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Whoever this guy was, he was pretty fucking bad at keeping a low profile.
Hyunjin recognized the outfit. He knew that leather jacket with the badly sewn-on patches, and he definitely recognized the fox patch over the right breast pocket. The last time he’d seen it was three nights ago while he was waiting for the bus home. Anyone would pay attention to any person hanging out in their vicinity at three in the morning. It made Hyunjin turn his music down, hold his work bag just a little closer, and keep his eyes on his feet until the bus showed up.
He saw him sitting across the street at the gas station, leaning against his motorcycle while he scrolled through his phone. And that’s the other thing, Hyunjin recognized that motorcycle too. It was the same one he saw parked outside his apartment building two weeks prior. Even though the man had the helmet on and was staring down at his phone, Hyunjin couldn’t help but feel like eyes were on him. He couldn’t help but feel like that helmet was only a cover, so he could stare at him without Hyunjin noticing.
It … concerned him, sure. But in his line of work, sometimes you have to expect things like this to happen. Dancers are pretty - their job is to get attention, and keep it, that’s how they make their money, after all. Hyunjin knew the horror stories of the other dancers and being the “favorite” for certain patrons. They get entitled, and they think that their favorite dancer belongs to them. They believe that with enough money, they can control how they act, how they earn their money, or how they dress and what they wear. Hyunjin isn’t stupid - but he isn’t a pushover either.
Nobody can tell him how to run his show.
The song ended with silence - the quick cutoff of a beat, and Hyunjin froze, kept his pose, until the speakers faded into some other filler tune. He could feel the beats vibrating under the platform of his shoes, or maybe it was the ache of his ankles from wearing them for too long. He could hear the few whistles and the drunken cheers; it made him feel a certain kind of power. Club etiquette was unspoken in a lot of places where he’d worked. Here, patrons were really good about not touching the dancers. Some of them would hate the little flurries of applause after their numbers, but Hyunjin didn’t mind it. At least it meant there were people paying attention to him. He flashed a smile anyway, a performer to the end, bowing just enough to make it playful. As he straightened his spine, he brought his fingertips to his lips and blew a kiss into the crowd, sending it in the direction of the boy across the club that was still staring at him.
As he left the stage, all Hyunjin wanted to do was get out of these platforms and into something more comfortable. He couldn’t change yet; he still had a few hours left to sell dances. What he wanted right now, though, was a drink. Hell, it didn’t even have to be alcoholic. He exhaled through his nose, a lazy huff, and padded off towards the bar, determined to get settled before the next dancer took the stage.
Seonghwa was already there, polishing glasses even though the rack was full. He always did it to look busy, because it gave him an excuse to watch the crowd when dancers were performing, to be on the lookout for anyone acting unruly. The light from the back wall caught the sharp edges of his face, his lips pressed into the kind of line that said he was two minutes away from shooing someone out the door just for looking at any of them the wrong way. Security wasn’t Seonghwa’s job, but he was always ready to find the nearest bouncer if it was needed.
“Not too busy tonight?” Hyunjin asked as he slid onto one of the stools, crossing his legs at the ankles. He rested his chin in his hand, tilting his head at Seonghwa. “Water? Please? Extra ice?”
Seonghwa shook his head, putting the glass he was polishing down before taking one of the bigger glasses from the rack. “People aren’t buying expensive drinks, and their tips are shit too.” Seonghwa set the glass down with a soft clink and leaned against the counter, arms folded. “You have fun up there?”
Hyunjin wrinkled his nose. “I did. I’ve been wanting to try this outfit out, but maybe I should’ve waited for a Friday night or something. It deserves to be admired, you know?” Except it was admired, and Hyunjin knows that. Maybe he did it unconsciously. Maybe he knew that boy would be here tonight - maybe he hoped he would be. If anyone was going to enjoy this red set that he wore, it was going to be him. The thought surprised even Hyunjin, and he took a drink from the glass of water to kill the thought in his brain before it had a chance to grow into something else.
But even with the lull of the club around him, Hyunjin’s pulse hadn’t settled completely. There was something else threading through his nerves, an irritating itch at the back of his neck. Hyunjin tapped his nails against the countertop. “There’s someone here tonight,” he doesn’t look at Seonghwa as he says it … just states it so matter-of-factly.
“Someone?”
“Mm.” Hyunjin’s gaze drifted past him, looking over Seonghwa’s shoulder.
Tall. Somewhat like a shadow in the low light, but the sharp lines of his jaw caught when the neon flickered blue. Dark eyes locked onto him, steady and unblinking. The curls in his hair were illuminated by the neon light he was standing right next to. Hyunjin thinks his hair is a ginger or blond color because of how bright the blue light reflects off of it.
“That one,” Hyunjin said, tilting his chin. “By the wall. Leather jacket.”
Seonghwa followed his gaze, “Do you know him?”
“Not exactly,” Hyunjin hummed, lips curving into this little grin. “But I’ve seen him before.”
