He’s aware that he behaves like an , that’s what his ex always tells him; at least when they’re not together or when he meets the others. Sometimes he thinks about cutting ties with his so-called friends, Baekhyun and Jongin, or Kai like he wants to be called. Seriously, he should have never associated himself with them, but things lead to it and now they’re friends, acquaintances. Like gum that’s stuck under your sole, and that’s the dilemma Chanyeol is in now. He literally has gum stuck under his shoe, the new ones, the ones he ran in all week long so he could wear them comfortably while dancing that day.

“Ah, !”

“Park, language!”

“Shut up!” he whines and slumps over the person next to him. The unfazed girl patted his elbow in a not-so-comforting manner.

“What is it?” she sighed, while not lifting her eyes from her phone where she was currently messaging with a common friend of theirs.

“Matty,” another high pitched whine followed, uncharacteristically for the male and Matty– the girl– finally looked up and inclined her head to him. “I just thought about Baekhyun and Kai being annoying like gum and now I have gum stuck under my shoe.”

“Be glad you only compared them to gum, I would compare them more to a disease i–”

“Matilda!” He did sound more offended than he really was. He should really cut ties with them.

“Can you scratch it off?” She already looked back down on her phone, positioning herself more firmly on the ground when Chanyeol hooked an arm around her shoulders and tried scratching the gum off with a stick.

“Ah, Park?”

“Yes?” This time Chanyeol didn’t look up, jumping on one leg towards a little wall to sit down and devote his everything to scratching off the resistible piece of .

“I’m possibly dating again, but I didn’t tell him that I’m dancing with my ex, do you think I should tell him?”

WIth round eyes, Chanyeol looked up, cigarette -a habit he gave up trying to give up- dangling at the corner of his mouth, “You’re over me? How?”

“Because you said you might like better than this here,” she pointed comically at her pelvis, “and we decided it wouldn’t work out in the end.”

“And my parents were sure we would marry,” Chanyeol grunted in reminiscence and smiled dumbly. “Will he be there tonight? Is that what you’re saying?”

“He might be? I’m not even sure myself, we didn’t make plans after all, and I have no idea if it will be something serious or just a fling, y’know?”

He made an affirmative noise and pulled out his phone, checking the time. Matilda stepped up to him and pulled his hair that fell into his face back. “You should pull your hair back, just in case for tonight.” She didn’t wait for his response and loosely pulled his unruly hair back and snatched the tie from his wrist.

Who would have thought that ex-lovers turned into best friends?

He met Matilda before he met the duo Baekhyun and Jongin, way before that, when he was already dancing his first riots competitively, together with Matty. He wasn’t at his best during that time, his grandfather had just died and he was so confused. But who would have thought that the chubby-and-really-bad-at-dancing kid would win his first title at the age of nineteen at Lindy Hop, a dance associated with active, athletic stance that keeps the dancers' legs in constant movement. Something very uncharacteristically for someone like Chanyeol, who was mesmerised when he saw his first shows his grandfather had shown him.

He suddenly rose to his full height, almost sending Matilda back, if it wasn’t for his hand resting instinctively just under her shoulder bone. Smiling widely at her, he started a song on his phone and placed her hand in his, starting to lead her, slowly and mellow, nothing too fancy, with some swing elements, in the almost empty city, waiting for their friends. Soon, the night owls would start appearing, slightly buzzed, on their way to the clubs and parties of the city. But now it was just the two of them, two ex-lovers, high on life and fueled with the adrenaline of dance.

Chanyeol emptied his head when dancing, smiling brightly until his cheeks hurt, his throat sore from the continued shouting and encouragement of his fellow dancers during a dance-off, from laughing loud, from the joy of simply still living. But his thoughts involuntarily moved back to his two “friends.” He met them at the age of nineteen when he was in the middle of a lawsuit with his father who held back his allowance ever since he divorced his mother and Chanyeol lived with him. That was until Chanyeol was old enough to move out and accidentally found his father’s accountancy books and everything with it that shouldn’t have been found. He made short work and swept everything into his arms and jogged to the police, filed against his father for embezzlement and fraud. But it’s not like Chanyeol was an angel himself, without anyone knowing he was dealing drugs and that’s also how he met the two. Chanyeol had to be somewhat financially independent from his father from an early age and dealing came somewhat naturally to him, also to finance dance school and travel expenses to tournaments. He already had been together with Matty at that point for some time and she was aware of his shady business and his father, but turned a blind on it under the preface that Chanyeol had cut all ties with his deliverer and consumers, but that was after he had already met Baekhyun and Jongin. Jongin started before the older, the boy constantly on painkillers and weed throughout the weekends to accommodate an old injury that destroyed his possible career as a ballet dancer with the possibility to dance in the national ballet company. He was taking the pills like sweets. Baekhyun was different, he was one of the most dangerous sorts, the unpredictable, as Matty called them. You wouldn’t know he chugged down drug cocktails consisting of prescriptions while working as a preschool teacher, and Chanyeol always asked himself whether they did drug tests in such an environment. He kind of befriended the two of them against his will, without knowing the two actually knew each other. And Chanyeol still feels miserable and guilty because he supported their addictions throughout the years, even if he stopped distributing at the age of twenty or twenty-one when Matty and he broke up in mutual consent, but she stayed by his side, even now at the age of twenty-seven. But Jongin and Baekhyun weren’t only druggies, the two had personalities in general, and ‘’ was an understatement. Baekhyun seemed to be a homophobic while Jongin liked to be a toyboy for the money aspect plus blackmailing, basically doing fraud. At least Chanyeol never did the drugs himself, only alcohol and cigarettes and an occasional joint. But during the years, dancing gave him what he needed and it still upholds.

