In the Club

I hate clubs. I really do. Five minutes after I walk in, the bass beats my head like a metal baseball bat on a cardboard box. So, why am I here? At Club Tail? Oh yeah, that’s right! My so-called “friends” dragged me here. They knew I had a thing against clubs but they still insisted I join them. And for what? To meet some guys. I rolled my eyes remembering the conversation the two had with me about these “amazingly handsome” dudes they wanted to hook up with. So here I am, at the Club, sitting at the bar, and hoping to God Almighty that the alcohol I kept downing would help in an instant. So far, I had five straight shots of Johnny Walker Black Label (no chasers) and my head was still throbbing. Grudgingly, I turned and observed the musky room – half searching for the two “friends” – and caught sight of someone watching me. I rolled my eyes instinctively and rolled back around to face the bar. I counted to ten, hoping the person didn’t have the courage to talk to me.

2… 3… 4… 5… 6… “Hey,” he has the courage. “Can I buy you another shot?”

I smiled invitingly. “Sure, why not.” I sat there, continuing to smile, while he flagged down the bartender. “Actually, can you order me Patron instead?” I lightly touched his shoulder in a suggestive gesture. I had no interest with him, however. I have noticed women do it to men to get what they want. And I did. “Chilled, please!” I blurted excitedly as the bartender left to prepare the drink.

“Are you here by yourself?” he asked, smirking. I believe he thought he already won me over. Over one drink.

“No,” I shook my head. “My friends are around. Hunting.”

He chuckled. “And you? Not interested? Or is this your way of trapping a guy?”

“Oh damn, you got me!” My turn to giggle. “And you fell in it.”

“I sure did.” The bartender came back with two long shot glasses with the chilled Patron and a slice of lemon for each glass. The guy raised his glass and proclaimed a cheer, “For the attractive you, and for me falling into your trap.” I raised my glass to him and clunk our glasses. Facing the bar, I rolled my eyes and chugged the shot.

After I set my empty glass down, I checked over at him. He was grinning ear to ear and staring.

“Want to dance?” He held out one of his hands.

Waving a hand of mine, I refused him. “I don’t dance. Sorry.”

“Ah, c’mon! I’m sure you’re just as attractive on the floor as you sit at the bar.”

“No, that’s okay. Maybe next time. Or when I’m more tipsy and less head-achy.” He shrugged and walked away, disappointed he didn’t get to freak dance with me. Again, I rolled my eyes. The guy did not even try hard enough. Heck, he did not try at all. I was about to look for the bartender when two full shot glasses were set in front of me. I blinked at them, then at the hands that set them down, and then up to their owner’s face. “I hope you’re not trying to appeal to me like that guy.” He had a familiar face.

“No.” He plainly blurted. Even though he only said one word, I could tell he had an accent. “I want drink with you.”  He missed a ‘to’ in there, but I did not bother to correct him.

“You don’t drink.” I scrutinized him.

“I try,” he was determined. Then it came to his realization. “Uh! You know me?” He held a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

“I think so,” I started. “Maybe. You look familiar.” I examined his physical profile a bit, and then asked, “You wouldn’t happen to be a world-wide famous idol from Korea, would you?” He stared at me, a bit lost. I repeated what I said in Korean. “You’re a world-famous idol from Korea, right?”

His eyes gleamed again. “Yeah! But do you know exactly who I am? My name and which group I’m with?”

“You don’t drink. You’re an amazing dancer. And you’ve been all over the world,” I started. I watched as his smile spread to his ears, “Super Junior’s EunHyuk, or your real name, Lee HyukJae.” His posture straightened, proud for being known by a random person at a random club. “What are you doing here?”

“We had a concert yesterday and today at the soccer stadium.” I nodded, comprehending. “Since we have a couple days off before our next schedule, some of us decided to just have fun. So, we’re here!” He extended his arms into the air, and then brought them back down. The drinks he bought must have caught his eyes. His smile faded into a slight smirk, unsure of what to do.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Why did you buy two glasses if you don’t drink?”

“Like I said, I want to try.” He stared at his glass.

I scrutinized him again, “But why?! You haven’t drunk anything for the past twenty-six years, so why start now?”

He became quiet, thinking of his reasons. Sheepishly, he mumbled something under his breath. He looked up at me and I raised my brow questionably. “Because I met you.” I couldn’t help but to burst out laughing. “What? What’s so funny?!”

“That’s the most lame excuse you can come up with?” I continued to laugh. After I calmed down a little, I wiped the tears gathered under my eyes and patted his shoulder. “Don’t force yourself. Besides, I like you the way you are.” I lifted my glass and chugged the shot. I glanced over and noticed a glazed sheen over his eyes. Smiling, I sneakily chugged his glass. “You really want to try the alcohol?” I received a hesitant nod for a response. I mentally cursed myself, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and pulled him into a rather lusty French kiss.

