For once in his life, Yongguk slept in, and when he awoke he realized all that had happened the previous night hadn’t been a dream. The majority of Yongguk’s day consisted of him familiarizing himself with the city, and towards the afternoon he headed back to the USS New York. Once he got to his sleeping quarters, he grabbed his suitcase from under his bed and packed most of his clothes, all his money and toiletries. A few of the sailors took notice of him leaving but he told them he had found a friend to stay with and that he’d be back before the ship sailed off. After Yongguk got back to the hotel, he grabbed some lunch and kept himself occupied until it neared 7 o’clock. He took a quick bath and dressed himself in his plain black suit before heading to the speakeasy.

His suit was nothing spectacular but he remembered what Himchan said about having confidence and tried his best to portray it. Yongguk made it into the speakeasy at 7:55 and took his normal seat at the bar as he waited for Himchan to arrive. As he lit up a cigarette to help the time pass by faster, he heard murmurs of people mentioning ‘Mr. Kim’s son is here’. Yongguk turned his head and smiled when he saw Himchan, dressed to kill in yet another expensive suit. Himchan had arrived at the speakeasy right at 8 o’clock. He had done his tour during the day and had noted everything down so that he could check everything the day after. His wife was waiting in the car with the chauffeur. She had asked to come with, saying it had been ages since they had gone out together and he just couldn't say no. If he were honest, he would've preferred not having her around but she kept on insisting so he finally agreed. He walked into the speakeasy and quickly greeted his friend John before looking for Yongguk, noticing him standing a bit further and couldn't help but look over him. Even though the suit was obviously from a lower quality, Yongguk still looked good in it.

Yongguk put his cigarette out in the ashtray and walked over to him with his hands stuffed in his pockets, “Good evening Himchan, it’s nice seeing you here.” He looked beside him and greeted John as well. “We’re still on for dancing tonight right? I promise, I won’t spill anything on your suit this time,” he joked.

"Hello," he laughed softly and nodded. "Yeah.. Charlotte, my wife, is waiting in the car so let's go.", he added and turned around to leave the speakeasy.

"Thank you. You're looking mighty dapper yourself," he chuckled. "If I would have known your wife was coming, I would have tried to find a date." Although he didn't outright say it, Yongguk felt like he was a third wheel.

Once they were in the hallway in between the speakeasy and the drugstore, Himchan glanced at Yongguk and smiled. "Told you you'd look great in the suit.", he chuckled and walked out the place entirely, straight to his car and opened the door to the backseat, getting in first. "Charlotte, this is Yongguk Bang, the friend I told you about."

Yongguk shut the door behind him after he got inside the car and smiled, not because he was being polite, but because Himchan introduced him as his friend. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Charlotte. How are you doing this evening?"

Himchan leaned back in the chair a little to let his wife reach out her hand to shake Yongguk's. "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Bang. I'm doing great, thank you.", she smiled at him. He gently took her hand in his and kissed the back of it to be polite. "You're welcome," he replied with a smile as he released her hand. Himchan's wife was very pretty, and definitely a westerner as he put it. From her style alone she was an obvious flapper, but the style suited her well. Some women couldn't pull off that style, but Miss Charlotte definitely wasn't one of them.

"I'm sorry I'm coming along, uninvited but it's been a while since Himchan has taken me out.", she placed her hand on Himchan's knee. He didn't react to it and just reached out his arm to tap his chauffeur's shoulder to let him know he could drive off.

"It's completely fine that you're coming with us. Maybe next time I can bring a date along."

Yongguk couldn't help but notice her hand placed on Himchan's knee, and for some reason that made him uncomfortable. Yongguk immediately turned his attention to him and asked, "Where exactly is this club Himchan?"

Himchan looked at Yongguk and smiled softly. "It's not that far. Only a couple of streets but we can't make the lady walk with her high heels," he said in a light mocking tone, making his wife laugh.

"Also, don't worry about a date, there are plenty of girls there," Charlotte then added, giving Yongguk a bright smile.

"Well if the women are as lovely as you Miss Charlotte, I'm looking forward to it," he stated with slight charm. The confidence that Himchan told him about was starting to come naturally to him. He took a slight mental note of how Himchan and his wife were together and they seemed happy enough, but they seemed more like friends than lovers. He laughed anyways at Himchan's corny joke and glanced out the window. Himchan finally placed his hand on top of his wife's when Yongguk looked away, lacing their fingers together before slowly sliding her hand off of his knee, placing their hands in between both of their legs to hide it from anyone's view. He didn't really want to show her affection tonight but he felt obliged to do so to make her at least feel comfortable. It wasn't as if she had had any say in their marriage either.

