The roar of a motorbike echoed down the bustling streets of Seoul, the flare of the red brake light illuminating the street signs and shop windows, glancing off puddles from a recent rain. The motor idled a moment as the bike stopped in front of a small bookshop, tucked in the crevice of two larger buildings which overshadowed it. The man mounted on the bike turned the key and snapped out the kickstand before throwing his leg over and started to unbuckle his expensive looking helmet. Once his head was free, he ran a hand through his ink black hair, settling his fringe back onto his forehead and grinned slightly as he saw movement inside the otherwise closed looking bookshop. He proceeded forward and naturally entered, banging his helmet onto the counter beside the entry, hearing the ring of an alarmed cash register settle before a blank faced man turned around the corner of a bookshelf, his arms full of books and dark circles riding under his perfectly almond shaped eyes.

 

“What did I say about throwing things around in my store.” The clerk muttered, turning back round to proceed with whatever task had been interrupted.

 

The motorcyclist grinned wide at this and started to loosen his leather riding gloves, slapping them back and forth in his hands. “I wanted to surprise you, Jinyoungie~”

 

“It’s impossible to be surprised when your dragon of a motorbike comes rampaging down the streets, Dohwan.” Jinyoung’s voice grew distant as the heavy thuds of his feet signaled that he was going upstairs somewhere in the vicinity.

 

“There you go again with your descriptions. Isn’t the word rampaging a bit harsh for something as graceful as my bike?” Dohwan grinned, going round the counter and messing with this and that, looking like a kid wandering about their parent’s office.

 

“I’m almost certain that rampaging is a pretty adpt description of that noise.” Jinyoung’s voice was audible once more, his silhouette moving back and forth on the second floor whose railing overlooked the first floor.

 

Dohwan tilted his head far to the side so he could look through the minimal spaces between the antique chandelier that lit most of the store and hung from the two story ceiling down, casting an assortment of beautiful colors and shapes across the elderly bookcases and worn wooden floors.

 

“If my bike is a dragon, wouldn’t that make me a prince?” He voiced up, grinning so wide that hints of his gum showed and his eyes upturned to mere slits.

 

Jinyoung was silent a long moment before he walked to the railing and leaned on it with his forearms, staring down at Dohwan and lifting a delicate eyebrow. “Princes slay dragons, not ride them.” He said factually.

 

“Not in Game of Thrones” Dohwan pointed out, crossing his arms and leaning his hip on the counter, looking smug.

 

“How much did you spend on that bike again?”

 

Dohwan’s face fell in a solid second and looked a bit flustered as his arms dropped instantly to his sides, no longer looking confident. “Why bring that up~” He complained, looking around in what seemed to be soft embarrassment.

 

“Well, I can only assume that since you have so much money to spare that you aren’t crashing at a friend’s house still.” Jinyoung continued, the corner of his lips twitching slightly as Dohwan got even more riled up.

 

“Yah- I didn’t come here on my free night off just to be berated!” The other complained, sticking a finger toward Jinyoung. “I don’t come in your store and call it...dusty or whatever.”

 

“That’s because my store is immaculate.” Jinyoung snorted and heaved off the rail, going to descend the stairs.     

 

Dohwan pinched his lips together and frowned slightly, running his finger over the shelves that held an assortment of goods behind the counter and found that even the places which looked like they could be realistically forgotten and dusty were pristine just as Jinyoung had described. The other finally made his presence known once again, his long fingers working at the knot that held his apron up behind his neck.

 

“Does it pass, sir?” Jinyoung smirked, speaking as he would to an inspector in a kitchen.

Dohwan tsked and rubbed his fingers together, wrinkling his nose slightly and came round the counter, giving up. “What would I know about that kind of thing anyway.” He grumbled, rolling his eyes as Jinyoung gave him a good natured pat on the back.

 

“Come on. I need a drink.” Jinyoung grinned, getting an enthusiastic smile back in return.

 

A couple blocks down where the street met a busier intersection were various corner stores and tents were set up for food and drinks. It was the perfect place to wind down after a full days work or in Dohwan’s case, the perfect pregame for a night at the clubs. The two settled at a plastic table in front of their favorite convenience store after buying a six pack of beer and cup noodles. The crack of the can and the hiss of the carbonation was enough to make anyone nearby feel a grumble in their stomach.

