KIM NAMJOON'S P.O.V.
I never thought Jung Hoseok would have been a bully before I met him.
He was always the overly bright one, he tried to be a mediator between our friends group if there was a fight or misunderstanding and he campaigned for LGBT+ equality on campus. As bright as he portrayed himself I found it odd that Hoseok didn't have contact with any of the people he'd gone to high school with anymore. He'd always brush it off by saying something like he'd gotten a new phone and lost their details or something similar. I'd sometimes find him fingering through an old photograph album but he'd always slam it shut and put it away as soon as he knew I (or anyone) was in the room, I also noticed him crying a few times but he brushed it off.
== FLASHBACK TO UNI DAYS ==
3RD PERSON'S P.O.V.
"Yo, Seok! What's crackin' man? You comin' to the Got7 dorm party tonight 'cause I heard it's gonna be a rager!" Yeo Hwanwoong exclaimed as he slung his arm around Jung Hoseok and crashing into him. It was an early Autumn afternoon and while the chill hadn't settled in it wasn't warm enough to not be wearing a light jacket. Hoseok hummed a neutral answer, "Maybe Woong, I dunno, I'm not feelin' it today, and I got stuff to do early tomorrow, uh, family stuff. You know?" Hoseok didn't really have much to do with his family or anyone he'd known in High School - not since Park Jimin had disappeared.
"But I heard there's gonna be students from other Uni's there and everything dude - imagine the chicks!" Hwanwoong whined, "You gotta be there man, pleeeeaaassseeee?" Hoseok forced a laugh, something he'd gotten pretty good at over the last year or so. "You want a lift then, I'm guessing? I'm hurt man, you only want me for my wheels." He faked another laugh. The shorter male grinned, "You know it bro! Pick me up at seven? If ya swing past the bottle-o I'll buy your drinks for tonight." He wasn't really asking since this is how it often was between them. Enough of a friendship that it satisfied Hwanwoong but superficial enough for Jung Hoseok to be comfortable, they used each other a little, and that was okay. If Hoseok didn't have friends then the past wouldn't repeat itself. It couldn't.
== THE PARTY ==
There was people everywhere. Students from their Uni and others nearby, students who'd brought friends who didn't even go to university; students of theatre, singing, arts and dance, to building, planning, design and engineering. There wasn't anything that wasn't able to be discussed between everyone.
Being a rave-like party there were also eskies and (clean) plastic garbage bins full of ice and beverages, both alcoholic and non alcoholic. There was lots of finger food and snacks like corn chips, crackers, sliced vegetables and dips, potato chips, party pies and party sausage rolls (earlier in the night) and pizzas over several folding party tables that were placed around the house and backyard. There was loud music everywhere streamed through wireless speakers throughout the house and out in the backyard, a few bonfires in two old washing machine drums and fire-pits out in the generous sized backyard as well.
Someone had taken the liberty to set up one of the tables with non-alcoholic drinks for the designated drivers of the night. Hoseok and Hwangwoon were already in some of the chairs near one of the fire pits, empty bottles piling up on the ground around the chairs they were on. People were dancing wildly to the music thumping in the air, party lights flickering around the house and backyard making it look like there were little fireflies all over the place.
"He's fucking gone man, I wish that I can say I'm sorry an' shit, bro, 'cuz I regret everything. If I wasn't such a fuckin' pussy I'd'a stood up for me an' for him 'cuz I really did love him and like he was my brother ya know..? I fucked up an' I can't do shit about shit now 'cuz he's gone forever, he left me." Hoseok exclaimed, slurring some of his words. He felt broken, his emotional guilt from the way he'd treated the person he'd claimed to love the most - the person who was supposed to be his best friend - before he'd disappeared, then he'd left with the assholes he'd thought gave a shit, but his life had completely fallen apart when his friend stopped smiling, stopped laughing, stopped wearing the clothes that made him happy, stopped talking, stopped answering his calls and text messages and stopped coming to school.
Hoseok just wanted to forget everything about his second last year from High School. "Dude you're totally fucking smashed," Hwanwoong laughed at Hoseok, almost falling off his chair and the action reminded Hoseok of when his Jiminie used to fall off things often. The walking sunshine laughed but Hwanwoong didn't notice the laughter was tinged with sadness. "You're such a lightweight man!" Hwanwoong teased.
Neither of them noticed a drunken group of guys approaching them, they were troublemakers for sure and they saw a sure target as they approached the very emotional-drunk Hoseok and his cheerful-drunk friend, unfortunately for the more than a little drunk Jung Hoseok, they were looking for trouble. "Oi!" A voice shouted at Hoseok, grabbing him by his collar and kicking the chair. "Get the fuck out of our chairs losers." A second voice taunted followed by loud laughter and the folding chair tipped backwards so he ended up staring at the sky above him as well as faces he couldn't really make out, his drunken vision had made the faces blend together and then separate again.
"Yyeeaaahhhhh," Hoseok drawled, "that's nnot gonna hap'n ya bastards." He laughed crazily. His blood began to stir with anger; anger towards himself, towards the assholes he let use him to destroy the person who trusted him most, towards Jimin- for letting Hoseok be an asshole towards him for so long without so much as a cross word or look at him. Jung Hoseok had decided that was done with being an asshole. He was also drunk enough to take on five of the biggest guys he couldn't see by himself, even if he did get a beating it was no less than what he actually deserved for all the times he left Jimin alone.
