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It'd been a long time since they had last gotten together like this, just a simple dinner and beers with the boys without any cameras around.
Yesung could now see at least seven bottles of beer on the table, although he wasn't sure who'd drunk the most. He and Donghae had been slowly enjoying their drinks as always, so his money was on Siwon and Kangin, who could normally hold their liquor quite well. Yet, there was another obvious suspect.
After drinking who knows how many beers, Hyukjae had grown more and more touchy during dinner, his body now fully turned toward Yesung as if the rest of the table didn't exist. The younger had spent the entire meal messing with him, ever so happy to get a laugh out of Yesung, starting with teasing jokes which then turned to playful pokes. And when Yesung couldn't help but follow along with his games, a silly gummy smile would appear on his face, making Yesung only want to see it again.
If he was honest, he’d been so focused on the leg unnecessarily pressed against his and its owner that he only realized their three friends had simply stood up to leave them alone when he heard Donghae’s loud laugh all the way across the room.
When he turned his head back toward Hyukjae, the younger was bopping his head to the beat of a song he probably didn't even know, yet his clueless drunken smile still managed to make Yesung chuckle endearingly. He couldn’t help but lift his hand and place it on the back of Hyukjae’s neck, caressing it slightly, without noticing the sharp intake of breath the younger one took as soon as his hand touched his skin.
Hyukjae instinctively leaned against the touch, turning his head toward him with his eyes closed. Yesung sneaked his hand a little further up into his hair, enjoying the way Hyukjae let out a long content sigh before opening his eyes. The sound had been so subtle and so low that Yesung wondered how he had even been able to hear it over the music. Perhaps, one could figure, because nothing else mattered when Hyukjae’s gaze was on him and his own eyes struggled not to look down at his lips.
“Yah! Hyukie!” Siwon yelled from across the room, suddenly pulling them both out from the bubble they’d been in.
Yesung quickly pulled his hand down from Hyukjae’s nape, straightening his back, as the younger snapped his head toward their friends.
Kangin seemed to chuckle at the startled look on his face, but Siwon and Donghae only turned the music louder and encouraged him to join them. Instead of replying, however, he only turned his head back toward Yesung as if he was trying to assess his reaction. But as soon as their eyes met, it was if the tension that had been there a minute ago had dissolved and they could only laugh at themselves.
Yet, it was almost as if the sound of Yesung’s laugh somehow encouraged him to put on a show. He downed what was left of his beer and then stood up in his place, still beside Yesung, and started following the rhythm with his whole body.
And even though Hyukjae in his drunken state had probably expected to look sexy, Yesung still couldn’t help but laugh. He simply pulled out his phone and went on IG. He figured the rest of the world deserved to see this as well. As he transmitted live, Hyukjae moved to the rhythm, clapping here and there with the most nonchalant face he could pull off in that state. Although he still chuckled along, Yesung stopped filming the moment he noticed he was perhaps staring at the screen a little too intently.
When Siwon and Donghae started laughing and dancing along with him, however, Hyukjae raised his legs over the bench to join them in the small self made dancefloor they’d created. Still, he leaned on Yesung's shoulder for balance as he got out, letting his hand linger there for a moment too long, before sliding it down his arm.
"Ouch," Yesung suddenly whined when Hyukjae dug his finger into his side. His little jump put a small grin on the younger's face, whose soft chuckle he heard before he walked away.
As Yesung rubbed the spot with a small smile on his face, he noticed Kangin approaching the table with a new beer in hand. Yesung wondered when he’d gotten it, since he didn’t notice him walking over toward the bar. Still, he was happy to see him, scooting over down the bench to sit nearer to his friend's spot.
Kangin seemed to have seen him and Hyukjae playing around since he started walking toward him, raising a finger tauntingly as if he was going to poke him as well.
“Don’t you dare…” Yesung warned him, swatting his hand away.
Kangin laughed wholeheartedly. “Ah… I see how it is...” He said as he walked around him. “Is he the only one allowed to do it?”
Yesung frowned, confused, waiting for Kangin to plop down in his seat. "Huh?"
"You do know he's flirting with you, right?" His friend asked with a cheeky smile. Yesung looked startled, but he couldn’t even manage to get a word out. "Eunhyukie, I mean. He's definitely flirting with you."
"What?" Yesung huffed out, seemingly finding his voice again. He tried to look natural, taking a sip of his drink and coughing almost immediately. "No, he's not", he insisted in between coughs.
Kangin silently waited for him to regain his breath while looking at him with a knowing smile. When his friend spoke again, however, it surprised Yesung to hear that his tone was not teasing at all. "He is, Yesungie. And by your reaction... I can tell that you already knew that."
Yesung shook his head slightly as he gaped at his friend for a moment, not quite knowing what to say. But when Kangin held his gaze, almost daring him to deny it, Yesung couldn't seem to find the strength to do it. Instead, he simply scoffed out a chuckle as he looked down at his drink.
"Okay, maybe," he said with a shrug. "But Hyukjae kinda flirts with everyone. It's just his way to be playful."
"Trust me, I can tell the difference between playful and flirty Hyukjae," said Kangin, lowering his head a little to force Yesung to meet his eyes. "Just like I know when you are being flirty."
"What are you talking about?" Yesung laughed nervously again.
"Please, Yesungie…” He said. “You know it's not just him. You're flirting back too, my friend."
