"Why is the music so loud!?" Jinyoung complained as they entered the large room with blaring speakers.
"Because the purpose is to have fun!" Jaebum exclaimed. He hooked his arm with Jinyoung's, tugging him along. "Come on!"
Jaebum had actually brought them to a strip club, taking his car and promising on the drive there that it would be a lot of fun if Jinyoung just stuck by him and followed his lead. Jinyoung was a bit nervous going somewhere he'd never been before, but he willingly trusted Jaebum to lead the way and hopefully show him a good time.
Though once they got into the actually building, Jinyoung wasn't so sure of his trust anymore.
He pulled the opposite direction, seeming hesitant to go further into the abyss of the unknown. "Let go of me."
Jaebum sighed, only holding onto him tighter. "I don't wanna lose you in the crowd. Just follow me."
Jinyoung stumbled along after him, following Jaebum to a large circular stage towards the back of the room. The dim lighting was hard to maneuver through, but Jaebum seemed to know exactly where he was going. He brought Jinyoung close to the stage, getting them a good view for the upcoming performance.
"Why is there a pole up there?" Jinyoung asked, trying to figure out what kind of entertainment they were supposed to be getting from the whole scene.
"You'll see!" Jaebum exclaimed, his eyes glued forward.
Some spotlights shined on the stage, seemingly louder music beginning to play as the show began. They were surrounded by other men hooting and hollering, but rather than joining them, Jinyoung just made sure he stayed close to Jaebum while trying to figure out what was going on.
Jinyoung saw movement on the stage from the corner of his eye, looking over and gasping as he was met with the sight of a man proudly showing off way more exposed skin than he'd ever expected to see. Jinyoung tightly gripped Jaebum's arm, tugging urgently hard at his jacket. "J-Jaebum he's half naked!"
"That's the point!" Jaebum responded.
Jinyoung had no idea that this was what a strip club was, though revisiting the name definitely made it clear. The man on stage was molding and warping his body around the pole, doing incredible tricks while teasing the audience with flashes of his private areas. It was impressive, but it definitely wasn't something Jinyoung was used to seeing. He was shocked to witness others carelessly throwing money at the stage, and even Jaebum threw some as if it were an obligation.
It was all quite overwhelming. The lights, the blaring music, the half nude dancer before him; Jinyoung had no idea how he was supposed to respond to all of this. He wasn't exactly into any of it, and while all the men around him seemed to be having fun, he felt a bit different.
"I gotta go to the bathroom." He said hopefully loud enough for Jaebum to hear before quickly rushing off, needing a few minutes to actually find the bathroom before heading straight for it.
Jaebum had heard Jinyoung take his leave, and by how fast the other walked off, he could tell something wasn't right. He followed Jinyoung to the bathroom, walking in after him.
"Hey, Jinyoung?" Jaebum called, his concern growing as Jinyoung leaned over one of the sinks. He stepped closer, noticing the unhappy expression that adorned his face.
"Why would you bring me here?"
Jaebum sighed, leaning over on the wall next to him. "To get you to live a little. You have no idea how much fun you can have on Earth if you sit there and hate everything. And you seemed so excited to go out the first time, I wanted to give you another new experience."
"I don't wanna have fun. I wanna go home." Jinyoung grumbled, his gaze focused on the sink's drain.
Jaebum let out a breath, feeling a bit defeated, but understanding Jinyoung's uncomfort. "Fine, I'll take you home."
"No, I mean back to heaven. I wanna leave here." The angel confessed.
Jaebum was taken aback. He knew Jinyoung's always wanted to get back to his real home, but he'd never heard the other sound so sad and sincere about it until now. And after he'd stayed with him for already this long and started getting along with him, it didn't cross Jaebum's mind that that longing was still there.
He sort of regretted taking him somewhere that obviously was out of his comfort zone. Jaebum just wanted to show Jinyoung all that his world had to offer, but maybe it just made him crave getting home faster. "Well Jinyoung I'm sorry, but I don't know how to help you with that..."
"So I'm just stuck here..." Jinyoung groaned, pressing his forehead the mirror bolted to the wall over the sink.
Jaebum shrugged. "I guess so. But while you're stuck here, I don't see why you shouldn't enjoy yourself."
"This isn't my scene. I don't like it here." Jinyoung responded with a heavy sigh.
Jaebum stepped closer leaning over to look Jinyoung in the eye. "Then I'll take you somewhere more your speed. We don't have to stay. I won't be disappointed, I just want you to enjoy yourself."
Jinyoung sighed, shrugging his shoulders. He looked like he genuinely didn't want to be out any longer, which was a contrast from the day before when they went shopping and he was nearly shaking in his shoes from excitement. Jaebum thought he'd be just as excited to do other things as well, but apparently he was mistaken.
He figured he could just try taking Jinyoung to a library or something, that seemed like more of his type of thing. Though just as he was about to suggest it, someone else entered the bathroom. Jaebum glanced over at the door, prepared to ignore the stranger that walked in, except the unknown person's eyes were glued to him, wide and urgent as if they'd been searching for him all this time.
Jaebum turned away when he realized the person was coming straight towards him, feeling a bit awkward when they reached out and tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me? I saw you walking through the club and I wanted to talk with you but you seemed to be in a rush."
