“No hope in Hell!” Yuwhan backs away from his two friends who are grinning at him with evil glints in their eyes. The shortest of the three speaks up, voice clear,

“Yuwhan, we always drag you to bars we want to go to, it’s our turn to go to one with you.” His smile almost makes Yuhwan give up and agree but he snaps out of it and shakes his head,

“Taeha, this is a gay bar. I am not going there with the two of you! That’s just weird!”  Taeha rolls his eyes and looks toward their friend, Jungwoo, for help,

“Come on, we don’t mind going. Right?” Jungwoo shrugs his shoulders, looking entirely bored with the idea,

“I don’t care either way I just want to get a lot of alcohol into my body really soon. Our marks from finals are up next week and I may die soon, so I may as well have some fun while I can.” The small dorm is silent for a while before Taeha sighs and turns back to Yuhwan, who is now sitting on his bed,

“Come on, it’s just for one night and you’ve always wanted to try it there. Let’s go!” Yuhwan looks down at his hands, picking nervously at a small piece of skin and wincing when he tears it off by accident,

“But what if someone we know sees us there?”  The questions hangs heavy in the air before Taeha waves his hand, as if to disperse it from the room,

“So what? Everyone who knows us knows you’re gay, . Now let’s get you dressed.” Before he can stop it, Yuhwan is being undressed by his tiny overzealous friend while being held back by Jungwoo. He curses his older friend for being a boxer and therefore much, much stronger than he is. When he is released his baggy tee shirt and shorts have been replaced by black jeans and a dark blue shirt.

“Come on, let’s go.” The music beats through Yuhwan’s chest as he is lead to the bar by Taeha, causing a weird numbness to spread through his body from the tips of his fingers to his toes. The hair on the back of his neck stands straight up as they reach the bar and Jungwoo waves in their direction over his shoulder.

“I’ve ordered us a round of their cheapest, strongest drinks, sit down.” Yuhwan shuffles a little nervously as he knows that he doesn’t have to drink much to be completely smashed, and his eyes widen when he spots the glass with the dark, swirling liquid. Jungwoo takes his and gulps it down all in one while Taeha sips on his a little delicately. Yuhwan takes a sip but shudders at the taste, deciding on Jungwoo’s tactic and drinking it all in one go. He scrunches his face as his friends laugh at him, Jungwoo ordering more booze. They drink a good few shots and as Yuhwan starts feeling a little light headed, Jungwoo orders three more each and Taeha giggles a little to himself, obviously feeling it quite a bit as well. While waiting for the bartender, Jungwoo turns to the guy beside him and he smiles,

“So as I was saying earlier, my centipede. My roommate is afraid of it, he says it’s huge and that scares him.” The guy beside him returns his smile and slides closer, hand resting on his upper thigh,

“Why don’t you show me this…centipede of yours, hmm?” Jungwoo laughs and takes another shot,

“I left it at home, dude. It’s apparently not a good idea to bring an insect around with you everywhere, you look a little weird.” Yuhwan and Taeha break into laughter as Jungwoo is doused with a drink, confusion written all across his face. Shaking his head as Taeha tries to help his friend clean up while laughing; Yuhwan downs his three shots and looks out to the dance floor, a soft smile on his face. His mind is hazy and his eyes are blurred but dancing seems like a very, very good idea at the moment.  Sliding off the bar stool he wanders into the huge pulse of people, his limbs heavy with alcohol.

Yuhwan stands in the middle of the dance floor and closes his eyes, allowing the music to seep from all around him and into his bloodstream. He opens his eyes slowly and the lights flashing and bodies twisting and turning make no difference as he makes his move. His body turns and rolls like water down a river, beautiful and graceful but powerful and strong. He can feel his heart beat in time with the music, feel his breathing stall every second to make room for the feelings; two hands make their way onto his hips from behind and he leans back into a strong chest.  His head lolls back onto a shoulder and his eyes are filled with sharp bone structure and slight stubble growing upon a square jaw. The man behind him moves so fluidly that Yuhwan almost thinks he’s sitting on a boat being rocked by the waves, but then the man’s breath is puffing at his ear and he knows; he knows that there is a man, a very attractive man at that, standing behind him and dancing with him. A voice flows through the sound of the music and into Yuhwan’s ear, almost as if it was meant only for him and maybe it was, Yuhwan doesn’t know,

“Tell your friends at the bar you want to go home, and we can meet up. Call me.” A finger slips down into one of Yuhwan’s pockets and then the man is gone, leaving Yuhwan in the middle of the pulsing bodies with his mind and heart racing a million miles her minute. He stumbles against bodies as he pushes his way back to the bar where his friends are staring at him in confusion,

“I have to get some air…can we go home?” Taeha nods and looks at Jungwoo who shrugs,

“I gotta pay this, meet you outside.” Taeha slips off the bar stool, nearly landing on his and Yuhwan giggles a bit as they make their uneasy way to the exit.  The doors are pushed open to reveal a cold evening chill, much contrasting to the heavy heat in the building.  Taeha giggles as he looks at Yuhwan, who has a hearty flush in his cheeks as he leans back against the wall.

“A guy danced with me…” Laughing, Taeha nods his head, poking Yuhwan’s cheek,

“I know, I saw! Did he give you a name?” Yuhwan shakes his head, but can’t shake the smile that is slowly spreading on his face,

“No, but he did give me his number and asked me to call him so we can meet up later.” Taeha’s eyes brighten and he opens his mouth to speak before man walks by, throwing his half-full beer can at Yuhwan, spraying him with the amber liquid.

“Look at this , standing about without a care in the world.” Yuhwan’s eyes widen as the man steps forward, “You’re disgusting, I should fix you up.” His arm raises but he’s torn back and away from Yuhwan, stumbling and falling on the ground with Jungwoo taking his place in Yuhwan’s line of sight. Before the guy can stand, Jungwoo’s hand flies out fast as lightening and the man stumbles back onto his with his hands covering his now broken and bleeding nose.

“Get lost, , or I’ll hit you for real.” The man glares but crawls to his feet and makes his way away from the trio. Taeha slides over to Yuhwan and grabs his arms,

“Are you okay? Yuhwan, are you okay?” Yuhwan nods and smiles, looking up at Jungwoo,

“You may be a stupid strong but you’re pretty cool too.” Jungwoo sniffs but Yuhwan can see a small smile make its way onto his face before Taeha goes into mother mode and worries over him the entire way back to their school dorms. The smell of the spilled beer wafts into Yuhwan’s nose, reminding him of the man who nearly attacked him but the weight of the phone number in his pocket makes it all worth it; a smile spreading from ear to ear on his face the entire way back with excitement of calling this mysterious man who dances like smoke. But that is a story for another time.