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If you ask Soobin, he would have never thought his evening of doom would have begun because of his favourite kid. His own roommate.
(Kai would protest that it was a great sacrifice on his part that should be appreciated instead because he willingly set himself up to third-wheel in his own apartment. Soobin doesn't tell him that he and Yeonjun go out of their way with the PDA precisely because of that.)
It began as it normally did, with a selfie from Yeonjun showing his outfit of the day while heading out to some party. Soobin texted back a compliment and showed it to his roommate as usual– Soobin never understood why the older didn't text the group chat instead. He had asked once, and Yeonjun just made a vague excuse about not wanting to reward Beomgyu's undeserving eyes with his face.
Honestly, Soobin was willing to believe that because that was the exact kind of shit those two argued about, so he didn't push it.
Either way, Yeonjun sent him his usual text, Soobin told him to have fun, and then he promptly put down his phone and turned back to his ramen with a frown. Kai gave his shoulder a consoling pat, knowing the issue without it having to be said out loud. Soobin didn't need to– he has ranted about it too often, and he was pretty sure his friends were precariously close to bashing their head against a wall if they have to hear it again– but he couldn't help it!
"It's not like I have anything against him partying," Soobin began, as he always did. The disclaimer was important, he didn't want anyone misunderstanding that maybe he hated Yeonjun for being the opposite of his introverted self and the older somehow getting wind of the conversation and having a misunderstanding. No thank you, Soobin has watched too much anime to not know the usual tropes.
Kai made a humming noise at the back of his throat, slurping at his own bite of ramen. They were sharing it straight out the pot, because no one wanted to do extra dishes if they could help it.
"It's nice that he's enjoying himself, seriously. I hope he has a fun evening," Soobin continued.
Kai swallowed. "But not too fun?" He asked knowingly.
Soobin flushed and ducked his head, stammering. "I– I'm just afraid that one of these days someone will catch his attention at one of those parties and that person will be The One for hyung."
Kai stayed quiet instead of reassuring Soobin like he always did by pointing out that Yeonjun has even stopped his occasional hookups since a few months ago– for reasons that Soobin doesn't know but wouldn't question. That should have been his first warning.
The next words to come out of Kai's mouth after a minute of deep contemplation are "Can I take a minute to call Beomgyu hyung and Taehyun over too?", which should have set off blaring sirens in Soobin's mind.
Alas, the sirens were silent, and Soobin just nodded in confusion. He didn't know why Kai would want to deal with their bitching about having to hear Soobin go on about Yeonjun for the nth time, but he wasn't one to deny the younger if he needed…moral support to listen to his lovesick rants.
Beomgyu arrives with a bang, literally. And Soobin means that– Beomgyu rang the bell, waited until one of them unlocked the door, and then he slammed open the door and announced his presence. They're used to his entrance by now, everyone knows to hastily step back the moment you unlock the door if it was Beomgyu on the other side.
"If the door breaks one day, you're going to pay for it," Soobin grouched. It was then that Beomgyu's appearance hit him, and he glanced over at Taehyun who entered just behind Beomgyu, similarly dressed.
"Why are you dressed like that?"
"Don't ask me, he told me to arrive like that," Taehyun answered. Soobin would question the wisdom of listening to anything Beomgyu said without at least a twenty page document explaining every minute detail, but then again, it was Taehyun. Taehyun being absolutely whipped for him was nothing new.
Kai clapped his hands, sounding delighted. "Oh! Are we going somewhere?"
Beomgyu grinned at him. "Yep. Clubbing."
Silence reigned over the room.
Soobin went to sit back down. "Okay, enjoy–"
Beomgyu's hand shot out to grab him by the back of his tshirt collar. "Oh hell no, you're coming with us."
"Why?" Soobin wailed, trying to free himself before the younger permanently stretched out the fabric. "You do understand the partying is not the part I'm jealous about when it comes to complaining about Yeonjun going to them?"
"I know."
"And if this is some attempt to help me move on by trying to make me hook up with some stranger at a club, that won't work," Soobin added, doing his best to nip any plans in the bud.
Beomgyu rolled his eyes, letting him go. "I know," he repeated. "But if I have to spend an evening listening to you rehash the same fucking script as ever, I want it to be at a place where I can actually have fun."
Soobin opened his mouth to remind Beomgyu that social skills aside, he was exactly the same as him when it came to holing up in a room all day and playing League, but Kai interrupted before he could say anything.
"That sounds fun! Hyung, you're coming, right?"
"No part of that sounds remotely fun," Soobin protested, turning to Taehyun with beseeching eyes.
Taehyun just shrugged. "I mean, we're already ready. Might as well go."
"Ah ah ah," Beomgyu said, wagging his index finger at Taehyun, "We are ready, Soobin is not."
Kai raised his hand. "I'm not either."
Beomgyu laughed, ruffling the youngest's hair. "It's okay, you will be. I trust your sense of fashion."
Soobin made a face. "And you don't trust mine?"
"Absolutely not."
"I–"
"Look," Beomgyu started, turning Soobin around and placing his hands on the older's back to push him towards his bedroom, "Just because you have the figure to somehow make sweats and hoodies look good instead of sloppy doesn't mean I'm going to let you wear that."
