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purpleinksplotch · 3 months ago

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Too Sweet II

Notes: Part 2! In case it wasn't clear from the previous instalment, SKZ are not idols in this story.

Comments, likes, and reblogs are always appreciated <3

---

Hyunjin woke from a fitful sleep and groaned as he stretched out his stiff muscles. He must have passed out on the balcony floor because he didn't remember anything after collapsing onto it the previous night. If the soreness in his throat and eyes was any indication, he probably sobbed for hours before eventually tiring himself out. At least it hadn't rained overnight.

The sky was melting from dark blue into the pink-orange of dawn, and so Hyunjin guessed it was around 5 or 6am. He didn't have to be in work until 8, but the last thing he wanted was to bump into any of his pack mates. Minho was usually the first one up, since he liked to cook breakfast for everyone before heading to work himself. Hyunjin could still hear Minho's cruel words as clear as day:

"You're selfish... you're just being a brat and don't like being told no."

He didn't have the energy to cry anymore, and now he just felt a stinging resentment towards the other man. Towards all of them, for that matter. They had all rejected him, one way or another. Well, fuck them. Hyunjin suddenly couldn't wait to get to work just so he could be away from them all for the rest of the day.

He pulled himself to his feet and slipped quietly inside the house, tiptoeing to the shower before any of the others woke up.

---

Minho stood over a sizzling pan of eggs in the kitchen, knowing from experience that the smell of food was the most effective method of rousing his sleeping pack mates. However, he was distracted this morning as he sprinkled pepper and grated cheese into the breakfast pan.

He had woken up feeling terrible about his argument with Hyunjin. He hadn't meant to be so harsh with him, he had just assumed Hyunjin wanted attention and Minho wasn't in the mood to give it -- having been focussed on spending time with Jisung. But when he went over the conversation the next morning, he remembered Hyunjin mentioning that he wanted comfort.

Minho knew that Hyunjin had a sensitive heart, and probably took Minho and Jisung's rejection badly. He had gone to Hyunjin's room to apologise as soon as he woke up, but found it empty. The bed didn't appear to have been slept in, which probably meant that Hyunjin had spent the night with one of the others. That at least eased Minho's guilty conscience somewhat, knowing that Hyunjin hadn't spent the night alone.

Still, he wanted to apologise properly and he perked up when he heard footsteps padding to the kitchen, but it was only Chan.

"Morning," the pack leader greeted, slipping his arms around Minho's waist. "Mmm that smells good."

"Morning. You look like you've been electrocuted."

Chan's hair was notoriously difficult to tame, especially first thing in the morning when it took on a life of its own and moulded itself into very strange shapes. Accustomed to the teasing, the pack leader only laughed and hugged Minho tighter.

"It's cause I have so much rizz it electrifies my hair."

It was such a stupid, 'Chan' response and Minho rolled his eyes, but the gesture was fond.

"Did Hyunjin sleep with you and Felix last night?"

"No why?"

Minho sighed. "He came to our room and asked to come in, but Jisung and I had planned to have a night to ourselves so we said no. He got really upset about it and we ended up arguing."

"Hm... you know I thought I heard our door open at one point, but Felix and I were kind of... occupied," Chan grimaced. "Maybe he went to Innie and Seungmin instead?"

As if on cue, Jeongin wandered into the kitchen mid-yawn, followed by Felix and Jisung. "Morning. Ooh eggs?"

"Did Hyunjin sleep in your room last night?" Minho asked him.

"No. He wanted to but we were tired so I think he went to find Felix."

"Hm?" Felix glanced at Jeongin with surprise. "He didn't sleep with us."

"I went to his room this morning and his bed hadn't been slept in," Minho stated.

"Then where did he sleep?" Jisung asked worriedly.

"You don't think he slept in the nest alone do you?" Chan asked.

Both Felix and Jisung whimpered at the suggestion. Jeongin stood up and announced that he would go and check.

"Fuck." Minho wiped a hand over his face. "I shouldn't have yelled at him. I should have just let him sleep with us."

Jisung moved to his side and stroked his mate's back. "It's not your fault. We didn't realise he would end up sleeping by himself."

Jeongin returned a few seconds later with Seungmin in tow. "He's not in the nest but I think he's in the bathroom."

"Well, when he comes down we can all apologise," Chan instructed, to which the others all nodded in agreement.

---

In all the commotion, Hyunjin had almost forgotten what date it was until a reminder popped up on the calendar in his phone. The gallery was hosting a huge exhibition that evening, complete with a champagne reception and lots of local journalists and photographers to document the event. Hyunjin himself had helped to organise it and selected several of the pieces that would be showcased.

He had been looking forward to it, but now as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror blotting the bags under his eyes with concealer, he dreaded the thought of being in the spotlight and having to pose for photos all evening. Still, there was nothing for it -- and at least this way he would have an excuse for staying out late.

Once he had done as much damage control as possible, he carefully folded his suit for the evening over his arm (still in the plastic from when it had been dry-cleaned) and went downstairs. He was hoping to quietly slip out to his car without bumping into anyone, but he barely made it to the bottom of the staircase before several figures came running out of the kitchen.

"Hyunjinnie!" Felix and Jisung cried in unison, making a beeline for him.

Hyunjin was so caught off guard that his voice came out more sharply than he intended. "Don't!"

Felix and Jisung froze in their tracks, staring at him with twin pairs of sad boba eyes. The rest of the pack soon poured out into the hallway at the sound of Hyunjin's raised voice.

"Jinnie what's wrong?" Felix asked sadly.

"Nothing, it's just this is my best suit and I can't have it getting creased," Hyunjin replied, indicating the clothing draped over his arm.

