Lucky [1/3]
Fandom: Infinite/2PM
Pairing/s: Sunggyu/Wooyoung/Junho/Woohyun/Hoya (and pretty much all permutations thereof)
Rating: R
Warnings: Mild homophobia; drug use
Summary: 'Another fact: We fall in love twice. Maybe more, if we’re lucky.'- Arkaye Kierulf; Textbook Statistics
Notes: Songs quoted in text are Nell's Drifting Apart and Michael Jackson's Billy Jean
written for menageatroisbb
2006
february
Junho blinked down at the proffered cd and chocolate and glanced up at the boy holding them.
‘You know, Valentine’s day was last week,’ he said conversationally, and Wooyoung jerked his hands back, cheeks flushing and him sputtering.
‘No- I wasn’t- I mean-‘
Junho couldn’t fight back his grin as he reached out to divest Wooyoung of the gifts.
‘I would’ve been your Valentine if you’d asked,’ Junho said quietly, his eyes fixed on the silver front of the rewritable cd, before drifting up to see Wooyoung’s eyes wide.
‘Really?’
Junho was certain his cheeks were pink as he nodded. ‘I’ve seen you watching my dance class sometimes-‘
‘I’m not a creeper,’ Wooyoung said hurriedly, ‘Your class is just right before mine.’
Junho laughed. ‘I know. You’ve obviously never seen me staying after to watch you.’
‘You do that?’ Wooyoung asked, evidently surprised.
Junho shrugged. ‘You’re good.’
‘You’re better,’ Wooyoung said instantly, and Junho laughed while shaking his head.
‘Do you wanna go get some McDonald’s or something?’ Junho asked, and Wooyoung nodded after a moment’s hesitation. ‘As a date,’ Junho felt the need to clarify, and Wooyoung grinned.
‘That’s what I was hoping it was,’ Wooyoung said and Junho debated grabbing his hand.
‘So what’s on the cd?’ Junho asked as they walked down the road.
Wooyoung shrugged. ‘Just some music. I wasn’t quite sure what music you liked, so I put on quite a mix.’
‘Anything we can dance to?’
‘We?’
‘We’ve danced together in performances, but we’ve never just danced together. I think it’ll be fun,’ Junho grinned.
Wooyoung laughed. ‘Uh, yeah, there should be some stuff to dance to on there.’
Junho laughed more than danced when he went through the cd, Wooyoung’s face expressing indignation before he folded his arms and assumed a haughty expression.
‘Take Me On is a great song,’ he informed Junho.
‘This is practically disco,’ Junho howled and Wooyoung huffed, his hair bouncing as he turned his head away.
‘Okay, no, sorry, there’s nothing wrong with the song,’ Junho managed to calm down enough to say, reaching out a hand to pat Wooyoung’s ankle from where he’d ended up on the floor. ‘It was just… unexpected.’
Wooyoung glanced down, looking slightly mollified. ‘Really?’
Junho nodded. ‘Really.’ Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at him and Junho could feel a snicker pulling at his lips and Wooyoung scrunched up his face when a snort escaped.
Junho gave up trying to hide his laughter (which by now was more at Wooyoung’s reaction than to the song itself) and scrambled up, reaching out for Wooyoung instinctively, leaning forward and pressing his lips briefly to Wooyoung’s cheek, skipping back in time to see Wooyoung’s eyes widen in surprise much as they had earlier that day, before a wide grin spread across his face.
Junho smiled back, eyes crinkling, before moving back to the cd player.
‘So, uh, is there anything non-disco to dance to?’
november
Junho rolled over on his bed and grabbed his phone as it rang, bringing it to his ear with a cheery 'Yeah?'
'I'm outside, come let me in,' Wooyoung whined through the phone and Junho glanced at the time.
'Oh, it's already four. I'll be right down.'
'Hurry, it's cold!' Junho rolled his eyes as he ended the call and dropped his phone on his bed, grabbing a lollipop from the bowl of leftover Halloween candy he'd appropriated and sticking it in his mouth as he clattered down the stairs.
He was rolling it around in his mouth when he opened the door and stared.
'Are you gonna let me in?' Wooyoung asked, his tone bordering on grumpy, and Junho stood back to allow him to enter, his eyes not leaving Wooyoung as the door swung shut.
More accurately, not leaving Wooyoung's hair.
'What?' Wooyoung said, and the corners of Junho's mouth twitched. Wooyoung heaved a sigh just before Junho saved his lollipop from falling to the floor and noisily sucked up the sweet flavoured saliva that had gathered in the bottom of his mouth while he'd been gaping before bursting into hysterical laughter.
'Your hair!' he howled and Wooyoung rolled his eyes.
'Yes, I know,' he scowled.
'It looks like a toilet brush!'
'My mom insisted I get it cut, okay, it's not my fault it just sticks up every which way,' Wooyoung defended, and Junho glanced up from where he was doubled over and was overcome with another wave of laughter.
'If you're just going to laugh at me, I'd rather go home,' Wooyoung said testily and Junho shook his head, calming down enough to return his lollipop to his mouth, wiping away imaginary tears from his eyes.
'At least it's winter and you can just wear beanies,' Junho said with a grin, the lollipop clicking against his teeth. Wooyoung just raised an eyebrow and headed up the stairs. 'I think that's what I'll get you for Christmas,' Junho continued, following Wooyoung.
'I'm such a good boyfriend,' he finished as Wooyoung flopped onto his bed. Wooyoung just raised an eyebrow and grabbed a handful of candy.
'What, you don't agree?' Junho demanded and Wooyoung just chewed with a deadpan expression.
'Is this because I laughed at your mad scientist haircut?' Junho attempted to tamper down on his grin as Wooyoung tried to pat his hair down in vain. 'Take it from Harry Potter, that's not gonna work. He had magic and it didn't even work. I think beanies are your best bet.' Wooyoung oh-so-maturely stuck his now-orange tongue out at Junho, who laughed and jumped on the bed, swinging his leg over Woohyun’s middle.
‘There is an advantage,’ Junho told him, satisfied at the way Wooyoung’s eyes lingered on his lips as he gave his lollipop a measured suck, his cheeks hollowing before he pulled it out again with a pop.
‘Yeah?’ Wooyoung prompted, his eyes returning to Junho’s.
Junho grinned. ‘I can do this and my lollipop won’t get stuck in your hair.’ His lollipop fixed in his hand as he cupped Wooyoung’s face, he leaned down to kiss him, their mouths both overly sweet from the candy.
The lollipop ended up being forgotten, and getting stuck in Junho’s hair when Wooyoung flipped them over a little later.
2007
february
‘So, this is it, I guess,’ Junho said quietly as they sat on a bench in a secluded area of a park, still in their school uniforms from the final day of the school year. ‘When are you leaving again?’
‘Two weeks,’ Wooyoung replied, staring at his knees.
‘Two weeks,’ Junho repeated, ‘Two weeks and you’re off to university. On the other side of the country.’
Wooyoung winced. ‘Junho-‘
‘No, I know, we talked about it, we’ve talked it to death,’ Junho interrupted dismissively. ‘I’m not about to throw a fit or anything. It just. It’s happening, it’s practically here. We said until the end of the school year, and… hey, guess what, it’s here.’ He gave a rueful smile with his shrug.
‘We could. Um. I only leave in two weeks,’ Wooyoung offered, not really wanting to let go of this- of Junho- now that it was time to.
Junho gave a short laugh. ‘Yeah, I don’t think dragging it out is going to be good for either of us.’
‘A week?’ Wooyoung tried cheekily, and got a real smile in return.
They lapsed into silence, Junho scuffing his shoes on the ground.
‘Long distance never works,’ Wooyoung said quietly, and Junho made a noise of agreement.
‘No, it doesn’t.’
‘Knowing that doesn’t make this suck less,’ Wooyoung muttered and Junho chuckled.
‘It really doesn’t, does it?’
‘One week more,’ Wooyoung tried again and Junho gave him a small smile, turning to him.
‘No, here’s what we’re going to do. Because… it might be easier,’ Junho told him, holding out his hand. ‘Give me your phone.’
‘Or you might be an idiot,’ Wooyoung sighed, handing over his phone regardless, and Junho laughed.
‘I might be, yes, but this is what we’re going to do anyway.’ Junho scrolled through Wooyoung’s phone as he spoke. ‘We’re going to delete each other’s numbers.’ He handed Wooyoung his phone back and took his own out, and Wooyoung could see him scrolling through his contacts in his peripheral vision even as he scrolled through his own phonebook to see that Junho’s number really was erased.
‘And now… we’re just going to enjoy each other,’ Junho said, looking up and pocketing his phone again with a small smile. ‘Whether we part ways tomorrow or the day after or whatever, that’s when we’ll really part ways. But let’s not think about that, okay?’
‘It’s a pretty depressing thought,’ Wooyoung agreed, glancing around to make sure they were still alone before leaning forward to give Junho a quick kiss.
‘Staying at my place tonight?’ Junho asked, standing up and holding out a hand to Wooyoung.
‘My room is half in boxes at this point, so yeah, I think that would be a good idea,’ Wooyoung chuckled, taking Junho’s hand.
Just before they left the confines of the park, Wooyoung glanced at Junho, watching the light play on his features, and stopped.
‘Junho, I-‘ he broke off at Junho’s expectant look.
‘Yeah?’
He gave a small laugh. ‘I’m gonna miss you,’ he settled and Junho smiled back, leaning in for a soft kiss.
‘Me too.’
april
Woohyun let out a squawk as someone grabbed his wrist and yanked him into the guys’ bathroom.
‘Anyone around?’ his classmate asked and Woohyun shook his head, confused, as he closed the door and flicked the bolt that was never used.
‘You could have just asked,’ Woohyun said dryly and Hoya flashed him a grin.
‘I could have, but would you really have come?’
Woohyun considered this. ‘Probably not, because this is really weird, what exactly is going on?’
Hoya hesitated. ‘Um. This is. Harder than I thought to say.’
Woohyun blinked. ‘Well, that’s completely unhelpful. Just spit it out.’
Hoya avoided Woohyun’s gaze, running his hand through his hair nervously, staying silent.
‘I’m leaving if you don’t start talking,’ Woohyun remarked dryly and Hoya’s eyes snapped up to look at him.
‘I like you,’ Hoya said and Woohyun’s jaw dropped.
‘L-like?’ he stuttered, backing away towards the door. ‘This isn’t- you can’t-‘
Hoya raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m pretty sure you like me too.’
Woohyun shook his head. ‘Why would you think that, I don’t, I mean, not like that, that’s not- I’m not gay.’ His voice dropped to a panicked whisper.
‘I’m not saying you are,’ Hoya’s voice was calm and settled, ‘But I’ve seen you looking. I’ve seen how you look at me.’
‘You’re mad, I don’t- I don’t look at you, why would I- I’m straight, I like girls, my parents-‘ Woohyun stopped as Hoya nodded with a small smile.
‘Your parents. My parents. The teachers. Half the school. Yeah. You think I haven’t weighed it up?’
‘Hoya, I’m sorry, but I-‘
‘One kiss,’ Hoya interrupted. ‘I just- give me one kiss, and if you can honestly tell me you don’t want another one after that, fine. It won’t leave this bathroom, and I’ll leave you alone.’
‘You don’t have to leave me alone, we can still be friends-‘ Woohyun stumbled over his words nervously and Hoya grinned.
‘You’ll let me kiss you?’ he asked and Woohyun swallowed, tried to wet his suddenly dry throat as he nodded mutely.
Hoya’s steps were halting and unsure as he stepped forward but Woohyun couldn’t bring himself to meet him halfway. His breath puffed over Woohyun’s lips and his tongue reflexively darted out to wet them, blood quickening in his veins.
Hoya’s lips were soft on his, and despite his best intentions, Woohyun found himself kissing back, making Hoya deepen the kiss, his hands curling into his school uniform.
Hoya gave a breathless chuckle when they broke apart. ‘So…’
Woohyun groaned. ‘Okay, yeah, I was lying through my teeth, I do like you, but-‘
‘You’re satisfied with just that kiss. Okay,’ Hoya said quietly, and moved towards the door- but Woohyun got there first, blocking the exit.
‘Don’t put words in my mouth.’ He took a deep breath and stared at his hands, well aware of the possible ramifications of what he was about to do.
‘No one can know,’ he told Hoya, ‘and I mean no one, you can’t even tell your cat.’
‘I don’t have a cat.’ Hoya’s lips were turning up in a smile.
Woohyun rolled his eyes. ‘Not even your favourite childhood teddy.’
