Chapter Text
He breathed a long sigh as the car pulled to a stop in front of his house. Everything was just as Chan remembered down to the meticulously manicured lawn. His father kept their lawn maintained better than everyone else's on the block. He loved that lawn so much that Chan had been forbidden to have a dog his entire life. He later learned that he didn't like dogs and had only wanted one because all of his friends had dogs. He found them to be loud, smelly and unpredictable. Ever since, he's never wanted anything simply because others had it. Other people were idiots.
He stepped out of the car, and waited as the driver handed him his luggage from the trunk. After assuring him that he would in fact give him five stars, he made his way up to the house. His father's car was parked in the driveway and his little brother's roller skates littered the walk way. He laughed as he wondered what excuse his father would use for why he didn't personally pick him up from the airport.
His father was an executive at GoSe Enterprises, a durable medical equipment company. They manufactured and distributed c-pap machines and this summer, he would spend his days there as an intern. He couldn't care less about c-pap machines, but his father had insisted, especially after he mentioned he was thinking of going to medical school. So instead of spending the summer by the pool, he was going to don a suit each day and fetch coffee for middle-aged men and women.
Unlocking and opening the door, he found his father yelling at someone on the phone. He spared a quick glance and nod, acknowledging his presence, before going back to his call. He laughed as he carried his luggage up to his bedroom. His father barely paid attention to him, and he liked it that way. He didn't need his father monitoring him. He liked his freedom.
He opened his bedroom door to find his little brother inside playing his video game. Shaking his head, he loudly slammed the door, startling his brother who was further startled by the sight of him.
"Chan!" he yelled, running to wrap his arms around his waist, as high as he could reach.
"Soonyoung, you know you're not supposed to be in here," Chan replied, hugging him back.
"I always come in here," Soonyoung replied. "Sometimes I just come in here when I miss you," He said.
"That's sweet, and we'll hang out later, but I need to crash first," Chan said, rubbing his hair.
"Fine," Soonyoung said, gathering his belongings and leaving.
When he was finally alone, he locked his door, took off his clothes down to his underwear, and climbed onto his bed. Being back in Los Angeles just felt right. He quite enjoyed his year at NYU, but he didn't like living in New York that much. The winter had nearly killed him, and he didn't care for the locals. He just chalked that up to being an LA snob.
He could have kicked himself for agreeing to start his internship so soon. He had just returned,and he was expected to go into the GoSe office the very next day. What would he be doing otherwise? Vernon was still in school so it's not like they could hang out. Soonyoung was also in school, so he wouldn't need to babysit him. He'd likely play video games and jerk off all day.
He perked up at the thought of jerking off, and grabbed his soft cock in his hand, tugging it until he could feel the blood flowing. Picking up his phone, he opened a hidden, password-protected album on his phone and scrolled to a video he'd taken recently. He lowered the volume to a faint whisper and his own grunts could be heard through the phone's small speakers.
Spitting in his hand, he grasped his cock and began stroking. He watched as he hammered into his social psychology professor without mercy. Of course, Professor Bang didn't know this little film of his existed. For eight weeks he had strutted around the lecture hall with his tight pants, his bubble ass on display for everyone to leer at, and Chan was expected to not taste it? Once he and his professor had crossed a line, they had spent the last two weeks of the semester ruining each other's holes.
His pace sped up as he watched the ripples Professor Bang's ass made as he pummeled into him. Small gasps and slapping skin could be heard as he got close to the edge. He let out a strangled cry as ropes of cum shot out of his cock and his hand froze, his sensitive cock making him shudder as his orgasm subsided. He looked around before finally settling on his t-shirt to wipe the cum from his abs; he'd just returned home, so he didn't have a dedicated cumrag at the moment. He had just cleaned himself, and put his cock back into his underwear when clapping startled him. He looked up to see his friend giving him a round of applause.
"Vernon, what have I told you about climbing up the chalice? Just come through the front door," Chan said.
"What and miss the show?" Vernon asked as he climbed through the window. "You got some good distance there," he said.
"Thanks, perv. What are you doing here?" Chan asked, throwing his t-shirt on the floor.
