The Right Guy
Title: The Right Guy (oneshot)
Author: anoukinparis
Pairing: YunJae
Genre: Romance/Angst
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Yunho meets him by chance while bartending at a gay bar - a teasing, matter-a-fact, enigmatic stranger that quickly becomes a part of his life, whether Yunho is ready for it or not.
A/N: Maybe I'll write a sequel to this? I'm not sure, but I'm kind of in love with this fic, especially Jae ;~; God, I'm so biased. I hope you all enjoy! Comments are loved~ <3
Yunho wiped the back of his hand across his forehead, the sound of clinking glasses already fusing with slinky techno and the voices brewing underneath. Packed, just like it was every Saturday night, his head making counts and recounts of all the tips he had earned just within the past few hours. No doubt the shirt helped - it was rather incredible what one more button left undone could do. But that was just a small trick, just something small to please the regular customers who came, nothing more.
That same hand lined the dirty glasses up in a neat row before grabbing new ones from underneath the bar, Yunho already offering a smile as another man approached the counter. No, never hurt to bring in some extra cash.
The smell of vodka was heady, familiar as he fixed the drink, eyes scanning down the bar as he slid the glass over. Most of the faces he recognized, save for one near the very end, half-veiled in a spill of dirty blond hair. His gaze lingered, before moving back to the next customer, fingers already pulling at another glass.
Five minutes passed before Yunho's eyes sunk toward the end of the bar again. The stranger's face was no longer shadowed. He had one hand pushing back the long blond strands while the other reached for something in his pocket. Yunho watched curiously as the man yanked out a small piece of paper, scanning the contents of it swiftly before shoving it back into his jacket. Something anxious underlying his movements.
Curiosity won over. “What can I get for you?” Yunho asked as he made his way over, throwing a towel over his shoulder.
The stranger cocked his head forward, and Yunho was at once struck by the angles in his face and the way his eyes caught the smoke of the building. The kind of looks he always heard men pining about while nursing their third, fourth, fifth beers - piercing attractiveness, something still rough in the beauty, with lips to kill all loneliness.
“Do you know a Park Sunwoo?”
The question caught Yunho off guard, but he shook his head nonetheless. “Sorry, no.”
“Then I guess you can't get anything for me,” the stranger sighed, letting his hand drop from his hair.
Discreetly, Yunho looked over his shoulder to see if anyone new had walked up to the bar - no one. And nobody's glasses were empty just yet. When he turned back to the stranger, his eyes had already strayed toward the other people seated around him. The conversations at the bar swirled like colored lights; he couldn't pull away.
“Is he a friend?”
It seemed to Yunho that the stranger apparently thought the conversation had been over, eyes jumping forward once again. Yunho could practically see him trying to work out just how much information he would allow himself to give away to a mere bartender. “No,” he finally answered. “Date.”
“Do you not know what he looks like?”
“It's a blind date,” the stranger admitted pointedly, eyes flashing straight at Yunho as if expecting him to make fun of it. But he only brushed off the defensive tone with a smile, one that surprisingly came of its own accord.
“Nervous?”
“It shows?”
“No, I think you're doing a wonderful job in remaining composed in such a situation.”
The stranger's lips quirked. “You always talk to customers like this?”
“I can get a lot worse, trust me.”
The stranger grinned - it instantly subtracted years from his face, nerves. Before Yunho could get a better glimpse of this new person there was another call for him, coy, and he smoothly reached for the towel and wiped down a glass. The customer's order was easy - the same as every other night - and Yunho didn't utter a word about the way those eyes lingered on him a bit too far past friendliness.
The stranger had a pack of Marlboro smooth slapped on the counter when Yunho returned, fingers poking through the cigarettes until he was satisfied with the right one. “You're pretty popular here,” he observed, a certain lilt to his voice. Teasing. His lips parted for the cigarette, eyes matching Yunho's. He leaned forward. “Makes sense, you're cute.”
Yunho took the hint, deftly reaching for the light in his back pocket. “Maybe you should save those compliments for the date,” he laughed, watching as the cigarette lit and smoldered.
“The date's fifteen minutes late.” The stranger released a slow breath, smoke melding with another sigh. “He's not even here, and I already don't like him.”
“Maybe he's held up in traffic.”
