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"I dare you to do that."
Yuma points at a booth not too far away from where they stand. Snug between the tables labeled 'chess club' and 'theatre club' is the dance team's fundraising set-up. It stands out from the rest with an ostentatious hot pink sign that reads:
KISSING BOOTH!
Spice Lv1 ♡: Peck (¥800)
Spice Lv2 ♡♡: 10 seconds (¥2200)
Spice Lv3 ♡♡♡: 20 seconds (¥7000)
Euijoo stares at it in horror.
"No way."
"Come on, Euijoo," Yuma whines. "You lost the bet. You have to do what I say!"
Euijoo is never making a bet against Yuma ever again. Had he known the consequences would be this dire, he never would have given in in the first place. But he's a good friend, so when Yuma and Taki approached him with a 'fun idea' the other day, he decided to entertain them.
That was his first mistake.
"I'm not kissing a total stranger!" Euijoo protests. Yuma starts dragging him over to the booths, and Euijoo begins to panic. He mentally sifts through everyone he's ever met—does he know anybody on the dance team? He knows a few dancers, but he has no clue what their extracurriculars actually look like.
Maybe he'll get lucky and it'll be a friend sitting behind the table. Maybe it'll be Fuma! Euijoo can totally kiss Fuma. Please god, let it be Fuma.
Once Euijoo is able to get his first good look at whoever is manning the booth, it immediately becomes clear that it's not Fuma. Of course it's not. Euijoo sighs; he's never been the lucky type.
Not-Fuma sits underneath the kissing booth's tent, twirling a pen in his hand. His hair is almost as bright pink as the sign next to him, and he's wearing a fitted black t-shirt that hugs his figure nicely. Even from this far away, he looks muscular. He looks kind of bored, too. He also looks—familiar.
Euijoo nearly chokes on his own spit when he finally realizes who he's looking at.
"Oh, no. No, no, no. Nope! I'm not doing this."
He tries to make a run for it, but Yuma immediately grabs his arm and yanks him back into place.
"Why? You know him?"
Euijoo feels heat begin to crawl up the back of his neck, up to the tips of his ears. "No, not really," he says, staring at the ground. "He– he's in my sociology class."
Yuma's eyes go wide. "Wait, holy shit." He peeks over at the table in the least subtle way possible. Euijoo wants to melt into the pavement and die. "Is he the guy you told me about? Damn, you were not joking. He really is hot."
Euijoo's second mistake: telling Yuma about his stupid campus crush.
"What if I just kill myself?" Euijoo deflates.
Yuma lets out a delighted laugh (rude—what if Euijoo meant it?!) and flashes him a mischievous grin.
"Oh, this is perfect!" he celebrates loudly. Euijoo is almost certain that they've been noticed by now. He swears he sees Not-Fuma laughing at them in his periphery. "Now you really have to do it. It's destiny. This is your chance to shoot your shot!"
"What if I don't want to shoot my shot?" Euijoo grumbles. "Maybe I'm perfectly content admiring the back of his head in class."
"Bullshit. Come on, Euijoo. I'll even give you the money to make out with him. Please? I need this."
"If you need it so bad, why don't you go make out with him?"
"Not what I meant and you know it. You're not gonna back down from a dare, are you?"
Euijoo doesn't have a chance to plead for his life before Yuma is urging him forward and pushing him all the way up to the dance team's table. Once they've reached the point of no return, he shoves two bills into Euijoo's hand, salutes Not-Fuma, and then disappears.
Euijoo stumbles forward like a pathetic, startled deer.
"Hey," Not-Fuma says. He sits up straighter in his chair, uncrosses his (very toned) arms, and grins up at Euijoo. His smile is startlingly soft, and it makes Euijoo's heart seize in his chest. Great. So he's not only hot, but he also has the world's prettiest smile. Cool.
"Uh, hey…"
The guy tilts his head in recognition. "EJ, right?"
"Oh, god." Euijoo lets out a horrified groan. "You know who I am?"
"Sure," Not-Fuma laughs. "You sit behind me in sociology. I'm Nicholas."
Nicholas. Even his name is hot! How the hell is that fair?
"Nicholas, I need you to know that I am being forced to do this against my will," Euijoo blurts. He's sure he sounds like an insane person right now, but Nicholas doesn't comment on it, so. "I lost a bet and my best friend is actually evil incarnate."
Nicholas laughs. "I gathered that," he says, eyes flickering to where Euijoo and Yuma were standing mere moments ago. So he did notice them, then. Once again, Euijoo wants to die. Nicholas's tone dips into something more teasing: "You don't want to kiss me? Why?"
