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It was finally the weekend, and Jake could not wait to get rid of all the accumulated stress. He was especially excited when his mother told him that their family was invited to a party. Jake was never one to turn down fun, so once he heard the word party, he was in. He was thrilled at the prospect of meeting new people and possibly making some friends, but his main goal was to enjoy himself thoroughly.
What a silly boy.
He should've known when his mother wore her most expensive pearls. He should’ve known when his brother gelled his hair. And most of all, he should’ve known when his father told him to wear a blazer. Poor and naïve Jake. He thought that his father was probably concerned with the temperatures dropping lately.
Stupid stupid Jake. He really should’ve known.
And this is how Jake finds himself at a prestigious gala filled with rich snobs. Something that just suits his element. Not.
He cannot help but feel betrayed, “Mommmm,” Jake whines, “you didn’t tell me we were going to a rich adult party… you tricked me!”
The woman in question talks to him as if he’s a toddler, which is fair considering Jake is so close to throwing a tantrum, “I did no such thing Jaeyun-ah, you simply assumed, besides you are an adult yourself, I'm sure you can have some fun, maybe even charm those aunts into buying some of our company’s shares,” Jake couldn’t help but roll his eyes, all while his older brother simply snickered at the situation.
Sure Jake just recently turned 21, thereby legally making him an adult in every country across the world, but he sure didn’t feel like one. And he sure as hell ain’t adult enough to "enjoy" this lame ass pretentious gala.
Jake couldn’t have wished for a better start to his weekend.
He decides to wander about once he notices that he’s the only one standing near the entrance. He quickly looks around in search of his brother, only to find him flirting with some haughty looking girl. Jake rolls his eyes for the second time that night; leave it to his brother to be already charming the ladies five mins into his arrival.
Uninterested in charming anyone, Jake makes his way towards the buffet table. He hoped that some free food would make him feel better. He really should’ve known better at this point. Upon reaching the table, he notices that the food spread all over the table were the epitome of "i’m rich and i only eat gourmet”. Except it was gourmet for health freaks. Like who even has a plain bowl of kale leaves with a sane mind. Jake just wanted some chips goddammit.
To calm himself down he pulled out his phone to check some cute puppy videos on instagram. They were the perfect mood boosters! However, Jake makes the rookie mistake of looking at his best friend’s story. Lo and behold, there was a selca of Jay and his boyfriend cuddled up under a blanket with the caption "Netflix and chill. Literally."
Oh, how Jake would kill to be snuggled up under his own sheets right now.
Wait a minute-- Jay too was rich as hell, probably even richer than Jake (he couldn’t really tell because the boy was so humble about his riches). So why the fuck was he not here at this event?!? Fuelled by frustration, Jake immediately called his apparent “best friend”.
Before Jay could even say hello, Jake was already ranting into the phone, “Mr. Park Jongseong, why is it that you are nicely lounging with your perfect boyfriend while I am here at this stupid gala filled with rich old people who are constantly judging me?! Whatever happened to mates for life?? You better have a good reason as to why you are not here and no your boyfriend is not a valid excuse. So, pray tell, WhY oN eaRtH are you not HeRe and should I drag your ass over here? I will even drag Sunghoon’s if I have to!”
The response he receives is in the form of a mocking chuckle, but before he could further pour out his frustrations, Jay started, “Jakeyyy relax, this gala is probably organised by the medical sector-” “How do you know for sure.” “Well, do you see Mr. Hwang anywhere there?” Jake pauses to look around, surely he would’ve noticed the towering man with an eccentric beard if he was present. “No, he isn’t here.”
As if expecting this answer, Jay promptly responds, “Well then there is your answer.” “What do you mean Jay, how does Mr. Hwang’s absence relate to yours?” “You know how Mr. Hwang never misses out on travelling opportunities.” Jake nods, momentarily forgetting that this is a phone and then immediately counters, “Yeah so, what ‘bout it?” “Oh come on Jake, my family is a part of the travel sector, it wouldn’t be beneficial for us to attend a medical sector event.”
Jake slowly deflates at the realisation. “Huh, I guess that makes sense…” he purposely drags his words, “but Jayyyy-ahhh, I’m so bored and lonely over here, whatever happened to being my partner in crime!” “The real question is, why are you even there, I’m pretty sure you don’t need to be there, afterall, it is your brother who 'charms' the ladies.” Jake can hear a faint giggle from the background and ignores it, “Well it is not my fault I actually thought that my parents would take me to a fun party that had alcohol which was not wine or champagne.”
Jay deadpans, “Well it literally is your fault, I just cannot believe that your sleep deprived brain actually thought up of such an unlikely scenario.” Jake tried to protest and defend his honour, however, it fell on deaf ears. “I extend my sympathies to you Jaeyun-ah, however I must say that I need to get back to cuddling my boyfriend.” “You can get through the night, Yunnie!” Sunghoon sweetly says in the background.
