Chapter Text
Seunghyun could feel himself waking against his will. He held his eyes shut and tried to fight it off. The incessant sound of whining filled his ears. He groaned and turned onto his opposite side, facing the wall and cuddling further down under his covers.
“Wake up!”
There it was again. Whining. He covered his ears against the high-pitched, nasally sound of it.
“Wake up!” it came again. Hands curled around Seunghyun’s shoulder and bicep and started rocking him to and fro. “Wake. Up.”
Seunghyun groaned as he was shook. Fucking Jiyong.
“Why are you so loud?” Seunghyun complained into his pillow.
Jiyong huffed, exasperated. “Because you won’t get up.” He shook Seunghyun again. “Come on. We have Inkigayo.”
Seunghyun’s eyes blinked open at that. He rolled over and looked up at Jiyong blearily. “What time is it?”
“Time for you to get up. We’ll be late if you don’t hurry.”
Seunghyun pulled himself up and rubbed at his eyes. His brain still felt heavy and fogged with sleep. He looked over at the clock on his bedside table but couldn’t make any sense of the numbers he saw there. He stared at the clock, willing the squiggles to reform into numerals.
While he tried to get his faculties in order, Jiyong tsked about this and that, the state of Seunghyun’s room, the mess on the floor. He planted one hand on his cocked hip and waited impatiently for Seunghyun to roll up out of bed.
Seunghyun did his best to tune out Jiyong’s nagging. The sound of his voice was only slightly less annoying now that Seunghyun was awake. He yawned and rubbed his eyes one more time before pulling himself up off the mattress. He shuffled over to one of the piles Jiyong was bitching about and pulled on the first hoodie he could find. He didn’t bother changing out of the t-shirt he’d worn to sleep, just slipped the hoodie on over it.
Jiyong scoffed behind him. “Really? You wore that same thing yesterday.”
Seunghyun gave the hoodie a good sniff, then shrugged. “Smells okay.”
Jiyong’s put upon sigh trailed off into a chuckle. He shook his head at Seunghyun, looking at him like he was a puppy, tail wagging happily after he’d just diddled on the carpet, no concept at all of what he’d just done wrong.
“Whatever,” Jiyong said, a fond smile about his lips. “Will you at least put on some real pants?”
Seunghyun looked down at the scattered clothes carpeting his floor. He found his favorite pair of jeans peeking out from under his overturned backpack. Jiyong rolled his eyes as Seunghyun fished them out, then left him alone to finish changing.
Seunghyun was far more awake by the time the stylists had finished with his hair and makeup. He was sitting by Jiyong on the sofa in their waiting room while Daesung and Youngbae took their turn in the makeup chairs, a tall cup of coffee in his hands. He had a fresh set of clothes on that Jieun had picked out for him. Seungri was nowhere to be found, probably out scamming some poor idol girl into giving him her phone number.
He was proved to be more or less right about that when Seungri entered the room a moment later, three dolled up girls trailing in behind him. They were all pretty and demure, giggling shyly as they shuffled along in their heels. Seunghyun stood up to greet them, bowing politely, and Jiyong followed suit.
Seungri flashed his pearly whites. “These ladies really wanted to meet you guys. I told them I would introduce them. They’re huge fans of Bigbang.”
The girls smiled and batted their eyes. One tapped the toe of her shoe against the floor, nervous, and Seunghyun couldn’t help the way the motion drew his eyes, down the lines of her slender calves, to her ankles, to her feet tucked into her heels. She adjusted her stance, and Seunghyun’s eyes caught on the spike of her heel. He had to force himself to lift his gaze back up. Jiyong let out a soft snort.
“I’m GD,” Jiyong introduced.
Seunghyun followed his example, offering up his own stage name. “Top.”
The girls shifted excitedly. One by one, they told them their names. Seunghyun recognized them as members from some new girl group, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what the group was called. They certainly knew him, though. They hovered in front of him like happy little bees around a fresh bloom. Jiyong seemed amused by it, but Seungri’s smile was rapidly fading at the turn things had taken. He’d reeled in three girls only to lose all their attention to Seunghyun.
Not that Seungri ever knew when to give up. “So,” Seungri said, smile back in full force. “Which Bigbang member is your favorite?”
“Top-oppa!” The girl on the left didn’t even hesitate. She blurted out her answer before Seungri could finish his question.
“Yes, Top-oppa,” another girl agreed. The third girl nodded, a touch too eager, then blushed.
