Title: Waltz

Pairing: BaekYeol

Rating: nc-17

Length:  3140 Words (1/11)

Genres: Romance

Summary: Baek Hyun has been getting relentless calls from a strange number at the strangest times and he decided to post the contact number on some gay dating website for the calls to stop. It worked like a charm. It was supposed to work, goddamnit.

 

===

 

Baek Hyun wished he can say that he graduated college at the top of his class with a CGPA of 4.0, but in reality, no matter how heartbreaking it was –it was anything, but that. It might be sad, ridiculous even, because Baek Hyun was really good at talking, he was reliable and his eyes were sharp and he had a sufficient amount of general knowledge even.

 

Byun Baek Hyun though had graduated with a Bachelor of Accounting degree last year with a CGPA of only 3.25.

 

He would say that education sort of ed his self-worth up, because as a boy, he was promised with so many things. Hard work was all that mattered; it was all about tackling the questions and memorising and Baek Hyun was twenty, downing 4 shots of acidic vodka after failing a paper with Jong Dae screaming out a “Shot! Shot! Shot!” , when he realised that his father and mother and his grandmother might be the real spawns of Satan for making him view the world as, you know, the world. 

 

There were many things that Byun Baek Hyun had learned in his short life.

 

He just turned 24 that year, face of resemblance to that of a youth, heart, however, heavy with the burden of responsibility of an adult. He saw himself jaded even, but that was probably because at the age of 22, he had done his required six months of internship at Gabe & Young audit firm, and chose the wrong path of applying for the audit instead of a simple taxation.

 

“Are you sure you want to do audit?”

 

“Are you even fit to travel?”

 

“You don’t even work out.”

 

He rationalised with his parents that it was the thrill of dealing with clients that will excite him, watching and witnessing all those laid assets with his own eyes –a field work, consider it as thus and his father had snorted and said gruffly “Don’t cry to me or mama when life throws you , son.” And in a way, life did just that.

 

Lathered him in –plenty of them that Baek Hyun couldn’t really tell what was right and what was left any longer.

 

His father had smiled knowingly when he missed the New Year and walked into the kitchen at 2.30am with a don’t-you-ing-start-old-man face. He must be so ing proud of himself for being right all along.

 

Parents.

 

He realised that he had a ty family and it was ed up, because he loves them so much.

 

===

 

It was Friday.

 

It was really Jong Dae who suggested they go drinking. He justified that Baek Hyun had been nothing but a sore spot since the beginning of the week. Walking around with a sour looking face and mood tight like a coiled spring.

 

And that was what they did.

 

Nachos and alcohol.

 

Jong Dae preferred sitting at the bar because it was easier for them to refill their drinks, but Baek Hyun didn’t like the stool, hard treacherous wooden s they were, that will only stab him in the back if given the chance. They hurt his and at 9.45pm Friday night? Baek Hyun thought that he pretty damn well deserved the ing comfort. 

 

The bar was full, and the smell of cigarettes and beer hung heavily in the air, along with the colognes and perfumes from all the tired looking men and women after getting off from another long hard day. The smells were familiar, he can relate to the weariness it brought, the loose shoulders, the gladness to be away from responsibilities and everything else in general.

 

A temporary break from being an adult, of that sort.

 

Baek Hyun might have issues, but he was pretty damn sure that each and every one of the patrons in the bar was the same, fatigue brought upon by their own choice in pursuit of money, to attain lives of comfort and Baek Hyun was guilty of wanting the same thing too.

 

“Beer?”

 

The place might not really be Baek Hyun’s favourite, because, you know, the spilt beer on the floor mixed with the smell of cheese and alcohol and too much perfumes, but the fajita nachos were decent and their choice of songs was good too. And after a long week of work? He realised that he wasn’t really in a position to complain.

 

“Yeah, a little bit of beer won’t hurt.”

 

The two of them had settled for the comfy booth, where Baek Hyun had hoped that they can eat the nachos peacefully on the huge table and Jong Dae had returned with 2 mugs. The bar was near for them to order a new drink or two, and Baek Hyun can slouch without risking falling off into nothing.

 

Win-win situation right?