Soobin tried to fight back and plant his feet firmly on the floor, but Beomgyu only pushed more insistently. Soobin looked over his shoulder, eyebrow raised. "Choi Beomgyu, was that almost a compliment?"
"No it was not," Beomgyu scowled. "Now march."
Soobin laughed, but allowed himself to be lead to his room all the same.
"Hey Kai, do you have that leather jacket that Taehyun gave you last year? And those leather pants that you wore once last month?"
"Hold on, I'm not wearing those–"
"Shut up Soobin, I'm trying to make a masterpiece here."
Soobin would have questioned what was the point of changing locations if they'd be doing the very same thing as they'd be doing at home– squishing themselves into the first available seat they see and listening to him wallow about Yeonjun– but at least they were listening as promised.
Except for one person.
"Are you even paying attention?" Soobin addressed Kai, stopping his now trademark rant of how down bad he was for his own best friend. They had commandeered one of the club's U shaped seaters as soon as they arrived, with Taehyun getting in first so that he sat in the middle. Kai took one of the limbs to himself, with Beomgyu and Soobin on the other limb, Soobin on the outer side.
(Soobin frankly didn't understand why Beomgyu simply didn't scoot in further and sit next to Taehyun, but he had half a mind to gently shove him at some point in the night so that the boy could at least sit with his crush. This was ridiculous.)
"Mmm," Kai hummed in answer, clearly distracted. Soobin pouted at him, but the younger didn't even look up from his phone.
"What are you doing?" Soobin asked, annoyance changing to curiosity as he watched Kai smile to himself at whatever was on his phone.
Kai finally looked up at the question, grinning innocently. It would have looked angelic, if Soobin hadn't known each curve of Kai's various smiles for years now. This one was nothing short of devious.
"Nothing, just texting Yeonjun hyung something!"
Beomgyu snorted. "Good luck getting a reply. You know how he is when he really gets into a party."
Kai laughed, putting his phone away in his pocket. "Oh, I think he'd reply this time."
Now, there was a lot to unpack in that statement– Soobin had the most suspicious feeling crawling up his back– but he went back to the most confusing part.
"Hold on," he said, leaning forward to look at them both. "What do you mean that hyung doesn't reply when he's busy partying?"
"Because he doesn't?" Beomgyu answered, cocking his head.
That only made Soobin frown more. "He always texts back, though?"
"Obviously," Taehyun's smooth voice cut in. "You're an outlier, so you don't count."
The others cracked up at that, adding chimes of agreement to Taehyun's statement. Soobin didn't get what the joke here was, and judging by their reaction, he felt it'd be more trouble than it was worth to ask.
He sighed, resting his cheek in his hand. "What's the point, I don't think he'll ever see me as anything other than his best friend."
"Have you even tried making a move?" Beomgyu pointed out, with a supremely unimpressed expression.
Soobin winced, knowing that Beomgyu was right. At first he had planned to keep his feelings to himself and not ruin a friendship over what he was convinced was a passing crush. But then it only kept growing instead of fading, and he had been forced to accept that he's in over his head with how fond he is of Yeonjun– so might as well just go through with it and deal with the falling out when he came to it. It had been these three who had given him the confidence that Yeonjun would never break off the friendship even if he'd reject Soobin's romantic advances, and Soobin had been incredibly grateful for the push it gave him to settle on the decision of officially pursuing his best friend.
That is, only in his mind.
Soobin has yet to make any move on Yeonjun. It's not for a lack of effort, and shy as he may be, Soobin's not new to dating, but the thing is. The thing is, that Yeonjun is just too cool, and Soobin is way too in awe, that he ends up getting flustered and chickening out every single time he tries.
"I can't," he whines, downing a few gulps of his drink. "You guys have seen me– you know I get flustered even when I think of trying to flirt with him."
Taehyun made a sympathetic noise while Beomgyu just shoved Soobin's shoulder. "Have you tried not thinking and just kissing him?"
"Have you?" Soobin shot back at the younger, gaze very obviously flitting to Taehyun for a second before returning to Beomgyu, a reminder that the brunette had no leg to stand on currently and he really shouldn't be making waves when he's in the same boat as Soobin.
Kai clapped his hands, drawing their attention. Soobin narrowed his eyes at Kai's smile, which had taken on even more of a calculating edge. But despite his suspicions, even he couldn't have predicted his next words.
"Why don't you flirt with Beomgyu hyung?"
Beomgyu screeched a very loud and drawn out "What!?", while Taehyun and Soobin stared at the youngest, dumbfounded. Taehyun even shuffled towards him, placing a gentle hand over Kai's forehead to check for a fever.
Kai pouted, swatting the hand away. "Listen to me! You'd never do that, right?"
"Um, yeah?" Soobin agreed. "That's exactly what I wanted to say."
"And you'd absolutely hate it, right?" Kai prompted, this time addressing Beomgyu.
"That goes without saying," Beomgyu replied, still staring at Kai as if he had grown another head. "I– I think I'd actually puke if that happened."
"That's why!" Kai announced cheerfully. "Soobinnie hyung, you have trouble flirting with Yeonjun hyung, right? I think if you manage to flirt with Beomgyu hyung, that'd give you the confidence you need!"
