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Jisung regretted not canceling his dinner date. He was sitting in the middle of an upscale restaurant in a stuffy suit, listening to his date, Hana, ramble about the importance of beige in interior design. Chandeliers dangled high above them. The artificial candle lighting that filled the room reflected off the crystals on the chandeliers. The walls were painted wine red and servers walked around in button ups and vests. The floor to ceiling windows gave patrons a view of the riverside at sunset, one of the features advertised by the restaurant. It was the perfect backdrop for a fancy romantic evening.
Currently, Jisung was debating on whether or not to throw himself out the window and into the water.
“There’s so many different shades of beige, it’s really more of a unique color than people think. It adds personality to a room without straying too far from that neutral palette, which is something we really want to achieve as designers in this contemporary period,” Hana gestured her hands as she spoke, staring intensely into Jisung’s eyes. She had on gold jewelry that complimented her black velvet dress and the rings glimmered in the light as her hands moved.
Jisung swallowed thickly, staring at her hands. His stomach was twisting in knots and he wasn’t processing anything that Hana was saying. “Uh huh.”
“Although, I understand if that’s not something you really get. Mom said you’re studying to be an engineer, after all.” Hana laughed and took a sip of her wine. Her lipstick smeared a little on the glass, a smudge of magenta. “You engineers don’t really have that creative spark, but that’s okay. As long as you leave the decor to me, I think we’ll get along great.”
Jisung twisted the bracelet around his left wrist, trying to ground himself in the moment rather than in his body, all while smiling and nodding without any soul behind it.
It was all his parents fault, really. He hadn’t been the one to organize this date, having gone in with practically no information about the girl he was meeting up with. His parents were eager to set him up with any young, eager, and, most importantly, rich girl. They wanted Jisung to find a girlfriend. He wasn’t sure if it was because they wanted him to be happy or if they wanted to keep up their image, but the dates never went well. Jisung was too polite to say no and inevitably ended up on these dates with girls he really wasn’t interested in. He would try to converse with them, both to keep up appearances and make the experience at least tolerable, but it either fell flat or the girls didn’t care about anything other than themselves. There had only been one or two dates that hadn’t gone completely terrible, though those didn’t end up going anywhere in the end. Jisung thought there wasn’t any way for the dates to get worse.
Unfortunately, the universe wanted to make his life even harder. He didn’t know if it was nerves or something he ate, but his stomach kept cramping and sending waves of nausea through him. It started a little before the date and he told himself he could push through it. Things had only gotten worse since they had arrived at the restaurant, however. Now, all Jisung could think about was going home, maybe having some tea to soothe his stomach, and curling up in bed while playing some nature documentaries.
“Do you not like the wine I ordered?” Hana gestured to Jisung’s own glass that he had yet to touch. She pouted a little, jutting out her lip in a way that made Jisung cringe.
“Ah,” he cleared his throat and looked at the wine then, reluctantly, reached out, “I had forgotten we ordered it. You know, distracted with uh… everything.” He gave a strained smile, bringing the glass to his lips. He sipped the tiniest amount possible and swallowed rapidly. It burned down his throat and he choked back a gag as he set the glass back down.
He didn’t like wine normally, but especially not now. Everything tasted like bile acid. “It’s really good, you have such great taste.”
Hana beamed and picked up the bottle, turning it to look at the label. She ran a manicured nail over the text, looking tenderly at the bottle like it was a family heirloom. “This is my favorite brand. It says this one has notes of chocolate and pomegranate in it.” Her nails tapped against the glass. “My friends all say it’s super bitter, but I think it’s more of a rich taste, and that’s part of what makes it so good.”
Jisung didn’t know what notes of flavors in wine were, and he didn’t care. Still, he nodded and kept his mouth shut tight. If he made it through this meal without throwing up in front of his date, it would be a miracle. He drank from his water, trying to wash down the bitter taste in his mouth, but it only stirred up his stomach even more.
