an encouraging smile.

"Just say anything, I'll listen."

My words caused him to avert his eyes to meet mine, and he keeps his gaze like this for a moment. I swear I could see something flash behind his eyes for a split second, but I couldn't put my finger on what kind of emotion it could be. He then smiles again, before breaking our eye-contact and start talking about his family, his childhood, what his interests and hobbies were, just like I had talked about mine.