"Kai," Taehyun called out softly, still looking worried for Kai's health. "With all due respect, what the actual fuck?"
"What he said," Beomgyu seconded.
"Don't question me, it's genius," Kai huffed, lips jutting out into a petulant pout. Oh fuck. Soobin exchanged a glance with Beomgyu, a silent conversation passing between them. All of them were too soft for the youngest, and Kai knew it too well. And they knew that he was using it to his advantage, but that's the thing. They were too fond to do anything about it, really.
"This feels incestuous, for some reason," Soobin said doubtfully.
Beomgyu scoffed, crossing his arms. "Trust me, if we were actually blood related, I'd have told my parents to disown me from the family."
"The feeling's mutual," Soobin snarked, laughing a little. He turned to Kai with pleading eyes, pointing at Beomgyu. "Do I really have to do this, Kai-yah?"
Kai nodded with his usual bright smile, unaffected by their bickering. "Just think of it as practice! If you can successfully flirt with Beomgyu hyung, then you can definitely flirt with Yeonjun hyung."
Soobin gave Beomgyu a sidelong glance. "I don't know about that, this brat certainly doesn't make me all flustered like Jjunie hyung does. This'd be easy."
"Easy!?" Beomgyu screeched, uncrossing his arms and pointing back at him. "I'll show you easy! Bet you can't even make me blush."
Soobin's gaze darkened, his competitiveness awakened. "Oh, you're so on."
"I don't know if this is a good idea," Taehyun said, trying to be the voice of reason. Normally, Soobin would have agreed with him, because heavens know you need at least two people to reign in Beomgyu's insanity. Today, with Kai of all people encouraging them and Soobin playing along, it was a lost cause.
Soobin ignored Taehyun, looking Beomgyu straight in the eyes. They had both angled their bodies to face each other instead from where they were sitting side by side, and Soobin fully intended to keep his gaze solely trained on the younger. If he even took a look at Kai or Taehyun, all the embarrassment of the situation would come crashing down on him at once.
He inhaled deeply to fortify himself, aware that this was going to be a new level of cringe, even for him. "Beomgyu, I love you."
Beomgyu stared, face contouring in a spectacular expression of disgust. "That's seriously what you start with? Lame."
"Shut up, I'm warming up," Soobin complained, moving closer. He was about to put his hand over Beomgyu's thigh, before he paused and glanced over to Kai. "How much am I allowed to touch him?"
Beomgyu tried to squirm away, dramatically wiggling in his seat. "Ew, that's a question I never want to hear from your mouth."
Soobin slapped the side of his arm. "Chill, it's because I don't have anything good to say about you. Have to do something for it to count as flirting."
"Can't we just admit that you're bad at it and call it a day?"
"Okay, hyungs, be serious," Kai butted in, stopping the argument. Soobin and Beomgyu both stared at him, because frankly, he should be wanting them to be anything other than serious. Honestly, Soobin could have drunk a whole bottle of alcohol and he still wouldn't have flirted with Beomgyu, that was something reserved for insane people. Like Taehyun.
"Fine," Beomgyu whined, dragging out the word as if he was doing a great concession. He turned to Soobin, straightening his posture. "Anything's fine, as long as you don't start making out with me."
Taehyun choked somewhere in the background. Soobin gave him a quick glance to ensure he wasn't dying, refocusing back on Beomgyu. "Okay. Okay, yeah. Let me start again," Soobin declared, taking a deep breath and pushing back his hair. He could do this. He could totally do this without cringing or laughing.
He repeated his previous movement, leaving even closer and running a gentle finger across the side of Beomgyu's face. Soobin channeled his most gentle smile possible, did a very admirable job of resisting the urge to launch a surprise attack on an unsuspecting Beomgyu and pinch him, and instead brought his hand to trail across his neck to rest at the back of his head.
He threaded his fingers through the hair on Beomgyu's neck, very aware that the younger was sensitive there.
"That's playing dirty," Beomgyu hissed. The complaint made Soobin grin, and he gave an experimental tug on Beomgyu's hair.
Beomgyu whined, and Soobin looked into his eyes, which was a mistake. Beomgyu looked something like a combination between disgusted and murderous, which was hilarious. Soobin bit his lips, trying not to laugh on Beomgyu's face– that would certainly make him the loser of the challenge by default.
"Gyu-ah, let's go on a date."
"I can't think of anything else I'd like to do less," Beomgyu replied instantly, deadpan.
Soobin clicked his tongue at the lackluster response, deciding to go all in– in a weird way, his brain had decided that his chances of going out with Yeonjun someday depended on this– a stupid conclusion, but Soobin had always been too competitive with Beomgyu to care.
He kept his hand firmly on Beomgyu's nape, leaning forward even more and bringing up the other hand to brace himself on the back of the seat, effectively caging in Beomgyu. Soobin's waist hurt from the awkward angle he had to twist to pull off the maneuver, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice if it worked.
"Don't be like that," Soobin murmured in a low voice. Beomgyu's pupils had dilated at the close proximity and the intimate atmosphere, and Soobin felt a rush of smugness. He was so close to winning. "You'll hurt hyung's heart."
Beomgyu seemed to struggle for a second, but he regained his composure so fast that Soobin wondered if he should be offended. "I don't give a shit," he said primly, grinning in the way that told Soobin he had no intention of letting him win. "What gave you the audacity to ask me out anyway?"
