Chapter Text
Truth be told, Jung Dongwook was not one for clubs and parties. He didn’t hate them, per se. He actually understood the appeal and even got as far as enjoying most of them. He just liked hanging out at home with his friends more, especially because being around too many people for too long always made him restless.
But Seunghyun practically threatened to tell his mother about that one time Dongwook “accidentally” broke her car’s rearview mirror if he didn’t come to his DJ-ing gig. Even Jiho and Kwon Hyuk swore they would drag him there if they had to because he could really use the networking. Between those and the fact that Dongwook was just as ecstatic as the others were for their maknae, he got no choice but to drag his sorry ass to the club tonight.
And okay, he admitted it was fun. The crowd wasn’t as crazy as he thought it would be, everyone was just out to have a good time on their own. Some went out of their way for Jiho, of course, but nothing too extreme. He made some new friends out of Jiho’s acquaintances and enjoyed the (thankfully) decently-priced drinks. But as time passed, his discomfort returned and he let the conversation fade into the background as he wondered when he'd be able to go home without offending anyone.
Until something - or rather someone - caught his eyes, that is.
He subtly nudged Hyuk, and gestured in the general direction of where the silver-haired girl was talking to Gray. “Who’s that?” he asked, assuming she must be one of the in crowd.
Hyuk followed his direction curiously and made an “Ah” expression upon seeing whom Dongwook was referring to. “That’s Ssamdi hyung’s girlfriend,” he explained. “Jiho is quite close to her if I remember it right. Why?”
“I thought Ssamdi hyung is dating that Hongdae goddess noona?” Dongwook asked instead of answering Hyuk’s inquiries.
“They broke up two years ago,” the R&B singer said with an eye-roll. “Really, Dongwook-ah, you gotta keep up with the news or you’ll embarrass yourself.”
“You know I’m not into gossip,” Dongwook retorted. Lucky he knew right away that she was taken, or he might actually make a fool out of himself. Not that he was planning to hit on her - he’s too much of an inexperienced klutz to do that.
Still, there’s no harm in looking. He’s in dire need of distraction, after all, and Ssamdi hyung wasn’t even there…
As if being summoned, Simon Dominic appeared in all his glory with a glass of Jack Daniels and a bottle of beer in his hands. When Ssamdi handed her the beer, Dongwook averted his eyes and decided to stop gambling with luck. Getting in trouble with the CEO of AOMG would do him no good, even more so if he wants to go far in the scene.
Yet, fate seemed intent on playing with him. Just as he’s about to excuse himself after Jiho’s acquaintances left the three of them alone, he caught a glimpse of silver from the corner of his eyes.
“Why is she coming here?” he asked Hyuk, trying his best - and failing, since Jiho now looked at him curiously - to keep his calm. Hyuk merely shrugged.
“Maybe she caught you staring.”
“I wasn’t--” he’s about to defend himself but visibly deflated at the sight of Hyuk’s raised eyebrow. “Was it that obvious?”
“You were staring?” Jiho curiously asked, but Hyuk saved Dongwook from having to answer.
“It wasn’t that obvious, but she’s really coming here so you better keep your eyes to yourself. Or you’d get caught dead on arrival.”
“Please tell me you got a room for one more,” Dongwook heard her say merely seconds after Hyuk finished his sentence. He quickly gulped his beer to hide his nervousness, and because her low voice compelled him to. It’s… sexy, for lack of a better word. He obliged when Jiho gestured for him to make room so she could sit between the two of them, and kept silent as Jiho asked, “Why aren’t you with hyung?”
“Your hyung is being a dick,” she replied in perfect English. Even with his limited knowledge of the language, Dongwook had heard the phrase often enough to grasp what she meant. And judging from the way Hyuk quickly sipped on his drink in order not to laugh, Dongwook’s pretty sure he got it right.
“What did he do this time?” Zico asked in accented English, and her answer was much too complicated for Dongwook. But he noticed the frown on both Jiho and Hyuk’s face, and decided that it couldn’t be good. As Jiho and her got more engaged in their conversation, Dongwook went back to nursing his drink until he heard a phrase that made him choke on it.
“Why do men only think about sex?” she bemoaned. “Why can’t they think with their brain instead of their dick?”
He tried to hide it, but his subsequent cough after choking on his drink made it too obvious for her not to notice. She turned to look at him with her charcoal orbs, asking, “You got an answer to that?” in English, before noticing Jiho’s hand gesture and repeated in Korean.
“You asked the wrong person,” Hyuk answered instead while Dongwook gathered himself. “If there’s a guy who thinks with his head instead of his dick, it’s him.”
“Really, now?” she asked, and Dongwook could only shrug, too embarrassed to open his mouth. “Tell me then, what’s a guy who thinks with his head doing in a club like this?”
“Drinking?” he lamely said, raising his glass. “And the DJ’s my best friend, so not coming here with them would mean death,” he quickly added after seeing Jiho’s exasperated expression and Hyuk’s eye roll.
“Roll with the crew or die, huh?” she asked, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips and Dongwook found it really hard not to stare. “So tell me, Jiho’s friend who thinks with his brain, do you have a name?”
“Dongwook,” he answered, switching his drink to his left hand so he could extend his hand to her. “Or Penomeco, whichever you prefer.”
“So you’re that Penomeco Jiho kept talking about,” she said, and Dongwook was halfway to making a mental note to ask Jiho about it later when she grabbed his hand for a handshake. “I’m Hyunri,” she said.
“Ah,” realization finally dawned on him, and he hoped nobody noticed the way his fingers lingered just a tad too long before he pulled his hand back. “The pretty art director with amazing hair?”
“Is that how he described me?” she raised an eyebrow, before chuckling a little. “I’m flattered.”
“In my defence, the pretty part was his own assessment,” Jiho chimed in. “I think he got a crush on you,” he added in English, prompting a frown on Dongwook’s face as he failed to understand him. But he didn’t miss how Hyuk snickered, so he was pretty sure it was something embarrassing.
Dongwook busied himself with gulping down the rest of his drink when Hyunri hummed while observing him with those unnerving charcoal orbs. He was glad he did so because once he put his bottle down, she smiled. “Now that you’ve finished your drink, let’s get out of here before my boyfriend gets his stupid head out of his sorry ass,” she said, casually linking her arms with Jiho and pulling the de-facto Fanxy Child leader to his feet.
“My car or yours?” Jiho asked as they walked out, and Hyunri scoffed.
“I love you, Jiho-yah, but not to the extent of being caught getting into your car with you by Dispatch. Let’s just meet up at the usual place.”
Jiho nodded. “Dongwook could go with you,” he said, much to Dongwook’s surprise. “To make you sure you don’t get lost.”
“I’m not that directionally challenged,” Hyunri frowned, but Jiho snickered.
“It took you five visits to memorize the route to that suljib from your apartment, and another three to recognise the route from your office. Considering this isn’t a club you frequented, I’d rather not take the risk. It’s that place you like near my studio,” Jiho added for Dongwook’s benefit.
As inexperienced as he was, Dongwook still knew a chance when he was being given one. And despite his nervousness, he wasn’t about to pass up on this one. Possible repercussions be damned. “Oh, that one. Sure, I’d go with you,” he tried to play it cool, and failed as he added, “If you don’t mind, that is.”
“Oh darling,” she chuckled. “With a cute face like that, who’s going to say no to you?”
You’d be surprised , Dongwook thought, but kept it to himself as he followed her, ignoring the shit-eating grin on his friends’ faces. He has more important things to be concerned with - like not messing this up.