Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s Friday night and the club is crowded. It’s too loud, too hot, the bathroom lines are insane, no one can get the attention of a bartender, and the DJ is awful, blasting some obnoxious anonymous pop group, but none of that has anything on the disaster unfolding in front of Changbin and Chris. 

“Hyung, this is really depressing,” Changbin yells in Chris’s direction.

“I tried, I really did. It’s like watching a trainwreck, every time,” Chris rambles. He’s too quiet for anyone to hear him over the music, but he’s talking to himself more than anything else.

“I have to piss so bad but then we need to leave. I can’t watch this anymore.” 

Chris rubs a hand over his face and nods, “Deal, I’ll get him one more drink. He looks like a—I don’t know—a drowned puppy or something.”

Changbin grimaces and disappears into the throng of people crowded around the club’s busy dance floor. Chris sighs, muscling back to his spot next to Jisung at the bar. The kid’s a notorious lightweight, so normally suggesting another drink would be the last thing he'd do, but tonight calls for extreme measures. Jisung’s completely oblivious to the noise and chaos of the club, singularly focused on his phone. The blue-white glow of the little screen makes the deep lines of his frown stand out even more. He’s absolutely chewed his lip to shreds, but he doesn’t seem to have noticed. Chris throws a strong arm around his friend’s shoulders, squeezing tightly to try and break his trance.

Jisung stares mindlessly at his phone screen. His thumb is scrolling through Heeyoung’s Instagram, but he’s not really looking at it. His mind drifts to when he first met Heeyoung. He was barely seventeen, just back in Korea, and she was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. He’d seen her at a cafe with her friends, a gaggle of teenage girls in school uniforms giggling about the barista. She was intimidatingly beautiful, and the group of friends only made it worse, but somehow Jisung had worked up the courage to go over to her. He’d channeled all his baby SoundCloud rapper swag, and went up to her. Somehow his awkward flirting had actually succeeded because he’d left the cafe with her phone number. He’d been so shocked he got on the wrong train and ended up in a part of Seoul he’d never seen before. 

His relationship with Heeyoung had always been a bit…unstable, but when they started uni it got worse. She would ghost him for weeks, only to call him up for a hookup or to go to a party full of people he’d never seen before and would never see again. The constant ping-ponging made him feel like shit, but she was Heeyoung. His first girlfriend, his first everything. He tried to listen to his friends, to believe that he deserved better, to break it off, but every time she called, he went running. He felt beyond pathetic, but he couldn’t help himself. 

She promised this time would be different, and for a little bit it was. More like how it used to be, but the past few weeks he’d felt her pulling away again. That’s why he’d asked her to come out with him. It’s really not Jisung’s scene, but it’s hers, so he asked. And she said she’d be here. But it’s been hours since they were supposed to meet and nothing. Total radio silence, on her end anyway. Jisung has sent a totally not embarrassing number of texts to no avail. He feels vaguely like he might puke, his anxiety worming its way around his diaphragm. Still, he can’t stop his thumb from scrolling, glassy eyes staring at a million photos of Heeyoung’s stupid, beautiful face.

“C’mon, let’s get another drink, huh?” Chris’ voice cuts through his swirling thoughts, snapping Jisung out of his anxiety induced trance. His arm is heavy and warm on Jisung’s shoulder. 

“What?” Jisung asks, looking up blearily. 

“She’s not coming, mate,” Chris squats in front of Jisung. He’s wearing an apologetic smile that Jisung guesses is supposed to be comforting. Unfortunately it’s really not working. He’s not stupid, obviously she’s not coming, but somehow hearing it from someone else’s lips makes it a million times worse. He’s suddenly very aware of the lump that’s been building in his throat. As if he can read Jisung’s thoughts, Chis sighs softly. “I’m sorry, but y’know maybe this is a good thing.”

Jisung groans, “Please don’t, hyung.” He can feel the tears pricking at his eyes and he desperately wills them to go away. 

“No, listen!”

“I really don’t need a Chan Lecture™ right now,” Jisung buries his face in his hands, but he can still feel Chris’s eyes on him, all kind and shit. It’s really really not helping. 

“Look at me,” Chris forces Jisung’s head up. Jisung reluctantly succumbs to the eye contact despite the tears he can feel welling up. ”You’re amazing, if Heeyoung doesn’t see that, that’s her loss.”

“Hyung, please stop,” Jisung whines, roughly wiping away the couple of tears that managed to fall. Traitors.

“Fine, but I mean it,” Chris ruffles Jisung’s hair, eliciting a tiny smile from Jisung before he shoves Chris off to fix his hair. Not that he has anyone to fix it for. 

Felix scans the mass of sweaty people grinding against each other as he and his friends pack inside the club. It could easily be 32 degrees in here, despite the night cooling the air outside. It’s not really any more crowded than the places they normally go, but somehow it feels different. Maybe it’s the shitty music or the heat or the sheer straightness emanating from every inch of the place, but the atmosphere is almost suffocating. 

“This cannot be the right place,” Hyunjin says, his voice dripping with disgust. Felix bites back a laugh, but he’s not totally wrong. This place is definitely not their regular vibe, and it shows. Only Seungmin looks like he could fit in here with his oversized bomber jacket and jeans, the other three of them look like they’re in fancy dress.

Seungmin rolls his eyes, “Look, Jeongin wanted to meet here first. He’s nervous to meet all of you. And he’s been here before with his roommate.”

Felix beams, wrapping his arms around Hyunjin, “Aww, so cute! I can’t wait to meet him!” 

Hyunjin scowls, “No, no, not cute. Why couldn’t he meet us at the apartment?”

Seungmin shrugs, “He thought he’d be here before us, he wanted to get a drink. He says he’ll be here in five.”

“I’m just hoping once we finally meet the kid someone will stop being so insufferable about it,” Minho says dryly, his fingers toying with his cuffs anxiously. “If I have to hear any more about how amazing your precious Yang Jeongin is, I swear to God, I will kill someone.”

“Well, if we’re waiting, I’m getting a drink,” Felix chirps. 

Hyunjin grabs Felix to stop him from flagging down a bartender, “No!” He pins Felix’s arms against his body in a tight back hug. 

“Why?” Felix giggles, squirming in Hyunjin’s grasp. 

“Because if you start drinking, you’ll start flirting, and then you’ll start dancing, and then we’ll be here all night.”

“It’s one drink,” Felix pouts.

“It’s never one drink with you.” Hyunjin turns back to Seungmin, “Can we please meet him at Bottoms Up? We can wait outside for him.”

“No, he’s already on the bus here.”

“Ugh, this is my hell,” Hyunjin whines, flopping dramatically onto a barstool. Despite the club’s busy atmosphere, most of the barstools are unoccupied. People are just crowding around wherever the bartenders are. 

“It’s not that bad, calm down,” Felix laughs. “I do feel a bit overdressed, though.” Their flashy outfits and sparkly makeup are par for the course where they’re going tonight, but here they look crazy. Even the women aren’t dressed nearly as dramatically. They’re definitely drawing some looks, but Felix hopes they just look like foreigners or something. Before he can worry too much, a girl with bright pink hair grabs Felix’s arm excitedly. 

“Oh my god, I love your makeup!”

“Oh, thank you,” Felix says, a pleased laugh rumbling from his chest. 

The girl gasps, her eyes widening comically, “Your voice…you’re a man?”

Felix laughs, “I am.” His eyes scan her seductively, lingering on her lips for a second before returning to her eyes. The girl blushes deeply and Felix grins. Exactly the reaction he was hoping for. He leans in closer and brushes her arm gently. “That color looks so good on you, could I buy you a drink?” Felix asks, his voice a low hum. He’s laying it on a bit thick, but it’s obviously working, the girl is bright red and a mess of giggles.

But before she can answer, Hyunjin slings an arm around Felix. He leans in close, speaking softly right by Felix’s ear. “Actually we’re boyfriends.”

“Oh my god,” the girl gasps.

“No, no, we’re really not.”

“Honey, why do you think he knows so much about makeup? He’s just shy, right, baby?” Hyunjin kisses Felix on the cheek.

“Get off,” Felix wrinkles his nose, pushing Hyunjin away. Normally he really wouldn’t have any problem with Hyunjin kissing him, but this isn’t affection, it’s sabotage. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the girl rushes off, giggling. 

“No, wait—” Felix glares at Hyunjin. “You bitch! She was so hot…”

Hyunjin folds his arms over his chest, “If I’m not hooking up with anyone tonight, no one is!”

Minho snorts, “You’re acting like we’re going to be here all night. We’re leaving in a few minutes.”

“Not if Felix starts dancing with some girl with horrendous taste in shoes.”

“I wasn’t really looking at her shoes,” Felix mutters bitterly. 

“It showed,” Hyunjin sighs. “Honestly, I was doing you a favor.” 

Felix executes the most dramatic eye roll he can muster, leaning back against the bar. His eyes drift to the man next to him. The first thing Felix notices is that this guy is stupid hot. Like exactly his type. His tank top is showing off his arms in a way that is really working for Felix. He looks like he could pick Felix up and not even blink. Plus he has a great ass. The second thing Felix notices is the ridiculous position this guy is in. He’s leaning so far over the bar in an attempt to get the attention of a bartender that he looks like he might topple over at any second, and yet they haven’t even glanced his way, busy tending to the never ending stream of pretty girls. 

Felix can’t suppress a laugh. “Pathetic.” 

The guy glances back at him as Felix leans over the counter, sticks two fingers in his mouth, and whistles loudly. One of the bartenders looks over and Felix waves, batting his eyelashes as prettily as he can. Sure enough, the bartender hurries over. Felix grins triumphantly, sitting back on his stool and gesturing for the guy to go ahead.  

Chris is staring. He knows he’s staring. He knows he should stop staring, but he’s pretty sure he’s looking at an actual angel. He’d been trying to get the bartender’s attention for what felt like hours (although it was probably closer to five minutes), when he could’ve sworn he heard someone next to him say something in English. He turned to see and came face to face with the most beautiful human being he has ever seen in his (almost) 24 years of life. Their face is somehow angular and soft at the same time. Their big dark eyes are surrounded by blue and silver glitter and rhinestones. Their wavy platinum blonde hair catches the light like a halo. They almost don’t look real, like a Disney character or some shit. 

He is so fucked. 

“Can I get you something?” The bartender’s voice snaps Chris back to himself. The angel is just smiling at him in a way Chris can only describe as bemused. 

“What? Oh right. Uh,” Chris stutters. The angel giggles at his sudden inability to speak. God, that’s embarrassing. Chris shakes his head, “Sorry, I’ll have two beers and…what can I get you?”

The angel opens their mouth to respond, but the person sitting next to them, who is similarly beautiful and extravagantly dressed, quickly interrupts, “Nothing. You can get him nothing, because we’re not drinking, because we’re leaving.”

The angel turns to his friend, looking more than a little murderous despite his bright smile. “You think you’re so cute, but you’re going to regret this.” Chris actually gets chills when he hears the angel’s voice for the first time. It sounds like thunder in a summer storm and feels like drinking hot tea and honey. Yup, really, really fucked. 

Another one of the angel’s friends, this one dressed in all black, sighs, “Seungmin, how long?” Chris can already tell this guy is the oldest of his friend group. He knows that exact feeling too well. 

“Two minutes?” The third friend, Seungmin, answers with a level of confidence that wouldn’t inspire a centipede. 

The guy in black looks up at Chris, “He’ll have a double shot of tequila.”

“What?” The friend who interrupted earlier says, looking personally offended by the ruling. 

“It’s enough time for one drink, Hyunjin.”

“Oh, I love you,” the angel cries excitedly, jumping up to kiss his friend on the cheek. The other friend, Hyunjin, groans in defeat. 

Chris nods, “Right, double shot of tequila it is.”

The angel beams at him and then turns back to address his friends, “You know, I think what we’ve all learned here tonight is that I pull just as much at straight bars!”

“No, no, it does not count if they’re only into you because they think you’re a woman,” Hyunjin protests vehemently. 

“Ok, I’m pretty sure I could find some lesbians who would disagree with that, but more importantly, that girl was into me, and she knew I was a man, so you can’t take this away from me!” The angel spins back around to give him another blinding smile. He clinks his shot with Chris’s beer, “Cheers, mate!” 

So, Chris wasn’t hallucinating the English then. Huh…it was really too quick to tell for sure, but he definitely sounded Australian. Those would be some crazy odds though, right? Of course, any logical thought is very quickly shut down when the angel throws his head back to do the shot and Chris becomes temporarily hypnotized by his Adam’s apple. He scrunches his nose when he bites the lime and it’s possibly the cutest thing Chris has ever seen. How he can go from ethereally beautiful to adorable in half a second flat is mindblowing. 

“Ugh, the music here sucks,” Changbin groans as he returns, snapping Chris out of his trance. Honestly, he’d totally forgotten his friends were here. Damn, they’re supposed to leave now. 

“Sing it, sister,” Hyunjin drawls, snapping his long fingers. 

“Don’t mind her, she’s just pissed because I get more dick and more pussy than her,” the angel deadpans. Chris snorts as Changbin’s eyebrows nearly shoot off his face. The profanity levels are definitely not discouraging the Australian theory.

“Could you say that any louder?” the angel’s friend in black hisses anxiously. “Honestly, I forget how much of a lightweight you are.”

The angel laughs softly, “Jinnie’s wearing eight inch heels, if something bad was going to happen, it would've happened already.”

“Yeah, eight inch heels that are being wasted on straight men!” Hyunjin cries, gesturing theatrically at Changbin. Chris has never wanted to do a “The Office” look to camera so much in his life. Changbin doesn’t seem to have even noticed the comment, staring utterly entranced up at Hyunjin. The height difference is comical. 

The nervous friend’s frown deepens, “You’re both too comfortable.”

“Maybe, but you need to relax, hyung,” the angel hums, squeezing his friend’s hand. 

Felix knows that Minho’s worry doesn’t come from nowhere. He’s just being protective, and Korea is objectively more conservative than Australia so he’s not wrong to be concerned, but Felix isn’t completely oblivious. He knows when to reign it in. And if reigning it in right now will make Minho feel better, he can do that. He can see Hyunjin doing similar mental maths. Still, nothing is going to stop him from flirting with the shockingly hot guy next to him. Felix gives Minho’s hand one more squeeze and turns back to Hot Guy. 

Up close, Hot Guy is even more gorgeous. Like body aside, he’s so pretty, and when he smiles he has the cutest dimples. He feels a little like he’s going to have a heart attack. Felix would be lying if he said he wasn’t expecting Hot Guy to back off the second he started talking, and while he’d definitely clocked that sort of reaction from the bartender, Hot Guy seemed utterly unfazed. Upon closer inspection, Felix had noticed the subtle makeup and black nail polish that at the very least indicated a man who’s confident in himself. But with how close Hot Guy keeps leaning in, Felix is pretty sure he managed to find one of the only queer guys in this place. He is so going to rub that in Hyunjin’s face later. 

“So, are you going to buy me another drink?” Felix asks cheekily, biting his nail in a way he hopes is sexy. 

“Sure,” Hot Guy grins and Felix swoons internally, privately very happy his plan to make him smile worked. Hot Guy, suddenly possessed with a confidence completely absent just a few minutes ago, quickly grabs the bartender. “Hey, we’ll have another tequila over here.”

“Yeah, one minute,” the bartender says dismissively. It’s really his own fault for pulling the flirting stunt earlier, but Felix cringes slightly at the icy vibe aimed in his direction. 

He’s about to start apologizing when Hot Guy just leans forward slightly and says calmly but firmly, “Now, please.” 

