Fuel to the Fire

Jae-in's POV

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A couple of days passed after Valentine's Day and I still could not believe that Vivian named that horse after me. It's not that I kept on thinking about it ever since we left the mall, but every time that it got to my head I just could not fathom why she would do that. Why does it have to be my name?

It doesn't make any sense.

It really feels weird. She's calling that little horse 'Jae-in' whenever she comes home from school? I know that Vivian is known for doing a lot of questionable shit but normally those things are tolerable even for me. This was different because I am beginning to question why she would even do that. Whatever; I should not make a big deal out of it.

It's just that… why would it be my name?

Regardless, it was relieving enough that all the Valentine's Day shenanigans within the school finally dialled down and the red-theme of the campus eventually died out within the next couple of days. The next thing that the general public, or in this case my fellow students, are worried is the upcoming exams. That was pretty much the general consensus, and it was inevitable but I merely placed it on the back of my head. I really don't think I should worry about it. I pretty much understood the lessons so I don't think that it would really be a problem.

Homework, however, was different, but that's another story.

Two weeks passed after Vivian and I's escapade and I'm back in the comfort of my own room. It was half-past ten and I'm already preparing for a good night's sleep, just perfect enough to get me the right amount of shut-eye to prepare for the next day. After all, I value sleep more than anything else because it was the one thing that kept me going, and in turn the one thing that's controlling my terrible mood swings. I have this weird tendency to get easily irritated when I lack sleep, so as much as possible I try to avoid that in order to make my day moving smoothly. Maybe I was so used to having a consistent amount of sleep that anything drastically below that could easily blow me out of proportion.

There are some days that I could not, for the love of me, control what's keeping me up at night. That night was perhaps one of those nights, but it was not for unknown reasons because this one had something for it.

I remembered that I was so deep in my sleep that I'm starting to get a good vision of my dreams when the sound of an alarm woke me up. In panic, I opened my eyes, the dark atmosphere of the light-void room greeting me as I check the source of the sound. There was no way that it was morning; somehow my sleep felt abrupt and it did not feel that long for sure. I fished my phone up and turned it up; the bright light of the screen blinding me in the middle of the cold and calm night.

It turns out; the source of the sound was not an alarm, but rather a call.

It was about 1 AM in the morning and I am receiving a call from Wendy Jeon.

This has happened for the third time this week as well. I had no idea what's Wendy up to, but she's calling me on weird times of the evening, mostly on the times that I'm supposed to be asleep. I missed on her call the first time when I pretended to be asleep, and on the next day she showed up on my class and told me that she's upset that I didn't even bother to open the call. Last night, I answered it as well and we talked for a bit. It was nothing short and I readily dismissed it because I was exhausted. I really am not a fan of late night talks, and Wendy was aware of that. I just don't understand why she kept on doing it often recently. She doesn't seem to have a problem.

Anyway, back to her call. I merely shrugged my shoulders and moved to answer the call so as to not make her upset in the following day. Also, the tongue-clicking ring tone was surprisingly annoying after having to hear it too often on this time of the night.

"Hello… Jae-in…? Did I wake you up?"

"Wendy … it's not even 1 in the morning… why are you calling? Is there something wrong?"

"Oh I… I didn't notice… I can't sleep."

She can't sleep… again?

"W-why…? Did you fall asleep in the morning again?"

"N-no… actually, I've been wondering… maybe I just missed you, Jae-in. I'm bothered by a lot of things."

"But we see each other almost every day at school, right?"

"That's different… I don't get to see you with just the two of us. It's been a while. We've never even dated that we're alone because of how immersed you are with school works... I want to be with you."

"I… w-we can arrange a meet up after the exams maybe?"

I don't know what I'm even saying. I'm already half-asleep at this point. I barely even reached three hours of sleep and I'm groggy; wobbly, even.

"No… I want to see you; Jae-in… actually, I was hoping that you'd pick-up because I want to meet you now. I just pulled my luck and gave you a call. I'm actually out of my own apartment right now."

Hearing that seemed to have woken me up on its own; Wendy's out there, on this time of the night?

Somehow my caring side for her sprang once I heard that. It was crazy dangerous to be out on this time given how dark it was outside, not to mention cold because of the subsiding post-winter wind. I immediately sat up out of worry, not even entirely realizing that I placed my foot over the cold surface of the floor.

"Are you being serious right now? You're outside alone, Wendy?"

"I am being serious Jae-in. I figured I can't sleep alone at my apartment so I just looked for a cab and went off. I gave you a call just in case you're interested on going out and maybe we could head on off somewhere while we lay off?"

I kinda want to deny her but it is way too dangerous for her me to let her off on her own. If something happens to her out there, it would be on me because I was the person she last approached. Fuck, this would take a huge toll on me in the morning but I can't leave her alone just like that. I can't do that in good conscience.