It lasted longer than I expected; I had to pull away first. Heat rose through my entire body as I got up and walked towards the exit. Again, I cursed myself mentally. All I wanted now was the cool outdoor breeze and a cigarette. Breathing deeply, I carefully and speedily made my way out of the building and around the corner of the street. I pulled out my pack of M* Menthol Lights and my lighter and lit a cancer stick. ‘So stupid,’ my cranium rejoiced. ‘I can’t believe you kissed a celebrity! And he didn’t even pull away!’ I dragged another breath through the cigarette. ‘I guess it doesn’t really matter though. It’s not like I’m going to see him again. So, no regrets!’ Another drag. ‘He didn’t pull away.’ A girlish gleam spread across my face. “Oh man… What a night!”

I didn’t return to the club after that. Instead, I waited for the two “friends” to contact me after their fun at a local café. Sipping on a cup of Caramel Macchiato, I scrolled through the internet on my phone. It was almost an hour before the next group of customers arrived into this 24-hour café. I didn’t bother to look up because I didn’t want to grab their attention. I continued to sit there and scroll through my phone, occasionally listening in on the group’s conversations. They were speaking Korean, so I understood most of it. However, nothing in particular was spoken; Just a typical male-society talk about hot girls, the DJ, and the scene.

They sat somewhere behind me and continued to talk amongst themselves, and I continued to skim through the Internet. It must have been another fifteen minutes before I put down my phone to take another sip from my cup. Surprisingly, there was the man I kissed earlier in the evening sitting in front of me. All bodily functions stopped mid-reach of my cup, and my mind raced back to the earlier incident. He was smiling, almost lovingly. I felt a fire course my body again and I fidgeted in my seat. “Hi, again.”

“Hi. I missed you.” He leaned in towards me. I attempted to find something more interesting than him. “Why’d you run?”

“Hit-and-run tactic.” Oh, the café had some pretty designs on their cakes.

“You do that to all the guys you like?” His turn to scrutinize me.

“No,” I proclaimed. “I don’t do anything; Totally opposite from what I did to you.” The floral design on one of the cakes looks very chic.

“You figured you won’t see me again, right?” I nodded, glancing at him for a facial expression, and then looking back at the cake display. He held a nasty little smirk. “What now? We met again.”

Almost too quickly, I replied, “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“You at planning.” He snickered.

I heard him get out of his chair, but I didn’t expect the next movement. He averted my attention from the cake display to him by turning my body, and my chair, towards him. Taking my hand, he pulled me onto my feet and pressed our bodies together. His left arm firmly wrapped around me while his other hand placed itself at the nape of my neck, and kissed me passionately. My breath hitched. A familiar tune started playing, “Don’t worry about me and go away~”

My phone was ringing. I calmly pulled away and glanced down to check the name on the phone on the table; It was one of the two “friends.” HyukJae dropped his right arm, but refused to loosen up his left as I reached to answer the call. “Hello.”

“Hey, where are you?” she asked. “The club’s closing up and we can’t find you!”

“I’m at a café a couple blocks away.” HyukJae gently placed a kiss on my collar bone, and whispered a low growl into my open ear. I looked at him and worded, “What?” The girl was complaining about something on the other line.

“Hang up,” he whispered, and then pressed his lips on mine.

“Uh, hey.” I called into the communication device. “I got a ride home so go ahead without me.”

“Ugh, what!” the recipient was shocked. “How is it you got better luck than we did?!”

“I’ll explain later.” Her voice was starting to get more annoying by the day. “I have to go. Bye.” I pressed the “End” button, cutting her off. “You have a car or a place I can stay overnight?” I directed my attention to the much attached man.

“I have a place. And it isn’t shared with the other members.” He had to add that detail.

I quirked my brow, nervous of what he was implying. “You want me to stay with you tonight?”

“Yes, I do.” His sudden formality bothered me. “And I say we go now.” He let go of my waist, grabbed my hand, and led me towards the door.

I started following him, but then remembered something. “Oh, our drinks!” He followed me back to the table, grabbed our individual drinks, and then walked out the door.

We walked quietly to our destination. The hotel HyukJae was staying in was not far from the café. I asked if the member each had their individual rooms at that hotel and he replied he bought the room for himself separately. The hotel the other members were staying in was located a block south of our current location. No other words were spoken before and after that. HyukJae remained joined with my hand as we walked, sipping his drink with his other hand. I observed the landscape and window-shopped as we passed the local department stores. When I realized we were entering a building, I asked which floor the room was on.

“It’s on the fifth floor,” he replied. I must have looked very reluctant. “Why?”

“Well,” I started. “Can we take the stairs?” He raised a brow questionably. “I don’t like elevators.”

He rolled his eyes, “Fine.” We walked around, trying to spot the “Stairs” label next to a door. I spotted the label first, towards the back of the hotel, and we made our way up. Half-way between the second and third floor, he halted in sudden realization. “By the way, I never got your name.”

Oh, I guess I never did mention my name. “It’s Geneva.”

“Pretty.”

“Thanks.” We continued to walk up the stairs in silence. It was pretty awkward since we left the café.

