Chapter Text
In all honesty, Seonghwa didn’t fancy dating apps. The hopeless romantic in him preferred to meet a potential lover the organic way. You know, maybe at a coffee shop, on travels, or whatever? Lightly flirting with them for a few weeks, returning to that same meeting point for a chat until one of them can muster enough guts to ask the other out on a date. He also had very specific standards for his future man: he had to be clean, smellt nice, taller than him if possible (since he was quite tall himself), and have a killer smile. How else was he going to be able to confirm these if he didn’t meet them in real life in the first place? And how else was he going to fall for them?
Wooyoung tried to talk sense into him from time to time, since in reality, when he was not at the dance studio to train or at shows where he would perform, he kept himself cooped up in his room for most of his free time, playing with whatever game he was digging at the moment or building his new lego sets. That pretty face and fuckable butt are wasted if nobody is looking at them , Wooyoung would crudely say. He had been trying to get Seonghwa out of his room on weekends to no avail, and when he managed to get him out to meet some people, the older man would come up with something not to follow through.
“He’s too outdoors-y.”
“I can’t stand BO, Wooyoung.”
“Yes, he has a cute smile, but he only talks about his mom.”
And lastly, the newest addition to the pile complaints: “He doesn’t know Star Wars! Who doesn’t know Star Wars???”
At that time, Wooyoung was exasperated, but he knew giving up would mean giving Seonghwa the satisfaction from his win, and leaving him to wither alone would be the catalyst of his defeat. So, when Wooyoung found him nesting on his bed on a Friday night, he snatched Seonghwa’s phone out of his hands.
“That’s it. You’re going on Bumble.”
“What the hell, Wooyoung?!” The older man tried to snatch his phone, but the other man was quicker. “You know I’m not going to use it! I told you I don’t like it!”
“You’re not, but I’m going to set you up.” Wooyoung said as he fiddled with the phone, entering Seonghwa’s basic information from memory.
“This is data infringement! This is a violation of privacy! This is illegal, Jung Wooyoung!”
“Tch, you’re so dramatic. After work you can find me…in my room, playing the old boring Animal Crossing or building legos…” he murmurs as he was typing while walking back and forth in the said bedroom.
“Hey! Animal Crossing isn’t boring! I met new friends there!”
“None of which is dating you. We’ll get along if…you’re also into nerdy, geeky ass shits like comic books or games-”
“This is getting more and more offensive as we speak…” the taller man fumed and he tried to grab his phone again, only for Wooyoung to tackle him to the bed and pin him down, “Hey! Let go!”
“You shut up and stay still! I’m doing you a favor!”
“By putting my personal info out there, where people can see???”
“Yes! And you should be grateful if this gets you a chance to date for once!” Wooyoung got up from the bed to continue typing, “A review by a friend…face, five stars…heart, five stars…butt, not enough stars-”
“WOOYOUNG!”
“And that’s it! Oh oh oh , I gotta pick the best photos for you!” The long-haired man plopped down next to the older man on the bed as he opened the gallery.
“Hey! I could have something private in there!”
“The last time you dated anyone was three years ago and you don’t do online dating. You can’t have nudes in here.” Wooyoung scrolled down the camera roll and chose a pic Seonghwa took in his dance studio, wearing a beanie and oversized jacket with a cute smile. “I like this one.” he tapped.
“Wooyoung, at least don’t show where I work…” the older man finally ceased.
“Alright, alright, I’ll pick this one…and this one…”
“Two is enough…”
The younger of the two groaned, but he did as he was told.
“Done!” he threw the phone to Seonghwa, “Now swipe where I can see.”
So, he did. Just to make his friend happy.
“Ugh…I can smell him from here.” left.
“‘Ramyeon at my place’? Really??” left.
Left. Left. Left.
“Wait, he looks cute-”
“He’s wearing UGGs, Wooyoung.”
Left. Left. L-
Seonghwa paused as he stared at the profile of this man he found. He had quite a nice smile that went right into his sparkly eyes, lips thin, healthy pink. His dark hair was wavy, probably from a perm, and he was wearing a fluffy knitted vest on top of his long john. The photo actually looked like a screengrab from a video call, slightly grainy in quality, but it didn’t change the fact that the man was stunning. Overall, Seonghwa is quite intrigued.
He then continued to read: no1likeme, 25. From his bio, it appeared that he was bi, an aspiring music producer, and he likes fashion. Another photo showed the same man in shorts and long-sleeved shirt, looking ready for a run, so he probably worked out too. Another one showed him sitting in a restaurant with glasses resting on his nose, hair without the perm, looking candid.
For once, Seonghwa felt his heart thumping a bit quicker.
“Oh, come on!!” Wooyoung reached out and successfully swiped him right.
“Hey!”
“You’ve been ogling him, it’s only right to swipe, okay? Jeez…” the younger man rose from the bed and walked away, “I’m done for today. You’re not fun to watch when you swipe.”