The bartender looks a bit taken aback, but then seems to process the situation and has the decency to look embarrassed. “Right away.”

“Thank you,” Hot Guy says as the bartender pours the drink, his eyes still intense. 

There’s just something about how he managed to defend Felix so casually is so overwhelming Felix can’t help talking to himself, “God, you are so hot. I want to suffocate in your tits. I would let you split me in half.”

“Well, shit. Buy me dinner first,” Hot Guy says, failing to suppress a laugh. 

Oh fuck. 

FelIx’s mouth drops open and some kind of demonic squeak escapes from his throat. “You speak English,” Felix whispers, horrified.

“I’m afraid so,” Hot Guy laughs. 

“Oh my god,” Felix groans, burying his face in his hands. He wants to shrivel into himself. 

“What happened?” Hyunjin asks.

“Felix’s hot guy speaks English,” Seungmin explains. He looks way too happy about Felix’s humiliation.

“Of course he does,” Hyunjin giggles. It’s lovely how much fun everyone is having with his nightmare.

“What did he say?” Minho asks Seungmin, his eyes glinting with characteristic mischievousness. 

“Don’t translate what I said!” Felix cries, dropping his head onto the bar. “Oh, this is so humiliating…” Even worse, the sound of Hyunjin’s laugh confirms Seungmin did in fact translate what he said. The second Felix doesn’t feel like he’s dying, they are all going to get murdered. 

“Are you ok?” Hot Guy’s soft voice interrupts Felix’s murder plans. He obviously finds this hilarious too. 

“Oh, yeah, never better,” Felix says sarcastically. 

Hot Guy just laughs again, “So is that an Australian accent I’m hearing?”

“Mmhm, ” Felix hums. He quickly downs his shot, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. 

“Where in Australia?”

“Sydney…”

“Small world, I’m from Sydney too!”

“Really? That’s crazy.” Oh he’s really just going to keep talking, huh? Felix turns desperately to Hyunjin. “We have to leave, right now.”

“No, hey, wait.” Hot Guy grabs Felix’s arm gently and he reluctantly turns back. “Ok, so I have to say something, but my friends speak pretty solid English, and at least one of yours obviously does too, so I’m going to whisper, ok?” “I think you are so cute and talking to you is fun and makes me a little homesick, but like in a good way? And there is nothing I want more than to spend the rest of the night flirting with you, but uh, my friend, Jisung, just got stood up by this girl he’s been on and off with for years again and it’s pretty clear this place isn’t really you and your friends’ vibe, so I figure we have about 30 seconds to come up with a reason to keep hanging out before our friends drag us out of here and we never see each other again.”

Felix sighs, “Do you really like me? After I just totally humiliated myself?”

“Would it be bad if I said I found it really adorable?”

As if on cue, Jeongin arrives, which would normally be very exciting but at this exact moment is quite annoying. Seungmin is basically glowing introducing him to everyone, and Hyunjin is ready to start dragging them out of here. Ok. Think. Felix’s eyes drift to Hot Guy’s friend, the one who got stood up. Wow he looks really miserable. If anyone could use a good time…oh!

“I have an idea!” Felix says excitedly, hopping off his stool.

Jisung is very busy moping and nursing his beer when his doom spiral is very rudely interrupted by someone leaning on his knees. He looks up annoyed, expecting it to be Changbin, ready to give his half of the pep talk and then drag them home so they can watch a rom com and cry, but instead he finds himself face to face with a total stranger. A very smiley stranger. 

“Hi! I’m Felix, and those are my friends, and I heard you’re having a shit night, so you’re coming with us!” Ok, not the voice he expected to come out of that person. Felix… a foreigner maybe? He must’ve been talking to Chris. Great, he’s so hopeless his friends have started telling strangers about it. 

“What?” Jisung laughs awkwardly. He looks to Chris for help, but he’s just smiling very unhelpfully. 

Felix grabs Jisung’s hand, pulling him up, “C’mon!” Jisung stares at his hands. His fingers are covered in rings and his nails… It’s not like he’s never seen a guy with painted nails before, Chris paints his nails all the time, but this is different. Felix’s nails are long, too long to be natural, and they’re beautiful, like little sparkly paintings. It’s weird, but he doesn’t fight it as Felix loops their arms together and heads for the door. Jisung feels drawn to him, like they’re already friends. Felix is certainly acting like they are. 

“Seriously?” One of Felix’s friends asks, considering Jisung carefully. Their eyes meet and Jisung feels his breath punched out of him. He’s the most beautiful person he has ever seen. He’s dressed much more subtly than Felix, head to toe black, but Jisung can’t look away from him. He looks like an idol. He’s fiddling with one of his rings, and he notices that his nails are painted too. Not like Felix’s, they’re just black, but they’ve been shaped into points so they look like claws. Jisung’s never seen anything like that before. His expression is completely inscrutable. No one’s ever looked at him so intensely before. Jisung feels a little like he’s about to be eaten. He suddenly realizes he’s staring, mouth hanging open. He snaps it shut and a smirk ghosts across the guy’s lips. Jisung’s ears burn and he quickly tears his eyes away.

“I don’t care as long as we’re leaving!” Another one of Felix’s friends pipes up cheerfully. Damn, how are these people so pretty? Felix and the guy in black are both wearing boots with heels too, but this guy towers over the rest of the group in the craziest shoes Jisung has ever seen. He’s never seen a man in a skinny heel like that before. His outfit is similarly out there. In glittery red and pink layers, he’s barely showing any skin but it still seems incredibly provocative. His nails are even longer and more elaborate than Felix’s. Jisung didn’t think people like this existed outside of American TV. 

“Oh guys, I think Hyunjin wants to stay here,” the guy at the end of the bar calls mischievously. His arm is slung around a kid who’s looking around at Felix and his friends with an awed look Jisung is sure is mirrored on his own face. He’s obviously friends with these three, but Jisung wonders how this last guy fits into this group. He seems…normal? Or at least the most masculine of the group. His nails are painted too, but they’re short, and his makeup is subtle, like Chris’s. 

“Oh my god, Seungmin you’re so funny,” the tall one, Hyunjin, deadpans. “Let’s go, people!”

Chris laughs, obviously immensely enjoying the melding of these groups. He throws his arm around Changbin’s shoulders. “Looks like we’re going with them!”

This is going to be an interesting night.

Chapter Text

Jisung still feels like he’s missing several crucial pieces of information, but here he is, squeezed between Chris and Changbin on a surprisingly busy bus, going God knows where. Honestly, he really just wants to go home. His two beers are starting to hit him and his bed is sounding really good right now, but Chris has an excited, hyper energy that he usually reserves for late night music-making sessions and Changbin seems weirdly entertained by whatever’s going on, so whatever; he can power through. At least Felix and his friends seem nice. They’re just quite…loud. Which is fine. His friends are loud too, but he’s just not totally sure how much more of that he can take tonight. His nerves are frayed and he feels like he might burst into tears if someone looks at him wrong, but it’s not like he wants to be alone either. 

Jisung surveys his new companions again. He’s never been so fascinated by a group of people before. In such a mundane environment they’re even more captivating, not just because of the contrast between their appearances and the nature of the bus, but also because of the mundane chat they’re engaged in. Something about school? Jisung can’t really focus on what they’re talking about, too busy trying to figure out how people could possibly get confident enough to ride a public bus looking like that. They seem totally oblivious to anyone else’s opinions of them. The more masculine one, Seungmin, who had very kindly tried to introduce everyone at the bus stop, (although he’d only been semi-successful with half the group being preoccupied in their own conversations) is standing with his arms wrapped around the late-comer, Jeongin. In an even bolder display, Felix is sitting in the tall one, Hyunjin’s, lap. Their hands are entwined and Hyunjin keeps whispering in Felix’s ear. Jisung assumes they must be dating, although Felix does keep leaning across the aisle to touch Chris’s knee. But then again, he was affectionate with Jisung in the three minutes they were walking to the bus stop so maybe he’s just that kind of person. 

Finally Jisung’s eyes drift to Minho, the only person who has yet to say a single word directly to Jisung. Unlike his friends, Minho seems mostly uninterested in the conversation at hand, only participating briefly, instead, his focus seems to be on surveilling the bus. His eyes dart around, catching every glance in their direction. At first he doesn’t seem to react to anything, but then he notices a man behind them glaring at Felix and Hyunjin, and Jisung watches his demeanor change. He subtly straightens, steps into the man’s line of sight, and then just stares. It’s not a mean or judgemental look, he just stares intensely until the man shrinks uncomfortably and looks away. It’s very strange but it’s kind of ingenious. Felix and Hyunjin don’t even seem to have noticed his subtle defence. Jisung chuckles slightly at the man’s discomfort and Minho turns his gaze on Jisung. He stares, blinking rapidly for what feels like hours, and then, just as suddenly as he started, he looks away. Jisung exhales. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath. 

“Oh fuck,” Felix curses under his breath.

“What?” Hyunjin asks casually.

“I was going to make brownies tomorrow morning but I just remembered we don’t have any eggs.”

Minho frowns. “We have eggs.”

“No, we don’t. Seungmin tried to cook yesterday,” Felix says, cringing at the memory. 

Hyunjin snorts. “It was an omelet! How do you even fuck up an omelet that badly?”

“You were there! I didn’t see you helping,” Seungmin objects, offended. “All of a sudden you’re a master chef?”

“I came home and the kitchen looked like some kind of weird egg massacre site,” Felix adds, eyes wide as if remembering a deeply traumatic event. 

“And it didn’t even result in an omelet,” Hyunjin laughs. 

“I’d like to see you try, I really would,” Seungmin grumbles. 

Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “Ok, I’m not saying I can make anything fancy, but I’m pretty sure I could make an omelet.”

“So was I!” 

Felix giggles, “Didn’t we have a rule about you two using the kitchen unsupervised?” 

“I’m pretty sure we did,” Minho nods sagely. 

“Hey, can you cook?” Hyunjin asks, pointing at Jeongin.

The kid’s eyes widen comically. “Oh, no, no. I’m really bad in the kitchen.”

“That doesn’t bode well,” Minho deadpans.

“Hyung!” Felix cries, slapping Minho’s thigh in protest.  

“I meant for my kitchen. Obviously. What else would I be talking about?”

“Sure,” Hyunjin says sarcastically. 

Minho smiles mischievously. “We can pick up some eggs from the 24/7 place on the way home.”

“Okie!” Felix smiles happily, playing with the mess of rings on Hyunjin’s fingers. He frowns, studying one more closely, “When did you—is this real?”

“I mean, I think so.”

Felix gasps dramatically. “Did you buy it?” He manhandles Hyunjin’s hand to show the ring to Minho.

Hyunjin scoffs, “No! No, my boss gave it to me.”

“She’s giving you designer jewelry now?” Minho asks dubiously. 

“She loves me!”

“No, she’s obsessed with you,” Felix corrects, laughing. 

“Oh, hey, codependent, right?” Seungmin asks Jeongin, his eyes sparkling with an impish energy. 

“I’m a second year psychology student, hyung. I’m not qualified to diagnose anyone. And even if I was, I couldn’t do it just from an admittedly expensive gift.” He sounds like he’s given this speech more than once.

“I’m hearing codependent,” Seungmin jokes dryly. 

“You’re codependent,” Jeongin quips back. 

Seungmin gasps in faux offense. “Thought you couldn’t diagnose anyone.”

“You have to admit it’s pretty weird,” Felix squeezes Hyunjin’s arm. 

“Tsh, you’re just jealous because the only thing your boss’s ever given you is his dry cleaning slip.”

Felix wrinkles his nose, “God, he’s such a dick.”

“Quit,” Minho immediately suggests. 

“Will you stop telling me to quit my job?”

“Probably not,” Minho replies. Felix shoots him a look and Minho tilts his head, “What? At least I’m self aware.”

“Oh! This is us!” Felix says excitedly, obviously happy to be free of whatever that conversation turned into. He jumps up and grabs Jisung’s hand, leading him off the bus. Once all eight of them have made it off, they head towards a pretty unassuming building. It would look like any ramyeon place if it wasn’t for the pounding music coming from underneath the restaurant. Felix and Hyunjin lead them down the alley next to it, which also looks very unassuming. That is, except for the people in it. A short, muscular woman with a buzzcut stands in front of a flight of stairs leading down to wherever the music is coming from. She’s talking to two women in flashy outfits and extremely heavy makeup who are smoking and laughing loudly. At least, Jisung assumes they’re women, but as they get closer and the smokers greet their chaperones, Jisung suspects perhaps he was wrong on that front. 

Felix feels like he’s vibrating. He might actually be vibrating. It’s been a long time since he brought anyone new around and that’s always fun, but he can’t seem to stop glancing over at Hot Guy. Felix keeps missing his name. The bus ride felt like an eternity, separated by that aisle. His body is itching to dance, but it’s obvious they’re not getting by these three without a conversation so Felix tries his best to suppress his excited energy.

“What do we have here?” Soju, Seungmin’s drag mother, asks, snaking her arm around Felix’s waist. It’s actually very grounding. 

“We’ve brought some virgins!” Felix chirps excitedly. 

“H-huh?” Jisung stutters, eyes comically wide.

“Ah, welcome, welcome!” Soju cries, throwing her arms open dramatically. 

“Hey, Minho, you going to do your Mine stage for the anniversary?” Yisoo, the bouncer, asks.

Minho shrugs. “Maybe, why?”

“My girlfriend loves that drama. I’ll bring her to see you.”

“Ah, I’ll hold you to that, noona.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised to see you tonight.”

“Ugh, it’s them,” Minho rolls his eyes in Felix’s direction. “I want to be with my cats.”

Yisoo snorts. “You’re actually just a lesbian, aren’t you?”

“I wish,” Minho sighs. 

Felix takes the distraction as an opportunity to quietly fill Soju in. “So, the one in the flannel just got stood up and needs a good time, but more importantly, I’m high key trying to fuck the one in the tank top, so…”

“I gotchu,” Soju whispers conspiratorially. 

“Oh, and this is Jeongin!” Felix says loudly, redirecting everyone's attention to Soju. Minho could talk out here all night and that is really not going to work for Felix. He needs to be dancing with Hot Guy yesterday.

“No! Is the famous Yang Jeongin really gracing us with his presence?” Soju gasps loudly. She swoops Jeongin up in a hug. “You’re all my daughter here talks about, darling!”

“It’s not my fault the rest of you are boring,” Seungmin mumbles, his ears suddenly very red. 

Soju grabs Jeongin’s arm, leading him to the stairs. “Well, welcome, my loves, to Bottoms Up!” She throws open the door theatrically. 

“Wait, do I need to card him?” Yisoo calls down the stairs, pointing at Jeongin. 

“He’s 20!” Felix yells, practically pushing people into the club. 

“I’m 20! But I have my ID if—”

Seungmin cuts off Jeongin’s nervous ramblings with a mischievous smile, “That’s just our cover story, he’s actually seven years old! I’m sneaking him in to corrupt his mind! Go, go, go!”

“Why are you like this?” Jeongin asks, laughing. 

When they finally make it past the door, Felix takes a minute to let the newcomers adjust. It may be like a second home now, but Felix remembers how stunned and overwhelmed he’d been the first time he came here. Past the beaded curtain in the entrance the club is a swirling matrix of color and glitter. The lights swirl in vibrant pinks and purples, catching the disco ball on the ceiling and the many shimmery bodies on the dance floor. Pride flags and photos of patrons and performers cover the walls. Drag queens and femmes, butches and bears. The dance floor is similarly diverse, filled with dozens of beautiful people having fun. The small stage in the center of the floor is currently occupied by a drag queen whose outfit rivals the disco ball itself. It smells like alcohol, sweat and perfume. It’s perfect. 

