The wildest parties were always organised at Soonyoung's place.

His parents owned a dance studio, and he practically lived there, spending most of his free time either practicing his dancing or lazing off on the cold, wooden panels. Just how exactly he got ahold of the keys to the building was a mystery of sorts. Jun was pretty sure that Soonyoung's parents, no matter how nice and chill in everyday life, were not the kind of people that would let their barely of age son throw parties in their studio and invite dozens of people. But if Soonyoung was doing that without their agreement, he was keeping it hidden well enough for them to not notice later, so Jun couldn't really complain.

At Soonyoung's house parties, Wonwoo did just what he did in the club – sat in the corner, drinking beer after beer, talking with whoever wished to talk to him and joking along with them, but never really bothered to start any ruckus. Soonyoung was always getting turned up, party or no party, drunk or sober, so there was no use in trying to controll him. Minghao wasn't big on parties, but when he did attend them, he didn't really drink or drunkenly cause troubles, and even if he did, his martial arts and general life skills were good enough to get out of them later.

Thus, with having no friends to watch over, Jun had no idea why he kept showing up to the parties. A tug in his gut reminded him that maybe it was because of the dreamy blonde on the sette, who was burning holes in the neck of the guy in the tank-top. He shook his head, forbidding himself to think about either Jeonghan or Seungcheol, and convinced himself he was there to have fun.

Even if he managed to convince himself, it was hard to in fact have fun. The music wasn't bad, but it wasn't loud enough to drown out the sounds of people talking so it wasn't loud enough to dance to it. The drinks were there, but there was an amount one could drink without getting particularly drunk without getting sick of it, and Jun was approaching that amount with the fourth beer he was slowly sipping. As for talking, all his usual friends were either absent (Minghao), busy (Soonyoung) or had disappeared somewhere (Wonwoo). Jun scanned his surroundings once more, in search of something to do or someone to talk to, and his eyes landed on a big armchair, and a blonde haired shortie in it. Jihoon, aka the guy he knew but not really. Thinking that it could be a perfect idea to talk the guy up, Jun approached Jihoon and took the empty chair next to him.

“Hi there.”

“Hi,” Jihoon replied, acknowledging Jun with a nod.

What a great conversation starter, Jun thought.

“Glad to know you're not cooped up in your studio so much anymore.”

“Fooled you. I actually barely come out.” Maybe on his own Jihoon led the social life of a dead fish, but at least he knew how to laugh about that.

“Is this only a puppet to trick people into thinking you're socialising while your real self is still in the studio?” At this Jihoon grimaced.

“I can't work until I get new materials from the group I'm doing the project with, and Soonyoung insisted I come. So I came.” He seemed almost apologetic for not working. Jun knew that feeling way too well from when he was considered a prodigy in what he did. But China was a long way away from the party and child acting was a long time ago, so he returned to the reality fast.

“I'm really glad to see you.” He tried to make that sound as real as it was. Jihoon only nodded, and a silence fell for a while.

“You weren't blonde before?” That was supposed to be a statement, but it came off as a question.

“I owed a family friend and she wanted to test out her hairdressing skills. It just happened.” Jihoon's grimace was so distraught Jun almost laughed out loud.

“Hey, don't get bummed up over this. You look good.”

“Thanks.” Jihoon half-smiled, and it only added to his attractiveness.

“Are you growing your hair out now?”

“No.” In response, Jihoon quickly grabbed his tiny ponytail, as if hiding it. “I just forgot to ask for a haircut to go with the bleaching.”

Jun nodded, and weighed his words before deciding the booze in his and Jihoon's system should be enough to be okay to say them.

“You're not trying to look like Jeonghan, right?” At this, Jihoon inhaled so sharply it sounded like a hiss.

“What the do you mean?”

“You're not trying to look more like Jeonghan so Seungcheol likes you, right?”

“God, no! What are you even implying?” He was so heated he almost got up from the armchair.

“Come on. I can see the way you look at him.”

“Don't give me this bull.”

“Unrelenting as ever.” The sole fact that Jihoon knew what Jun was referring to served as enough of a proof for Jun to know he was right.

