Chapter Text
It was another crazy midnight in Seoul.
The kind of midnight where the streets never seemed to sleep, where neon signs reflected across wet pavement and the city somehow felt even more alive after dark. Somewhere between the towering buildings and endless traffic, music was shaking the walls of one of the most popular clubs in the city.
Inside, the night was already in full swing.
Colored lights swept across the crowded dance floor, bass vibrated through the floor beneath their feet, and the air was filled with laughter, perfume, and the faint smell of alcohol. University students had taken over almost every corner of the place, celebrating the weekend as if Monday didn't exist.
For Lee Sangwon, it was just another Saturday night.
He leaned casually against the bar, one hand wrapped around a glass of whiskey while the other rested in the pocket of his jacket. He looked perfectly comfortable in the chaos around him, as though he belonged there.
Which, considering who he was, wasn't exactly surprising.
Being the only son and heir of the Lee Group came with a certain reputation. Sangwon was used to attention. He was used to people recognizing him, talking about him, and making assumptions about him.
At university, he was popular.
At parties, he was even more so.
And tonight, he had absolutely no intention of thinking about business, family expectations, university assignments, or anything else remotely responsible.
He just wanted to have fun.
"Are you even listening to me?" someone asked while tapping on his shoulder.
Sangwon turned his head.
Leo was standing beside him, staring at him with an expression that suggested he'd been talking for at least five minutes.
" Sorry.. what did you say?" Sangwon replied him while taking a sip of whiskey.
Leo stared.
"I said. You're wasting a perfectly good night ~ "
" Am I ? ." Sangwon took another sip of his drink, completely unbothered.
Leo shook his head with a laugh. They had been friends since childhood, long enough for him to know that Sangwon's confidence could easily become unbearable.
Leo barely had time to continue before Geonwoo's voice came from beside him.
“Well, well.”
Leo glanced over. Geonwoo wasn't looking at him anymore. He was staring toward the entrance.
“What?”
Geonwoo's mouth curled into a grin.
“Guess who just walked in?”
His eyes shifted toward the other side of the club. In a motion Leo's expression changed.
"sangwon ah .. Don't look now." Sangwon immediately looked. Leo sighed. " hey..I literally said don't look!! ". Sangwon followed his friend's gaze through the crowd.
And there he was.
Zhou Anxin.
Of course.
For a moment, Sangwon simply stared.
Out of all the clubs in Seoul, out of all the people in the city, out of every possible person who could have appeared tonight-
Zhou Anxin.
Seriously?
Why did he have to be here?
Anxin was standing with his own group of friends near one of the tables. He looked completely at ease, laughing at something Xinlong had said while Kaiwen and Arno was talking animatedly beside him.
He looked annoyingly good.
Sangwon immediately hated the thought.
Not because he cared.
Obviously not.
It was simply irritating that Anxin somehow managed to look effortlessly composed even in a crowded club.
As if sensing that someone was staring at him, Anxin lifted his head.
Their eyes met.
The noise around them seemed to fade for half a second.
Neither smiled. Neither waved. Neither even bothered pretending to be happy to see the other.
Their expressions changed almost simultaneously.
Seriously?
Anxin looked away first.
Sangwon scoffed quietly.
"Don't think about him," geonwoo said, taking a sip of his own drink. "Just enjoy the night."
Sangwon glanced at him.
"As if I was thinking about him." he scoffed and look away.
"Sure." junseo said while taking a glance at other side again. "I wasn't!! "
"I didn't say you were."junseo said while holding his smile.
Sangwon narrowed his eyes. "You were implying it."
"Maybe~~" Sangwon rolled his eyes and turned back toward the dance floor.
"Whatever."
Across the club, Anxin was having almost the exact same conversation.
"What?" he asked his friend as he realizes he was looking at him teasingly. Kaiwen looked at him. "You've been staring over there."
"I wasn't staring."
Xinlong leaned closer, following Anxin's line of sight. "Oh ~~" Anxin immediately looked at him. "Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were going to."
Xinlong smiled innocently. "I was only going to say that your favorite person is here."
"He is not my favorite person."
"Sure."
Anxin rolled his eyes.Arno, who had been quietly checking something on his phone, finally looked up.
"Who?"
"Lee Sangwon," Xinlong answered.
Arno immediately understood. "Oh~" He glanced across the room. Then back at Anxin.
"You are always welcomed to leave."
Anxin scoffed. "Why should I leave?"
"Because you're already annoyed."
"I'm not annoyed." Anxin said while looking at him.
" It's just i hate seeing him "
" then why are you making that face ?? Xin~ "
"What face?" his was annoyed.
"The face you make when Sangwon exists." Arno mummered under his breath.
Kaiwen burst out laughing. Anxin glared at all of them.
"I hate you all "
"Love you too," Xinlong replied cheerfully.
Anxin shook his head and turned away. He wasn't going to let Sangwon ruin his night.
Absolutely not. And, surprisingly, he managed.
For the next few hours, neither of them paid attention to the other.
Or at least, they tried not to.
Sangwon danced with his friends, laughed at Leo's ridiculous stories, and allowed himself to get carried away by the music. Geonwoo eventually joined them, while Sanghyeon somehow turned every simple conversation into another reason to laugh.
Junseo stayed mostly on the sidelines, watching the chaos with the patient expression of someone who had already accepted that his friends were hopeless.
On the other side of the club, Anxin was doing the same. He danced. He laughed.
He let Kaiwen drag him onto the dance floor and listened to Xinlong tease him about everything from his outfit to his choice of drink.
