기능 장애

The dance floor was the last place that Jaehyo wanted to be, but somewhere between his first shot and Taeil's last drink order, he'd ended up trapped in the midst of a mass of sweaty, gyrating bodies. The air was humid and heavy and thick with glitter, his shirt felt sticky and gross on his skin and Jaehyo really couldn't see how anyone would find this comfortable, let alone appealing.

A beat-heavy EDM song came on, the bass so loud it made his skull rattle. Someone fell onto him and someone grinded up to him from behind, and that's it. Jaehyo was done.

This night was set up to be a disaster, he thought miserably as he tried his best to manoeuvre around the crush of human limbs. He shouldn't have listened to Taeil, shouldn't have let himself be swayed by the maknae's pleas for a fun night out. Definitely shouldn't have gotten provoked by their leader's disinterested sneer, as though he knew Jaehyo wouldn't want to come and  he couldn't be bothered to convince him otherwise.

Well, Zico was wrong. Jaehyo did want to come (lies, utter lies) and he was determined to enjoy himself - even if he hated clubs, crowds and the deafeningly loud noise pollution that came with both.

He finally managed to steer himself out of the crowd and took a few gulps of fresh air. Somehow, he was still clutching onto a full glass of the ridiculously overpriced cocktail Taeil had asked for. He was just about to head over to their table when someone bumped into him, making him stumble and lose his balance.

A strong hand gripped his own just as he began to careen towards the floor.

'Oh - I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!'

Jaehyo blinked and stared.

The hand that he was holding onto for dear life belonged to a woman. A stunningly beautiful woman.

Maybe it was the liquor in his blood or the strobe lights that flashed across her face - but Jaehyo was well and truly lost for words. He didn't say anything because he knew that if he opened his mouth, he'd only spew out a nervous string of random sentences before stuttering into silence.

The girl was really pretty. Not the conventional pretty that he'd gotten so used to as an idol, but a natural kind, one that didn't have to enhanced by makeup or pretty clothes. This girl was comfortable in her own skin. Confident.

She wore a red sequinned crop-top thrown over a pair of baggy trousers. The halter neck showed off the sharp lines of her shoulders and the impressive tattoo sleeves decorating each arm. He couldn't see them properly in the muted darkness of the club, but he could sense the artistry and the hard work that went into the designs.  She had glitter smeared on her cheeks and neon ribbons woven into her hair and Jaehyo really didn't know where to look.

'You okay?' she whispered softly as she pulled him back on to his feet. 'It's my fault - I wasn't looking where I was going.'

Jaehyo's mouth finally figured out how to work.

'It's fine. I should've been paying attention too.'

He smiled as he offered her the drink he'd been meaning to give to Taeil. 'Thanks for catching me.'

She took the glass and grinned at him. 'No problem. I was trying to get off the floor - it's a mess out there. Dancing really isn't my thing.'

 Jaehyo wanted to cry in relief. Finally, someone who understood him.

'It isn't my thing either. I don't understand the appeal, to be honest. I'm not a huge fan of dance clubs.'

The girl laughed. It wasn't a fake or put on to get into his good graces - it was full bodied and genuine and Jaehyo found himself wanting to hear it again.

'Good to know - you want to head over to the bar? It's less crowded out there. Let me buy you something.'

'Sure.' he said weakly as the girl dragged him over to the other side of the club. This was the first time he'd tried talking to a someone in a dance club, the first time he hadn't made a fool out of himself in the first 3 minutes, and also the first time in the past 3 years that a really pretty girl had offered to buy him a drink.

The strangeness of the situation wasn't lost on him. Usually it was the guy who approached first and bought the drink, not the other way round. But Jaehyo was tired and lonely and if some self-assured girl wanted to woo him, he wasn't going to refuse. Especially when the girl seemed to have a good personality.

He settled onto a stool while the girl talked with the bartender. She grinned as she sauntered over with two tall glasses in hand.

'Those are for me?'

'Yeah. You seemed like the type of guy to like fruit so I put in some special requests. This one is ginger ale with muddled mint and cucumber. The other is a Southern Tropical - dark rum, lime syrup and cranberry juice.'

Jaehyo took a sip and smiled softly.

'It tastes nice.' he whispered before dunking in a spoon to fish out a slice of pineapple. He didn't know why he was whispering. He didn't know why his cheeks felt warm or why his resting heartbeat was a little higher than normal.

All he knew is that it felt nice, really nice to be taken care of. He couldn't remember the last time someone had been so considerate and bought him special cocktails.

'Yeah? I'm glad. I usually order these when I come here.'

'You come here often?'

'Most weekends. My friends come here all the time and I usually accompany them. They're a bunch of reckless idiots - someone needs to make sure they all get home safe.'

He felt touched by her concern. She's a good friend, he thought. He'd like to have a friend like her.

'Am I keeping you from them?'

'Nah, I'll find them at the end of the night. They're probably  on the dance floor or making out behind the speakers. This kind of place really isn't my scene.'

She smiled knowingly as his gaze drifted to her arms