"I saw you pull up with your luggage so I decided to give you a minute. Guess I should have made it two," Vernon laughed.
Chan laughed. "Or you could have taken the stairs and knocked like a normal person."
Chan and Vernon had been friends since Vernon and his dad had moved in next door nine years ago. Vernon was a year younger than him, and was still a senior at their neighborhood high school, Pledis Community Academy. They had bonded over the fact that their mothers were no longer around. His own mother had died in a car accident shortly before Vernon had moved in next door, and soon after Soonyoung was born. Vernon's parents had gotten divorced before they had moved to California; his mother was living in Florida with her lesbian lover. Chan had deemed them members of the single dad's club and as such did nearly everything together.
When Chan was fifteen and Vernon was fourteen, Chan came out to Vernon, admitting that he was gay. Vernon had looked at him and laughed hysterically. Chan had stood there, arms crossed, offended that Vernon would laugh in his face. When Vernon finally calmed down, he looked Chan in the face and told him that he was gay as well, sending them both into fits of laughter. Their bond had solidified that day, and even as a college freshman, Chan still managed to facetime Vernon at least once a day.
"So what are you going to do now that you're home from school?" Vernon asked.
"Hello? The internship. The unpaid internship, mind you. I'm being exploited by my own father," Chan said, standing in front of him clad in only his underwear.
"At least your dad is chill. If I sneeze too hard, my dad has questions," Vernon said, shaking his head.
"Yeah I don't know how you deal with that," Chan said. "Then again, maybe it's good that he keeps an eye on you," he said, pulling on his pants.
"Why would that be good?" Chan asked, looking at him skeptically.
"Then someone might know about this mystery man you're always sneaking around with," Chan answered.
Vernon looked shocked. "How do you—"
"You facetimed me a month ago wearing Gucci sunglasses. Two weeks after that there was a Louboutin box in the background. I know you don't work and I know Seokmin isn't splurging for designer, so who is he?" Chan asked with a smirk.
"You're a pain in the ass, you know that? I forgot how perceptive you can be," Vernon said before looking around. "He's just some tech bro I met at a college fair,," he said.
Chan held up a hand to silence him. He walked to the door, and slowly turned the lock before snatching it open. In his panic, Soonyoung turned to run, but tripped on his slippers and fell down.
"Soonyoung what have I told you about listening at my door?" Chan asked.
"What? I didn't hear anything," Soonyoung said, nursing his knee.
"Go away," Chan yelled. He turned back to Vernon. "Let's go for a burger and you can tell me," he said.
So he borrowed the keys to his father's car and they drove to a burger restaurant near PCA. While Vernon ordered their food, he was swarmed by a group of friends who wanted to hear all about living in New York and what his summer plans were. He got to hear about graduation excitement, what colleges everyone would be going to in the fall, and who was going to prom with who.
When he noticed Vernon carrying a tray to an empty table, he bid them all good luck, thankful that those days were behind him. He was more interested in hearing about Vernon's mystery man, and he approved of the secluded table he'd chosen.
"Before you start eating, spill. How old is this guy?" Chan asked.
Vernon's cheeks tinged pink before answering, "Twenty-eight."
The answer didn't shock him. Vernon was a magnet for older men, and it's because he was pretty like a girl. His cherub face and dark round eyes drew older men (and women) to him even when he was as young as fourteen. Chan also knew that the only hair on his body grew out of his head. Despite that, anyone who spent any amount of time with Vernon knew he was a boy through and through. His masculine mannerisms gave him away each time; he spoke in a deep baritone, and a pleasant musky boy-scent constantly lingered around him. Chan regularly teased him about how he attracted older people to Vernon's disgust. Until now, he would only date people his own age. It seemed like his feelings had changed.
"How long have you known him?" Chan asked.
With his straw between his teeth, Vernon answered, " six months."
It didn't take a genius to do the math. Vernon had been eighteen for only two of those months.
"What's he like?" Chan asked, leaning in.
"He's so hot and he buys me anything I want," Vernon replied.
"Is he nice?" Chan asked.
"Sure," Vernon replied absentmindedly.