“What do you expect me to do? I’m swiping, not performing!”
“You know you gotta pay respect to some cute ass when it is due, forget looking a bit rugged or douchey-”
“Not when they look like they don’t shower!”
“Take this dude, for instance-”
Wooyoung snatched the phone to show something when the notification dings. Both blinked at each other. They then huddled up to find that Seonghwa just matched with no1likeme. Wooyoung howled while Seonghwa started feeling his palms getting clammy.
“W-what does that mean? What now??” the taller man sputtered.
“He swiped you right, dummy! Now text him!!!” The younger man was panicking as he shoved the phone back to its owner.
“W-what if I press the wrong button and unmatch him?” Seonghwa didn’t even dare to put his fingers anywhere near the phone screen at this point, so he pulled up his hands.
“Park Seonghwa, don’t you dare fucking this up–” The phone dinged again and both men paused their bickering. Wooyoung checked it out and his eyes went wide. “He texted you first…” he turned the screen to his friend whose face flushed a bit too much for a simple bumble first message.
Seonghwa took the phone out of his friend’s hand, staring at the message while trying to figure out his next step. He then laid down on his stomach while he typed out his reply, Wooyoung joined him while watching curiously. Only a moment after his reply, the phone dinged again.
“Is this really how people flirt nowadays?” Seonghwa groaned, but the blush on his face betrayed him.
Wooyoung chuckled as he got up from the bed, “Welp, looks like my job here is done. Please get into each other’s pants and build your own life together.” he ruffled the older man’s hair before he walked out of the room with a snicker.
If he was being honest, Seonghwa did not actually expect much from the interaction, but they ended up actually chatting for the next few days. He learnt that the other man was a few months younger, and yet he wasn’t as chronically online as the older man. However, Joong had such absurdly broad music recommendations, saying that he likes to keep track of music charts down to regional ones for reference. Joong also managed to get his very own Star Wars 101 crash course at one point, which wasn’t as painful as Seonghwa expected. He took it pretty well, actually, considering that the man only saw one of the movies because a friend dragged him.
Joong was born in Anyang, while Seonghwa, in Jinju. Joong loathes vegetables (though he claimed that he tried to be more open about it), while Seonghwa couldn’t stand bitter foods. Joong learnt that Seonghwa had a sweet tooth and a sucker for strawberries. They even discovered that they shared an equal amount of disgust for chocolate mint flavor.
Among the things that made the exchange flow naturally was mostly Joong’s tendency to flirt like breathing. He started small, mentioning how hot Seonghwa was on the pics in his profile, normal things, but it did escalate, sometimes to a point where the older man just had to pause to take a breath and ignore what he said altogether. Sometimes, sometimes , Joong would kind of go overboard with his flirting, especially when they chat at night, after sending each other a pic of themselves by the end of the day, sleepiness heavy on their eyelids. You look very cute and comfy , he would say, followed by a not-so-innocent I just want to make a mess out of you .
It was just that Joong was just as lighthearted about it, didn’t make a big deal out of Seonghwa getting flustered, and that made their interaction comfortable.
It had been a bit more than a week of starting their days with ‘good morning’s and ending them with ‘good night’s when Joong threw in the idea to meet up. That was when it hit Seonghwa that there was, indeed, a purpose behind their chatting and casual flirting; they were supposed to give dating a try. He stared at the message, unsure how to react, asking himself if he wanted to go all out and do this, when Joong sent another message which made it impossible to ignore.
*
Saturday had been hectic since morning. Seonghwa decided to pick out several outfits to try on until his frustration grew and he broke down with a howl. That was when Wooyoung came to rescue, barging into the bedroom with his wisdom. (He mostly just wanted Seonghwa to stop crying from how puffy his eyes were because he needed his beauty sleep after turning in from a party at an ungodly hour.) After Wooyoung laid out several options to pick from and basically guided Seonghwa through some self-affirming mantras, the older man calmed down and managed to finally made his choice. He started getting ready with Wooyoung snuggling into his bed.
His choice came down to a simple white sleeveless turtleneck that fits his body like a secondskin with light blue fishnet knit sweater thrown on top, pleated grey pants along with a light beige coat for a good measure against the autumn weather. He even took his time to put on a bit of makeup simply to accentuate the features of his eyes and tinted lip balm to put some colors. He checked himself out on the mirror after, right around the time when Wooyoung stirred from his nap and caught him.
“Looking good, mama.” the younger man whistled, putting light flush on the slender man’s face.
“You don’t think it’s too much, do you?”
“If you asked me, I’d say put some lingerie on because if you go out looking like that, that Joong dude will definitely pounce you on the spot, if not by the end of the date.”
“Wooyoung-yah!” The older man threw him a scandalous look as he gripped on his coat tightly.
“What?” the younger man blinked, “Some people do that on the first date, okay?”
“I won’t have sex on the first date!” The older man sputtered, “F-first dates are supposed to be the moment to get to know each other!”
