decided to split this 'one-shot' into two chapters because it's kind of getting out of hand. 

buckle up pals! there's not going to be a lot of , but there's going to be a lot of feelings. 

When Hyukjae first grew up and learned about what love is, he had big, fluffy dreams of him catching the eye of some girl in his high school. Then he’d ask her out or her him, they’ll go out for a few dates and be together for the rest of their lives after they decide to marry each other following their graduation from University. A priest would watch as they exchanged their vows, and Hyukjae will think for the rest of his life about the way the ring caught the light on his bride’s finger.

Sometime later when he was 15, Hyukjae realised that he liked boys instead. But the visions still held. He still wanted to meet that special someone and fall in love for the rest of his life with that one person. He also denounced his religion, so maybe no more church weddings. Beach weddings sound good, but he’d be up for anything his fiancé wanted.

In hindsight maybe it was such a stupid thing to want, because here he is at 25, sitting in a hotel room on the night before his wedding. Truth be told, he can’t even remember the bride-to-be’s face.

He should have known better, that being the only son of one of South Korea’s chaebols, he’d never get to lead the kind of life he has always envisioned for himself – going to work from 9 to 5, coming home and making dinner with his boyfriend, going out on dates to theatres and cafes and waking up in each other’s arms every morning, their legs tangled underneath heaps and heaps of blankets.

He has tried. He really, really did. But every guy he developed feelings for or actually spent a substantial amount of time with all turned out to be with him for one thing: the wealth and prestige that comes with sleeping with the one and only son of the Lee family.

Did it hurt, you may wonder, when you realise that your boyfriends have all been after the money? Well, the first few times. Then he got used to it and thought maybe he too was only in it for the ; it’s easy for love to be cheap when he’s someone so filthy rich.

(He’s kidding. It always did. Each time worse than the previous; because how can this be, what is it about him that no one ever falls in love with?)

So that explains it. The sad, traumatic history of his past relationships, coupled with a flashy status that keeps him off-limits to the rest of the world, meant that he would one day end up in a marriage of convenience.

At least this one puts him firmly in line for the CEO position, he thinks. It’s the one good thing coming out of it.

Yesung pops the champagne and Siwon’s helping him with the glasses. He hands one with him, clasping Hyukjae firmly on the shoulder as he says, “You’re getting hitched, man! Who would have thought?”

Hyukjae accepts the glass and puts it down on the table next to him. “Right? That I’d be marrying a lady even though I like .”

Siwon’s smile droops at the ends and Hyukjae wants to say it’s okay, he’s kidding, he’s come to terms with it already, but Hyukjae ends up being enveloped in Siwon’s very warm embrace and hears him say, “I wish you could be happy too. But I guess we have to make do.”

Hyukjae pats him back on his back and says, “Yeah, I get it.”

A brief moment passes and no one says a thing, but Yesung comes to join them at the sofa and the DJ is playing up the music and so thankfully Hyukjae doesn’t have to watch the mood dip in his one and only bachelor party.

“Hyukjae, Hyukjae, Hyukjae. How are you liking your party?”

Hyukjae snickers as he glances around and sees his friends drinking their heads off, their bodies swaying lightly to the beats of the music. “At least my guests are having a good time, I guess.”

Yesung lets out a dramatic sigh and forces the champagne glass into his hands. “But you’re the star of the show, baby. You’re the reason we put all of these together.”

Hyukjae downs the entire glass of champagne for good measure and yet he still can’t help it but let out a small pout. “Maybe it’d have been better if we did this at a club.”

Obviously Hyukjae has grown out of that crazy-teenager-who-goes-clubbing-every-night-and-wakes-up-with-a-different-guy-in-bed phase some time back. Still, meeting fresh faces would have been the most effective way to distract him from the fact that tomorrow he will watch someone walk down the aisle across him and have to take her hand in marriage. Is this fair to the bride, he used to wonder. Then he concluded that whatever the , man, since when has life ever been fair.

Still, it was his father who had worked in some crazy measures to try to curb the possible fallout of any bachelor party his friends will throw him. Because his father still thinks he’s that irresponsible teenager who leaves empty vodka bottles lying here, there, everywhere, even though he already has plans to hand over the company to him. Which is just another way of making life unnecessarily harder for Hyukjae, a conclusion Hyukjae has rightly arrived, because his father doesn’t want him to have a bachelor party in public spaces and only compromised when Hyukjae had said fine, I’ll have my bachelor party in your goddamned hotel.

Yesung and Siwon don’t say anything, and Hyukjae suddenly feels bad because they’ve done so much to try and make him happy, but he’s being that stupid sulky big baby again. If he had wanted that desperately to forget maybe he should just get wasted. “I appreciate all the effort, though,” he adds, hoping it helps.

It probably does, because Siwon ruffles his hair and Yesung leans in to plant a playful kiss on Hyukjae’s cheek and Hyukjae had damn nearly broken his neck trying to pull away.

“But don’t worry, Hyuk. Since we can’t bring you to the party, we decided to bring the party to you,” Siwon says.

Hyukjae raises his brow in confusion and watches as his two friends exchange a very smug look.

“What’s going on?” he asks, and feels his heart sink to the pit in a tell-tale sign of something that’s not going to be good.

Yesung only laughs as he fills his champagne glass again. “You’ll see. Can’t ruin the surprise now, can we?”

His phone chimes then – how come his ringer is that loud that it can still be heard over the pulsating music? – and Hyukjae follows Yesung’s gaze to the door.

“Are we expecting someone?” he asks.

Yesung doesn’t reply, but Siwon does nod at him and lift Hyukjae onto his shoulders. Hyukjae is screaming and flailing his limbs everywhere as they ma