It was a Saturday afternoon when Wonshik got the text from Hakyeon.

“Let’s go out!” it said.

“Go where?” Wonshik had asked. He didn’t have to wait for a reply because the incessant knocking at his door came only seconds later. He rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what was coming.

“I’m not going drinking.” He hollered as he got up and locked his door.

The knocking didn’t stop.

“You don’t have to drink. Just go to the club with me.” Hakyeon yelled from the other side.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Please, Wonshik. At least let me come in. I’ll get in trouble again.”

Wonshik tried, and failed, to hold back a laugh.

“Good.” He said as he laid back on his bed.

“Wonshik!” Hakyeon hollered. And then a bang on the wall by his bed caused him to groan. He huffed as he walked over to the door and unlocked it, turning to get back to his bed.

Hakyeon immediately opened the door and flung himself across the room and onto Wonshik.

“Get off. You’re too heavy and my neighbor got mad at me because of you.” He said as he tried pushing Hakyeon off of his back.

“If you had just let me in in the first place, we wouldn’t have this issue.” Hakyeon sang at him.

Wonshik stayed quiet.

“Now. You need to come with me to the club on 2nd Street.”

“No, I really don’t.”

“Uh, yeah, you do. Taekwoon’s going to be there. I can’t go alone.” Hakyeon sat up and started looking at his nails.

“You know, if you keep dragging me places, he’s going to get the wrong idea and think we’re dating.” Wonshik turned his head towards him.

Hakyeon seemed to think about this for a second before he decidedly shrugged and went back to looking at his nails.

“I don’t think so. I mean who would want to date you? I told you, you were practically a potato. Anyone in their right mind would not date a potato.”

“Don’t be a jerk. There’s nothing wrong with potatoes or being one for that matter. Now get out.” Wonshik covered his face again.

“Sik, you never do anything anymore. All your free time is spent laying around like this.” Hakyeon gestured to their current situation

“Because I have a busy schedule and any and all sleep is welcomed and appreciated.”

It was Hakyeon’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Just one night. Please. I’m really about to beg.”

“Wait! Let me get my camera!” Wonshik cried as he jumped out of bed and went for his desk.

“You aren’t funny.” Hakyeon deadpanned.

“I think I’m freaking hilarious.” Wonshik pouted.

“Yeah and you’re the only one. By the way, that cut on your lip still looks horrid.”

Wonshik glared at him but it went unnoticed.

“Anyway, I’ll even help you pick out clothes! I’ll pay your entrance fee and everything. Please go with me.” Hakyeon stood and walked over to Wonshik’s closet and began riffling through his garments.

Wonshik sighed as his resolve faltered.

“As long as you don’t force me to drink and we’re out of there at a reasonable time, I guess I'll go.”

Hakyeon was about to pounce on him again but Wonshik stopped him, raising a hand in warning.

“However,”

Hakyeon sighed.

“There’s always a catch.”

“However, I will not be your third wheel. You will see him. You will talk to him. You will ask him on a date. Then you will bring me home and let me sleep.”

“No, but-”

“No, buts. These are my terms. Take them or leave them.” Wonshik crossed his arms as he watched Hakyeon think it over. After a minute of hesitation.

“Fine.”

Wonshik held out his hand and Hakyeon took it to shake.

“Now, pick out my clothes.”

Hakyeon’s face turned devilish as he turned back towards the closet. And thus, their night began.

--

Going to clubs had never been a thing Wonshik liked to do. He just didn’t care for the atmosphere. He didn’t appreciate the stray hands groping him or the unknown substances causing his shoes to stick to the floor. If anything, he did enjoy the music. Sometimes.

After they showed their IDs to the bouncer and Hakyeon paid their entry fee, they stepped into an entirely different world. There were other clubs around the city but the one on 2^nd Street was…how to put it? A cluster, as Hakyeon had once called it. There were girls dancing in cages but also a dance floor for the public. There was a stage and runway, but acts hardly ever performed there. There were rumors that the local drug cartel was responsible for keeping the place running, but that sure didn’t stop the mass of twenty-somethings from the university that seemed to pile their way in every week.

There were groups of people they had dubbed 'the groupies,' hanging out by the doors. They were the ones that liked to watch as people entered the club. They stood around, talking in hushed voices, picking out who looked the best, read: easiest.

Hakyeon held himself with confidence so heads always turned when he walked in. Tonight was no exception. He was clad in tight, red leather pants that accentuated his long, toned legs. He also wore a grey, V neck t-shirt that may or may not have chosen specifically to show off his clavicles. As he stepped inside the chaos, he smirked when he noticed a group of boys, probably barely twenty-one, checking him out.

Wonshik got a similar response. He was a step behind Hakyeon, because he didn’t like the attention, but he managed to turn a few heads too. Hakyeon had spent forty-five minutes making him try on different shirts paired with different pants until he deemed Wonshik “acceptable.” Wonshik had kicked him for calling him that.

