Chapter Text
“And I also want the pots to have the same color as the overall theme. My sister said she doesn’t care but I think that she should very much care so-…”
“…We’ve been over this already, Miss Kim”, Beomgyu said with a smile that hopefully didn’t show how fake his sympathy actually was. This woman was the sister and the maid of honor for said sister. She had ordered five dozens of blue-sprayed lilies – that is until she suddenly decided she doesn’t want those anymore and instead changed her order to five dozens of golden-sprayed roses (apparently because her sister forgot the theme of the wedding was ‘Golden Years and Silver Rings‘).
No need to mention that Beomgyu had already painted the fifty plastic lilies.
He didn’t know what he should do with these now, but he also couldn’t really find it in himself to drag the issue home and ponder over this.
They say professional things should stay at work and personal things should stay at home after all.
Unfortunately, he was working right now, and therefore has to listen to Miss Kim and her new complaint.
Apparently, she found out that the golden pots they ordered to the plastic lilies now didn’t fit with the golden roses anymore and that was unacceptable.
Beomgyu already knew what Miss Kim wanted when the woman had waltzed into the store, her cute puppy pitifully sitting on her arm as if the animal wasn’t capable of walking around by itself.
Okay it was winter but even a puppy terrier wouldn’t freeze to death just because it had to walk by itself.
Miss Kim smiled her own very obvious smile – the one she always offered when she actually wanted you to shut the fuck up, as Beomgyu got to learn within the last two months – and promptly shut him up by saying: “Oh dearest, you don’t understand – the pots absolutely need to be white now! But don’t order new ones, that would just cost unnecessarily more money!“
Beomgyu willed himself to take a moderately normal breath before answering the woman. “Miss Kim. Even if I would offer to paint the pots, I‘d still charge you for that“, he said.
The woman frowned, “But you also painted the new roses again! And you didn’t charge us the same amount.“
“Yes, that is because getting roses around Christmas was a lot easier than getting lilies. And I painted them again because you wanted me to do so and it’s a service I actually offer“, he explained slowly.
Miss Kim’s frown transformed into one of petty anger quite fast and it was then that Beomgyu decided he was done talking to her for today.
Before she could even open her mouth to assault him, he continued: “Now I’ll of course order the new pots if you want me to but be aware that I will charge you for that as well.“
Needless to say, the little bit of positive opinion they had had left about each other was completely gone now and it showed in the way Miss Kim had pettily slammed the door to the flower shop shut behind her, not replying to Beomgyu’s attempted, “Goodbye, have a nice evening!“
Not really.
He secretly hoped Miss Kim would have a miserable evening and get treated the same way she treated him for the past two months.
With a sigh, he turned the OPEN-sign to CLOSED and started preparing a little bit for tomorrow.
He purposely left the door unlocked, knowing that his best friend Yeonjun would probably waltz right into here any minute now, bombarding him with a bunch of questions about his day and what not.
Choi Yeonjun was the best example for a perfect citizen. When he got his life-plan, he never once questioned that. His work as designer fit him so well, the things he did for what he earned his daily raise with…everything just made sense.
Beomgyu though…always felt like something was missing in his life.
This world’s concept lies in the detail of perfection; everyone should do and be what they’re meant to do and be. You’re born, tested, transferred, instructed. That’s the way it worked and not many dared questioning that.
The government also kept a very focused eye on that system they developed. In all of Beomgyu’s life, he got to actually witness the test once; some cousin of his. It had been before he went through the testing himself, his parents still legally responsible for him. He himself barely remembered the test when they had done it on him; he had been four years old, but for some reason, the memory of that cousin’s testing-ceremony remained very vivid in his mind. He had been in Daegu then, had watched his aunt and uncle when the soft smiles vanished to make room for the devastated stare when his cousin turned out to be an architect; not at all what their family did.
When a child gets tested, they leave the family they were born into and are being sent to a school with kids of the same or similar results. Beomgyu had not been particularly bothered when his results showed he was meant to be a florist – he had already kind of suspected that with how much he adored being in the local park or studying a flower during the whole day when he had time. It had just sucked a lot that the school for that result was placed in Seoul.
The child still gets to talk to their family, if they’d like to do so. Beomgyu had decided to maintain contact, although kept it limited – for the person he later got to call his mother was someone else. He could barely remember how his biological mother looked like; only owned a few pictures they’d sent him over the years. Even though he had tried keeping in touch with them, it was very clear that the connection wouldn’t survive this distance. Especially considering his parents – or more like his mother – had been really cagey and petty about his leave. Not like he had had much of a choice; when your results show what you need to do, you’re either following or become an outcast. Outcasts aren’t criminals, but often treated as such. And Beomgyu had been utterly scared of that; not belonging anywhere.
With the test results came a mark on your inner wrist; a barcode, saved with all of your personal data, the results and what not. It had been engraved into his skin directly after the results had been out with some weird machine and Beomgyu can sometimes still remember how much it had hurt.
Whenever they scanned your barcode – for whatever reason, that being you have to pay something, they want to see your ID, whatever – it still stings a lot. Beomgyu hated it.
But that’s just how the world functioned; everyone was where they were meant to be and that was the order, the concept, the perfection. It was why everything remained peaceful, why the government had the upper hand in everything. The system wasn’t flawed – because the people weren’t.
He almost jumped out of his skin when the door to the flower shop opened, the small bell above it ringing softly. Just as expected, in stepped his longtime best friend and self-proclaimed big brother of Beomgyu’s; Choi Yeonjun. As always, he wore stylishly weird combinations of clothes, seemingly thrown together in a rush and yet outstandingly fashionable when he wore it. Yeonjun had dyed his hair a weird blonde recently – they had had a long discussion about whether it looked blonde or like the ugliest piss-yellow ever put on anyone’s head.
Like any of their discussions, they never really settled on any opinion because they were both stubborn idiots.
Despite Yeonjun’s rather goofy personality, he had a weird sense of empathy and an even bigger heart. Which is why he immediately knew something was up as soon as he saw Beomgyu’s tired expression.
“…Was Miss Kim here again?”, the blonde asked and earned himself a grunt from the florist. Yeonjun looked about ready to throw hands, a deathly stare on his face while he started turning his head to every possible direction, as if he expected Miss Kim to still be somewhere around here when the shop was very clearly closed by now, “Where is that witch?! I will personally kick her to hell and then drag her around there, so god help me-…!”
Beomgyu sighed and gently smacked the elder’s arm, “You don’t even believe in god. And stop being so dramatic – I only have to endure her for as long as the wedding preparations happen; well, at least as long as she doesn’t want to get married as well.”
A shudder went through him at the mere thought.
He turned his head to look at Yeonjun when the blonde barked out a laugh, “That woman? Please, what kind of person would like to endure that for the rest of their life? There’s a reason she’s organizing her sister’s wedding and not her own.”
Sometimes, Yeonjun had a way of showing how much he disliked or liked something. Every time Beomgyu got to witness that, he was suddenly very thankful that the two of them were friends and not enemies. He had witnessed Yeonjun’s anger a few times (as he was fairly easy to piss-off anyways), and he didn’t necessarily need to be at the receiving end of said anger like; ever.