It wasn't a secret, really, that Jihoon had more than just sympathy for Seungcheol, mainly because it was rather easy to see, or maybe it was easy for Jun to see, because of how similar his own situation was. It was certainly very much not obvious for Seungcheol himself. Jun watched Seungcheol talk and laugh with Mingyu and Soonyoung for a while, wondering how the man could be so oblivious.

“How do you know?” Jihoon broke the silence finally.

“As I said, the way you look at him,” at this, Jihoon rolled his eyes so hard his irises almost disappeared under his eyelids “but also the way you act around him. Trying more, and caring less.”

Jihoon nodded, and then looked Jun deep in the eye for a second, as if he knew Jun's deepest, darkest secrets. Then, he turned his head away and grabbed a cup off the table where he must've put it before, and sipped on it calmly.

“I'm telling you this only because I'm drunk already, but the er has no idea.”

“I know.”

“Stop knowing everything.” Drunk Jihoon wasn't really different from everyday Jihoon.

“But it's better this way, if he doesn't know.” Jun tried to change the subject.

“How so?”

“You can keep believing he will change his mind, but once you're rejected, no matter how hard you try, things are never the same.”

“Speaking from experience?” The sudden question had Jun shut up rapidly, and look away. He scanned the room, and noticed just how Jeonghan was not in it, and he felt a bit more safe with admitting the truth.

“Yes,” at that, Jihoon scoffed with satisfaction “but I'm telling you this only because I'm drunk already.” There was an unsaid 'are you?' lingering in the air, but Jihoon didn't ask that, and only smirked instead.

“I'm not judging you.”

“God forbid you are.” Like that, their conversation died off, and they both just sat there, slowly sipping at their respective drinks, trying to not think about their hopeless crushes.

“I think I never saw Soonyoung after he dashed off to that toilet.” Jun tried to break the silence.

“Me neither. And when was that?”

“Two songs ago.”

“Want me to check up on him?”

“Nah, I'll take it.” If there was anyone that should see Soonyoung puking his lungs out, it was Jun, who've seen this image countless times already.

“Alright.”

“And, Jihoon?”

“Yes?” Jihoon perked up in such a way that it made Jun wonder again if the man was not actually a cat hybrid.

“You'd look cute with pastel pink hair.” He started and quickly turned away, not wanting to face Jihoon after that confession.

The toilets were just next to the dance practice room that has been turned into a dancefloor with as much as a few strategically placed lights and one DIY disco ball, after all, the great sound system was already there. It wasn’t really used, though, as most people preferred to gather around in the reception and staff room, and the tiny pseudo-kitchen nearby. When Junhui opened the door to the toilets and started scanning the stalls for one passed out Hosh, he could still hear the people talking, but after the door closed, the sound was drowned out. The beat stayed, though, thumping under his feet non-violently, and it followed him after he decided there was no one in the toilets, and started checking out other rooms.

Just about every door in the studio was unlocked. Hoshi trusted his friends to not do anything stupid, and he also wanted everyone to have the freedom of hiding away in one of the practice rooms when they just feel like talking away. Travelling through the rooms, though, Jun got another idea. The OMG Team always practiced in one of the rooms anyway, so they each had a locker in one of the storage rooms. And, did he not have a dirty towel, like, a seriously dirty towel, that he always forgot to take back home and wash? Junhui figured it would be a good idea to take it right then, and take it home with him, as soon as he found Soonyoung and took care of him, of course.

Two turns later, Jun found himself crossing OMG Team’s preferred practice room and slipping into the storage-slash-changing room with lockers. He knew the small room by heart, so he saw no reason to turn the lights. Fiddling with his lock and then with the locker’s contents in the darkness, he focused on the senses other than vision, trying to recognise the towel by its softness under his fingertips. He also started picking subtle sounds from the other side of the room.

The tiny locker room actually connected two practice rooms, one he just came from, and another, smaller one, that was less used, on the far off end of the studio. It surprised Jun that anything was happening inside. the more he listened, the more the sounds sounded like a hushed talk and gym mat squeaks. Being the curious little monster he was, Junhui closed the door he came through and approached the other as quietly as possible. It became clear to him that there are people talking, but he still couldn’t recognise the quiet voices. After several seconds of listening, the voices fell almost completely silent, and there was barely any sound for a solid while. Scared, but also curious, Junhui slowly opened the door just a bit, and peeked inside.

