⊹⌢ The dare. ❘❙ 𝜗𝜚 ˑ
💬 13.1k
@dollescent_The first night of the new school year. Seoul's sky hangs heavy over the city, a bruised purple bleeding into indigo as the last of the daylight slips away. A storm is brewing somewhere beyond the Han River, the air thick with the promise of rain.
Somewhere in the upper floors of a glass-and-steel tower in Hannam-dong, the Golden Group has taken over Sunoo's living room. The apartment is a monument to quiet wealth—cream marble floors, floor-to-ceiling windows showing the glittering sprawl of the city below, and a couch so deep and plush it swallows you whole.
Empty soju bottles litter the glass coffee table. Chanhee's phone is playing a lo-fi playlist at low volume. Ni-Ki is sprawled on the floor, one leg hooked over the armrest, his black hair sticking up at odd angles from where he's been running his hands through it.
Ni-Ki
I said I'd do it. I'll cut my hair tomorrow. Watch me.
Chanhee
rubbing his face miserably I can't believe I have to skip my skincare routine. My skin is going to revolt.
Sunoo
smiling, fox-like, from the armchair You agreed to the dare, Chanhee-ya. No take-backs.
Jungwon sits cross-legged on the couch, sleeves pulled down over his hands, a half-empty glass of something sweet and cold in his grip. His hair is still jet black. Not for long.
Sunoo
tilting his head, a dangerous glint in his eyes Jungwon-ah.
Jungwon
looking up, already wary What.
Sunoo
I dare you. Dye your hair blonde.
Chanhee snorts. Ni-Ki sits up, suddenly interested. Jungwon stares at Sunoo, face unreadable.
Jungwon
slowly Blonde.
Sunoo
Blonde. pauses You'd look good. Trust me.
Ni-Ki
grinning Oh, this is happening. This is so happening.
Jungwon
...Fine.
And that's how the night starts. Simple. Fun. A dare that's barely a dare at all.
A few rounds pass. The soju bottles drain. Ni-Ki's hair is now visibly uneven where he'd grabbed the scissors "to get a feel for it." Chanhee is sulking into a glass of water, mourning his toner. Sunoo is laughing, head thrown back, all teeth and warmth.
Then Ni-Ki sits up straighter. That sly grin spreads across his face like slow poison.
Ni-Ki
pointing at Jungwon Jungwon-ah! I dare you to ask out that Dollette Sinclair!
The room goes quiet.
Chanhee freezes mid-sip. Sunoo's smile drops off his face like a mask slipping. And Jungwon—Jungwon chokes on his drink, coughing, a hot flush crawling up the back of his neck.
Jungwon
wheezing What.
Ni-Ki
innocently You heard me.
Chanhee
quietly Ni-Ki, no.
Ni-Ki
What? It's a dare. He has to do it. Rules are rules.
Sunoo
flatly He's not doing that.
Ni-Ki
raising an eyebrow Why? Scared? or is it because he's—
Jungwon
cutting him off, voice strained I'm not asking out someone I've never even talked to.
Ni-Ki
That's the point of a dare, dumbass. It's supposed to be embarrassing.
Jungwon's jaw tightens. He can feel the heat in his face, the way his pulse has gone sharp and uneven. He doesn't know Dollette Sinclair. He's seen him—once, twice. A flash of dark hair and sharp features across the quad. Everyone's seen him. The kind of beautiful that makes you forget your own name.
But Jungwon's never spoken to him. Never even been close enough to catch his scent.
He assumes it's a joke. The game ends. The night fades into the blur of soju and laughter and the storm finally breaking over Seoul, rain streaking the windows like tears.
The next morning, the air is cold and clean, washed by rain. Jungwon's hair is blonde—a soft, honeyed shade that catches the grey morning light like spun gold. He hates it. He loves it. He doesn't know.
They're meeting in the lobby of the building, heading to campus together for the first day of the new school year. Chanhee is nursing a hangover with iced Americano, Ni-Ki is wearing a beanie to hide his disastrous haircut, and Sunoo is scrolling through his phone, deliberately not looking at Jungwon.
Ni-Ki falls into step beside him, casual as anything.
Ni-Ki
So. You gonna do it? The dare, I mean.
Jungwon's stomach drops.
Jungwon
quietly I thought that was a joke.
Ni-Ki
shrugging Dares aren't jokes. They're promises.
Sunoo sighs. It's a small sound, barely audible, but it says everything. He knows Dolly. Not personally—but their families move in the same circles. They'd recognised each other in the hallway the other day. Dolly had nodded, Sunoo had nodded back. A simple hello. A small world. A shared understanding of what it means to be born into a name that opens doors.
Sunoo doesn't care if people know his family is top 1%. Dolly does.
Jungwon looks at Sunoo, waiting for him to say something. Anything. But Sunoo just looks back at him, expression unreadable.
Sunoo
finally, evenly He's not a game, Jungwon.
Ni-Ki
snorting It's just a dare. He doesn't have to actually date him. Just ask.
Chanhee
muttering That's somehow worse.
The elevator dings. The doors slide open. The lobby is bright and cold, and beyond the glass doors, the city waits—grey, wet, alive.
Ni-Ki
clapping Jungwon on the shoulder, grinning Good luck, hyung. You're gonna need it.