 

Jinyoung tilted the can to his lips as Dohwan covered his noodle cup with his chopsticks to let the contents steam and cook a bit longer, making sure to keep his gloves at a fair distance, his helmet having been set lovingly on the seat of his motorbike not but a few yards away. Jinyoung let out a happy sigh after a few gulps of his beer and set it down with a little more force than he probably needed to, sending some foam spewing up from the top. Dohwan wrinkled his nose slightly and moved his gloves a little farther away before leaning back in his chair and crossed his arms in a comfortable sort of manner.

 

“Long day, huh.” He mused, seeing Jinyoung go in for another round almost immediately.

 

“Oh, you have no idea.” Jinyoung tsked, rubbing the bridge of his nose between pinched fingers and sighing heavily. “My publisher wants me to send another chapter and they keep hounding me for it even though it’s only been a couple days since they’ve asked. Plus my employee called out sick and I had to work both shifts on my own...”

 

“Didn’t you just finish a chapter last week?” Dohwan asked, pointing his own beer away as he cracked it open with a satisfying hiss and muttering something about abusing his employee for leaving him like that.

 

“Ah….but they’re getting antsy.” Jinyoung tsked as his foot messed with some of the loose gravel under the table.

 

“That’s because they know you lose interest.”

 

“Yah.”

 

“What, it’s true? How many attempts at writing this book will it be?” Dohwan asked, glancing up at him while he peeked into his cup of noodles to see how it was coming along. “I remember when your editor came to the store and fell on her knees begging you to start writing again.”

 

“Yeah well, she should have known better than to bank her success on the back of an unpublished writer.” Jinyoung grimaced, taking another long swig of his beer and finishing it off with ease before reaching for another one.

 

“Well, at least she’s cute. If this gig doesn’t work out she could have a fair shot at modeling.” Dohwan  mused, finally opening up his noodles and stirring it with vigour as steam came flowing out.

 

“Yeah I guess.”

“What? You don’t think she’s cute?”

 

“I didn’t say that. I just think people should stick with their intentions and see it through to the end.” Jinyoung said, flopping his back into the chair and nestling the beer onto his chest with a long sigh.

 

“She had a cute beauty mark and everything. Totally could have gone into acting if she wasn’t so hidden behind books.” Dohwan continued aimlessly before slurping up a mouthful of the hot noodles. “Oh God that’s good.”

 

Jinyoung peered up at the night sky and listened to the ocean of cars zooming past and the idle chatter of the those passing by. A warm breeze swayed at the umbrella above them and scuttled a forgotten coffee cup down toward the gutter. The night was cool, the perfect weather for a spring night in Seoul. The city was coming to life in the distance, making the horizon glow and hiding the stars except for the few that managed to shine bright enough for Jinyoung to look at.

“So.” He sighed softly, not looking away as his hand slowly turned the beer can on his chest. “How was your trip?”

 

“Oh it was so good. Man the nightlife is great here but you should really see some of these foreign girls. Like, I don’t know if their hair is actually that blonde but who cares. And their eyes and...well other parts of them are big too if you know what I’m saying.” Dohwan laughed through a mouthful of food. Jinyoung shrugged a bit at this and lifted the beer to his lips once more, letting Dohwan go off about all the girls he’d flirted with and how supposedly they’d been all over him.

 

Any other guy would have been ecstatic at these stories, especially with how raunchily Dohwan described them, using his hands to describe things and getting so worked up he could hardly keep from spitting out some of his food at some syllables. But alas, Jinyoung couldn’t relate to that world. For he, as so little in South Korea, was gay. Not to say there weren’t many gay people, but rather, enough gay people brave enough to admit it out loud. Jinyoung by far was not one to admit it and hardly if anyone knew about it. Especially Dohwan, who happened to be one of his longest childhood friends and quite consequently, his longest one sided crush. What started as innocent admiration from middle school was now a rather grotesque amount of longing, like the most painful type of cramps deep down in his stomach kind of crush. Where even though Dohwan was talking about his multiple adventures with strange women, one hand waving around his chopsticks and the other clutching his beer like some kind of grisly fisherman, Jinyoung still couldn’t help but to notice the attractive way his lips moved, the pull of his muscles in his neck, the dance of his adam’s apple and of course, those deep, magnetic pools of brown which were lit up, not because of Jinyoung, but because of a tanned beauty from some distant land.

It was enough to make Jinyoung sick.

