TW: Mentions of blood and violence, very vague descriptions of injuries

Wonshik was sitting across from Taekwoon, computer open, headphones on as he listened to what Taekwoon had prepared to show him. They had met up at the café next to the bookstore after their classes ended. The afternoon was going well.

Then Hakyeon walked in.

He still hadn’t told Hakyeon that he and Taekwoon had been meeting to work on this project together. Not that Hakyeon would have wanted to hear about it anyway. Not with the way he had been avoiding anything that had to do with Taekwoon.

When Hakyeon walked in, he had already ordered his drink and had turned to go to their usual table. He didn’t realize he’d look up to see Wonshik sitting next to Taekwoon. He stopped in his tracks, contemplating what to do next when Taekwoon glanced up from the paper laying on the table in front of him. When he spotted Hakyeon, his eyes grew to an almost comical size and he elbowed Wonshik to get his attention, holding Hakyeon’s eyes. Wonshik looked at him and was about to ask what he was staring at when he turned and also spotted Hakyeon.

“Wonderful.” He sarcastically whispered under his breath.

Wonshik stood as he took off his headphones.

Hakyeon was still standing there, unmoving. His name was called by the barista but he didn’t even act like he’d heard it. Wonshik glanced at Taekwoon and he hadn’t moved either. He sighed and went up to the counter and grabbed Hakyeon’s drink, giving the girl behind the counter a small nod before walking away. He walked over to Hakyeon and nudged his arm. Hakyeon jumped and him, mouth gaping.

“Hey.” Wonshik offered.

“Uh, hey.” Hakyeon all but whispered.

“Why don’t you join us?” Wonshik asked.

Hakyeon stared at him a minute before asking,

“You’re having lunch with Taekwoon?”

Wonshik looked over at the table and noticed a blush on Taekwoon’s cheeks, barely hidden behind the hair now covering his face as he looked at his hands on the table.

“Yeah. Why don’t you come over and we’ll talk?” Wonshik tried.

Hakyeon again stared at him but nodded after a slight hesitation.

Wonshik gently guided Hakyeon to the table by his elbow and pulled out the chair across from Taekwoon so that he could sit down. Hakyeon didn’t look up, not even when Wonshik placed his coffee in front of him.

A few tense moments passed before Wonshik decided it needed to stop.

“So,” he began, startling the other two,

“Taekwoon and I have been collaborating on a song!” He looked at Hakyeon.

“Oh, is that so?” Hakyeon asked quietly.

Wonshik hummed.

“Taekwoon is quite the composer, aren’t you?” he asked as he looked up at Taekwoon, who hadn’t moved in three minutes.

Sighing again as he ran his hands down his face, Wonshik started packing up his things without saying a word. The other two had yet to say anything. Wonshik stood and pushed his chair in as he hauled his bag over his shoulder.

“Look, you guys need to talk. I’m tired of playing double agent. Hak, call me later. Taekwoon, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Without giving them a chance to respond, he walked off and out of the café. Hakyeon would definitely yell at him later but he didn’t know what else to do to get those two talking to each other.

--

It wasn’t until the next day that he heard anything from Hakyeon and in true Cha Hakyeon fashion, it came in the form of yelling outside his door at some ungodly hour of his Saturday morning. Wonshik had already received a notice about the noise and his stay in the dorm was dangling by a thread. As soon as he became aware of the hollering, he jumped from his bed and ran to the door, yanking it open, nearly taking out his own knee.

Of course, there stood Hakyeon, smile on his face, hand raised in the air as if he were going to start banging along with his yelling.

“I have told you, you can’t holler like that. I’m about to get kicked out because of your loud mouth.” He gritted through clenched teeth.

Hakyeon pushed passed him and quite literally jumped into Wonshik’s bed. Wonshik hung his head as he closed the door and locked it back.

“Kim Wonshik, I am a man in love.” He spoke happily to himself.

“So, I take it your talk with Taekwoon went okay?” Wonshik asked as he climbed back into bed, pushing Hakyeon to the side so he could crawl under the blanket.

