london calling

title: one night only

rating: [t]een and up audiences

pairing/s: himdae

summary: in which daehyun and youngjae somehow end up helping set up everything for the school’s most popular boy’s birthday party. things sort of escalate from there.

notes: oH BOY i hope i’m not too obvious with himchan but ALRIGHT part 4 is like super long and wow does anyone even read this

[CHAPTER MASTERLIST]

part 3

after that, the next two weeks passed relatively peacefully. somehow both daehyun and youngjae arrived home safely, without alerting their parents of their absence and yongguk really kept to his promise and waited in the car for both of them to reach the door before departing. however, since hearing himchan’s comments about him, daehyun found himself wary of yongguk.

he knew he was acting ridiculous - yongguk was nothing but nice to him in the few instances that they’ve communicated and he didn’t seem like a bad guy; quite the opposite, actually - but something in the way himchan said those words and called him a hypocrite who just wants to feel better about himself wouldn’t let daehyun’s mind be at peace.

now, when daehyun looked at yongguk’s eyes, he didn’t see a warm, helpful person (and even a possible friend?) anymore. he saw nothing but shallowness and lies. yongguk probably was just like everyone else.

he was being incredibly naive, allowing himchan’s bitterness to plant itself deeply into his brain like that - but he didn’t ask for any of this to happen in the first place, and therefore felt a little less guilty.

he didn’t need any of them. he was fine in his own world, poor and fearing for his life every day, but at least he knew what ground he stood on. he didn’t want to second-guess anyone. lord knows what kind of shit himchan was ready to talk about youngjae, and daehyun didn’t want to hear it. ever.

and so, he focused on his schoolwork and nightly gaming time with youngjae. his laptop was old, but daehyun cleaned it regularly, and as long as it could run tf2 and different mmorpgs, it was just fine. besides, he was at youngjae’s half the time anyway.

just as he started thinking - hoping, mostly - that he was done with that world forever, he got a text from youngjae.

10:42 am

yjae: gotta go to some cocktail party 2nite so no tf2. sorry

daehyun rolled his eyes. obviously, the yoo’s often had to attend different parties their rich friends threw, and since he was youngjae’s friend, he even joined them in a few instances when they were younger and had nothing better to do. however, since they started high school, daehyun refused to spend any more time in that company than necessary and thankfully, youngjae managed to bail on most, if not all of these occasions.

me: u cant skip this time?

he waited for a reply in silence, suddenly anxious. if youngjae was forced to go, he’d definitely be gone the whole evening, which left daehyun with absolutely nothing to do. and he hated being bored more than anything.

10:45 am

yjae: no. mom said gotta meet some people 4 uni

he sighed in defeat. that meant youngjae definitely couldn’t skip the party. he was already forming different plans on how to spend the night - pubs in tf2, maybe he could finally finish bioshock… or clean his collection of spiderman comic books… - when his phone buzzed two times consecutively.

10:47 am

yjae: or, you know..

yjae: you could come with me or something

daehyun couldn’t believe his luck. he also couldn’t believe that he let himself get talked into doing this.

he repeatedly told himself that this was the last time, that it will never happen again, but youngjae could be very… persuasive. or more like, whenever he wanted something, he’d simply be the most annoying little shit on the planet until daehyun said yes. and now he was standing here, surrounded by people in fancy suits and cocktail dresses. wearing converse, black jeans and a dress jacket that youngjae bought him years ago, especially for these kinds of things. it still fit.

daehyun was mortified.

youngjae and his parents were by his side, but he still felt so lonely and out of place. it was so painfully obvious he didn’t belong here. just by his way of dress he stuck out as a sore thumb, let alone when people heard him speak.

he knew that eventually youngjae would have to leave him to talk to some important people. he hated sucking up but he was also aware that without it, there would be no place for him at his desired university. daehyun and youngjae made brief eye-contact when they both saw an old man approaching them.