“Wow,” Jeongin breathes, awestruck. 

“I didn’t think they had places like this in Korea,” Hot Guy says softly.

Felix grins at him. “They have places like this everywhere. You just need to know where to look.”

“You,” Hyunjin says suddenly, pointing at the stockier of Hot Guy’s friends. “You’re coming to get drinks with me.”

“Me?”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes so aggressively they look like they might fall out. “Am I looking at anyone else? Yes, you.” He turns and starts walking towards the bar, Hot Guy’s friend hurrying after him like a lost puppy.

Felix shoots a look towards the bar and then laughs. “Oh, Juwon is working today. He, uh, he likes muscular guys so normally we’re kind of shit out of luck when he’s working.” Hot Guy laughs and Felix tilts his head, considering. “I mean, Minho probably could if he ever showed his arms off. But no,” Felix sighs. He looks around for Minho and frowns. “And he’s gone, of course.”

The second they’re down the staircase, Jisung feels the adrenaline start to race through his veins and the tingling around his diaphragm turn to a constricting grasp as the bass vibrates his brain. Fuck. He’s not surprised by his body’s reaction to the bright lights, loud music, and strangers staring at him, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. He breathes deeply, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, but his hands and feet are starting to tingle, a telltale sign that the breathing exercises are not working. Just as he’s about to turn tail and flee back into the alley, a hand grabs his wrist firmly and he’s being pulled through the crowd. 

He’s maneuvered to a back corner of the club lined with booths and gently pushed into one. It’s walled in on three sides, which not only makes it a bit quieter, but makes it much more private. There’s a good view of the stage and dance floor but he can definitely feel fewer eyes on him. In fact, right now, he only feels one pair of eyes on him. 

Jisung looks up at Minho. His eyes are so intense it almost hurts to make eye contact with him. 

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jisung says as casually as he can. Minho tilts his head. His expression is still inscrutable but somehow Jisung can tell he’s not happy with that answer. “It’s better here. Thank you.”

Minho nods, finally breaking his stare. “I like it back here.” His voice is soft but Jisung has no problem hearing it, even from across the table. Up close he’s somehow even more beautiful. He’s so perfect, he looks like one of those marble sculptures. Jisung feels like if he were to reach out and touch his skin, it would be cold and hard under his fingers. The pink and purple lights catch his cheekbones and the tall bridge of his nose. His smokey eyeshadow only adds to the intensity of his eyes. In the low light they look almost fully black, like they might swallow him up. He has some silver glitter dusted under his eyes, giving him an ethereal quality. Jisung’s gaze lingers on his lips. His sharp, defined Cupid’s bow is highlighted with some shimmer, and he must be wearing some kind of lip gloss because they’re very shiny. His top lip is a bit fuller than his bottom lip and when he parts them slightly Jisung notices his front teeth show cutely. 

Minho clears his throat, and Jisung blushes as he realises he’s been staring. “Sorry, I was just…” he trails off, unable to think of anything even remotely convincing. A hint of a smirk tugs at Minho’s unreasonably pretty lips, his eyes sparkling with amusement. 

“It’s ok, jagi,” Minho drawls softly. “You’re not the first man to look at me like that.” He’s obviously joking, but the casual pet name still makes Jisung blush. 

Minho’s phone buzzes and he quickly shoots off a text. He looks back up at Jisung, his eyes still full of mischief. “You stole me away so quickly, my friends got worried.”

“I stole you?” Jisung asks incredulously. “I’m pretty sure you were the one doing the stealing.”

Minho shrugs. “If you say so, jagiya.” 

Felix is in a hell of his own creation. The two of them are standing on the edge of the dance floor in an awkward silence. They’re waiting for Hyunjin to come back with the drinks, but the tension between them is thick. Excitement and anxiety thrum through his veins, making him bouncy and fidgety. He feels stupid for being so worked up about this. Socializing is where he shines. He loves meeting new people, he loves to flirt. He’s majorly overthinking this. He may be stupidly hot, but he’s just a man. Nothing to be afraid of. 

“So, seems like you’re not a drag virgin,” Felix finally pipes up. 

Hot Guy laughs. “No, I’ve been to a couple shows back home. I’m planning to take my sister for her eighteenth.”

“Oh no, that’s too sweet,” Felix coos. Hot Guy laughs again. He has the cutest fucking laugh. Felix feels his anxiety ebb as the conversation starts to flow and the awkwardness fades. He can do this.  

“I’m Chris, by the way,” Hot Guy says, sticking his hand out. 

“Oh good, now I can stop calling you Hot Guy in my head,” Felix giggles, shaking Chris’s hand. 

“Hey, I’ll take it. It’s less embarrassing than what I was calling you in my head.”

“Don’t think I’m going to forget about that,” Felix grins, poking Chris in the chest playfully. “Do you have a Korean name, Chris?”

“Ah, you’re a full name on the first date kind of guy, huh? You want my MBTI too?” Chris teases.

“I would actually,” Felix says quickly, blushing a little at the implication that not only is this a date, but that he wants there to be more.

“Well, I’m an ENFJ, but that’s all you’re getting for now. I have to retain some of my air of mystery,” Chris says, wiggling his eyebrows. “And my Korean name is Chahn. So I’m Christopher Chahn Bahng.”

“Your family name is Bahng? I can’t believe your Korean name is Bang Chan,” Felix laughs. “Kinda sounds like a drag name when you say it in English. Bang Chan.” Now it’s Felix’s turn to wiggle his eyebrows. 

“Really?” Chris grins.

“Damn, that is a good name!”

“What, you don’t like your name?”

“No, I do, it's just—my family name is Lee, so that’s just really common. Minho-hyung’s family name is Lee too. And then I have a complicated relationship with my Korean name. When I first moved here I didn’t want anyone to know it. I would just pretend I didn’t have one.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I used to be really embarrassed by it! It’s a little old fashioned, I guess, and I wanted to seem cool so I really didn’t want to use it. But my professors all knew it because they had the class roster, so they would call me by it, and slowly more and more people started using it. And I think over time I’ve come to appreciate it a lot more. Especially since Felix can be pretty hard for people to say.”

“Do I get to know what it is?”

“Not tonight,” Felix says softly. Shyness long forgotten, he steps towards Chris, wrapping his arms around his neck. Chris’ ears flush, his hands hesitantly coming to rest on Felix’s waist. 

“Oh, really?”

“Mmhm,” Felix hums. “If you want to know, you’re going to have to take me out again.”

“I think I can manage that.” Chris’s hands are getting more confident on Felix’s waist and Felix is loving it. Their flirting is feeling like how it did at the last bar, the sexual tension palpable. Of course, this is the moment Hyunjin chooses to return with the drinks, interrupting their flow. Reluctantly, Felix releases Chris and takes a step away, but Chris keeps a hand on Felix, slipping it down to his lower back. Felix smiles to himself as he does his shot. His hand is strong and hot on him and Felix yearns to feel that hand lower. 

Chris brushes off his friend as he tries to hand him a beer. “Oh, uh, give that to Hannie.” Felix can feel Chris’s eyes fixed on him. 

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, one more won’t kill him. But then he should probably be cut off, or we won’t be able to get him home.”

“And I have to do that? He’s so sad,” Chris’s friend whines. 

“Oh please,” Hyunjin says, rolling his eyes. “I’ll do it.” He grabs the beer and strides towards the booths, leaving Chris’s friend in stunned silence. Felix bites his lip to stop himself from laughing. 

Felix turns to Chris, determined not to let the awkward silence set in again. “Do you want to dance?”

“I really, really do,” Chris says quickly. Felix grins, grabs his arm, and pulls him onto the dance floor. 

As it turns out, Minho is actually very easy to talk to. Despite his intimidating look, Jisung naturally slips into a conversation, only occasionally tripping over his words. And Minho, to his credit, hasn’t teased Jisung more about how obviously flustered he is. They’re talking about how Jisung goes to the same university as Minho’s friends when Hyunjin, Minho’s tall friend with the long hair, arrives in a swirl of perfume and attitude and puts a beer in front of Jisung like it personally offended him. 

“Your friend said to give you this but he said you’re cut off,” Hyunjin sniffs. 

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Jisung mumbles, blushing at being called out for being a lightweight. 

“And that’s yours,” Hyunjin says, setting a cocktail in front of Minho. “Are you really just going to sit here all night?”

“That’s what I said,” Minho replies, taking a sip of his drink.  

“Right, ok, well, you have fun with that! I’m going to go get laid.”

“I think Yongbokkie is going to beat you to it,” Minho says with a smirk, nodding towards the dance floor. Felix is leading Chris onto the floor. As Jisung watches, Chris grabs Felix’s waist and pulls him close to whisper in his ear. Felix giggles and then leans in so his lips are just centimeters from Chris’ ear. Whatever he says makes Chris blush so deeply that Jisung can see it from here. 

“No way,” Hyunjin mutters in disbelief. He rounds on Jisung. “Is your friend gay?”

“What? Chris? No!” The response is automatic, but then Jisung actually takes a minute to think about it. Sure, he’s only seen Chris with girls before, but he’s definitely commented on how hot he finds celebrity men before…but that’s normal, right? Who doesn’t think Cha Eunwoo is hot? Still, the way he was touching Felix didn’t seem all that platonic. Jisung frowns, “I mean, I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?” Hyunjin repeats incredulously.

Jisung shrugs, “Well, I’ve never asked.” Minho chokes on his drink, spluttering out a laugh. Jisung’s not totally sure why that's so funny.

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, “It’s just flirting, and it’s going to be us picking up the pieces when this is inevitably a disaster, so I don’t know why you’re laughing.”

Minho presses his lips together to suppress his smile. “You’re right, I’m sorry,” Minho agrees, but there’s a hint of sarcasm in his tone. 

The music shifts to a peppy pop song Jisung actually recognises as Twice. “Oh! I know this song! Changbin tried to teach me the choreography.”

“What?” Hyunjin asks incredulously.

“Yeah, I’m not that good at it, but he is. He knows a bunch of girl group dances.”

“The one with the arms?”

“I guess?” 

“Are you fucking with me?” 

“We just met. Wouldn’t that be a weird thing for me to do?” Jisung asks, squinting at Hyunjin in confusion. 

“Ok, bye,” Hyunjin announces, straightening to leave. 

“I thought you were getting laid?” Minho teases. 

Hyunjin shoots Minho a glare. “Fuck off, like you don’t want to see that too.” Minho lets out a little amused exhale through his nose and shakes his head as Hyunjin struts off towards the dance floor. Minho seems to do a lot of those little exhales. It’s cute. As much as Jisung is enjoying talking to Minho, he feels a little bad, making him sit with him all night while his friends dance. 

“Hey, uh, I really appreciate you sitting with me, but if you want to go dance with your friends I get it. I’m really fine sitting by myself.”

“I don’t want to go out there,” Minho says bluntly.

“Oh.”

“I don’t want to be here at all,” Minho sighs. “I have a fucking 9 to 5. I worked eight hours today. I want to be at home, watching anime with my cats, but instead I’m here, wearing makeup.” He wrinkles his nose. “Trust me, sitting with you is preferable.”

“Oh, ok.” For some reason that makes Jisung stupidly happy. “How many cats do you have?”

Minho’s eyes light up. “Three. Soonie, Doongie, and Dori.”

“Cute!”

“You wanna see?”

“Your cats? Yes!” Jisung squeals. Minho beams, sliding around the booth to sit next to Jisung. He leans in to show Jisung his phone screen, and for some reason it makes his heart skip a beat. Minho smells good; masculine, like vanilla and the forest floor. Minho starts swiping through pictures of some very cute cats, explaining how to tell the difference between the two orange ones, but his thigh starts to press up against Jisung’s and suddenly he has a very hard time focusing on anything else. 

Changbin has been thoroughly abandoned by his friends. Chris has vanished into the throng of people dancing with Felix, and now that he’s thinking about it, he has no fucking clue where Jisung went. Chris is obviously preoccupied, but he does feel like he probably should know where Jisung is, given the whole Heeyoung situation. 

“Hey, you!” Changbin’s thought process is interrupted by Hyunjin, the tall, absolutely gorgeous, member of the quartet, striding over to him. He looks like a model, all long legs and big lips. His mouth goes dry every time he looks in Changbin’s direction. 

“Changbin,” he supplies. 

“Sure,” Hyunjin waves his hand dismissively, like he really couldn’t care less what Changbin’s name is. He shouldn’t find that as hot as he does. “You know this song?” Hyunjin asks.

“Yes?” Changbin answers hesitantly. “Do you know where Jisung is? My friend.”

“He’s sitting over there with Minho-hyung,” Hyunjin gestures towards a corner of the club lined with booths. It’s too dark to really see If anyone’s over there, but Changbin decides to take his word for it. “He said you know the choreography.’

“Oh, yeah!” Changbin exclaims, quickly launching into the choreo. 

“Holy shit,” Hyunjin whispers excitedly. He grabs Changbin’s arm. “Come with me.”

Before Changbin can process what's going on, Hyunjin is pulling him through the crowd. He's dragged to the center of the dance floor where there's a stage. Changbin doesn't love where this is going. 

Hyunjin pushes him towards the stage, “Go, do it!”

“Up there? No way.”

“Why not? Everyone will love it.”

“By myself?”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “For all those muscles, you're a real baby.” 

Before Changbin can come up with a funny response about how he has his muscles because he's scared of everything, Hyunjin effortlessly hops up onto the stage.

“I'll do it with you. C’mon, it's already halfway through the song.”

Changbin does actually think about saying no. He really does. For about three seconds, but then Hyunjin holds out his hand to Changbin, staring at him expectantly, and Changbin’s brain short circuits. Look, he's not exactly proud of it, but he's never been good at telling pretty people no, and Hyunjin is really very pretty. 

Changbin grabs Hyunjin’s hand and lets him pull him up onto the stage. Hyunjin is deceptively strong, and Changbin curses this man for somehow managing to get even more attractive by the second. Hyunjin grins triumphantly and launches into a very convincing rendition of the dance. Some scattered cheers and wolf whistles come from the crowd and Changbin is certain his ears are bright red, but there’s no turning back at this point. For all his protesting, Changbin loves to entertain. He’s been trying to make people laugh since before he could talk, and yeah, most people find someone who looks like him very enthusiastically doing girl group choreography funny. So he does his best to summon his entertainer persona, and joins Hyunjin in the dance. 

Chris feels vaguely lightheaded. The second they got on the dance floor Felix had transformed. The cuteness he’d been radiating just a few minutes ago melted away, replaced by what Chris can only describe as an aura of pure sex appeal. Felix dances like he’s one with the music, like the whole world has disappeared. And honestly, it might as well have because Chris can’t see anything except Felix swaying his hips, totally lost in the pounding bass. Felix’s eyes flutter open as he drops his head back, biting his lip and Chris almost passes out. Felix’s mouth spreads into a mischievous, almost cat-like smile. There’s a predatory glint in his eye, any facade of innocence a distant memory. 

Felix wraps his arms around Chris’s neck, speaking in his low voice directly into his ear. “You’re not dancing, baby.”

Chris blinks up at him dumbly. He feels his neck flush red as he realizes he’s just been standing in the middle of the dance floor staring at Felix. “Right, yeah, sorry. I got a little, uh, distracted.” God, what is wrong with him? Chris is far from inexperienced, and he likes to think of himself as fairly good at flirting, so why he’s suddenly turning into a stuttering mess in front of Felix is beyond him. 

