Smitten (1/3)
Title: Smitten
Pairing: Himchan/Youngjae (Himjae)
Rating: PG-13
Length: 14,500w
Type: Chaptered
Genre: College AU, fluff, slice of life (it has a bit of love-centric drama going on) bestfriends!himjae
Summary: If life has given you a series of shitty relationships, has provided you to meet an overly concerned best friend who you argue with on a day-to-day basis, and has you being led to a fortune teller who-by the way-can't be all that trusted but still happens to make so much sense, then congratulations! You must be Yoo Youngjae. And your life fucking sucks. Because you are. Fucking. Stupid.
--------long author notes ahead cue warning wangs (skip?) (sorry himjae terribly excites me)--------
Author's note: i have been dying to make something like this (Himjae!!!! YAY POPS CONFETTI) and although I'd expect it to turn out quite around this long, i didn't know connecting the facts together + attempting to highlight himjae's dynamics would challenge me. It's quite (very) predictable actually, but I hope my delivery doesn't come out so vague. *clutches heart* calling all critics! [sorry for the typos i hadnt seen during proofreading]
and just a heads up..!! yongguk, himchan, daehyun and youngjae are around the same age for this fic while the jongup and junhong are a bit younger :-)
Author's note 2: and of course, i wouldn't have been so motivated if i wasn't writing this for a sweet an amazing and person. Happy (belated) Birthday to my sweetest angel akmongs. I love you! among everything i am so sincerely sorry i hadn't been able to make in on time as promised. i hope you enjoy!!
{ PART I } { PART 2 } { PART 3 }
"Hold on." Youngjae says, head blaring with mental alarms. "You're breaking up with me?"
"Yes." Daehyun finally closes the fridge door with a loud thud, having to deliver the entity of his break up speech just a few seconds ago with his head poked inside looking for something consumable (in Youngjae's fridge, in Youngjae's apartment, whilst the break up speech, ever the shameless man he is.) He turns to Youngjae who's standing next to the sink and points the juice he's been holding toward the other. "That is what I've been trying to say for the past five minutes."
"But... we were going to watch a movie, like what we'd been planning to do all week, remember?" Youngjae demurs begrudgingly. "Is that why you're late, you've been worrying on how to break up with me?"
"Um, no, I was thinking of what to wear," Daehyun remarks as he finishes setting up his juice's straw, nonchalantly taking a sip.
"So you went with a hoodie and pair of Nike's," Youngjae points out, eyeing Daehyun's choice of outfit. "Like in what you always go out with?"
"No, I was thinking of which hoodie and pair of Nike's."
Youngjae offers him a critical glare. "Okay, we're missing the point here." He raises a hand. "I'm just going to ask, and do know that this isn't brought about by anger or offense but... why?"
Daehyun narrows his eyes and takes off his lips from the straw for another time. "Do you want me to be honest?" Youngjae doesn't get a chance to answer. "You're actually the most boring person I've ever dated and the most arguments I've ever had with to date. You are a record breaker."
Youngjae gasps. "I am the one who's making every effort to keep this relationship stable and you break up with me for such offhand reasoning?" His glare hardens. "I should be rewarded for having the tolerance to keep up with you!"
"Wow, really?" Daehyun retorts, more provoking this time. "Okay, well, if you think you're that great then you still would've been with Jaebum. Or better yet, I wouldn't have been your boyfriend at all."
An immense amount of genuine anger slowly rushes in Youngjae's veins. He stares right into Daehyun's eyes, trying to keep his breathing on a normal pattern as he says, "Get out."
"Thanks for the juice by the way," Daehyun points out after fully slurping in the juice pack's contents and tossing it on the very clean kitchen counter of Youngjae's apartment. He turns to saunter toward the main door. "And I'm never coming back!"
"Good!" Youngjae yells after him. "And just so you know, I am not at all crushed by this break up!"
"You are totally crushed by this break up," Himchan helpfully insists while chewing on his food.
Youngjae pauses in the middle of continuing his story, saving it to exude a disgruntled scoff. "Not even close."
Himchan brings up his fork to point at Youngjae across the cafeteria table, swallowing his mouthful of cheesecake before declaring, "I peeked on your iPod awhile ago, Youngjae, you were playing Miss A's I Don't Need a Man."
"It was on shuffle!" Youngjae protests with indignance.
"Okay." Himchan pops in another slice of dessert past his lips. "But I'm not your best friend for nothing. I know that once you're done sporting the mask of strength and you've released all your frustration, it will all turn into manic desperation then you'll be trying everything to get Daehyun back in no time, just like how you did with your every other post-relationship. That's what I mean by crushed."
Youngjae gapes at him. "That's not true!" Then he stops to think about it. "Oh my god it is true."
"This time I have to make sure you don't do that," Himchan says. "Although, it's always been pretty fucking hard to convince you otherwise."
"Well, you can't blame me!"
"Oh, yes, I can." Himchan suddenly brings a fist down the table, startling everyone within their close radius. "You always. Date. The dumbest. People. That you've actually. Become. One of them."
Youngjae offers Himchan a worrisome glance, becoming conscious of the lingering glances and audible snickering from around the cafeteria. "Hey," Youngjae whispers harshly, "Don't make a scene."
"He's just took you for granted the entire time!" Himchan stretches his arms out in front of him, almost raking his fork across Youngjae's nose. "You need to nail all these facts in your head so you would never have to even think about hampering over him again, okay?"
Youngjae frowns. "Okay."
"Although I can agree with him saying you're boring," Himchan says, sitting back against his chair stabbing his last slice of cheesecake. "I'm telling you, my patience for listening to all of your relationship issue rants-which makes up almost all of our conversations ever-should be immensely rewarded."
Youngjae's eye twitches. "Yeah, I really don't need this information right now."
"But setting those facts aside!" Himchan says. "I can say that you're pretty high on the awesome scale. I'm sure it's not something Daehyun is intelligent enough to realize."
"Pretentious fucker," Youngjae mutters, crossing his arms and looking away only to give Himchan a sidelong glance half a second later. "So you do admit that I’m awesome then."
"Not the point." Himchan shakes his head. "Look, if I was you, I'd immediately skip the self-pity party and just learn from my mistakes."
The bell rings throughout the halls, marking the start of another class period just as Youngjae furrows his brows in a judging manner. "Do I have that many?"
Himchan stands up from his seat, gathering a few of his books but not before gobbling up the last piece of his cake. "You always choose the wrong relationship partners, my dear wretched friend, I'm pretty sure your past three boyfriends only tried to see if your lush-looking lips would look good around their dick. That includes Daehyun."
"Those words give me total comfort and reassurance," Youngjae gawks longingly at his own untouched cheesecake (oh look, Daehyun's favorite) as Himchan drags him toward the corridor.
"Shut up, I'm good at this."
Himchan has been Youngjae's best friend since that time during junior year prom when they coincidentally sat on the same empty round table about halfway through the bash because Youngjae just got dumped by his first girlfriend exactly five minutes from then at that fortunate day and he just wanted to be alone to sulk at his tragic teenage life. Himchan, on the other hand, had been trying to get away from the herd of girls who were cooing and fawning over him on the dance floor.
(Himchan was this stereotype high school heartthrob who never acknowledged the popularity and displayed his resentment by never showing interest in girls, which, as Youngjae realized later on, wasn't much of a struggle since, it appeared, that he was not at all interested in girls.)
Up to now Youngjae still isn't quite sure if he should be grateful that they met through such an inexplicably untimely circumstance but pretty much since then, Himchan had been his break up shepherd into moving on from heartbreaks in varying degrees of majority. (Youngjae has a rotten luck with love.)
