Chapter 8: on the line

The youthful air of the night was much like past nights, though this time Jongho wasn't out walking under the vast blanket of early stars. Instead, he was sheltered under the artificial starry night sky that speckled the roof of Wonderland.

Usually, he wouldn't notice the small design detail that covered the ceiling, but tonight was particularly special because all of the colourful lights shone onto them and caused reflections of rainbows to stretch across the faces of the clubgoers.

The atmosphere that thrummed through Wonderland and all of its customers was near addicting, and it almost felt like one could be swept away in the torrent river of excitement.

If the club had been busy before, tonight it seemed as if every pocket where there had previously been breathing room occupied yet another person.

The floor shook slightly underfoot, due to the hyped jumping and elaborate dancing that was like a ripple effect from those watching the woman on stage. She was familiar to Jongho, though he hadn't talked to her beyond their first interaction and a few polite greetings in passing moments.

Jongho watched on as random strangers tested their voices to the limit with encouraging cheers for a very eye-catching Hyuna. She was definitely the type of performer to demand attention from her audience effortlessly.

He was able to see most of the stage, surprisingly, from where he was stationed behind the bar, tucked into the back corner. He was cleaning glasses absentmindedly. There was nothing around him that fully captured his attention, whenever his eyes found something more interesting to look at they shifted across faces and scenes almost blankly.

Though it wasn't an official job, Jongho was in charge of cleaning the used glasses at the bar so Yunho, Kihyun (JinJin wasn't working that night), and San could focus on serving the throngs of customers. It was hard to keep up with the bodies that swarmed the bar and the tables. It seemed as if each person was chugging alcohol as if it was water with how fast their bartenders had to work to keep up.

It was a night for people to party, he guessed. It was the only explanation he had for the sudden packed feel of Wonderland.

The others, while overwhelmed, didn't seem to be too far out of their element. Even with the increase in people, their practiced professionalism was to be admired in this scenario.

While Yunho and San were working the bar, Wooyoung was flitting between tables delivering and taking orders at what seemed like the same time. All with a smooth, flirtatious smile.

Seonghwa, on the contrary, was tucked away in his office on business, while Hongjoong was sitting alone at one of the tables furthest from the stage, nursing a drink.

Jongho didn't think he would be able to handle the pressure of dealing with all of these people directly, at least not yet anyway. He was beginning to appreciate his mediocre job every time Yunho or Kihyun would pass him, muttering orders under their breath in mumbled gibberish that Jongho couldn't understand.

He'd even watched San get yelled at by an angry older woman twice already. She'd attempted to berate him a third time, but he was fed up with her and sent her away with a security escort to the entrance. Jongho had been surprised at how he didn't lose his calm facade through it all.

It was scary how neutral the Elites could be at times. Perhaps that was where some of the rumours had been born. Wandering eyes and non-restraining tongues liked to formulate tall tales from the smallest things, and Jongho honestly wouldn't be surprised if a rumour had been born from such.

Thankfully, he hadn't been caught around the Elites near enough to star in his own rumours. It had only been a week since he'd first officially started working in the nightclub after all. However, he feared it would only be a matter of time before he was tangled up in the people's suspicions.

But that wasn't his only worry.

At first, it had seemed intimidating to be working with a team of staff that was far more experienced with the antics of drunk customers. He had to admit that he had been worried about being unable to keep up and stay in control of a situation if it got hairy.

However, after sitting back for a few days and observing how each patron was handled with a tight-lipped smile and a professional outlook, he had formed his own opinion of it. It looked a little hard to keep a straight face when a customer was ranting angrily to you about something you had no way to change, but once he found out the Elites would be looking out for him at each step of the way it wasn't nearly as scary.