Hana launched into a one-sided discussion about the types of wine flavors and Jisung used the opportunity to tune her out. She was theoretically pretty, with long and silky black hair that she had curled delicately so it fell into natural looking waves. Her face was the perfect shape, being neither too round nor too pointy. Her makeup made her look stunning and confident. Jisung didn’t like women, however, so he couldn’t find himself caring more than the aesthetic observations. Besides, she was a bit more conceited than his other dates and it was slowly proving to be the cherry on top of him feeling sick. Jisung kept his stare fixated on the space around Hana’s head, his body rigid. He focused on breathing in and out, feeling the rise of his chest and trying to focus on that sensation instead of the swirling in his guts..
When the server arrived, with a loud flourish and announcement of their meals, Jisung startled out of his trance. The dishes were placed delicately in front of the two of them, the food arranged to look picture perfect. Steam rose from the plates and the smell drifted up with it, something spiced and warm. Hana’s eyes lit up when she saw the food and she whipped out her phone to snap some photos.
Jisung had ordered a lighter meal in the hopes that it would be tame enough for him to consume. When he looked at his food, an arrangement of colors and sauce gently falling off at the sides, he felt his whole body seize with a heave. It was a spasm that started in his spine and traveled all through his body, one that he could not ignore. His eyes widened. He rapidly looked around the restaurant, trying to locate the bathrooms. Once he did, he was up in a second, his chair screeching against the tile and startling Hana. She looked up at him with raised eyebrows.
“I’ll be right back,” he barely managed to excuse himself before walking as fast as possible over to the bathroom.
The restaurant passed by in a haze of colors, red and silver and black blending together as he felt his mouth water. He reached the bathroom and went to grab the door handle only for it and the door to be swung open. Unintentionally, he stumbled into another body.
“Oh-” a familiar voice said.
Hastily, Jisung pushed past the person and bolted over to the trash can. Just in time, too, as his stomach lurched and he vomited into it.
“Jesus,” behind him, the person shut the door, but stayed in the room. “Jisung? Are you alright?”
In the back of Jisung’s mind, he put together that it was Chenle he had run into. The rest of Jisung’s mind, however, was too focused on vomiting again to acknowledge it. The wine tasted so much worse coming back up and his sinuses burned from the bile.
“I’ll take that as a solid no.” Chenle walked over and grabbed some toilet paper, then stood next to Jisung and waited for him to stop throwing up.
Chenle and Jisung had known each other for years, having fallen into a somewhat friendship. Somewhat, because usually, their interactions were at big fancy parties where they complained about the people there. They had some mutual friends that would invite them both to hang out too, but outside of parties, Jisung had never spent much one on one time with the other. They had a connection, but that connection seemed to start and end at fancy dinner parties.
It took a moment before Jisung finally stopped heaving, his hands shaking as he gripped the rim of the trash can. He spit a few times, gagged at the taste, then slowly rose back up. He turned to Chenle, who thrust the toilet paper out to him. Jisung took it, grateful, and wiped his mouth clean. He threw it in the trash can when he was done and awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Um, hi,” Jisung’s voice was raspy and sore. His face was flushed, both from embarrassment and from the exertion of vomiting.
Chenle raised an eyebrow at him, concerned. He seemed hesitant, though, likely a result of their somewhat friendship. “Do you need me to grab someone for you?”
Jisung shook his head. He would rather die than have Hana, a girl he barely knows and certainly doesn’t like, come and try to take care of him. He leaned up against the sink, muscles feeling like jelly. Maybe he’ll die in here, then he wouldn’t have to finish out this god awful date.
“You should go home. I can drive you, if you want.”
Jisung winced, realizing that Chenle had assumed that Jisung must have come to the restaurant alone. “I, uh, can’t really leave?”
Chenle stared at him, confused.
“I’m on a date right now, well it’s not really a date, it’s more something I’m doing for my parents? But anyways, I can’t really leave her cause it would be rude and stuff, so um, yeah.”
Chenle stared at him with disbelief. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Jisung gave him a sheepish smile and shrugged. It looked extra pathetic with how shaky he was.
Chenle sighed. “Look, just text me if you need help, okay? Or if you feel worse. I can always come up with some dramatic escape plan and we can figure out an excuse for your parents later.”