The sidewalks were packed, and the sound of people's laughter and music brought a smile to his face. The only word that could describe what Yongguk was feeling at that moment was nostalgia. "This city never sleeps does it," he randomly blurted out.

"Never. Even when you think it does, one part of it is still away.", he chuckled softly.

"Well I guess New York City is the place to be now, so why would it sleep," he chuckled and continued staring out the window until they had arrived at the club. Once the car came to a halt he opened the door and got out, keeping it open for Himchan and his wife.

Himchan let go off her hand and stepped out after Yongguk, smiling softly at him before turning around to  wait for his wife to come out. Once Charlotte was outside, she linked her arm with him and Himchan turned around to walk to the club.

All the people entering the club were dressed to impress, and Yongguk felt slightly intimidated by his plain suit. However, when Charlotte linked arms with him, he felt a sense of belonging and regained that confidence he had just lost. Yongguk wasn't surprised they were getting stares. A beautiful Caucasian woman arm in arm with two Asian men was not something you'd see often, but amongst the stares he could hear people whispering, 'The Kim's have arrived.'

Ignoring the stares they were getting, Himchan led them further into the club after hanging away Charlotte's coat in the vestiaires "Now's your time to learn the Charleston.", he said to Yongguk, hearing the usual music for that dance and he grinned softly at the other one.

"Let me see you do it first," Yongguk teased.

"Alright then," Himchan shot him a small smirk and pulled his wife to the dancing crowd. Charlotte was laughing, finding it all amusing and she knew how her husband could be. They started dancing and Himchan felt awkward at first as it had been a while but soon he fell back in the familiar steps, unable to stop himself from laughing along with Charlotte.

Yongguk kept his eyes on both Charlotte and Himchan and couldn't help but laugh along with the two. They moved perfectly in sync together and had that dance step mastered. He was slightly envious of the two, out on the dance floor with not a care in the world and searched around the room for a potential dance partner. Sadly enough almost everyone had dates, and he was just about to give up on finding a partner until a petite young woman came in front of him and asked him to dance. Her hair was cut short in the flapper style and she donned bright red lipstick that accented her platinum blonde hair. She grabbed his hand and led him out onto the dance floor and started to do the dance. Yongguk was awkward at first but soon enough he'd mastered the dance as well and grinned like a fool. He was having the time of his life and the night had only just begun.

When Himchan looked up, he noticed Yongguk wasn't standing on the place he was earlier and felt his smile fade. His eyes ran over the crowd and he soon enough spotted him dancing with a lady. 'Who's she?', he thought to himself, slightly pursing his lips before pulling his wife towards their direction.

"What's your name," Yongguk asked as the two continued to dance together.

"Lucille... Lucille Middleton,” she said in a very charming New York accent. “What's yours," she asked.

"Yongguk Bang, but just call me Bang," he smiled.

"That's an interesting name Bang, I kinda like it," she teased in a flirtatious manner.

"Thank you Miss Lucille," he flirted right back with her and grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to him as the band changed the tempo of the music.

"Already found you a date, Yongguk?", Himchan said loudly, nudging his elbow into Yongguk side to interrupt the pair. He forced a grin, feeling somewhat irritated to see him with that lady. He didn't really understand his own irritation but he stood there, breaking them up before wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders.

Yongguk and Lucille stopped dancing with each other and he replied shyly, "Ah... Maybe?" Lucille linked her arm with his and chimed, "I am his date now." His gummy grin showed once she said she was his date and his eyes formed crescents. "This is Lucille Middleton," he said as he motioned to her. "Lucille, these are my friends Himchan Kim and his wife Charlotte."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," she smiled. “Since I’m Bang’s date now, do you mind if I tag along with you all the rest of the night?”

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Lucille," said Charlotte while Himchan kept quiet. He looked over at Lucille with a forced smile and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I don't mind. But we don't have enough place for a fourth one in our car if we'd decide to go somewhere else. But I'm sure Yongguk has enough money for a cab?", he answered and turned his eyes to Yongguk while his wife protested softly.

"Yeah, I have enough for a cab, so I can you home Miss Lucille," he replied. "That'll be perfect Bang. We can become more acquainted until then," she smiled. Yongguk's cheeks flushed slightly and he nodded, "I have no objections to that."