There was barely any light coming from the far off window, no street lights near it, and if Jun’s eyes weren’t get used to the darkness already while feeling up the inside of his locker, he would have missed the two boys sitting on the stack of the mattresses, faces so close to each other it was clear what they were doing. The scarce light in the room wasn’t enough to recognise them both, especially that one was covered by the other’s shadow. One of them, though, had broad shoulders, dark jeans and an ashen blonde ponytail that Junhui would surely recognise anywhere. Jeonghan was faces with someone who judging by the general shape of the legs was another boy, and Jun just had the misfortune to be the witness.

Even if he cursed himself several times, he just couldn’t glue his eyes off the sight. Jeonghan was moving more and more, heating into the kiss, his hair bouncing brilliantly against his back, and Jun bit his lip so hard he could swear it should have be bleeding. Still, he couldn’t move back, close the door, or just do anything to stop watching.

Jeonghan had made it pretty clear that he did not belong to Jun, and that he did not wish to be with Jun, or even to give him a chance, but that didn’t mean Jun was anywhere close to over Jeonghan, or to giving up. He knew that the object of his affection liked to throw himself in the arms of people who certainly were not Junhui himself, and it always hurt to listen about his newest escapades, but to see it happening was a whole another thing, and it apparently hurt even more.

The other boy was slimmer than Jeonghan, and had hair that seemed more brown than black, and all that Jun managed to observe about him was that he definitely was not Seungcheol. He had almost decided to leave already, when Jeonghan shifted, and so did whoever he was kissing, and they kept shifting until the other guy was straddling Jeonghan, and they angled their heads just so, and the faint light reflected on the side of the boy’s head, and it hit Jun like a train.

Hong Jisoo, the church boy, who seemed to never fit with the crowd at first, who played the guitar, only washed his hair with lemon water to lighten it, whose wildest deed up to date was having an ear cartilage piercing with a god damned cross. Hong Jisoo, the guy from America, who from time to time pronounced some words funny, and who Jun almost felt an affiliation to, because he, too, even if knowing the language, was just not from there, and had a mentality different from everyone else. Hong Jisoo, who Jun thought to be as straight as they come, if not in celibacy, even. Hong Jisoo, who was as Jeonghan grabbed his waist, and who just buckled his hips against Jeonghan’s.

Not being able to take that sight anymore, Junhui barged in, and blindly slapped his hand across the wall, looking for the light switch, finding it, fortunately, and blinding the other two as well as himself.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” He made his smile look honestly apologetic, but his eyes were bitter and glossy. “I’m gonna go now. Sorry for the intrusion.” He didn’t even bother acting surprised at the sight of the two, and just walked straight across the room to the other door.

“Junhui, please…” He heard Jeonghan say, but it was too late for him to stop being salty.

“Real sorry. Please, continue.” He tried anyway, and now his smile was less ironic, and more sad. Being upset in front of Jeonghan was the last thing he wanted right now, so he blinked quickly just in case tears wanted to form in his eyes. He passed one last look to Jeonghan, and to Jisoo in his lap, and closed the door behind himself with utmost care - he wanted to slam it, but that wouldn’t exactly say ‘not jealous’.

Junhui wanted to just slide down the wall and sink to the floor, and maybe scream at himself for being so stupid and acting so jealous while he had no right to, but instead he looked at the dirty towel still in his hand, and slowly walked away, somewhere in the direction of the room where everyone was sitting. It was bland in there, though, and tiring, and he only stuffed the towel in his bag before leaving again. He didn’t plan on coming back to where he just came from, but his legs carried him there as if he wanted to say something, add something spiteful in a l’esprit d’escalier moment, but then he realised there’s nothing to say, and he turned back sharply. Still, he was just frustrated and had absolutely zero idea what to do, so he turned back again, and then back again again, and then before he managed to manage himself and leave, he heard the door open, and turned around, and it was Jeonghan, coming out of the room, with his hair slightly messy.

“Junhui,” he looked between panicked and relieved, if that’s even possible. “Jesus, I’m-” he seemed apologetic for a second, but then he remembered it’s not like he has anything to be sorry for.

“You’re what?” Junhui knew that pissing Jeonghan off wasn’t exactly the best idea, but he couldn’t stop himself. Sometimes he was just this petty.