youngjae’s dad shook hands with the man and youngjae shot his best friend a look of desperation. daehyun only shrugged his shoulders, mouthing this is what you get for dragging me into this, and then left to wander around the party. he’d feel bad, but youngjae had it coming.

the party was thrown in the reception hall of a hotel owned by someone obviously very rich, but daehyun didn’t know the name of that person nor did he particularly care. it was late afternoon and the sun had only begun to set, bathing the room in soft orange light. at least half of the room walls were made of windows looking at the terrace with lounge chairs and glass tables. inside, however, there was no place to sit, and all the tables were used only to serve food (or more like, expensive snacks such as shrimp, caviar and french bread). there was also a bar in one of the corners serving different cocktails. that was also the only type of drink served at the party.

oh, daehyun understood. that explains the name.

he walked to one of the tables and looked at all the food on display. he didn’t feel attracted to any of these things, really, but opted for a slice of french bread and what he hoped was simple cream cheese. after all, he couldn’t just reject food when it was displayed in front of him.

and then a boy standing next to him was talking.

“cool party, huh?” daehyun turned around and was met with a familiar face.

he remembered jongup from that terrible day that started it all - the birthday party preparations. looking at him better and without feeling shame from being talked down to by someone a year younger than him, daehyun realized that jongup was actually quite handsome. he had a sharp jaw and a thin nose, and when he smiled at him in greeting, he showed his teeth, which was a good sign. at least he hoped.

“yeah. sure.” daehyun replied, taking a bite out of his improvised sandwich and feeling relief wash over him when the white paste turned out to really be cream cheese.

“it’s boring.” jongup continued, sipping his bright colored cocktail. “too many parents, and these cocktails just aren’t alcoholic enough.”

“do you really think that a party is only fun when you get drunk?” daehyun asked, and immediately regretted it when jongup shot him a dirty look.

“well you wouldn’t know, would you,” jongup said, half-joking, half-being genuinely bitter.

“yeah, well, i’m glad i wouldn’t.” daehyun muttered under his breath. it was possible that jongup heard him, considering the glance he shot in his direction while gulping down the remainder of his cocktail, but decided not to comment on it.

daehyun concentrated on the people surrounding him. everyone was relatively calm, split into groups of two to five people and talking about different things. he spotted youngjae listening to a story that old man was telling and trying desperately not to fall asleep. he smiled at that, knowing it was probably wrong of him to feel pleasure from seeing his friend being tortured like that, but also thinking that the boy deserved it.

then there was junhong and yongguk, standing shoulder to shoulder and speaking to a group of people. he had nothing against junhong and seeing the younger made him feel a little bit at ease, but when his eyes fell on yongguk, anxiety started building up inside him again.

he had to get over himchan’s words. himchan was drunk, and didn’t know what he was saying. he was just trying to hurt him, that’s what he was doing. the yongguk daehyun was getting to know and the yongguk himchan described were two completely different people.

and if yongguk really was as bad as himchan claimed him to be, daehyun would just have to discover that himself.

daehyun must’ve been too obvious with his staring because yongguk suddenly raised his head and they almost made eye contact, but daehyun lowered his head right before that was possible.

he heard jongup’s light laugh next to him. he turned towards him and saw that the boy had replaced his previous cocktail with another one, this time a fluorescent green color, and was sipping on it with a smile.

“what?” daehyun asked, increasingly annoyed by jongup’s presence. what was he even doing here, anyway? he had his own friends to tend to, why was he here bothering daehyun then?

“absolutely nothing.” jongup said. his smile, however, slowly dropped and he lowered his glass when his eyes fell on two figures walking through the reception hall, arguing.

daehyun, distracted by the noise as well, stopped being mad at jongup and followed the direction of his gaze in curiosity.

it was himchan who was storming away, towards the exit, practically fuming. a man who, daehyun assumed, was his father, followed after him and reached out his hand to grab himchan’s forearm.

