Archive of Our Own

Seungkwan woke up to his phone vibrating against his face. 

It properly scared the shit out of him, flailing an arm out and sitting up fast, yelping in pain as the headache from his hangover hit him so hard that he thought he’d gone blind. As it turned out, once he oriented himself, he simply still had his eyes closed. Seungkwan flopped back against his pillows, letting out a loud groan. He was officially never going to a party with Seokmin ever again. 

That wasn’t true. He’d gone to many a disastrous party with Seokmin in the past, and would probably go to one as soon as next week if he were asked, but none of that did anything to negate how completely awful he felt right now, and he really only had himself to blame.

He blamed Seokmin too though, just a bit. He and Seokmin always got weirdly competitive in a party setting, always trying to outdrink each other, which was completely idiotic because they were both terrible at holding their alcohol. As it was, Seungkwan didn’t remember much of the party, and he was sure that his friend was in the exact same situation.

Seungkwan scrabbled blindly through the bedsheets for his cell phone, figuring it was probably Seokmin texting him, wanting to complain to him about how he was fairing after their drunken festivities—or Soonyoung, wanting to complain to him about how his boyfriend was fairing after their drunken festivities—pulling his phone from his comforter and squinting at the screen. 

To Seungkwan’s surprise, it was neither of those things. Instead, he had a text from an unknown number. 

Hey Seungkwan, I just wanted to give you my number. 

Then, 

I had a really good time getting to know you last night :) We should hang out sometime soon

Seungkwan stared at the messages. He had absolutely no recollection of giving away his phone number. He didn’t remember “getting to know” anyone; the party had been a collection of Seokmin’s same-age friends, and their friends, and their friends. It had been a big, pointless celebration, and Seungkwan knew he’d had fun, but couldn’t remember the specifics of how or why. But this person knew what his name was. 

In his hand, his phone buzzed again. 

Text me back when you’re awake :)

Seungkwan was awake, and it was nearly noon already; he didn’t want this person thinking he was too much of a slob, typing out a response. 

Hi! I’m awake!

The double exclamation marks instantly felt like too much; they were too eager, too enthusiastic, and they clashed horribly with the hangover he had. 

:D

This person was… Using emoticons? Who were they?

This might be too forward of me 
But we kissed last night
And I’d like to take you on a real date today, if you want. 

Seungkwan nearly fell out of bed. He was sure, now, that the person he was texting was a guy—his drunken self was always aggressively on the same page when it came to sexual preferences—but he had a hard time believing he’d been charming enough while hammered to score a date with anyone. Plus, drunk Seungkwan liked to kiss friends, sure, but not strangers; usually, Stranger Danger was exaggerated when he was intoxicated, blaring annoyingly loudly enough in his mind to keep him safe from any boozed-down hookups. 

He had Sorry, who are you? all typed out when he received yet another message. 

Here, you can use this as my contact picture. 

Then Seungkwan received a selfie, and promptly choked on his tongue. 

Whoever this guy was, he was hot. Distractingly, devastatingly hot. His brown eyes and brown hair—seeming soft, with waves to it—both looked natural, matching well with the soft lines of his face and making Seungkwan think he may not be fully Korean. He had a cute freckle on his right cheek, and a cute scar on his forehead, next to his—quite frankly, perfect—right eyebrow. Were eyebrows supposed to be this perfect? Was this some kind of a joke? 

Quickly, he deleted his identity question. This was a painfully attractive guy that somehow seemed interested in him, and wanted to take him on a date. Seungkwan wasn’t about to admit that he’d been too inebriated last night to even remember meeting him. He didn’t want the hot guy to think he was that much of a mess, then decide he wasn’t interested. Not yet, at least. He sent back a simple Thanks! instead. 

From: ???
I’d love to have a contact photo for you too, Seungkwan :)

Oh, shit. Okay then. Seungkwan opened his front camera and physically recoiled, unable to remember a time in his past when he’d looked quite this bad. He’d need a coffee, a shower, and at least twenty-four hours to get himself in a state where he could take a successful picture. So he didn’t even try, going to his camera roll instead. His choices were scarce, needing a photo that had his current hair color and style. He cringed at the best option, but had to send it anyway; it was a selfie, smiling cutely and holding his hand up to his cheek in a half-heart. 

Here!

God, he needed to stop with the exclamation marks. 

From: ???
Thanks! You look cute :) 
Are you free this evening? Around eight, maybe? 

Eight o’clock. Eight o’clock was about nine hours from now. If he really tried, he could probably turn himself into a decent impression of a functioning human being by then. So he agreed, Hot Guy asking if they could meet up on a specific shopping street. Seungkwan agreed to that too, and decided he needed to start getting ready. 

He was out of the shower, three ibuprofen deep, and halfway through his second cup of coffee by the time Seokmin finally contacted him. 

From: Seokminnie Mouse
I hate you 
I hate me
I hate everything except Soonyoung’s cheeks

To: Seokminnie Mouse
…………..which ones

From: Seokminnie Mouse
THE ONES ON HIS FACE 

To: Seokminnie Mouse
...sure.

From: Seokminnie Mouse
Come on Seungkwan, I love Soonie but you know I think your butt is the best

The message ended with a heart emoji, genuine only in a way Seokmin could be, and Seungkwan couldn’t help a laugh. This was why Seokmin was his best friend. 

To: Seokminnie Mouse
Good
Also hey, I have a question. Any idea who this guy is? He attached the photo of the stranger, sending it to Seokmin. Apparently I met him at the party and gave him my number and everything but??? I don’t remember

From: Seokminnie Mouse
If you think I remember a single thing from last night you’re out of your mind 
I don’t recognize him! But I’ll ask Soonyoung for you

Seungkwan made his way to his kitchen, trying to think of something to eat that would quell the nausea in his stomach when Seokmin texted him back.

From: Seokminnie Mouse
Soonyoung knows! He’s the guy you made out with. 

Made out with. “Made out with” was a different league than “kissed” in Seungkwan’s book, and he texted back quickly.

To: Seokminnie Mouse
Okay but does Soonyoung know his name???

From: Seokminnie Mouse
No idea, sorry lol

That message was signed with a tiger emoji, and Seungkwan groaned in frustration. This was bad.

From: Seokminnie Mouse
Do you want me to ask around for you? The party got a little hand with all the people that decided to bring their friends, but someone in the 97z group chat has to know who he is.

Ah, the infamous “97z” group chat. Seokmin might have become a moderately successful musical actor directly out of acting school, but Seungkwan still had a hard time believing that his best friend was in regular contact with people like Jeon Jungkook, a world-class pro-gamer, and Kim Mingyu, the youngest billionaire that South Korea had to offer. He had the feeling that a chance midnight encounter at a convenience store wouldn’t have ended in quickly growing friendship for literally anyone else, but Seokmin had unexpectedly good things happen to him at an almost alarming rate. It was what he deserved though, Seungkwan thought. It was just the universe, trying to pay Seokmin back for all the good energy that he put out into the world.