 

He clutched his beer and groaned, interrupting Dohwan’s story by putting a heavy hand on his eyes and shaking his head back and forth. “I’m sorry, man...but I really can’t hear about all your social conquests right now. Can we talk about something else? Anything else?”

 

“Awh, Jinyoungie. I had no idea you were that lonely.” The other cooned, leaning forward slightly. “Tell me. When was the last time anything but your hand or a toy has gotten you off?”

 

“Yah!” Jinyoung snapped, sitting up straight in such a rush that some of his beer splashed onto the table. While he busily looked around to see if anyone had heard, Dohwan muttered about how it could have gotten in his noodles as he mopped some of the liquid with some napkins.

 

“I’m not trying to be nosy in that way, Jinyoung.” Dohwan sighed, rolling his eyes as if it was a bother explaining it at all. “I’m just saying that it’s not healthy depending on -”
 

“Could you not?? Talk about that?? In public??” Jinyoung said, a scorching heat crawling up his neck. He wasn’t necessarily shy about this topic in particular- in fact, he’d written a few popular pieces online in the gay community, but talking about this? To the person he liked the most? It was almost too overwhelming.

“Wah…” Dohwan breathed, staring at the other who got increasingly more flustered under his intense gaze. “That’s it. I’m gonna get you laid.”

“What the are you saying now.” Jinyoung said, a bit breathless and exasperated at these waves of unexpected emotion.

 

“I’m SaYiNg that I’m gonna go out and bring it home, brother. I’m gonna be the best damn wingman you’ve ever had, you hear? It’ll be effortless. You’ll be dizzy with the amount of chicks I’m gonna get you. I never thought you’d wanted this kind of help, but after this reaction it’s quite obvious you want help from the master himself.”

 

“Oh Jesus Christ.” Jinyoung moaned, putting his beer down a bit ungracefully before burying the heels of his hands painfully hard into his eyes.

 

“There’s no need to be so grateful, Jinyoungie. I’ve never failed at being a wingman. All of my friend circles praise me as I come walking past.” Dohwan gloated, puffing out his chest and snapping the collar of his shirt so it was straight.

Jinyoung moaned a bit louder and shook his head softly. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How could Dohwan get this so backwards. He couldn’t believe he’d have to be put through not only seeing Dohwan actively flirting with girls, but dealing with finding ways to turn them down without insulting his friend either. What the was this scene.

 

“No- Dohwan. No.” Jinyoung said, sitting up straight, fixing at his bangs. “Absolutely not. That’s- That’s so far from what I want right now.”

“Listen Jinyoungie. I’m pretty sure you don’t even know what you want. But the good thing is, I know what you NEED. And I know how to get it. So this weekend. You and me. We’re hittin the scene. And if you don’t get laid by the end of Saturday night, I’ll give you my left nut” Dohwan was wagging his finger toward Jinyoung, who looked nothing more than physically sick, what with his body hunched over and upper lip twitching slightly.

 

“Yeah, well, I think I’m busy, actually.” Jinyoung said, his chair scraping against the concrete as he went to a stand to make his escape.

 

“Eh?? You told me this morning that you weren’t!” Dohwan scoffed, also going to a stand. “And are you leaving? We just got here. You didn’t even eat your noodles!” He said, motioning to the cup that Jinyoung hadn’t even started.

 

“Well. I just forgot that….I have a thing.” Jinyoung said lamely. He was piss poor at lying, plus the alcohol was starting to affect him which realistically made him quite full thus his next excuse was full of truth. “And I’ve lost my appetite. I need to be up early tomorrow so I’m gonna head out.” He said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder, already taking a couple steps back.

 

“Wait- but-” Dohwan pouted, following after him. “Hey, I’m sorry if I went too far but I’m serious. I can help you find someone! And it doesn’t have to be serious- Or hell, it COULD be serious. I’ve helped people find both before, you know-”

“You know-” Jinyoung said, lifting a hand to put some space between them. He hated when Dohwan got like this. The other got so passionate so fast that it was hard to keep up. It didn’t help that he’d put ALL of himself into it, which usually meant their bodies got close and he could feel Dohwan’s warmth radiating through his shirt or the sharp musk of his cologne, God...even the smell of cigarettes on his breath was somehow appealing...if only he could have a taste- “I gotta go.” Jinyoung choked out, clearing his throat after he got a blank stare from his friend. “I need to head home- I’ll...see if I can clear my plans to...go out and drink or something this weekend” He added just so he wouldn’t have to see that heartbroken look on the other’s face anymore.

