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jaehyun didn't often frequent these clubs.
it was a rare occurrence actually.
with their term exams out of the way, taesan and riwoo had come together with the persistent energy of two people who would never take no for an answer and taken to dressing him effortfully in what they thought was mad sexy, we would hit, driving them to the rising club in the middle of the city - a lot further than jaehyun enjoyed it to be, to the point it had him faintly wondering if that fucking club was even worth all this.
it's all the buzz at uni, we have to go, they said, we can dance the night away, hit the barbeque before we head back, they said.
both disappears on him the moment they step into the club, and he was sure without having to confirm that they were off to find their conquests for the night.
he wouldn't blame them.
they needed to loosen up a little. they really did. they've been driving him mad.
jaehyun, personally, wasn't here for sex, he just thought - okay, since he was dragged out anyway, he might as well drink and allow his shoulders to relax a little.
he did impeccably well at his exams, and he was sure he was satisfied with whatever result he would get for them, since he had put in that much work. it had been stressful, it had been near awful, and he had - unfortunately - cried a couple times while working through the deadlines and lost more nights sleep than he'd wanted to initially, but it was over now. and he did well.
so drinking his night away, rather than dancing, seems like a solution.
sex didn't appeal to him much right now.
he was too tired to even entertain the idea.
he can end his night by either crawling out of the bar drunk mad, or smacking his best friends' head to the nearest wall for abandoning him so early in the evening.
jaehyun even considers if he should just go to the record store in the other street over, but thinks it a cowardice move and nudges past the herd of people to approach the bar.
it was earlier in the night but the club was almost packed entirely.
it takes him longer than it should to get to the bar, and the moment he does, he grabs an empty seat for himself at the counter before another man he sees approaching does, smiling unapologetically.
the man rolls his eyes and leaves, not masking his annoyance.
jaehyun shrugs, turning back to find the bartender.
when he sees no one he could call upon, he tips his head back.
was this the first sign he should take to book it out of the club?
it was so loud too. the dj was not letting up on the tunes, the beats were good.
he's tapping a tune offhandedly on the marble of the table, wondering if he should just call out for someone to attend to him because he wants something to drink if he has to stay seated, he really does, when he hears the sharp voice.
he didn't know it then, but it decidedly makes his entire night - his entire year.
"fuck off, don't ever touch me again - oh, sorry, no, go on - " jaehyun raises his brows, curious, leaning back a little to see who was coming in so loudly like that, so confidently announcing his displeasure for the entire club to hear. almost as if on cue, the dj pulls down on the volume, and that's protested immediately with , "don't piss me off, jimin-ah, turn it up!" the sound is booming again then, jaehyun thinks the club shakes a little.
it doesn't take another second before the owner of the voice enters his view, and it's... what a view it is.
hair pulled up in the messiest man-bun he's ever seen, with the biggest eyes - lined beautifully with slightly black eyeshadow. his face was pale, or it looked like it under the glowing lights of the club, neck adorned with three necklaces that gave into a fish-net top over a black tank top, and jaehyun's eyes raking down is halted when the man enters behind the bar, and his wandering gaze and thoughts are cut off.
fuck, this might be the most beautiful man he's ever seen.
just gorgeous. straight out of a book - his face was everything.
he didn't look jaehyun's age - he looked experienced, older.
jaehyun - who was never into older men - thinks he's unlocked a new kink of sorts as his eyes catch intently on the man.
suddenly the night feels interesting.
he sits up straighter, eyes following the man as he fixed up a drink to a couple who had been sitting there longer than jaehyun. he was responding to a pink-haired man who stood outside the counter, shaking his head vehemently, "just throw him out before he harasses someone else and be done with it."
the other man looks displeased with the answer to whatever question he'd asked, "this is the 3rd time that weirdo did that to you, we can file - "
"jun-ah, no, not for this one. i knocked him out before he even landed a proper touch on me, i'm too old for that, just kick him out." he says in a tone that says that was final. but his eyes are kind when he looks at the other man, "i've sued people before, i just don't want to waste my time on that bastard. you'll know if it bothered me, okay? i wouldn't just let them be like that."