To: Seokminnie Mouse
How long is asking around going to take? Because I literally have a date with this guy in like 5 hours

From: Seokminnie Mouse
NICE ! 

That message was also signed with a tiger emoji, but it only took a second for the actual Seokmin to get back to him. 

From: Seokminnie Mouse
I don’t know, we all got wrecked last night. But I was planning on checking in with everyone, so I’ll ask then, okay?

To: Seokminnie Mouse
Okay. But could you do it like… Discreetly? And don’t send his selfie around. I don’t want him to find out, you know?

Seokmin wasn’t exactly known for being tactful, but Seungkwan was still going to hold out hope when Seokmin promised he would be as prudent as possible when sending the question out. 

Seungkwan ate, got through his skincare routine, and was trying to pick out what to wear—he’d texted his Mystery Man about what the dress code for dinner was and had gotten Uh… moderate? in response, and had absolutely no idea what that was supposed to mean—when his phone lit up again.

hoRAWRnghae would like to FaceTime...

Sighing, Seungkwan accepted the call. He was met with the sight of Soonyoung’s grinning face a little too close to the front camera, and Soonyoung let out a celebratory yell that had Seungkwan’s hangover headache threatening to come back for an encore performance.

“You have a date!” Soonyoung exclaimed at him.

“Yes, yes, I have a date, thank you very much,” Seungkwan responded, giving a little mock bow while Soonyoung set his phone down to clap for him. He couldn’t help but smile, just a little bit. “Are you at home alone? I thought Seokmin didn’t have rehearsal today.”

“He doesn’t, but a couple of the other actors wanted to run some lines, and since he’s the best person in the world—and the sexy lead of the show—he agreed to go help them,” Soonyoung explained, flopping backwards onto his bed, getting near-enveloped by the fluffy comforter and mess of pillows under him. “Gonna be honest, I’m surprised you went back to your own apartment last night.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Or that you went home alone.” 

“...should I be insulted?” Seungkwan asked, turning back to his closet. 

“Of course not!” Soonyoung said quickly, looking insulted in turn by the insinuation that Seungkwan thought Soonyoung was judging him. “I’m just saying—every bit of that guy you made out with last night was very happy to see you, that’s all.” 

Seungkwan had to take a moment after those words to extricate himself from his closet and press his forehead to his wall, closing his eyes. 

“When was the last time I told you I hate you?” he finally asked, and Soonyoung let out a wild giggle. Seungkwan still had his eyes closed, was still turned away, but could perfectly envision the shit-eating grin on Soonyoung’s face.

“Last night, on the way to the party,” he answered. “I said ‘you are now aware of how your tongue is sitting in your mouth’ and you threatened to push me out of the taxi.”

“Hey, the taxi driver agreed with me,” Seungkwan pointed out, turning back to the phone and sighing. A rule has been established that Seungkwan could only threaten Soonyoung’s life once every twenty-four hours, and the words ‘I hate you’ apparently counted, because Soonyoung claimed that he would wither and pass away without Seungkwan’s love. 

“I’m just saying, that guy was really into you!” Soonyound defended. “It was great!”

“Seriously?” Seungkwan felt he couldn’t believe that. “I had to have been a total mess. Ugh, I bet it was so embarrassing, I can’t believe I let myself—”

“Hey now,” Soonyoung cut him off, his expression stern, before Seungkwan could truly start spiraling. “None of that. It really wasn’t that bad; you two just kind of retreated to a corner in the dark. And you were very into it.” 

Seungkwan buried his face in his hands. “Okay, but if you saw, then—”

“I only saw because I was keeping an eye on you!” Soonyoung said. “And you never sent me the ‘help’ look, and he seemed like he was being really nice to you, so I just… I just let him.” 

“Thanks,” Seungkwan said begrudgingly. Because he knew that Soonyoung knew him well, and he knew that if he’d given Soonyoung even the slightest bit of a reason to think he was uncomfortable at any moment with the stranger, Soonyoung would have whip-kicked the guy into next week without hesitation. “I can’t believe I don’t remember his name.” 

Soonyoung burst into giggles again. 

“You don’t turn into a messy gay often Kwannie, but when you do, it is glorious.” 

“Oh, shut up,” Seungkwan said again. “Now wish me luck and leave me alone; I really do need to get ready.”

After insisting “he’s going to love you!”, Soonyoung did. Seungkwan decided to play it safe with nice jeans, a button down shirt, and a nice coat, the nerves in his chest causing him to show up at the established meeting place a solid fifteen minutes early. Then he had to wait around and try not to panic, how incredibly idiotic of an idea this was just reinforcing itself with every passing minute, in the middle of talking himself into just completely bailing when there was a voice behind him.

“You’re not planning on standing me up, are you?” 

Seungkwan turned. It was Hot Party Make Out Guy, in the flesh, standing there in expensive-looking casual clothes and an oversized coat that was worn with age and use. Being caught muttering to himself was a bit embarrassing, and Seungkwan willed his face not to flush.

“Does it count as standing you up if I technically was here, but then just left?” he decided to ask. 

“Either way, it would make me sad,” the guy said, reaching out to give Seungkwan’s fingertips a squeeze, releasing  them before Seungkwan could really react. Then he smiled, and Seungkwan damn near melted all over the sidewalk. “It’s nice to see you again, Seungkwan.” 

“I—but, last night—” Seungkwan felt stunned. “You last saw me—it’s barely been a day.”

“I know.” Mister Dinner Date started down the street, glancing slightly over his shoulder, the smile still on his face. “You hungry?” 

Seungkwan couldn’t do much more than blink, nod, and jog slightly to catch up. 

They had a reservation at a nice restaurant, Seungkwan quickly found out, the cogs in his mind immediately beginning to turn. He would listen for the reservation name, and if that wasn’t enough, would let the guy pay for the meal, and sneak a glance at his credit card. It would be hard to keep conversation up all the way through dinner though. Maybe he could initiate some kind of water-drinking competition, and when the guy left to go to the bathroom, could pickpocket his coat to look through his wallet. 

He was so distracted by his plans that they were at the restaurant sooner than he realized, and Hot Guy was now Hot And Also Polite Guy, because he was holding the door open for him. A rather anxious-looking server met them at the door, the place almost completely devoid of patrons, and Seungkwan glanced around.  

“Hi, reservation for—” Hot Guy began, the server cutting him off almost immediately.

“Sorry, we’re closing.” 

“...now?” 

“There was an explosion in the kitchen,” she told him, and she looked so frazzled that Seungkwan felt bad for her.

“Explosion?” he couldn’t help but echo. “Is everyone okay?”

“For the most part.”

That wasn’t really an answer, but she was already shooing them out, and Seungkwan heard the door lock behind them. They just stood there for a moment, staring at each other.

“Well.” Hot Guy glanced at Seungkwan. “There goes my idea. Anywhere you want to eat?”

