Work Text:
“i’m nervous.”
jinwoo had been staring at the brownie for way too long already. it wasn’t warm anymore and probably as hard as a rock like it was when sungho handed him the baggie it came in. well no, it hadn’t been that long. it was cooling down, though.
“it’ll be fine, i promise,” sungho reassures jinwoo for what felt like the hundredth time that night. he wasn’t pushy or annoyed, though, and for that jinwoo was immensely thankful. sungho was chill; he was the type to talk about his recent escapades into marijuana but never forced it onto someone. he would maybe bring it up a few times more if someone expressed interest, though, as jinwoo had. “it’ll be dark at that venue so nobody will be able to tell, really.”
“are you sure?” jinwoo asks, glancing back down at the brownie before up at sungho again. the blonde male had two of the baked sweets, one of which was already half-eaten. “i feel like it would be obvious that we’re stoned.”
sungho just shrugs, taking another bite of the brownie. “nah, it’s pretty easy to act normal when you’re high. we’ll be fine.”
jinwoo sighs, contemplating the words in his head. maybe sungho was right, but he wouldn’t know - he’d never been high before, obviously. but then again… he’d heard that pot could do wonders for stress, and holy hell was he stressed . with finals coming up paired with his insomnia, jinwoo felt like he could barely function. maybe this would do him good.
so before he can back out again, jinwoo picks up the brownie between his thumb and index finger, then bites into it without giving himself time to change his mind. his eyebrows knit together in a furrow as he chews. not that he could taste the weed, but…
“you used boxed mix? ” jinwoo nearly shrieks, personally offended by the too-firm texture and stale taste that was evident of boxed mix brownies.
sungho, expecting this from jinwoo, covers his mouth with the back of his hand as he laughs. he knew that the younger male was very picky about his food, and would definitely be a culinary student if he could afford to go to a school that offered it. “yeah, i mean, we’re broke university students.”
jinwoo scoffs, making himself take another bite of the brownie. it was indeed growing colder and harder, making the baked sweet crunch between his teeth. both he and sungho cringe as jinwoo continues chewing then swallows with some effort. “ugh,” he groans, shaking his head as he runs his tongue along his teeth. “that doesn’t mean you can’t keep them fresh, at least.”
sungho only rolls his eyes as jinwoo’s words, downing the last of his second brownie. the younger male glares at the blonde, feeling defeated in their unspoken contest to finish the brownies. jinwoo takes another tough, uncomfortably crunchy bite of the brownie, making sungho grin again. “ouch, i heard that one,” he says, tossing the plastic baggies and paper towels away in the trash. “how do you suggest i do that? keep them fresh?”
jinwoo downs the last of his tea from lunch earlier to wash down the rest of the brownie crumbs. “plastic wrap,” he answers as soon as he can. “and they’ll be easier to store.”
“oh,” sungho blinks, seeming as if that thought had first dawned on him. “i never thought of that. thanks.”
the younger male claps him on the back before grabbing his coat from the back of one of the chairs and pulling it on. “no problem.” he says, pausing for a moment to wallow in his thoughts while sungho disappears to his room to retrieve his keys. there really was no going back now, huh? the blonde had told him beforehand that it takes a lot longer for edibles to kick in than smoking it would, but jinwoo was honestly even more scared of smoking a blunt than eating the pot brownie. that very, very sad pot brownie. he wasn’t ever gonna let sungho live that one down. regardless, the high would come eventually, whether he now wanted it to or not. that thought scared him too, but it was a pill he had to swallow. why had he let sungho talk him into this again?
“ready?” sungho’s voice startles jinwoo out of his head. he nods, grabbing his phone off of the counter before following sungho out of his apartment. the trip down to the parking garage didn’t take too long, but it felt like an eternity to jinwoo. sungho told him it would take about an hour to kick in, but the younger male couldn’t help but overanalyze everything he was feeling. the blonde had also told him that it might not work the first time, either. part of jinwoo hoped it wouldn’t, but most of him would be mad if he’d forced down a rock-brownie for nothing.
when they arrived at the old run-down library turned art gallery and concert venue, it was fairly quiet, more than it should have been. “weird,” sungho says, looking around as he pockets his keys. “it’s dead, and we’re late.”
