Chapter Text
"If there's something strange
In your neighbourhood
Who you gonna call?
GHOST [HUNTERS]!"
It was a dark and stormy night. And this was definitely Huening Kai's stupidest idea yet.
Five grown men going into an abandoned warehouse all the way in Siberia (read: the middle of fucking nowhere) to look for ghosts while living out Kai's childhood fantasy of being part of the Ghostbusters. On Halloween. By themselves. Unsupervised. Alone. What could possibly go wrong?
Oh, only everything.
So, now the group has gathered outside an unbelievably dusty and dark abandoned warehouse that appears to be situated far, far away from any signs of civilisation. Everyone glances at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.
"So...what are we doing here again?" Soobin mumbles. He rubs his swollen eyes, having slept the entire way there.
Clearing his throat, Huening Kai announces, "Okay team, I have gathered you here today to hunt some ghosts for a special, spooky Halloween outing!" The youngest beams at each of his friends in turn.
"You gathered us? Bastard, I drove us all the way here," Yeonjun snaps. "I should be getting paid to babysit. I drove us because I thought we were going somewhere nice to eat—not to frolic around in some abandoned warehouse."
"Going out for dinner in a fake bulletproof vest? Okay..." Taehyun retorts under his breath. "I guess those born in the dinosaur age are just built different." Soobin slaps a hand over his mouth, stifling his laughter.
Huening Kai ignores them. "As the boss and least cowardly member of this group, I will bravely go off on my own to explore the warehouse and hunt for ghosts. You guys can form pairs amongst yourselves."
No one objects to Huening Kai going alone. In fact, they ignore him completely.
"I'm going with Yeonjun-hyung," Taehyun speaks up straightaway, pointing at Soobin and Beomgyu. "He's less hopeless than you two."
Soobin groans. "I want to go with Yeonjun-hyung!"
"Me too!" Beomgyu shouts. He scowls at Soobin, raising his clenched fists in jest.
Yeonjun shrugs, wearing a smug expression on his face. "Alright, alright, alright. I know everyone wants a piece of this fine ass but there's enough of me to go around. Get in line, ladies," he drawls.
An uncomfortable silence follows. Huening Kai forces awkward laughter in an attempt to dissolve the tension.
"I take it back. You have him, Taehyun-ah," Soobin mutters.
"Yeah, Yeonjun-hyung stinks, anyway," Beomgyu chimes in. He turns to Soobin. "Besides, we were roommates before. Roommate power—right?" (Oh my God, they were roommates)
They high-five each other.
"Roommate power!" Soobin yells. "Just wait, you two—we'll prove that we're better, faster, stronger and better-looking than both of you!"
Huening Kai frowns. "Guys, don't forget—we're supposed to be a team, remember—"
Taehyun blows a raspberry at the other team and makes a thumbs down motion. Moments later, Yeonjun joins in with the playground politics.
"You're a loser...you're a loser," Yeonjun sings provokingly, putting his finger and his thumb in the shape of an L on his forehead.
The two start dancing obnoxiously to mock the other team. Soobin and Beomgyu retaliate with an onslaught of...colourful insults. If this were a movie, their back-and-forth would be censored out every three words:
"Eat [CENSORED], dumb and dumber—"
"[CENSORED]"
"You're a [CENSORED], Soobin—"
"You fools are the real losers—"
"Beomgyu, you're so dumb, there must be a black hole inside your skull sucking up all your [CENSORED] brain cells—"
"Yeonjun-hyung, your face looks like my asshole when I'm on the toilet after eating three bowls of Hot Spicy Chicken Buldak ramyeon—"
"Guys," Huening Kai tries to yell over the chaos. "Guys! We're here to hunt ghosts. Remember?"
He's ignored again.
"GUYS!"
God help them.
-
Naturally, given the unrelenting competitiveness and apparently excessive amounts of testosterone between the five of them, the ghost hunt instead turns into a full-blown Nerf gun war between the three 'teams'. And nobody is safe.
Trust nobody. Not even your teammate.
As soon as they separate from the other teams, Soobin and Beomgyu turn on each other. Beomgyu fires around 10 bullets at Soobin's chest and laughs maniacally.
"Yah! Stop—stop it—" Soobin whines, fending himself from the soft, foam bullets to no avail. Contrary to his panicked voice, he's giggling like a schoolgirl, his smile all cute and gummy-like and shit.
To his surprise, Beomgyu actually listens. For precisely one second. Then, he continues shooting at the older, a grin stretched across his face, his resemblance to the Cheshire Cat uncanny.
Ding!
Light bulb moment. Soobin gets a brilliant idea. He bends down, scoops up all of Beomgyu's bullets that have already been fired at him, and scampers off.
"Hey!" Beomgyu calls out while furiously pulling on his trigger. He used up all of his ammunition already. Shit.
