Chapter Text
The absolute worst of it all is watching Dongsik flirt right back.
The young, dark haired man with complete disregard for personal space makes it the ninth person who has approached Dongsik this evening. It’s not even eleven yet.
Juwon politely declines an offer to dance. The testimonies of the date rape drug victims don’t have many converging points. One of the few is leaving their drink unattended at the bar. So the bar is where Juwon and Dongsik stay, night after night, pretending to mingle with the crowd while monitoring the bar, hoping to catch the culprit red-handed.
The possibility of various culprits was discarded early on since the MO has been identical in all of the cases, the first of which was reported two months ago: an unattended drink spiked with GHB. Feeling hot and dizzy, all the victims left the club to get some fresh air. All of them passed out and woke up blindfolded and gagged. They remember feeling overwhelmed with inexplicable, frantic arousal and a man taking advantage of their frenzy. They are left in various parts of the city outskirts, still blindfolded, never in a place with any CCTV or parked cars nearby.
The club has a CCTV, of course, but going over hours of grainy video has yielded precisely zero leads. Whoever has been spiking drinks here is smart enough not to be obvious. Nothing has been caught on the CCTVs and dash-cams in the surrounding area either. The culprit must know which places to avoid.
Juwon sighs. Drink spiking cases are almost never solved. Unless caught on camera or identified by the victim it’s nearly impossible to catch the perpetrator. Since all the victims were blindfolded and remember nothing but a perfectly average voice with no distinctive features. Well...
In the past two months, five such cases happened at this club. Five reported ones, that is. The probability of additional victims not coming forward because of stigma is likely enough to be more of a certainty.
What worries Juwon is the increasing violence. The first victim reported the man humiliating her, calling her names. She wasn’t physically injured, though. The last victim was left bruised and bloody. Worst of all, he remembers being threatened by a knife pressed to his throat. The culprit is turning more dangerous as the weeks go by. If they cannot catch him and the violence continues to escalate, his next target might not make it out alive.
Juwon looks around the bar, eyes half hidden behind his fringe, paying special attention to people who are on their own. The victims were both male and female. Different ages, looks, walks of life. One thing they have in common is coming to the club alone. A few of the victims were able to provide phone numbers and social media handles of the people they interacted with at the club, but none of the contacts have led to a likely suspect. No surprise. It’s highly improbable the perpetrator would share any personal information with his victims.
After all, there is no need for direct contact. A quick trip to the bathroom, a moment too long spend checking the phone, getting lost in a conversation or a kiss – it only takes a second for an inconspicuous stranger to lean over, to reach out and slip the drug into a drink. Concealed by the dim lights and booming beat, it could be any and all of the people at the club.
For example, it very well could be the octopus in human form still plastered all over Dongsik. Tall and broad-shouldered, light skin contrasting with dark wide-set eyes, the young man could be considered handsome, Juwon concedes. But why does he have to touch Dongsik’s forearm and shoulder what seems like every half a sentence? They’ve only met an hour ago, Juwon knows that for a fact. Also, Dongsik can be hilarious when he wants, but there is no way all of the giggling and full-throated fits of laughter are genuine. That kid is trying way too hard. It’s obvious. Embarrassing.
“Care for a drink?”
A man has slipped into the seat next to Juwon, quietly enough to startle him.
“You seem like you could do with a pick-me-up. No judgment,” he stops Juwon’s reply with an appeasing hand gesture. “I could use one myself, honestly.”
“Bad day?” Juwon asks, trying to sound friendly. Any interaction might bring forth a missing puzzle piece.
“Hmm, shitty indeed. Things seem to be looking up, though.” He winks at Juwon.
Oh. Ok then.
“I’m sticking to water tonight,” Juwon tries to smile back, pointing to an unopened bottle he ordered a moment ago. The guy nods in understanding and turns towards the bartender to order.
Juwon sighs, already annoyed. Out of the two of them Dongsik is the one who excels at flirting his way to information. Leather jacket thrown over a fitted dark t-shirt, a cocked hip and a permanent, insolent smirk, Dongsik has taken to investigating in a club as fish to water.