Euijoo flushes.
"I– I don't even know you."
"So? It's just a kiss. It's for charity," Nicholas says.
"It's for the dance team, not charity." Euijoo realizes with a start that this means Nicholas dances. Nicholas is a dancer. That's so fucking hot.
"Is supporting the arts not charity?" Nicholas goads. "There must be another reason. Is it possible…you've never been kissed before?"
Euijoo knows he isn't making the best impression here, but he's still offended by the implication.
"I've kissed before!" he huffs, crossing his arms. He doesn't know why, but Nicholas seems to have activated the combative side of his personality. Like he's so hot that every part of Euijoo's body wants to fight him. Yeah, that must be it.
Nicholas chuckles. "Okay, so what's the big deal?" He assesses Euijoo then, leaning forward with his chin in his hands. Euijoo's cheeks burn under the attention. "You don't think I'm attractive?"
"Don't be stupid," Euijoo answers almost immediately. Nicholas's amused smile spreads into a wide, smug grin. Euijoo wants to kiss it right off his face. Ugh.
"Fine, whatever. Let's just get this over with," he huffs.
"Your enthusiasm is so sexy."
"Shut up."
Nicholas laughs again and stands up from his chair. Euijoo nearly passes out when he notices the pants Nicholas is wearing: fitted jeans with a lattice of white laces where the zipper would normally be. The laces are tied together in a neat bow just below his navel, and for a moment Euijoo imagines what it might be like to untie it with his teeth. He clears his throat.
"Seriously though, if you really don't want to do it, I can lie to your friend for you," Nicholas says, voice softening into something more serious. "I don't wanna be the guy who forces himself on someone who clearly doesn't want it."
Euijoo flushes red with shame. Here he is, having horny thoughts about a guy he hardly knows, while said guy is being sweet and considerate. If Euijoo wasn't so mortified by his own brain, he'd probably be swooning extra hard right now.
"…No, that's alright," Euijoo says. "I really appreciate that, but I have a point to prove." He takes a deep, steadying breath and places the bills Yuma gave him on the table between them.
"Oh?" Nicholas raises a brow. "Nobody's bought spice level three yet. I honestly didn’t think anybody would," he says.
"Huh?" Euijoo has no idea what Nicholas is talking about. He looks over at the sign with the prices again, then back to the money. A five thousand yen bill and a two thousand yen bill—seven thousand yen total. Three little hearts. Twenty seconds. His entire gut sinks with realization. "You're kidding."
"Nope!" Nicholas grins, much too happy. "You'll be my first make out session of the day. Lucky me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Nicholas gives him a cheeky wink. "You're cute," he says, much too casually given the admission. Then, as if he hasn't just rocked Euijoo's whole world, he pulls his phone out of his back pocket and sets the timer to twenty seconds.
Euijoo is too stunned to know how to respond.
"Ready?" Nicholas suddenly asks, startling Euijoo out of his dumbfounded state. He steps around the table and into Euijoo's space. Euijoo flinches.
"What– we're just gonna do it right here?"
"Why, you wanna sit on my lap or something?"
"No," Euijoo splutters. Yes, he thinks, but manages to keep it inside his head. "It's just…people are looking." He glances around nervously. Most people out and about right now are focused on doing their own thing, but at least a few random people are looking their way. Euijoo doesn't know where Yuma went, but knowing him, he's probably spying on them from somewhere.
When Euijoo had first seen Nicholas in class, he came home to his shared apartment with Yuma and immediately told him that he was in love.
"The fuck? With who?" Yuma had asked.
"I don't know his name, but he's the hottest man I've ever seen."
That was last week. Now, said hottest-man-ever is right in front of him, flashing him a flirty smile.
"Well, yeah. It's a bright pink kissing booth. People are bound to be curious," Nicholas says with a shrug. "What do you say we give 'em a show?"
Euijoo may be completely embarrassing himself here, but at this point, he'd be a bigger fool not to take this chance.
"Ah, what the hell," he says, stepping forward to close the gap between them. Nicholas hastily sets his phone on the table and starts the timer. With his hands free, he loops his arms around Euijoo's neck and pulls him down into a searing kiss.
It's been a while since Euijoo kissed anyone. He does his best to remain cool and casual as he presses closer, hands instinctively gripping Nicholas's waist. Nicholas is a few centimeters shorter than him (which he's completely normal about, by the way) so Euijoo only needs to dip his head a little bit to get at the right angle. They quickly find a comfortable rhythm, lips moving against each other almost naturally.
