HYUN [ JJK ]

25

Golden Boy was a nickname Jeongguk got from no one but his acquaintances that he made through gambling. Though he didn't really agree that he was that golden and all-rounder, Jeongguk just let the nickname slipped out of everyone's mouth every time they swarmed the poker table with Jeongguk sitting on the end. Hoseok wheezed when he first heard the nickname, even joked that he wouldn't get that nickname if it wasn't him who introduced cards to Jeongguk. But when the win outnumbered the lost, Hoseok finally could agree with the others, that Jeon Jeongguk was indeed a Golden Boy.

Jeongguk's step came into a halt when billiard tables came into his view. There, leaning against the table with a cue stick secured in his grasp was Park Jimin, too focusing on the game to not notice that Jeongguk was only few metres away from him. Jimin's firing gaze was still intense as ever when it was finally his turn, one of his eyes was closed as he leaned over the edge of the table to aim for his shot. Just by looking at how he moved his fingers to form an open bridge, Jeongguk could tell that the guy had been playing billiards for a long time.

Jimin raised his head before he did a double take, puffy eyes widened when he saw Jeongguk making his way towards the table. The blonde then flashed a smirk, handing the cue stick to a random guy near him before he walked to where Jeongguk was standing at with his hands resting against his hips. Jeongguk took off his jacket, their eyes meeting each other's that he couldn't help but curling his hands into firsts, ignoring the pain caused by his nails digging into his palm completely.

"Golden Boy or Jeongguk?" Jimin cooed, scanning Jeongguk from top to toe before he scoffed.

"Golden Boy." Jeongguk deadpanned. Jimin poked his tongue against his inner cheek upon Jeongguk's remark, a habit that the blonde had developed whenever Jeongguk came to him to let him know that he's up for a round of gambling. Jeongguk couldn't tell if that's a sign that's he's panicked or something along the line, but he did notice that Jimin would always give him the same reaction when Jeongguk came to the casino as the Golden Boy.

"Seems like someone is missing the adrenaline rush." Jimin tilted his head. "Go-Stop?"

Jeongguk threw Jimin a smug face, no words were uttered when he turned his heels and trudged the sea of humans, frowning as the hollers gradually became louder. The air near the lounge was remarkably different from the billiards hall. It was less humid and filled with many scents that Jeongguk himself couldn't tell what they were and where they came from. It smelt like a mixture of perfume, red wine and smoke—no matter what they were, Jeongguk just hated the scent.

Everyone stepped back as soon as their eyes landed on Jeongguk, forming a way for him to head towards the poker table. It's silent for a moment before the cheers started to erupt again when Jimin entered the spectators' field of vision. Everyone knew that tonight would be a different night, an intense one if they had to be honest. Jeongguk and Jimin always became the centre of attention due to their popularity amongst the visitors of the casino. Their defined look was one of the reasons, but the main was both of them were fairly good at gambling.

When the two sat across each other, everyone knew it's going to be a long night.

________

Jaehwa cursed herself for believing Jeongguk's I-won't-be-long. They sure had a different opinion when it comes to time span. Jaehwa had been left in the car for almost three hours, and that also meant it's been three hours since the guy entered the casino. As much as she wanted to walk in and looked for him, Jaehwa knew that she's extremely unfamiliar to the place and in all honesty, she wasn't ready to see the atmosphere inside the flashy building. She did go to a night club once, but never a casino. But judging by how Jeongguk described the place, Jaehwa knew it was a place that wasn't made for a person like her.