‘Is this… actually happening? Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’ Hoya asked, suddenly looking hesitant.
‘If you think I’m saying that I would like to do that kissing thing again, possibly exclusively, but only if absolutely no one knows, then… yes,’ Woohyun said, chewing on his lip.
Hoya let out an incredulous laugh. ‘How did this turn into you asking me out?’
‘Is that really important?’ Woohyun asked dryly, and Hoya chuckled again.
‘I guess not.’ Hoya grinned at Woohyun for a few seconds before moving forward, pinning Woohyun to the door and sealing their lips together enthusiastically.
Woohyun figured that that was a good enough reward for the risk he was about to take.
2008
january
Woohyun hissed as Hoya’s fingers slid up his shirt and Hoya chuckled against his collarbone.
‘Your hands are fucking freezing,’ he complained quietly and Hoya traced a pattern on his neck with his tongue.
‘Forgot my gloves,’ he mumbled in reply and Woohyun tugged him up to fuse their lips together again, shifting so his legs were more comfortable, spread out around Hoya. Hoya shifted forward, rolling his hips against Woohyun and Woohyun let out a choked gasp, arching up instinctively for more friction.
‘You’re- giving me frostbite,’ Woohyun gasped haltingly against Hoya’s lips, and Hoya slid his hands higher up under Woohyun’s shirt.
‘You’re just warming them up for me, because you care,’ Hoya murmured and Woohyun arched his back and hooked his ankles together behind Hoya’s back, bringing them closer together, and smirking at the sound it got from Hoya.
‘Woohyun!’
Woohyun pushed Hoya off at the call and they hurriedly settled on opposite sides of the bed, grabbing at ignored schoolwork, getting it in their laps just as Woohyun’s door opened, and Woohyun looked at his mother as innocently as he could with his maths textbook hiding his hard on.
‘Yes, mom?’
‘I’m going to the shop quickly, do you want anything in particular for snacks?’ Her eyes darted between the two of them and Hoya gave a bright smile.
‘Anything’s fine, mom. I don’t have any preference,’ Woohyun assured her hastily, flashing her a practiced smile.
‘Okay. You boys study hard now,’ she said with a smile and closed the door behind her.
Woohyun let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding when he heard the front door close. ‘That was too close,’ he muttered, and Hoya gave a small laugh.
‘Would it really be so bad if-‘
‘Yes,’ Woohyun said firmly, ‘Yes it would be so bad.’
It was silent again, and they could hear the car start and pull out of the driveway as Hoya nodded in defeat.
‘How long do you think she’s going to be?’ he asked, his good humour back again, sly grin on his face.
‘Not long,’ Woohyun replied.
‘Well, we better make it quick then,’ Hoya said with a grin, moving his book to the side and walking forward on his knees.
Woohyun grinned back. ‘I guess so.’
The maths book was thrown to the floor, once again forgotten, as Hoya’s lips met Woohyun’s again, his hands slipping down to the zip on Woohyun’s pants.
july
‘Well that didn’t quite go as planned,’ Hoya laughed resignedly into his phone, leaning heavily against the wall of the public bathroom he’d found himself in.
‘Yeah, no shit,’ Woohyun hissed hysterically. ‘Where are you?’
Hoya glanced around. ‘In the gas station bathroom. My mom called, told me to come home, that it was still fine, but I’m. Well, I don’t know how fine it’s going to be, but I guess at least I have a roof over my head still.’
Woohyun made a frustrated noise on the other end of the line. ‘I told you not to come out!’
‘No, you didn’t,’ Hoya corrected fondly.
‘Oh, can’t you at least let me pretend I did, so I don’t feel like this is all my fault for supporting this- this insanity. You’re insane. Why am I even-‘
‘None of this is your fault. I couldn’t- I couldn’t keep lying, it was driving me crazy, you know that. I said I wasn’t going to bring your name up, and I didn’t, and I’m still not going to. As far as anyone knows, I’m gay, but single, and you had no idea of my sexual orientation.’ Hoya paused before adding, ‘Even though you are my sexual orientation.’
‘Really? You’re going to joke about this? Hoya, I’m fucking terrified, my parents- they heard, and it’s.’ Woohyun stopped and Hoya could feel his heart sinking even deeper into the pits of his belly.
‘They forbid you from seeing me again, I’m guessing,’ Hoya said heavily.
‘Quite loudly,’ Woohyun confirmed.
Hoya scratched at his knee through his jeans in silence for a little while.
‘Hoya?’ Woohyun’s voice was tinny through the phone.
‘Yeah, I’m here. Um. Yeah, I mean. You did. Warn me about that possibility.’
‘I didn’t know they’d actually… yeah. I mean, there’s still school, so.’
‘Yeah, there is. We could probably- yeah, we could do it.’ Hoya managed a smile.
Hoya heard a door open on the other end of the line and a muttered ‘shit’ as voices spoke in the room Woohyun was in.
‘Mom-‘ Hoya heard Woohyun say, and he gritted his teeth. ‘I don’t see- no, but- mom-‘
‘Don’t ever come near him again!’ Woohyun’s mother’s voice streamed through the phone and Hoya winced at the volume. ‘He doesn’t want you around, and I don’t want your kind around!’
The dialtone rang in his ear like an angry insect and Hoya heaved a sigh.
‘Maybe this was a bad idea,’ he muttered, before heaving himself off the floor, resigning himself to the fact that it was too late to change anything now.
Numerous attempted calls over the next few days and Hoya concluded that Woohyun’s parents must have taken measure to prevent him contacting Woohyun via telephone.
His pen tapped against the postcard he had in his hand, and he wondered what to write, what to say, if Woohyun would even get it.
Eventually, he put his pen to paper.
Moving schools. Stay well.
2009
september
Wooyoung eyed the guy sitting at one of the tables at the student café he frequented. He recognised the guy from one of his music electorates and right now, he looked like he might actually have fallen asleep. Which meant Wooyoung didn’t feel quite as creepy about letting his gaze linger as he sometimes did when it was possible he’d get caught.
When the other student stretched with a giant yawn, though, Wooyoung started, his eyes snapping back to his notes spread out on the table in front of him.
He glanced surreptitiously at the other table just as the guy stood up, blinking sleepily, and made his way towards Wooyoung- or the cake counter just next to his table, he reasoned as the guy leaned forward to examine the display, his hands in his pockets, directly behind Wooyoung, and Wooyoung stared determinedly at his notes again.
‘So were you ever going to approach me or were you just going to watch me from a distance until the course finished?’ Wooyoung almost leapt out of his skin when the guy spoke, and he whipped around to face him.
‘What?’ Wooyoung was treated to a sleepy smile, eyes curving into almost non-existent crescents.
‘I’m Sunggyu,’ he said.
‘Wooyoung,’ Wooyoung replied automatically and then grimaced. ‘So you noticed me, then.’
Sunggyu chuckled. ‘I might have glanced in your direction a few times myself.’
‘Not just because of the hair?’ Wooyoung asked, running a hand through his orange-red hair that had been the result of a hasty, alcohol fuelled decision.
Sunggyu laughed with his mouth open wide and grinned at Wooyoung.
‘Buy me a piece of cake?’ Sunggyu asked, tilting his head towards the display case, his eyes twinkling and Wooyoung arched an eyebrow.
‘I’m a poor student,’ Sunggyu protested and Wooyoung laughed.
‘And I’m not?’
‘We can share it,’ Sunggyu offered.
Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at Sunggyu consideringly. ‘What kind do you want?’ he relented and Sunggyu’s grin widened.
He tapped at the display case, pointing to the one he wanted. ‘I’ll get my stuff,’ he said and Wooyoung nodded as he waved a waitress over.
Sunggyu ended up eating most of the cake, chocolate icing getting caught on his lips and the corners of his mouth, his eyes curving up into crescent moons as he lifted his hand to wipe it away with a laugh.
Wooyoung got Sunggyu’s number though, and he figured that made up for only getting a bite or two of cake.
december
‘The people who work the hardest are the ones who are most worthy of respect!’ Wooyoung insisted, waggling his ice cream spoon in Sunggyu’s direction.
‘Look, I’m not saying- ow, that’s my beer,’ Sunggyu muttered as the glass of the bottle collided with his teeth, and he placed it down on the side table and picked up the spoon in his ice cream bowl. ‘Okay, hard work is good, I’m not negating that, people who work hard are going to go far, there’s no doubting that, but what I’m saying, what you’re not seeing, is that hard work is not the be all and end all of music. Someone can work as hard as they like, but if it’s just recycled chords, if there’s no feeling behind it, no emotion, they’re not going to make good music!’
‘But you’re saying that someone who doesn’t work hard and has that so-called emotion, they can make just as good music as someone who works hard at it, and I don’t know if I agree with that,’ Wooyoung responded, reaching out for his own beer.
‘I’m saying that between someone who performs with emotion and someone who works hard but performs mechanically, I’d rather watch the one who, okay, fair enough, maybe isn’t quite as skilled on whatever instrument they’re using, be it an actual instrument or their voice, but performs with emotion and vivacity.’ Sunggyu caught some ice cream that had leaked from his mouth and took a swig of beer.
‘Look, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how we ended up at this point, but what this argument really boils down to is that the music you listen to is simple compared to the music I listen to-‘
‘You listen to A Ha,’ Sunggyu interrupted with a snort.
‘They are not a part of this discussion!’ Wooyoung declared loudly. ‘Look, I’m not saying the stuff you’re listening to is bad, or that they are less talented or whatever, because like, they can play the instruments, they can probably do the music I listen to, but on a general basis, they don’t utilise the full spectrum of that ability, they stick to just a few chords, which isn’t a bad thing, because… I don’t know, okay, while the melody of the song is important- the instrumental, I mean, the backing, is important, it’s very much a backing to the lyrical melody line, whereas in what I listen to- okay, yeah, the lyrical melody does contribute to the song, but the backing track complements it, like, say, Thirsty Merc, the instrumental could stand alone and it wouldn’t necessarily feel like something was missing. Do that to a Nell song instrumental and it would feel like a really long intro,’ Wooyoung finished, sitting back in his chair and reaching for his beer definitively.
‘But the voice is used as an instrument, it’s like lead guitar, the song isn’t meant to be played without the vocals,’ Sunggyu started, spooning ice cream into his mouth as he paused briefly, ‘That’s when the emotions come into play, because- brainfreeze, shit, brainfreeze, ow!’ he broke off in a whine, dropping his spoon, his eyes disappearing as he scrunched his face up, his entire body tensing up and his arms flailing manically as he waited for the chill to pass.
Wooyoung almost choked on his beer in his laughter, snorting into his hand, and Sunggyu glowered balefully at him once his brainfreeze was gone. Wooyoung wasn’t looking at him, too busy trying to clear the beer bubbles from his throat, which meant he didn’t see Sunggyu dig his spoon into his ice cream and catapult a fair sized globule across the room at him, eliciting a yelp as it spattered against his cheek.
Wooyoung gaped at Sunggyu indignantly, the ice cream slowly sliding down his neck, and Sunggyu smirked smugly, and then Wooyoung was up, throwing ice cream at Sunggyu, which spurred Sunggyu to his feet, and then they were twisting around, yelling and squawking as they tried to cover each other with ice cream, Sunggyu’s words coming out in a high pitched flurry as he arched his back away from the melted ice cream Wooyoung was tipping victoriously down his shirt, and Sunggyu’s next attack was to pour his melted ice cream onto Wooyoung head and smear the dribbles over his face and then the bowls were empty and they were laughing, ice cream everywhere.
‘Oh god, what a mess,’ Sunggyu laughed helplessly, looking at himself, and then Wooyoung, and then the floor.
‘You started it,’ Wooyoung pointed out.
‘You wanted ice cream. It’s December. Who eats ice cream in December.’
‘Ice cream is an all year round food.’
‘Sure.’ Sunggyu’s tone was humouring, and Wooyoung took the empty bowl, stacking it with his on one of the tables, slinging an arm over Sunggyu’s shoulder.
‘Let’s get in the shower before this shit dries.’ Sunggyu laughed at Wooyoung’s words, making a noise of agreement as they headed to the bathroom, Wooyoung leaning over to lick at Sunggyu’s cheek.
‘Shame to waste this much ice cream,’ he sighed and Sunggyu snorted.
‘You’re not licking the rest of me clean, sorry to disappoint.’
Wooyoung laughed again when Sunggyu pulled off his shirt in the bathroom, ice cream trailed all down his back. ‘Yeah, I think you’re going to be borrowing some of my clothes.’