“ Name it home, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m out of place, not really living. Caught up in a web that’s messing with my head.. .” Chanyeol sang along while whirling Matty around, till their friends picked them up.

“Which club are we going to?” Matty slung her arm through Chanyeol’s who accepted the bottle of wine from one of their friends, while they were on the way to their destination.

“The BPM,” Sehun answered, his girlfriend under his arm.

“The BPM?!” Matty and Chanyeol both exclaimed in horror, for Matty’s date/fling might be there and as for Chanyeol, this was a go-to and drug paradise for his so-called friends. He didn’t need them to know he dances for a living and with heart.

“Yeah, word got out that they’re holding a swing night today, kind of, even if it is claimed as a ‘surprise night’,” Stella, another of their mates intervened. “An acquaintance of mine apparently knows the DJ. DJ K or something like that.” Matty’s face seemed to light up in recognition for a split second, but her expression morphed so quickly back into her resting face that Chanyeol thought he imagined it. 

The BPM was one of the biggest clubs in their city. 

Outside the line -and it was surprisingly full- the group could already hear the music and it sounded auspicious. If singing and dancing wouldn’t always so stressful, Chanyeol thought to himself when he looked over to Sehun’s girlfriend, who pulled a grimace at him when they crossed eyes and both recognised the song from the inside, closing in on the bouncer. If Chanyeol had one unhealthy obsession, then it was upbeat electro swing (and Caro Emerald).

The two couldn’t help themselves but to slowly close in on each other, moving with the music and Chanyeol gave his cigarette to Sehun. He lightly hopped over to her and she lifted her dress over her knees while sliding over to him, and somewhere from the sidelines Matty let out a noise somewhere between frustration and delight.

“ Walking down the street, ” Chanyeol couldn’t care less that day if someone who knew him saw him dancing; that’s not who he is now.

“ And you hear that happy beat, ” Debbie responded.

“ You can't help but walk your feet down all the way, 'til they meet. ” They met and Chanyeol pulled her to himself, angling himself a bit more to accommodate Debbie’s height of 158cm. 

“ People laughing and dancing all night long. ” Matty started clapping and singing along; some habits couldn’t be turned off. 

The club was full, loud, sweaty, and Chanyeol was b with excitement. He lost his friends upon entering the venue, but he could look over some people’s heads and he never had a problem socialising. Other people might call it hopeless, but he was dancing with anyone willing to; female, male, whichever gender they might identify it, you name it. He couldn't even remember the last time he entered a club in something other than a button-down with sleeves rolled up, tucked into his loose pants, those secured with suspenders. He needed the room to move and he knew he looked delectable with rolled up sleeves and his tattoos peeking out under the sleeves and chest. That was Matty told him and what Matty says is set in stone. He did wear ripped skinny jeans and a fitted slim shirt with a leather jacket when he had to go out with Jongin and Baekhyun; he never felt more restricted. What’s the deal with ripped clothes anyway?

“Good Golly,” someone shouted in his ear after pulling on it to crane his head down. “We’re over on the bar getting buzzed and you’re immediately transferring the alcohol out of your system, turning heads left and right, mister.” He smiled brightly down on Matty, maybe a little creepily with how wide his grin was. He pulled out the hair tie in a swift motion just to re-tie the hair before offering lead to his best friend. “Let’s show them how it’s done?”

“Gladly, Park. By the way, we met some guys from the other swing collective and they’re in the mood for a little show-off, and one of them is currently talking with the DJ. The guy is interested since he dances Tap himself.”

Tap dance was always intriguing to Chanyeol, who seemed to be not able to master it, despite him trying. He was born to move constantly over the dancefloor like he was hovering, he just couldn’t stay still.

“Is the DJ starting to play Sing, Sing, Sing ? Did he hear my silent prayers?” Chanyeol shouted over the music when he pulled Matty in and sent her out again, both getting used to dancing together again. 