While Beomgyu finished counting today’s income and locked the register away in the back office, the elder started talking again, animatedly following his every step, “So…today’s this party…”
“No”, Beomgyu answered immediately, a grunt leaving his lips as he closed the wardrobe he had just put the register inside, “I won’t tag along to one of your parties.”
Yeonjun was in whiny-kid mode in an instant, “Oh come on! Even Hyuka agreed to join again – you know how he always denied my invitations and when he finally agreed last time, he had the time of his life!”
Beomgyu tried shuffling past Yeonjun with inelegant steps, glaring at the elder when he merely stared back at him with wide eyes and that practiced kicked-puppy pout. Too bad it didn’t work with the florist anymore. He released a very stressed huff, “Choi Yeonjun. I won’t repeat myself, get out of the way. I’m tired and I want to go home already.”
A way too familiar, cocky grin spread on Yeonjun’s face. He made himself seem broader than he was, effectively blocking the only way out of the back office, “You want to leave? Then agree to join me and Hyuka today.”
If there was one thing Beomgyu knew about Yeonjun, it was that the older was awfully stubborn and on top of that a freaking pain in the ass. He often pushed without realizing how far he already went, often hurting others with that. The difference with Beomgyu was that he usually let it slide; mainly because he was still way too soft for Yeonjun’s endearing 4D-personality.
He pouted and couldn’t believe the whine that left his own lips, “Yeonjun!”
“Beomgyu!”, Yeonjun whined back with a mock grin on his stupidly handsome face.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, no one saying anything. It was a stare-down; one Beomgyu knew he wouldn’t win because if Yeonjun wanted something, he’ll get it.
He bit his lip and groaned, foot stomping on the ground pettily – great, now he was no better than Miss Kim had been. “Okay fine! I’ll join you tonight!”
“Yes!”, Yeonjun exclaimed, fishing his phone out from the back pockets of his jeans, probably to text Huening Kai about their plans. “You’ll love it! That club we’re going to is so popular these days, you’ll love it there!”
Beomgyu wasn’t convinced but he already agreed and Yeonjun wouldn’t let him back out now.
The elder stopped typing when a call came in, “Yes? Ah! Hyuka! Yes, Beomgyu will join us tonight!”
He stopped talking for a second, eyes suddenly raving over Beomgyu’s appearance, a familiar, unsatisfied frown taking over on his face, “…Bring some of your clothes. Beomgyu looks way too…flowerboy right now. We need him to look more like a snack.”
Ugh.
This will be a very long night.
~~~
‘Individually Personalized Test Barcode‘.
That is what scientists came up with years ago, when the differences between people became more and more prominent with every day passing. The idea was simple; if everyone did what they were personally meant to do, no one would be at an advantage of heritage. It was a form of order that did not exist before.
The Individually Personalized Test – or short IPT – was creepily accurate and barely miscalculated anything in your DNA. Beomgyu still wasn’t sure how exactly the IPT worked or how they linked it to the IPT-Barcode. But it did and it was the reason why he was where he was today.
Just like almost every child after they were tested, he had transferred to a school in Seoul. As mentioned, heritage has no meaning anymore and therefore, he had been more or less adopted by a woman called Choi Yura. Seeing as Beomgyu never really felt like his biological family actively wanted to have anything to do with him anymore, he had decided back then to just take Yura’s family name as his own.
It fit him a lot better than Jung Beomgyu anyways.
Yura was the woman who taught him most of what he knew about plants and flowers. It was her flower shop that Beomgyu ran as of today and even though you’d think it was rather cruel to take a child away from their biological family, Beomgyu never really cared much about it – Yura had been a fresh and lovely person in his life.
Even though the IPT never miscalculates, there are still people who – of course – choose not to follow their test results. As already mentioned once, people like that are called outcasts.
They live in so-called, Red Zones, an area not necessarily cut off from the rest of Seoul, although it was very obviously treated like it either didn’t exist or as if it were trash.
The people who lived in the Red Zone usually kept to themselves and rarely left it, even though they had every right to do so; they just weren’t allowed to live within the same modern luxury everyone else lived in. Typically, their barcodes are marked with a red line crossed over it, indicating that they disregarded the government’s IPT and therefore were not allowed to live outside the Red Zone.
They were allowed to roam outside of it – for example for groceries or visiting someone or just for the fun of it – from 8am to 8pm. After that, they would not be able to get into any building or even back into the Red Zone.
Beomgyu had always hated that system.
It didn’t really obviously treat them any worse but at the same time made very clear that people who chose to live against their IPT results would have it harder anyways. They weren’t openly discriminated but very clearly ignored anyways.
He wondered what was worse; being treated like garbage or ignored like it.
Red Zones also weren’t handled or cared for by the government. The police occasionally patrolled in it; crimes were hardly punished there though. It was a ghetto, a dark corner in which everything was possible.
Even more of a reason for Choi Yeonjun to roam around there almost every Friday and Saturday to enjoy his life to the fullest.
And today, he finally managed to drag Beomgyu along.
Needless to say, the popular club Yeonjun had told him about was located in the middle of the Red Zone. They had barely made it inside before the border control locked it up, Yeonjun using all of his charms (and the terrible wink) to get them inside.
Beomygu had already dreaded having to stand outside in the cold for god-knows how long just to get into the very popular club called, 5:53. Weird name for an establishment like this but oh well.
To his utter surprise though, Yeonjun walked right past the long line, followed by a bunch of annoyed groans and shouts, tabbing the bouncer’s shoulder softly.
The man must’ve recognized him, blinking softly as he nodded and smiled, easily letting them inside.
Never in his entire life did Beomgyu see a nicer bouncer – well, not like he had much reference.
Although he absolutely did not like crowded places (and really internally cursed Yeonjun for dragging him along), he must admit that the inside of 5:53 was really…beautiful.
It was spacious and decorated with many quite aesthetic things, retro styled neon-signs showing the way, neon-lights illuminating the dance floor in rainbow-changing colors, divided in two floors with several booths to sit in and a wide bar to their immediate right.
Beomgyu flicked his long hair out of his face and turned his head to look at Kai when he noticed the younger’s stare on him, “…What? You dressed me up, if you tell me now that I look stupid, I will strangle you!”
Hyuka grinned amused, “No, I was just admiring how absolutely good you look tonight. Really Gyu, you didn’t notice how many people stopped to stare at you, did you?”
A baffled expression took over on the florist’s soft features, unsure eyes unsuspiciously glancing around to check if Hyuka was merely trying to mess with him. But to his utter surprise, Huening Kai was right; a bunch of people were very obviously checking him out shamelessly. He cleared his voice and huffed, “W-Well…I’m not exactly used to clubbing…”
“We can all see that from miles away”, Kai answered smugly, obviously to be annoying.
Despite Kai’s cuteness and the adorable facial structure, he had a certain handsomeness to himself; it was different from Yeonjun’s obviously tempting beauty, much more delicate and yet prominent in the way he managed to convey a thought or an emotion with just the way he looked at you. His tall body was dressed in tight leather pants and a black shirt with some band logo printed onto it, blonde hair effortlessly perfect without looking like he even touched it.
Beomgyu looked comically small next to him, even though he was not small by any means. Still, he knew that he managed to pull in a lot of attention thanks to Huening Kai’s clothes and Yeonjun’s extraordinary talent to style literally everyone with whatever.