Soobin cocked his head, and tried furiously to channel his most confident smirk and push down the rapidly building cringe as best as he could. "Because I'm Choi Soobin?"
Beomgyu went red and averted his face towards the side– and if that didn't make it obvious that he was about to burst into laughter, his shaking shoulders and thinly pressed lips gave it away.
"I think that's enough," Taehyun's voice cut in, so uncharacteristically sharp that it snapped them out of their competitiveness.
Soobin sighed, ready to throw in the towel anyway. He used the arm that was still curled around Beomgyu's neck to draw him closer, pressing a soft kiss to his hair before letting go. Might as well, even if he lost the bet.
Beomgyu grinned at him, clearly knowing that the last action was not part of the charade. They bickered a lot, but if Soobin really had to be serious about it, Beomgyu was his precious best friend. It was good to show affection sometimes, especially when Beomgyu has explicitly said once that his love language was kisses– half joke it may be.
His smile morphed into a smug smirk, and Soobin groaned at the sentimental moment being broken.
"What did I tell you? Easy, my ass," Beomgyu crowed, cackling loudly. Soobin made a face, giving his shoulder a well deserved slap. Or several. Who was counting?
It did nothing to deter Beomgyu's glee, and Soobin slumped against the leather seat, looking up at the ceiling. "God, I should probably just give up on ever woo-ing Yeonjun hyung."
Soobin missed the alarmed looks exchanged between the other three, but heard it in Kai's voice all the same when he replied.
"That's not true!" Kai denied, putting down his phone and waving his hands when Soobin straightened his neck to look towards him. "You were really good, hyung! Seriously!"
"Weren't you the one who said that charming Beomgyu would be a test of whether I'd be able to charm hyung or not?"
Kai frowned. "That isn't what I said, you're twisting things. And anyway, just because it didn't work out with Gyu-hyung doesn't mean it won't work on Yeonjun hyung."
Soobin sputtered at the illogical suggestion, wondering where to begin. "Why are we talking like it'd be, somehow, easier to make Yeonjun hyung agree to go on a date with me?"
Beomgyu mumbled something under his breath, clearly not meant for Soobin's ears. Unfortunately, he was sitting right next to Soobin, so the older caught the words "pathetically in love" anyway.
"What?" He asked, addressing Beomgyu. The boy went wide eyed for a second, before giving a slight cough.
"Nothing," Beomgyu rolled his eyes. "But seriously, you weren't as terrible as you thought you were. I'm not saying it wasn't awful for me and I honestly don't want to experience it again unless I'm being paid for it–"
"–you sound like a hooker–"
"–but in some parts you really locked down." Beomgyu paused here, looking as if it physically pained to admit it. "It might have made my heart skip a beat. Slightly. Half a beat. Maybe a quarter?"
Soobin looked at him, gobsmacked at the admission, but any teasing that he was about to unleash on Beomgyu for the rare praise didn't have the chance to come out before Taehyun was speaking.
"Next time, you should try that on Yeonjun-hyung instead," Taehyun interjected stiffly. Normally, he'd stammer about how he certainly couldn't do that to Yeonjun, but Soobin was more concerned by how off Taehyun sounded. It didn't seem like the younger was saying that just to give him support.
Before he could say anything though, Taehyun stood up, grabbing Beomgyu by the arm. Beomgyu yelped and looked up in confusion, but Taehyun pulled him smoothly to his feet in one swift motion.
"You like to dance at these clubs, right?" Taehyun asked, face completely serious.
"Yeees?" Beomgyu asked, drawing out the word. His face went through an interesting flow of expressions, and Soobin would dearly love to know what dots Beomgyu was connecting, because he was completely lost.
Taehyun tugged him towards the dance floor, and a slow smile spread across Beomgyu's face as they swept past Soobin. Soobin looked on as Beomgyu practically lit up, taking his hand out of Taehyun's grasp only to hold it properly, fingers intertwined. And then he was the one dragging Taehyun to the dance floor, the other boy following willingly for once.
Soobin watched the two of them go, sighing deeply. "Well. At least some of us would enjoy the evening."
Kai just giggled, hiding his mouth behind his hands. "Don't worry, hyung. I think you'd start enjoying it soon enough, too."
Soobin narrowed his eyes at the cryptic words, but Kai refused to elaborate any more. He did keep him company though, so Soobin didn't push.
In hindsight, he should have.
Yeonjun felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, immediately putting down his drink to fish it out. Wooyoung groaned from his side. "You know, I'm starting to think you're not having fun at this party at all with how much you've been glued to your phone."
Yeonjun rolled his eyes, not gracing that with a reply. They've been dancing and drinking for well over an hour, he was allowed to wind down a little in the kitchen. Although Wooyoung did have a point– normally, Yeonjun wouldn't even have taken out his phone until it was time to go back to his own apartment, but he had done the mistake of glancing at the screen earlier, and Soobin's name in the text had stopped him from swiping the notification from Kai.
(Yeonjun missed the person he was months ago before he had a sudden realization of his feelings for his best friend. He was sure he used to be way cooler.)
(He voiced the thought out once, and his friends just scoffed and informed him he was as down bad as he was now, he's just aware of it now.)
