the bet | dojae

one

jaehyun didn't know why he went to a party nearly every weekend. he didn't know how he managed to keep his grades up, either. but these were both things he did, and as he stood at the drinks table with a red plastic cup in his hand, he wondered what he would be doing instead if he didn't go to parties all the time.

"jaehyun, it's good to see you! glad you could make it!" johnny, the man behind the party and jaehyun's best friend, emerged from the small crowd, his words barely audible as the music boomed around them. jaehyun lifted his hand in a wave before taking a sip of his beer, making a face seconds later. it tasted like shit.

"did you hear? yuta's coming, too, said he was gonna be a little late but he has something really good planned," johnny mumbled, leaning against the table as he stood next to jaehyun. "his games are always really fun, so i have faith in him."

"didn't you lose the last game?"

"maybe, but—"

"and then you had to wear cat ears for a week and meow every time you said something?"

johnny glared at him before turning his attention back to the rest of the party, downing his beer like it was nothing. "i'd like to forget that ever happened."

"yeah, well, so does everyone else." that statement earned jaehyun an elbow to the ribs.

watching people walk in and out of the house, he felt himself go rigid as he watched taeyong practically run inside with someone jaehyun had never seen before. taeyong rarely ever brought people along, and just from the look on his face, he could tell the stranger didn't wanna be there. maybe taeyong had promised him something in exchange for going.

and then jaehyun realized taeyong was running to him.

"jaehyun! this is my friend, doyoung. this is his first time attending a college pa—"

"shut up!" doyoung hissed, nearly whacking the shit out of taeyong.

the latter dodged and simply smiled at him. "anyway, i just thought i should introduce the both of you. hey, by the way, do you know what yuta has planned?"

"no idea. johnny doesn't know, either, he's really trying to keep it a surprise this time."

jaehyun examined doyoung for a moment before gesturing to the drinks table, but rose an eyebrow when he shook his head. "at least one of us needs to be sober, and we both know it's not gonna be him."

"hey! i can totally be sober!" taeyong snapped.

"you once got so drunk you tried to climb onto the roof and get naked," jaehyun retorted, making taeyong slap a hand over his mouth before he could detail the incident any further. doyoung stared at his friend for a few seconds before shaking his head and walking off.

once he was a good few feet away, taeyong punched jaehyun. "can you maybe not embarrass me in front of him?"

"is he your boyfriend?"

"no, but he's my best friend and he's stuck around for a very long time. he doesn't need to know about all of the stupid shit i do."

"all right, i'm sorry. if i ever see him again, i'll apologize for telling him."

"thank you." taeyong walked off just as yuta walked in, going straight to johnny. jaehyun followed, assuming that he finally had the game ready.

"yuta's here! finally," johnny cheered as he saw the pair approach him. "what's the game tonight, then?"

"you'll see," yuta said with that sly grin of his, gesturing for jaehyun and johnny to follow him as he began to make his way upstairs. going into one of the bedrooms, he set his bag down on the floor and began to pull out a number of things. johnny headed downstairs and rounded up the usual group of players, and jaehyun stood at the doorway, still holding his cup. "is the beer any good?"

"nope. still as bad as last time," jaehyun replied, holding his cup out for yuta to try.

the older boy took one sip and immediately gagged, quickly handing it back. "jesus christ, what kind of beer is he buying?"

"i wish i knew."

when yuta finally had everything set up, jaehyun took his usual spot on the floor and watched as the other players came into the room. yuta sat next to him, and it didn't take long for jaehyun to realize that the person sitting across from him, next to taeyong was ...

doyoung.