The younger man sleepily blinked before he dragged himself to sit up and scratched the back of his head, “Okay, then make it clear to him that you don’t want to.”
“What do you mean to make it clear?” Seonghwa bit his lower lip, “We didn’t even talk about it!”
“Did you or did you not ignore him when he throws innuendos?”
That silenced him. That was exactly the one thing that he never addressed since, to him, it seemed like Joong didn’t mind his unresponsiveness either.
“You know, silence doesn’t always translate to ‘no’.” Wooyoung added, as if reading his mind right through it.
“I know…” Seonghwa pouted, “Maybe…maybe I shouldn’t go-”
“Hey, hey,” the younger man made a move to get up on his knees on the bed and reached for his older friend, “That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is, be clear with what you want, with how far you’d go with him. He ain’t worth your time if he won’t take your pace, Hwa.”
With a small smile, Seonghwa looked at Wooyoung, knowing that he meant well and that he was only concerned about his safety and comfort.
“Thanks, kitty, I appreciate that. I will look after myself.” he grinned at Wooyoung, who responded by pawing at him, “Well, it’s almost time…I guess I’ll head out now.”
“Go get your man, tiger!”
*
When Seonghwa reached the cafe, it wasn’t as full as he expected. The cafe was located in the Insadong neighborhood, quite humble in its appearance, but also pretty edgy with the exposed brick walls and a vinyl player at a corner ( how very Joong , he thought). He had been feeling quite antsy, but he held onto what Wooyoung told him this morning. He also repetitively told himself that if Joong turned out to be an ass, even just a little bit, he would call it off.
He took a look inside and didn’t find Joong there, so he lingered at the showcase for a bit, checking out the pastries.
It was rather nerves-wrecking, finally trying out to date again after years of being single. His past and only relationship wasn’t the best reference to have, considering it was rather one-sided. His ex was a friend from the art school he went to, a very attractive man whom he thought was very much out of his league. After years of knowing each other, the guy asked him out quite romantically, and it was fairly easy for Seonghwa to fall for him. The breakup was harder on his ex than it was on him, but moving on from what they used to have was something he’d rather not experience again.
He just wanted to find his one and only. Was that too much to ask?
“Hey,” the voice came along with a tiny nudge to the back of his knees that had Seonghwa wobbling a bit before a hand caught his waist and the most melodious giggle graced his hearing. He swiftly turned around, mostly from the surprise of the unexpected touch and here he was, in the flesh. “Sorry to startle you, but you look so cute glaring at that cake.”
Seonghwa could only hope that the flush that would usually spread from his cheek down to his neck wouldn't be visible because, fuck , Joong looked so much better in person. His grown hair was clearly losing its perm, but maintained a mild level of curls. His eyes were big and they sparkled like the milky way, and that. smile . Seonghwa could’ve sworn that his smile literally lit up the whole space, showing the cutest gums and teeth he had ever seen. He knew that the man did mention his height on the profile, something he wouldn’t have missed on anyone else, but Joong really was shorter in built.
He really wished the squeak he made was internal, but judging from Joong’s laughter, he probably just made a fool of himself.
“So…do I get a hug?”
It was like a conditioned response when Seonghwa opened his arms to wrap around the man’s shoulders, but what triggered himself to be hyper-aware of the situation was when Joong wrapped his arms around his lithe waist and pulled him in. He nearly short-circuited, a man this attractive was hugging him like that?
“H-hey…” he tried to feign confidence, but his voice sounded more squeaky than he intended.
“Did you choose what you want to order yet?” the shorter man asked as they pulled apart.
“Yeah…the double strawberry custard waffle looks tempting.”
“Not as tempting as you are.” Joong quipped, earning him a surprised look from the taller man. The brunet simply chuckled, “I’m eyeing the lemon pound cake and maybe the waffle with fried chicken and maple syrup. Haven’t got my lunch yet.”
“Ah, now that you mention it…” Seonghwa turned his eyes to the showcase again, “I’ll also get the cream cheese with bacon and spinach salted bread.”
“Drinks?”
“Anything but Americano would be nice, thank you.”
“Okay, cutie, do you mind finding us a table while I order?” The younger man winked.
Seonghwa dumbly nodded as he walked away to find a comfy table at one of the nooks in the cafe. God , how did Joong do that, flirting so naturally? It always took him by surprise when he least expected it, making him feel all sorts of weird sensations being the recipient of that kind of attention.
He took off his coat and placed it on one of the chairs before he sat down on it. A moment later, Joong came back, still with that blinding smile. Now that Seonghwa could take a better look at him, he noticed that the man was wearing a black leather jacket on top of a black sweater and tank top with several chain necklaces hanging from his neck. He had a pair of ripped jeans in pale blue, which suspiciously looked like one of the items he would DIY himself, then a pair of chunky boots. Upon a closer look, the raven also noticed several earrings adorning his lobes, and the whole look was just so captivating on him.