A new song, much more upbeat than the last one was played by the band and Lucille squealed. "Oh! This song is the bee's knees¹! Bang dance with me," she grabbed his hand and lightly tugged on it.

"Alright," he chuckled and turned his attention to Himchan and his wife. "I'll be back," he smiled and let Lucille lead him to another section of the dance floor. Lucille grabbed one of his hands and had him place it on the small of her back and she rested her hand on his shoulder whilst grabbing his free hand with hers.

"Just feel the music Bang," she cooed."I'll just follow your lead since you're better at this than I am," he laughed. "Okay Bang, but the next dance I expect you to lead," she winked.

Yongguk definitely liked Lucille's charms. He was surprised a woman as attractive as her gave him the time of day seeing as he was the only minority there minus Himchan, the African American band and bartenders. Himchan seemed to be known there, and a thought suddenly pieced together in Yongguk's head. 'Maybe they think we're family'.

"The bee's knees," Himchan muttered under his breath, imitating Lucille while he watched them walk off, receiving a light slap against his shoulder from his wife. He wrinkled up his nose lightly before giving her a smile. "Let's get something to drink, mhm? I'm thirsty after all that dancing."

"We only did one song. I want to dance more," Charlotte said, not moving from her spot as Himchan lightly tugged her towards the bar.

"C'mon, just one drink and then I'll dance with you the entire night. I'll even dance with you at home if you still haven't had enough."

"You promise?", she asked to which he nodded his head firmly and she followed him to the bar. He leaned against the counter as he ordered the drinks and kept his arm around his wife's waist. All the stools to sit on were taking but he didn't mind, he could see better over the crowd while standing up. His eyes immediately fell on Yongguk and Lucille dancing a bit farther and watched them, tapping his fingers against the bar.

"You don't like her, do you?", his wife asked, interrupting his chain of thoughts. He turned to look at her and frowned a bit. "What are you talking about?", he answered and reached out with his free hand to take his drink, immediately sipping some of it. "Lucille. You don't like her. It's obvious by the way you look at her. With you it's a fifty percent chance. Either you like them or not when you first meet someone and when you don't like them, there's barely any chance for them to get to your good side." Charlotte laughed softly while shaking her head. "Also, you said there wasn't any place for her in the car. There is if one of us moves to the front seat. Why do you dislike her? She seems like a very nice person."

"So what if I don't like her?", Himchan shrugged and placed his glass down. "I'm.. just worried about Yongguk. He doesn't know how the woman are here-"

"What do you mean by that?!", Charlotte laughed, shoving Himchan's shoulder lightly.

"Well, he probably comes from the countryside.. So he doesn't know how women are in the city. Especially here. No offense to you, dear, but a lot of you are gold-diggers," he laughed softly at his wife's faked offended look. "People who haven't been brought up in New York are easily wrapped around a woman's finger and stripped clean of all their money. Especially those who are usually in clubs like these, hunting for a naive man."

"You don't make any sense," Charlotte replied. "Why haven't I stripped you clean then? I am.. or was usually in these clubs. Oh, is it because you were brought up in New York?", her tone was mocking. Himchan chuckled and tightened his grip around his wife's waist. "Yes.. But you're also an angel. You can't do such things.", he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek, feeling her arm loosely wrap around his shoulders. "You're the bee's knees," he mumbled against the soft skin before snorting, receiving a slap against his back.

"You're such a jerk," she chuckled.

Meanwhile, Yongguk and Lucille continued dancing without a care in the world. "Bang, are you in la la land," Lucille teased.

"Huh?"

"I was asking you what do you do for a living?" The music slowed down to a slower paced song and the two of them swayed together to the smooth jazz. "I'm in the navy. I'm a sailor," he said. "A sailor huh? I always did like a man in uniform," she wittily responded. Although Yongguk told Himchan he'd be right back, he was completely engrossed in Lucille. She looked like a movie star in all honesty, and there was no way in hell Yongguk was letting a woman like that get out of his sights. They danced with each other for five more songs before walking over arm in arm to get some drinks. Part of Yongguk's forehead glistened with beads of sweat from all the dancing and Lucille grabbed a napkin, lightly dabbing the sweat off his forehead. "Thank you," he smiled politely.

"You're welcome Bang," she cooed as she trailed her finger under his chin and up his cheek.

