Chapter Text
Night had fallen over the bustling city, lights in buildings gradually switching on.
Thanos shoved new pills he retrieved from that back alley down the road into his coat pocket. It was now an acceptable time to go to the club, and he would no doubt take advantage of that. Maybe Nam-gyu was struggling, too. No, be rational. He never cared, Nam-gyu was happy to let go of him in an instant. So tired of the way he lived. But he already knew—Nam-gyu would be there. He had to work, after all. Thanos popped a pill speedily, and began to head to the club he knew too well.
Many deep conversations between Thanos and Nam-gyu occurred over the counter of the bar at Club Pentagon, where Nam-gyu worked. He used to just be the club promoter, but he had gotten better skills as time went on and Nam-gyu finally got a well-deserved promotion. Thanos would mumble romantic, but drunken words to him as he waited to get off the clock. Now, as Thanos stumbled into the club with excessively bright coloured, flickering lights, he tried not to do what he always did; and that was to scan the entire room looking for Nam-gyu. But he saw him anyways. Instantly. Mixing a drink in a cocktail shaker, before pouring it into a martini glass. He was chatting to a woman across the counter. A touch of jealousy hung tauntingly above Thanos’ head, making it perfectly clear this breakup was well and truly getting to him. That wasn’t meant to happen. It was supposed to not affect him at all, like the rest of his past relationships when they came to an end. Nam-gyu glanced around during the conversation, and then he stopped in his tracks.
“Sorry, just a second, Min-ji.” Nam-gyu explained, and slammed the shaker down on the counter, eyes staring daggers into Thanos.
He approached him, expression resentful. Thanos knew he shouldn’t have been there, but he wanted to see how Nam-gyu was taking it.
“What are you doing here? I need to work; this is practically stalking.” He snapped, trying to hide something beneath the collar of his shirt, fiddling with the fabric anxiously.
Thanos shook his head, and chuckled. He sounded high. Well, to be fair, he was. He slipped something small out of his pocket and showed it to Nam-gyu. A pill.
“It’s missing its case. I left it at yours.”
Nam-gyu knew he did. The metal necklace was concealed underneath his shirt, so Thanos didn’t realise he was still holding onto something. Only temporarily. Even after he so rudely hurled it across the room, he liked it.
“I definitely don’t have it. Now can you leave me the fuck alone?”
Thanos shrugged, and trudged off. He didn’t mind Nam-gyu keeping it for now. And besides, he already knew he was keeping it on purpose.
Nam-gyu exhaled deeply, and put a hand to his aching forehead. That blow to the head from the previous night with Thanos had done a number on him, he was having constant headaches and was stumbling around everywhere he went. Only just keeping his balance. His vision briefly unfocusing as he would grip the edges of the bar for support, traipsing back to his station behind it.
“Who was that?” Min-ji asked inquisitively, taking a sip of her martini.
Nam-gyu wasn’t sure how she would react if he told her it was his ex-boyfriend, so he settled for something much safer.
“It was just… An old friend. I swear to God, he’s stalking me or something…”
She nodded, and traced a finger along the edge of the counter. Nam-gyu rubbed his eyes, fatigued. He just wanted to get off his shift and go home. Thanos wouldn’t be there. Thank God. Surely he planned it. He knew his shifts like the back of his hand; Thanos could never wait until he got home so he could pin him right down on the bed. Fucking freak.
“Weird. When do you finish your shift?” Min-ji pondered, snapping him back to reality.
She gently ran a hand through her thin, inky locks. Nam-gyu checked the time. 9pm. He didn’t have a super late-night shift on Tuesday nights. He finished at 10:30.
“Half past ten. So like, an hour and a half.” He explained, diverting his attention to somebody ordering a drink next to Min-ji.
He nodded and began to mix the drink as the woman opposite him continued to chatter away.
“…And I’ve never really found a guy that listens and responds with genuine interest, and is good-looking.” She observed, making Nam-gyu spill some of the drink he was pouring.
Right. She, of course, had no clue that he was completely gay. And how on earth was he supposed to tell her? C’mon, he didn’t actually have to tell her he liked men—he could simply say he wasn’t interested.
“Don’t you feel the same way?” she interrogated, swigging the rest of her drink and leaning her elbows on the bar top.
Uh, not exactly.
A compromising position if Nam-gyu had ever seen one. It felt horribly rude to just flat out say he was not the least bit interested after she showered him with compliments over the time they’d spent together. He wiped down the spilled beverage and stared up at her. Maybe he could just play dumb? It wouldn’t go anywhere. He’d go straight home.
“Thanks, Min-ji.” Nam-gyu muttered, maybe just being dry was the way to go. She would realise he truly did not care.
