So that’s how you ended up with your feet hurting, still wearing your fancy shoes for the ceremony, cocktail in hand, jumping with your friends and batch mates. You were a couple drinks in, not drunk enough to pass out and forget everything the next morning, but tipsy enough that you probably shouldn’t be making any life-altering decisions. You were about to go sit down at the table your group had reserved when Love Story by Taylor Swift came on. Your friends instantly dragged you back to the dance floor.

At this point in the evening, your group had split off to different parts of the room. But somehow, you all found each other in that crowded club for the song that ran in all your veins. Right next to the DJ, arms over shoulders, all of you singing, even you singing your heart out to the lyrics. Who knew a little alcohol was all it took to bring out the inner Swifties in all of you? To your right was the girl from your math class you’d talked to only once—but now you were laughing together with her arm around your neck as if you’d been close for years. In front of you, the popular group of guys you tended to avoid, were shouting the loudest and jumping the hardest to Ms. Taylor. You found they were a lot more courteous and watchful over your female batch mates in the public club than you thought them capable of. You scanned the circle of your highschool peers, realizing how close you’d all become, even if you’d sit on different sides of the canteen. You glanced back at your shared table and locked eyes with the one person sitting out the song—

You could deny it or change your answer as much as you could, but for the last two years you’d had the biggest crush on Park Sunghoon. What made it worse was you were friends for even longer. You weren’t super close, but you would say hi in the halls, tease each other about assignments, fail to get group projects submitted on time due to your bickering, and play online games together with a few other people. He had his own circle (two of which were standing in front of you now, drunkenly jumping along to Ms. Taylor’s banger chorus), and you had your own. You’d gone back and forth for years wondering if what you felt was romantic or not, the inner debate always ending with the conclusion that you were content as long as you were in his life, one way or another.

So I sneak out to the garden to see you

We keep quiet, 'cause we're dead if they knew

So close your eyes

Escape this town for a little while, oh oh

Well. You were both going to different countries for university now. Who knew if you’d even come back to this town for the breaks? Who could guarantee that you’d stay in touch and meet over the holidays? If you were no longer in his life, could you have lived with yourself?

You were tipsy enough to probably not be making life-altering decisions. But there you were.

“Y/n, where you going?” your friend asked as you pulled out of the circle.

“I’ll be right back,” you yelled back, gesturing to the table. They nodded you off as you made your way through the crowd.

—

You came to Sunghoon like a burst of light and laughter. He had been watching Jay and Jake make absolute fools of themselves, fresh highschool graduates in the center of a club at one in the morning. He’d caught your eye earlier, your brilliant, joyous smile framed against the dark of everyone’s silhouettes. You glowed. And now there you were in front of him.

“Hey,” you were breathless from fighting through the press of bodies. You crouched down so he could hear you. A few other of your batchmates were there, a couple too far gone to even stand, another tending to them. “You doing okay?”

Sunghoon held up his can of cola with a cheeky grin.

Before he knew it, you had pulled him to his feet and were dragging him to the dance floor. The song had reached its second chorus and the entire club—highschool graduates, college kids, weird guys way too young to be legally allowed in, actual weird creepy guys, and people off work on a Friday night—all jumped along to the song, as if they were all born with the lyrics of this song imprinted in their hearts.

You had both Sunghoon’s hands in yours as the two of you danced in the center of all your friends. Even in the multicolored lights he could tell your cheeks had an alcohol flush, but your eyes were clear and bright. Before he knew it, he was jumping along with you, ignoring the off-tune shouts of his friends. When he tagged along to their parties he was always the designated driver; the one to make sure everyone was okay and alive, but also the one sitting out on the side. He never felt the need to down a drink, and he felt enough of an energy surge just watching everyone sway and shout. People had tried to get him on his feet before, but for some reason, when you pulled him up to dance, he felt like he had been waiting all his life for that moment. Not that he’d ever admit that to anyone. You were just his friend—the one you said hi to sometimes, the one who knew his secret favorite song, the one he had a tiny crush on in middle school but not anymore. Obviously, not anymore.

Sunghoon felt like he was dreaming, spinning around in that circle of freshly minted high school graduates with both of your hands in his, the two of you jumping in unison. He couldn’t take his eyes off you, even if he wanted to.

“What?” he shouted, thinking you’d said something. Then you realized you were singing the lyrics of the bridge. To him.

Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone

I keep waiting for you, but you never come

Is this in my head? I don't know what to think

He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring

—

You had no idea what you were doing. Did you really just drag Sunghoon up to dance? Were you really holding his hands right now? Were you really this close? You could see the colored lights in his eyes. His cat’s fang smile peaked out at you as you practically shouted in his face the bridge of the song.

And then Park Sunghoon was singing back. You had to be dreaming. Things like this never happened in real life. You’d dream of him holding your hand or kissing the top of your head, and then you’d wake up and go to school and you weren’t even able to hold his gaze. And now you somehow got him to stand up, hold your hands, and now he was singing with you and gazing into your eyes as if you were the only people in the room. You wanted to scream.

And said, "Marry me, Juliet

You'll never have to be alone

I love you and that's all I really know

I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress

It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"

Before the song was over he was kissing you. You heard cheers around you, whether from the high of the song or because of the two of you; but you didn’t care.

—

Sunghoon didn’t care about the hoots and whistles. All there was was you. Your breath on his lips, slightly sweet from the alcohol, your arms around his neck. The song ended, but you were still there, pressed so close to him he felt weightless. Don’t let go. Sunghoon thought at you, circling an arm around your waist. Someone clapped his shoulder, but he brushed them off. All he cared about was this. You—right here, in his arms, with no space in between you.

When the next song started playing, another cheer went up around the club, and the bliss of the after-kiss was left sacred to the two of you. Your forehead was still pressed against his, your fingers playing with the back of his head, sending chills down his spine.

“Wanna get out of here?” You said to him. You were so close he could hear you even over the booming bass and whirls of lights.

“Thought you’d never ask,” Sunghoon reached for your hand at his neck and tugged you towards the exit.