Internal Affairs | Lee Haechan

Not a coincidence

"Cheers!" The group shouted as they slinked their shot glasses together, downing a shot of tequila and reaching for a slice of lime to cancel out the burning sensation.

"Call in sick to work tomorrow!" Hwayoung shouted and she shook her head with a chuckle, eyes still shut tight from the strong tequila.

"Cmon! You barely ever come out and you're starting night shifts next week, stay longer!" Hwayoung cheered and was soon joined by the rest of their friend group, mostly consisting of SNU alumni and other mutual friends.

"Yeah come on! It'll be fun, plus its my birthday so atleast stay for me" Jongsuk said with a slight pout trying to get her to reconsider her rigid work schedule

"I'll think about it" she said, trying her best not to give in too quickly to the guy who had a bit of a soft spot for, yet she knew the possibility of him being serious with her was incredibly low.

Jongsuk was always around in her final year of university, after she broke up with her boyfriend of three years, he provided support emotionally and made sure she always turned up to her classes, but the second she caught feelings for him, he was already dating some other girl.

They never lasted but it was enough to let Jia know that she would only ever be a friend to him. But with Jongsuk pulling her strings and asking for favours and her always giving in, he knew exactly how she felt about him and often used it to his advantage.

"Jongsuk seems to be pretty close with you tonight" Hwayoung said with a smirk as she watched their previous, short lived encounter.

"Yeah, next thing you know he'll be out of the club with another girl" She said, fully knowing how these nights went.

"Well then maybe you should make a move on him tonight and see how it goes instead of just standing on the side lines and letting that happen" Hwayoung suggested, trying to get her friend to step out of her comfort zone.

"Yeah...you're right, maybe I should just shoot my shot" She said, nodding, reaching for another shot at the bar for courage. She hopped onto the bar stool, making small conversation with the female bartender as she prepared another drink for her.

"Here you go, enjoy your night" She said with a smile, getting the card machine ready, before looking past Jia

"And for you sir?" She asked with a smile

"I'll have a Long Island, it's on me for her as well" the all too familiar voice said from behind her and she scoffed at the odds of him being here today.

"Hey boss, how's the night going?" Haechan said as she slowly turned around to meet his eyes, his hair now dyed from a light ash brown to a dark chocolate brown, giving him a darker aura, paired with the silk black shirt and black jeans he was sporting. A complete opposite look to Jia's more sophisticated white mini dress with ruffles.

"Are you done eating me up with your eyes?" He asked with a chuckle, grabbing the bar stool next to her and sitting himself down, his own friends somewhere in the distance of the club.

"I-I wasn't" she said, bringing her eyes back to his before he broke their stare, grabbing his cold drink from the bartender, paying for the both of them

"Ah you didn't have to do that" she said, scolding him slightly

"Don't worry about it. You can make it up to me in other ways remember?" He said shooting her a wink and she rolled her eyes not being able to catch a break from him

"What are you doing here?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him, knowing that this couldn't all be a mere coincidence.

"I'm out with my friends who are...actually I'm not sure anymore, you?" He asked with a slight laugh and she smiled

"What a coincidence, me too" she said, staring into the crowd to scout out her friend group. Haechan followed her eyes and they both soon landed on Jongsuk who was happily dancing with Hwayoung, a birthday tiara on his head.

"Isn't that the same asshole you were with at the last club?" Haechan asked, cocking up an eyebrow and she turned to him

"He's not an asshole" she said, defending him

"He literally left you to go kiss another girl" Haechan said, correcting her

"So you were watching me" she said with a smirk, a sense of validation in her voice as she dipped her head a little, the alcohol taking more dominance in her blood stream

"Okay, maybe I was" Haechan said, owning up to it, knowing that he was on a more comfortable level with her than they were before

"You were pretty hard to keep my eyes off" he said, his voice deepening and her smirk fell a little bit at the change of tone. She wasn't going to lie and say this new confidence from him wasn't driving her crazy

"Well...who is this?" Hwayoung said a little drunkenly, joining Jia at the bar, interrupting the conversation between the two. Jia could already tell from Hwayoung that she approved of Haechan

"Haechan this is my friend Hwayoung, Hwa this is Haechan, we work together" Jia said, introducing the two

"Oh yeah...the better looking assistant" She said with a chuckle, shaking his hand making Jia furrow her eyebrows in confusion

"What?" Jia asked and Haechan sheepishly smiled as Hwa continued to explain

"I asked Haechan to let you know where we're going for the party, what a coincidence that he's here too" Hwa said with a sly smirk, giving Haechan a pat on a back and shooting Jia a wink before grabbing a glass of water and walking back go her friends

"You know, that's borderline stalking" Jia said, raising her eyebrows but Haechan chuckled, using his foot to pull her bar stool closer to him before leaning into her ear

"Come on baby, we both know this night wouldn't have been fun without me" he said, placing a small kiss on her ear before distancing himself again. He proceeded to finish the rest of his drink while Jia let his words sink in before he hopped off the stool, extending his hand out to her.

"Shall we dance?" Haechan asked, the smirk now being replaced with a genuine smile and she took his hand, still unsure of why he was trying to hard to be around her so much outside of work.

But she followed him anyway into the sea of young adults, dancing their hearts out to the groovy beat, losing themselves into the night. And soon enough she was one of them, dancing opposite a boy who should really not have even been there, the idea of her confessing her infatuation to Jongsuk now completely out the window.

The only thing on her mind was Haechan. And likewise.