Jaebum turned, looking around before pointing at himself in question of who the person was talking to. The stranger nodded, totally catching him off guard. "Oh, well I was um... I just had to use the bathroom..."
The stranger put on a huge smile, his eyes scanning Jaebum from head to toe. "Well, I wanted to compliment your looks. You're hot, to be totally honest."
"Ah, th-thank you." Jaebum stuttered, obviously not used to getting random compliments from people he didn't know. It was a bit awkward, but the least he could do was be polite.
Though the conversation didn't end there as the stranger stepped closer, the distance between him and Jaebum closing just a bit. "If you don't mind, there are private rooms in the back. Me and you could talk more there."
Suddenly the stranger's intentions were clear, and Jaebum's red flags immediately went up. He smiled as apologetically as he could, shaking his head in response. "No, thanks I'm just about to leave..."
"Why leave? We could have some fun together." The guy inched closer, making Jaebum have to take a step back to keep a somewhat comfortable distance. But there was a wall behind him that restricted anymore movement, and the stranger leaned in close enough to put a hand against it to trap Jaebum in between. "You have such a nice smile, and I'd love to see what's under that cute outfit."
Jaebum's eyes drifted over to Jinyoung who looked lost on what to do, his main goal being to get out of there as quick as possible. "Um, I really need to go, Jinyoung come on-"
The guy stepped between him and Jinyoung, crumpling Jaebum against the wall that he couldn't escape. He looked over at Jinyoung, giving a slight nod of acknowledgement. "Hey, your friend is about to get laid, why don't you go enjoy the show while I take him with me."
"I'm not going with you." Jaebum snapped.
Jinyoung's eyes darted between Jaebum and the stranger, trying to formulate some sort of plan to get him away. He blurted out the first thing that came to mine, which wasn't all too effective. "Hey, he said no."
"And who are you to speak for him?" The stranger asked, brows raised with an intimidating stare.
'I'm... um..." Jinyoung wracked his brain on what to say. Usually he wasn't so slow with responses, but this situation developed faster than he could even think. All he could do was try to think of something that'd drive the sleazy dude away. "I'm h-his boyfriend, actually. Don't touch my man, please."
The stranger took a step back, looking between the two with furrowed brows. "Oh, you're together? Didn't seem like it by the way you two bickered."
"We were having a lover's quarrel. It's not your business anyway." Jinyoung spat before walking over and protectively grabbing Jaebum's waist. He felt Jaebum tense when his fingers bushed along his hip, but he was more focused on escaping the building with no more mishaps. "Come on baby, let's go."
Jinyoung quickly dragged Jaebum out of there, leading him all the way through the exit and refusing to let go until they got to Jaebum's car. Jaebum was baffled by the whole situation, his emotions quickly morphing from flattered, to disgusted, to whatever the hell Jinyoung made him feel by calling him his boyfriend and grabbing his waist all within five minutes. There was a weird tingle in his chest that he tried to ignore, especially when he replayed Jinyoung calling him 'baby' in his head, but he just couldn't keep a grin off of his face once they were safely out of the club and in the car.
Jinyoung was quite visibly agitated, though Jaebum wasn't sure if it were from the situation with the horny stranger or their argument from before. All he knew was that Jinyoung surely gave him a bruise with that tight protective grip, and the angel was still mumbling under his breath about how 'awful' and 'disgusting' the stranger was when they settled in the car.
"Your boyfriend, huh?" Jaebum repeated, raising his brows at the angel as he interrupted the other's complaining.
"You're welcome. If I hadn't stepped in he might've done something to you." Jinyoung mumbled, his eyes glued to the window.
"I'm sure I could've handled it. But thanks." Jaebum chuckled out.
Jinyoung scoffed, tearing his gaze away from the window to shoot Jaebum an incredulous stare. "Handled it? You were stuttering like an idiot."
"So were you! That 'don't touch my man' part came out so awkward, I wouldn't even believe we were a couple."
"We're not, so it doesn't have to be believable to you."
"Right, we aren't..." Jaebum trailed off, his gaze falling to the steering wheel. Jinyoung's harsh tone while saying that last line bothered him just a bit, but surely he was just being oversensitive. He brushed the comment off, deciding to change the subject. "So um, hungry?"
Jinyoung shrugged, looking back out the window. "I could go for some food."
"Okay, I'll take you out to eat then." Jaebum stated. If the club thing wasn't really where Jinyoung belonged, then at least he could take him to a nice restaurant to make up for it.
"Not to another club, right?" Jinyoung asked.
Jaebum shook his head, reassuring the other. "Nope, just a regular restaurant. I think you'll like that way more than a club."
Jinyoung nodded, silently agreeing with Jaebum. "Okay."
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(*oop Jinyoung's claimed his man 😂. Anyway, was there a ton of sexual tension in that last chapter??? because damn everyone seemed to expect some smut sksksks. Like I know I'm pretty known for smut (and if you want smut I'll surely deliver 😉) but can they at least confess to one another first! 😂😂😂 patience guys, patience! I'm trying to write ahead so I can get chapters out faster, hopefully it works out lol.*)