Felix lets out a low chuckle. “Really? What’s so distracting?” He cocks his head to the side, his eyes daring Chris to make a move. Chris lets out a shaky breath. This is fine, totally fine, yeah he might already be a little in love, but that doesn’t mean he has to start acting like a teenage virgin. 

Channeling all the confidence he can muster, Chris brings his hands up to Felix’s waist. He lets himself feel the music, the two of them easily falling into a rhythm. He tugs Felix closer, relishing the little gasp and pleased smile it draws from Felix. He leans in to speak quietly in Felix’s ear, “You. But I think you knew that. Acting all innocent, but dancing like that, you have to know what you do to people.”

Ok, it’s not his best line. It’s more than a little cheesy, but it has the desired effect. Felix laughs, low and warm, “Maybe.” He brings one hand down to grab Chris’s bicep, “But so do you.” His fingers dance up to play with the uneven edges of his t-shirt where he cut the sleeves off. 

Chris fights the urge to brush away Felix’s acknowledgement that he finds Chris attractive, choosing instead to tuck a strand of Felix’s hair behind his ear. Under the colorful, flashing lights Felix looks even more unreal. “You’re beautiful.”

“So are you,” Felix whispers, his hands playing with the hair at the nape of Chris’s neck. His big, Disney eyes flick down to Chris’s lips, and before he even knows what he’s doing, his hand is coming up to cup Felix’s face and they’re kissing. 

Time stops. Seconds, minutes, hours, it all means nothing. Chris’ senses are flooded with Felix. He tastes like tequila and artificial strawberry and smells like the sea. His lips are so soft, and when Chris takes his bottom lip between his teeth, Felix sighs softly, tangling his fingers in Chris’ hair. When Felix eventually pulls away with a breathless laugh, lips pink and slightly swollen, Chris aches to chase him. 

“Shit,” Felix breathes. He looks a little awestruck, and Chris’ heart flutters at the knowledge that it’s because of him. 

“Yeah.”

Changbin feels amazing. Adrenaline flows through his veins, fueled by the cheers of the crowd. The nerves of earlier are long gone, replaced by a confidence that Changbin usually has to fake. He’s been dancing up on the stage for a while now, and when he finally hops down, he feels like a celebrity. People cheering, hitting on him, even giving him drinks. It’s not that Changbin doesn’t know he’s attractive, but he’s really not used to this much attention. It feels great, but he can't help searching the crowd for one face. Hyunjin had left the stage after the first song, and Changbin had lost track of him. Still, it’s not hard to find him once he starts looking. He finds Hyunjin leaning up against a column at the edge of the dance floor, watching all the people crowding Changbin with a very amused expression. Changbin slowly makes his way over to him. 

“Hey.”

“Not bad, Muscles,” Hyunjin chuckles, squeezing Changbin’s bicep. 

“Thanks,” Changbin mutters, ears burning. God, it’s embarrassing how his heart flutters at just that small amount of praise (and a little bit of fondling). Hyunjin towers over him, both physically and metaphorically. He radiates a confidence that is wildly attractive. He’s only known him for a few hours and he already feels like an addict, chasing the little pieces of attention Hyunjin tosses to him. He’s so unbelievably out of Changbin’s league, but he doesn’t care. He’s about to say fuck it, and just ask him to dance when a guy comes up behind Hyunjin. 

“Hey, baby,” the guy says into Hyunjin’s ear. Changbin’s skin crawls. He’s not sure why, but he hates this guy immediately. He’s tall; tall enough that Hyunjin’s heels don’t make him look short, and he touches Hyunjin confidently, they obviously have history. Although, based on the way Hyunjin’s mood immediately sours, maybe it’s not a good one. 

“Get your hand off my ass, please,” Hyunjin says coldly. 

The guy slips his hand up to Hyunjin’s waist. “You look hot today, babe.”

Hyunjin smiles viciously, “I know.”

“C’mon, you’re not still mad about last time, are you?”

“What, when you ditched me at a party where I didn’t know anyone to go hook up with someone else? No, why would I be mad about that?” Changbin grimaces at Hyunjin’s tone, mean and dripping in sarcasm. He feels like he shouldn’t be listening to this but he’s not sure how to leave. 

“Look, I’m sorry,” the guy whines, his hands all over Hyunjin. Changbin feels sick, but it’s not jealousy. Well, not just jealousy. He hates the way this guy isn’t backing off. Hyunjin is stiff, visibly uncomfortable, but he makes no move to step away. Changbin wants to intervene, to shove this guy away, but he can’t. And he’s not even sure he should. Surely if Hyunjin really had a problem he’d step away himself. But yeah, Changbin hates this guy. He tugs Hyunjin closer, continuing with his pathetic attempt at an apology, “It was stupid.”

“Fuck off, Soobin,” Hyunjin growls. He leans away, but still makes no move to get out of Soobin’s grasp. 

“Hey, dance with me, gorgeous.”

“Absolutely not.”

“You want me to grovel? Ok, fine. You’re the prettiest guy here, you’re perfect. I fucked up, ok? Just one dance?”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, but there’s less venom behind it. “If I say yes, will you leave me alone?”

“Whatever you want, baby.”

“Fine. One dance,” Hyunjin concedes with a sigh. 

Soobin grins and pulls Hyunjin deeper onto the floor. Changbin suddenly feels very alone. Again. But before he can get too in his head, he’s dragged back up on stage by the drag queen who just started performing. So Changbin pushes Hyunjin out of his head and focuses on the rush of the crowd. 

Jisung is having a minor existential crisis. Minho is, from a purely objective standpoint, very attractive. That’s obvious, and Jisung usually wouldn’t have any problem admitting something like that. He’s confident enough in his masculinity to appreciate the objective aesthetic appeal of another man, but for some reason, Minho being so pretty is really bugging him. He can’t stop looking at him, analyzing his face, and the only explanation he can come up with is that he must be jealous. Minho is more attractive than him and he’s jealous about it. It has to be that, but this only makes him feel worse. He’s not that kind of person, is he? When he was a teenager he used to get like that, always comparing himself to other guys, but he really thought he’d moved past it. 

“...Jisung?” 

Oh shit. Jisung is pretty sure Minho just asked him a question. A question Jisung didn’t hear because he’s just staring at Minho like an idiot. Again. 

“Huh?”

Minho smiles. “I asked what you’re studying.”

“Oh, uh, computer science. Software engineering, specifically.”

“Like coding?”

“Yeah, that’s a big part of it.”

“Yongbok does something like that too,” Minho says, finishing his drink. Jisung blinks. Should he know who Yongbok is? Wait, didn’t he say that earlier too? Fuck, he’s bad with names. “Felix, sorry,” Minho corrects himself, probably sensing Jisung’s panic. It’s mildly embarrassing, but he is relieved at the clarification. “He does design? Or development? He takes a lot of coding classes. You might have some together.”

“Maybe. That would be nice, I never know anyone in my classes. And I’m not that good at talking to new people,” he chuckles awkwardly. 

“Really? You don’t seem that bad at it to me,” Minho says softly, cocking his head. 

Jisung shrugs. “You’re just easy to talk to.”

Minho raises an eyebrow, “Don’t get that a lot. People mostly find me cold and intimidating.”

“Those people obviously didn’t ask you about your cats.”

Minho laughs, loud and musical, and Jisung’s heart flips. He’s suddenly flooded with the desire to make him laugh again and again. But before he can say anything else, Changbin walks up, popping their little bubble. 

“Hey, surprised you’re still awake,” Changbin teases, lightly punching Jisung’s bicep.

Jisung gasps, wincing and rubbing his arm dramatically as if Changbin had actually hit him. “I’m fine. Looked like you were having a good time,” Jisung says with a laugh, nodding at the stage. 

A shy smile creeps across Changbin’s face and he rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, it wasn’t bad, actually.”

“Where’s Hyunjin?” Minho asks. 

“I don’t know, he ditched me for a guy a while ago. Looked like they knew each other.”

Minho sighs, “Tall guy, kinda sleazy?”

“Yup.”

“Soobin again. Yongbokkie won’t like that. Although, maybe he won’t notice.” Minho cocks his head, nodding toward the dance floor. Jisung follows Minho’s eyes, to where Chris and Felix are entwined on the dance floor. They’re making out as if they’re the only people in the room. Felix’s hands are tangled in Chris’ hair and Chris’ hands are on his ass, encouraging Felix as he grinds against Chris. Jisung feels his neck heat up at the brazen display.

“Jesus,” Changbin whispers.

“Wow, he’s not usually this, uh, horny in public. I feel like I’m going to get an STD just watching them,” Jisung says, wrinkling his nose In disgust. 

Minho giggles adorably, leaning closer to Jisung. “Cute.”

Jisung’s stomach flips in a way he doesn’t completely understand and he can feel himself go bright red. Changbin raises an eyebrow at Jisung, which only makes his blush worse. He has no idea why Minho calling him cute is affecting him like this, but he really doesn’t want to get into it right now. Luckily, Changbin doesn’t pry, he just smirks and turns to chat idly with Minho.

Felix is breathless as he grinds his ass back against Chris’s crotch in time with the music. He feels insane, drunk off the feeling of Chris’ big hands guiding his hips and possibly one too many tequila shots. 

“Shit, you’re so fucking sexy,” Chris whispers against the shell of Felix’s ear. He tugs at Felix’s hips desperately and Felix reaches up behind him to caress Chris’ face. Felix moans softly as Chris kisses his neck. 

“God, I want you so bad,” Felix breathes. He spins around so he can kiss Chris passionately. Chris slips his thigh in between Felix’s legs, grabbing his ass and encouraging him to grind against him. Felix moans into his mouth. “Should we just get out of here?” Chris is about to answer when Hyunjin suddenly appears.

“Hey, I’m leaving,” Hyunjin interrupts, snapping Felix out of his reverie. Annoyance flares up in Felix’s gut. He was 30 seconds away from getting Chris into bed with him. But then he processes what Hyunjin actually said, and notices the guy standing a few paces behind Hyunjin and his annoyance disappears, quickly replaced by a sobering worry.

“What? Not with Soobin again,” Felix sighs, extracting himself from Chris’ grasp. He shoots a glare in Soobin’s direction. Soobin wiggles his fingers at Felix sarcastically and Felix flips him off in response. 

“Bye,” Hyunjin rolls his eyes, turning on his heel. 

“Wait,” Felix protests, bouncing in front of Hyunjin and grabbing his hands. “C’mon, I’ll dance with you, I swear!”

“As if,” Hyunjin drawls. “I’m going to go get railed.”

“Jinnie, he treats you like shit,” Felix says softly, voice dripping with concern. 

“It’s just sex, I’m fine.”

“Do you even hear yourself right now?” Felix groans. Hyunjin sidesteps Felix, heading for Soobin. “Fine! Just be safe please!” Felix calls after Hyunjin. “I mean, God knows where he’s been,” he mutters under his breath. 

“Mmmhm,” Hyunjin hums noncommittally.

“I love you!” Felix yells. Hyunjin waves an “I love you” sign over his shoulder as he heads for the door, Soobin’s hand on his ass. Felix frowns, “He has the worst taste. Fucker isn’t even that good looking.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” Chris casts a glance towards the booth Minho and Jisung are in and Felix notices their other friend (who he was definitely not paying attention to when he introduced himself) is there too. “So—”

“No, don’t.”

“I probably have to go,” Chris finishes apologetically. 

Felix groans. “I knew you were going to say that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stay,” Felix pleads, wrapping his arms around Chris’s neck again. 

“I—,” Chris stutters, ears bright red. 

“Just stay, yeah? Dance with me.”

“I want to. I really, really do, but I have to make sure Jisung’s ok.”

Felix drops his head to Chris’ shoulder, “Ugh, you being a good friend is actually really not helping.” 

“I’m not that good,” Chris winces. “I abandoned him all night.”

Felix looks over at Jisung. He’s giggling somewhat hysterically, leaning his shoulder into Minho. Shockingly, Minho seems entirely unbothered by the situation. In fact, he’s smiling at Jisung fondly. “Well, he doesn’t look too bad for it.”

“No, I’m surprised, honestly. He’s usually a mess when Heeyoung stands him up.”

“Minho can be pretty good with that kind of thing when he wants to be.”

Chris hums, “But he is definitely drunk so we don’t have long until he passes out.”

“It’s fine, go. I’ll survive,” Felix sighs dramatically. 

Chris chuckles. “Here, give me your phone.” Felix, with none of the wariness someone handing their phone over to a virtual stranger should have, gives Chris his phone. He quickly starts typing. “Now you have my number. Oh, wait!” He starts to hand Felix his phone back, but changes his mind, narrating as he starts to type. “‘Hey Chris, it’s Felix, I had a great time tonight, want to get coffee sometime?’”

Felix snorts, “What are you doing?”

“Making sure it works,” Chris grins, handing Felix his phone back. “Oh, a text!” Chris says in mock surprise. “‘Hey, Felix, would love to get coffee! Let me know what works for you. Heart emoji. Send.’”

Felix giggles as the text comes in, “You text in full sentences? What are you, 40?”

“Wow, you sound like my sister. That’s a real turn-off you know,” Chris teases.

“Sorry, sorry,” Felix laughs. Chris pulls Felix in, kissing him again, deep and bruising. God, he’s a good kisser. His hands are strong and calloused against Felix’s jaw and waist. He’s all encompassing, overwhelming, but in the best way. Felix wants to wrap himself in his warmth forever. 

Chris pulls back with a wide smile that knocks Felix’s world off its axis. “Text me, yeah?’’ He calls as he walks towards his friends. 

“Yeah,” Felix breathes. 

Felix makes it over to the bar on shaky legs. It’s embarrassing how fucked out he feels from just a few kisses and some flirting but he can’t really bring himself to care. He orders another shot even though he’ll probably regret it tomorrow. 

Contrary to popular belief, Minho is not actually an antisocial person. He knows how to do the smiley, friendly thing, it’s just not his natural state. It takes effort; effort he’s usually too tired to put in. And this, combined with his resting bitch face, tends to lend him an intimidating, scary presence that causes most people to give him a wide berth. Minho is perfectly fine with this. He may be capable of small talk, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys it, so he has no issue with his coworkers avoiding him like the plague. There’s only so much straight people nonsense he can put up with, anyway. He has the people he likes and the people who like him, the people it’s not hard work to smile around, and he doesn’t need anything else. 

And then there’s Jisung.

Minho really hadn’t intended to talk to any of the straight boys Felix had dragged to the club with them, but then Jisung got anxious and Minho isn’t a monster. He wasn’t just going to stand there and watch him have a panic attack. Talking to Jisung comes naturally. He’s funny, and genuinely seems interested in his cats, which is always nice. It feels like they’ve known each other for ages. Jisung is also unfortunately Minho’s exact type. He’s not picky or anything, he’s slept with lots of types of guys, but he’d also be lying if he said he didn’t gravitate towards guys who look like Jisung. Basically, cute, little twinks with big doe eyes and pretty lips. 

Jisung is very cute, especially when Minho teases him. He’s not above flirting with straight guys. Not because he has any genuine interest, he just likes to fuck with them, get them flustered. It’s fun. A little risky sometimes, sure, but Minho can defend himself. Flirting with Jisung is fun. He blushes so prettily, and there’s something about how he keeps catching Jisung staring at him that’s really stroking his ego. He knows he’s objectively good looking, but Jisung’s enamored gaze is something else. 