 

“I knew it! Alright- I’ll let you go tonight but prepare yourself, Jinyoungie! Cause this weekend~” Dohwan said, lingering on the sentence and starting to move his body instead to demonstrate what he was trying to get across. He rolled his shoulders and stuck part of his tongue out the side of his mouth, giving Jinyoung the most unfair look.

“Alright- Yeah! Cya! Be safe or whatever-” Jinyoung was already powering away at this point, his words hardly reaching the other before he did whatever he could to keep himself from going into an all out sprint to put distance between them. What a ing piece of night this was. He absolutely did not need this- all. He didn’t even drink enough to get a good buzz. God dammit.

 

Jinyoung nearly passed his bus stop in his flustered state but was rendered to a stop as he felt a buzzing in his pocket. He fished it out and lifted his eyebrows, slightly surprised as he saw the name ‘Ji Changwook hyung’ pop up on his screen. The man had been his literature professor during his college days and considering there wasn’t such a large , the two had grown into natural friends. But Changwook was normally busy due to his teaching and writing career. He was a pretty accomplished person so...for him to be calling Jinyoung this late at night…

 

“Hello?” Jinyoung answered, feeling his way onto the bus bench and holding the phone politely with a hand under the speaker without realising it.

 

“Jinyoung-ssi, have I caught you at a bad time?” Changwook’s familiar voice sounded on the other end.

 

“Oh- no, of course not.”

 

“You sound out of breath.” Changwook’s voice chuckled.

 

“Ah- Yes, I was running from my problems and now I’m waiting for the bus.” Jinyoung said, sighing slowly and letting his head droop a couple inches, still hearing the pounding of his heart resonating deep in his temples. ing God damn Dohwan...

 

“Running from your problems? Have you committed a crime? If you’re trying to reenact my mystery series, I’m very flattered but deeply disappointed. You’re more original than that.” Changwook said with obvious playfulness.

 

“Ah, it’s the same concept as yours Changwook- seonsaengnim except instead of an elaborate scheme to steal internet dollars, I just stole plain diamonds.” Jinyoung chuckled, relaxing his shoulders slightly. It was always so nice to talk to the professor. They shared the same wavelength and sense of humor. He was always a bit proud when he got a laugh out of the other like he heard now. Not many people was able to have an easygoing conversation with the ex military man.

 

“Ah, yes that may be a bit more practical. But what did I say about calling me seonsaengnim? You aren’t my student anymore.”

 

Jinyoung shifted and finally dropped his hand into his lap, glancing around in a nervous manner. “Mmm...but I’m always learning from you. It’s strange to talk comfortably...plus you still call me Jinyoung-ssi”

 

“I suppose you’re right. Well, then let's agree to talk casually, yes?”

 

Jinyoung bit his lip, feeling his stomach prickle strangely at this. He wasn’t sure if it was from the conversation or running after drinking beer so fast. “Then…” He began hesitantly. “I call you Hyung instead?” He said, feeling a bit childish for asking in the first place. But he admired Changwook so much. The man was brilliant in so many ways and it was an honor in itself just to have his private number, let alone discuss speaking comfortably.

 

“I quite like that. Then shall I call you Jinyoung-ah?”

 

Jinyoung clutched his phone a bit tighter and sputtered, his breath getting caught in his throat and rendering him completely useless with speech. The prolonged silence had Changwook laughing more which had Jinyoung’s lips reacting without his permission by lifting to a small smile.

“Maybe just Jinyoung for now?” He asked in a slow manner, his eyes flickering up as he saw his bus start to come toward the stop.

 

“Well, I think we’ll have time to work on it considering I’m about to be a lot more free.”

“What do you mean, hyung?” He’d have to get used to saying that. It still sounded so unnatural and if Changwook noticed, he politely ignored it.

 

“Well, I just got back from my book tour so I finally get some peace. I’m going to start my lectures again but I get days off like a real life adult.”

 

“A real life adult” Jinyoung repeated, snorting slightly and going to a stand as the bus squealed to a stop.

 

“So the first thing I thought about when I got back was how much I missed spending time with you. I want to hear more about the book you’re working on and how your shop is doing.”