A predatory one.
Juwon despises it here. The color changing spot lights above the bar are tacky and irritate his eyes. The artificial smoke coming from the dance floor irritates his throat. The mixed scent of alcohol, sweat and too much perfume is headache inducing. Worst of all is the unwelcome closeness of too many bodies. It sets his teeth on edge.
He’s gotten better at tolerating touch. It never was actual mysophobia in the first place. It has always been about control. Control of what he touches and what and who touches him. In a crowded bar, there is little he can do to avoid accidental, and worse, intentional touches.
If he could have a drink at least. Impossible, evidently. Not while working a case. Especially this case. Both he and Dongsik stick to bottled water or coke strictly, careful to check if the bottle is still sealed, never letting it out of their hands and sight once opened.
Meanwhile, the kid talking to Dongsik is on his third cocktail already. He’s showing Dongsik something on his phone, gesticulating wildly between the screen and his glass. Whatever the issue with the drink is, Juwon is certain it doesn’t merit that much of a fuss. It’s just a fucking cocktail for God’s sake. Piña colada at that, Jesus. The kid’s clearly got no taste.
The bartender slides the new guy a club style Bourbon. Juwon watches him take a sip, envious.
“What’s got you all frowny?”
“Work issues. I wouldn’t want to bore you.” Juwon says as he cracks the lid of his water open, taking a sip.
“Oh, I doubt that’s possible, not with that voice.” The guy leans over, eyes intense. He is older, shorter and leaner than Juwon. Attractive. Aware of it.
“Ah. Most of it just all the smoke irritating my throat,” Juwon laughs the compliment away.
The dance floor is full of the milky white smoke, giving the writhing mess of bodies an eerie look. A turbid lake full of oblivious swarming fish. Easy prey.
Juwon’s eyes glide back from the packed dance floor to the opposite side of the bar. He freezes. Octopus kid is nearly nose-to-nose with Dongsik now, tucking a wayward curl behind his ear. Dongsik, damn him, seems to be just fine with it. Instead of moving away he’s giving the kid a smile. One of his nice ones, eyes crinkling up with warm amusement. Juwon seethes, forces himself to look away, to pay attention to the new guy.
“So, uh, do you come here often?” he blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind. Fuck. Shoot him. Shoot him right now.
“Aigoo, aren’t you cute. And here I though it would be me struggling with pick-up lines,” the guy laughs at Juwon’s clumsiness goodheartedly. “I don’t, by the way. First time here. I haven’t really been back on the market for very long. Anyway, why water? Are you driving? It’s definitely not like you need to be watching calories.”
The following deliberately obvious up and down look leaves Juwon feeling naked despite wearing a perfectly respectable white button down shirt under a denim jacket.
Juwon stares at the brazen man and gulps down more of his water. What would Dongsik do?
“Are you ok?” The guy leans closer and tugs at the sleeve of Juwon’s jacket. “You might feel better if you take that of. It’s kind of hot in here.”
Juwon stops himself from jerking back barely in time. Days upon days of unwanted touches are beginning to chip away at his facade of indifference. This guy is stepping up the game too fast and way above where Juwon is willing to go. Since it’s the first time the man is at this club it’s not like Juwon is going to get anything of value from him anyway. A cutting remark or simply slapping the offending hand away would solve the situation. Juwon is pushed into a corner, though. Even if he's done with the man, it won’t do to to call any unwanted attention to himself. Things need to be dealt with, but in a friendly way.
He glances over to Dongsik, trying to calm himself.
Dongsik is staring right back.
Juwon feels like he just got burnt. He looks away quickly and gently pries the offending hand away.
“I’m fine, thanks.” He smiles, aiming for amicable, hoping it’s not coming across as condescending. “I have an early day tomorrow, better take it easy.”
“I see,” the guy nods and leans back. To Juwon’s great relief it seems like he understood the ‘not interested’ message just fine.
“Make sure they don’t overwork you, you look a bit tired. How about we get out of here? My bed is amazingly comfortable. I’d even let you sleep. Eventually.”