“let go”, himchan hissed at his father, shaking away from his grip.

“himchan, please,” the older man’s voice was a mix of anger and desperation - probably because he was creating such a scene in front of so many hungry eyes, “we can talk about this later-”

“we will not talk about this ever,” himchan’s eyes were on fire and his words were dripping with hatred, “let me go!"

and let go he did. not like he had any other choice - himchan didn’t spare his dad even a second glance before he walked through the door and disappeared.

the hall was dead silent - everyone was staring at mr. kim, who massaged his temples and taking deep breaths to calm down. a woman approached him - it was no doubt himchan’s mother - and told the guests that this was nothing, and to continue on with what they were doing.

jongup was sighing next to him, and daehyun’s eyes were back on the brunet.

"what was that all about?” daehyun asked him, forgetting about his earlier annoyance. seeing himchan like that… it upset him more than he liked to admit. fighting in general, verbal or physical, made him nauseous.

and he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly himchan was arguing with his father about to make him rage like that.

it was so unlike any kind of image of himchan daehyun made up in his head - from all the stories he’d heard from youngjae, junhong, anyone, who made it seem like himchan was some kind of diva that only got upset when things didn’t go his way. what he saw just moments ago was real, raw emotion of a person who’s been stepped on too many times and has had enough.

“i don’t know,” jongup answered, and daehyun could hear the honesty in his tone. “he’s, uh, fought with his dad before, but never in public and never this… violent."

jongup was really like an open book - his face practically screamed worry. it made sense, since as far as daehyun knew, jongup was himchan’s closest friend, after yongguk.

"shouldn’t you, you know, go after him, or something?” daehyun suggested, but jongup shook his head dejectedly.

“i can’t.” his voice was low. “i have to, uh. i promised my mom i wouldn’t- i just can’t, okay?"

"hey, i understand.” daehyun almost reached out to pat jongup’s shoulder, but decided against it last minute. last thing he needed was to be kicked through the glass window; and he knew jongup was capable of doing it without even batting an eyelash.

“i have to go.” jongup seemed so distressed, daehyun felt sorry for him. “i have to- i can’t be here right now.” he placed his glass on the table and left before daehyun could say anything to him.

suddenly feeling overwhelmingly lonely, daehyun looked around the room to spot youngjae. his best friend was too busy to notice him right now, being surrounded by a lot more people than before and hidden from view.

daehyun’s stomach dropped.

i can’t be here either, he thought. taking his unfinished bread and cream cheese with him, he went through the same door as himchan only moments before. an elevator was right in front of him, and he walked inside, pressing the top button without even thinking about it.

when the bell dinged and the light pulsed, signaling his arrival, he went up two flights of stairs and opened the heavy door leading to the roof. he was hit in the face by wind and cigarette smoke and somehow wasn’t surprised at all that himchan was there, leaning on the railing, with his back turned to him.

he tried to be as quiet as possible while approaching him, but it was too late - he wasn’t too careful when opening the door and himchan was aware of his presence.

“you can come near. i don’t bite.” he put the cigarette in his hand to his lips. “hard."

"s-sorry, i, uh,” daehyun felt tongue-tied, “i’ll just leave.”

“don’t be silly.” himchan interrupted him. he breathed out smoke through his nostrils while saying that. he probably thinks he’s so cool, daehyun thought bitterly, but came closer anyways.

he stopped when he was almost leaning on the railing next to himchan. he watched as the older threw the half-used cigarette on the floor and stepped on it with his fancy dress shoes.

he wasn’t looking at daehyun when he started speaking. his gaze was focused on the people passing by below them, but daehyun knew he wasn’t really seeing them move. “i love coming up here to think. it’s so peaceful.”

daehyun stayed silent, not knowing what to reply. it all seemed so surreal - the himchan that was speaking to him now was so different from the himchan he interacted with weeks ago and the himchan he saw moments earlier, so close to punching his own father. he seemed so calm and thoughtful. almost too calm and thoughtful.