jinwoo pulls out his phone to check the time, seeing that they were indeed fifteen minutes late and there didn’t seem to be anyone around. the room after the gallery was dark and had the absent band already set up. on the ground sat a couple of colored strobe lights that lit the room up different colors that shifted slowly between red, green, blue, and purple. however, the room was rather small. including the closed-off kitchen to the left of the room, it was only the size of an average classroom and thus could only fit three rows of five or so chairs each. this really was a venue for smaller, underground artists.
there’s shuffling from behind the door in the darkened room, and soon enough a woman emerges. she smiles once she sees them and approaches them, holding a hand out to sungho. the blonde male immediately grins at her and they bump fists. “hey cl, nice to see you,” he greets.
the woman - cl - pulls her long golden blonde hair behind her shoulder and grins at him. “you too, sungho. it’s been a while since i’ve seen you around. who’s your friend?” she asks, turning to look at jinwoo, still wearing her friendly smile.
“this is jinwoo,” sungho introduces him, pushing the younger male forwards a bit. “it’s his first time here.”
“i could tell,” cl laughs, holding her hand out. jinwoo laughs awkwardly and shakes her hand. “i’m chaerin, the owner of this place, but you can call me cl.”
jinwoo nods and smiles back at her, nodding just a bit. he wonders if the embarrassed heat in his face he feels is the beginning of the high or not. “nice to meet you, cl.”
the woman nods in greeting back. “so the band’s last gig ran a little late. They’ll be here soon, probably a half hour or so.” she explains, then ushers them back towards the closed-off kitchen. “since it’s jinwoo’s first time,” she starts, entering the kitchen and ushering them outside the ordering window, “i won’t charge you guys the entry fee. but the band is accepting donations, and the drinks are pretty cheap. you’re both of age?”
both males nod, jinwoo standing up straight while sungho leans against the counter. “you know my usual,” the blonde says, still grinning at cl. she nods, turning to press the button on the electric kettle, presumably to get sungho’s order started. as she pulls down a bag of coffee beans, she turns to jinwoo and looks at him in question. it takes a moment for him to notice it, then startles once he notices her eyes on him. cl laughs at his reaction, waiting patiently as he scans the small menu.
“i’ll just do a hot chocolate,” jinwoo answers, fishing his wallet out of his pocket while sungho does the same. they both place two dollar bills on the counter and a few more in the tip jar. jinwoo liked this place already - he was a music junkie, how hadn’t he known about it before?
the following half hour is spent in the art gallery, taking in the different pieces of found object art. it’s only when they move to the embroidered quotes over found portraits that sungho begins giggling for seemingly no reason. jinwoo looks at him with a raised eyebrow before he notices that his eyes have become bloodshot. a telltale sign of a high. “the stitches go through her nose," he says, pointing out the silver embroidery of the art piece.
"you're already high, aren't you?" jinwoo asks, keeping his voice to a whisper. in a way, he was almost jealous of sungho for getting it earlier than him, but now that he thought about it, the older male did eat two brownies compared to jinwoo's one. of course he would get it first.
"oh yeah," sungho answers, grinning. "are you feeling anything yet? lightheadedness or warmth at all?"
jinwoo looks back at the framed artwork in front of them, furrowing his brows as he really delves into how he feels. lightheaded? no. warm? maybe from blushing a few times earlier, but no. cravings? that's a no too. he sighs and shakes his head. "no, nothing yet." he admits.
sungho claps him on the back. "it'll come eventually," he reassures. "it's your first time and you only had one brownie." he says, then perks up when he hears the front door to the renovated library open again.
in walk three boys, talking amongst each other loudly before the one holding a skull mask and drumsticks notices sungho. he calls out the elder male’s name, successfully getting his attention. “i haven’t seen you in a hot sec!” the man announces, wrapping an arm around sungho’s shoulder and tugging him closer. “how have you been?”
sungho laughs again and lightly bumps against the man before pushing away. “i’ve been pretty damn great,” he answers, then again motions to a very awkward jinwoo. “rubin, this is my friend, jinwoo.” he says, not noticing how intently jinwoo seemed to be staring at the blue-haired member of the group. the blonde pulls the assumed drummer forward by his arm and stares straight as jinwoo as he whispers in the other’s ear, “this is his first time trying pot.”