He’s getting sleepy, leaning into Minho more and more. Normally, Minho isn’t a big fan of new people getting all up in his personal space, but he doesn’t mind this. It reminds him a bit of how his cats curl into him. He actually feels a little disappointed when he sees Jisung’s friend finally separate from Felix and head over to the booth. 

“Hey,” Chris says, a little sheepishly. He gives Minho a little bow. 

“Hey, Channie,” Jisung says, giggling. 

“Ooh, he remembers us,” Changbin sing-songs, smiling at him like a gremlin.

Chris rolls his eyes at Changbin. “Doing ok, Sung?”

“Aside from the horrific images you burned into my eyeballs? Yeah, I’m fine.”

Chris blushes, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah…sorry. You guys want to head out?”

“You can stay if you want, hyung,” Changbin says quietly, looking over to where Felix has sat down at the bar. 

Chris smiles. “I’m good. Thanks though.” 

Minho slides out to let Jisung out of the booth. “Uh, see you around,” Jisung says a little awkwardly, bowing goodbye. 

Minho smiles softly, returning the bow. “Sleep well, Jisung-ah.”

Jisung and Changbin head for the door, but Chris lingers for a second. “Hey, uh, thanks for taking care of him.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

For a second, Chris gives him a funny look, like he’s trying to figure out Minho’s angle, but then he just shrugs and smiles widely. “Well, thanks anyway.”

Minho watches them leave before joining Felix at the bar. So,” Minho plops down on the stool next to Felix, smirking deviously. “Looks like that went well.”

“Mmm,” Felix hums dreamily. “And you survived.”

Minho shrugs, “It was fine. At least no one was begging me to dance.”

“Fine, wow, that’s high praise.”

Minho rolls his eyes, “Let’s just find Seungmin so we can leave please.” 

“I saw him earlier. Looked like Jeonginnie was having a fun time.”

“Well, that’s something.”

“Hey.” Minho nearly jumps out of his skin as Seungmin suddenly speaks behind him.

“Speak of the Devil,” Minho mutters, shooting a glare at Seungmin. 

“Stop calling me that,” Seungmin deadpans. 

“No.”

Seungmin rolls his eyes. “Well, I’ve been looking for you. Innie is fucking wasted, so I gotta get him home.”

“We were about to leave too,” Felix chirps. 

“Cool, yeah, let me just—”

“Minnie-hyung! There you are!” Jeongin interrupts, bouncing up to the bar and grabbing Seungmin’s arm excitedly. “This place is amazing! These people are amazing! And you’re one of them! You’re amazing!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m great, let’s go home,” Seungmin mumbles, ears going bright red as Jeongin continues to hang off him. 

“Why? Why would you ever want to leave?” Jeongin gasps, eyes wide.

“Well, personally, I prefer to sleep in my bed, but if you want to sleep in a booth you probably could,” Seungmin teases.

Jeongin sighs sadly. “Fine, fine.” 

“I’m glad you had a good time, baby!” Felix slings an arm around Jeongin’s shoulders as they start to head towards the door. Minho tugs on Seungmin’s earlobe teasingly. Seungmin pulls away, scowling, which sends Minho into a fit of hysterical laughter. As they make it out into the alley, Jeongin manages to trip over his own feet. 

“Whoa.” Seungmin catches Jeongin with an arm around his waist. Jeongin still ends up half falling into Seungmin, his hands pressed against Seungmin’s chest. 

“Aish, get off me.” Jeongin shoves Seungmin away, blushing. Felix and Minho exchange a look as they both clock the mutual blushing, but Seungmin doesn’t seem to notice. If he does, he doesn’t react, just snorts and rolls his eyes. 

“Ok, next time I’ll let you fall on your face in a dirty alley.”

“I’m fine,” Jeongin grumbles, brushing his sandy waves out of his still flushed face. “I’m not that drunk, hyung. I can walk.”

“If you say so,” Seungmin teases, “but my arm is here if you decide you need more stability.”

Jeongin scoffs, but as they start to make their way around the block to the bus stop, he quietly loops his arm with Seungmin’s. Seungmin smiles to himself, but doesn’t call him out on it. He just lets Jeongin hold onto him. 

“He’s so much nicer to him than us.”

“Nah, he’s just not nice to you, hyung,” Felix giggles, nudging Minho with his shoulder. 

Minho snorts, “Fair enough.”

Felix suddenly gasps as he notices the pale yellow glow of a McDonald’s sign across the street. “Oh my God, food! I forgot food existed for a minute! Hyung, let’s go, c’mon.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Minho sighs as Felix pulls him towards the McDonald’s like an excitable puppy.

This McDonald’s is close enough to the club that the employees don’t blink at their outfits, used to people dressed like them showing up this time of night, especially on the weekends, but they do draw some curious stares rom the few other customers scattered about the drab, beige tables and booths. There’s nothing aggressive about them, though, so Minho doesn’t bother bristling, just keeps half an eye out while Jeongin and Felix order way too much food. Minho and Seungmin, as the mostly sober members of the crew, stay behind to wait for the food. The others tuck themselves into a booth in a back corner while Jeongin gives a very excited Felix a thorough recap of his night. 

Minho leans against the wall, taking a minute to rest his eyes. He’s fucking exhausted. His peace lasts about 30 seconds before Seungmin starts crowding his space in the way he does when he wants attention. Minho finds it deeply annoying, which only makes Seungmin do it to him more. Minho sighs, giving Seungmin his most withering stare. Seungmin grins widely, satisfied with the response. It is stupidly endearing. 

“Didn’t see you much. Good night?”

Seungmin shrugs. “He had fun. Got a lot of attention.”

“Ah, jealous?” Minho asks, smirking. 

“No,” Seungmin mumbles, but his ears betray him, going pink at the tips. “Shut up.” 

Minho laughs, but doesn’t tease him more, choosing to go back to resting his eyes. When the food’s ready, Minho beelines for Felix’s side of the booth, forcing Seungmin next to Jeongin. To his credit, Seungmin only blushes a little when Jeongin leans across him to get his food. Felix, completely oblivious to Minho’s chaos, starts inhaling fries like he hasn’t eaten in a year and rambling about Chris between bites. 

“He’s so fucking hot, hyung.”

“Mmmhm,” Minho hums, only half paying attention. 

“Like so hot. God, I want to fuck him so bad.”

“I know. That’s pretty much the only thing I know about him,” Minho says sardonically. 

“Oh, he’s so sweet too, hyung. It should be illegal to be that hot and that nice.”

“But then you’d be in jail,” Seungmin jokes.

Felix giggles, “Ah, are you flirting with me, Kim Seungmin?” Seungmin winks in lieu of a response.

“Well, normally I’d appreciate it, but I’m trying to lament the sex I’m not having,” Felix says, pouting cartoonishly. “I bet he’s really good in bed. Like the way we were dancing, I just know it'll be fucking incredible.”

“Felix is a horny drunk, sorry,” Seungmin explains apologetically to Jeongin.  

“It's fine. To be honest, I'm kind of enjoying it,” Jeongin says, grinning. 

“He’s just so hot, you know?”

“No,” Seungmin deadpans. 

Minho shrugs noncommittally, “He’s really not my type.”

“I hate you guys. Someone agree with me!”

“No, I get it. He’s hot,” Jeongin says casually. 

“Thank you!” Felix cries. Seungmin blinks at Jeongin in what can only be described as a state of vaguely panicked shock, face bright red. Minho bites back a laugh. 

Jeongin cocks his head at Seungmin, taking a sip of his drink. His eyes glint with some kind of challenge. “What?”

“Nothing,” Seungmin mutters, wrenching his eyes off Jeongin to stare entirely too intensely at his soda. 

They chat mindlessly about school and work as they eat, and Seungmin manages to keep it together when Jeongin leans his head on his shoulder, sleepiness finally catching up to him. When they finish up and head back outside, Felix shivers. It’s not that cold, but his clothes are so thin that even the mild August breeze cuts right to his bones. He huddles into Minho, grabbing his arm. 

“Let’s move, hyung. I’m cold.”

“I’m going to make sure Innie makes it back to his dorm,” Seungmin says. 

“Ok,” Felix says, beaming. “Should we wait up?”

Jeongin shakes his head and takes Seungmin’s hand. “It’s late, you can sleep on the floor, hyung.”

“Ok,” Seungmin agrees, smiling softly.

“Sounds good,” Felix giggles. “It was nice to meet you, Jeonginnie! See you tomorrow, Minnie!”

“You too, hyung!” Jeongin replies, bowing politely. 

“Night,” Seungmin says with a wave. 

The two of them head, hand in hand, towards the subway entrance. “He’s so cute!” Felix squeals as soon as they’re out of earshot. Minho hums in assent as he lights a cigarette. “Ew, hyung,” Felix groans, wrinkling his nose. “I thought you were quitting.”

Minho takes a long, slow drag, already feeling more relaxed. “It’s a process.”

“Sure,” Felix mutters, clearly unconvinced. 

Minho grabs Felix’s hand, gently tugging him as he starts walking. “C’mon. Let’s get your eggs and get home. You know, before you freeze,” Minho teases. Felix rolls his eyes, but hurries to catch up with him, linking their arms. 

Chris flops back onto his bed with a sigh. Jisung had fallen asleep on the bus, surprising no one, but they’d managed to get him home. And he’d been so exhausted he’d fallen asleep easily. As much as Chris is happy to comfort Jisung, tonight he’s glad for his own bed and some time to himself. He can’t get Felix out of his mind. His big Disney eyes, his blinding smile, the way his body felt pressed against his own. He groans in frustration, throwing an arm over his eyes. Part of him really wishes he’d let Changbin take Jisung home. He’s stupidly wound up, his body still thrumming with excited energy. He’s not even entirely sure why he didn’t stay. It’s not like Changbin and Jisung really needed him. Any other night, he would’ve stayed. 

But maybe that’s the problem. It isn’t any other night, and Felix isn’t any other person. He can’t remember the last time he felt this intensely about anyone. There’s the attraction, obviously. They’d fit together so easily. It felt magnetic, like they couldn’t avoid dancing together even if they wanted to. But beyond the physical, he feels drawn to Felix. He wants to know everything about him, to sit and talk to him for hours. He just wants to be around him, to just be in his presence. It’s new. Different. Something he hasn’t felt for a very long time. It’s a little uncomfortable, but in a nice way. Like sore muscles after a good workout.

Chris picks up his phone. It’s probably stupid to text him again so soon, desperate even, but he’s a little tipsy so he does it anyway.

Felix (angel from gay bar)

Hey! Hope you get home safe! 

(1:30 am, read)

He regrets it the second he hits send. He rereads the message, cringing at the exclamation marks. Fuck. He tosses his phone across the room onto his chair. Just as he’s starting to spiral, his phone buzzes. Chris nearly has a heart attack, scrambling to grab it. 

Felix (angel from gay bar)

Hey! Hope you get home safe! 

(1:30 am, read)

hi!!

i did!

thank you 💖

(1:32 am, read)

Relief floods through Chris. So he wasn’t cringy enough to get ghosted or blocked. Not that Felix seemed like that type of person, but still. Chris quickly sends a heart reaction back and puts his phone down. He’s not about to make the same mistake twice. 

Chris gets ready for bed quickly, washing up and then slipping out of his clothes before sinking into bed. He turns out the lights, hoping the all-nighter he pulled last night will make him tired enough to sleep without a struggle, but his mind won’t settle. For once, though, it’s not a deadline or a melody keeping him awake. He can still feel Felix all over him. His hands in Chris’ hair, carding through softly and then tightening and twisting. His lips, hovering next to his ear, whispering in that low rasp. How they felt against his, between his teeth. Heat coils in his gut at the memory. Chris brushes his thumb over his lips, eyes fluttering closed. He feels Felix’s hips in his hands, swaying against him. Felix’s teeth against his ear. His cock twitches. His mind drifts further. He pictures Felix on his knees, how pretty his lips would look stretched around him. Fuck it. 

With a growl, Chris caves and shoves his hand under the sheets. He wraps his hand around the base of his cock, slowly stroking himself to full hardness. He pretends his hand is Felix’s, small and dainty, a stark contrast to his own. In his mind, Felix ghosts those pretty lips over Chris’ body. He trails the path fantasy-Felix is making with his free hand, letting out a little sigh. He speeds up, smearing his precum along his length. He imagines Felix is there with him, under his sheets. Fantasy-Felix mouths along his cock, his beautiful Disney eyes looking up at him. Chris full on moans as fantasy-Felix kitten licks his tip. He imagines Felix taking him fully into his mouth and he bucks up into his hand, moaning desperately. He rakes his fingernails over his chest and they become Felix’s sparkly acrylics. He fucks his hand faster, moaning wantonly. He has just enough clarity of mind to grab a tissue as fantasy-Felix wrenches his orgasm out of him. 

He comes with Felix’s name on his lips.

Chapter Text

Seungmin’s eyes flutter open and he’s immediately dazzled by a sunbeam shining directly on his face. He grimaces, sitting up quickly to get away from the light. He feels around for his bag and digs out his glasses, thanking yesterday’s Seungmin for deciding to bring them. Once his glasses are on and his eyes have recovered from their wake-up call and adjusted to the dark room, he takes a proper look around. Last night, Jeongin had just about managed to find a mat and pillow for Seungmin before he passed out, so Seungmin hadn’t really taken in the room. It’s almost identical to his first year dorm room. Two beds, two desks, and a shared fridge and microwave. The bed across the room is still empty. Jeongin’s roommate must have stayed out last night. Seungmin doesn’t blame him. He has plenty of fond memories from his old dorm with Felix, but he definitely doesn’t miss the lack of privacy. One of the slats of the blinds on the window is broken, casting a perfect beam right onto Seungmin’s pillow. Seungmin wrinkles his nose. Typical. Probably best he’s up anyway. 

Seungmin looks over at Jeongin. Seungmin has always secretly loved to watch Jeongin sleep. Not in a weird way, it’s just that he looks so cute and peaceful when he’s asleep. In high school they used to spend most weekends together, playing video games, doing homework, watching YouTube and Jeongin always fell asleep first. Recently they’ve had to do all that on Discord calls. It’s still nice, but Seungmin has missed being in the same place. Jeongin’s soft, even breathing is so soothing. Seungmin stands up and stretches. As peaceful as Jeongin looks now, he’ll be miserable the second he wakes up. No way he makes it through a night of drinking like that without a massive hangover. He manages to find some painkillers and a granola bar in his bag and puts them on the bedside table along with a bottle of water and what’s left of the hangover drink he’d insisted on buying for Jeongin on the way to the dorm. 

He knows he shouldn’t, that it’s kinda weird, but he can’t help but brush a lock of hair out of Jeongin’s eyes. He looks so pretty, angelic even, with his golden waves spread out like a halo on his pillow. He’s almost inhumanly beautiful. He’s all angular, with his high cheekbones and insanely sharp jaw, but then there’s the elegant curve of his nose and the little pout of his lips. In many ways, he still looks like the little kid that followed Seungmin around like he hung the moon, especially when he smiles and his dimples come out, but he’s grown into his face so well. Seungmin aches to lean in and press a gentle kiss to his lips. Ugh. This pining shit is getting out of control. Kim Seungmin is not the type to get all mushy over a boy. It’s gross. But Jeongin’s always been the exception, hasn’t he? Seungmin sighs. Enough. He’s got shit to do today and an exam on Monday. He grabs his stuff quickly, but before he can make it out the door, he hears Jeongin stirring. 

“...hyung?” Ah, fuck. 

“Hey,” Seungmin says softly, turning back from the door. 