My legs were killing me by the time we reached the fifth floor; never wear two-and-a-half inch heels and walk up this many flights of stairs. HyukJae led me around the corner and into one of the rooms at the far end of the hall. I kicked off my heels and sighed in relief. It felt overwhelmingly relaxing to flatten both feet after spending hours propping them up. I did not bother to wait for HyukJae’s invitation and observed my surroundings, making my way towards the center of the room. It was simple and well organized. The bed was against the wall, evenly centered. Facing it was the television set and a small rectangular table. There were no other furniture present, so I sat at the edge of the bed. “Nice room.” He shrugged as he opened the small closet next to the doorway and looked through his neatly hung clothes.

“It’s not much,” he gazed at my direction. “Do you want to change into something more comfortable?”

I hesitated. “Sweats and a tee would work.” Nodding in acknowledgment, he rummaged through his luggage under the hung clothing and pulled out a pair of black sweat pants and a yellow tee-shirt. He thought a bit, put the tee-shirt back, and pulled out a blue one. “Here. You can change in the bathroom.” He gestured to his right.

The clothes fit almost too perfectly – the hem was a little loose without the use of the drawstrings. I sauntered out to find HyukJae, already changed into a tee-shirt and basketball shorts, sitting on the bed comfortably. He outstretched his arm and waved, inviting me to sit with him on the bed. I took the invitation, with doubt and caution steadily running through my mind, and cuddled against him. His outstretched arm now rested around my shoulders and on my side. “What now?” I asked.

He shrugged and planted a kiss on my forehead.

Maybe it was because I walked around for hours in heels, or maybe it was because my headache finally relieved itself and I was sobering up from the seven or so shots I took earlier at the club, but either way, my eyes started feeling heavy with sleep. “Are you tired?”

“A bit,” he replied. “Are you?”

“Mm. Let’s sleep.” I burrowed myself under the sheets while still cuddling into his warmth. He followed suit and wrapped himself around me. I sighed and whispered, “Sleep well.” I slipped off to dreamland almost immediately.

“Sleep well,” he whispered back. “Thank you.”

~*~*~*~

I woke up with a start. The room was unrecognizable until I felt arms around my waist. I stared at the other sleeping comfortably beside me and remembered where I was – in HyukJae’s hotel room. A smile crept over my face and unconsciously, I brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes. It stirred him awake. He looked up at me, sighed, and shoveled himself closer to my side. Almost instantly, he fell back asleep. Or so I thought.

“Why are you up so early?” I checked the clock on the television cable before I responded: eight o’ clock.

“It’s the alcohol,” an easy explanation. An absurd, but simple explanation to how my body functioned. I checked down at HyukJae and saw him scrunch his face, eyes still closed. “I have no idea. It’s just how my body works when I drink alcohol the night before.”

“You’re weird,” he hugged me tighter. “Go back to sleep. Come snuggle with me.” He sleepily grinned.

“Hm, no,” I his hair. “How about I go make breakfast for us.” Honestly, I was not tired any more. And if I stayed in bed any longer with the man, I was afraid I would start something one of us will regret later.

“I would let you, but there’s nothing to make anything with.”

“I’m sure there’s a market around here I can stop by.” I attempted to pry his arms away from me but he wouldn’t budge.

“Forget it,” he mumbled. “Stay here with me.” I rolled my eyes and his hair while he drifted back to sleep.

I must have fallen asleep as well, because I was being woken up with a tongue probing its way around in my mouth. It tasted a bit sweet, like mocha. , I gave slight participation to the tongue war. When HyukJae withdrew, I opened my eyes hazily.

“Morning, sleepy-head.”

I hummed a response, “What time is it?”

“Almost noon. I thought I remembered you saying you weren’t sleepy earlier,” he teasingly pinched my obliques.

“I wasn’t,” I whined a little, feeling self-conscious of someone touching my love handles, “But you wouldn’t let me move anyway so I had no choice?”

HyukJae scoffed in response. “Fine, to make up for it, I bought us pastries and coffee.”

I stretched my arms over my head and arched my back, letting out a long moan when I relaxed my muscles. I was about to sit up when I felt a leaning weight around my core. I flopped my arms against my chest and stared at the mass responsible, “What?”

He was seated against me, leaning his upper body over mine with an arm propping him up from the opposite side. “You really shouldn’t be doing that.”

“Doing what?” I inquired.

“Stretching and making a delicious noise,” he leaned in, using his other arm as a lever, and continued in a whisper, “while laying in a bed that belongs to a man who desires you more than the most expensive car in the world.”

I smirked at the compliment, “Well, why don’t you do something about it?”

HyukJae growled, “I wish I could,” and sighed, “But I’m seriously trying to be a good boy right now.” I raised a brow, questioning his statement. “I don’t know you well enough. I think I like you, because I definitely was not offended to waking up next to you this morning, and I bought us breakfast. And I don’t want to use you for pleasure alone if I do end up despising you.”

“That’s a sweet way to say ‘I don’t want to up and have a kid wandering around half-way around the world.’”

“Geneva, I’m being serious,” he deadpanned.

“As am I,” I raised myself to a seated position, causing him to sit up as well, “Now, about that coffee!”