“But don’t throw me over your head or wherever,” Matty shouted when Chanyeol pulled her into a Lead Follow Exchange. “And the guy is here, another woman’s face off.”

Chanyeol hated when things like this happened to her. He pulled her in again, talking into her ear, “No idea if he sees us, but let’s show him what he’ll miss.” He pressed a quick kiss to her temple before sending her out again. Out of the corner of his eyes, he thought he saw someone waving at him but wasn’t sure until the next turn and he was faced with the other swing collective. The guy waving and closing in on them was actually Chanyeol’s second favourite dance partner, Eric. He slid next to Chanyeol, his hand securely placed on the other’s shoulder blade so he could easily take over from Matty. They made small talk as far as possible with the loud music and Eric leading. Sometimes it was nice dancing with someone similar in height as well. After the song ended, Chanyeol slung his arm out of habit through Eric’s, who could be considered Chanyeol’s second best friend, and was led to the bar, the temperature slowly getting the best of him. The water was way too expensive, but Chanyeol chugged down two glasses before he felt better.

Chanyeol leaned into Eric, who rested his arm around the small of his back. “I would be lying if I said I’m not attracted to you,” Chanyeol’s mouth worked faster than his brain. Eric whipped his head around, staring incredulously at Chanyeol. His brows almost touched and Chanyeol wasn’t sure if Eric was complementing if he should laugh or cry. “Are you trying to seduce me, Park?”

“I don’t know, is my gay charm working on you?” Chanyeol winked at him and over-animatedly wiggled his eyebrows. He couldn’t hear the sigh, but he saw how Eric’s whole face contorted and he deflated visibly in defeat. “The next round is on me, you’re the worst.” Chanyeol just smiled when he leaned against the counter, running his hand up and down Eric’s biceps. “Chanyeol, by any chance, are you trying to mark your territory, by latching yourself onto a straight man?” Eric slid over his beer. “I don’t know, is it working?”

“Yes, the girl who ogled me all evening long looks devastated.” Chanyeol shot his head out to see if he can spot her, and yes, as in a very cliché drama there was a girl looking devastated and staring daggers at him. “Are you interested in her?” Chanyeol leant closer to Eric’s ear because if that had been the case, Eric would have already told him off. On the contrary, Eric pulled him closer, “You know I hate confrontation.” 

“I know, I’ll make you mine,” Chanyeol felt giddy and he knew he loved to flirt when he felt like that. He exaggeratedly made obscene faces at the other who just rolled his eyes in mock disgust.

He stood there for some time, catching up with his second-best friend who just won a Jack and Jill competition two weeks ago. Eric’s eyes lit up in recognition upon hearing the next song teased, looking around to find his dance partner until he turned to Chanyeol, who just had finished his beer. He bowed a little and held out his hand, “ There's many pretty boys in the dancehall every night, but Mister Mister it's you who caught my eye. Mister, Mister, might I have this dance?” Two rows of white teeth shone against the light and Chanyeol let himself be led back on the dancefloor. 

“Now you’re the one flirting with me.” “Tell me, Chanyeol, does it work?” “If I kiss you, yes, that means I’m head over heels for you.” “I prefer not to,” Eric sent Chanyeol out in a carwash sequence until they quietly heard clapping, their eyes finally falling on their friends, “I know Mat is your regular dance partner, but let’s show them what we can do.”

Being at a club with fifteen plus people gives you some room on the dancefloor and apparently, the DJ picked up on it, positively aware of the two dance companies and he changed the music to more old school jazz that’s more danceable for Lindy Hop. And the two tallest dancers out of the mix let the other’s mingle as well.

One more hour and Kyungsoo would be freed from the turning tables, setting foot on the dancefloor himself. Matty already strolled past for a quick catch-up and maybe one or two song wishes. It might have been a bit stalker-ish, but he watched Chanyeol ever since he had stepped foot on the dance floor. He knew he could dance, being aware of him dancing competitive Lindy Hop. And Kyungsoo knew that Chanyeol was an on the outside, at least when he was around those two weirdos he loathed. 

Kyungsoo got aware of Chanyeol a year prior, when he was asked to DJ at a swing festival, three days of “ I’m so sophisticated, I can buy a bottle of wine on a festival for 50 bucks, your Electronic so-called ‘Swing’ isn’t real music ”; at least the peeps during his performances were happy and he even came to tapdance from time to time.

He saw the taller for the first time during a Jack and Jill he attended as an audience member and was mesmerised from the get-go when he saw him, dancing and swinging around, his man bun bouncing with each turn and step he took and Kyungsoo couldn’t take his eyes off. The smile on his lips etched itself into Kyungsoo’s memories and he might have been a bit in love after that. He was at least crushing, even if Chanyeol kissed another man—and a woman afterwards—, but the drunken stupor was also loud and clear. A man can at least dream.