She beamed. Why did she beam? His messages he was so clearly sending were now all foggy, like windowpanes after heavy rain. He briefly handed the drink he had just created and spilled to the person who ordered it. They paid and disappeared into the throng of clubbers. Nam-gyu rubbed his eyes tiredly, and shook his head. Only an hour and a half left. He could get through this.
“It’s no problem, Nam-gyu!”
Of course, she was better than Thanos ever was. She got his name right, she listened, she kept up conversations, and she wasn’t in it for the pills exchanged in dim corners of Club Pentagon. That fucker, he was always just using him. And if they had stayed together, he would’ve used him until Nam-gyu finally realised the thrill of Thanos’ praise just wasn’t cutting it anymore.
Now there was someone who seemed perfect—it turned out to be a woman. The gender he never considered dating the moment his late teens began. Sure, he had a few hookups with women back when he was like, seventeen, but since then, things just weren’t the same. And Thanos was supportive. For the few minutes he cared. Give it a few months, and Nam-gyu was feeling strangely anxious by simply being in the proximity of his close friend. Thanos picked up on this, and wasn’t opposed to the idea of being with Nam-gyu. He wanted it, too, oddly enough. Then eventually, one night when Nam-gyu was sneaking Thanos some drugs behind the club, he just slammed Nam-gyu against the freezing brick wall and made out with him. Ending the awkwardness after what went down on the Han River Bridge that one Thursday evening. The sudden interest in him was unexpected, but it was just the thing that made Nam-gyu have a will to live.
That was all gone, now. The rush of excitement when Thanos suggested Nam-gyu should crash at his for the weekend, and the thought of ‘Nam-su’ slowly becoming less annoying.
But as Min-ji ranted capriciously to Nam-gyu, he couldn’t help but remember something that occurred the night before the breakup. It was vague, almost completely washed out of his mind, ready to be thrust into the growing collection of ‘Nam-gyu’s forgotten memories’. A time capsule never to be opened. Something of the distant past. But now, it came back in a trivial, weak wave of his memory, fleeting the more he thought about it.
“C’mon, I’m just leading her on. For fun. Don’t you do that, baby?” Nam-gyu questioned, drunk out of his mind, half his words slurred.
Thanos’ grip remained tight on the necklace hanging loosely around his boyfriend’s neck, eyes gleaming with fury. Nam-gyu’s teeth gritted in persistence, pulling the chain backwards so the hand clamped around it broke away. The little cross compartment whacked Nam-gyu in the neck, right where a knot in his throat rudely protruded.
“No, I don’t. I’m loyal to you, my boy.”
That nickname. Usually it made Nam-gyu flustered, but this time, it was like a punch in the guts. A mocking insinuation.
That was it. All that came to mind. Five sentences. But the impact it had was severe and made his headache worsen. If only there was just one more thing he could remember. To validate himself. He was sure he got through that argument feeling worth something.
“Please, Thanos. You know the nights I don’t work? I still sometimes head over to Club Pentagon. I see you with that bitch, Mina. Don’t try to act like I’m the only one.”
Shit, that was it. The words that made Thanos lose it completely. After those very few sentences, Thanos was screaming curse words and trying to force his necklace off Nam-gyu, anger fuelling him.
Nam-gyu ran a hand over the narrow bruises circling his neck, barely listening to Min-ji ramble anymore. There were other things to think about. He didn’t get the necklace off; he very nearly choked Nam-gyu. What an idiot.
Finally, the time that had gone impossibly slow rolled around to 10:30pm. Min-ji hadn’t left him alone. He was on the verge of banging his head against the stone countertop of the bar. And just before he was about to just tell her he had to get going, she asked him another question.
“Hey, I dunno if this is too personal... But... How did you get that injury on your head?”
This was bound to happen. She couldn’t do something as simple as respecting his privacy. No, that would be too kind. Nam-gyu just wished he could escape without being seen, but Min-ji was lucky he even answered her.
“Uh, yeah—that was just from some bar fight I got into the other day. I’m fine.” He responded, eyes trying to close on their own. “Sorry, Min-ji, I have to get going.”
“Oh. That sucks. Do you want me to walk you to your car?” she pondered, slinging her purse over her bony shoulder.
Fuck no.
But she was already on her way, which was just Nam-gyu’s luck. He sort of expected Thanos to be outside, vaping or some shit. But there was practically nobody else in sight. Maybe a few people passing by briefly, but the parking lot was barren. Nam-gyu strolled to his car with ease, whipping his keys out of his jacket pocket and pressing unlock. Min-ji stared. Would she just stop that? Please?
“Well... Nam-gyu, it was fun chatting to you.” She remarked, gazing up at him with wide brown eyes.
