Moonglow Bay | ATEEZ

06. dancing with the devil

The music overwhelmed your body, devouring you with every beat. You lost yourself within the sound and in the sea of gyrating bodies around you. The music combined with the overall dark aura of the club made you their prisoner. You'd been desperate to leave normal life behind, even if it was just for a night, and in that moment, you forgot all of your worries. No more Yeosang, no more Mingi, no more Hongjoong... just you, free from yourself, melding together with unfamiliar people to unfamiliar music. October 12, 2019.

After what seemed like hours of constant movement on your part, the usual EDM music faded out, bringing you back to reality. Over the hum of the crowd, you heard the DJ say something about "slowing it down for all the lovers out there." As the people surrounding you began coupling up, you couldn't help but roll your eyes. You maneuvered your way through the crowd, eventually managing to find an empty table at the edge of the dance floor. You plopped down into one of the chairs just as a new song began. It wasn't familiar to you, but you could tell immediately that this song was considerably more sensual than the rest of the night's playlist.

While you caught your breath, you noticed the sheen of sweat covering your body; you seemed to glisten every time the lights hit you. With a groan, you wiped the sweat from your forehead and leaned forward, opting to focus on the dance floor. As the song droned on, it seemed as if someone else took notice as well.

"Not a fan of slow songs?"

The question was difficult to make out over the music; you half-expected it wasn't meant for you. Looking up, you were surprised to see the owner of the voice staring back at you. For a moment, you found yourself taking him in, from the tips of his platinum hair to the shine of his leather boots. There was something particular about his eyes, though. They were filled to the brim with something unknown, and you couldn't help but get lost in them, if only for a few seconds. To you, they seemed familiar, but you couldn't quite place where you knew them from. When you remained silent, the young man smirked and slid into the chair on the opposite side of the table.

His confidence amused you, but you didn't let it show. Instead, you focused back on the dance floor, allowing the dozens of couples to overtake your thoughts. It was the only club in Moonglow Bay, and that particular Saturday, it was filled to the brim with college students desperate to take the edge off. "Just taking a breather," you said. Maybe he would take the hint and leave you alone.

"Yeah? Is that why you rolled your eyes when you left the dance floor?"

No dice. With a sigh, you sat straight, his question now becoming your main focus. How close had he been in order to see that?

"What's it to you?" You asked.

"Just making conversation," he shrugged. As his head cocked, he kept his eyes on you. They twinkled with something dark, something a little too far past mischief. "I'm Wooyoung. What's your name?"

You looked at him for a brief moment and let out a laugh, shaking your head. He was a bold one for sure.

"Y/N," you said, crossing your arms over your chest. "And to answer your question, I just don't do 'couple stuff.'" With your eyes now straight ahead, back on the dance floor, the young man's chuckle gave away his amusement.

"That's understandable," he said. In your periphery, you saw him nodding as he inched closer to yours. You kept your mouth shut and let him reposition his chair so he was sitting directly behind you. "I don't either."

His voice was much lower during his second sentence, but he could afford for it to be. The heat of his breath against your skin sent a shiver of your body. You didn't mind when his fingers danced along the crook of your neck, and you even let your arms relax, hands resting on your lap. It didn't take much for you to fall under his spell, but as the song changed, your ears perked up a bit, the usual bass-boosted music blasting through the speakers once again. Waking from your daze, you stood.

"I think I'm gonna go dance some more," you said, gesturing over to the dance floor.

Wooyoung raked a hand through his hair, standing with you. "I'll join you." He'd regained his cool, as if he hadn't been toying with you only seconds before. Based on his expression, or lack thereof, you couldn't even tell if he was interested in you at all.

Biting your bottom lip, you nodded and made your way back to the dance floor, allowing the beat to control your movements once more. Wooyoung trailed close behind, making sure to keep you in his line of sight at all times.

Against your previous wishes, the two of you ended up dancing together, bodies meeting at specific locations for even more specific reasons. The young man with you grew more and more eager every time the two of you touched. You grew used to him being with you, and the attention you were receiving gave you a boost of confidence, one that you didn't know you needed until you experienced it. When you finally spun away from him, he'd decided you'd turned his back on him for the last time. In a flash, he snaked an arm around your hips, pulling them back to meet his own.

"What do you think about us getting out of here?" He purred, lips brushing against your earlobe as he spoke.

A certain heat began boiling in the lower part of your stomach, sending a surge of adrenaline through your bloodstream. There was a small voice within you screaming for you to run, to ignore his question and return to the dance floor as if nothing had happened. That same voice within you kept pestering, what would Mingi think? What would Hongjoong think? You grew frustrated with yourself, with your morals. Mingi and Hongjoong were gone, you reminded yourself. Who cares what they'll think? They're not around, so they'll never know. When you nodded, the both of you stood, and the young man's arm was around your waist, guiding you to the front door.

The next thing you comprehended was the darkness of his room, the sensation of his lips on your skin. The drive back to his apartment was a total blur, a combination of excitement and fear overwhelming your senses and your overall comprehension. He smelled of cedar and musk, the kind of musk hours in a club would create, yet he felt like a breath of fresh air.

Lips colliding, the two of you positioned yourselves on top of Wooyoung's mattress. The both of you were up on your knees, torsos connected. Clothing was soon removed, discarded to various locations around the room. His kiss grew sloppy, hungry. You knew what he wanted, and with every second that past, you grew more and more impatient with him.

Wooyoung separated his lips from yours and threw you down onto the mattress. As he hovered above you, you began to see the hunger in his eyes, that same twinkle of mischief from earlier giving way to the lust he was radiating.

"You ready?" He purred, the corner of his lips curling up into a smirk.

Heart pounding in your chest, you felt yourself give in completely. "Yes."

◌  ◌  ◌

"You're making me sound like a pig."

You looked over to the counter to see Wooyoung entering the main dining area from the back, tying his apron around his waist. He offered you a smirk, then Jongho a nod.

"Because you were a pig," you grumbled, and you heard Jongho let out a weak laugh beside you. After months of keeping your relationship with Wooyoung a secret, you were finally coming clean. It was reasonable for Jongho to be in shock.

"You let me get away with it then," Wooyoung accused with a grin, leaning on the counter to further insert himself in the conversation between you and your friend. Jongho's shift was ending soon, with Wooyoung to replace him, and with no customers, the two of you had relocated to a regular table in the dining area. You shared your thoughts; he continued to listen. "Since we're storytelling, do you remember when you used me to make that guy jealous?"

You shot Wooyoung a look and felt your cheeks flush pink when Jongho's focus fall on you.

"What is he talking about?" Your friend asked.

"Come on, at that Halloween party?" Wooyoung was on the brink of laughter. He left his position from behind the counter and dragged a third chair over to your small table before plopping down onto it. "What was the guy's name? Seonghwa?"

Jongho's eyes widened to the point where it seemed as if they would pop out of his skull. "Seonghwa?" He said, tone accusatory. It was obvious he'd forgotten about your secret with Wooyoung at this point.

With a groan, you hid your face in your hands. "Yes," you mumbled into your skin. "I remember."