Hyuka had brought him some old clothes of his (pieces he couldn’t wear anymore because the kid grew as much as a freaking orchid if you cared for it well enough). The florist usually preferred to dress up in a rather soft and lowkey way, whereas Huening Kai actually owned some clothes to go out and do things people their age usually did. Hence why Beomgyu found himself dressed up in tight ripped, black jeans, a black see-through long-sleeved turtleneck underneath an oversized contrasting white shirt tugged into the front of his pants stylishly. Yeonjun had also given him a choker out of freaking nowhere, telling him to wear it because it apparently fit so well into his whole concept right now – all while Kai proceeded to mess around with Beomgyu’s wolfcut-hair, making it look just as effortlessly messy as his own hair.
Beomgyu may not like going out, but he had to admit that he looked good right now.
Still, he would never wear any of this ever again.
That being said, he cleared his voice and informed Kai: “…I’ll get myself a drink. Yeonjun disappeared hours ago anyways and I assume you have some sort of plan as well?”
Kai blinked and looked around in confusion, eyebrows furrowed, “What?! Jun disappeared, you’re right?! That hoe!”
The younger didn’t answer but still stormed off to do his own thing – Beomgyu shrugged and made his way to the bar, struggling to get past the many people crowding his way.
Seeing as the curfew for the Red Zone was 8pm, they went to eat something in a restaurant, killing time there and filling their stomachs (all on Yeonjun’s neck because he had more than enough money to provide). The club didn’t open before 11pm and even though they had made sure to hurry up, it had taken them almost an hour to get to the club – mainly because Yeonjun couldn’t remember the exact position.
Beomgyu released a tired breath when he arrived at the bar, very wisely choosing a secluded area where not many people sat. He was aware that the bartenders probably wouldn’t really see him over there – but that was the point, really.
Though, the bartenders here seemed to be a lot more attentive than he thought, because one of them turned around to look at him with a blank stare. He didn’t look unfriendly – just like he’d much rather be somewhere else. Beomgyu made eye contact with him before he could stop himself, his breath hitching at the sight; he looked too good to be real.
His hair was dyed in an outstanding cherry-red, perfectly angled nose adoring his face along with high cheekbones and wide, round eyes. He walked over, a polite smile tugging on his lips as he said, “…You‘re lucky I care to check the whole bar for guests, not everything but the corner you’re currently sitting in.“
Beomgyu sputtered and forced himself to stop staring, coming up with something smart to say in response: “…I was counting on not being seen, actually.“
Wow.
How smart.
The guy‘s polite smile made room for something much more sincere as he registered the words, a little bit of his teeth showing when he smiled a little realer, “Oh, well that’s most definitely a shame. I‘d bet every bartender would love to give you a drink on the house.“
Beomgyu stared back at him and found himself overrun with a sudden sense of confidence – it was weird, even more so because he most definitely was not confident most of the time. But something about the way this bartender looked at him was urging him to come out of his shell, “What about you? Would you also give me a drink on the house?“
Something similar to an amused smile took over on the bartender’s face, his round eyes twinkling with interest. He stepped closer, the lights above the bar illuminating his face in a beautiful red. Beomgyu found himself sitting more upright to lean even closer before he even realized what he was doing.
Enchanting.
“…I guess seeing as I am not actually a bartender, I can’t do that for you”, he grabbed someone who just positioned himself behind the bar, a tall guy with bunny-like features and an adorably confused look on his face when he was dragged to them, “Soobin-ie – be so kind and give him a drink; my treat.”
Soobin – so his name – blinked and stared back and forth between them, not reacting to the pats on his shoulder the other left him with. The guy did not break eye-contact with Beomgyu once until he had to turn around to disappear to wherever he had to be. It was then that the florist saw it; the beautiful tattoo on the guy’s neck, a small but aesthetic flower. It looked lowkey and yet stood out so much to him that he was immediately curious.
“I-…thanks for taking over for a few minutes!”, Soobin shouted after him and then turned back around to look at Beomgyu, who was still staring at the direction the guy had disappeared into, “…Uhm. What would you like…to drink?”
Beomgyu brought himself out of his many thoughts and looked at the bartender, not answering his question to instead ask: “Where did he disappear to?”
“The studio. We have a studio at the far end of the club where people can go to-…” – “Thanks”, Beomgyu quickly said and left Soobin at the bar to give someone else a drink.
He didn’t know why, but for some reason, he needed to see more.
Not like he knew what exactly his brain meant with the term ‘more’. Something about the guy was just intriguing in a way no one had ever been. And his friends disappeared to do their own thing long ago anyways.
His gaze connected to a sign pointing towards a corridor on the other side of the room, clearly saying, ‘Studio’. Beomgyu internally groaned and started making his way towards said corridor, apologizing to several people when he bumped into them (or more like they bumped into him but okay, there was no point in trying to discuss with drunk people on a dance floor).
When he finally arrived at the corridor, he found himself walking through a rather quiet and not at all filled corner of the club. There were a few people lazing around to talk, others to do other things Beomgyu didn’t care to elaborate on. At the end of the corridor was a left turn, to which he suddenly walked right into the mysterious studio. As it seemed, not just any studio. Honestly, he didn’t know what he had expected when that Soobin-guy merely told him about some studio; he most definitely didn’t expect a tattoo studio in the middle of a freaking club.
Damnit, Yeonjun was absolutely right; he loved this place.
The studio was rather small compared to the otherwise broad layout of the club. There were two booths with one curtain offering some privacy for whoever was to sit on the black leather benches. On the top of the wall were neon-lights installed, filling the whole room in a calming turquoise color. What had been a loud noise in his ears earlier was now reduced to a very soft boom filtering through the walls, almost completely drowned by the soft tune of some indie playlist. The walls were filled with pictures and sketches of literally everything; animals, portraits, symbols, texts, lyrics, plants, hearts, mystical creatures – there was nothing you didn’t find here and Beomgyu was almost certain there must’ve been some sort of book to choose from as well, so these were probably by far not all of the designs you could choose to have on your body.
He immediately noticed the differences in art-style though and recognized the way some of the designs were a lot more realistic while others were rather dreamy; there were very obviously two artist working here.
His admiration got interrupted by another curtain opening on the other side of the room, in-between a shelf and some commodes with lots of stuff spread on it.
Out stepped the guy from earlier, a rather surprised expression on his face as he recognized Beomgyu’s lost presence in the studio.
Fuck! What was he supposed to say now?! He literally followed him here for no real reason! He probably looked like a stalker, an idiot, a creep, a-…!
“I can hear your panic from here“, the guy suddenly interrupted Beomgyu‘s train of thoughts.
He sputtered and felt his cheeks getting warmer, clearing his voice in a pitiful attempt to save his dignity (or what was left of it really), “…I-…uhm…came here for a tattoo. Of course.“
Yeah, no, he absolutely did not.
The guy seemed to be very much aware of that, but he didn’t dwell on it much longer and merely turned around to grab a folder wrapped in a beautiful dark green leather texture. It was then that Beomgyu saw the tattoo on his neck again and he couldn’t help but stare, even when the tattooist stopped with the folder right in front of him.
