Roxanne [Chapter 1]
Title: Roxanne [Chapter 1]
Word Count: 2,299
Pairings: Donghae/Ryeowook, with other pairings to follow
Rating: R [language, sexual situations, elements of drug use]
Summary: Donghae takes his first trip to a strip club and ends up falling for the main dancer. But when he finds out what kind of life she lives, he's determined to save her.
Genre: Genderswitch AU
Disclaimer: Title taken from and story inspired by "Roxanne” by The Police
It was my first time in a place like this. I never thought I’d come to a strip club in my life, but when Hyukjae came to me, begging me to go with him, I couldn’t say no.
Don’t get me wrong! It wasn’t like that. I had no intentions of going because it was a strip club. I only came because Hyukjae was talking about how lonely he’d be and he just made me feel guilty and-anyways.
We got to the club at close to 11, that’s the time Hyukjae said was when things started getting good. I didn’t know what to expect. Sure I brought a few singles, thinking I could have a little fun but I didn’t intend for anything to happen. I’m not that kind of guy. I don’t-get off-on those kinds of things.
But that’s not the point.
That’s not what this story is about. It’s about her.
She came on stage around 12 midnight, looking slightly out of it. I wasn’t sure if that was part of her act but she stumbled onto the stage and she kept blinking like the stage lights were too bright for her. But then she heard the music and she started move in a way I’d never seen a girl move. Like I said, I wasn’t into these kinds of things but there was something about her that made her stand out.
I didn’t feel the same sensation other guys would probably feel from seeing a stripper, well, stripping. I felt in awe of her. She was graceful, delicate with her petite frame. Her eyes were dusted with glittery eyeshadow and she had blush that highlighted her slim face and high cheekbones. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so focused on her face. Everyone else was fawning over her body, especially when she started to work that pole. I’ll admit I did feel something, a throbbing feeling when she spun around the pole and clung to it. But it wasn’t where you’d expect it.
I had fallen in love. It was love at first sight.
“Hyuk, what’s this dancer’s name?”
He didn’t answer me. He was practically drooling over her, throwing money at her as she shook her butt in our faces. I was too embarrassed to look up at her, only looking at the stilettos on her feet. She then crouched down and stared down at me. I expected her to stay there until I threw a single at her like everyone else, but she smiled at me. She was beautiful up close. Her eyes were shining and she had a sweet nature about her. She wasn’t like the other girls; she didn’t give me a rude look until I paid them, at which point they’d smile and call me “honey.”
But she wasn’t like that.
“Are you having a good time?” she asked me, looking just as sweet as she sounded.
I could only manage a nod, with a mouth wide open. She winked at me and moved on to the group of guys sitting next to us. She looked back at me a few times before she was done performing. Not once did she ask me if I wanted a lap dance or something. It was like she cared more about me than she did her job.
Or maybe I was just seeing things differently than everyone else. Maybe I was being delusional. Maybe I was imagining that she looked at me once more before leaving the stage. Maybe I never saw her perform, maybe this was all a dream.
But then some tall guy with a low voice came over to Hyukjae and I and asked us something.
“I see you guys enjoying Roxanne’s performance. She does a lot-more, you know?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, honestly. I just wanted to see her again and I didn’t care what it would take. He led us to a room with satin pillows and plush couches. There was a guy with two girls rubbing themselves all over him and it took me everything to keep myself from covering my eyes and running out of the room. He made us sit on this giant couch and told us that we could get her to do anything for the right price. Hyukjae nodded and the man disappeared. Then she walked in.
She had a feather boa wrapped around her shoulders and she was wearing purple lingerie with black lace trim. She wore fishnets with garters around her thighs and those same stiletto heels. When she walked over to me, she walked with a stride that showed confidence but it seemed so faked.
She then walked over to me, putting her leg on the couch, showing more of herself than I wanted her to show me.
“How are you tonight?” she smiled, not seeming as sweet as before. In fact, she seemed sort of skanky, if I can be so blunt. Then I look at her face. She looked gaunt, with dark circles under her eyes. Those high cheekbones sparkled with blush now looked the result of not enough to eat. Her wrists were small and her legs were thin, as were her arms.
