Youn Jin watched the dark-haired guy make his way across the pool toward her.

Now that he was closer...

He was even more attractive.

Friendly smile.

Relaxed posture.

And he clearly had no intention of letting her escape this interaction.

"Hey."

She opened her mouth.

She tried to think of literally anything remotely intelligent to say.

Her name.

A compliment.

Ask how he knew Joshua.

Anything.

But her brain had officially clocked out for the day.

"Hi!... Wanna play Beer Pong?"

...

She closed her eyes for a second.

That.

That was genuinely the best sentence she'd managed to come up with.

The guy let out a quiet laugh.

"Sure."

She let out a relieved breath.

At least he hadn't walked away.

As they headed toward the Beer Pong table, where another game was already getting started, they finally covered the basics.

Introductions.

"I'm Chad."

"Youn Jin."

She smiled awkwardly.

"I probably should've started with that."

"I was thinking the same thing."

She lightly shoved his arm.

"Hey!"

He laughed.

"I'm kidding."

...

On the other side of the house, Joshua subtly motioned for Scott to follow him.

"Come grab a beer with me."

Scott looked at the cooler sitting right next to them.

Then at Joshua.

Then back at the cooler.

"Joshua..."

"Hm?"

"The beer is literally right next to you."

"I know."

"So why are we walking all the way to the grill?"

Joshua simply started walking.

Scott sighed.

"Here we go..."

The two of them stopped in front of the cooler by the barbecue.

Scott cracked open a beer and took a long sip straight from the bottle.

"So..."

He pointed the bottle at Joshua.

"What kind of disaster are you planning today?"

Joshua looked offended.

"Me? Nothing."

Scott took another sip.

"If I didn't know you, I might actually believe that."

They stood there in silence for a few seconds.

Then Scott smiled to himself.

"I think today's finally the day I'm asking Megan out."

Joshua raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah?"

"We spent forever talking about makeup, celebrity gossip... a thousand things I know absolutely nothing about."

Joshua chuckled.

"And you liked it?"

"I did."

Scott smiled to himself again.

"She's adorable when she gets excited. She just keeps talking like the rest of the world stopped existing."

Joshua watched him for a moment.

"I still think you should give Sarah another chance."

Scott grimaced.

"Joshua..."

"What happened between you two barely even counts as a thing."

"We're talking about you right now."

Joshua took a deep breath.

"I bought new wedding rings."

Scott kept drinking.

"For me and Marcela."

Scott nearly choked on his beer.

"You what?"

Joshua slipped a hand into his pocket.

His fingers brushed against the ring box.

"I'm giving them to her today."

Scott went completely still.

"Today?"

"Today."

"Don't you think you should wait a little longer?"

Joshua shook his head.

"I've already waited almost a year."

"You two haven't even had a proper conversation about... you know..."

Joshua stayed quiet.

Scott narrowed his eyes.

He knew that silence.

Way too well.

"Joshua..."

No answer.

"Joshua..."

Scott sighed.

"Don't tell me..."

Joshua kept staring out toward the pool.

"...you're starting to have feelings for Laura."

Joshua answered so quickly it almost sounded rehearsed.

"No."

Scott just stared at him.

"Joshua."

"What?"

"You answered way too fast."

"Because no."

Scott pointed a finger at him.

"JOSHUA..."

Joshua looked away.

Scott's eyes went wide.

"Oh my God..."

He dragged a hand down his face.

"Oh my God!"

He started pacing back and forth.

"The world is ending."

Joshua laughed.

"Stop being dramatic."

"I AM NOT BEING DRAMATIC!"

Scott turned back to him, completely horrified.

"I'm more scared of this conversation than you are."

Joshua didn't say a word.

Scott pointed at Joshua's pocket.

"Don't give her those rings..."

He paused.

"...unless you already know exactly what her answer is going to be."

Joshua took a deep breath.

"That's the point."

Scott frowned.

"What do you mean, 'that's the point'?"

"Her answer will tell me everything I need to know."

Scott closed his eyes for a second.

"How many beers have you had?"

Joshua looked down at the bottle in his hand.

"I don't know..."

He took another sip.

"But definitely not enough."

 

 

In the past few days, Joshua had found himself missing Laura.

He missed their conversations that had quietly become part of his routine. The way she'd always stop by to ask him something, only to end up staying for half an hour. The scent of her hair—that same shampoo she'd been absolutely furious about when she found out Scott had been secretly using it. He missed having her around.

Marcela was back.

But she'd come back different.

Distant.

Careful.

And honestly...

She had every right to be.

She didn't even seem to know what she wanted herself. Maybe she'd mistaken loneliness for missing him. Maybe she just wanted to believe that this time things would finally work out. Or maybe she was still trying to figure out whether she truly wanted to rebuild a life with Joshua.

Everything felt uncertain.

...

After the fourth...

Or maybe the fifth beer...

Joshua and Scott were still sitting beside the hot tub, watching everyone else enjoy the party while each of them got lost in their own thoughts.

Scott had already chewed what was left of his fingernails.

He looked at Joshua.

Then at his beer.

Then back at Joshua.

He sighed.

"Alright."

He stood up.

"I'm gonna go get Marcela."

Joshua simply nodded.

Scott took two steps before stopping.

"And after that... I'm finally asking Megan out."

Joshua smirked.

"Good luck."

"You're gonna need it more than I do."

Scott walked away before Joshua could say anything else.

...

Marcela was talking to Harry, one of Sunset's friends.

Scott slowed his pace.

He frowned slightly.

There was nothing wrong.

But...

There was something.

She looked comfortable.

She was laughing.

Holding eye contact.

Scott decided not to overthink it.

"Hey, Marcela... got a minute?"

She turned to him right away.

"Of course."

