How to Play with Fire | seungjin

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Content Warning: This fiction may contain occasional sexual content. While it is not a predominant element of the narrative, reader discretion is advised.

Seungmin has always been told to never play with fire.

Stay away from danger. Stay away from things that will harm him.

Growing up, his mother always told him to be a good boy. To be quiet, be meek. Likable, lovable. Why? Because good people go far in life. Even when his mother died three years ago, Seungmin still remembers everything she taught him: Good people are respected. Good people find true love. Good people always succeed at everything they do.

A faint scowl tinges his lips as he absently runs his finger along the rim of his empty glass. Well, Seungmin thinks bitterly, Mother is wrong.

The only thing good people get in the end is a broken heart.

Seungmin would cringe in a different situation, but there's anger boiling in the bitter, deep pit of his stomach as he tips the glass over. The instant it clatters on the table, however, spilling ice and leftover water, guilt starts nibbling at his gut. With a shake of his head, Seungmin stands the glass upright and grabs napkins to mop the mess he had made.

Four years. Four damn years Seungmin treated Jihyun right. He supported her. He loved her. Tried to be as much a good boyfriend as he can for her and... And she cheated on him with a man six years older than him. A man twice his built, Seungmin's brain unhelpfully supply.

"-Seungmin? Seungmin!"

Snapped out of his daze, Seungmin blinks and sees Jisung smiling down at him, and briefly remembers where they both are right now: hanging out in a bar he never went to before this. What was the name again? Mirror? Miroh? Yeah, that. Jisung had dragged him all the way here after his shift had ended.

"There we go, you completely spaced out on me. Everything okay?" Jisung asks, sounding concerned enough that it almost makes Seungmin curl further into his seat and wallow. But of course, he does none of that. Instinctively, Seungmin pastes on a thousand-watt smile and tries to brush away all signs of his internal distress.

"Oh, right! Um, I'm great! Perfectly fine," Seungmin babbles on, quite holding his breath when a flash of skepticism crosses Jisung's eyes. Thankfully, Jisung puts on a smile as well and nods.

"Good, because you should be! We're here to celebrate, not mope," Jisung takes his seat beside Seungmin. "I mean, Mrs. Kang never asks for an assistant to help her with the festival, so the fact that she asked for help and the town council appointed you to the job? That's incredible!" Jisung sets down two glasses of beer filled to the brim, the froth sloshing over the sides. "Here, drink up, I got you a refill."

Seungmin eyes his second glass of beer and bites the inside of his lip. Contemplates on drinking more of the beer or just having some water. In the end, "You know what? You're right," he lets out a huff of breath, mustering all of his positive energy, and beams at Jisung. "We are here to celebrate, so let's celebrate."

"Hell yeah! Don Quixote's golden boy, is finally letting his ass have some fun!" Jisung all but screams, and Seungmin gets especially embarrassed when a couple people near them turned their heads in their direction after Jisung's outburst. The bar is quite crowded and all, but well, when Jisung just gets so excited, no one can stop him.

"Jisung!" he protests, "I'm not that much of a goody-two-shoes, am I?"

Seungmin must have looked so indignant for Jisung to look so smug when he replies, "Um, yeah? Only a goody-two-shoes would've stuck around with Jihyun for four whole years."