Chapter Text
Honestly, Chan was exhausted. He had been in the dance studio since 10 a.m., and it was past 9 p.m. now, so needless to say that he was really tired. Normally, he wouldn’t have worked as long as he had today, but he definitely needed to get the routine done until tomorrow since he would teach it to the children that took his classes.
A tired huff left his lips as he exited the changing room. Feeling slightly better, after a quick shower to get all the sweat off his skin, he went through the hallway of the dance studio, and due to being the only one left, he turned off the lights before closing the door behind him and locking it. Normally, he would just take off, breathe in the fresh autumn air, and be somewhat content about having danced all day, but today felt different. His body ached all over, and he felt something heavy placed on his chest that he couldn’t quite place. He really wanted to believe it was due to the exhaustion, but he knew himself better than that. Still, for now, he tried to push it away, focusing on his way home instead. He turned to the door of the dance studio once again, checking if it was really locked because he didn’t want to be the reason why the studio gets robbed, and lately he seems to be very forgetful.
Only then, when he started walking in the direction of his bus station, did he take a peek at his phone. His stomach made an immediate turn at the sight, and he muttered a quiet fuck to himself. An instant feeling of guilt flashed through him as he looked at the 50 or so text messages and missed calls. He wasn't really sure how he could have possibly overheard that. When he opened the messages, the guilt instantly magnified. The messages were from the group chat he had with his college friends, all asking where the hell he was because they were supposed to meet up at 8 p.m. to celebrate Jeonghan´s birthday. Before doing anything else, he immediately pulled out his contact list and tried to call Seungkwan, who didn't answer the phone. He tried a second time and wasn't really surprised when, instead of Seungkwan, he heard Hansol on the other side. "Where the hell are you, dude?" Hansol asked in a concerned voice. Chan had to really concentrate on his voice because the noises in the background were extremely loud, not uncommon for his friends.
Without even answering Hansol's question, he asked one in return, "Hyung, is it possible for me to still come? I´d be there in about ten."
"Yeah, definitely. Today is one of those days, you know." He almost sounded as exhausted as Chan felt at the moment. But he knew what Hansol meant with those days. The party wouldn't end until the sun rose, which normally didn't sound as frightening as it did to Chan now. Because, well, he was in general one of the reasons why a gathering would even extend until dawn, but today he couldn't quite imagine staying up past 2 a.m., not to mention past 5 a.m.
"Just come." Hansol exclaimed, a bit pained. Chan heard another voice calling for Hansol, which most likely belonged to a tipsy Seungkwan, obviously being the reason for Hansol´s pained voice. Chan couldn't really make out what exactly Seungkwan called for, but before he could hear anything else, the call ended.
Despite being extremely tired, Chan mustered up the energy to walk some blogs further. Today was again one of those days that he was thankful for Jeonghan's apartment complex being in the same neighborhood as the dance studio. In the past, when he had breaks in between giving classes, freshman Chan would walk over as well, taking up Jeonghan's time or simply taking a nap on his couch. It was also a factor as to why he was so close with Jeonghan, who didn't mind his visits at all. Which makes it even worse that he forgot about his birthday celebration being today. He really was becoming more forgetful by the day. He pushed the bell and was shortly let in.
The scene in front of him after entering the code was really too much to comprehend for Chan's tired brain as he walked into the apartment. The music was loud, and a track he could only recognize as "Maniac" by Viviz was playing. In front of the TV, which was playing the corresponding music video, were Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Soonyoung dancing the choreography. Or at least Seungkwan was trying before expressing how unfair it was for Soonyoung to be dancing with them when he was so much better due to being a dance instructor. Suddenly, Chan understood just why Hansol sounded so exhausted. It seemed like Seungkwan was a bit sensitive today. While those two were now drunkenly fighting, Seokmin continued dancing while coming closer and closer to Seungkwan with his butt. It was an obvious act to make fun of him for giving up the dance, and it seemed to have worked, as Seungkwan was now annoyed at Seokmin. In the background were Jihoon, laughing with his familiar laugh at the scene, and Hansol, who watched it all unfold.