Oh. The message hasn’t been understood. Not understood at all. That, or completely ignored on purpose. Juwon is left speechless. This guy!
He glances at Dongsik again, surprised to find him still looking back at them. There seems to be a question in his eyes. Are you ok?
Juwon gives a minuscule nod and quickly looks away.
“Sorry, not interested.” That should be clear enough.
The guy shrugs, knock back the last of his Bourbon.
“Ah, well, that’s a shame. At least nobody can say I didn’t try.”
That Juwon can’t deny. The man is finally getting up to leave. At the last moment, he changes his mind, sits back down and leans in far too close.
“You should talk to him, you know,” he whispers into Juwon’s ear.
“Excuse me?”
“The guy you have been frowning at so cutely the whole time I’ve been trying to catch your interest?”
“That’s not! I was just-”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” The man looks over at Dongsik and octopus kid, then turns back to Juwon.
“He seems to be perfectly fine with younger ones, just -” he reaches a hand for Juwon’s collar and before Juwon can stop him the top buttons of Juwon’s shirt are popped open. “less uptight ones, hmm? I’ll be on the dance floor if you change your mind.”
The guy is already up and gone by the time a shocked “What the hell!” leaves Juwon’s lips. He lifts his fingers to his newly exposed neck, shocked.
The situation has left him feeling weirdly embarrassed. He can’t stop another quick glance over to Dongsik. Who is glaring at him. He looks upset. Angry? Hard to say. It only lasts a second before Dongisk turns his head back to octopus kid.
The anger on Dongsik’s part frustrates Juwon. It feels undeserved. Sure, Juwon could have handled the situation better, but he didn’t blow his cover and it’s not fair of Dongsik to presume everyone has the same abounding tolerance for aggressive flirting as he does. All in all, Juwon thinks he dealt with things well, considering the man literally started to undress him right at the bar.
Juwon sips his water and tries to forget all about the button incident. He is back to monitoring people who sit alone, taking his time with each person. Too soon, his eyes make it back to where Dongsik is seated.
Juwon freezes. The kid! The octopus kid is surreptitiously slipping his hand under the bar table! Juwon looks, waiting for the hand to come back up, to reach for Dongsik’s bottle of coke.
The hand doesn’t come up, though. It doesn’t come up for a long time.
In the end Dongsik brings the kid’s hand back onto the bar with one of his own. He’s shaking his head in gentle rejection.
The fucking brat!
Juwon knocks back more of his water, but it doesn’t do anything to soothe the hot rage taking over his body. What’s wrong with people tonight? This kid! This fucking pervert! How dare he molest Dongsik right at the bar, right in front of Juwon’s eyes?
“Hey man, are you alright?”
It’s the bartender. He is waving at Juwon, eyebrows raised at the bottle of water presently crumpling in Juwon fist.
“I. Am. Fine!” Juwon snaps.
“Sorry, sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s just you looked a bit upset.” The bartender is quick to apologize. He looks afraid. It makes Juwon feel bad for lashing out.
“I apologize. It’s nothing really, just a long day.”
“Are you sure?” The bartender asks, tentative. “You look a bit green. It could be the smoke from the dance floor, you know, it bothers quite a lot of people. Maybe some fresh air might do you good. Or more water? If you need to vomit, please try to make it to the toilets.” The bartender chuckles, nervous.
Juwon doesn’t want to imagine what the staff has to deal with on daily basis. Fresh air sounds ideal, actually. He can’t stand a second more of watching Dongsik being pawed at.
With a nod to the barman, Juwon pushes himself away from the bar and weaves his way to the exit. Tonight makes it a full week of monitoring the club. In theory, they get to sleep during the day, but the sudden change to his sleeping schedule combined with worrying about whether they’ll be able to catch the culprit in time means Juwon's barely gotten any rest. It seems like the fatigue is finally catching up with him.
The air outside is cool and fresh but it doesn’t do much to help. Juwon still feels hot and dizzy. Jittery. He leans back against the wall, closes his eyes and tries to concentrate on the rough texture of brick beneath his palms. This case is going to end him. How many more days of this he can take?