“Take a picture,” the shorter man quipped as he took his seat in front of the older man, “It’ll last longer.”
The older man quickly averted his eyes, “I-I didn’t mean to stare-”
“Well, I want you to stare.” Joong chuckled as he rudely just proceeded to take his leather jacket off in front of Seonghwa, who now felt like a Victorian man catching a glance at a fair maiden’s bare ankle. “I think you look great. I’d take a picture of you myself if that’s something you’ll allow.” He easily diffused the tension as if he was so used to doing this. “Anyway, I know we’ve shared our nicknames, but let me introduce myself again: my name is Hongjoong.”
“Hongjoong-ah…” Seonghwa tested the name on his tongue.
“Damn,” the younger man’s eyes sparked in a different glint, “I really like the way you say my name.” There he went again, a natural flirt.
“Um, mine is Seonghwa.”
“No, kidding?” the shorter man responded, “As in ‘to become a star’?”
“That’s what my parents wished for me, I guess.” He chuckled lightly, feeling more relaxed.
“That name fits you well, aside from the fact that you’re a nerd.” Hongjoong teased.
“Hey, just because I’m into Star Wars, Animal Crossing, Zelda, and Lego, doesn’t mean that I’m a nerd!”
“You literally just described what a nerd is.”
From that point on, their conversation just flowed naturally, almost like how it went in their past chats, but now they can share things slightly beyond the surface level while enjoying their pastries. They shared their childhood memories, more of their likes and dislikes, and many more. Still with Hongjoong’s flirty quips here and there, but now even more distracting because Seonghwa could now see how the man looked at him while he said those things. Even when they started eating, his eyes would linger a moment too long and they would glean at each moment. Even worse, the man would sometimes graze his fingers on his skin whenever he found the opportunity; when Seonghwa showed him something on his phone, or when he left his hand a bit too close for Hongjoong to reach.
Hours easily passed just like that, with them getting more comfortable around each other while at the same time some sort of tension was brewing. Seonghwa only noticed as the other man kept staring at him more and more intensely in each passing moment, how he moved his seat closer to Seonghwa until he could casually drape his arm on the back of his chair, and the more frequent they would familiarly touch each other. At this point, Seonghwa could smell the perfume Hongjoong was wearing; refreshingly fruity and slightly woody. This was how a first date with good chemistry was supposed to go, he thought to himself, which somehow made him feel more daring.
“So, tell me about your past relationships.” Seonghwa prompted after he sipped on the last bits of his strawberry milk.
Hongjoong blinked at him, “My past relationships. You said that as if I have plenty of experience.”
The older man shrugged, “I don’t know, you have that experienced -” he exaggerated by making an air quote, “-vibe to you.”
Again, the brunet gave him that kind of eyes while biting his bottom lip with a playful smile, making Seonghwa hyper-aware of their closeness as well as the arm resting on top of the backrest of his chair, gently pressing against his back.
“I’ve had some experiences. What about you?” he tilted his head rather cutely.
“Are you avoiding my question?” Seonghwa squinted.
At that, Hongjoong leaned in closer to him, the arm that wasn’t pressed against his companion’s back reached for the table, invading his personal space even more, “Are you?”
“I-I know I’m not!” He tried to move back a little bit, only to realize that there wasn’t much space on his side in the first place.
“Then, share it with the group.” The younger man moved back with a smug smile.
“Ugh. I’ve only had one relationship,” Seonghwa half-heartedly muttered, “He was someone from school. We were quite close, I guess. He confessed and...uh.” He decided to leave out some details for now, “We went out for three years and, uh, I broke up with him three years ago.”
Hongjoong raised an eyebrow, “Why did you break up with him, then?”
The older man chewed on his lower lip, contemplating whether it was the right thing to do or not to share something personal like that.
“You don’t have to explain if you’re uncomfortable, though.” The younger man followed up, easing his nerves. “I need to know one thing, though. Was he hot?”
“Hongjoong-ah!”
“Yes, baby?” The shorter man snickered the moment Seonghwa blushed for the upteenth time that afternoon. “I just want to know my chances with you.”
“You just want to hear if I consider you hotter…” The older man pouted.
“Well, do you?” the younger man closed in to him once again, Seonghwa could’ve sworn that he felt the other man’s breath on his skin from how close he was right now. His lips looked very tempting. If sex was obviously off the table on the first date, a kiss wouldn’t hurt, right?
“I mean…I’m on a date with you now, am I not?” the older man smiled cheekily, enjoying the shift of their dynamics as he assumed a bit more control now.
“Gosh,” Hongjoong chuckled again, eyes flashing at the sight of the cheeky smile, “The things I wanna’ do to you…”
The older man gulped, but he nursed his expression to be as controlled. Wooyoung’s voice was nagging at the back of his mind, reminding him to get ahold of himself and get what he wanted communicated clearly. It was just that, Seonghwa found it difficult to break the current dynamics that they shared. It was difficult for him to deny how charming Hongjoong was, how confident he was at taking the upper hand and setting the mood. He liked the fact that he didn’t have to put too much effort to coax that side of him, how comfortable it was to just be himself and being looked at by those intense dark orbs like this.
