The Bold & the Ruined (A SunWon Fic)

Chapter 1

The red lights danced with the hyper-pop music blasting through the speakers, illuminating the youthful faces of those on the dance floor. Lithe bodies of women in tight dresses grinded against the body of another, and lone predators squeeze in between.

Sunoo watched them from his seat at the bar, he was in his eighth shot of tequila on the rocks. His eyes wandered the room, uninterested—lifeless.

He turned to the bartender and ordered. "Another shot please?"

The bartender took his order without a single word.

He thinks about a million things all at once, the effects of alcohol aiding in his vivid imagination. He just landed in Manila, and the first thing he did after abandoning his suitcase in his condo was to go to the first bar he sees in Poblacion, Makati.

In Pobla, the wind smelled like smoke and liquor. In Pobla, neon signages of clubs decorated the streets. College kids of all forms and tax brackets walked in pure glamour and fun. *This was what equality looked like*, Sunoo thought.

"Hey, pretty," a voice says from beside him.

Sunoo turned to the guy. He was handsome and youthful, with bright eyes and supple skin. His dimples showed upon speaking and deepened when he smiled. Sunoo thought that the guy looked okay. No— actually Sunoo thought that he was not bad at all.

"Hello," Sunoo responded, a thin smile forming on his lips as the guy took a seat on the stool beside him.

"You with someone?"

Sunoo shakes his head. "No," Sunoo said.

"Why?"

"Just because," Sunoo shrugged.

Sunoo saw how the other's eyes scanned him before he turned to the counter.

"One glass of root beer please?" The guys asked the bartender.

Sunoo almost laughed.

"Root beer, huh?"

The other turned to him, a playful smile on his lips.

"I brought my car with me tonight."

"Then why come here alone if you can't enjoy?" Sunoo asked.

"So I could give a lonely stranger like you a ride," the guy shrugged.

Sunoo scoffed.

"So, you're like a predator or some shit? Whisking away drunk strangers?"

He laughed. "It sounds so bad when you say it like that."

"It is exactly how it sounds. It's like kidnapping."

"Trust me," the other said. "I don't take anyone home with me against their will."

The guy leans a breath closer to Sunoo. He could smell the other's perfume, a faint scent of musk and sandalwood. Clean and fresh and expensive. Sunoo can't help but lean in as well.

"Oh, do you?" Sunoo asked sarcastically.

The boy hums a response.

The boy's finger slowly moved to trace Sunoo's knuckles resting on the bar island. Sunoo wanted to pull back his hand, but he found it hard to do so as he was preoccupied with the other's eyes trained on him.

"Want to get out of here?" The boy whispered.

"Do you even fuck guys?" Sunoo replied, almost incredulously.

The other chuckled as if Sunoo's concern humored him. His dimples deepened upon his laughter and Sunoo found himself admiring them.

"Why don't you come and find out?" the boy challenged.