“Fuck,” Jeongin groans. He winces, rubbing his face. “Are you leaving?”

“Uh, yeah, I was going to head out.” Seungmin puts his bag down and holds the painkillers and the drink out to Jeongin. “Drink this.”

“I feel like I got hit by a bus.”

Seungmin chuckles. “Yeah, you got pretty wasted.”

“People kept giving me drinks,” Jeongin whines. “What was I supposed to do?”

“Yeah, everyone at Bottom’s Up is pretty welcoming. Especially to someone as pretty as you.”

“Aish, hyung, don’t say things like that,” Jeongin mumbles, hiding his face in his hands. He’s always been so shy with compliments, but it’s not like it’s anything new. Everyone who meets Jeongin is instantly obsessed, tripping over themselves to call him cute and handsome.

Seungmin shrugs. “I just call ‘em like I see ‘em. Every guy there wanted to take you home.”

“But you’re the one who did,” Jeongin says, shooting Seungmin one of his sly fox grins. 

Seungmin’s heart flips. He tries desperately to remember that he doesn’t mean it like that. He’s just joking. He forces a laugh. “Yeah, I guess I did, huh?” Seungmin studies Jeongin. He’s still holding his head, it’ll be a while before the headache lets up, even with the painkillers, but he no longer looks like he’s about to hurl, the color coming back to his cheeks. “Feeling any better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Jeongin says, smiling shyly. 

“You should try to get some more sleep while you wait for the medicine to kick in.”

“Will…” Jeongin trails off, chewing his lip. “Will you stay?”

“Oh.”

“You’re busy, I shouldn’t’ve asked, it’s just been a while since we’ve been together like this. It feels like our sleepovers.” Jeongin looks away, picking anxiously at the blanket. “I miss it.”

“I could stay for a bit.” 

“Are you sure?” Jeongin’s eyes light up. It’s so stupid, but Seungmin’s heart skips a beat. 

“Yeah, I don’t really have anything to do today.” Lie. Such a massive lie. 

“Ok,” Jeongin says, his face splitting into a wide smile. “If you grab my laptop we could put something on.”

“Sure.” When Seungmin turns from the desk, laptop in hand, Jeongin has scooted himself against the wall to try and make space for Seungmin in the tiny twin. Seungmin takes a deep breath as he squeezes himself onto the bed, and hopes Jeongin can’t tell how his heart rate speeds up when he curls up against Seungmin, resting his head on his lap. Seungmin strokes Jeongin’s hair until he falls asleep, quietly resigning himself to spend the day here. He shoots Felix a text. There are worse ways to spend a Saturday. 

Bokkie

innie’s super hung over

probably gonna stay for a while

i'll be back in time to get ready for tonight

(6:05 am, received)

“Get up. Hyunjin, get up!”

“What?” Hyunjin mumbles blearily. He tries to sit up, his head pounding. “Oh, fuck me…” he groans. Alcohol is the devil. He vaguely remembers drinking even more after they got to Soobin’s place last night. Probably some cheap-ass shit that Hyunjin would never drink sober. This whole situation has drunk-Hyunjin written all over it. Before Hyunjin can dwell on it, he’s hit in the face with his jeans. 

“Get dressed. You gotta go.”

“You’re kicking me out of your apartment?” Hyunjin asks incredulously. He looks over at Soobin’s ugly-ass, too bright alarm clock. “It’s 6 am.”

Soobin rolls his eyes, “Can you not be difficult about this, please? My boyfriend’s on his way over, so I need you to leave.”

“Your…” Bile rises in Hyunjin’s throat. He can’t tell if it’s from the hangover. “Your boyfriend,” Hyunjin echoes dumbly. It's not a question. 

Soobin sighs like Hyunjin’s being exhausting. “What do you want me to say, Hyunjin?” Soobin asks derisively. 

A hollow laugh falls from Hyunjin’s lips. It sounds foreign to his ears, like it didn’t come from him. “I fall for your shit every time.” Hyunjin quickly starts pulling his clothes on, trying desperately to keep himself together. He focuses on shoving his feet into his stupid fucking heels. Why does he wear these fucking things? “God, what the fuck is wrong with me?” Soobin just smirks, asshole that he is. Hyunjin can feel the tears creeping up on him, and he is about to let Soobin get any more power by crying in front of him. With every scrap of pride he can muster Hyunjin grabs his jacket and storms out. 

“Call me,” Soobin yells after him mockingly. 

“You’re a fucking pig,” Hyunjin spits out. “I’m done with you.”

He slams the door behind him with a bang that probably wakes half of Soobin's building. He manages to make it into the elevator before the rage-fueled adrenaline wears off. As the elevator doors glide closed, the numbness sets in. He’s so fucking stupid. Of course Soobin has a boyfriend. Of course Hyunjin is just a distraction. That’s how it always goes. His own words echo in his head, “I’m done with you.” How many times has he said those words to Soobin? How many times has he told him to go fuck himself, only to come crawling back at the slightest bit of attention? He’s so pathetic. The elevator opens and he stumbles through the lobby and out into the sun. He groans, it’s so bright and he’s so hungover.

He desperately searches through his shit for his sunglasses as he trudges towards the train station. He finally finds them in one of his jacket pockets and shoves them on his face. It barely helps, but it’s something. One issue down, he focuses on trying not to roll a fucking ankle. He catches a lot of looks, but he ignores it as best he can. He manages to get on the right train and slumps into a free seat. This time of morning on a Saturday the train is pretty dead, so that’s one thing that isn’t totally awful. He still feels like death itself, but at least he can sit down.

He drops his head back, squeezing his eyes shut. Boyfriend. What a piece of shit. Horrible, sickening curiosity worms its way into Hyunjin’s mind. He doesn’t need to know. He doesn’t want to know. It doesn’t matter who Soobin’s boyfriend is. It doesn’t matter. 

He opens Instagram. 

Hyunjin hates that he cares. He shouldn’t care. Soobin is an awful person that makes Hyunjin feel awful. He hasn’t looked at Soobin’s instagram since the last time he made Hyunjin feel like this. He’s posted a lot since then. His normal fuckboy shit, yeah, but also pictures with his boyfriend. It’s Joon. The guy Soobin had ditched him for at that party. Hyunjin wants to scream. He wants to throw his phone across the train. He wants to murder Soobin and Joon and everyone on this fucking train.

As he scrolls through Joon’s instagram the ugly feelings only get stronger. He fantasizes about what would’ve happened if he’d seen him in the hallway outside Soobin’s apartment. How he could’ve told him that his boyfriend fucked him last night. How he could’ve made him feel as shitty as Hyunjin feels right now. He thinks about DMing him. He could pretend he was doing Joon a favor by letting him know that his boyfriend’s a cheating prick. He could rub his fucking face in it and still be the good guy. But he doesn’t. Because he doesn’t want to do it to help Joon. He wants to do it because he wants to be mean. To Joon, to Soobin, to anyone, to everyone. 

Hyunjin feels sick. It’s not the hangover. He blocks Soobin’s number. 

Jisung wakes up with a headache and a broken heart. Sounds dramatic, well, it is dramatic, but Jisung can be quite a dramatic person. It’s not that he tries to be, he just is. Chris says it’s because he has big feelings and strong opinions, which makes him sound a bit like a toddler, but apparently it’s a good thing. Changbin just says he’s like a cartoon character. The thing is, Jisung doesn’t handle his own emotions very well. He’s so sensitive, but he doesn’t know how to talk about his feelings. Basically, he’s a bit of a mess, and his and Heeyoung’s relationship being so tumultuous does not help at all. 

Weirdly, the first thing Jisung thinks about when he wakes up isn’t Heeyoung, it’s Minho. The purple haze of the club gives the night a dreamlike quality. That combined with Minho’s ethereal beauty makes Jisung almost wonder if it really happened at all. A warm feeling settles in Jisung’s stomach as he remembers talking about Minho’s cats and making him laugh. Of course, that train of thought leads him back around to the reason he was with Minho in the first place. Hence, broken heart. 

His anxiety coils around his diaphragm as Jisung sits up, rubbing a hand over his face. He takes a deep breath. It doesn’t help. He'd forgotten to plug his phone in last night, so it’s totally dead. He plugs it in and begrudgingly rolls out of bed to take a quick shower. He tries desperately not to spiral about what awaits him when his phone comes back on, but the quiet of the shower does nothing to calm his mind. He can’t decide what he dreads more; a text from her or more silence. Everything sucks. 

He trudges back to his room like his feet are made of concrete. His anxiety only gets stronger the longer he refuses to look at his phone, endless scenarios rushing through his head, but he still puts it off as long as he can. He gets dressed, washes his face, brushes his teeth, even shoves some of the clothes on his floor into the hamper before he finally flops back onto his bed and turns his phone on. 

Heeyoung <3

jisungie i’m so sorry about last night

please call me

(8:19 am, read)

Jisung turns his phone back off.

Hyunjin creeps through the door as quietly as he can. He can feel the looks his friends will give him if they hear him come in, full of pity and kindness. And then there will be the quiet disappointment and confusion. Every time he comes home drenched in regret he feels it. His own feelings reflected back in them every time. He knows the second he sees them he’ll fall apart and all the tears he’s been holding back will come flooding out, and he’s just not ready for that.

He drowns his rage in the burning shower. He just stands under the water for what feels like hours, until his back is blotchy and red and the room is so full of steam it’s suffocating. He leans his forehead against the cool shower tiles and swallows his screams. When he can’t take it anymore he drags himself out, back into the real world. He wipes the mirror, staring blankly at his reflection. He looks beat to shit. His eyeliner is smudged everywhere and the vestiges of his mascara are streaming down his face. He scrubs it off, much more aggressively than he needs to.

His room feels cold and empty. He slips on his coziest clothes, but even that doesn’t alleviate the sense of wrongness that hangs onto his body. With nothing left to focus on, Hyunjin is left alone with a deep, soul-crushing sadness. He suddenly can’t stand to be alone. He slips into Felix’s dark room. He’s still sleeping. Hyunjin crawls into his bed, curling into a tiny ball against Felix’s warm body. Felix stirs, he’s only half conscious, but he wraps Hyunjin up in his arms without missing a beat. 

“Wanna talk?” Felix mumbles sleepily. 

“No.” Hyunjin’s voice comes out tiny and broken. 

“Ok,” Felix hums, drifting back to sleep. Hyunjin is eternally grateful for Felix. He might not understand why Hyunjin does this to himself, but he’s always there to pick up the pieces. He knows when to push and when to just be there. Felix just gets him. 

They lie like that for a long time, Felix’s slow, even breathing grounding Hyunjin. He slowly starts to feel calmer, more human, but the sadness remains, his heart heavy. Eventually, he feels Felix move slightly and hears his breathing change, indicating he’s woken up. Hyunjin looks up at him. Felix gives him a small, sleepy smile. He’s obviously trying to be neutral, but Hyunjin can see the sadness and worry in his eyes. It’s somehow worse than he thought it would be. This is the part that he hates. He doesn’t like letting Felix down. He hates that his self-sabotage has casualties, and he hates that it still isn’t enough to make him stop. Shame wraps itself around Hyunjin, squeezing his chest. He can’t look at Felix. It’s all too much. The lump in his throat is back, the tears pricking at his eyes. He buries his face back in Felix’s sweater, but it doesn’t really help. He needs to say it. 

“He kicked me out because his boyfriend was coming over,” Hyunjin whispers into Felix’s chest. 

“Jinnie, that sucks,” Felix says, squeezing Hyunjin tighter. He doesn’t say anything else, he doesn’t ask any questions, he just holds Hyunjin. He holds Hyunjin as he finally lets himself cry, sobbing into Felix’s sweater. He doesn’t let go even when Hyunjin can’t cry anymore and falls into a restless sleep. 

He’s still pressed against Felix’s chest when he wakes up, exhausted and dehydrated. He sits up slowly. His head is still killing him. He really needs to drink some water. Felix is awake, scrolling through TikTok over where Hyunjin’s head was. He gives Hyunjin a big sunshiney smile. 

“Morning, wanna help me make brownies?”

“Ok,” Hyunjin agrees softly. 

“Good,” Felix says with a satisfied smile. He sits up and stretches with a huge yawn. Hyunjin smiles at him fondly. He always looks particularly cat-like in the mornings. 

Hyunjin stays curled up in Felix’s bed while he gets ready, half-listening to Felix as he chats about his outfit and new skincare. If there’s one thing Felix can do, it’s talk. It’s an admirable skill, really, the way he can go on and on about very little. He always seems to intuitively understand when someone needs him to fill the silence. Hyunjin pulls his phone out, looking through his notifications from last night and this morning. He swipes most of them away, but lingers on the ones from Instagram, scanning through his new likes and followers. 

@jutdwae has followed you!

Hyunjin doesn’t usually go through his follower notifications, but his vague boredom mixed with his still vulnerable insecure state is a perfect storm for him to suddenly start caring way too much. He clicks through to the profile, recognizing the profile picture as the buff guy from last night. His profile picture is him doing an aegyo pose. Hyunjin finds it a bit surprising, but maybe he shouldn’t, considering how he was dancing yesterday.

changbin | 22 | business/music production | 3racha | gym cutie 💪💖

Hyunjin rolls his eyes at the painfully basic bio, but he has to admit Changbin following him is stroking his ego. The fact that he was so taken with Hyunjin after half a conversation and some dancing that he sought out Hyunjin’s Instagram definitely makes him feel good. It’s not like he’s the first guy to do so. Hyunjin pretty regularly has guys he barely looked at sliding into his DMs, but on a day like today he could use the self-esteem boost. 

“Ok, babe,” Felix says, clapping his hands together. “Let’s do this shit.” Hyunjin smiles and rolls out of bed. Or he tries to. His foot gets tangled in the sheets and he ends up tumbling into a less than graceful heap on the floor. Felix giggles at his misfortune, but quickly moves to help him up. 

“I’m a disaster,” Hyunjin whines.

“You are a bit.” Hyunjin pouts at Felix, and he laughs. “I’m only teasing, c’mon.” Hyunjin dutifully follows him to the kitchen, plopping down unceremoniously onto one of the barstools pulled up to their little kitchen peninsula. He watches as Felix puts on an apron and starts gathering the ingredients and bowls. He looks up at Hyunjin and cocks his head. “You know, Jin, I’m not sure this counts as helping.” 

“Well, I don’t know where anything is because some people think I can’t be trusted in the kitchen,” Hyunjin bites back, shooting a pointed look in Felix’s direction.

“Mmm, I know. Minho-hyung is such a hardass,” Felix deadpans.

Hyunjin gasps. “I’m telling him you said that.”

“He won’t believe you,” Felix sing-songs, grinning mischievously. “I’m his favorite.”

“I know, it’s so annoying.” Minho has an undeniable soft spot for Felix. It’s like he’s Minho’s fourth cat. “I blink at him wrong and he tries to air fry me.”

Felix holds out a couple of eggs. “Crack these for me.” When Hyunjin stares at him blankly, he laughs. “You can prove you’re better with eggs than Seungmin.”

“Fine,” Hyunjin sighs. He cracks the eggs while Felix starts weighing out the dry ingredients. He gets some eggshell in the bowl on the last egg but Felix only teases him a little as he fishes it out. Hyunjin adds the oil and the rest of the wet ingredients on Felix’s instruction and whisks them together while Felix sifts and mixes the dry ingredients. Hyunjin genuinely loves baking with Felix. He doesn’t do it often, because Felix usually bakes when he’s home alone and bored, but he’s always glad when he has the chance. It’s soothing, watching Felix fold the ingredients together with practiced hands. Plus, he always gets a little goofy and chaotic when he bakes with other people. It’s fun, even if whatever they’re baking turns out worse for Hyunjin’s involvement. Still, as Felix slowly starts incorporating the dry into the wet, and the air starts to smell of sweet chocolate, Hyunjin’s gaze is drawn to the entryway mirror on the wall behind him.