Seunghyun grinned. He looked down at his feet, shifted his weight from side to side. You’d think he’d be used to this by now, all the attention, all the flattery, but it never quite managed to sink in, how handsome people thought he was, never managed to overwrite the time he was known as anything but. Seunghyun ducked his head and smiled his thanks and watched as the girls took their leave again. His eyes followed the click of their heels against the floor as they made their way out. Seungri followed after them, calling out to them about whether or not they had SNS.
Jiyong nudged him with his elbow, breaking him out of his reverie. Seunghyun’s head whipped over to look at him, a light blush on his cheeks from having been caught looking.
“You’re almost as bad as the maknae,” Jiyong laughed. He said it with that same fond exasperation from that morning.
Seunghyun grinned and nudged him back. “Like you have room to talk. I’ve seen you when it’s someone you like.”
Jiyong didn’t take the bait. Instead, he lifted one brow in a high arch. “And did you? Like those girls?”
“I don’t even know them. That’s the first time I’ve met any of them. How could I possibly know if I like one of them?” When Jiyong’s eyebrow didn’t budge, Seunghyun’s innocent look faded and he laughed at himself. “I just liked the one’s legs,” he admitted.
Jiyong rolled his eyes before walking away. Seunghyun was left feeling like a clueless puppy all over again.
Seunghyun wasn’t joking about how Jiyong got around guys he was interested in. He tended to revert back to his preteen years, all smiles and pink cheeks, just like the girls who had fawned over Seunghyun earlier that day.
And that was exactly how Jiyong was now. They’d went out to a club with Seungho and Soohyuk, and now they were all laughing and throwing back drinks while they teased Jiyong about his new crush. Well, the others were teasing Jiyong. Seunghyun was mostly just listening.
Seungho dipped his finger into his mouth and flicked it against the inside of his cheek, a crude imitation of a blowjob, and Jiyong raised his cocktail glass menacingly. “Cut it out!”
Seungho grinned and pinched at Jiyong’s cheek while Soohyuk laughed into his beer.
Seunghyun looked over toward the guy who had caught Jiyong’s eye this time. He looked to be about the same height as Seunghyun, but Seunghyun couldn’t be sure from this far away. The guy was on the other side of the dance floor, standing at the edge with his friends, nursing his drink. He was some kind of model, apparently. With better abs than Youngbae, according to Jiyong.
That was all Seunghyun had really heard about him, though. Just Jiyong gushing about how hot this guy was and looking frantically away any time the guy even remotely looked their way. Jiyong would bury his face in the side of Seunghyun’s shoulder until the others gave him the all clear.
“Do you even know his name?” Seunghyun asked the top of Jiyong’s head, face still pillowed against Seunghyun’s shoulder.
“Yes. I know his name.” Jiyong sounded almost offended by that. “It’s Joowon, and he’s a year younger than me.”
“He’s younger than you?”
“Just a year.”
Seunghyun didn’t know why that surprised him, but it did. “Huh. I always pictured you with someone older.”
Jiyong snorted. “We can’t all be noona-killers like you.”
Seunghyun grinned at Jiyong’s ribbing. It was true that his major relationships were all with woman who were a few years older than him. It wasn’t something he sought out; it just sort of happened that way. He opened his mouth to retort, but Soohyuk cut him off.
“Are you gonna go talk to this guy or not? You should do it soon before I’m too drunk to fully appreciate the spectacle.” Soohyuk lifted his bottle in a toast to that before wrapping his lips around the rim and taking a long pull.
A smirk curled over Seungho’s face. “20,000 won says he chickens out.”
“Deal,” said Soohyuk, sealing it with a handshake.
Jiyong huffed. “I’m not gonna chicken out.”
Seungho quirked one disbelieving brow before taking a drag off his cigarette. “We’ll see.”
“I’m not. Look, I’ll go right now.” Jiyong stood up and rolled his shoulders back, once then twice. He cocked his head from side to side, stretching one arm and then the other.
Soohyuk booed and chucked a wadded up napkin at Jiyong’s head. “Quit stalling. I have money riding on this.”
The napkin hit Jiyong on the side of the temple. “Yah! Alright already, I’m going.”