His eyes traced the delicate flower, the way it slightly curved towards his adam‘s apple, how it had a slight splash of color in it, the endearing details and beautiful way this flower was drawn on his skin, somehow not at all looking out of place even though tattooists usually had a lot of different tattoos.
Beomgyu felt his gaze drop at the thought, eyes connecting with the many cute and different symbols spread all over his right arm. He needed a second to realize that the thing on his arms were constellations wrapped around beautiful flowers and he was in awe, his hand moving up to trace one of them before he could stop himself.
A chuckle pulled him out of his trance, and he flinched slightly, mortified at his own way too bold actions, “Oh my god-…I‘m so sorry!“, he apologized and bit his lip with hot cheeks, “I didn’t mean to just…I mean you know, touch you or something. It’s just these tattoos are so…gorgeous.“
“Well then I‘m very flattered“, the tattooist said, and their eyes met again, “These are my designs. I tattooed some of them myself. The parts I couldn’t reach were done by my co-worker.“
The florist stared back at him, unsure what he should say. He felt his lips moving before he even really realized that he said something, “Can you give me something like that as well?“
The guy chuckled heartily, stepping back, and motioning for Beomgyu to take a seat on the leather bench closer to the commodes. He followed the instruction watching the cherry-haired do his thing with the needle and the ink, adjusting his tools, wearing gloves, preparing everything needed.
When he turned back around to look at Beomgyu, he tilted his head softly, a frown on his face as he studied him. Eventually, his gaze stopped on his throat, and he stepped closer, gloved hands softly pulling on the tight see-through turtleneck. His breath hit Beomgyu‘s cheek as he leaned closer, tattoo-needle ready in his left hand but out of sight.
He pushed Beomgyu back on the bench, making sure he was comfortable while he gently tilted his head away from him, so he had enough space.
His voice sounded soothing when he said, “Do you trust me, pretty flower?“
Beomgyu felt all of his brain engines cutting short at the sound, the feel, the nickname, the everything, nodding along as he rasped out dazedly: “Yes…“
It was a weird situation, even weirder question to ask a total stranger and completely crazy of Beomgyu to just go along with it like that.
A tattoo was a permanent decision, nothing you could erase easily – even if you wanted to. He shouldn’t just trust a guy to give him some weird tattoo. He shouldn’t even let that guy lean so close or push him into a chair in the back of a loud and filled-to-the-brim club. Heck, even if something would happen and Beomgyu would scream for help; no one would hear him back here!
He swallowed and closed his eyes when gloved hands inched closer.
To his utter surprise though, instead of a needle being slightly pushed into his skin, he felt something wet and cold press against the column of his neck.
He blinked and attempted to turn his head, stopped by soft hands holding him in place by his chin, “Don’t move or you’ll ruin it.“
Damn shit, that voice made him do things.
Clearly.
A few minutes later the cold thing disappeared from his skin. The tattooist tabbed away the wetness with a dry cloth, gently placing the turtleneck back where it belonged.
He hummed and helped Beomgyu up, gently turning him towards the commode where a mirror was leaning against the wall. There was a very classic flower tattoo placed on his neck, done with one of those simple ones you could just rub off or wash away if you wanted to.
He looked over at the commode and saw the piece of paper where the guy had probably sneakily cut the water-tattoo out of earlier, blinking softly at the realization.
“….You didn‘t give me a real tattoo“, he said unhelpfully.
The guy chuckled softly and pulled off his gloves, disregarding them in a bin next to the leather bench, before walking over and stopping right in front of Beomgyu, “With how dazed you were, I wasn’t sure if you were drunk, intoxicated by something or just very naïve. Either way, I would never just tattoo you without consoling you first.“
He bit his lip and glanced up at the guy, eyes connected to the flower on his neck again. This time, he was close enough to recognize it; a violet.
“You really like that tattoo, huh?“, the guy said and Beomgyu nodded slowly.
“It…It‘s very beautiful. I love it“, he answered, and their eyes met again.
The guy‘s expression changed for a second, something layered in his eyes as he briefly glanced away, jaw clenched softly, “…Are you drunk, flower?“
Beomgyu stood up from the bench, their height almost the same. They stood so near to each other that they literally breathed into each other‘s faces, eyes almost crossing to gaze into each other‘s. He hesitated for a second but eventually complied anyways, hands moving up the expanse of the tattooist‘s chest, marveling at the feeling of hard muscles as he moved up until he could wrap them around his shoulders. He blinked and hushed out, “…No. And call me Beomgyu.“
The guy exhaled, hands suddenly on Beomgyu‘s waist and he pulled him closer, breath tickling his ear when he whispered, “Flower suits you a lot better though.“
Beomgyu outright shivered and a whine almost slipped, hands tightening behind the guy‘s neck as he leaned closer and, their breath mingling and-…
“Choi Beomgyu!“, a familiar voice screeched, and he almost fucking jumped out of his skin. Instead though, he hit his forehead with the (very hot) tattooist, both of them groaning at the impact and immediately letting go of each other.
He turned around swiftly, staring back at Huening Kai, who had a very drunk and somewhat dazed looking Yeonjun hanging from his shoulder. He looked disheveled in a weird way and Beomgyu didn’t even need to guess to know that the elder had very clearly made out with someone.
A second later, the bartender called Soobin stumbled into the studio behind them, looking similarly disheveled and – okay, he had a very obvious hickey on his neck, Beomgyu could see it from where he stood even in the dim, turquoise light.
“…What happened to Yeonjun?“, he asked confused, clearing his voice when he realized how scratchy it was.
Kai, also swaying a little bit, pointed an accusing finger at him and said: “The same thing that almost happened to me and you if he wouldn’t have passed out drunk!“ – he turned around to look at Soobin – “You’re really his type though, Yeonjun is just horrible with alcohol!“
Beomgyu sighed, disbelieve in his voice as he realized Yeonjun was too drunk to even be awake and Huening Kai stumbled against the edge of very drunk already.
How much did these two drink?!
How much time passed?!
“…We can’t go home. You‘re aware of that, right?“, Beomgyu said and raised an eyebrow.
Kai laughed loudly and started patting (more like slapping) Yeonjun‘s back, a groan leaving the elder‘s lips at the harshness, “I don’t want to leave! I just came to check if you‘re still alive!“
“Very much so…“, Beomgyu answered and sighed, “Sit down here, Kai. And don’t move.“
The younger giggled and let go of Yeonjun as if the elder wasn’t half past-out relying on him. Luckily, Soobin reacted and caught him, to which the blonde designer mewled and pulled on the bartender‘s shirt, “Ahh…the scent of heaven…“, he mumbled dreamily.
Beomgyu groaned.
He startled when a chuckle sounded behind him and it was then that he realized he was still standing beside the tattooist he had almost…done some things with minutes ago.
“…You’re from outside then, I guess?“, he said and didn’t wait for an answer, “I know a guy who can get you out of the Red Zone.“
He blinked and looked at the tattooist, “Really? That‘d be great – these two need to get home or else they‘ll…destroy something-…Huening Kamal Kai, what did I just say?!“
Kai stopped in his movement to sneakily do something with some equipment, sheepishly sitting back on the bench with a pout but not attempting to touch anything else again.