“Even better than okay.” He turned his head to look at Wonshik, who had his eyes closed.

“I have a date.”

“Congratulations.” Wonshik mumbled, sounding uninterested.

“No, I really mean it! We talked for a while and we decided to…you know, try it out. He likes me, Shik. Taekwoon likes me back!” he sounded giddy.

“Great. When’s the wedding?”

Hakyeon hit his leg.

“You saying something dumb like that is going to jinx everything.” Hakyeon huffed.

“It will not. I can tell how much he likes you and you just said yourself that you’re a man in love. Something is going to come of this. I can feel it in the force.” Wonshik grumbled as he dug further into his pillows.

“Okay, Obi Wan. Then what about you and Jaehwan?” Wonshik could hear the smirk in Hakyeon’s voice. This was probably payback for not telling him he had been hanging out with Taekwoon.

“What about me and Jaehwan?”

“Are you going to ask him out or what?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Wonshik knew Hakyeon would be rolling his eyes at that. It was obvious he had a crush on Jaehwan, even more obvious to Hakyeon, who knew Wonshik like the back of his hand.

“Sure. Lie to me again and I’ll steal another song.” Hakyeon poked his side, earning him a squeak in complaint.

“You steal my songs anyway so that threat means nothing.”

“Whatever. But really, what’s up with you and Jaehwan? You don’t talk about him much but when you do it’s like your whole face lights up. It’s gross.”

At that, Wonshik stuck his head out from under the blanket.

“Right, because you don’t swoon or get all fluttery eyed when you talk about Taekwoon.” He countered.

“Hey, like you said, I’m a man in love.”

“Actually, you said you were a man in love but whatever.” Wonshik uncovered his face slightly and stared at the wall beside his bed.

“I’m going out tonight. With Jaehwan. But!” he held up a hand to stop the oncoming flood of questions he could already see forming on Hakyeon’s lips.

“It’s not a date. We just talked about it when he was here the other day and I said okay. Not at date.”

Hakyeon eyed him. Wonshik watched in annoyance as the smile on Hakyeon’s face grew bigger and bigger.

“So then you should ask him out tonight! Where are you guys going? Wait, did you say he was here? Here as in, in your room, here? Or here as in, on campus, here? Does that mean he made the first move? Are you sure he doesn’t consider this a date?”

Wonshik groaned again.

“It’s too early for this.”

“It’s nearly 9 o’clock.”

“It’s also Saturday.” He argued.

“Answer my questions. Don’t forget you still have to meet with Taekwoon later.”

Wonshik laughed.

“You’re his boyfriend for twelve hours and you already have his schedule memorized?”

Hakyeon frowned but the slight coloration on his cheeks told Wonshik he was embarrassed.

“He’s not my boyfriend yet.”

Wonshik decided to spare him.

“Fine. We’re going back to the 2^nd Street club. Yes, he was here as in, in my room, here. We bumped into each other at the store and he followed me home. I wouldn’t consider asking if I was going to go back to the club, making the first move. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t consider it a date. He’s too forward. If he wanted it to be a date, he would have said so.”

Hakyeon watched him as he considered the answers Wonshik gave him. He shrugged.

“Okay but I think you should ask him out. You’ve known him since August. It’s December.”

“Yeah, whatever. Now, you’ve told me about T’ai Chi and I updated you on my life. Let me sleep.”

Wonshik covered his head again with the blanket.

“Taekwoon said you guys were meeting at noon to work on your song.”

Wonshik hummed.

“What’s it about?”

“You know I don’t tell the details until it’s done.”

“At least tell me the title?” he pouted.

Wonshik hesitated a minute, wondering if telling Hakyeon was a good idea since he would definitely bring it up to Taekwoon. Wonshik knew Taekwoon wouldn’t want Hakyeon knowing too much until this particular project was done.

“It’s called Whisper.”