"Is this guy like your boyfriend? Chan asked.
"No. He just buys me stuff," Vernon said.
"In exchange for?" Chan asked.
Vernon shrugged. "It started off with him blowing me. He would drain me dry then spend another hour sucking my hole raw," Vernon said with a laugh.
"Sounds like my kind of man," Chan said.
"We had sex for the first time not long ago," Vernon said.
"Do you top or bottom?" Chan asked.
"Both. The sex is pretty great actually," Vernon conceded.
He had spent the last month fucking a twenty-six year old himself so he didn't doubt it.
"Sounds like you have a pretty sweet deal. I take it your dad doesn't know," Chan said.
"Seokmin would kill me dead," Vernon laughed.
Mr. Chwe had come a long way from the raging homophobe who had backhanded Vernon when he came out of the closet. He wouldn't be marching in any pride parades anytime soon, but he tried understanding Vernon. An unintended consequence of Vernon coming out was that his father was now hypervigilant. Vernon had come up with some elaborate lies in an effort to evade his watchful eye and have a few hours of privacy. Chan could only imagine the lies he was feeding his father in order to spend time with this older man.
Chan leaned back and appraised his friend. "Isn't this just great? I have to spend my summer getting coffee and proofreading presentations, and you get to spend your days by your sugar daddy's pool," Chan said.
"No one told you to be an overachiever," Vernon replied.
"And then you're going to stroll onto Irvine's campus in fall with designer everything," Chan said, envious.
"I could probably get him to buy you a new wardrobe," Vernon said.
"I wonder what I'd have to do for that," Chan said.
They spent another half hour catching up on things they hadn't said over facetime. He filled Vernon in on Professor Bang, even showing him a part of his video with the professor grabbing his ankles for him. As they talked it dawned on him how much he had missed him, despite the fact that they talked everyday. He and Vernon understood each other. Vernon's dad breathed down his neck while his own father couldn't be bothered most of the time.
He drove them back to their houses, Vernon going into his to complete homework, and he knew his father would finally acknowledge that he'd flown across the country and was back to living under a shared roof. He walked in as his father walked out of the kitchen.
"I was wondering where you'd gone off to," he said, walking to the bar to pour himself a glass of whiskey.
"Just went for a burger with Vernon," Chan replied, noting that he didn't think to call or text.
He nodded, sipping his drink. "Are you ready for your first day tomorrow?" he asked.
His father Jisoo showed the most interest when it came to his education and career. He'd insisted that Chan choose NYU when he received his acceptance letter, saying that the change in scenery would be good for his development. Chan didn't argue. His father wasn't a bad man, but the level of his indifference was better dealt with away from him. So when Chan had mentioned in an email that he would apply for a summer internship, his father had called in a favor and he was hired at GoSe Enterprises the next day.
"Super excited dad," he replied with exaggerated enthusiasm.
"You should be. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. Real world experience. That's what's going to set you apart from others when it's time to apply to med school," Jisso said.
"You're right dad," Chan said, looking around. "Where's Soonyoung?" he asked.
"Probably in his bedroom playing video games. When you go upstairs, make him go to bed, would you?" Jisoo asked, returning to his phone. "And be ready at 7:30," he added.
"Whatever you say dad," Chan said, and he walked upstairs.
He knocked three times, deciding to wait until Soonyoung invited him in. Normally he'd walk right in, but Soonyoung was getting older and some things he just didn't need to see. After a high pitched come in, he walked in to find his brother playing video games. He walked over to him and sat on the edge of his bed and watched him play. When his character was killed, Soonyoung turned to him and wrapped his arms around his neck.
"I missed you," Soonyoung said.
"Is that why you're always sending my calls to voicemail," Chan said.
"You always call when I'm gaming with my friends," Soonyoung said.
Chan laughed. "Maybe you're playing too many video games," Chan said.
"It's either that or talk to the walls since there's no one else to talk to," Soonyoung said.
Chan rolled his eyes. It was one thing for his father to neglect him, but when he was away at school, he needed to be more attentive to Soonyoung. He would have to talk to his father about that.