He figured this was what he had to endure for the next few hours, taking a mental note to not agitate Seungkwan today because he didn't want the older to be actually angry at him. Plus, he feared, due to his tired mood at the moment, that he would say something he would definitely regret later on. After taking in another breather, he made himself noticeable by moving a bit closer to the center of the room, so that now others were able to see him as well. A smile, embarrassed around the edges, was placed on his lips.
It didn’t take long for Jeonghan to notice him, who had been around the dining table with a mischievous grin plotting something, and for him to run towards him with a huge giggly smile instead of the one he had previously. "Chan-ah!" he exclaimed happily, “you’re finally here.” It wasn’t shortly after that he felt a quick hug embrace him.
“Yeah, sorry that it took me this long, Hyung.” He said it sheepishly. “I kind of forgot the time at the dance studio.” Obviously, Chan wouldn’t mention how he forgot about the birthday in general. Jeonghan simply nodded and grinned, “It´s fine. I don’t really mind; you are here now and can celebrate me.”
Chan agreed and grabbed something out of his bag that he luckily didn’t forget this morning and gave it to Jeonghan, whose smile expanded at the sight. With big eyes and a grin, he opened the little box that was given to him and cooed as he saw what had been inside of it. It was an individualized pin, showing a little otter playing with an angel; obviously, the angel was situated higher. When they were younger, their friend group loved to appoint animals for each other. It was no surprise that Jeonghan would convince everyone to associate him with an angel instead of an animal. Chan thought it was almost contradictory for Jeonghan to be an angel, at least when it came to games. And for some reason, everyone simultaneously agreed that an otter was the best fit for their youngest. Chan still didn’t see it, though.
“Woah, Chan-ah, thank you; it's really cute. Did you make it yourself?” He asked curiously, his eyes sparkling, while looking down at the pin.
“Yeah, well, actually, a friend of mine helped me a bit with the drawing because my art skills really do stink." A slight laugh left his lips—probably the first lighthearted today. Jeonghan always had this effect on him when he felt exhausted or stressed.
Jeonghan thanked him again before dragging the younger straight to the improvised cocktail bar. At that, the younger grinned because it was such a typical action for his Hyung. Most likely, Jeonghan could feel his tense mood and wanted to help their youngest by getting some alcohol into his bloodstream. “I can make you one, if you’d like.” However, he instantly declined, because the other had said it with such a devilish tone that he feared death less than the drink Jeonghan would mix him. Joshua was now next to them, greeting him with a short embrace and ruffling his hair. While Chan made himself something from the options in front of him, hoping he didn’t create his own death bed when he accidentally poured too much whiskey into his glass, Joshua asked the other about something Chan didn’t really hear at first because Seungkwan’s high note pierced through the room.
“He did tell me that they would come late.” Jeonghan answered with a thinking face, and then suddenly there was that characteristic grin again. “But I did tell them if they came past ten, they´d have to face some sort of penalty.”
“More people are coming, Hyung?” An uneasy feeling made itself noticeable in Chan’s stomach. He knew that all their friends were here. The feeling was probably due to the exhaustion and him not really wanting to meet new people, especially feeling like he did right now. The first impression of him had always been extremely important to the youngest, since there was a possibility that it could define a whole relationship.
“A guy asked me for a date yesterday, and I thought, Why not invite him to my birthday? Simply hitting two birds with one stone.”
To not give too much of a reaction, because Chan thought it was a bit reckless to just invite a stranger into one’s own home, he sipped on his hell ride of a drink. Yeah, he definitely would not survive today if he made himself a second one of whatever the hell he drank. “Why two birds with one stone?” he now asked curiously as he thought about his words.
"Well, for one, I see this outrageous hot guy again,” Jeonghan paused momentarily, smirking even further, “and I get more presents. I only see a win-win situation here.”
“Wah, you’re unbelievable. Aren’t you a bit too shameless, Hyung?” Chan asked teasingly with an eyebrow raised, laughing right after. But Jeonghan took pride in his behavior and chuckled.