Seungkwan didn’t have a particular place in mind, saying so, but Hot Guy took the nonanswer in stride, leading Seungkwan back to the shopping street. 

“How do you feel about street food? There are some pretty good food stands around here.” 

Seungkwan wasn’t opposed to street food, not at all, but it seemed as though they’d be walking around and eating, and that all but shot Seungkwan’s name discovery plans out of the water, especially when their bowls of tteokbokki were paid for in cash. Though Seungkwan noticed the guy staring at him quite a bit while they were eating, conversation didn’t really start until they were finished, Seungkwan turning to him with a question that, hopefully, would end in a name reveal.

“This… This is a little embarrassing,” he started, “but… I was kinda drunk last night, and I know that we, um, we had a good time—” Hot Guy smiled at those words, but it wasn’t the teasing grin Soonyoung had worn; if Seungkwan were a little more delusional, he would have described the look as almost ‘enamored’—“but some of the specifics are a little, uh, fuzzy for me.” 

“Okay,” the guy said, seeming to hear Seungkwan’s request without Seungkwan having to actually ask it. “You marched up to me, and you had this expression—I almost thought you were mad, honestly—and grabbed my hand like this,” he demonstrated, almost clapping their hands together with the strength at which their palms met. Seungkwan blinked in surprise, and the guy laughed, his touch gentle now as he entwined their fingers. “And then you told me that you liked my eyebrows.” 

“Oh my god,” Seungkwan couldn’t help but say, using his free hand to cover his face, and his date fully started laughing at him. “Forget I asked. I hate this already.” 

“It was cute!” Hot Guy insisted, and somehow, he sounded like he meant it as he bumped Seungkwan’s shoulder with his own. “You were so determined. I liked it.” 

That was Soonyoung’s fault. Soonyoung had some kind of vendetta to get Seungkwan to start going after the things he wanted. Apparently, on at least a subconscious level, the encouragement was working. 

“Sorry,” Seungkwan said anyway.

“Then, well, I introduced myself,” the guy continued, waving the apology off, and Seungkwan raised his eyebrows. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And you told me that you were Boo Seungkwan, and that you were from Jeju.”

“Of course I did.”

“And then—my friend was standing next to me, and you challenged him to a dance battle.”

“I didn’t!” Seungkwan exclaimed at him.

“You did!” the guy exclaimed back, and he was laughing a little, squeezing Seungkwan’s hand. His smile really was incredible, the way his eyes folded under the rise of his cheeks, how his teeth and gums were fully on display. He was so bright, incredibly bright, and looking at him had Seungkwan’s breath stopping in his chest, just a bit. 

“Well?” Seungkwan asked him. “Did I win?” 

Hot—And Also With A Breathtaking Smile—Guy was still laughing a bit. 

“You… You didn’t know that my friend is a professional breakdancer,” he said.

“...that doesn’t answer my question,” Seungkwan insisted, and the guy broke down in laughter again, almost completely leaning against Seungkwan this time, and Seungkwan couldn’t help the proud feeling in his chest at amusing him. “Did I win or not?” 

“You didn’t, sorry,” the guy told him, “but— oh wow,” the English exclamation was surprising, but it sounded nice, sounded natural, “I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that hard. It was amazing, really.” 

“Sounds like I might have won anyway, then,” Seungkwan responded petulantly. Hot Guy was smiling at him. “Especially if I scored this date.” 

“Well, after the dance battle, I asked you if you wanted to dance with me, and you said yes,” Hot Guy continued, swinging their entwined hands a bit, “and I asked my friend to put on a slower song, to keep you from elbowing someone else in the nose—”

“Wait, someone else—?” Seungkwan squeaked, Hot Guy barking out yet another laugh. 

“To kind of tease me, they put a really slow ballad on, but we danced to it anyway.” He was smiling at the ground now. It was such a sweet expression. “You put your arms around my neck, and you kissed me.” He glanced up at Seungkwan. “It was nice.”

That did sound nice. It also sounded astoundingly more innocent than Soonyoung’s version of the events, and Seungkwan had to ask about it. 

“My friend said… My friend said that we were making out in a corner,” he confessed, and Hot Guy grinned.

“Yeah, we kind of got kicked off the dance floor.”

“Sorry.” 

“I’m not complaining,” the guy insisted, swinging their hands again and directing his gaze forwards. “Definitely not complaining.” 

Hot Guy also assured Seungkwan that he too had been relatively inebriated, but it seemed as though he was better at holding his alcohol, or it affected him differently, because his memory seemed relatively intact. Seungkwan’s own lapse in memory felt a bit mortifying now, Seungkwan sure that he couldn’t ask Hot Guy for his name after all of that, after getting the whole story of last night and pretending that it was just a refresher, instead of first-time information. He didn’t want to seem like a drunken disaster, especially when this guy was this nice, and this pretty, and holding his hand. 

But dinner was more or less done now, and since they’d both used public transportation to get themselves to the date spot, Hot Guy offered to escort Seungkwan home. Seungkwan agreed, noticing the whole time that Hot Guy was doing that thing again, that thing where he would just look over at him, even if he wasn’t talking, or moving, or really doing anything interesting. Once they’d come to a stop in front of Seungkwan’s apartment building, Seungkwan felt too self conscious to take it anymore, and had to ask about it. 

“You keep staring at me.” 

He didn’t look embarrassed upon being called out, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning back slightly on his heels as he nodded. 

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?” Seungkwan echoed. 

“Yeah. I like looking at you.” 

“What?” The words, and how plainly they were said, nearly knocked Seungkwan over. “Wait, why? What are you talking about?” 

“You need me to explain it?” Hot Guy asked. He still didn’t look embarrassed at all, stepping forwards instead. He was close now, closer than he’d been all day, and the air stuttered in Seungkwan’s chest. He met Seungkwan’s eyes, his voice a bit quieter. “You’re handsome, Seungkwan. You’re handsome, and you’re here, and I want to look at you. Is that okay?” 

Seungkwan nodded, wordless, mostly stunned but also a little touched by how genuine the question of permission had sounded. Seungkwan felt himself leaning close, feeling unable to help it, and before he knew it his hand was on the back of Hot Guy’s neck. 

“I had a lot of fun with you today,” Hot Guy told him. “Could I—Seungkwan, could I kiss you?” 

Seungkwan nodded, nodded so fast he would have felt stupid if every part of him hadn’t been screaming yes, please, leaning in before Hot Guy even had the chance to and pressing their lips together.

Seungkwan could understand, almost immediately, why last night he’d decided to completely ignore all of his usual warning signs about making out with strangers. Because he’d had kisses before, plenty of them great, but this… Kisses shouldn’t be allowed to feel this good.

His mouth was soft but insistent against Seungkwan’s, kissing him with purpose. His lips were slow, steady and strong, his hands finding Seungkwan’s sides and trailing down slowly, the touch near-electrifying. Seungkwan didn’t know if it was natural chemistry or acquired skill, but he didn’t want this guy to stop kissing him, didn’t want to stop touching him, and the Hot And Also Incredible At Kissing Him Guy didn’t seem to want to stop either. Finally though, oxygen went from being a need to an urgency, and Seungkwan pulled back, gasping. 