Jiyong skirted the table and made for his new crush. He strolled toward him with the same slow, lazy confidence Seunghyun was used to seeing from him on stage, a confidence that faltered as Jiyong weaved through the crowd of bodies, fizzling out completely once he’d nearly made it to his target. Jiyong came to a halt about a meter away from the guy, stood there for a moment, still, amidst the swaying bodies, and then promptly turned on his heel and scurried back.
Seunghyun and Seungho were snickering by the time Jiyong made it back, Soohyuk cursing as he pulled out his wallet and forked over Seungho’s winnings.
“I’m never betting on you again,” Soohyuk told Jiyong. Jiyong ignored him, falling back down in his seat beside Seunghyun and planting his reddened face in his hands.
“I told you he’d chicken out,” Seungho said, smug.
Jiyong peeked over his hands long enough to glare at him. “Shut up.”
“What’s the problem?” Seunghyun asked. “Just go say hi.”
“And then what?” Jiyong looked at him like he was stupid. “What do I say after that?”
Soohyuk gave Jiyong a wry look. “You act like you’ve never approached a guy before.”
“I normally don’t have to. They usually come to me.”
That was true enough, Seunghyun supposed. He’d seen more than one guy work up the courage to ask Jiyong for his number.
“Then make this one come to you,” Soohyuk suggested with a lazy shrug of his shoulder. No problem, his expression seemed to say. Should be easy.
Jiyong just groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face.
But then Seunghyun thought of something: “Are you sure he even likes guys?”
Jiyong looked over at him, and if his eyes hadn’t been calling Seunghyun dumb earlier, they definitely were now. “I’m sure,” Jiyong said.
“But how? If you don’t know anything about him?”
Jiyong gave him this pitying little look, almost mocking, as if Seunghyun had said something cute. “Trust me, I’m sure. I’m never wrong.”
Seungho made a soft sound from across the table, a gentle clearing of his throat. He was smirking when Jiyong and Seunghyun looked his way.
“I haven’t been wrong in a long time,” Jiyong amended.
“He’s gay,” Soohyuk agreed, like his word was the final verdict.
The others all turned to look at Joowon, and Seunghyun followed the lines of their eyes, trying to see what they saw, how they could tell just by looking. He soon gave up. He had no idea what had clued them in.
“Look,” Soohyuk said. “He’s checking out some guy right now.”
“Where?” Jiyong’s voice came out sharp, jealous. He lifted a little ways out of his seat to get a better look. “Really? That guy? He can’t even dance.”
Seunghyun was starting to doubt his eyesight. He couldn’t even tell who this Joowon guy was supposedly checking out. Maybe he should’ve brought his glasses.
Soohyuk looked amused at Jiyong’s pettiness. “Then go show him up.”
“What, just go out on the middle of the floor and start dancing by myself? No. He’ll think I’m an idiot.”
“Not by yourself,” Seungho said. “Find someone to dance with.”
Soohyuk nodded along with Seungho’s suggestion, and then a lightbulb came on over his head, face lighting up with some new epiphany. “I got it. What you need is a really hot boyfriend.”
Jiyong stared at him, unimpressed. “You don’t say.”
“No, I mean a really hot fake boyfriend. You need someone to go out there with you and show this guy how desirable you are.”
“What?”
Soohyuk was on a roll now, dedicated to his plan. “It’s human nature. If he sees some really hot guy trailing after you, he’s gonna wonder what all the fuss is about. It’s like when your fans see you carrying a new Chanel bag. They rush out to get their own. They like it just because they think you like it.”
“So…I’m a purse in this metaphor?”
“Exactly. Be like one of those fancy bags and hang on the arm of a much hotter man.”
Seunghyun was struck by the image of Jiyong clinging like a koala to the arm of some super hunk. He sniggered to himself, smothering the sound with the rim of his beer as he took another swig.
“But he’s a model,” Jiyong whined. “Where am I gonna find someone hotter?”
The question hung in the air for one long suspended moment, and then as one, everyone’s heads turned Seunghyun’s way.
It took Seunghyun a minute to realize what that meant. “Me?”
Soohyuk looked him over appreciatively, but Jiyong dismissed the idea outright.
“It won’t work. He’s straight.” The word came out like an insult, like some kind of horrible affliction Seunghyun had been diagnosed with.
Seunghyun might’ve felt offended if not for the thing Jiyong didn’t say. He didn’t say Seunghyun wasn’t hotter. Seunghyun couldn’t help the pleased little feeling that crept up inside him. It was hardly the first time Jiyong had acknowledged his looks, but it still made him feel good.