 

Ha.

 

The brr-brr sound from the table caught his attention, and he felt like slapping his face because it had to be now. Don’t get him wrong, there were reasons why he was wary of vibrating phone because a) phone calls at times like this were usually from work, demanding for him to come back to its hellish clench or b) a stalker.

 

Well, look. It wasn’t from work.

 

That night wasn’t the first time it happened.

 

“Again?” Jong Dae raised an eyebrow and Baek Hyun only looked at the phone on the table tiredly.

 

The sight of a vibrating phone at random times in the day was nothing new. However, the better question would be why Baek Hyun hadn’t blocked the number yet? Jong Dae had questioned him before and hell, even Baek Hyun was questioning himself.  

 

It –it was confusing, really, Baek Hyun just can’t decide what the hell he really wanted.

 

He received endless calls from a strange number on a daily basis. He’d answered once to know that it was a male on the other end who thought that this number belonged to an allegedly ex-girlfriend and it was ed, because it had already been close to three months.

 

“I see your admirer is quite the persistent one, ain’t he? What a charmer.” Jong Dae mused around a mug of beer, white foaming his upper lip. “Gay Romeo didn’t work?” his best friend smirked and Baek Hyun slouched against the couch.

 

Pfft.

 

Gay Romeo.

 

He knew of the website by chance, because he was nineteen and was drinking with Jong Dae when the man said something about “Don’t you know that Romeo was actually gay? I mean, that must be the reason why he pushed Juliet so much into marrying him and .” Except that both of them were a little on the drunk side to remember that Romeo and Juliet was a classical fiction created by a dead Shakespeare.

 

He had googled ‘is Romeo gay?’ and found the gay dating website by chance, where people actually publicise the size of their junks to find a match of eternal love.

 

“I should be disappointed.” Baek Hyun told him, “Do you know how much effort I put into making up the profile? I deserve a medal, a good pat on the back, really. This is bull.” He sighed and grabbed a piece of nacho and dumped them into his mouth, all cheese and sour cream and lettuce and fajita beef.

 

He’d advertise the unknown number at the alleged profile, setting some jock’s six packs he’d googled as the DP. It was reasonable why he should be upset that it did nothing.

 

“Well, are you?” Jong Dae asked simply and Baek Hyun flipped his phone over so he didn’t need to see the calls he was receiving.

 

“What, disappointed? Seriously, do I even have all the time in the world to leisure around and be worried by insignificant things like this?”

 

Jong Dae snorted, that inconsiderate bugger.

 

“Honestly, you’re asking me?”

 

“Know what? I don’t like your tone. I think it’s somewhat, condescending.”

 

Baek Hyun didn’t think he liked the way Jong Dae was chortling into his drink. It was rather, well, ungallant.

 

“You think?”   

 

Baek Hyun chose to ignore his friend and looked up to the TV that was perched against the bricked wall. There was a match, Lakers vs. Clippers and other than the scores at the bottom of the screen, he wouldn’t have any idea what the was going on.

 

It was a good thing to know that Byun Baek Hyun had never been into basketball or hell, sports in general.

 

“So, how was work?” Jong Dae tried initiating a conversation which only pulled a frown and a glare from the glowering man opposite of him. Jong Dae had immediately grinned smugly after that anyway at his expression. Baek Hyun always thought that he was the ugliest in the world. What on earth was his mother thinking when she was pregnant with him? 

 

“We work in the same place.” Baek Hyun groaned and took in a gulp of his beer. He had initially thought of taking something stronger seeing that it was Friday, but he decided on something safer. After a week of hell, he didn’t think he wanted to spend his weekend with a hangover no matter how the idea of hard liquid rolling down his throat might be appealing. 

 

They say that once you hit twenty-four, you just get matured that way.

 

Baek Hyun insisted that he had just withered away, seasoned like a used machine, wallowed by the bitterness of harsh reality.

 

“Aha, but that’s the beauty of it all. We work in the same place, but a different department! I wouldn’t know what the hell goes on from your side.” Jong Dae remarked as if it was the most wonderful thing in the world, carefully removing the jalapeño from the cheesy top of all the nachos.