“Wow,” he managed out, then immediately hated himself for it; Hot Guy laughed, the sound obviously affectionate and painfully breathless, leaning in close. Seungkwan twisted his fingers through the hair on the nape of the man’s neck. 

“Yeah?” he asked, so Seungkwan decided to lean into the embarrassment. 

“Yeah.”

“Me too.” Hot Guy chased Seungkwan’s lips, kissing him a few more head-spinning times. “You’re so—”

He cut himself off, the foreign words low and close and quiet, sending a thrill of goosebumps across Seungkwan’s body. Seungkwan had never felt this wanted before, not by anyone, and especially not from just a kiss, and he didn’t know what to do, the question almost expected when the guy asked it. 

“Could I come upstairs?” 

Oh, Seungkwan wanted to. He wanted to invite Hot Guy up to his apartment, but the fact that he had nothing else to mentally refer to him as but “Hot Guy” gave him pause, and he took a step back. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, knowing he must be sending horribly mixed signals. “I must be giving you the wrong impression, but I’m not usually someone that kisses people at parties and hooks up with strangers, and... You’re kind of still a stranger to me.”

The man nodded, and he stepped back too, and thankfully, he didn’t look upset. 

“Am I someone you might want to get to know better, then?” 

Get to know better. Yeah, that would be a start. 

“Definitely,” Seungkwan told him, and a huge smile broke out over the guy’s face again. Seungkwan wanted him to do something cheesy like pretend to introduce himself, but when he didn’t, Seungkwan decided to go for it himself and see if the guy would respond in kind. He held his hand out. “I’m Boo Seungkwan.”

“And I,” Hot Guy took Seungkwan’s fingers in his hand, “am going to check my schedule and get back to you. So expect a call from me tomorrow, okay?”

Then he kissed Seungkwan’s knuckles, smiled one last time, and left, leaving him stunned. 

As soon as Seungkwan was inside the door, he called Seokmin. 

“Please tell me you know,” he said, as soon as the call was picked up. “Please tell me you found out more information. I’m literally about to die.”

“Wait, die? Was it a good date or bad date?” Seokmin asked, his voice full of concern. Seungkwan let out a groan, doing a quick cost-analysis of how much it would hurt to just fall face first onto the floor like he wanted to. Eventually, he decided against it. 

“So good, Seokmin. So good.” 

“And you’re talking to us?!” The voice was Soonyoung’s, slightly far-off and incredulous. “The night is still young! Go get him! Invite him over!” 

Seungkwan began to wonder why Soonyoung was this enthusiastically invested in getting him laid. 

“I can’t, Soonyoung. Not—not like this. I mean, he’s an incredible kisser—he must be some kind of kiss wizard, or something—but I still…” This was embarrassing to admit. “I never found out his name.”

“What?” Soonyoung yelped. “Are you—are you just calling him ‘Kiss Wizard’ or something?” 

“I’m not calling him anything!” Seungkwan exclaimed back. “I’m avoiding it in conversation, and he’s… He’s kind of just ‘Hot Guy’ in my head.”

“I talked to some people,” Seokmin started, his voice all business. “Half of them didn’t get back to me, because everyone is really hungover. Plus, Mingyu is kind of giving the group chat a cold shoulder because no one helped him clean up anything, but he should be over that in a couple of days. But honestly, a lot of people didn’t know who you were.”

“Ouch, thanks for the ego boost,” Seungkwan said. “Why does that matter?”

“You said not to send the photo around, and I don’t know the guy’s name either, so if people don’t know who you are and I ask ‘do you know the guy that was kissing my friend Seungkwan last night?’, they have no idea what I’m talking about.” 

“We did describe you a little,” Soonyoung added. He said the words like he was trying to be helpful, but they sent a quick jolt of fear through Seungkwan instead, wondering what Soonyoung could possibly be saying about him. “That helped! Some people wanted your phone number, and Jimin said you have a great ass.”

“Wait, Jimin? Jungkook’s friend? Isn’t he the one with the great ass?” Seungkwan asked in surprise. 

“Hey, game recognize game,” Seokmin said. “But I’m sorry Seungkwan, nobody knew who he was.”

“He had to have come with someone, though,” Seungkwan fell into thought. “He did say his friend was a professional breakdancer. Do you know any breakdancers, Seokmin?”

“A whole bunch of them are dancers,” Seokmin supplied unhelpfully. “I’ll keep trying though, okay? Maybe something will come up once a few more of them get back to me.”

“Thanks,” Seungkwan said, genuinely grateful for the amount of work Seokmin was putting in. Because he was going on another date with this guy, hopefully soon, and not knowing his name was starting to put a knot in his stomach. 

Though Hot Guy said he would do it, Seungkwan was still surprised when a call from ??? Future Husband lit up his buzzing phone screen the next day, the green button inviting him to answer. When he did, saying a simple “Hello?”, there was a smile in Hot Guy’s voice. 

“Hey,” he said, casual and happy, and yeah, maybe Seungkwan swooned a little bit. “Good morning, by the way.”

“Good morning,” Seungkwan responded, and Hot Guy chuckled. 

“I’m not free tonight, and—I mean, this could be too soon—but I have an evening open on Monday night, if you want to go see a movie with me.” 

“I…” Seungkwan filtered quickly and needlessly through his own schedule. His newly acquired assistant choir teacher position at the local high school had him done with work every afternoon before four, at the latest. “I could do that, yeah.”

“And would you want to?” 

“Definitely. What movie?”

There was a stretch of silence. 

“...I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Hot Guy admitted. “I was mostly just hoping that you would say yes.” 

The thought that this dude would even entertain the idea of being turned down was absolutely ludicrous to Seungkwan. 

“Well, it can be any movie,” Seungkwan told him. “I don't mind, really.”

That was a lie, but Seungkwan didn’t have the strength to not be overly accommodating. He could pretend to laugh at a bad comedy, and a horror movie might have him sleeping with the lights on for a week, but it wouldn’t actually kill him. Probably. 

After promising to text him with the movie ticket details, Hot Guy said he had to go and hung up. As he was wont to do, while Seungkwan was trying to get ready the night of the date, Soonyoung video called him. 

“I can’t believe you’re doing this again!” he exclaimed. “Why can’t you just ask him for his name?”

“That would be so weird!” Seungkwan protested back. “It’s too late! I went through the entire first date without asking. He just assumes I know. When I find out, it’ll be a secret I take to my grave.” 

Soonyoung, who’d had his head in the pantry for the duration of the conversation so far, popped out holding a bag of chips. 

“Come on, it could be a cute story,” he insisted. “Plus, you need to learn more about him. What if he’s not morosexual?”

The insinuation took a moment for Seungkwan to understand. 