He’s looked better. His face is puffy and bloated from crying, dark circles sit under his bloodshot eyes, and he’s already breaking out from sleeping in his makeup. Hyunjin prods at his face, squeezing and stretching his skin like that’ll make it any better. 

“God, I look terrible,” Hyunjin mumbles, mostly to himself. 

“No, you don’t,” Felix automatically replies.

“I do. I’m all puffy and breaking out.”

“You’re beautiful, stop it.”

“I’m so gross.”

“Hwang Hyunjin! Enough!” Felix slams his hands down on the counter. “Acne does not make you gross. Having some shitty drunk sex with a guy who sucks does not make you gross. You are a beautiful person with a beautiful soul, and I will not listen to you being mean to my best friend.”

“Sorry,” Hyunjin says sheepishly. Felix really hates it when people, especially Hyunjin, are self deprecating. He tolerates it up to a point, a little complaining about pores is one thing, but when it starts getting nasty, he is quick to shut that shit down. Of course, that attitude doesn’t apply to Felix’s own negative self talk, but Hyunjin’s pointed out the irony to him several times. Felix isn’t wrong for scolding him though. His mind can be a nasty, vicious place, and Felix’s sweet but firm words help him navigate it. 

“I love you,” Felix says as he adds in some more of the dry ingredients. He pushes the bowl across the counter to Hyunjin. “Now stir this for me, my arm’s tired.”

“Love you too,” Hyunjin replies softly, and picks up the spatula to start folding the mixture. It’s getting thick, and he can feel the muscles in his arm working, but the repetitive movement is soothing, and for a blissful moment, his mind goes quiet. 

Chris feels…conflicted. On one hand, there’s Felix. He might be a little obsessed. He can’t stop thinking about him. It’s taking every fiber of his self control to not text him about every thought that pops into his head. But then there’s Jisung. In the light of day, he feels extremely guilty. Logically, that’s probably stupid, but there’s a little voice in his head telling him he’s an awful person for abandoning Jisung because he had a crush. He stares down at the eggs he’s frying. He knows Jisung is awake. He heard him taking a shower and moving around earlier, so he’s just waiting to see if he decides to come out or not. 

His answer comes soon enough, when Jisung trudges into the kitchen, looking miserable. Shit. It’s not surprising, but part of him had been hoping Jisung’s good mood from last night had held. But no luck. Heeyoung probably texted him. That’s her typical MO: ditch Jisung with no warning or excuse, text him to apologize the next morning, and then show up at the apartment after a few days to win him back over. Seeing her treating him like shit sucks, but he doesn’t know how to help. No matter what she does, Jisung always takes her back. 

”Hey, Sung. Eggs?” Chris asks, forcing a smile and trying his best to keep his tone light. 

“Not hungry,” Jisung mutters, plopping down at the table. Chris bites his lip. He hates seeing Jisung like this. 

“You ok, mate?”

“Sure,” Jisung says dryly. “She’s sorry and she wants to talk.”

Chris can’t help but make a small disapproving sound. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Ignore it for the rest of the day probably.” Jisung shrugs, chewing at his lip. “I’m sure I’ll hear her out eventually.”

Chris sighs. He knows there’s no point trying to convince Jisung of anything when it comes to Heeyoung, but he tries anyway. “You can do so much better.”

“I love her,” Jisung mumbles, misery dripping off each syllable. 

“I know, but is it worth all this?”

Before Jisung can reply, Changbin bursts through the door, sweaty from the gym and exuberant as ever. “Jisung-ah! Good morning!”

Jisung grimaces, making a show of holding his ear at Changbin’s volume. “It’s not. Why are you so loud?”

Changbin throws an arm around Jisung’s shoulder. Jisung wrinkles his nose, shoving Changbin’s arm off of him, but Changbin just grins, ruffling his hair. “Ah, don’t be sad. It’s a beautiful day.”

“I’m not sad, I’m just..empty.” 

Chris scoops some rice into a couple of bowls and sticks an egg on each of them. “Eat,” Chris orders, plonking a bowl down in front of Jisung. 

“I said I’m not hungry,” Jisung whines. 

“Just eat it, yeah? For me.”

“Someone’s feeling guilty,” Changbin says, smirking. 

“Oh, is that it? You feel bad for abandoning me in my vulnerable state to go kiss a stranger?” Jisung asks, laughing at Chris’ embarrassed blush. “Don’t. I had a good time. Actually, no offence, but talking to someone else was probably the best possible thing I could’ve done.”

“Ouch,” Chris jokes, grabbing his chest dramatically.

Jisung rolls his eyes at Chris’s theatrics. “I mean because he didn’t know. It was easier to forget, because I knew he wasn’t thinking about it.”

Chris smiles. The reassurance is nice, but he still feels guilty. He should’ve been paying attention and checked in more. What kind of person leaves his best friend with a stranger while he’s in crisis? “Well, I’m glad it worked out, Sung, but I am sorry.” 

“It’s fine, honestly,” Jisung assures him again, as if he can hear Chris’ internal monologue. “You guys were cute. Gross, but cute.”

Changbin chuckles. “Yeah, it was nice to see you having fun for once.”

“Hey, I have fun!” 

“You used to,” Jisung says, cheeks full of rice. “These days you mostly just sit at your desk hunched over your computer until one of us drags you away.”

“Wow, ok. I see how it is.”

“Ah, don’t get offended, hyung,” Changbin laughs. “We’re just worried about your work/life balance.”

“Uh huh,” Chris says sarcastically. 

Jisung shoves the last of his rice into his mouth and stands up. “Well, I’m going to head to the library. See if I can get some stuff done before work.”

“Want company?” 

“Yeah, I’m not doing anything today,” Changbin adds, pulling a protein shake out of the fridge. 

“Nah, I’ll be fine.” Jisung says with an obviously forced smile. “Thanks though.”

“Ok, let us know if you change your mind.”

“Yeah! I’ll drop everything for you, Jisungie!” Changbin cries as Jisung shoves his laptop in his backpack. 

“Yup, bye,” Jisung calls over his shoulder, quickly escaping the apartment and his friend’s concern. 

Chris frowns at the closed door. He really doesn’t know how to feel about that conversation. Jisung seems a little less broken up than usual, but he’s also more closed off. It’s definitely not great, but he did eat, which is a win. Jisung can be pretty terrible at remembering to eat on his own, especially when he’s upset. Unfortunately this hasn’t done anything to quell Chris’ guilt. It’s still gnawing at his gut, swirling with worry and anxiety in a very uncomfortable way. 

“At least he’s not crying,” Changbin offers, although he doesn’t seem convinced of his own words. 

“I dunno, I don’t like when he gets all bottled up.”

“He’ll be ok. He always is.”

“Yeah, I guess. I just wish he’d stop letting her do this to him, y’know?”

Changbin shrugs. “The heart wants what it wants, hyung.” Chris hums noncommittally, putting the bowls in the sink. Changbin leans against the fridge, considering Chris carefully. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he takes a big swig of his shake, smiles widely, and makes an announcement. “I also fell in love last night, for the record.”

Chris lets out a surprised laugh. “What, with the guy who doesn’t know your name? Also, I’m not in love, it was a few hours.”

“Ok, yes, so maybe it was a little one sided.” 

“A little?”

“Hush, the details aren’t important, the point is, he is my soulmate.” 

Chris shakes his head. “You realize how insane that sounds right?”

“Yah! The ways of the heart can’t be contained by societal norms.” 

“And you’re sure you don’t just need to get laid, dude?” Changbin makes a deeply offended face and Chris quickly clarifies. “It’s just…you barely talked to him. You don’t really know him at all. It’s ok if you just think he’s hot.”

“How dare you! Just because he’s the sexiest person I’ve ever seen doesn’t mean my feelings can be boiled down to just one thing. I contain multitudes, ok?”

“Right, of course, sorry.”

“Hyunjin-ah. Even his name is perfect,” Changbin sighs wistfully. He shoves his phone in Chris’s face, the screen displaying what is certainly Hyunjin’s instagram. “Look at him. He’s so pretty.”

“Please tell me he gave you his instagram.” Changbin grimaces silently, taking his phone back and scrolling through the pictures. “Bin,” Chris groans in disappointment. 

“It’s not like it’s hard to find! It’s public!” Changbin protests. When Chris’ face doesn’t budge he pulls up another instagram, showing it to Chris. “I found your boyfriend too, see?” Chris takes the phone with a sigh, but he can’t help but smile at the pictures of Felix. Changbin scoffs, “Not in love my ass. You should see your face right now.”

“Shut up,” Chris mumbles, blushing. He hands Changbin’s phone back to him. “So, now that you’ve internet stalked him, do you have some big scheme to win his heart?”

“No, it’s making it worse, actually. He only seems to date these tall, model-looking guys. And we don’t really run in the same circles so I don’t see how we’d end up running into each other.”

“Sorry mate,” Chris says sympathetically. “Maybe I can ask Felix about him.”

Changbin shakes his head. “I just have to trust the universe. If it’s meant to be, fate will show the way.”

“Whatever you say.”

Hyunjin is in the middle of losing his fourth Mario Kart game in a row as the aroma of chocolate fills the apartment. Felix can get very competitive sometimes, but Hyunjin’s fine with it. Honestly, a lot of the time he’s competitive too, the apartment gets into some heated tournaments, but on days like today when he’s not really feeling it, it’s pretty fun to see how into it Felix is. He’s unleashing a litany of impressive expletives when Minho walks through the front door, his gym bag slung over his shoulder. Minho gives Hyunjin a little amused smile at Felix’s outburst, before his gaze turns more serious. He considers Hyunjin carefully, probably noting all sorts of evidence of Hyunjin’s shitty night. 

“You’re back,” Minho says neutrally. 

“I’m back,” Hyunjin echoes with a rueful smile. 

“That good?”

“It’s whatever. I’ll get over it.” Hyunjin shrugs as casually as he can. Minho doesn’t look convinced, but he can obviously tell that Hyunjin doesn’t want to talk about it so he just nods. Hyunjin gives Minho a quick up and down, accepting his fate in the game. “Were you just at the gym?”

“Yeah.”

“But it’s so early,” Hyunjin says in disgust, wrinkling his nose for effect. 

Minho cocks an eyebrow. “It’s two pm.” 

“Yeah, but two pm on a Saturday is like six am on a weekday.”

“Is it?”

“No, I think Jinnie’s right on this one, actually,” Felix pipes up as he wins yet again. 

“Children,” Minho says, rolling his eyes. “Also, lots of people go to the gym at six am.” 

“Not sane people.”

Minho snorts. He frowns at the empty spot on the shoe rack. “Seungmin’s not back?”

“No, he’s nursing Innie back to health,” Felix says, giggling. His timer goes off and he jumps up to take the brownies out of the oven. “He said he’d be back though.”

Minho hums. “Of course he will. Otherwise he’ll have to do his own eyebrows.”

“He stole your time slot doing his own brows,” Hyunjin reminds him, jutting his chin up teasingly. 

Minho tilts his head, smiling in a way that would seem sweet if it wasn’t so threatening. “Feeling bold, Jin-ah?” Only Minho can make blinking menacing.

“Just stating facts, hyung.”

“Having bad taste won’t save you from the airfryer, jagi.”

Hyunjin laughs. Minho doesn’t walk on eggshells for anyone, but Hyunjin knows that this is him showing that he cares. He knows Hyunjin hates it when people treat him like he’s delicate, so he doesn’t pull his punches. It’s comforting, in its own way. Minho’s love is like that. Weird, but good. Like Minho himself. “I’m sorry, hyung-ah,” Hyunjin says in the most syrupy voice he can muster, bowing deeply. “You’re ten times the drag queen Seungmin will ever be.” That is a blatant lie, Seungmin and Minho are both talented performers in their own rights, albeit with very different styles, but his massive hyperbole is enough to crack Minho’s scary act. 

He nods sagely, eyes sparkling with amusement. “That’s right. Ok, I’m leaving. Nobody bother me.”

“Bye, hyung!” Felix calls after Minho. He flips them off on the way out and Felix giggles as he turns to Hyunjin. So, another round?” Felix asks, nodding at the TV. 

“Why, so you can beat me again? Let’s watch an anime.”

“Ok! You pick,” Felix says, plopping back down on the couch and tossing the remote at Hyunjin. 

“Fine.” Hyunjin cuddles up to Felix, who immediately drops his fingers to Hyunjin’s hair, almost like a reflex. Hyunjin only manages to get through half an episode before he drifts off, soothed by Felix gently braiding and unbraiding small sections of his hair. He wakes up almost two hours later, when Felix stands up.

“Sorry, babe,” Felix apologizes softly. “I think the brownies are probably cool enough to cut now.”

“It’s fine,” Hyunjin yawns. “I already slept too much, anyway.”

“Sometimes you need to sleep. That’s what Saturdays are for.”

“I guess. I do have homework to do.”

“Who are you, Seungmin?”

As if summoned, Seungmin walks through the front door looking characteristically stressed. “Hey.”

“Minnie!” Felix says excitedly. He holds up a brownie. “Want one? They’re still warm.”

Seungmin runs a hand through his hair and grimaces. “Maybe later, I have to take a shower.”

“One bite,” Felix insists, shoving a brownie in Seungmin’s mouth. Seungmin rolls his eyes, but doesn’t fight it, taking a bite. 

“How is our Jeongin?” Hyunjin asks, even though he knows the answer. Even if Seungmin hadn’t texted there was no mystery how Jeongin would be feeling today. Hyunjin only saw him a few times last night, but what he did see was a recipe for a massive hangover. 

“Hungover,” Seungmin answers simply through his mouthful of brownie. He smiles at Felix. “It’s really good, thanks.”

Felix glows at the compliment, but he’s quickly distracted as he takes in what Seungmin’s wearing. The foreign t-shirt and sweats hang off Seungmin’s narrow frame conspicuously. Felix’s eyes light up in mischief, a sly smile creeping across his face. “Are you wearing his clothes?”

“Shut up, was I supposed to sleep in my jeans?” Seungmin mumbles, going bright red.

“Seungmin-ah!” Felix squeals, throwing his arms around his friend. “You’re basically dating!”

“Stop, I’m leaving,” Seungmin says, wriggling out of Felix’s grasp.

“Don’t run from love, Minnie!” 

“I hate you.” 

“You love me!”

Seungmin sighs, leaning against the bathroom door. He knows that Felix means well, but he’s spent the last year of his life trying to shove his crush on Jeongin deep, deep down inside, and all this attention on their relationship is a lot. The truth is, Seungmin sometimes feels like their friendship is still delicate. His first year of uni he’d lost touch with Jeongin completely. It’s not like he’d done it on purpose, but it was so overwhelming figuring out he was gay and finding Bottom’s Up, let alone the coursework, so they just…drifted apart. And yeah, ok, maybe part of that was because Seungmin realized he’d loved Jeongin since they were kids and he didn’t know how to deal with that, but he honestly hadn’t even thought Jeongin would care. He always had lots of friends. He never needed Seungmin the way he needed Jeongin. It wasn’t until he came home for the summer that he realized how wrong he was. 