But Himchan is actually really sympathetic despite the seemingly uncaring antics, and he'd always be there to pat Youngjae in the back and grab him by the arm or the hand or the belt loop to somewhere he they can get drunk off his mind when break ups would seem to render Youngjae strong emotional damage. And it would help. A lot. Somehow. (This is some sappy shit Youngjae would never be caught dead admitting along with how Himchan’s always right when says he really isn’t Youngjae’s best friend for nothing.)
But even the strongest alcohol can only have a numbing effect to an extended amount of time and soon enough, Youngjae would be facing his bathroom mirror awfully longing for the same person who's the reason behind his pounding head.
Himchan just never runs out of a broken heart to mend.
"Why did we take a music degree again?" Himchan says almost obnoxiously one Friday morning as he walks past the front gates of the university with Youngjae right next to him. "For all I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor during middle school."
"Doctor," Youngjae echoes. "You can't even watch a gore movie without a barf bag next to you."
"Okay, maybe, chef? My mom's a chef. I can be a good chef." Himchan shrugs.
Youngjae makes a face. "You want to shift courses just because you think you can't pass your drizzle-inspired music composition project on time."
"It's that hard!" Himchan waves the folder he's been holding in protest. "Who composes music about the rain?!"
"A lot of musicians?" Youngjae retorts.
Himchan groans. "Why are you so grumpy today, anyway?" He stops walking and grabs Youngjae's arm, forcing the other to face him. "And why are your eyes puffy?"
Youngjae huffs.
"Oh my god, Youngjae, have you been crying again?" He shakes his head in disbelief. "It's been a week. I'm not going through another with you mourning over some completely stupid love affair so you better get your shit together."
Youngjae scowls, looking away as he adjusts the sling of his backpack on his shoulder before slipping his hands inside his jacket pockets.
"I mean, come on," Himchan prompts. "There are a bunch of other hot guys and chicks around, you can get yourself a booty call in a wink."
"I do not want a booty call, Himchan, I want a flawless fun relationship without anyone having to dump anyone in at least six to seven months."
As if in ironic cue, both of their attentions somehow gets nailed by Junhong (one of their closest junior friends) who's hurrying down the front steps of the music department building a few hundred yards away from them with a wide smile, skateboard tucked under one arm, as he meets Jongup (his boyfriend) who immediately seizes him in a headlock.
Youngjae pouts in envy. "They've been together for a year."
"You know if you want," Himchan starts, "I can totally give you a list of the pretty faces around campus who you've never really paid attention to because you've been too preoccupied with your jerk lord ex boyfriend."
"I don't think that can ever help at all," Youngjae affirms.
"Oh yes it can," Himchan defends. "I have all their contact numbers."
"Hey, 'sup!" A deep voice booms from behind them. They both spin around in confusion to see Yongguk standing in front of them, his hands buried inside the pockets of his red varsity jacket (go football jocks!) and his teeth immediately being flashed in a huge grin.
Youngjae knows there's only reason he's approached them now-to invite them for some random for-no-particular-occasion party-and Youngjae's not really in for socialization lately so...
Himchan's hands subconsciously flies up to grip on Youngjae's arm just before the other can even think of escaping. "Bang Yongguk," Himchan acknowledges through a gritted smile.
"Kim Himchan," Yongguk reiterates. "Well, it's been awhile since we last... interacted, haven't we?"
"Oh, hasn't it? I'm not really paying attention," Himchan replies, an indistinct bite in his words.
Youngjae feels Himchan's grip on his arm getting tighter by the second as the other's smile becomes more stiff on his face. And Youngjae tries not to squirm. Shit, he thinks, might not be able to take notes today.
See Himchan and Yongguk are twelve and a half month-old ex-lovers who broke up for vague, indefinite reasons and succeedingly ended up hating each other. Or at least that's what it looks like for Himchan's part, Yongguk just always seems to appear like he's taunting the other about something, like he's holding a threat to reveal a provoking secret about Himchan any time now. If Youngjae hadn't known better, he would have been convinced these two were downright archenemies, the tension between them has always been a bit, for lack of a better word, exceptional.
"So," Yongguk begins to say, "I'm having another bash at my place tomorrow night. And I was thinking that you guys should come," he says, including Youngjae in the glance exchange. "Everyone will be there, it's gonna be... fun."
Youngjae waves a hand off, doesn't even consider it. "No thanks, man, I'll pa-"
Himchan only pulls Youngjae closer, the other not-so-gracefully staggering next to him. "We're coming," Himchan says, raising his brows almost in challenge. "A party never starts without us."
That's when Youngjae realizes what's going on in Himchan's head.
Professor Park clears his throat, catching the attention of two of his male students sitting at the far side of the lecture hall who can't seem to end their hiss-bickering session in the midst of his discussion.
Himchan and Youngjae withdraw from their argument (because Youngjae doesn't want to go to Yongguk's party nor does he want to succumb to Himchan's plan of having him mingle with 'possibly new and less-assholey love interests' and Himchan insists otherwise.) They both meet their professor's warning glare, sitting upright almost immediately.
"As I was saying," Professor Park resumes, "Today we'll test your skills in impromptu lyrical composition, otherwise can be called as freestyle…ing." He looks confused for a moment. "I'm giving you thirty five minutes. And since we just have twenty four kids in today's class, partner roll call-!" he grabs his clipboard and flips it on a page "-let's start with Youngjae, you're working with Daehyun."
Youngjae panics, Himchan reacting just about the same as they yelp out a consecutive string of NO's matched with manic hand movements.
"...I can work with him, we can work together, that'd be fine!" Himchan prods rapidly, almost unintelligible.
"Ah," Professor Park sports a fake smile. "I don't think you two'd be able to finish anything if you do, though, would you? Much less keep a peaceful atmosphere." He checks on his clipboard again before looking back up at Himchan. "You're working with Bang Yongguk."
"Oh fuck," Youngjae says as he slides his notebook inside his bag, side eyeing the other students moving across the rooms toward their designated partners. "We haven't talked since, you know, I don't know what to say to him."
"Then don't talk to him, just get straight to work," Himchan says, standing up alongside Youngjae and shrugging his backpack on.
"Yeah but," Youngjae grunts, "Song writing isn't really Daehyun's strong suit so I don't know how to work this out without being awkward."
"As if he's good at anything other than being a piece of shit," Himchan comments. "Offense meant."
Youngjae hits Himchan's shoulder with a notebook. "Stop being so mean."
Himchan mocks a gasp, pointing a finger to himself. "I'm the mean one? Oh my god are you leaving your post-break up phase of hatred?" He grabs Youngjae by the biceps and shakes him back and forth. "I need to save you."
Youngjae flaps his arms off Himchan's grip with a disgruntled whine. "Will you knock that off?" He gives him a look and attempts to maintain it until he notices Daehyun walking toward them from the other side of the lecture hall. "Oh my god," he says, looking down pretending to be busy with his bag, "Incoming."
"What?"
"Hey!" Daehyun suddenly chimes, causing Himchan to almost jump out of his skin. "Youngjae! We're partners! What a coincidence, huh?"
Himchan makes a noise of disgust.
"Yeah, I know!" Youngjae laughs sheepishly as he nudges Himchan by the waist, forcing him to go away but the other wouldn't budge.
"So yeah, um," Daehyun clutches the notebook he's holding between his armpits as he starts to gesture with his hands, "I know you and I got off the wrong foot and I may be a complete asshole to you right now but-"
Himchan's eyes widen and he nods in agreement. Youngjae attempts to push him away again, whilst keeping up a forced smile at Daehyun.
