Love Maze

05 | do it for gucci

|| CHAPTER FIVE ;; NOLAN KIM
- do it for gucci

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Nolan can't believe he's standing in the bathroom of a multi-billion-dollar company with a huge coffee stain on his brand new shirt. A shirt that cost him actual elbow grease that's still leaving him beyond the point of exhaustion.

Of course. Now I'll look like an uneducated ape the moment I step out of here. He vigorously runs his fingers through his knotty hair somewhat frustratedly. His mouth contorts into a sort of grimace upon inspecting his current appearance. It's completely unacceptable.

His eyes are locked on the grand mirror in front of him, unable to deny the fact he looks utterly terrible with dark circles weighing down his eyes and a big, brown splotch displayed across his abdomen rather evidently. Nolan inhales sharply, pulling his stuck fingers from his hair and lowering them to his collar, begrudgingly working on undoing the buttons on his shirt.

He gnaws at his bottom lip, teeth sinking into the thick skin as he works at the difficult buttons. There's no doubt he's frustrated and irritated with the whole situation, especially since the person who spilled coffee on him seems to have purposely done that. It's not quite a coincidence to just happen to toss your drink at a person, and despite the fact Nolan had waved it off with a smile, he's burning with fury.

I can't get these stupid buttons off. Nolan groans exasperatedly as his arms fall to his side. He has no idea when he's supposed to be outside with the other five girls and boys accepted along with him, and he's not even sure whether this is some elimination or something.

A part of him wants to leave, dismissing the opportunity to obtain half a million won just because he's completely and undeniably an embarrassing mess right now. But the other side of him actually wants to stay, considering all the cool things he's seen in such a foreign building, and fortunately that part happens to win the game of tug-of-war playing in his head.

Do it for Gucci, he repeats confidently in his cloudy mind, lips tugging into a hopeful smile. It's his last resort to bring him comfort, and it actually lifts the weights that seem to have draped themselves over his shoulders.

"Wow, this is hot." The grin on his mouth disappears the moment his ears pick up that same familiar accent that immediately stains his cheeks rose red. Nolan's eyes drift to the person standing at the door with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

Oh, come on. Are you kidding me?

"It's you," Nolan blurts out automatically, his mind almost forgetting about the gnarly stain on his shirt. It takes a second for alarms to blare in Nolan's head, signaling the fact that he's practically flashing the stranger (are they really strangers though?) the big stain that moments ago had left him on the brink of insanity.

Instinctually, Nolan's arms fly to cover himself, attempting to hide the stain as normally as he possibly can. He doesn't miss the amused smile flashing on the other boy's features or the way the boy shakes his head to hold in laughter as Nolan continues to make a fool of himself. But as of right now, Nolan's unsure if it's worth it to hide himself. The boy standing in front of him, staring him down from head to toe, has already embarrassed himself in front of him at the convenience store. Won't they be even if Nolan drops his arms and reveals the stain?

"It was a dumb macchiato, okay?" he mutters defeatedly, giving up once more on any chance of shielding himself from the boy's observing gaze. Nolan's bottom lip juts out, pouting like a child as the other boy seems to be silently considering his own thoughts.

Thankfully, before the awkwardness can get any worse than it already is, Nolan's ears perk up at the unfortunately short but loose laugh that belongs to the other boy. He peers over at the stranger, an eyebrow cocked at him as he scans the boy's features. There's no doubt that the boy's incredibly handsome, but Nolan doesn't let that fact lead him away from a bigger problem — his shirt.

Holy shit, he's stripping. His eyes nearly pop out of their sockets when he watches the boy's hands move to the buttons on his shirt.

"What's your name?" the boy asks out of the blue, the question more random than their coincidental meet-ups — and unfitting, considering he's practically stripping in front of Nolan.

"Nol-Nolan," he answers, almost dumbfounded, stuttering as the boy's buttons come undone, revealing the fair skin of his muscular chest.

"Ah, call me Jae-In, then."

Another sweet, throaty chuckle rings in Nolan's ears, leaving the boy dazed as Jae-In undoes the last button on his shirt. Nolan brings his hand to his mouth, clutching the lower half of his face to prevent from squealing or embarrassing himself. His gaze can't seem to pull away; he's entranced by the way Jae-In shrugs off his shirt, his muscles rippling with every single one of his movements.

"Here, take off yours." Jae-In holds out his designer shirt with a crooked grin. Nolan barely nods his head as he fumbles with his own button-up, gaze flitting between Jae-In's perfect form and his own less surprising body.

It's obvious and quite brutally honest to say Jae-In's body is much more defined and muscular than Nolan's. The other boy stands there with a slight slouch, his tongue poking at the corner of his lips as he patiently waits. A wave of self-consciousness hits Nolan hard as he blinks rapidly to stay focused, the realization setting in that him taking off his own shirt is probably in no way sexy at all.

Who am I? I can't look sexy to save my life. Nolan continues to internally freak out when he reaches the last button, swallowing nervously as he hears it pop off.

Jae-In's eyes are burning fire on his cool skin when Nolan shrugs off his stained shirt. The boy then reminds himself this is the guy he'd caught staring at his ass. All of his insecure thoughts drop like a fly at such sudden realization. Why should he be self-conscious in front of a freaking pervert?

Nolan's brows furrow when he switches shirts with Jae-In without a word, his plump lips pressing into a frown. The other raises an eyebrow at him, gaze carefully following Nolan as he sticks his arm in the sleeve.

"What?" Jae-In questions, throwing on Nolan's shirt rather casually, hiding his beautiful abdomen. Nolan shrugs, pulling on Jae-In's shirt and buttoning up the buttons hastily, attempting to avoid any more conversations with him.

"You're the pervert who was staring at me last night," Nolan tells him with a matter-of-fact tone. "I was wondering why the hell I was freaking out."

"Okay, you got me there — or, well, not exactly," the other admits shamelessly, the corner of his lip lifting. Nolan's eyebrows raise to his hairline, shocked by the boy's confidence.

"So you're saying you are a pervert?" he asks in disbelief, his jaw hanging open slightly as he tucks in Jae-In's big shirt into his own slacks.

Jae-In shrugs, a teasing smirk on his lips as he fixes his belt around his waist. Somehow, the awkwardness has completely shifted into something else, something more. Nolan shakes off the thoughts before they can make him fall into uncharted territory, but he can't deny the shift in mood.

It's like...awkward, but not awkward, he debates quietly to himself as he styles Jae-In's shirt to his particular preferences until his lips automatically rise into a smile. Jae-In's eyes are on him still, but before Nolan can accuse him of anything, the boy beats him by saying something beyond what Nolan has expected.

"I'm only a pervert when it comes to you." Jae-In winks at him and disappears behind the door without saying anything more, leaving Nolan with his mouth hanging open and cheeks burning pink.