He felt seen . Adored.
“What time do you have to be back again?” The shorter man asked casually.
“Dinnertime? I promised Wooyoung we’d have dinner together.”
Hongjoong glanced at his wristwatch, “We still have some time then. Do you remember the songs I told you about?”
“The ones you’ve been working on, yeah?” He remembered the other man telling him the songs he was currently composing, aimed to be released after new year.
“Do you want to take a sneak peek?” he coyly asked.
“Wait, for real?” the older man looked at him, eyes wide.
“A special privilege for my date, but I can’t show them here.” He tilted his head, “We’ll have to go to my studio. It’s not far from here, but it’s more comfortable.” his voice trailed off.
Once again, Wooyoung’s nagging voice returned. A closed space, with just the two of them? It wasn’t an invitation to ramyeon at his place, but it still rang an alarm in Seonghwa’s mind. He looked at the other man once again, confident smile and relaxed posture in all its glory. He never thought it would be this difficult, especially that he did not want the date to end just yet.
“Yeah, sure, why not.”
*
The studio was close by, only a 15 minutes walk from where they were, but Hongjoong reached out for his hand to hold. He reasoned that he looked cold, and truth to be told, the warmth from their intertwined hands did spread all over, making Seonghwa feel all warm despite the cold breeze that hit them once they were outside. Once the walk ended, the slender man felt a bit disappointed that Hongjoong let his hand go as he led him into a building, taking two flights of stairs, before the younger man opened a door for him.
The studio was small with a work desk occupying one side of the room and a plush monochrome sofa on the other side. On the work desk, there was a big screen and another one attached to the wall, hovering over it, as well as several speakers alongside them. There was also an air purifier and an acoustic guitar resting against it. It was more minimalistic than expected, the space was tiny, but not suffocating. Hongjoong told him to take a seat on the sofa as he took his jacket off again ( sigh ), so did the older man. On the sofa, he noticed there were some pillows as well as a blanket, making him wonder if Hongjoong would sleep here too.
They exchanged some casual banter as the younger man clicked away on his PC, opening up some files and playing several tracks. Two of the tracks already had some vocal guides, giving him more sense of the song, while the other three were still quite raw, but Seonghwa told him how he liked all of them. Some really made him feel giddy, like the dancer in him was piqued by the pronounced beat and the tunes. Hongjoong made him promise to dance for one of the tracks once they’re finished, and Seonghwa couldn’t help the wishful thinking of them staying around each other in the future. That was a comforting thought, he felt.
As moments went by, they ended up chatting some more. Hongjoong’s playlist was playing in the background. At one point, he moved from his chair into the sofa right next to the older man, both sitting comfortably with their legs brushing against one another, their voices turned lower in volume, pulling them closer to be able to hear each other.
Seonghwa somehow ended up leaning onto the man’s chest as the other’s arm was draped over his shoulder when he was telling Hongjoong about how girls from another school would come to his school to see him perform. Hongjoong’s fingers had found their way into Soenghwa’s silky hair, playing with it absent-mindedly while he was intently watching how animated his date was with his storytelling.
It was warm and comfortable, natural, even, that Seonghwa did not mind the closeness even a bit. The nervousness he felt back in the cafe had somehow dissipated, even when he could feel the smaller man’s breath against his cheek when he laughed at something that he said. Then, silence fell between them, bringing back the awareness in Seonghwa about how tangled they were at this point, his legs resting on top of Hongjoong’s, upper arm comfortably resting on the other man’s surprisingly solid and sculpted chest. The other man’s free hand was now rubbing a soothing circle on his knee, something he did not even realize had been happening.
The moment he noticed how Hongjoong’s eyes started roaming all over him, he let his eyes wander anywhere else but him, trying to find something to say.
“Um…so, you sleep here often?”
“Pretty often, actually.” Hongjoong’s voice was just above a whisper as he ran his eyes from the top of Seonghwa’s head down to his plush lips, smiling lazily as his hand idly played with his hair. “It’s pretty comfy.”
“Oh…” Seonghwa trailed off, not knowing what else to say with how the younger man’s fingers started rubbing against his scalp. It honestly felt so good, too good he had to hold back a moan, yet he couldn’t help but to lean against the touch and flutter his eyes closed.
Then, he felt something brush lightly against his neck, and when he opened his eyes, he realized that it was Hongjoong’s nose.
“Not to be weird, but you smell so good…” he muttered slowly.
“I guess it’s because I shower…?” He tried to joke, his usual exit strategy when Hongjoong was being forward, but the look on Hongjoong’s eyes, damn , he was so focused on whatever it was he was doing there was no way anything he did would diffuse the situation at this point.