'jun' takes that and nods, making another reluctant face before the bartender clicks his tongue at him and he leaves.
beautiful.
he needs to know this bartender's name right now.
his chest was lit with excitement.
"congratulations on your anniversary, girls, drinks on me!" the bartender tells the girls he was serving, smile on his face as if the earlier mishap didn't occur at all.
one of them giggles, while the shorter one next to her smiles with an eyeroll, "we made a bet to see if you'd remember, she won." she passes the drink to her girlfriend, holds up the glass to the bartender, "thanks, dear."
"i was the one who set you two up, i need to remember." the bartender replies slyly, moving towards jaehyun.
jaehyun's eyes widen.
he was prettier up close.
there was a mole under his lip.
fucking - shut up, jaehyun-ah, he just got harassed by a weirdo, he doesn't need you ogling -
"see something you like?" his train of thought is cut off abruptly.
jaehyun meets the bartender's eyes, sucking in a deep breath. beautiful eyes, if only he bought his notepad and pen with him, he could write three different songs about this. how weird would it be if he took out his phone and wrote some lines right now.
"a lot." he blurts out in the end.
the bartender raises an eyebrow, flicking at a strand of hair that falls to his eyes. "really?"
maybe he was in the mood for sex after all.
jaehyun smashes his head to the table mentally, "yes."
the bartender stares at him, and jaehyun's eyes dip to the counter where the man's hand was resting a few inches away from his own. fuck, he has beautiful tattoos riding up his wrist too, he needs this man so bad -
"what do you want for the night?" he asks instead, and jaehyun's attention snaps back to him.
he searches blankly, waving a hand, "anything will do, not too strong." the bartender hums and turns away to get it, so he repeats, "not strong at all, light. very light. i'd like to remember tonight if i can." the man huffs out a laugh at that.
the girls next to him coughs out a laughter, sounding like they were trying to hold it in. and he looks at him, they give him an encouraging look, one of them (the taller, who giggled earlier) mouths, "not too bad, be braver!" and he makes a helpless face, leading them to laugh again.
the bartender places the drink in front of him, wiping his hands on the towel hanging on the chain on his belt.
the coolest guy he's ever seen was serving him drinks.
he couldn't come up with this in his wildest dreams.
he swoons.
he was going to kiss riwoo and taesan when he saw them next. his bestest friends ever, he's never doubting their affection ever again.
he has a goofy smile on his face when he takes the drink, sipping a little. he looks up at the bartender to see him already looking back, staring jaehyun down (not in a bad way, jaehyun thinks) with an unreadable expression.
he raises his brow when jaehyun just looks at him without saying anything, challenging.
fuck, that's hot.
wow.
everything this man was doing was unusually sexy, however unintentional it may be.
that mole under his lip was doing wonders to jaehyun's sanity, it's insane.
when the bartender makes a resigned face and turns to leave as if jaehyun wasn't seeing true to his expectations, jaehyun says the first thing from the top of his head, "you have a pretty waist."
jaehyun's face pinches with instant embarrassment when the man pauses, slowly returning his gaze to jaehyun, looking down at his own waist like he didn't remember how it looked like then pursing his lips at jaehyun, visibly trying to not laugh.
"best you could come up with, kid?" he asks instead, reaching for the glass left on the counter by other patrons.
don't call me kid, he wants to say. but instead, "it held you back, didn't it?"
"and no honorifics?"
"sorry..." jaehyun clears his throat, not backing down, "so it did work? since you didn't - you know, deny that?"
the bartender looks at jaehyun through his eyelashes, "it held me back because it was unexpected." he says at last, not convincing at all.