He was simultaneously both glad and regretful that he had opened that text, because on one hand it had been a photo of Soobin looking absolutely ravishing under the sultry red lights of what Yeonjun had assumed to be a club, and which Kai's accompanying caption of "at a club, thought you'd like this" confirmed. On the other hand, fierce jealousy had flared up in his chest– Soobin never went with him to parties or clubs, and the few times he did, he never seemed to enjoy himself.
Yeonjun was proud to say that he'd managed to successfully subdue it, though. He could see the others in the background of the photo, and Soobin would have undoubtedly given in if all of them had asked him to come. Maybe it wasn't Yeonjun's fault, maybe it just took the combined efforts of the entire friend group to drag Soobin to a club. There was no need to get jealous, he'd managed to put it out of his mind and get distracted by the party, which was genuinely fun.
This message, though. This one Yeonjun regretted opening. The text itself had been innocuous enough, if not confusing– "immovable object meets unstoppable force", but then Yeonjun just had to go and tap on the video under it.
Wooyoung got curious when he saw Yeonjun freeze for a solid while, curiously peeking into the other's phone. Yeonjun didn't even stop him, which was even more concerning– but a glance at the phone screen made everything make sense.
He whistled slowly, the sound breaking Yeonjun out of his stillness.
"You know, I was always under the assumption that Soobin had all the right assets to be dangerous, but thankfully he doesn't know how to use them," Wooyoung said, watching the video along with Yeonjun. He had missed the beginning part, and he was pretty sure neither of them could hear the audio because of the loud music reverberating through the house, but the parts he did see was damning enough. "Clearly he does."
Yeonjun's mouth had dried up as he had watched Soobin essentially cage Beomgyu against the seat, big, veiny hands grabbing his hair in an action that he could find no other word for other than possessive, the intense gaze that never once wavered– but Wooyoung's words made him snap out of it.
"He doesn't need to learn how to flirt," Yeonjun hissed at him, getting worked up. "Do you see that fucking face? And the whole nice-boy vibe he has going on manages to charm everyone he talks to, my competition is already crazy!"
"So you've complained," Wooyoung snorted, patting his shoulder sympathetically. "Multiple times."
"What's going on here?" Changbin asked, having dropped by the kitchen on seeing his two friends there, only to find himself in the middle of what seemed like a heated discussion.
"Oh, just watching Yeonjun's man trying to become someone else's man," Wooyoung summarised, drawing a startled yelp from Changbin.
"What!?"
Yeonjun wordlessly passed him his phone, the video open on the screen. Changbin watched it quietly, and when it was done, he dragged his finger across the screen to play it back again.
"Well," he said, eyes flirting briefly to Yeonjun. "Your Soobin certainly has game. I thought you said he was cute and shy?"
"He is!" Yeonjun protested. "He was supposed to be! I have no idea what happened to him! Why does he never flirt with me like that? I didn't know he was into Beomgyu!"
"That's the name of the other guy?" Changbin asked, shaking Yeonjun's phone. Yeonjun nodded and Changbin turned to the screen with an impressed purse or his lips. "Gotta hand it to him too, most people would have folded long ago. Hell, even this–," he fiddled with the seek bar of the video, pausing at a particular spot. He angled the phone then, such that it was visible to both Yeonjun and Wooyoung. "–this alone would have been enough."
The video had been paused at almost the very beginning, where Soobin had grabbed the back of Beomgyu's neck. Yeonjun felt warmth creep down his stomach just imagining it, and he had to agree. He didn't know about others, but Yeonjun certainly would have folded if Soobin had done that to him.
He was doubtful whether Beomgyu was as unaffected as the others seemed to think, though. He took a while to crack, but if the momentarily glazed eyes when Soobin had pushed him against the sofa hadn't put the tendrils of suspicion in Yeonjun's mind, the way Beomgyu suddenly turned his face away at the end made alarm bells ring in his head. He wished Beomgyu had turned to the side of the camera instead of away from it– in some kind of masochistic way, Yeonjun dearly wanted to see the face he was making.
(Was he blushing? Did Yeonjun have to see one of his closest friends fall for his best friend?)
Yeonjun didn't want to hate Beomgyu, and he was pretty sure he couldn't either. As much as they bickered and fought, he did genuinely love the gremlin. If Soobin was interested in Beomgyu, then Yeonjun would get wallow in private and suck it up, and if Beomgyu actually reciprocated, then Yeonjun might be a bit confused– because he had thought that it was Taehyun who Beomgyu liked, had he been misreading the signs? But even then, Yeonjun didn't think he could ever hate either of his two best friends. He'd just be…hurt.
Some of his thoughts must have shown on his face, because Changbin put a kind hand on his head, and Wooyoung glomped him in a quick side hug.
"I think there might be a misunderstanding," Wooyoung advised, nodding towards the phone. "You should ask what's going on, it could be something as simple as a round of truth and dare."
Yeonjun hesitated, but then again, he had to reply something to Huening Kai's text, so he picked up the phone and hoped that the long gap between his read receipt and his reply would be explained away by Kai assuming that he was busy dancing rather than going into a downward spiral.
(His hopes were meagre. Yeonjun was pretty sure that everyone knew about his pathetic crush on Soobin at this point except the man himself.)