--

Wonshik had just finished getting dressed. His meet up with Taekwoon had been a mess since Hakyeon had ended up staying in Wonshik’s dorm all morning until it was time to go. He followed Wonshik to the café so the moment he spotted Taekwoon, it was a lost cause.

What Wonshik hadn’t expected, was the gentle knock on his door. The only person it could have been was Taekwoon but he was pretty sure Hakyeon wasn’t going to let him go from their conversation back at the café any time soon.

He finished buttoning his shirt and took one last glance in the mirror before heading over to unlock the door.

Not knowing what to expect, he was shocked to find Jaehwan standing before him. Jaehwan smiled.

“Hey, I thought I’d come pick you up.” He said as Wonshik caught him looking him up and down.

Wonshik sobered when he noticed Jaehwan his lips.

“Uh, hey. Yeah, I’m almost ready. Come in.” he stood back to let Jaehwan enter.

As he passed him, Wonshik took a moment to consider Jaehwan. His hair was styled with a swoop in the front, letting the piercing in his eyebrow shine in the light. He wore a wine colored dress shirt, ed at the top, sleeves rolled up to his forearms. He had on black slacks and shoes that probably cost as much as Wonshik’s computer. On his left wrist sat a gold watch. He also noticed the feather tattoo that wound up Jaehwan’s arm and got lost under his sleeve. With his hand in his pocket and the small smile on his face, he was the epitome of attractive. Wonshik suddenly felt very self-conscious.

“You’re staring again, Ravi.” He laughed. Wonshik was embarrassed but Jaehwan didn’t say anything. Instead, he stepped forward and reached for Wonshik’s neck.

“Your collar isn’t straight.” Jaehwan stated simply. Wonshik nodded as he watched Jaehwan. His striking brown eyes, always a mystery, always calculating, now gazed upon Wonshik with such care that he felt like he might slip and melt into them.

He had long ago known that he had feelings for Jaehwan. He accepted it and knew that if they kept meeting, they would only grow. He wanted to know more about him, always curious about something or another. Talking to Jaehwan was easy. Just being in his presence gave him a sense of peace he didn’t know he needed. Standing there now in Wonshik’s dorm, only a foot apart, Wonshik could feel his face begin to heat. Jaehwan’s hands still on his neck could feel the temperature change. He smiled before dropping his hands and taking a step back to look in Wonshik’s mirror.

“So, ready now?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Wonshik’s voice came out quieter than he anticipated. He cleared his throat and tried again.

“Yeah. Let me just grab my keys and we can be on our way.”

Jaehwan hummed as me made his way to the door, opening it before turning back to watch what Wonshik was doing.

Wonshik grabbed his wallet and stuffed it in his back pocket, picked up his keys and they were on their way.

--

The club was just as Wonshik remembered it. Stuffy, loud, rundown looking, kind of dirty. Overall, still not his style. But Jaehwan was there and that made it at least 90% better.

The bass was thumping as they made their way to the bar. A few people stopped them on the way to greet Jaehwan but when they got to the bar, Jaehwan didn’t look too happy about it. There was a frown on his face.

“Something the matter?” Wonshik asked.

“Something like that.” He said as he looked around the room. Just as soon as the frown had settled on his face, it had disappeared and he looked back at Wonshik, smile as bright as can be.

“Do you want to dance?”

“I’m not much of a dancer.” Wonshik laughed and Jaehwan’s smile grew.

“Come on, I can teach you.” He said without giving Wonshik a chance to reply. He grabbed ahold of Wonshik’s sleeve and started pulling him into the horde.

The music wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t something Wonshik normally listened to. It didn’t matter what the beat was though because bodies collided at all different tempos.

Jaehwan pulled him to part of the crowd that wasn’t as packed and turned to look at him.

“Okay, lesson one.” He said as he grabbed Wonshik’s hands and pulled them to his hips.

“Your hands go here, alright? And then mine go here.” He lifted his hands to Wonshik’s neck and interlaced his fingers behind his head. If Jaehwan could feel his heart racing, he didn’t say anything.