“I’m not a moron,” he finally told Soonyoung, who looked wholly unimpressed, throwing a chip in his mouth and taking a crunching bite. 

“Look at your life, look at your choices,” he responded, and Seungkwan couldn’t really even think of a decent counter-argument. 

“Shut up,” he said instead, and Soonyoung just laughed at him. “Besides, what if he’s actually a moron too? We can’t both be morons.”

“Hey, Seokmin and I are both morons and we’ve been happily married for the past fifteen years,” Soonyoung told him, taking on a stuffy tone.

“Shut up!” Seungkwan exclaimed again, but he was laughing now. “You two met three years ago, and you haven’t even popped the question yet.” 

Soonyoung simply huffed at him, and Seungkwan got to work trying to pick out an outfit for a movie theater date. Movie theater dates were tough, because there was the want to be comfy and the want to be classy, and unless the clothes were expensive—and Seungkwan’s decidedly were not—those two things were excellent at conflicting with each other. After some coaxing he decided to wear one of his tighter pairs of pants, much to Soonyoung’s delight. 

“Stop trying to get me laid,” he grumbled as he tugged them on, though Soonyoung appeared not to have heard him, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.

“You really do need to learn his name,” Soonyoung said, Seungkwan wondering if that’s what Soonyoung’s incredible revelation had just been. Then his friend continued. “If he’s really as good with his mouth as you say he is, you’ll need to know what name to moan after your date tonight.” 

Seungkwan, feeling much like he’d just been set on fire, shoved the heels of his palms into his closed eyes.

“I hate you. I hate you so much.” 

Soonyoung whined at him, but the threat was valid time-wise, so Seungkwan didn’t have to retract it.

“I’m serious!” Soonyoung exclaimed. “How are you going to find out? What are you going to do?”

“I… I don’t know!” Seungkwan exclaimed back, because it was the truth. “Keep making him pay for stuff until I see his credit card, I guess? Won’t the movie tickets have his name on them, if he’s the one that bought them?” 

“Maybe,” Soonyoung responded, though he sounded doubtful. Then he gasped in inspiration, and Seungkwan felt really and truly afraid. “What if I crash your date?!” 

“Then I’ll kill you,” Seungkwan responded without missing a beat. That threat, unfortunately, he did have to take back. 

“I’m serious!” Soonyoung insisted again. “I’ll come up to you guys, and I’ll introduce myself. You can pretend like you didn’t know I was coming! He’ll have to introduce himself back and bam: you’ve got yourself a name, baby.” 

Seungkwan had to admit, the plan wasn’t a bad one. He still had his doubts, though; things that he and Soonyoung thought up together were usually notorious for going south one way for another, and always in the way that was the most embarrassing.

“Won’t he remember you, though? We were at the party together, and if you kept watching us make out, he must have noticed.”

“He definitely didn’t notice,” Soonyoung had that grin on his face again. It was surprisingly catlike, with the way his eyes would narrow and his lips would curl, the only time Seungkwan really saw the tiger comparison his friend liked to make. “He was way too busy. And I wasn’t watching creepily! You make me sound so terrible, really; I just was checking every once and a while to make sure I didn’t have to unpin you from the wall and unstick your thigh from his groin.” 

“Don’t say groin,” Seungkwan complained. The more he heard about these kisses though, the more upset he was about not being able to remember, because they sounded… Well, they sounded hot, honestly. “Fine. You can show up.” 

“Yes!” Soonyoung beamed at him. “I’ll get ready! Text me the details.”

Then Seungkwan was hung up on, with the foreboding feeling that his friend was much too excited about this.

When it was time to meet Hot Guy at the nearby movie theater, the man handing him his ticket for some movie called “Bad Clue”, Seungkwan scoured the ticket high and low for a name, unfortunately unable to find one. He texted the title to Soonyoung though, catching sight of his friend walking in theater as he and Hot Guy began towards the proper viewing room. 

“Thanks for agreeing to come,” Hot Guy said, and he was smiling at Seungkwan again, and Seungkwan must have forgotten how lovely he was after just one day, because the expression was disarmingly charming. 

“Of course!” Seungkwan said quickly, getting a raised eyebrow in response. He realized immediately that he sounded much too eager, murmuring out an apology, but Hot Guy was absolutely beaming now. 

“Don’t be sorry. I like it,” he said, and Seungkwan nearly died on the spot. Then he nearly died all over again when Hot Guy placed a hand on his lower back to lead him to his seat, mentally preparing himself for a night of light casual touches while pretending to pay attention to whatever it was that was happening on screen. 

A quick glance back told Seungkwan that Soonyoung was situated, all the up in the back row with a giant bucket of popcorn. He gave a cheery wave, Seungkwan giving him a wide-eyed look back. 

The movie started, loud and intense, and Seungkwan began the game of inching his fingers closer to the hand Hot Guy had resting on his knee. It didn’t end up as much of a game, though; as soon as Seungkwan’s pinky touched Hot Guy’s hand, he took Seungkwan’s hand completely in his own, entwining their fingers, leaning close to press a kiss to Seungkwan’s cheek. The action was so sweet, and had Seungkwan going so red that it was visible even in the dark light of the theater, and Hot Guy laughed at him, squeezing his hand. 

Unfortunately, “Bad Clue” was not some mediocre buddy-cop murder mystery. It was a horror movie, the creeping psychological kind that weren’t really graphic, but had awful noises and intense imagery and too much suspense. After maybe an hour, Seungkwan realized that despite his resolve to be okay with anything, he was Not Okay with this, deciding to maybe just close his eyes. But Hot Guy noticed immediately when he started crying, pulling him up by the hand without question and leading him out. In the light of the lobby Seungkwan felt nothing but embarrassed, Hot Guy taking him to a bench, sitting him down, leaning in and brushing his fingers through Seungkwan’s bangs to get a look at his face. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t—” Seungkwan released Hot Guy’s hand to cover his face. “I didn’t—I don’t usually—”

He choked a bit, trying to stop, because he felt all teary and sweaty and awful, the way embarrassed crying always made him feel, but Hot Guy just kissed his cheek again. 

“I’m sorry, I should have asked,” Hot Guy said. “I knew it wasn’t very violent so I thought it wouldn’t be very scary, and my friends and I like to make fun of bad horror movies, so I thought—I didn’t know—”

Seungkwan shook his head quickly, letting out a long breath and tilting his head towards the ceiling. 

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “Ugh, I feel so embarrassed.”

“Hey, it’s just me,” Hot Guy told him. Seungkwan felt that the words were supposed to feel stupid to him, because this was the third time total that they’d ever met each other, and he didn’t even know the guy’s name, but they were just comforting instead, and did actually help. “I’m not any better. About a week ago, two of my friends and I finally got around to watching that movie Inside Out —you know, that kid’s movie?—and all of us cried. For like, hours, about it.”

“That one about… About feelings having feelings?” Seungkwan asked with a sniff, and Hot Guy nodded.

