#hyuck

Apparently, hooking up with other actors is just as unfulfilling as hooking up with any regular man.

The actor you bring to bed is more than unsatisfactory. You kick him out the next morning with an eye roll, and Sookyung raises an eyebrow at you as she pours you a cup of coffee.

“He was so promising,” you whine, sipping on your mug with a pout. “He’s hot right now because of that new drama. I thought he would know a thing or two.”

“The actors are extremely boring,” she informs you. “Clean cut, too hyperaware of the cameras. You can marry them but they won’t fuck you well. You know who’s very good at controlling their body movements? Idols.”

“You’re still on this?” You huff. “I wasn’t going to touch him with a ten foot pole, Soo. You know my drama is set to release in the fall. I can’t jeopardize its ratings. It’ll be my first big break.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that the senior idols know how to be discreet? You can keep toeing on the safe side but you’ll just return home every night, wondering if his dick is better.”

You ignore her advice. You throw yourself in your work for the next few weeks. Your agent books you audition after audition, leaving you scrambling to learn last-minute lines and adjusting your look to please the directors. You don’t even have time to slip a hand down your pants at the end of the day, let alone call the idol that Sookyung vouches for.

You don’t get a chance to breathe until the after party for Sookyung’s upcoming drama. She invites you to the premiere and you smile in front of the blinding lights, hearing flashes go off from left to right. You thank Sookyung for the free press and she waves you off.

“You know I’ll always look out for you,” she winks, tracing her finger over the rim of her champagne glass. “But do me one favor. I want you to have a good time tonight. You’ve been so tense these past few weeks!”

“I know, I know,” you sigh, running your fingers through your hair. “But I booked two more jobs. At least the long nights are getting me somewhere.”

You scan the room. It’s a relatively quiet party as most of the cast of Sookyung’s drama are on the older side. They mingle with one another as the venue plays soft jazz music.

You narrow your eyes when you spot the idol from your night at the club. He lingers by the bar, chatting with the actor that stars alongside Sookyung. You start to connect the dots in your head.

“You didn’t say your friend of a friend would be here,” you murmur, tossing her a look.

She smirks. “Oh, I didn’t? It must've slipped my mind.” The director walks over, apologizing before pulling Sookyung away into another conversation. She whispers to you before she leaves, “Don’t forget to have a good time!”

You weigh your other options before biting the bullet. Having an affair with an actor twenty years your senior is widely out of the question. Hooking up with the same actor who failed to bring you to your climax is also out of the question.

The idol approaches you while you’re silently crossing out candidates in your head.

“Ah, the pretty girl strikes again,” he says smoothly, sliding into your view with a grin. You give him a look of indifference. “Are you finally going to tell me your name? And maybe let me take you home?”

“You’re awfully bold for a man who danced with me for less than five minutes,” you say. “How do I know you can carry through with your promise of a good time?”

“I’m sure I can do a lot better than that sad sack you took home instead of me.”

You click your tongue. “He was great, actually. Kept me going all night.”

He barks in laughter, clutching his stomach. Even you can’t believe your phony lie. He jumps at the opportunity to tease you.

“Oh yeah? Did he whisper in your ear all night about what he would do to you? Did he drive you to the edge over and over again until you begged him to stop?” He asks, taking a step closer until the tip of his shoes brush against yours. You swallow, your eyes trained on his full lips. “Or maybe he got you drooling for him, stuffing your mouth to ensure you would be a good girl for him? Is that what you did for him, princess?”

The pet name scratches the itch inside of you. This is exactly what you wanted from that actor but he wasn’t able to provide. This idol is able to flip the switch so easily, morphing into the man you’ve been craving for.

…But you want to see him work for it.

After all, they say love is a game, right?

“It was really hard for me, you know,” you say, feigning innocence. Your voice drops a few octaves until you’re certain he’s the only one who can hear you. “Taking such a big cock in my mouth. It made my throat ache the next morning and got me wet for days. He didn’t last long though. I was hoping to see how pretty it would look when I bounced on him or when he stretched me out… can you imagine it?”

His jaw has dropped open with a small glob of drool spilling from the side of his lips. You giggle when he quickly wipes it away, his eyes wide in astonishment.

Hook, line, and sinker.

You grab another champagne glass from a nearby tray and wink at him.