"Well the school year's almost over and you'll be going to summer camp. You must be looking forward to that," Chan said.
"I guess. You just got back and I have to leave," Soonyoung said.
"We'll have a full month before I leave to go back to school," Chan said, holding him in his arms.
He'd have to talk to his father about letting Soonyoung go to therapy at some point. It had to be hard for him growing up without a mother in a place like this where mom's ruled all. He wanted him to be well adjusted. One of them needed to be.
"You should probably go to bed," Chan said, mussing his hair.
"Ok, Chan," Soonyoung said, getting into his bed.
"We'll go out for pizza for dinner tomorrow," Chan promised on his way out. "Good night," he said, turning out the lights and closing the door.
He walked back to his bedroom, locking the door behind him. The first thing he did was unpack his suitcase. He put away his clothes before moving on to his prized possessions: his MacBook and his camera. He loved this camera. It captured everything in stunning high definition, but was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. It was nothing to carry the camera with him everywhere and stash it between books on a bookcase or on a potted plant. He never knew when an encounter might need to be recorded.
When his bedroom looked like a place someone actually lived, he gathered his bag of toiletries and went to the bathroom he shared with Soonyoung. He was disheartened to find that the bathtub didn't contain Soonyoung's toy of the month. He was getting older, so he spent his time rollerblading or playing video games; his sweet baby brother would be a teenager before he knew it. As he let the water soak into his skin, he wondered if his father would let go of the cleaning woman he'd hired while he was away, but it didn't matter; he probably cleaned it better anyway.
He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist before heading back to his bedroom. He didn't bother to blow dry his hair, as he threw on a pair of sweats and opened the window next to his desk and took a seat. Crickets could be heard throughout the neighborhood, so he closed his eyes, reveling in the familiar sound. The incessant, inescapable noise is what he hated most about New York. It was the silence that he'd spent the nine months yearning for. He liked a sleeping city, even if he didn't himself. He knew he was in for another long, sleepless night, but he knew where his dad kept the good stuff.
He crept out of his room and made his way to his father's bedroom and opened his nightstand. Xanax, exactly where he knew they would be. If his father knew he was filching pills from him, he never said anything. He opened the pill bottle, pocketed two of them, and made his way downstairs to grab a bottle of water.
"Is your brother in bed?" Jisoo asked him when he walked by.
"Yeah, he was playing those video games," Chan replied, but he stopped and turned to his father. "I think you should see about getting him a therapist," he said.
"Why? Did he say something to you?" Jisoo asked.
"No, but I think he's lonely. It's just you and him in this house, and you're always busy with work. A therapist might be what he needs," Chan said.
"Set up an appointment for him. You know where the insurance information is," Jisoo said, turning back to his phone.
He chuckled softly to himself and went back to his bedroom. The only reason he even brought it up to him was to prevent a future conversation when he needed to pay the deductible. His father took care of routine things, but anything beyond a yearly physical, Chan needed to remind him. He popped the pills before turning on his TV to watch a movie. He knew he didn't have long before the pills began to work, so he settled on a movie he had seen countless times: Fatal Attraction.
He revered Glenn Close as Alex. So much so that he often found himself mouthing her lines as he watched. He personally didn't see what she saw in Michael Douglass's character, but he'd always thought she was right. Dan Gallagher belonged to her and it was obvious the first time they had sex. The fact that he was married was a mere complication. He had sex with her; him being married wasn't her fault or an excuse for him to abandon her. He watched until he felt his eyelids droop then turned off the TV. He slowly drifted off to sleep thinking about everything he would have done differently including recording a video of their encounter.
He sat in the passenger seat as Jisoo ordered a hot black coffee for himself and a skim milk iced latte for him. Despite being mid way through spring, LA was already unreasonably hot. The thought of wearing a suit well into August didn't bode well for him. He thanked his father for his latte, wondering how he could drink hot coffee in weather like this.
They drove in silence all the way to the GoSe office. He wasn't dreading the internship for any real reason other than the fact that it would be interminably boring. He didn't smoke weed much, but he would have had infinitely more fun getting high with Vernon when he graduated and was done with high school.