“Maybe he realized this was a stupid idea before I did,” the stranger mused, taking another long drag that did wonders to those angles in his cheekbones. He was already attracting some sidelong glances from other men at the bar, but he seemed oblivious to them. He looked down at the Marlboro box with a thoughtful frown, and Yunho was just on the verge of breaking the sudden silence when his voice popped up once more.
“What about you?” the stranger nodded to him. “I'm sure you're seeing someone.”
A frequent topic. Sometimes Yunho would brush off the question, leave it ambiguous so as not to hurt any feelings. Sometimes he would come out with the blunt truth, hurt feelings or not. The options weighed around in his head, but lying during a first impression was never wise.
“I have a girlfriend.”
Sometimes the men looked away in disappointment, sudden boredom. Sometimes they continued to flirt as if he hadn't answered at all. The stranger merely appraised him, cigarette paused between his fingers.
“A straight man working at a gay bar, what a tease,” those eyes mocked playfully. He casually brushed a strand of hair from his face, continuing his appraisal. “A shame too. You're just my type.”
“And what type is that?” Yunho had to ask, growing more amused.
“The one that's off limits.”
“I think you need a drink.”
“I think you're right about that.”
The stranger didn't tell him what to make, just continued smoking and looking through dirty blond hair, but Yunho could guess what he would like. Another trick. He had enough experience in judging mens' tastes by now.
Usually he didn't spend this much time talking with a particular customer. His coworkers always warned him that he was too soft, that he needed to learn how to distance himself, construct that invisible wall along the length of the bar. You're only hurting them by caring so much, they said. You're leading them on.
Yunho never took it seriously.
“So what made you decide on a blind date?” he asked as he dropped a few ice cubes in an empty glass. He couldn't imagine someone like the man in front of him resort to something like that. The sidelong glances from before were turning into full-out stares. Wouldn't take long now.
The stranger shrugged a lanky shoulder. “I lost interest in the relationship I was in. Seemed like a good way to get out.” The words sounded mechanical until he finally relented, taking another slow drag, closing his eyes as he blew out a steady, misty stream. “He wanted me to be something I wasn't.”
“Which was what?”
“His boyfriend.”
“Oh, how dare he want that.”
The stranger opened his eyes again at the cheeky tone, grabbing the drink just as Yunho was sliding it over. “How much?” He purposely blew in Yunho's direction, and for just a beat of time Yunho swore those eyes fell on the open button.
“This one's on the house.” Same easy smile from before. “Since it looks like you're being stood up after all.”
“Shouldn't you be doing some actual bar tending now?” the stranger quipped.
“Just keeping you company.”
“Your company's nothing to me if you chase after women.”
“I thought I was your type,” Yunho replied pleasantly.
The stranger tactfully hid his expression behind the glass, taking a long drink, but Yunho had the feeling that he was grinning again. “Apparently making bad judgments is my forte,” he finally said, but before Yunho could open his mouth to respond he noticed someone else's presence lingering closer. Only a second later and the man brushed against the stranger's shoulder, apologizing with a warm smile - hook, line, and sinker. Exactly what Yunho expected.
The night brought in more tips, more of the dripping, sleazy songs his coworkers favored, exhaustion settling down deep in Yunho's skin until morning hit and his shift ended. The shots he'd taken seemed to be swimming ahead of his vision, taunting him, as he reached slowly for his jacket.
Nodding his goodnights. Slipping through the sleeves. Just as Yunho reached the door something jarred his memory, and for a second he paused, turned back to length of the bar. Took him a while to realize just who he was looking for and he laughed at himself, surprised that it even mattered.
~
Time pushed blond hair from Yunho's thoughts. After a few weeks it merely grew into one of those memories that, after feeling so rich at the time, had only fallen flat in retrospect, something insignificant and fleeting. But it was easy to let go when there hadn't been anything there in the first place - and Yunho held his girlfriend every night free of guilt.
So the sight of him sitting at the bar again was more than a shock. Yunho felt his entire body still when he recognized him, already smoking, already causing a small uproar from the other men seated around him, as if time hadn't even swept through the world at all.
Yunho momentarily forgot about his job.
“Another blind date?”
The stranger's lips fell into a willing smirk at the tease, eying Yunho as he walked over to where he was sitting, leisurely making himself a drink in the process. “Came for you, actually.” Yunho cocked an eyebrow. “Well, I figured I owed you for that generous drink and unwanted company.”
