On The Surface | RavnWoong

C H A P T E R ₁₂

The day before still left a bitter aftertaste in Hwanwoong's mouth. He had thought about it some more last night, hardly was able to fall asleep after he had gotten into bed because he couldn't understand how Youngjo's stepmother could treat him so badly, how Subin sat calmly watching the scene unfold in his eyes, and most importantly, why the father just let it slide like that.

Was Youngjo no one to them? Hwanwoong was sure about how hard he worked for the family business and he just couldn't imagine that he ever did something wrong — something actually wrong, a mistake that would give them a reason to treat their family member this way — and the thought just kept him awake for at least one or two more hours.

It angered him. The fact the stepmother decided to pick on his sexuality out of all the other things she could've chosen just proved that there was nothing about Youngjo that she could pull through the dirt — well, except for the fact he was into men, and that said a lot about her personality.

Although it still kind of sat on his shoulders, it didn't overshadow his excitement and joy for today. Because today would be the first time that he'd enter one of Youngjo's casinos and he was currently in the process of getting ready.

He decided to not overdress but also not to underdress. What do you even wear when visiting a casino? His jeans and black coat had to do. When he walked outside his room and saw that Youngjo wore similar clothing, he let out a breath of relief.

Then things went as usual. Geonhak drove, Seoho sat in the passenger seat and Youngjo and Hwanwoong sat in the back. Considering the events of the day before, Youngjo's mood was pretty good. Hwanwoong wondered if he was over it already or just good at hiding his feelings and pushing them aside, but whatever it was, he didn't question it further. The positive vibe helped the dancer to forget yesterday's events too — at least for now, and his excitement rose.

While they drove, Youngjo explained and told the dancer a few things. He started by telling him that casinos are mostly visited at weekends, so Hwanwoong should prepare to see it crowded and loud. Then he told him that not every customer necessarily came to play. Some visited to accompany their friends or just to drink, have fun and enjoy the ambiance. Some people would continuously visit the casino and some would never come back again. Sometimes people would yell. At times they'd yell out of happiness, other times they'd yell out of frustration. Then there would be times in which people try to cause trouble. Youngjo informed him about everything he could think of while they made their way there and the bodyguards sometimes joined in too with memories they had collected while working with Youngjo.

Hwanwoong just listened attentively and tried to memorize as much information as possible. His heart skipped a beat once Geonhak parked. He was seriously very excited and couldn't hide it one bit. Youngjo smiled when he looked at Hwanwoong before putting his hand on his waist.

The smaller looked up at the touch and Youngjo was immediately able to read his mind. "We wanna convince everyone, don't we?"

Hwanwoong smiled at the older's short nose scrunch and nodded. The fact they were married didn't change the way he felt about physical contact with his husband. It would always catch him off guard in some way.

With big eyes, he watched the distance between them and the entrance get smaller as they approached the big door. Light from the inside illuminated the dark blue carpet on the floor and the bouncers that stood on each side of the entrance nodded at Youngjo when they recognized their boss.

Hwanwoong read the big logo above them. The word Sapphire was glowing in a bright white, the letters bold but elegant and the stem of a rose was crossing through the letters in black color. The few thorns it had were perfectly displayed on the white letters, as well as the few leaves it had. It wasn't overdone but still added a nice contrast. What topped it off were the rose petals at the end of the stem. They were glowing in a bright blue color and fit the logo perfectly.