"it totally held you back because you were impressed." one of the women next to jaehyun pipes up.
the bartender makes a noise, his hair flying to his face when he regards the couple, "why are you eavesdropping again, ria? horrible manners."
"forgive my girlfriend, she hasn't seen entertainment like this in a while now." the other one replies, not sounding sorry at all.
jaehyun grins.
it's... it feels nice.
he didn't even drink at all yet but he feels warm and awfully giddy seeing this man talk so comfortably about him to his acquaintances.
he's taking it as a sign.
" - and it's a pretty good one, you haven't heard that before. you can start by saying thank you, kook-ah." she was saying when jaehyun locks back into the conversation again.
the bartender, who jaehyun felt reluctant to refer to as 'kook' in his head, spares jaehyun a glance before someone calls for him on the other side of the circular bar. he doesn't get to say anything much before the drunk fucker there starts shouting for him, and he goes with a deep breath.
"they really need to start throwing people out." the woman, ria, says idly.
jaehyun looks at them to see her girlfriend nodding along, nose wrinkled, "honestly."
jaehyun's attention slips back to the man.
it was better now - it was better when he could see kook's face too, but now, he could see the stretch of his legs and the boots he was wearing (he could step on jaehyun and jaehyun would thank him for it), the perfect hourglass of his body, perfectly sized shoulders giving into his tiny waist and his thighs, though not outlined by the loose-slim jeans he was wearing, still beautiful.
he was way out of jaehyun's league.
way out of his league in ways leagues has ever leagued before.
it made jaehyun want him more.
he sees kook slide the drinks to the men who asked without looking back - and jaehyun can see the frown of displeasure on his face from his side profile, immediately flagged down by another set of patrons.
jaehyun's shoulders sink.
his greedy ass wouldn't get the man to himself.
who should he pay for someone to work behind the bar with kook so he can have the beautiful man in front of him again.
"he usually has a partner working with him, but i think she called in sick tonight." ria's girlfriend explains, feeding the taller next to her a cherry.
"tonight." jaehyun laments, taking another sip of his drink - he doesn't even know what he was drinking, "of all days."
ria laughs, amused. "you're cute. you have a chance if you're as transparent as you are right now." she motions to kook moving around the space, "he likes it when they keep things interesting, that weirdo."
"friends?" jaehyun asks, curious.
"kind of?" her girlfriend shrugs, then gestures at kook, "he set me and unnie up two years ago because he thought we and i quote, 'would make an interesting pair'. paid for our drinks and everything, he wasn't working here at the time. he was sitting beside me and then paid for a small drink for himself and two expensive ones for the two of us and told us we should kiss and went off to the dance floor." she holds up ria's hand to kiss her knuckles, "and this is us now."
jaehyun laughs, heart beating a little in his chest now. a fun guy behind all that beauty, it got better. "beautiful story to tell your grandkids."
"very much." ria agrees solemnly, "we intend to keep him around till then."
jaehyun nods along, very serious when he says, "and me too."
they smile at him, taken aback by his bold statement but impressed. "dream big, kid."
and he will.
he wonders what he should say next while he waits.
maybe, maybe bring up why he thinks kook's waist is pretty, and then carry that conversation over to how magnetizing his hands looked when he's making those drinks, or maybe his eyes. don't people like it when others compliment their eyes? kook had the prettiest eyes ever, it would be an underestimation if he could even begin to say anything about it.
for someone with a mouth like kook did, he had the biggest, purest eyes. bigger than jaehyun's, and that's saying a lot since the only thing he's heard since he was born was about his eyes at every turn.
was eyes the right move though?
maybe jaehyun should say something about his voice.
he had a wonderful voice. airy, but soft, and still hard around the edges, just perfect.
jaehyun would make kook sing the songs he wrote with that voice.
everything about this man was a dream.
maybe he came into the club earlier, drank to sleep and was dreaming all this right now, maybe kook wasn't even real, and straight out of a dream, god, he would be miserable if this man didn't actually -
"do you want a refill on that?" his back snaps straighter the moment he hears that voice, hitting his knee to the counter when he startled.
amazing. not a dream, then.
the pain doesn't register much, but kook gives him a bemused look, "are you okay?"