They walked into the office promptly at 8 am, and the cool air-conditioning was like a god send. He followed his father throughout the building as he said good morning to different people. Chan had been there before, so he was confused that they weren't headed to his father's office.
"Where are we going?" he finally asked.
"You've been assigned to the sales department. That's why we're here," Jisoo replied, stopping to face him. "Listen, I know you'll do well here. You're a smart kid," he said.
"Thanks," Chan said.
"Like I said, you're a smart kid. Don't do anything to negatively impact my reputation. Work hard. Do as you're told. Understand?" Jisoo asked.
"Yes dad," Chan replied.
"Good," he said, knocking on the door in front of them before entering.
A tall sunkissed woman with long auburn hair and a smattering of freckles came to meet them at the door. She wore a black form-fitting pencil skirt, and matching high heels. She was beautiful and looked like someone Chan would be unwise to cross.
"Hello Minghao. This is my son, Chan. He'll be your intern for the summer. Chan, this is Minghao, our head of sales and your boss for the next twelve weeks." Jisoo said.
"Good morning, sir. We'll take good care of your son. Hello Chan," Minghao said warmly, taking his hand.
"Hello," Chan replied politely.
"I'm late for a meeting. I'll see you in the lobby at 5," Jisoo said as he left.
Minghao turned to him after Jisoo left. "So Chan, welcome. I got a look at your application. Impressive. How do you like NYU? I went to Columbia myself," Minghao said.
"NYU is great. I met a lot of interesting people," Chan said.
"I'll bet. Come on, let's meet the team. Everyone," Minghao said," getting the attention of the four people in the office. "This is Chan. He'll be interning with us this summer. Look out for him," Minghao said, turning back to him. "Chan these are Jihoon, Mingyu, Junhui, and Seungcheol," she said, pointing to each person.
Jihoon nodded politely. Immediately, something felt off about this guy, Chan thought. His buzzed haircut suited him if he were going for a professional sleazeball look, but his handsome face was marred by the smug look on his face. For a relatively short guy he had a nice build. Still, Chan could already tell he wouldn't like him.
Mingyu on the other hand seemed to radiate sunshine as he smiled at him warmly. He stood to bow and Chan was flabbergasted by his height. He moved like a brown puppy with oversized paws.
The next person came up to him to personally introduce themselves.
"Hi, I'm Junhui. I go by they/them pronouns, just an FYI," they said.
Junhui was beautiful. They had long raven hair that shined even under the dull office light. Their movements were lithe, and Chan could see that their pantsuit was hiding long legs and a svelte figure. He shook their hand, forcing himself not to stare at their sensual, slightly parted lips.
He turned his attention to the final man, Seungcheol, and his heart stopped. Standing before him stood a tank of a man wearing all black that did little to conceal the muscles that were threatening to burst through. Despite that, he looked at Chan kindly, his brown eyes sparkling and his lips settled into a perpetual pout that shattered Chan's heart. His shoulder-length hair framed his face, and from his side profile, Chan could see that his ass sat high and firm like a shelf. He needed to clear his throat to collect his thoughts.
He nodded politely at everyone before Minghao showed him to his desk. He was given the task of proofreading and editing some reports; a meaningless task designed to keep him busy and Minghao returned to his own desk. He tried focusing on his work but his eyes were constantly drawn to Seungcheol. He couldn't hear him clearly, but from the way his lips moved, Chan guessed that he had a slight lisp and each time he noticed it, his stomach would flutter uncontrollably.
As the hours went by, Chan was finding it difficult to focus on his work. Seungcheol would laugh and he would unravel, or Seungcheol would leave to go to the bathroom, and Chan couldn't help but watch him walk away. Mingyu had referred to him as Cheol, and Chan had mouthed the name on his lips, liking the way it slid off his tongue. Thankfully, members of the team dispersed one by one to go out for lunch. Chan used this opportunity to walk around the building, desperate for fresh air.
