Work Text:
there's a 24 hour laundromat hidden away in a commercial apartment building somewhere in the middle of the city. it's inconvenient to access, especially when carrying big bags of dirty clothes, but it's quiet and cheap, so inseong can't complain. the escalator into the building doesn't work. its hinges creak and groan with every step taken on it, creating unnerving noises that become distorted with the nightly winds until they sound like howling in the near distance. tired shoes work their way up the unmoving escalator steps and enter through the push glass doors where the empty hallway lights don't turn on, bathing the entire building in nothing but pitch darkness. inseong passes across all the closed business shops without even so much as a shadow along the walls. he's never been here during the day, he's not too sure if these shops are ever opened or have just been simply abandoned.
he takes the elevator down to the basement floor and turns the corner to the laundromat. inseong loads his clothes into the machine before going to the kiosk to exchange his notes for coins. the coins rattles in his hands as he feeds the correct amount into the machine before setting an hour wash-cycle.
he wastes time at a nearby convenience store, buying a cup of instant ramen and a can of beer. he digs his hand into the tub of lollipops at the counter and adds it to his purchases. he finishes his late night snack and checks his phone, only to find that there were no new notifications. he hovers his finger over his last conversation, still waiting for a message that's yet to come.
when the hour is up, inseong returns to the laundromat. with a laundry basket by his side, he pulls out all his clothes before dragging the bucket over to the dryer and putting them in. he sets another hour cycle using the rest of his coins and stays knelt down by the front of the machine until it begins to roar to life.
inseong stands and comes face to face with a man sitting on top of his dryer.
"hello darling."
youngbin leans forward until he's almost touching noses with inseong. he's carrying his usual smile, sweet and small as he reaches out a hand to ruffle inseong's hair. his nose fills with the delicate scent of wild strawberries and white orchids. inseong didn't really like sweet things all that much, but for youngbin, he'd eat a spoonful of sugar everyday until his teeth rotted.
youngbin pulls away, putting his favourite strawberry lollipop into his mouth as he leans back against the wall. his downturned eyes roamed over inseong's idle body.
"i like your jacket."
inseong is wearing a jacket that wasn't his. the leather of the jacket was flaking and the thread around the seams of the arm sockets were coming undone. it had been well-worn and much loved by its owner and now it was on inseong. a jacket that smelled so strongly of a scent incongruous to the appearance of the man wearing it. a musky, rugged scent that remembered every fire set off around it.
youngbin mentions it because he's curious but he's too nice to say anything more. he was always gentle when it came to inseong. easily acquiescing and always willing to please him. inseong turns towards the row of chairs facing the machine, all empty except for the one occupied by another man. one arm was spread across the backing of the chair next to him, and the other was holding up his shaking head as he met eyes with inseong.
"look at that hyung, he's ignoring us now that he has someone new."
inseong doesn't say anything as he makes his way over to the chairs, and takes a seat just out of jaeyoon's reach. he runs his hand through his hair, his finger tips brushing against the ends. he has to strain his eyes to look the newly bleached strands, tinged with a luminscent purple. was it too excessive?
"don't you think it looks good?" jaeyoon asks, shifting his body towards inseong and proudly smiling as he shows off his own blonde hair. it was darker than inseong's, closer to a sunny gold colour and it did suit him very well. he styled it in a quiff, exposing his forehead and it made him look like a refined gentleman.
but the real gentleman was sat on the dryer because jaeyoon only ever liked to tease inseong. his energy was endless, dragging inseong everywhere as they made their way through every stage of love. in the upturn of his smile, and the warmth of his embrace, jaeyoon gave inseong a garden of butterflies.
"tell us about him inseong-ah." youngbin says, still curious about what inseong has been up to lately. still so attentive, as he always had been.
as for inseong's attention, the man in his mind was kim youngkyun. he was several years inseong's junior and followed inseong around dearly. with a stony outer appearance, most people never got to know his sensitive heart that lied just underneath. those twinkling eyes of his searched for praise and affection so who was inseong to refuse, his hand always finding the other's mess of a hair to pat and run through. youngkyun was too cute, and inseong just couldn't resist cute things.
"how cute, you finally got yourself a little kitten. guess you got tired of chasing old dogs."
inseong frowns at the comment, glaring at jaeyoon whose eyes only creased in delight. the two other men share a knowing look with each other and inseong hates when they team up against him. he slouches further into the seat, folding his arms and sighs heavily, his eyebrows creasing in frustration at his dilemma. he throws his head back, staring up at the fluorescent ceiling light beaming down on him, wishing it would just blind him so he could stop seeing temptation.