“No, Jay you cannot leave me hanging here-'' Jake is flabbergasted as he is left with the dial tone. He officially hates that couple.
The boy grabs a flute of champagne from one of the waiters and downs it in one go, hoping it would cool him down. Unfortunately, it did nothing of the sort, and now he had the disgusting taste lingering in his mouth. Jake cannot help but pout.
Sure, Jake is acting like a child right now, but, really all he wants to do is have fun tonight, and this stupid dinner party gala thing just ain’t it.
He soon noticed his mother talking to another lady. Oh no, it’s Mrs. Bae, a super influential lady. She has been trying to set up Jake with her much older daughter for the longest time. Age wasn’t an issue as much as gender was for Jake. Jake only swung one way and that was definitely not towards the female species.
Quickly observing how his mother seemed to be looking around for him, he quickly scrammed from the room. He spotted the coatroom and quickly hid behind one of the many racks. He holds his breath as he hears the clicks of their heels, hoping that they would not bother to look into this room. For the first time that night, it seems as though luck is finally on his side. The steps walk past his hiding place and go further into the hallway, further away from him.
Jake finally relaxes and lets go of the breath he was holding and looks to his right.
“AAAAAAAAH--'' he lets out an undignified screech once he sees a boy with blue hair that seemed to be manning a counter of sorts.
The boy continues to look at Jake in a bored manner, probably waiting for him to explain his presence in the room. The brunette quickly clears his throat and speaks normally, “Umm you did not hear anything.”
Unimpressed by this, the blue-haired dude raises a brow and responds, “Mhmm sure, I definitely did not lose some of my hearing because of your pterodactyl shriek, sureee.” Jake immediately gets defensive, “Well literally nobody asked you to be standing there.” “And that is where you are wrong, pretty boy,” Jake tries not to blush at the sudden pet name, and instead tries to focus on the other’s condescending tone, “I literally work here.”
And suddenly the boy’s attitude makes sense to Jake, “Oh my gosh I am so sorry, I’ve been such a bother, this job must already suck on its own, I would hate to be in a room full of coats myself, and then I just barged in here and screamed at you, oh my god, my scream just made this suck even more for you! I’m so so sorry,” Jake rambles, hoping that the other could feel his genuine apology.
It seems to work well, as the boy simply chuckles at him, “It does suck terribly, but I guess a person’s gotta do what they gotta do to earn some money,” Jake nods solemnly, the boy continues with eye’s full of mirth, “Besides, it seems like it’ll be much more bearable, now that you are here.”
Flustered at the abrupt change in mood, Jake chokes on his words, eliciting a giggle from the other boy. Damn, he sounds just as beautiful as he looks. The giggle was so infectious that Jake couldn’t stop himself from giggling along. Soon the room was filled with giggles of two grown men.
Soon they came down from their high. “The name’s Lee btw, Lee Heeseung.”
As much as it is nice to put a name to the boy, Jake cannot help but roll his eyes at Heeseung’s sudden casanova demeanour, “Wow I didn’t know that people still used that, Mr. James Bond,” Heeseung all but shrugs, “But, my name is Shim Jaeyun, or Jake as most of my friends call me.” Heeseung perks up at the mention of his English name, “Oh, Jake? Are you from abroad or were you baptised by your English teacher?”
Jake giggles at the thought of the second option, “I am from Australia! I was born here in Seoul but then moved there in second or third grade, and I came back here after my high school graduation, and have been studying at SNU ever since.” Jake abruptly stopped once he realised that he was rambling yet again, “Oh my gosh, that was too much information, ahh I don’t seem to stop myself, sorry!” “Nooo don’t apologise, it’s pretty cute actually,” Heeseung responds with amused yet fond eyes.
“It is so cool that you are from Australia though! I have always wanted to visit the country. I am currently learning how to speak English from a friend but I’m not very confident in my skills.” “We could try conversing now if you would like?” Jake kindly offered, very intrigued by the other’s possible language skills. “Normally, I wouldn’t mind but right now I am practically brain dead and yeah… I would be speaking gibberish if we tried,” both boys chuckle at that.
With a burst of confidence Jake blurts out, “Can I have your phone number?” promptly turning red at his lack of brain to mouth filter. The younger quickly backtracks, “You know, so one day I can test you on your English skills of course,” not daring to look up at the other.
“Leaving me already Jaeyun-ah?” Jake looks up at the call of his name only to be attacked by a pouty Heeseung. This is not good for his very weak heart. “The night is still young and I’d love to get to know you more,” the blue-haired boy has the audacity to wink at Jake! How dare he cause palpitations in Jake’s chest.
Rendered speechless by the older’s bold flirting Jake finds himself stumbling over his words, “Uh- I mean it is true, what you said, the night is still young, and there is no way in hell I will go back to the lame ass party, and I’d love to get to know you too,” he whispered the last part, but the satisfied look on Heeseung’s face told him that he was heard.