"totally!" jaehyun replies, not shaken, "barely a hit."
"it shook the whole table." kook points out.
"i'm very strong." jaehyun settles on in the end.
kook's eyes rove over jaehyun's figure. "... i'm sure."
jaehyun bristles, "i am, i can weigh things, do i look weak, i can prove you wrong right now, tell me to do anything, what should i do, do i lift this chair - " a poke on his forehead silences him. jaehyun's mouth drops at the touch, "wow. can you - that was so hot, please touch me again."
kook pauses, finger snatched away as if burned, "you're not right in the head."
"you spiked my drink." jaehyun says, leaning in with a sickening smile, very encouraged by the lingering heat of kook's touch on his forehead, "with your beauty."
kook backs off a little, and jaehyun doesn't catch his smile because he turns away, "awful attempt."
it was a very cringe attempt, he knows. "i'm making it memorable by making it terrible on purpose." jaehyun explains. it came in a flow but he wasn't lying, "can you tell me your name, i'm jaehyun."
kook shrugs, shaking his head, and the strands framing his face shakes with it, "too young, darling."
jaehyun holds a hand to his chest, wounded, and he was. aside from the fact he was going to be dramatic about it. "i'm older than i look."
"you a virgin?"
jaehyun almost passes out, but he answers quickly amidst the offense he takes, "do i look like a virgin?" when jungkook gives him a look, "no, come on, what. i've played around." he wasn't going to elaborate on how much since it was... unethical.
"really?" kook regards him again, eyes curious, "you're what, 20?"
jaehyun gives him a winning smile, "you can't be 30."
"you?"
"don't got your age or name, i'm clueless."
kook folds his arms, approaching him closer again, "younger than 30, but close. still a hyung to you, you're a baby."
jaehyun's smile widens, and he's sure it comes out a little sharp because he's very satisfied. "i'm 23, older than you thought, no? we have... what, six years on us?"
kook smiles - jaehyun is momentarily struck by it -, and smacks jaehyun's head lightly with the tray in his hand, "it's hyung to you."
he goes away with that, waving at a crowd that occupies the seats at the other ends, laughing at the antics of two of the men among them.
jaehyun sulks, sighting that laughter he can only half see, and can't hear, "he can laugh after all then."
"he's playing hard to get." ria remarks, smile audible in her voice.
jaehyun doesn't turn to look at them, keeping his eyes fixed on kook's... friends.
"you know, it's something he hasn't turned you down yet." ria's girlfriend says, voice faraway. "he usually rejects men and women before they open their mouths when they try to flirt with him."
jaehyun's despair of kook not openly smiling and laughing with him is tamed by that.
well, slightly anyway.
but he spends the next ten minutes just watching kook serve all the six new patrons that came in with drinks, laughing and chatting with him, ignoring the prickle in his chest that tells him he should finish the drink and call on him, if only to remind him jaehyun existed.
it's not too bad, still.
he just takes his sweet time watching the way kook's muscles moved under the fishnet and squinted for a long time trying to see through the tanktop, felt like a creep and dropped it, just watching the way his hands moved instead.
he catches two of the men looking at him, saying something to kook and he perks up when kook turns around too, mouth moving as he answered them.
"please come here, please... by luck, any luck..." jaehyun mutters.
true to his desperate words, kook makes his way over to jaehyun.
jaehyun's smile spreads instantly.
"refill?" kook asks first, holding out a hand for the glass.
jaehyun had almost finished the thing sipping on it while staring wistfully at kook's back so he nods, "it's light, right?"