The next time he saw him was weeks later, when on his way to work. There was a commotion and somehow the two around Chanyeol and the taller himself were in a loud discussion with a couple of people and the level of word choice was disgusting. He didn’t even recognise Chanyeol at first, despite looking relatively normal, with slim jeans and a v-neck shirt revealing those very nice dotwork tattoos on his chest and throat, but what tipped him off was definitely seeing Baekhyun there. Baekhyun was a known homophobe and transphobe in the community and Kyungsoo had the luck to meet the former on occasions, but he could never throw a punch at that very punchable face. Maybe the time has come, he was never a pacifist to begin with; he could work with a black eye in the kitchen, no courses tonight and it wouldn’t be a first. Kyungsoo knew Chanyeol was biual, so why would he hang around Byun?

“What’s going on here? Druggi One and Druggi Two, since an usually won’t come alone,” he hollered over the crowd and pushed himself through, till he stood in the middle of the circle that formed. He saw some people had their phones out while someone made attempts to stop the fighting; he hated this part of town. He threw one of the victims a hand sign to call the police.

“Oh! A appeared!” Baekhyun sweetly and sickeningly spat out and Kyungsoo’s eye twitched.

“At least I’m not exploiting single moms by around to sustain my addiction, oh no, wasn’t that Jongi-- ah, no, both of you are man ,” Kyungsoo calmly responded and he saw the shift in Baekhyun’s face in slow motion—he didn't take it lightly, being called out as an addict—despite everything moving at normal speed, he stepped back before he felt the punch incoming that just barely scratched his nose. Kyungsoo avoided further punches and delivered a clean uppercut to Byun’s chin. Baekhyun doubled over; hopefully, he didn’t take drugs beforehand. Kyungsoo saw Chanyeol’s horrified face and something akin to amazement when Baekhyun almost collapsed on Kyungsoo and the latter just barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground. He should have broken his nose. Jongin seemed as disinterested as he could and even laughed at his friend’s mishap, a weird glint in his eyes from his high.

And it didn’t end there and get any better; every time Kyungsoo crossed paths with the taller, the latter was always in some sort of trouble and Kyungsoo started to change his opinion about the tall man. He didn’t know which personality was the true one. This? Or the one he saw at the festival?

This was until one evening when Kyungsoo just planned to get buzzed at home, alone, on wine. Who would have thought it would end up being with a lady?

Kyungsoo had a stressful week at work and he played the night before till almost six a.m and was still slightly deranged even after enough sleep, and that’s why he decided to get drunk. He was already half a bottle down when he came across a noise. Fumbling with his bag, he pulled out a pack of tissues and squatted down before the girl crying. “I’ll just boldly assume, but if it is about a guy, he’s probably not worth it. Fancy a swig of wine?” He held both things out to her and she just looked up, confused. Kyungsoo’s heart ached at the sight because she did look more than heartbroken. “Mind some company? Or I can just leave?” She was somewhat familiar to him, but he couldn’t really pinpoint it. Her voice cracked and she choked on air when she let out a ‘thanks’, foregoing the tissues when she reached out, going straight for the wine. She took a deep swig and assessed Kyungsoo, “Can you sit next to me? I think I really need some company.”

Kyungsoo flopped down on his next to her and rummaged in his tote bag, “I got cheese, grapes, potato chips and sweets, fancy any of it?”

“Why are you so nice to a stranger? Are you going to take advantage of me?” She snuffled noisily and wiped her nose off on her sleeve, before peeking in the tote bag and going for the sweets.

“I have had a week myself and would have been otherwise drunk at home, and I’m gay, so no taking advantage there.”

“Nah, all good,” she offered the opened pack to Kyungsoo.

“So, we’re just going to sit next to each other or do you wanna talk? I’m fine with either,” he took a drag of the bottle and offered it back to the girl, “I’m Kyungsoo.”

“Matilda, or Matty, or whatever floats your boat. Yeah, guess talking sounds nice.”

That’s how Kyungsoo met Chanyeol’s best friend and learned about who he really is, his real personality showing during dancing shows and the other is the fake one. Kyungsoo might have talked a lot of about Chanyeol, from the instances he met him after he confessed seeing him for the first time during the festival. He also learned that Matty’s Chanyeol’s regular dance partner and that day, it was the first time he stood her up even though they had decided to go out to dance, stood her off so he could meet with Baekhyun and Jongin.

“So, what if we go out to dance instead? You can stay at my place for the night; just treat it as a one night stand and you can disappear in the morning, but I make a mean hangover breakfast.”

“Can you dance? And I cried for hours, I look like , and my makeup is ruined as well.”

“Well, Mat, I dance tap and I can even dance a bit of intermediate-advanced swing and I have someone for the makeup,” he held out his hand when he stood up. “Which club was your choice?”