‘No, really?’ Sunggyu replied dryly, pushing off his pants and stepping into the shower, turning the water on. ‘Hurry up and strip. Get in here.’
‘This shower isn’t really big enough for two people,’ Wooyoung murmured a few minutes later, pressing Sunggyu up against the shower wall.
‘Guess we’ll just have to move very carefully,’ Sunggyu said with a grin, his fingers slipping along Wooyoung’s side before reaching behind him for the shampoo, squeezing it out on Wooyoung’s head, and all Wooyoung could do was shut his eyes and laugh as Sunggyu’s fingers worked through his hair.
2010
august
'What is the point of all this?' Sunggyu asked listlessly, staring out at the night sky, the smoke from his cigarette twisting out the window, beer in hand, naked except for the blanket wrapped around his waist.
Wooyoung cracked open an eye to peer at him, not bothering to reply, hardly surprised by this train of thought any more. He rolled over and reached out for the beer Sunggyu had left on his bedside table for him when he'd gotten himself one, inwardly rejoicing that it was still cool.
'All we do is study shit we don't care for, to graduate and get jobs we don't care about, to maintain a society that doesn't care about us. What is the point of this? It's just a whole pile of money sunk into letting us sit in large rooms and have someone tell us how everything works. Is this really how it should be?' Sunggyu's forehead was creased as he took another drag on his cigarette.
'You didn't have to study what your parents wanted you to, you know. There are courses you would have enjoyed more,' Wooyoung pointed out.
Sunggyu gave a disbelieving snort. 'Even the electorates they allowed me to take that were my choosing are just... I don't know, maybe I'm just not cut out for academia, maybe I should have taken a break after high school.'
'Maybe you should drop the business course your parents have you doing in favour of something you don't hate,' Wooyoung mumbled around the top of his beer bottle, knowing Sunggyu wouldn't hear him.
'You're doing something you're interested in and you still complain,' Sunggyu said, gesturing towards Wooyoung with his beer bottle.
Wooyoung shrugged half-heartedly. 'Yeah, I complain about the workload and stuff, but I do it anyway, and it's not like I regret any of that work. I'm still learning, and it's a means to an end, you know?'
Sunggyu gave a short laugh. 'You mean you're not quite as disillusioned and apathetic as I am,' he remarked wryly.
Wooyoung took another swig of beer. 'I wouldn't call you apathetic. Maybe a little unsettled, yeah, but...'
Sunggyu hummed a chuckle and dropped his cigarette butt in the dregs of his beer, gathering the blanket up around him and waddling back towards the bed. 'Sorry, it's not a particularly bright conversation topic, I guess.'
'Nah, it's fine,' Wooyoung replied, shifting over to give Sunggyu room.
Sunggyu shook his head slightly and leaned over to press his lips to Wooyoung's. 'I must be boring, I keep talking about all this shit. I really don’t need to drag you into all my doubts.’
‘You tend to keep me well lubricated- with beer,’ Wooyoung added when Sunggyu snorted.
‘Oh, is that all?’ Sunggyu grinned, reaching over and stealing Wooyoung’s beer, and Wooyoung allowed a swig before he took it back.
‘I suppose you have your other uses too,’ Wooyoung replied with a shrug and Sunggyu laughed before leaning in for another kiss.
Wooyoung woke up later to Sunggyu walking quietly up and down in front of the window, his arms wrapped around himself and cigarette tip glowing red in the dark room.
He watched him for a couple minutes with a sinking feeling in his belly before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.
He wasn’t surprised when Sunggyu wasn’t anywhere to be found a week later, his room cleaned out and his name crossed off the course lists.
He found a cigarette packet, the brand Sunggyu smoked, squashed under the door to his room, sorry scrawled across it, and he turned it around in his fingers a few times, before dropping it in the trash.
It was more than he’d expected, and he thought that if it weren’t for him, Sunggyu would have left long before.
october
Junho peered over at the small group of people gathered in interest, the music drawing his attention before the excited group of people. He moved through the small crowd, jumping on one of the low walls to look over the heads of the inner circle, to see a guy in a purple dinosaur hoodie dancing to the music, arms alternately flowing smoothly and elbows jerking sharply to the rhythm. The power of his dancing was in his shoulders, sharp movements and fluid extensions and Junho gave a nod of appreciation- he couldn't deny the guy had impeccable technique, his well-built body delivering the moves with deadly precision, moving slowly and stretching out the music until catching up with the beat and dancing several moves in a second, quick and eye-catching.
The song finished and the guy dropped his finishing pose, wide smile on his face as he laughed and pushed his hair back, a thin layer of sweat glistening on his skin.
The gathered crowd made a collective sound of disappointment and Junho shrugged before jumping off the wall, breaking the edge of the circle.
'Up for a challenge?' he asked the guy, arching an eyebrow and the guy ran his eyes over him, sizing him up.
'You think you're up for it?' he replied, wiping off his sweat with the end of his unzipped hoodie.
Junho laughed. 'Put the music on and we'll see.'
The guy gave a nod and a grin and moved towards the music player, pressing play and Junho bent down, stretching out as the beat of the song started. Junho stretched over to the side and the guy gave a half-mocking bow and sweep of his arms, gesturing for Junho to take the floor first. Junho bounced on the balls of his feet a couple time, shooing the crowd further out a bit before leaping forward as the beat dropped, the rush of the crowd's appreciative cry as his hands left the floor and he twisted his body in the air, and he heard the guy laughing delightedly as he landed, taking a beat or two before letting his body loose, feeling the music guide his body, even as he glanced up and caught the guy's eyes a few times.
He landed on his feet again after an extended handstand and mimicked the guy's earlier motion for him to take the floor, which the guy accepted with a nod and a grin, throwing himself into more powerful moves, more grounded than Junho's own style.
Junho found himself laughing in exhilaration as they continued dancing, losing himself in the music, in the stretch of his muscles, enjoying the display the other guy was putting on.
The music wound to an end and Junho had his hands on his knees, breathing heavily and feeling like he was wearing a layer too much clothing, exhaustedly energised as he grinned up at the crowd, applause washing over him.
He caught his breath and wandered over to where the guy was packing up the music player, the crowd starting to disperse and he slung his arm over his shoulder.
‘You’re good,’ the guy said, glancing over at Junho. ‘I’m Hoya.’
‘Junho,’ Junho replied, flashing him a grin. ‘You too. That was fun.’
‘It was,’ Hoya agreed. ‘So, do you go to school around here, or live around here or something?’
‘I might,’ Junho replied with a grin. ‘You?’
‘Live, work and play around here,’ Hoya laughed.
‘So I guess you’d know somewhere we can rehydrate?’ Junho asked innocently, a twinkle in his eyes and Hoya side-eyed him.
‘I might,’ he replied and Junho laughed.
‘I’ll treat,’ he offered, and Hoya gestured down the road with a chuckle, grabbing his things as they moved off. Junho had yet to remove his arm and he allowed it to slip down Hoya’s back and run over his butt, which Junho couldn’t resist giving a quick squeeze.
Hoya laughed and dropped back a step or two. ‘And that?’
Junho shrugged. ‘You have a nice ass.’
‘Have you seen your own lately?’ Hoya asked dryly, lifting his hands up to make a camera frame aimed at Junho’s butt. Junho laughed and played along, sticking his butt out and running his hands along the side.
Hoya dropped his hands, laughing widely, his canines glinting in the sun.
‘I didn’t realise you’d noticed my ass,’ Junho said with a grin, waiting for Hoya to catch the few steps up.
Hoya shrugged. ‘Well, here I was thinking you’d jumped in just to challenge me in dancing, but I guess we were both wrong, weren’t we?’
Junho flashed him another grin, and threw in a slap on his ass for good measure.
2011
may
Wooyoung let out a small sigh as he started pissing, staring at the wall in front of him, the club’s music throbbing outside the bathroom, buzz of alcohol swimming in his head.
He glanced towards the door instinctively when it opened, looking away when the guy looked at him before heading for a urinal a few down from Wooyoung.
‘You’re pretty hot, you know that, right?’ the guys said and Wooyoung blinked, looking over at him in surprise before looking around the bathroom.
‘I’m sorry, are you talking to me?’ Wooyoung asked and the guy glanced at him with raised eyebrows.
‘We’re the only two people in here, so yeah. Unless you thought I was talking to myself, which, you know, understandable mistake, but that generally requires a mirror.’ The guy flashed a grin and Wooyoung shrugged.
‘You could have been talking to your dick,’ he reasoned, shaking off.
‘Do you talk to your dick?’ the guy laughed and Wooyoung paused after zipping up, staring at the wall in contemplation.
‘I have done, but I was incredibly drunk,’ he replied, getting another laugh. ‘Social etiquette generally bars talking at the urinals though,’ he added, moving towards the sink.
‘But if you left before I finished pissing I might not find you again, and I couldn’t let that happen.’
Wooyoung looked behind him as the water ran over his hands, surveying the guy’s back incredulously.
‘I could still leave before you’re done pissing,’ he pointed out, turning the tap off.
‘Yeah, but at least I’d have told you you’re hot.’
Wooyoung looked the guy up and down as he dried his hands and paused at the door, leaning against the wall instead of leaving as the guy shook off and zipped up, turning around and grinning when he saw Wooyoung.
‘Not leaving?’ he asked, reaching for the tap. Wooyoung shrugged.
‘You’re pretty hot.’
The guy laughed and wiped his hands on his jeans, before holding it out. ‘I’m Woohyun.’
‘Wooyoung,’ Wooyoung replied, giving his hand a shake. ‘Do you usually hit on guys at the urinals?’
Woohyun laughed. ‘This would be the first time,’ he admitted, ‘Exhilarating experience.’
‘I’m sure,’ Wooyoung laughed. ‘Uh… can I buy you a drink?’
‘Is a dance included?’ Woohyun asked, walking through the door Wooyoung held open.
‘Can you dance?’
‘Depends on what classifies as dancing,’ Woohyun yelled over the music and Wooyoung grinned, a hand slipping on Woohyun’s shoulder as he guided him towards the bar.
‘Would alcohol help?’ Wooyoung said, his mouth next to Woohyun’s ear to ensure being heard.
‘Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?’ Woohyun replied, his breath puffing over Wooyoung’s ear.
‘Do I need to?’ Wooyoung’s arm slung around Woohyun’s waist naturally.
‘You could take advantage of me as I am,’ Woohyun told him lowly, before pulling back with a grin. ‘But a little bit more alcohol sounds good.’
Wooyoung grinned and raised an arm. ‘Bartender!’
july
Hoya panted into Junho's mouth, breaths humid as their lips stopped all breathing for a second again, Hoya's hands running over Junho's thighs, small sounds escaping from Junho's throat. Hoya's hand slid over the side of Junho's butt where it was pressed into the bed, slipping over to the bottom of his thigh and gently pushing it up and he leant further forward, Junho's leg hooked over his arm.
Junho made a small sound, and murmured 'Mm-mm,' against Hoya's lips and Hoya stopped, looking down at Junho, his forehead furrowed in mild concern.
'You okay?' Hoya asked, his voice low and rough.
'I haven't stretched,' Junho whispered, his fingers playing with the hair at Hoya's neck, pressing his lips to the corner of Hoya's mouth.
Hoya blinked, and let his chin drop to his chest when Junho pulled back enough, his shoulders shaking after a couple seconds.
'What?' Junho said, his tone edging out from quiet.
'Really?' Hoya asked in amusement, grin wide on his face when he raised his head to look at Junho with raised eyebrows.
'Stretching is important, okay, you can injure yourself if you don't stretch,' Junho told him archly and Hoya pushed himself off him to collapse in laughter at the bottom of the bed. 'I don't understand why you're laughing.'
'Do you normally stretch before sex?' Hoya laughed, and Junho shifted.
'Well, I stretch before you come over. Just in case.' Junho jutted his chin out stubbornly as Hoya gave a howl of laughter. 'You're a dancer too, you know how important stretching is!'
'Junho, I just-' Hoya broke off with a chuckle, glancing at Junho incredulously before giving a shake of his head and moving to hover over Junho again, his hands on either side of Junho, leaning down to lick at his bottom lip. 'Okay,' he said with a grin, 'No gymnastics.' He ran his hand along the top of Junho's leg, applying pressure to push it against the bed lightly. 'Shame wasting that flexibility though,' he murmured against Junho's neck and felt his throat vibrate under his lips with a chuckle.
'Not wasting, just resting,' Junho murmured and Hoya chuckled, nipping lightly at his neck, knees pushing both of Junho's thighs up.
