The one (Neo fanfic)

Chapter 3

As the night goes on, Hakyeon finds himself occupying a booth with Taekwoon

A couple more drinks and he can feel the alcohol already taking effect, the unusual giddiness coursing through his body has him snapping his fingers for Taekwoon's attention

He turns his attention to him, raising an eyebrow in question

"You're not enjoying yourself?" His words not quite slurring but, at the same time a little incoherent

"Don't like clubs" he answers, setting his gaze on him "you look like you're enjoying yourself though" he states

"Well to be honest with you, I don't really like clubs either" he shrugs, downing what he decides is his last drink for tonight

"Why are you here then?" He hears Taekwoon mumble and he sighs, slouching in his seat

"Jaehwan needed me here, he's outgoing and well borderline mad but he still has no luck when it comes to his love life" he chuckles to himself, remembering all the times his best friend had epically failed in the love department

They sit in silence for a while before Taekwoon breaks it, turning to face him

"And what about you, do you have anyone... Special?" Taekwoon looks confused as he asks him, almost as if he's never talked of such things before nor experienced them

"I did, But that was a long time ago" his words are cheerful but Taekwoon doesn't miss the edge he has to his voice and stares at him pointedly

Sensing the awkward atmosphere he changes the topic to something more interesting

"So Wonshik says you haven't been here long, how long exactly is 'not long'" he smiles, hoping to cheer him up from his obvious gloomy state

"About five months, almost six" Taekwoon replies and leaves it at that, still staring at him

When it's clear to him that the conversation is going nowhere he's suddenly struck with an idea

"Hey come with me, I want to show you something" he shrugs on his jacket, pulling him to his feet before he can protest

"Where are we going" Taekwoon asks as they walk out into the night, snow no longer falling but even with their jackets on,still just as chilly

"Somewhere" he answers vaguely, grinning when he grunts in annoyance

"Okay well what about Wonshik and Jaehwan?" He reaches for his arm, stopping him in his tracks

"Jaehwan's coming back to mine anyway. He may be an idiot but he's responsible enough to get home without me having to hold his hand, plus he has Wonshik there for him" he reasons

Taekwoon huffs, deciding that he does have a point and continues to follow him

They walk for another 10 minutes until he comes to a sudden halt, causing Taekwoon to slam into him

"Ehem... S-sorry" he clears his throat, scratching the nape of his neck sheepishly "I should have gave you a warning before stopping" he continues, hoping that Taekwoon will believe his reddened cheeks are due to the bitter cold and not his obvious embarrassment

"No, I should have watched where I was going" Taekwoon mumbles yet just simply stares at him

He spares him a bewildered look when Hakyeon suddenly starts cackling, mumbling a quick 'cute' before sauntering into what appears to be an old 24 hour convenience store, leaving Taekwoon to gape at him

"Well come on, we only have two hours left" Hakyeon waves him over

As they enter the shop a small bell chimes as a warning of their arrival and a man in his late 50's comes bustling over to them with a smile