"very. i made it thinking you were a fresh highschool graduate." kook replies, wry.
jaehyun grins at him. kook had bought the bottle in front of him to do it there, and jaehyun raises a hand, aiming for the hair falling by kook's eyes.
kook raises his gaze, amusement twinkling in his deep brown eyes, challenging.
jaehyun bites the bullet, his fingers curl - a bare brush - and tucks the hair behind his ear, holding eye contact.
kook smiles, nodding, impressed - or jaehyun thought so.
"it's jungkook," he whispers, like he didn't want anyone to hear. then pulls back.
jaehyun blinks, holding onto that word before it slipped away from him in the panic of the moment.
jungkook.
beautiful.
so perfect, just how he looked like.
he looked exactly like a jungkook, jaehyun wants to die.
he touched jungkook, and jungkook told him his name was jungkook, this was enough for tonight. he could go back home now, this was really enough.
he downs the drink without looking at it, his throat was too dry.
the most attractive person he's - yes, he couldn't believe it still, he was going to be insufferable about this - ever seen isn't rejecting his advances.
"jungkook-hyung." he mumbles, testing it out. "jungkookie... jungkookie hyung. kook-hyung. jungkookie... jungkook." a touch on his shoulder startles him and he exclaims in surprise, "jungkook!"
half the people around him is taken aback, staring at him.
jungkook, who was pouring drinks for his friends again, flinches. looks at him, confused.
jaehyun waves his hand, shaking his head. "my bad, sorry." he meets everyone gaze, apologizing, before cursing at himself and sitting down again.
jungkook laughs and diverts his gaze.
god.
someone take him now.
he turns around at the culprit who made him embarrass himself and sees a tall man standing behind him, gesturing at the seat next to him, "is this seat taken?"
jaehyun sighs. "no, no, it isn't."
the man smiles, "great! i'm gunwook, nice to meet you."
jaehyun's eyes trail back to jungkook, wondering what was so great about his friends there. can jungkook tell them about him, thanks. it would make him feel better about being left out. "yes, hi."
one of his friends says something again, jerking his chin at jaehyun and jungkook follows his gaze, eyes taking in jaehyun's new companion before shrugging, saying something jaehyun wishes desperately he could hear and ignoring him.
jaehyun feels a stab in his chest.
his dramatics were so valid because,
this is the first time since they met tonight jungkook looked remotely uninterested in him.
he should die now.
"sir!" gunwook - fuck him - next to him calls out for jungkook, raising a hand to wave him in.
jungkook approaches them with a smile, very customer service - jaehyun wants to push gunwook out of his seat a little, he was causing discord between jaehyun and his future boyfriend and it hasn't even neared a full hour since they met.
"can i buy you a drink?" gunwook asks jaehyun, pointing at his empty glass. when jaehyun remains quiet (only because he was waiting for jungkook to spare him a glance too), the man nods as if that was a positive, "one... whatever he had and a vodka for me, please!"
jungkook nods, moving to leave when jaehyun finds his voice, "wait, no - i don't - " he looks at gunwook, "are you hitting on me?" the other bravely nods, "oh well, that's." he makes an awkward expression, "too bad, really. i don't want the drink, i already like someone."
gunwook makes an understanding noise, "oh sorry."
jaehyun nods at him and looks to jungkook again, who was watching him again. jaehyun smiles.
"vodka?" jungkook asks the other guy instead.
"um, no thanks." gunwook says, getting up, "maybe later?"
"kay."
"don't be mad, hyung." jaehyun says immediately, before jungkook can leave again.
jungkook makes a face, "why would i be mad?"
"your whole - aura changed. you didn't look mad, but you were like, 'oh okay', right?" jaehyun asks, holding out a hand over the counter, just to gesture at jungkook to not leave.
"psychoanalyzing me, are you?"
"it's one of my minor classes." jaehyun explains.