For once, they existed in the same place without starting a fight.
It almost felt peaceful.
Almost.
---
Several hours later, Sangwon was considerably less sober than he had been when he arrived.
"Maybe slow down."
Junseo's voice reached him through the music. His expression was laced with some worry.
Sangwon looked at him. "I'm fine."
Geonwoo laughed. "You're definitely not fine."
"I...am ... perfectly.. fine. ~ " he said while trying hard stand still. Leo stared at him for a moment. Sanghyeon nearly choked on his drink laughing. "See? He's gone."
Sangwon rolled his eyes. "You're all annoying."
"That's rich coming from you," Geonwoo said.
Sangwon ignored him. He finished what was left in his glass and pushed away from the bar.
He didn't know where he was going. He just knew he needed another drink.
The crowd seemed even more crowded now, bodies moving in every direction beneath flashing lights. Sangwon tried to navigate through them, barely paying attention to where he was going.
That was when it happened.
His shoulder collided with someone. Hard.
"Watch where you're going!" Sangwon stopped.
The movement had made the whiskey in his glass tilt dangerously. Before he could react, the remaining drink spilled directly onto the stranger's shirt.
The man looked down. Then slowly raised his eyes. Sangwon blinked.
His vision was blurry enough that he couldn't properly see the man's face.
"hey !!! You spilled your drink on me."
Sangwon looked at the stain. Then at the man. Then back at the stain. "Oops ! "
The man waited. Sangwon probably should have apologized. Under normal circumstances, he would have. Tonight, however, his judgment had long since abandoned him.
"come on !! It's just whiskey," he muttered.
The man's expression darkened. Sangwon didn't notice. Or perhaps he simply didn't care enough to notice. He turned, intending to walk away. The next thing he knew, something struck him.
A punch.
"What the-"
He stumbled backward. His hand shot out instinctively, grabbing the first person who happened to pass close enough.
The stranger didn't even have time to react.
They both went down. Hard. The music continued around them. The lights flashed.
The crowd moved.
But Sangwon couldn't seem to process any of it. He lifted his head.
A familiar face was right in front of him.
Zhou Anxin.
Their eyes widened at exactly the same time.
Neither of them moved.They were too close.
Far too close.
And -
Their lips had accidentally met. For one brief second, everything stopped. The music,The shouting, The movement. Even Sangwon's thoughts.
Then the crowd exploded. Someone gasped,
Someone else shouted.
Leo pushed through the crowd. “What the—” He stopped. His eyes widened. Sangwon was on top of someone. Their faces were dangerously close. And somehow—
They were kissing.
Leo's mouth fell open. “No way.”
Across the crowd, Arno and the others had just arrived at the same time. Arno took one look at the scene. His eyes widened.
“Xin?!”
Phones appeared almost instantly. Camera flashes erupted from every direction.
The moment that lasted barely a second had already become something everyone around them had witnessed.
Sangwon finally pulled back. Anxin stared at him. His expression was one of complete disbelief.
Then disgust. "What the heck?!"
He shoved Sangwon away. Sangwon stumbled, blinking rapidly as he rubbed his eyes.
His head was still spinning. "What-" He looked at the person in front of him. His stomach dropped. Anxin stared back.
"Lee Sangwon?!"
They both pointed at each other.
"You!"
"You!"
"What were you doing?!" anxin rose his voice while wiping his mouth.
"What was I doing?" Sangwon snapped. "You were standing there!"
"Because you fell on me!"
"I didn't fall!"
"You literally fell on me!"
"You pushed me!"
"I pushed you because you were-"
Leo rushed over. " Guys !! Guys!! Calm down!!" Sanghyeon was right behind him.
Across the crowd, Arno had already reached Anxin.
"Stop!" Leo grabbed Sangwon's arm. "Let go of me!"
"Leo!"
Meanwhile, Kaiwen caught Anxin by the shoulders. "Don't."
"Get off me!"
"You're going to get yourself arrested."
"I don't care!"
Xinlong looked around at the crowd.
As he realized that the whole crowd was looking at them. "Uh... guys?"
Nobody listened. Anxin glared at Sangwon.
"This is your fault." He stepped in front.
"My fault?"
"Yes!"
"You were literally there!"
"WHERE WAS I SUPPOSED TO BE?!"
"Anywhere else!"
The cameras kept flashing. Neither of them noticed how many phones were pointed in their direction. Neither noticed the whispers spreading through the crowd. Neither noticed someone already posting the photos online.
They were too busy arguing.
Finally, their friends managed to drag them in opposite directions.
Sangwon looked back one last time. Anxin was already glaring at him. He glared back.
Neither apologized. Neither admitted fault.
And neither realized that by the time they woke up the next morning, their accidental kiss would no longer belong to them.
It belonged to everyone.
---
The ride home was strangely quiet.
Sangwon sat in the back seat of the car, head resting against the window.
" Fuck-"
His thoughts were still a mess. He could remember the club. He could remember the whiskey. He could remember the punch.
And unfortunately, he could remember exactly who he'd fallen onto.
Zhou Anxin.
Of all people.
Sangwon closed his eyes. " What a night! " He had no idea how wrong he was.
Across the city, Anxin was stepping through the front door of the Zhou residence. His own night had ended just as badly. He kicked off his shoes and ran a hand through
his hair.
"What the fuck was that!."
Neither of them knew that the next morning would be worse.
Much worse.
Because somewhere between the flashing cameras, the spilled whiskey, and one accidental kiss, they had unknowingly created a problem far bigger than either of them could handle.