“i know you hate me.” he said after a moment of silence. daehyun’s ears perked up at that, and unwanted guilt settled in his stomach. “or well, people like me."

daehyun couldn’t bring himself to say anything. he just stood there next to him, debating whether he should lean on the railing like himchan or not and feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"and i don’t exactly make myself likable”, himchan continued, either oblivious to daehyun’s discomfort or simply ignoring it, “what are you doing here, daehyun? you don’t belong here.”

“gee, thanks,” daehyun commented sarcastically before he could stop himself. then, when he realized what he just said, he looked at himchan with wide, shocked eyes.

to his surprise, himchan just laughed. “see, this is why you don’t belong. the only other person who’d have the guts to tell me that is yongguk, and he’s just like you so it doesn’t count.”

“what about jongup?” daehyun asked, feeling a little more confident.

“jongup is… jongup”, himchan said, breaking into a grin, “he’s special. he can call me whatever he likes.”

“okay, well, that’s disturbing.” daehyun made a disgusted face and himchan started laughing again, deep and raspy and daehyun felt the happiness radiating from him to his bones.

but that moment ended too quickly. himchan fell silent again, lost in his thoughts. daehyun was itching to know… he had to know why.

“what…” he started, surprised at the sound of his own voice and how scared it was, “what happened out there?”

himchan cocked an eyebrow in a ‘i-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about’ manner and daehyun went from insecure to annoyed in a matter of seconds. “you know, when you almost beat the shit out of your dad in the reception hall. in front of like, a hundred people.”

“i wasn’t going to beat the shit out of him,” he air-quoted daehyun’s words. then paused. “at least i don’t think so.”

“so,” daehyun stopped for a second, contemplating whether this was the right thing to do. not like he cared for himchan’s problems. but if he wanted someone to listen, he’d do it. he wouldn’t enjoy it, but he’d do it.

(oh, who was he kidding. he’d enjoy it, a lot. because himchan was an enigma and daehyun was just fucking curious.)

“do you want to talk about it?"

incredibly enough, himchan indeed talked. it took him a while, though. he was silent for a long time before he lit another cigarette, blew out a cloud of smoke and started.

"my dad, he is a… uh, difficult man. he likes when things go his way, and hates when they don’t. and well, i was the thing that didn’t go how he planned.” he smiled a bit, but it was sad and didn’t feel right. there was something else, hiding underneath the surface and daehyun could tell himchan tried too hard to keep it there. “from the beginning. he thought, you know, maybe he’ll change. when toys are broken, you take them to a repairman and they work again, right? but i didn’t work. not for him, anyway."

something about the way he said it left daehyun feeling cold. it was obviously something himchan never talked about before.

"i never worked.” he continued, staring off into the sunset. “father was pissed. his only son, uninterested in continuing the family business? preposterous. but i have no desire to borrow people money and then haunt them for the rest of their lives until they pay me back double. he just doesn’t seem to realize it.”

daehyun listened as himchan’s voice got a little shaky, a little nervous. like he’d reached a point way outside of his comfort zone and suddenly felt anxious.

his eyes were wide when he looked at him. daehyun opened his mouth, wanted to tell him it’s alright, you don’t have to continue, but himchan interrupted him.

“he never hit me before. i didn’t think he’d have the guts inside him to do it, even when we were alone. but today, he hit me. and i had… i had enough.”

it was wrong. something - something vital was missing and daehyun just couldn’t figure out what, but himchan was trembling even though it wasn’t cold outside at all and his eyes were glassy and suddenly, daehyun was picturing the way they rolled inside their sockets at that party, and how he was certain the boy was going to faint, and realized…

himchan stopped - he just stopped, looked at daehyun like he couldn’t quite recognize him.

“i have to go.” he said. it was too quiet. “i have to go.”

he didn’t look back when he left, and daehyun continued to stand there, very much lost and very much confused.

to be continued