"-still really want to stay friends somehow because we've had it good and our friendship still means a lot to me-"
Himchan fully turns his gaze on Youngjae, emphatically trying to send blaring mental alarms: no, Youngjae, don't buy into his bullcrap.
"-and nothing's better than two ex's remaining contact because they're mature enough to realize that they're not for each..." Daehyun turns to Himchan, eyes narrowing. "What are you doing?"
Himchan slowly withdraws back from kicking Youngjae in the ankle to get his attention. "Um," Himchan blinks, "Just stretching my leg."
Daehyun glares. "Are you still supposed to be here? 'Cause last time I checked the term 'partners' does not refer to three people."
Himchan snorts. "Wow, wasn't aware that you can actually count."
"Himchan," Youngjae warns.
Daehyun raises a brow. "Youngjae, why don't you tell your precious babysitter that he needs to get out of the way?"
Youngjae gasps. "Excuse me."
"Oh really?" Himchan seethes, "You got the guts you little dimwit. You can't just bullshit your way into Youngjae's life again after what you did."
"What's going on this time?" Professor Park barks from the front platform. "Stop acting like high school juveniles, you mongrels, you're now university students! These actions are intolerable!" He declares. "Himchan, go to your partner now."
Daehyun suppresses a taunting laugh. "Yeah, that's right, go back to that old cock you used to suck."
Himchan balls his hands into fists.
"Himchan," Youngjae says softly. "Just go."
Himchan heads to the back side of the lecture hall with a scowl, glaring back at the other students who stopped what they're doing to watch the little commotion that just occurred seconds ago. Yongguk, seeming to be the only one who paid no attention to the earlier scenario because he has earphones on, has been perched on a desk, scribbling on a paper that appears to be almost halfway filled.
"Huh," Himchan mutters to himself as he sits next to him. "What's this, some ex-lover's boot camp?"
Yongguk notices him and scrambles to take off his earphones. "What was that you said?"
Himchan flips his hair. "Nothing."
Yongguk turns to look at where Himchan's eyes are on. "Oh," he says, "Looks like someone's taken a left turn to third-wheelville."
Himchan gives him a look.
Yongguk's fast to change subjects. "So... do you want to help?" He raises his paper to show Himchan the lyrics he's been working on.
"What if I said no?"
Yongguk shrugs, placing back his sheet on the desk and resuming his scribbling. "S'fine, I'm almost done anyway and it's not like you could've been useful."
Himchan scoffs. "What does that even mean? I'm like the best at composition."
"'Cause I dated you," Yongguk says. "And I know that you can't write when you're frustrated. And at this point in time you are, and I know exactly why you are," He looks up to point his pencil to gesture at the front of the lecture hall where Daehyun and Youngjae seems to be starting their awkwardly fun lyrical time. "It's the reason we broke up."
"Why are you calling me?" Himchan demands, phone wedged between his ear and shoulder as he stacks his books back into his shelves after his weekly bedroom furniture dusting routine. "I'm supposed to hate you, if me avoiding you for the rest of the day hadn't been a clear indication."
"You have indicated your animosity successfully. And yes, you did cause me a hassle looking around for you," Youngjae responds through the phone, tone a little too lively for Himchan's liking. "But you still picked up my call because you can never resist me."
"How about you come here so I can show you what I truly can't resist doing to you," Himchan fumes, slamming one of his books toward the shelf. "You sound happy," he points out. "I hope it's not for the same reason I'm currently displeased."
He hears Youngjae sigh from the other end of the line. "I think it is," he confesses. "Sorry."
"I don't like where this conversation is going."
"Anyway!" Youngjae prompts keenly. "You're still going to Yongguk's party, riiiiiiight?"
Himchan rolls his eyes. "So, now you wanna come."
"Daehyun insisted me!" Youngjae shrieked.
Himchan drops the books he has been holding. "I knew it."
"Well, we had a good going conversation earlier. And he apologized for being, you know, a jerk. And we had a nice time, something that never happened in a while! So..."
"No, don't say it!"
"I can get him back!" Youngjae says enthusiastically.
Himchan groans. "Oh, you said it."
"I really can't mess this up now."
"Okay, first of all," Himchan struggles to start as he squats to retrieve his manuals and paperbacks from the floor. "I'm the one who repeatedly urged you to come to the party, causing me a bad character record from Park, and you say yes immediately after one fart from Daehyun." He stands up straight with a huff. "Second of all, remember that you're supposed to hate him? Remember that he stole a juice box from your fridge while breaking up with you?! You are not to execute any attempt to get back with that guy."
"Why not?"
"Because third, fourth, fifth, one hundred seventy-third of all," Himchan affirms, "he's an asshole. Like what I proposed him to be right from the very beginning of your relationship, and what he himself confirmed. You should know this better than anyone else."
"But," Youngjae hesitates. "I'll work this out, okay?" (You never do, Himchan thinks, you always end up on the other end of heartbreak.) "It'll be fine." (No, it won't.)
A stretch of uncomfortable silence passes between them. And, as an act of desperation, Himchan quite hopes Youngjae takes his lack of response as a hint of persuasion (because everyone else seems to find it so easy to convince Youngjae except for Himchan, and he's tried all strategies to win him over, but Himchan never wins Youngjae over, and this situation just continues to maintain that unbroken record.)
"I'm still coming," Youngjae finally concludes, voice above a whisper. "I hope I see you there."
"You know you really should stop making-"
The call ends.
"-the same mistakes."
Himchan throws his mobile phone across his bed before heaving a huge sigh. "Yoo Youngjae," he mutters, placing his hands on his waist. "You're a complete dumbshit."
When Yongguk said everyone will be coming to his party, he hadn't been kidding, nor had he been speaking figuratively. Because whenever Yongguk hosts a bash, trust that literally everyone-including kids that weren't even invited at all in the first place-will be present. Yongguk's rave-ups are always comprised of fanciness and night vigor rolled into one outrageous scene that differs it from your typical parents-are-out-of-town bashes.
Youngjae can still clearly remember the past seven times he's been to Yongguk's huge suburban house in his entire college career. Well, at least half the duration of those occasions. Because Yongguk's parties are the kind in which everyone will always find themselves waking up on beds that aren’t theirs, unable to recall how the fuck they got there.
Youngjae met Daehyun on his fifth attendance. He doesn't clearly remember that situation, but their first formal greeting was when he found himself next to him one Saturday morning at the other's apartment.
Yongguk is actually very cool, rich, talented, not to mention he’s a member of the university’s football team (hot) and his social involvement is very high despite his striking appearance (totally a non-negative statement.) Youngjae wonders for the umpteenth time why Himchan dumped him. It can’t be just for a silly reason.
"Hyung," Junhong says, directly facing Youngjae, as he closes the backseat door of Jongup's car that has been recently parked among the rows of vehicles across the street in front of Yongguk's house. He holds a hand against it for stability support. "Has anyone ever told you that you drive horribly?"
"No one so far," Youngjae responds, closing his own door before throwing the car keys to Jongup who almost trips on his feet to catch it. "Had either of you nuggets known the way to Yongguk's house, I wouldn't have to offer myself to drive us all here."
Jongup shrugged, sliding his hands inside his pockets. "You could have just instructed me the way. You almost ran over a dog and submittedly drove us into a tree."
Junhong nods in agreement. Youngjae holds up a finger before spinning around to head to the entrance of Yongguk's house. "You children should really learn more about appreciation," he says, "Himchan mostly does my driving for me. I'm not usually the man behind the steering wheel."
