Jumin is fine. Well, he’s not, really, but it’s easier to ignore the tangle of emotions than to confront them.

Jihyun is getting married to Rika soon. He told Jumin the other day, and he was smiling so wide that Jumin hadn’t ever seen him so happy. But it’s hard to be happy for your best friend when you wish it was you making him grin like that.

Jumin loves Jihyun, a lot. He has for years. He’s a little jealous of Rika, to be completely honest, but he’ll never confess that aloud. He’ll just be the supportive best friend.

But the marriage never comes. Rika dies before they can even set a date. Jihyun doesn’t cry at the funeral, but he sobs into Jumin's shoulder late that night.

After her death, Jihyun changes. They both change. But eventually Jumin is able to move on. He lets go, he goes back to his regular life. He still misses her, but he’s coping. He’s fine.

Tonight, Jumin is at the office. It seems that he’s always here, always working. He’s seen the messages in the group-chat, about him working too much. But he can’t exactly stop. He has things to do. Things that can’t stop for friends or feelings.

Letting out a sigh, he looks at the time. Eleven at night. He could certainly sleep here, it wouldn’t be the first time, but he would like to see his cat tonight.

So he calls his driver, but he doesn’t go home. Instead, a few minutes later, he’s standing outside a club in the heart of the city. He doesn’t know why he’s here. But he goes inside anyway, and sits at the bar.

“A whiskey on the rocks,” Jumin says to the bartender, crossing his legs and looking out to the dancefloor with a slight expression of disgust. “Something expensive.”

This is why he doesn’t go out often. The people grinding on each other only a few steps away makes him feel sick. He should have gone home and ordered a good chardonnay for himself.

Still, this bar will suffice for getting drunk enough to forget Jihyun, Rika, work, and the ever-growing loneliness.