“La Mascarade,” she grabbed his hand and stumbled into his chest from the strength he pulled her up with, she was a similar height to him, “That’s probably where he is tonight too.”

“I know the owner, I can get us in via VIP and we can dance all night long, does it sound like a plan?”

And hell, made they sure that everyone saw them, especially Chanyeol. Kyungsoo just danced as flirty as can be. And the morning after he served the best breakfast she ever had in her life and she left her number with him, mumbling something about him being the perfect husband if he wouldn’t like . It might have been ulterior motifs, but Kyungsoo was actually more concerned about the girl he had just met than the man he had taken an interest in.

Back in the present, Kyungsoo’s eyes fell on the group around Chanyeol and they unconsciously searched for the man with the long hair, the gangly limbs, the broad shoulders, the wide grin—who was dancing with another male, same height. He looked happy and Kyungsoo felt a pang of jealousy in his chest; and guilt, guilt for wanting to monopolise the man he had never talked with until now.

He cued the next three songs, trying to distract, and busy, himself and to honour his last hour as tonight’s DJ before another would take over. He requested a favour from the one after him since he promised to finally dance seriously with Matty and to finally show his tap abilities. Which song would be more suitable other than Cab Calloway’s ‘ Jumpin Jive ’? She promised to pick him up after his shift and also introduce him to her friends, and Chanyeol.

But he didn’t expect Matty to appear thirty minutes prior to their appointment. She looked stressed and pissed. Kyungsoo, having developed a soft spot for the girl he met half a year prior, reached down and clasped his arm around the upper part of her lower arm to pull her up to the DJ pult. She complied, mildly surprised by the sudden display of skinship and strength.

“Carrying around DJ equipment equals weight lifting,” he half-shouted into her ear when she slung her arms around him for a proper greeting.

Getting offered a half drank water bottle from Kyungsoo, she accepted and took a sip while letting her eyes roam over the people in the club. She stopped on Kyungsoo who was leaned over his laptop, headphones on just one ear, adjusting the current mix, moving with the bassline of the song slightly up and down. He looked back to her, smiling widely and she automatically smiled back, the crease between her eyebrows finally flattening down. “Nice view you got up here. But can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure, cut straight to the chase,” he signalled her that he was listening while still checking something on his laptop and she leaned back into him. “Soo, do you remember the guy you called ‘stereotypical, stupid and obnoxious’ on our first meeting?”

He looked up, his eyebrows furrowing while he tried remembering and Matty saw his lips form the words ‘Chanyeol’ accompanied with a questioning glare, before he said ‘no’ to himself, and Matty wasn’t sure if he did that on purpose but she couldn’t suppress a snort and Kyungsoo smirked at her, doing just that to her. He still looked slightly confused until unpleasant recognition bloomed on his face, “You mean the .” It wasn’t a question. He leaned closer to her, his hand at her waist. “Yeah, that kid. He saw Chanyeol and Eric dancing together and seemed to have gotten quite jealous. Man, Eric is straight as a ruler can be. W—Soo! I know that look. That look of relief about a piece of crucial information. You , you felt that as well! I–I can’t believe it,” she looked extremely delighted with the whole situation, “Anyway, I’ll be your wingman because I never told you that you’re totally Park’s type.” She added the last bit with a wink and Kyungsoo just rolled his eyes. He took off his headphones and put them over her head, knowing necessary changes for the next song by heart. He, for once in his lifetime, pulled up the mic, turning the music a bit down, his deep voice booming over the heads of the people, turning a couple of heads. “Thanks to everyone for dancing tonight to something they maybe usually never thought of. This is one of the last few songs of this DJ set and it was requested as well, get your jive going. This was DJ K. The next song is ‘ Are You Hep to the Jive ’ by the one and only man, Cab Calloway.” Her face lit up when she heard it and shouted over the music, “Man! That’s Park’s favourite to dance to and I’m up her!” He lifted the headphones off her ears. “Yeah, and that way I get that midget away from him. Can’t he dance with Eric that way?”

“Oh, you sneaky little jealous gay. I see what you did there.” Her smile was unbelievably wide and wicked and Kyungsoo loved it. He let Matty stay with him and she draped herself over his back, observing what he did while she gave back his headphones for him to work with.

Somewhere on the dance floor, Chanyeol hastily detached himself from the other guy he almost made out with when he heard the song and shouted Matty’s full name without response, just that Matty heard him up there, draped over the DJ, squeezing her arms around his waist a tad bit tighter while laughing into his back.

Chanyeol searched for Matty and found her somewhere he would have never expected her, laughing deviously at him while burying her face into the DJ’s back who looked particularly unfazed by the whole thing and even had the audacity to smirk and wink at Chanyeol, who felt a bit attacked by the sudden possibility of being flirted to by the man in his best friend’s arms. Or maybe he just thought Chanyeol was an ex or - which is what he was. He’s going to talk to her about that later. The intro was longer than usual and Chanyeol went straight for Eric, who seemed a bit lost because no one was dancing with him, but Chanyeol was now free and this was their song.