The blaring heavy bass of the party music gets louder as the three of them walks closer. The main gate is wide open, guests (faces Youngjae hardly recognizes) littering the ingress as they smoke and yell at each other. Youngjae suspects that more than half of them are already semi wasted if not extremely, it's already ten thirty in the evening.
"Where's Himchan hyung, by the way?" Junhong asks as he trails after the older.
"No idea," Youngjae grumbles.
"He's not coming?"
"Dunno."
Jongup snorts. "What do you mean you don't kno-"
"Man, I'm itching for booze," Youngjae promptly interrupts for the sake of shutting them up. "You guys think Daehyun's already here?"
Behind him, Jongup and Junhong slowly turn to look at each other warily. "Probably," Junhong drawls hesitantly. "Well, he said so in his Facebook status which I checked ten minutes ago."
"Great! Now I just need to find him." Youngjae claps his hands once as he skips past the gates into the footpath of Yongguk's humongous front lawn.
"Why?" Jongup inquires. "You two have called it off, right?"
"How'd you know that?"
"Um, well, aside from how news travel fast," Junhong says. "Himchan hyung told us. And mind you, he sounded really excited about it."
"It's pretty easy to tell when you break up with someone, you know," Jongup adds. "You commemorate the entire week after it by openly having a scream fest with Himchan about it everywhere you may be in the campus."
Youngjae makes a face. "Do I undergo break ups that often?"
"Kinda," Jongup admits. "But you seem eager to talk to Daehyun again now."
Youngjae shrugs. "It's just going to be a few friendly drinks."
"So you can wake up in his apartment tomorrow morning?"
Youngjae grins. "My plan was just to talk but that's not a very bad idea either." He hurries inside Yongguk's house without as much as a wave, immediately disappearing into the thick crowd of dancing bodies.
Junhong furrows his eyebrows. "Now I think I might have an idea why Himchan hyung's not here."
It didn't have to take more than an hour and a half for Youngjae to find himself thoroughly intoxicated after having to stagger across groups of crowds one after another, unable to neglect offered drinks and minute chitchats and he doesn't realize until then how much friends he's made in the music department. (College sure is wild and crazy.) But the boozed-up conversations only distracted and led him farther and farther away from his main objective of the night (which has been to maybe corner Daehyun against the nearest wall-or at least that's what his current state of drunken consciousness tells him.)
Youngjae finally has himself to himself by Yongguk's kitchen counter-which has magically turned into a very unsuspecting-looking bar for the party filled with endless stock of any kind of alcohol. He's been there for a minute or two, has ignored another two calls from Himchan (the other's been constantly calling all night and Youngjae just doesn't feel like putting himself up against another argument.) He's currently attempting to regain his balance just enough so he can venture through the house in search of Daehyun again (the tray of shot glasses on the bar in front of him isn't helping.) That is until he suddenly feels another arm being draped across his shoulders.
"Hyuuuuuuung," Junhong sings, steering Youngjae and dragging him into a hallway. "You've got to see this really cool fortune teller woman Yongguk hyung invited to his party."
Youngjae moans, trying to shove at the younger's face. "You're drunk and hallucinating. Go home."
"She's got a crystal ball and everything and I think that's really awesome just ask her anything you want to know it's free of charge," Junhong continues in rapid fire the way he always talks when he's had too much cocktail drinks. "Isn't that wicked?"
The two somehow manages to successfully end up in the living room (at least that's where Youngjae thinks they are) without tripping over their feet and landing face-first on the floor. Junhong pushes Youngjae toward a small crowd in a corner who seems to be gathering around something entertaining.
"Make way! Coming through!" Junhong hollers as he bulldozes himself and Youngjae through the people.
With one final nudge from Junhong, Youngjae falls into a chair situated right in front of a small table which has a-Youngjae narrows his eyes-crystal ball sitting eerily on top of it. Across him sat a woman with the most intricate bedazzled eye makeup Youngjae has ever seen in his entire life, she's dressed in what seems to be a Bohemian patterned top and her blonde ringlets bounces around as it frames her face. The woman stares back at Youngjae with apparent amusement.
Youngjae's aware of his intoxication, but he realizes he must have had about seventeen shot glasses more than usual enough to have him envisioning stuff that are just flat-out bizarre.
"So?" Bohemian woman speaks up, raising a heavily glittered brow. "What do you want to know, young lad?"
Youngjae's about to respond with something along the lines of what make up brand do you use? Or is this some kind of sick prank Yongguk's been plotting all week? But Junhong eagerly interrupts him from the side: "How will he find the love of his life?"
Hoots and whistles ensue from the surrounding crowd.
Youngjae emits a groan thinking, fuck, how cliche-er can Junhong's question get. Youngjae can swear he's seen a handful of modern fantasy-ish romantic comedy-ish movies with scenes similar to this occasion. His head's beginning to throb in a way that urges him to stop thinking complicated thoughts and this woman in front of him is smiling at him disturbingly that it makes him want to flee but there's no way out, he knows Junhong would just drag him back.
Youngjae watches nervously as the woman nods and lays out her bangled wrists and perfectly manicured nails on the crystal ball, the electric lines following the motion of her finger tips. Within seconds, she closes her eyes.
What.
"Grey, blue, white. Under a cloudy night. In this adornment you will find the one to which your fate is bind. Don't look too far or you'll find grime, for he's just been right in front of you all this time."
Youngjae initially thinks, wow, how poetic for an impromptu rhyming speech until he suddenly feels a wave of nausea hit him in a spur, and he doesn't spare another glance at the faces around him as he rushes to stand up, darting through and out of the crowd that had seemed to deprive him of much needed air, suffocating him progressively.
He races back into the hallway he remembers passing through with Junhong earlier but his vision is suddenly beginning to blur. Oh shit. Am I sick?
"Youngjae!" Someone yells in an alarmed tone, catching Youngjae's arm and forcing him against a wall. "Are you okay?"
Youngjae assumes Junhong has just trailed after him, but this guy has a grip unlike Junhong's. It's someone familiar, that much Youngjae can infer in his current state. But his eyes couldn't focus on anything. Neither can his ears name the owner of the voice.
The guy hurriedly pushes the hair out of Youngjae's eyes, proceeding to hold the other's face between his hands. "Shit, you're so pale and sweaty, what the fuck have you been doing?"
Youngjae's head is whirling. "Daehyun?" He manages. "Daehyun, is that you?"
He hears the guy in front of him huff noisily as the other wipes his forehead with a handkerchief. "Dumbshit."
"Daehyun," Youngjae insists, his hands fumbling up to the other man's chest because he seems legitimately concerned about Youngjae's present state, and somehow, that calms Youngjae down and effectively compels him to temporarily forget about the queasy feeling settling low on his stomach and converts his attention into maybe a surge of wanting to be snuggled or whatever.
Youngjae's hands reaches for the collar of the other man's dress shirt and, without further ado, pulls him for a kiss.
While he's currently aware that he's not going to remember any of this in the morning (neither is he sure if this is all really happening) he hasn't come across Daehyun all night and he's about seventy percent sure that this guy in front of him is Daehyun, anyway, it has to be, because he doesn't know when will be the next time Yongguk will host a party enough for Youngjae to admit his persistent feelings with alcohol for an excuse. He has to take a chance.
The other guy flinches back within less than a minute, Youngjae feels him go rigid. And, even in his drunken disposition, Youngjae kinda regrets what he's done. His mouth tastes so fucking gross at the moment after all.
The man in front of him mumbles something he doesn't catch, but, much to Youngjae's surprise, the other resumes to cup his chin before leaning in to kiss him again.