The tattooist chuckled again and pulled out his phone from the pocket of his tight jeans, dialing a number quickly, “Yoshinori? Can you do me a favor and take some guys with you when you leave for your job?“
~~~
Apparently, Yoshinori was Japanese and worked as a night-courier, mostly delivering supplies for supermarkets or convenience stores. He knew his way around town and all the guards at the borders knew his face from the nightly deliveries he did, so no one ever really questioned what he might carry around with him.
Beomgyu was lowkey (read; highkey) pissed at Huening Kai and Yeonjun for ruining his moment with a certain hot tattooist. It didn’t really matter what he said to let off some steam on them since they were drunk enough to not remember it anyways.
That didn’t change the fact that everyone else most certainly did notice his pissed-off mood.
The sound of the tattooist‘s chuckle was by now a familiar ring in Beomgyu‘s ears as they waited for this Yoshinori-guy to come and pick them up – on the phone, he had apparently said he‘d be there in like twenty minutes. Soobin had then proposed the idea of waiting outside; so they‘d see when he came and for the drunkheads to get some fresh air.
“Stop looking like someone stole your favorite piece of candy“, the tattooist said and smiled at Beomgyu‘s glare.
Yeonjun often compared it to that of an angry baby bear and he so did not like how accurate it was.
“But I really liked the candy I was about to get! And they dragged me here because they wanted me here, just to leave me as soon as we entered the club, drinking enough to probably provide a college frat party with enough alcohol if they spit it back out again! And to top it all off, I didn’t even get my candy from that hot dude I don’t even know the name of!“
Yeah, okay – maybe he was a little bit more pissed-off than he thought. He was also stressed and tired and probably just disappointed most of all. Hence why he couldn’t care about filtering his words right now.
To his surprise, the guy merely chuckled again and answered calmly, “First of all, I‘m not sure if a frat party would drink spit-out alcohol. And secondly, Taehyun.“
“They would drink everything as long as it makes sure they’re wasted. And bless you I guess“, Beomgyu answered, too caught up in his anger to comprehend what the other had just said.
He stopped glaring at Yeonjun and Hyuka when he felt a soft touch on his forehead, the tattooist carefully tugging some of his way too long hair out of his face. He was suddenly very near and Beomgyu found himself forgetting about everyone else who could possibly see them doing…whatever it is they’re doing.
“My name“, the guy said and smiled, “It‘s Taehyun. Since you complained about how tiresome your evening was, I thought I‘d reward you with something rather nice.“
A honk was heard and Beomgyu knew someone pulled up in front of the back door of the club they were standing, not like he cared much though when he stared back into the other‘s eyes, gaze shifting towards the barcode on his right wrist; a red line crossing it, of course. They were in the Red Zone after all.
He swallowed and flicked his eyes back to the other‘s, “…Taehyun. I like it.“
“You like my name?“, he said and smiled wider, teeth showing slightly, “More than my flower tattoo?“
Beomgyu took a moment to admire it again as if he actually had to think about that question, “…They go hand-in-hand“, he answered quietly.
Taehyun stared back, the smile replaced with some emotion Beomgyu couldn’t really grasp as he looked into his eyes. The cherry-haired pulled his gaze away from him, suddenly stepping back.
“…Well, flower. Your ride home has arrived“, he smiled and gently guided him towards the silver transporter Yoshinori owned, “I‘m sure you’ll be delighted to get back into your very comfortable, normal life outside of the Red Zone.“
And on said ride home, Beomgyu kept thinking about that look in his eyes, the thing he had said.
For some reason, it had sounded bitter – he wondered for a second if he had said something wrong.
But when they arrived at Yeonjun‘s flat and the other pretty much emptied his life in the toilet, he decided that he shouldn’t care much about what Taehyun had said; he was just a hot guy he had seen in a random club somewhere in the Red Zone. He couldn’t be bothered and probably wouldn’t see him again anyway.
~~~
Beomgyu was awoken by a very pitying whimper coming from Yeonjun and he didn’t even really realize what was going on until he heard the violent choking sounds coming from the bathroom. He was immediately reminded of what had happened last night (this early morning?) and stumbled up from his place on the ground next to the bed he was pretty sure he fell asleep inside of.
Apparently, Hyuka kicked him out some time in the night and Beomgyu knew himself that once he was asleep, barely anything could wake him up. Besides, he was kicked out of the bed by Huening Kai more times than he bothered to count.
Yeonjun was quite literally throwing up his whole soul in the toilet, stopping shortly to look up when he felt Beomgyu‘s soft rubs on his back. He smiled a very strained smiled, obviously not aware of the not-cute-at-all stains around his lips. Beomgyu wasn‘t going to comment on it for his own stomach‘s well-being. “You‘re the bestest person on this planet-…“
And then, the cute speech was interrupted by another choke and Yeonjun gagged as he tried to not die because of his own alcoholism.
If Beomgyu wouldn’t know any better, he would’ve thought that his bestie was dying of an alcohol poisoning, but he did know better and therefore merely rubbed along the blonde‘s back, not saying anything while passing the time by scrolling on his low-percentage, dying phone.
He had a message from his co-worker Sunghoon, informing him about a message Miss Kim had sent them to the work phone about how she wanted the white pots now.
Beomgyu sent back a few short thumbs-up and left it at that, not in the mood to talk more about that issue as of now.
Not anyways when Yeonjun finally stopped choking and gagging and leaned his head onto the toilet seat.
A clear sign that there was either nothing left to throw up or he was just done with it.
“Welcome back to the living“, Beomgyu said without looking up from his phone, more interested in the online shop of his store‘s partner. Time to order these pots in white again. “How much did you drink, and do you remember making out with the bunny bartender?“
Yeonjun had a horrified look on his face when he started leaned forward to flush the toilet, an unsatisfied look on his face at the ugly mixture in it – Beomgyu wondered how the elder dared looking inside there without feeling like gagging all over again.
“…Bunny bartender? And I‘m not sure, honestly – I thought I drank as much as I always do…?“, he answered with a very confused look on his face.
Beomgyu looked at him and blinked. Something was off.
Yeonjun never held his liquor well, but he usually always remembered what had happened. And when he didn’t remember, he usually drank a lot. Which was not what made Beomgyu frown so much – it was the whole situation.
When they arrived at the club, it had been something around 1am.
Beomgyu remembered checking the time when Yoshinori told them that they‘d probably have around 30 minutes to get to Yeonjun‘s apartment, since he had to deliver something on the way there.
It had been 2:47 then – which meant they had not been in the club for longer than actually an hour and a half, if even.
It had been weird from the get-go that Yeonjun managed to get wasted this fast. When they all departed from one another in the club, Beomgyu had barely spent maybe 15 minutes at the bar, another 5 minutes finding the studio and maybe about 20 minutes alone with Taehyun. The rest of the time, he had been busy keeping a tipsy Kai in check and not ogling over the tattooist.
Yeonjun was out of their sight for not even an hour and although the blonde was bad at drinking alcohol and got drunk fairly easily, there was no way for him to feel this shitty from just these few drinks he must‘ve gotten in those short 45 minutes he had been alone.
“…What did you do when we entered the club? You were gone instantly“, Beomgyu asked and helped Yeonjun up when he saw how shaky the older‘s legs were. He looked dead, dark rings framing his eyes and a glossy layer covering the pupils.
