Roses You Left For Me

1

Deep lights entice Jeongguk inside.

Red on one side and blue on the other, creating a musky purple that floods through the middle of the club. Low-fi music plays throughout, the gentle and coaxing beat tugging him through the doors.

Circular tables are set out with plush, square seats set out around them and some are taken with others remaining empty.

People grind against each other on the dance floor and the large stage is rounded with featured dancers that twirl their bodies around metal poles, dull pink and red lights focused on their performance.

To his left is a long, outstretched, and sleek bar, shiny under the lights and featuring four bartenders, all dressed in black suits with red bowties.

The atmosphere is chilled yet alive with the beat of the music creating soft pounding that radiates through Jeongguk's body, pushing shivers to the surface of his skin.

He takes a deep breath and walks further in, twisting his hands together. This was never his idea in the first place.

This had been Jimin's idea.

Jeongguk had been crying into his friend's shoulder for probably the hundredth time just this week when Jimin had decided he'd had enough and suggested Jeongguk come to this club and let out his frustrations instead of sobbing over his ex-boyfriend.

And so here he is, walking into this club that he knows nothing about and where he knows absolutely no one.

He chews his lip and considers turning around and not looking back, but something in him says that he needs tonight to happen. He needs one night to forget. To escape.

And so, he walks forward and takes a seat at the bar, waiting patiently before a bartender is coming over to him.

The man at the bar smiles warmly and it immediately calms Jeongguk. "What can I get for you?" He asks. "Or let me guess, you've got a sweet tooth, right?"

Jeongguk can't really find the words over his brewing anxiety, so he just nods.

"First time here?" The bartender continues to ask as he sets about to make a drink that is clear to the eye and stands in a tall glass.

"Is it that obvious?" Jeongguk asks as he tries to crack a nervous smile.

The bartender grins and slides the glass towards the younger. "Just a little," he says. "I'm Hoseok. And you are?"

"Jeongguk,"

"So, what brings you here? You don't look like the usual type. Not unless you're some secret sugar daddy or the rich son of a millionaire," the bartender continues, smirking as Jeongguk chokes a little on his drink. "Sorry, I'm forward with everyone. Don't even realize I'm doing it," Hoseok laughs.

Jeongguk chuckles nervously and sets his glass back down, fiddling with the coaster before he finds the words that he wants to say. "No, actually I- uh- My friend suggested I come here today. I've just gone through a breakup, so,"

The bartender nods in understanding. "Sorry about that. If it's any consultation, I don't think you'll do too badly getting picked up. You got that kinda face, y'know? The boy next door," he says with a light shrug.

"Hoseok," a woman greets the bartender with a sugar sweet smile as she leans against the bar.

"Michelle," Hoseok responds with his own bright grin. "What can I get my favorite lady, hm?"

The woman chuckles and requests for a drink that Jeongguk hasn't ever heard of.

He tunes out for a moment and lets himself just look around the club. The music has changed to a low saxophone and maybe some piano, he isn't sure, but it sounds sultry yet calming.

The lights have dimmed to a very deep red that focuses on the stage.

He watches with interest as most of the poles sink down into the stage, leaving only one that is centered in the middle.

Everyone seems to have either calmed their discussions at the tables or have turned to cheer when a voice speaks up, announcing a dancer named V.

The cheers quickly quieten as a slender yet broad man appears from the curtains that hang behind the stage.

His head hangs low so you can't really see his face as he takes his position in front of the pole. Even the bartender has gone quiet, and the woman from before is nowhere to be seen.

Jeongguk's eyes trail over the man, taking in his dark hair and the red silk blouse that hangs low to show his chest. He wears tight black shorts and a leather garter around his thigh.

The moment he looks up, he's gazing.

It's a deep, seductive look through his eyelashes that immediately has all of Jeongguk's attention.

The man has a red tint to his lips and a small black heart under one eye.

The man lifts his head and rolls it, exposing his neck and collarbones before he swiftly turns and grips the pole, swinging himself around in a way that makes him look like he's floating.

The dancer's tongue drags over his bottom lip as he looks up at the crowd, smirking at the response he gets. He moves like he's made of water, and Jeongguk is convinced that he's the most beautiful man that the younger has ever laid his eyes on.

Maybe it was his broken heart taking in whatever he could get, but this performer- well, he's something else.

"That's Taehyung," Hoseok tells Jeongguk, but the younger barely takes it in. "Don't tell him I told you his name, but if you talk to him, call him V,"