“My drama is out this fall. Maybe you can finally learn my name when you see it in the credits.”

He grabs your wrist before you can merge into the throng of people.

“I promise I’ll show you a very good time,” he pleads. “Give me one chance to prove it to you.”

You smile mischievously. “Good boys like you have to earn it.”

You wriggle out of his grasp, your heart beating a million times a minute as you disappear from his line of sight.

Lee Donghyuck has a bone to pick with you.

The problem is that you have no idea what crime you’ve committed to make him hate you. He’s the cherub angel of your friend group — a little too affectionate, a little too overbearing, and just devilish enough to have everyone falling at his feet. Renjun insisted that you two would get along well, casting aside any doubts you possessed.

Apparently, your personality doesn’t mix well with Donghyuck’s. Since the first day you met him, he’s been out for your blood, turning his nose up at the mere mention of your name and rolling his eyes whenever you speak.

You don’t understand the disdain he possesses towards you. Your friends have tried to remediate your relationship, but Donghyuck is stubborn, refusing to talk to you unless he absolutely has to.

You’ve concluded that Lee Donghyuck is a dick and you want nothing to do with him.

So when Mark approaches you, asking you if you’ll be Donghyuck’s plus one to Johnny’s wedding, you reply with a resounding no.

“Listen, Hyuck is desperate. His ex is going to be there and he needs to show up with someone or else he’ll look like a loser.”

“He is a loser,” you bite back, huffing to yourself. “It’s not my fault no one wants to touch him with a ten foot pole. Plus, why do you want me to go with him, of all people? He hates me.”

“He doesn’t… hate you.”

But even Mark can’t lie that well. You toss him another look over your shoulder, setting the table for dinner. You’ve decided to host a small gathering tonight, which unfortunately, Mark invited Donghyuck to.

Once the guests arrive, you’re swept up in the duties of being a good hostess, blatantly ignoring Donghyuck when he walks through the door. He’s happy to disregard your presence as well, slithering up to Renjun’s side and talking his ear off.

“Have you heard about Johnny’s wedding?” Yerim asks you when you offer her a glass of wine.

“I’ve heard that he’s getting married, yes,” you reply.

You weren’t surprised in the slightest when you didn’t receive an invitation. You barely know Johnny and Joohyun, only meeting them in passing since you mingle in the same circles.

“And? Are you going with Hyuck?”

You narrow your eyes at her. “Is everyone in on this scheme? Why does everyone want me to go with him?”

She pushes your shoulder playfully. “Because he’s a whiny baby who doesn’t have the courage to ask you himself. Come on, you don’t think he teases you because he actually hates you, right? He’s like the annoying kid on the playground who pulls on a girl’s pigtails because he likes her.”

You stare at her in disbelief. She must be hallucinating. There is no reality where you can picture Donghyuck declaring you as his mortal enemy simply because he has a crush on you.

That’s ridiculous.

You brush off Yerim’s claims for the rest of the night, finally getting a break when you step out on the balcony, taking a breath of fresh air. You stare over the ledge, humming softly as you watch strangers stroll down the street below.

“Please, if you’re going to jump, don’t let me be the sole witness. I’d have to sit through a lot of paperwork.”

Your anger simmers underneath your skin at the source of the comment. Donghyuck slides your balcony door closed behind him, one eyebrow raised at you.

“I didn’t ask for company when I came out here,” you reply, irritated by the natural pout of his lips.

“That’s too bad. I wasn’t expecting to encounter a bratty host when I showed up to this party but life is cruel that way,” he retorts. “Tell me, is the evening so boring that you’ve elected to jump off the balcony instead of spending one more second in there?”

Your nostrils flare as you turn away from him. Somehow, Donghyuck will always find a way to aggravate you. It’s like he was born for the job.

“I’m not in the mood, Hyuck.”

“You’re never in the mood, dewdrop.”

He occupies one of the cheap lawn chairs you picked up off the side of the street, leaning back and humming to himself.

You clench your jaw as you say, “Why is everyone forcing me to go with you to Johnny’s wedding?”

He freezes. The smug expression on his face slips and he swallows as he glances away from you.

“I don’t know anything about that.”

You glare at him, facing him with a hand on your hip. He’s a shitty liar and you both know it.

“Oh, really? So the fact that both Yerim and Mark have asked me to just blatantly disregard my feelings so you won’t look like a loser doesn’t ring a bell?”