"Okay then, where are you right now Wendy? Can you please stay where you are so that I can go to you?"

I heard Wendy sigh from the other side of the line.

"Actually, I boarded a cab so that I can go to you. I'm standing outside your apartment right now, Jae-in."

---

"This is so amazing! I never thought that we'd actually be doing this!" Wendy's voice came cheerfully calling onto me as soon as we found the nearest convenience store. The place was bright and, as expected, completely void of any other people aside from me, Wendy, and the rest of the crew serving the graveyard shift. It was already past one in the morning and thankfully my body was not even showing the slightest signs that I only had two hours of sleep prior to this one. The little energy drink I had before is doing its work.

I feel conflicted with this, though. A part of me really wanted to be concerned for Wendy's welfare but at the same time I wanted to go home and sleep as well, for my own welfare. I am already wrecking the schedule I brought up for myself and this might just make things go awry in the University later on once it's daytime.

I could barely move as I stared on the emptied hotdog sandwich wrapper I just finished in front of me. Wendy was next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder. Unlike me, she was occupied more on consuming the food while I merely stared on.

"I want to thank you, Jae-in; you could have easily ignored me and I would not have appeared right on your apartment's front. Thank you for this jacket as well."

"You don't need to thank me, Wendy. I'm the one who's getting cold at what you're wearing so I offered you mine instead. You didn't consider the weather?"

In reality, I was so surprised to see her there at midnight wearing super short shorts as well and a long sleeved shirt. It was crazy enough when she intended to stay up front our apartment like that, but seeing her was something else. I was so surprised when I first saw her a while back that my first instinct was to cover her up immediately. The weather was far from winter, but it was not by any means warm. I also got lucky that I didn't wake Iris-noona on the way out otherwise I would have to endure tons of questions coming from her once again.

Maybe I'll have to once I come back, but as of now that's not a concern whatsoever. Wendy is my priority.

"I really thought that it would not be cold outside. It was warm when I went off earlier and it just became cold when I got dropped in front of your apartment."

"Where were you from, anyway? You didn't seem to come from your house; at least I don't think that you do."

"Well, I did come from my house but I left rather early, maybe around ten? And then I can't bring myself to sleep so I just came back, got dressed and went out. I figured it was warm outside so I chose this fit, but then it got cold."

"I really like how you look right now, Wendy-ah; I really do… but I hope that you don't take this in negatively. Maybe next time that you're going to walk on night, wear something that'll counter the cold. If I didn't show up, you might have frozen outside."

"Aww, look at my little Jae-in~" Wendy said dreamily while she intertwined her newly-manicured fingers with mine. "You're so concerned with me it's making my heart flutter. Okay then~ next time, I won't wear clothes that show too much. I'll only do that when I'm alone with you~"

"H-hey… that's not what I'm saying. I'm fine with you wearing whatever you want, just be careful with the weather. I know summer's approaching but that does not mean that night's going to get as warm and hot as day would."

"I'm kidding you… of course I get what you totally mean. I just really miscalculated and I'm at the fault for that. I promise you that next time, I'll be more careful."

"That's good to hear. I'm glad that I saw you right now, and in this time too, Wendy-ah."

"Me too; it feels so romantic to think that I got you all for myself now. There are no other people interfering with us now. Do you think we should do this more often?"

We can… I just don't want it to happen at this hour. But of course, I don't want to tell her that.

"O-of course, Wendy. Just give me a call."

Crap, that's not what I wanted to tell her.

I should not give her that idea!

"That's good to know! You're making me fall for you harder and harder with each passing day, Yoon Jae-in. I am glad that I chose you above everybody else. I wonder how sweet we could push ourselves once we're really officially dating…"

"Wendy …"

My voice trailed off, yet Wendy immediately got up from leaning onto me and straightened herself out. She immediately moved to clean the table off of the condiment sachets as well as the wraps for the hotdogs with one clean sweep. She also beckoned me to stand up, much to my confusion but overall relief.

Thank god, we're actually going home.

"I better not open that topic up because it might stray away to somewhere else. I'll just clean this up and we'll go," she said rather nonchalant.

"Thank you for the food, Wendy. I really enjoyed this night with you."

"Why do you speak as if we're about to head home already?"

"We're not?"

Wendy chuckled as she sorted the trash on their respective bins.

"Of course not… especially when I have you all to myself; you don't have classes early in the morning, right?"

Jae-in, for the love of god please tell her that you have one before it is too fucking late

"I don't. My class is late in the afternoon with Vincent, actually."

"Great! Let's go on ahead. I have a place in mind that I want to go to. Since I was the one who dragged you, it's all on me."

And before I could even take back my decision, Wendy was off walking towards the exit of the small convenience store. I quickly thought of a way to completely turn the situation on itself; follow Wendy and tell her that I misremembered things and we could both head home.