"Josh needs a hand over by the grill. Mind going over there?"

It was the best excuse he could come up with.

"No problem."

She smiled at Harry.

"I'll be right back."

Then headed toward the barbecue area.

...

Joshua was leaning against the counter when she arrived.

The moment he saw her, he held out his hand.

Marcela took it gently.

"What is it?"

She smiled softly as she leaned against the counter, turning to face him.

"I need you."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Me?"

Then she smiled.

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Since when?"

The tease was light.

But it still carried traces of wounds they'd both been pretending weren't there.

Joshua smiled.

"Always."

His hand slipped into his pocket.

When it came back out...

He was holding a small ring box.

Marcela looked at it.

Then at Joshua.

Her smile slowly faded.

"Josh..."

She took a deep breath.

"I..."

She looked down for a few seconds.

"I think it's still too soon."

Joshua didn't say a word.

"It's not that I don't want to..."

She gently squeezed his hand.

"I just don't think this is our moment yet."

...

Joshua stayed silent.

Inside...

It hurt.

A lot.

To him, it would always be the right moment.

He had waited almost an entire year.

For months, all he'd done was imagine what this reunion would be like.

And now that it had finally happened...

His heart had filled with hope.

Only for a few words...

To make it all come crashing down again.

He simply stepped closer.

Kissed her forehead.

Smiled.

A small smile.

A tired one.

Then quietly walked back toward the house.

Marcela watched him leave.

She felt awful.

But she didn't follow him.

She knew Joshua.

She knew this was how he dealt with pain.

Silently.

After a few seconds, she took a deep breath.

Then returned to the party.

The music kept playing.

People kept laughing.

As if nothing had happened.

...

Joshua walked into the house without really knowing where he was going.

That's when he crossed paths with Laura at the bottom of the stairs.

She smiled the moment she saw him.

"Is everything—"

Before she could finish, Joshua gently took her hand.

Laura blinked in surprise.

"Josh?"

Without saying a word, he started walking upstairs.

She simply followed him.

The two of them stepped into the upstairs bar lounge.

As always during parties, every room on the second floor had been locked.

Joshua closed the door behind them.

Turned the key.

Silence settled over the room.

He took a deep breath.

Looked Laura straight in the eyes.

"Laura..."

He paused.

"I miss you."

She didn't move.

"I miss talking to you."

Another pause.

"I miss having you be part of my everyday life."

 

 

"Laura... you've been my best friend for as long as I can remember."

She didn't say a word.

"You can't just... separate yourself from me."

He rubbed a hand over his face.

"Just because you got ridiculously hot doesn't mean this has to become a problem between us."

Laura started laughing before he even finished.

Joshua pointed at her.

"Don't laugh."

She tried to hold it in.

She failed.

"Josh..."

"I'm serious!"

He took a deep breath.

"We've always known how to separate things."

Laura raised an eyebrow.

"Have we?"

Joshua thought about it for a few seconds.

"...Okay, that's a lie."

She burst out laughing.

"I was literally about to say that."

Joshua laughed too, shaking his head.

"But why is this so weird now? Weren't we supposed to just... keep living our lives? Should one kiss really affect anyone besides the two of us?"

Laura simply listened.

"You've always been emotionally mature."

He pointed at himself.

"I've always been emotionally mature."

She grimaced.

"Are you sure about that part?"

"I am."

She just looked at him.

Joshua sighed.

"...Okay. Mostly."

She laughed again.

"Josh..."

"Laura, we've known each other for years. Years."

He spread his arms.

"Fine, there's chemistry now."

He paused.

"Very inconvenient chemistry."

She nodded.

"But we're both single. So what exactly changed?"

Silence.

"I get that, with Marcela here, we need to avoid... certain things."

His voice softened.

"But that shouldn't destroy our friendship."

Laura crossed her arms.

"Or..."

He looked her straight in the eyes.

"...were you starting to catch feelings?"

Laura completely lost it.

It took her several seconds before she could answer.

"Joshua..."

She wiped a tear from laughing so hard.

"I think you know me well enough to know that if there's one person in this world who convinced me relationships were a complete waste of time..."

She pointed at him.

"It was you."

Joshua placed a hand dramatically over his chest.

"Ouch..."

A crooked smile appeared.

"That phase is over."

He started counting on his fingers.

"After Sunset..."

One finger.

"After Marcela..."

Another finger.

"I've learned a lot about emotional responsibility."

Laura hummed.

"Mhm."

Joshua shrugged.

"Honestly, all it did was screw me over."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Because now I'm the only one who actually has emotional responsibility."

Laura slowly shook her head.

"Joshua..."

She walked over to the couch and sat sideways, tucking one leg beneath her.

"Please shut up."

Joshua opened the cooler tucked away in the corner.

He grabbed two beers.

Handed one to her.

Then sat beside her.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke.

The music from the party downstairs drifted faintly through the closed door.

Joshua looked at Laura.

Smiled.

"You remind me of this song..."

She already knew something stupid was coming.

"Oh?"

He started singing softly, completely off-key.

"Your lips are a maze that awakens all my worst instincts..."

Laura covered her face.

"Oh my God..."

Joshua kept going.

"...and somehow your eyes fool me every single time..."

She laughed harder than she had in a long time.

That effortless kind of laugh.

No filter.

No worries.

When she finally caught her breath, she looked back at him.

"You're unbelievably drunk."

Joshua stared at the beer label for a few seconds.

Then looked back at her.

The smile slowly disappeared.

His voice came out quiet.

Almost serious.

"You're my best friend."

Laura nodded.

"And I'm never giving up that title."

She smiled softly.

Joshua took a deep breath.

"But..."

He paused.

Looked straight into her eyes.

"I want to kiss you right now."