jinwoo panics for a moment, wondering why the hell sungho would just tell someone that. so what if they lived in california, not everybody was so open to smoking weed yet! but then again, sungho seemed to know rubin, so maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal.
rubin lets out a breath as he grins. “jealous of you,” he says to jinwoo, shaking his head in amusement. “what i’d give to experience that all over again. it’ll make the concert that much better, i hope.” the taller male winks at jinwoo before his attention is stolen away by his bandmate donning the skeleton face paint. the pink-haired male releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. so rubin was a pothead, too. that was… comforting, in some weird way. “we’re going up now,” the drummer says after giving his bandmate a thumbs-up, then follows after the other two into the showroom.
jinwoo just couldn’t tear his gaze away from the band member with blue hair. he was adorable, but there was also a mature aura about him. the light eyeliner he wore made his eyes sharper, and that was only accentuated by his furrowed brows. he would be intimidating if it weren’t for how chubby his cheeks were; was it a bad thing that jinwoo just wanted to poke them? as he and sungho entered the room and took two seats in the back row, jinwoo notices the boy’s hands even in the dark. they were large - definitely bass player hands. but jinwoo couldn’t help but notice how perfectly trimmed his fingernails were and how delicate the skin of his hands looked. they were almost feminine, but perfectly masculine at the same time. suddenly thoughts of those hands running down jinwoo’s chest and stomach enter his mind, and- wait, where the hell did that come from?!
the pink-haired male was grateful once the room begins to fill with more people while the band gets fully set up. the lead singer with the face paint and that damned beautiful bassist whisper amongst themselves for a moment, pointing at a small piece of paper that one of them had placed on the music stand earlier. jinwoo startles again as sungho leans over to him. "the lead singer is my friend, jehyun. i told you about him, right?" he asks, getting a nod from jinwoo. "you met rubin, and the bassist is junghoon."
"what's the band's name again?" jinwoo asks, only nodding at the introductions. junghoon . a pretty name for a pretty boy, jinwoo thought.
"rid/dle," sungho answers. "they're really good. not to brag, but i helped them form." he says, laughing to himself as he moves back to sit in his chair. maybe he was right, maybe it was easy to act like you're sober when you're high. or it was for sungho, at least, because jinwoo could barely tell that he was stoned out of his mind.
jinwoo only grins in response to sungho, still feeling a pang of disappointment at his lack of a high. it had been, what, an hour and a half since he'd eaten the brownie? still no high. jinwoo sighs to himself - maybe he really would have to try a couple times before experiencing it.
"okay, is this on?" jehyun's voice rings through the room, amplified by the microphone. he laughs, seemingly annoyed but amused by his own question. “that was dumb. anyway, uh… everyone here knows who we are, so i don’t think we need an introduction.” the male says, seeming almost timid despite his intimidating appearance and position in the band. jinwoo couldn’t be bothered to speak up about how he really had no idea who this band was, but instead opts to stay silent, stealing a glance over at sungho instead. “it’s december, so… we’re gonna do a christmas set. and you’re gonna like it.” jehyun continues, grinning as he steps away from the microphone and ensuring that his guitar was tuned. he turns to junghoon and nods, muttering something to him. the bassist nods back and adjusts his tuning pegs, then turns back with jehyun to look at rubin. by now, the drummer had pulled the mask over his face and turned it on, illuminating the designs carved in the mask.
surprisingly, the first song they chose - white christmas - had a rather slow, ballad-like start, but by the time the second chorus picked up, it was bordering between hard rock and metal; and it was loud . but jinwoo loved it. he lived for this kind of music that would blow your ears out if you weren’t careful. the small room made the music that much louder, and jinwoo revelled in it.
then the high hit.
jinwoo couldn’t pin down exactly when it hit - all he knew was that one moment he felt fine, and the next everything felt slow. he suddenly felt as if he were plunged into a pool of thick liquid, his movements feeling seconds delayed behind his thoughts. he blinks, trying to realize exactly what had happened. the music feels like background noise despite being loud enough to cause ringing in his ears, and everything felt like a dream. that’s how jinwoo would describe the high. being stuck in a dreamscape that he still had control over. well, had some sort of control; as much as he could feeling like a puppet on strings.
the pink-haired male tries his best to sway along to the music, almost forcing himself to stay on beat since he felt so delayed. was it obvious to everyone else? jehyun’s eyes cast over him a few times, did he notice? oh god, they totally know he’s high. they had to, it was obvious that the bobbing of his head is off-beat, how could they not? as these anxious thoughts run through his head, more of sungho’s words also echo through his mind.