In the end, the message he sent was simply a copious amount of question marks, and the reply came before he could overthink it. Yeonjun looked down at his phone, unconsciously pulling a face when he saw what Kai had texted back.
hyuka
you know how these two are
Yeonjun did know how they were. But nothing he knew about them could explain what the fuck was going on in the video. Eternal flirt Beomgyu he could still believe, but Soobin? Soobin!?
Kai's follow up message came a second later, just when Yeonjun was pondering the best way to get his questions across without sounding desperate.
hyuka
its a bet
Huh. So Wooyoung was close to the truth. Yeonjun paused. He wanted to ask a lot of things, like why was this even a bet in the first place? What exactly was the bet anyway? If it was just a bet then why did they both seem so into it? Why did Soobin never actually like that with him?
He doesn't ask any of them. Instead.
yeonjunnie
where is this club?
(Wooyoung and Changbin exchanged knowing looks when Yeonjun got up in a rush. Wooyoung slapped him on the back, grinning even before Yeonjun could make his excuses. "Aish, go. I'll say your farewells to the host in your stead.")
Between talking with Kai, fielding off a guy who tried to flirt with him near the bar, and being roped into a bit of dancing by an unexpectedly pleasant group of drunk girls, Kai's mysterious behaviour had left Soobin's mind. That was, until he had slumped down on a seat next to Kai, who had excused himself from the dance floor because he'd gotten a call.
"Hyung!" The younger smiled, resting his head on Soobin shoulder. "Having fun?"
Soobin laughed. "Surprisingly, yeah. I'm still not accompanying Beomgyu here a second time though."
Kai smiled sympathetically and patted his thigh. "You never know, you might just get a surprise encounter at a club."
Soobin turned to look at him, suddenly alert. "Don't tell me you're trying to set me up with someone."
"Just one person," Kai replied blithely, shifting forward to look beyond Soobin. Soobin frowned, turning similarly to follow the younger's gaze to see which unfortunate guy they wanted to introduce him to– and promptly locked eyes with a very angry Yeonjun.
Soobin startled, mind shutting down. He only half heard Kai greeting the older and making a swift getaway with some excuse that Soobin could not recall even if his life was on the line, all his attention taken up by the man in front of him instead.
Yeonjun looked like he came directly from the party, still wearing the outfit that Soobin had seen him in, except more undone compared to the careful styling before he had left for it. Wisps of hair had escaped his ponytail and and fell around his face instead, and his jacket seemed to have thrown on in a rush– the man hadn't bothered with any of its complicated zippers.
"Hyung!" Soobin exclaimed, trying to find his words. "I thought you were at a party?
"And I thought you didn't like clubs," Yeonjun said harshly. "Clearly we were both wrong."
"I don't," Soobin answered, still struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that Yeonjun was here, for some reason. And that he was mad. Most likely at him. Soobin wilted at the thought, unconsciously biting his lips. What did he do that made Yeonjun leave the party and came all the way here?
"You know this is not my kind of place," Soobin tried again with pleading eyes, attempting to justify himself despite being unsure what exactly Yeonjun was angry about. "But Beomgyu really insisted and–"
Yeonjun let out a loud noise of frustration– almost like a growl– the sound so unlike him that Soobin cut himself off in surprise.
Then the older was suddenly up in his face, and Soobin only had the chance to draw back in surprise before his back smacked against the leather cushion. Yeonjun didn't let up, looking Soobin in the eye the entire time while he dropped down on Soobin's lap, arms loosely circling around his shoulders. Soobin felt breathless under the intense gaze, unable to look away or think anything beyond how gorgeous Yeonjun was– Yeonjun sitting on him– Yeonjun in his lap–
Yeonjun ran a hand over Soobin's leather jacket, moving up to wrap it around his lapels. His other hand mirrored the grip on the other side, and Yeonjun tugged at it harshly, making Soobin jerk forward. He yelped, hands automatically reaching out to grab onto Yeonjun's waist for support. The older moved his face closer, angling in such a way that his lips were perilously close to touching Soobin's ear. "Look at you, all dressed up for Beomgyu," he whispered.
"I–" Soobin started, but Yeonjun cut him off, drawing back.
"How drunk are you right now?"
Soobin furrowed his brows at the unexpected question. "Uh, I've had just one drink since we came."
"So you're sober right now," Yeonjun stated. Soobin gulped at having all of Yeonjun's intense gaze focused on him, not even realizing that he had nodded in answer.
Yeonjun licked his lips. "That's good," he murmured. "I want you to remember this."
His hands came up to cup on either side of Soobin's face, and every remaining thought flew out of Soobin's mind. His world narrowed down to Yeonjun, Yeonjun's hands, the gloss of Yeonjun's lips, Yeonjun who was leaning down, Yeonjun, Yeonjun, Yeonjun.
Soobin had imagined kissing Yeonjun a lot, but none of them had been this filthy. It was somehow both desperate yet slow, Yeonjun dragging it out long and sensual until Soobin got impatient and placed a rough hand on the back of his neck, bringing him closer. He nipped at Yeonjun's bottom lip, revelling in the small noise that the other let out. Soobin guided Yeonjun by the hand on his neck, the older man obligingly angling his face so that they could deepen the kiss.