He mixed some of the self-defence moves he'd learned with some of his favourite freestyle dance moves to get up onto his feet and actually landed a hit on one of the guys - by accident - which started a brawl between one very drunk Hoseok and five slightly less drunk males.
About the time Yeo Hwanwoong and Jung Hoseok were finding somewhere to sit near one of the fire pits, one Kim Namjoon was helping himself to another can of sprite from an ice-filled esky around a different side of the house, the speakers blasting a new Wonho single that he'd helped Hoseok- Lee Hoseok, that is - finish recording this track in English a week prior and even though this was the Korean version, Namjoon still sang the English lyrics along with the song anyway.
*******
== STILL AT THE PARTY ==
KIM NAMJOON'S P.O.V.
I was walking around the party chatting to people from other schools and hoping to meet someone in the same course as I am. I'm doing a course to be a music producer and Min, a guy who lives up the street, changed his major a couple years ago so we don't really talk much anymore. I hope he's doing well. I'm stuck to drinking soft-drink because I'm the designated driver tonight and it's my responsibility to make sure we all get home safe.
I noticed two of my friends had already slipped away to be somewhere quiet together since they both went to different Universities and making time for each other was harder than it used to be back in High School. Man... I miss High School... Less homework, less responsibilities, and way more time to hang out with friends. Idly wandering around the party singing to the songs that came on I heard chanting from just up ahead. I wonder if it's another dance off? Or is it a drink off? A rap battle maybe - that would be cool, maybe I could join?
I went out the back door of the place and saw a crowd, though I'm pretty tall I couldn't tell what was going on from where I stood. Shrugging my shoulders in response to the silent question of whether or not I should check it out, I headed over to see if I could find a better view from another part of the yard. From the people chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" I guessed it was a fight and I really hoped it wasn't any of my friends. Again.
I'd only made my way part of the way around the group of intoxicated young adults when I felt a warm body slam into mine and I reached out almost automatically to catch them and help them back to their feet. "Hey man, you okay?" I asked, looking them over. It was a guy with pastel rainbow coloured hair, dark, slightly glassy eyes and flushed cheeks looked up at me, "Sorry! Sorry!" He exclaimed, looking over me as well. "Hey, can you get my friend from in there?" He asked, "Just get him and drag him outta there? I'm worried he won't be able to walk tomorrow." I'd assumed he meant his friend was pissed or wasted like most of the others here, and me being the responsible person I was, I agreed to it.
"Yeah, okay. What's your friends name and what's he look like?" I questioned, "I'm Kim Namjoon, by the way. What's your name?" "I'm Hwanwoong but you can call me Woong. My friend's Jung Hoseok and he has orange hair, he's the guy fighting against the five guys." My jaw must have dropped, "Your friend is fighting FIVE guys? By himself? Is he stupid?" I asked, "OH! No offence! Sorry! Like, just how drunk is he?"
The little guy laughed and I noticed he had a really pretty smile, I laughed as well when he waved his hands around, "Nah, no offence taken. Seok's pretty smashed but these guys came out of like, nowhere, and picked a fight with him. Can you help him man? I'm kinda... too short... for people to listen to me..." He trailed off and we laughed when our eyes met. I nodded and shoved my way into the crowd, being swallowed up by the hot bodies and saying sorry to everyone I shoved out of the way on my reckless 'rescue mission'.
When I got to the middle of the crowd I saw the orange haired guy on the ground holding his stomach and only two of the five guys still in fighting condition, I was impressed. Taking a really deep breath to try and steele my fraying nerves I took a step forwards and clapped a hand on the shoulder of the nearest guy. "Hey! Don't think you guys have had enough? Five against one isn't really fair." I tried negotiating with him. I got my hand slapped off.
"What the fuck would you know? You don't even know what he did to my mochi! This fucker broke my sweet little mochi an' now he's gettin' it 'cuz he fucked with the precious sweet mochi an' fucked him up so we're fuckin' him up the same way!" The blue haired guy was going off his head but I interrupted him. Bro, you got him good already. Take a look at him, you guys have given him his beating and now you can leave him alone to suffer, yeah?" The guy looked doubtfully from me to the bloody guy on the grass then back at me. He squinted. "You sure?"
I nodded confidently, or so I hoped. "Yeah man, I'm gonna have to take him to a hospital to get fixed up. You guys did a good job." "You really sure?" He clarified. "Totally. Hey, take my beer, grab your buddies and grab a couple of tea-towels and some of the ice from the eskies for your hands and for your friends eye," pointing to one of his friends who was sporting a huge bruise that would end up for sure as a black eye. "Cool man, thanks. Yo! This fucker's done, let's fuck off." To my enormous relief the blue haired guy (who was bigger than me) took his mates and they took off with not too much more convincing.
I motioned Hwanwoong to come help me but as he approached, he sped up and ran straight past, puking behind a tree.
That's how I met Jung Hoseok.