He thought back to that night at the bus stop again. And now he finally had a face to pin this feeling to. This feeling of dread, this feeling of being watched. This feeling of being … hunted? Did … did Hyunjin like it? He won’t take another drink of water to shock his system and make his train of thought change. The man hadn’t caught him staring yet, so Hyunjin didn’t feel the need to pry his eyes away from him. God, he hadn’t expected him to be so pretty.
Seonghwa’s voice brought Hyunjin back to reality. “He stared at you the whole time you were dancing.” It’s stating a fact. Of course he was paying attention.
“He’s been staring,” Hyunjin said lightly. He sat up straighter, tossing his hair over one shoulder, as if it would entice this stranger to cross the bar and come talk to him. He even bit on his lip, flicked his eyes up at Seonghwa, and flashed him a little grin. It is a silly attempt at faking conversation, or perhaps he was faking this flirty back and forth with his coworker to get this stranger to approach. His pulse picked up, not in fear, but in something sharper. He wasn’t stupid; he knew what this was and what it looked like. But right when he thought it wasn’t going to work, his eyes went over Seonghwa’s shoulder again.
And when the man pushed off the wall, heading toward them with long, steady strides, Hyunjin didn’t look away. He just smiled, and it stayed on his face as their eyes locked together for the first time that night.
The man stopped at the bar, close enough now that Hyunjin thought he could smell his cologne. The stranger’s eyes flicked over Seonghwa once, then settled on Hyunjin, as if there were no one else in the room. “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked. His voice was smoother than Hyunjin would’ve guessed. Seonghwa’s jaw tightened, but Hyunjin just propped his chin on his hand, lips curling into a pretty little grin, just for this stranger.
“Of course you can,” he purred. “It’s the least you can do, after following me around so much.”
The man froze, and so did Seonghwa as he turned his attention to Hyunjin. The look that he was getting said something like we’re going to talk about that later.
Hyunjin laughed softly, delighted, like this is all a game to him. “Don’t look so surprised! I’m not mad.” He traced the rim of his glass of water and then shrugged, “Actually, I’m kind of flattered.” He would never mention to the stranger or Seonghwa that he only felt this way after he learned how pretty he was. If it were anyone else, he would’ve alerted security; he would have called the cops. But whoever this guy was, oh, Hyunjin couldn’t get enough of him. “You go through all this trouble for little ole me?” Hyunjin didn’t bother to hide the way his gaze lingered on the stranger’s face. Up close, he was even more breathtaking, with lashes too long, and the faint scent of bergamot and jasmine wrapped around the air between them.
“Anyway, of course you can buy me a drink,” Hyunjin said, extending a hand to offer the bar stool next to him. He shifted in his seat, legs crossing slowly, deliberately, so his robe fell just enough to reveal a bit of skin if the fabric fell the right way. “But only if you stay and drink it with me, be a gentleman, would you?” A gentleman. The man who had been following him, and sitting outside his apartment, and Hyunjin called him a gentleman.
The man’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, glancing over at Seonghwa like he was looking for permission. Seonghwa only stared back at him, and if looks could kill, Hyunjin knew this man’s blood would be all over the floor in front of them. The silent exchange was almost enough to make Hyunjin laugh. Almost.
“What’ll it be?” Seonghwa asked, huffing out the words like it pained him to do so. He set down the glass that he’d been polishing for the last five minutes, and his eyes stared into the stranger’s, even though he couldn’t look back at Seonghwa.
“Whiskey,” the man answered. His voice was quieter this time, like he was a child who had just gotten scolded for something. He takes the seat next to Hyunjin, placing his chin in his hand, and gave a wave in Hyunjin’s direction, “And ah … whatever he wants, yeah?”
Hyunjin smirked, tapping his nails against the bartop. “Whiskey for him, vodka and lime for me. You know how I like it.” Seonghwa gave him a look, but started making the drinks anyway. He wouldn’t eavesdrop, he wouldn’t stare this kid down until he cries … but he was paying attention. Hyunjin knew that, and a part of him thought the stranger did too, which lefthim alone with the weight of the stranger’s stare. He leaned over just slightly, lowering his voice to a whisper, barely audible over the club’s stereo.
“You’ve been busy.”
“What?”
“Busy watching me,” Hyunjin murmured, eyebrows lifting in amusement, and a smile cracking at the corner of his lips. “You think I don’t notice, but I do. I always notice. Your jacket? Yeah, I recognized it from the bus stop two nights ago. You were across the street at the gas station. Were you looking at me? You had your bike helmet on, but I swear I felt eyes on me.” His head cocks to the side, “Did you like the glitter on my chest that night? Or were you too far away to see it?”
Color crept up the man’s neck, but he didn’t speak. Hyunjin was asking so many questions. He’s talking like this is a game. Like its … Hyunjin’s game. But it isn’t. It’s his.
“And that motorcycle,” Hyunjin went on, “You park by the bushes in the parking lot, right? I saw it outside my apartment a few weeks ago, too. You really should pick a different place to park. You usually go right under the street light, so it's really easy to see the blue paint. Maybe if you were somewhere darker, I wouldn’t be able to tell what color your bike is.”