Jeongin forgave him eventually, but it took the whole break to get him to even speak to him again and another year to really get his best friend back. Now he has, he can’t lose that again. Definitely not for a stupid crush. So he spent all of last year shoving down his feelings through late night video calls and gaming sessions. It was…not very successful. But he’d gone to Australia with Felix this summer so at least he hadn’t had to confront those feelings in person. But now Jeongin is here and cuddling with him and it’s all just making Seungmin feel a bit unhinged. 

He looks at himself in the mirror, his heart doing a stupid little cartwheel at his chest at the sight of himself in Jeongin’s t-shirt. No. He needs to shut this shit down. Jeongin doesn’t feel that way about him. It’s just a fucking shirt. Seungmin showers quickly, pointedly not thinking about how Jeongin looked as he danced last night or his hand on Seungmin’s thigh while they were cuddling earlier. He can’t let himself go down that road, especially now. By the time he’s done drying his hair and makes his way back to the living room, the other three are already gathered. Hyunjin and Felix are dancing to a Sabrina Carpenter song while Minho watches on, hair pushed back by a fuzzy pink headband. 

“You look stupid,” Seungmin says. Minho uses this headband every time they get ready, and he tells him this every time. At this point, it’s more out of tradition than anything else. 

“Thank you,” Minho replies dryly. 

“Hi, Minnie.” Felix wraps his arms around Seungmin’s shoulders, kissing the top of his head sweetly. “You smell good. Did you use Jinnie’s hair stuff?”

“What?” Hyunjin whips around.

“Uh.” Honestly, he doesn’t even know. He went into autopilot mode.

“That stuff is so expensive, and I never have any because you guys are always using it.” 

“Ah, our Jinnie! So generous!” Minho teases.

“I hate it here.” 

“Open,” Felix orders, shoving a brownie in Hyunjin’s face. 

“This fixes nothing.” 

“Mmhm.”

They’ve done this a hundred times, so they quickly fall into their routine, chatting as they glue down their eyebrows and start in on their makeup. Hyunjin, always the last to finish covering his eyebrows by virtue of his being the thickest, lets out a dramatic sigh.

“Ugh, I’m going to shave them off.”

Felix gasps. “Hwang Hyunjin, if you shave your eyebrows off I will kill you.”

“They’re my eyebrows!”

“But they’re so pretty!” Felix argues, pouting. “They’re literally perfect, you can’t shave them!”

“They’re a pain in the ass to cover up, though,” Hyunjin whines.

“Beauty is pain.”

“The real question is, are you willing to draw on eyebrows literally every day?” Seungmin asks pragmatically. 

“No, but maybe I don’t even need them though.” Hyunjin unclips his bangs, spreading them across his forehead. “Look, you can barely even see them with my hair like this.”

“No, you can barely see them because they’re glued to your face,” Felix points out. “Your bangs aren’t thick enough to cover your eyebrows.”

“Do it,” Minho deadpans.

“Hyung! Please!”

“Yeah, hyung’s right, you should just do it,” Seungmin says, smiling deviously. 

“Guys,” Felix whines, his pout intensifying to a comical effect. 

“Aish, fine. I won’t.” Hyunjin scowls at Minho. He shoves his bangs back out of his face and starts covering his flattened eyebrows in a thick layer of concealer. “You can relax, Yongbokkie.”

“I just think they’re pretty!” 

“Jinnie’s just bored because he hasn’t done any impulsive physical changes lately.” Seungmin says, letting Felix manhandle his face around. “Dye your hair or something.”

“I was thinking about getting some more piercings.” Hyunjin examines his various earrings in his mirror.

“Well, you barely have any, so it makes sense,” Minho says sarcastically. Hyunjin sticks his tongue out at Minho, unintentionally showing off yet another one of his piercings. Doongie suddenly jumps up from where he was sitting in Minho’s lap, standing on the table and blocking Minho’s view of his mirror and access to his makeup.

“Aw, he wants to help!” Felix coos, reaching over to pet Doongie. 

“He does not want to help, he wants to get in the way.” Minho scoops the large orange cat up and deposits him back on the floor. Felix giggles as Doongie immediately gets right back on the table the second MInho lets go of him. 

“He knows this means you’re going out, hyung,” Felix says, grinning. “He wants you to stay.”

“Aigoo,” Minho groans, gently moving the cat back to his lap. He starts petting him, smiling softly when Doogie starts purring. “You’re so clingy, Doongie-ah.”

Felix grins. “Aww, hyung’s so cute!” Minho shoots a glare at Felix, but doesn’t say anything, going back to his contouring. 

Seungmin raises an eyebrow. “Hyung, your favoritism is showing.”

“I wasn’t trying to hide it.”

Seungmin rolls his eyes and turns to Felix, who’s blushing cutely from Minho’s words. “Do my eyebrows for me?” 

“Sure!”

Minho shakes his head. “You’re too nice, Yongbok-ah.”

“What, I should just tell him to fuck off?”

“That’s what I do.”

“I would never, I love my Seungminnie.” Felix pinches Seungmin’s cheek, who pulls away, wrinkling his nose. “Speaking of love, you haven’t told us how your day with Jeongin went,” Felix sing-songs.

“Because there’s nothing to say. We watched a drama together, that’s it.”

“Cute! Was there cuddling?” 

“Platonic cuddling.”

Felix is vibrating with delight, to the point he has to stop working on Seungmin’s eyebrows entirely. “Who initiated it?”

“He did, but—”

“He likes you! I knew it!” Felix squeals. “He was so touchy last night.”

“No, he does not. He’s straight.” Three pairs of eyes stare blankly back at Seungmin. He frowns at them. “What?”

Hyunjin, who’s been hyper focused on his complicated makeup look, slowly puts his brush down. “Seungmin, with love, there is no way that kid is straight."

“He was going on and on about how amazing the club is. He loved it,” Felix agrees gently, resuming his work on Seungmin’s brows. “He was having the time of his life.

“That doesn’t mean—”

“He literally said Chris was hot.” 

“Yeah, but maybe he meant it in an aesthetic sense. Like, objectively he’s attractive, so…”

Minho sighs. “Seungmin-ah, the boy you’re in love with is almost certainly gay. That’s a good thing.”

“But…”

“Just take the win, babe,” Hyunjin says, squeezing Seungmin’s hand. 

“I guess it’s possible. But why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“It’s probably just new, you remember how scary that is.” Felix pauses, carefully considering his next words. “Especially if the person you want to tell is also someone you have a crush on.”

“He does not have a crush on me.”

“Are you sure, though? Think about it.” 

Maybe Felix has a point. Jeongin is pretty affectionate with Seungmin, and not with a lot of other people. But they’ve always been like that, since they were kids. Plus, Felix and Hyunjin are super affectionate and they’re just friends. So really that doesn’t mean anything. 

Felix knows that he’s right about Jeongin. It’s not hard to tell he’s got a major crush on Seungmin, but Seungmin’s complete denial is weird. Hyunjin might be as dense as a sack of bricks when it comes to when people have crushes on him, but Seungmin is usually extremely perceptive. It’s almost freaky how well Seungmin is able to tell when one of the cocky “straight” jocks are actually into him. But love and sex are two different beasts, and Seungmin looks like he’s having a whole existential crisis, so Felix decides to give him a break and change the subject. “Anyway, I need help too! Is it too soon to text Chris?” 

“Yes,” Hyunjin says immediately.  

“No,” Seungmin responds at the same time.

“Who cares?” Minho asks, voice utterly bored. 

“You people are no help.” 

“Felix, men do not like it when you’re available,” Hyunjin says sagely. “If you act too interested it freaks them out. You have to pretend you don’t care.”

Seungmin rolls his eyes. “Don’t say that like it’s a universal truth. You guys were making out all night, obviously you both know you like each other. What’s the point in playing games?”

“Oh, please. Don’t be naive, Min. Sex is one thing, but when you start getting into dates and relationships, guys get scared.”

“He basically already asked him on a date.”

“Hyung, help,” Felix whines in Minho’s direction. 

Minho lets out a belabored sigh. “Seungmin’s right. He already asked you out, just tell him you’re free on Wednesday.”

“Wednesday? Are you insane?”

Seungmin grins triumphantly. “Wait, what did you say? Seungmin’s what?”

“Wednesday is soon…” Felix says anxiously. He sits back, admiring his work. “Done!” 

Seungmin takes a quick look in the mirror. He gives Felix a soft smile. “They’re great, thanks.”

“Duh,” Felix grins. He turns back to Hyunjin, biting his lip. “Do you really think I’ll scare him off?”

Hyunjin sighs. “Show me his instagram.”

“I don’t have it.”

“Why not?”

“He didn’t give it to me.”

“God, you’re hopeless,” Hyunjin says, rolling his eyes. “I’ll find it.”

“I don’t want him to think I’m stalking him! Isn’t your whole argument that I shouldn’t interact with him?”

“You look, you don’t interact.” Hyunjin holds up his phone triumphantly. “Got it.”

“How? You don’t know anything about him.”

“His friend followed me.”

“Ooh, the one you were dancing with?”

“Don’t say it like that.”

“He’s cute! You don’t think he’s cute? I mean, those arms are crazy.”

“I think he’s straight.”

“Doesn’t mean he can’t be cute,” Seungmin points out. 

“Plus are we sure he’s straight? I saw him dancing.”

“So any man who can dance is gay? That’s offensive,” Hyunjin deadpans. “Maybe he’s just confident in his masculinity.”

Felix rolls his eyes. “Well, I think you’re the one being reductive! You think he’s not gay because of how he looks! And I think we’re all aware that being gay and being a gym rat aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“Yeah, seriously,” Seungmin says. 

“That’s not why.” Hyunjin holds his phone out to show the others Changbin’s profile. “Tell me this isn’t the straightest thing you’ve ever seen.”

Seungmin shrugs. “All the guys I sleep with have instas like that.”

“And your point? All the guys you sleep with are closeted.”

“Not all of them.”

Hyunjin shakes his head. “He’s straight, and I don’t devote my valuable brain space to straight men.”

Minho hums contemplatively. “Hmm, there isn’t a lot of space up there.” 

“Says you,” Hyunjin mutters. 

“What was that?” Minho’s tone is murderous. 

“Oh shit, Jinnie’s trying to die tonight,” Seungmin laughs. 

“Nothing,” Hyunjin says sweetly, batting his falsies at Minho.

“That’s what I thought.” Minho turns to Felix. “I know you like this guy but if he gets scared off by you saying you want to go out with him after he asked you out first, then he’s a dick and not worth the stress.”

“Yeah, just do it, Bokkie.” Seungmin elbows Hyunjin. “Right, Jinnie?”

“I guess,” Hyunjin mumbles, still looking at Chris’ profile. “People seem to like him at least. Can’t be that much of an asshole.”

“Ok, ok. I’ll do it.” 

Chris Bahng

so im free wednesday afternoon if you still want to get that coffee 😊

or like sunday if you have work lol

(8:56 pm, read)

Yeah definitely!

Wednesday’s great! My work schedule is pretty flexible haha

Does 1pm work?

I know a great place

(8:59 pm, read)

yep!!

(9:00 pm, read)

Cool! I’ll send you the address :)

(9:01 pm, read)

Felix giggles a little at the analog emoji and formal punctuation. Truthfully, he finds the way Chris texts stupidly endearing. He wants nothing more than to keep texting with him, but Felix reacts to the address with a heart and forces himself to put his phone down. As much as he’d like to believe Hyunjin is wrong, he can’t help but think about the many guys who ghosted him when he got too chatty too quickly. It’s better to play it safe. Besides, Wednesday is soon enough. 

They finish their makeup, and everyone else is having a good time, but Hyunjin isn’t feeling it. Felix seems happy about the response he got to his text, which Hyunjin guesses is good, but he just doesn’t have a good feeling about this Chris guy. Felix is too sweet for his own good, and it wouldn’t be the first time a guy used him to experiment and then went home to his girlfriend. He doesn’t want to watch his best friend get heartbroken. It pisses him off that Minho, who’s usually on his side when it comes to protecting Felix, doesn’t even seem to care. Hyunjin’s the last to be done with his makeup, everyone else having already split up to their rooms to get changed. He heads for Minho’s room, irritation still eating at him. 

“What is your problem?”

“That’s aggressive,” Minho says dryly. “Care to let me in on what you’re mad about, or do you want me to guess?”

“Felix. You’re seriously encouraging this thing now?” 

“Why shouldn’t I?” Minho turns around, and gestures to his corset. “Lace me up?”

Hyunjin frowns, but complies, long fingers deftly tightening the ribbons. “You actually think that guy’s queer?”

Mingo shrugs. “He was pretty comfortable kissing Felix in a gay bar for a straight guy. Besides, whatever his intentions are, Felix likes him, and if we go in too hard against him without any evidence he’s trying to pull something, Felix will just stop listening to us and it’ll be harder if we do find out he’s a dick.” 

“I guess.”

“He probably won’t listen either way, so we might as well wait until we have a good reason.”

“Now you’re talking about me,” Hyunjin says, pouting. He finishes tightening the corset and Minho turns around, laughing softly.

“I wasn’t, actually, but that does prove my point. The heart wants what it wants and all that.”

Hyunjin isn’t totally convinced, but he’s willing to admit there’s some logic behind Minho’s words, so he lets it go for now. He heads back to his own room and quickly changes. It’s not often that Hyunjin is the first to be ready, but his makeup is the most time consuming part of today’s look. He’s going more androgynous today, so he’s not wearing any padding or a corset. He spent two months painting the bodysuit and platforms he’s wearing, but it’s easy to get into, so it took very little time to get dressed. Combined with his makeup, it’s pretty successful at making him look like he just stepped out of a van Gogh without much assembly. Felix’s Sailor Moon look, on the other hand, is one of his most complicated, so Hyunjin is in for a wait.

He sits down in the living room delicately, mindful of his wig, and pulls out his phone. He has gloves for his performance, but he’s not about to spend the next two hours unable to operate a touchscreen. He scrolls through Chris’ instagram again. There’s nothing that Hyunjin can see that indicates queerness, and there’s one pretty girl that crops up in a lot of his photos. It makes him nervous, but Minho’s right. There’s no indication the girl in the photos is anything other than a friend, and he was pretty bold with Felix last night. He can give him the benefit of the doubt. For now. 

He clicks back and ends up on Changbin’s profile again. Felix isn’t wrong. He’s attractive, and he definitely knows it. Every other post is a gym thirst trap, although there’s a good amount of other stuff mixed in. Cute aegyo selfies, pictures of surprisingly normal looking food, and group shots featuring lots of people, although not many more than once. He recognizes one girl from the girl’s dance team and the guys from the other night, but few others crop up regularly. There’s also quite a few pictures of his family. He seems like a nice, normal guy. Hyunjin wonders why a guy like that would have any interest in him. 

He scrolls back up, eyes lingering on Changbin’s most recent thirst trap. It’s a mirror selfie, his face mostly obscured by his phone, the focus of the photo is his undeniably impressive upper body. He was wearing a baggy t-shirt last night, and while Hyunjin could still tell he was built, seeing his muscles in a compression shirt is something else. His biceps bulge, straining the thin fabric. His chest is massive and his waist tapers prettily. Hyunjin bites his lip. Ok, so he’s hot. He’s hot and pretty and a surprisingly good dancer and he could snap Hyunjin like a fucking twig. But it doesn’t matter how many of Hyunjin’s boxes he’s ticking, because he is definitely, undeniably straight, and if there’s one thing Hwang Hyunjin will not do, it’s fall for a straight guy. So Hyunjin closes his profile, and shoves Changbin and his goddamn biceps out of his mind.