spotlight; monsta x

[4]

jooheon walked in timidly behind hyungwon and hoseok, as he looked around while the music and laughter of his peers filled his ears.

"hey, we're gonna go ahead and go get some drinks and see if we can find our friends. are you okay being alone for a bit?" hyungwon asks.

'are you fucking kidding me?! you brought me here and then you're gonna ditch me?? of course i'll be okay!'

"sure, sure, i'll be right here." jooheon says and then gives a fake smile.

hyungwon and hoseok walked away towards the kitchen where a great number of the people at the party was. jooheon glanced around trying to figure out who he could talk to , not really seeing friendly faces or anyone that he could start up a conversation with. he started walking around, tuning into potential conversations to see if there was anything he could relate to but there was nothing for him to grasp onto.

just as he had given up hope and was about to go stand in the corner of the living room by the little potted plant, someone came up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, smiling wide. jooheon turned to find the stranger and was met by a pair of warm brown eyes filled with kindness.

"hi, i'm changkyun. i've never seen you at any of kihyun's parties before." the boy finishes, tilting his head.

"i'm jooheon." the boy greets back. "and yeah, i've never been to any of his parties. i just moved here and was invited by someone named hyungwon and his friend hoseok."

changkyun's eyes lit up, sending a signal of relief through jooheon's body. he relaxed significantly and smiled.

"really? hyungwon and hoseok are a couple of my closest friends!"

"they seem pretty nice but i can't say for sure." jooheon says.

"guys! come on! it's time for secret santa!!" a girl exclaimed.

changkyun and jooheon smiled at each other and then went over to the circle, as the girl passed along the presents excitedly.

"hey, jooheon, let's be good friends from now on, huh?" changkyun proposed with a soft, warm, honey like smile.

jooheon smiled back, more enthusiastically before responding. "yes, i'd like that!"

as if they were sealing a binding contract or something, they fist bumped and shook hands, looking each other in the eye and smiling with the same energy. they then turned their attention back to secret santa, excitedly waiting to see who got who's present, and what the present was. jooheon, at one point saw the envelope with his gifts inside being passed down to that kihyun kid, who looked at the envelope with a face mixed with confusion, and disappointment. which irritated jooheon a bit and made him scoff, but he still continued to watch kihyun open the envelope. kihyun pursed his lips, revealing his dimples, and opened the envelope. his eyes widened a bit when he saw the gift cards and then rubbed the back of his neck, before putting his unfazed expression back on. jooheon smirked and then once again turned his attention back to the rest of the people receiving and opening their gifts.

after the whole ordeal, jooheon was ready to go home, and it looks like a few others were ready to leave too. the vibe was totally different now, and the party seemed to grow a bit tired. jooheon chalked it up to just his mental state and his physical being. after a hour or so, changkyun had an idea (not a good one, but an idea nevertheless).

"hey jooheon, let me introduce you to a friend of mine!" he exclaimed, bringing jooheon back to attention.

"hm? oh, okay okay let's go." jooheon says, and then follows changkyun over to a group of people.

'this looks like more than just one friend..' jooheon thought to himself, but nevertheless he put on a smile to hopefully put out a good first impression.

"hey changkyun!!" kihyun greeted with the biggest smile on his face that ultimately took jooheon by surprise.

"hey man, nice party. you really outdid yourself." changkyun complimented, as they did a weird type of brohug thing that made jooheon shudder in disgust.

"we miss you in dance man. when are you coming back? it' so boring without you there." kihyun complains.

changkyun smiled softly and shook his head and sighed before responding. "i don't know kihyun ah. my leg is still kinda messed up. but i'm trying, i promise."

jooheon felt awkward, and kept thinking that this was a conversation that he shouldn't be witnessing. kihyun put his hand on changkyun's left shoulder, giving a sympathetic smile as he did so.

"you know you have me and the guys. we can help. we can do physical therapy with you! we can help you. just let us." kihyun said softly.

"i'll keep that in mind, kihyun. thank you."

kihyun smiled and nodded his head.

changkyun finally looked at jooheon as if he just remembered that he was there, and smiled before walking over to jooheon. only then did jooheon notice that changkyun walked with a slight limp that got more noticeable the longer that he walked.

"kihyun, this is jooheon. jooheon, this is kihyun."

kihyun's brow furrowed together as he pulled a confused expression. he stared at jooheon for a moment, his soft eyes began to burn through jooheon with animosity and anger.

"what is he doing here?! who invited him?!" kihyun questioned, raising his voice a couple decibels, causing people around them to start looking at the scene that was starting to unfold as they grew quiet, as if they were holding their breath.

jooheon's cheeks began to burn in embarrassment as he felt tons of eyes on him. he didn't know what to do except for stand there. kihyun stormed over to jooheon, with a glare in his eye. as kihyun approached jooheon, hyungwon and hoseok rushed into the room with a confused expression. hyungwon and hoseok started to walk towards the two boys to try and stop anything from escalating, but kihyun spotted them and pointed a finger at them and hissed through clenched teeth.

"stay. out. of. it." he narrowed his eyes and then looked back at jooheon. jooheon clenched his teeth and braced himself.

"k-kihyun it's just a party come on relax.." minhyuk pleaded.

kihyun spun around on the ball of his feet, and glared at minhyuk.

"are you really taking his side?! over your own best friend?!" kihyun demanded, raising his voice and causing minhyuk to flinch.

jooheon rolled his eyes, and sighed quietly to himself just as kihyun turned back to him, with the coldest expression he could manage and started speaking.

"you weren't-"

"listen. i couldn't give a shit if you invited me or not. i didn't even want to come. i was invited! it's a fucking party it's not that fucking deep man! get over yourself for fucks sake!" jooheon counteracted, and then scoffed. "you really are a spoiled fucking brat. whatever, i'm out of here."

jooheon then turned and then walked out, everyone at the party gawking at him as he exited.

"he is so dead." kihyun announced as jooheon left.