“And it only took you a few weeks to figure that out,” Yunho chided with a smile, taking a sip, alcohol lapping at his throat. “So what can I have?”
“What do you want?”
Yunho could hear the suggestive glean of that tone even as the music roared around them, dulling the other conversations at the bar. All he could hear was the stranger's voice, the way he sucked at the cigarette. Setting down the empty glass, Yunho finally chanced a look into those playful eyes, eyes that knew Yunho wouldn't actually take that kind of offer. Eyes that simply seemed to enjoy toying with him.
“A cigarette,” Yunho answered before he could stop himself. “Outside in ten. I have my break then.”
The stranger reached out to slip Yunho's finished glass from his fingers. Flicking his dying cigarette inside. “Meet you in ten,” he agreed with a slow smile, pushing the drink back.
~
“You gonna tell me your name?”
“What, are we friends now?” the stranger laughed.
“I suppose so.”
The truth was that Yunho wasn't sure what they were. He didn't have any friends who turned heads by doing absolutely nothing, who wore gray contacts, or who could filter through their entire sexual history as matter-a-factly as if it was a morning grocery list. He didn't have any friends who were gay, just customers and coworkers and practically everyone else at the bar. Didn't have friends who leaned against the slick, dewy surface of the building with him, smoking and talking and more smoking. And yet there it was - night after night. It was a relationship that was hard to let go of.
“Or I could just call you Blondie.”
“Don't,” the stranger interjected, far too serious, and Yunho looked over at him with lips curled innocently. “Don't look at me like that.”
“I'm Yunho.”
There was a pause, silent save for the snap of the lighter in the stranger's palm, affectionately borrowed from Yunho's back pocket earlier. He lit his fourth cigarette of the night, staring straight ahead. “Yunho.” Less a murmur than him tasting the name. His voice quickly came back together. “You sure about the girlfriend, Yunho?”
“Mm.”
“Maybe you just haven't found the right guy yet,” he gestured with his cigarette, making a wide crescent as he enunciated each word separately, making Yunho cough out a few laughs. “I bet that's why you secretly decided to work here. All the guys you'd meet who'd throw themselves at you.”
“Well,” Yunho mock considered the possibility, “I never had to go on a blind date, that's for sure.”
“It was his own loss for not showing up,” the stranger scowled. Yunho watched him fill his chest up deep with air, only to let it ooze back out of full lips, a gradual goodbye - almost felt like Yunho could capture all the smoke in his hand. Then he could touch that bottom lip with his forefinger and push his fingers through long hair.
Thinking about it sickened Yunho's stomach, as if he drank too much, as if he couldn't control his own actions. “Yes, it was,” Yunho said quietly, dropping his cigarette on the ground and grinding it hard underneath his shoe. “But you've said before you don't like dating people.”
“You remember me saying that? How the hell can you be so likable? Never mind, it's obvious.”
The stranger tossed the remains of his own cigarette into the street, then sighed and leaned back. His shoulder pressed tight to Yunho's; neither moved. “But no, I don't like it. Either the other person will end up hurting me, or I'll end up hurting the other person. Best to avoid both.”
“Can't always avoid things like that.”
“It's what I want.”
“Maybe you just haven't found the right guy yet, remember?”
The stranger immediately jarred him in the shoulder. Might have been convincing enough if he wasn't smiling. “Please. I've met plenty of the right guys before.”
“And how many have lasted?”
“That's beside the point,” the stranger brushed off. “The point is...oh, shit.” Yunho turned to the stranger, baffled, only to see him staring down at his watch with an odd mixture of reluctance and impatience. “Does this say midnight to you?” the stranger asked suddenly, thrusting his wrist in front of Yunho's face. Several blinks before the numbers could even come into focus.
“Actually, it's five after.”
“Great, I'm an hour and five minutes late.”
“You're leaving?” After Yunho heard himself say it, he wished he would have just kept silent.
The stranger slowly lowered his arm back to his side, head cocked just slightly, eyes tracing Yunho's expression. “I'm meeting some friends at a club.” Abruptly, his gaze settled into that liquid tease. “But I don't suppose you'd want to come, right? Yunho-ah?” Fingers reached out casually, hooking into the tie Yunho was wearing.