“Yeah,” he said, “I had to make a stop by my parents’ house afterwards and hug my cat.” Hot Guy took Seungkwan’s hands in his again, his palm up and Seungkwan’s palm down, rubbing his thumbs across Seungkwan’s fingers. He maintained eye contact for a few moments, looking concerned and comforting, and Seungkwan breathed out a laugh, glancing away. 

“You good?” Hot Guy asked him.

“Yeah,” Seungkwan said with a nod. “Yeah, let me just—” he cut himself off as he got to his feet, and his hands were let go of. “I’ll go clean myself up.” 

He hurried to the bathroom, blowing his nose and splashing water on his face, trying to get a grip. He almost wanted to feel more embarrassed about what was happening, but Hot Guy had been so kind and non-judgemental that he almost felt glad for it instead, to be out in the lobby with him instead of in there watching that awful movie. 

Seungkwan thought he ought to feel stuck, that the lack of a name should feel like a roadblock that he couldn’t pass, but instead, it didn’t matter much. He still wanted to know, of course he wanted to know—Soonyoung’s “moan” comment would not leave his mind—but it wouldn’t change how this guy made him feel, how happy and wanted and cared for it felt to be so much as looked at by him. Feeling a bit emotional about the whole thing, Seungkwan wiped at his face and walked from the bathroom with purpose, marching directly up to Hot Guy. The guy was holding something, and had even started to speak, none of that having time to register in Seungkwan’s mind before he took Hot Guy by his shirtfront and kissed him breathless. 

Seungkwan got a little breathless himself, and it was infinitely worth the look of near-amazement on Hot Guy’s face. Because yeah, when he really wanted to, Seungkwan could kiss and he knew it. 

“Sorry,” Seungkwan said as he pulled back. “You had started to say something.”

“Never, ever apologize for doing something like… Like that,” Hot Guy assured him. Then he laughed a bit, looking flustered in probably the cutest way possible, holding up his hand to reveal boxes of candy. “This feels kind of stupid now, but I was going to see if I could catch something in my mouth if you tossed it at me from that far away.”

He pointed to a corner across the room, and Seungkwan laughed a little. A fun and light distraction tactic. Seungkwan tried not to swoon. 

Hot Guy had bought both gummies and chocolate and they took turns throwing food at each other from various distances. Seungkwan laughed a lot, trying not to feel too embarrassed when fellow moviegoers passed them by, making sure to clean up after themselves to avoid glares from the movie theater staff. 

By the time movies around them began letting out in earnest they had to stop, retreating back to the bench as crowds exited the building around them, Seungkwan watching as Hot Guy popped a gummy into his mouth. He was about to say something, when a voice stopped him. 

“I can’t believe I had to sit through all of that just to spy on your stupid date!” 

Seungkwan spun around, and his heart sank. He had all but forgotten about Soonyoung, and his friend was worse with horror movies than he was; Soonyoung was still openly crying, and Seungkwan jumped to his feet to pull him into his arms. 

“Oh, no; Soonyoung, we left like half an hour ago!” he exclaimed to him as he pulled back, wiping at Soonyoung’s face with his shirtsleeve. “You didn’t have to stay!”

“How was I supposed to know?” Soonyoung choked back, swallowing huge amounts of air as he returned his breathing to normal. “It was so awful.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Hot Guy offered, but Soonyoung just shook his head. 

“I don’t even want to think about it. I don’t want to think about it ever again.” 

Seungkwan rubbed Soonyoung’s back, Hot Guy giving him a slightly hesitant glance, and Soonyoung’s opening words came back to him. He’d said “spy on your date”, and Hot Guy was clearly wondering what that was supposed to mean. 

“Oh! I uh, well…” Now was not the time to come clean about everything, so Seungkwan decided to lie. Just a little bit. It wasn’t actually a lie at all, really. “I’ve just been talking about you a lot, so my friend wanted to, um… He wanted to meet you.” 

Soonyoung stepped up dutifully despite how shaken he was, and Seungkwan absolutely loved him for it. 

“Hi, we haven’t met. I’m Kwon Soonyoung.” 

It was a call that warranted a response, and Seungkwan was stock still, feeling he might snap with how tightly coiled he was as he waited for the answer. 

“It’s great to meet you,” Hot Guy responded. “I’m—well, if Seungkwan has said so much, I’m sure you already know my name.” 

Seungkwan waited for him to continue, to say “but”, and go forward with an introduction. When it became clear that he wouldn’t though, Seungkwan resisted the urge to bury his face into Soonyoung’s shoulder and let out a loud sob. He wanted Soonyoung to do something, to keep talking to help him circle the conversation around to get a name out of Hot Guy, but one look at Soonyoung’s face told Seungkwan that he wasn’t in the mood to play along anymore, and Seungkwan couldn’t blame him. 

“We should probably get going,” Seungkwan said instead. “The staff here probably hate us by now.” 

Probably because of Soonyoung’s presence, Hot Guy didn’t offer to walk him home. They had to part ways almost immediately after leaving the theater, so he just squeezed Seungkwan’s hand and kissed his knuckles instead, requesting Seungkwan text him once he got home to know he’d arrived there safely. Seungkwan went a bit weak in the knees. 

“He seems nice,” Soonyoung allotted. Then, despite not ever wanting to think about the movie again, gave Seungkwan a grisly frame-by-frame retelling the entire way home.

From: ACTUAL HUSBAND MATERIAL
Hey, sorry again for what happened at the movie theater 
It seems like all of our dates have been a little bit of a mess

The texts from Hot Guy made him frown, Seungkwan responding quickly. 

What do you mean? I always have a good time!

He always seemed so enthusiastic over texts to Hot Guy, he realized. He meant it, though. He didn’t want Hot Guy to think he hadn’t had fun. 

From: ACTUAL HUSBAND MATERIAL 
I do too, but something always seems to go wrong haha

That was true. The kitchen exploding, Seungkwan sobbing for a full ten minutes in the lobby of a movie theater… Their first meeting had been a bit of a disaster too, not that Hot Guy knew that. 

Hot Guy texted him again before Seungkwan could respond. 

I want to see you again this weekend, you game? :)

A few days had passed, and “this weekend” was tomorrow. Unfortunately, the week had been busy for everyone, but Seokmin especially, and that meant he hadn’t had any time to look more into Hot Guy’s name. It was still a mystery. This weekend… It felt like it should be a bit soon, to see this guy three times in the space of one week, but if Seungkwan was being honest, he wanted to see Hot Guy again. And if Hot Guy wanted to see him too, did it count as being clingy?

To: ACTUAL HUSBAND MATERIAL 
Game? Are we doing sports? (volleyball is my sport of choice btw) 

From: ACTUAL HUSBAND MATERIAL 
I am so bad at sports lol but we can if you want to :) I was thinking we could just hang out at my place this time, so nothing can go wrong

His place. Oh. Oh. 