He left the two; most likely, they´d be scheming about the penalty Jeonghan had mentioned. With his drink in hand, he decided it would be a good idea to greet his other friends, thus moving towards the TV area that was turned into a dance floor. The scene hasn’t changed much, just except for the addition of Minghao, who was sitting next to Hansol on one of the pushed aside couches, silently judging the main attraction. Chan sat next to them, letting himself fall next to Hansol, sighing in relief as his body hit something soft for the first time in what felt like forever.
“Hi to you as well.” Hansol smirked at Chan.
“Hi.” He simply mumbled, sipping on his drink once again.
Hansol looked at it for a moment before turning his head towards the sensation again, his expression now inanimate. “Long day?”
He only nodded in return, which was really stupid in retrospect because Hansol wasn’t even looking in his direction. But he guessed the other didn’t really need an actual answer; Chan´s behavior was telling enough. “Relax a bit then. You will need it later," he scoffed. As he heard Hansol, he raised his eyebrows, confused. “What exactly is happening later?” he asked, assuming the slight fright in his voice was noticeable.
Now Minghao clinked into the conversation as he finished his task of judging someone at least once a day. That being, after Seokmin made a move Chan could only describe as magical and astonishing, especially since he thought it wasn’t humanly possible to get one’s leg into that position that fast. “Just Jeonghan and his daily scheming. Prepare yourself for a lot of drunken games when the strangers arrive.” Chan didn’t think that was too bad, though. “Apparently, he wants to set one of us up with the friend that is coming along. I swear, that guy cannot live a day without causing some sort of chao-“
But before he could finish, a pained shriek echoed through the room, causing Minghao to stand up immediately and move to the reason for the shriek. It seemed like the move Seokmin had made earlier did have its consequences, as he was lying on the ground, messaging his leg that was experiencing a cramp. Minghao moved beside him and messaged it for him instead, pointing out that he was more familiar with cramps as a dancer when Seokmin wanted to reject Minghao´s help.
However, Chan was still stuck on the whole cupid agenda that Jeonghan was planning. He hoped that he wasn’t the victim of today’s shenanigans. The last thing—the absolute last thing—Chan needed today was a love interest.
Two drinks later, Chan was high on alcohol and didn’t remember the exhausting day he had. It was no surprise that he almost didn’t notice two figures having joined their party. And to be fair, Chan was now a bit tipsy, and he did just dance to “Shut Down." His Hyungs, of course, had cheered him on, with Jihoon laughing brightly, Hansol’s “:0” expression, and Seungkwan looking like he wanted to punch the younger while also screaming at him.
"Everyone, look, our special guests have arrived.” He got startled a bit when he suddenly heard Jeonghan´s voice from behind him. “Let’s welcome them, shall we?” Chan turned around in a wimp, maybe a bit too fast, because he had to catch himself slightly. He looked straight into a rather embarrassed face, which was suddenly frightened after Jeonghan popped a party banger right next to him. After a quick glance, Chan noted that he seemed to be Jeonghan´s type: buff and shy. Something about them being shy after one flirt from Jeonghan had always done it to the older, apparently. It was a power thing, Chan guessed. The stranger in front of him seemed to be no exception.
The man in question just bowed slightly, giggling due to the embarrassment, and introduced himself as Seungcheol. He only then remembered that he didn’t ask how Jeonghan had met the buff stranger. He and his friends welcomed him, hoping the embarrassment created by Jeonghan’s spotlight would soon fade because they felt bad for this Seungcheol guy. Jeonghan definitely enjoyed the scene, as he was giggling in Seungcheol's direction, who was turned away to greet his friends.
Only when the guy moved out of the way to greet Jihoon, both seemingly knowing each other, did he see the other figure, who was looking straight at him.
Suddenly, the heavy feeling in his chest reappeared. Chan didn’t know why, though. After a moment that felt like forever, the other figure, whom he had made eye contact with, came closer.
