I ruined everything

While Luna felt disgust toward Hyunsu, he, on the other hand, let out a heavy groan as he swirled the amber liquid in his glass before swiftly knocking it back. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, his usually neat posture now reduced to a lazy slump over the bar counter.

Jinwoo raised a brow, arms crossed as he watched his friend drown in self-inflicted misery. "Seriously, Hyunsu. Did you drink the whole bar? What happened?"

Hyunsu scoffed, lazily pointing a finger at him. "I ruined everything before it even started."

He groaned again, kicking the stool next to him. "She hates me. No, she despises me. If looks could kill, I'd be dead by now. She basically buried me with her eyes and danced on my grave."

Jinwoo blinked. "Wait. Are we talking about a woman here?"

"I had the chance to say something… anything… but what did I do? I let my stupid pride get in the way. Now she probably thinks I'm some heartless jerk."

Jinwoo smirked, signaling the bartender for a drink. "Well, you are a heartless jerk."

Hyunsu narrowed his eyes. "You know, I can still throw this glass at you."

Jinwoo grinned. "Sure, but then you'd have no drink left. And you, my friend, are a sad drunk. Let's not make it worse."

But him slumping onto the counter again. "I need another drink."

Jinwoo sighed, shaking his head. "What you need is to fix this mess before you turn into one of those guys who texts 'you up?' at 3 AM."

"...Should I text her?"

"You're hopeless."

Hyunsu dramatically slamming his head onto the bar counter repeated the same words. "I ruined everything before it even started." 

"How bad can it be?", his friend, comfortably sipping his drink, barely blinked.

Hyunsu throwing back another shot before pointing a wobbly finger at his friend. "She hates me."

Jinwoo blinked. "Who?"

"The woman I'm going to marry."

Jinwoo choked on his drink. "EXCUSE ME?"

Hyunsu waved his hand dismissively. "Not right now, obviously. But eventually. Probably. If she ever stops looking at me like I'm a particularly disgusting cockroach."

"Oh my god. This is gold.", burst out laughing. 

Hyunsu glared at him. "Are you going to help or just enjoy my downfall?"

"A little bit of both."

Hyunsu let out a deep, suffering sigh, pushing his empty glass forward. "I should've just shut up. Or better, I should've never been born."

"That would have saved me a lot of headaches, yeah, you are right.." Jinwoo patted his shoulder sympathetically. 

But he ignored him. "She asked for a favor, and I— acted like an absolute idiot—said, 'Oh, do we even have that kind of relationship?'"

Jinwoo slapped the bar. "OH MY GOD. You did not."

"I did," him burying his face in his hands. "I practically dug my own grave, jumped in, and asked her to kick dirt over me."

"And what did she ask for?"

"I don't know. I lost all my senses and said those mean words before I could even hear her request," he said, slapping himself.

Jinwoo shook his head in pure disbelief. "Bro. BRO. That was your moment! A favor means she was willing to trust you! And you responded like… like… I don't even know what that was!"

"Even I wanted to kill myself."

Jinwoo wiped fake tears from his eyes. "This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I'm getting a front-row seat to the tragic downfall of Hyunsu."

Hyunsu groaned. "You're a terrible best friend."

Jinwoo clinked their glasses. "A terrible friend who's enjoying this immensely."

"What should I do? Should I apologize?"

Jinwoo gasped. "Can you? Do you need lessons? Should I write you a script? Maybe flashcards?"

Hyunsu rolled his eyes. "Forget it. I'll just suffer in silence."

"Oh no, please continue. I haven't had this much fun in ages."

Hyunsu let out a long, defeated sigh, staring blankly at the counter. "At this rate, she'll probably put out a restraining order before she ever gives me a chance."

"Well… you're a doctor. At least you'll be able to treat your own broken heart."

"One more," Hyunsu slammed his empty shot glass on the bar like a man who had just lost a war. 

The bartender sighed but refilled it anyway. Jinwoo, meanwhile, sat beside him, sipping his drink like he was watching a live comedy special.

"Wow. That's... that's actually impressive. I mean, I expected stupidity from you, but this? This is next-level self-sabotage."

"What was I supposed to do?! Say 'yes' and then get all soft and nice and—"

"Yes, you absolute buffoon!" Jinwoo shouted, throwing a peanut at his head. "That's what NORMAL people do when they like someone! What will you do now? Beg her into falling for you?!"

Hyunsu knocking his forehead against the bar. "It came out wrong! My brain and my mouth—there was a disconnect! A malfunction! Like a stupid vending machine that swallowed your money and gave you nothing!"

"And now you're the empty vending machine. Nothing inside but regret and bad decisions."

"Why am I like this?"

"Because the gods have a spectacular sense of humor, and you, my friend, are their favorite joke."

Hyunsu waved his hand wildly. "I should just leave the country. Disappear. Move to some small village and become a monk. Yeah. Maybe I'll shave my head and live a life of quiet regret—"

Jinwoo immediately started Googling. "How to become a monk—"

"STOP IT."

"—against their will."

Hyunsu groaned louder, stealing his friend's drink and chugging it in one go.

"Oh, now you want to be bold? Where was that energy earlier when it mattered?!"

"She's gonna hate me forever. I'll die alone. The only thing that will mourn me is my unfinished hospital paperwork."