On the dancefloor was an annoyed gay having lost his possible end of the night, kicked out of a game he was fated to lose by a lucky Kyungsoo.

After the song, Chanyeol suddenly realised why he thought the man had looked familiar. He had endless run-ins with him and he was the one to punch Baekhyun square across the face after being called a after Baekhyun had thrown the first punch. He looked kinda hot losing his cool like that without batting an eyelash. But Chanyeol wasn’t sure if he was gay, biual or straight, but he kinda ruled out the hetero one because he was called a ‘’, a term usually used for gays but you could never be sure with Baekhyun. But he started to reevaluate because Matty was never that touchy with a man except when she had ulterior motives. Maybe he was bi? Chanyeol hoped so. He had taken a superficial interest in the stranger since he saw him punching Baekhyun. Because that was hot. Case closed. And he even had exquisite taste in music. But if Matty also had an interest in him? First come, first serve, or so they say.

Chanyeol was still smitten and had already forgotten about his fling he had just made out with minutes earlier. The DJ was wearing a plain dark button-down and probably black loose jeans from what Chanyeol saw. And the short hair just rounded everything for Chanyeol. Did he mention the sleeves had been rolled up? And he wouldn’t get over the wink anytime soon. And those horn-rimmed glasses? Damn Matty. 

“Why did he look so shocked?”

“I winked at him?”

“Man, you don’t play easy, Soo,” Matty patted Kyungsoo respectfully on the back.

“Let me finish up and we can go down, let me treat you to a drink or two.”

The follow-up DJ already started setting up and Kyungsoo started cueing tracks for the break time while they changed places, and Matilda offered help to carry some things to Kyungsoo car that was parked in the parking lot of the club. Both were unaware of Chanyeol’s eyes following their every move. He saw the DJ’s biceps flexing when he s a hand around Matty’s waist, something she only let happen when she was interested in someone or if she knew those people long enough. But Chanyeol never saw them together ever.

Chanyeol was jealous and seething. Maybe it was the alcohol, but he didn’t like to know that Matty kept something, or someone, like this from him. He saw them approaching the bar and set into motion; maybe he should talk to them before he came to assumptions that couldn’t be more from the truth.

The guy turned around when Matty leaned at the bar and ordered drinks; he was talking to a guy that approached him but it took Chanyeol a few seconds to realise that the DJ wasn’t looking at the man he was talking with, but had his eyes fully trained on Chanyeol who was rooted to the ground. A lazy smile played around the edges of his lips when he asserted Chanyeol and the taller definitely felt exposed. His eyes flitted to his hands, when he gave Matty his wallet, his eyes still not leaving Chanyeol. The latter started to get fidgety. Why had he never given more thought to the guy? He reprimanded himself for never clearing out the thing with Jongin and Baekhyun when he saw him. But that might have meant backstabbing those two and he wasn’t sure if they would sell him out for his illegal past.

That’s not how he thought it would play out. Usually, he was the outgoing loud one, not easily taken off-guard but this was something entirely different. Chanyeol felt heat coiling in his stomach and his ears turned warmer. 

The DJ suddenly moved, grabbing someone, he had his eyes turned away from Chanyeol, staring down a taller man. He had the man’s wrist in his hand, but from the way his muscles shifted and the pained expression of the stranger spoke a different story. In a beat of silence from the music, Chanyeol heard it clear and it sent a shiver down his spine from the spite and hate in it, “Touch her and you’re dead meat!” The man’s hand was dangerously close to Matty’s rear end and she carefully moved out of the line. Once released, the man took off.

Matty still hadn’t seen Chanyeol and he turned around feeling like he intruded on something he shouldn’t have. He missed Kyungsoo’s worried and longing gaze on him.

“Thank you, Soo,” Matty chugged down the shot and the two after that. “I never know how to react in such a situation...”

“No need to thank me, some people should know where the boundaries are and what consent is. Let’s go, Leo has set up and is ready to do me a favour.” He intertwined their fingers and pulled her to the dance floor, into the direction of her friends.

He pulled her into his chest, his hand settling on her shoulder blade when the song started. 

“It's the Stormy Weather version, I did promise to show you my tap, finally," he added with a wink when he slowly got used to dancing swing again after some time. But he wouldn't re-enact the whole original choreography from the Nicolas Brothers, first, he didn’t have the right clothes and no way in hell he would attempt that ! His last time dancing had been a very long time ago, back when his mother was still alive, a fairly famous dancer herself back in her home country. 

Matilda seemed to be quite impressed with his dancing, especially tap dancing. 