Hongjoong was the one who had noticed Jongho's anxiety-filled glances at the crowds near the beginning and had stuck him with odd jobs here and there just to warm him up to working in such an environment. Jobs like: taking inventory with Yunho, cleaning the storage rooms, restocking the break room, and on rare occasions, helping Hongjoong himself set up the stage for performances. Each task, no matter how small, successfully wore down his worries until they were no longer insurmountable mountains for him to climb alone.

Even then, Hongjoong had also been the one to reassure him that the Elites would never be far away and that each would help him if he needed it.

The little odd jobs over the past week had also allowed his throat its necessary time to heal so it wouldn't hinder him while he was working. It had already drastically improved enough for him to talk and take orders when needed, though some of the marks were still barely visible. They no longer ached though, and that was all he could really ask for. It wasn't that difficult to cover the remaining blemishes with some makeup he had managed to borrow from Hongjoong a few nights ago.

Jongho wasn't exactly sure, but with the way Hongjoong was now treating him, it was beginning to seem like he was warming up to him. Going far enough to look out for him and reassure him despite his baseless worries were the main pieces of evidence that Jongho followed.

It made a small warm feeling rise in his chest. (A different kind to the one he felt so often around a certain blond, but still.)

If Hongjoong was beginning to warm up to him, maybe the other Elites would be able to as well. Eventually. So far, Wooyoung was still the one in the lead, and now Hongjoong was pulling into second place. Yunho was also friendlier with him after spending a lot of time training Jongho in his smaller jobs, so it was looking good for Jongho there too.

Seonghwa still kept him somewhat at arm's length, however, and San would rather put a thousand arms between him and Jongho for a reason Jongho was still unsure of.

Jongho was sort of glad he wouldn't be working directly with either at the moment, instead he would be working alongside Wooyoung. He would act as a server for the tables that scattered the outside of the dance floor.

And even if Hongjoong had in a way delayed the inevitable, his first night as a server was tomorrow night. Plus, with the way the club was packed tonight, the trend of popularity wasn't likely to disappear before tomorrow. Which meant he would be serving more than their average amount of customers on his very first shift.

He wasn't as nervous as before, but . . .

His eyes naturally gravitated to the open floor for what felt like the hundredth time tonight, latching onto Wooyoung's figure as he dodged between dancing friends and oblivious lovers.

Tomorrow night he would be out there. Practically lost among the tables, wandering around after Wooyoung like a lost duckling, pretending he had any idea of what he was supposed to do.

Jongho had never been too good at dealing with people, it was why he had chosen other jobs away from working directly with all the craziness the public dragged in. He wasn't sure if this would turn out any differently.

He stared longingly after Wooyoung, watching the blond move between tables so naturally, as if wearing ice skates on a frozen pond and not on dark maroon carpet.

Wooyoung could be called an expert at his job, anyone with eyes could see how naturally it came to him. He easily flirted with different customers, making them swoon and spend more money, probably hoping to catch his attention. What they maybe didn't realize with their tipsy brains was that Wooyoung wasn't interested in any of them, and it was all a clever plot to help the business.

Jongho had to admit he was a bit jealous.

Not because people were flirting with Wooyoung, or even because he was egging them on right back. Wooyoung didn't belong to him in any way so he shouldn't feel like he should be dictating Wooyoung's decisions.

No, it was because Wooyoung was a beautiful and alluring person.

How was Jongho supposed to compete with his natural charms? He could almost bet money that some of these customers would beg Wooyoung to serve them. What would they do if Jongho showed up instead?

Maybe a few of his insecurities were taking hold again, so he tried not to think about it more, but the idea was planted in his head.

Quickly he tried to think up something else to distract his tense mind. It wasn't as hard as he thought as the fight between Wooyoung and San was still lurking in the back of his mind.

After their argument, both had gone their separate ways and had stayed apart since. Jongho didn't even think they'd been in the same room together unless they were both working. It was beginning to worry the others, as they still had yet to make up. Jongho was also starting to worry about their weakened friendship.