“the biggest thing that will get you is the paranoia. you’re gonna think everyone knows, but it really isn’t that obvious. don’t let it get to you.”
okay, yeah, maybe he was right. nobody seemed to have their attention on him. the paranoia was definitely getting to him. he glances over at sungho, noticing a grin on his face. he was the only one who knew jinwoo was high by now, probably.
until he noticed junghoon’s gaze locked on his, a knowing smirk on his face. the blue-haired boy winks at him before looking back down at his hands, just in time to play a quick riff after the bridge,
oh god, no, he totally knew. the only thoughts circling through jinwoo’s head now were that the bassist definitely knew he was high and just how embarrassing that was. suddenly his head felt a lot lighter, and not in the good way. the music was too loud now, but jinwoo couldn’t just leave; how rude would that be?! no, not after that cute ass boy had looked at him. wow, that was a pretty gay thought. sure, jinwoo wouldn’t mind dating a guy or a girl, it didn’t matter to him, but he’d never had a thought that gay before. except for that one earlier, maybe-
before he even realizes it, the short concert is over, and the band is already packing up to leave. two of the older women that showed up speak to jehyun as he puts his guitar away, complementing the band on their original songs and talent for such a young age. jehyun accepts the compliments with a smile and a ‘thank you’, as does rubin when he joins the conversation, but junghoon doesn’t pay any mind to it. instead, he’s stealing more glances at jinwoo, much to the pink-haired male’s knowledge.
looking away from the bassist, jinwoo wills his blush away as he turns to sungho, feeling as if his legs were going to give out from under him. “let’s go,” he mutters, watching as sungho grins at him.
the blonde grasps jinwoo’s wrist and pulls him out into the art gallery, laughing once he finally gets a look at how high out of his mind jinwoo really was. “wow, you really are high. What d’ya think?” he asks, still grinning.
“... i don’t know!” jinwoo exclaims, still trying to work through his feelings on the high. he felt almost embarrassed, though he loved how light he felt. “it’s like a permanent dream, am i gonna die? sungho, am i dying?” he asks, sounding almost panicked.
sungho laughs again and places his hands on jinwoo’s shoulders, pushing down just a bit to try and calm the younger male down. “no, you’re not dying. maybe bringing you in public for your first high wasn’t a good idea… holy shit , your eyes are so red.” he giggles again, dropping his arms back to his side.
before jinwoo can respond and ask to leave, though, a tap on his shoulder startles him. he turns around too quickly, leaving him stumbling and squeezing his eyes shut, trying to regain his balance. it’s junghoon, and the mere sight of the bassist makes jinwoo’s blush even worse. great, now not just his eyes, but his whole face was red. just great.
“can i talk to you for a second?” the bassist asks, still grinning as sungho takes the hint and side-steps past them.
“i’ll go talk to rubin and jehyun,” the blonde says, waving once at jinwoo sarcastically before stepping back into the showroom.
jinwoo watches sungho as he leaves, then tears his gaze away to look back at junghoon. the bassist was even prettier up close. his eyes almost sparkle, and they crinkle up when he smiles. beautiful. jinwoo stammers as he searches for the words to say, but is cut off by the blue-haired male. “you looked like you were really into the music,” he comments. jinwoo stammers again, then simply settles on a nod. “i’m glad, we work hard on it,” junghoon responds.
jinwoo is still unsure of how to respond, still stunned by the fact that junghoon had even noticed him, and still delayed because of the high. “i can tell,” he finally says, avoiding the younger’s gaze. “you guys are really talented.” he compliments, feeling himself smiling within a reasonable amount of time.
junghoon hums and nods. “thank you,” he says, pausing for a moment before grabbing jinwoo’s wrist and tugging the elder of the two towards him. “i bet it was even better being blazed, huh?” he whispers harshly into jinwoo’s ears, pulling him close enough that their chests are nearly touching.
jinwoo yelps and covers his face the best he can with one hand, turning his head away from junghoon. this had to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he couldn’t help the attraction he was currently feeling for this male. was it just the high making him feel that or was this boy just that hot? he had to push away from junghoon, or else a little something would be giving him away. the younger male already knew he was high, jinwoo didn’t need him knowing about this other problem, too.