Jiyong argued again that Seunghyun couldn’t pull it off, but Soohyuk insisted it would be fine, that Seunghyun was perfect for the gig, and somehow Seunghyun found himself out on the middle of the dance floor with Jiyong without ever having agreed to go along with this. He looked back over at Seungho and Soohyuk, but all they did was give him an enthusiastic thumbs up.
Seunghyun shuffled about awkwardly, waiting to follow Jiyong’s lead, but Jiyong wasn’t being any help. He looked just as embarrassed. Jiyong looked around the room, down at the floor, anywhere but at Seunghyun. The one time his eyes did catch on Seunghyun’s, he grinned and blushed and looked quickly away.
“Why is this so awkward?” Seunghyun laughed.
“I don’t know.” Jiyong’s little nose scrunched up. “It just feels weird.”
“Do you not wanna do this?”
“Do you?”
Seunghyun shrugged. Honestly, he didn’t mind. He liked playing pranks, and that was what this felt like, a silly little prank. A joke for them to laugh about later. “I don’t care.”
Jiyong chewed on his lip in indecision before finally making up his mind. “Okay.” He took a deliberate step into Seunghyun’s space, closing the distance between them until their bodies were nearly touching. Seunghyun stopped himself from taking a reflexive step back.
“What now?” Seunghyun said.
“We dance.”
Jiyong started moving along to the beat, body rocking with the heavy thumps of the bass. The dance floor was hotter than the area by their table, flooded with the heat of writhing bodies. It was mostly dark except for the flashing strobes and the low lights around the periphery. Jiyong braced one hand against Seunghyun’s shoulder and rolled his body along Seunghyun’s front.
Seunghyun giggled when Jiyong’s hips rolled against his, and Jiyong pulled back, laughing, hands flung out at his sides, shaking his head at how useless Seunghyun was being. “You can’t just stand there. Do something.”
There it was again, the feeling of being an unruly puppy. Seunghyun was surprised Jiyong didn’t reach up to pet him.
He said, “What am I supposed to do? I thought I just had to be hot. You know dancing’s not my thing. I’m no good at it.”
“You don’t have to be good at it,” Jiyong said, exasperated. His eyes sparkled in the dim lights. “You just have to act like you’re into it.”
Jiyong came toward him again, shimmying his shoulders while the club raved around them. Seunghyun bopped from one foot to the other like an uncoordinated T-rex with two left feet. Jiyong fell against his chest, cackling. He slapped Seunghyun twice over the heart while he laughed.
“What the hell?” Jiyong giggled. “I know you’re bad at dancing, but you’re not that bad.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“Just…just pretend like I’m a girl. Like the one backstage this morning. With the heels.” Jiyong’s hands slid down to Seunghyun’s hips. He led Seunghyun into a gentle sway.
“They all had heels,” Seunghyun said, petulant.
“You know which one I’m talking about. The one you liked.”
“I didn’t like her. I told you, I just thought she was pretty.”
Jiyong snorted. “You thought her legs were pretty.”
Seunghyun hung his head, caught, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
“Anyway, why are you making this so hard? Aren’t you supposed to be an actor? Just act like you wanna take me home and fuck me.”
It hit him hard, the mental image. Jiyong pinned beneath him, limbs splayed across Seunghyun’s dark sheets. Seunghyun shook the thought away as quickly as it came.
“Jesus, Jiyong.”
“What?” Jiyong blinked at him, innocent. “Don’t think you can manage it? I know people like to tease you about Iris, but I really thought you’d gotten better since then. Maybe not, though.”
Seunghyun yanked Jiyong forward, spurred on by the challenge in his voice. His performance in that drama still haunted him. He was constantly trying to redeem himself for it. Jiyong’s hands caught on Seunghyun’s shoulders as Seunghyun pulled him in. Seunghyun kept pulling till they were flush, hand flattening over the small of Jiyong’s back, the fabric of Jiyong’s shirt soft and warm and slightly damp from the humidity that blanketed over them. Jiyong’s mouth hung open in surprise.
Seunghyun brought them together and thought, acting, and then he very deliberating pushed his pelvis against Jiyong’s. Jiyong bit down on his lip and followed his lead. The music blared around them, rapid as Seunghyun’s beating heart. Seunghyun’s thigh naturally slipped between Jiyong’s as they moved together, as Jiyong threw his head back and lost himself to the rhythm.
