#adp

jo woochan would pay for this. if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be standing here in such a riotous surrounding, sweaty, messy and musty. you don't know what made him run to this place everytime he had issues, but you hated such places. nothing about this place was likeable. illegal, unruly and rowdy.

having a fight with your sibling made you despise staying home, and so you followed your friends to this underground arena, a place which you never wanted to be in.

the heavy, metallic scent of fresh blood mixed with the musty smell of the confined and poorly ventilated space made you gag a little bit. you could see puffs of smoke evolving from peoples' mouth, produced by cheap cigarettes.

you were regretting your choice to accompany your friends, seconds after entering the place. pushing past multiple sweaty bodies, you trailed behind riki, grabbing onto his jacket to not lose them in the crowd. just as you advanced towards the centre of the arena, you heard a whistle go off, followed by a sharp crack of a punch, layered with a painful grunt.

the crowd went wild, half with loud cheers and standing up from their seats, and half with boos and raised thumbs-downs. the commotion further blocked your view until you reached the boxing ring.

upon reaching the front you saw woochan in the ring with a stupid, proud smirk on his face, hands in front of him in defense while his opponent got back up on his feet, stumbling a little.

the boy with orange hair cracked his neck free as he bounced on his feet, swinging his left arm first towards woochan's face, which was avoided and then swiftly advancing his right arm towards his stomach, landing a strong punch and woochan went stumbling back heavily.

you winced loudly, while your friends muttered little, unbothered 'shit's under their breath.

woochan clutched his stomach as his face scrunched in pain but he stood back upon his feet. just then the orange haired boy turned to where you were standing with your friends, which means he turned away from his opponent. he let his guard down. just for a few seconds.

a kick from woochan's foot landed on his back, causing him to stumble forwards with a lot of force and he lost his balance. his body flew and he reached the end of the ring, stumbling and grabbing the enclosing ropes for his stability. just as he spun around to face woochan, a punch landed on his face, very very harsh and he turned around, tripping, and his entire body crashed onto the ropes, leaving him hanging for life.

your hand flew to your face, covering your mouth as you witnessed blood spluttering from his mouth, trickling down his lips. the crowd roared in happiness. your hand unconsciously grabbed onto youngseo's arm and that's when you looked up to see the orange haired boy's eyes meeting yours.

his eyelids shutter softly, losing energy but his eyes stay fixated on you, making you utterly conscious. you were in an unfamiliar place, watching two men punch eachother to death. the place was filled with adrenaline and dirt in all forms, and a pair of eyes looked at you. you couldn't tell what they wanted to express but you couldn't break the eye contact as his gaze felt absolutely captivating. the gaze that made you so utterly self conscious but also that made you want to not look away. something obsessive. your eyes then followed his features, noticing his busted lip and right cheek.

a silent wail of a siren seemed to near you guys and commotion spread around, causing you to immediately look away from him. within seconds there was ruckus, and people were yelling and running.

you could see the back of jongseob's head but within a split second of people running around, you lost sight of him. you frantically started looking around to find someone you knew, and just then a hand grabbed yours and you met your eyes with woochan's who was already off the ring. without looking back, both of you escaped the scene, quickly sprinting away from the arena and the chaos.

⭒

a week later, you find yourself standing in the crowd, once again and this time it wasn't a fight with your sibling, but pure curiosity and slight interest of a viewer that piqued inside you. watching woochan in the ring still felt quite foreign, but the matches were fun.

analyzing things was something you were unintentionally good at. it came naturally to you and ever since the last match, you've started thinking and pondering about boxing. not that you were gonna be in the ring in the future anyways, but just because it was fun. the adrenaline, the skill. the dusty surroundings, the scent of cigarettes layered with the strong odor of alcohol were the things that you couldn't get used to. the place reeked of all of that and many other unpleasant things and not to mention the bunch of scoundrels around you.

currently woochan was fighting a guy named leo. the guy looked pretty fierce and strong but woochan was equally competent. each punch made you wince but your attention didn't waver and you stayed engrossed in the match.

jongseob tapped your elbow and leaned closer to you, almost yelling in your ear as he said, "we're going to get drinks, do you want anything?" the surroundings were too loud for any of you to hear the other properly. you just nodded 'no', avoiding making any efforts to speak over the noise. he walked away pushing past multiple people, followed by youngseo and riki, and disappeared into the mob.

just as you looked back to the ring, a familiar orange colour flashed in front of your eyes, across the ring. looking past the footwork of the players in the ring, you squinted your eyes trying to focus. finally the players moved apart allowing you to see clearly, and then you found him. withing seconds, as if he could feel your eyes on him, the boy turned to you, his eyes looking right into yours. you could see that the bruises on his face and lip have disappeared and he looked much put together than before.

you heard a strong punch, which grabbed your focus for a second and by the time you looked back, the boy disappeared from the audience. you watched leo fall to the floor in the ring, as the crowd erupted in roars, hoots and screams, cheering for woochan.

woochan celebrated, punching his hand against his chest followed by a yell, hyping up the crowd, his face full of pride and aura filled with adrenaline. he looked at you with a wide smile and you smiled back, clapping your hands lightly against eachother, applauding him for the win, but at the back of your mind, you wanted to see him.

he was a complete stranger, yet he felt magnetic. you felt drawn to him just by a single gaze. it wasn't really romantic according to you, it just felt weird. it maybe was curiosity, or the fact that you have never seen someone with such deep eyes and striking features.

you followed the mass that was exiting the arena after the little celebration, stepping carefully behind people, making sure not to be pushed around. you looked in all directions multiple times, trying to look in between bodies and finding your friends. you looked to your right and with a sight of only new faces, you whipped your head to your left and your soul almost left your body.

the same orange-haired boy, was right next you. you didn't know when or where he appeared from, but that was the least of your concerns. he looked absolutely perfect, much much better up close. your eyes followed his features like it was a habit and you noticed the faded bruises from last time. they weren't gone completely like you thought earlier, but just faded enough to be neglected.

your eyes paused at his lips, and maybe it was because you were too nervous, your heart felt like it would jump out of your chest anytime soon. his lips turned into a smirk as he cleared his throat. that caused you to look back up and he tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow, the smirk still evident on his face.

you swiftly turned your head away from him, internally cursing at yourself for staring at a stranger like that, right to his face. you could feel your face burning and suddenly it was too hot between the pool of bodies.

you finally reached the exit of the arena, him walking next to you without a word. the crowd diverged in multiple directions, you two walking straight ahead. you spot your friends not far away from you.

you slip your hands in your pockets, making an attempt to let your jeans absorb the sweat on them, for which you didn't know the cause of. you turned to the boy, and as you were about to say something, you heard your name being yelled, almost angrily.

"y/n!", it was woochan. you whipped your head towards them, youngseo gesturing you to join them. the frown on woochan's face and the unpleasant expression didn't go unnoticed by you.

you signed to the boy with your hands, pointing your thumb at your friends, gesturing that you had to leave, your left hand slipping into your back pocket once again. he nodded as you stepped backwards, towards your friends while facing him.

your lips turn into the slightest smile and you turn away, looking at your friends' who were already walking away.

"y/n!", you head your name being called again, but this time it was the orange haired boy. you walked back as he jogged towards you, handing you a slip of paper and ran back with a smile, waving at you.

you open the slip gently and you spot something that makes you utterly flustered.

you're pretty ♡

xxx-yyyy-xxxx

— JAMES :)

you smile to yourself widely, pushing the paper into your pocket hurriedly as you run back to your friends, with a flustered heart.