Euijoo is acutely aware of the fact that they only have twenty seconds, so when Nicholas licks at the seam of his lips, he easily and eagerly opens up for him. Nicholas lets out a little pleased gasp as Euijoo sucks on his tongue, and it's so hot that he does it again and again, until he feels Nicholas trembling against him. Euijoo holds him steady by the hips, thumbs pressed into the sliver of bare skin at his midriff. Nicholas tugs at the hair at the nape of Euijoo's neck and kisses him back with equal desperation.
Spice level three was certainly an accurate description. Someone a few tables away wolf-whistles at them, but neither of them pay it any mind.
Euijoo thinks he must be in heaven.
Much too soon, the timer goes off, dragging the both of them harshly back down to Earth. Euijoo pulls away from the kiss abruptly, stepping back and dropping his hands from Nicholas's waist like he's been burned.
"Right, well," he pants, catching his breath. "Thanks." He tries to avoid making eye contact with Nicholas, but the heat of his gaze is almost impossible to ignore. Euijoo clears his throat and chances a glance.
What he sees will almost certainly haunt his wet dreams for months to come. Nicholas is looking back at him like he's just told him the secret to immortality. His cheeks are flushed a lovely rosy red, and his lips are puffy and glistening with spit. Euijoo's spit. It should be gross, but instead it only makes Euijoo's stomach churn with desire.
"Right," Nicholas breathes, blinking slowly. He seems to be just as dazed as Euijoo, which is a pleasant surprise. "I'll see you in class on Monday?"
"Yeah." Euijoo nods so fast he almost gives himself whiplash. "Yeah, definitely. See you Monday."
xoxoxo
Euijoo is accosted by a wild Yuma the moment he steps away from the kissing booth.
"So? How was making out with your crush?" Yuma asks, gleeful.
"Be quiet, will you?!" Euijoo begins to steer Yuma away by the shoulders and glances back at the tent nervously. "He might hear you!"
"Oh no, god forbid the hot guy knows that you think he's hot," Yuma mocks, rolling his eyes.
Euijoo punches him in the shoulder. "Shut up," he grumbles. "Anyway." He lets out a deep, dreamy sigh. "It was amazing. He's amazing. I need him so bad."
Yuma snickers. "You're welcome, by the way," he teases. "So now what? Are you gonna ask him out? Did you get his number?"
"I don't know…" Euijoo frowns. "Should I have asked for his number?"
"Obviously yes?"
"Oh. Well, no. I didn't."
"Euijoo, I swear to god…"
"It's fine!" Euijoo insists. "I'll just go ask him right now."
Yuma raises a brow, clearly not believing him. "Oh yeah? You will?"
Euijoo gulps. "Yeah, I will," he says, puffing up his chest with false bravado. He fumbles for his phone in his pocket. "Just– let me do something first."
As quickly as Euijoo begins typing, Yuma invades his space, trying to peek at the screen.
"What could you possibly need to do that would prepare you for this?" Yuma asks. When he manages to catch a glimpse of what Euijoo is doing, he lets out a loud, incredulous laugh.
"Don't laugh at me!" Euijoo protests. He hugs his phone protectively to his chest, but it's too late.
"Are you seriously checking your bank account right now?" Yuma snorts. "You fascinate me, Euijoo. These are levels of desperation that have never been seen before."
Euijoo's bank account also seems to be laughing at him. It's almost as if he shouldn't have spent his entire last paycheck on takeout delivery. But what else was he supposed to do? Starve?
"Ugh, I am so broke," Euijoo groans, ignoring Yuma's jabs at his dignity. He's aware that he's being pathetic—he doesn't really care, at this point. He chews at his bottom lip, contemplative. "How long do you think he'll be running the booth? I need to find another seven thousand yen before his shift is over."
"Do you seriously not have seven thousand yen?"
"You're so not helping right now," Euijoo huffs. He shoves Yuma away from him and opens up his text messages with Taki.
hey can i borrow ¥7000
i'll pay u back when i get paid next week
pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls
He adds about 30 prayer-hands emojis for good measure. Luckily, Taki responds immediately.
for what ?
proving yuma wrong
Takayama Riki has sent you ¥7000.
xoxoxo
This time, when Euijoo approaches the booth, he does it with slightly more confidence. Key word: slightly.