Acting, Seunghyun thought again and committed himself to this new character. He held Jiyong in his arms and pretended that was just where he wanted him. He caught a couple girls staring at them, probably wondering what GD was doing dirty dancing with Top in a club, but Seunghyun just grinned at them and stuck his tongue out. They giggled and turned back to their drinks.
Seunghyun refocused his attention on Jiyong.
“Put your hands lower,” Jiyong hissed, even as he moved to push them down himself. He slid Seunghyun’s hands down until they were low on his hips, fingers brushing over the swell of Jiyong’s ass. “You’re supposed to be trying to fuck me, not take me out for ice-cream.”
Seunghyun’s brows flew up at Jiyong’s bluntness. It took a minute to recover from his surprise, but when he did, he said, “I happen to like ice-cream.”
Jiyong gave a little scoff. “Unless you’re imagining licking it off me, my point still stands.”
Licking it off? “Pervert.”
Jiyong laughed. He nodded his head, accepting. He moved in closer, folding his wrists behind Seunghyun’s neck. They moved together well now that Seunghyun had given himself over to it, and by “well” Seunghyun just meant that he was doing that standard guy-in-the-club dance, moving just enough to be called dancing but not enough to embarrass himself, letting his partner do all the work. Not that Jiyong seemed to mind. He writhed seductively in Seunghyun’s arms, hips tracing out some kind of magic as the beat thumped.
“Is he watching?” Jiyong asked.
Seunghyun stared down at him dumbly. It took him a minute to figure out what Jiyong was talking about. Right, Joowon. The reason they were out here. Seunghyun looked out over the top of Jiyong’s head to where Joowon last was. The guy was still there, standing at his post. He was laughing with a couple of other guys, still sipping at the same drink from before if Seunghyun wasn’t mistaken. Lightweight.
“I don’t think so,” Seunghyun said. The guy had a prime vantage point for their little show, but they’d yet to earn his attention.
Jiyong huffed. “Fine,” he said, chin tilting up in new determination. “Time to step it up.”
And then Jiyong was turning about in his arms, molding his back to Seunghyun’s front. Seunghyun could see the hint of a smirk in the corner of Jiyong’s mouth before Jiyong started sliding his way down, dropping toward the floor. Jiyong bounced once and then slid back up, ass first this time, bent over at the waist as his ass slid up the length of Seunghyun’s thighs, coming to a stop in the cradle of Seunghyun’s hips. Seunghyun remained frozen as Jiyong rolled his body the rest of the way up. Jiyong ended the move with a coy flourish of his hips. Seunghyun felt himself flush.
“He’s looking now,” Jiyong said, and sure enough, Joowon’s eyes were right on them, on Jiyong.
“Where did you learn to do that?” Seunghyun asked, eyes wide. “I don’t remember Jaewook-hyung teaching us that in dance practice.”
Laughing, Jiyong shifted further back against him. His head lulled back against Seunghyun’s shoulder, hand reaching up to curl around Seunghyun’s nape.
“I’m a man of mystery,” Jiyong said.
Seunghyun’s chuckle rumbled out of him. He felt a stray tendril of Jiyong’s hair tickle his jaw. “Tell the truth, you’ve been watching Beyoncé videos again, haven’t you?”
Seunghyun felt Jiyong’s laugh more than heard it. His shoulders shook gently against Seunghyun’s chest.
The song changed, and the lights changed with it, the strobes switched out for the purple glow of the black light. The room’s once innocuous trim now shone in bright fluorescent. Jiyong turned back around to face him, a seamless transition that brought them back to their original position, chest to chest, thighs interlocked. Seunghyun’s hands stayed low on Jiyong’s hips, just as Jiyong ordered, a tether to keep them together.
Dancing with Jiyong wasn’t much different than dancing with a girl. He moved like one, a teasing swivel to his hips, delicate hands sliding playfully over Seunghyun’s shoulders. Seunghyun had just been teasing about the Beyoncé thing, but he did wonder.
The room was even darker with just the black light, faces hard to make out. The threads stitching Jiyong’s shirt together glowed white. It was dark enough now that Joowon would hardly be able to see them even if he tried. Still, Seunghyun didn’t move away.
“Do you really think I’m hotter?” Seunghyun broke the silence. He had to murmur the words right against Jiyong’s ear for them to have any hope of being heard.
Jiyong chuckled against Seunghyun’s throat. His hips swayed gently to the slow, sultry beat.