There was a flurry of thoughts in Jeonghan’s head. Why are you doing this? Why are you making everything hard between us? Why are you even still here? Why do I feel like I should be sorry? All of those questions would show that he was somewhere near hurt, though, so Jeonghan decided on playing it differently.

“Why did you barge in? Why are you even at the party?” He started, but Junhui completely ignored him.

“Jisoo? Of all people?”

Jeonghan rolled his eyes aggressively. “Oh, come on, I can make out with whoever I want to, and if I wish to make out with Joshua, then so I will.”

“Joshua? That’s what you call him now?”

“Oh off!”

“Why does he get a chance, and I don’t?” Junhui finally exploded.

Jeonghan bit his lip and looked down for a split second, and Junhui knew there was an answer, but he wouldn’t hear it today, or maybe never would

“Can we… Not do this?” Jeonghan breathed deeply and tried to calm himself down. All the fighting he started was only because he was angry at himself, deep inside he knew that, and he was just taking it out on Jun.

“Can you not do this?” Jun wasn’t sure if he wanted to put the emphasis on ‘you’ or ‘this’.

“No, Junhui, I can’t! I’m a grown up man and I’m free to do whatever I want, it up!” Just ten seconds ago Jeonghan really wanted to reconcile, but for some reason Jun just couldn’t let things go.

For a while Jun considered a cease-fire, but then he remembered how gladly Jeonghan pressed Jisoo against himself, and he felt the bile rise up in his throat once again. “Who do you think you are?”

“Joshua is listening.”

“Don’t give me this .”

“Please, don’t raise your voice, Joshua is listening-” Jun hated how pathetic Jeonghan made himself sound more than he was willing to understand the embarrassment Jeonghan wanted to avoid. Just then, Joshua opened the door behind Jeonghan leading to the practice room they were sitting in before.

“I’m not listening, keep talking.” He said, with a cat half-smile that didn’t reach his cheeks. Jun didn’t look behind when Jisoo passed him.

When Jisoo turned the corner, Jeonghan opened his mouth to speak, but Jun interrupted. “Do you really think you have the right to play people like this?”

“I’m not playing anyone, Joshua is really nice so…” Jeonghan started, before realising that’s probably not who Jun meant.

“You think you’re the hottest , huh? That everyone wants you?” Jeonghan refused to let his eyes meet Jun’s. “Just who do you think you are?”

“An !”

At that, Jun fell silent.

“Happy now? I know I’m an . But you know what? Everyone else knows that, too.”

Even though sharply cooled down, Jun’s anger still hadn’t disappeared. He looked down, unable to answer.

“I’m just an who’s sleeping around to feel better about himself. So what? It’s not like it’s a secret, and it’s not like you should care. Get off my case.”

“You weren’t like this before, Jeonghan.”

“I know.” His voice was so quiet Jun could barely hear it over the far off music.

“Then what happened?” Jun also quieted down, now mostly worried.

“I don’t know.” A heavy silence fell between them for what felt like far too long. “Can I go now?”

Jun didn’t answer, and just moved to the side, to let Jeonghan through. He saw no point in simply standing in place, neither in going to any the practice rooms, so when Jeonghan’s steps trailed away, he turned around and left, too. As expected, Jeonghan headed to the mini-kitchen, where he helped himself for a drink. The last thing Junhui wanted was another confrontation with the blonde, so he quickly turned to the main room, and from there escaped to the small balcony. Even if it was cold, he could at least be alone for a while.

The cold tiles were starting to get to him through the thin fabric of his jeans when the balcony door opened, and Wonwoo stepped in, and closed the door behind himself messily.

“You sitting here long?”

“No,” Jun answered truthfully, as Wonwoo sat next to him.

“You had a talk with Jeonghan?” Somehow Wonwoo always knew what was up with Junhui, even if he tried to hide that. That was one of the reasons they were such good friends, Jun thought.

“Yeah. I don’t know.”

“Mess?”

“Mess.” After that, a silence fell for a couple of deep breaths.

“I saw him talking with Jisoo.” Wonwoo confessed.

“Good for you, I saw them faces.” Jun’s expression was as bitter as if he ate a lemon.

“Gosh.”

“Isn’t it messed up? How I’m just dying to be him?” Jun’s expression changed, and he started looking like he didn’t only eat the lemon, but also poured pure lemon juice into his eyes.