Going to the place of a guy you were dating, especially to “just hang out”—unless you were Seokmin, much to Soonyoung’s confusion when the two started dating—was more or less code for We’re Gonna Bang. And it wasn’t that Seungkwan didn’t want to. He just knew that he could not, in good conscience, get into Hot Guy’s pants without knowing what his name was. That wasn’t a line he would let himself cross.

But he agreed anyway. He figured there had to be something in Hot Guy’s house that had his name on it; an address nameplate, or important mail, or a signed book by a favorite author. The thought wasn’t quite enough to quell his mind about it though, and the next day, en route to Hot Guy’s apartment, Seungkwan composed a frantic text to Seokmin. 

To: Seokminnie Mouse
You officially have express permission to spread this photo as far and wide as you can for any information. Call me as soon as you find out!! Please!!!!!

He attached the selfie Hot Guy had first sent him, and hoped that would be enough.  

When he arrived at Hot Guy’s apartment building, he wasn’t sure what to think. The place was nice, obviously an expensive building to live in, but Hot Guy was in his early twenties, just like Seungkwan was. He realized he didn’t know what Hot Guy did as a job—when even his name was a mystery, it felt stupid to ask any questions with more depth to them—but still. Maybe he had like five roommates, or something. Maybe he still lived with his family, and this was going to be a surprise meet-the-parents situation. 

It was just Hot Guy though, when Seungkwan got to the correct door number and knocked on the wood. He beamed at Seungkwan, gesturing him inside.

“Welcome! Come in,” he said the words in cheery English, and it made Seungkwan laugh a bit. He was dressed simply, in pants that looked baggy on purpose, a grey shirt, and a light pink beanie. The color was nice against his skin, Seungkwan taken by it for just a moment before looking further inside Hot Guy’s apartment and actually gasping. 

“You live here?” he asked, looking around. “How do you afford a place like this?!” 

The question was incredibly insensitive, Seungkwan clapping a hand over his mouth and apologizing through his fingers as soon as he’d asked it. Thankfully, Hot Guy just laughed. The laugh was a bit embarrassed, smiling and scratching the back of his neck as he spoke.

“I, uh… Well, it kind of comes with the job, honestly.”

“...job?” Seungkwan echoed, and Hot Guy looked at him with such surprise that Seungkwan figured he had to have missed something. Which, considering how their relationship had gone so far, wasn’t the most outlandish assumption. He was still awaiting a call from Seokmin, his phone completely silent in his pocket. 

“...do you actually not know?” Hot Guy asked. Seungkwan shook his head, and Hot Guy took a bit of a step back, his next words looking like they took effort to say. “Oh, wow. Seungkwan, I… I’m Vernon.” 

“Vernon?” Seungkwan asked back. Then it clicked. “Like… Vernon. The Vernon?” 

Hot Guy was grinning, that fond type of amusement that Seungkwan was coming to recognize all over his face, and Seungkwan just had to stare at him. ‘Vernon’ was the stage name of an extremely talented rapper, rising rapidly from the underground as a force to be reckoned with in the music world. Part of his appeal though, was that he was completely anonymous; nobody knew what he looked like, or what his real name was. Which… Well. That didn’t exactly help Seungkwan, but still.

“Yep,” Hot Guy said, then he let out a laugh. “You really—this whole time? I thought that you knew! My friends weren’t exactly being subtle about it at the party.” 

“You’re Vernon?” Seungkwan asked again. “Are… Are you sure?” 

At that, Hot Guy—Vernon?—properly burst out laughing. He ended up performing a bit from one of his songs for Seungkwan, very casual and still slightly embarrassed, showing Seungkwan the spare room in his apartment that had been transformed into a recording booth, and yeah, Seungkwan was convinced. And completely flabbergasted. 

“You’re one of the few people that actually knows,” Vernon told him. “You know, what my real name is and stuff. So keep it a secret, okay?” 

“You have nothing to worry about,” Seungkwan assured him. Seokmin still hadn’t called. Vernon laughed, but it wasn’t a joke, and they sat down on the couch together. “So, um, Vernon—”

“Oh, no,” Vernon waved a quick hand. “Please don’t. I kind of like to keep my stuff separate, public and private. You can just use my real name.” 

Well. Shit. 

“I’m private?” Seungkwan asked, trying to use teasing to cover real and slightly mounting panic. Throughout the entire apartment tour and all the awards that Vernon had won, there had been no mention of his real name anywhere. Seokmin still hadn’t called him. “I’m a secret?” 

“You’re cute,” Vernon told him, leaning in to kiss him. The kiss wasn’t particularly hungry, but Seungkwan knew that with how much he melted when Vernon’s lips were on his, it had the potential to go that direction quickly, so he pulled back, trying to restart conversation. 

“So… That separation thing—is that why you stay anonymous? It’s not like you’re ugly or anything.” 

The words were more blunt that Seungkwan meant them to be—he seemed unable to stop putting his foot in his mouth tonight, too nervous to fully think things through—and Vernon doubled over laughing from his seat on the couch. 

“Thanks,” he managed out, reaching over to lightly squeeze Seungkwan’s thigh. It seemed like an almost unthinking, appreciative gesture, but it had Seungkwan’s mouth going dry. “But no, it’s not about me. I have a younger sister, and she’s the main reason, really. I got more popular than I could have expected, and it happened way faster than I thought possible; I’m going to wait until she’s an adult at least, before making any decision about changing it. I don’t want anyone bothering her.” 

“That’s nice,” Seungkwan said, and they talked about their families and some childhood moments, Seungkwan absolutely loving how much he could make Vernon laugh. While the conversation was nice, it still felt a bit like stalling, and how completely silent Seungkwan’s phone was in his pocket was really starting to make him squirm. 

“I’m a bit surprised, actually, that you like my stuff,” Vernon told him. “Anyone can listen to rap I guess, but you don’t really seem like the type.” 

“...pop is my favorite,” Seungkwan admitted. “But you’re so popular! I had to pay attention. And when I did, I liked it! But yeah, I’m very into pop. K-Pop, especially. I could like… Teach a class, I think.” 

“A class?” Vernon asked with a laugh. “Really? What would the first lesson be?” 

Seungkwan had to think for a moment. “How Girls’ Generation’s Gee was an absolute game changer.”

Vernon burst out laughing again. “Okay, okay.”

“And then for homework, I’ll assign an essay about the impact that constantly being shirtless had on 2PM’s career.” 

“Ah, I was never good at finishing my homework,” Vernon said, letting his head fall against the back of the couch as he glanced Seungkwan’s way. Seungkwan let his lips pout.

“It’s a big part of your grade!” he insisted. 

“You’ll fail me for not analyzing some abs?” Vernon asked. He was pouting back, leaning in closer, the expression equal parts silly and adorable. “That’s not fair, Professor Boo.” 