“Lesson two,” Jaehwan started, “you just have to move.” Jaehwan stepped a little closer but Wonshik didn’t move.

“It’s okay. If you’re embarrassed someone will see you, just forget everyone is here. Only look at me. Nothing else matters.” Jaehwan said as he rubbed his thumb over the back on Wonshik’s head.

It took a little coaxing but Wonshik started swaying back and forth. He stared at Jaehwan’s throat instead of looking him in the eye.

“Hey,” Jaehwan tried. Wonshik looked up at him.

“Look at me. It’s okay.”

Wonshik met his eyes and nearly gasped at how Jaehwan looked at him. When they say that eyes sparkle, they obviously had never seen Jaehwan’s. His eyes shone like stars in the sky. Time seemed to stop as they looked at one another. Like Jaehwan had said, nothing else mattered. They swayed to their own music, lost in their own beat.

Jaehwan unlaced his fingers and brought one hand down to rest on Wonshik’s chest, while the other stayed on the back of his neck. That brought them closer than they had been up to this point. To maintain eye contact, Wonshik had to tilt his head down only slightly.

Moments seemed to pass without any real context of time. Jaehwan closed his eyes and leaned in until his forehead rested against Wonshik’s. Wonshik adjusted his arms behind Jaehwan’s back and pulled him closer.

But their bliss didn’t last long. Jaehwan was tapped on the shoulder and when he turned to see who had bothered them, Wonshik felt Jaehwan stiffen in his arms. The man jerked his head to the side, motioning for Jaehwan to follow him. He didn’t look at Wonshik.

“Tell him I’ll be there in a minute.” Jaehwan said and the man only then looked at Wonshik before looking back at Jaehwan and gave a curt nod.

Jaehwan immediately Wonshik, giving him a look before pulling him back towards the bar.

“Listen, I need to go take care of something so you stay here and I’ll be back in a few minutes. Tell whoever takes your order that Ken will take care of it, okay? Order whatever you want.” Jaehwan didn’t even give him a second glance as he headed off towards a door in the corner of the room that read ‘EXIT’. He watched as the door quickly opened and shut before he could see anything.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a hand on his arm.

“What can I get you, sweetie?” The bartender smiled at him. The suggestive look in her eyes did not go unnoticed.

“Uh, yeah, I’ll have a coke. Please.”

“Coming right up.” She winked at him. He shook his head. She wanted a nice tip.

When she set the drink in front of him, she looked up and told him the total.

“That’ll be $3.50.”

“Uh, I was told to tell you that Ken would handle it?” Wonshik wasn’t sure if that would get him kicked out or what but the look the woman gave him made him uneasy. Her smile instantly disappeared and her eyes grew in size as she gaped at him.

“I’ll put that on his tab.” She said as she moved to grab a pencil.

“There’s no good in that, kid. That’s a situation you don’t want to get caught up in.” She said before walking away.

Wonshik was left puzzled. He had heard someone call him Ken the first time they met. Another bartender had said it. An alias perhaps. Wonshik couldn’t blame him. He used one himself. But what did she mean by situation?

Wonshik picked up his drink as he thought it over, eyes drawn to the door Jaehwan had exited a few minutes prior. Just as he looked up, he noticed two men looking around like they were making sure no one was watching them, before they too slipped through the door. Something didn’t feel right. Wonshik felt his stomach leap.

He downed the last of his drink and looked at the clock on the wall. It told him it had only been ten minutes since Jaehwan left him there. Wonshik tapped impatiently on his empty glass. In the last few minutes, the crowd had picked up and the bartender hadn’t made her way back. Wonshik spun on his seat to look out at the mass of people in the club. He didn’t recognize anyone and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He was out of his comfort zone and he was starting to feel anxious. He looked back at the door in the corner and one of the men he had seen exit, now stood in front of it, like a guard watching a vault. Wonshik swallowed before standing and making his way over.

The man gave him a look when he stepped in front of him.

“You can’t go out there.” He stated, voice low and authoritative. He had an accent that Wonshik couldn’t place.