"Hello Nicholas," he greets. It's a little stiff and awkward, but a greeting nonetheless.
Nicholas is hunched over his phone, playing some sort of game. He looks up when Euijoo enters, and all of his body language immediately relaxes into something more open. Euijoo tries not to be delusional about it, but that's a good sign, right?
"You're back," Nicholas giggles. Like, actually giggles. The sound makes Euijoo want to jump in front of moving traffic.
He clears his throat nervously. "I am," Euijoo says. He shuffles a little bit closer to the table, absentmindedly grazing his fingers along the surface.
Nicholas leans back in his chair and cranes his neck to grin up at Euijoo. "Couldn't get enough of me?" he teases.
Euijoo shrugs, face burning red. "Something like that," he says. "So…do you take Kakao pay? I'd like to make another donation."
Nicholas laughs again, this time loud and full. "Yeah, definitely," he says. He swipes through to a payment app on his phone and slides it across the table. "And what can I get for you this time, EJ?"
"Euijoo."
"Hm?"
"My name's Euijoo," he clarifies. "EJ is just a nickname, since people tend to have a hard time pronouncing it correctly."
"Ee-joo, then." It sounds adorable coming from Nicholas's lips, even though he says it wrong. But the clear effort is endearing. For a brief moment, Euijoo considers changing his name. He could be Ee-joo, if that’s who Nicholas wants him to be.
Euijoo takes a moment to put his payment information into the app. When he looks up again, he finds that Nicholas has moved from his chair and is now standing presumptuously close. He reaches out to place a hand on Euijoo's forearm, causing a trail of goosebumps to bloom under his touch. Euijoo shivers.
"So…are we making out again or what?" Nicholas asks.
"Duh."
It's all Euijoo says before he places a hand to the small of Nicholas's back, pulls their bodies flush together, and kisses him.
Things heat up even quicker than the first time. Now that they're already familiar with each other, they can jump straight to the good stuff. Euijoo licks at the inside of Nicholas's mouth with enthusiasm, lapping up every little whine and hum emerging from his throat. Under normal circumstances, Euijoo would probably be worried about coming on too strong too quickly—but Nicholas seems to be just as eager as he bites and sucks at the plush of Euijoo's bottom lip.
Nicholas clasps his hands behind Euijoo's neck again, and it unlocks something feral within Euijoo. Without thinking, he lifts Nicholas by the thighs and places him on the table behind them.
Or at least, that's what he tries to do. It becomes immediately clear that the cheap fold-up table the dance team had provided was not built to support an entire human. The whole thing slips under the force of Nicholas's weight, and before Euijoo can even process what's happening, they're both tumbling to the ground.
Thankfully, Euijoo's instincts kick in and he catches himself before he can crush Nicholas underneath him.
"Sorry– Oh my god, are you okay–" Euijoo panics. He's hovering over Nicholas, who is looking up at him with wide, startled eyes. "What the hell, the dance team better use my money to buy a sturdier table…" he grumbles, brow furrowing with worry.
To Euijoo's surprise, Nicholas starts laughing.
"I'm fine, Ee-joo," he says. He reaches up to pat Euijoo's reddening cheeks. "That was kind of hot, actually. Help me up?"
Euijoo nods and does as he's asked. Once they're stable again, he runs a nervous hand through his hair and sends Nicholas a sheepish smile.
"Sorry," he repeats. "I think that was longer than twenty seconds."
Nicholas giggles again and reaches up to dust some dirt off of Euijoo's shoulder.
"Close enough," he says with a shrug and a smile. "Consider the extra on the house."
xoxoxo
"Damn. I can't believe you actually did it. Maybe you have more game than I thought."
When Euijoo returns to Yuma this time, he comes back triumphant: with swollen lips and Nicholas's contact in his phone.
"I told you," he huffs, indignant—even though he honestly didn't believe in himself, either. He's actually a little bit stunned that Nicholas hasn't called campus security on him yet.
"Now that you have his number, can we go check out some of the other booths? I'm tired of standing around here," Yuma complains.
"You're the one who made me do this in the first place," Euijoo grumbles.
"Which I still haven't heard a thank you for, by the way–"
Euijoo rolls his eyes. "Thank you, Yuma. There. Are you satisfied? Let's go get some takoyaki."
There are a variety of other booths set up for the start of the term. Various university clubs and organizations solicit donations in exchange for things like food, drinks, and games. Euijoo becomes fixated on a claw game and has to be dragged away when a line starts to form behind him. Yuma gets a tarot reading done, but understands exactly none of it.