"don't reject drinks, kid." he leaves after that.
jaehyun sighs.
he keeps leaving.
if he sees gunwook again... gunwook, you will catch these hands.
and it was going so well too.
he turns to whine a little to the girls and sees them gone from their seats, so he sags in his seat, pulling out his phone.
he feels like it'll be another long while before he can coax jungkook to come to him again, so he might as well write some lyrics down. a lot was coming to him now.
it's been a while since inspiration struck his head like an arrow.
he immerses himself in it.
it's - surprisingly - not Jungkook's waist that comes to him, but his eyes.
and he thinks, yes, this is either going to be the best thing ever or an absolute pain for his heart to handle. it was getting a little serious.
this was attraction, but he knows the way he gets obsessed before he falls in love and sees it creeping on him now.
he's pondering over 'sunken where black orbs rest lay beneath' and 'bright orbs where misery rests within, eating at the happiness and thrill', when a glass slides into view.
he looks up to see jungkook's retreating back and a fresh glass of the sweet drink he's been nursing the entire evening placed in front of him anew.
butterflies flying wildly within his entire being - he might have to marry jungkook.
he fishes out his phone to take a picture of it, just because. just in case.
when he takes a sip this time, it's sweeter than the last two times he drank it.
his heart softens impossibly.
he returns to the lyrics with a beaming smile, heart warm when he looks at jungkook busy with customers before he focuses again.
it's another long time before an arm jostles him and he hisses, shifting in his seat. taesan is hanging off his shoulders, looking a mess but red with satisfaction, curling against him like a cat.
"don't tell me you've been here the entire night, hyung." he says, ruffling jaehyun's hair and taking the seat next to him.
riwoo doesn't take until jaehyun saves his note in a new folder to arrive, pinching jaehyun's cheek with his cold hands, "were you camping here waiting for us?"
jaehyun wants to be mad at them for leaving him alone but he thinks about how it's possibly going to land him the hottest bachelor to exist and that thought melts away. "you wish. i've been... i lived several lives."
taesan holds up a hand, snapping his fingers to get jungkook's attention.
jaehyun smacks the back of his head, "don't do that, just call him."
"bruh." taesan mutters, rubbing at the spot where he'd been hit, "that's how everyone calls on bartenders, what is wrong with you."
"be nice, taesan-ah." riwoo snips, never helpful when it comes to taesan, only aiming to rile him up. "how did you live several lives?" riwoo's eyes map over jaehyun in a easy onceover, "you don't look like you had any fun at all, how do you live lives if you're not in the back fucking?"
"ugh." jaehyun closes his eyes. all his beautiful thoughts about jungkook being tainted by these crude words. "i had plenty fun."
jungkook arrives to them before he can say anything else.
"two lemon shandy's." taesan says.
"please." jaehyun adds to the order because he wasn't going to be boxed into being mannerless in front of the man he wants. especially since he's noticed how unusually polite jungkook was.
jungkook smiles at him, nodding at taesan and leaving to make the drink.
"i'm trying to... you know, get his number." jaehyun explains to his friends, trying to make it quick so they know and also because he doesn't want them acting stupid.
taesan, who was reaching for jaehyun's drink, stops, blinking at him. he spares a glance to jungkook, then at him.
riwoo is the first to speak, "...for real?"
jaehyun nods, resolute.
taesan makes a long noise, "he's... no offense, my dear hyung, but - he is way out of your league."
jaehyun grins, cause yes, jungkook was way out of his league. what a beautiful man. "exactly."
riwoo groans, "i am so lost."
taesan doesn't stop there, "you want that man... in your bed?"
jaehyun takes in a deep breath, gathering his patience, "is that all you think about?"
taesan sucks in an inhale, "boy, if you think you're bagging that as an exclusive meal outside of a one-night stand, i have news for you."
riwoo's response is different, "isn't he like, old though?"
jaehyun doesn't take offense to what taesan says, but to what riwoo says. "by max, 6 years. maybe 5."