'I can't believe I never knew you stretched before sex.'
Junho groaned. 'You're not gonna let that go, are you?'
Hoya shook his head in the crook of Junho's neck with a smile. 'Not anytime soon, no.'
Junho rapped a fist lightly on Hoya's bare back and pushed against his cheek to get his face back in his eyesight. 'Shut up,' he murmured, tugging him down to lick into his mouth again.
november
'Polysemy,' Woohyun whispered, his breath hot on Wooyoung's ear. 'Intertextuality.' There was a barely tempered snicker.
'Oh, stop, I'm getting all hot and bothered,' Wooyoung replied boredly, turning another page in his book.
'Critical theories of ideologies,' Woohyun murmured huskily, his hand smoothing down Wooyoung's thigh.
Wooyoung whacked his hand away and tried to focus on his own work, hearing the snorting laughter and the creak of bedsprings that signalled the other was on the other side of the room again.
Wooyoung eventually looked up when there was no further sounds, looking around to see Woohyun sprawled on the bed, hair mussed by annoyed hands running through them while he'd actually still been studying, propping himself up on his elbows to grin cheekily at him, and Wooyoung's eyes lingered appreciatively on the gaping top of the half-buttoned shirt Woohyun wore.
'Aren't you meant to be studying?' Wooyoung asked and Woohyun's grin turned sultry.
'Polysemy,' he mouthed slowly, his head moving with every exaggerated syllable, come-hither eyes hooded deliberately, his teeth catching his lower lip as he gave a pronounced wink, followed by a brief eyebrow waggle.
There was silence in the room for approximately thirty seconds before they both collapsed in laughter.
'You're ridiculous,' Wooyoung said with a chuckle, shaking his head.
'I'm bored of studying,' Woohyun returned, 'I'm bored of you studying too. Can't we find something else to do?' His eyes flashed teasingly as he bounced on the bed, making the springs creak, his tongue caught between his teeth.
'Is all you do think with your dick?' Wooyoung countered, arching an eyebrow.
Woohyun's grin grew just a little wider, his teeth catching his lower lip again.
'Mmm, want me to teach you how to think with yours?'
Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at the younger man. 'You were the one who suggested studying together because you were complaining you never see me. So I figured, sure, why not use the time while you're studying-' Wooyoung threw a pencil at Woohyun to punctuate his point. '-to work on my thesis. And now you're bored.'
'You have plenty time to work on your thesis, you're doing great so far,' Woohyun told him, grinning sunnily, and patted the bed next to him. 'You can afford to take a short break.'
Wooyoung paused and then shook his head and turned back to his work resolutely.
'Exercise helps your brain work better,' Woohyun told him cockily and Wooyoung gave a short laugh before stopping himself and clearing his throat.
'No, you're meant to be studying,' Wooyoung started, turning around and stopping abruptly, his eyes growing wide as Woohyun unbuttoned his last button, letting his shirt hang open as he grinned. 'What are you doing?'
'The shirt was getting itchy,' Woohyun replied innocently, shrugging the shirt off his shoulders and pushing it onto the floor. 'Are you going to get my pants, or do I have to do that myself too?'
Wooyoung huffed in annoyance and slammed the pen he'd just picked up onto the table, standing up from his chair and stripping his shirt off as he crossed the room.
'You are impossible,' Wooyoung grumbled, catching Woohyun's answering laugh with his lips.
2012
march
Wooyoung tugged Woohyun behind a wall and pressed him against it, kissing him hard, his fingers digging into his hips. Woohyun's arms came up to settle around his shoulders, one hand burying in his hair, the other hanging lax, holding his ticket. Their breaths came heavier when they broke apart and Wooyoung rested his forehead against Woohyun's.
'And that?' Woohyun asked, his voice coming out merely louder than a whisper.
'It just kinda hit me you're leaving, when you checked your luggage in,' Wooyoung replied quietly, and pressed his lips briefly to Woohyun's again before drawing back, pushing himself off Woohyun.
'I don't think it's really hit me yet,' Woohyun admitted with a small laugh, and reached for the hand luggage he'd dropped on the floor.
'Should we get something to eat? You've still got a while until boarding,' Wooyoung said, glancing at his watch.
'I could eat,' Woohyun agreed and they headed back into the more public area of the airport, the bustle of people echoing in the high-ceilinged halls.
'You excited?' Wooyoung sucked on the straw of his milkshake as he glanced up at Woohyun, waiting for an answer.
'Just as excited as when you asked me this morning, and yesterday, and the day before that, and last week,' Woohyun replied with a grin, grabbing a chip. 'I think Japan'll be interesting. Different. I'm looking forward to it.'
Wooyoung nodded quietly, glancing down at his food and Woohyun reached out to rest a hand on his arm.
'I'm not excited to leave you behind.'
'I wasn't angling for that at all,' Wooyoung declared, eating a chip defiantly to hide the smile that was pulling at the corners of his lips.
'Sure you weren't,' Woohyun remarked dryly, 'You're just aching to be rid of me.'
'Of course.' Wooyoung nodded. 'Maybe now I'll finally finish my thesis.'
Woohyun stuck his tongue out at him. 'You finished months ago.'
'Hey, shh, I'm trying to be flippant here,' Wooyoung told him and Woohyun rolled his eyes.
'Seriously, though. I'm going to miss you,' Woohyun said quietly after a brief silence.
'I'll miss you too. But I was the one who told you to fill out the application. I told you I wasn't going to let you let me stop you from doing what you wanted, remember?' Wooyoung waved a chip in Woohyun's face and Woohyun snatched it from his fingers.
'I wish you'd decided to come with me,' he grumbled and Wooyoung chuckled.
'Just drink your milkshake.'
All too soon, Woohyun felt, he was standing at security, scratching through his bag for his passport.
'Well. I guess this it,' Wooyoung said, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Woohyun stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Wooyoung, Wooyoung muttering as he struggled to extricate his arms so he could wrap them around Woohyun.
'Thank you,' Woohyun murmured into Wooyoung's neck.
'For what?'
'For giving me the courage to do this.'
Wooyoung chuckled. 'That's a nice thought, but I think you would've done it anyway.'
Woohyun laughed as he pulled back. 'Maybe.'
They looked at each other in silence as the boarding call rang through the airport and Woohyun took a deep breath.
'Well. Bye.'
Wooyoung snorted. 'Yeah. Bye.'
Woohyun gave a half wave and joined the line.
'I'd recommend not talking to strangers at the urinal,' Wooyoung called and Woohyun could only laugh, glancing back to see his bright grin. 'Study hard!'
Woohyun got through security and glanced back to see Wooyoung still standing there. He raised a hand in greeting and got a wave in return before heading off towards his gate.
Seated on the plane, watching clouds slipping under the wings, Woohyun had to swallow back a lump in his throat, before sticking his earphones in his ears and determinedly avoiding any music Wooyoung might have given him.
april
'The drawers are all definitely empty, which means you have successfully packed all your clothes,' Hoya declared, walking into the lounge.
'I'm sorry, I didn't ask you over to pack,' Junho laughed, slotting books into a box.
'No, you didn't, but you're leaving tomorrow and you're not packed,' Hoya pointed out, 'I figured I could lend a hand. Besides, the quicker we finish up here, the sooner we can go get some food or something.'
'Well, I'm pretty much done,' Junho said, standing up and looking around the small apartment. 'Can we make a run past the charity shop?'
'I suppose you can't take all of this over to Japan.' Junho shook his head.
'I'm only allowed a certain amount and I think I'm already going to have to pay extra, all my music stuff weighs so much.'
'Put it in your hand luggage,' Hoya advised, 'They generally don't weigh that, do they?'
'Good point,' Junho laughed. 'Okay, I have my clothes, my music stuff, and everything is packed except for my toothbrush and bedding and some clothes.'
'I didn't see anything else lying out,' Hoya confirmed.
'Great. So. I'm... done? Wow.'
'Thought it would take longer to pack up however many years you've lived here?' Hoya asked with an amused eyebrow raise.
'Was this place always so big?'
'So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?'
Junho shrugged. 'Uh... not sure. Wander around? Get takeout? Maybe come back here fairly early? You have school tomorrow, don't you?'
Hoya nodded. 'But I don't mind sacrificing a few hours of sleep if you want me to.'
'Why are you being so nice to me, I'm fucking off to Japan with no set plans to come back,' Junho laughed, stepping over a box and resting his hand on Hoya's arm.
'Trust me, I am aware of that. So's the punching bag at the gym,' Hoya remarked wryly.
'Oh? I didn't-' Junho fidgeted with his fingers, eyes on the floor, and Hoya gave him a light push.
'Dude, it's been a year and a half since you pretty much literally flipped into my life, and now you're flying out of it, yeah, I'm going to punch a bag a couple times. Don't feel bad or whatever. It's not like it's completely impossible for us to see each other again.'
'You thinking of coming to Japan?' Junho asked, surprised, and Hoya laughed.
'Not really, no. And I said it wasn't impossible. But, let's be honest, it's pretty damn improbable. Besides, didn't you say Japan was just the first stop for you?'
'I did, didn't I.'
Hoya rolled his eyes as Junho examined his hands, reaching out to grab his wrist and tug him towards him, pressing his lips gently to his and Junho's hands settled on his hips.
'You're not allowed moping around pining after me,' Junho murmured and Hoya snorted.
'You kidding me? I have people lined up around the corner just waiting for you to be gone.'
'Sure you do.' Junho patted Hoya's shoulder and moved to pick up a box, depositing it into Hoya's arms and picking up another one. 'Let's get all this stuff to the charity shops so we can get food.'
Hoya was still there when Junho fell asleep that night and when Junho woke up in an empty bed the next morning he couldn't decide whether he'd rather have actually said goodbye.
2013
march
The music in the club was loud and throbbing, and Hoya could feel the bass vibrating through every cell of his body as he twisted to the beat on the crowded dance floor, alcohol numbing his extremities. He fought his way through the crowd to the bar, signalling for a beer which he sucked down when it arrived, enjoying the coolness chilling his throat.
'A shot of tequila please!' someone yelled next to him, leaning on the bar, reddish brown hair plastered to his forehead and small eyes darting to the side to look Hoya up and down, a once over Hoya idly reciprocated. The guy grinned when they made eye contact and leant over the bar again without breaking the gaze. 'Make that two.'
Money changed hands and the guy slid one of the shots over to Hoya, picking up the other and holding it as if waiting for Hoya. 'Sunggyu,' he yelled, and Hoya bit back a chuckle as he put down his beer in favour of picking up the shot.
'Hoya,' he replied, raising his shot to cheers before they downed them. Sunggyu signalled for a beer, and leaned close enough for Hoya to see his pupils were mere pinpricks.
'I think I saw you on the dance floor earlier. You can move,' Sunggyu said, his breath hitting Hoya's cheek in a barely felt warm puff of air and Hoya laughed loosely.
'I should hope so, with all the time I spend practicing.'
'What?' Sunggyu yelled, leaning closer, his brow furrowed, and Hoya shook his head.
'Thanks,' he said loudly into Sunggyu's ear, and Sunggyu nodded, satisfied.
'I can't dance,' he said, 'I've got three left feet. But I really feel like dancing tonight. The music's just. Getting to me, you know?' Sunggyu flashed a wide grin and Hoya found himself grinning back.
'Want me to show you some moves?' he offered, and Sunggyu's grin turned sly.
'That would be great.'
Sunggyu wasn't lying when he said he wasn't a dancer, Hoya realised very quickly, but he had enough rhythm to not cause painful accidents. Besides, Hoya reasoned, technique wasn't an issue when Sunggyu was dancing this close to him, his hands resting just in the waistband of his pants.
Their noses kept bumping as they moved, alcohol-heated breaths mingling and warming each others’ lips, hands grasping, Sunggyu's skin burning under his fingers.
Hoya had Sunggyu up against a wall before he knew it, his head spinning as he gasped into the kiss, Sunggyu gripping his hips as close as they could go and moving, still moving, and Hoya broke the kiss to run his lips down Sunggyu's neck, tongue tasting a thin layer of salt, and he felt rather than heard a low moan, which he suspected was more to do with the heavy bass tone that had just vibrated the floor of the club than anything he’d done and he raised his head, getting a glance of Sunggyu's eyes, pupils no more visible than they had been at the bar.
'You've taken something, haven't you?' Hoya asked breathlessly, teeth tugging on Sunggyu's earring.