Soobin loads his Nerf gun and fires at Beomgyu's head.
"Yah! Aim away from my beautiful face. Unlike yours, my face is precious—a work of art! OW!" Beomgyu cries out, pretending to be in pain. He blocks his face, stumbling backwards from the force of the bullets, and backs straight into a wall.
Except it isn't actually a wall.
Beomgyu looks up at Taehyun's bemused face.
It's none other than Taehyun's chest, of course.
Beomgyu chokes. "Oh—fuck! Enemy alert! Enemy alert! Soobin-hyung, come here, I need reinforcement—"
He glances back only to find out that the man has magically vanished into thin air. Panicked, Beomgyu points his gun at Taehyun and presses the trigger. His gun pathetically shoots out nothing but puffs of air.
Fuck. He forgot to reload. All the bullets Soobin fired at him are scattered all around them, arranged in such a way that Beomgyu and Taehyun look like sacrificial lamb offerings to Satan in the middle of a foam bullet pentagram.
"No ammo?" Taehyun scoffs, looking down at him with a smile. He cocks an eyebrow arrogantly. "Tch, amateur. Should I be surprised?"
"You little—" Beomgyu smacks Taehyun's gun out of his grasp and grapples with the younger, both of them disarmed. They're almost equally matched in physical strength now that Beomgyu has been working out regularly. The end result? An intense, homoerotic wrestling match.
"You—fuck—you got a lot stronger, hyung—" Taehyun grunts out, muffled, his face buried into Beomgyu's neck. He tries to sweep Beomgyu off his feet next and push him down onto the concrete but Beomgyu has his feet planted firmly on the ground to block the manoeuvre.
Beomgyu chuckles. "Haha—that's right! You underestimated me, Taehyun-ah! I'm strong now, I work out all the time."
"And who helped you get there?" Taehyun asks with a knowing smile. He releases Beomgyu from his grip without warning, making the older almost trip over his own feet.
Slowly and agonisingly, Taehyun rolls up his sleeves, trying out a new fighting approach (the psychological warfare kind or, really, the art of seduction approach). Beomgyu stares at his arms, momentarily losing himself in the sight of his biceps. He gulps.
Taehyun grins. "Yeah. I did."
While Beomgyu is caught off guard, Taehyun wraps his arms around his legs and throws him onto the ground. Beomgyu yelps. When Taehyun manages to pin his shoulders down onto the cold concrete, his mind promptly fills with static.
"—Fuck! Soobin-hyung, HELP ME!" He shouts into the dark void. "I'M DYING HERE AND YOU'RE JUST LETTING YOUR PARTNER GET PUMMELLED TO DEATH?!"
In an unrealistic, movie-like fashion, Soobin suddenly appears from around the corner, now armed with two Nerf guns. He barrels towards them, still giggling between heavy pants.
Taehyun scrunches up his forehead. "Where did you get that gun from? Did you murder Kai and pry his gun from his rotting corpse fingers or something?
Beomgyu lights up at the sight of his teammate. "SOOBIN-HYUNG! Quick—save me from this goblin!" His eyes round in mortification when Yeonjun comes running from the opposite direction towards them.
Yeonjun does a forward roll, channelling his inner Hollywood action star (And because he's Choi Yeonjun), and aims his gun at Soobin.
"Don't worry, Taehyun." He winks at Soobin. "I got this covered. Too easy."
Soobin looks offended. "Huh? Excuse me?" He directs his two guns at Yeonjun and they both fire away at each other.
Taehyun plops himself onto Beomgyu's stomach and retrieves his gun from beside him. "I kinda just wanna watch this go down. There's no way Soobin-hyung will win this."
"Yah! Get off of me, you—you—Hulk! You muscle...monster!" Beomgyu writhes in agony, trying to escape from underneath Taehyun's body. He reaches out and grips Taehyun's arms to try to push the younger off of him. Cheekily, he uses the opportunity to feel up his muscles for a little bit (Can you blame him? Taehyun is fine).
Taehyun glances down. "Was that meant to be an insult?"
Then he holds out a pinky finger. "Tell you what—if I let you go, let's promise not to attack each other and gang up on the others instead, starting from Yeonjun-hyung."
Beomgyu narrows his eyes. "Fine, deal." He completes the pinky promise with Taehyun, interlocking their pinky fingers.
Taehyun smiles, thrusting out his hand for a handshake. "Good doing business with—AH!" As soon as Taehyun stands up, Beomgyu drags him back down onto the floor.
"HAHA! You're so naive. I'm not letting you go anywhere, my mortal enemy!" Beomgyu jeers, enveloping Taehyun in a tight bear hug. Now that they're wrestling again, the warehouse becomes filled with a cacophony of questionable moans and squawks. It sounds like an animal enclosure at the zoo—and from the sounds that are leaving their mouths, there seems to be a fierce mating ritual going on between the two.