 

“Bull. Your boss sends you to spy on us most of the time.”

 

“It feels really good to have people trusting you with big things, you know.”

 

“Yeah, go ahead and gloat, enjoy what you do and and while you’re at it, tell your senior to cooperate with me for the expenses breakdown, man. You guys can’t expect us to finish up the evaluation without knowing what to evaluate!” The phone had vibrated when they first entered the restaurant slash bar, it stopped for a while, before continuing again, stopping only to start again a few moments after. He frowned at the unknown number before ignoring the phone altogether on the table.

 

Jong Dae hadn’t commented on it.

 

He was used to the sight by now, anyway.

 

“But that’s what we auditors do. We strive for your misery.” It was their normal argument. They did it daily and especially with June coming soon, the audit firm they were attached to have been buzzing with auditors flying left and right and pushing the people from the tax to be quick and vice versa.

 

“You don’t see us threatening you for the financial report, now, do you? Baek Hyun-ssi, have you done the tax? Baek Hyun-ssi, the debit credit? Baek Hyun-ssi, Baek Hyun-ssi, Baek Hyun-ssi.” Baek Hyun groaned and slouched into his chair. He knew the imitation of the high pitch annoying voice wasn’t necessary, but it was necessary to get his point across. “I should ing behead all of you.”

 

The lighting of the restaurant was dim, the red neon decors hanged on the wall gave the whole place a more layback air.  

 

“With the manager like ours, do you even dare?”

 

What a spot on question.

 

“How can you not know the difference between the client’s papers and yours?”

 

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

 

“You know what I am hearing now? A , in a little boy’s body, telling me that she, whom I sarcastically am referring to you in case you’re thick enough, doesn’t know the difference between a and a .”

 

“Are you confused?”

 

“Do you really not know?”

 

“Well here’s a revelation, a is pushed into a and you, sir, have a rather large under that limp excuse of a you have there under your working pants!”

 

The manager for the audit department was a thirty year old Chinese man. He was a petite male with a nice looking face, but the foulest mouth. He’d seen how the man worked. He produced result excellently and all the partners had enough confidence in him for huge bonuses and promotion in October.

 

Baek Hyun heard the man cursed at his staffs enough time to know it was best that he don’t mess with his department. Jong Dae apparently was his favourite because no amount of degrading cusses can faze him. He swore that the two was a match made in heaven. Or hell, really.

 

Wait.

 

Baek Hyun was confused.

 

Wait.

 

Wait.

 

He was confusing himself.

 

Baek Hyun finally took his phone and not much to his surprise, there was a total of eight missed calls from the same number that had been calling him since the beginning of that night.

 

He ignored it, of course.

 

===

 

The other time that it happened, was later in the night.

 

To be precise, it was at 3.30am and Baek Hyun had just gotten into bed an hour prior. He was groggy, potentially murderous even, when he peeked out from the cocoon that was his comforter, peering over the side table at the vibrating device, loud with Knife Party. Jong Dae had set the song as his ringing tone last year and he never had bothered with changing it because his phone was on silent most of the time.

 

He took the phone, eyes quickly blinking shut at the bright light.

 

It was the same strange number that had left him 8 missed calls earlier.

 

Baek Hyun set his phone on silent and continued sleeping.

 

===

 

He woke up to five missed calls and incessant ringing from his doorbell. He wished that he can say “What the ?” out loud because it was a Saturday and still early, except that he somehow had a mouthful of red woollen blanket and it was freaking cold.

 

Baek Hyun walked to the front door in a haze, eyes slanted small and confused as he passed the clean living room and hallway and finally, starting to unlatch the lock of the door. The boxers short he wore was chequered in blue and turquoise and the tee he wore was long sleeved in white. He liked to think that he always knew to dress for occasion.

 

“Who’s there?” He asked groggily, surprised that he can even construct a full sentence without sounding like a fool.

 

There was a moment of silence before Jong Dae’s voice began.

 

“Err, it’s me?”

 

Baek Hyun halted from opening the door with a groan.