"Hyunjin, we know why you're really upset," said Chan, trying to keep the peace. "We know you slept in the nest by yourself."

"I didn't sleep in the nest," said Hyunjin.

Chan seemed to ignore this statement. "We're really sorry we didn't comfort you when you needed us. We want to make it up to you."

Several of the others nodded vigorously and echoed Chan's apology. Hyunjin noticed that Minho stayed silent and wouldn't meet his eyes. He resisted the urge to scoff -- Minho probably still thought he just wanted attention.

"Why don't we all spend tonight together, as a pack?" Chan suggested. "We can order pizza, then I'm sure Jinnie can choose a nice film for us to watch. And we can all sleep together in the nest."

This was met with a chorus of enthusiastic agreements, but Hyunjin only felt awkward and irritated. Usually he loved being made a fuss of by his pack, but this felt like pity -- like they were only offering to spend the night with him because they felt sorry for him.

"I can't. I have an exhibition after work tonight."

"Is this the one you helped put together?" Seungmin asked.

"Yeah. You guys go ahead and do what you want, but I won't be back until late."

"That's okay," said Chan. "We'll hold off on the pizza and films until we can all be together, but you can still come and join us in the nest when you get back, doesn't matter how late it is."

Hyunjin sighed impatiently. "I'm gonna be exhausted, I'd rather sleep by myself tonight."

Felix stuck out his lower lip. "But Jinnie--"

"Look I have to go. Don't wait up for me."

Before anyone else could say a word, Hyunjin fled through the front door. He half-expected them to run out and chase him to his car, but none of them did and he couldn't decide whether that made him feel better or worse.

---

It was lucky that Hyunjin did head into work earlier than usual because there was a lot to do in preparation for the exhibition. He had never worked on such a large scale event before and he hadn't realised how much work went into making sure it ran smoothly. There was the venue, the decorations, the music, the caterers, the photographers, the journalists, and of course the artwork itself that all needed last-minute checks.

Hyunjin found himself running back and forth all day, barely finding time to stuff a sandwich and a coffee in his mouth at lunch, but the chaos certainly did a good job of keeping him distracted. He didn't even have a chance to look at his phone until he was getting changed for the event at 6pm.

There were numerous texts from Felix, Chan, Jeongin and Seungmin wishing him luck for the event, but nothing from Jisung or Minho. Hyunjin wasn't surprised by their lack of response, although he didn't have time to respond to any of them because Soyeon was already knocking on the door.

"Hyunjinnie, we have to get downstairs before guests start arriving!"

"Coming!"

Hyunjin put his phone on silent and slipped it into his jacket pocket, taking one last glance in the full-length mirror. He was wearing his tailored cream Versace suit that had been a birthday gift from the pack, one of his most treasured possessions. Because it was custom made, it fit him perfectly: accentuating the slender lines of his body and complimenting his honeyed skin and glossy black hair. He had finished off the look with a simple gold chain and hoop earrings, dusting his eyelids with glitter.

Did he want to look good for the event? Obviously. But was he also a petty bitch who hoped that the pack would see photos on social media and feel deeply regretful that they didn't ravish him when they had the chance? Definitely.

The first couple of hours went even better than expected. The venue was packed, but not so crowded that guests couldn't comfortably wander between the pieces of art and stand back to admire each display. Hyunjin was pleased to see that the pieces he had selected were particularly popular and always had knots of people surrounding them. The owner of the gallery even thanked him personally when he made his speech, and Hyunjin blushed bright red at the round of applause he received in response.

It was a little while later, when Hyunjin was taking a breather from speaking to the guests about his chosen pieces, that Soyeon handed him a glass of champagne and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially in his ear. "Have you seen the really hot guy back there?"

"Everyone here is hot, you''ll have to be more specific."

Soyeon gestured over her shoulder. "He's the one with glasses and purple hair. A bit short but oh my God his muscles..."

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you a bit too gay to be fawning over a guy's muscles?"

"Aren't you a bit too single to be turning your nose up so quickly?"

"I'm not single! I have six boyfriends!"

"You don't have a mate though," Soyeon specified.

Soyeon was Hyunjin's colleague and friend, who also belonged to a large pack although hers was all female. She was also one of the few people in Hyunjin's life who could match his level of sass, which delighted and galled him in equal measure depending on the day. He was currently leaning towards the latter.

"Thanks for reminding me," Hyunjin said bitterly.

Soyeon sighed and spoke in a gentler tone. "I know it's been bothering you lately, and I don't like to see you upset. Just go talk to him, what's the harm?"

"Isn't that a bit desperate? Hitting on some random guy just in case he happens to be my..."

Hyunjin's voice trailed off and the breath choked in his lungs. A purple-haired man stepped out of the crowd across the room, and he was -- without a doubt -- the most attractive man Hyunjin had ever seen. Not even Felix's pixie-like beauty or Minho's model handsomeness could touch this man's sheer masculine presence: the sharp curve of his jaw, his winning smile and perfect teeth, the broad shoulders giving way to--

Oh Lord have mercy.

Soyeon had not been kidding about his muscles. He wore a chic dark grey suit and white shirt, and he had removed the jacket which was now slung casually over one shoulder. The sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up and were straining against the bulging honey-toned biceps squeezed inside them. One swift movement would surely rip the material to shreds.

Normally Hyunjin would have said that removing one's suit jacket at a black tie event was unacceptable, but he couldn't bring himself to spare a thought for etiquette at this moment. The man was currently engaged in conversation with a woman, a pretty blonde in a fuchsia dress who Hyunjin recognised as a respected art critic. She must have said something amusing because the man suddenly let out a hearty chuckle and the sound immediately made Hyunjin melt.

He was perfect. This was who Hyunjin had been waiting for, he just knew it.

"...mate."

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