However, a part of me knew that if I would do that, it might not work the way I intend for it to do so. She might head there alone without me and once again, her safety is on me.

Dammit, I have no other choice but to go with her.

---

Yoon Jae-in and Wendy Jeon eventually wound up in a secluded bar not far from the convenience store. Surprisingly, even at the time of the evening, there were still a handful of people drinking on tables, though some were clearly passed out already. The bar was this huge space that stretched longer than it was wider, with six tables arranged side-by-side and separated by two rows. The neon lights that provided the atmosphere for the place were strung at its sides, emanating a soft tinge of purple upon entry. Jae-in could already smell a small tinge of cigarette smoke in the air and it certainly did not mix well with his two-hour sleep demeanour. It would only be a matter of time before the smell of the place would surpass the effects of the drink he took to stay awake.

Again, heading to a bar at this time of the evening (or early morning for that matter) was the least thing he thought he'd be doing. If it wasn't for Wendy inviting him to such place, he would not have bothered to come.

Wendy quickly asked for a menu and immediately paid up front in order to secure a private area at the far end of the bar. Just at the corner of the furthest end of the huge bar right next to the restroom doors, lay another door that was a gateway to hallway housing another series of doors. Apparently, the 'private room' she was looking for served as a place for karaoke, but there was an option to rent it for some private time.

It was soundproof after all, and whatever goes after both Jae-in and Wendy's entry was merely left to the imagination. The young man was already sweating to be alone in a room with her, so of course his mind was already preparing for the worst.

Wendy graciously thanked the waiter after leaving them both on the small room, its walls clearly layered with sound-proof foam. A single, leather couch accompanied a table, as well as a TV that was turned off. Four bottles of Soju lay silent on the table before them.

"I thought we're going to drink with everyone else," Jae-in said as he sat down on the couch, eyeing the bottles on the table. "I mean on the outside. I never knew that this place existed inside the bar."

"There are a lot of things that you don't know in our city, Yoon Jae-in," Wendy teased while she moved to cover the small glass panel on the door with the included curtain as well as locking the door in. "I usually go here with my friends for karaoke, but since I'm renting the place for maybe an hour or two, we can do whatever we want and they won't even mind."

Jae-in blushed at the thought that immediately popped on his head, something of which he blatantly ignored immediately.

"You're not going to sing? I heard from Thomas that you used to sing a lot. I want to hear it as well."

"Maybe not for this night, no…. I always do karaoke with my friends, especially my Thai friend who's an exchange student from another school. She has a dreamy voice and I love it when she sings. This time, however, I'd like to relax for the time being. I never went here with a man that's not my friend, so I won't do things that I'd do when I'm with such a person."

"But we're friends, right Wendy -ssi?"

"I don't consider you as my friend."

"You don't…?"

Wendy smiled.

"You know what, for us to better understand this, let's have a drink."

Wendy then plopped herself beside Jae-in on the couch and immediately moved to open the bottle of Soju with a crack. She then poured his glass a good amount before moving to fill on her own.

"Don't worry about this. It's only four bottles so you won't get a headache in the morning. Plus, I'm treating you for it as well as the room because I was the one who dragged you out."

"Oh no… I'm not really thinking about that… but thanks anyway, Wendy."

"It's also my way of telling you that we should hang out here more often… you know, just the two of us. We can do that maybe after the exams like you mentioned; a little bit later after we go out drinking as a squad again," the young woman invited before offering her glass with Jae-in's, and after receiving it with a short clang, moved to drink it together.

"I don't really mind that," Jae-in said in response. "Maybe next time I'll be the one to treat you with the stay… you know, just for us to get even."

"I'd love that, but I'd also love to think that you wanted to do it because you wanted to be alone with me~ you don't need to repay me with anything."

As an act of courtesy, Jae-in was the one who filled the empty glasses with Soju once again.

"Well… I don't know, Wendy-ah … I just figured I wanted to return the favour in some form for it, I guess?"

"If you're really insistent… you can repay me, but not exactly on the same way that I'm wanting to."

"And what way can I repay you for this…? Just a curious question…"

Instead of replying, Wendy raised her glass and smiled towards the man beside him.

"I'll tell you once we get enough of this in our bodies. For now, let's just relax and enjoy the evening. Care for another shot?"

There was a sliver of hesitance from Jae-in's end as he was really considering the after effects of the entire session in the morning. Now, his white lie of not telling Wendy of his full schedule is beginning to take its toll on himself. The problem was he was too kind to even deny Wendy of a bottle, especially when the entire thing was paid by her.

And so, he nodded and clanged his glass along with hers.