“I’m not a loser!” He protests, hissing at you. “The specifics of the situation are… complicated. I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if you had to face your ex again.”

You smile condescendingly. “I’m certain that she made the right decision by breaking up with you. No one can put up with this amount of idiocy for that long.”

He rises to his feet, huffing and puffing like a child at your insult. He wags his finger at you with fire raging behind his eyes.

“You’re just jealous of me!”

“What could I possibly be jealous of?”

“The truth is that everyone loves me and tolerates you! We all show up to this pitiful dinner party of yours because we feel bad for you. You would be lucky to go to Johnny’s wedding with me, but you’re so wrapped up in your egocentric world that you can’t see how I’m trying to help you.”

You both settle into an awkward silence. He’s winded from his little outburst, his rage slowly morphing into regret when he realizes what he’s said. You keep your emotions bottled up, refusing to let him see the impact he’s made on you.

Is it true? Does everyone just put up with you? You know that they love Donghyuck, adore him for his quick wit and his hunger for physical affection. Could it be that they endure your presence because you were Renjun’s friend first?

Donghyuck’s face falls at your dejected look. He says your name, his eyes apologetic.

“Wait, I didn’t mean-”

You storm back inside, leaving him out on the balcony.

Donghyuck wonders if it was a mistake to let his daughter think she could boss him around. He’s never had much of a backbone anyways, but his daughter’s mocking of his dead love life is a serious bruise to his ego.

“Another failed date, dad?” Minseo huffs when he returns home earlier than expected.

He glares at her before paying the babysitter and thanking her for her time. He carries his seven-year-old to bed while she continues to list the reasons why she believes he’s not getting lucky.

“They never like the flowers you bring. I told you that you should let me pick them out!” She says as he tucks her into bed. “And we should go shopping. Your shirts are all old and wrinkly.”

He sighs. “I don’t want you to be worrying about me. Who needs a woman anyways? I have my perfect girl right here.”

She’s not amused by his cheesy remark in the slightest. She turns her nose up like a snotty princess.

“You need a girlfriend, dad. I don’t want you following me around forever.”

When Donghyuck relays the story to Renjun later that night, the man howls in laughter.

“Even your daughter knows you can’t get ass. You’re pathetic, man.”

Donghyuck expects it to be a phase, honestly, so he’s thoroughly shocked when he sees Minseo conversing with his pretty neighbor one day, discussing the state of your garden. He stares out the window while his daughter beams at the tiny sprout in your hand, and you even let her plant it herself.

Donghyuck always thought you were pretty, especially when you moved in a year ago to the house next to his. He’s never gathered the courage to go next door and speak to you, considering his daughter is already a handful and occupies most of his time.

But you wave at him here and there when you’re in the driveway, smiling and asking him how his day is going. He almost swallows his own tongue in his attempts to respond to you coherently.

He assumed you would think he’s a bumbling idiot and he hasn’t exactly tried to prove himself to be different. Minseo clearly isn’t intimidated by you like her father is, and he short circuits when he hears her ask, “Do you have a date for Valentine’s Day?”

He rushes out of the house so fast that he forgets to lock the door behind him. He reprimands Minseo and smiles awkwardly at you.

“I apologize for her behavior. She shouldn’t be asking such intrusive questions.”

Minseo peeks her head out from behind his leg. “I was only asking because you don’t have a date, dad! She can help you.”

You giggle at her while Donghyuck’s cheeks flush bright red. You stand and dust off the dirt coating your gloves.

“Oh, I don’t mind at all. She’s very sweet,” you say, and he tries to contain his heart as it beats wildly in his chest. “I know they’re super curious at this age. I don’t mind answering her questions.”

Minseo beams at the allowance. “So do you have a date?”

“I do not,” you confirm, and she pushes him towards you.

Donghyuck cannot believe he raised such a little monster.

You twist your hands around nervously and he tilts his head in confusion. Why are you nervous? He should be nervous because his nosy offspring is intruding in his personal business, trying to set him up with a girl that’s clearly out of his league.

“You could pick me up at six if it works for your schedule. You know where I live,” you say with a smile.

Minseo punches his leg to get him to formulate a response.

“T-That sounds perfect.”

For the first time in seven years, Donghyuck has a date for Valentine’s Day.