"so what's stopping you?"
as much as youngkyun licked at his heels, his heart wasn't wholly inseong's. there was another man he just couldn't give up, no matter how much inseong tried to drive a wedge between them. they were only in love during the good, and didn't even acknowledge each other during the bad. yet youngkyun still waited on him, no matter how many times yoo taeyang broke his heart.
"well then, just get rid of him too." jaeyoon suggests like it's easy but it really wasn't. inseong doesn't want to deal with that added work.
he slides his hands into the pockets of youngkyun's jacket. his fingers come in contact with the lollipop he had bought. pulling it out, he's disappointed to see that it was watermelon flavoured.
"guess their love just doesn't compare to ours." jaeyoon's hand comes to rest over his, warm, soft and always waiting for inseong.
jaeyoon's love was something inseong was grateful for. youngbin's too. they both doted on him so whole-heartedly, inseong really didn't know how he could ever repay them. what he couldn't understand though, was why youngkyun couldn't be the same. inseong was by no means stupid, he knew very well the effect he had on men. his tall stature and delicate face made him a disarming mix that gave way to his siren calls. his wiles that pulled them closer to him, and pulled them six feet under with his claws sunk in so deep that they could never get away from him. it seemed taeyang wasn't too dissimilar which made him really annoying. maybe inseong had it too easy with youngbin and jaeyoon, neither of them having anyone else the moment inseong walked into their lives.
the whirring of the dryer comes to a stop and the laundromat is encased in the night's silence. inseong stands from his seat and goes over to take out his clothes. youngbin stops him, reaching a hand to cup his cheek as he smiles reassuringly towards the other man.
"don't stress yourself over it inseong."
in the tender hold of his first love, inseong wants to stay there forever as he gazes into eyes that only ever looked at him. he revels in youngbin's touch, the meat of his cheek sinking deeper into those reliable, strong hands. he presses a chaste kiss against the palm before pulling away to unload the dryer. with the laundry basket of his dried clothes tucked under his arm, inseong walks towards the table and dumps them onto it. he begins to sort through his laundry and fold them to be packed away. some stray socks, his sweaters, a blue top and a grey hooded cardigan.
he holds up the white button-up shirt he wore on all his last dates. it's missing one of the top buttons from where jaeyoon's hands had ripped it open. the fraying threads are still embedded in the fabric and the button is still lying somewhere on jaeyoon's bedroom floor unfound. there's a grain stain too, stamped around the left cuff of the shirt when he had youngbin beneath him in the clover field. his first love who gave himself over to inseong willingly and his love at first sight, whose heart he knew he had to take for himself. the pieces of his lovers wrapped around inseong kept him warm throughout the cold winter months.
and now they had been replaced with another. inseong runs his fingers along the leather jacket he was wearing. though his heart was uneasy, it had settled on youngkyun. he wanted youngbin and jaeyoon to meet him, he thinks they'll like him, though he can't be too sure. it's true that youngkyun was younger than inseong's normal type. he was someone who depended on inseong rather than having inseong depend on him the way youngbin and jaeyoon so easily allowed. it would probably be scary for him. would the two of them even take good care of him?
"you don't think we will?"
"how could you?" inseong finally speaks. and no matter how quiet, his words commanded the silence of both the men behind him. his eyes narrow, slender and with the cunning of a predatory fox sees reality for a split second. his lips purse, as though disappointed, when he reminds them, "you're both dead."
red blossoms from youngbin's abdomen and jaeyoon's chest. it seeps into the fabric of their jackets, soaking it, swallowing blue and grey threads whole, and turning it a deep, dark red. it begins to pool at jaeyoon's feet and drips down the washing machine youngbin is sitting on. the blood runs into the drain until there's no trace left of it on the tiled floors. and their bright, tender eyes have gone hollow.
inseong gathers all his freshly washed and dried clothes back into his bags. he stands in the middle of the entrance and looks back into the empty laundromat. here they'll stay, right where inseong's love had doomed them. to be confined to the four walls of a 24/7 laundromat as nothing but hallucinations after midnight.
for now, both his lovers have disappeared. but like this, they would love him forever, their bloody fingerprints pressing stains all over his beating heart to keep him company.
and next week when he comes to do his laundry, all three of them will be waiting for him.