Hyukjae was too busy acting the pervert to notice what I noticed about her. I looked at her closely, focusing again on her eyes and that’s when I saw the fear in them. She wasn’t doing this because she wanted to; it was obvious she was being forced to. Then Hyuk took out his wallet and waved a few singles in her face and she started to dance, rubbing herself all over him. I couldn’t look.
Then she straddled him, her hands on his shoulder, her pelvis thrusting into his face. I had no respect for my own best friend at that moment as he started panting at her like a starved dog. She then put her mouth to his ear and whispered something I couldn’t hear. I could see him getting hard through his pants. That’s when I grabbed her wrist and pulled her off of him and out of that room, away from Hyuk and the other perverts trying to grab at her.
“W-What are you doing?” she asked me, sounding afraid like I was the person who was making her do this.
I pushed her against the wall, out of view from anyone else in the club. I stood over her, protecting her before saying anything. She looked up at me, her eyes full of worry of what I would do to her.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you or do anything to you. I just can’t stand seeing what you’re doing. How can you be okay, throwing yourself at guys for money?”
The worry in her eyes disappeared, replaced with irritation.
“I don’t even know you. I don’t need to explain myself or why I do what I do.”
I couldn’t help but feel angry. But then I looked at her. She was so small and frail. The other dancers had more meat on their bones than she did. Something told me that there was something wrong with her, like she was being mistreated. The question was why her?
“What’s your name?” I asked her, expecting her to lie right to my face.
“Roxanne.”
“No, not your stage name. What’s your real name?”
She looked at me and crossed her arms. It was obvious she wasn’t going to tell me.
“Ryeowook.”
Such a strange name, but she was a strange girl to start with. I didn’t question it; I wanted her to take me seriously.
“I’m Donghae.”
“Donghae? Like ‘east sea’?” she asked, sounding amused.
I ignored it, “Yes, Donghae. Like the East Sea. Look, who’s making you do this? I want a name.”
That’s when she stopped talking. She pushed my arm out of the way and walked back to the room we came from, not looking at me once as I followed her there. She didn’t even acknowledge me, and continued where she left off on Hyukjae. He didn’t seem to mind, looking at me once to smile like he was proud of what he was letting her do to him.
I couldn’t do anything. I sat there and watched, feeling disgusted with every gyration of her lower body. When she was done, Hyukjae paid her and we left. I was too angry to try and get her to give me contact information or anything. I wasn’t the one making her do things like that, why couldn’t she trust me?
The only idea I had was to go back, as often as possible, and try to get her to talk to me and tell her who was doing this to her. As disgusted as I was by Hyukjae after that night, I brought him with me to the club. He had the money and he would make my visits look a lot less suspicious. When a particular dancer came on, I left him to drool over her while I tried to find Ryeowook. It wasn’t easy.
There was heavy security. Understandable since a lot of the guys who came to that club were shady, wanting to grope and fondle the dancers as much as they could. But how was I going to talk to her?
“The VIP room!”
I yelled it loud enough so that same guy from before came over, a smile on his face and dollar signs in his eyes. I took Hyuk with me, he didn’t complain and I didn’t expect him to. I told the guy that I wanted to see “Roxanne” and he shook his head.
“She’s not feeling well today so no private dances. She’s doing her act and then I’m making her rest.”
He seemed serious and I couldn’t help but feel a little relief that she was getting some proper attention. Maybe this guy was keeping the eye on her that I couldn’t. I nodded and Hyukjae told him whom he wanted to see and he disappeared, the dancer coming in to take his place.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Ryeowook the entire time. I felt anxious, wondering what she was doing. I checked the time and it was almost time for her to come on so I left Hyuk to perv over the dancer. I went back to the main room and sat down right next to the stage, in plain sight of her. She came on, looking just as out of it as she did the first time I saw her. But there were no confident strides, no graceful movements. She walked out, slowly, taking small steps, making her way down the catwalk. The lights shone on her and she covered her eyes before continuing to walk until she reached the pole. She felt around for it and clung to it. That’s when she looked down and saw me.