Sunggyu laughed and grinned at him, eyes sparkling in the strobe lights. 'If you ask really nicely, maybe I'll even share.'
part 2
Pairing/s: Sunggyu/Wooyoung/Junho/Woohyun/Hoya (and pretty much all permutations thereof)
Rating: R
Warnings: Mild homophobia; drug use
Summary: 'Another fact: We fall in love twice. Maybe more, if we’re lucky.'- Arkaye Kierulf; Textbook Statistics
Notes: Songs quoted in text are Nell's Drifting Apart and Michael Jackson's Billy Jean
written for menageatroisbb
2006
february
Junho blinked down at the proffered cd and chocolate and glanced up at the boy holding them.
‘You know, Valentine’s day was last week,’ he said conversationally, and Wooyoung jerked his hands back, cheeks flushing and him sputtering.
‘No- I wasn’t- I mean-‘
Junho couldn’t fight back his grin as he reached out to divest Wooyoung of the gifts.
‘I would’ve been your Valentine if you’d asked,’ Junho said quietly, his eyes fixed on the silver front of the rewritable cd, before drifting up to see Wooyoung’s eyes wide.
‘Really?’
Junho was certain his cheeks were pink as he nodded. ‘I’ve seen you watching my dance class sometimes-‘
‘I’m not a creeper,’ Wooyoung said hurriedly, ‘Your class is just right before mine.’
Junho laughed. ‘I know. You’ve obviously never seen me staying after to watch you.’
‘You do that?’ Wooyoung asked, evidently surprised.
Junho shrugged. ‘You’re good.’
‘You’re better,’ Wooyoung said instantly, and Junho laughed while shaking his head.
‘Do you wanna go get some McDonald’s or something?’ Junho asked, and Wooyoung nodded after a moment’s hesitation. ‘As a date,’ Junho felt the need to clarify, and Wooyoung grinned.
‘That’s what I was hoping it was,’ Wooyoung said and Junho debated grabbing his hand.
‘So what’s on the cd?’ Junho asked as they walked down the road.
Wooyoung shrugged. ‘Just some music. I wasn’t quite sure what music you liked, so I put on quite a mix.’
‘Anything we can dance to?’
‘We?’
‘We’ve danced together in performances, but we’ve never just danced together. I think it’ll be fun,’ Junho grinned.
Wooyoung laughed. ‘Uh, yeah, there should be some stuff to dance to on there.’
Junho laughed more than danced when he went through the cd, Wooyoung’s face expressing indignation before he folded his arms and assumed a haughty expression.
‘Take Me On is a great song,’ he informed Junho.
‘This is practically disco,’ Junho howled and Wooyoung huffed, his hair bouncing as he turned his head away.
‘Okay, no, sorry, there’s nothing wrong with the song,’ Junho managed to calm down enough to say, reaching out a hand to pat Wooyoung’s ankle from where he’d ended up on the floor. ‘It was just… unexpected.’
Wooyoung glanced down, looking slightly mollified. ‘Really?’
Junho nodded. ‘Really.’ Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at him and Junho could feel a snicker pulling at his lips and Wooyoung scrunched up his face when a snort escaped.
Junho gave up trying to hide his laughter (which by now was more at Wooyoung’s reaction than to the song itself) and scrambled up, reaching out for Wooyoung instinctively, leaning forward and pressing his lips briefly to Wooyoung’s cheek, skipping back in time to see Wooyoung’s eyes widen in surprise much as they had earlier that day, before a wide grin spread across his face.
Junho smiled back, eyes crinkling, before moving back to the cd player.
‘So, uh, is there anything non-disco to dance to?’
november
Junho rolled over on his bed and grabbed his phone as it rang, bringing it to his ear with a cheery 'Yeah?'
'I'm outside, come let me in,' Wooyoung whined through the phone and Junho glanced at the time.
'Oh, it's already four. I'll be right down.'
'Hurry, it's cold!' Junho rolled his eyes as he ended the call and dropped his phone on his bed, grabbing a lollipop from the bowl of leftover Halloween candy he'd appropriated and sticking it in his mouth as he clattered down the stairs.
He was rolling it around in his mouth when he opened the door and stared.
'Are you gonna let me in?' Wooyoung asked, his tone bordering on grumpy, and Junho stood back to allow him to enter, his eyes not leaving Wooyoung as the door swung shut.
More accurately, not leaving Wooyoung's hair.
'What?' Wooyoung said, and the corners of Junho's mouth twitched. Wooyoung heaved a sigh just before Junho saved his lollipop from falling to the floor and noisily sucked up the sweet flavoured saliva that had gathered in the bottom of his mouth while he'd been gaping before bursting into hysterical laughter.
'Your hair!' he howled and Wooyoung rolled his eyes.
'Yes, I know,' he scowled.
'It looks like a toilet brush!'
'My mom insisted I get it cut, okay, it's not my fault it just sticks up every which way,' Wooyoung defended, and Junho glanced up from where he was doubled over and was overcome with another wave of laughter.
'If you're just going to laugh at me, I'd rather go home,' Wooyoung said testily and Junho shook his head, calming down enough to return his lollipop to his mouth, wiping away imaginary tears from his eyes.
'At least it's winter and you can just wear beanies,' Junho said with a grin, the lollipop clicking against his teeth. Wooyoung just raised an eyebrow and headed up the stairs. 'I think that's what I'll get you for Christmas,' Junho continued, following Wooyoung.
'I'm such a good boyfriend,' he finished as Wooyoung flopped onto his bed. Wooyoung just raised an eyebrow and grabbed a handful of candy.
'What, you don't agree?' Junho demanded and Wooyoung just chewed with a deadpan expression.
'Is this because I laughed at your mad scientist haircut?' Junho attempted to tamper down on his grin as Wooyoung tried to pat his hair down in vain. 'Take it from Harry Potter, that's not gonna work. He had magic and it didn't even work. I think beanies are your best bet.' Wooyoung oh-so-maturely stuck his now-orange tongue out at Junho, who laughed and jumped on the bed, swinging his leg over Woohyun’s middle.
‘There is an advantage,’ Junho told him, satisfied at the way Wooyoung’s eyes lingered on his lips as he gave his lollipop a measured suck, his cheeks hollowing before he pulled it out again with a pop.
‘Yeah?’ Wooyoung prompted, his eyes returning to Junho’s.
Junho grinned. ‘I can do this and my lollipop won’t get stuck in your hair.’ His lollipop fixed in his hand as he cupped Wooyoung’s face, he leaned down to kiss him, their mouths both overly sweet from the candy.
The lollipop ended up being forgotten, and getting stuck in Junho’s hair when Wooyoung flipped them over a little later.
2007
february
‘So, this is it, I guess,’ Junho said quietly as they sat on a bench in a secluded area of a park, still in their school uniforms from the final day of the school year. ‘When are you leaving again?’
‘Two weeks,’ Wooyoung replied, staring at his knees.
‘Two weeks,’ Junho repeated, ‘Two weeks and you’re off to university. On the other side of the country.’
Wooyoung winced. ‘Junho-‘
‘No, I know, we talked about it, we’ve talked it to death,’ Junho interrupted dismissively. ‘I’m not about to throw a fit or anything. It just. It’s happening, it’s practically here. We said until the end of the school year, and… hey, guess what, it’s here.’ He gave a rueful smile with his shrug.
‘We could. Um. I only leave in two weeks,’ Wooyoung offered, not really wanting to let go of this- of Junho- now that it was time to.
Junho gave a short laugh. ‘Yeah, I don’t think dragging it out is going to be good for either of us.’
‘A week?’ Wooyoung tried cheekily, and got a real smile in return.
They lapsed into silence, Junho scuffing his shoes on the ground.
‘Long distance never works,’ Wooyoung said quietly, and Junho made a noise of agreement.
‘No, it doesn’t.’
‘Knowing that doesn’t make this suck less,’ Wooyoung muttered and Junho chuckled.
‘It really doesn’t, does it?’
‘One week more,’ Wooyoung tried again and Junho gave him a small smile, turning to him.
‘No, here’s what we’re going to do. Because… it might be easier,’ Junho told him, holding out his hand. ‘Give me your phone.’
‘Or you might be an idiot,’ Wooyoung sighed, handing over his phone regardless, and Junho laughed.
‘I might be, yes, but this is what we’re going to do anyway.’ Junho scrolled through Wooyoung’s phone as he spoke. ‘We’re going to delete each other’s numbers.’ He handed Wooyoung his phone back and took his own out, and Wooyoung could see him scrolling through his contacts in his peripheral vision even as he scrolled through his own phonebook to see that Junho’s number really was erased.
‘And now… we’re just going to enjoy each other,’ Junho said, looking up and pocketing his phone again with a small smile. ‘Whether we part ways tomorrow or the day after or whatever, that’s when we’ll really part ways. But let’s not think about that, okay?’
‘It’s a pretty depressing thought,’ Wooyoung agreed, glancing around to make sure they were still alone before leaning forward to give Junho a quick kiss.
‘Staying at my place tonight?’ Junho asked, standing up and holding out a hand to Wooyoung.
‘My room is half in boxes at this point, so yeah, I think that would be a good idea,’ Wooyoung chuckled, taking Junho’s hand.
Just before they left the confines of the park, Wooyoung glanced at Junho, watching the light play on his features, and stopped.
‘Junho, I-‘ he broke off at Junho’s expectant look.
‘Yeah?’
He gave a small laugh. ‘I’m gonna miss you,’ he settled and Junho smiled back, leaning in for a soft kiss.
‘Me too.’
april
Woohyun let out a squawk as someone grabbed his wrist and yanked him into the guys’ bathroom.
‘Anyone around?’ his classmate asked and Woohyun shook his head, confused, as he closed the door and flicked the bolt that was never used.
‘You could have just asked,’ Woohyun said dryly and Hoya flashed him a grin.
‘I could have, but would you really have come?’
Woohyun considered this. ‘Probably not, because this is really weird, what exactly is going on?’
Hoya hesitated. ‘Um. This is. Harder than I thought to say.’
Woohyun blinked. ‘Well, that’s completely unhelpful. Just spit it out.’
Hoya avoided Woohyun’s gaze, running his hand through his hair nervously, staying silent.
‘I’m leaving if you don’t start talking,’ Woohyun remarked dryly and Hoya’s eyes snapped up to look at him.
‘I like you,’ Hoya said and Woohyun’s jaw dropped.
‘L-like?’ he stuttered, backing away towards the door. ‘This isn’t- you can’t-‘
Hoya raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m pretty sure you like me too.’
Woohyun shook his head. ‘Why would you think that, I don’t, I mean, not like that, that’s not- I’m not gay.’ His voice dropped to a panicked whisper.
‘I’m not saying you are,’ Hoya’s voice was calm and settled, ‘But I’ve seen you looking. I’ve seen how you look at me.’
‘You’re mad, I don’t- I don’t look at you, why would I- I’m straight, I like girls, my parents-‘ Woohyun stopped as Hoya nodded with a small smile.
‘Your parents. My parents. The teachers. Half the school. Yeah. You think I haven’t weighed it up?’
‘Hoya, I’m sorry, but I-‘
‘One kiss,’ Hoya interrupted. ‘I just- give me one kiss, and if you can honestly tell me you don’t want another one after that, fine. It won’t leave this bathroom, and I’ll leave you alone.’
‘You don’t have to leave me alone, we can still be friends-‘ Woohyun stumbled over his words nervously and Hoya grinned.
‘You’ll let me kiss you?’ he asked and Woohyun swallowed, tried to wet his suddenly dry throat as he nodded mutely.
Hoya’s steps were halting and unsure as he stepped forward but Woohyun couldn’t bring himself to meet him halfway. His breath puffed over Woohyun’s lips and his tongue reflexively darted out to wet them, blood quickening in his veins.
Hoya’s lips were soft on his, and despite his best intentions, Woohyun found himself kissing back, making Hoya deepen the kiss, his hands curling into his school uniform.
Hoya gave a breathless chuckle when they broke apart. ‘So…’
Woohyun groaned. ‘Okay, yeah, I was lying through my teeth, I do like you, but-‘
‘You’re satisfied with just that kiss. Okay,’ Hoya said quietly, and moved towards the door- but Woohyun got there first, blocking the exit.
‘Don’t put words in my mouth.’ He took a deep breath and stared at his hands, well aware of the possible ramifications of what he was about to do.
‘No one can know,’ he told Hoya, ‘and I mean no one, you can’t even tell your cat.’
‘I don’t have a cat.’ Hoya’s lips were turning up in a smile.
Woohyun rolled his eyes. ‘Not even your favourite childhood teddy.’