{ PART 2 }
Pairing: Himchan/Youngjae (Himjae)
Rating: PG-13
Length: 14,500w
Type: Chaptered
Genre: College AU, fluff, slice of life (it has a bit of love-centric drama going on) bestfriends!himjae
Summary: If life has given you a series of shitty relationships, has provided you to meet an overly concerned best friend who you argue with on a day-to-day basis, and has you being led to a fortune teller who-by the way-can't be all that trusted but still happens to make so much sense, then congratulations! You must be Yoo Youngjae. And your life fucking sucks. Because you are. Fucking. Stupid.
--------long author notes ahead cue warning wangs (skip?) (sorry himjae terribly excites me)--------
Author's note: i have been dying to make something like this (Himjae!!!! YAY POPS CONFETTI) and although I'd expect it to turn out quite around this long, i didn't know connecting the facts together + attempting to highlight himjae's dynamics would challenge me. It's quite (very) predictable actually, but I hope my delivery doesn't come out so vague. *clutches heart* calling all critics! [sorry for the typos i hadnt seen during proofreading]
and just a heads up..!! yongguk, himchan, daehyun and youngjae are around the same age for this fic while the jongup and junhong are a bit younger :-)
Author's note 2: and of course, i wouldn't have been so motivated if i wasn't writing this for a sweet an amazing and person. Happy (belated) Birthday to my sweetest angel akmongs. I love you! among everything i am so sincerely sorry i hadn't been able to make in on time as promised. i hope you enjoy!!
{ PART I } { PART 2 } { PART 3 }
"Hold on." Youngjae says, head blaring with mental alarms. "You're breaking up with me?"
"Yes." Daehyun finally closes the fridge door with a loud thud, having to deliver the entity of his break up speech just a few seconds ago with his head poked inside looking for something consumable (in Youngjae's fridge, in Youngjae's apartment, whilst the break up speech, ever the shameless man he is.) He turns to Youngjae who's standing next to the sink and points the juice he's been holding toward the other. "That is what I've been trying to say for the past five minutes."
"But... we were going to watch a movie, like what we'd been planning to do all week, remember?" Youngjae demurs begrudgingly. "Is that why you're late, you've been worrying on how to break up with me?"
"Um, no, I was thinking of what to wear," Daehyun remarks as he finishes setting up his juice's straw, nonchalantly taking a sip.
"So you went with a hoodie and pair of Nike's," Youngjae points out, eyeing Daehyun's choice of outfit. "Like in what you always go out with?"
"No, I was thinking of which hoodie and pair of Nike's."
Youngjae offers him a critical glare. "Okay, we're missing the point here." He raises a hand. "I'm just going to ask, and do know that this isn't brought about by anger or offense but... why?"
Daehyun narrows his eyes and takes off his lips from the straw for another time. "Do you want me to be honest?" Youngjae doesn't get a chance to answer. "You're actually the most boring person I've ever dated and the most arguments I've ever had with to date. You are a record breaker."
Youngjae gasps. "I am the one who's making every effort to keep this relationship stable and you break up with me for such offhand reasoning?" His glare hardens. "I should be rewarded for having the tolerance to keep up with you!"
"Wow, really?" Daehyun retorts, more provoking this time. "Okay, well, if you think you're that great then you still would've been with Jaebum. Or better yet, I wouldn't have been your boyfriend at all."
An immense amount of genuine anger slowly rushes in Youngjae's veins. He stares right into Daehyun's eyes, trying to keep his breathing on a normal pattern as he says, "Get out."
"Thanks for the juice by the way," Daehyun points out after fully slurping in the juice pack's contents and tossing it on the very clean kitchen counter of Youngjae's apartment. He turns to saunter toward the main door. "And I'm never coming back!"
"Good!" Youngjae yells after him. "And just so you know, I am not at all crushed by this break up!"
"You are totally crushed by this break up," Himchan helpfully insists while chewing on his food.
Youngjae pauses in the middle of continuing his story, saving it to exude a disgruntled scoff. "Not even close."
Himchan brings up his fork to point at Youngjae across the cafeteria table, swallowing his mouthful of cheesecake before declaring, "I peeked on your iPod awhile ago, Youngjae, you were playing Miss A's I Don't Need a Man."
"It was on shuffle!" Youngjae protests with indignance.
"Okay." Himchan pops in another slice of dessert past his lips. "But I'm not your best friend for nothing. I know that once you're done sporting the mask of strength and you've released all your frustration, it will all turn into manic desperation then you'll be trying everything to get Daehyun back in no time, just like how you did with your every other post-relationship. That's what I mean by crushed."
Youngjae gapes at him. "That's not true!" Then he stops to think about it. "Oh my god it is true."
"This time I have to make sure you don't do that," Himchan says. "Although, it's always been pretty fucking hard to convince you otherwise."
"Well, you can't blame me!"
"Oh, yes, I can." Himchan suddenly brings a fist down the table, startling everyone within their close radius. "You always. Date. The dumbest. People. That you've actually. Become. One of them."
Youngjae offers Himchan a worrisome glance, becoming conscious of the lingering glances and audible snickering from around the cafeteria. "Hey," Youngjae whispers harshly, "Don't make a scene."
"He's just took you for granted the entire time!" Himchan stretches his arms out in front of him, almost raking his fork across Youngjae's nose. "You need to nail all these facts in your head so you would never have to even think about hampering over him again, okay?"
Youngjae frowns. "Okay."
"Although I can agree with him saying you're boring," Himchan says, sitting back against his chair stabbing his last slice of cheesecake. "I'm telling you, my patience for listening to all of your relationship issue rants-which makes up almost all of our conversations ever-should be immensely rewarded."
Youngjae's eye twitches. "Yeah, I really don't need this information right now."
"But setting those facts aside!" Himchan says. "I can say that you're pretty high on the awesome scale. I'm sure it's not something Daehyun is intelligent enough to realize."
"Pretentious fucker," Youngjae mutters, crossing his arms and looking away only to give Himchan a sidelong glance half a second later. "So you do admit that I’m awesome then."
"Not the point." Himchan shakes his head. "Look, if I was you, I'd immediately skip the self-pity party and just learn from my mistakes."
The bell rings throughout the halls, marking the start of another class period just as Youngjae furrows his brows in a judging manner. "Do I have that many?"
Himchan stands up from his seat, gathering a few of his books but not before gobbling up the last piece of his cake. "You always choose the wrong relationship partners, my dear wretched friend, I'm pretty sure your past three boyfriends only tried to see if your lush-looking lips would look good around their dick. That includes Daehyun."
"Those words give me total comfort and reassurance," Youngjae gawks longingly at his own untouched cheesecake (oh look, Daehyun's favorite) as Himchan drags him toward the corridor.
"Shut up, I'm good at this."
Himchan has been Youngjae's best friend since that time during junior year prom when they coincidentally sat on the same empty round table about halfway through the bash because Youngjae just got dumped by his first girlfriend exactly five minutes from then at that fortunate day and he just wanted to be alone to sulk at his tragic teenage life. Himchan, on the other hand, had been trying to get away from the herd of girls who were cooing and fawning over him on the dance floor.
(Himchan was this stereotype high school heartthrob who never acknowledged the popularity and displayed his resentment by never showing interest in girls, which, as Youngjae realized later on, wasn't much of a struggle since, it appeared, that he was not at all interested in girls.)
Up to now Youngjae still isn't quite sure if he should be grateful that they met through such an inexplicably untimely circumstance but pretty much since then, Himchan had been his break up shepherd into moving on from heartbreaks in varying degrees of majority. (Youngjae has a rotten luck with love.)