As they walk around, Euijoo periodically circles back to (not so) subtly check in on the kissing booth. It doesn't seem to be getting a lot of traffic, which is both a surprise and a relief. Euijoo knows he has no right to feel jealous, but the thought of someone else making out with Nicholas makes his whole chest burn uncomfortably. At the same time, he can't believe nobody else is taking him up on the offer. He feels offended just thinking about it.
Euijoo’s eating some ice cream with Yuma nearby when he sees a group of girls walk up to the kissing booth. They're clearly students, but young ones—maybe first years. Euijoo watches with disdain as they whisper amongst themselves. When one of them steps forward shyly, Nicholas smiles at her before leaning down for a kiss. Euijoo tries not to burn angry holes into them with his eyes the whole time.
"Relax," Yuma sighs, following Euijoo's gaze. "That kiss looks so lack-luster. And it wasn't even a full ten seconds. He's way more into you than anyone else I've seen over there today, don't worry."
"Really?" Euijoo whimpers pathetically. He feels like a sad, wet dog as he watches Nicholas tuck a strand of hair behind the girl's ear.
"I hate to admit it, but yeah," Yuma says, rolling his eyes. "I saw you guys almost break that table—gross, by the way, you’re in public—and you definitely didn't need to go that hard."
"Well…he did say I was the only spice level three. Maybe he just does that for all his level three clients."
"Euijoo, with all due respect, you're an idiot."
"Hey–!"
"He knew your name already, he was all giggly when you came back for seconds, and he gave you his number. I think it's safe to say that he's interested."
Euijoo frowns. He sees Yuma's point, but he's trying not to get his hopes up.
"I think I need to do it again. Just to make sure. You know, third time's a charm and all that."
"I'm not giving you more money."
"I don't need your stupid money. I have a plan."
xoxoxo
The third time Euijoo approaches the kissing booth, Nicholas is with another customer. He's kissing a small child on the forehead when Euijoo walks up. It's unbearably soft and cute, and immediately has Euijoo fantasizing about white picket fences and a family of four.
"Are you seriously the only one running this booth?" Euijoo asks, once he's snapped out of his daydream. "It's been hours."
Nicholas waves goodbye to the little girl, thanking her mother for the small donation. Once they've walked off, he turns to Euijoo with a smile.
"And yet, you're still here," he points out.
Euijoo crosses his arms. "I'm hanging out with my friend," he says. "The evil one. You can blame him. Everything is his fault."
"Sure," Nicholas laughs.
"Seriously, there wasn't anyone else who could take over?"
Nicholas shrugs. "Nobody else wanted to do it."
"Well, that's not fair," Euijoo complains. Nicholas raises a brow, clearly amused by his pouting. Euijoo clears his throat. "I just think there should be shifts, that's all."
"Are you seriously acting jealous over an eight year old right now?" Nicholas laughs.
"No," Euijoo denies.
"You're not?" Nicholas takes a few coy steps forward. Euijoo feels his breath catch in his throat.
"I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous?" Euijoo insists again, though he knows it's obvious that he's lying. "Just out of curiosity, how much would it cost to just buy out the booth entirely? I don't get paid until next week, but I can write you an IOU. I'm good for it, I swear–"
"Ee-joo," Nicholas interjects with a laugh. He places a palm on Euijoo's chest, just over his heart. Euijoo promptly shuts up. "You don't have to do this. You can just ask me out normally."
"What?"
Euijoo stares at him, dumbstruck. Nicholas smiles back at him with flushed cheeks. He looks—almost shy as he fiddles with the collar of Euijoo's t-shirt.
"Are you free this weekend? Let's go out," he says.
Euijoo almost chokes on his spit again.
"Is this a prank?" he blurts. "Are you making fun of me? You're making fun of me, aren't you."
"It's not a prank, and I'm not making fun of you," Nicholas says, frowning at the implication. "Come on, let me take you on a date. We can use the money you just gave me to get some nice food or something."
"...isn't that embezzlement?"
Nicholas shrugs. "Fuma will understand."
Before Euijoo can form a response, Nicholas is pulling Euijoo down into another kiss. This one is less frantic, less messy. It's softer, but still sensual enough that it has Euijoo's toes tingling in his sneakers. It's sweet. It's romantic.
And perhaps the best part: it's given freely.
When they finally pull apart, much longer than twenty seconds later, Euijoo feels like he could fight God and win. Then his brain catches up.
"Hang on. You know Fuma?"