---

The pair of them continued to converse beyond the scopes of the regular topics. It could only be due to the influence of the gradual alcohol supply carefully kicking in that Jae-in put the thought of his morning classes behind him. Slowly, he began to cherish the company of Wendy as the bottle's contents began to trim down with the minutes going by. As much as four bottles, shared between them both, could barely even hit the dent and send them unconscious like when they were back at Skylight, the frequency of their shots with each other took a huge toll on Jae-in more than it did with Wendy. It was no secret that Jae-in's tolerance was not that refined compare to his partner, and so it was easy for him to get tipsy faster than Wendy.

A period of time passed, of what felt like an hour later to Jae-in but he really could not tell. The two final bottles were long emptied yet Jae-in was nowhere close to being sober. He could feel the heat igniting from within; searing his thoughts as he increasingly became more bold, verbal, and hyperactive in front of Wendy.

"I'm really sorry if I'm noisy," he remarked, his face and eyes now blushing red due to the alcohol. "Are you drunk too, Wendy? You must be feeling the same way that I'm feeling."

"I feel a bit hot, yeah. I would have sweated so much had I not remove your jacket earlier. Now I'm glad I decided to wear less."

Jae-in gazed at her dreamily and smiled

"You're pretty tonight, Wendy."

"Just tonight…? It didn't take much to rattle you?"

"What do you mean…? You're really pretty Wendy. Holy shit"

"Jae-in…"

"Damn… have I ever told you that you're really pretty? How come I never told you that before huh?"

"Jae-in please… I know I'm pretty but you don't have to—"

Wendy was cut mid-sentence as Jae-in filled her lips with his kiss. However, they were not sloppy; to her it felt more like a heavy smack more than anything else. He withdrew a fantastical gaze in his eyes as he eyed Wendy from beside him and then proceeded to give a stupid-looking smile as if to say that he was sorry for what he did.

However, Wendy jumped back to him before he could even make another move. She forced her lips hungrily against his, engaging in a raging kiss that burned from the heat of the alcohol. It was slow, torrid and passionate; Jae-in and Wendy felt each other's presence within the silence of the room with their hands roaming to each other's backs. Jae-in snaked his and felt the smoothness of Wendy's through her tight top; too occupied on the sensations of his touch that he didn't even notice how Wendy slowly pushed him towards the couch and proceeded to sit on his lap.

Just like in Skylight, no matter how much Jae-in tried to draw his lips away, Wendy seemingly chased them back. The pair was so hooked onto the moment; so close that Jae-in has started to memorize every single detail of Wendy's beautiful face as they were mutually engulfed in such addicting ecstasy. Wendy then moved and slowly trailed her kissed down from Jae-in's lips, then to the bottom of his chin, and eventually towards his neck, letting her short, blond hair graze and gently caress Jae-in's skin. Soft and supple kisses were planted all across, increasing the sense of heat that was emanating from Jae-in's arms.

His hands eventually found their way onto Wendy's slender legs, giving them both a soft caress as they continued to make out in the sound-proof room. And then he felt it; Wendy's long, manicured fingers gently waltzed and snaked under his shirt, and then moved to pry them upward as she proceeded to kiss him back on his lips once again. Her petite frame began to grind slowly on his, and it would only be a matter of time before the eventual wildfire to occur…

But Wendy moved to stop herself just as Jae-in's shirt was about halfway out of his torso and his stomach was exposed in the silent air.

"I'm sorry… I got carried away," she said, pulling Jae-in's shirt back down on his body, but still kept her straddled over him. "We should not do this here… maybe not on this time as well. I don't want to do it when you're drunk… not even slightly drunk."

"That… that was… wow," the young man replied and the small make-out session seemingly sobered him instantly. "I got carried away as well… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. It was my idea anyway… I almost forgot what I was supposed to ask you when we went here. I got too hooked."

"Was that the payment that you were talking about?"

"Actually yes… I was… I was thinking that maybe I'll ask for your permission. My other friends, the ones that are not Thomas and the others, actually invited me to go to a club this coming weekend. I was wondering if… if you'd think that it's a good idea to go?"

(What? Why is she asking me?)

"Why are you asking me? Wendy-ah, I don't think you need my approval for that. Do you want to go? If you do then you should. I don't want to get in your way. Nothing has to change on things that you're doing with or without me."

"But I feel like you should know, so should I or no?"

"Oh… umm… I can't see why I won't let you go, you know. If you're asking for my permission, then I'd gladly let you go there. I don't see anything wrong about it as long as you take good care of yourself, okay?"

"I promise I would! Thank you so much, Jae-in!"

And with that, Wendy moved to plant another kiss on Jae-in's face, covering his face once more with her short, blonde hair. There was still that faint hint of lust on it, only interrupted when a soft buzzing sound was heart from near the curtained door followed by the flashing of a red light. Hearing it, Wendy immediately withdrew from the kiss and tidied herself up.

"We should go. That's the notice when we have about five minutes left, but make sure to clean yourself up before we go home, okay?"

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