But Himchan is actually really sympathetic despite the seemingly uncaring antics, and he'd always be there to pat Youngjae in the back and grab him by the arm or the hand or the belt loop to somewhere he they can get drunk off his mind when break ups would seem to render Youngjae strong emotional damage. And it would help. A lot. Somehow. (This is some sappy shit Youngjae would never be caught dead admitting along with how Himchan’s always right when says he really isn’t Youngjae’s best friend for nothing.)
But even the strongest alcohol can only have a numbing effect to an extended amount of time and soon enough, Youngjae would be facing his bathroom mirror awfully longing for the same person who's the reason behind his pounding head.
Himchan just never runs out of a broken heart to mend.
"Why did we take a music degree again?" Himchan says almost obnoxiously one Friday morning as he walks past the front gates of the university with Youngjae right next to him. "For all I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor during middle school."
"Doctor," Youngjae echoes. "You can't even watch a gore movie without a barf bag next to you."
"Okay, maybe, chef? My mom's a chef. I can be a good chef." Himchan shrugs.
Youngjae makes a face. "You want to shift courses just because you think you can't pass your drizzle-inspired music composition project on time."
"It's that hard!" Himchan waves the folder he's been holding in protest. "Who composes music about the rain?!"
"A lot of musicians?" Youngjae retorts.
Himchan groans. "Why are you so grumpy today, anyway?" He stops walking and grabs Youngjae's arm, forcing the other to face him. "And why are your eyes puffy?"
Youngjae huffs.
"Oh my god, Youngjae, have you been crying again?" He shakes his head in disbelief. "It's been a week. I'm not going through another with you mourning over some completely stupid love affair so you better get your shit together."
Youngjae scowls, looking away as he adjusts the sling of his backpack on his shoulder before slipping his hands inside his jacket pockets.
"I mean, come on," Himchan prompts. "There are a bunch of other hot guys and chicks around, you can get yourself a booty call in a wink."
"I do not want a booty call, Himchan, I want a flawless fun relationship without anyone having to dump anyone in at least six to seven months."
As if in ironic cue, both of their attentions somehow gets nailed by Junhong (one of their closest junior friends) who's hurrying down the front steps of the music department building a few hundred yards away from them with a wide smile, skateboard tucked under one arm, as he meets Jongup (his boyfriend) who immediately seizes him in a headlock.
Youngjae pouts in envy. "They've been together for a year."
"You know if you want," Himchan starts, "I can totally give you a list of the pretty faces around campus who you've never really paid attention to because you've been too preoccupied with your jerk lord ex boyfriend."
"I don't think that can ever help at all," Youngjae affirms.
"Oh yes it can," Himchan defends. "I have all their contact numbers."
"Hey, 'sup!" A deep voice booms from behind them. They both spin around in confusion to see Yongguk standing in front of them, his hands buried inside the pockets of his red varsity jacket (go football jocks!) and his teeth immediately being flashed in a huge grin.
Youngjae knows there's only reason he's approached them now-to invite them for some random for-no-particular-occasion party-and Youngjae's not really in for socialization lately so...
Himchan's hands subconsciously flies up to grip on Youngjae's arm just before the other can even think of escaping. "Bang Yongguk," Himchan acknowledges through a gritted smile.
"Kim Himchan," Yongguk reiterates. "Well, it's been awhile since we last... interacted, haven't we?"
"Oh, hasn't it? I'm not really paying attention," Himchan replies, an indistinct bite in his words.
Youngjae feels Himchan's grip on his arm getting tighter by the second as the other's smile becomes more stiff on his face. And Youngjae tries not to squirm. Shit, he thinks, might not be able to take notes today.
See Himchan and Yongguk are twelve and a half month-old ex-lovers who broke up for vague, indefinite reasons and succeedingly ended up hating each other. Or at least that's what it looks like for Himchan's part, Yongguk just always seems to appear like he's taunting the other about something, like he's holding a threat to reveal a provoking secret about Himchan any time now. If Youngjae hadn't known better, he would have been convinced these two were downright archenemies, the tension between them has always been a bit, for lack of a better word, exceptional.
"So," Yongguk begins to say, "I'm having another bash at my place tomorrow night. And I was thinking that you guys should come," he says, including Youngjae in the glance exchange. "Everyone will be there, it's gonna be... fun."
Youngjae waves a hand off, doesn't even consider it. "No thanks, man, I'll pa-"
Himchan only pulls Youngjae closer, the other not-so-gracefully staggering next to him. "We're coming," Himchan says, raising his brows almost in challenge. "A party never starts without us."
That's when Youngjae realizes what's going on in Himchan's head.
Professor Park clears his throat, catching the attention of two of his male students sitting at the far side of the lecture hall who can't seem to end their hiss-bickering session in the midst of his discussion.
Himchan and Youngjae withdraw from their argument (because Youngjae doesn't want to go to Yongguk's party nor does he want to succumb to Himchan's plan of having him mingle with 'possibly new and less-assholey love interests' and Himchan insists otherwise.) They both meet their professor's warning glare, sitting upright almost immediately.
"As I was saying," Professor Park resumes, "Today we'll test your skills in impromptu lyrical composition, otherwise can be called as freestyle…ing." He looks confused for a moment. "I'm giving you thirty five minutes. And since we just have twenty four kids in today's class, partner roll call-!" he grabs his clipboard and flips it on a page "-let's start with Youngjae, you're working with Daehyun."
Youngjae panics, Himchan reacting just about the same as they yelp out a consecutive string of NO's matched with manic hand movements.
"...I can work with him, we can work together, that'd be fine!" Himchan prods rapidly, almost unintelligible.
"Ah," Professor Park sports a fake smile. "I don't think you two'd be able to finish anything if you do, though, would you? Much less keep a peaceful atmosphere." He checks on his clipboard again before looking back up at Himchan. "You're working with Bang Yongguk."
"Oh fuck," Youngjae says as he slides his notebook inside his bag, side eyeing the other students moving across the rooms toward their designated partners. "We haven't talked since, you know, I don't know what to say to him."
"Then don't talk to him, just get straight to work," Himchan says, standing up alongside Youngjae and shrugging his backpack on.
"Yeah but," Youngjae grunts, "Song writing isn't really Daehyun's strong suit so I don't know how to work this out without being awkward."
"As if he's good at anything other than being a piece of shit," Himchan comments. "Offense meant."
Youngjae hits Himchan's shoulder with a notebook. "Stop being so mean."
Himchan mocks a gasp, pointing a finger to himself. "I'm the mean one? Oh my god are you leaving your post-break up phase of hatred?" He grabs Youngjae by the biceps and shakes him back and forth. "I need to save you."
Youngjae flaps his arms off Himchan's grip with a disgruntled whine. "Will you knock that off?" He gives him a look and attempts to maintain it until he notices Daehyun walking toward them from the other side of the lecture hall. "Oh my god," he says, looking down pretending to be busy with his bag, "Incoming."
"What?"
"Hey!" Daehyun suddenly chimes, causing Himchan to almost jump out of his skin. "Youngjae! We're partners! What a coincidence, huh?"
Himchan makes a noise of disgust.
"Yeah, I know!" Youngjae laughs sheepishly as he nudges Himchan by the waist, forcing him to go away but the other wouldn't budge.
"So yeah, um," Daehyun clutches the notebook he's holding between his armpits as he starts to gesture with his hands, "I know you and I got off the wrong foot and I may be a complete asshole to you right now but-"
Himchan's eyes widen and he nods in agreement. Youngjae attempts to push him away again, whilst keeping up a forced smile at Daehyun.