As the sun's rays burned into his skin, he was wholly occupied by a different fire that raged inside of him whenever he thought about Cheol and he knew he needed him that day. Chan didn't usually have such strong feelings for a guy so quickly, by Cheol was different. When he envisioned Cheol on top of him, manhandling him, and whispering seductively in his ear, he would forget how to breath.
He settled back into his work after lunch, and he did his best to focus. Midway through he looked up to find Cheol walking towards him. Turning in his chair, he cleared his mind to stop himself from saying something stupid and inappropriate.
"Hey Chan, Minghao said she gave you the Chinese market study to proofread. Were you able to get to it?" Cheol asked.
He smiled, grateful it was the first file he had completed. "Yes I worked on that one first. Do you need it?" Chan asked.
"If you could just drag it to the shared sales team folder that would be great," Cheol said, patting him on the arm.
He was grateful to be sitting, because he would have surely lost his balance standing. The spot where Cheol had touched him seemed to burn an electric path inside of his body straight to the heart of his desire. With shaky hands, he managed to share the completed file. He took a deep breath to steady himself and returned to his work. He was determined to ask Cheol to hang out that day.
When 4:45 hit, everyone began to collect their belongings, when Minghao came over to him.
"So Chan, how was your first day?" she asked.
"Illuminating," Chan answered.
"I know it can be a lot to take in, but your proofs were so good, you'll be writing the reports in no time," Minghao said. "Good work today," she said before exiting the office.
He looked around and found that he was in the office alone with Cheol. This was it. He was going to ask Cheol if he wanted to hang out with him. He shut down his computer, and stood up to stretch before approaching him. Cheol looked at him warmly as he approached.
"Heading out?" Cheol asked him.
"I am," Chan said.
"I know your first day was probably boring, but you'll get to do more than review reports soon," Cheol said.
"That's good to know," Chan said, scanning the room. "I actually wanted to ask you something," he said.
"Sure anything. What is it?" Cheol said, focusing his attention on him.
The direct eye contact was doing a number on him, but he persisted.
"I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with me sometime," Chan said.
This clearly wasn't what Cheol was expecting to hear as shock colored his face.
"Umm Chan, how old are you?" Cheol asked.
"I know what you're probably thinking. Yes I'm only nineteen, but I think we would have fun," Chan said.
Cheol laughed softly. Not in a ridiculing sort of way, but in a way that told Chan he wasn't going to get the answer he was hoping for.
"Chan, you're really cute, but I'm thirty-five. Hanging out isn't a good idea. In fact it's inappropriate. Your dad is my boss's boss," Cheol said.
"What happens outside of this office wouldn't be anyone's business," Chan said.
"I disagree. Your father would rightly make it his business. Besides, you're an attractive young man. I'm sure boys your age would fall over themselves to be with you," Cheol said, gathering his belongings. "Us hanging out wouldn't be right. I hope you can understand that," he said.
The rejection was crushing, but part of him anticipated that. He plastered a smile on his face. In his most professional voice he said, "you're right. I shouldn't have asked. To my credit, I didn't think there was such a gap in our ages," Chan said.
"That's sweet, and I'm sorry. It just wouldn't be right. I hope there's no hard feelings," Cheol said.
"Oh of course not. Thank you for being so nice about it," Chan said.
"I remember being nineteen," Cheol said, slipping his bag over his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. See you tomorrow," he said, and he exited the office.
Finding himself alone, he replayed their conversation in his head. One, he wouldn't have guessed that Cheol was thirty-five; he would have guessed late twenties. Two, part of him was glad that Cheol denied him; he wanted Cheol, but he had no desire to be his barely legal fuck hole. Three, Cheol was kind, but firm about the encounter, letting him know that he had experienced politely declining people. Chan guessed that Cheol was approached a lot.
On Cheol's desk sat a small picture frame that Chan picked up to observe. In the photo, Cheol was holding a small coton de tulear. He was smiling widely as he played with the dog. Chan hated dogs, but he loved the way this dog made Cheol's eyes light up. He smiled as he placed the frame back in its original position and gathered his own belongings and exited the office. Cheol may have rejected him today, but he would be a fool if he thought that this would be the end of Chan's desire for him. It might already be over in Cheol's mind, but Chan was only getting started.