Chapter 17: My Heart Did (Not) Skip A Beat

“He doesn’t drink, put that away!”

“Well, he does now, drink up hyung, that’s not the way to live!”

Himchan thought he’d burst any minute now. Jieun brought the spawn of the devil, that was the only conclusion and dire explanation the ulzzang would accept right now. It was the only logical one, after all. He was so sure that he was sent to corrupt the innocent.

Himchan was all eyes all night. Yongguk was already pretty tired after the first few sets he had performed, he had to continue to perform a few more just to satisfy the crowd. Thinking that they could leave, he was so sure that the man had already insisted that they go home and not to push through with the blind date. But then this guy comes, with his cheeky blonde self and he convinces everyone to go back to clubbing, back to the dark and noisy places they just came out of.

Swatting drinks left and right, Himchan was on guard full time. It felt like he was fencing and boxing Yongguk in, but if that was what it takes, then he will do so. He swatted the fourth drink that night, but this Zico guy doesn’t seem to have any intention of stopping.

“Come on, just a sip!” Jieun laughs. At Zico, or Himchan, it was anybody’s guess.

“He doesn’t drink,” Himchan takes another shot from the blonde ‘kid’ and downs it.

“Hey!” another protest. Of course, four drinks blocked, four drinks downed.

“He doesn’t drink,” he says again.

“Of course he does,”

Damn. That shot just went straight in. Yongguk, with a puzzled look, held the shot glass ever so daintily. Himchan finds it an odd scene, seeing him holding a drink. If he thought hard about it, over the time that he had known him, he hasn’t really seen the man drink or get drunk… ever. And now, this Zico, with his name registering a bad after taste off of his tongue just urges the man to drink.

“He’s allergic,” Himchan tries to take the shot glass, but Zico was pretty quick to hold it in place. Jieun laughed at the scene, with two hands wrestling for a shot glass, no longer mindful of the fact that they were still wrestling it with Yongguk’s fingers still firmly holding the drink.

“No, he’s not!” Zico protests.

“Yes, he is,” Himchan wrestles the glass back.

“He’s not,” another tug.

“He just doesn’t like the taste!” Himchan tried to put the point across.

“But you do, isn’t that right, hyung?” And the man slings his free arm over the man’s neck, the bewildered man noted that Yongguk’s face looked like it was being crushed against the blonde man’s chest.

Oh, I hate you.

“He doesn’t,”

“What’s wrong with this guy, hyung? He’s no fun!” Zico laughs it off as he frees his grip off the glass.

Himchan felt like burning him on a stake, if only his anger did not quickly dissipate as quickly as it had risen, feeling Yongguk’s hand against his, looking at him, mouthing – “It’s okay,”

And he lets go, just looking at him, as he downs the shot. Tilting his head back, closing his eyes. Himchan wondered how ever he has never noticed how slender and long Yongguk’s neck was. And with every gulp, came his Adam’s apple – up and down, up and down with two gulps. Himchan had to gulp himself just to contain whatever it was that was brewing inside him. Jieun gets a surprised look as Himchan takes a shot she was just about to drink, downs it and then another. He was drinking a little too much.

It was quite a jungle. In the eyes of Song Jieun, she wonders what she had started, if she will ever fear it or she will ever regret it. Looking at a quietly smiling and uncharacteristically drinking Yongguk, and his new blonde choker Zico dangling on his neck – laughing, humming to the wild beats and evidently getting more drunk by the minute, plus a clearly unsatisfied Himchan who kept drinking one shot after another, playing a tug of war with the blonde newcomer.

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“Hey, let’s dance!” Zico announces, with a slight but clear slur in his voice.

“He doesn’t—”

“He doesn’t dance? What are you, his handler or something?” Clearly, he had too much to drink. Himchan bursts in his seat, he swears he’s going rip his head off. This whole night was clearly nothing but a tug of war between the two of them, with Yongguk, poor Yongguk, smack right in the middle.

“I am n—”

“Himchannie, it’s fine,” Yongguk smiles at him, as he settles him in his seat.

Nicknames, again.

That sounded a little too sweet, he thinks. And surely, he catches a small scowl on the other man's face.

“I’m okay, sitting here,” Yongguk says to the jumpy blonde man who found it fun to casually and giddily hold the man’s hand as he tries to urge him to dance. He had a clear scowl on his face as the calm man tries to settle them both on their seats.

“And besides, I think Himchan had too much to drink,” he continues, gently placing his arm over Himchan,

“He needs me,” pulling him just as carefully, placing a hand on the side of his head, placing the bewildered ulzzang’s head on his shoulder as he, in turn, leans – the side of his head touching Himchan’s top.

Himchan’s heart, clearly, skipped a beat.

“Hyung, what happened to you?” Zico asked, letting go of the man’s hand. Jieun stared right at Zico as he had a change of mood. Himchan, clearly, was so far above in heaven to notice.

“You don’t drink, you don’t even dance,” he continued, all eyes still on him.

“What changed?” he asked, in a louder tone, plucking Himchan off of his dream, but everyone was so busy that no one noticed the opportunistic bastard in Himchan just casually placing his chin and cheek on the man’s shoulder, sneakily sniffing some of his cool perfume, along with his clubbing sweat.

“You were a beast,” still on his monologue, quite an expression he had.

“What changed you?” he asks, finally.

Himchan wanted to laugh at his face. Such a fanboy this kid was. Not knowing when Yongguk’s stage persona ends and when his shy real self begins.

“Zico, I don’t understand what you mean, I—”

“Zico, huh, it used to be Jiho Kitty, teasing me about my Hello Kitty obsession, you remember?”

“Jiho~ Jiho~ Kitty~ play with Jepp today~?” he sings a familiar tune, lifted from a Hello Kitty animated series back in the day.

Himchan gets thrown off of his posture when Yongguk snaps, his eyes wide, looking at the blonde man before him. The blonde man casually brushes his hair with his finger, still looking at the bewildered man.

“Hongdae, 2008, you don’t remember, Jepp?” a change of tone.

“Why, what happened? Forgotten about your first love?”

What the .

Okay. Make those two beats.

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Note: Oh, wow, how long have I been gone? Sorry about the lack of updates. Real life things are taking up my time. I hope this chapter makes up for it!

Also, how are you finding Zico? I thought Himchan was getting a little too passive. I thought an aggressive character would be a nice touch, to balance things out. I hope you're enjoying it so far : )

What do you think?