Nam-gyu tried his absolute hardest to muster a genuine smile, but it came out fake. He kept the smile plastered on his face as he nodded. She slinked her hand into his, and it caught Nam-gyu off guard. Then she brought her lips to his. God, what had he gotten himself into? This was supposed to be a normal, rather depressing, shift. Not a shift where he would meet someone and end up kissing them in the parking lot. He had dumped his ex earlier that day; he couldn’t get himself into this. But then her free hand slid up from his neck to his cheek. And she lightly pressed Nam-gyu against the driver’s side door of his car.
Just tell her you don’t like women. How fucking hard is it, you pussy? Just tell-
"Nam-gyu?"
Thanos exited Club Pentagon, movements staggered. He puffed a deep, white vapour out of his vape, and glanced around. Not to check if there were any ‘no smoking/vaping’ signs or lots of people. Just to feel like he was doing something at the time, for validation. He then noticed someone he was pretty sure he knew.
“Yo, Se-mi? That you?” he called out to the woman leaning against the wall not far from him.
She whipped around, and strolled towards her friend.
“Hey, Thanos. Uh, did you and Nam-gyu break up?” she asked, seeming concerned no matter the answer.
Thanos nodded, unsure of where she was going with this. She averted her eyes to a man and a woman, now talking to each other. And Thanos knew instantly who it was, before even seeing his face. How could he have moved on so fast? Not that he cared, but still.
“That… What the fuck, bro?” he muttered under his breath.
“He was just kissing her. Guess he moved on.” Se-mi observed, chuckling slightly in disbelief. "I called out to him, but he ignored me."
The pair watched intently as Nam-gyu pushed the woman off him and ran his hands through his slicked-back hair, frustrated. He looked so exhausted. And started mumbling something unintelligible to Thanos and Se-mi. Gnawing at his already broken nails.
The unknown woman’s heels clacked on the pavement as she headed back inside the club. Finally getting a good look at her. Se-mi crossed her arms.
“Woah. She looks fucking young.”
“She looks about eighteen, maybe twenty. That’s not the age Nam-gyu dates.” Thanos stated under his breath, and he knew this wasn’t Nam-gyu’s plan. He knows Nam-gyu.
“Gross, nonetheless. And besides, isn’t he out as gay? At least to you?” Se-mi added.
Thanos nodded, shoving his vape into his pocket. Nam-gyu was gay, and they both knew it. So why was he here kissing random women? Maybe he was just trying to make him jealous, but Thanos was sure he wouldn’t stoop to that level.
The air was freezing cold, as Nam-gyu hurried into his car. That was a shit day. First, breaking up with his boyfriend who he was convinced could be a better person with time, but Nam-gyu just wasn’t the right person to see that happen. Second, he gets majorly hit on by someone he is completely uninterested in, and she ended up kissing him without giving any warning or anything. And Se-mi of all people watched it unfold. He would’ve done that differently. Min-ji would be the one going home depressed. And third, he had this nagging feeling he was being watched from afar in the seemingly empty carpark. It caused him to bash the steering wheel a few times with his fist, then drive off as fast as possible before his subconscious left any lasting ideas in his head.
Thanos was there. And he knew he was there to see him. He had told Nam-gyu before,
“Club Pentagon is about the worst club in the city, but you’re here, my Nam-su. That makes it bearable.”
When he wasn’t being the worst boyfriend, he was quite nice. Thanos had said that whilst they were outside the back of the club, as he kissed Nam-gyu’s neck, eager to get home. Nam-gyu was on his break, smoking. Okay. He was getting distracted; he needed to focus on the road. Even though they weren’t, the headlights looked dimmer. Maybe he should’ve just taken a taxi, maybe he shouldn’t have gone to work at all.
No run-in with Thanos, no drunken women, no uneasy feelings. No added stress to his already terrible day. But that bridge had been crossed, and there was nothing to do but push through and get home. All of a sudden, the awful feeling of his mild concussion came crawling back. Of course. The headache, the throbbing pain. It surged through his entire head. The car jerked right into a street. He recognised it. Good, that meant he could keep his sense of direction. Into his street now. And home. Finally. God, he nearly crashed his car. But at least he was away from Thanos. He never wanted to think about him again. But also, how could he not? He left the car and treaded up the stairs in the apartment complex to his cheap flat. Nam-gyu unsteadily turned the key in the lock and the door swung open. It was so odd that it was just him residing in the apartment now. He peered out the window.
Just checking.
Thanos had already tracked him down to his shift at Club Pentagon, he didn’t know if he’d go as far as following him home. But Thanos had definitely done worse things. Nam-gyu was there when Thanos clocked some random person pissing him off at the club. And Nam-gyu was there when Thanos drunkenly went walking on the street at 3:00 in the morning, and he had to call him and find where he was. And he already felt uneasy ever since he was in the parking lot.