“Nice dance you did there.” The stranger said amused, leaving Chan suddenly self-aware, noting to himself that he needed more alcohol later. “I´m Wonwoo, by the way.” While introducing himself, he held out his hand and grinned, which Chan thought was only a bit weird given the setting.
“The very first time you saw the Lee Chan perform, you should remember this day.” Chan joked while shaking hands with Wonwoo awkwardly, the words not quite coming out like he had hoped. Still, the other laughed, which made Chan relax a bit. He wasn’t sure if he just imagined it, but he thought he heard whispers between Hansol and Seungkwan from behind them.
"I´ll mark this day on my calendar, surely." Wonwoo said jokingly, grinning at the younger. “But seriously, you really dance well.”
“Haha, thanks. I mean, I should be good if I’m teaching children.” He smiled; the heavy weight was gone by now. It was a sign that he didn’t have to worry because he appeared to have made a good first impression. He liked the attention the other was giving him because it seemed genuine, even though they had just met. Wonwoo nodded to that, obviously wanting to follow up with a question but being interrupted by a throat clearing.
“Hello, Wonwoo. I’m Seungkwan, and this is Hansol. We are also here.” Seungkwan smiled at them, annoyance in his eyes because he was being ignored. Chan laughed loudly at his reaction, and Wonwoo was definitely caught off guard.
“Be quiet, brat.” Seungkwan hissed at him with a pout on his lips.
“I didn’t even say anything!” Chan remarked, gasping dramatically at Seungkwan.
"Your laugh is already enough!” And that’s when Chan remembered that Seungkwan was sensitive today, so he held back any other remarks he´d normally make. Wonwoo and Hansol just watched the exchange happen, one with worry in his eyes and the other with a knowing smile.
“That is really normal for them. Don’t stress. Only if one goes quiet, that is worrisome.” Hansol paused for a moment. “Hi, by the way.” And it was at this point that Chan excused himself to the toilet. He didn’t actually need to go, but he was sure that it wasn’t such a good idea to be around Seungkwan right now. A tiredness embraced him once again at the thought of a potential fight.
He decided to wash away the tiredness by washing his face real quick. The cold water on his skin felt refreshing for a moment, but it was not really causing the effect he wished for. The alcohol was wearing off, thus his sleepiness increasing. He decided that at this hour, it being 10 past 11 p.m., wasn’t going to be the time he´d let his exhaustion get to him. So, after exiting the bathroom, Chan made his way once again to the self-improvised bar. He stood in front of it, pondering what to make for himself. The first drink today was surely too strong, while the second one had no pep behind it. A bit lost at what random liquids he should mix together, he stood there for some minutes. Maybe the tiredness was really getting to him.
"Do you not know what you want to drink?” He heard a voice from the side, now noticing Wonwoo standing beside him.
"Ah, yeah, Hyung,” he said, stopping for a moment. “I can call you Hyung, right?” Wonwoo nodded at him, a smile on his lips that showed his set of white teeth. “I don’t know what I want.” Chan sighed, probably more expressive than he should have been.
“Do you want something bitter, or rather something sweet?” Wonwoo asked him, looking at the options before looking at him with an expectant look.
Chan thought for a moment while furrowing his eyebrows slightly. The sweet option would obviously keep him awake longer due to the sugar, but he wasn’t really in the mood for it. The bitter would leave a bad aftertaste he didn’t like as well.
“Or are you interested in something sour?” Chan hadn’t realized that Wonwoo was still intently looking at him with the same expectant gaze.
Chan nodded to that, a bit uneasy about the attention. “But is it even possible to create a sour beverage from the options we have?”
“Trust me.” And strangely enough, Chan did. “So do you teach dance to make a living?” Wonwoo asked while grabbing the Bourbon Whiskey bottle and pouring it into a glass, his eyes focused on his own action.
“Yeah, but only part time, to make ends meet. I am still in college.” Chan answered, interested in what Wonwoo would add next. It was some sort of syrup Chan couldn’t make out.
“Oh, what do you major in?” The last thing Wonwoo mixes into the drink is lemon juice, which Chan didn’t even know was there.