He looked sick, to be honest.
The way he swayed back and forth was really weird and-…
Oh no, Yeonjun started tipping backwards!
“I-…am not sure?“, he mumbled and Beomgyu just so managed to catch the older before he quite literally passed out.
What the-…?
“Huening Kai! Get the fuck up, something‘s wrong with Yeonjun!“, he screamed at the top of his lungs, not bothered by the heavy bang he received from Yeonjun‘s petty rich neighbor instead.
He screamed again and this time, he could hear Kai stumbling out of the bedroom towards him. The younger looked dead tired and about ready to throw an insult at Beomgyu – that is until he saw Yeonjun‘s passed-out body in Beomgyu‘s arms.
“He did not drink that much, why is he so…dead?“, Huening Kai asked with his raspy morning voice. Although the question was formulated rather half-heartedly, there was a very clear look of worry on his tired face.
Beomgyu grabbed Yeonjun‘s heavy body under the taller‘s armpits and dragged him towards the bedroom. Luckily, Kai did him a favor and helped him by grabbing the blonde‘s legs. If Yeonjun knew they dragged him across the floor like a corpse to get rid of, he‘d skin them alive.
“He said he doesn’t remember anything from yesterday. Not even bunny bartender!“, Beomgyu grunted when they dropped the elder on his bed, checking his forehead for any signs of a fever. He seemed to have just passed out because he was exhausted – still, Beomgyu didn’t feel good about his Hyung‘s current state and fished his phone out of his pocket, dialing Jihoon‘s number.
Park Jihoon was a good friend of his who was currently studying medicine. He was by no means a certified doctor yet, but Beomgyu always called him when something occurred – Jihoon was very informed and more often than not diagnosed Beomgyu and his friends with whatever they had picked up on the streets long before any of them even thought about visiting an actual doctor.
He had met Jihoon by coincidence one day after school when he was in his last year and Jihoon in his second year at the university. They had bumped into each other at a Starbucks, and both apologized a lot for spilling each other’s drinks, which had resulted in them paying for the other’s new beverages. They had talked all evening, getting to know each other, and eventually even exchanging numbers.
As always, Jihoon picked the phone up rather quickly – he was everything your typical medical major was not and Beomgyu always wondered how that was possible. He was calm and nice, extraordinarily organized and always up-to-date with literally everything; his studies, the recent tea in his friend‘s group and around his campus, even about sales in stores.
“Gyu-Bear! What‘s up, what can I help you with today!“, Jihoon‘s cheery voice reached Beomgyu‘s ear and he almost forgot about the reason he had called him in the first place while imagining the older‘s healing smile and adorable way he managed to make you feel better by merely looking at you.
“Jihoon-hyung! Yeonjun is passed-out in his bed“, he whined, unable to hide his frustration from the elder student.
He laughed, “Did he drink too much again? That’s not exactly something new, is it?“
Beomgyu shook his head despite knowing that Jihoon couldn’t see it and told him about the elder‘s weird behavior and what had happened yesterday.
Kai – who was listening since Beomgyu had put the call on speakers – interrupted: “And you wouldn’t believe it, Hyung! Jjunie was making out with someone who was like 110% his type and couldn’t remember it!“
All the fun that had been in Jihoon‘s voice before immediately vanished at that, “…That most definitely sounds concerning and not at all like Yeonjun. He would always remember making out with guys who were his type!“
”Exactly!“, Kai exclaimed loudly, shushed by Beomgyu when there was another bang on the walls.
Meanwhile, Jihoon continued, “You said he was throwing up despite not drinking much and then passed out. Was he also shaking?“
“Yes – his knees shook so badly, I had to hold him up“, Beomgyu answered, “Talking to him was like talking to a ghost. He didn’t really realize what was going on around him I think, even though he was aware that it was me who helped him.“
“Well it seems like someone slipped something into one of Yeonjun‘s drinks, probably knockout drops“, Jihoon concluded matter-of-factly, “It would also explain why he passed out so fast at the party and why he doesn’t remember anything. He should be fine in a few hours; his reaction was rather normal for what happened.“
Beomgyu felt himself exhaling at that, relieved that apparently, nothing too bad happened.
But then, realization hit him, and he was suddenly overrun by anger; someone tried drugging his best friend and dragging him away from there to probably do god-knows-what to him?!
“Call Kai back for instructions regarding Yeonjun, I have to go somewhere“, Beomgyu said and ended the call before Jihoon could say anything else.
~~~
The 5:53 looked like an actual normal house when there were no rows of people trying to get inside, crazy lights filtering through the door whenever the bouncer let someone in and especially when the building wasn’t hidden in the night‘s trusty curtain of darkness.
Beomgyu was surprised he had found his way to this place in the daylight, considering how many turns and twists they had done last night due to Yeonjun‘s exceptionally bad sense of direction.
He had never before knocked on a club‘s door, much less ringed one and therefore stood around rather cluelessly for about ten minutes before he decided to just try his luck and walked over to the door. He searched for a bell or something similar, even knocked a few times – but just like expected, no one opened or answered the door.
With a raised brow, he took a few steps back and stared up at the windows displayed far up on the building – there was no way this club had four floors!
He decided to round the building, mentally patting his own shoulder when he actually managed to find a normal looking door on the left side of the building, three metal steps leading up to it. There were a few bells with no name-tags right above of an old, probably not used anymore mailbox. The only bell with a name-tag was engraved with the names; ‘Choi S./Kang T‘.
Beomgyu pursed his lips in deep thought – there was no way Taehyun actually lived above the club his mysterious tattoo studio was inside of…right?
“What…are you doing here?“, a sudden voice brought him out of his thoughts and Beomgyu whirled around fast enough to see silver stars dancing around him.
Taehyun looked domestic in a way Beomgyu didn’t know he needed to see until now. He wore nothing special, comfortable grey sweatpants with a probably once bright yellow hoodie underneath it. The green turtleneck underneath the hoodie peaked through and it was a weird color combination – then again, Taehyun probably didn’t expect to meet anyone here.
He held a plastic bag with utilities he must’ve bought just now in his hand, the keys to the door Beomgyu was standing in front of right now in his other hand.
Contrary to the styled way his hair had looked last night, the cherry-colored strands were messy and bedhead-similarly standing up in every possible direction – he didn’t seem to mind much though, too focused on staring at Beomgyu with a mixture between confusion and something very similar to…what was that? Joy? Happiness? Serendipity? For some reason, his eyes had something rather…cocky shining in them. But it was gone just as fast as it had appeared.
Taehyun frowned, “…Are you a stalker?“
“What?! No!“, Beomgyu said and immediately felt his cheeks turning red, “I swear, this is a very, very, big coincidence! I didn’t even know your full name, let alone that you actually lived here! I was just trying to talk to someone who worked in the club because something occurred and-…“ – it was then, when Taehyun‘s stone-cold look of void turned into an amused, now definitely cocky grin, that Beomgyu realized it – “…You‘re messing with me. Haha, very funny.“
The cherry-head smiled heartily, little wrinkles showing around his eyes as he stepped up towards the door, stopping right beside Beomgyu. He leaned past him to reach the lock, not bothering to tell him that Beomgyu should move out of the way – they had been closer than that before anyways. “I‘m sorry. You just looked so dumbfounded; I didn’t think you’d actually take me seriously. What can occur and be important enough for you to step back into the Red Zone again?“
There it was again – that weird, kind of bitter sound in his voice.