“You know how good-looking you are,” Jiyong finally said. “You don’t need me to tell you.”
Seunghyun didn’t realize he was smiling until Jiyong rolled his eyes.
“Don’t look so smug. Joowon has a way better personality.”
Seunghyun felt himself pout at that. “How would you know? You’ve never even talked to him.”
“It doesn’t take much to be better than yours,” Jiyong teased. Seunghyun lowered his head a little so it was easier for Jiyong to reach his ear. “I bet he’s not as messy as you are, for one. You’re ridiculous, you know that, right? Every time I go in your room I’m scared I’m gonna get lost and never find my way out.”
Seunghyun laughed. His hand flexed around Jiyong’s hip. “If it bothers you so much, clean it for me.”
“You clean it. It’s your room.”
Seunghyun laughed again and shook his head. Jiyong’s breaths were warm against Seunghyun’s throat. Seunghyun was about to tease Jiyong some more, something about housewives and Jiyong’s likeness to them, when his gaze slid over Jiyong’s shoulder to where Joowon had last been. The guy wasn’t there anymore. Seunghyun looked around the room but couldn’t spot him anywhere.
“I think your man left,” Seunghyun said, and the motion of Jiyong’s hips stopped.
“What?”
Jiyong’s head whipped around to where Joowon should be, all semblance of their dance forgotten. He stood up on his toes and craned this way and that, searching for him amidst the crowd. He didn’t have any more luck than Seunghyun, though.
“Damn,” Jiyong said.
Eventually, they made their way back over to their table. Jiyong drug his feet, walking slowly, scanning the crowd the whole way back.
“He’s gone,” Seungho said once they’d reached the table. “He left about ten minutes ago.”
“Why didn’t you come tell me?” Jiyong asked.
“Why didn’t you notice?” Seungho challenged. Jiyong’s mouth snapped shut.
“You guys looked awfully cozy out there,” Soohyuk said. “Almost like a real couple.”
Seunghyun plopped back down in his seat. “I’m a good actor.” His half-empty bottle was still sitting on the table. He went to take a drink but changed his mind once he realized how warm it had gotten.
“Yeah,” Jiyong said after a moment. “Hyung’s a good actor.” Instead of sitting back down, he took a step backwards toward the bar. “I’m gonna get a drink.”
Seunghyun tried to ask Jiyong to get him a fresh beer while he was at it, but Jiyong was already out of earshot.
When they got back to the dorm that night, Seunghyun braced his hand against the wall as he toed off his shoes. He was far more sober than what he was used to being after a night out with his friends.
He wound up falling into step with Jiyong and walking him to his room, mainly because it was on the way to Seunghyun’s room. Jiyong’s door was the one right before Seunghyun’s.
“Goodnight,” Jiyong whispered.
“Goodnight,” Seunghyun answered, and then, “Sorry I wasn’t more help with that guy.”
Jiyong waved him off. “It’s not your fault. Thanks, anyway. You make a pretty good boyfriend.”
Seunghyun rocked back on his heels. “I know how to be a gentleman.” He illustrated his point by reaching past Jiyong and opening the door for him.
Jiyong smiled at the gesture. “You’re gonna make some girl really happy someday.” His fingers danced along the doorframe for a moment before he smiled one last time and slipped into his room. The door shut gently behind him.
Seunghyun went to his own room after that, not bothering to turn on the overhead light. He waded to his nightstand and flicked on the lamp. Seunghyun pushed down his jeans, letting them stay in a crumpled heap right where he stepped out of them, just another casualty of the battlefield that was his room. He pulled on the first pair of pajama pants he could find and then fell back on his mattress with a gentle bounce.
His eyes wandered from his ceiling to his walls, to the dresser on the far wall. He found his figurines looking back, positioned on the dresser and shelves with the utmost care, a pristine sentry over the wreckage on the floor.
His eyes landed on the wall next to him after that, a Wu-Tang poster tacked over his bed next to a knockoff Andy Warhol painting. Jiyong’s room was right on the other side of that wall. His bed ran alongside Seunghyun’s, nothing but a thin sheet of drywall separating them.
Sometimes, when neither one of them could sleep, they’d play a game, knocking out the rhythm of a song with their knuckles while the other tried to guess what it was.
Seunghyun tapped out part of the beat to “Haru Haru” and grinned when Jiyong picked up where he left off.
He turned off his lamp and gave himself up to sleep.