Jisung nodded eagerly. “Thanks, man, but I’ll be okay.”
Chenle didn’t look like he believed him, but he let it drop. He gave Jisung a pat on the back and left the bathroom, disappearing back into the restaurant. Jisung turned to the sink and leaned his weight on his arms, breathing heavily. He could get through this.
Jisung rinsed out his mouth repeatedly with water and splashed his face with water, trying to force his body to feel normal again. He could see how pale he was in the mirror, so he slapped his cheeks a little, trying to get some color back. All that ended up doing was making him look splotchy, like he was running a fever. He groaned and gave up.
His stomach still felt upset, but he was determined to get through the meal and go home. It was a matter of keeping up a good impression; they were too far into the date for Jisung to back out without alarming his date or his parents. He had survived worse, he told himself. Or, at least, he probably had. He couldn’t really think of anything worse at the moment.
Jisung straightened his back and sighed. He clinged onto the thought of home and forced himself out of the safety of the bathroom.
The lights of the restaurant pricked at his eyes as he made his way through the restaurant. He scanned for the familiar blonde hair of Chenle, but he couldn’t spot him anywhere. He sat back down at his seat, gulping nervously as he eyed his food. Across from him, Hana put her phone away and smiled big. Her food had been delicately moved around, like she was afraid of losing the flavor if she messed up the styling too much. She grabbed a top piece of meat with her chopsticks and lifted it up and across towards Jisung.
“This is really good, you should try some of mine,” she said, offering the meat up for Jisung.
Jisung smiled, then nervously leaned forward and took it in his mouth. He didn’t notice the blush on Hana’s cheeks, too busy making himself chew. He hated the texture on his tongue and wanted to gag again. He couldn’t tell if the food tasted good as everything tasted like vomit.
He swallowed and smiled painfully. “It’s delicious.” His stomach twisted, uncomfortable.
Hana giggled, tossing some of her hair behind her shoulders. She dipped her chopsticks down again and grabbed a piece for herself, stuffing it into her mouth.
As Jisung forced himself through the motions of eating as little food as possible, Hana got lost in her own conversation again, oblivious to how horrible Jisung was feeling. She ate quick and talked even quicker in between bites, as if it was a competition of how fast she could conversate and eat at the same time. For Jisung, every bite of food presented a battle against himself. He found himself moving at a snail’s pace, trying not to throw up in the middle of the very fancy, very expensive restaurant.
The universe cut him some grace, however, as he didn’t end up puking at the dinner table. Hanna finished most of her plate while Jisung’s was left half eaten. As soon as the waiter brought the check, whipped out his credit card without any hesitation and handed it over, eyes glued to the wood grain on the table.
“Such a gentleman,” Hana complimented, pleased by how fast Jisung pulled out his card.
Jisung didn’t say anything. He had one hand on his leg, gripping his pants as he tried not to vomit. He watched the waiter intensely as they ran his card before walking back to the table. Jisung quickly accepted his card back, then stood up, prepared to sprint off to the bathroom once again.
Before he could, however, Hana latched onto his arm and beamed up at him. Her dress had straightened perfectly. Her teeth were pearly white and he could smell her floral perfume. “This has been such a wonderful evening. Why don’t we go for a little walk and talk some more? I’ve really enjoyed talking to you.”
Jisung wouldn’t make it. He knew this, but he couldn’t voice it. Instead, he found himself being led out of the restaurant by Hana. Her heels clicked on the ground next to him and it sounded like a timer, counting him down until he inevitably lost the fight.
It turned out that that timer wasn’t very long. They had only taken a couple of steps outside when, against all of Jisung’s strength, his whole body spasmed with a gag. He pressed a hand against his mouth as his eyes flew wide. Hana made a sound of confusion as he pushed himself off of her and rushed over towards a nearby bush. He vomited for the second time that evening, throwing up everything he had managed to get down, as well as his dignity.
Behind him, he could hear Hana screech, disgusted. He was too busy defiling the nicely trimmed bush to feel bad about making her witness this. All he could hope was that she didn’t record him. Or approach him, he might puke on her if she did.