The stranger’s jaw tightened.
Hyunjin leaned closer still, close enough to feel the warmth of the other’s body, his eyes shining. “You’ve been following me. Did you … want me to find out? Did you care? Did you want me not to find out? Oh, I can pretend I have no idea if you like that better…”
For a minute, neither of them say anything. Hyunjin doesn’t keep prattling on, and thank fuck for that. Finally, he says, “I didn’t care if you knew.” He sits so straight, like he’s uncomfortable, like he’s the one who just figured out someone had been stalking him for weeks. A half hour ago, he thought he had all the control in this, and now Hyunjin is proving him dead wrong.
“Good,” Hyunjin said softly, “I was hoping you’d admit it. Be fucking stupid of you not to.”
The drinks arrived, Seonghwa setting them down with a heavy hand. He lingered a moment too long, making sure Hyunjin was still in one piece, before he moved to the far end of the bar. Hyunjin picked up his glass, swirled the liquid lazily. “So, what do I call you? My shadow? Secret admirer? Do I get your name?”
The man takes a drink from his glass, downs almost half of it in one go. The liquid courage burns down his throat, a very welcome heat. “I.N.”
Hyunjin arched his brow. “I.N?”
“Yeah.” A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “That’s my name.”
It was a lie, of course he knew that. But he didn’t press. The lie itself was something like a gift, or maybe a clue, and Hyunjin loved nothing more than a game with fun rules. He clinked his glass lightly against I.N’s. I.N took another drink, his eyes never leaving Hyunjin’s face. His gaze was hungry, fixated, it should have made him uncomfortable, but Hyunjin found himself leaning into it, daring him to look harder.
“You’re not scared?” I.N asked.
Hyunjin licked his lower lip, a shoulder shrugging upwards, “Should I be?”
“I’ve been following you,” I.N laughs in something close to disbelief, like he’s testing him. “Watching. You know that. And you’re still sitting here, like you don’t give a shit.”
“You’re pretty. That helps.”
The laugh that escaped I.N was short, because he hadn’t expected that. “That’s it?”
“No,” Hyunjin said simply. He set his glass down, leaning in so their knees brushed against each other’s. “The truth is, I like knowing you’re out there. You watch me dance, you watch me on my way home … hell, you follow me home. It makes me feel … ” He trailed off, searching for the right word, “Desired. And you keep to yourself. You don’t … bother me.” What a choice of words to use. Hyunjin is acting as if these were all happenstance, that it was all a coincidence that I.N was in his path so often. He acts as if he doesn’t care if it’s all deliberate, that the other is always there, lurking somewhere in a shadow, watching, waiting. “Isn’t that what you want?” Hyunjin asked, “To make me feel that way?”
I.N’s lips parted with no answer ready, because of course Hyunjin was right. Of course he’d seen right through him. But then, slowly, his mouth curved into the faintest smile. “You’re not what I expected.”
Hyunjin grinned back, “Neither are you.”
Their drinks went untouched after that. The air between them thickened, certainly not hostile, but charged, a moment neither of them wanted to break. Hyunjin let I.N’s eyes crawl over every inch of him, let him savor every detail, because the rush of being seen was intoxicating in its own right.
“You’ll come again?” Hyunjin asked eventually, but he already knew the answer. Of fucking course he would.
“Every night, if you want me to.”
Hyunjin’s heart fluttered, not with fear, but anticipation. “Good. I like knowing you’re out there. Make sure you come on Friday, I think you’ll love the outfit I have planned.”
The corner of Jeongin’s mouth twitched, “I’ll be there.” And he’ll be outside Hyunjin’s bedroom window, hoping to catch a glance at him before he goes to sleep. He’ll be across the street tonight, making sure Hyunjin gets on the bus safe and sound. He needs to find out where else Hyunjin frequents. He needs to know places he likes, places he hates, and places where he spends his free time so he can always make sure his Hyunjin is watched over.
“Perfect.” Hyunjin watched as I.N stood, a pout forming on his lips. “Make sure you do, I hate when pretty boys don't follow through on their promises.”
I.N stared at him, right past his own eyes and down to his fucking soul. Hyunjin felt like he was put under a microscope, but he wasn’t going to break his gaze. “I intend to follow through. And more … but you might have to wait and figure that last part out on your own.”
Hyunjin gave this playful little gasp, his hands coming to cover his mouth. Excitement was written all over his face, but I.N wasn’t sure if it was genuine or if Hyunjin was just putting on some over-the-top act again. “I suppose I’ll see you soon - oh, or maybe I won’t, maybe you’d prefer it if I didn’t see you.” Hyunjin winked at him, and his stomach flipped at the way I.N rolled his eyes.
And when I.N finally stepped away, Hyunjin’s gaze followed. Deep in his stomach, he felt this gnawing hunger. A need for the other man, that seemed to get stronger the further away I.N got. He wasn’t done.
Neither of them were.