“Hmm. Can I kiss you?”
Now, it wasn’t as if the question came out of nowhere, considering Seonghwa agreed to be put into this position, agreed to have Hongjoong touching him so intimately like this, agreed to welcome him to such a close proximity. Didn’t he just think about kissing the other man since they were still at the cafe? Those soft, pink lips, taunting him from a very short distance? He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if he didn’t kiss those lips.
So Seonghwa nodded, “I-I want you to kiss me…” he responded, breathless.
He then felt Hongjoong’s hand take a hold on his nape, pulling him even closer with a smirk and hooded eyes, “Sweet, good boy.”
Before Seonghwa could process how his body reacted to that praise, Hongjoong was already pulling him in, their lips pressing against each other. It was warm, quite gentle. Their lips felt perfect against each other, soft and pillowy. The older man breathed in, he could feel Hongjoong’s warm breath against his lips. Nobody made any move to deepen it, then the younger man broke the chaste kiss, smiling at how flushed the other man was at such an innocent kiss.
“How was that?” The audacity of him to ask while rubbing the back of Seonghwa’s neck so nicely like that.
“O-one more time?”
Hongjoong obliged as he leaned back in, wasting no time to ask permission and lick his way into parting Seonghwa’s lips, taking the kiss even deeper very quickly. The older man’s eyes widened for a moment, grappling for purchase before he wrapped an arm around his date’s neck while the other man’s hand already moved from his knee to his thigh. Everything happened so fast, escalated so quickly, and suddenly Hongjoong single-handedly heaved the taller man into his lap, not giving him even a moment to relax.
Seonghwa tried to follow through, but his brain basically melted from the sensual and languid strokes of the younger man’s tongue, making him moan blissfully at every ministration. Not to mention that the brunet’s other hand was now roaming all over his thigh, sparking warmth in its wake. Seonghwa felt hot all over. He did expect a kiss, but he didn’t expect the kiss to be this intense, to drive him delirious that he needed to grab onto something to not lose himself. Hongjoong tasted so good . There was a mild and slightly acidic matcha aftertaste from his drink at the cafe, as well as a touch of mint from his toothpaste. What was more delicious was the unique flavor that was undeniably Hongjoong’s, and for some reasons, Seonghwa was craving it more and more.
Then, the older man mewled upon feeling nails raking up his skin as Hongjoong’s hand crept into his turtleneck, caressing his bare hips with such fervor he hadn’t experienced for the longest time, before it gripped on him, hard . That was when he broke the kiss with a gasp, eyes teary, cheeks rose-tinted, hair disheveled, lips swollen and red, glistening with a mix of their spit. Hongjoong chuckled darkly as he reached for those lips with the pad of his thumb, wiping a stray drop of saliva.
“Oh, sweet baby, this much of a mess just from kissing?” There was a teasing lilt in his voice before he brought his own thumb to his mouth and licked it, making Seonghwa squirm with a whine. “Oh, I can’t wait to mess you up some more.” With that, the younger man pulled him closer and-
If Seonghwa was blushing before, now he felt like burning the second he felt it, sat on it. Hongjoong was hard against him, flushed against his clothed ass. He was aware that the sensation alone should’ve set off the mental alarm he set up for himself, and yet he found himself keening at the sensation as he hid his face in the crook of Hongjoong’s neck, eliciting a giggle from the other man.
“Aw, don’t hide your pretty little face…” the younger man whispered hotly, lips against his ear, “I want to see you.”
Seonghwa half-heartedly turned his face to Hongjoong’s. They were nose-to-nose, warm breaths caressing each other’s skin. Despite being fully clothed, he felt very vulnerable and exposed under the younger man’s dark gaze. Nobody had ever looked at him like that, with so much unquenchable thirst, insatiable hunger. The younger man then started to nuzzle his cheek gently, before he unabashedly licked Seonghwa’s abused lower lip, coaxing the taller man into another open-mouthed kiss that stole his breath away.
Once again, Seonghwa succumbed to the kiss, every languid caress of the younger man’s tongue lit up something new in him, making him want to stop and yet he was hungry for more. Every inch of the skin Hongjoong caressed turned aflame, the small, closed space began to feel humid. The shorter man took the opportunity to pull the man even closer, impossibly close in his lap. Without any warning or a hint of shame, he started to grind against Seonghwa, surprising the older man into opening his eyes widely and breaking their kiss, but he just pulled him back into another sloppy kiss.
Then, the older man felt it, Hongjoong’s hand creeping onto his stomach and up to his pectorals underneath his turtleneck, giving him a gentle squeeze while the other hand was now cupping his ass, pivoting himself to grind against Seonghwa. His body felt so much like a mess, he kept on moaning helplessly into the kiss while feeling Hongjoong everywhere on his body, driving his brain into a useless mush. The moment Hongjoong’s nimble finger brushed against his perky, sensitive nipple, Seonghwa involuntarily bucked into Hongjoong’s abdomen while at the same time grinding down against his hard-on, eliciting a moan from the younger man.