"you're insane." jaehyun gives him a look, "not the age, who gives a fuck - six is not that bad, but like - him?" riwoo sighs wishfully at jungkook's back, "that's a wet dream, you're impossible."
taesan nods, then makes a considering noise that catches jaehyun's attention. that's how he does it when he's wondering if he wants something or not. "it wouldn't - i wouldn't be against it if i had that under me either, you know, cause - wow."
"taesan-ah." jaehyun says, heavily threatening.
"he's hot, but yes, you keep him!" taesan carries on, laughing, "i don't attempt to try for things i know i won't get, but also, i'm a bro before i'm a hoe."
jaehyun begs for patience to fall into his open hands, "much gratitude."
jungkook saves him with his arrival, placing the drinks in front of riwoo and taesan.
jaehyun kicks taesan under the table, and taesan smiles at jungkook, "thanks."
jungkook's cheeks give into another smile, and he raises a brow at jaehyun, "your friends?"
jaehyun sighs, trying to look exasperated, "yes, yes."
"same age as you then?" he asks, and jaehyun doesn't understand why he was asking that.
he narrows his eyes, pointing at taesan, "this one's younger than me. a fetus. and riwoo's the same age as me, yes." he leans in a little, "why?"
jungkook bursts out laughing, "are you jealous?"
jaehyun doesn't miss a beat, "yes." then, "should i be?"
jungkook places a hand on his hip, glancing over taesan meaningfully because he might've picked out that taesan was the one jaehyun was prickly about, the beautiful fucker. "no, not really."
jaehyun's heart skips another beat.
was he imagining the switch in jungkook's voice.
why was that kind of... intimate.
riwoo's eyes snap from jungkook to jaehyun.
jungkook takes jaehyun's glass into his hands and takes a small sip, humming. "awful. did you like this?"
jaehyun licks his lips, pleased when jungkook's eyes follow the action, "very much. probably has to do with the hands that made it."
jungkook rolls his eyes, "cheeky." he leaves.
a moment of silence passes.
jaehyun carefully takes his glass and drinks. it tasted impossibly better after jungkook drank from it.
"fuck you, what happened when we weren't here?!" taesan shouts. it gets them looks from more people than necessary but he didn't care, he was shaking jaehyun. "plenty of fun, obviously, you - what did you do."
riwoo's body was shaking with laughter, "god, i can't believe it. wow - i'm - he drank from that, he was proving a point to us, i'm floored, i - "
jaehyun heart does a thing again.
he really kind of... managed to gain jungkook's attention.
jungkook wasn't there at the bar - jaehyun didn't see where he went off to - but his friends were waving at jaehyun now, smiling warmly.
damn.
he must've done something and forgotten about it. why were they looking so welcoming towards him.
"what did you do?!" taesan asks again, hands tight around jaehyun's arms.
"flirted a little, but very - amateurly. i don't know actually, i was just saying shit. maybe i'm just charming?" jaehyun grins into his drink.
"you, he's - the hottest man, and - wait, how old is he then?"
jaehyun doesn't really know, does he? "it's a 5-6 year age gap is all i figured."
"beautiful, you lured an older man into your bed with your weak flirting skills, it's honestly - should i record this?"
riwoo downs his drink and when he makes for jaehyun's, jaehyun slaps his hand away. "jaehyun was always a flirt. his confidence makes up for when he's slightly tongue-tied when he sees someone attractive. i'm guessing that came into play here."
"yep." jaehyun agrees. compliments, oh compliments.
he recounts a bit of how it went to taesan and riwoo, especially since they were crowding him completely from either sides like wolves, and when he reaches the part where he'd tucked jungkook's hair behind his ear -
taesan buries his face into his arms on the counter, "that's so cute, hyung, you hit the jackpot, you really did."
riwoo laughs behind his hand, "it's actually cute, like aw, your baby crush isn't... turned down. the man even seems to like it."
jaehyun clicks his tongue at them.
"jaehyun and his controversially older boyfriend." taesan sighs, "beautiful. is he loaded?"
"does it matter?" jaehyun retorts, unbothered, "i'm loaded."
