Fairy Tale Bliss

Chapter Four

"Hanh?" 

Hanh heard his name and stopped walking. Of course, it was Jun. Of course, he had chosen to leave at the same time. Just, of course.

"What are you doing? It's five in the morning! Get in." Jun demanded. Hanh glanced down at his clothes, making sure there was no evidence that he was a stripper. Then, he went and climbed into the passenger side of Jun's car, dropping his bag at his feet. "Why do you have that bag?"

"I was at the gym." Hanh lied, surprised at how believable and clever that was. He was never a very good liar so this was odd to him. He couldn't even look at Jun, though. He pulled his feet up onto the seat, wrapping his arms around them and leaning his head on the window. He was so, so extremely tired. It had been a long night; constantly watching out for Jun, always looking behind his back and expect Jun to jump up and yell "boo!"

"The gym? That explains the stench." Jun was only half joking and Hanh knew it. Hanh peered at him from under his almost closed eyelids, a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

"What are you doing out?" Hanh asked, despite knowing the answer. He just wanted to see what Jun's response would be. If he'd lie or tell the truth. And, Jun told the truth.

"I was thinking about buying that club. What's the name? Something French." Jun said. This made Hanh feel bad for obvious reasons. Jun was telling the truth, even if it could be judged, while Hanh was lying. And, the worst part was that he had no intentions of changing that.

"Cacahuete?" Hanh answered, a bit too fast. This caused a smirk to appear on Jun's flawless face, his eyebrows raising instantly.

"Have you been before? That was awfully quick." Hanh was silently cursing himself for not acting as if he had no idea what Jun was talking about.

"I've gone with a few friends before. Not really my scene. I like being at home instead." Hanh answered. This wasn't a lie. He had gone with a few friends before and it wasn't really his scene. Not like he had a choice in the matter. But, he wasn't going to add that. 

"It's definitely my scene. Loud music, dancing, crowds. I love those things." Hanh nodded, his eyes trained on the way Jun's lips moved while he spoke. He was slowly dozing off without noticing. That was, until Jun began speaking again and drew him out of his almost unconscious state.

"We're here. Hanh? Are you asleep? We're here. Wake up." Jun said, chuckling and putting his hand on Hanh's knee, shaking it lightly. Hanh sat up instantly, causing his calves to hit off the dashboard since his feet were still on the seat. He winced and rubbed them softly.

"I'm up. Sorry. I'm exhausted. The gym wore me out." Hanh put his feet on the floor and picked up the bag, getting out of the car quickly. This was awkward for him, to say the very least. If one tiny thing went wrong, Jun could find out his secret, find out he's a liar, and there would go that friendship. 

And Hanh didn't want that.

"I'll see you around. You have my number. Don't forget to use it." Jun said as Hanh practically ran to his front door. Hanh nodded and waved before slamming the door shut behind him, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

***

"Tell me more about him, again. He's rich? That's so cool. Tell the story again." Venus gushed, Hanh's head resting in her lap as he ranted about the entire Jun situation. 

"It's not cool, Venus! He's going to catch me as a stripper and then drop me like a sick dog. I don't care that he's rich. He's nice. He took me to a cat cafe and we talked and he's just... Ugh, you wouldn't understand." Hanh complained, looking up at her as she played with the ends of his hair. Venus was his best friend, actually, his only friend. She lived in the apartment above him. 

"I don't like what you're hinting at, Hanh. Because I haven't had a crush on someone before?" Venus asked, rolling her eyes. It was clear to Hanh she had gotten moderately offended.

"No! I just meant because you don't have to hide your job and he's famous and I'm not. I just- nevermind." Hanh blew out a breath of irritation, sitting up and pacing near the coffee table. 

"Hanh, calm down. You're working yourself up. Just sit down, text him, ask to hanh out, and stop complaining." Venus said, sighing. Hanh was stressed and he couldn't help his attitude. He tugged his fingers through his hair and then plopped on the couch beside her, shaking his head. 

"What if we become a thing? I can't just sneak out every night to work without him noticing." Hanh was overthinking this and he knew it. He laid down but this time he put his feet in her lap instead of his head. 

"You'll figure this out, Hanh. Stressing over it won't make the problem disappear. You just have to let thing play out. See what happens. Just be happy. Jun seems like a nice guy so get to know him. If he ends up leaving because you're a stripper then he wasn't the one after all." Venus said, shrugging her shoulders. Hanh listened carefully, nodding. She was right. She usually was. 

"You should get drunk tonight. After your shift. You haven't gotten drunk in a while. It would be fun." This thought excited Hanh. Once again, she was right. He wanted to get drunk! And, he got a discount because he worked there. Slowly, he was beginning to look forward to the late shift. He wasn't allowed to drink on the job, but if it was afterwards, he wasn't technically drinking on the job. 

With that thought, the dryer signal went off, telling them that Venus's clothes were done. She had come over to do laundry, seeing as he was the only one in their building that had a washer and dryer. Whenever she used them, she gave him twenty dollars toward the water bill. 

"Well, I'll see you later. Text me with how it goes. Let me know if Mr. Cinderella fits the glass shoe." Venus said, winking while she grabbed her clothes. Hanh giggled half-heartedly as she left. 

"Yeah..."