“Damn it, Seonghwa, I want to touch you-”
“W-wait!”
The older man could feel Hongjoong froze around him the second he mumbled, worry started seeping into his face.
“I-is there anything wrong?” the younger man asked, concern evident in his voice, “Do you want to stop?”
Seonghwa took a deep breath as they looked at each other, trying to get a grip before he spoke, “I’m so sorry…b-but I’m not…ready…” Hongjoong stared at him and blinked, making Seonghwa feel guilty, somewhat worried that this decision would change their dynamics onwards. After all, they just met, he didn’t know what Hongjoong was looking for and the other man didn’t know what he was looking for. In the end, he’d rather regret not following through than regretting for following through wherever this was going to. “It’s not that…I’m not interested, s-sorry, but…it’s been a long while and I-”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Hongjoong wrapped his arms around the older man, trying to ignore the fact that he was still hard, “Don’t say sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about, baby. You can just tell me.” he smiled gently as he rubbed the older man’s back and cupped his warm cheek, “Even if I want you so bad my dick would literally explode, if you’re not on board with it, know that I wouldn’t want that.”
Seonghwa chuckled shyly, covering half his face as he did so, but then Hongjoong swatted that hand away to steal another kiss from him. “I told you not to cover your face, baby boy. I want to see all of you.” he cheekily grinned.
“You’re such a tease…” the older man pouted.
“You have no idea the extent of teasing I wanna’ do to you…” Hongjoong giggled at his date’s red face and patted his head gently. “So…should I send you home?”
The older man pondered the question a little bit before he nodded, “Yeah, I think that would be…wise…”
“Oh?” the shorter man raised an eyebrow and placed his hand back at Seonghwa’s thigh, “And why is that?” He gave the supple flesh a gentle squeeze.
“Hongjoong-ah…” the older man whined, cheeks tinted.
“I want to hear it, at least.”
“Hmh…you know that it’s not like I don’t want to…” he murmured.
The younger man grinned and leaned in closer to brush his lips against Seonghwa’s earlobe, whispering, “I know, I can feel you against me.”
Seonghwa whimpered and smacked the younger man on the shoulder, eliciting a laugh.
*
Wooyoung just finished showering when he heard the front door to the apartment creak open and closed. Moments later, Seonghwa walked into the living room with the biggest, dumbest smile on his face. The younger man looked at him from head to toe for a moment.
“You don’t look like you just got fucked.”
“Because I did not!” The older man swiftly responded, “Well…almost, but I kinda’ did what you told me.”
“Good job?” Wooyoung chuckled, “So, how did he take it?”
“Um…okay, I guess?” Seonghwa sighed and joined Wooyoung on the couch, “I mean…I don’t know? He walked me home earlier, he kissed me before leaving…”
“Isn’t that just normal?” The younger one quipped.
“Shit. Is normal not good?”
“It depends, I guess.” Wooyoung shrugged, “What’s good is that you communicated what you wanted and–wait, what is that face?”
Seonghwa chewed on his lip, looking a bit restless, “I…might have not communicated that I am looking for a relationship, more like…that I’m not ready for sex…?”
The younger man stared at him in disbelief, “You do know that he will always try the next time you go, if there’s a next time at all, right?”
“B-but what if he’s not that kind of guy?”
“Don’t fool yourself, goddammit.” The younger man rolled his eyes, “He’s a fucking hot guy on dating app, he fucks around.” He turned his eyes to the older man and noticed something, “Where is your earring?”
The other man quickly responded by touching his left earlobe and blinked.
“Ah…”
*
A head popped in from the door of the tiny studio and Hongjoong only glanced at the reflection on one of his screens to see that it was just Mingi, skeptically looking around the studio, before his eyes returned to the one right in front of him. He slipped the headphone he was wearing down to his neck and turned around on his seat as the taller man entered the room with a confused look, followed by his highschool-sweetheart-slash-longtime-boyfriend, Yunho, behind him.
“It doesn’t smell musty here…” The younger producer commented suspiciously, while his slightly taller boyfriend was looking around.
“Blanket still intact. He didn’t light up the scented candles. No suspicious spots on the sofa.”
“You two better shut up if you don’t want me to kick your asses out.” the older man rolled his eyes before he put the headphones back on, tucking one side away just to be able to hear them enough.
“Well, you said you were going on a Bumble date!” Mingi protested while plopping down on the sofa, his boyfriend followed suit.
“And when you have one, it basically means meet-and-fuck-”
“Yunho-yah!” Mingi hit his boyfriend’s side rather hard at his crudeness.
“That’s what you thought too!” Yunho hit him back.
“If you Tweedledee and Tweedledum don’t shut up, I will throw you out with my own hands. Jeez.” Hongjoong groaned at both of their antics.