“cute,” junghoon chuckles, allowing jinwoo to distance himself. jinwoo watches him with a wary gaze, questioning to himself whether junghoon knew everything, or just about the high. “you’re cute,” junghoon repeats with more fervor, successfully pulling another flustered squeak from jinwoo. the younger male laughs, finding it incredibly endearing.
"who knew you were a goddamned flirt?" jinwoo asks, blinking as he stares at junghoon. he wasn't sure he was real, if he wasn't just apart of this dreamscape that the high created for him.
junghoon shrugs, that stupid smirk still on his face as he keeps his loose grip on jinwoo’s wrist. “i saw an opportunity and i took it,” he explains, glancing down. jinwoo knew exactly what he was doing, and that only made his blush that much worse. “you need some help, huh?” he questions in a whisper, making jinwoo shudder at the thought. how could this boy be doing something like this so openly? anyone could walk in and the thought horrified jinwoo.
but holy shit , this boy was hot. he was so perfect. everything about him was flawless, and damn, if his offer wasn’t tempting. if he were sober, he would definitely be thinking of the repercussions such as the physical harm and the fact he had work at 6am the next morning, but he wasn’t sober. the consequences weren’t a concern right now - this boy giving him bedroom eyes and waiting for an answer expectantly was, though. “maybe i do,” jinwoo finally answers, his voice light and airy as his impulses taking over and the high giving him the confidence to actually follow them through.
junghoon grasps his arm again and pulls him closer, glancing around before whispering to jinwoo, “would sungho care if i stole you for the night, then?”
jinwoo feels weak in the knees, almost like he would collapse if it weren’t for junghoon holding him up. “he better not,” jinwoo responds, returning the smirk for only a moment. “he shouldn’t, anyway.”
and that’s how jinwoo found himself in the backseat of junghoon’s car, jacket and phone haphazardly thrown on the front seat. his phone buzzes and lights up with a reply from sungho, telling him to get home safely. but jinwoo wasn’t focused on anything else besides junghoon’s lips against his neck and his hands on his hips. it all felt so good already and they’d barely gone past heated kisses and light touches; jinwoo could only imagine how else this was going to feel. it already felt so foreign and new and wonderful in the high.
“how are you feeling?” junghoon pulls back and asks, his own voice becoming raspy as he looks up at jinwoo. beautiful. that’s all jinwoo could think.
the elder male meets his gaze and nods. “i’m okay,” he says, keeping his fingers entangled in the boy’s blue hair. “keep going,” he mutters, biting his lip.
junghoon lets out an amused huff as his hands travel further down to rest on jinwoo’s thighs. “i didn’t catch your name,” he says instead, having no shame about the statement as he presses another chaste kiss to the elder’s cheek.
jinwoo laughs softly, twirling junghoon’s hair between his fingers. “it’s jinwoo,” he says, tilting his chin up to expose more of his neck to the younger.
junghoon immediately goes back to kissing the smooth flesh, working on leaving a mark. “junghoon,” he says, pulling away just enough to mutter his own name before going right back to it.
“i know,” jinwoo says, moving his hands down junghoon’s neck to rest against his chest. he never thought he’d be in a situation like this, being brought into some stranger’s car to be fucked like some toy. maybe sober jinwoo would mind it, would have a little more decency, but high jinwoo wasn’t willing to let the opportunity slide.
