“Guys! Want to go clubbing?” Jaemin asked, glancing at his friends, their faces illuminated by the glow of their phones.
“What’s that?” The tanned male asked, tilting his head in confusion.
That was Donghyuck. Lee Donghyuck, the most innocent member of the group. Every time his friends cracked a suggestive joke, he was always left out, oblivious.
Even though they constantly teased Donghyuck, he never understood the underlying references. His friends enjoyed watching him remain clueless, treating him like a child.
“You know, you get drunk, and some stranger comes up to you and asks you for se—"
“Don’t even try to finish that, Lele!” Nana snapped, covering the younger man’s mouth.
“What’s a ‘se’?”
Perhaps too innocent.
“Nothing,” Jaemin said, smiling softly at the now bewildered male.
---
“What do people do here?” the tanned male asked as they entered the club, his eyes wide with curiosity.
“They make out—” Renjun started, but Jeno cut him off, covering his mouth with a hand.
“Don’t you dare.”
They settled at one of the tables. Jaemin spotted someone and waved enthusiastically. “Oh!” Nana shouted, waving his hands in the air to get the older man’s attention. “Canada boy, Mark Lee!”
The older man approached their table. “Mark, what are you doing here?” Renjun asked, taking a sip of his apple juice.
“First of all,” Mark said, raising an eyebrow. “What are *you* all doing here?” He couldn’t believe they’d ask him questions when he was clearly older than most of them.
“I asked first!” the shorter male retorted.
Mark shrugged off the minor disagreement and answered. “Johnny forced me to come. Now he’s making out with that guy over there,” he said, pointing toward Johnny’s location.
Jaemin immediately covered the tanned male’s eyes. “Hey, I want to see!” the tanned male protested, trying to push Jaemin’s hands away.
“No.” Jaemin lightly nagged, determined to keep the male’s eyes covered.
That caught Mark’s attention. “Who is that?” Mark whispered to Renjun, watching the two men with curious eyes. He was particularly captivated by one specific person.
Renjun followed Mark’s gaze. “Oh… that’s Hyuck!” Renjun said, smiling brightly.
The tanned male finally managed to push Jaemin’s hands away and looked at the older man when he heard his name. “What?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Hyuck, this is Mark. Mark, this is Hyuck, Donghyuck.” Renjun said, pointing toward the tanned male. Mark, meanwhile, couldn’t help but stare deeply into the younger man’s eyes.
They shook hands and smiled at each other.
“Hyung, stay beside Hyuckie. We’ll just dance there,” Jaemin said, pulling the two men along with him.
Before Jeno could fully turn away, he whispered something to Mark, leaving the younger man completely confused.
Mark decided to sit beside Donghyuck, leaving a small gap between them, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.
“Hi…” Mark said, breaking the silence.
Donghyuck looked around, checking if anyone was nearby. “Hi… me?”
The older man nodded softly and smiled. “Yeah…” He giggled and looked down at his lap.