There was no sweet smile, nor was there a look of surprise or anger as she saw me stare at her. Her eyes scared me; she looked desperate, like she needed my help. She attempted to do her same moves on the catwalk but when she moved away from the pole, she collapsed on the stage. That’s when I jumped in. I didn’t think; I just acted. I jumped on the stage and picked her up, her whole body limp in my arms. I stood on the stage, trying to find somewhere to take her. Security followed after me but I ignored their words to stop me from taking her.
I walked backstage, past the concerned faces of the other dancers and walked her to her dressing room, placing her on the daybed that was next to the wall. She was unconscious and I wasn’t sure how to wake her up. I grabbed a cloth and poured some water from a bottle on her makeup table, and placed it on her forehead. She looked so sickly and pale, her cheeks seeming more hollow than I remembered. I stared at her small, weak body until some guys came running into her room.
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
It was the same guy with the deep voice who had led me and Hyukjae to the VIP room.
“I’m just trying to help.”
“IT ISN’T YOUR PLACE TO HELP MY DANCERS. NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE.”
I didn’t want to fight. I only cared about her getting treatment for her illness. I backed away, security guards staring me down and watching as I went out the exit door. I stood outside, feeling shaky and nervous, wondering what was happening to her.
I didn’t go back to the club. I got in my car and waited for Hyuk to come out, about an hour later. I drove home without saying a word, my mind never being able to escape from thoughts of her.
As much as I wanted to see her, I couldn’t stop thinking about how awful she looked. But my gut was telling me to go back to see her, or maybe it was my heart. Maybe I really did love her. I wasn’t this way with any of the other dancers. Not that I didn’t care about what they were doing, but there was something about Ryeowook that I couldn’t wrap my head around.
She was unique, to say the least. Her name, the way she moved when she was onstage, the fact that she seemed to do what she did not because of a personal choice. I wasn’t sure why she was the way she was but there was nothing to stop me from finding out. I had to go back to that seedy club and see her. I needed to, no matter what it meant for me.
END CHAPTER 1
Word Count: 2,299
Pairings: Donghae/Ryeowook, with other pairings to follow
Rating: R [language, sexual situations, elements of drug use]
Summary: Donghae takes his first trip to a strip club and ends up falling for the main dancer. But when he finds out what kind of life she lives, he's determined to save her.
Genre: Genderswitch AU
Disclaimer: Title taken from and story inspired by "Roxanne” by The Police
It was my first time in a place like this. I never thought I’d come to a strip club in my life, but when Hyukjae came to me, begging me to go with him, I couldn’t say no.
Don’t get me wrong! It wasn’t like that. I had no intentions of going because it was a strip club. I only came because Hyukjae was talking about how lonely he’d be and he just made me feel guilty and-anyways.
We got to the club at close to 11, that’s the time Hyukjae said was when things started getting good. I didn’t know what to expect. Sure I brought a few singles, thinking I could have a little fun but I didn’t intend for anything to happen. I’m not that kind of guy. I don’t-get off-on those kinds of things.
But that’s not the point.
That’s not what this story is about. It’s about her.
She came on stage around 12 midnight, looking slightly out of it. I wasn’t sure if that was part of her act but she stumbled onto the stage and she kept blinking like the stage lights were too bright for her. But then she heard the music and she started move in a way I’d never seen a girl move. Like I said, I wasn’t into these kinds of things but there was something about her that made her stand out.
I didn’t feel the same sensation other guys would probably feel from seeing a stripper, well, stripping. I felt in awe of her. She was graceful, delicate with her petite frame. Her eyes were dusted with glittery eyeshadow and she had blush that highlighted her slim face and high cheekbones. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so focused on her face. Everyone else was fawning over her body, especially when she started to work that pole. I’ll admit I did feel something, a throbbing feeling when she spun around the pole and clung to it. But it wasn’t where you’d expect it.
I had fallen in love. It was love at first sight.
“Hyuk, what’s this dancer’s name?”