“It’s normal, Jun, you’re in love,” Wonwoo stopped abruptly, hit with Jun’s judging look. “Okay, you have a crush. It’s normal.”

“Please, Wonwoo, stop this.”

"Hey, I'm trying." Wonwoo didn’t specify what he’s trying to do, but he gestured as if he was saying ‘everything’. Jun sighed heavily.

"Can we not talk about me?"

"Sure."

"Can we talk about you instead? I have something to say to you." At that, Wonwoo sighed deeply in return, and squirmed uncomfortably on the hard floor.

"I know what you're gonna say." Wonwoo was playing with his fingers nervously.

"Yeah? What is it then?"

"That I'm playing Mingyu and I shouldn't, or else I'll end up like Jeonghan."

Jun arched his eyebrow so high up he worried it may fall off.

"Um, no? That's not what I'm thinking at all."

"Then what are you thinking that requires such a dramatic start?" Wonwoo shoved Jun lightly. He didn’t look like the type, but he was a very hands-on person.

"I didn't make the dramatic start, you did."

"Oh whatever," this time Wonwoo only nudged Jun. "Just talk.”

"I think you should give him a chance, Wonwoo. Mingyu isn't all that bad."

"He’s nice and talking with him is great, but you should see him when I try to ask about anything. He acts like he's not even gay and he just wants to the hot emo." Wonwoo rolled his eyes.

"Wow, aren't you thinking too highly of yourself?"

"You're the one who called me a hot emo!" Another playful arm shove.

"It's because you're always sulking in the corner, man. But don't change the subject."

"I just don't see the point of going bat crazy all the time like other people do. You gotta save the crazy for special occasions.” Wonwoo tried to change the subject anyway.

"Don’t change the subject."

"Alright." They both shifted into more comfortable positions, as Wonwoo stayed silent. The cold was starting to get to them, especially to Jun.

"He hangs out with you all the time, if he only wanted a quick , he'd already pick someone else.” Wonwoo sighed and started playing with the laces of his shoes, tugging at them. Anything to not look Jun in the eye. “And you like talking to him. Why don't you bring this to the next level, then?"

"Maybe he wants to be friends with benefits. Or he's just really desperate to get some ."

"Or you're reading too much into it." Jun extended his legs forwards and with no problem rested his head on his knees, trying to see Wonwoo’s face better.

"Listen, Jun, I'm a simple guy. I don't want to with a guy that has no romantic interest in me, no matter how hot he may be." Wonwoo made no effort to look anywhere besides his own shoes.

"So you're admitting Mingyu is hot."

"Of course, he's insanely hot, but that’s not the point."

"But what are you gonna do about this?" Junhui was unrelenting.

"Nothing. My plans haven't changed. I'm gonna wait until he asks me out or something. A date is all it takes." Wonwoo finally glued his eyes off his laces, and pulled his hoodie over his fingers, to cover them better, and then squeezed the sleeves shut over his hands. “, it’s cold.”

"Really, just one date? You're gonna on the first date?" Wonwoo just shrugged in response.

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t.”

“Then maybe I should just tell him to ask you out?”

“Don’t tell him that.” Immediately, Wonwoo almost shouted in response, turning his head very quickly.

“Why?”

“Then he will ask me out just to me, and I really don’t need that, alright?” Jun nodded, and Wonwoo turned his eyes away, satisfied.

“It’s freezing in there. Can we go back?” Wonwoo added after a while, pulling Jun out of his own world, where he’d been thinking about how he and Mingyu were in similar, but very, very different situations.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Later that evening Jun caught Wonwoo and Mingyu exchanging looks from across the room even more often than he caught Mingyu looking at Wonwoo when he thought nobody could notice. He didn’t see Jeonghan anymore, and later he realised he didn’t see Jisoo, either.

Finally, Jun makes an appearance! For those of you who weren't sure, now you can be sure - yes, this is the same Jun and Jeonghan as in my previous Junhan one-shot. A little bit of an explanation so Wonwoo seems less of a than he seemed after chapter 3. Finally, more and more storylines are being tied together. Finally, finally. I included a ton of dialogue, though, I hope it didn't throw anyone off.

As always, thank you everyone for subscribing and upvoting, and don't forget to do that if you like the fic. Tell me what you think in the comments! <3