He focused his gaze on the remaining liquid in his glass, twirling it around carefully, while several different thoughts flashed through his mind. Yet, it all suddenly seemed to stop when his attention drifted toward his hand, the one holding his glass and the same one he had run through Hyukjae’s hair only minutes ago.
It hadn’t really been the first time he played with Hyukjae’s hair, so he wondered when the small gesture had turned so electric and whether Hyukjae could feel it as well.
"So what if I am?" He asked at last, without lifting his eyes.
Although he didn’t get to see it, Kangin opened his eyes wide in surprise, obviously not expecting him to admit it, even going as far as choking a little on the sip of beer he’d just taken. It was Yesung’s turn now to wait for his friend’s coughing laughter to stop, eventually getting only a single word as reply. "Wow."
Kangin's sudden coughing fit had managed to get everyone's attention for a second, making Yesung want to crawl under the table in embarrassment. Yet when everyone else finally went back to dancing and Kangin's laughter finally died down, his friend leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked him up and down.
"Well, well," he said, lifting an eyebrow. "First of all... Eunhyuk-ah? Really, Yesung? C'mon, you could do better."
Yesung huffed out a laugh, letting out a relieved sigh he didn't know he'd been holding. At least knowing they could joke about it somehow calmed down his nerves. "True."
"But," Kangin started to say, "if you're really interested, I say go for it." His friend looked away for a second and when Yesung saw him smile, he also turned to follow his gaze. As soon as he did, his eyes immediately found Hyukjae's, who was looking at him with a cheeky smile from across the room. "Something tells me he wants you to."
Even though he heard Kangin’s words, Yesung’s eyes remained glued to Hyukjae’s, his gaze seemingly echoing the same message. Perhaps Kangin wasn’t so wrong, he thought. So when the younger lowered his gaze a little shyly, Yesung lips curled up into a side smile, lowering his own eyes to the glass in his hand again.
He sighed, side eyeing his friend for a second before nodding. "I'll think about it."
Kangin just huffed out a laugh. He extended his bottle of beer toward him, waiting for Yesung to clink his glass against it, before nodding along, seemingly satisfied.
With a shy smile, Yesung downed what was left of his drink and at the start of the new song, he just stood up with a sigh as if he couldn't quite believe the conversation he'd just had. Yet before he could head over toward the rest of their friends, Kangin's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Yesung-ah..." He suddenly said, quite seriously. "Just be careful. Okay?"
Yesung smiled at him, but eventually nodded. "I promise."
When Kangin seemed satisfied enough with his answer, his friend nodded toward the others and winked at him before giving him a little playful push. "Now go get him, Romeo."
Yesung chuckled embarrassedly. "Shut up."
After another two hours of dancing, drinking and loud laughter, they'd become the only ones left in the bar. It was probably well past its usual closing time, but whenever they were recognized, people were sometimes too shy to ask them to leave. So when they started getting ready to head home, they decided to help the owner of the bar clean up a little and put the benches away as a way of thanking him.
Of course, it was Donghae and Siwon who were doing most of the lifting while Kangin left a big tip on the counter before helping out too. Yesung and Hyukjae, on their part, had only brought their empty glasses and bottles to where the owner had pointed them, finishing their task quite quickly.
Once he was done, Hyukjae had just grabbed his jacket and decided to wait by the door, so as not to stand in anyone's way. So when Yesung finished putting on his hat again, he decided to join him.
"Hey," he said as he approached him.
Hyukjae smiled at him warmly. "Hey."
Yesung looked at the side of his face for a second, nudging him with his shoulder. "Are you tired?"
The question seemed to get the younger's full attention, since he turned to look straight at him. "Nah", he said with a shrug.
"Then do you wanna go for a walk?"
And there it was again. That content look the younger would later blame on the alcohol. Still, Hyukjae smiled at him, seemingly hesitating. "Should we tell the others?"
Yesung sighed, looking back at their friends for a moment and then back at Hyukjae. "If you want to," he said, caressing his nape again.
Hyukjae inhaled sharply at the touch, now a little more sober than earlier. It was now his gaze that went back and forth between their friends and Yesung's expectant look beside him. But the feeling of Yesung's skin on his neck again was definitely enough to make up his mind. "They'll probably just want to go home..." He said scrunching up his nose. "Right?"
Yesung smiled. "Just you and me then?"
Hyukjae bit his bottom lip trying to hold back a smile and nodded.
As they stared at each other, it was almost as if they could see it all. The stolen smiles and grazing hands as they walked. The way Hyukjae would later press Yesung's back against a dimly lit nook by the riverbank and their hovering breaths above each other's lips.
Yet, before Yesung could picture it any further, Hyukjae flashed him a devilish, half drunken smile and then looked back to check on the others. When he made sure no one was looking, he turned back toward him and simply grabbed his hand.
"Let's go," he whispered.
So before he knew it, Yesung saw himself being dragged out the door as they sneaked away. And he just followed along.
As they ran down the street, Yesung couldn't help but smile endearingly at the young man in front of him and at the happy expression on his face. When Hyukjae turned to look at him for a second, however, he could recognize in his eyes the same feeling that now tingled underneath his own skin. It wasn’t just the growing expectation to see what the rest of the night had in store for them, but the warm certainty of knowing that that night would only be the start of a bigger adventure that wouldn’t end with the first rays of daylight. And they couldn't wait.