‘Is this… actually happening? Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’ Hoya asked, suddenly looking hesitant.
‘If you think I’m saying that I would like to do that kissing thing again, possibly exclusively, but only if absolutely no one knows, then… yes,’ Woohyun said, chewing on his lip.
Hoya let out an incredulous laugh. ‘How did this turn into you asking me out?’
‘Is that really important?’ Woohyun asked dryly, and Hoya chuckled again.
‘I guess not.’ Hoya grinned at Woohyun for a few seconds before moving forward, pinning Woohyun to the door and sealing their lips together enthusiastically.
Woohyun figured that that was a good enough reward for the risk he was about to take.
2008
january
Woohyun hissed as Hoya’s fingers slid up his shirt and Hoya chuckled against his collarbone.
‘Your hands are fucking freezing,’ he complained quietly and Hoya traced a pattern on his neck with his tongue.
‘Forgot my gloves,’ he mumbled in reply and Woohyun tugged him up to fuse their lips together again, shifting so his legs were more comfortable, spread out around Hoya. Hoya shifted forward, rolling his hips against Woohyun and Woohyun let out a choked gasp, arching up instinctively for more friction.
‘You’re- giving me frostbite,’ Woohyun gasped haltingly against Hoya’s lips, and Hoya slid his hands higher up under Woohyun’s shirt.
‘You’re just warming them up for me, because you care,’ Hoya murmured and Woohyun arched his back and hooked his ankles together behind Hoya’s back, bringing them closer together, and smirking at the sound it got from Hoya.
‘Woohyun!’
Woohyun pushed Hoya off at the call and they hurriedly settled on opposite sides of the bed, grabbing at ignored schoolwork, getting it in their laps just as Woohyun’s door opened, and Woohyun looked at his mother as innocently as he could with his maths textbook hiding his hard on.
‘Yes, mom?’
‘I’m going to the shop quickly, do you want anything in particular for snacks?’ Her eyes darted between the two of them and Hoya gave a bright smile.
‘Anything’s fine, mom. I don’t have any preference,’ Woohyun assured her hastily, flashing her a practiced smile.
‘Okay. You boys study hard now,’ she said with a smile and closed the door behind her.
Woohyun let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding when he heard the front door close. ‘That was too close,’ he muttered, and Hoya gave a small laugh.
‘Would it really be so bad if-‘
‘Yes,’ Woohyun said firmly, ‘Yes it would be so bad.’
It was silent again, and they could hear the car start and pull out of the driveway as Hoya nodded in defeat.
‘How long do you think she’s going to be?’ he asked, his good humour back again, sly grin on his face.
‘Not long,’ Woohyun replied.
‘Well, we better make it quick then,’ Hoya said with a grin, moving his book to the side and walking forward on his knees.
Woohyun grinned back. ‘I guess so.’
The maths book was thrown to the floor, once again forgotten, as Hoya’s lips met Woohyun’s again, his hands slipping down to the zip on Woohyun’s pants.
july
‘Well that didn’t quite go as planned,’ Hoya laughed resignedly into his phone, leaning heavily against the wall of the public bathroom he’d found himself in.
‘Yeah, no shit,’ Woohyun hissed hysterically. ‘Where are you?’
Hoya glanced around. ‘In the gas station bathroom. My mom called, told me to come home, that it was still fine, but I’m. Well, I don’t know how fine it’s going to be, but I guess at least I have a roof over my head still.’
Woohyun made a frustrated noise on the other end of the line. ‘I told you not to come out!’
‘No, you didn’t,’ Hoya corrected fondly.
‘Oh, can’t you at least let me pretend I did, so I don’t feel like this is all my fault for supporting this- this insanity. You’re insane. Why am I even-‘
‘None of this is your fault. I couldn’t- I couldn’t keep lying, it was driving me crazy, you know that. I said I wasn’t going to bring your name up, and I didn’t, and I’m still not going to. As far as anyone knows, I’m gay, but single, and you had no idea of my sexual orientation.’ Hoya paused before adding, ‘Even though you are my sexual orientation.’
‘Really? You’re going to joke about this? Hoya, I’m fucking terrified, my parents- they heard, and it’s.’ Woohyun stopped and Hoya could feel his heart sinking even deeper into the pits of his belly.
‘They forbid you from seeing me again, I’m guessing,’ Hoya said heavily.
‘Quite loudly,’ Woohyun confirmed.
Hoya scratched at his knee through his jeans in silence for a little while.
‘Hoya?’ Woohyun’s voice was tinny through the phone.
‘Yeah, I’m here. Um. Yeah, I mean. You did. Warn me about that possibility.’
‘I didn’t know they’d actually… yeah. I mean, there’s still school, so.’
‘Yeah, there is. We could probably- yeah, we could do it.’ Hoya managed a smile.
Hoya heard a door open on the other end of the line and a muttered ‘shit’ as voices spoke in the room Woohyun was in.
‘Mom-‘ Hoya heard Woohyun say, and he gritted his teeth. ‘I don’t see- no, but- mom-‘
‘Don’t ever come near him again!’ Woohyun’s mother’s voice streamed through the phone and Hoya winced at the volume. ‘He doesn’t want you around, and I don’t want your kind around!’
The dialtone rang in his ear like an angry insect and Hoya heaved a sigh.
‘Maybe this was a bad idea,’ he muttered, before heaving himself off the floor, resigning himself to the fact that it was too late to change anything now.
Numerous attempted calls over the next few days and Hoya concluded that Woohyun’s parents must have taken measure to prevent him contacting Woohyun via telephone.
His pen tapped against the postcard he had in his hand, and he wondered what to write, what to say, if Woohyun would even get it.
Eventually, he put his pen to paper.
Moving schools. Stay well.
2009
september
Wooyoung eyed the guy sitting at one of the tables at the student café he frequented. He recognised the guy from one of his music electorates and right now, he looked like he might actually have fallen asleep. Which meant Wooyoung didn’t feel quite as creepy about letting his gaze linger as he sometimes did when it was possible he’d get caught.
When the other student stretched with a giant yawn, though, Wooyoung started, his eyes snapping back to his notes spread out on the table in front of him.
He glanced surreptitiously at the other table just as the guy stood up, blinking sleepily, and made his way towards Wooyoung- or the cake counter just next to his table, he reasoned as the guy leaned forward to examine the display, his hands in his pockets, directly behind Wooyoung, and Wooyoung stared determinedly at his notes again.
‘So were you ever going to approach me or were you just going to watch me from a distance until the course finished?’ Wooyoung almost leapt out of his skin when the guy spoke, and he whipped around to face him.
‘What?’ Wooyoung was treated to a sleepy smile, eyes curving into almost non-existent crescents.
‘I’m Sunggyu,’ he said.
‘Wooyoung,’ Wooyoung replied automatically and then grimaced. ‘So you noticed me, then.’
Sunggyu chuckled. ‘I might have glanced in your direction a few times myself.’
‘Not just because of the hair?’ Wooyoung asked, running a hand through his orange-red hair that had been the result of a hasty, alcohol fuelled decision.
Sunggyu laughed with his mouth open wide and grinned at Wooyoung.
‘Buy me a piece of cake?’ Sunggyu asked, tilting his head towards the display case, his eyes twinkling and Wooyoung arched an eyebrow.
‘I’m a poor student,’ Sunggyu protested and Wooyoung laughed.
‘And I’m not?’
‘We can share it,’ Sunggyu offered.
Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at Sunggyu consideringly. ‘What kind do you want?’ he relented and Sunggyu’s grin widened.
He tapped at the display case, pointing to the one he wanted. ‘I’ll get my stuff,’ he said and Wooyoung nodded as he waved a waitress over.
Sunggyu ended up eating most of the cake, chocolate icing getting caught on his lips and the corners of his mouth, his eyes curving up into crescent moons as he lifted his hand to wipe it away with a laugh.
Wooyoung got Sunggyu’s number though, and he figured that made up for only getting a bite or two of cake.
december
‘The people who work the hardest are the ones who are most worthy of respect!’ Wooyoung insisted, waggling his ice cream spoon in Sunggyu’s direction.
‘Look, I’m not saying- ow, that’s my beer,’ Sunggyu muttered as the glass of the bottle collided with his teeth, and he placed it down on the side table and picked up the spoon in his ice cream bowl. ‘Okay, hard work is good, I’m not negating that, people who work hard are going to go far, there’s no doubting that, but what I’m saying, what you’re not seeing, is that hard work is not the be all and end all of music. Someone can work as hard as they like, but if it’s just recycled chords, if there’s no feeling behind it, no emotion, they’re not going to make good music!’
‘But you’re saying that someone who doesn’t work hard and has that so-called emotion, they can make just as good music as someone who works hard at it, and I don’t know if I agree with that,’ Wooyoung responded, reaching out for his own beer.
‘I’m saying that between someone who performs with emotion and someone who works hard but performs mechanically, I’d rather watch the one who, okay, fair enough, maybe isn’t quite as skilled on whatever instrument they’re using, be it an actual instrument or their voice, but performs with emotion and vivacity.’ Sunggyu caught some ice cream that had leaked from his mouth and took a swig of beer.
‘Look, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how we ended up at this point, but what this argument really boils down to is that the music you listen to is simple compared to the music I listen to-‘
‘You listen to A Ha,’ Sunggyu interrupted with a snort.
‘They are not a part of this discussion!’ Wooyoung declared loudly. ‘Look, I’m not saying the stuff you’re listening to is bad, or that they are less talented or whatever, because like, they can play the instruments, they can probably do the music I listen to, but on a general basis, they don’t utilise the full spectrum of that ability, they stick to just a few chords, which isn’t a bad thing, because… I don’t know, okay, while the melody of the song is important- the instrumental, I mean, the backing, is important, it’s very much a backing to the lyrical melody line, whereas in what I listen to- okay, yeah, the lyrical melody does contribute to the song, but the backing track complements it, like, say, Thirsty Merc, the instrumental could stand alone and it wouldn’t necessarily feel like something was missing. Do that to a Nell song instrumental and it would feel like a really long intro,’ Wooyoung finished, sitting back in his chair and reaching for his beer definitively.
‘But the voice is used as an instrument, it’s like lead guitar, the song isn’t meant to be played without the vocals,’ Sunggyu started, spooning ice cream into his mouth as he paused briefly, ‘That’s when the emotions come into play, because- brainfreeze, shit, brainfreeze, ow!’ he broke off in a whine, dropping his spoon, his eyes disappearing as he scrunched his face up, his entire body tensing up and his arms flailing manically as he waited for the chill to pass.
Wooyoung almost choked on his beer in his laughter, snorting into his hand, and Sunggyu glowered balefully at him once his brainfreeze was gone. Wooyoung wasn’t looking at him, too busy trying to clear the beer bubbles from his throat, which meant he didn’t see Sunggyu dig his spoon into his ice cream and catapult a fair sized globule across the room at him, eliciting a yelp as it spattered against his cheek.
Wooyoung gaped at Sunggyu indignantly, the ice cream slowly sliding down his neck, and Sunggyu smirked smugly, and then Wooyoung was up, throwing ice cream at Sunggyu, which spurred Sunggyu to his feet, and then they were twisting around, yelling and squawking as they tried to cover each other with ice cream, Sunggyu’s words coming out in a high pitched flurry as he arched his back away from the melted ice cream Wooyoung was tipping victoriously down his shirt, and Sunggyu’s next attack was to pour his melted ice cream onto Wooyoung head and smear the dribbles over his face and then the bowls were empty and they were laughing, ice cream everywhere.
‘Oh god, what a mess,’ Sunggyu laughed helplessly, looking at himself, and then Wooyoung, and then the floor.
‘You started it,’ Wooyoung pointed out.
‘You wanted ice cream. It’s December. Who eats ice cream in December.’
‘Ice cream is an all year round food.’
‘Sure.’ Sunggyu’s tone was humouring, and Wooyoung took the empty bowl, stacking it with his on one of the tables, slinging an arm over Sunggyu’s shoulder.
‘Let’s get in the shower before this shit dries.’ Sunggyu laughed at Wooyoung’s words, making a noise of agreement as they headed to the bathroom, Wooyoung leaning over to lick at Sunggyu’s cheek.
‘Shame to waste this much ice cream,’ he sighed and Sunggyu snorted.
‘You’re not licking the rest of me clean, sorry to disappoint.’
Wooyoung laughed again when Sunggyu pulled off his shirt in the bathroom, ice cream trailed all down his back. ‘Yeah, I think you’re going to be borrowing some of my clothes.’