Yunho wondered what they would have said then. Was he being too nice now? Was it wrong not to shove him back? Maybe he really didn't have a spine. But at the moment it felt pretty damn solid flattened against the wall, just curving into the touch as the stranger gently tugged at his black tie. It fell loose, more disheveled.
“Looks better like that,” the stranger clicked his tongue in satisfaction, pulling back as if nothing had happened. Yunho hadn't even realized he had been holding his breath the entire time. “What's wrong? You thought I was gonna try something?”
“I thought you were running late.”
Yunho could only wonder what had flickered over the stranger's eyes before he flashed another grin. “Just keeping you company, remember?”
Yunho didn't say anything more as the stranger turned to walk away, sauntering down the street and hailing a cab and escaping right before his eyes. His shift had ended hours ago, he could tell the crowds inside were dwindling. Even the sky above him appeared vacant, removed. And somehow, the last place he wanted to be was home.
~
Five nights later Yunho agreed to go with him. He didn't know why - he knew exactly why. He knew it was a bad decision - he figured everyone had the freedom to make some bad decisions in their lives. His mind fixed on that justification even as the stranger coaxed him away from the bar, tugging at his shoulder as he downed one last shot.
“You don't need this,” the stranger plucked the glass from his fingers.
“You don't need to smoke.”
“Led you to me, didn't it?” Offering an impish smile, the stranger successfully managed to steer Yunho toward the door, throwing the other's gawking coworkers a wave and a wink as they stumbled through the door.
Yunho's eyes wandered down as they crossed the street. “You're wearing leather.”
“And?”
“Nothing, I just didn't think people still owned leather pants in this decade.”
“If they're so offensive then don't look,” the stranger airily replied, shimmying his way through the growing crowds, not even turning his head to see if Yunho was following him. But he was, insides burning just as they had before; he didn't have the time to mull over going back, however. Time had taunted him again, lurching forward until the two of them were suddenly working their way down graffiti strewn stairs, bathed in electric lights, far too many people to count, air that crackled with opportunity and sex. Both men and women swirled around him, both men and women stared, but it was the stranger's hand who urged him forward, tossing him into the chaotic rush.
“Dance with me.”
Yunho said the first thing that came to mind. “I can't dance.” Painfully true.
“Doesn't matter,” the stranger said, though it was harder to make out the words. The dance floor throbbed with a beat that felt strangely akin to the pounding taking place beneath Yunho's shirt, ceaseless, impossible to ignore. “Just feel it.”
A hand slipped to Yunho's shoulder, edging him closer. He heard it again and again in the music. Just feel it. Feel what? he wanted to ask. Just feel it.
Hips that rocked. Never still. Water, every movement from the stranger was like water, smooth, relentlessly murmuring something underneath the surface. He was watching the way Yunho was watching him. Arching into the palm skimming tentatively around his back, pressing his own hand to it with firm resolution. The immediate instinct was to jerk back, but the stranger kept Yunho from pulling away, only drawing himself closer.
“You don't have to be nice all the time, you know.” Yunho was near enough to see the brown beneath the gray contacts. Vague flecks. His heart still ran like the track flooding through the speakers, yet seeing something that seemed real was enough to relax his hand. Enough to overlook the heat that was in those vague flecks.
“I'm not.”
The stranger rolled underneath his fingertips. “Then dance with me.”
There was no authority in that tone - only a moan. Yunho didn't need to be told a third time. He raked his hand through dirty blond hair and danced with him. He didn't have a reason or explanation, but he assumed the stranger wasn't looking for those sorts of things anyway.
Yunho wondered what would have happened if the blind date had shown up that night. He wondered if he would have had the chance to talk with the stranger then, if they would have ever crossed paths, if someone else would have ever looked at him like that. He wondered where he lived and what he did and why he never laughed enough. He wondered if he secretly did want a real relationship, if all the running around was needed to cover up that desire, and if he was being serious or not when he said Yunho was his type.
But mainly, Yunho wondered about his name. It never left his thoughts as they danced, continued to dance as the floor began to clear out, only a handful of couples remaining, twisted into intimate positions as they weaved slowly through the music. Yunho had completely forgot about the music by then.