"Oh god! Kyungsoo! Be my regular dance partner, no way in hell am I dancing with Park ever again!" She laughed when she jumped into his arms and locked her legs around his waist. He would have jumbled down if he hadn't acted fast enough and supported her weight with his hands under her thighs and . He was laughing so much, his cheeks started hurting; he hadn't that much fun in months. 

“You should piggyback me more often! And if you weren't gay I would have already tried seducing you and make you my boyfriend. , husband! Carry me, the man of my dreams!” 

Kyungsoo laughed loudly when he adjusted his grip before setting her back down. “But not now, your best friend already stared at me like he would skin me alive and I guess he’ll start getting the wrong idea if we continue like this.”

“Let him suffer,” she pulled him by his hand to her friends who went into a quieter place of the club. “Everyone, this is Kyungsoo, DJ, cook and dancer. And he's single and ready to mingle, but not with us women.” Her eyes seemed to linger on Chanyeol when she pulled Kyungsoo closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

Kyungsoo facepalmed hard and crooked his glasses slightly. He hasn't been that exposed in years. But at least this would spare him from awkwardly introducing himself. He would have never talked to Matilda in the first place if it wasn't for the wine he had. 

Suddenly he felt a push at his back and stumbled into Chanyeol's chest. Whirling around for the culprit, he was met with Matty's smirk and she kind of closed the two out of the group. 

The hands on top of his shoulders felt nice and he turned back around, looking up at a shocked Chanyeol up close. Immediately, they pulled away from each other, slightly embarrassed. Kyungsoo didn't even have time to concentrate on the chest under his hands when he was rudely pushed. 

“Ah, so-sorry—” Chanyeol quickly looked away, wringing his hands around his beer bottle, looking anywhere but Kyungsoo. 

“You know, Chanyeol...” If there was one thing Kyungsoo was sure about, it was his staring game, observing the shift in Chanyeol's expression when the name rolled off his tongue, the horror in his expression. 

“H-how do you know my name?!” Chanyeol immediately stepped back, almost bumping into a person behind him, but Kyungsoo reached out, his hand enclosing around the biceps. And Chanyeol was, up close, even more handsome. The piercings on his face reflecting the light so beautifully and Kyungsoo totally had a thing for the tall ones with piercings and tattoos. Chanyeol would be an overkill with his goofiness Matty told him about. Yes, Kyungsoo definitely felt like a creep. 

Upon Chanyeol's upright afraid expression now, he intercepted, “You almost bumped into someone.” Reluctantly, Kyungsoo let go of the skin under the tips of his fingers but dragged them along the expanse of the arm, pulling the pads just away when he reached the side of Chanyeol's pinky. He didn't pull away either. Chanyeol mumbled a sorry and looked away from Kyungsoo, down to the ground. Kyungsoo was the bold one during flirting and he felt like he needed that for Chanyeol. So he did the next thing that came to his mind, stepping over his boundaries. He never wanted to know how Chanyeol could be won over, he wanted to discover that himself and Matty had applauded him back then for his resolution. 

He hooked a finger under Chanyeol's chin and forced him to look back at him, Kyungsoo pulling his award-winning smile. “We're both friends with Matty and we met when you stood her up. That's how we know each other and I learned your name.”

“Oh god, you are that guy?!” Now, that was a horrified expression. There were so many emotions flashing on Chanyeol's face and Kyungsoo realised he was a very open person, wearing his heart on his sleeve, easily affected and persuaded, in need to be protected from manipulating people like Baekhyun.

“Yes, and we met regularly to talk about you. Being friends with Byun and all that and I saw you dancing approximately a year ago. Let's say you caught my eye back then and after that, I had to unfortunately find out that you're friends with that dickhead.” He still didn't let go of Chanyeol's chin, curling his index finger under it and moving the tip of his thumb softly up and down. Chanyeol was leaning into the touch and his eyes dropped to Kyungsoo's lips. He ran his tongue over his lips and Kyungsoo followed the movement with his eyes. “Maybe we should get to know each other a bit more, before we make out, but you were pretty damn hot punching Baekhyun like that,” Chanyeol answered huskily when he leaned in and cupped the back of Kyungsoo's head, tilting his head before leaning in to kiss Kyungsoo, poking his tongue between the lips that readily awaited him. He stepped even closer, his other hand travelling down to Kyungsoo's hip to pull him closer. 

To say that Matilda was shocked was an understatement. She would have never guessed in a million years for the situation to escalate in less than five minutes to the two already making out. If she had known before, she would have never introduced them. But not only she was shocked, everyone else was as well. They all knew that Chanyeol could be quite shy and if he had a fling, it was one for a longer time, usually not even really kissing on the first meeting and especially after he made out with his last fling almost an hour ago, but he communicated that he wanted to break that off anyway. The fling turned out to be the possessive and jealous type, even trying to get Chanyeol once out of a tournament.