He didn’t answer me. He was practically drooling over her, throwing money at her as she shook her butt in our faces. I was too embarrassed to look up at her, only looking at the stilettos on her feet. She then crouched down and stared down at me. I expected her to stay there until I threw a single at her like everyone else, but she smiled at me. She was beautiful up close. Her eyes were shining and she had a sweet nature about her. She wasn’t like the other girls; she didn’t give me a rude look until I paid them, at which point they’d smile and call me “honey.”
But she wasn’t like that.
“Are you having a good time?” she asked me, looking just as sweet as she sounded.
I could only manage a nod, with a mouth wide open. She winked at me and moved on to the group of guys sitting next to us. She looked back at me a few times before she was done performing. Not once did she ask me if I wanted a lap dance or something. It was like she cared more about me than she did her job.
Or maybe I was just seeing things differently than everyone else. Maybe I was being delusional. Maybe I was imagining that she looked at me once more before leaving the stage. Maybe I never saw her perform, maybe this was all a dream.
But then some tall guy with a low voice came over to Hyukjae and I and asked us something.
“I see you guys enjoying Roxanne’s performance. She does a lot-more, you know?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, honestly. I just wanted to see her again and I didn’t care what it would take. He led us to a room with satin pillows and plush couches. There was a guy with two girls rubbing themselves all over him and it took me everything to keep myself from covering my eyes and running out of the room. He made us sit on this giant couch and told us that we could get her to do anything for the right price. Hyukjae nodded and the man disappeared. Then she walked in.
She had a feather boa wrapped around her shoulders and she was wearing purple lingerie with black lace trim. She wore fishnets with garters around her thighs and those same stiletto heels. When she walked over to me, she walked with a stride that showed confidence but it seemed so faked.
She then walked over to me, putting her leg on the couch, showing more of herself than I wanted her to show me.
“How are you tonight?” she smiled, not seeming as sweet as before. In fact, she seemed sort of skanky, if I can be so blunt. Then I look at her face. She looked gaunt, with dark circles under her eyes. Those high cheekbones sparkled with blush now looked the result of not enough to eat. Her wrists were small and her legs were thin, as were her arms.
Hyukjae was too busy acting the pervert to notice what I noticed about her. I looked at her closely, focusing again on her eyes and that’s when I saw the fear in them. She wasn’t doing this because she wanted to; it was obvious she was being forced to. Then Hyuk took out his wallet and waved a few singles in her face and she started to dance, rubbing herself all over him. I couldn’t look.
Then she straddled him, her hands on his shoulder, her pelvis thrusting into his face. I had no respect for my own best friend at that moment as he started panting at her like a starved dog. She then put her mouth to his ear and whispered something I couldn’t hear. I could see him getting hard through his pants. That’s when I grabbed her wrist and pulled her off of him and out of that room, away from Hyuk and the other perverts trying to grab at her.
“W-What are you doing?” she asked me, sounding afraid like I was the person who was making her do this.
I pushed her against the wall, out of view from anyone else in the club. I stood over her, protecting her before saying anything. She looked up at me, her eyes full of worry of what I would do to her.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you or do anything to you. I just can’t stand seeing what you’re doing. How can you be okay, throwing yourself at guys for money?”
The worry in her eyes disappeared, replaced with irritation.
“I don’t even know you. I don’t need to explain myself or why I do what I do.”
I couldn’t help but feel angry. But then I looked at her. She was so small and frail. The other dancers had more meat on their bones than she did. Something told me that there was something wrong with her, like she was being mistreated. The question was why her?
“What’s your name?” I asked her, expecting her to lie right to my face.
“Roxanne.”
“No, not your stage name. What’s your real name?”
She looked at me and crossed her arms. It was obvious she wasn’t going to tell me.
“Ryeowook.”
Such a strange name, but she was a strange girl to start with. I didn’t question it; I wanted her to take me seriously.
“I’m Donghae.”
“Donghae? Like ‘east sea’?” she asked, sounding amused.
I ignored it, “Yes, Donghae. Like the East Sea. Look, who’s making you do this? I want a name.”