Soobin couldn't say how long they continued, biting and nipping and pressing their bodies flush against each other, but he forced himself to draw back when Yeonjun unconsciously grinded against his lap. Soobin knew viscerally that it'd be a fight to stop if they went down that particular path.
It took a moment to find his focus again, but Yeonjun's roving hands reminded him that he had a very, very delicious sight he could give his entire attention to. Soobin took a moment to just take in Yeonjun, pleasure coiling in his gut at the other's disheveled state. That was him. That was all his handiwork, not some hookup from a party, not a stupid stranger with a dare, not an alcohol induced mistake.
For whatever reason, Yeonjun had left the party, came specifically to find him, and staked his claim with a kiss.
Soobin's gaze stopped at Yeonjun's eyes, who was already looking at him– intense and unreadable.
"Don't look at anyone else," Yeonjun whispered, a firm order.
Ah.
Soobin could see what was going on. Clarity came to him slowly, but he was getting more and more sure by the minute as his eyes roved over Yeonjun's tense body and red flush to his cheeks. Soobin would have assumed it was from anger, but another theory was gradually fleshing itself out.
So this is the conclusion Beomgyu had come to earlier, with Taehyun.
The realization gave him a rush of confidence. He met Yeonjun's eyes, and held his gaze. "Why?"
"That's– I–" Yeojun started, but was unable to complete the sentence. Soobin watched the redness spread to the man's ears with a detached sort of interest, absolutely captivated. Yeonjun was embarrassed.
Yeonjun was jealous.
Yeonjun tries to instinctively jerk away, but Soobin's hand around his waist holds firm, his other grabbing Yeonjun by the wrist. He shifted a little, making sure they were both comfortable, before settling down Yeonjun's hand on his leg, fingers still wrapped around his wrist.
"You just have to ask, hyung. You have the answer already," Soobin prodded kindly, gently rubbing his thumb over Yeonjun's skin.
"Do I? Have the answer?" Yeonjun asked softly. It was hard to hear over the music, muted as it was in their corner of the admittedly large club, but Soobin could tell by the movements of his lips.
Soobin squeezed his hand. "You're the most important person to me. Not Beomgyu, not anyone else," he said, a confession in and of itself. Soobin hadn't planned on saying anything, certainly not like this, but.
Yeonjun was jealous, but more importantly, Yeonjun was hurt, and that's the last thing Soobin ever wanted to see.
Currently, Yeonjun was biting his lips, looking hesitant. Soobin reached up, gently freeing his bottom lip from his teeth to prevent him from eventually breaking the skin. It's an old habit of Yeonjun, and it had bothered Soobin since forever– he just never did anything about it despite itching to everytime, afraid that it'd be odd to be so fixated on your friend's lips.
Yeonjun didn't seem weirded out though, just slightly startled. Soobin huffed a laugh at the cute expression, mouth curving into a fond smile.
Yeonjun's expression suddenly morphed into frustration, making Soobin's smile drop.
"You can't just do stuff like that!"
"I– what?" Soobin blinked, dread settling in his stomach. Oh fuck, did he mess everything up?
"Do you know how many hints I've given you?" Yeonjun whined, voice loud enough in his agitation that Soobin couldn't even delude himself in thinking he was mishearing things.
"Hints?" Soobin repeated, flabbergasted. What hints? Yeonjun certainly has never given him any hints, or if he did, they were too subtle to catch. Soobin wouldn't be agonizing over Yeonjun never seeing as anything beyond a best friend if the older was actually giving him obvious signs– they clearly have different thresholds of what they consider as hints.
Yeonjun gave him a stink eye. "Soobinnie, I feel like I don't want to know the answer to this, but do you think I try to kiss everyone I know?"
"That could be anything!" Soobin sputtered, trying to justify himself. "You're touchy with all your friends!"
"I don't try to kiss them!"
"Maybe that's just because I'm your best friend, how the fuck am I supposed to know? And you like to tease me anyway!"
"Oh my god, I don't Netflix and chill with them then–"
"We have literally never Netflix and chilled."
"Okay fine, Netflix and cuddled–"
"I literally saw you sleeping in a cuddle pile with Taehyun and Kai the other day," Soobin pointed out. "And we don't even watch Netflix, half the time we're watching illegally streamed anime."
"Exactly!" Yeonjun exclaimed, undeterred. "I'm not even into anime, why would I spend so much time watching it if not to spend time with you?"
"Uh, because that's what people do for their friends?"
Yeonjun paused. "Point."
"See?"
"Oh no, don't you go doing that," Yeonjun warned, pulling Soobin's earlobe. "What about all the flowers I get you? And the matching bracelets we have?"
"Friendship bracelets," Soobin added cheekily, slowly relaxing into the familiar banter.
"We sleep together half the time and you let me make you breakfast. I give you good morning forehead kisses– but we've already established that you apparently think that I do that for everyone."
"It's because you're so tired from your dance classes half the time that you fall asleep when you're hanging out at my place– I'm not going to kick you out," Soobin defended. "Plus you make breakfast for Kai too, don't forget about our youngest child."
"This is what I mean," Yeonjun replied, now aggressively pulling at Soobin's cheeks. "You oblivious ass, you drive me up the fucking walls."