Wooyoung was perhaps the one who was the angrier of the two. He refused to talk to San and acted like he didn't exist, instead placing his orders in with any other available bartender. If San was the only one left, Wooyoung would even wait until another was available over having to talk to San on business.

Jongho didn't remember Wooyoung being this petty, but then again, San's words had hurt him.

San, on the other hand, hadn't spoken much to anyone since the argument. He was still clearly upset, but his anger had vanished. Instead, he was more sad and melancholy.

Out of the two, San seemed to be suffering the most.

Jongho glanced over at the male in question. San, who had been serving multi-coloured drinks to the wasted masses, now had his locked on something just past the stage with an unreadable expression that caught Jongho off guard.

Jongho followed his pointed gaze until his eyes settled on Hongjoong's table where a blonde woman was now sitting and flirting openly. Hongjoong hadn't moved from the table yet, as Jongho had thought, and was instead entertaining this woman.

Even though Jongho was too far away to hear their conversation, he could tell Hongjoong was flirting right back. His drink now forgotten Hongjoong was now facing her directly with a warm smile, and he even winked, making his blonde companion giggle.

Jongho turned his attention back to San once more just in time to see San tighten his grip on the bar counter with his mouth drawn into a tense line. His knuckles were pale, and he showed no sign of releasing his iron grip at the moment.

His curious nature wonderfully intrigued and seeing no harm in asking, Jongho abandoned the glass he was washing so he could steal closer to San's ridged form. San was so focused on the faraway scene that he didn't even notice Jongho approaching until Jongho spoke from his side.

"You alright?" Jongho asked, stopping beside him.

San jumped, whipping around to face him, and Jongho was already tempted to retreat at the harshness of the look he earned from the pinkette.

"Don't do that," San retorted smoothly, but lowered his voice with his next words, "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" San faced away from the direction of Hongjoong's table, giving Jongho a practiced neutral expression.

Jongho could tell that San wasn't about to open up to him so easily, and his distrust and hostility were the main factors. That didn't mean that Jongho was about to give up though. Instead, he formulated a different approach.

Jongho tilted his head, "How often does Hongjoong-ssi meet a new lady friend?" He motioned towards the table where the pair were still casually flirting.

He had tried to pose the question as innocent, but San's jaw still clenched in displeasure. He tried to play it off as nothing though.

San sniffed with what was supposed to be disinterest, "Hongjoong hyung is a great performer so it's no surprise that he has a lot of admirers. Why should that bother me?"

To be honest, it sounded like San was trying to convince himself of that more than with Jongho. 

Jongho gave him a scrutinizing look, which made San roll his eyes with a sigh.

His walls were once again firmly in place, shutting Jongho's curiosity out.

"Don't you have anything better to do than interrogate me?" San's voice had taken on the hostile undertone Jongho was already very familiar with.

Jongho nearly winced visibly, but instead he dipped his head with a quiet apology. He took this as his cue to leave San to his work once more, knowing he wouldn't get anything else out of the pinkette anytime soon. He had to take baby steps with San because the man could only tolerate Jongho for so long before he shut up tight like a clam.

When San said nothing more, Jongho was able to freely slip into the throng of people.

He was admittedly getting used to travelling through all of these people. It took him a few nights to realize that most drunk people didn't care if they got brushed or cut off. Instead, they were all mostly focused on other things, like enjoying their nights. Another thing he picked up on was that no one cared who you were or what you were doing. It was like, as soon as you walked through Wonderland's doors, your worries were meant to fall away and you just didn't care what others thought of them anymore.

It was a strange characteristic of Wonderland that made the place all that more special for customers. If Jongho hadn't come here looking for Wooyoung, this may have been a place he would love to frequent with Yeosang just because of the enchanting environment.

He would still love to come back here again, but this time with Yeosang by his side.

Jongho broke through the masses of dancing people, carefully pushing away the ones who were more than a little tipsy that tried to invite him to dance. Despite no one caring, Jongho didn't want to hurt anyone accidentally so he just nudged those who didn't move on their own out of the way gently.