"Truly tragic. I will make sure your tombstone reads: 'Here lies Dr. Hyunsu. Killed by his own dumbassery.'"

Hyunsu groaned so loudly that the bartender looked mildly concerned but Jinwoo sighed, shaking his head seeing his friend, looking like a man who had lost everything—his pride, his dignity, and possibly his ability to walk straight.

"Alright, tragedy king, time to go home before you start writing sad poetry on napkins," Jinwoo muttered, standing up.

"No, leave me here. Let me rot in my misery. Let the bar stools be my grave."

"Bro, if you die here, the only thing they'll do is charge me for the cleanup fee. Now, up.", he rolled his eyes. 

Dragging Hyunsu to his feet was an entire workout on its own. The man went completely limp, like an overcooked noodle, forcing Jinwoo to half-carry, half-drag him out of the bar.

"I swear, you get five drinks in you, and suddenly you're the most dramatic person on Earth." 

Somehow, they made it to the car, where Hyunsu flopped into the passenger seat.

"You don't get it, " he slurred, eyes half-lidded. "She—she hates me now. I'm doomed. I'm gonna be single forever. Just me and my medical degree."

Jinwoo rolled his eyes so hard they nearly fell out of his head. "Oh my God, I will personally sew you a wife out of hospital scrubs if you don't shut up."

Hyunsu blinked, genuinely considering it for a moment. "Would she be soft?"

Jinwoo turned on the ignition. "I'm gonna drive us into the river."

By the time they reached Jinwoo's house, Hyunsu had started a full-blown monologue about his doomed existence.

"I'm gonna be an old man. Just me and my degree."

"Shut up and get out of my car."

With extreme effort he finally managed to drag the drunkard into the house. He dumped him onto the bed like a sack of rice and sighed in exhaustion.

"Okay, stay here. Don't move. Don't throw up. Don't die. Just…exist quietly."

"I don't wanna exist. Existence is pain."

"Good night, Shakespeare." Jinwoo threw a blanket over his face and walked off, shaking his head. He heard Hyunsu mumble one last tragic thought before slipping into unconsciousness:

"Even my nightmares are gonna make fun of me tonight…"

And with that, he was out.

Jinwoo sighed, rubbing his temples. "I need new friends."

But as he glanced at Hyunsu's sleeping, miserable form, he exhaled in amusement.

"Actually, no. This is too entertaining."

And with that, he turned off the lights, leaving Hyunsu to drown in his own melodrama.

Then he collapsed onto other side of the bed, exhaling before grabbing his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and tapped on Nina's name. It barely rang twice before she picked up.

"Hello Jinwoo?" Nina's voice came through immediately.

Jinwoo smirked, glancing at the mess of a man currently sprawled on his bed. "do you know your brother is currently lying face-down on my bed, reeking of bad decisions and self-pity."

Nina burst out laughing. "Wait—Hyunsu? Drunk? That's rare! What happened?"

Jinwoo grinned. "Let's just say… he fumbled harder than a rookie surgeon on their first day. He basically dug his own grave."

"Oh my God, why is it so drammatic?"

Jinwoo cleared his throat, lowering his voice to mimic their guy. "She hates me now, Jinwoo… I am a cockroach... "

Nina wheezed. "NO WAY! He actually said that?! Please tell me you recorded it!"

"I should have! But trust me, it was Oscar-worthy.'"

Jinwoo snickered. "And then he dead-seriously asked if I could sew him a wife out of hospital scrubs."

That was it—Nina lost it. She laughed so hard she had to put her phone down for a second. Jinwoo could hear her wheezing in the background.

"Stop! I can't—this is too much!" Nina gasped between fits of laughter. "I swear, this is better than any drama on TV!"

"I know, right? And the best part? Right before passing out, he whispered, 'Even my nightmares are gonna make fun of me tonight…'"

Nina screamed in laughter. "I AM NEVER LETTING HIM LIVE THIS DOWN!"

"Oh, you shouldn't. This is premium blackmail material."

They both continued roasting Hyunsu for a solid ten minutes, throwing in exaggerated reenactments of his tragic monologue.

At one point, he asked, "Do you know the woman responsible for turning our guy into this mess?"

"Yeah, even though I wasn't there, I can already guess—it's Luna," she replied confidently.

"Oh, your friend? The one from the hospital? I figured as much. He never left her side and practically glued himself to her the whole time in hospital."

"Honestly, I don't know what to do with these two. My brother is an idiot, and my friend is stubborn. It's like watching two brick walls try to have a conversation."

Jinwoo chuckled, shaking his head. "More like two blindfolded boxers swinging in the dark. Your brother just threw himself into the ring, and Luna hit him with a knockout punch without even trying."

"You're not wrong," Nina muttered, crossing her arms.

She continued, "he has been head over heels for her since the day he first laid eyes on her ten years ago.

But Luna? She never had a great opinion of him to begin with. And after whatever ridiculous stunt he just pulled now, I bet she thinks even less of him now."

Jinwoo grinned, leaning back. "That just means we have work to do. Operation: Get Two Hopeless Romantics Together is officially in motion."

As they continued their chaotic discussion, Hyunsu shifted slightly on the bed, groaning in his sleep.

"Poor guy doesn't even know we're absolutely wrecking him right now," Jinwoo glanced over, shaking his head. 

"yeah, 100%."

And with that, their roasting session continued long into the night.