“My friend went out this door a while go. I need to find him.” Wonshik tried to pass him but the man put a hand on his shoulder.

“You can’t go out there. Can’t you hear?”

“I can hear. But I also told you I need to find my friend.”

“There’s no friend of yours out there. Only trouble. Now turn back and go find a girl to take home.” The man shoved Wonshik, who stumbled back into someone. As he muttered out his apologies, he heard the door open and the man who stood guard was now joined by the other man Wonshik had seen go through the door. They seemed to exchange words before they turned and took off. The man who had stood guard gave Wonshik a look before disappearing into the crowd.

Wonshik only hesitated a moment before making his way through the door. What he was met with on the other side was a dark alleyway. Light barely filtered in from a streetlight at the other end. Quietly, Wonshik took tentative steps into the alley. He couldn’t see much but he definitely knew he didn’t see any other people around. So then where had Jaehwan gone?

As if thinking his name had triggered a response, Wonshik heard a groan to his left and squinted to see. As he took steps closer, he was able to make out Jaehwan leaning on the wall of a building, head hanging and an arm wrapped around his midsection. His heart jumpstarted and he leapt into action.

“Jaehwan? What happened? What did those guys do to you? We need to call the police? Is that blood? Holy we need to call an ambulance!” Wonshik’s voice rose as he began to panic, only calming slightly when Jaehwan’s hand reached out to touch his arm.

“It’s okay.” He mumbled.

“It’s okay. I just,” he winced and Wonshik knew something was wrong, “I just need to wash off this blood and then we can forget it ever happened.” Jaehwan lifted his head and Wonshik could see blood trickling from his nose as the light at the end of the alley caught the wet substance.

“What happened to you?” Wonshik whispered.

Jaehwan just stared at him. Not saying anything. It was almost as if Jaehwan was pleading with him through his eyes to not say anything. Wonshik took Jaehwan’s arm and helped support him as he tried to stand straight. Jaehwan didn’t have to say anything for Wonshik to guide him down the alley instead of back into the club. The walk was slow and Wonshik winced along with Jaehwan every time he jumped or hissed out of pain.

How ever it happened, they made it back to Wonshik’s dorm. Each room had an adjoining bathroom with the room next door. The light was off signaling its vacancy so Wonshik didn’t even stop to let him sit, he guided him straight into the bathroom and started running water. Since leaving the club, he hadn’t had the chance to actually look at Jaehwan but seeing him now in the light, he looked bad. His nose was covered in dried blood that trailed down to his neck and into the collar of his shirt. His left eye was starting to swell. He would have a black eye. It looked like the blood around his neck was smeared. Wonshik didn’t want to imagine the hand he figured had been wrapped around it.

Wonshik never asked another question that night. Neither of them spoke a word actually. After Wonshik got Jaehwan at least presentable, he went back to his room and grabbed something for Jaehwan to wear. When Jaehwan emerged, bloody clothes in hand, eyes cast down, Wonshik felt like he wanted to throw up. He stepped forward and took Jaehwan’s clothes from him and threw them by the door. He’d take care of them later. He had also changed his clothes while Jaehwan was in the bathroom.

The two of them stood silently in the middle of Wonshik’s room for a few minutes before Wonshik offered his hand. He held it out for Jaehwan to take. Jaehwan hesitated but eventually took it. Wonshik gently pulled him to his bed and pulled back the duvet before climbing in, Jaehwan following him. Once covered up and the light turned off, they lay in silence for a while before Wonshik felt Jaehwan begin to shake next to him. He slowly let his hand drift to Jaehwan’s shoulder who flinched when Wonshik touched him, but Jaehwan turned and Wonshik pulled him into his chest.

And that is how they fell asleep that night. Holding each other like their lives depended on it, as Jaehwan’s sobs cried out into the night air.

I don't feel good and it reflects in my writing. I'm sorry.
Let me know if you guys want a neo chapter, maybe about what happened after Ravi left or maybe give me some ideas and I’ll make something up to go along with it.