“Han Juwon? Han Juwon!”
Ah, Dongsik. Dongsik, right up in his face. He’s gripping his shoulders. Shaking him. That’s not very nice. Juwon frowns.
“Are you ok? What the hell, Han Juwon? We agreed to always stick together, you idiot!”
Juwon stares back. Dongsik is right. He doesn’t feel like acknowledging that right now.
“You just left the club, alone! Care to explain?”
“I just needed some fresh air.”
“Inspector Han Juwon. What is it about always sticking together that you don’t understand. We have to stay close. Especially if you need to leave the club.”
Yes, yes. Will the man stop finally harping on that. Juwon gets it.
Juwon feels great. Dongsik is close, he smells nice. Some of his longer curls are still tucked behind his ear. Juwon wants to untuck it. Rake his fingers through the dark strands. Grab a fistful of it. Mess it up.
“Look, I’m sorry you had to deal with that, that… guy,” Dongsik continues in a tone that, Juwon knows for a fact, he uses to calm down upset civilians. “I know working this case hasn't been easy on you and you handled that situation quite well. Just, please, don’t do this. It’s too dangerous. I won’t judge you for needing a break. Just let me know. Wave. Send me a text. Whatever. I would have made an excuse. Jin-goo might not wait for me since I had to run out after you without any explanation."
“Oh no, poor Jin-goo. However shall he survive without his toy?” Juwon sneers. “What do you need to discuss with him anyway? The instagramability of the cocktail menu? Or do you actually like him?”
“Han Juwon! What the fuck?”
“Yeah. Exactly!” Juwon grips Dongsik's jacket. It feels gratifying to be the one invading Dongsik’s personal space for once. Juwon drags Dongsik closer so that he can whisper right into his ear. “You let him smile at you, touch you, feel you up. You smiled right back. Do you like being touched up so much? Do you, hmm?”
Juwon uses the hold he has on Dongsik’s jacket to flip them around. He is taller and broader, it’s easy to push Dongsik against the wall, to crowd him in. Being so close to Dongsik feels exhilarating, euphoric, right. Juwon’s heart beats louder and faster than the beat echoing from the club. There is a rush of blood in his ears. Fucking finally! Juwon leans in, closing the remaining distance.
“Eh, Juwon? Inspector Han Juwon? What exactly are we doing here?”
Dongsik's eyes are large, pupils blown wide, he is tense under Juwon’s grip, coiled tight. His mouth is slightly open. Juwon licks his lips at the sight, hungry.
“Does our Dongsik like being pushed against things?”
For once Dongsik is lost for words. There is sweat on his face, making his skin shine. His eyes tick down to Juwon’s lips again and again.
One moment Juwon is looking, the next he is tasting. It’s been a blessing and a curse to work as Dongsik’s partner again. Being so close all the time, all the accidental (and less accidental) touches. Fingers against fingers as they hand things over, a pat on the lower back when passing by, thighs resting against each other in the car. The incessant flirting. The looks. Foreplay prolonged to a torturous length. Juwon doesn’t understand why they haven’t done this sooner.
He pushes into Dongsik, digs fingers into the soft hair at the back of Dongsik's head to get more control of the kiss. The desperate noises Dongsik makes at that. Jesus. Juwon is devouring Dongsik's mouth, ravenous. He’s never been strung up this high. His hand snakes under the leather jacket, beneath the tight, dark shirt and paws at hot skin. Juwon needs more. He’s frantic with it. He couldn’t give a fuck about the dirty street, about the fact that at any moment someone could exit the club and see them making out like teenagers. He needs this too badly. He’ll go crazy if he can’t touch.
Juwon tears his mouth away from Dongsik’s lips, tugs at Dongsik’s belt, desperate. He can feel Dongsik against him through his trousers, but it’s not enough, it won’t do, Juwon needs-
Dongsik’s hand grabs his wrist, stopping him. Juwon whines.
“Let me. Let me!”