 

“Why are you here, again? It’s morning, Jong Dae.” He grunted and walked away, listening as his best friend pushed the door open and Baek Hyun didn’t know why he bypassed his opened door bedroom and headed straight to the living room. He fell onto the couch face first, inhaling the smell of Febreeze and something else. He knew it was from the spilt honey chicken last week, but his father always said that Baek Hyun had a selective memory. He was charming like that.

 

Jong Dae settled on the single chair next to the sofa, ankle crossed over another knee with a cup of what looked like to be iced latte in his hand. Icy drink in the morning? Logic was never applicable to Jong Dae’s life, anyway, why was he even surprised?

 

“We promised to have lunch with your parents, remember?” Jong Dae reminded him.

 

Baek Hyun groaned and pressed his face further into the soft cushion, probably hoping to drown himself or something equivalent.

 

“Boy, don’t forget to bring your boyfriend along.”

 

“Oh he’s such a darling, isn’t he papa?”

 

“Oh yes, mama. The one with the pants, obviously.”

 

“C’mon dad, not now.”

 

“Just finish up your food, Byun Baek Beom.”

 

“Sorry, bro.” 

 

He liked to think that it was all Jong Dae’s fault for dotting on him since they were in junior high, bringing balloons and a fruit basket when Baek Hyun broke his leg, bringing dessert for his brother’s graduation and .  

 

“You shouldn’t have agreed, Jong Dae.” He said, voice muffled.

 

“Well, I can’t have my friend being a bad son now, can I?” Jong Dae said mockingly.

 

“Yeah, and let’s not forget that they think you’re my boyfriend.” Baek Hyun spat out almost bitterly.

 

“Oh dear,” Jong Dae started softly, “They’ll be so heartbroken if they knew you’re the and not me.”

 

===

 

Jong Dae was really the devil, Baek Hyun concluded.

 

It was a Saturday afternoon, it was a Saturday, it was the afternoon. Of course there’ll be a traffic jam, of course everyone was out and about to enjoy their time with families or girlfriends or boyfriends or friends.

 

“I sometimes question your sincerity with me, Kim Jong Dae.” Baek Hyun said over Grouplove. He was in the middle lane, speed going at 10km/hour or sometimes, 0km/hour and cars were piling up all around him like a sick showcase of a failing game of Tetris.

 

“Now, don’t be cynical.” Jong Dae’s voice was meant to be soft, assuring, “I meant you no harm.” But he sounded like Satan reincarnated with how easily he said those, because, why shouldn’t he? He was sitting so comfortably on the passenger side with both feet tucked underneath his thighs while Baek Hyun was ‘headbanging’ behind the steering wheel from sleep deprivation.

 

It was weird how he was still sleepy.

 

Hell, it was weirder how he was still even conscious.

 

The white car behind him was driving too closely, his phone had been vibrating incessantly and Baek Hyun was seriously in a bad mood.

 

“You see this dude behind us,” Baek Hyun started and caught Jong Dae’s attention, who had immediately turned around in his seat to look at said car. “Keeps playing with his phone, I swear to god if he bumps into my car, I’ll give him the knuckle.”

 

Jong Dae settled into his former position.

 

“I don’t know man,” He said. “He looks bigger than you.” Jong Dae shook his head.

 

“He looks like a chick, Jong Dae-yah.”

 

“Still looks bigger than y –woah! Woah! Woah!”

 

The day couldn’t have gotten worst, because, hey –who knows? Just like Baek Hyun predicted, the bigger dude/chick just rammed into the back of his car and he had pressed the break hard to avoid from crashing into the car in front of him.

 

There was a silence as his car went to a total stop, car honks filled the air at the unmovable traffic and Baek Hyun felt like vomiting.

 

“So,” Jong Dae started after a while and Baek Hyun felt cold. “The knuckle, huh?”

 

This was Saturday.

 

===

 

a/n: Thanks to dancingducks for fixing up the grammars etc and for teaching me the different usage of the word..... ....... -____-

Chapter 2 will definitely be uploaded sooner than this, maybe in few days time? 4-5 days? lol we'll see XD anyway how do you guys like it? ok? nay? drop me a comment or two and lemme know...! 

 

-bluecoins