Gone Fishing

Chapter One

Jaebeom was in the middle of reading over the lyrics his latest had handed off to him when his phone pinged with a notification. He scrunched his brow and sighed, setting the sheet down on his desk, and stretching his arms over his head. He glanced at the clock on his computer screen, reading 22:55. He sighed again. He supposed it was about time for a break. He had been in the studio since 11:00, trying to perfect the melody for a project he had picked up on the side. He had gotten side tracked when the younger male knocked lightly on his door, peering around the edge of it shyly, and clutching a piece of paper in his hand.

Jaebeom rubbed at his face tiredly, his eyes falling to stare at the familiar blinking light on his phone. A grim reminder that he had been avoiding all signs of life outside of the studio for the past ten hours. His stomach rumbled in protest at the lack of sustenance it had received, only a few chips and a Monster energy drink finding their way into his belly. He reached for his phone, half expecting a barrage of text messages from his friends, berating him for being locked up all day, asking if he had eaten yet, or just plain being irritating.

He was quite surprised to find that the most recent notification had come from a dating app Mark had forced him to try out recently, his lack of a social life outside of their circle apparently problematic. He needed to "get some dick" as Mark had so plainly put it. So here he was, clicking on the unfamiliar app to read a message from someone called "babypeach4u". He clicked on the message, blinking at the obviously sarcastic undertone of their words.

Babypeach4u: Why do you only have photos of cats?

Jaebeom clicked on the photo in the corner of the message, taking him to babypeach4u's profile page. He snickered when it loaded, his eyes scanning the page slowly as he read it out loud.

"If you want somebody on your body, I'll be somebody to you? Sounds like cheesy song lyrics.."

He rolled his eyes as he continued, noting that the photos and the description seemed to lack depth.

"I'm not looking for happily ever after, just a happy ending at the end of the day. I don't mind romantic stuff like flowers, but let's face it, most of us aren't here for that. I welcome dick pics. Oh, feel free to buy me gifts, daddy. Winky face. What the hell kind of introduction is that? I guess if he's only here to get laid it works, but.."

Jaebeom put his phone down, letting the screen dim as he turned his eyes back to the computer screen in front of him. He groaned when he took in the amount of work he hadn't gotten done that day, his mind wandering every so often to things he needed to do around the house, or the fact that he had to make an appointment at the veterinary clinic for Nora soon. She seemed to be lacking energy lately and he had to make sure his princess wasn't ill. He was about to pack up his things and call it a day when his phone pinged again, this time a notification from Mark.

Mark, of course. Dear Mark, his best friend who had suggested this shitty app in the first place. He grunted and unlocked his phone again, the profile he had yet to close staring back at him from the bright screen. He reread the profile silently, his mind churning. He decided he would reply back, but just once.

Norasdad16: "Why do you only have pictures with no shirt on?"

It wasn't exactly true, there were one or two photos of the man with a shirt on, but there were plenty without.

Babypeach4u: Because I look good without a shirt on?

Norasdad16: If you say so.. Did you want something other than to insult my precious Nora?

Babypeach4u: What? I wasn't insulting her. I was just wondering why you only have photos of her, but not yourself. Don't most people like... wanna see what the person they're talking to looks like? Are you that ugly?