There were rapid footsteps approaching them, then hushed voices talking. They were still talking when Jisung finally stopped heaving and tried to catch his breath, mentally preparing to face humiliation from Hana.
When his body felt somewhat put back together, Jisung slowly turned around. He was shocked to find that rather than looking horrified, Hana looked somewhat sympathetic. He quickly figured out it had something to do with Chenle, who was standing next to her, a charming smile on his face.
Jisung and Chenle’s families were both rich, but Chenle’s family was a lot richer than Jisung’s, which was saying a lot. Jisung had a good reputation among the elite, but Chenle’s family was almost like royalty to some people. Jisung had known Chenle long enough that he only really remembered this fact when other people interacted with Chenle.
“I didn’t know you were such good friends with Chenle!” Hana said, pressing her hands together and smiling, cheeks peachy pink and gleeful. “I really hate to leave you like this, but he said his driver would take me home and that he would take care of you. I hope you can understand.” She drew out the ‘really’, making it sound almost babyish, and Jisung connected the dots. She was only still talking to him because she was about to get a ride with the Zhong family’s personal driver.
Jisung coughed. “Uh, okay?”
Hana ran up to him and, after a moment's hesitation, patted his hair with the very tips of her fingers. It was very weird. “Feel better soon, Sungie!”
Hana giggled and turned around, waving happily at Chenle. Having Chenle’s attention seemed to please her more than anything else that evening. She practically skipped off to the car waiting nearby on the curb and eagerly got into the car, her phone already out and pressed against her ear to call her friend.
Jisung groaned and sank to his knees, exhausted and still feeling sick. His arms wrapped loosely around his stomach, which was crampy and sore. Now that he didn’t have to deal with Hana, he was ready to keel over right then and there on the sidewalk.
“Don’t die on me just yet, Jisung,” Chenle said, coming up to his side. He kneeled next to him and placed a hand on his back, patting it lightly. It was infinitely more comforting than Hana’s fingers. “Donghyuck’s already on his way here. He won’t care if he pukes in his car.”
Donghyuck was a mutual friend of theirs and also sort of a menace to Jisung. He knew Donghyuck would actually care if Jisung puked in his car, but he didn’t point that out to Chenle.
“Thanks,” Jisung said miserably. He still was considering collapsing against the sidewalk, but Chenle hitched him up by the arms and walked him over to the bench. Jisung sat down and tilted his head back, swallowing thickly. There was a tinge of nausea remaining, but he mostly felt achy now. Fuck the tea and nature documentaries, he was curling up in bed and pretending like he had died. Chenle sat next to him, pulling out his phone.
Chenle hummed next to him as they waited, scrolling aimlessly. He showed some videos to Jisung, likely trying to cheer him up, but Jisung didn’t have the energy to do more than give a weak smile. He started to feel a bit better after a while, likely due to being away from the food and Hana. He noticed more about Chenle, like the suit that he was wearing that looked expensive even by Jisung’s family standards and the watch that gleamed on his rest. His fingers were manicured and adorned with rings.
Jisung watched Chenle hide a yawn behind his fist. He got a bit curious. “What were you doing at the restaurant?”
Chenle shrugged. “Oh, I was meeting with some business partners for my parents. It was horribly boring talk, you know, all about trades and stocks. I saw you leaving with Hana and used it as an excuse to escape.”
He must have been sitting further towards the entrance of the restaurant, Jisung thought. Hana and him had been sitting pretty far back in, closer to the scenic windows, so it made sense that he hadn’t spotted Chenle.
He nudged Chenle with his elbow. “You’re welcome, then. I’m glad someone is benefiting from my misery.”
Chenle huffed a soft laugh, turning back to his phone. “Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated.”
Jisung drifted in his mind for a little bit, head fuzzy with exhaustion, only coming back down when he heard the sound of a car pulling up to the curb in front of them. The window rolled down and Donghyuck waved at them, his purple hair flying wild.
“Your knight in shining armor is here,” Donghyuck greeted as they approached. “Jisung, you get the backseat. I got a trash can back there for you. Don’t you dare vomit on my seats, I will cry and it will be ugly.”