“I’d be flattered if I wasn’t so sure that you’re probably just curious about how well your books are selling.” Jinyoung smirked, walking up the steps onto the bus and hovering his bus card over the scanner.

 

“That’d be a good guess if I wasn’t completely positive that they’re sold out.” Changwook said in a flat monotone which made Jinyoung crack into laughter.

 

“Smug- Smuuuuug”

 

“Jinyoung you’re allowed to be smug when you have ample things to be smug about.” Changwook chuckled, breaking the serious facade.

 

After that, they spoke the entire bus ride home and the stress of the weekend plans he’d unwillingly been pulled into with Dohwan slowly started to fade into laughter and excitement of seeing his old teacher again. Apparently Changwook had been pretty lonely during the tour. Unlike Dohwan, Changwook had been more interested in the natural view of the various countries and not so much the people who lived there. He’d spend most his afternoons in his hotel room, watching the sky with a glass of wine and wondering if what he’d done had been good enough and if there were things he’d wanted to change.

 

Jinyoung felt this on a spiritual level. It was one of the biggest reasons he couldn’t commit fully to his story. At every chapter, he’d go back and read the previous one and somehow, all his ideas would get mixed up and he’d have to trash the entire thing. Even though he’d gotten a pretty substantial amount of praise from his publisher, it wasn’t personally good enough for himself, thus his work had never hit the shelves.

 

“Hyung, what did you do to overcome that?” Jinyoung asked, gently leaning his head on the bus window and watching as they drove deeper into his side of the neighborhood.

 

“I never did, to be honest. I relied on the people around me. Sought opinions on those I trusted most and decided there’d never be a critic harsher than myself.”

 

“That’s pretty poetic in a way.” Jinyoung smirked, messing with a thread on his pants.

 

“Yeah, well it doesn’t really help others in the same situation if they aren’t willing to show other people. I left three months ago and when I came back, your publisher told me you had started completely over again!”

 

“Ah, yes...that...well I wanted to go in a different direction and the setup I had wouldn’t allow that, so…” Jinyoung breathed, his words fading in a swell of embarrassment.

 

“Hmm…” Changwook’s silence lingered a couple moments. “Well I’d love if I could be of some help, Jinyoung. I knew you’d be a talent the very first time I got one of your papers. I’d hate to see your talents dwindle just from a lack of focus or direction.”

 

“Well….I don’t know if it’s a lack of focus or anything but…” Jinyoung tapped the tip of his shoe under the seat a couple times before inhaling deep. “Yeah but any help you could offer would be amazing. Thank you so much.”

 

“Do you have plans for this weekend for example?”

 

Time seemed to stop for a moment as Jinyoung weighed this question very seriously. If he told him yes, he’d be stuck with THAT...situation….with Dohwan and...getting setup….OR, he could twist it just so, so he could legitimately have plans and pop in for one drink not to be rude but leave for a relaxing and productive weekend with Changwook! Aaaaah….Ah thank you God- finally.

 

“Are you free Saturday night?”

 

“Absolutely.”

 

Jinyoung was rubbing the side of his wet hair with a towel as he glanced down at the spam of pouting and clearly drunk messages from Dohwan after he’d told him that he could go out for a few hours Saturday night but couldn’t cancel the plans. There was something about replanning and hot girls, yadda yadda, then a selfie came flying in. Jinyoung tossed the towel aside and zoomed in. There was Dohwan, his arm wrapped around some sweaty girl who looked all too happy to show off that she had his attention to the world by puckering her lips and lifting her leg slightly. Whatever, .

 

Jinyoung sighed uneasily and plopped onto his bed, staring up at the picture and looking over the detail of Dohwan’s sweaty, flushed face and the excitement and life in his eyes. Jinyoung reached up and messed with his bottom lip a moment before biting his thumb nail and feeling that familiar pang of loneliness crash over him. “What are you thinking.” He groaned, tossing the phone to the end of his bed and curling into a tight ball before flopping his limbs all over the mattress, throwing a full on, adult tantrum.

“Why does he have to be straight!??!?” He cried out desperately before stuffing his face into the pillow, kicking his leg out one last time for good measure before sighing deeply and shaking his head. “Just get through this weekend…” He breathed, plopping his forehead on his pillow over and over. “Talk to Changwook. Write your book. Get famous. Die on an island….build a robot replica of Dohwan then die on an isl- SO STUPID!” He roared and flopped around some more. Needless to say, Jinyoung had a restless night.