Yongguk smiled shyly and turned his attention to the dance floor where he saw Himchan and his wife dancing. He smiled softly and watched the two dance, admiring their smooth dance steps. He noticed that Himchan was sweating more than he was, but he found it cute.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked, never taking his eyes off of Himchan. "Yes, I'm parched," she giggled. Yongguk turned around and asked the bartender for some champagne and he took two glasses and handed one to Lucille. He was surprised that alcohol was served openly like this, but from the looks of things, only the exclusive crowd got to enter this club, and with as many of the elite as there were in here, he was pretty sure the owner had made a deal with the police not to arrest anyone. When you had money you had power in this city. Yongguk was starting to learn that very quickly.

"Should we make a toast to anything," he asked. "Let's make a toast to... to us! I hope this night brings more fun and exciting things for us. Cheers," she smiled coyly and lightly clinked their glasses together. "Cheers," he smiled.

"Can't we take a break now?", Himchan asked, out of breath. His wife laughed softly and nodded her head, grabbing her husband's hand. "Oh look, Yongguk and Lucille are taking a drink. Let's join them," she said, smiling and walked over to the bar. “Alright," Himchan mumbled and followed her. When they reached them, he put on a smile, nodding his head towards them. "We meet again."

"Hey," Yongguk grinned. "You two looked great out there."

"You did. It looks like Bang and I have some competition now," Lucille teased as she took a sip of her champagne.

"Thank you.", Himchan said before grimacing at Lucille. "There was no competition to begin with.” Charlotte rolled her eyes and grabbed a napkin, moving her hand up to dab some of the sweat. "Let's clean you up, big boy," she teased lightly.

Lucille chuckled and replied in a mocking tone, "Oh Mr. Kim you slay me²! We'll just have to see about that now won't we?"

"Be nice you two," Yongguk teased. "We're all here to have fun right? No need for competition."

"There's nothing wrong with a bit of friendly competition Bang, but I'll behave just for you," she smiled and hugged his arm.

Himchan scoffed softly and turned to look at Charlotte who had just lowered her hand. "I think I'm going to throw up," he whispered to her. Charlotte laughed and raised her hands back to place them on his shoulders. "Be nice, dear.", She leaned up and pressed a chaste kiss on his lips to which he responded before pulling away shortly after.

Lucille gently tugged Yongguk's arm when another slow song started to play. "Dance with me Bang," she smiled.

"Lucy, I'm glad this is a slow song because I don't think I'd be able to keep up with you," he teased. "Bang darling, you've given me a pet name already? We've just met," she chuckled.

"Oh... I'm sorry," his cheeks flushed. "I didn't realize I'd shortened it."

"I like it. It's very sweet," she smiled and turned her attention back to Himchan and Charlotte. "I'm going to

steal him for a bit, I'll bring him back soon. Ta ta!"

"I'll see you in a bit," he smiled sheepishly and let Lucille lead him onto the dance floor again. She was a very bold woman and quite the vamp³. When she wanted something she went for it. Yongguk liked her independence but at times her personality seemed a bit strong for his taste. 'You're here to have fun, lighten up,' he told himself as he wrapped his arm around Lucille's waist and took his hand in hers as they began to slow dance.

Himchan had snorted a bit too loudly at the pet name but luckily the other two didn’t seem to have heard him earlier and watched them leave before looking at Charlotte. "She's annoying. Don't you think she's annoying? I think she is."

"I think she's lovely," Charlotte laughed and gave him another kiss, on the cheek this time. "Don't be so grumpy. I don't like it when you're grumpy. Be nice and I'll give you a massage tonight. I know you like them," she grinned. He rolled his eyes a bit but smiled at her. "Fine. Let's go home soon.. I'm getting tired.."

"Alright," she nodded and leaned a bit against her husband, watching how he turned his gaze to Yongguk and Lucille before watching them as well.

Lucille glanced at Himchan and rolled her eyes before she focused her attention back to Yongguk. She leaned into his ear and whispered, “Bang darling, my feet are starting to hurt. I think I’d like to go home after this song ends.”

“Oh, of course. I’ll you home Lucy,” he nodded. “You’re a doll,” she smiled and lightly pecked his lips. “Thank you Bang.” For the umpteenth time that night Yongguk blushed and mumbled, “You’re welcome.” Once the song ended the two walked back over to Himchan and his wife. “Himchan, I’m going to Lucy home now. I’ll just take a cab.”