Comparable to Hakyeon’s attire, he also wore tight pants but his were just jeans, black with a few holes here and there. His shirt was just a regular plain, black shirt with no design or unique attributes. He didn’t think he looked any different from how he normally styled himself for classes, but apparently, he caught the eye of a couple girls that giggled as they spoke behind their raised drink glasses.

Hakyeon pulled him through a mass of people to the bar, where he ordered himself some weird alcoholic drink and a coke for Wonshik. When they received their drinks, Hakyeon turned to watch the floor. Wonshik knew he was only looking for Taekwoon so he sipped at his coke without much thought. He didn’t want to be there and honestly didn’t even feel like trying to make it a good night. It was a club. Nothing spectacular came of going to places like this. He sighed and waited for Hakyeon to spot his prey.

After a while, Wonshik grew bored. The music wasn’t interesting, he didn’t feel like people watching, and Hakyeon hadn’t said anything as he looked for Taekwoon. The moment he spotted him, Wonshik nearly dropped his drink when Hakyeon elbowed him in the side.

“Sik! Look!” He bounced.

“There he is! I see him!” He pointed at some place on the other side of the dance floor.

Wonshik rolled his eyes as he took another drink.

“Yay, good for you.” He said noncommittally.

“Should I go talk to him?” Hakyeon asked as he grabbed Wonshik’s arm. He tried to swat him away but it didn’t work.

“That was part of our deal. If you don’t talk to him, then I’m leaving.”

He saw the blush creeping into Hakyeon’s face and knew it wasn’t because of the alcohol in his drink. He smiled to himself and nudged Hakyeon’s shoulder.

“Hey.” He said. Hakyeon turned to look at him.

“You can do it.” He encouraged. Hakyeon smiled at him and took a deep breath before looking back to where Taekwoon stood, talking to a girl Hakyeon recognized from Wonshik’s music theory class last semester.

“Wish me luck.” He said as he started forward. Wonshik watched him go.

But of course, not all is well in a fairy-tale. As he was bringing his drink back towards his mouth, one of the girls that was sat at a stool behind him, knocked into him and caused him to spill his drink down the front of his shirt.

“Are you kidding me?” He hollered.

“I’m so sorry!” The girl squeaked as her friends laughed at her.

Black shirt or not, he didn’t want to be sticky all night. This was exactly why he hated coming to places like this.

The girl kept apologizing as he waved her off and made his way towards the bathroom. He spotted the door in the back corner and headed towards it, holding his shirt away from his skin.

Just as he was about the open the door, he heard someone speak to him and looked up.

“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.” The voice called over the music. It was louder back here than it was at the bar.

“Why not?” He asked the stranger. The man smirked at him.

“Two dudes going at it in the first stall. I doubt you want to hear what’s going on.” The stranger laughed.

Wonshik stared at him. Great. Now what?

“What’s your name?” The stranger asked.

When meeting new people, especially in situations like this, Wonshik never gave out his real name. He didn’t want these people finding him at school or being able to look him up. He only ever went out because of Hakyeon and whatever scheme he was up to. Wonshik wasn’t into any of the chaos, so he always gave the name he produced under.

“Ravi.” He answered.

What a stranger didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him.

“Ravi.” The stranger repeated.

“I like that.”

“Is this dude for real flirting outside of a bathroom?” Wonshik thought.

“Uh, do you know any other bathrooms in here? Someone made me spill my drink on my shirt. I need a towel or something.” He asked.

“No. But follow me and I can get you something.” The stranger pushed himself off the wall where he’d been leaning. When Wonshik didn’t follow, he laughed again.

“You can trust me. I can assure you I probably hate it here just as much as you do, if that look on your face tells me anything.” The stranger held out his hand and when Wonshik hesitated to take it, the man grabbed Wonshik’s and began pulling him through the crowd.

They ended up at the bar and the stranger typed in the passcode to the entry door with ease, slipping behind the counter and grabbing a towel from a stack that was folded off to the side.

“Thanks.” Wonshik said as he began dabbing at the wet spot trailing down his stomach.

“No problem.” The stranger smiled, leaning over the counter, watching him.

“Do you work here?” Wonshik asked, trying to not be awkward as the man stared at him.

“Here? No. I hate it here.” The man laughed.

That made Wonshik look up at him.

“But you knew the passcode.”

“Yeah. I’m here often. The staff know me by name.” He waved his hand dismissively.

“And what is your name?” Wonshik asked. He thought it was fair. He knew his name. Well, kind of.

The stranger smiled and Wonshik had to stop for a moment and look.

“The name’s Jaehwan.”

“Jaehwan.” Wonshik repeated.

“I like that.” He replied just as Jaehwan had a few minutes prior.

Jaehwan’s smile grew a little and turned his head to look down at the other end of the bar. Wonshik noticed he had multiple ear piercings from top to bottom and a tiny diamond tattooed on his neck, behind his ear.

“Like what you see?” Jaewhan asked when turned back to look at Wonshik. Wonshik felt his cheeks warm and when Jaehwan laughed at his deer caught in headlights look, Wonshik decided going out might not have been a mistake after all.

Surprise, surprise. An update, one day after the last. What witchcraft is this?

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