The title had Seungkwan giggling and rolling his eyes, shifting close across the couch to kiss Vernon’s lips. He wanted to really and truly kiss Vernon now, but Vernon began laughing back, his mouth open, leaning away to press his forehead to Seungkwan’s. Seungkwan let out a bit of a whine, nipping at Vernon’s bottom lip, and that did the trick. That more than did the trick: Seungkwan found himself pulled into Vernon’s lap, Vernon’s hands on his hips, and now Vernon was kissing him with purpose. 

Vernon was too good at getting him panting, and it was only a couple minutes before he felt a bit lightheaded and weak-kneed, his arms wrapped around Vernon’s neck. Vernon pressed a few shorter kisses to Seungkwan’s mouth, letting out a light hum and meeting his eyes. 

“I like having you in my lap Seungkwan,” he said, his voice soft. It was sexy, and Seungkwan wanted to respond in kind, wanted to echo the words back to him about how he liked it too, but the lack of a name to give at the end of the phrase had Seungkwan frozen. He felt bad now, for having done this lying-by-omission thing for so long, especially when Vernon had trusted Seungkwan with such a big secret. He was going to come clean, just tell Vernon the truth, his mouth opening and fear crawling up his chest. Then Vernon’s phone began vibrating wildly, the text tone going off a solid seven times in fifteen seconds, loud enough to make Seungkwan jump. 

Vernon let his face fall onto Seungkwan’s shoulder. 

“I should get that,” he said, sounding resigned. “That’s Minghao’s text tone, and he almost never texts me. It could be an emergency.” 

Seungkwan reluctantly got up, sitting back against the couch while he watched Vernon pick up his phone. Vernon’s expression changed quickly, his eyebrows furrowing, getting more and more confused before he finally glanced Seungkwan’s way. 

“What?” Seungkwan asked him, unsure of why Vernon would be looking at him like that. 

“Seungkwan, Minghao says people are asking him if he knows the ‘sexy party lip wizard’? And he sent this picture?” Vernon turned his phone screen, showing the selfie that Seungkwan had been given as a contact picture. “I know I only sent that to you. So how does he have it? What is he talking about?” 

Seungkwan was half convinced he was about to catch on fire. Despite being so ready to tell Vernon just seconds before, excuses and secondary courses of action were flashing through his mind a mile a minute, ranging from trying to somehow pass everything off as a joke to completely running from the room. He wondered, briefly, how much it might cost to contract an assassin to simply take him out. All thoughts of what he could possibly say had fled from his mouth, the confession simple and quiet.

“...I don’t know your name.” 

“What?” Vernon asked, and Seungkwan buried his face in his hands.

“I don’t know your name!” he shouted. Vernon was just staring at him. “I—you knew my name, and you’re so hot that I felt embarrassed about asking, so I just, I just, I… I didn’t.” 

Vernon was still staring. And staring. 

“You just… didn’t,” he finally said. 

“I tried to ask around, but my friends didn’t know, and then I tried to get my friend to figure it out—he’s in a group chat with the people that threw the party—and I guess… I guess that’s how your friend saw it.”

“So… You have no idea what my name is?” Vernon asked. Seungkwan wanted the ground to swallow him, but at least Vernon didn’t look angry. Somehow.  

“...Minhyuk?” he guessed. Vernon shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve kind of… I’ve kind of just been calling you ‘Hot Guy’ in my head. And to my friends.”

Vernon blinked at him a second more before his face split into a smile, that smile cracking into a laugh, and then he was on his knees on the rug in front of the couch, his head bowed, choking on giggles. 

“...what’s going on?” Seungkwan finally had to ask, anxiety coiled tightly in his chest. Still on his knees, turning so he faced Seungkwan now, Vernon placed one hand on Seungkwan’s thigh as he reached up with the other, pulling him down and giving him a kiss.

“Boo Seungkwan, you are so cute,” he said. Seungkwan had absolutely no idea what to do with that.

“What? Wait, why? How? Why aren’t you mad at me?” Seungkwan half-rose from the couch, but Vernon didn’t let him go, so he sat back down. “Why aren’t you kicking me out and insisting that I never talk to you again?”

“I mean, do you want to leave?” Vernon asked. Seungkwan shook his head quickly. “Seungkwan, on our first date, I didn’t think you knew my name. I kept waiting for you to ask me, and I was really surprised when you never did.”

“...what?”

“At the party, you kept asking me to remind you, and… You never really got it. The last time, I told you my name and you said ‘oh, like the piano man, cool’ before just kissing me, so—”

“Oh my god.” 

“—and I guess you meant Handel? That classical composer guy? But I can’t play the piano,” Vernon grinned, squeezing gently at Seungkwan’s thigh again. “Sorry to disappoint you.” 

Letting out a loud groan of despair, Seungkwan let himself fail forwards, his forehead resting heavy on Vernon’s shoulder. He felt Vernon kiss his hair. 

“I was going to keep this a secret forever. I was going to take this to the grave.” He lifted up and looked at Vernon’s face. “You’re never going to think I’m cool, are you?” 

Vernon let out a loud laugh, his voice warm with amusement when he spoke. 

“Seungkwan, if it’s important to you, I can think you’re the coolest person in the world.”

“...don’t tease me.”

“No, seriously!” Vernon exclaimed. “You went on three whole dates with me, and you didn’t know my name, and I had no idea! You’re like a secret agent.”

“Stop.”

“Agent Boo. Double-Boo Seven.”

“Okay, now you’re not cool either,” Seungkwan told him, pulling him in, kissing him. He had to smile when he pulled back and saw Vernon grinning at him. “Thank you, for not being mad at me. I was going to tell you today, I promise. If I couldn’t figure it out, I mean. I was not going to have sex with you if I didn’t know your name. I wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh?” Vernon raised his eyebrows, a bit of a smirk playing on his lips. “That’s what we're doing tonight?”

Seungkwan wanted to die. “I—I mean, most people say dinner and a movie first, we’ve already done both, so—”

Vernon just laughed again, getting himself back up on the couch, leaning in close to kiss Seungkwan. 

“How about you officially become my boyfriend first?” he asked, voice a bit soft because of how close he was, and Seungkwan couldn’t nod fast enough. 

“I would love to.” 

“Awesome.” 

Vernon smiled into the next kiss, Seungkwan reaching up to hold Vernon’s cheek in his hand. Well, not Vernon, not exactly—Seungkwan jolted back. 

“Wait!” he exclaimed. “What’s your name? We went through all of that and you still didn’t tell me!” 

Vernon began laughing so hard that he couldn’t sit up straight. 

“Hansol,” he said, once he got his breath back. “I’m Chwe Hansol.” 

“Hansol.” The name felt good in his mouth, extremely fitting for the man in front of him, and the way Hansol perked up at the sound of it had Seungkwan visibly swooning. “I’m Boo Seungkwan.”

“Unlike some people, I already knew that,” Hansol said, Seungkwan rolling his eyes as he giggled. 

“Shut up,” he murmured. 

“Shut me up,” Hansol responded, but Seungkwan was already leaning in. In his pocket, finally, he felt his phone go off. He just let it ring.