Dark Night [Sequel to 'White Night']

Chapter 4

"Hey, mind if I join you?" Dongyeol called out to his best friend as he stepped onto the rink. Hwanhee looked at him and took off his helmet. "Shouldn't you be with Wooseok?" he asked. Dongyeol skated over to him and gave him a bright smile. "He'll be fine without me. Where's Changhyun?" he asked. Hwanhee shrugged. "He was busy...with Sooil", he replied. It really wasn't like Hwanhee to give such short-lived answers.

Dongyeol found himself worrying about his friend being mad at him again. "Hey, did I do something?" he asked. Hwanhee looked at him questioningly. "You've been weird with me lately...did I piss you off or something?" "No, you didn't do anything...I've just had a lot on my mind lately. It's nothing serious...", Hwanhee replied. Dongyeol was sure that Hwanhee wasn't being 100% honest with him but before he could say anything the slightly older boy put his helmet back on and skated away.

"Let's practice", he called. "That's what you came here for, right?"

~

They practiced for a while before leaving the rink and heading for the changing rooms. "Hwanhee...are you sure that everything's okay between us?" Dongyeol asked again. Hwanhee didn't answer immediately. He couldn't exactly tell Dongyeol that nothing had been okay between them since he had to go off and date Wooseok. He hated himself for having feelings for his best friend who was taken.

"Everything's just fine...", Hwanhee lied. Dongyeol raised his eyebrows at him as they reached the changing room. "Then why does it feel like you're mad at me or something?" Dongyeol asked as he pulled his hockey jersey over his head before proceeding to take off his shoulder and elbow pads. "I'm not mad at you..."

Hwanhee wanted to avert his gaze from his shirtless best friend but before he could, he spotted a hickey on Dongyeol's collar bone. The tight feeling in his chest, which he'd been living with for the past three months, returned. He knew that he was extremely jealous of Wooseok but actually seeing what the older boy got to do with Dongyeol made it 30 times worse.

"Do you sleep with him?" he asked before he could stop himself. Dongyeol stopped undressing and looked at his best friend, his eyes slightly widened in surprise. "What?" he asked. Hwanhee took a deep breath. "You and Wooseok...did you...?" Dongyeol got over his initial shock pretty quickly. He chuckled and, finally, put a shirt on. "No", he said and it sounded honest enough.

"Are you going to?" Hwanhee questioned. Dongyeol shot him another look. "Sure, eventually...isn't that what couples do?" he returned the question. Hwanhee's insides tightened up even more. The thought of Wooseok getting to touch Dongyeol like he could only fantasize about made him want to punch their team captain in the face.

"Are you sure, though? Like, I wouldn't want you to regret it...", Hwanhee said after a short pause. "Why would I? This is Wooseok we're talking about. I love him and I trust him...", Dongyeol replied, now fully changed into black skinny jeans, a plain white shirt and sneakers. He threw his jacket over his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why are you so interested in who I have sex with?" he asked.

Hwanhee shrugged. "I'm not...I'm just trying to look out for you", he replied while tying his shoelace. "Well, there's no need. You know Wooseok, don't you? And you also know that he's been in love with me for almost two years now. Do you really think he'd ever hurt me?" Dongyeol asked. He started to sound slightly irritated which was not what Hwanhee had wanted to achieve.

"Okay, okay, calm down! I get it...", he said, raising his hands in defeat. "I have to go...", he added and left the changing room without giving his best friend a chance to answer. He decided to walk home today, even if it would probably take him way longer. He just needed to clear his head.

He somehow needed to get over his feelings for Dongyeol. It pained him to see his best friend happy while all he really wanted was to steal him away from Wooseok. Dongyeol didn't deserve this. 'And neither does Wooseok...' the rational part of his brain reminded him. "Screw Wooseok...", he mumbled to himself.

Hwanhee walked around until the sun began to set. When he stopped to check where the hell he even was he found himself standing right in front of a bar. Hwanhee pondered with the thought. A drink sounded about right just now. He took a closer look at the bar's name and felt a blush rise to his cheeks as he realized that this was a gay bar. He managed to surprise himself when he thought about entering anyway.

Hwanhee began to pace in front of it, playing with the thought. Maybe...just maybe the answer to the Dongyeol problem was just inside that bar. Was he even gay, though? Admittedly, he hadn't been with any girls since he and Dongyeol had shared their last kiss and the dreams had started but that didn't necessarily mean anything. He shook his head and began to walk away when someone spoke up from the bar's entrance.

"You sure look like you could use a drink." Hwanhee turned around to find a guy his age, maybe a bit older, with a beer bottle in his hand smirking at him. "I could...but not here", Hwanhee replied and was ready to walk away when the guy approached him. He had slicked back black hair, which didn't look greasy, though, and almond shaped, brown eyes. "Let me buy you a drink somewhere else, then", he offered.

Hwanhee thought about it. A beer or two with a stranger sure couldn't hurt, right? The guy seemed nice enough and he wasn't bad looking either. Hwanhee finally nodded. "Alright...let's go", he said which earned him a delighted smile from the stranger. "I'm Hyunwoo", he introduced himself as they began walking together to find another bar. "Hwanhee..."

"It's nice to meet you, Hwanhee..."