Despite growing used to it, Jongho inhaled a deep breath once he reached the less crowded hallway that led to the public bathrooms and the Brig. The decorations of the hall still caught him off guard at times. With all of the dark red accents in swirling emblems of fire and the gold flecks across the ceiling, it truly seemed as if you had stepped into the open mouth of a fire-breathing dragon. The lights carried an ambience that both mysteriously heightened and dwindled the atmosphere of the open club.

Jongho glanced once more at the signs on the bathrooms. Yunho had told him that originally when Seonghwa had purchased the building, they had been separated as the typical men and women washrooms. But Seonghwa wanted to create a business and a space that would be welcoming and comfortable for everyone who managed to venture in beyond the doors, so he had them changed. Now there was one that read 'cubicles' and the other that read 'cubicles and urinals'. It was a nice touch, and Jongho knew that many of their customers appreciated the small respect.

Truthfully there were a lot of doors along this corridor, but only the washrooms were open to the public. Across from the washrooms was a dark maroon door to the general staff break room. (Jongho had yet to go in there.) Then at the very end of the hall was the door to the Brig with its obvious symbol of the inlaid red compass carved into the wood, and finally across from that was Seonghwa's private office.

Seonghwa always made sure that the door was closed when he was in there, and that the door was locked whenever he wasn't. (And well it's not like Jongho had ever been in there, but Yunho had told him about its location just in case. )

So you can imagine Jongho's surprise when, as he drew closer, he noticed that the door was cracked open slightly. His ears perked up when he heard Seonghwa's hushed voice speaking harshly beyond the ebony wood.

Sidling up next to the slight opening, Jongho let his head rest against the wall with bated breath. Somewhere in his mind, his reasoning was telling him that it was wrong to listen in on something that wasn't his business. However, after finding no answers with San, his curiosity was begging for something to pick apart, and it won over the rest of him easily.

"I need more time," Seonghwa's tired voice caught Jongho off guard, "A different issue came up, and I'm gonna need to get back to you on that. The others are starting to get suspicious of all the people you keep sending, and the last thing I need is for them to get involved. It would only make this more of a mess, I don't want to have to deal with that." There was a long pause before Seonghwa spoke up once more, but louder, his frustration more apparent.

It occurred to Jongho that Seonghwa was on the phone.

"No way, it's not happening. How long do I have to keep telling you that I won't accept? I can't give up the position I've worked hard for. Do you know how long it took me to get where I am now? Three years, plus the two it took me to transfer everything. And you want me to throw it away for what? Your dirty money? You have got to be kidding me." The conversation continued, but Jongho couldn't listen any longer, backing away from the door while his mind reeled with questions.

Seonghwa was on the phone with someone unknown, talking over some sort of deal that he was refusing to accept. And about the others not knowing? Whatever he had meant, red flags kept popping up on the edges of Jongho's vision. There was more beyond what he had overheard that he may never understand, he almost couldn't wrap his head around the possibilities of his accidental discovery.

There was no way Seonghwa would go behind their backs. Or at least the backs of the other Elites, with whom he had worked and bonded with for over a year according to Yunho.

Right?

The possible reality that occurred to him then was like a slap to the face.

Jongho didn't really know Seonghwa at all. With all those impossible walls in the way and the masked personality that Seonghwa refused to part with, Jongho was far out of the loop with his true loyalties and desires.

Seonghwa was just the owner of the most popular nightclub in the area, and now Jongho's boss, their relationship had yet to improve or pass beyond that point. There were more than a million things that he could be keeping away from Jongho's eyes. They weren't friends, and even now that Jongho was an employee, Seonghwa was just his superior and his boss.

But surely, Seonghwa wouldn't keep such things from the Elites. There was something that just didn't sit right with the idea of any of them not knowing whatever was going on behind the scenes with Seonghwa's refused 'deal'.