After staring at each other for more seconds than necessary, Heeseung clears his throat and starts with a faux accent, “So tell me, what is a young lad like you doing here at this gala,” he takes a pause for dramatics, and Jake cannot help the giggle he lets out while he attempts rolling his eyes, “ you clearly do not want to be attending in the first place.”
Jake decides to play along, “Well if you must know my fair prince,” Heeseung’s face is on fire with the random nickname, the younger feels a sense of pride but that does not make him falter, “I thought my parents were taking me out to celebrate the end of my exam season,” he dramatically places his hand on his forehead and sighs, “They betrayedddd meeee.”
“And you know that they’ll never feel sorryyyy,” Heeseung continued in an absolutely perfect pitch. Jake couldn’t help himself getting anymore enamoured by the boy in front of him. “Wow, you just outsung my dramatics,” he pouted and he crossed his arms in fake annoyance. The taller laughed and reached out to pinch his cheeks, “Awwwieee, is the whittle baby upset I stole his thwunder?” “Oh shut up,” Jake slaps Heeseung’s hands away immediately and covers his cheeks. He can feel the heat rising and he tries his best to convince himself that it was because Heeseung pinched them too hard.
However, the younger’s internal conflict gets cut short, “Hey…” Heeseung starts in a very timid manner, a stark contrast from how confident he’s been so far, “This is a pretty crazy idea and you can call me stupid…” Jake gives him a soft smile and it seems to encourage the older to complete his sentence, “WhatifyouandIrunawayfromhere?”
Jake almost misses what the other says due to the rapid speed, but he is not Park Jongseong’s best friend for no reason. “Runaway? But hyung we just met?! Plus I’m still young and it’s way too early to get married right now!” Heeseung sputters and turns a bright red that almost rivals Jake’s own face, “No- not like eloping dumbass!! I meant to ditch this party and have some actual fun tonight!”
The blue-haired boy pauses only to notice that the brunette’s face turned an impossibly darker shade of red, “In the most PG way possible Jaeyun-ah, get your head out of the gutter!” he all but shrieks out. Trying to salvage the conversation, Heeseung rambles on, “We can go on an adventure, get to know each other more, and take it from there...” he pauses yet again, only to give Jake the softest smile ever, “I just want you to relax tonight and get your well deserved reward for getting through exam season.”
“But… I’m merely a stranger, Heeseung-ssi!” “Call me hyung Jakey, and no we are not ‘merely strangers’. Sure, we just met an hour ago but we connected almost instantly.” He slowly reaches out to cover Jake’s hands with his own, “I know you know what I mean.”
And surely Jake did know what the older was talking about. As an introverted person, he often found it hard to chat up people but somehow, with Heeseung everything was easy, there was a sense of security and comfort as if they’d been friends for so long already. He was all ready to accept but then a thought struck him, but what about his job in this coatroom?
As if on cue, a pretty blonde girl walks in. She looks at the two boys and then their hands, she smirks “Heeseung-ah, I didn’t know it was ‘bring your pretty partner to work’ day!” Jake immediately pulls away, completely flustered, ready to deny it all, when the girl simply coos at his reaction, making him blush even more. He never knew he was capable of blushing so much, let alone within an hour.
“Cut it out Sieun-ah, you’re flustering the poor boy,” Heeseung then gestures between the other two, “Sieun meet Jake, not my boyfriend, at least not yet,” this elicits a choke from Jake while Sieun simply snickers at his fate, “and Jake, this is Sieun, she my annoying co-worker and my English teacher.”
Sieun gives Jake a warm and welcoming smile, then she quirks an eyebrow at Heeseung, “What are you still doing here? Leave now! I’ll cover for you, besides I owe you for that one time I ditched you for Sumin,” she winks in the least subtle manner, Jake can’t help but chuckle at how Heeseung turns red.
The older boy pouts and whines to the blonde, “Stop embarrassing me in front of the pretty boy Sieunnnn.” “I think you’re doing a good amount on your own,” the girl simply retorts with a smirk.
Jake takes this as the cue for him to find his own jacket while the other two continue to bicker. Once he’s found his jacket, a difficult feat to achieve, he turns around to find Sieun behind the counter, and Heeseung donning a fluffy white coat, all set to go.
The blue-haired boy slowly approaches him, placing his hand forward. Jake gingerly takes the boy’s hand and lets the older intertwine their fingers. He stares at their hands for a moment and then looks up to smile at Heeseung, only to find him already grinning like a fool.
“Have fun, lover boys,” Sieun calls out to them, instantly breaking off their grinning session. Heeseung simply shrugs the girl off with a quick goodbye, and Jake has no time to bid the blonde goodbye before he gets dragged out.
They both share a look once they reach the hall, and then they start to run. As if they were being hunted down, eager to escape their self-proclaimed ‘hell-hole’. Jake doesn’t care for what the security guards or passersby would think.
All he cared about was the feeling that told him this night would be magical.