‘No, really?’ Sunggyu replied dryly, pushing off his pants and stepping into the shower, turning the water on. ‘Hurry up and strip. Get in here.’
‘This shower isn’t really big enough for two people,’ Wooyoung murmured a few minutes later, pressing Sunggyu up against the shower wall.
‘Guess we’ll just have to move very carefully,’ Sunggyu said with a grin, his fingers slipping along Wooyoung’s side before reaching behind him for the shampoo, squeezing it out on Wooyoung’s head, and all Wooyoung could do was shut his eyes and laugh as Sunggyu’s fingers worked through his hair.
2010
august
'What is the point of all this?' Sunggyu asked listlessly, staring out at the night sky, the smoke from his cigarette twisting out the window, beer in hand, naked except for the blanket wrapped around his waist.
Wooyoung cracked open an eye to peer at him, not bothering to reply, hardly surprised by this train of thought any more. He rolled over and reached out for the beer Sunggyu had left on his bedside table for him when he'd gotten himself one, inwardly rejoicing that it was still cool.
'All we do is study shit we don't care for, to graduate and get jobs we don't care about, to maintain a society that doesn't care about us. What is the point of this? It's just a whole pile of money sunk into letting us sit in large rooms and have someone tell us how everything works. Is this really how it should be?' Sunggyu's forehead was creased as he took another drag on his cigarette.
'You didn't have to study what your parents wanted you to, you know. There are courses you would have enjoyed more,' Wooyoung pointed out.
Sunggyu gave a disbelieving snort. 'Even the electorates they allowed me to take that were my choosing are just... I don't know, maybe I'm just not cut out for academia, maybe I should have taken a break after high school.'
'Maybe you should drop the business course your parents have you doing in favour of something you don't hate,' Wooyoung mumbled around the top of his beer bottle, knowing Sunggyu wouldn't hear him.
'You're doing something you're interested in and you still complain,' Sunggyu said, gesturing towards Wooyoung with his beer bottle.
Wooyoung shrugged half-heartedly. 'Yeah, I complain about the workload and stuff, but I do it anyway, and it's not like I regret any of that work. I'm still learning, and it's a means to an end, you know?'
Sunggyu gave a short laugh. 'You mean you're not quite as disillusioned and apathetic as I am,' he remarked wryly.
Wooyoung took another swig of beer. 'I wouldn't call you apathetic. Maybe a little unsettled, yeah, but...'
Sunggyu hummed a chuckle and dropped his cigarette butt in the dregs of his beer, gathering the blanket up around him and waddling back towards the bed. 'Sorry, it's not a particularly bright conversation topic, I guess.'
'Nah, it's fine,' Wooyoung replied, shifting over to give Sunggyu room.
Sunggyu shook his head slightly and leaned over to press his lips to Wooyoung's. 'I must be boring, I keep talking about all this shit. I really don’t need to drag you into all my doubts.’
‘You tend to keep me well lubricated- with beer,’ Wooyoung added when Sunggyu snorted.
‘Oh, is that all?’ Sunggyu grinned, reaching over and stealing Wooyoung’s beer, and Wooyoung allowed a swig before he took it back.
‘I suppose you have your other uses too,’ Wooyoung replied with a shrug and Sunggyu laughed before leaning in for another kiss.
Wooyoung woke up later to Sunggyu walking quietly up and down in front of the window, his arms wrapped around himself and cigarette tip glowing red in the dark room.
He watched him for a couple minutes with a sinking feeling in his belly before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.
He wasn’t surprised when Sunggyu wasn’t anywhere to be found a week later, his room cleaned out and his name crossed off the course lists.
He found a cigarette packet, the brand Sunggyu smoked, squashed under the door to his room, sorry scrawled across it, and he turned it around in his fingers a few times, before dropping it in the trash.
It was more than he’d expected, and he thought that if it weren’t for him, Sunggyu would have left long before.
october
Junho peered over at the small group of people gathered in interest, the music drawing his attention before the excited group of people. He moved through the small crowd, jumping on one of the low walls to look over the heads of the inner circle, to see a guy in a purple dinosaur hoodie dancing to the music, arms alternately flowing smoothly and elbows jerking sharply to the rhythm. The power of his dancing was in his shoulders, sharp movements and fluid extensions and Junho gave a nod of appreciation- he couldn't deny the guy had impeccable technique, his well-built body delivering the moves with deadly precision, moving slowly and stretching out the music until catching up with the beat and dancing several moves in a second, quick and eye-catching.
The song finished and the guy dropped his finishing pose, wide smile on his face as he laughed and pushed his hair back, a thin layer of sweat glistening on his skin.
The gathered crowd made a collective sound of disappointment and Junho shrugged before jumping off the wall, breaking the edge of the circle.
'Up for a challenge?' he asked the guy, arching an eyebrow and the guy ran his eyes over him, sizing him up.
'You think you're up for it?' he replied, wiping off his sweat with the end of his unzipped hoodie.
Junho laughed. 'Put the music on and we'll see.'
The guy gave a nod and a grin and moved towards the music player, pressing play and Junho bent down, stretching out as the beat of the song started. Junho stretched over to the side and the guy gave a half-mocking bow and sweep of his arms, gesturing for Junho to take the floor first. Junho bounced on the balls of his feet a couple time, shooing the crowd further out a bit before leaping forward as the beat dropped, the rush of the crowd's appreciative cry as his hands left the floor and he twisted his body in the air, and he heard the guy laughing delightedly as he landed, taking a beat or two before letting his body loose, feeling the music guide his body, even as he glanced up and caught the guy's eyes a few times.
He landed on his feet again after an extended handstand and mimicked the guy's earlier motion for him to take the floor, which the guy accepted with a nod and a grin, throwing himself into more powerful moves, more grounded than Junho's own style.
Junho found himself laughing in exhilaration as they continued dancing, losing himself in the music, in the stretch of his muscles, enjoying the display the other guy was putting on.
The music wound to an end and Junho had his hands on his knees, breathing heavily and feeling like he was wearing a layer too much clothing, exhaustedly energised as he grinned up at the crowd, applause washing over him.
He caught his breath and wandered over to where the guy was packing up the music player, the crowd starting to disperse and he slung his arm over his shoulder.
‘You’re good,’ the guy said, glancing over at Junho. ‘I’m Hoya.’
‘Junho,’ Junho replied, flashing him a grin. ‘You too. That was fun.’
‘It was,’ Hoya agreed. ‘So, do you go to school around here, or live around here or something?’
‘I might,’ Junho replied with a grin. ‘You?’
‘Live, work and play around here,’ Hoya laughed.
‘So I guess you’d know somewhere we can rehydrate?’ Junho asked innocently, a twinkle in his eyes and Hoya side-eyed him.
‘I might,’ he replied and Junho laughed.
‘I’ll treat,’ he offered, and Hoya gestured down the road with a chuckle, grabbing his things as they moved off. Junho had yet to remove his arm and he allowed it to slip down Hoya’s back and run over his butt, which Junho couldn’t resist giving a quick squeeze.
Hoya laughed and dropped back a step or two. ‘And that?’
Junho shrugged. ‘You have a nice ass.’
‘Have you seen your own lately?’ Hoya asked dryly, lifting his hands up to make a camera frame aimed at Junho’s butt. Junho laughed and played along, sticking his butt out and running his hands along the side.
Hoya dropped his hands, laughing widely, his canines glinting in the sun.
‘I didn’t realise you’d noticed my ass,’ Junho said with a grin, waiting for Hoya to catch the few steps up.
Hoya shrugged. ‘Well, here I was thinking you’d jumped in just to challenge me in dancing, but I guess we were both wrong, weren’t we?’
Junho flashed him another grin, and threw in a slap on his ass for good measure.
2011
may
Wooyoung let out a small sigh as he started pissing, staring at the wall in front of him, the club’s music throbbing outside the bathroom, buzz of alcohol swimming in his head.
He glanced towards the door instinctively when it opened, looking away when the guy looked at him before heading for a urinal a few down from Wooyoung.
‘You’re pretty hot, you know that, right?’ the guys said and Wooyoung blinked, looking over at him in surprise before looking around the bathroom.
‘I’m sorry, are you talking to me?’ Wooyoung asked and the guy glanced at him with raised eyebrows.
‘We’re the only two people in here, so yeah. Unless you thought I was talking to myself, which, you know, understandable mistake, but that generally requires a mirror.’ The guy flashed a grin and Wooyoung shrugged.
‘You could have been talking to your dick,’ he reasoned, shaking off.
‘Do you talk to your dick?’ the guy laughed and Wooyoung paused after zipping up, staring at the wall in contemplation.
‘I have done, but I was incredibly drunk,’ he replied, getting another laugh. ‘Social etiquette generally bars talking at the urinals though,’ he added, moving towards the sink.
‘But if you left before I finished pissing I might not find you again, and I couldn’t let that happen.’
Wooyoung looked behind him as the water ran over his hands, surveying the guy’s back incredulously.
‘I could still leave before you’re done pissing,’ he pointed out, turning the tap off.
‘Yeah, but at least I’d have told you you’re hot.’
Wooyoung looked the guy up and down as he dried his hands and paused at the door, leaning against the wall instead of leaving as the guy shook off and zipped up, turning around and grinning when he saw Wooyoung.
‘Not leaving?’ he asked, reaching for the tap. Wooyoung shrugged.
‘You’re pretty hot.’
The guy laughed and wiped his hands on his jeans, before holding it out. ‘I’m Woohyun.’
‘Wooyoung,’ Wooyoung replied, giving his hand a shake. ‘Do you usually hit on guys at the urinals?’
Woohyun laughed. ‘This would be the first time,’ he admitted, ‘Exhilarating experience.’
‘I’m sure,’ Wooyoung laughed. ‘Uh… can I buy you a drink?’
‘Is a dance included?’ Woohyun asked, walking through the door Wooyoung held open.
‘Can you dance?’
‘Depends on what classifies as dancing,’ Woohyun yelled over the music and Wooyoung grinned, a hand slipping on Woohyun’s shoulder as he guided him towards the bar.
‘Would alcohol help?’ Wooyoung said, his mouth next to Woohyun’s ear to ensure being heard.
‘Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?’ Woohyun replied, his breath puffing over Wooyoung’s ear.
‘Do I need to?’ Wooyoung’s arm slung around Woohyun’s waist naturally.
‘You could take advantage of me as I am,’ Woohyun told him lowly, before pulling back with a grin. ‘But a little bit more alcohol sounds good.’
Wooyoung grinned and raised an arm. ‘Bartender!’
july
Hoya panted into Junho's mouth, breaths humid as their lips stopped all breathing for a second again, Hoya's hands running over Junho's thighs, small sounds escaping from Junho's throat. Hoya's hand slid over the side of Junho's butt where it was pressed into the bed, slipping over to the bottom of his thigh and gently pushing it up and he leant further forward, Junho's leg hooked over his arm.
Junho made a small sound, and murmured 'Mm-mm,' against Hoya's lips and Hoya stopped, looking down at Junho, his forehead furrowed in mild concern.
'You okay?' Hoya asked, his voice low and rough.
'I haven't stretched,' Junho whispered, his fingers playing with the hair at Hoya's neck, pressing his lips to the corner of Hoya's mouth.
Hoya blinked, and let his chin drop to his chest when Junho pulled back enough, his shoulders shaking after a couple seconds.
'What?' Junho said, his tone edging out from quiet.
'Really?' Hoya asked in amusement, grin wide on his face when he raised his head to look at Junho with raised eyebrows.
'Stretching is important, okay, you can injure yourself if you don't stretch,' Junho told him archly and Hoya pushed himself off him to collapse in laughter at the bottom of the bed. 'I don't understand why you're laughing.'
'Do you normally stretch before sex?' Hoya laughed, and Junho shifted.
'Well, I stretch before you come over. Just in case.' Junho jutted his chin out stubbornly as Hoya gave a howl of laughter. 'You're a dancer too, you know how important stretching is!'
'Junho, I just-' Hoya broke off with a chuckle, glancing at Junho incredulously before giving a shake of his head and moving to hover over Junho again, his hands on either side of Junho, leaning down to lick at his bottom lip. 'Okay,' he said with a grin, 'No gymnastics.' He ran his hand along the top of Junho's leg, applying pressure to push it against the bed lightly. 'Shame wasting that flexibility though,' he murmured against Junho's neck and felt his throat vibrate under his lips with a chuckle.
'Not wasting, just resting,' Junho murmured and Hoya chuckled, nipping lightly at his neck, knees pushing both of Junho's thighs up.