Beomgyu frowned, decided not to comment on it though, “Can we maybe talk inside? Please?“
“Way to go, flower“, Taehyun said again and just like before, the florist had no idea if he was being serious or just trying to be funny. The tattooist had a way of masking his thoughts in a comical, and then again also rather effectively mysterious way. It was hard to guess whether he was being serious or not.
Beomgyu realized how weird it was for him to ask this when they literally only knew each other’s names.
He was already about to take his words back, when Taehyun pushed the door open with a loud click and said, “I‘m joking, flower. Come in, it‘s cold and I‘m really craving my breakfast.“
Apparently, Taehyun lived in a loft above the club with the bunny bartender Soobin – the owner of the club had rented it out to them and eventually told them to just, quote, “Do whatever with it“, since no one else really used it anyways. It must’ve been rather practical to live right above your workplace – Beomgyu could possibly do that as well, for Yura‘s old apartment was also right above the flower shop.
But he avoided going there ever since she had left him with the shop, too sentimental to even look towards the door connected to the apartment upstairs.
They got to the loft with a very old elevator that made a few very weird sounds and when Beomgyu asked Taehyun about this thing‘s safety and if anyone ever died in here, he had merely grinned and answered with a shallow, “I guess we‘ll never know until we get to experience it ourselves.“
He didn’t know what he expected from the loft – maybe a lot of space and no real order to where things were or weren‘t?
But instead, when the elevator doors opened, he was met with a brightly illuminated room. There were no rooms except for a door at the right and another two on the other side, probably leading to the bathrooms and maybe some storage or something like that.
Taehyun and Soobin seemed to do everything in this loft; eat, sleep, watch TV, gaming the newest games.
But even with the fact that there were no divided rooms, it was very clear which corner of the loft was meant to be what.
There was a corner with two beds and some wardrobes, which was probably the makeshift bedroom, an installed kitchen right in front it.
The door on the right wall was in-between the kitchen and what seemed to look like a living room/dining room.
And the last corner was filled with several things, one of those being a lonely bicycle leaning against a dusty but still very beautiful billiard table.
In conclusion; it looked homey.
While they stepped inside and disregarded their shoes in a pile next to the elevator, Beomgyu recognized Soobin from afar – not necessarily because he just memorized his looks that well, more because he could see the hickey Yeonjun must’ve left him from where he stood, several meters away from the bartender.
Yeonjun would get so mad once he realized he forgot all of that because damn, that hickey looked like it hurt-…
Soobin was – unlike yesterday, where he downright looked like everyone’s dream bartender – like the softest person alive right now. He wore bunny slippers in purple, the most adorable Pokémon onesie Beomgyu had ever seen (it was a Snorlax onesie) and his black hair was tousled and unorganized. He also looked kind of dazed, as if he just fell out of bed – judging by the steaming hot mug in his hand and the yawn he let out when he finally realized that there were also people here as well, he most probably did fall out of bed; or at least, he just woke up.
His sleepy eyes went back and forth between Taehyun and Beomgyu and he took a sip from his mug before casually saying: “…You were very silent. I thought Yoshinori brought you home, but good to know Taehyun got what he wanted anywa-…ouch!“ – faster than sleepy Soobin could react, unlike last night where he had caught Yeonjun in record speed, Taehyun fished a bottle of what seemed to be bleach out of his plastic bag and threw it at Soobin‘s head with a perfect aim – “What the hell?!“
“He did not sleep here, I just met him outside! And shut up!“, Taehyun said.
Beomgyu blinked – was that a red tint on his cheeks?
That looked almost as adorable as Soobin‘s slippers.
He watched as Soobin decided to grumble his next few words quiet enough for them to not hear it, while Taehyun sat down at the actually existing dining table, spreading out the things he must’ve bought just now.
Beomgyu forced himself to not dwell on the color remover or be sad that he couldn’t see Taehyun‘s tattoos right now.
He didn’t come here to ogle over him – no matter how inviting it was.
Clearing his voice, he focused on the reason for his sudden, stalker-like visit, “My friend, Yeonjun. You know, the one who was completely gone?“
Taehyun grinned and Soobin abruptly let go of the milk he had just attempted to put back into the fridge, the tips of his ears almost as steamy as the coffee he brew himself. “You mean the vampire who mauled our bunny over there?“, Taehyun said and Soobin – if possible – turned even redder, “We remember him. In different ways, but we do.“
Beomgyu swallowed, “Today when I woke up, he was pretty much throwing up his existence and he couldn’t remember a single thing that happened last night. He passed out again when I talked to him and we‘re convinced someone slipped him something. I wanted to know if we could somehow find out how it happened and who did it.“
The grin immediately vanished from Taehyun‘s face and whatever redness Soobin had tried to hide from them seemed to be gone just as fast as he suddenly turned around to stare wide-eyed at the florist. Instead of bright red cheeks, he was pale and grey now.
“I am really sorry to hear that“, Taehyun said, and he sounded generally mad at the fact that someone tried that on Beomgyu‘s bestie, “I thought he seemed kind of out of it but since you weren’t too worried I just thought he‘s really drunk. Did you notice anything, Soobin?“
The bunny bartender blinked himself out of his shocked stupor, placing his mug on the counter with a displeased look – as if he suddenly didn’t feel like drinking anything anymore.
Relatable.
“When he sat down at the bar in front of me and started flirting after countless bad winks thrown at me on other occasional nights, he had already looked rather…drunk to me. He must’ve been slipped the drops before we…uhm…talked…and so on…“, he answered and seemed to will the redness away from his cheeks again.
Beomgyu would’ve laughed at that if the thought of something like that happening to Yeonjun didn’t make him so angry.
He grit his teeth, “Yeonjun is very tempting – he‘s aware of that and knows how to play his cards, but it doesn’t happen often that someone can slip him something without him noticing. He may be a pretty diva sometimes but he‘s not as stupid as many people think he is. Whoever did that was good at it and I‘d rather know who it was before he tries it on someone else again.“
He watched as Soobin nodded shortly, all tiredness gone from his face, sending a quick message to someone. The bartender looked back up again when he was done, “I informed our boss about it, and he will probably check the security footage. We can’t say for sure that we can catch the guy through that but it’s worth a shot. I guess we‘ll also keep our eyes open in the club – we always do, of course, but being aware that something like that happened makes me want to kick some ass.“
Taehyun nodded along while shaking a cute banana milk, “Indeed. People like that are just disgusting – makes me want to throw a punch as well.“
Beomgyu smiled gratefully and then hesitated with a nervous look on his face – was he just supposed to…leave now?
Seemingly sensing his doubts, Soobin got a cup from one of the cupboards and said: “Sit down and eat breakfast with us. Seeing as you made sure Yeonjun-ah wouldn’t choke and die, I doubt you even got a coffee before storming all the way here.“
Eating breakfast with a bunny bartender and his way too hot, domestic-looking roommate who was also a tattooist in the middle of a nightclub…?