Ah, to be young and horny again.
Taehyun tries to employ a distraction technique to get the upperhand. "Hold on—look at how flexible Yeonjun-hyung is."
Beomgyu peeks up from his compromised position between Taehyun's thighs. Yeonjun is bent down into a near-split, still firing at Soobin.
"Holy shit, you're right. Go, Yeonjun—wait, shit, I'm meant to be on Soobin-hyung's side." Beomgyu smiles sheepishly at Soobin, who aims a death glare at him.
Forgetting about his wrestling match with Beomgyu entirely, Taehyun asks in a provocative tone, "Do you like how flexible Yeonjun-hyung is, Soobin-hyung? Must be pretty nice when you guys sleep together." He smirks. When Beomgyu catches onto what he's implying, he also grins, and his eyes dart between the two.
The two older men freeze.
"What the fuck did you say, Kang Taehyun?" Yeonjun spits.
Equally as mad, Soobin raises an eyebrow at his former roommate. "Do you want me to expose you and your dreams about a certain someone, Beomgyu-ah? Hm?"
Beomgyu purses his lips. "Uh—uh..." he croaks. He can feel the heat radiating from Taehyun's gaze upon him. His face reddens. "N-no...thanks..."
The booming sound of thunder interrupts them, making the floor tremble. It starts raining. Beomgyu flinches, the sound of the rain striking the galvanised steel roof atop the warehouse loud and abrasive. He shoves his fingers into his ears. "Fuck, that is loud. My ears hurt."
At the first sound of thunder, Soobin runs off cowering in fear. Yeonjun snaps his head to where Soobin is running.
"Hey—come back! We're not done yet!" He runs off after Soobin, leaving Beomgyu and Taehyun alone on the floor again.
Beomgyu finally slips out of Taehyun's grasp and sits up with bated breath. His eyes are shifty and uneasy, every sound he hears, big or small, getting on his nerves. The playful, light mood from before has done a complete 180.
The warehouse is shrouded in darkness but the lightning strikes that flash every 30 or so seconds shower the building with blinding white light. With every crack, shivers worm their way down Beomgyu's spine.
Next to him, Taehyun sits up and observes Beomgyu. The pair sit in silence for a few minutes.
"What was that about a dream you were having about someone?" Taehyun finally asks, trying to divert the other's attention away from the eerie atmosphere.
"It's...it's nothing, Soobin-hyung is just...playing..." Beomgyu whispers in a barely-audible voice, lifeless and dull.
Taehyun bites his lip. Deliberating over what he should say next to help him feel better, he starts stroking Beomgyu's long hair. "What made you wear the wig today?"
Beomgyu is wearing a long, shoulder-length wig that blends in naturally with his real hair. He shrugs. "I thought we were ghost-hunting tonight," Beomgyu explains. "And my concept was the beautiful spy that the ghosts would fall for—I mean, someone had to do it. And I'm clearly the prettiest."
Taehyun combs his fingers through it. "It looks really good on you." He shuffles closer, brushing a strand away from Beomgyu's eyes. Taehyun's large, doe eyes are trained on Beomgyu.
After he finishes adjusting Beomgyu's fringe, Taehyun tilts his head to the side and openly admires it. There's a softness in his eyes now, one that has always been secretly reserved for the older. This could've come across as all cute and innocent and lovey-dovey if Taehyun wasn't currently staring at Beomgyu while running his tongue over his teeth. Something in his expression darkens.
Beomgyu blinks at him. His breath hitches in his throat at how close Taehyun is to him now—how close their faces are, mere inches apart. Just moments ago, he was practically flung over the younger's body like cling wrap. But now, the tension between them is palpable.
"Yah, Kang Taehyun. Are you flirting with me?" Beomgyu questions carefully. He squints at Taehyun, trying to decipher his motives.
"Am I?" Taehyun shoots back. He moves in closer. "I'm just trying to distract you, hyung. You're such a scaredy-cat. I'm afraid you'll piss your pants any minute now."
Beomgyu scoffs. "Don't act like you're not scared! You're shaking as well." He pokes at Taehyun's forearm, briefly admiring how Taehyun looks in his all-black ghost-hunter outfit. He really hadn't gotten the chance to look at him in full. Wow.
"That's not from fear."
Taehyun moves his face incredibly close to Beomgyu's, levelling his gaze at him. Frankly, he has no idea what he's doing now. It must be the anxiety, the adrenaline from the raging storm outside the warehouse that's pushing him forward. But Beomgyu doesn't seem to be pulling away, so he takes that as a green light.
Go.
He rests his hand on Beomgyu's thigh and smiles. "I'm shaking because you're making me nervous, Beomgyu-hyung."