Someone bumped shoulders with Matty when she turned from the scene. “What’s happening? I know that Chanyeol didn't drink enough to be lightheaded.”

“Yeah, and Kyungsoo only had a shot.”

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo pulled away, their lips almost touching, catching their breaths.

“,” Chanyeol’s breath fanned over Kyungsoo, who had his eyes still trained on Chanyeol’s rosy and slick lips, the feelings of piercings against his lips a nice and interesting change. “I never do that after only being introduced.” He massaged Kyungsoo’s nape, Kyungsoo’s hands travelled from around his neck to the suspenders, hooking his fingers behind them into the waistband of the pants. He finally looked up into Chanyeol’s half-lidded and vibrating eyes, the rosy blush on his cheeks and the lights in the club let him glow, Kyungsoo might have felt a bit in love already. “Is there anything else you don’t do the first time?” Chanyeol brought his arms around Kyungsoo’s neck, he didn’t directly hook his hands behind the latter’s neck and leaned back a bit, to have a better look. 

"?" Chanyeol answered, wondering where the courage was coming from. He felt Kyungsoo’s mischievous smirk deep down in the pit of his stomach, a heat spreading in his intestines. Kyungsoo’s fingers hooked into Chanyeol’s waistband and pulled him closer, Chanyeol’s biceps now directly resting on Kyungsoo’s shoulders.

“I took you for the type to ask for someone’s number first and then, only after a couple of dates, you would let me into your pants.” Kyungsoo tiptoed and pressed his lips to Chanyeol’s who was looking down on him before he pulled back, Chanyeol immediately chasing after those plump lips, “Or do you want to take me on the toilet?” Chanyeol’s blush dropped a few nuances, Kyungsoo observed, into a deep red enhanced by the dark reddish light from the overhead lights and the flashing from the stage and looked away. He wasn’t sure if that was a blush at all with the intercepting light, but the way the eyes dropped down, the glances here and there when Chanyeol’s grip around him turned stiffer. Kyungsoo pulled Chanyeol down by his suspenders, “Is that what you want, Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo drawled the name into Chanyeol’s ear as lustry yet audible enough over the loud music. Former wasn’t sure but he could have sworn that Chanyeol blushed in a shade even the red light could overshadow, if that was possible.

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo couldn’t help himself and let his lower lip graze the shell of Chanyeol’s ear when he talked to him, “I didn’t pine over you almost a year to just treat you as a one night stand when I have you finally at the mercy of my lips, and that’s not how I am.”

But to be honest, Kyungsoo wasn’t in the mood for anything more intimate than kissing and cuddling that evening, except—he assessed Chanyeol and ran his lip along his upper lip, looking up at him. No-one said he’s not flexible.

The taller twisted Kyungsoo’s short hair in the nape between his fingers, studying him throughout, his blush still not fully subsided.

“Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo’s hands wandered to the small of his back and he intertwined his fingers.

“Wanna ditch, Kyungsoo?”

The smile immediately blossomed on Kyungsoo’s lips. “What if I abduct you and take you to my home and you stay the night, we listen to some late night Jazz, drink wine, cuddle, maybe , and tomorrow morning you leave and when you do that, you leave your number on a piece of paper on my nightstand and I call you when you least expect it? I’ll tell you how I couldn’t forget you and wanna go on a date with you?”

“That’s cheesy, I like it,” Chanyeol dove in to give the smaller a peck.

“But we need to talk about your ‘friends’. Next time I see Byun, I won’t only decorate his chin, I’ll relocate his nose for that matter. How are you friends with those es anyway?”

“That’s a long story, but yeah, he definitely deserves it,” Chanyeol didn’t really realise that Kyungsoo pulled him along to the exit and to the parking lot. To be honest, he didn’t mind it one bit. Maybe he should bend the rules tonight.

“You don’t seem too fond of them. That reminds me, remember when I knocked Byun out?”

“I was pretty amazed,” Chanyeol leaned his palms against the roof of Kyungsoo’s car, trapping the smaller between his arms. Kyungsoo pulled him closer, hiding his hands in Chanyeol’s back pockets.

“Just amazed?” Kyungsoo squeezed hard and Chanyeol let out a yelp and an embarrassed laugh afterwards.

“I said pretty amazed, not just amazed. So, you’re abducting me now or what?” 

“You called it ‘pretty damn hot’ earlier. The night is still young, so why not?”

Chanyeol bent down and cupped the back of Kyungsoo’s neck, nibbling on the lower lip until the latter granted access and Chanyeol’s tongue glided in. They kissed slowly and tasted each other throughout. They pulled away to catch their breaths.

“If your musical tastes just barely resemble the way you’d be a lover, I’m going to marry you, Kyungsoo.”

“That’s the least I can expect from you after pining over you for so long. Mind being the Ginger Roberts to my Fred Astaire—I—wait, are you blushing?”