Chenle opened the car door for Jisung, who slipped in. Sure enough, there was a trash can lined with a plastic bag waiting for him. Even though he didn’t feel as sick anymore, he still pulled it onto his lap. He had been mortified enough for the night, he did not need to see Donghyuck cry. “Thank you for the ride, Donghyuck.”
“Ah, so polite and grateful. Unlike some bastard I know.” Donghyuck side-eyed Chenle, who climbed into the passenger seat and flipped Donghyuck off. “Since you’re sick, I’ll let you choose the music, Jisung. Your options are Nintendo elevator music, jazz covers of girl group songs, whimsical forest songs, my brother’s mixtape, or I can serenade you with my beautiful choice.”
Chenle sighed loudly.
Jisung blinked, while Donghyuck stared at him through the rearview mirror, patiently waiting for his decision. He had never ridden with Donghyuck as the driver before. “Uh…. Nintendo, I guess?”
“Excellent choice!” Donghyuck started the music (Had he already had the playlist pulled up? It looked like he did) and they pulled off from the curb.
Jisung kept eyes on the world outside, trying to prevent any motion sickness from stirring up his stomach. Chenle and Donghyuck bickered lightly in the front, something about Nintendo games that Jisung couldn’t keep up with. He kept an armpressed lightly against his stomach, though his body was slowly beginning to relax. It helped that he knew that his bed was almost in sight.
Donghyuck pulled to the curb in front of Jisung’s apartment complex and announced their arrival. He turned back to Jisung and beamed. “Congrats on not throwing up in my car.”
Jisung thanked him again and set the trash can aside. Jisung got out, followed by Chenle. He followed Jisung up towards the entrance into his complex, which earned him a confused look from Jisung.
“I’m making sure you don’t die on the way up,” Chenle explained easily. He smiled gently.
Jisung shrugged, accepting the explanation, and entered the code to the door. He was a bit shy about bringing Chenle into his apartment complex, knowing how modest it was by rich family standards. It was more Jisung’s style, a comfortable and cozy space without feeling overly flashy. If Chenle had any thoughts about it, however, he didn’t voice them. Instead, he followed Jisung into the lobby and to the elevators. He kept his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the elevator wall, watching as the numbers went up until they reached Jisung’s floor.
Once they were at Jisung’s door, Chenle turned to him. “If you feel any worse, feel free to text me, if you want. Also, brush your teeth before you collapse in bed, otherwise you’ll regret it in the morning.”
Jisung smiled and unlocked his front door. “Thanks for making sure I didn’t die. And… for getting Hana off my back. She was kind of, er, awful?”
Chenle laughed. “I could tell.” He reached out and patted Jisung’s shoulder. “Drink water, stay hydrated and all that dumb stuff.”
Jisung nodded and watched as Chenle slowly began to back away, a lazy smile on his face. He gave Jisung a two finger salute before fully turning around and heading back to the elevators.
Jisung stepped into his apartment and closed the door behind him, sighing in relief at finally being home. While his stomach still ached, he felt significantly better than he did at the restaurant.
From there, his movements became a haze. He got rid of his suit, trading it for his favorite pair of pjs, relishing how much softer it felt on him compared to his suit. Once he brushed his teeth and washed his face, he shuffled into his bedroom and collapsed on his bed, his whole body sinking into the mattress. He had skipped the tea, but he did sit up and turn on the TV across from his bed, pulling up one of his favorite documentaries. Soothing music began to play as the screen filled with images of lush, green trees and plants.
He set his phone on his nightstand and pulled the bedsheets up around his shoulders. He curled up on his side around his stomach, easing the remaining cramps. His whole body sunk into the sheets, melting like snow under the sun, and he closed his eyes.
His thoughts sluggishly focused on Chenle, not thinking of any particular, moreso remembering him. They drifted towards who else they both knew besides Donghyuck.
Then, he froze, eyes opening in realization. Shit, Chenle knew Jaemin. He was probably going to tell Jaemin what had happened tonight, too.
Jisung groaned. Jaemin was going to lecture him so much.