Part 1 of a daejong (plus a secret pairing??) gym AU ahahaha ;;

Daehyun could think of better, less smelly, more sanitary ways to spend his summer than working at the local gym.

Still, it wasn’t actually that bad. He’d been working there fairly consistently as floor staff for well over a year and didn’t really have any other plans aside from hanging out with Youngjae when he wasn’t busy with his internship and Junhong, who just so happened to be out of the country and wouldn’t be back for at least a month (of course he had other friends too, mind you). So when Daehyun’s coworkers asked for coverage almost every other day, he picked up their shifts without much thought. He worked so many hours a week that his once part-time job became more of a full-time one, but he had to admit that nowadays his bank account was looking pretty damn good.

Daehyun liked to think he was a friendly, talkative guy, and people seemed to love him. As expected, the gym was an especially popular spot for students – not just among the people who came in, but also among the employees. Since many were around the same age as Daehyun, it was comfortable to chat with them and easy to pass the time during his shifts. Unfortunately, most of them were camp counselors or lifeguards (Daehyun didn’t want to stay in the sun for half the day and risk dying of heat , and he definitely wasn’t a strong enough swimmer to save someone else while he could barely save himself).

Even though he was usually the only worker in the fitness center, Daehyn had plenty of company – mostly at night but also in the morning. He called the crowd who showed up during his opening shifts his fellow crazies; it still amazed him that so many people were like him, consistently and willingly waking up at 5 or 6 in the morning to exercise. He occasionally saw some of his classmates, made some nice new friends – mostly middle-aged adults who asked him about school and his plans for the summer and the future in general – and got to know others pretty well since he practically lived at the gym. Naturally, he’d come to a point where he recognized people’s faces and the regulars who came in on certain days at certain times or asked for certain things.

Sundays were particularly brutal; he had to work six hours straight without a lunch break, and it was usually dead compared to the usual lively atmosphere. On these days, all Daehyun wanted to do was eat, lie down, and maybe take a nap. No people meant less conversation, less towels to wash, less equipment to clean, and more time to spend staring at the clock, willing time to move faster so he could get the hell out and get some food in his system.

(Don’t get him wrong; he brought food but always ended up eating all of it within the first hour of his shift because it just smelled too good and was constantly on his mind and distracted him from getting anything done. And after inhaling his food supply he knew he’d be screwed because it wasn’t like he could go out to get more in the middle of work, but obviously he had yet to learn his lesson.)

Looking at the clock, he groaned (though it wasn’t enough to drown out the way his stomach growled); he was stuck here for another three hours. Why meeee?

Daehyun had his elbows on the front desk, chin in one hand as he blankly stared at the mirrored wall facing him, when the sound of keys dropping into the bin to his right startled him out of his trance. His head whipped to the source of the noise, a welcoming smile automatically making its way onto his face as he turned to greet the person who’d just arrived. “Hi!”

He faltered for a split second as he took in the other’s appearance. Well-defined muscles under a form-fitting shirt. Broad shoulders. Young, probably around his age or maybe even younger. Shorter than himself, but not by much. A warm, slightly shy smile that might seem to contradict his other manly attributes yet suited him extremely well. Overall, very endearing. Daehyun was sure he’d never seen him before. “Hi,” the stranger replied.

Daehyun smiled even wider, his eyes turning into crescents. They stood there like that for a while, staring and smiling silently. Daehyun didn’t usually initiate conversations with people he’d never met before in case they didn’t want to talk or just wanted to start working out right away. Now his cheeks were starting to hurt and stiffen, so he cleared his throat when the boy showed no sign of walking further into the fitness center. “Enjoy your workout!”

The other blinked once, twice, three times before remembering why he had a duffel bag on his shoulder and that oh, right, he was at the gym. He laughed in embarrassment and scratched his cheek before managing to mumble a “thanks” before going on his way.

From the corner of his eye (he might or might not have been watching him walk away), Daehyun swore he saw the boy turn back around to look at him. The second time the other did it, he almost ran into another guy, and Daehyun struggled to contain his laughter.

Usually, Daehyun would be lazy on Sundays and refuse to move from the desk more than necessary, but today, for some reason, he found himself walking around and hovering near the stranger, pretending to look around and to put things in order. Whenever they caught each other’s gaze, they smiled and nodded.

Eventually, Daehyun realized he was being kind of ridiculous and stopped walking around in circles, choosing to go back to the desk and watch the clock without actually seeing it. Some time later, the same all-muscle-no-fat boy from earlier came up to him. “Um…excuse me? Can you help me with something?

Daehyun straightened his posture and nodded. “Yeah, of course. What do you need?”

“I just need you to time me. My coach gave me this interval training workout…”

Daehyun took out his phone while the other finished setting up. “It’s 20 seconds.”

“20 seconds?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Ready? And…go!”

They did this for four more rounds. By the end, the boy was desperately trying to catch his breath. “It’s so hard!”

“Nice job. You did well.”

At this, he grinned. “Thanks!”

“No problem.”

“What’s your name? I’m Jongup.”

Ah. “Nice to meet you, Jongup-ssi. I’m Daehyun.”

--

The following Tuesday, Daehyun found out that Jongup was one year younger (“Can I call you ‘hyung,’ hyung?”). The day after that, Jongup told him he was on the soccer team and loved to dance. On Friday, Jongup asked Daehyun to time him as he held a pull-up and later did a plank. By the end of the third week, Daehyun knew to expect to see the boy every day in the afternoon except on Mondays and Thursdays. He looked forward to the other’s visits so much that he didn’t notice he was being watched.

“What’s wrong?” Daehyun asked, worried about the sudden furrow in Jongup’s eyebrows and his slight frown. He seemed to be looking at something behind Daehyun, but when he followed the gaze he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. When he looked back at the boy in front of him, Jongup was back to his usual smiley self. “It’s nothing. I just thought I saw something.”

Daehyun looked at him skeptically but merely shrugged. He went back to glaring at the 75 kg barbell some didn’t rack when he was done using it.

Now, Daehyun wasn’t weak, but he wouldn’t call himself a fitness buff with bulging muscles either. He liked working out but didn’t really have time to commit while he was busy with classes and coursework and whatnot, and he was never amazing at sports. Since the start of the summer, he’d picked it back up again, but he knew he’d never have as cut a body as Jongup’s.

Daehyun looked at the younger boy with pleading eyes and Jongup understood right away.

“Want me to get that for you?”

“Please.”

--

“You should start coming at night when I have to close so that I don’t have to put away all these heavy weights by myself.”

Jongup chuckled. “You know, I’m already doing your job without getting paid.”

“Only one part of it!” Daehyun pouted. “I do other things too!”

“I’m just saying, hyung ~ ” Just then, Jongup leaned closer, resting his chin on the older boy’s shoulder. “Don’t you think I deserve something for my hard work?”

Daehyun lifted an eyebrow. “Like what? Friends help friends; that’s what they’re for, right? Plus, it’s not good for my back. You wouldn’t want me to have a bad back already at my age, would you, Jonguppie?”

“Well, not for that reason, at least.” With that, Jongup placed a hand on the small of Daehyun’s back, trailing lower until he reached his tailbone. He probably would’ve moved further south to touch his if the older hadn’t yelped and swatted the hand away, cheeks and ears flushing scarlet.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you.”

“What?” The next moment, Jongup’s smirk was replaced by an innocent smile. “I didn’t say anything.”

Daehyun gaped like a fish and watched as Jongup left with a “bye, Daehyunnie hyung ~ !”

How the hell was he supposed to face him tomorrow?

This was originally supposed to be a one-shot but I figured, eh, I'll make it longer (because why not?). |D