That’s when she stopped talking. She pushed my arm out of the way and walked back to the room we came from, not looking at me once as I followed her there. She didn’t even acknowledge me, and continued where she left off on Hyukjae. He didn’t seem to mind, looking at me once to smile like he was proud of what he was letting her do to him.
I couldn’t do anything. I sat there and watched, feeling disgusted with every gyration of her lower body. When she was done, Hyukjae paid her and we left. I was too angry to try and get her to give me contact information or anything. I wasn’t the one making her do things like that, why couldn’t she trust me?
The only idea I had was to go back, as often as possible, and try to get her to talk to me and tell her who was doing this to her. As disgusted as I was by Hyukjae after that night, I brought him with me to the club. He had the money and he would make my visits look a lot less suspicious. When a particular dancer came on, I left him to drool over her while I tried to find Ryeowook. It wasn’t easy.
There was heavy security. Understandable since a lot of the guys who came to that club were shady, wanting to grope and fondle the dancers as much as they could. But how was I going to talk to her?
“The VIP room!”
I yelled it loud enough so that same guy from before came over, a smile on his face and dollar signs in his eyes. I took Hyuk with me, he didn’t complain and I didn’t expect him to. I told the guy that I wanted to see “Roxanne” and he shook his head.
“She’s not feeling well today so no private dances. She’s doing her act and then I’m making her rest.”
He seemed serious and I couldn’t help but feel a little relief that she was getting some proper attention. Maybe this guy was keeping the eye on her that I couldn’t. I nodded and Hyukjae told him whom he wanted to see and he disappeared, the dancer coming in to take his place.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Ryeowook the entire time. I felt anxious, wondering what she was doing. I checked the time and it was almost time for her to come on so I left Hyuk to perv over the dancer. I went back to the main room and sat down right next to the stage, in plain sight of her. She came on, looking just as out of it as she did the first time I saw her. But there were no confident strides, no graceful movements. She walked out, slowly, taking small steps, making her way down the catwalk. The lights shone on her and she covered her eyes before continuing to walk until she reached the pole. She felt around for it and clung to it. That’s when she looked down and saw me.
There was no sweet smile, nor was there a look of surprise or anger as she saw me stare at her. Her eyes scared me; she looked desperate, like she needed my help. She attempted to do her same moves on the catwalk but when she moved away from the pole, she collapsed on the stage. That’s when I jumped in. I didn’t think; I just acted. I jumped on the stage and picked her up, her whole body limp in my arms. I stood on the stage, trying to find somewhere to take her. Security followed after me but I ignored their words to stop me from taking her.
I walked backstage, past the concerned faces of the other dancers and walked her to her dressing room, placing her on the daybed that was next to the wall. She was unconscious and I wasn’t sure how to wake her up. I grabbed a cloth and poured some water from a bottle on her makeup table, and placed it on her forehead. She looked so sickly and pale, her cheeks seeming more hollow than I remembered. I stared at her small, weak body until some guys came running into her room.
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
It was the same guy with the deep voice who had led me and Hyukjae to the VIP room.
“I’m just trying to help.”
“IT ISN’T YOUR PLACE TO HELP MY DANCERS. NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE.”
I didn’t want to fight. I only cared about her getting treatment for her illness. I backed away, security guards staring me down and watching as I went out the exit door. I stood outside, feeling shaky and nervous, wondering what was happening to her.
I didn’t go back to the club. I got in my car and waited for Hyuk to come out, about an hour later. I drove home without saying a word, my mind never being able to escape from thoughts of her.
As much as I wanted to see her, I couldn’t stop thinking about how awful she looked. But my gut was telling me to go back to see her, or maybe it was my heart. Maybe I really did love her. I wasn’t this way with any of the other dancers. Not that I didn’t care about what they were doing, but there was something about Ryeowook that I couldn’t wrap my head around.
She was unique, to say the least. Her name, the way she moved when she was onstage, the fact that she seemed to do what she did not because of a personal choice. I wasn’t sure why she was the way she was but there was nothing to stop me from finding out. I had to go back to that seedy club and see her. I needed to, no matter what it meant for me.
END CHAPTER 1