"-still really want to stay friends somehow because we've had it good and our friendship still means a lot to me-"
Himchan fully turns his gaze on Youngjae, emphatically trying to send blaring mental alarms: no, Youngjae, don't buy into his bullcrap.
"-and nothing's better than two ex's remaining contact because they're mature enough to realize that they're not for each..." Daehyun turns to Himchan, eyes narrowing. "What are you doing?"
Himchan slowly withdraws back from kicking Youngjae in the ankle to get his attention. "Um," Himchan blinks, "Just stretching my leg."
Daehyun glares. "Are you still supposed to be here? 'Cause last time I checked the term 'partners' does not refer to three people."
Himchan snorts. "Wow, wasn't aware that you can actually count."
"Himchan," Youngjae warns.
Daehyun raises a brow. "Youngjae, why don't you tell your precious babysitter that he needs to get out of the way?"
Youngjae gasps. "Excuse me."
"Oh really?" Himchan seethes, "You got the guts you little dimwit. You can't just bullshit your way into Youngjae's life again after what you did."
"What's going on this time?" Professor Park barks from the front platform. "Stop acting like high school juveniles, you mongrels, you're now university students! These actions are intolerable!" He declares. "Himchan, go to your partner now."
Daehyun suppresses a taunting laugh. "Yeah, that's right, go back to that old cock you used to suck."
Himchan balls his hands into fists.
"Himchan," Youngjae says softly. "Just go."
Himchan heads to the back side of the lecture hall with a scowl, glaring back at the other students who stopped what they're doing to watch the little commotion that just occurred seconds ago. Yongguk, seeming to be the only one who paid no attention to the earlier scenario because he has earphones on, has been perched on a desk, scribbling on a paper that appears to be almost halfway filled.
"Huh," Himchan mutters to himself as he sits next to him. "What's this, some ex-lover's boot camp?"
Yongguk notices him and scrambles to take off his earphones. "What was that you said?"
Himchan flips his hair. "Nothing."
Yongguk turns to look at where Himchan's eyes are on. "Oh," he says, "Looks like someone's taken a left turn to third-wheelville."
Himchan gives him a look.
Yongguk's fast to change subjects. "So... do you want to help?" He raises his paper to show Himchan the lyrics he's been working on.
"What if I said no?"
Yongguk shrugs, placing back his sheet on the desk and resuming his scribbling. "S'fine, I'm almost done anyway and it's not like you could've been useful."
Himchan scoffs. "What does that even mean? I'm like the best at composition."
"'Cause I dated you," Yongguk says. "And I know that you can't write when you're frustrated. And at this point in time you are, and I know exactly why you are," He looks up to point his pencil to gesture at the front of the lecture hall where Daehyun and Youngjae seems to be starting their awkwardly fun lyrical time. "It's the reason we broke up."
"Why are you calling me?" Himchan demands, phone wedged between his ear and shoulder as he stacks his books back into his shelves after his weekly bedroom furniture dusting routine. "I'm supposed to hate you, if me avoiding you for the rest of the day hadn't been a clear indication."
"You have indicated your animosity successfully. And yes, you did cause me a hassle looking around for you," Youngjae responds through the phone, tone a little too lively for Himchan's liking. "But you still picked up my call because you can never resist me."
"How about you come here so I can show you what I truly can't resist doing to you," Himchan fumes, slamming one of his books toward the shelf. "You sound happy," he points out. "I hope it's not for the same reason I'm currently displeased."
He hears Youngjae sigh from the other end of the line. "I think it is," he confesses. "Sorry."
"I don't like where this conversation is going."
"Anyway!" Youngjae prompts keenly. "You're still going to Yongguk's party, riiiiiiight?"
Himchan rolls his eyes. "So, now you wanna come."
"Daehyun insisted me!" Youngjae shrieked.
Himchan drops the books he has been holding. "I knew it."
"Well, we had a good going conversation earlier. And he apologized for being, you know, a jerk. And we had a nice time, something that never happened in a while! So..."
"No, don't say it!"
"I can get him back!" Youngjae says enthusiastically.
Himchan groans. "Oh, you said it."
"I really can't mess this up now."
"Okay, first of all," Himchan struggles to start as he squats to retrieve his manuals and paperbacks from the floor. "I'm the one who repeatedly urged you to come to the party, causing me a bad character record from Park, and you say yes immediately after one fart from Daehyun." He stands up straight with a huff. "Second of all, remember that you're supposed to hate him? Remember that he stole a juice box from your fridge while breaking up with you?! You are not to execute any attempt to get back with that guy."
"Why not?"
"Because third, fourth, fifth, one hundred seventy-third of all," Himchan affirms, "he's an asshole. Like what I proposed him to be right from the very beginning of your relationship, and what he himself confirmed. You should know this better than anyone else."
"But," Youngjae hesitates. "I'll work this out, okay?" (You never do, Himchan thinks, you always end up on the other end of heartbreak.) "It'll be fine." (No, it won't.)
A stretch of uncomfortable silence passes between them. And, as an act of desperation, Himchan quite hopes Youngjae takes his lack of response as a hint of persuasion (because everyone else seems to find it so easy to convince Youngjae except for Himchan, and he's tried all strategies to win him over, but Himchan never wins Youngjae over, and this situation just continues to maintain that unbroken record.)
"I'm still coming," Youngjae finally concludes, voice above a whisper. "I hope I see you there."
"You know you really should stop making-"
The call ends.
"-the same mistakes."
Himchan throws his mobile phone across his bed before heaving a huge sigh. "Yoo Youngjae," he mutters, placing his hands on his waist. "You're a complete dumbshit."
When Yongguk said everyone will be coming to his party, he hadn't been kidding, nor had he been speaking figuratively. Because whenever Yongguk hosts a bash, trust that literally everyone-including kids that weren't even invited at all in the first place-will be present. Yongguk's rave-ups are always comprised of fanciness and night vigor rolled into one outrageous scene that differs it from your typical parents-are-out-of-town bashes.
Youngjae can still clearly remember the past seven times he's been to Yongguk's huge suburban house in his entire college career. Well, at least half the duration of those occasions. Because Yongguk's parties are the kind in which everyone will always find themselves waking up on beds that aren’t theirs, unable to recall how the fuck they got there.
Youngjae met Daehyun on his fifth attendance. He doesn't clearly remember that situation, but their first formal greeting was when he found himself next to him one Saturday morning at the other's apartment.
Yongguk is actually very cool, rich, talented, not to mention he’s a member of the university’s football team (hot) and his social involvement is very high despite his striking appearance (totally a non-negative statement.) Youngjae wonders for the umpteenth time why Himchan dumped him. It can’t be just for a silly reason.
"Hyung," Junhong says, directly facing Youngjae, as he closes the backseat door of Jongup's car that has been recently parked among the rows of vehicles across the street in front of Yongguk's house. He holds a hand against it for stability support. "Has anyone ever told you that you drive horribly?"
"No one so far," Youngjae responds, closing his own door before throwing the car keys to Jongup who almost trips on his feet to catch it. "Had either of you nuggets known the way to Yongguk's house, I wouldn't have to offer myself to drive us all here."
Jongup shrugged, sliding his hands inside his pockets. "You could have just instructed me the way. You almost ran over a dog and submittedly drove us into a tree."
Junhong nods in agreement. Youngjae holds up a finger before spinning around to head to the entrance of Yongguk's house. "You children should really learn more about appreciation," he says, "Himchan mostly does my driving for me. I'm not usually the man behind the steering wheel."