'I can't believe I never knew you stretched before sex.'
Junho groaned. 'You're not gonna let that go, are you?'
Hoya shook his head in the crook of Junho's neck with a smile. 'Not anytime soon, no.'
Junho rapped a fist lightly on Hoya's bare back and pushed against his cheek to get his face back in his eyesight. 'Shut up,' he murmured, tugging him down to lick into his mouth again.
november
'Polysemy,' Woohyun whispered, his breath hot on Wooyoung's ear. 'Intertextuality.' There was a barely tempered snicker.
'Oh, stop, I'm getting all hot and bothered,' Wooyoung replied boredly, turning another page in his book.
'Critical theories of ideologies,' Woohyun murmured huskily, his hand smoothing down Wooyoung's thigh.
Wooyoung whacked his hand away and tried to focus on his own work, hearing the snorting laughter and the creak of bedsprings that signalled the other was on the other side of the room again.
Wooyoung eventually looked up when there was no further sounds, looking around to see Woohyun sprawled on the bed, hair mussed by annoyed hands running through them while he'd actually still been studying, propping himself up on his elbows to grin cheekily at him, and Wooyoung's eyes lingered appreciatively on the gaping top of the half-buttoned shirt Woohyun wore.
'Aren't you meant to be studying?' Wooyoung asked and Woohyun's grin turned sultry.
'Polysemy,' he mouthed slowly, his head moving with every exaggerated syllable, come-hither eyes hooded deliberately, his teeth catching his lower lip as he gave a pronounced wink, followed by a brief eyebrow waggle.
There was silence in the room for approximately thirty seconds before they both collapsed in laughter.
'You're ridiculous,' Wooyoung said with a chuckle, shaking his head.
'I'm bored of studying,' Woohyun returned, 'I'm bored of you studying too. Can't we find something else to do?' His eyes flashed teasingly as he bounced on the bed, making the springs creak, his tongue caught between his teeth.
'Is all you do think with your dick?' Wooyoung countered, arching an eyebrow.
Woohyun's grin grew just a little wider, his teeth catching his lower lip again.
'Mmm, want me to teach you how to think with yours?'
Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at the younger man. 'You were the one who suggested studying together because you were complaining you never see me. So I figured, sure, why not use the time while you're studying-' Wooyoung threw a pencil at Woohyun to punctuate his point. '-to work on my thesis. And now you're bored.'
'You have plenty time to work on your thesis, you're doing great so far,' Woohyun told him, grinning sunnily, and patted the bed next to him. 'You can afford to take a short break.'
Wooyoung paused and then shook his head and turned back to his work resolutely.
'Exercise helps your brain work better,' Woohyun told him cockily and Wooyoung gave a short laugh before stopping himself and clearing his throat.
'No, you're meant to be studying,' Wooyoung started, turning around and stopping abruptly, his eyes growing wide as Woohyun unbuttoned his last button, letting his shirt hang open as he grinned. 'What are you doing?'
'The shirt was getting itchy,' Woohyun replied innocently, shrugging the shirt off his shoulders and pushing it onto the floor. 'Are you going to get my pants, or do I have to do that myself too?'
Wooyoung huffed in annoyance and slammed the pen he'd just picked up onto the table, standing up from his chair and stripping his shirt off as he crossed the room.
'You are impossible,' Wooyoung grumbled, catching Woohyun's answering laugh with his lips.
2012
march
Wooyoung tugged Woohyun behind a wall and pressed him against it, kissing him hard, his fingers digging into his hips. Woohyun's arms came up to settle around his shoulders, one hand burying in his hair, the other hanging lax, holding his ticket. Their breaths came heavier when they broke apart and Wooyoung rested his forehead against Woohyun's.
'And that?' Woohyun asked, his voice coming out merely louder than a whisper.
'It just kinda hit me you're leaving, when you checked your luggage in,' Wooyoung replied quietly, and pressed his lips briefly to Woohyun's again before drawing back, pushing himself off Woohyun.
'I don't think it's really hit me yet,' Woohyun admitted with a small laugh, and reached for the hand luggage he'd dropped on the floor.
'Should we get something to eat? You've still got a while until boarding,' Wooyoung said, glancing at his watch.
'I could eat,' Woohyun agreed and they headed back into the more public area of the airport, the bustle of people echoing in the high-ceilinged halls.
'You excited?' Wooyoung sucked on the straw of his milkshake as he glanced up at Woohyun, waiting for an answer.
'Just as excited as when you asked me this morning, and yesterday, and the day before that, and last week,' Woohyun replied with a grin, grabbing a chip. 'I think Japan'll be interesting. Different. I'm looking forward to it.'
Wooyoung nodded quietly, glancing down at his food and Woohyun reached out to rest a hand on his arm.
'I'm not excited to leave you behind.'
'I wasn't angling for that at all,' Wooyoung declared, eating a chip defiantly to hide the smile that was pulling at the corners of his lips.
'Sure you weren't,' Woohyun remarked dryly, 'You're just aching to be rid of me.'
'Of course.' Wooyoung nodded. 'Maybe now I'll finally finish my thesis.'
Woohyun stuck his tongue out at him. 'You finished months ago.'
'Hey, shh, I'm trying to be flippant here,' Wooyoung told him and Woohyun rolled his eyes.
'Seriously, though. I'm going to miss you,' Woohyun said quietly after a brief silence.
'I'll miss you too. But I was the one who told you to fill out the application. I told you I wasn't going to let you let me stop you from doing what you wanted, remember?' Wooyoung waved a chip in Woohyun's face and Woohyun snatched it from his fingers.
'I wish you'd decided to come with me,' he grumbled and Wooyoung chuckled.
'Just drink your milkshake.'
All too soon, Woohyun felt, he was standing at security, scratching through his bag for his passport.
'Well. I guess this it,' Wooyoung said, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Woohyun stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Wooyoung, Wooyoung muttering as he struggled to extricate his arms so he could wrap them around Woohyun.
'Thank you,' Woohyun murmured into Wooyoung's neck.
'For what?'
'For giving me the courage to do this.'
Wooyoung chuckled. 'That's a nice thought, but I think you would've done it anyway.'
Woohyun laughed as he pulled back. 'Maybe.'
They looked at each other in silence as the boarding call rang through the airport and Woohyun took a deep breath.
'Well. Bye.'
Wooyoung snorted. 'Yeah. Bye.'
Woohyun gave a half wave and joined the line.
'I'd recommend not talking to strangers at the urinal,' Wooyoung called and Woohyun could only laugh, glancing back to see his bright grin. 'Study hard!'
Woohyun got through security and glanced back to see Wooyoung still standing there. He raised a hand in greeting and got a wave in return before heading off towards his gate.
Seated on the plane, watching clouds slipping under the wings, Woohyun had to swallow back a lump in his throat, before sticking his earphones in his ears and determinedly avoiding any music Wooyoung might have given him.
april
'The drawers are all definitely empty, which means you have successfully packed all your clothes,' Hoya declared, walking into the lounge.
'I'm sorry, I didn't ask you over to pack,' Junho laughed, slotting books into a box.
'No, you didn't, but you're leaving tomorrow and you're not packed,' Hoya pointed out, 'I figured I could lend a hand. Besides, the quicker we finish up here, the sooner we can go get some food or something.'
'Well, I'm pretty much done,' Junho said, standing up and looking around the small apartment. 'Can we make a run past the charity shop?'
'I suppose you can't take all of this over to Japan.' Junho shook his head.
'I'm only allowed a certain amount and I think I'm already going to have to pay extra, all my music stuff weighs so much.'
'Put it in your hand luggage,' Hoya advised, 'They generally don't weigh that, do they?'
'Good point,' Junho laughed. 'Okay, I have my clothes, my music stuff, and everything is packed except for my toothbrush and bedding and some clothes.'
'I didn't see anything else lying out,' Hoya confirmed.
'Great. So. I'm... done? Wow.'
'Thought it would take longer to pack up however many years you've lived here?' Hoya asked with an amused eyebrow raise.
'Was this place always so big?'
'So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?'
Junho shrugged. 'Uh... not sure. Wander around? Get takeout? Maybe come back here fairly early? You have school tomorrow, don't you?'
Hoya nodded. 'But I don't mind sacrificing a few hours of sleep if you want me to.'
'Why are you being so nice to me, I'm fucking off to Japan with no set plans to come back,' Junho laughed, stepping over a box and resting his hand on Hoya's arm.
'Trust me, I am aware of that. So's the punching bag at the gym,' Hoya remarked wryly.
'Oh? I didn't-' Junho fidgeted with his fingers, eyes on the floor, and Hoya gave him a light push.
'Dude, it's been a year and a half since you pretty much literally flipped into my life, and now you're flying out of it, yeah, I'm going to punch a bag a couple times. Don't feel bad or whatever. It's not like it's completely impossible for us to see each other again.'
'You thinking of coming to Japan?' Junho asked, surprised, and Hoya laughed.
'Not really, no. And I said it wasn't impossible. But, let's be honest, it's pretty damn improbable. Besides, didn't you say Japan was just the first stop for you?'
'I did, didn't I.'
Hoya rolled his eyes as Junho examined his hands, reaching out to grab his wrist and tug him towards him, pressing his lips gently to his and Junho's hands settled on his hips.
'You're not allowed moping around pining after me,' Junho murmured and Hoya snorted.
'You kidding me? I have people lined up around the corner just waiting for you to be gone.'
'Sure you do.' Junho patted Hoya's shoulder and moved to pick up a box, depositing it into Hoya's arms and picking up another one. 'Let's get all this stuff to the charity shops so we can get food.'
Hoya was still there when Junho fell asleep that night and when Junho woke up in an empty bed the next morning he couldn't decide whether he'd rather have actually said goodbye.
2013
march
The music in the club was loud and throbbing, and Hoya could feel the bass vibrating through every cell of his body as he twisted to the beat on the crowded dance floor, alcohol numbing his extremities. He fought his way through the crowd to the bar, signalling for a beer which he sucked down when it arrived, enjoying the coolness chilling his throat.
'A shot of tequila please!' someone yelled next to him, leaning on the bar, reddish brown hair plastered to his forehead and small eyes darting to the side to look Hoya up and down, a once over Hoya idly reciprocated. The guy grinned when they made eye contact and leant over the bar again without breaking the gaze. 'Make that two.'
Money changed hands and the guy slid one of the shots over to Hoya, picking up the other and holding it as if waiting for Hoya. 'Sunggyu,' he yelled, and Hoya bit back a chuckle as he put down his beer in favour of picking up the shot.
'Hoya,' he replied, raising his shot to cheers before they downed them. Sunggyu signalled for a beer, and leaned close enough for Hoya to see his pupils were mere pinpricks.
'I think I saw you on the dance floor earlier. You can move,' Sunggyu said, his breath hitting Hoya's cheek in a barely felt warm puff of air and Hoya laughed loosely.
'I should hope so, with all the time I spend practicing.'
'What?' Sunggyu yelled, leaning closer, his brow furrowed, and Hoya shook his head.
'Thanks,' he said loudly into Sunggyu's ear, and Sunggyu nodded, satisfied.
'I can't dance,' he said, 'I've got three left feet. But I really feel like dancing tonight. The music's just. Getting to me, you know?' Sunggyu flashed a wide grin and Hoya found himself grinning back.
'Want me to show you some moves?' he offered, and Sunggyu's grin turned sly.
'That would be great.'
Sunggyu wasn't lying when he said he wasn't a dancer, Hoya realised very quickly, but he had enough rhythm to not cause painful accidents. Besides, Hoya reasoned, technique wasn't an issue when Sunggyu was dancing this close to him, his hands resting just in the waistband of his pants.
Their noses kept bumping as they moved, alcohol-heated breaths mingling and warming each others’ lips, hands grasping, Sunggyu's skin burning under his fingers.
Hoya had Sunggyu up against a wall before he knew it, his head spinning as he gasped into the kiss, Sunggyu gripping his hips as close as they could go and moving, still moving, and Hoya broke the kiss to run his lips down Sunggyu's neck, tongue tasting a thin layer of salt, and he felt rather than heard a low moan, which he suspected was more to do with the heavy bass tone that had just vibrated the floor of the club than anything he’d done and he raised his head, getting a glance of Sunggyu's eyes, pupils no more visible than they had been at the bar.
'You've taken something, haven't you?' Hoya asked breathlessly, teeth tugging on Sunggyu's earring.
Sunggyu laughed and grinned at him, eyes sparkling in the strobe lights. 'If you ask really nicely, maybe I'll even share.'
part 2