“hold on a second,” junghoon says, pulling away and turning to climb into the front seat. jinwoo can’t tell exactly what he’s doing, but he sees a lighter and a small white roll. he’s only able to identify it once junghoon lights the end and inhales a drag from the blunt, spewing the smoke from his mouth. the smell was undeniably marijuana. the younger male sighs in relief and maneuvers to the backseat again, joint held between his fingers. “you still high? or is it wearing off by now?”
jinwoo was a bit surprised to see that junghoon also smoked, but at this point it seemed almost everyone he was meeting did. he found himself wondering if jehyun smoked, too. junghoon’s question finally processed after a moment, though, and he shakes his head before replying. “uh,” he stammers, squeezing his eyes shut. he didn’t feel as light-headed anymore, but maybe that was just because he wasn’t listening to loud live music anymore. “i think it’s wearing off,” he answers anyway, looking back up at the younger male.
junghoon takes another drag from the joint, blowing the smoke at jinwoo gently. he grins at jinwoo’s reaction, which was to close his eyes in surprise but still breathe the smoke in. “here,” the younger says, handing the joint to jinwoo.
jinwoo seems unsure, though takes the blunt anyway. he wasn’t exactly sure how to take a drag, but it couldn’t have been any harder than just inhaling, right? shrugging, jinwoo puts the end between his lips, breathing in slowly like he saw junghoon do. the experience was so much different. it felt like a rush to his head immediately, giving him that very welcome feeling of lightheadedness again. jinwoo coughs, pulling the blunt away and coughing into his elbow. it was embarrassing, but junghoon didn’t seem to care. “holy shit,” jinwoo mutters when he hands the blunt back to the younger, blowing smoke back in his face as a small form of revenge.
junghoon chuckles, taking another drag for himself. “better than some edibles, huh?” he asks, growing used to jinwoo’s delayed responses.
jinwoo shakes his head as he only becomes more dazed, but giggles - outright giggles - when he nods at junghoon’s question. “definitely.” god, he was going to hate himself in the morning. all of his life he had been the goodie-two-shoes. now here he was: high off of his ass, and he couldn’t stress this enough, letting some stranger fuck him in a car.
but goddamn it all to hell, it was worth it. the feeling of junghoon’s lips on his own, on his neck, his stomach, and marking up his thighs hurt in all the right ways, and his large hands and calloused fingertips brushing over all the perfect places drove jinwoo crazy. he lost track of the hours spent in the car with junghoon, his weed-induced haze making all of the pleasurable acts and feelings blur together. there were snippets of clear memories, such as the sight of junghoon’s brown eyes boring into his own, the feeling of his warm and heavy breath fanning across his neck, and the the sound of him moaning jinwoo’s name in his ear. it was absolutely euphoric.
the drive back to his apartment was a blur too. both of them were tired, and probably not suited to drive, but junghoon insisted that his high-driving was perfectly fine. and, well, they hadn’t gotten pulled over or killed, so jinwoo considered that a win. when junghoon parks outside of the building, he’s silent for a moment before looking over at jinwoo. “give me your phone,” he says. jinwoo had noticed that he never really phrased questions as… questions.
regardless, jinwoo nods and unlocks his phone, then hands the device to the younger male. junghoon types quickly, hyper-focused despite how fucked out he looked. jinwoo couldn’t stop staring at his disheveled hair and kiss-swollen lips, and his brown eyes decorated with red were still just as captivating. the younger male hands the phone back, looking back up to meet jinwoo’s blurry gaze. “my contact is in there, and i started a text conversation.” he explains, the corner of his lips twitching up in the first genuine smile jinwoo had seen from him. “don’t be a stranger.”
jinwoo returns the smile and nods, pocketing his phone again. “i won’t.” he says, his hand pulling on the door handle as he hesitates with his next words. “thank you. for everything.”
the next thing jinwoo knows, his alarm clock is blaring in his ear and the sun is shining through the curtains, leaving stripes of natural light across the walls and floor. he grimaces, still feeling a bit off his rocker, but sober. as far as the drugs went. other places, however… needless to say, he’d be sore for a while. without skipping a beat, jinwoo grabs his nearly-dead phone to call into work, giving a half-assed excuse of being too sick to move. which was only a half lie.
it was only after hanging up the phone that jinwoo notices a few texts from a new contact in his notification wall. the contact name was ‘hoonie’, and it didn’t take much guesswork for the male to figure out who it was. he doesn’t hesitate to open the messages, scanning over them before a grin splits across his face.
hoonie
04:27
>> last night was fun
>> but i really do want to get to know you more
>> you interest me
>> coffee sometime?
jinwoo was quick to accept. and it wasn’t the high talking, this time.