He still remembered the day Mingi showed up at the company after his own first year here, still awkward and bashful. He was still all of those, but now he had become more comfortable bringing his choreographer boyfriend along with his unfiltered mouth around. Despite their antics, Hongjoong did feel like they had become more than just a reliable part of his life, professionally and otherwise, so of course sometimes he would share something rather personal at certain moments. (When he was deadass drunk was one of those moments).
“So? Got stood out?” The younger producer asked, his boyfriend on his side saw something and hunched down to the floor to see it closer.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Nah, the cutie did show up and he did come here.” Yunho quipped from the floor and popped back up with something in his hand, “A-HA!”
Hongjoong turned to the side a bit, eyes squinting, “What the hell…?”
“An earring! A cute one too! This one dangles a star, very cute. How come you didn’t notice, hyung ?” The way-too-much-taller man placed the piece of jewelry into the brunet’s hand, “They must’ve all dolled up and all you had in mind was just to fuck. Shame.”
“ Yunho-yah !”
The oldest would easily deny that, but he actually couldn’t . Yunho was painstakingly, crudely right. Hongjoong wasn’t always on the app, but when he was, that was the only thing that he was looking for: meet someone cute, chat them up, and fuck. He wasn’t even that picky, he would go for one-night-stands or several, so long the individuals weren’t causing him any hassle. He applied the same expectation for Seonghwa, if not more. Anyone with eyes would be able to see how ethereal the man looks, just how sickeningly attractive he was.
Honestly, Hongjoong swiped him right for two reasons: he was hot in the pictures and his profile did seem like one with similar dating expectations. He only learnt later that he also happened to be easy to chat with, to just talk about random things, current trends, and even each other’s interests. He never really talked that much with any of his matches, yet it turned out to be fruitful as they built the habit to randomly update each other about their daily life and sometimes the older man would send him a selfie or two. Call him weak, but when someone that hot would send selfies, for free , it was difficult to get out of. At least he managed to make the date happen and get it over with.
Yet, the date went way far beyond his expectation. Seonghwa was downright gorgeous and even lovelier in person. He was just effortlessly sexy, no seducing needed to get Hongjoong in the mood. His mind was running miles per second as it kept on picturing his date in different sorts of positions, different sets of scenes. He proved it difficult not to become a pervert around Seonghwa. He wanted that man and he wanted him right there and then, yet the man was not on board at the moment. So, in all honesty, he was ready to just leave it out, staying the gentleman that he was. Even more, he should probably drop the whole thing altogether.
But now, with the piece of jewelry lying in his hand, his brain started running again. Wouldn’t it be such a waste to just walk out on such a beauty? He remembered vividly how the man was shaking under his touch, his melodious moans, and the way he responded to him. There would be more people like that, but would they be like Seonghwa?
Mingi eyed his senior wearily and nudged on Yunho, “I think you broke him.”
“No, I fixed him.”
“Would you two shut it?” He wrapped his hand around the earring before he took out his phone to take a picture of it and put it away in his wallet. He then typed a bit on his phone before he paused, then put the phone down.
“Did you just text Cinderella?” Mingi stared at him excitedly.
“No.”
“What???”
“You know I don’t like that kind of hassle,” the older man retorted, “And ‘Cinderella’ seems to be interested in more than what I’m looking for, so yeah. No.” He pulled the headphones off himself and offered them to Mingi, “And the reason why I want you here is to listen to this. I did some updates and I wanna’ know what you think.”
The blond looked like he wanted to say more, but he gave up and took them from him, leaning forward a bit as he put them on. Hongjoong clicked on his mouse and waited for the younger man’s response.
After a few minutes of Mingi bobbing up his head, he took one side off, “ Hyung , this one is ready to be finalized! And you finished the lyrics too??”
“Almost, I don’t like some of the word choices, will relook into the whole thing again later…”
“I wanna’ hear too!” Yunho demanded, so the older man clicked on some things on his PC, then he replayed the song.
A funk-techno intro began to fill the tiny room, then some verses got thrown in languidly. As the music progressed, the R&B beats began to chime in, accentuating each word, each line, until the rap line was dropped rather nicely. Yunho was definitely vibing with the song as he automatically moved his shoulders, arms imagining some sort of dance moves he could put here and there.
“Damn, hyung , this one is hot!”
“Needs a bit more work, but I also managed to work on some more on the other tracks…” he then proceeded to play another song, a touch more synthwave and disco in the next one, a whole different vibe. The next one, somewhat waltz-y with a mix of hardcore hip hop. Then the next-
“Damn, you did these updates in how long??”
Hongjoong glanced at the clock on the wall and shrugged, “A few hours now? Some are far from done tho-”
“Did you not have dinner??” Mingi nearly shouted.
“I had a few pastries for lunch ok-”
“Dammit, hyung ,” both the juniors got up from their seat and Yunho threw him his jacket, “Let’s get the fuck to eat, it’s almost 11 PM!”
The oldest of the three groaned, but he put his jacket on anyway.