Ugh.
That was by far not the weirdest thing he ever did. You weren’t friends with Choi Yeonjun and Huening Kamal Kai without being involved in weird shit at least once a month.
He sighed and sat down in front of Taehyun, forcing himself to not stare at the neck he couldn’t see thanks to the turtleneck. His stare was either very obvious or Taehyun had spider-senses, “You really do like my tattoo.“
Heat spread across his cheeks, and he was thankful for Soobin when he placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of him (without milk and with one sugar, as he had told him earlier). He cleared his voice, “I run a flower shop so I‘m kind of naturally drawn to things as pretty as that. And your art is really astonishing…“
„You run a flower shop?“, Soobin said and smiled widely, dimples appearing on his cheeks – an adorable sight, “That must be nice! I‘m sure your customers won’t ever try to slip something into someone‘s drink.“
Beomgyu was sure his expression turned into a sour mixture of doubt and amusement, “Hahaha…I‘m not too sure. Especially bride maids are just…the worst when they order stuff. You can’t ever seem to satisfy them, and their wishes and I honestly think that some of them would not hesitate to poison me if they could.“
The smile on Soobin‘s face deepened, dimples doubling all of a sudden when he started laughing heartily and damn; he had four dimples what the-…
Beomgyu stared and blinked. He wanted to keep the following words to himself, but they stumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them, “You’re literally everything Yeonjun wanted to marry ever since I‘ve known him.“
Soobin immediately turned bright red again and then slapped Taehyun‘s shoulder when the cherry-head snorted amused.
To save the bartender from any more embarrassment – pointedly trying to not look at the possessive hickey right below of his jaw – Beomgyu changed the topic by reaching across the table, grabbing the small-sized bottle of developer Taehyun had thrown at Soobin earlier. “Are you getting a new hair color?“, he asked curiously and watched as Taehyun finished drinking from his banana milk.
He smiled sheepishly, finger going up to pick at the ends his hair with a frown, “Ahh…I‘ve had the cherry for quite some time now. I think it’s time for something new.“ – he stopped and looked over at Beomgyu – “Any ideas?“
Beomgyu stared at him and immediately had the whole color wheel in front of his inner eye, mentally twisting and turning it to compare the colors in the wheel to the tattooist‘s appearance.
He eventually said, without really thinking much about it: “…Maybe a soft silver. It would contradict your slightly toned skin perfectly and depending on the light you’re surrounded, probably absorb its colors softly. It would look magnificent in the club…“
He didn’t know how sincere the words had sounded until they were out. As if he had known Taehyun for longer than a mere 10 hours.
Soobin – clearly sensing the air shifting between them – cleared his voice and said: “Yes uhm…what he said. Just a lot less…lovey-dovey.“
They ate croissants – apparently from a really nice baker just a few blocks down the road – and it was weird in a way Beomgyu couldn’t explain. Taehyun and Soobin were both very good at keeping a conversation going; of course they were considering what they did for a living. And Beomgyu was…well…not.
Just like the good son Yura had raised, Beomgyu made sure to thank Soobin and Taehyun for their time and friendliness before announcing his departure.
To his surprise, Taehyun offered to walk him down.
As they stood in the elevator, Taehyun suddenly said, “You look a lot different from what you’ve worn yesterday.“
He didn’t sound disappointed or even judging in the first place – just as if he merely analyzed that. Beomgyu felt his cheeks get warmer again at the attentiveness in Taehyun’s eyes when he turned his head to look at him. Clearing his voice, he answered: “These were Hyuka’s clothes – you know, the one who kept trying to touch shit. Yeonjun and him are convinced that my clothes are hiding my beauty or something like that and…I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this.”
Taehyun chuckled the soft chuckle again and smiled, opening the elevator’s door for Beomgyu when they arrived on the ground floor, “Well, I think your beauty has nothing to do with your clothes – the choker was nice, but I think you look just as cute in sweats and cardigan.”
Beomgyu knew that his cheeks were red and he would’ve been embarrassed at that if it weren’t for Taehyun‘s sudden close proximity. When did they inch this close to each other…? Was this elevator always this small?
It took him a lot to realize that he was the one who inched closer slowly. Before he could step back in embarrassment and start another useless rant, Taehyun closed the last few centimeters between them for good. They were still not touching but he was so close that Beomgyu could see his pores and feel his breath on his cheeks.
How did that happen-…?
Weren’t they talking about something just now…?
“And by the way“, Taehyun said softly, his voice demanding Beomgyu‘s attention with just the way it sounded, “It‘s easier for me if I see you in something cute. My control yesterday clearly lacked and as much as I adored that see-through top you had worn, it left too little to the imagination.“
Beomgyu swallowed and tilted his head, the elevator made a loud sound in the background, and he knew that it had stopped at the ground floor. But none of them moved.
Instead, he looked at Taehyun and said: “…Then why is it that you still stepped closer, even when I‘m not wearing see-through turtlenecks…?“
He didn’t really get to regret his words because one moment, they were staring at each other – in the next moment, Taehyun had him pinned against the elevator‘s door and his lips attached to his throat.
Not exactly where he wanted them but that didn’t really bother him as much as he thought it would. Taehyun kissed his skin the way he had treated him when he pressed that water tattoo onto it; careful, delicate, tender. Every touch was a fleeting memory, every breath felt like butterfly‘s wing, every soft nibble sent electric waves through Beomgyu‘s body. Although he kind of wished for him to move or use that strength from earlier again to maybe throw him over his shoulders, Taehyun stubbornly stuck to the place right underneath his jaw. He shivered when he felt him suck softly and swallowed the moan daring to escape when Taehyun‘s lips brushed over the spot as he softly leaned away.
He stared at the obvious hickey he must’ve left, fingers coming up to touch it. Beomgyu shivered again, but he didn’t move away.
“…Beautiful. More beautiful than any tattoo could ever look…“, he whispered, eyes traveling from the hickey to Beomgyu‘s eyes, “And I stepped closer because obviously, your clothes have nothing to do with my attraction to you.“
Damnit. He was good. Way too good.
Beomgyu knew he was blushing, and he knew that he was probably resembling a tomato right now (which he hates for the sole reason that tomatoes are disgusting, thank you very much). In a failed attempt to seem nonchalant, Beomgyu cleared his voice to get rid of the lump in his throat he didn’t know he had. “…I-…uhm…y-yes…”
Yes.
Oh my god.
But Taehyun started laughing softly, a beautiful sound that bounced off of the elevator’s walls and seemed to illuminate the whole world. He had a way too fond look on his face considering they met last night and he all but sucked a hickey into Beomgyu’s skin mere minutes ago. His voice was soft when he gently stepped away, opening the door to the elevator, “…You’re absolutely adorable.”
Another wave of heat rushed to Beomgyu’s cheeks and now he was sure that his head had surpassed stage tomato, levelling up to stage traffic light.
“…U-Uhm…”
“I will text you once me or Soobin heard anything from our boss. In the meantime, I hope your friend will get better”, Taehyun thankfully said and therefore saved him from yet another moment of stupid gibberish leaving his mouth.
The smile Taehyun sent his way as Beomgyu bowed and waved goodbye remained on his mind for the rest of his way back home.