Dongsik is gripping both of Juwon’s wrists now. “-Juwon! Look at me. Look at me, please?”
Juwon moans. “Why? Why won’t you let me!”
“Juwon, What did you drink at the bar?”
Why on earth are they talking about drinks now? Juwon’s head spins. “Nothing. Just water.” He nods to the crumpled plastic bottle he let fall to the ground when he grabbed Dongsik’s jacket. “Sealed bottle, nobody touched it. I’m fine! Just let me - I just need, I need-”
“Juwon, I don’t know how it’s possible, but I’m pretty sure you are high on GHB.”
“What? I’m not!” Juwon scoffs, frustrated. Dongsik let go of his wrist to reach for the discarded bottle and his car keys. He is turning away. Juwon goes after him - to grab, to hold, to push him back up against the wall, but Dongsik dodges all his tries with ease.
“You are showing all the symptoms. Something you’d know if you were in your right mind. I’m taking you to the ER.”
“I’m fine!” Juwon whines. He itches. There is a fire running through his veins that threatens to explode.
“You just ran out of a club we are supposed to be monitoring as of now, pushed me against a wall and kissed me. Does that sound like something you’d normally do?”
“Normally, I always want to kiss you. I just don’t tell you,” Juwon says. It’s true too.
Dongsik stares at him, frozen for a moment.
“Oh.”
Dongsik looks surprised. No, shocked. Did Juwon say something wrong? It feels like he said something that should have stayed a secret.
“There is something wrong with me.” Juwon thinks, but finds he is saying it out loud.
The filter between his brain and mouth seems to be gone and suddenly the euphoria Juwon feels gets tainted by fear. Did Dongsik say GHB? How? When? What’s happening? Juwon is not used to being confused.
“Dongsik, what’s happening to me?”
“I know, I know, Juwon-ah. It’s going to be ok. It’s going to be fine. Please come with me.”
Juwon does.
Walking and getting into the car is a struggle, but somehow he manages. Dongsik leans over and Juwon thinks finally, finally! But it’s only to buckle Juwon’s seat belt.
The car starts.
“Dongsik, are you taking me home?”
“Sure, Juwon-ah. A quick trip to the ER first, ok?” Dongsik is watching the street as he drives but he reaches out to pat Juwon’s thigh reassuringly.
Juwon groans at the touch and grabs the hand to move it where he needs it. Dongsik pins his hand to Juwon’s thigh instead. He is stronger than he seems. The contact is both reassuring and infuriating, because it’s so, so close. Why won’t Dongsik touch him? What was it the guy in the club said? Something about Juwon being too uptight? Something about buttons. Juwon uses his free hand to snap the rest of his shirt open. It’s too hot in the car anyway, he is sweaty, strung up, desperate. Squirming in the seat, he starts to plead.
Dongsik replies, but for some reason Juwon can’t make out the words. It doesn’t matter, he recognizes the rejection from tone alone. It’s the same one from before, the patented calm voice. It’s infuriating. Calm and collected is the last thing Juwon needs from Dongsik right now.
Why won’t Dongsik touch him? Is it because of father? There was a problem with his father, Juwon remembers. Something about his looks. Doesn’t Dongsik find him attractive? Why won’t Dongsik pull over. Juwon could suck him right here in the car. They could fuck on the back seat. There’s no lube or condoms in the car, but Juwon doesn’t care. Anything, anything Dongsik wants, Juwon will be so good to him. Please!
A hand is plastered over his mouth, muffling him. Juwon takes advantage of the offered skin, opens his mouth, licks. The car swivels. There is some cursing, the hand disappears only to pin Juwon’s wrist back to the top of his thigh when he tries to reach into Dongsik’s lap.
Juwon whines.
“Please, please hold on just bit longer.” Dongsik's voice makes it through the buzzing in Juwon’s ears this time. It sounds desperate. “It’s just the drug making you… Just, just hold on, ok? Once it’s out of your system, you’re going to be fine.”
Juwon throws his head back as he laughs and laughs. Dongsik sure can be hilarious.
Afterwards, it all quickly turns fuzzy.