"Alright. We were going to go anyway..," Himchan answered, smiling slightly at Yongguk before turning his eyes to Lucille as she spoke, the smile turning into a grimace.

“I’m so sorry to cut the evening short. My heels aren’t as comfortable as I thought they were,” she chuckled. “It was a pleasure to meet you both.”

“It was really nice meeting you Miss Charlotte, I hope we can all get together soon,” he gently took her hand and kissed the back of it. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right Himchan?”

"It was great to meet you too, Lucille.", Charlotte said before Himchan could do anything and smiled at Yongguk. "You as well, Yongguk."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow.", Himchan said and grabbed his wife's hand, pulling her to the vestiaires to get her coat. As they walked out, he glanced at Yongguk and Lucille who were behind them and raised his hand as a greeting before going over to their car, opening the door for his wife and getting in after her. They drove off, talking a bit during the ride.

After watching Himchan and Charlotte leave, Yongguk and Lucille took a cab back to her apartment. It was in a nice area of the city and her place was just as extravagant as she was. Even though Yongguk tried to leave like a gentleman, he somehow ended up in Lucille's bedroom, helping her slip out of her dress. She stepped out of her dress and stood before him in just her stockings, and brassiere⁴. "Do you like what you see Bang," she questioned seductively. "Yeah," he whispered. "I like it alot."

Lucille smiled and helped Yongguk out of his jacket and shirt before pushing him onto her bed. She then straddled his hips and kissed him hard, making sure that her lipstick would stain his lips.

"Bang," she moaned softly as she trailed kisses down his jawline, leaving more lipstick stains on his body.

"Lucy," he panted and caressed her hips.

"I've never been with a China-man before," she mumbled as she began kissing down his chest. "Will you make love to me like how they do it in China?" Yongguk sat up on the bed the moment he heard her comment and said in an irritated tone, "Stop."

"Stop? Why would you want me to stop Bang?"

"Because I'm not Chinese," he sneered. "I think this was a mistake Lucy," he gently pushed her off of him and gathered his shirt and jacket off the floor. "Well if you're not Chinese, what are you?" she questioned in a mocking tone.

"I'm Korean!"

Lucille placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes, "So what? I made a common mistake anyone would make. You're going to just leave me here like this because of that Bang?"

"Yes… I am," he muttered as he slipped on his ed shirt.

"Fine, then leave. I just hope you know that you will never have a chance with me again. You were lucky I even danced with you because nobody else would have."

He quickly buttoned up his shirt and slipped on his jacket while Lucille continued to berate him out of pure spite. "I never get rejected, so this is your loss. You couldn't handle a woman like me anyway," she responded with slight venom in her voice. "I think I’ll live Lucille. Thank you for showing me what an ignorant woman you really are. Now I see why Himchan didn't like you," he replied nonchalantly. She scoffed and yelled, "Get out!"

"Goodbye Lucille," he said with one last glance before leaving her apartment.

By the time Yongguk got back to the hotel it was nearly two in the morning. Although he was angry with how his night ended, he was relieved knowing he wouldn't have to see Lucille again. She was a very beautiful and charming woman, but her ignorance completely turned him off. With a heavy sigh he slipped out of his clothes which still had the scent of Lucille's perfume and crawled into his bed. He hugged his pillow and closed his eyes, hoping that tomorrow would bring a better day.

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1. Bee's Knees- Terrific; A fad expression

2. You slay me! - That's funny! 

3. Vamp- A seducer of men; An aggressive flirt

4. Brassiere- Old term for bra

** Every now and then there might be certain words numbered, but that's just to let you know there will be a definition of that term at the end of the chapter. Throughout this story there will be some words you're more than likely not familiar with, and most of it is 1920's slang, clothing, or products! So be on the lookout for those words, there will be more usage of them in the upcoming chapters~

Other terms from previous chapters:

1. Prohibition- The national ban on the sale, production, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933 in the United States

2. Speakeasy/Joint- A bar selling/distributing illegal liquor (Prohibition era)

3. Oriental- From the east; Another term for Asian

4. Flapper- A stylish, brash, hedonistic young woman with short skirts and shorter hair

5. Oliver Twist- A skilled dancer

6. The Charleston- A popular 1920's dance originating from South Carolina

7. Phonograph- An old record player

8. Duesenberg- A popular 1920's automobile often owned by the rich (Himchan's personal car)