“I major in dance, but I also take business classes.” He pauses, wondering if he should tell Wonwoo more, but he decides against it. After all, he wasn’t quite sure if the older truly was interested or was just asking out of politeness.
With a quick, “Here you go," the one beside him gave him his freshly made drink. “I hope you enjoy.”
Chan took a sip at his drink, noticing how Wonwoo was tentatively looking at Chan for a reaction, which the other thought was cute. To not disappoint the older and because it was truly tasty, he gave a big smile and a thumbs up with the hand that was empty. “Wahh, Hyung, this tastes really nice. You are so good at it; where did you learn to make this?” Chan looked at Wonwoo with a bright smile, oozing excitement.
Wonwoo paused for a moment, looking at Chan and then at the ground for a second, before answering, “Well, I suppose you aren’t the only college student who has to make ends meet.” Wonwoo grinned.
“Ah, that makes sense. So, you work at a bar?” Chan asked curiously. Wonwoo nodded at that.
Chan liked the atmosphere around them. It was somewhat calm, like he didn’t need to be all that energetic around the person next to him. He was really surprised at how comfortable he felt only after the second conversation they shared. Compared to the atmosphere in the room in general, with how Minghao now started twerking and Seokmin slapping his butt, while Jihoon´s laugh was again piercing through the room, they seemed almost to be in another world completely.
The youngest was pulled out of his thoughts when he made eye contact with Jeonghan for a moment, who once again had this mischievous grin on his lips. Then he remembered Minghao’s words and was scared of what the night would offer.
As if Jeonghan read his mind, he called everyone to the couch area. Wonwoo and him had been the only ones that weren’t already there, so it was really just to call them two. Of course, Chan had a bad feeling about this, expressing it by sighing loudly. Wonwoo was eyeing him quietly.
They all sat in a circle on the ground, except for Minghao and Jihoon, who sat on the couch, the first not wanting to get his clothes wrinkled. That was a thing Chan was always impressed by—the way Minghao took care of his appearance no matter what—a good metaphor for self-care, Chan thought. Jeonghan explained that the first game they would play was “Pick a number,” and like the little devil that he was, he decided that he would be going around for them to pick a paper with a number on it and pick the two numbers who would do the assignment as well.
“But Hyung, that’s not fair!” Seungkwan exclaimed. “You cheat.”
“Yeah, he will most definitely cheat and make us do weird stuff.” Jihoon feared out loud.
“This Hyung really cannot live one day without cheating.” Minghao added, gaining some laughs.
However, Jeonghan didn’t even refute the claims that had been made against him. Instead, he only points out that it´s his birthday today, which Jihoon quickly corrected by saying, “Only in a few minutes, though.”
Chan took a short glance at Seungcheol while the exchange was happening, just to see how he would react to it. And he was pleasantly surprised to see Seungcheol widely smiling at Jeonghan, almost proud of hearing the accusations made against him. Maybe Jeonghan was truly lucky and didn’t invite a dangerous stranger into his home after only knowing him for a moment.
Then the game began, and like the accusations stated, Jeonghan did cheat. It was so apparent that it was almost ridiculous, but everyone still stayed quiet about it because he had his fun and it was his day after all, or like Jihoon said in some minutes.
After making Minghao give Seokmin a small peck on the cheek, to which Seokmin cooed and tried to kiss his best friend aggressively in return without succeeding, and creating an image Chan never wanted to see but would forever hold against Seungkwan, he feared that it was his turn to be the victim. He also feared what Hyung would make him do.
“1 and 8.” Chan looked down to his hand, seeing the paper with a “1” being written on it and then glancing to Wonwoo, who had the counterpart "8." His suspicion came true, and he was today’s victim of the pseudo-cupid role that Jeonghan was playing. “Stare into each other’s eyes for 2 minutes.”
Everyone cooed around them, and Chan thought he could have it worse; at least Jeonghan didn’t make them kiss or do something as pathetic as what Hansol had to do to Seungkwan.
Oh boy, was he wrong.