"yes, but - "
"i will do everything." jaehyun announces with an easy smile, raising his glass to his statement. he might be slowly getting a little drunk now, on happiness or adrenaline or something else entirely, "pay the bills, clean the house, cook the food, look after the baby - i just need the guy, i can do everything else. he can just sit still, to be honest. or do whatever he wants, i can - i will do everything."
he says cheers to that and tips his drink back.
a hand lands on his shoulder and a finger flicks under his chin, tilting it up.
jungkook's face is closer to his than it has ever been before.
jaehyun can feel his soul flying away.
his breath stutters and he thinks he sees stars in jungkook's eyes, there were two moles on his cheek and his lips -
"that's so sweet of you," jungkook says. and it takes jaehyun a long embarrassing moment to catch on to the fact that he was replying to jaehyun's declaration, "i'm not opposed to the idea actually, but i own this club." he pauses meaningfully, smiling down at jaehyun's face, still held gently between two fingers at his chin, "and three others around the country, and a restaurant." he swipes a finger on jaehyun's nose, "wouldn't need you to hold up the fort."
jaehyun doesn't give a fuck about anything.
his ear buzzes with white noise.
all he can see was jungkook's bright eyes, brimming with acquiescence.
great, this man was loaded, amazing, everything to add to his already flawless resume but - "are you insinuating what i think you're insinuating?"
jungkook pulls away, fingers sliding into jaehyun's hair for a split second before disappearing from his body entirely, "depends."
jaehyun makes a disappointed face, "why?"
"your announcement a few seconds ago endeared me to you comparatively more than i already was earlier," he only explains, then pulls out his phone from his pants. it takes a lot of effort from jaehyun to pull his gaze from jungkook's chest. he holds it out for jaehyun, "give me your number?"
jaehyun almost falls off his chair. it's taesan who pushes him back in his seat when he almost sinks to the floor, slapping his back.
jaehyun stumbles to take the phone, his voice weak, "hyung, really, you're so - " he taps in his number and reads it twice to make sure he didn't get it wrong before saving it as 'jaehyunie' with a puppy emoji. "i can't believe this."
jungkook's lips tug into a full smile when he sees the contact name, "you can't handle me, jaehyun-ah," he shrugs with an amused smile when jaehyun protests with a 'yes, i can!?' and carries on, "but we'll see, i'll call you."
jaehyun sits up straighter, dejected suddenly, "you're leaving?"
jungkook makes an apologetic expression, "too early for me actually, but something came up." his eyes flick to riwoo and taesan, nodding in acknowledgement. he turns, pausing halfway, then flicks his fingers as if remembering something, meeting jaehyun's eyes from the angle to say, "i sing on Fridays."
"you do?!" jaehyun asks, hands hovering in the air. "here?!"
jungkook takes a deep breath, "yeah." his lashes brush against his cheek when he blinks, "8 pm. if you wanted to come."
"yes, i would!" jaehyun exclaims, both hands to his chest, "i will - i'll definitely be there, thank you for telling me, oh my god, we will skip our afternoon classes and depart at 3 - "
"no, you won't." jungkook cuts him off, still wearing that beatific smile.
"no, i won't. of course i won't, we will - leave immediately after class and come over right away." jaehyun remedies without delay.
"simp." riwoo mutters into his hand, unable to stop himself.
jungkook must hear it, because he laughs. he hums, "see that you do, it's a new song." his phone buzzes and he frowns down at it. he pockets his phone, looking at jaehyun again. he leans in, fingers soft against jaehyun's skin when he places a kiss on his left cheek. lingers for barely ten seconds, barely long enough for jaehyun's mouth to grow heavy with the heady scent of jungkook's body wash and his cologne and his - "bye."
by the time jaehyun gathers himself, jungkook had left.
riwoo and taesan jump him immediately.
jaehyun's hand is stuck to his cheek, eyes in a daze.
"fuck."
>>>