Before all this, Jongho had thought Seonghwa was a really interesting person. In the times when an inkling of what may have been the real Seonghwa shone through, Jongho was pleased with what he found. He was both mysterious and quiet, but he had also appeared genuinely concerned when Jongho had showed up a week ago with prominent bruises and no voice.

Jongho had always liked to think that there was more to his character than he let on, but he'd also assumed that the man was secretly a sweetheart. What if all along the mysterious façade wasn't a cover-up for a softer personality, but for a sinister renegade who had already chosen his side?

Jongho was completely in the dark with the people that he worked with.

It was obvious that they wanted their friend Mingi back, (with the addition of Wooyoung who also missed Yeosang), and Jongho had been their only lead. That, and he happened to be the one who got them all into this mess. It would make sense if they were only keeping Jongho around because they needed his connection to Yeosang and the message he had left behind. Maybe they wanted his knowledge of the robots and how they worked. It's not like Jongho knew any more about them than the Elites, but they didn't know that about him either.

He didn't like thinking this way, but as someone who was a frequent overthinker, he couldn't help the thoughts that spilled from his mind.

This 'team up' or connection went two ways. If Jongho didn't know much about them, then they knew even less about him. Wooyoung was the only one who seemed to trust his words and where they were coming from, and that was probably only because they shared a goal to save their common friend. If Jongho couldn't trust them, then why would he expect them to trust him in return? Someone needed to take the first step, but Jongho wasn't prepared to do that yet.

What else did he not know?

The rustle of papers and the scrape of a chair being pushed back made Jongho jump, startled. Thinking quickly, he crept over to the door to the Brig, in order to make it look like he'd just come out of it. He didn't want to make it look like he had run from the scene in case Seonghwa came looking.

Jongho had just closed his hand around the doorknob when Seonghwa exited his office with his golden keys in hand. The older man turned to lock the door behind him and finally noticed Jongho's figure stepping away from the other side nervously.

Seonghwa's eyes clouded with a puzzled look.

"What are you doing?" His smooth voice was like fluid velvet.

Jongho blinked, choosing to pretend as if he had been lost in thought moments before, "Oh sorry, I was just thinking about tomorrow and I guess I zoned out." Jongho rubbed the back of his nape with a hand, hoping it sounded more believable to Seonghwa than it did to himself.

Seonghwa chuckled, and Jongho almost retracted at the sound. He had yet to hear anything akin to laughter from Seonghwa, so he counted himself lucky that Seonghwa was in what he hoped was a joking mood. Maybe the end of the phone call had turned out better, or maybe Seonghwa was just that good at pretending things were fine.

His laugh sounded darker somehow and internally Jongho shivered.

"If you keep getting distracted on the job, I might have to put you on washroom duty." When Jongho only tilted his head curiously, Seonghwa hummed with amusement while elaborating. "You'll be cleaning the public washrooms for a few weeks on end until you learn to pay attention."

Jongho chose to pretend as if this more open Seonghwa was normal, he didn't know what it meant but Seonghwa was finally treating him more than just an extra.

Jongho scrunched his nose in disbelief as if he could already smell the torture, his eyes wide with horror and disgust, "You wouldn't."

Seonghwa glanced over his shoulder, his midnight eyes carrying a dark meaning that he couldn't quite decipher, "You have no idea what I am capable of."

He was right.

Jongho didn't.

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i so wanted to publish this on mingi's birthday but agh i'm a day late :")

i'm sorry guys i suck at updating at the moment, [[ guess who's legitimately debating quitting their job just to have time to update and write :"D ]]

anyyyyways

did you know that we just passed peregrine's first year anniversary? [august 6th] i didn't even realize it myself. it's crazy to think that i started writing this story over a year ago, and i only started publishing in april 0.0

♡ thanks for reading ♡

♡ cough cough, um please vote and comment? I really appreciate it :"D ♡