"I'm making you nervous? Why's that?" Beomgyu asks incredulously. He still looks confused, not catching on.
Taehyun clears his throat. "Because you look so beautiful, hyung. I'm trembling."
Beomgyu bursts into laughter. "What?! Taehyun-ah, what is wrong with you. Are you okay? Did the lightning go to your head or something? What are you saying?"
Now is the time, Taehyun thinks. He's morbidly curious about how Beomgyu will react to this, morbidly curious about how Beomgyu actually feels about him. Now he can get the answer to all the questions that have been haunting him for years.
He lightly grazes Beomgyu's jawline with his finger and tilts his chin up slightly. "Hyung, who did you have a dream about?"
That makes Beomgyu freeze.
"Um...I didn't have one...Soobin-hyung is an idiot, he-he made it all up—" he stammers. "Taehyun-ah, do you want to kiss me or something?"
Taehyun blinks innocently, batting his eyelashes. "Would that be okay?"
"What the fuck," Beomgyu breathes. "You're messing with me. Don't mess with me like this. My heart can only take so much right now. My heart rate is over 9000 beats per minute, I fucking swear."
"Okay, but what if I told you I actually liked you?" Taehyun whispers. Surrounded by darkness and the intermittent sounds from the outside thunderstorm, he's feeling braver than ever. He has no idea why he's feeling so antsy and aroused all of a sudden, but he can't find it in himself to tear his gaze away from Beomgyu's bright, cherry lips. If Beomgyu responds the way he thinks he'll respond, he's gonna go in for it.
"You're lying," Beomgyu mumbles. His gaze lowers gradually, eventually landing on Taehyun's mouth. "Stop...stop lying to me." Contradicting his own words, he jerks forward and presses their lips together.
By pure instinct, Taehyun catches Beomgyu before he falls on top of him, and kisses him back. Beomgyu presses his mouth up against Taehyun's fervently, trying to feel every inch, every crevice of Taehyun's lips. The intensity in the kiss is enough to take Taehyun's breath away. He slides his hands up Beomgyu's chest, wrapping his arms around his neck, and pulls their bodies closer together.
The warehouse shakes from the raging thunderstorm but they are no longer fazed by it. For a while, they are lost in each other. Beomgyu zones out completely. The rest of the world fades into the background.
When they start to get a bit more handsy, the hairs on the back of Taehyun's neck stand up. He moans as Beomgyu starts to mouth at his neck. Beomgyu slips his hand underneath Taehyun's shirt and strokes the length of his abs. Aside from how nervous he seems, his breathing being uneven and shaky, Beomgyu is confident in what he's doing.
"Hey-hey, we're...we're in public," Taehyun stutters, flushing slightly. Beomgyu's lips quirk up in amusement.
"And? Who's gonna stop me?"
He strips off Taehyun's vest, then returns to making out with him again. Grunting, Taehyun lifts Beomgyu up and pins him against the nearest wall. From his back pocket, he pulls out the pair of handcuffs he brought along as a joke and handcuffs Beomgyu's hands behind his back. The older whimpers. He bites onto his lip, fingers curling into fists, trying to hold back.
Taehyun tangles his hand in Beomgyu's luscious hair, tugging on it slightly. Beomgyu groans.
"More...more, please."
"Okay, beautiful," Taehyun teases.
Just as he's about to kiss him again, a strange voice interrupts them.
Hello, dears.
Beomgyu and Taehyun jump apart. They look around for the source of the noise.
"What the fuck—did you hear that?" Beomgyu says frantically. Taehyun nods.
Please help me, dears. I'm trapped. The same frail old woman's voice echoes throughout the empty warehouse.
"Oh my God," Taehyun dead-pans.
Without a second thought, Beomgyu makes a beeline to the dark, mysterious shadows that engulf the rest of the unexplored warehouse, screaming, "It's a fucking ghost! I'm gonna catch you, bitch!"
"Wait! Beomgyu-hyung, don't leave—" Taehyun cries. Beomgyu disappears from his sight completely. Taehyun rubs his face. He really doesn't want to go into the dark, especially not on his own.
He trails after Beomgyu in the same direction he remembers seeing Beomgyu run off to. At least, that's where he thought Beomgyu went. Taehyun calls out the other's name again but is met with silence. He sighs. He opens his phone and turns on his flashlight. He flashes it onto the floor, revealing brown, murky puddles and more of the concrete ground. What sounds like a rat scuttles behind him.
"Ah, great. Happy Halloween to me, then," Taehyun mutters, mustering up all his courage to tread further.
He feels a slight breeze on his shoulder. Curious, he turns around and shines his flashlight directly in front of him. He tenses up.
Standing there quietly, Beomgyu is grinning at him creepily, his pale white face illuminated by Taehyun's flashlight.
Taehyun shrieks at the top of his lungs.