“You can't fall asleep,” he joked light-heartedly, shrugging his shoulder gently until the stranger finally raised his head off, half-lidded eyes shooting at him. “It's not very polite.”
“I wasn't sleeping.” Stubborn arms encircled Yunho's neck, locking tight as the stranger pressed his forehead back down to his shirt. He released a deep breath. “I just like how your shirt smells.”
“You're a strange man.”
“That's what most people find endearing about me.”
“It's not the pants?”
“Shut up.”
A grin pushed past Yunho's lips at the sound of his laughter, warmth bristling along the nape of his neck with each breath the stranger took. Then his chin. Wordlessly, Yunho swept the hair back from the stranger's face, watching his head tilt from the movement, toward his lips. The stranger's gaze flickered without apology.
“I still don't know your name.”
The stranger's eyes rose to his own unhurriedly, the side of his mouth lifted into a half smile. Half. There was something lacking in that expression, something that pained Yunho. “Wouldn't really change anything, would it?” It wasn't regretful, annoyed, only honest. “Come on, let's get some air.”
Air turned into more smoking on the steps. Smoking turned into a few more peals of laughter and a kiss that felt far too casual - and far too brief. Afterwards the stranger replaced the stolen cigarette back to Yunho's lips, concealing the evidence, and said with a sigh that that was the reason why he had to leave.
“What?” Yunho was still trying to recover from the normalcy of the kiss. His mouth was expecting more, mind spinning with that particular problem. “What are you talking about?”
“Look, I mentioned it before..” the stranger trailed off, taking a long drag before speaking again. “It's better to just not get involved. And you're happy, right?” Slanted a knowing look to Yunho, as if he didn't even need to hear the answer. “Happy with what you have? You're lucky then.” He smiled that same half smile, softer this time, before it curved into a rough smirk at the next words. “If I stay I'll just make things harder on myself. And I guess I don't trust myself around you.”
Yunho thought he was going to say more. Thought there would at least be something more before the stranger returned the lighter to Yunho's hand, finished his cigarette and swung his coat over his shoulder. But there was nothing.
It took several heavy seconds for the full meaning of those words to sink down into his pores. Crawling inside of Yunho like a physical weight.
“You're leaving because of me.” It wasn't a question.
“I've been wanting a change of scenery anyway,” the stranger shrugged at Yunho's wording, dismissing it even though they both knew it was true. “Maybe Paris. You ever been there?”
Yunho shook his head numbly.
“Too bad. There's nothing like it.”
Now Paris swirled in Yunho's head, fuzzy, far-away images of croissants and the Eiffel Tower mixing in with the kiss. He tried to picture the stranger alongside those images but it wasn't working. The only way he saw him was sitting at the bar, just like that first night.
Once the shock began to ease Yunho found he wasn't that surprised at all. Some people snatched what they wanted, clung to a good thing until it grew strained, crumbled. Some people ran from what they wanted so as to stop any damage from happening in the first place. And some people, he thought wryly, had no idea what the hell they wanted.
“So if you didn't want to get involved,” he began before the stranger could lift himself from the stairwell, “then why did you take me here?”
“You asked to come.”
“And the dancing?”
“You can't just come to a club with someone and not dance.”
“The kiss?”
A characteristically stunning grin swept over the stranger's face. “I'll admit I was being selfish with that one.”
The moment that Yunho matched that grin two hands grazed past his shirt, settling on either side of his face with a sensitivity that wasn't so characteristic. The first time during the entire conversation that those gray eyes were looking directly at him. “And I'll be selfish one more time.” The words fanned Yunho softly - and this time, when the stranger met his lips, he wasn't left unprepared.
Fingers reached up to grasp the stranger's wrists, holding him close until Yunho was sure he would never forget the taste of his tongue or the way his entire body melted, if only for a moment. Each breath stirred fast when they parted, another slow grin making its way to the stranger before he bit down on his lip.
“Not bad for a straight guy.”
And with that he released his touch, teasing Yunho with one last look before turning around and heading down the steps. “Find me if you're ever in Paris,” he called out once he reached the end.
“Just give me your damn name already,” Yunho replied with a laugh, leaning against the cool steel as his eyes followed the stranger's path down the street. Watching him pause, give a breezy smile, and without any warning he finally got his answer.
“Jaejoong.”