"I'm sorry?" Soobin asked, smiling despite his words. He did feel a little bad, but it also seemed pretty fair. Yeonjun drove him up the wall simply by existing, it was good to know that it was mutual.
"You're not," Yeonjun accused.
"I'm not," Soobin agrees easily. He blindly reached out, finding the older's hand and bringing it to his lips. He pressed a soft kiss to it, making sure to look Yeonjun in the eyes the entire time. "Can I still make it up to you, though?"
Yeonjun had gone pink all the way to his ears, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times before responding. "What?"
Soobin's smile widened, dimples appearing on his cheeks. "A proper date," he explained. "As compensation for my grievous charges of being oblivious."
"And this one is not a friends date, right?" Yeonjun raised an eyebrow, having found his composure once again. For shame, Soobin liked being the one teasing for once.
Soobin laughed, cheeks red as he shook his head. "No, it'd be a very cliche, very romantic date. No room for misinterpretations."
"I sure hope so, considering that you were the one misinterpreting everything," Yeonjun huffed dramatically, but unable to help a smile when Soobin poked his cheek.
"Okay, let's not put all the blame on me, you didn't know that I've liked you for two years now."
Yeonjun's smile dropped, his eyes widening. "Two years?"
"Two years," Soobin nodded gravely. "And you didn't even have a clue?"
Yeonjun frowned, eyes glazing over with the look that told Soobin that the man was furiously thinking back on his memories of their friendship. Whatever conclusion he came to must have been unsatisfactory though, because his frown deepened as he focused on Soobin again. "Binnie, I hate to say it, but you honestly did not treat me any differently than you treat everyone else."
Soobin winced, recognising that for the truth that it was. "You were too charming," he protested weakly, avoiding Yeonjun's unamused gaze. "I tried to flirt with you but I always chickened out."
"See? It really was your fault the entire time," Yeonjun murmured, but he sounded distracted. He had tugged his hand out of Soobin's grip in the meantime and curled it around his jacket collar once again, and he was tugging insistently at it now. Soobin cocked his head to the side, a silent question.
"One kiss wasn't enough," Yeonjun answered, pursing his lips. Soobin couldn't tell whether it was intentional or the man was simply pouting, but whatever it was, it was working.
Soobin cupped Yeonjun's cheek, leaning in for yet another searing kiss. His hand slipped under Yeonjun's thin top, fingers roving over his bare waist, making the older whine into the kiss. Soobin smiled smugly into the kiss, separating the barest of an inch to stare up at Yeonjun's flushed gaze. "This can't be misunderstood, right?"
"Fuck, I want you so bad." Yeonjun whispered hotly, capturing his lips again. His warm tongue prodded at Soobin's lips, coaxing them open–
"Okay, enough!" Kai interrupted loudly.
Both of them started and separated, Yeonjun almost falling off Soobin's lap if it wasn't for his grip on the older's waist. They turned towards the voice, embarrassed and wide eyed.
"We–" "Listen–"
"Look, I'm glad this is finally happening," Kai cut in before they could stammer out excuses, but I think Gyu-hyung and Taehyunnie are ready to leave, and there's only so much privacy I could give you."
Yeojun coughed once, sliding himself out of Soobin's lap and standing up with unfair grace. He cleared his throat again, exchanging glances with Soobin before turning his attention towards Kai. "You're right, we can discuss this more at home."
"Discuss," Soobin muttered sarcastically under his breath, earning himself a swat on the shoulder from Yeonjun. He sighed, standing up as well.
"Sorry to traumatize your eyes, Hyuka," he apologized, sincere this time. Kai tried to respond with a reassuring smile, but it just came out as a grimace– understandable considering the circumstances.
"It's fine," he allowed, shaking his head as if trying to physically dispel the memories of what he just witnessed. "It's my fault for underestimating all that repressed sexual tension–" Soobin and Yeonjun gave him similar offended looks, but he continued on. "–but it's okay as long as I don't see Soobin hyung until tomorrow. You live alone Jjunie hyung, you guys can take it to your place and…discuss through it."
"I think I'm never going to be able to hear the word discuss in the correct context ever again," Soobin complained, but was ignored.
"We'll leave first, then. Let the others know on Soobin's behalf." Yeonjun said as he looped an arm around his arm, giving Kai a friendly salute before dragging him along.
Soobin turned back over his shoulder, craning his neck. "Tell Beomgyu anything but the truth!"
"What's the point, you're just going to show up tomorrow with hickeys anyway!" Kai hollered back, making Yeonjun cackle out loud. Soobin went red, hiding his face in the other's shoulder. Fuck, he was going to be teased for all eternity for what happened today.
(Kai ends up being right. Soobin doesn't look him in the eyes the entire day next morning.)
Soobin gets to hear the full story and watch the video later, and he's silent through the whole thing. He hands the phone back to Yeonjun when he's done. The older receives it with clenched eyes, looking as if he was dying on the inside and regretting the entire evening after hearing all the insults and taunting that went on between Soobin and Beomgyu during the clip.
Soobin levels him with a neutral gaze, trying very hard not to laugh. "You know, this video really is ten times worse without the audio."
Yeonjun hides his face in his hands, groaning. "I'm never watching anything at a party ever again."