The blaring heavy bass of the party music gets louder as the three of them walks closer. The main gate is wide open, guests (faces Youngjae hardly recognizes) littering the ingress as they smoke and yell at each other. Youngjae suspects that more than half of them are already semi wasted if not extremely, it's already ten thirty in the evening.
"Where's Himchan hyung, by the way?" Junhong asks as he trails after the older.
"No idea," Youngjae grumbles.
"He's not coming?"
"Dunno."
Jongup snorts. "What do you mean you don't kno-"
"Man, I'm itching for booze," Youngjae promptly interrupts for the sake of shutting them up. "You guys think Daehyun's already here?"
Behind him, Jongup and Junhong slowly turn to look at each other warily. "Probably," Junhong drawls hesitantly. "Well, he said so in his Facebook status which I checked ten minutes ago."
"Great! Now I just need to find him." Youngjae claps his hands once as he skips past the gates into the footpath of Yongguk's humongous front lawn.
"Why?" Jongup inquires. "You two have called it off, right?"
"How'd you know that?"
"Um, well, aside from how news travel fast," Junhong says. "Himchan hyung told us. And mind you, he sounded really excited about it."
"It's pretty easy to tell when you break up with someone, you know," Jongup adds. "You commemorate the entire week after it by openly having a scream fest with Himchan about it everywhere you may be in the campus."
Youngjae makes a face. "Do I undergo break ups that often?"
"Kinda," Jongup admits. "But you seem eager to talk to Daehyun again now."
Youngjae shrugs. "It's just going to be a few friendly drinks."
"So you can wake up in his apartment tomorrow morning?"
Youngjae grins. "My plan was just to talk but that's not a very bad idea either." He hurries inside Yongguk's house without as much as a wave, immediately disappearing into the thick crowd of dancing bodies.
Junhong furrows his eyebrows. "Now I think I might have an idea why Himchan hyung's not here."
It didn't have to take more than an hour and a half for Youngjae to find himself thoroughly intoxicated after having to stagger across groups of crowds one after another, unable to neglect offered drinks and minute chitchats and he doesn't realize until then how much friends he's made in the music department. (College sure is wild and crazy.) But the boozed-up conversations only distracted and led him farther and farther away from his main objective of the night (which has been to maybe corner Daehyun against the nearest wall-or at least that's what his current state of drunken consciousness tells him.)
Youngjae finally has himself to himself by Yongguk's kitchen counter-which has magically turned into a very unsuspecting-looking bar for the party filled with endless stock of any kind of alcohol. He's been there for a minute or two, has ignored another two calls from Himchan (the other's been constantly calling all night and Youngjae just doesn't feel like putting himself up against another argument.) He's currently attempting to regain his balance just enough so he can venture through the house in search of Daehyun again (the tray of shot glasses on the bar in front of him isn't helping.) That is until he suddenly feels another arm being draped across his shoulders.
"Hyuuuuuuung," Junhong sings, steering Youngjae and dragging him into a hallway. "You've got to see this really cool fortune teller woman Yongguk hyung invited to his party."
Youngjae moans, trying to shove at the younger's face. "You're drunk and hallucinating. Go home."
"She's got a crystal ball and everything and I think that's really awesome just ask her anything you want to know it's free of charge," Junhong continues in rapid fire the way he always talks when he's had too much cocktail drinks. "Isn't that wicked?"
The two somehow manages to successfully end up in the living room (at least that's where Youngjae thinks they are) without tripping over their feet and landing face-first on the floor. Junhong pushes Youngjae toward a small crowd in a corner who seems to be gathering around something entertaining.
"Make way! Coming through!" Junhong hollers as he bulldozes himself and Youngjae through the people.
With one final nudge from Junhong, Youngjae falls into a chair situated right in front of a small table which has a-Youngjae narrows his eyes-crystal ball sitting eerily on top of it. Across him sat a woman with the most intricate bedazzled eye makeup Youngjae has ever seen in his entire life, she's dressed in what seems to be a Bohemian patterned top and her blonde ringlets bounces around as it frames her face. The woman stares back at Youngjae with apparent amusement.
Youngjae's aware of his intoxication, but he realizes he must have had about seventeen shot glasses more than usual enough to have him envisioning stuff that are just flat-out bizarre.
"So?" Bohemian woman speaks up, raising a heavily glittered brow. "What do you want to know, young lad?"
Youngjae's about to respond with something along the lines of what make up brand do you use? Or is this some kind of sick prank Yongguk's been plotting all week? But Junhong eagerly interrupts him from the side: "How will he find the love of his life?"
Hoots and whistles ensue from the surrounding crowd.
Youngjae emits a groan thinking, fuck, how cliche-er can Junhong's question get. Youngjae can swear he's seen a handful of modern fantasy-ish romantic comedy-ish movies with scenes similar to this occasion. His head's beginning to throb in a way that urges him to stop thinking complicated thoughts and this woman in front of him is smiling at him disturbingly that it makes him want to flee but there's no way out, he knows Junhong would just drag him back.
Youngjae watches nervously as the woman nods and lays out her bangled wrists and perfectly manicured nails on the crystal ball, the electric lines following the motion of her finger tips. Within seconds, she closes her eyes.
What.
"Grey, blue, white. Under a cloudy night. In this adornment you will find the one to which your fate is bind. Don't look too far or you'll find grime, for he's just been right in front of you all this time."
Youngjae initially thinks, wow, how poetic for an impromptu rhyming speech until he suddenly feels a wave of nausea hit him in a spur, and he doesn't spare another glance at the faces around him as he rushes to stand up, darting through and out of the crowd that had seemed to deprive him of much needed air, suffocating him progressively.
He races back into the hallway he remembers passing through with Junhong earlier but his vision is suddenly beginning to blur. Oh shit. Am I sick?
"Youngjae!" Someone yells in an alarmed tone, catching Youngjae's arm and forcing him against a wall. "Are you okay?"
Youngjae assumes Junhong has just trailed after him, but this guy has a grip unlike Junhong's. It's someone familiar, that much Youngjae can infer in his current state. But his eyes couldn't focus on anything. Neither can his ears name the owner of the voice.
The guy hurriedly pushes the hair out of Youngjae's eyes, proceeding to hold the other's face between his hands. "Shit, you're so pale and sweaty, what the fuck have you been doing?"
Youngjae's head is whirling. "Daehyun?" He manages. "Daehyun, is that you?"
He hears the guy in front of him huff noisily as the other wipes his forehead with a handkerchief. "Dumbshit."
"Daehyun," Youngjae insists, his hands fumbling up to the other man's chest because he seems legitimately concerned about Youngjae's present state, and somehow, that calms Youngjae down and effectively compels him to temporarily forget about the queasy feeling settling low on his stomach and converts his attention into maybe a surge of wanting to be snuggled or whatever.
Youngjae's hands reaches for the collar of the other man's dress shirt and, without further ado, pulls him for a kiss.
While he's currently aware that he's not going to remember any of this in the morning (neither is he sure if this is all really happening) he hasn't come across Daehyun all night and he's about seventy percent sure that this guy in front of him is Daehyun, anyway, it has to be, because he doesn't know when will be the next time Yongguk will host a party enough for Youngjae to admit his persistent feelings with alcohol for an excuse. He has to take a chance.
The other guy flinches back within less than a minute, Youngjae feels him go rigid. And, even in his drunken disposition, Youngjae kinda regrets what he's done. His mouth tastes so fucking gross at the moment after all.
The man in front of him mumbles something he doesn't catch, but, much to Youngjae's surprise, the other resumes to cup his chin before leaning in to kiss him again.
{ PART 2 }